Reviews of Tusker House Lunch and Dinner Buffet
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Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 04/28/2020
Rating: (9) Recommended
This place never fails to disappoint - although those who are less interested in slightly exotic food on the buffet should probably just book elsewhere. Each of us has favorites here, from the coconut-curry shrimp to the salmon to the assortment of stews. Dessert is not the best on property, but who cares - that's a minor thing in a World where you can get a sugar fix on literally every corner. Servers here have always been great too. Now, if we could just figure out how to not end up being seated in the same out-of-the-way room every. single. trip.
Pros:
Good variety of interesting food on the buffet. Service has always been efficient and very helpful/friendly. Characters are quite good - especially Goofy and Donald.Cons:
Might not appeal to some palates. Can be crowded at peak times. Seating can be inconvenient depending on which area/room they put you in.Reviewed by ElizabethMarie Review Date: 04/25/2020
Rating: (10) Recommended
The food is great and something a little different from what I normally think of as typical theme park food. I'm not even a very adventurous eater and I avoid pretty much anything spicy, but I had an easy time finding lots of things I liked here. The flavors were great and there were plenty of options. I also love the Safari characters, we typically go to Disney at non peak times, but we've had good luck with seeing all the characters in a pretty short amount of time here.
Pros:
Safari characters, great roasted meats, great atmosphere, standard options for kidsCons:
Not a great place for adults that don't like African flavorsReviewed by Shularc Review Date: 04/24/2020
Rating: (10) Recommended
Best Character meal. Amazing food, and great Interactions. Go between lunch and dinner for the opportunity to see the characters multiple times.
Pros:
Great Food, and Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Daisy.Cons:
noneReviewed by jess2793 Review Date: 03/25/2020
Rating: (8) Recommended
The fact that it’s a character dining makes it awesome on its own but the food and the variety is amazing!
Pros:
Cast members are so friendly! They filled up my water bottle, it was such a kind gesture. The food is incredible! I had the best Mac and cheese of my life here.Cons:
Since a lot of the food options are African inspired, you’d have to have a really open mind when coming to eat here.Reviewed by Juliet73 Review Date: 02/26/2020
Rating: (4) Not Recommended
For many years this has been a family favorite--we love the unique offerings and have always enjoyed the characters in their safari outfits. My boys are a little older (12 & 14) but wanted to go back because of the great memories. It was unfortunately hugely disappointing. The food selection was not what we remembered. The carving station had only salmon and pork. Mashed potatoes were out in both kid buffet station and adult buffet station, and some of the more interesting options (African stew) were replaced with poorly cooked root vegetables that were inedible. Desserts were ok, nothing amazing. Wait staff was slow to refill beverages. We did see all the characters and that was fun, but it felt more rushed (maybe because our boys are older and they all spend more time with the littler kids). The real downfall was the bill. I could not believe how expensive it was. With tip, for lunch, over $270 for four adults. Few meals are worth that kind of expense, and this sure wasn't one of them. We were all really disappointed walking out feeling like we'd had an average meal at an exorbitant price.
Pros:
atmosphere, charactersCons:
Price! Variety and quality of food has also gone down over the years.Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 02/25/2020
Rating: (5) Not Recommended
I'm so sad to give this a low score, but we had a terrible experience here. The server rushed as in and out so quickly, characters came to our table while we were up at the buffet, and it wasn't worth the price tag.
Pros:
Good food, charactersCons:
Rushed in and out, priceyReviewed by ChaseDisneyWorldAdultsGuide Review Date: 02/19/2020
Rating: (10) Recommended
Best character meal food on property as far as my family is concerned! Huge selection, great character outfits, outstanding theme-ing
Pros:
immersive and great foodCons:
very large so characters do not get to spend as much time with each table when it is really crowdedReviewed by AdventurelandFan Review Date: 02/16/2020
Rating: (10) Recommended
I've been to a lot of buffets at Disney Parks. There are a lot of great ones out there. This is the best — not just at WDW but in North America.
Somehow, they — in my experience — are able to totally defeat the usual twin dooms of buffets by keeping all the food fresh, and by offering a massive variety of truly interesting dishes.
The variety here not only evokes Africa — as it should, since the restaurant is, yanno, in Africa — but it gives almost everyone something great they can eat. Almost all dietary preferences are accommodated from the regular buffet, and in a way that doesn't create social awkwardness. In other words, the buffet brings everyone together, rather than highlighting people's dietary differences.
It's also not slavishly upholding the line between "breakfast" and "lunch". If you get here earlier enough in the afternoon, there's an unofficial brunch. For about an hour around 1pm, I've found that they'll have both breakfast and lunch items on offer, until breakfast items are quietly ushered off stage. So if you've had a busy morning, but reserved for an early lunch here, your breakfast buffet dreams may still be alive.
The ambience here is ... not what you'd find in the Magic Kingdom. It's next-level imagineering, fully justifying the inconvenience of the longer journey to the Animal Kingdom you've probably had to endure. Tusker is a kind of extension of Harambe, generally — and it works so well that you'd be forgiven for missing the entrance to the joint. Once inside, prepare to be gobsmacked by the detailed beauty of the large, open buffet area. I couldn't stop myself from taking a lot of pictures of the restaurant interior before even thinking about eating. Seriously, take a long look at all the posters on the walls, the details above the buffet area, the imperfections knitted into the building's structure. It's so good that, especially when there are street players in the larger Harambe area, you might not think you're at a Disney Park at all.
Except, of course, that this restaurant, even after breakfast, has character dining. So, yes, the walking Mickey is gonna break the illusion. But if there's a compensation for the jarring visual, at least the original Disney characters are in the dress that I personally prefer. There are a lot of places to find the big five, but their "safari look" works for these original Disney characters. I'm not entirely sure that Daisy and Goofy can be found anywhere else in this specific garb, and this is surely an easier place to find Mickey and Minnie in that look than their "official" meet and greet spot elsewhere in Animal Kingdom. It's a little mystifying why Disney have chosen to do this, though. Surely the gang from DuckTales would make more sense for the "adventures in Africa" theme.
Moving away from that one headscratcher, Tusker is mightily convenient to other African goals. I personally wouldn't recommend eating here if your next stop is in another land. It's right down the street from Kilimanjaro Safaris and the train to Rafiki's and the disembarkation place for hard-ticketed "special" backstage tours — and, of course, The Lion King. That is, it's almost exactly central to Africa, so you'll find it incredibly convenient to wherever your African journeys take you. We went on the Caring for Giants backstage elephant tour, and there literally couldn't have been a better-placed restaurant for us.
Finally, it shouldn't be missed that there's a package deal with Rivers of Light which gets you special seating. Is It necessary? Maybe not. Is it nice to have a completely unobstructed first-row seat? Absolutely — especially if this is your favorite nighttime show at WDW, and you want to take a lot of pictures.
Pros:
Best buffet in WDW or Disneyland, astounding variety of food, central location to whatever you're doing in Africa, Great Rivers of Light package, impeccable theming, character dining (and breakfast!) go on for longer than advertised.Cons:
Though I love the safari look for the original Disney characters, they don't make sense. I hope one day DuckTakes characters take over here, since they're much, more logically going to have travelled to Africa than Mickey. If this place must have animated characters, it demands Scrooge, Webby and Launchpad — not Goofy.Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 02/13/2020
Rating: (9) Recommended
We came here with a very large group of picky eaters. I loved that I could try some more adventurous food and they were also happy. It is hard to navigate between tables and I found myself bumping the lady behind me a few times trying to get up for the characters.
Pros:
Character interaction was wonderful. Kids loved it. Food is goodCons:
Crowded!Reviewed by MuppetFanForever Review Date: 02/11/2020
Rating: (10) Recommended
Easily my favorite buffet in all the parks! The selection of food was phenomional. I don't consider myself a picky eater, but the appearance of some of the dishes were... questionable, but I promised myself to try everything. I LOVED it all!! This is definitely a don't miss for me, and when I take my family here for their first Disney experience Cindy's Royal table when we all go in May.
I wish you would post an updated review. I watched the one for breakfast and it was made before Pandora was opened. Time for a Dinner review of Tusker House!
