Tag Archives: Animal Kingdom Dining

Disney Dining – Animal Kingdom’s Best Dessert

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We were big fans of Harambe Market in Animal Kingdom long before Joseph worked there during his stint in the Disney College Program.  We love the atmosphere and the consistently solid menu choices for a quick lunch or dinner.  Oh, and there’s good beer there too. Lately, Harambe Market has moved ahead of Flame Tree Barbecue and Yak & Yeti for me.

Disney Dining – Animal Kingdom’s Best Dessert

What we didn’t know before Joseph became an expert on all things Harambe is that the Market serves up an excellent dessert.  As part of his Disney College Program training, Joe tasted everything on the Harambe Market menu.  What surprised him most was the number of dishes he enjoyed after thinking initially they were not something he would like.  Dessert was a surprise to him because the Safari Cake’s description didn’t sound all that good. And this is why, I’m sure, Disney has those DCP members employed in food and beverage service taste the food! 

Not being a dessert person, I would never have noticed any dessert item on the menu, much less tried one.  On our last family visit to Animal Kingdom, Joseph encouraged us to try the Safari Cake and thought even I, born without a sweet tooth, would like it.

What’s a Safari Cake?

It looks a bit like Boma’s famous Zebra Domes, but much larger.  It’s a coconut cake, but fancy.  Inside there’s pineapple filling and coconut mousse and the entire concoction is covered in chocolate glaze.  It’s very tropical tasting and the blend of flavors is indeed delicious. Neither the coconut nor the pineapple are overpowering. I think even non-coconut people would like this dessert.

Intergalactic travel, safari expeditions, and Yeti hunting can surely work up a powerful appetite!

So the next time you find yourself in Animal Kingdom near Harambe Market and crave a sweet treat, you should consider giving this cake-y dome of deliciousness a try! Our family unanimously agrees that the Safari Cake is Animal Kingdom’s best dessert.

Have you tried a Safari Cake? What’s your favorite sweet treat in Animal Kingdom?

Disney Dining – Animal Kingdom’s Pizzafari

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Our family has never eaten at Pizzafari in Animal Kingdom, so I added it to my list of places for Joseph to try while he’s slaving away living it up in the Disney College Program.  I’d read that there was a Shrimp Flatbread and a Cannoli Cake dessert on the menu.  Both of those sounded promising.  Very recently, Raymond, Megan, Joseph and I had shared a couple of the Buffalo Chicken flatbread at the Contempo Café in the Contemporary and we were really happy with the quality and flavor.

Joseph, as one would expect from my child, offered this very honest, fair and balanced review…

Disney Dining – Animal Kingdom’s Pizzafari

-By Joseph Green

It was what you should expect from quick service pizza.  It looks appetizing with the drizzled pesto, arugula and spinach, and the seasoned shrimp, but the cheese and bread ruined it for me.

On first impression, the veggie mix tasted fresh and crisp in contrast to the chewy, flavorless bread and “cheese”.  The pesto added a nice flavor along with the shrimp which surprisingly wasn’t rubbery.  But after a second of thinking, “hm.. this isn’t bad at all, I kind of like this.”, I found myself having to chew longer and longer and longer.  All of those individual flavors mixed together until they were no longer discernible, which I fully blame on the bread and cheese.  The shrimp flatbread just became unappetizing after that.  I got tired of having to chew for long periods of time and holding those flavors in my mouth until they were one greasy blob.  (The flatbread came with a side salad, but I’m not a fan, so I can’t tell you how it tasted.  I did take a picture of it for you.)

The Cannoli Cake I rather liked.  The cake itself was moist and dense and maintained a rich, chocolatey flavor that I didn’t find overpowering.  The mini chocolate chips inside the cake were a surprising texture that I didn’t expect, but enjoyed very much.  Now, maybe I’ve been watching too much of The Great British Baking Show lately, but I didn’t particularly enjoy the cannoli.  It looked wonderful and the taste was nice, but the texture of the cannoli was all wrong to me.  I suppose I should’ve expected that though.  I mean, they are sitting in a refrigerator for possibly quite some time, which renders the cannoli soft, flexible, and slightly stale.  I recommend the cake, but the cannoli was nothing special.The Verdict:  With so many other truly great choices for a quick meal in Animal Kingdom, pass on Pizzafari…unless you go for dessert.

 

Disney Character Dining – Chef Mickey’s Versus Tusker House

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Looking for a character dining experience at Walt Disney World?  Love Mickey, Minnie and the gang?  You have two choices:  Chef Mickey’s (Disney’s Contemporary Resort) and Tusker House (Disney’s Animal Kingdom).  Which one should you choose?  Both take one Table Service Credit on the Disney Dining Plan, both are similarly priced (Tusker House is slightly less expensive).  Both provide excellent character meet-n-greets with great photo ops.  Let me see if I can help you with a few pro’s and cons.Meeting Minnie at Chef Mickey's

Disney Character Dining – Chef Mickey’s Versus Tusker House

Chef Mickey’s Pros

Not in a Park – No park ticket required to meet the Fab Five in air-conditioned comfort.  Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Pluto (dressed as chefs) make the rounds while you eat.  Because you don’t need park access, Chef Mickey’s is a very popular first and last day choice for many guests.

Easy to Reach from Magic Kingdom – Walk or grab the monorail!  Start the day with breakfast at Chef Mickey’s before heading to Magic Kingdom or take a break for a meal later in the day.

Pluto Fans Rejoice – If Pluto’s your favorite, Chef Mickey’s is a fantastic way to get a meet-n-greet with this lovable pooch.

Chef Mickey’s Cons

Very Basic Fare – Read:  Mediocre food.  Unfortunately, Chef Mickey’s popularity is more about the location and characters than the actual culinary choices.  If you’re picky and/or prefer pretty bland, meat-and-potatoes (or pasta) dishes, this may be a solid choice.  If you want more diversity in buffet choices with a few slightly more adventurous flavors, this is not the place for you.

Loud and Crowded – Big open spaces often full of screaming children.  It just seems crazy noisy to me all the time with lots of distractions.  Goes with the character-dining territory, I know, but Chef Mickey’s is extreme.

Tusker House Pros

Preferred by my Twitter Friends – In a recent Twitter poll I conducted with the simple question, “Which do you prefer?” and a choice between Chef Mickey’s and Tusker House, Tusker House won big (75% to 25%).

Convenient on an Animal Kingdom Day – Tusker House is a fun way to start the day and also a wonderful break for lunch or dinner.  Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy make the rounds dressed in their safari attire.

Delicious Flavors of Africa-inspired Dishes (plus plenty for less adventurous eaters).  I wanted to try everything, but had to settle for about a dozen different things to taste before I couldn’t eat another bite.  Our whole group of seven (included varying degrees of pickiness) walked away happy when we had breakfast at Tusker House one morning last year.

Daisy Fans Rejoice – She’s pretty special and if you want to meet her in a park, the lines are often very long (and cut off quickly).  In Tusker House, you’ll have her complete and undivided attention for a few minutes…very sweet!  I love her long eyelashes!

Tusker House Cons

Need a Park Ticket to Dine – Maybe because you have to enter Animal Kingdom to dine at Tusker House it makes it easier to get a reservation there than at Chef Mickey’s.  Seems to me demand is always higher at Chef Mickey’s.

Buffet Area gets Congested – This is basically due to nobody listening to instructions, but it happens anyway.  The hosts and hostesses explain up front that the design of the buffet is to encourage guests to walk up and help themselves to whatever looks delicious.  In reality, nobody does that, everyone forms lines.

Are you a fan of character dining?  Have you been to both Chef Mickey’s and Tusker House?  Which did you prefer?

 

 

Disney Dining – Tusker House Breakfast

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Great location, perfect for families and groups of all sizes, wonderful variety of buffet foods, AND fantastic Disney characters! What a perfect way to start the day in Disney’s Animal Kingdom!

Disney Dining – Tusker House Breakfast

Once upon a time, our family made character dining experiences a must-do on every Walt Disney World visit.  Just because we may have outgrown that tradition (for now), doesn’t mean we can’t make room in our touring plans for a Disney vacation meal that still includes some character interaction from time to time – especially if the menu is great.tusker-house-mickey-lyndsey-and-joseph

I’d heard great things about the menu at Tusker House and realized that an early breakfast there would give us a jump on our full day of action-packed Animal Kingdom plans.  Our group of seven consisted of a wide variety of food preferences and varying degrees of pickiness – what could be easier than a buffet packed with both traditional breakfast fare and several more exotic, African-inspired flavors?  I chose an 8:35 reservation & we arrived extra early…better to beat the crowds and be first in line for Kilimanjaro Safaris after breakfast.

At the park entrance we were directed to a specific Tusker House waiting area where a very kind Cast Member told us how to find the restaurant. After a short wait, we were on our way.

Once inside, our excellent server, Kat, showed us around the food stations on our way to our table. She explained that the foods were arranged to make it as if guests were shopping in a marketplace. There were no lines…simply move from station to station and fill your plate as you desire.  We arrived at our table, Kat left to get coffee and juice, we headed for the market/buffet.tusker-house-buffet4 tusker-house-buffet3 tusker-house-buffet2

So many options! It was hard to decide where to begin. Along with bacon, eggs, ham, Mickey waffles and the other usual crowd-pleasers were more unique choices from salads to curry, bobotie, and a carving station.  I took small portions of a few things, intending to go back for more after round one.  I’m wary of buffets sometime and want them to be super clean and well-stocked.  These food stations were beautifully maintained.tusker-house-breakfast-plate3 tusker-house-breakfast-plate2 tusker-house-breakfast-plate1

Kat had let us know to expect characters to come by our table, one at a time. Sure enough, the well-paced arrival of Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy allowed us plenty of time to eat while pausing for photos. I thought they were all terrific, but Goofy was extra fun.  The characters are all dressed for safari with their own individual styles.tusker-house-donald-and-megan

Just before Daisy made her entrance, I stepped back over to the buffet intending to take a few pictures and maybe grab a couple more foods to sample. Unfortunately, the reason Kat had made an effort to explain how the buffet is supposed to work became clear – a huge, long line had formed! This was no marketplace, this was a slow-moving nightmare. I decided I was finished eating, but made an effort to take a few pictures for you by squeezing in between people here and there. (Find menu details here.)tusker-house-goofy

Our breakfast was over moments before the scheduled park opening & we were on the first Kilimanjaro Safari of the day. We had a great time in Tusker House and would recommend it to small families and large groups alike. The food’s plentiful and tasty, the characters charming and fun, the atmosphere and setting are well-themed and highly detailed.  Just as we’d hoped, Tusker House was the perfect way to kick off the day at Animal Kingdom.

Do you enjoy character dining at Disney World?  Have you tried Tusker House?  What did you think?