The 7 Things You’ll Love About the Tusker House Restaurant

Currently, there are four table service restaurants at Animal Kingdom – Yak and Yeti, Rainforest Café, Tiffins, and Tusker House. Yak and Yeti is located right over the bridge from Discovery Island in Asia. Rainforest Café sits just outside of the park gates. Tiffins is situated on Discovery Island directly behind Pizzafari’s counter service.  Tusker House is located in the Africa section of the park. We think Tusker House is the best choice for a reasonably priced meal at Animal Kingdom. Here are the 7 things that you will love about dining at Tusker House!

7 – Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner – Tusker House offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If you choose to go for breakfast, you can also get reservations before the park opens and get to explore a part of the park before it is open to the public and get some great photographs!

6 – A Buffet of Variety – Tusker House serves every meal buffet-style and has a wonderful assortment of food. Tusker House does a wonderful job of balancing traditional dishes, as well as including dishes local to the its setting in Africa. Be sure to save some room for dessert because they have a great selection for you to pick from!

5 – Lots of Seating – it may not look like it from the outside, but Tusker House is impressively sized on the inside with plenty of seating. While it is always recommended to make an advanced dining reservation when choosing Tusker House, I have had success moving my families large reservation on the same day. If you can’t make an ADR or just forget, be sure to head to the hostess stand first thing and see if you can get in that day.

4 – Dawa Bar – while not technically a part of the Tusker House, this bar is located in the “waiting area” for it. I think it is one of the best bars on property. The bartenders at this location are always very friendly and the service is great given the fact there are usually only two bartenders working and the bar is usually quite busy. Make sure you build some time into your reservation or your time in the park to stop by and have a drink.

3 – Character Dining – Tusker House is the sole character dining location in the Animal Kingdom. The characters are present at every meal. Diners are greeted by Mickey, Goofy, Donald, and Daisy in their safari gear. Be sure to remember your cameras and autograph books!

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2 – Family Photo – unlike the other character buffets in the parks, Tusker House offers a small surprise before your family gets to dine. A Disney PhotoPass photographer will take a picture of your entire party before you are seated. It was a welcome surprise the first time my family went and made a great memento!

1 – Theming – even though it is indoors, the buffet area is themed to resemble an outdoor market where you are getting your food. Take some time to enjoy the other small details that contribute to the overall theme of the restaurant – my favorite detail of them all is the work that is done to make the building look like it has exposed brick.

The next time you are at Animal Kingdom, make sure to have a meal at Tusker House. It is a wonderful restaurant with a great selection of food. If you’ve eaten there and like the exotic food, the next place on your list should be Boma at the Animal Kingdom Lodge – have you tried both? What is your favorite?

BONUS TIP: Consider planning and booking your next Disney trip with an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner you can trust like Mickey Travels. They’ll help you get the best Walt Disney World deal, share expert advice and their services are totally FREE! It’s genius!