Tusker House Review
Tusker House is a character buffet at Walt Disney World, in Animal Kingdom, with a mix of African cuisine and more standard American fare. This review concerns lunch at Tusker House, which now ranks as new top character dining experience in terms of both value and food quality.
Breakfast and dinner are also served at Tusker House, with dinner being very similar to lunch, and breakfast offering characters and (obviously) a breakfast menu. Tusker House is less expensive than other character dining, making it a good value if paying out of pocket, but a poor value on the Disney Dining Plan. In addition to accepting the Disney Dining Plan (1 credit), Tusker House accepts the Tables in Wonderland card for a 20% discount.
Before we dig into the food, let’s talk ambiance at Tusker House. It’s no surprise that the theming at Tusker House is top notch, with incredible attention to detail and a lot fun little touches. It actually looks like a weathered marketplace you might find in Africa. You know, if Disney characters roamed African marketplaces. With the exception of the touches of Disney, Tusker House’s theme is executed so well that you might be able to pass photos of it off as an actual marketplace in Africa.
No detail is overlooked, and the restaurant really works well, especially for an adult audience…
I’m not the biggest fan of Animal Kingdom, but this is one of the things I absolutely love about the park. The details are so meticulous and go beyond just the “big picture” stuff. You’ll see the “unpleasant” details like power lines and random/odd signs, which give more authenticity and make it feel less like a sanitized version of a foreign locale.
About the only thing that would make it more authentic is piles of animal feces in the walkways. Ironically, this is something Animal Kingdom “lacks,” but Magic Kingdom sometimes has! In general, the restaurants at Disney’s Animal Kingdom really seem to excel in terms of theming, and I think Tusker House is probably the cream of the crop here.
When it comes to food, Tusker House is difficult to beat. Since this is character dining that appeals primarily to families, Disney wisely offers standard options in addition to the more adventurous African foods. I would say it’s about a 60/40 split in favor of the African foods (maybe 75/25).
Regardless, there are a ton of options–so many that everyone is sure to find something they like. The greater difficulty is going to be trying everything, as there are simply so many choices that even if you have just a little of everything, you’re likely to be full after completing your first “round,” leaving little room for going back to have more of your favorites.
The big draws at Tusker House, as they are at every buffet that offers them, are the spit-roasted meats that are sliced in front of you at the buffet (pictured above). Tusker House had pork and beef when we visited, and although both of the names suggested African rubs or seasoning, these tasted a lot like their American counterparts.
These meats were also delicious: perfectly cooked, flavorful, moist, and the seasoning was delicious without overpowering. Picky eaters shouldn’t be scared by the names of these meats, and adventurous eaters should give them a try despite these options being fairly standard.
Some of our other favorite items on the buffet included the seafood stew (I absolutely loved this), the plantains, curry chicken, both types of salmon, cucumber salad, and root vegetables. And those are just the things I remember the names of! There was also some sort of mango salad stuff that I absolutely loved (pictured in the middle of the plate below).
Sarah, being a notoriously healthy eater, loved just about everything on the buffet here (although she didn’t give the corn dog nuggets a chance…what a communist!). Everything the buffet serves is pictured on the plates in these photos, but I am far too lazy to take photos of each serving station at the buffet; check out easyWDW’s review for that.
I think there were a couple of items our buffet had that his didn’t, but it’s materially the same everyday. If you’re considering breakfast at Tusker House, Disney Food Blog has you covered with photos from that.
The one letdown at Tusker House was the desserts. The banana bread pudding is amazing, but everything else feels like an afterthought. There are a few other dessert choices, but neither of us liked a single one of them. They all tasted mass-produced or lacking in flavor compared to the rest of the meal.
Luckily, the banana bread pudding was out of this world, so I didn’t feel at all slighted by the rest of the desserts being letdowns. It’s as if the kitchen staff knew they had a hit on their hands with the banana bread pudding, so they phoned it in with every other dessert. Sort of like Don McLean after he made American Pie (the song, not another dessert).
For all of our praise, character interaction is one thing we noticed seemed to be sub-par at Tusker House. The restaurant is large and has several different rooms, likely making it difficult for the three inside characters (Goofy, Mickey, and Daisy) to get around to everyone.
To their credit, Cast Members in the restaurant are mindful of this, and let us know the characters would be around later. When they were “later” taking longer than expected, they again let us know that they hadn’t forgotten about us. I noticed them doing the same in other areas of the restaurant. Still, it took around an hour in Tusker House before the first character was at our table.
When the characters did show up, it was only for quick poses and then they were off again. We never ended up meeting Daisy because the first two characters took so long, and because the character attendants didn’t come over with the characters, meaning we each had to take a picture of one another and then hand off the camera, causing us to just give up on her and leave (on the plus side, Sarah lucked out in not having to be in a photo with me doing the dorky pose below!).
This seems to happen often at character meals, and is a bit irritating. Perhaps most families are fine with mom or dad taking photos of the kids and not being in the shot, but that’s presumptuous, and the alternative is kindly interrupting someone at a table next to you (which we’ve found is not usually imposing, as most times they want the same thing, and ask you to reciprocate) or not having everyone in the photo.
Part of me wonders why Donald is stationed outside if the characters inside are stretched so thin. It could be to sell the photo packages, or perhaps it’s to make sure everyone sees him on the way in. Disney being Disney, I’m putting my money on the former. Figuratively, as I wouldn’t actually put money into one of those photo packages.
All of this makes for a sort of interesting dynamic to Tusker House. You have this incredible theming that is most likely going to appeal to discerning adults, along with some excellent buffet options that are on-par with the type of adventurous foods you’d find at Sanaa or Boma. And then, at the other end of the spectrum, you have characters, which primarily appeal to families.
All of this appeals to Sarah and me, so it’s just about the ideal restaurant for us, but we are probably the exception rather than the rule. For everyone else, Disney balances the “competing” dynamic perfectly. There are plenty of standard family-friendly food choices, and the presence of characters is not so in-your-face that Tusker House should scare away couples just looking for a good meal.
Overall, Tusker House is a great option for just about anyone. It does have a few flaws, but they are so insignificant or compensated for (in the case of the dessert) that they don’t really make a difference. Our experience with the characters could be an anomaly, but with the set-up and size of the restaurant, we suspect this is a regular issue. Regardless, they have awesome costumes and the theme is so excellent that we weren’t disappointed. Those considering Tusker House primarily for the character interactions may not feel the same way, though, and judged solely as a character meal (emphasis on characters), it’s just slightly above average. In terms of food, the menu trails only Boma in terms of buffet quality and diversity (and we haven’t done Boma since 2008, so that may no longer be true), but it’s cheaper than Boma, has slightly better ambiance, and has characters. This gives it the ever-so-slight edge over Boma as our pick for the top overall buffet at Walt Disney World. For all of these reasons, we highly recommend Tusker House.
Want more dining tips? Check out our 101 Delicious Walt Disney World Dining Tips. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews.
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Your Thoughts…
Do you agree with us that Tusker House is the top overall buffet at Walt Disney World, all things considered? How do you think Tusker House compares to other character meals? Planning on going? Share your thoughts in the comments.
I’m late to the party, but part of the reason Tusker House is so large and so intricately detailed is that it originally opened as a regular counter service restaurant, with no characters and a decidedly more “adult” menu. It was converted into a buffet in 2008, and I don’t think the actual character dining was added until well after that. It’s plainly obvious that the layout of the restaurant doesn’t lend itself to character dining, so it’s baffling that Disney continues to offer it there, as most guests leave annoyed that it was so difficult to have any character interaction.
All that aside, it’s my favorite restaurant on property. It’s basically a poor man’s Boma’s!
How do you determine the price for a given date? When is the price $35, and when is it $59?
Howdy Tom,
I really like reading your reviews, they help me with my Disney planning a lot. However, I was wondering if you planned on doing some updated reviews like the one here for Tusker House for example. Since your review, they have added Disney characters to the dinner time meal. I am very curious to learn what kind of differences that would make to your opinion pieces across the board at each of the restaurants. I really enjoyed your updated review of the Akershus Royal breakfast buffet in relation to the new “Frozen” addition to the Norway Pavillion. It would be really nice to read more articles from you like that.
Thank you for your articles and your time 🙂
We really enjoyed our lunch at Tusker House…although it was a little pricey (compared to counter service restaurants), we felt it was a great value.
The food was very good–everything, including some things that don’t have traditional “American” names. There are lots of vegetarian/vegan friendly choices too. I was delighted to see several pint-sized buffet serving tables with appropriate size plates to accommodate smaller kids.
The jalapeño corn bread deserves special mention.
We had plenty of interaction with the characters but you should be aware that they are set up to follow a set path through the dining area…be patient; they will get to you.
Our server was excellent and the fact that non-alcoholic drinks are included in the buffet price takes some of the sting out of $20 breakfast/$30 lunch & dinner price.
I understand that all meals at Tusker House are now character meals? I have dinner reservations and from looking at the Disney website I think this info is correct.
A strange question, I’m sure…but what do you think the average time spent at lunch is? We have a 2:55 reservation and I’m trying to get a handle on when we would be finished?
P.S. We are planning our first big family trip for March and I have become obsessed with your site. Thank you so much for your research and dedication! 🙂
My family and I recently had breakfast at Tusker House and loved it! The food was great, the service was great, and we had great interaction with the characters. We had a reservation before the park opened and had no trouble getting in early; it was pretty awesome getting a picture of the Tree of Life without anyone in the background!
My family and I have spent some time in Kenya, and Tusker House was like being in a place there (one of the nicer places that is). Everything from the outside of the building to the flooring was spot on. We can’t wait until our next trip, Tusker House will definitely be revisited.
Like every other table service at Disney, this was excellent. Service was above and beyond especially in re: to one of our son’s peanut allergy. The food was phenomenal as well!
I don’t understand why you still have to have a waitress at a buffet diner. This is just Disney’s way of forcing you to leave a $30 tip on top of your $250 dining bill. Dining tips are something I didn’t think about much before our trip but turned out to be a major expense. There were five of us and our dining bills were regularly $200+…so we tipped about $30 for every table service meal…including buffets…because I guess we are unable to fill our own drinks at a fountain station.
Anyway, off my soap box, it is what it is, Tusker House is a great buffet dining option. There were lots of delicious items available, some adventurous African cuisine, and many familiar comfort foods. My favorite was the salmon. The dessert island had some very decadent items as well. We went there for the food, but of course we waited for all the characters to come around for pictures. It was a lot of fun and I think this is a great value dining choice for lunch during your day in Animal Kingdom.
I can’t think of the last time I went to any buffet, real world or Disney, where there wasn’t a server. I also thought it was pretty much common place to leave a lesser tip at a buffet given the nature of the meal.
If your party is six or more, they automatically take out 18% for someone to refill your drinks, which is maddening when they don’t! (I’m still a huge Disney fan, but that drives me crazy!)
My husband and I have a 2 year old daughter. It was her birthday and she loves Disney characters and this was her first time meeting them. She knows all their names. We got seated quickly, and my husband and daughter went up to the buffet. I saw Donald coming, as he was the next table over so I said to Donald wait 1 second my daughter is coming. My hubby came with my daughter and she was so excited to see Donald but Donald passed our table and went to the next table (we were running to sit down). So I went to Donald to ask him to see our daughter and the women handler came up and said sorry but Donald cant go back to your table he will be around again. My daughter is screaming Donald Donald Donald and I said are you sure because she will have a tantrum. The handler said nothing except he will be back around and they have strict rules and they don’t go back only forwards with the tables on a special route. She cried for 15 minutes watching Donald go to all the tables as we waited for another character to arrive. We were fuming and just ate our food quickly. Then Mickey came and Daisy came and Donald came and Goofy came and then Daisy came back again and hung out with her. She hugged and kissed every character and said all their names. I was so disappointed in the handler (the handler avoided me the rest of the breakfast as I stared her down I was so upset at the lady). She had Grey shoulder length hair in her late 50’s. We saw other characters go back to tables in other areas, so it depends on the handler in your area. CHARACTER TIP: If you have to leave and want to see a character that has not come around yet just ask the Handler and they will get the character. I saw this lady do that for another table. I wish my 2 year old understood rules but she was too young to understand. The food was excellent and I recommend you going around 10:30pm as you get both the delicious breakfast and delicious lunch that is served at 11am. We would go back again. Just wanted to warn parents of these strict rules that are followed at times so you don’t have a child that get disappointed. Our server (waitress) was excellent, she knew how upset we were and tried to talk with the Handler as well and got no where. Our daughter drank chocolate milk and loved it! You can get juices and coffee and hot chocolate too.
I have had lunch at Tusker House three times. I wasn’t going to make reservations for my trip coming up in September/October, but every time I think of the amazing food there, I cave. So, I made reservations. It is the only restaurant we eat at every time we go to Disney. When we went in February they had moved Donald Duck inside. (My guess is that not enough people were buying the overpriced pictures). We did have one trip that Goofy didn’t make it to our table, but they brought him to the middle of the restaurant and made sure we got pictures with him. My daughter loves the kids’ buffet area. She loves that it is kid sized and she can serve herself. I would recommend to anybody dining here to request the main dining room. We were seated in the school room once and I almost didn’t go back because of it. The room echoes terribly and the tables are really crammed together. The main dining room is much better. Now I always request the main dining room even if it means waiting a little longer.
We had lunch there this March. Wonderful food and ambiance, but character interaction was not great. By far the most rushed we had – in the same trip we also did Akershus, Hollywood and Vine, and Crystal Palace and had better experience with the characters. Donald was not in the front of the restaurant, but visiting tables, which was nice. But there we had our only experience worth complaining during the whole trip: Daisy Duck missed our table since she had to stop for the mini parade. As Daisy did her parade in the room we were seated, our girls followed her very happily, and then Daisy left. As she left that small section of the restaurant, we were the only table she did not visit. I left the room for seconds (great food!) and Daisy’s handler was standing there so I politely approached her asking her to please not forget our table (daughters age 7 and 5 love Daisy) and she said “she will be back”. Thirty minutes later, we were done with the meal and she had not returned. As Daisy was in the adjoining room, again I discreetly approached the handler. She was rude and dismissive. Someone that deals with customers like that has no business in that job. At that point, 20 minutes before our Kilimanjaro Safari FP window ended, I asked to speak with the manager, who came to see us, apologized, and in 5 minutes sent Daisy with a different handler. It would have been a great lunch and overall experience, even with the rushed interaction, if it weren’t for that rude handler.
We had brunch there this February. Wonderful table service! We are vegetarian. The server called the chef, who walked us through the buffet, explaining all that we could eat. The server allowed me to plug in my cell phone at their station while we ate, which was nice. The food choices for us were amazing, one of the best meals we had during our stay. Characters stopped by for photos, even though we were child-free.
Going to WOW in February. Don’t remember seeing tusker house but is now on my must do list. Is it reservation only?
We love lunch at Tusker House. As a foodie who only eats fish & veggies, I was very happy with the options and quality on the buffet, and there was plenty for my picky eater daughter. She also loved all the mini dessert options, by the way. We had great character interactions, and my daughter even got to play an instrument in a parade around the restaurant. We were there during a low crowd time of year so that may have helped. Going for our 2nd Tusker House lunch next month!
We did the character breakfast here last year. We loved it! The food wasn’t super different, but it was breakfast. How different could that be made? I was just happy with my Mickey waffles. I love the Jamba (?) Juice. Soo good.
Our character interaction was great. And a CM just happened to be nearby for pics with Goofy. My daughter was super shy and didn’t want to dance with Mickey but we enjoyed watching all the other kids.
I love Tucker House buffet. It’s definitely at the top of my list!
I was glad I had read this before we went last week. I nearly canceled our lunch reservation, but remembered your praise and thought better of it. Boy am I glad we went! The food was interesting and delicious, the atmosphere superb and our character interaction was fantastic! We probably had my favorite character moment of the whole trip when Daisy took my daughter by the hand and led her around the dining room in a conga style dance. They even handed out percussion instruments to anyone who wanted. It was truly special.
That is awesome! Glad you didn’t cancel. It seems like a lot of the character meals do the “parade” through the restaurant thing, but I didn’t realize Tusker House was one. Thanks!
I was sad when they added characters to lunch at Tusker House. We thought of Tusker House as our little secret up until then. We loved the food and ambiance as it was! Now, we often have a long wait with our reservation as tables are waiting to see all of the characters. I felt like the characters picked up on the fact that we wanted to eat all that yummy food, so they didn’t stay with us long. I did see them interacting for a while with the baby at the table next to us.
We also LOVE Tusker House. It is so nice to eat “adult” food and still have choices for my very picky son to eat too.
We absolutely LOVED Tusker House!! My daughter and I had breakfast there this past Mother’s Day, we had lots of time with all the characters and we got LOTS of pictures! We were also asked to be IN the afternoon parade at Animal Kingdom! It was so much fun. We were on the first float with Rafiki. It was the most amazing experience ever! I can’t wait to go back at the beginning of the year.
If anyone needs help planning a trip let me know!
Amy