When it comes to dining at Disney World, you’ve got a TON of options. Want something quick and easy? You’ve got it. Something middle of the road and comforting? Yep, that too. And if you’re looking for something upscale and luxurious, you can find that as well.

We recently stopped by Tusker House for lunch at Disney’s Animal Kingdom to see what was cookin’, and now we’re bringing you our FULL review. Is it worth a stop on your next trip to the Most Magical Place on Earth? Find out here!

Atmosphere

Tusker House Restaurant is one of the best-kept secrets around when it comes to Disney dining and Character Meals in our opinion, and it’s stood the test of years of reviews from us.

The food here is flavorful and interesting, combining American and African-inspired cuisine, and the characters are among some of the most sought-after in all of the parks and hotel featuring Donald Duck, Mickey and friends (like Goofy and Daisy)… all dressed in their Safari best for Donald’s Dining Safari!

If you are looking for a fun character meal in a unique setting with terrific food for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, I highly recommend this restaurant.

But enough about the restaurant — what’s on the menu here?!

Menu

The food here is served buffet style which means you’ll have full reign of most of the items available to eat at your disposal. The pricing for adults for lunch here is $64 and children ages 3-9 are $42 plus tax and gratuities respectively.

If you’re wondering exactly what you’ll find on the menu here, let’s take a closer look together! You’ll start out with a few options as appetizers like Salads, Breads and Dips and entrees including House Specialties, plant-based offerings like North African Pilau, South African-spiced Cauliflower, Couscous Salad, Potato and Pea Curry, Carrot-Ginger Soup, and a few kid’s favorites like Meatballs, Macaroni & Cheese, Chicken Strips, Broccoli, Potatoes.

Don’t worry, you’ll have lots of sides to choose from and several desserts to curb your sweet tooth craving!

Aside from the included buffet, you can also order a few specialty beverages…

…cocktails…

…wines…

…as well as Beer, Hard Cider, Hard Seltzer. Each of these will have their own individual pricing on top of your included options.

And now, onto the main event — the food!

Eats

We headed to the buffet for our first plate and loaded it up with some of the breads, their respective sauces, as well as potatoes and corn. The corn was nice and sweet and the roasted potatoes reminded us of breakfast potatoes, but with no additional seasoning. The bread was also on the sweeter side, almost like a cornmeal style, and when we mixed it with the sauce, it made it even sweeter (even with the chimichurri sauce!). We also tried one of the sauceless meatballs, and while it was fine, it was nothing to write home about.

As for the mac and cheese, it was INCREDIBLE! It was slightly baked on top, incredibly cheesy, and we’d recommend this in a heartbeat.

For our second plate, we grabbed some more of the meat offerings, rice, couscous, and more. The Couscous was fine, but it reminded us of grits in the way that there’s that nosiness to it — there’s no butter, so it wasn’t bad, but not our speed. The Tandoori Chicken was perfectly cooked and had the perfect amount of spice behind it thanks to the cumin (but it wasn’t too spicy), but the Red Red was just okay to us. It was more spice than heat, and we were just expecting more from it.

Finally, it was time for dessert! The Hummingbird Cake was light and fluffy with a great slight carrot-taste to it, and the cream cheese spread was delightful. The Pot de Creme was fruity with something similar to a cherry glaze with something akin to caramel that you break through. It overall wasn’t our favorite, but if you love fruity flavors, you may want to give it a try.

The Pineapple Cupcake was like pineapple Dole Whip in cupcake form, which we adored, and the Passionfruit Cheesecake was easily one of our favorites with its fruits on top. The African Blondie wasn’t exactly what we were expecting as it has chocolate chips and raisins on the inside, but it wasn’t bad. Finally, the Guava treat had a great coconut base to it and the mousse was super thin and light, which we loved.

Nosh or Not

This Disney World restaurant is a must-visit if…

• You’re looking for a fantastic character meal
• You want a meal that has a great mix of ideal options for picky and adventurous eaters
• You love buffet style meals that are ACTUALLY worth the cost

You should skip this Disney World spot if…

• You’re looking for a quick meal
• You’re not a fan of buffets
• You don’t like character meals.

Overall

Overall, we think this is a fantastic meal for those who enjoy buffets or are looking for a great Disney World buffet that won’t make you feel like you wasted your money, or you want a great character meal to remember for years to come. The interactions with the characters here are fantastic, and we adore that there are lots of options for a range of eaters.

In the meantime, we’ll be on the lookout for more restaurant updates from Disney World and beyond. Make sure you stay tuned to the Disney Food Blog for the latest Disney news and more!

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Have you eaten at this Disney World restaurant before? Tell us in the comments!