If I had to pick one Disney announcement that we’ve had in the last few weeks that was exciting….well, I’d pick fireworks. But Tusker House reopening? That’s pretty high up there too.
Tusker has long been one of my favorite buffets on property – so I was very curious to see what they’d do with a family style approach. Especially since they were known for having one of the more interesting buffets on property. How would they pick what to include in a family style meal??
Tusker opened their doors for the first time since the closure yesterday, June 20th, and we were there at the gates for dinner. And the verdict?
Go. Go now.
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You’ll find Tusker House in the Africa section of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. They reopened today and are currently offering breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Breakfast is $42/adult and $27/child. Lunch and dinner are $55/adult and $36/child. At all three, you’ll see Safari Mickey, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy.
You’ll start your meal with assorted house-made breads – we had classic rolls and papadum (an Indian light, cracker-like bread) – served with hummus and coriander and mango chutneys and an African-inspired salad with kachumbari and arcadian greens and citrus vinaigrette dressing.
I can’t say enough about this bread and the hummus and chutneys. These were straight off of the Sanaa bread service spread. And pro tip: mix the coriander and mango chutney. You can thank me later.
For your main course, you’ll get a platter loaded with Moroccan-spiced beef, spit-roasted herb chicken and berber-marinated pork on a bed of jasmine rice, roasted potatoes, and green beens, carrots and corn. The chimichurri on the beef was to die for – and the beef itself was cooked perfectly. In fact, for reopening night at a family style restaurant, the perfection of the prep and presentation of all of the foods was spot on.
On the side you also get a generous amount of Cape Malay green curry shrimp – which has instantly jumped to a spot on my top ten dishes at Disney, period. There’s also a wonderful house-made macaroni and cheese made with cavatappi.
And second pro-tip (don’t tell me you don’t get your money’s worth around here…) ask for the Impossible™ Durban Curry that is available upon request. It’s a plant based option but so incredibly delicious. A little bit of a kick but not too much. My ten year old blew me away by declaring that it was the best thing on the table. (That being said, if you are nervous about feeding extremely picky eaters, ask your server and they can probably quietly bring you some good old chicken tenders and fries.)
The drink menu is also worth a look. My kids were excited to get their POG/Jungle Juice fix. I tried the Spicy Poblano Margarita – Patrón Silver Tequila, Ancho Reyes Verde Liqueur, Lime Juice, and Pure Cane Sugar. It was really great – very smokey and strangely not spicy at all. (Perhaps the rim is sometimes done with something with more of a kick…but no complaints. Mine was perfect as it was.)
For dessert, they will bring you what they call “Animal-inspired Mini Desserts”. These might change over time but ours were wonderful. A traditional cupcake that my younger son devoured, along with a chocolate honey layer cake and a wonderful brownie-based dish.
But…pro tip number three? These were great…but once again the plant-based option might be the best option out there. The plant-based chocolate mouse surrounded with strawberries and dried passionfruit and guava is available upon request and SO good.
Needless to say, the final verdict was very, very good. I can’t recommend this place enough and can only imagine what’s to come if it was like this on its very first night open. A huge BRAVO to the Cast Members that made this happen. They have so so much to be proud of.
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You can find my complete guide to making the most of your runDisney race weekend RIGHT HERE. And while those are on hold, you can find my guide to running trails on Disney World property RIGHT HERE.
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Please join me on Instagram for my day-to-day adventures living a mile from the magic. And join the conversation over in our community on Facebook!
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If you’re missing home (or love someone who is) and are looking for a way to bring the magic home, I’d love for you to check out my Core Memory Candle collection right HERE. And as always, stay safe and be kind, my friends.
