Tusker House Restaurant: A Disney World Dining Review

In a previous post, I have written about some not as well-known experiences that my family has had in Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World. Today, I would like to share some of my favorite things about the character dining at Tusker House inside the Africa section of Animal Kingdom.

Location

The first thing you will notice when you enter the dining area is that it is off the main path and has more room for you to stretch out as you get signed in for your reservation. We have always done breakfast, and I love this time of day in the park as it is so serene and shady with the trees everywhere.

What to Expect

When you get seated, you will notice that the tables are spaced out well and it has a large dining room. It is buffet style, which I like, because you are not waiting on food or anyone to take your order. Especially for breakfast when the kids are “hangry”, I mean hungry, the buffet is a great option. My daughter loved the serve-yourself size buffet lines that are just her size. They offer some very interesting and new African style breakfast options, as well as your classic American flavors, including Mickey pancakes. There are over 45 items in the buffet! I love this because I get to try something new that I would not have the option to try at any local restaurants in my hometown, and you don’t have to worry if you don’t like it, because it is buffet.

As I mentioned above, this restaurant keeps in the African theme, complete with ethnic cuisines. Of course, you will see all of your favorites such as scrambled eggs, bacon, cereals and more. You will also see a great variety of items such as spit-roasted ham, beef bobotie, basmati rice, and spiced corn beef hash. The coconut sweet potatoes will have you traveling back to the buffet line very quickly! Coffee is brought out to the table in a large coffee pot, so you will be sure to be ready to take on your day in Animal Kingdom. For the kids, there is always plenty of “monkey juice”. This juice is an exotic blend of mango and passion-fruit.

Don’t forget to grab a piece or two of the large variety of breads that are also available. My personal favorite: banana-cinnamon bread pudding with warm vanilla sauce.

The Characters

The other thing that makes this breakfast so special is the characters. Although they don’t guarantee characters, we had Safari Mickey, Goofy, Donald Duck, and Daisy Duck to stop by our table to visit awhile. The best part is they are dressed in their safari gear! So adorable! I love that this meal gives you flexibility to eat at your own pace or speed it up, depending on what all you want to accomplish in your day. We love to sit and enjoy the meal while the kids interact with the characters. Be sure to bring your autograph book and pen! You don’t get to see Safari Goofy everyday!

Walt Express TIP!

We did not plan it this way, however it worked out nicely that as soon as we were ready to leave, the next Lion King show was getting ready to start. There was no line and the Lion King Show entrance is RIGHT NEXT TO TUSKER HOUSE! Next time we go, I will make sure I schedule the same breakfast time so we can get to the first show that is not very crowded.

Another great attraction in the same area is the Kilimanjaro Safari!

Let me know what you think about Tusker House if you have been there before! Join the Disney Express Lane Facebook Group to discuss this and many other Disney related topics.

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If you’re a frequent Walt Disney World visitor, there is a restaurant that you prefer to dine at over and over again. Whether it be because of the food, the atmosphere or the character experiences, something draws you to reserve your seats 180 days in advance. For my family, Akershus Royal Banquet Hall is that restaurant. Akershus is located in the Norway Pavilion in Epcot’s World Showcase. They offer breakfast, lunch and dinner – all of which has a variety of your favorite princesses to meet and greet.

Akershus Royal Banquet Hall: A Disney World Dining Review

The Menu and Our Experience

The breakfast includes your typical American dishes like eggs, warm meats, and pastries; as well as Norwegian breakfast items. The lunch and dinner has dishes that channel its Norwegian roots and provides an intensity of flavor that I find are unmatched.

During our last visit to the Mouse House in May, we decided to have lunch at Akershus for my daughter’s 5th birthday celebration. My mom and I both ordered the oven roasted chicken breast on a bed of sauteed garden vegetables, fingerling potatoes, and a red pepper puree. I had never tasted red pepper puree, and I was quite worried that my palate would disagree with it. After my mom took a bite and confirmed it’s deliciousity (that’s not a word, but it sounds much more appropriate than deliciousness), I cut off a fork full of perfectly cooked chicken breast and dipped it into the red pepper puree. The resulting reaction was like realizing that I have a purpose in life, and for that moment, that purpose was to eat every last bite of my oven roasted chicken breast. Minus the bones, of course. I also thoroughly enjoyed the fingerling potatoes, although I wasn’t a fan of the garden veggies. No fault of Disney’s, as I’m a picky eater that turns her nose up at all things green.

In addition to the oven roasted chicken breast, guests can order between pan-seared salmon, traditional Kjøttkake, stuffed pasta, braised pork shank and several other authentic Norwegian offerings. As you can see, Akershus offers a nice variety of entrees that you don’t normally find at other table service restaurants.

The kid’s menu, unfortunately, does not offer as many choices. Kids can choose between cheese pizza, meatballs, and elbow macaroni. My daughter decided upon the pizza, like she normally does. She goes crazy over Disney pizza.

Update

Disney has now added the “kid check meals” to this menu. Akershus includes the following items for children:

• Grilled Chicken Breast
• Junior Beef
• Salmon

Just Desserts

For dessert, we were given this platter of Norwegian goodies. My taste buds drooled over the sweet and savory chocolate mousse, while my daughter scarfed down the traditional ice cream topped with strawberry sauce. Unfortunately, none of us cared for the apple cake with cardamom whipped cream.

Like I mentioned earlier in this article, we were there to celebrate my daughter’s 5th year of being a part of our lives. We had a FANTASTIC waitress named Anna who not only delivered a cupcake with a lit candle, but a birthday card signed by all the princesses and herself (in Norwegian). Anna also sang Happy Birthday in Norwegian. How cool is that?! Anna went above and beyond all expectations, and she deserves every good thing that comes into her life. I’m so glad that I managed to catch that moment on video!

The Character Experience

When you first enter the Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, you are guided to a line where you meet Princess Belle from Beauty and the Beast (my favorite). The photo is available through PhotoPass/Memory Maker.

One of the princesses that makes their way to your table is the beautiful Princess Aurora from the classic Disney film Sleeping Beauty.

Next, Ariel flipped her fins (well, she traded those in for human legs) over to our table, where she filled the atmosphere with her bubbly personality. She probably spent the most time with my daughter compared to the other princesses.

Cinderella also graced us with her kind presence. This would be the first of three separate times we saw Cinderella during our stay!

Last, but not least, we met the princess that started it all – Snow White.

While these are the usual princesses who are scheduled to appear at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, other characters may show up, like Mulan, Jasmine, and Mary Poppins!

A Few Tips

• Akershus is one table service credit on the Disney Dining Plans.
• Reservations are highly recommended.
• Admission to Epcot is required.
• Some of the dining experience is offered on a buffet, while the “main entree” will be family style-at your table.

Join the Disney Express Lane Facebook Group to discuss this and many other Disney related topics.

Thank you Amber from Beautifully Bella Faith for giving us some awesome tips! 

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Video: Chef Mickey’s: A Disney World Dining Review

Chef Mickey’s has been the quintessential favorite for character meals since it opened its doors at Disney’s Contemporary Resort in 1996. Its history and convenient location just outside of Magic Kingdom make it a must do for so many families. Add in the fantastic character lineup and it’s easy to see why this reservation is always a tough one to snag.

The Characters

As mentioned above, the character lineup is the real star of the show at this dining reservation. This is the ONLY restaurant on property where you can meet the Fab Five. You will be able to meet Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Pluto at any meal you reserve at Chef Mickey’s. You can choose from breakfast, lunch and dinner. Some restaurants only have characters for breakfast and sometimes lunch, but Chef Mickey’s has the Fab Five at every meal! The characters are known as the Fab Five because they are the five characters that were featured most in the classic Mickey Mouse cartoons.

My family thinks that Chef Mickey’s is a win-win, because we get a meal and tons of autographs all at one time! It’s a huge time saver to meet so many classic characters during a meal. For us, that means our children can get autographs and pictures with the characters here and we can spend park time meeting other characters and enjoying the attractions and rides. The only downfall with the characters at Chef Mickey’s is that sometimes the one-on-one interaction feels a bit rushed. This is the case at several character meals, so if you are really wanting to spend quality time interacting with characters, you might want to choose a traditional meet and greet instead of a character meal. However, this meal is not short on fun!

Celebrate Good Times

You definitely want to have your party attitude on tap for this restaurant. Go in ready for lots of fun at Chef Mickey’s. You will be surrounded by singing, laughing, and lots of children and adults clamoring to love on the fantastic characters. There are tons of fun littles touches throughout the meal. My favorite is when they play “Celebrate with Mickey Mouse” and everyone twirls their napkins, as I captured in the video above. Sometimes the characters even do a parade around the restaurant and invite everyone to twirl their napkins too. This is so much fun and it reminds me of dining in Italy years ago with my mother, where napkin twirling was quite the tradition.

Chef Mickey’s is a fantastic place to celebrate birthdays and special occasions too. The waiters and waitresses do a great job of trying to make the meal extra special if they know you are celebrating ahead of time. We always call in before our trip and have it added to our reservation. This is easy to do yourself or if you are using a travel planner, ask them to do it for you. Sometimes you might receive a special birthday card or cupcake and even a little extra fanfare. The last two visits, our waitress brought over our cupcakes and had the characters stop by for an extra birthday hug. Now that’s what you call magical!

The Food

If you have read our reviews before, you know that we are honest about what we experience. With that being said, let’s just say that Chef Mickey isn’t likely going to win a Michelin Star for the menus he creates for this restaurant. Chef Mickey’s is a buffet, so expect buffet style food. Keeping that in mind, we actually like the food (notice I did not say love). There are plenty of great kid choices and several dishes the adults in our group always enjoy too. But seriously, don’t go to a buffet at Walt Disney World expecting anything to blow your mind and tastebuds away. However, don’t let that discourage you. Let’s talk about which foods we think are worth a second helping.

At breakfast, my kids eat enough bacon to pay for their portion of the meal. Seriously, have you bought bacon recently? That stuff is getting super expensive. They also enjoy the sausage and fresh fruit. But what they really get excited about (other than meeting characters) is the Mickey waffles! Ahhhh! You can almost hear angels singing when you take that first bite of a Mickey waffle. They are a delicious blend of malty, carby goodness that melts in your mouth with the warm, sweet syrup. The adults also like the cheesy potato casserole, ham and cheese frittata, and the cheese and berry blintzes. Brunch isn’t much different, but the offerings there combine both breakfast and some of dinner (so keep reading). For dinner, try the all you can eat peel and eat shrimp. Also, the carving station has some pretty yummy offerings. For the kiddos, the chicken nuggets and mac and cheese are always a big hit. No matter which meal you reserve, don’t skip dessert. Desserts are hard to mess up and Chef Mickey’s does a nice job with lots of yummy choices that will make your sweet tooth happy, happy, happy.

Tips

• If you don’t feel like waiting on the monorail, you can quickly walk to Disney’s Contemporary resort from Magic Kingdom.
• If your feet are tired, take the monorail to Chef Mickey’s.
• Chef Mickey’s is LOUD! If you or your children do not do well with loud restaurants, avoid this one.
• This restaurant accepts most Disney Dining Plans and would make a great addition to your magical vacation! Go HERE for more information on this fabulous restaurant!

What did you think of the Chef Mickey’s? Does it earn its ears for being the most popular character meal on property? Join the Disney Express Lane Facebook Group to tell us what you think about Chef Mickey’s and to discuss other Disney related topics.

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