I visited Tusker House for the safari buffet breakfast on a
Sunday morning in early December 2018. Tusker House is open for breakfast,
lunch, and dinner from 8:00 am until 8:00 pm. You can reserve a table
using the Disney app or website.
Because I had a reservation for a pre-park opening (PPO) meal,
I was permitted entry prior to the masses. On the way to Tusker House, I chose
to walk through Pandora, and I was beyond fortunate to ride Flight of Passage
(FOP) without having to wait (really, really lucky, because I was unable to
attain a Fast Pass for that attraction, and although I really wanted to ride
it, I was not prepared to wait stand-by for hours).
Tusker House is located in the Africa section of the Animal
Kingdom in the fictional Harambe Village square. Guests check in outdoors at a
podium, then are directed to sit under cover on various wooden furniture (or at
the bar) while they await their table. Inside, several rooms connect to the
high-ceilinged main serving area where the food is displayed. I was seated in
an alcove off the main dining room; other diners who were seated in a smaller
side dining room were treated to raucous entertainment by characters and staff
(which I didn’t observe in the main dining room).
Tusker House serves buffet character meals. (Truthfully, I
cared neither about the food nor the character meet-and-greets; my goal was to
ride Flight of Passage, and I was prepared to spend $30+ on the buffet to do
so.) For breakfast, the usual array of eggs, waffles, and bacon was available,
but with some unexpected additions like beef bobotie and hand-carved ham.
Reportedly, more African and Indian inspired dishes are available at lunch and
dinnertime (but those meals wouldn’t grant me early access to AK). The
breakfast buffet price includes a choice of jungle juice or orange juice (with attentive
free refills by staff). Although I’m generally not a buffet fan, I was pleased
with the variety and quality of the food.
I enjoyed my buffet character breakfast at Tusker House more
than I expected to – the food was tasty and plentiful, and it was fun watching
the children interact with the characters.
