Mouse Extra

I know there was some trepidation around these parts about converting the Tusker House, a very popular counter service place, into a buffet restaurant. For me, it wasn’t a bad idea. The Animal Kingdom was always a good spot for counter service with the Flame Tree and Pizzafari to go along with the Tusker House. The only sit down place was the subpar Rainforest Cafe.

 
But Disney has changed things over the last couple of years. They have opened the Yak & Yeti and converted the Tusker House so now you have 3 choices to sit down for a meal. And the Tusker House is still a good place to have a meal.
 
The Tusker House is buffet in style. The food is basically american friendly african. For that reason, it is often compared to Boma. And no, its not as good, but its still a good place to eat if you want to stay in the park for your meal. I like for example the apple & walnut salad, the various types of couscous, and the spiced chicken. The cinnamon-banana bread pudding with vanilla sauce is addicting.
 
Disney has been trying out an Animal Kingdom version of the Fantasmic Dinner package here. Basically, lunch at Tusker gets you a special seat at the Finding Nemo Musical. Since I am no big fan of the show, I have never had a desire to use this. And frankly, there really is no need except at the busiest times of of the year. A stark contrast to the two shows per week schedule of Fantasmic.
 
The best way to try new kinds of cuisine, such as african, is to try it buffet style so you can sample before really digging in. So dig in.

Today’s review is from Mike, contributing writer to Mouse Extra.

Pizza is a bad thing at Walt Disney World. It really is. The personal pies at Wolfgang Puck’s are a soggy mess. At the Boardwalk window, the grease comes pouring off each slice. Its all horrible.

 
At Pizzafari, however, its edible. Even a little bit better than that. Its actually a good slice, or personal pie really. The place also has italian subs and chicken parmesan sandwiches which are pretty good. The kids’ menu includes pasta and meatballs along with a personal cheese pie.
 
This counter service establishment is very festive in decor. There are colors everywhere. Better still, there is a lot of indoor, air-conditioned seating, which is vital at the Animal Kingdom. Make sure you check out all the rooms in the place. There are six rooms for seating in total all with various themes like the Bug room, the Camouflage room or the Noctrunal room. Plenty of cooled space and decent pizza. All in all, its pretty good.

Today’s restaurant review is from Mike, contributing writer to Mouse Extra.

Let’s do a couple of more construction updates for today, so you can get an idea of the work going on at two of Disney World’s major projects.  There seems to be an awful lot of work going on at the Mouse, and that is always exciting to see.

First, let’s start over at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.  For those who don’t already know, soon a full service sit-down restaurant and bar will open called the Yak and Yeti, named after a famous resort in Kathmandu, Nepal.  The photograph below, taken late last week, shows that much of the building is finished.  It appears only the face of the building is getting some final touches.

The photo below shows that this restaurant will at least have some beautiful woodwork to show off.  At first I thought there were doors, but since none of them were mounted in view I can not say for sure.  They could be just some detail work, either exterior or interior.

Now, let’s head over to Epcot’s Future World where construction continues on the icon Spaceship Earth.  The shot below does not show much, as most of the work is happening inside the sphere.  What it does show, however, is that so far little to nothing has been done on the exterior.  This does seem a bit surprising as a refurbishment of this magnitude usually includes some exterior reminder of what’s new inside.

Here’s something that bums me out.  The Tusker House at the Animal Kingdom is now closed, as it awaits a change-over to a character buffet in a few weeks time.  We knew it was coming, but something inside of me was hoping that better sense would prevail upon the bean counters.

The Tusker House was one of Walt Disney World’s finest counter service restaurants.  It had tasty food and a nice ambience and theme.  Those things may remain after its conversion to some extent, but I am guessing the ambience may change a bit, wouldn’t you think?  A nice chicken meal and a cold drink at the bar out back was a great way to cool off and unwind a bit.  However the word “unwind” generally does not apply to character buffets.  So we can forget that idea.

Perhaps I am being harsh on the character meal concept.  For one thing, I realize it works for Disney and their guests.  There’s no doubt about that.  People, especially young ones, love them.  But I don’t particularly care for it.  To each his own, right?  I have no kids and don’t find characters at my table to be anything but uncomfortable.  And I also understand that perhaps the Animal Kingdom needed a better character meal as many people complained about Donald’s Whateverasaurus.  But did that necessitate the complete dismantling of a perfectly fine and often crowded counter service option?

Let me also point out the price difference I am sure is coming.  Instead of having a nice place where one can get a meal for fewer than 10 bucks, we will now have yet another $24.95 buffet.  Thus further shrinking our ability to attend Disney World and enjoy it on a budget.  Am I making too much of this?

As development of the Animal Kingdom out of the dreaded “half-day park” status continues, construction on a very important piece in that plan moves forward.  Animal Kingdom is terribly short on worthwhile sit-down dinner options, and as I am sure you know, Disney is hoping the Yak and Yeti is the answer.

The signs say it is scheduled to open in 2007, but judging from the apparently early stages they are now in, it will likely be very late in 2007.  There are only seven months left in the year, and the frame work is not finished.

I walked passed the site a number of times this week, and the only thing I ever saw was some welding going on, and never a crew of more than 3 or 4 people were visible.  Now the barricade could be blocking others from view, but there was no audio evidence of other work besides the welding going on either.

Personally, I am not excited about an Asian restaurant, as this type of food is not my cup of tea.  The most important thing for me is that they build something which fits the theme and maybe even adds to it.  I think the Animal Kingdom has some of the best theme-work Imagineering has done in decades, and I would hate it to be sacrificed here.  The restaurant shares a name with a famous hotel in Katmandu, which at least hints to the possibility this may be as authentic as other parts of the park.  (I must admit, using the work “yak” for a place to get food seems somewhat…awkward)

What I am looking forward to, however, is what the success of this endeavor may bring to the park.  In order to keep people in the park long enough to fill reservations for dinner, Disney will need to add more nighttime friendly attractions.  This is a topic we’ve discussed here many times, but I think this restaurant goes hand-in-hand with any such plans.

I am back from a short, but much needed, trip to Walt Disney World.  I have plenty of updates, pictures, reviews and a full trip report to come so keep checking back, but I need to get some news out today.  My thanks to Mouse Extra contributor Mike for keeping the ship on course.

Intercot is reporting that Walt Disney World is planning some big changes for the Animal Kingdom’s Tusker House eatery.  It is now a very good counter service location, but will soon turn into a buffet.

Tusker House Restaurant at Animal Kingdom is being converted from a quick-service restaurant to a buffet restaurant. Beginning November 18th, it will offer a character breakfast buffet, called Donald’s Safari Breakfast, and a lunch/dinner buffet. Tusker House will be closed from August 20 through November 16, 2007 for the renovations.

This is a classic good and bad scenario.  We all know that character breakfasts are as much a part of the Disney World experience for many people as the attractions themselves.  Many complained Donald’s Breakfastosaurus was not adequate.  Making the change to a better venue, and perhaps enhancing the entire experience can only be a good thing for those who love character meals.  Also, the Animal Kingdom is woefully short of good dinner options.  If Disney really wants to turn this park into a full day experience, this needs to be fixed right away.  Having a good buffet, the new Yak and Yeti, and the Rainforest Café solves that problem.

But the Tusker House is fantastic just the way it is.  It is perhaps the best counter service restaurant offered in any theme park.  I’ll be posting a full review in the coming days, but the meals here are some of the best values you can find.  Now, what we’ll get is yet another $20-plus per person meal, instead of the affordable option it is now.  For those of us who don’t always want to pay a lot for a meal, and can’t bare the thought of another chicken strip or hot dog, this is bad news.