Located in the Heart of Africa in Animal Kingdom you’ll find the only Character Meal at this park, Tusker House!
Tusker House typically has Four Characters, and is open for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. Reservations are recommended as this location can fill up quickly!
Featuring a full Buffet of African Inspired Dishes, you’ll find lots of unique-to-Disney dishes! Paired with the fun Characters, who you’ll catch Dancing during your meal, this Restaurant is a delightful Character Meal Meet and Greet.
Let’s look at the menu below for Food Allergies and Gluten Free options, plus some off menu (secret menu!) selections, and recommendations for the best times to go.
⭐ If this is your First Time to Disney World, you’ll want all the insider tips and done for you plans found in the Food Allergies at Disney World Made Easy Guide , If you’ve been here before and just need the best places to eat and snacks, see the Touring Plan and Snack Guide. Just Gluten Free? There’s a guide for that too!
***As Always, please speak to a qualified restaurant employee when ordering food. In order to see the most accurate ingredients and risk assessment, you will need to confirm allergy safety in real-time. This is my personal experience, I am not employed or endorsed by companies or brands mentioned.***
Quick Notes
Location: You’ll find Tusker House in Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park (Ticket Required). Once inside the Park head to the right at the Tree of Life and find Tusker House on the Left inside the Africa Section.
Price: $45+ per adult, $29+ per child (ages 3-9), plus tax and gratuity
Characters: While Characters vary, you’ll typically find Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Mickey Mouse and Goofy.
Tusker House Breakfast Food Allergy Menu
Click here for the Lunch and Dinner Tusker House Menu
When you are seated you will likely get an Allergy Guide. This covers Gluten Free options, plus options for the Top 9 Allergens all listed in grid form.
I feel most comfortable asking for a Chef/Special Trained Allergy Cast Member to bring my food from the back, where I know it has less chance of cross contact. You can learn more about that in this post Eating at Buffets with Allergies and Gluten Free.
Here’s a pictures of the Buffet… it’s a standard walk up option, with the fruits separate (and I did feel comfortable grabbing some of those).
Now onto the Allergy Eats! You’ll notice that they did not have a dedicated Allergy Section on this Buffet Guide (when all of the other Buffets I’ve reviewed have had an Allergy Section). So you’ll need to ask for Allergy Options.
Allergy options to ask for include:
- Allergy Mickey Waffles (no top allergens or Gluten)
- Gluten Free Muffins (contain Egg).
- Gluten Free Donuts (contain Egg)
- Allergy Rolls
- Egg Substitute
- Soy Milk substitute for Dairy (no other options available).
Tusker House Breakfast Food Review
I opted for the Chef Special which included Mickey Waffles, Ham, Potatoes, Omelet with Cheese and then a side of Curry Chicken with Rice.
The Curry Chicken with Rice (which lists no Gluten or top Allergens) was the star of the show! It was flavorful with a slight ‘kick’, but I wouldn’t call it spicy. It was enjoyable, especially with the rice. While the curry was noticeable this is a dish that most people with a light spice tolerance would enjoy.
The Mickey Waffles were the standard option that you find at other locations around Disney World- these are always a favorite of mine!
The Ham and the Potatoes were too salty- a shame because they normally balance the meal out really well. The Omelet was a standard option and cooked perfectly.
Would you enjoy this option? And Do I Recommend it?
You would like this option if you are going to see Safari Style Characters, or want a Character Meal but can only fit in a reservation on your Animal Kingdom Day.
Tusker House is towards the bottom of my list of Character Meals.
It’s my least favorite Character Breakfast, and also ranks low when compared to other locations for Lunch and Dinner.
While Tusker does have an Allergy Menu, and they can accommodate many allergies, I don’t like how the Buffet is currently being pushed as the best option (as opposed to speaking with a Trained Allergy Cast Member).
May 2020 Review of Donalds Safari character breakfast at Tusker House 🍳
Like many of the Character Meals, it’s themed and decorated!
They have a cute little parade around the eating places and we got to meet all of the characters once and Mickey and Donald Twice. They used to give out these postcards for signing, but they didn’t have it this time.
Like I said- the lighting is bad in here- we’ve sat on every side and I struggle to get good pictures!
Tusker House Food 🥘
The food is very african themed, and with most buffets, they give you this menu and tell you to fend for yourself.
We never do and always ask for a chef.
So after sitting down, we were served POG juice, which is pineapple, passion fruit and orange juice (a crowd favorite) and some coffee.
The chef was able to bring out some rice milk for me and the kids (for my coffee and for them to just enjoy plain!) so that was a huge blessing.
We used the menu to talk to the chef about what he could modify and we settled on a few things that he brought out family style to us! While we waited we got to see some of our favorite characters all dressed in their safari gear! We also grabbed some fruit (grapes) from the buffet since we felt comfortable with how they are stored.
The chef brought out the following for our combination of Egg, Milk, Soy and Gluten allergies.
No Safe Soy Free Mickey Waffles here- only the golden malted brand (which we don’t do for gluten either because of the guaranteed Cross contamination)
Other allergy friendly foods at Tusker House 😋
Chocolate chip Udis Muffins
Breakfast Potatoes
Scrambled Eggs Plain
Bacon
Spiced Chicken
Sweet cooked Plantains
Tusker House Menus
Have you been to the character breakfast at Tusker House? What was your favorite part of the meal? Share your experience in the comments!