Beginning December 4, 2011, the buffet lunch at Animal Kingdom’s Tusker House is becoming Disney’s Dining Safari Lunch with Donald, Daisy, Mickey, and Goofy. The menu seems to be similar to what is offered today- the real difference is the introduction of characters. As the mom of small children you would think I would embrace this change but I’m just not excited about it.

Here are the three main reasons I’ve adopted a wait-and-see attitude.

1. Limits Choices. Before we traveled with the kids, my husband and I made it a habit to have a sit-down lunch and dinner at Walt Disney World. Back in the day, one of my husband’s chief complaints about Animal Kingdom was the lack of table-service restaurants. We applauded the conversion of Tusker House from a counter-service restaurant to a buffet and the addition of Yak and Yeti. Still, there are only three table service restaurants in Animal Kingdom. By adding characters to lunch at one of these restaurants, choices for a full-service restaurant become more limited for guests who aren’t interested in a character dining experience.

2. Increased Cost. The menu appears to be largely the same but the cost for lunch increases from $4-6 per adult and $2-3.50 for a child. For a family of four, lunch with the characters will be approximately $12-19 more. Now, if I really wanted to dine with Donald and friends, I would say this was a good value for the new character interaction. If I was “meh” about a character dining experience, the extra money I would have to spend to eat at Tusker House for lunch could be better spent elsewhere.

3. No More Reserved Seating for Finding Nemo – The Musical. Prior to this change, guests dining at Tusker House for lunch received complimentary reserved seating for an afternoon show of Finding Nemo – The Musical, a highly popular stage show at Walt Disney World. The loss of this perk combined with the increased cost makes it a less attractive lunch alternative for my family.

One of the things I love most about Walt Disney World is how it constantly evolves and no two trips are ever the same. I’ll keep an open mind and wait to see how this new change ends up working out. I just may write a follow-up article proclaiming this new lunch as the best character dining experience ever. You never know.

Related articles

• Disney World Dining: Tusker House Lunch/Dinner (couponingtodisney.com)
• Top Eats: Disney World Casual Dining Meals. (chipandco.com)

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About Lisa

Lisa B has written 80 post on Chip and Co..

Lisa M. Battista is the author of Beyond the Attractions: A Guide to Walt Disney World with Preschoolers and the co-creator of WDW Fan Zone. When she’s not chasing after her little ones, you can most likely find her at the beach or in the kitchen trying her hand at a new recipe.

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