Tusker House - worth it?

[BigB0882]

Last night I made a decision to cancel our reservation at Yak and Yeti and instead replace it with Tusker House. This is for lunch. I have heard great things about Yak and Yeti but we can get similar offerings where we live and we are already doing Sanaa for lunch on another day. Tusker House seemed appealing because it is a buffet which hopefully means we can be in and out more quickly, plus get to try all sorts of things. As an added bonus, it is a character meal! Getting in and out quickly is important for us because we only have the one day in AK. I was just surprised it had so many openings that day (Christmas Day). Maybe most people are in MK on that day or is this just not a very popular restaurant?

I guess basically my big question is, is Tusker House good and worth it?

 

[Spencer Wright]

Tusker House is a really nice break in AK! I think of it as a Boma with less offerings. But, it has a cool theme and delicious food.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

TH is loud. but tasty.

 

[BigB0882]

Thanks. I don't mind loud, I figure the place is going to be loud in general during such a busy time. I'm more interested in being able to eat quickly and not spending as much time as we would at a sit-down service restaurant. I plan on doing FOP even if it means waiting in line 3 hours. lol

 

[figmentedfollies]

I think Tusker House could definitely be worth it. I've always enjoyed the food, though I've only done breakfast so far. It does have a good mix of 'standards' and then more unique African-inspired foods. If you don't mind not seeing all the characters, you could definitely be in and out in a shorter amount of time. Just let your server know so you're not waiting around for the check, itching to leave.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Yes, worth it. Even my Disney-hating DH requests it!

 

[IrishNYC]

We just had lunch there over the weekend, and loved it. We're trying not to repeat any TS until we've tried everything, but this is definitely a must do again for us. Really good variety, the entrees weren't really dumbed down for a less adventurous palate, and there were so many things to choose from. It was a less sophisticated version of Boma.

 

[Marc D]

TH is one of the few must-do’s on every trip. Note that character lunches and “quickly in and out” might not be compatible. It takes a while - sometimes up to 60 min - for all characters to come around the room.

 

[BigB0882]

TH is one of the few must-do’s on every trip. Note that character lunches and “quickly in and out” might not be compatible. It takes a while - sometimes up to 60 min - for all characters to come around the room.

Thanks! I am feeling great about making the change now.

I allotted 75 minutes for lunch at TH to be safe and still have time for plenty of other things according to touringplans. I was allotting at least 90 for sit down table service. I may be over-doing it. But if we meet a character or two and don't want to wait we can definitely be out of there in under an hour, it seems.

 

[goofy4prez]

It is loud, but fun. I'm really not a fan of buffets and prefer quality over quantity; but Tusker House is one I would rate the food as average; and that is really a compliment when it comes to buffets. It is a place that I have been too several times and will go back in the future.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

It may be less busy on Christmas day because most people don't associate Christmas with this type of food, but usually it's a very popular restaurant. This is one of my favorite Disney World restaurants both for the food and meeting the characters. I definitely would not go to Tusker House in a rush, as I feel it's a place to be savored rather than rushed through. If I were in a hurry, I'd go to a quick serve place instead.

 

[DrunkJam]

TH is one of very few Must Dos on our list. We have only done breakfast, but we love it there!

 

[MrsDuck]

We LOVE Tusker. I'd eat there every trip if hubby would let me. Food is good, we like the atmosphere, and I loveee seeing the characters in their safari clothes!

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

I ate lunch there on Christmas Day last trip. We waited a while to be seated, probably 25 minutes or so. Then we were seated at the end of the character loop in our dining room. Not a quick meal, but DS loved the characters. The desserts are very skippable if you want to save time.

 

[LoKiHB]

We've only been once, and we loved it. Great atmosphere, and the food is excellent and different from the normal fare found at the other buffets. I keep trying to get back there, but there's always "somewhere else" we have to try. It's difficult with only one AK day on our trips.

 

[goofyintoronto]

I personally like the breakfast better. I didnt think lunch was great, but it wasnt bad either. In your situation though, I think you made a good choice.

 

[Crystal824]

Yes. I personally think TH is the best character meal at WDW.

 

[JimmyBean42]

It's one of our favorite buffets at WDW. Great variety of food and all very good. Great choice!

 

[anna's mama]

We also love TH. They have typical buffet food and also more ethnic (or at least the Disney version of ethnic). I think you could eat and meet all the character in an hour.

 

[smallworldnh]

We thought Tusker House was okay, but won't do it again. There weren't that many choices and the food wasn't horrible but not that great either. We paid 190.00 including tip for 3 people, the most we paid at any WDW restaurant. It definitely wasn't worth it to us, you're basically paying for the characters. That was probably the best part of the visit.