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Surprisingly Disney’s Animal Kingdom has some of the best food options in Walt Disney World. As the newest of the four parks, this isn’t extremely surprising. We like that there is a lot of variety throughout the park giving guests options as to what type of dining experience they are wanting to enjoy. From high end sit-down meals to quick, but delicious, meals there are options for everyone. We have what you should, and shouldn’t eat at Disney’s Animal Kingdom when it comes to table-service, quick-service and snacks.
Eat This: Table-Service
There are only a handful of table-service meals at Disney’s Animal Kingdom to choose from and the two we would lean towards are Tiffins and Nomad Lounge. These two dining locations share a menu making it not surprising that we would recommend both of them. If you are looking for a high-end dining experience, Tiffins is one of the best Disney has to offer in a theme park. This signature dining location offers both lunch and dinner with a menu that has items you will be surprised to find in a theme park. From the amazing bread service that rivals the beloved Sanaa bread service to charred octopus and surf and turf options that bring both flavor and beauty to the meal there is so much here that is outstanding. As Tiffins is a signature meal, it does come with a price tag. This is where Nomad Lounge comes in.
If you are looking for a place to relax during a busy day at Animal Kingdom, but you don’t want to spend as much as you would at Tiffins, we highly recommend checking out Nomad Lounge. Located right next door to Tiffins, this lounge is a fantastic place for drinks, apps and relaxing. You can get a lot of the same offerings at Tiffins such as the bread service, but there are a few additional apps that show up on the Nomad menu. Both of these locations, as you can imagine, get extremely busy so make sure to make reservations at Tiffins or hit up Nomad Lounge when it opens so you can get on the waitlist.
Not This: Table-Service
The two dining locations that we might suggest skipping right now in Animal Kingdom are Tusker House and Yak and Yeti. Tusker House just reopened offering modified character interaction as well as a modified buffet. The modified buffet is what is currently causing us to skip this experience. Before Tusker House offered not only our typical American favorites, but the biggest appeal was that you could enjoy unique African flavors as well. It was a great location for families that had picky eaters but parents that wanted to try something unique. Now, these selections have really been limited causing it to be less appealing than before.
The other option we think is just average is Yak and Yeti. This dining location offers a variety of Asian inspired choices. Although many of them are great, sometimes we have found that the meal isn’t any different from our Chinese back home. With this in mind, it is hard to pay theme park prices. Neither of these meals are bad options, we just feel the other ones are better options.
Eat This: Quick-Service
Disney’s Animal Kingdom is known for outstanding quick-service dining locations. There are two excellent options that we feel you can’t go wrong choosing. First up is Satu’li Canteen located in Pandora. Here you can choose from cheeseburger steamed pods as well as great bowls filled with protein, a base and sauce of your choice. There are a lot of options here when it comes to making your bowl and the food comes out fresh just for you. This dining location is also very large making it easier to find a location to sit.
The other dining option we would recommend is Flame Tree Barbecue. Located in Discovery Island, Flame Tree Barbecue has delicious bbq options that provide large portions making it easy to share as a family. Don’t skip out on the fries with bbq as well because they are delicious. Both of these locations provide excellent, fresh, unique food choices that are fantastic.
Eat This: Snacks
It was hard to think of specific snacks to find in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The one that we would recommend trying, even though it isn’t always a favorite of everyone, is the pongu lumpia at Pongu Pongu in Pandora. This is a sweet pineapple treat that is warm and many find delicious. If you aren’t a fan of cream cheese or pineapple though this might not be the best option.
There are a variety of savory snack options in Animal Kingdom that we have found delicious. At Flame Tree Barbecue, we mentioned the fries. They have fries with pulled pork that are delicious and over at Mr. Kamal’s you can get just fries with dipping sauce that are great too. Another savory option we have found outstanding is the mac and cheese at Eight Spoon Cafe. You can choose a variety of toppings that make your mac and cheese fantastic.
When it comes to snacks in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, we highly recommend going savory over sweet.
Not This: Snacks
We don’t feel like there are a lot of snacks that we would recommend avoiding overall at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, we do think there are some that you can skip while you try some unique ones instead. Think about skipping that Mickey pretzel or popcorn (even though it is delicious) as you can get these other places throughout Disney World. Instead spend money and time on those special treats found only in Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom hits it out of the park when it comes to quick meals. When looking from something savory and delicious, Animal Kingdom has just what you need. From hanging out at Nomad Lounge to enjoying some barbeque by the water, we hope you have some amazing meals while visiting Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
