Animal Kingdom

This past weekend I took a self-guided tour of two restaurants in the Animal Kingdom: Yak and Yeti and The Tusker House. I can’t afford to eat at the Disney restaurants very often, but that doesn’t mean I should miss out. All you have to do is walk in like you know where you are going. Pretend you are headed to meet your party, to the bar or even tell them you just want to check the place out. I love venturing through a Disney restaurant to see all the details and magic put into the theme! The buffet restaurants are a little trickier, especially if they have characters. It’s better if you are alone and just walk in like you are on a mission. Confidence is key! I just walked in behind a party at Tusker House like I was with them.

The Tusker House always has this big line to check-in next to the outside bar. (By the way that Dawa bar had a great Bloody Mary selection!) Just walk on by that hostess stand and head past those tables. Past these tables, there is a second hostess stand and another sitting area. This area has groups of people waiting to be called into their table. The blue doors ahead are the main entrance, I spot a group heading in and just follow behind them.  I was surprised at the amount of space that I walked into! It was like an open air marketplace and had swags of

I was surprised at the amount of space that I walked into! It was like an open air marketplace and had swags of material hanging from the ceiling. It was really beautiful! They have the buffet set up in this area. It is broken up into separate carts to go with the marketplace theme. To the right, there are different rooms for each seating area, each themed a little differently. Very eclectic, the amount of detail is amazing.  I even saw Goofy and Donald visiting the tables as I walked by. I headed to the other side of the restaurant; they have more seating on that side as well. Each room has an abundant amount of details, even the chairs are different in each section. I checked out the bathrooms, because why not, and exited through the door there which brings you back to the seating area by the hostess stand. While I haven’t eaten there, I had family in town that ate lunch and said it was very good. My Aunt mentioned that the buffet had a lot of vegetarian choices for her.

Annual Passholder Tip: We sat at those tables right after the Tusker House check-in for about an hour, the chairs were comfy and nobody bothered us. I definitely suggest sitting there or at the tables by the second hostess stand if you need a break.

Yak & Yeti:

Disney is known for the details and the Yak and Yeti has a ton of them. Just walk right in, this restaurant isn’t hard to get into or hard to find. Yak and Yeti is probably the most interesting restaurant I have been to. Eclectic artwork, intricate fixtures, and a beautiful Asian design. Each room has different colored walls and the windows are all different shapes. Take the wooden staircase to the second level; I hear you can see the parade if you are lucky enough to get a table by the window. There are artifacts and exotic statues everywhere. Seriously you need to see this place!

Wait, what is that painting supposed to be of?!

I definitely suggest doing a walk-through of the Yak and Yeti next time you are at the Animal Kingdom even if you don’t plan to eat there. If you have eaten there before, let me know how the food is in the comments. Don’t forget to look up, the Disney details are everywhere.

Melissa P.