Animal Kingdom Dining

[gorjus121]

We are planning on visiting AK this trip. We haven't been there since 2012. Any must-do restaurants? We are planning on a full day at AK with Breakfast and Dinner ADRs. What about the River of Lights package? Is it worth it? TIA.

 

[steg]

We didn't find RoL worth it, we did it with the Tiffin's package and didn't like Tiffins either part service, part portion size, part food, it's firmly at the bottom of our Signature restaurants list. We liked Nomad lounge however.

Have you considered a quick trip over to AKL to go to Sanaa for Lunch or Dinner or Jiko or Boma? Never personally could make it a whole day in AK.

 

[JZCubed]

We are planning on visiting AK this trip. We haven't been there since 2012. Any must-do restaurants? We are planning on a full day at AK with Breakfast and Dinner ADRs. What about the River of Lights package? Is it worth it? TIA.

Yes, the RoL package is worth it.

If you typically would order 3-course at a Signature place like Tiffins, you can work the cost of the Fast Pass Ticket as being $0. If you select the buffet at Tusker House, the cost of the FP Ticket is just a few dollar$ for the same convenience of knowing you have a seat.

FWIW, you can go to Tusker House breakfast and also purchase the RoL package (there is no other sitdown breakfast at AK) if you plan on being at AK all day.

Tiffins also has Nomad Lounge for a cocktail a quick snack.

 

[Spencer Wright]

We didn't find RoL worth it, we did it with the Tiffin's package and didn't like Tiffins either part service, part portion size, part food, it's firmly at the bottom of our Signature restaurants list. We liked Nomad lounge however.

Have you considered a quick trip over to AKL to go to Sanaa for Lunch or Dinner or Jiko or Boma? Never personally could make it a whole day in AK.

I am going to strongly second the quick trip over to AKL. AK is a brutal park to spend a whole day in. Its only a couple of minutes away and all those restaurants are excellent. Also, there is a really amazing animal viewing area outside of Sanaa. Every time I have been there, there are a ton of animals often running around.

 

[sleepydog25]

You didn't ask this question specifically, but we didn't enjoy RoL very much. Thus, no package would be worth it. As with other restaurants across the World, you'll get differing views on nearly every restaurant. For example, we had a lovely lunch at Tiffin's, and while we've had good meals at Yak & Yeti before, our last trip there in May was mediocre all the way around. However, I do recommend going over to the actual AKL as a couple of other have suggested. Sanaa ranks as one of our favorite places to eat in Disney. Go when they open for lunch and get a window seat to watch the animals. . .and get the full-on bread service. It's a meal unto itself and is a veritable bargain.

 

[rg35]

If you want to do RoL, then get the package. We didn't like the show so wouldn't do the package in the future, but we did it this year because we didn't want to wait to get in for seating.

We have dined at Tiffins two years in a row and enjoyed it very much.
We also like Yak and Yeti, but it's really just solid americanized asian cuisine. It's good, but I wouldn't rank it as a must-do.

And as others have said, if you want a break from the park, all the restaurants at Animal Kingdom Lodge are excellent.

 

[Danimal]

Really enjoyed Satuli Canteen over in Pandora for a quick service meal. Also, Flame Tree BBQ continues to be fantastic. If your heart is set on seeing ROL, then the Tusker House package is great. The food is pretty good and the character interactions are top notch. If you don't care about ROL, I'd hit the Canteen and Flame Tree and call it a day

 

[Dsny4fun]

Love Sanaa @ AKL but if you want to stay in the park...Yak & Yeti is very good

 

[Imamom2]

RoL was just OK. The counter service in AK is awesome so you have lots of choices without making reservations.

 

[jaiminee krikit]

I agree with others that maybe checking out AKL for a meal would be a good idea. DD14 loves Sanaa, and we always try to do lunch there on our AK day. It's a nice break from the park, and it's my DD's favorite meal.

I also enjoyed Satuli Canteen. The food was good (especially the blueberry cheesecake), and it was air conditioned! I like Flame Tree, but I prefer sitting inside and not getting attacked by birds.

 

[mickeymom22]

We love Flame Tree BBQ. I have also ordered a slice of mango pie from the bar in Yak & Yeti to go...It was super yummy!

 

[Lisa F]

we did a whole day at AK (Before RoL and Pandora) and did tusker house for breakfast and Y&Y for dinner. It was a nice day wtih a couple of good breaks in there.

Can't comment on RoL but you should give it a try yourself and decide.

 

[elaine amj]

We really liked Yak and Yeti. That seafood curry is still calling my name

 

[TinkSassy]

We also liked Yak and Yeti. It is not ADR but Flame Tree is pretty good (especially for a quick service) and you can get right down on the water for a relaxing lunch.

It has been a long time since we did Tusker House and are repeating on our next trip with the RoL package. Reviews have been pretty good for the character portion and the food. It wasn't a character meal the last time we were there but the food was good then.

AK doesn't have what I would call must do food options - but there are some decent places. Satuli in Pandora is getting some really great reviews but again not an ADR

 

[10CJ]

We really liked Yak and Yeti and Tiffins. I have not seen ROL but I am hoping for a Tiffins ROL package next trip. The package can be a deal on just the food depending on what you order.

I do think Sanaa is excellent but not sure it is worth going over in the middle of the day. What time of year will you be there?

 

[sciencegrrl]

Loved Yak and Yeti. The air conditioning was delicious too

 

[JerseyJanice]

I was going to suggest what @Lisa F posted. Breakfast at Tusker House and dinner at Yak & Yeti. TH will be a lot of fun, and Y&Y is a relaxing, well air-conditioned break.

 

[leahlefler]

We loved Yak and Yeti. We're doing it again on our upcoming trip.

 

[hooch11bear]

We love Yak & Yeti!! We ate at Tiffin's in July with the ROL package. We really enjoyed our meal and the seats for ROL were perfect. I do have to say that that was our most expensive meal of the trip and we ate at Narcoossee's, California Grill, Brown Derby, etc. Just so you have an idea of cost.

 

[patster734]

We did the ROL breakfast package at Tusker House. I wasn’t impressed with ROL, and will skip it on future trips. We did like the Tusker House breakfast. The food was good. The characters were fun and we got selfies with them. Also, our reservation was 30 minutes before park opening, so being able to enter early and having the parks almost to ourselves as we walked to Tusker House was great.

Because we were at AK all day, and wanting to escape the heat, we had dinner at Tiffins. Our server was excellent and the food was tasty.

So, we will do Tusker House and Tiffins on future trips but will skip ROL. Also, I support getting drinks from Nomad Lounge.