They should rename Tusker House......

[Laketravis]

........to Mad House.

Went last week for lunch now that it's a character buffet. We ate at many places over the course of our nine days, and I have to say this is the only one we actually regretted.

Noisy? I can't begin to describe how noisy it was. Unbearable. And the characters rushed thru like the butts of their costumes were on fire.

The food was okay, although the split station concept can cause quite a backup when several people are standing around one grazing, totally immune to the 10 people standing behind them waiting patiently to get something off a couple of service plates. Some people need a linear line to know when and how to move along.

I think they totally screwed this one up with the character buffet.

 

[j&j620]

Oh no! We were there for lunch right before the change and it was one of my favorite meals of the trip. This makes me so sad.

 

[MissDaisyofTexas]

I totally agree with you! We went there for breakfast last year, we were seated way late and rushed through.

 

[nkereina]

We love the breakfast here but I think they need to workout the lunch. I read on someone's review that they won't allow lunch people to check-in until all the breakfast people were done, so there was quite the back up of people waiting to check in for lunch at 11:30

 

[cigar95]

Can anyone advise as to if the food offerings have changed since the switch to character meal?

We've very much enjoyed the lunch buffet in previous years, but if it's been watered down with the switch to characters, we'll find someplace else for lunch that day.

 

[Laketravis]

I forgot to mention that they are also doing that ridiculous let's-take-your-character-picture-before-you-wait-to-be-seated routine. We told them we'd pass, and the CM dramatically expressed her disbelief that we didn't want to get our picture taken so we could pay $30 for it halfway thru our meal.

I suppose Disney figured this was one eatery that wasn't realizing it's maximum revenue potential.

 

[RichmondTiggerFan]

I forgot to mention that they are also doing that ridiculous let's-take-your-character-picture-before-you-wait-to-be-seated routine. We told them we'd pass, and the CM dramatically expressed her disbelief that we didn't want to get our picture taken so we could pay $30 for it halfway thru our meal.

I suppose Disney figured this was one eatery that wasn't realizing it's maximum revenue potential.

That little ruse really gets under my skin. If I wanted to stand next to Donald (or whoever) and get my picture taken, I can do that in the park for no additional cost. The point of a character meal is to be able to have a meal & have the characters come around to your table & sign autographs/take pics/play around.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

We just had an 11am lunch on Monday this week. For us, the character interaction was the same as the last several breakfasts we did on past trips. It's the usual table greetings and they do a short parade with musical instruments following the characters. No special interactions but it was quick... I prefer pictures of characters with DS in the parks... much better backgrounds.

But the food at Tusker House was delicious! At 11:10am, they were still switching to lunch food so DS was able to get some Mickey waffles. I thought all the lunch food was absolutely great. The carved meats were very tender. I liked just about everything... and had a small bit of everything... (ok sometimes more than a small bit...). Our waitress was great. I noticed at least 2 waiters/waitresses who have been there every year.

We said we wanted to skip the picture with Donald, just take some of our own... but the photographer insisted (waste....). We have 1 already from a past trip. We have bought some of the $30 photographs.... in addition to the photo of us... you get a photo of the group of characters or show cast (Hoop Dee Doo, Spirit of Aloha) plus you can add it to your photopass acount. It was especially worth it at the 2 shows... it's sometimes hard to get that quality of photo of the whole cast because they are not together and often moving (can cause blur).

 

[mariamouse]

We just ate there yesterday for lunch (1pm) and I agree that the feel of the restaurant was just too hectic. It was ridiculously noisy and character interactions were fairly brief (although, to be fair, we were three adults and did not want to interact too much anyway). We did not take a picture with Donald, but were not hassled too much for saying we did not wish to take it.

The food was great, though, and I am glad we tried it once. We will likely not visit again, though, since it was so hectic and none of us felt we were able to eat enough to justify the price, but this is almost always the case for us at buffets since we are light eaters.

Cape May Cafe is still my favorite character buffet in WDW due to the combination of great food, a relaxed atmosphere, and fun character interaction.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

We just ate there yesterday for lunch (1pm) and I agree that the feel of the restaurant was just too hectic. It was ridiculously noisy and character interactions were fairly brief (although, to be fair, we were three adults and did not want to interact too much anyway).....

I think sound carries a lot more at Tusker House than other places... I didn't think it was very loud but Cape May Cafe was definitely quiet...more space between tables at CMC if I remember right. At Chef Mickey's, I was surprised it was very quiet there after seeing all the noisy videos with napkin twirling and all... but our dinner was when it first opened for the night (maybe less people and quieter then).

We had DS6 with us and we "talk" with characters... they did seem in a hurry to get to the next table. But I've had different experiences at the same restaurant where they were hurried one day and spent a lot of time with us another day. I guess it depends on the character, the handler, and how busy the place is, and even on the same vist -- at Garden Grill, they seemed in a hurry (restaurant was getting people out in time for illuminations), then the characters came back and were more relaxed, less hurried.

 

[momtwoboys]

soooo glad I booked dinner here for our next trip! We always had lunch at Tusker House because it was a nice escape and the food is dELISH!! But I opted to book for dinner to avoid the craziness. I agree that I like the pictures of characters in the park better.

 

[Aidensmommy22]

Is the price still the same ($20.99 for lunch)?

 

[lisateaches]

Interesting. I'm going to follow along. I was contemplating dropping one meal- looks like this one might be it.

 

[kelleigh1]

It's funny you mention the photo before the meal. On our last trip, we had our picture taken at Chef Mickey's and then never saw it. I completely forgot about it until we were gone, but really didn't want to spend the $$ on it anyway, but it would have been nice to see it.

 

[figment1988]

Is the price still the same ($20.99 for lunch)?

It's been spiked up to 25.99. I've also had a terrible experience eating there, and to be honest, it's probably has to be one of the biggest disorganized and poorly planned messes since Taste of Africa last year. The characters are rushed, the staff is flat out rude, and the fact that the Nemo dining package was thrown out in favor of this is disheartening for anyone who wants to see Nemo without going through the long lines.

 

[Aidensmommy22]

It's been spiked up to 25.99. I've also had a terrible experience eating there, and to be honest, it's probably has to be one of the biggest disorganized and poorly planned messes since Taste of Africa last year. The characters are rushed, the staff is flat out rude, and the fact that the Nemo dining package was thrown out in favor of this is disheartening for anyone who wants to see Nemo without going through the long lines.

Thanks so much for this information! The VIP seating at the Nemo show was a big reason we were going to eat there. Good price was another. Now they are both gone so I am taking that as my sign not to eat there.