http://bradk.smugmug.com/photos/222476357-L.jpg http://bradk.smugmug.com/photos/222476614-L.jpg

like breakfastosaurus, photos are taken before the meal and sold as a package (29.95) which when purchased can be added to photopass. unlike breakfastosaurus, this is what you get for a backdrop:
http://bradk.smugmug.com/photos/222476823-L.jpg

nowhere does it mention tusker house or donald's safari breakfast. nor is there a special photopass border for it according to the photographer there. it comes in the following folio:
http://bradk.smugmug.com/photos/222480152-L-1.jpg

and includes a stock photo of the fab 5 in front of the tree of life, with printed autographs

now onto - rather, into - the restaurant.

the decor hasn't changed at all, but what has changed drastically is now the marketplace actually looks like a marketplace! food stations are set up in the center and all around the perimeter and are designed to look like vendor sales carts.
http://bradk.smugmug.com/photos/222480351-L-1.jpg http://bradk.smugmug.com/photos/222480856-L-1.jpg

http://bradk.smugmug.com/photos/222480462-L-1.jpg http://bradk.smugmug.com/photos/222480651-L-1.jpg http://bradk.smugmug.com/photos/222480242-L-1.jpg http://bradk.smugmug.com/photos/222480972-L-1.jpg http://bradk.smugmug.com/photos/222481088-L-1.jpg http://bradk.smugmug.com/photos/222481168-L-1.jpg
(yes, the krispy kremes are still there!)

no omelettes made to order, just two varieties of fritata (ham & cheese and potato & leek) in addition to scrambled eggs. i was partial to the fritata, the potatoes, the banana orange bread and the banana & cinnamon bread pudding.

they also serve the poly juice (guava, orange, passionfruit) although it seemed a bit too uncold for me

anything else?

oh yes, characters!

http://bradk.smugmug.com/photos/222476987-L-1.jpg http://bradk.smugmug.com/photos/222477514-L-1.jpg http://bradk.smugmug.com/photos/222477882-L-1.jpg http://bradk.smugmug.com/photos/222479256-L-1.jpg
(daisy was absolutely awesome i might add)

they also got the kids periodically involved in this noise making parade thing whose name i never really got but i think it translates to awakening song. happened twice while i was there, but i was lingering a bit
http://bradk.smugmug.com/photos/222481395-L-1.jpg http://bradk.smugmug.com/photos/222481520-L-1.jpg http://bradk.smugmug.com/photos/222478535-L-1.jpg

now of course the inevitable question... overall, the food was pretty impressive. not the widest or greatest selection of the breakfast buffets, but it was good. more than i can say for breakfastosaurus. also, with a completely different configuration, the characters did seem to flow but they were exceptionally generous with time and attention, a sharp contrast to several experiences of guests at breakfastosaurus.

my server who worked at breakfastosaurus agreed on both points but was being tight-lipped on a formal opinion since the restaurant had just opened and she felt it was too early to really be able to tell how it will play out in the future.

Thanks! I was eager to hear about how it was--

What's the price? Also, was the noise level high during the meal? I'm just wondering if it might be worth a try for someone who's not overly excited about characters. The food looks pretty tasty.

regular prices are on the sign, the second pic.. it's not much clearer, but try http://bradk.smugmug.com/photos/222476614-800x800.jpg

the noise level wasn't bad at all, but i was in the smaller room. the only time it got noisy was during the awakening song.

Noise is good for us with ds...Thanks for this update it was a crucial point for our AK dining option.Its hard to break away from Flame Tree so well just do both!

So if I understand your pics, you can get the buffet and then go to the outside, covered seating area? This sounds like a plan for me!

Its hard to break away from Flame Tree so well just do both!

That's what I'm doing this trip. This'll be my first time to do one of the breakfasts before the park actually opens - can't wait to wander down to the restaurant with no crowds!!!

Oh, looks like lunch is not with characters? That might be the way to go then. Thanks for pointing out that picture bradk. Your others were great too. Gave me a good idea of what is there now. I would still prefer a la carte, but at least the food quality is still good and it looks like there are some healthy options like fruit etc.

correct, this is a character meal for breakfast only.

as for outside seating, they're not using it yet for the restaurant. that's a leftover from when tusker was a CS location. i think they have plans for it, but right now they only seat inside. and while it's a buffet, it's still a table service location, so you'll need your server. at least if you want drinks.

Thanks for the info, Brad.

Great review and info Brad. Just wanted to share, though, that Disney speaks terrible Kiswahili. I'm not sure of spellings as I only spoke a little while in Africa (never wrote in the language), but "Hoojambo" is a question and "Sijambo" is the normal answer (it actually means something to the effect of "are there any problems?" and "no, there aren't any problems"). Foreigners (like us) shorten it and the Africans just go with it because they think we're just stupid "Mizungu" (it means foreigner basically but has added connotations of being rich and helpless...). If you want to be hip, you can also say "Mambo" which is less formal than "Hoojambo" (like "what's up" versus "How are you doing"). The correct answer to "mambo" is "poa", but you'll more likely hear "sofee" in return because they'll think you're more likely to know that. "Sofee" means cool (not like in temperature, but cool like hip) which is neat because I noticed on Kilimanjaro Safaris this last trip that there is a "river" they call the "sofee" river--it's almost like they built it and then said "that river's really cool. Let's call it the cool river!". I love Disney's little inside jokes and witticisms...

Edited to add: "Hakuna Matata" also doesn't mean what Disney wants it to mean, but it fits better in the song than "Hamna Shida" which is the phrase most often used to mean "No worries."

Reminds me of the time when all of America was talking about Australians and how they all say "shrimp on the barbie". I had a trip to Sydney when all that was going on, and more than one local laughed when I tried to sound like a local. One lady said that when they first heard that phrase they were all confused, wondering if those crazy Americans actually meant prawns on the barbeque???

it's actually spelled hujambo (or hamjambo when mentioned to multiple people). i suspect it's shortened to not have to deal with the singular vs. plural.

but i don't suspect disney had anything to do with the shortening of the word. there are some other references it to it, the least of which a book published in 1981 titled 'jambo means hello'

i studied a bit of swahili a while back

it's actually spelled hujambo (or hamjambo when mentioned to multiple people)...

Right on. Like I said, I don't know Kiswahili spelling at all because I never had a reason to write in the language, so I spell it all how it sounded to me. :p I just figured I'd share what little knowledge I have. And I know there's also a song that is supposed to be a bunch of African greetings (I'm sure somebody out here has heard and knows it better than I do) that starts out something like "Jambo. Jambo bwana..." and I'm sure there are many other sources out there that make Americans think they know a couple of words of the language too (by no means am I blaming Disney...but they're not going out of their way to correct the situation). Speaking of songs, I really want my sister to teach me an African song called "Malika" (I believe...once again, I'm not sure of the spelling) I heard her sing it once and it's beautiful. It's one of those songs where you don't have to speak the language to know it's about something beautiful...:)

By the way: my background is that I was a linguist for the Air Force, but Kiswahili was not one of my languages. I also only know a tiny little bit of French from the couple of years I took in high school, so I have lots of stories of miscommunication and making my sister's housemen in Burundi totally uncomfortable because I could only remember the honorific form of anything in French! (If you travel to a foreign country and only speak little bits of both of their official languages, you'd better bring a sense of humor too because it's going to be hilarious!):rolleyes: