Disney’s Animal Kingdom has kicked off the summer season in a big way with a new lounge and restaurant, a reimagined attraction, and new nighttime entertainment — all of which add a whole new layer to the park.
The largest, or should I say “lion’s share,” of the additions take place after the sun goes down. There is one new experience that will have all the Disney foodies talking and that is the new Signature Restaurant, Tiffins, and its companion bar area, the Nomad Lounge.
Tiffins is located behind — actually, connected to — Pizzafari along the path that will lead guests to Pandora: The World of Avatar next year and is modeled after Carthay Circle restaurant at Disney California Adventure as an upper scale restaurant which is reflected by the menu options and price points.
Guests are greeted at the front desk and issued a pager and invited to sit in the lobby area or enjoy the Nomad Lounge. The check-in desk has a beautiful carved wood map of the world with small castles representing each location of a Disney Park including the soon to be open Shanghai Disneyland.
Tiffins has three distinct dining rooms, each with their own theme. The Safari Gallery, the former Camouflage Room of Pizzafari, is the largest of the three with beautiful light up animals that reminded me of Discovery Island and the Tree of Life.
The Grand Gallery has some of the details that influenced the design of the nearby village of Harambe.
Last is the Trek Gallery that’s influenced from the Asia part of the park with its prayer flag wall art.
For me the highlight of this new location is the Nomad Lounge.
It is a perfect place to take a break from the busy day in the park and relax and enjoy a wide variety of libations or small plate options.
For those that enjoy private label beers, Tiffins and Nomad Lounge are home to the Kungaloosh. If you are a Pleasure Island fan, I am sure you are saying to yourself that drink sounds familiar. Well, it is not the former signature drink of the Adventurers Club but a spiced excursion ale draft beer brewed only for this location.
There is also a wide variety of options to keep any bar crawler busy for days.
Now for the main draw of Disney’s Animal Kingdom at night head to the next page.