Disney’s Animal Kingdom has some of the most unique dining options in all of Disney World.

Not only can guests snack on otherworldly food inspired by the movie Pandora at Satu’li Canteen, but they can also eat some delicious BBQ treats at Flame Tree Barbecue, nom on some African, Asian, and Latin-inspired food at Tiffins, and grab some delicious baked macaroni and cheese from Eight Spoon Cafe. But if it’s a simpler meal you’re after, we’re happy to report that Pizzafari has officially reopened at the park! And we were there to check it all out.

Atmosphere

You’ll find Pizzafari between the Africa and Pandora sections of the park– you can’t miss the colorful building with animal designs on it.

That color follows you inside where you’ll see some beautiful murals. This spot is practically covered in pops of color and cute animal designs!

Animal carvings can be found all around the seating area, too.

Above the ordering area you’ll find…you guessed it…more animal murals!

And be sure to look up because you’ll find animals in the ceiling and rafters. 

This place is a lot of fun to explore all the animal details hidden inside.

This might just be a “pizza joint,” but there’s no mistaking that it’s a pizza joint inside Animal Kingdom. The animals are EVERYWHERE!

Eats

Pizzafari is a quick-service restaurant typically known for its Italian-style food like pizza and Caesar salad. That being said, it’s not historically known for good pizza. This falls in the same category typically as Catalina Eddie’s and PizzeRizzo in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, with its puffy, mass-produced fast-food pizzas. It’s food. It’ll get the job done and please a lot of palettes along the way but it’s not going to be the best thing you eat in Disney World by a long shot (unless you REALLY stan a fast-food personal pizza. If so, party on!)

There have been some changes to the menu for its reopening. To start with, some of the drinks have changed, but a new drink has been introduced — the Blue Lagoon Lemonade. This drink is made with Minute Maid Lemonade, Citrus, and Gummy Worms and comes with a Souvenir Glow Cube. An alcoholic version with Parrot Bay Coconut Rum is also available.

You can also choose from a variety of non-alcoholic drinks, including smartwater, Fountain Beverages, Coffee, and Tea.

Other alcoholic options include a few beer and wine options.

For entrees, the Shrimp Flatbread is no longer available, but it’s been replaced with a Chicken Parmesan Sandwich. The other entrees, including Pizzafari’s signature pizzas, have remained the same. A new plant-based option is available, though — a Greens and Grains Salad.

For Sides, guests can get Garlic Knots, a Side Caesar Salad, and a Cuties Mandarin.

We obviously had to try out the new drink, the boozy Blue Lagoon Lemonade for $14.  And if you like drinks that taste like candy, this is the beverage for you because this thing is SWEET. We will say that the rum does help balance out all those sweet flavors (but then, it’s sweet coconut rum so it’s adding to it as well!). It’s your basic non-carbonated lemonade with added “citrus” flavors. It’s kind of a one-note drink though — it was sweet and tasted blue. If you’ve had one blue drink or those blue push popsicles from most grocery stores…you know what blue tastes like, right?

Also, the gummy worm is a lot of fun (even if Disney World has started putting it in A LOT of drinks). When we think tropical blue lagoons, a worm bobbing at the bottom doesn’t typically come to mind though. But it’s still a fun surprise at the bottom. And yes, we’re suckers for the glow cube, too. A glowing blue drink is just extra magical at Disney World, right? This drink, the more we think about it, is basically a perfect storm of Disney World boozy drinks:

• Juice+booze? Check!
• Blue Curaçao? Check!
• Souvenir Glow Cube? Check!
• Inexplicable Gummy Worm? Check!

All that’s missing is either some FOAM on top or POPPING BOBA! Then we’re pretty sure this drink would go all Transformers on us and morph into its final form of a giant glowing Mickey Mouse in the sky over the parks. Go, Go, Blue Lagoon! Activate!

This drink could really be a case study on how Disney comes up with almost all of their drinks! (We kid, we kid!)

For food, we got the Sausage and Pepperoni Pizza for $10.99. The pizzas here are baked fresh, and this one included Tomato Sauce, Sausage, and Pepperoni. This is going to be your most hearty of the pizza options, having two different meats on it. Otherwise it’s Pepperoni or the Kevin McCallister classic — Cheese.

It also came with a side Caesar Salad. 

What can we say? This is a pizza, which is pretty simple, but it’s loaded with meat. But the price point is good because you do get a salad with it. This pizza would also be easy to share if you’re not a big eater (or if you have two kids who want to share it).

At the end of the day, though…it’s still a Disney World puffy pizza, as we affectionately refer to them. It’s a LOT of doughy crust and a handful of sauce, cheese, and topping dumped in the very center. The ratios here aren’t great TBH. You’re gonna get at least half your bites that are basically JUST crust, mostly likely. BUT, that said, there’s plenty of a need for just OK, massively appealing, quickly churned-out pizzas, especially in this park. It’s not gourmet. It’s probably not going to register as high as a lot of chain pizza delivery places. But it will make you or your kids happy and not cost a ton.

And, because it’s new, we had to try the Chicken Parmesan Sandwich for $10.99. It’s made with Breaded Chicken topped with Marinara and Provolone on Ciabatta Bread — it’s also served with a side Caesar Salad. And this is what surprised us — the sandwich was great! It had lots of CHEESE, and, well, that’s totally our thing.

We did find the sauce a little on the sweet side, so keep that in mind. But we feel like this is a great quick-service option to get while you’re in the park. 

Plus, ordering two entrees that all come with those Caesar Salads let us make a Mickey out of our food. That just makes us smile.

Pizzafari often offers up some fun cupcakes, and we were intrigued by Spaghetti and Meatball Cupcake for $5.99. It’s Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Chip Cannoli Filling topped with Cherry Sauce, Vanilla Buttercream Spaghetti, and a Chocolate Doughnut “Meatball.” Like how could we NOT try that out? LOOK AT HER!

Or him. Either way, it real pretty! This isn’t the first time we’ve seen a spaghetti and meatball cupcake in Disney World — or even in this park, for that matter. A few years ago a similar cupcake was available for a limited time at Terra Treats. Only, for this one, the cake was orange-flavored, the meatball was vanilla cake, the sauce wasn’t flavored, and that cannoli cream was still in the middle. We LOVED this cupcake, so we had high hopes for the new kid on the block.

Before THAT though, Mama Melrose’s in Hollywood Studios has long served up a Spaghetti and Meatball cupcake on their kids menu. It’s REALLY fun and we totally order it as grown adults. We were kind of bummed to bite into this to see…it was just a standard cupcake. The meatball was a dense chocolate cake pop but the rest was, more or less, a basic vanilla cupcake with a filling.

We didn’t get a ton of cannoli flavor in the cream and the cherry flavor wasn’t much to write home about in the sauce. So we’ll keep dreaming of that STUNNA of a spaghetti cupcake we had in Animal Kingdom just a few years ago (sigh). So basically, this is fine. It’s a cupcake and it’s REAL cute, so if you’re in the mood for something sweet, you’ll likely walk away very pleased with this. The real reason to get this is that it just looks cool — kids will love it!

Nosh or Not

Head to Pizzafari if…

• You have kids or picky eaters in your party. This is crowd-pleasing simple food that everyone will enjoy.
• You want a quick meal in Animal Kingdom. Doesn’t get much faster and easier than this!
• You’re on a budget. The prices here are very fair for Disney and the pizzas (especially with the side salad) are easily shareable.

Skip Pizzafari if…

• You want a sit-down meal at a table service restaurant. Even more than other fast food spots in the park, this spot really feels like you’re eating fast food.
• You want a higher quality meal — this is just pretty standard Disney pizza fare.
• You’re in Disney World’s wildest park and looking for something a bit more unique. Try Satu’li Canteen or Harambe Market instead!

Overall

The food here is fine, and perfect if you’re looking for a quick meal to grab in Animal Kingdom. The menu is standard enough that it should satisfy even the pickiest of eaters in your party and is great for families just looking for quick eats. This isn’t fine dining, obviously, nor is it the best pizza at Disney World, but the value is good for what you get, and sometimes that’s really all you want.

We were surprised with the Chicken Parmesan Sandwich — it is a solid option if you’re not wanting to just get regular old pizza and salad. The Spaghetti and Meatball Cupcake is a lot of fun, too — and is also sure to be a kid-pleaser. And we’re still laughing at the Disneyest Drink of All Time (seriously, is there a bunker under Pirates of the Caribbean holding cases of blue curaçao??).

Welcome back, Pizzafari!

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Have you been to Pizzafari since its reopening? Tell us what you thought in the comments!

 

The post Is Simple Best? This Reopened Disney World Restaurant Seems To Think So first appeared on the disney food blog.