Harambe Market
It was now time for lunch and I was excited to try out the Harambe Market, which had only been open for a short time before our trip.
We walked into the market area and it was pretty busy. We were able to find some seats, but not under an umbrella, unfortunately.
Judy waited for us while I took some pictures of the food station area and the kids decided on what they’d get. There are separate stations for the different types of entrees. For example, Kitamu Grill pictured below, is where you would get the chicken skewers or ground beef flatbread.
Having separate stations is consistent with the theming that this is a marketplace, where you would have to go to different vendors for different foods. Since my kids are older and I can send them (with charging privileges on their Magic Bands) to get their own food, I like it. But I pity the poor dad of a young family who is sent off to bring back one chicken skewer, one corn dog, and one order of ribs. That would require 3 different stops.
Here’s a look back across the stations. At least the lines weren’t long.
There are a bunch of cool sayings on the walls in the area, but it looks like I only captured this one that reminded me to “Have a Fine Day”.
When we got in line to order, a cast member came along handing out menus. I asked about gluten-free options and he said he’d send someone over. I said that I didn’t need it myself, but I directed him to where Judy was sitting. James and I agreed that we’d tell her that it was her Magic Band that told Disney of her food restriction and when we met back up with her she was already wondering if that was the case, so we went with it. It was great – these Magic Bands are amazing!
James got the ground beef flatbread.
Judy and I got the chicken skewers. Unfortunately, I can’t remember if they had to do anything special to make hers a gluten-free meal, like eliminate spices or anything. But the far one does look a little more plain, doesn’t it?
The girls got the corn dogs.
And we got a milk tart to split for dessert, just to get a taste.
Here’s our little spot along the wall.
Oh, I see that James is wearing one of his favorite shirts -- his Scott Sterling jersey. If you're not familiar with Scott Sterling, you probably don't have a teenager who watches YouTube videos all day long. He's a character in a couple of comedy videos who wins sporting events by accident, with his face. You probably have to see them to understand.
Scott Sterling - Soccer;
Scott Sterling - Volleyball
Back to our review...everyone loved their food. The only criticism we had is that the broccoli/tomato salad had a little too much onion and vinegar for our tastes. Now when I look at the menu online I see that a black-eyed pea salad and a green papaya slaw are served with the entrees instead of this salad, so maybe we weren’t the only ones who weren’t crazy about it. Anyway, I would definitely eat here again. In fact, I could eat here day after day after day, just going through the different choices and then starting over again. Unless some new eatery pops up in Avatarland that I feel I need to try, this is where I’ll be planning to go for lunch on our next trip, for sure.
Oh wait, let’s not get ahead of ourselves – we haven’t had dessert yet. How about that milk tart?
It may be hard to decipher the look on James’ face, but it’s saying something like, “Oh yeah. This thing is the bomb.”
It’s a hit with the girls as well.
One last shot of this basket-vendor part of the theming before we leave.
As we left, there were some crowds in Africa, enjoying the music.
And I’ll end this chapter with the Tree of Life, because hey, it’s the park icon.
Up next:
Animal Kingdom afternoon
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