Slowly but surely, as more Disney World restaurants reopen, we’re welcoming our favorite Disney comfort foods back into our lives! 

And since we’ve been craving ribs like WHOA, the latest comeback at Animal Kingdom has us doing our best Lion King impression and roaring with excitement! 

For healthier (i.e. non-fried) dining options in the parks, we’ve long appreciated the hearty, wholesome plates at Harambe Market in Animal Kingdom. 

This is the kind of counter-service spot where we can feel good about filling up on rice, salad, and grilled meats without the sleepy after-effects of, say, an entire Thanksgiving meal on a bun (not that there’s anything wrong with that!). 

So when Animal Kingdom announced they were reopening this restaurant in Africa, we were ENTHUSED! And we arrived on reopening day with a hankering for ribs! 

Aside from a few menu tweaks, it’s mostly the same Harambe Market you know and love, so we placed a mobile order to see if it TASTED the like the Harambe Market we know and love too!  

For our entree, we got the Ribs and Chicken Bowl, which comes with cilantro rice, mixed greens, ribs, grilled chicken, and salsa. 

This was a Harambe home run! The ribs were fall-off-the-bone tender, and the chicken was juicy with a succulent grilled flavor and smoky aroma. The rice was cooked perfectly, and not dry at all, while the salsa added a nice lil’ kick without being TOO spicy. 

The greens are dressed with a light vinaigrette that reminded us of French salad dressing, which was a nice, bright counterpart to the meat! In fact, the greens were such a sleeper hit that we could have used MORE! And maybe even a little hot sauce would round things out nicely too, since the salsa is more zesty than spicy. 

All in all, it’s a great, flavorful combo, and quite filling! For those looking for a more wholesome plate in the park, Harambe Market hits that mark, though to be fair, “wholesome” might not cut it for some kids… .

The bowl is $14.29, which feels like a great price considering the huge amount of food (and especially meat!) you get with this! 

The Simba Cupcake has been a reoccurring staple around Animal Kingdom for some time now, so we were excited to try it again! 

Made with yellow cake, buttercream icing, white chocolate mousse filling, a LARGE white chocolate Simba, and orange and yellow icing for his mane, this is the KING of Disney cupcakes!

Apparently the King has a serious sweet tooth, because this treat is SUGARY! For fans of frosting, buttercream, and icing, this one is for you! 

Honestly, it doesn’t have a ton going on flavor-wise, but it’s colorful and pretty, and the white chocolate mousse filling was great! This cupcake used to have a passion fruit filling, so that change may surprise guests who’ve tried it before.

As you might expect of a cupcake with a mane, it’s cute in theory, but the icing starts to melt and drip almost immediately, so it can get pretty messy! 

If you’ve got a sweet tooth (and you’re not afraid of a buttercream mess), you can order a Simba Cupcake for $5.99! 

With Harambe Market open once again, it’s a pleasant reminder that this African go-to remains one of the BEST spots in Animal Kingdom for unique flavor combinations and healthier dining options! Unless of course you want to balance out that light vinaigrette with a boatload of buttercream! 

For a less sweet Simba treat at Animal Kingdom, give this snack a try!

Are you excited to return to Harambe Market? Let us know in the comments!