Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge is so much more than just a beautiful hotel.

Home to the largest collection of African art in the world outside of the continent of Africa, Animal Kingdom Lodge also features sweeping views of a private savanna with LIVE safari animals and it’s one of the best hotels in Disney World for food! Disney just revealed some new foods coming soon to a variety of restaurants in Animal Kingdom Lodge, and here’s what we know.

Maji Pool Bar

Beginning on December 8th, new poolside snacks will be added to the Maji Pool Bar menu. This will include the Shrimp Bakuli, which means “bowl” in Swahili, and made with chilled poached shrimp, pickled carrots, and Basmati rice, with soy-ginger dressing and berbere aïoli. Chef Sahib Bhatti was inspired by the open-air food markets in Zanzibar, where “each evening as the sun sets, the vendors prepare seafood delicacies with the day’s catch.”

The Multigrain Tabbouleh will be a new plant-based offering, made of a salad with protein-rich grains, fresh herbs, and grilled vegetables.

You can also get Spiced Pork Nachos, topped with spiced pork, beans, herbed crema, and kachumbari. The spiced pork is actually pork vindaloo, which originates from Goa and is based on a Portuguese dish known as Carne de Vinha D’alhos. The pork is seasoned with paprika, garlic, tomato, vinegar, and a house-made spice blend.

And the Short Rib Grilled Cheese comes with short ribs that are slow-cooked with a house-made spice blend, tamarind, and red wine, which are sandwiched between buttery brioche bread and topped with gouda cheese and pickled onion.

On to the next stop!

The Mara

Over at The Mara, a quick service location, you can order the Marinated Sun-dried Tomato Herbed Ricotta Flatbread beginning on December 8th. This dish is made with sun-dried tomatoes, fresh herb ricotta, tomato sauce, a four-cheese blend, and arugula.

New bowls will also be available! The Chermoula-spiced Shrimp Bowl is made with grilled shrimp, pilau rice, kale slaw, cucumber-tomato salad, and chermoula sour cream. The Oak-grilled Chicken Bowl will be another option, made with marinated chicken thighs that are slow-roasted over the oak-fired spit. Each bowl includes rice made with The Mara’s special spice blend.

And plant-based eaters can go for the South African Vegetable Bowl, which Chef Wendy Welcovitz and Sous Chef Khuloud Abu Samra were inspired to create based on South African cuisine. It’s made with curried vegetable stew, pilau rice, dried fruit achar, and avocado-tahini sauce.

Let’s head over to another restaurant!

Jiko: The Cooking Place

The table-service restaurant, Jiko: The Cooking Place, will be adding a new appetizer, the Sweet Potato-Groundnut Soup. This soup comes with spiced groundnuts, finger lime, pickled red chilies, and sorrel. Groundnuts are a popular ingredient in modern African cuisine — and you may know them as peanuts!

Don’t worry — other popular Jiko dishes such as the Oak-grilled Filet Mignon or the Braised Wild Boar Tenderloin will still be available!

Read our most recent review of Jiko: The Cooking Place here!

Various Locations

And finally, available beginning on December 16th at Boma: Flavors of Africa, Sanaa, and Victoria Falls Lounge will be the Way of Water cocktail in honor of the release of Avatar: The Way of Water. This drink is made with African Starr Rum, Bacardi Raspberry Rum, Bols Blue Curaçao, and lemonade, with a glowing lotus flower and mint garnishes.

We’ll be sure to check out some of these new eats so stay tuned for a full review soon. Keep following DFB for more Disney World food news!

Read all about Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge right here!

What sounds like something you would try? Tell us in the comments!