You might know the best places to eat in Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, and even Animal Kingdom…but what about the snacks that are more HIDDEN in Disney World?

Truly some of the best food in all of Disney World can be found in more tucked-away spots in…Disney World’s hotels! Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge has some big hits with the Boma buffet (zebra domes!) and Jiko delights. But today’s journey brings us to a spot that’s even MORE tucked away within this resort.

You’ll need to go allllllllll the way to Kidani Village — the Disney Vacation Club side of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge (which is separate from Jambo House — the main building at the “regular” side of this resort) to find the Maji Pool Bar. Why are we heading all the way to a pool bar of all places, you ask? Good question!

On December 8th, a few different spots in Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge got NEW eats and the Maji Pool Bar is one of them!

The new eats here include Shrimp Bakuli, Spiced Pork Nachos, Short Rib Grilled Cheese, and Multigrain Tabbouleh. We visited to try three of these new dishes!

We’re starting out with the Shrimp Bakuli, made with chilled poached shrimp, pickled carrots, edamame, and Basmati rice, with berbere aïoli for $14.99. Bakuli means “bowl” in Swahili, and Chef Sahib Bhatti was inspired by Zanzibar’s open-air food markets in creating this.

First, we have to give this dish major points for presentation. The pink of the shrimp combined with the bright orange of the carrots, the green in the edamame, and the colorful other ingredients included make this one really POP!

But it also gets major points for flavor too! The sauce has a great level of spice to it, and it really adds to the flavor of the dish (instead of just…being there).

Here we have Shrimp Bakuli from The Maji Pool Bar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge 🌳

Chilled Shrimp, Edamame, Pickled Carrots, and Berbere Aïoli served on Basmati Rice 🍤 for $14.99 pic.twitter.com/0xw5zn5vXG

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) December 8, 2022

 

All mixed together this is a very light dish, in the best way possible. If you’ve had your fill of buffets and heavy fried food, this is a great dish to get to balance things out. It’s filling but won’t make you feel terrible — win, win — especially if you’ll be spending the day by the pool.

We also ordered Spiced Pork Nachos, which are tortilla chips topped with spiced pork, beans, herbed crema, and kachumbari for $10.49. The pork is seasoned with paprika, garlic, tomato, vinegar, and a house-made spice blend, and it’s actually pork vindaloo.

This is another one that really had a great flavor. It is a little spicy, so be warned, but it was not, as our team member put it “burn your mouth, give me a jug of milk spicy.” 😂  The spice here actually adds a nice flavor to the dish as a whole.

Also at the Maji Pool Bar — Spiced Pork Nachos! 😋

Tortilla Chips topped with Spiced Pork, Beans, Herbed Crema, and Kachumbari for $10.49.

📍 Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge pic.twitter.com/qx5BttkDrY

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) December 8, 2022

 

The pork is delicious and moist (not overly dry as some pork can be). The toppings are all great as well, and, in our opinion, the dish could be the perfect poolside nacho option for your day at the resort. Oh, and the plastic cheese is a bonus!

And finally, we grabbed the Short Rib Grilled Cheese, which is made with braised beef short ribs that are cooked with a house-made spice blend, tamarind, and red wine. It comes topped with gouda cheese and pickled onion and served on Challah Bread (note that Disney had previously said this would come on Brioche Bread). This is priced at $12.99.

DING, DING, DING 🛎  friends, we have ANOTHER winner! The beef is delicious and flavorful. The snack isn’t spicy, which we think is good, as it makes it more friendly to pickier palettes.

We especially love how the meat paired so well with the pickled onions and cheese.

Moving on from the Mara to the Maji Pool Bar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge 🌳

We got the Short Rib Grilled Cheese 🧀 Braised Beef Short Rib, Gouda, and Pickled Onion on Challah Bread served with Seasoned Chips for $12.99. pic.twitter.com/3lJggZG6pW

— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) December 8, 2022

 

Plus, the challah bread is toasted to perfection. Our team member said that they had NO complaints about this one. Just consider packing a mint for later because you might have some heavy onion breath after biting into this one!

And there you have it, 3 NEW eats at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge (Kidani Village), and all 3 are winners — what a success! If you’re headed to Animal Kingdom Lodge, you may want to stop by the Maji Pool Bar to try some of these dishes.

To see our review of some of the other new eats that have arrived at Animal Kingdom Lodge, click here.

WE KNOW – there are SO many great snacks at Disney World! How do you choose (we don’t want to choose but will blow our budget on Day 1 otherwise)? We’ve got you covered! We have reviewed nearly EVERY snack available at Disney World, and we’ve written a series of DFB Guides about them! Check out our DFB Guide to Walt Disney World Dining + Snacks Bundle for all the details you need to plan your snackin’ and spending.

You can even download them to your smartphone – it’ll be like we’re right there with you in the parks!

Check out the 10 new menu items at Animal Kingdom Lodge!

Would you try any of these dishes? Tell us in the comments!