By John Peters

Hi, there!  Long time, no “see”, eh?  Anyway, I’m glad to be back!  Let me present “Dining Recon: Breakfast at The Mara”!

Hey, I recently had a Sunday morning shift over on the train at Animal Kingdom.  Trouble is … that’s when we record the WDW Main Street Podcast!  What to do?

Listen to the show at … Episode 421 – Our Sunday News!

How about recording from the Animal Kingdom Lodge, I thought!  What an awesome idea!  Anyway, instead of stopping at a fast-food joint on the way into work, I decided to eat at The Mara!

For those who don’t know, The Mara is the Animal Kingdom Lodge’s counter service restaurant.  Their bakery opens at 6:00 AM. The kitchen starts serving at 7:00.

Quoting Disney, “Named for a river flowing through Kenya and Tanzania, this savanna-like space serves African stew, pitas, half-chicken dinners and more.”

The Mara is clean, efficient, and offers plenty of indoor and outdoor seating.

For breakfast, the menu includes many traditional items … such as WDW’s infamous Bounty Platter! They also serve a Croissant Sandwich.

They also offer one of my favorite breakfasts on property – the Bobotie Platter.  This dish comes with bobotie (baked egg custard with turkey, peppers, and raisins), chakalaka, and pap.

The chakalaka is the hot stewed tomatoes in the picture above.  The pap is like white grits.  Honestly, it’s non-traditional, but the combination of these three, eaten together, is delicious!  Priced at $7.19, it’s also a good deal!

Fans, the next time your heading over to Animal Kingdom, why not swing by the Animal Kingdom Lodge and have a great, inexpensive breakfast!