Alexis's Gluten Free Adventures: The Mara Breakfast

Today, my daughters and I had breakfast at The Mara at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge. This quick service location was named after a river that flows through Kenya and Tanzania.

When the chef came out to see me, she said that breakfast options 1, 2, and 3 could be made gluten free for me.

The girls and I had already decided before our arrival that we were going to try the Bounty Platter, which includes scrambled eggs, breakfast potatoes, bacon, sausage, a biscuit, and a Mickey waffle. Because I couldn't eat the biscuit, we were given two gluten free Mickey waffles.

Option one, the African Breakfast Platter, contains scrambled eggs, sausage, pap, chakalaka, and grilled tomatoes. I wasn't sure my daughters would like this one, so we ordered options two and three.

Option two, the bounty platter, is a generous plate of food. We all agreed that our favorite item from the bounty platter was the breakfast potatoes. Next time we eat at The Mara for breakfast, we will definitely be ordering an extra side of the potatoes, which were seasoned so perfectly. The scrambled eggs were very good as well, which surprised me, because I am usually not a fan of scrambled eggs. My daughter Emma and I thought the sausage was great, so we might just skip the bacon next time and order an extra sausage.

We also chose option 3, an adult portion of Mickey waffles, served with bacon. With this dish, I asked for turkey bacon, which I always enjoy more than the regular bacon at quick service locations. Judging from the taste, I would say the Mickey waffles were made with Bob's Red Mill mix. They were definitely not made with Cup4Cup Pancake & Waffle Mix, and they didn't taste like the Namaste waffles I have had at other locations. My kids and I agree, the ears are always the best part. :-)

Overall, we really enjoyed our breakfast at The Mara. I have had better gluten free Disney themed waffles and turkey bacon at other restaurants, but they were still very good. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to enjoy some gluten free zebra domes, so we asked the chef for some from the back. By the time we made it home, after running a bunch of errands, they weren't as pretty as the ones in the picture, but they were still delicious. You can read more about The Mara and Boma's gluten free zebra domes, and check out my lunch review of The Mara here.

April 14, 2015 Update

This morning, I went to The Mara for breakfast to try their Bobotie platter, a recent addition to their menu. Bobotie is a traditional African dish with ground meat, seasoning, and an egg custard baked on top. My bobotie contained turkey, mushrooms and peppers, and tasted exactly like the bobotie served at Boma for breakfast.

The bobotie platter is served with pap and chakalaka. If you like grits, you will enjoy the pap. I wasn't sure I would like the chakalaka, because I am not a huge fan of cooked tomatoes, but it had a really nice spicy kick, and I enjoyed eating it on top of the pap and my bobotie. I thought the bobotie platter was great, and would order it again.