Whew....it's been a while since I've posted and I guess I better just catch everyone up before I move on. Jeff and I had arrived at AKL early to do some exploring before our 8:05 ADR at Boma. AKL is my dream resort and I just couldn't wait to check it out! It is all that I had imagined and more! We spent some time admiring the detailing in the lobby, then headed out and checked out the animals on the savannah, and also took a little tour around the gift shop. By this time it was about 7:50 and we decided it was time to head to Boma to check in and wait for our table.
We had found the check-in area on our little tour, so we knew exactly where to go and we had our little buzzer in hand in no time. It would be a few minutes until our table was ready so we thought a trip to the bar was a good idea! Now, Jeff and I are not big drinkers. Jeff enjoys a nice cold beer on occasion and I like a good cocktail with dinner, but that's about the extent of our alcohol endeavors. Jeff recently became enamored with Blue Moon beer and so he ordered one for himself and an iced tea for me. (See...not a big drinker!) We found two comfy chairs and a small table overlooking the restaurant area and took a load off. The bar is on the second floor and looks down onto the dining area. The restaurant itself is a little dark so pictures aren't great, but here is our view.
Boma is gorgeous and, like many things at Disney, filled with awesome attention to detail if you just slow down enough to take it all in. I loved these pillars...so beautiful! Also, the detailing in the railings to make it look like sticks...very cool!
I'm not sure I said this earlier, but I had decided that I would try new things on this trip and had done so already with snorkeling, eating conch, trying sushi, etc. Well...it was time again to put my resolve to the test. I mentioned that I am not a big drinker...and I am
not at all a beer drinker. I have never liked it. But...Jeff insisted that I try this Blue Moon beer and in the spirit of new things, I agreed. Kind of like Corona that is enjoyed with a lime wedge, Blue Moon is garnished with an orange. Here's a picture of Jeff and his beer!
I was a good sport and did take a drink of his beer. Although I did not hate it, I wouldn't choose to drink it either. I just can't get past the bitterness. IF I had to drink beer though, I would drink this one over others I have tried. See...tried the beer and still smiling!
It wasn't too long before our buzzer was all lit up and we were shown to our table. We ordered two Diet Cokes and then got up to explore the buffet before making our selections. I was very excited to try the hummus bar. I actually love hummus as a snack and couldn't wait to see what varieties were available. After familiarizing ourselves with the layout of the buffet...desserts on one end, hummus bar, salads, soups, then the open grill with all the meats....we made our first selections and sat down to dig in. We had not eaten a meal since that afternoon on our drive from Port Canaveral (we stopped at a Subway) so we were hungry. We had been looking forward to this meal for a long time and wanted to be able to fully enjoy it!
So....what did we eat?? Well...I took pictures, but didn't take notes on what all the food was, so I admit I am looking to the menus online to help jog my memory. Let's get started.....
Ok...in the bowl is the butternut squash soup. I had eaten the butternut squash soup at Wolfgang Puck on our 2007 trip and loved it. This soup was very different than the WP soup. This tasted very sweet....almost like a liquid form of pumpkin pie. Very tasty, but not savory enough for my liking. The yellow mixture is Corn and Spinach pudding....very delicious and mild tasting. Finally, the gray looking stuff is black bean hummus with homemade pita chips. There were 3 varieties of hummus, my favorite being the Olive hummus.
NEXT!
This one is Jeff's plate and I really have no idea what he has! Fresh pita...I think he also tried the Spinach and Quinoa Salad and the Fried Plantain Corn Salad. We also tried Watermelon Rind Salad, but I don't see it on this plate.
On to the entrees!
Among other things, we tried the roasted meats (there was pork and prime rib), falafel, FuFu ( kind of like mashed sweet potatoes with spices like cinnamon and coriander), Coconut Curry Salmon, and Jollof rice. Everything was fabulous! Jeff's favorite was the Coconut Curry Seafood Stew. I didn't get a good picture of this because he ate it too fast!
I am not a fan of curry, but they also had a Peanut Soup that I really enjoyed. Along with the African specialties, there was green salad and plenty of fresh fruit available as well as a kid's buffet with the typical chicken fingers and macaroni and cheese.
As we enjoyed our dinner, we took in the incredible atmosphere of this restaurant. The lighting is soft, but it didn't feel dim, just warm. There are LOTS of tables, but I never stood in a long line for anything. The buffet is set up in pods which avoids the line issue. I just loved it here and both Jeff and I felt it was by far one of the best meals we have had on Disney property.
Oh...almost forgot dessert! All of the desserts were bite-sized, therefore, less guilt-inducing! YUM!
As we tried to roll ourselves out of the restaurant, we made a short pit stop at the restrooms. As I was waiting for Jeff to come out, I took this picture....I loved all the plates.
When Jeff came out, there were two older gentlemen sitting on the bench outside the restrooms. On his way out, Jeff looked up at me (I was on the stairs taking the picture looking down toward the bathrooms) and said Hey lady, stop taking pictures of people coming out of the bathroom. These men had no idea we were together and were amused by Jeff's antics.
I however, was not! What a goofball! I was stuttering trying to explain myself so the men knew I was taking pictures of the décor! LOL!
As we exited Boma and said good-bye to the gorgeous AKL, we called home to say hello to the boys. I stopped right at the edge of the parking lot to chat a few minutes and we found this guy.
This frog was a jumping maniac and had me screeching into the phone as he hopped all over! My boys thought I was nuts, but that frog was out of control!
A few more pics before we left.
Tomorrow we hit the MK! SO EXCITED!!!!