Boma or Ohana?

[Jchoma]

We've never been to either Boma or Ohana. I booked Boma for the first night of our trip, but then an Ohana reservation opened up so I booked that, too. Trying to decide which to cancel. My kids are 6 & 9, and are fairly adventurous eaters. Since it's the first night of our trip, I would like it to be a fun & memorable experience to start off our vacation. We're on the dining plan so budget isn't a consideration. This will be late November and Ohana reservation is at 5:00, so we wouldn't watch the MK fireworks from the Poly beach. Boma would be at 6:30, and I've heard the night vision goggles are fun to check out the animals with! By that time of year it'll be dark pretty early. Which would you choose? Thanks!

 

[jcarwash]

On my last visit this April, we visited both 'Ohana and Boma. We'd been to both in the past but this was our first visit to both in several years.

Between the two, we enjoyed Boma a lot more. There was nothing wrong with 'Ohana at all -- the food tasted great, the service was fine -- but we thought the overall experience at Boma was even better. We managed to have an almost intimate experience there, with a server who was really attentive and personable, and the food itself was stellar. Afterwards visiting the Animal Kingdom Lodge and seeing the animals there was a special memory too.

At 'Ohana, we did feel just a little bit rushed through.

In my opinion both are excellent choices but based on my most recent experience, Boma was the winner.

 

[rwdavis2]

Boma every time. Far more foods to choose from plus you get to visit AKL and see the Savannah.

 

[heehee611]

We love both, but for different reasons. Dinner at Ohana is our must-do every time restaurant. We love the food, it is different than anything we can get at home but not too exotic that myself and my 6 and 10 year olds won't eat it (I'm probably pickier than them, LOL). We've always had great service, and we love to get an 8:30 dinner reservation and then watch the fireworks and the electrical parade. The chicken wings, noodles, veggies, and the meats are all delicious. I love it being all you can eat without me having to get up and go to the buffet and try to carry the 6 year olds' plate back with me.

We've done Boma twice, and I love it more for the atmosphere of the restaurant than for the food. The restaurant is gorgeous, and we had the luck of having it not be too crowded the times we have gone (early dinners when the kids were younger). They are best known for their various soups though, and as my husband says "I don't go to Disney to eat soup, I want meat on a stick!" LOL... With myself being a picky eater, there's not as much there that I like. The food is very similar in flavor to Tusker House, and so that's been our go-to African place lately because it's a character meal. So just don't want to do 2 meals that have such similar food, but my kids want to see the characters.

Hope that helps!

 

[StartedByAMouse14]

Boma gets the edge every time! In my opinion the best buffet/restaurant on property! It is a nice relaxing atmosphere that can take you away from all the hustle and bustle from the parks. You also can't beat the easy access to the animals that feels far more personal than the experience you get at the Animal Kingdom.

 

[Jchoma]

Thank you for the replies! I'm so torn. Since our Ohana meal would be so early, and fireworks aren't until 10 that night (it's a MVMCP night), I don't think we'd stick around that late or long to watch them, especially headed into 6 days at the parks. I would love to have a more low-key yet still fun dinner and be rested up. So the environment at Boma sounds perfect for this reason. But- am I crazy to give up an Ohana reservation?

We've done Boma twice, and I love it more for the atmosphere of the restaurant than for the food. The restaurant is gorgeous, and we had the luck of having it not be too crowded the times we have gone (early dinners when the kids were younger). They are best known for their various soups though, and as my husband says "I don't go to Disney to eat soup, I want meat on a stick!" LOL... With myself being a picky eater, there's not as much there that I like. The food is very similar in flavor to Tusker House, and so that's been our go-to African place lately because it's a character meal. So just don't want to do 2 meals that have such similar food, but my kids want to see the characters.

Hope that helps!

Yes- my husband is a pretty big carnivore so I can see meat on a stick holding some major appeal! We are also doing Tusker House later that week. I didn't consider the similar menus....

 

[Polybound]

We've never been to either Boma or Ohana. I booked Boma for the first night of our trip, but then an Ohana reservation opened up so I booked that, too. Trying to decide which to cancel. My kids are 6 & 9, and are fairly adventurous eaters. Since it's the first night of our trip, I would like it to be a fun & memorable experience to start off our vacation. We're on the dining plan so budget isn't a consideration. This will be late November and Ohana reservation is at 5:00, so we wouldn't watch the MK fireworks from the Poly beach. Boma would be at 6:30, and I've heard the night vision goggles are fun to check out the animals with! By that time of year it'll be dark pretty early. Which would you choose? Thanks!

Have eaten at Ohana twice. 20 years ago and 1 month ago. I thought it was overrated 20 years ago and I still think it's way overrated after eating there last month. The food taste okay and the service is okay, but the overall quality of the food is somewhat lacking. Maybe just a step up from TGI Fridays. Let me qualify that a little bit. What they do serve taste good, but the overall grade of the food is somewhat low. For example, I would prefer Jumbo Gulf Shrimp on the skewer, trucked in fresh every day, instead of the Large grade shrimp that have been frozen. The ones they do serve are seasoned well and taste okay, but just not the grade of product that I would prefer. Same for the other cuts of meat as well, though like I said, they all are seasoned well, somewhat tender and taste fine. Have never eaten at Boma, but have heard good things.

 

[Hockeyfan17]

No a is one of our favourites, but we are skipping it this summer to try Tusker House and Ohana. Have never been to either of those restaurants so thought we would give them a try. We have been to Boma a couple of times, so just trying to change it up a bit. Not sure if I helped you in any way.

 

[JerseyJanice]

A lot of people on this board love Boma. I wanted to love it too, but I did not care for the sweet spice on everything. Every item I sampled tasted like it was coated in cinnamon and nutmeg.

Ohana is my family's favorite WDW restaurant. It's the whole package--great food, entertainment, atmosphere and drinks.

Check availability for both restaurants during your trip dates. I can almost guarantee you'll find plenty of open ADRs for Boma, but you won't find even one for Ohana. That should tell you more than what anybody here has to say.

 

[leebee]

Boma is our favorite restaurant at Disney World, hands-down, no question. The food is terrific and different from what you'd normally find elsewhere and the restaurant is interesting. AKL is beautiful, and being able to explore the resort after dinner, see the animals on the savanna, sit around the fire circle and listen to the storytellers make for a memorable evening. We eat at Boma on every trip to Disney; the one time we didn't and went to Jiko instead, we actually rearranged dinner plans on another night so we could also go to Boma. Yes, we like it that much. Sometimes people hesitate- what if I don't like the food?- but there is plenty of variety at Boma, including a "kids foods" type station with the usual stuff, but well-prepared. I also know for a fact that if there isn't anything there that you like, you can talk with a chef and they will prepare something to your liking. We always leave Boma satisfied- both in our tummies and in our minds!

We have been to Ohana 3 times. The first time was about 15 years ago. The food was good, plentiful, well-cooked, and hot, and the service was attentive and courteous. The second time we went was after they instituted the coconut races and such. All the hoopla raises the noise level close to that of Chef Mickey's- it's pretty frenetic in Ohana now. The food had taken a definite down-turn in quality and the service was not smooth; we had barely received bread and appetizers before they started circulating the eats. I think this was about 10 years ago, and it was our anniversary dinner- pretty disappointing. Our last (FINAL) trip was about 7 years ago. Even with an ADR, we waited 45 minutes to be seated. The wait-staff was inattentive, and it was pretty clear that the goal was to move people through their meals as quickly as possible. The meats were all overdone, and the shrimp was downright inedible. Salad was overdressed and soggy. The noise and confusion level was beyond belief, and the number of children running out to participate, bumping into peoples' chairs in their enthusiasm, was not acceptable to me; not with what we were paying for dinner at Ohana.

If you have to get rid of one of these, I'd dump Ohana in a heartbeat!

 

[APiratesLifeForMe2]

Boma has been our favorite restaurant to visit for the last several trips. Ohana has been a favorite but we have not been able to get an ADR our last few trips. (Finally snagged one this upcoming trip). My vote would probably be Ohana because of how hard it is to get in there. You can eat at Boma anytime

 

[goofy4prez]

Here is my thought on both of them. I don't consider either to be great. I'm not a big fan of buffet's or all you can eat places. I'm of the opinion that restaurants that prepare massive quantities of food for the masses just can't make great food. It's the old quantity over quality. But with that said, both of these places are better than most and achieve at least being average... And when it comes to buffet food or all you can eat places that is pretty good.

With that said, I do prefer Boma over Ohana. I love the atmosphere of the AKL and I do prefer the variety of options at Boma. But for me neither is a must do for me and I know that is not a popular opinion here.

 

[Viking7641]

I loved the food at Ohana. The potstickers, the meat, the noodles.

But I traveled solo, and likely will next time. I felt rushed and it was a zoo all around me.

The AKL was stunning, and Boma was superb.

I'd go back to Ohana with a group. I'd go to Boma every trip

 

[Megara5115]

We did both in December and Boma food was hands down better. I found myself already looking forward to going back next trip- plus AKL is always a nice visit.

THAT BEING SAID THOUGH... the *experience* at Ohana and the Poly would probably be more memorable for your kids. For us it was a one and done but glad we tried it to see what the hype was about. In my opinion the food was just meh but since you are looking for a memorable first night dinner, Ohana gets my vote.

As far as a reservation time, I would keep checking as people drop all the time.

 

[rosiebean]

Check availability for both restaurants during your trip dates. I can almost guarantee you'll find plenty of open ADRs for Boma, but you won't find even one for Ohana. That should tell you more than what anybody here has to say.

To be fair, the restaurants that are the hardest to get ADRs are *not at all* the highest rated for quality of dining experience.

Some of the restaurants with the best rated food on property (given reviews across a variety of travel sites) are often the easiest ADRs to get, while some with merely ok reviews (CRT and BOG and, yes, 'Ohana, I'm looking at you) are often booked solid. *THAT*, IMO, should tell the OP a lot as well.

 

[Polybound]

A lot of people on this board love Boma. I wanted to love it too, but I did not care for the sweet spice on everything. Every item I sampled tasted like it was coated in cinnamon and nutmeg.

Ohana is my family's favorite WDW restaurant. It's the whole package--great food, entertainment, atmosphere and drinks.

Check availability for both restaurants during your trip dates. I can almost guarantee you'll find plenty of open ADRs for Boma, but you won't find even one for Ohana. That should tell you more than what anybody here has to say.

Very interesting, glad to know that about the sweet spice. That'd do me in.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

We love both of them. We eat at both of them each time we go to DW - but we love Boma breakfast a little more than Boma dinner. We have eaten at Ohana over 10 times and never had a bad meal. When our kids were little they loved the coconut races. Adult only diners might not like the commotion but our kids did. It is fun to watch now as our kids are older. We love the whole atmosphere at Ohana. You can keep trying and I bet you will get a later time at Ohana. If you do Boma - our family loves to go see the animals - and they had night time goggles when we were there. You will get a great meal no matter which one you go to but if I had to pick one for a special meal - it would be Ohana.

Enjoy!

 

[Parker Clan]

Ohana! It's also a must do for us every trip. The food is so good!!! Everything from the bread, apps, main entrees to dessert!

 

[hsmamato2]

I'm not an Ohana fan...so I vote Boma!

 

[L&Lfan]

Boma, no question.