Boma or Whispering Canyon or Ohana?

[molly2004]

Help me choose! We are a family of 4. DH and me and almost 3 year old twins. We are self-professed foodies and are turning the kids into foodies too! We can probably only make it to one other resort for dinner. Since we're staying at the BWV, all our other TS will be at parks or in the BW/BC area.

Never struggled so much with a decision! We're curious to try African fare. We'd love to spend our arrival day at AKL checking out the animals and then dinner. I'm just worried about everything laced with cinnamon and cloves - seems like it would too much after a few bites. Ribs and chicken are definitely up my alley (I grew up in Texas!), but doesn't seem all that unusal. I want to try something new! Can you get good chicken and ribs in the parks? If so, we'll pass on WC. I have no idea what to expect of Polynesian food other than Asian influenced (grew up with too much Vietnamese and Chinese food), which I'm not all that thrilled about. But everyone seems to love it so I feel like I have to try!

Help me choose!

 

[cassi06403]

My vote would be for 'Ohana. After browsing the Disney Restaurants board for the past week, I now cannot wait to get back there!

WC is a place you would visit more for the atmosphere and experience than the food. Lots of fun, noise and silliness. The food is okay. I've heard you can get good chicken and ribs at Cosmic Rays (Counter service) at Magic Kingdom, if I'm not confusing places - we'll most likely be checking that out our next trip.

Boma I haven't tried, but we have done Jiko and we'll be going back again this trip.

Don't forget you can check out menus to all these places at allearsnet.com.

Alright, now I'm hungry. Ribs and chicken... mmm.

 

[molly2004]

Sorry, just realized I posted in the DDP forum rather than restuarants. How do you move a thread?

 

[HopperFan]

My vote is BOMA. Probably one of the biggest buffets I have ever been to. The was a wide variation and lots of flavors. My memory is they do like onion so if you can't eat them be careful. Visiting AKL, animals, activities and dinner sounds like a great idea.

OHANA we tried based on the board, but we were disappointed. A few meats were good when we could get more, but the sides were nothing special and only a couple. Room was dated and overall felt we spent way too much to eat there.

WC we have not done, but we don't like the "attention" at our meals that they give. That said, Flame Tree BBQ in AK had awesome ribs for a great price. NOTE: there is tons of seating in lots of covered porches..just keep walking back. We sat along river, got to see MM and friends come by on a boat, it was great. Everyone was so busy cramming in and waiting for tables up by restaurant they missed out on some beautiful and peaceful seating areas. Can't wait to eat there again in Sept.

 

[Harvestmooner]

We loved O'Hana, didn't like Boma-the food was OK-but it was very busy and loud in there. We have never been to WC.
Have a good trip!!

 

[katefromny]

Last year during our visit, we went to Boma, Ohana's and since we were staying at WL, we went to WC.

Boma was very nice, but my two children (ages 5 and 7) weren't impressed. They are picky eaters and there wasn't alot on the buffet that drew their interest....alot of different dishes, many of which were flavored with curry.
There was nothing for them to do there either, which made it difficult to enjoy a leisurely meal. And when you're paying that much for it, you really want to enjoy it.

Whispering Canyon was fun, they had "pony" rides with the stick horses and the waiters were fun. It was standard american "barbeque" fare, and the food was decent...but the House of Blues at Downtown Disney has the best bbq in the disney parks, in my opinion. Nice atmosphere though, and a fun place to walk around in.

Ohana's tops my list of places to return to again and again. In fact, we loved it so much, that we went back a second time. They have hula hoop contests, coconut races, and there is a view of the Magic Kingdom in the evening which is really superb. After dinner, you can walk along the beach with the kids and watch the Electric Water Pageant. The food was mostly grilled kabobs on sticks (pork, chicken, turkey or shrimp), with sides of rice and veggies, and nice dipping sauces. The waiters also were very willing to provide different food (mac and cheese) for the kids. My kids don't eat well, but we had to ROLL them out of that restaurant, for the first time ever they refused the mac-n-cheese, more interested in the real meal. Plus they give you this amazing fresh cut pineapple wedge thing for dessert that has a semi sweet and absolutely delicious caramel dipping sauce. The molten lava chocolate cake is to DIE FOR!

All are about the same price, although you can order off the menu for Whispering Canyon, and I found Ohana's to be the BIG favorite.

Kate

 

[HayGan]

For food, I would go with 'Ohana and for atmosphere/fun, I would go with Whispering Canyon. I wouldn't expect you to be disappointed with either

 

[Cookie Princess]

We have been to all three and we prefer Boma. Our last visit to Ohana was a "dry meat" experience. WCC is fun, but the food is just ok. If you like a variety of food, Boma has more to offer.

 

[MickeyMonstersMom]

We've also been to all 3. Here are some pros and cons for each from my perspective:

We went to WCC on our first family trip and have not chosen to return until this year: the food was OK, the entertainment *very* uneven - our server was a complete dud and the Dkids watched in dismay as nearly every table but ours was part of the fun. If you hit it on a good night (and it seems that experiences like ours are rare), the fact that you are served at the table and the food is familiar to the kids may make this a great choice.

We've returned to 'Ohana every time until now because the menu changes have turned us off. I'm not sure if the coconut races will appeal to 3 y/o's - it was difficult for DS to manipulate the broom when he was 4. If each of you "helped" it could be a lot of fun for them, and you can relax and be waited on during the meal.

We have made it a point to go to Boma every trip. I do not like spicy food, but have always found more great dishes than I can do justice to every time. However, a buffet may be difficult to enjoy fully with very young children, and there is no entertainment factor inside the restaurant itself - but there are the animals outside and the storyteller in the lobby.

HTH!

 

[tinkerbeth]

Those are my 3 favourites - I think you'll love any of them.

If I could only do one....I would be torn between Ohana and Boma. I LOVE the new menu at Ohana even better than the old one, especially the shrimp and wings. But Boma is just amazing too. And it's so neat to be at AKL...you can go for a walk after and see the animals and maybe listen to stories round the fire pit.

If I had to choose in a life-or-death situation, I'd pick Boma, but they're all amazing!

Have fun!

Beth

 

[millerjudi]

Given the age of your kids, it may be ambitious to stay at AK all day then have dinner there too.

My kids are 6 and 8 and we went to both Ohana and WCC in November 05--we loved them both, but the food at Ohana was much better, and the entertainment for the kids was better at Ohana. Ohana serves the kids drinks in large pineapples which my kids loved. My vote is for Ohana.