I can't imagine not liking Boma. I would make an ADR for it, because when you get to the AKL, you will SMELL it, and you will WANT it. Do the culinary tour a day or two before you go to Boma. That will help give you an idea of whether you'll like it. The culinary tour is FREE. You meet down at Boma at a set time (4:00 pm, maybe?), get a tour of Boma, try several soups there, and then go over to Jiko for a tour of that restaurant and you get to sample an appetizer. (BTW - There are ALOT of free things to do for the kids at AKL. My daughter (7) loved the activities. You will get the info for all the free-happenings at AKL when you get there.) No reservations are necessary for the culinary tour. I think the cookie decorating for kids (also free) was scheduled just before the tour.
Anyway, you'll have a better idea of whether you want to keep your ADR for Boma after the culinary tour.
We ADORED Boma, both for breakfast and dinner. My husband and I are fairly adventurous eaters, but on opposite ends of the spectrum. I'm vegetarian and he's highly carnivorous. My daughter is PICKY. She ate mac and cheese almost the entire trip. We ALL loved Boma. I think the meats are pretty straightforward, though there are some adventurous sauces. These are all served separately (and completely optional), so I think the meat-eaters are covered. The sides and salads are SO numerous that I can't imagine not finding something to like. There are several soups every day and we didn't taste one that was bad. On the culinary tour, we sampled the potato bacon soup - heaven in a bowl (Yes, I realize bacon isn't a vegetable. I was on vacation
). My picky daughter kept requesting more. The desserts are extensive as well.
So yeah - with you staying at AKL, you must try Boma. If you decide dinner is not for you, then do it for breakfast. Breakfast is pretty straightforward with just a few African embellishments. We did it 2 or 3 times and had to stop ourselves from doing it more.
Beyond that, I would add a non-buffet to your ADRs. Buffets get annoying after a time. Character meals get annoying too. If you want fun, but no buffets or characters, the other posters' suggestions above are great. Ohana (dinner) has the island theme (plus you may be able to catch the fireworks from the Poly), Whispering Canyon has the silly antics (plus the Wilderness Lodge is SO beautiful and worth exploring in and of itself), Sci Fi and 50s Prime Time have great atmosphere. Rose and Crown around Illuminations time is a great experience.
BTW - You are going to LOVE AKL. It's our favorite!
