It's kind of fun to do the impossible - Disney with a 1 month old *new 2/13/15*

[TheMaxRebo]

Part 15 - Sanaa: Best meal at Disney we didn't plan
Tuesday, August 26th​

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As this update will be a dining review I thought I would share a few pictures from this past weekend as we hosted a brunch event following Emma's baptism.

In addition to things like eggs, sausage, yogurt parfait station, fruit, etc. I also made my Eastern shoreline famous Creme Brulee French Toast ... I mean, the bottom of the pan is filled with melted butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup - what's not to like?

Also, instead of having a cake, Judi made her inter-continentally famous apple pie - including homemade vodka crust:

Ok, back to Disney

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After conquering the big things we wanted to at Animal Kingdom and knowing we wanted to be sure to have a nice break back at the resort and get in some pool time, etc. before the evenings' activities, we were discussing what to do for food.

In the past we had done Flame Tree Barbecue and also contemplated the quick service window for Yak and Yeti, but Imagineer5 had, after finding out we had never eated at Sanaa, pushed the idea of doing that - especially knowing we had a car so the trip to AK Lodge would be easy. So checking the app for ADR openings and seeing there were plenty for lunch we decided to head out of the park and head there.

After parking the car in the garage, taking the garage elevator up and walking over to the resort, then (eventually) finding the right elevator to go down to where Sanaa is located, we came across this sign:

I should mention at this point that Peter had fallen asleep and was riding in that state in the stroller as was Emma in the car seat attached to the stroller and Olivia was riding, awake, also in the stroller. The hostess at Sanaa was super impressed with our stroller set-up and indicated she had never seen it. Fortunately we were brought to a table that had enough room around it that we could leave Emma and Peter asleep in the stroller.

All-in-all it was an awesome table, big and round, and basically right in the middle of the wall of windows with a pretty darn good view of the savanna:

There were quite a few animals out - a number of Giraffes and Zebras, specifically. We enjoyed watching them, and they appeared to enjoy watching us:

There were also quite a few large birds out and about - though I didn't get any good pictures. The servers mentioned that some of them are pretty territorial about their spot by the windows and some, um, competition sometimes takes place


We first put in our drink orders. I think since it was a bit of alone time with Olivia we decided to spoil her a little bit and let her get the light-up Tinkerbell Cup - though she got it with chocolate milk instead of the punch it normally comes with:

While they had a rather impressive bottle beer list I really felt like something on tap and went for the Safari Amber Lager which is a rather refreshing beer and definitely hit the spot!:

Judi wanted to go with a mixed drink and ultimately settled on a Pineapple Caipirinha - which was one of her favorite drinks she got all trip. It was very refreshing and just really tasty ... definite recommend!

While a lot of things on the menu looked really good we weren't exactly sure what to order or how much to order. We knew we wanted to get the bread service but then wasn't sure how much that would be and how much else we would want, etc. Our server was quite good - around when we needed here and made good suggestions and seemed to know the menu, etc.

In the end we ordered:

First, for Olivia, to no one's surprise, pizza! But, at Sanaa the pizza is made on a naan bread crust. This pizza looked really fresh (and tasted good too as I tried it) and was one of the better pizza's we got for her during the trip:

Judi and I started with the basic bread service which came with three accompaniments. We got the plain Naan, the Onion Kulcha, and they had a special naan that had paneer inside it - so we got that. For our accompaniments we got Cucumber Raita, Roasted Red Bell Pepper Hummus, Mango Chutney (shown top to bottom in the picture). I think it would have been fun to try all 9 but I think we got a nice mix and everything was really good! Plus I think the board they serve it on is really cool

We then split one of the appetizers which was the Lamb Kefta Sliders - served with goat cheese, piquante peppers and pickled shallots. These were excellent and I think had a better meat-to-cheese-to-bread ratio than the full size lamb burger.

We then also split the "You pick two" Slow Cooked in Gravy, Simple and Well Seasoned option - which we got the Goan Seafood Curry (on the left) and the Butter Chicken (on the ride) and then Basmati Rice. I honestly could go for this right now it was so good. We contemplated getting the Spicy Durban Shrimp but our server said that they were pretty darn spice so I am glad we opted for the Goan Seafood Curry (which had a little spice but nothing crazy) and while not the most exotic option the Butter Chicken was some of the best we have ever had.

We then, of course had to get dessert - though we did agree to split something. We had success with trios at Hollywood Brown Derby so opted for the Dessert Trio - Tanzanian Chocolate Mousse, banana cheesecake and seasonal kulfi. I believe the Kulfi was a raspberry and was quite good. The chocolate mouse was also rather good. I am not a big cheesecake fan (I hate cream cheese) but the banana cheesecake was pretty darn good - I think the pistachios added a lot. Getting the trio was a perfect call as I think we had the right amount of each one rather than just a bigger portion of any one.

Olivia opted for the Cookies and Milk, which was a sugar cookie that she got to decorate with frosting and cady and a fruit smoothie. She loved it (though she wasn't crazy about the smoothie). Plus it kept her busy for a little bit.

Before:

After:

Peter did wake up towards the end of lunch and had some of Olivia's pizza though he was still a bit out of it and we got the rest to go and he had some more when we got back to the room.


Overall, we absolutely loved Sanaa and it is definitely in the rotation going forward. Also, great option for lunch if you need a break from the heat of Animal Kingdom.

Coming up next: Some downtime and then dinner at 'Ohana (since we obviously haven't had enough food yet today

TTFN

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Sorry that Olivia changed her mind on who her riding partner was going to be. It's fun to share their firsts with them, so I can understand being a bit disappointed when she made a last minute switch. I am very impressed with her riding it at all - my almost 9 year old is a total ride chicken - the only thing she'll ride with a height requirement is Soarin' - my 3 year old is a total dare devil, she's just not tall enough yet! I'm hoping that she'll make the height requirement for Mine Train either this weekend or when we go back in November.

I agree with you Jennifer that I wanted to share this milestone with her - but hey, she did it, and we bonded afterwards so it is all good. Definitely something I wasn't going to push as don't want to create bad feelings though - but she said she wanted to go and I think she was proud of herself for doing it.

Peter is the same way as your younger one in that he totally wanted to go on all the big rides - though he is such a shorty that he barely made the height for Barnstormer ... I think he would like Mine Train though as it is just a smooth ride. Oh well, just another reason to go back

 

[Imagineer5]

First I lould love your recipe for the creme brulee french toast - it looks amazing! And congrats on the baptism!

After parking the car in the garage, taking the garage elevator up and walking over to the resort, then (eventually) finding the right elevator to go down to where Sanaa is located

A little foreshadowing, but this is one reason I will NEVER stay at Kidani again. Their elevators and parking system is just ridiculous. (plus add to the fact that when we got back late, which was almost every night, there were ZERO parking spaces). Anyway, moving on... So glad that you were able to bring in the stroller and let Peter & Emma sleep - i bet it was nice to give Olivia some alone time too. I'm sure she really appreciated that. The bread service is wonderful! We will be back there next MONDAY! can you believe it! LOL! Everything looks fantastic, Andrew loves that beer too, and Judi's drink does look delish. Also funny that you mentioned Olivia's drink, bc i was working on my updates and Aria also got a light up tinkerbelle drink (though she did get the punch) during the dinner we had. Anyway...Andrew would love those lamb sliders - goat cheese, mmm. Was the chicken in your pick two meal white meat? It looks pretty light in the photo, and I have erred away from the chicken because at one point they ONLY used dark meat which i don't like... Did Peter end up taking another nap?? That seemed like a pretty early nap for him no? He seemed fine that night though!

 

[missangelalexis]

Your Creme Brulee French Toast sounds pretty amazing!

Looks like a wonderful lunch, I'm glad you all enjoyed it so much!

 

[shan23877]

Sounds like a fantastic lunch! The kids' dessert is adorable. I love trying new things, but I'm always worried that I'm not quite adventurous enough for Jiko or Sanaa. One of these days...

 

[schmass]

Sanaa looks so good, and that close-up of the zebra and giraffe is great!

 

[KatMark]

Phil, trying to catch up a little while relaxing on the patio at the condo on Marco.

Your Fantasmic pictures are awesome as is the video of the Frozen Fireworks (we really enjoyed the fireworks when we were there as well as the sing along). I love that Olivia was calling out each character as they appeared.

I'm glad you enjoyed Tusker House again. I would, however, prefer that they had kept the BIG Krispy Kreme donuts. I don't understand why they took Donald away from out front...that was part of the fun of doing Tusker House.

Great safari pictures. We got our best lion pics last week too.

I'm glad you enjoyed your lunch at Saana. I'm not sure we'll make it there as the food type doesn't appeal to me, but certainly glad you all enjoyed it.

 

[geckodani]

Sanaa looks awesome! Sounds like you had a really enjoyable meal.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Your Creme Brulee French Toast sounds pretty amazing!

Looks like a wonderful lunch, I'm glad you all enjoyed it so much!

While not exactly the breakfast of champions, the creme brulee French toast is pretty darn tasty!

It was a really nice lunch and a nice break after going fairly late the night before and then up for the early breakfast (maybe that is why Peter slept through it )

Sounds like a fantastic lunch! The kids' dessert is adorable. I love trying new things, but I'm always worried that I'm not quite adventurous enough for Jiko or Sanaa. One of these days...

The menu as Sanaa is fairly specific and authentic (though there are some steak options, etc. for dinner) so if you really don't like those flavors it might not be for you - that said, there are a lot of options and the staff seems to know how to make the proper recommendations for people. It's definitely less expensive than Jiko so perhaps give it a shot for lunch one day or something to see if you like it

Sanaa looks so good, and that close-up of the zebra and giraffe is great!

Thank you! Very cool to be able to eat and then periodically look up and see giraffes and zebras and stuff. Very fun location!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Phil, trying to catch up a little while relaxing on the patio at the condo on Marco.

Good job trying to stay in the loop while traveling ... reading up on TR while on the patio sounds pretty relaxing! Your pictures have been great - looks like you are having a great trip!

Your Fantasmic pictures are awesome as is the video of the Frozen Fireworks (we really enjoyed the fireworks when we were there as well as the sing along). I love that Olivia was calling out each character as they appeared.

Thank you! It was cool that she was more into it this trip - Fantasmic! specifically and while I know there is a ton of merchandising and money involved with Disney, it is hard to put a price tag on seeing how excited your child gets when they see their favorite characters

I'm glad you enjoyed Tusker House again. I would, however, prefer that they had kept the BIG Krispy Kreme donuts. I don't understand why they took Donald away from out front...that was part of the fun of doing Tusker House.

Great safari pictures. We got our best lion pics last week too.

I'm glad you enjoyed your lunch at Saana. I'm not sure we'll make it there as the food type doesn't appeal to me, but certainly glad you all enjoyed it.

Yeah, I would prefer the big donuts too - but I figure the donut holes are better than no Krispy Kremes at all. Definitely agree about Donald being gone - that was definitely a positive highlight of eating there

Must have been a good stretch for the lions! Or the trainers/imagineers have done something to the terrain to "force" them more into the open

The food at Sanaa is a little more specific than other location - so I can see it not appealing to everyone. The staff was really good at making recomendations and there are a lot of options so if forced to eat there I am sure you could find something you would like .... but there are so many options of where to eat at Disney World I can see for some this not being at the top of their list. We like that type of food - even the kids - so it worked great for us.

Sanaa looks awesome! Sounds like you had a really enjoyable meal.

It really was wonderful - good food and drink and a great setting ... and a wonderful break from the heat of Animal Kingdom.

 

[MonsterWDWmom]

Joining in!

Sanna looks awesome! I am going to have to make sure I try to one of these trips.

The views from your room are to die for I can't imagine what it must be like to wake up and see Cinderella's castle

I just saw Fantasmic! for the first time a few weeks ago and I loved it, we also did the dining plan and we did get an appetizer too. Just like you I was also on my phone making sure it was correct but could not find it any where! You can be sure I checked the check before we left and we didn't get charged!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

I have to say, any excuse to visit AK Lodge is a good excuse.

So you got the ressie day of? Pretty cool! Also pretty cool to have animal views.

I will admit that I probably would have wanted the kids dessert just because you get to decorate it. That just sounds fun!!

 

[annie170]

That creme brulee french toast sounds fantastic! Judi's pies look picture perfect. I like how she put a cross on one and leaves on the other.

Tusker House, Sanaa and Ohana sound like an absolutely perfect food day!

 

[Marsheliz]

Congratulations on the baptism! Judi's pies are beautiful! I wouldn't want to eat them & mess them up. Ha!

It is always nice when you can have a little one on one with your children. I love that.

What a cool dessert idea for children. Mind would flip over getting to decorate their dessert.

 

[courtneybelle]

Oh man, the French toast and pies look DELICIOUS!

Dying at the giraffe pic! What a great view.

I am not a very adventurous eater but Sanaa has always looked really good to me, especially the butter chicken. Olivia's dessert is so fun!

 

[Dugette]

That baptism food looks quite tasty! Fancy pies!

Now I’m curious how your stroller handled all three kids. Glad they let you bring it into Sanaa.

Yay for getting a great savanna-view! It’s so nice to have lunch there and watch the animals outside (and have them watch you, apparently).

Yep, we experienced those large birds last time. One was obsessed with us.

Nice that you got that alone time with Olivia. Cute Tinkerbell drink. Judi’s drink looks very good too. That’s neat that they use naan for the pizza.

Your whole meal looks great! So many tasty options there. Yum.

 

[IheartDDuck]

We haven't eaten at Brown Derby in the longest time. It's one of those restaurants that ends up on the list and then gets dropped at some point. Who knows why.

A few years ago, we had a similar experience at Le Cellier and were seated an hour past our reservation time. My poor nephew, who was not even two years old yet was just miserable. I mean, he handled it like a champ, but you could tell he just was not happy.

Okay, I'm definitely a fan of being able to select three desserts!

OMG, I love that Star Wars dancing segment. That video just cracked me up when I first saw it!

Of course I say boo to no Donald out front at Tusker House! At least he's still there.

Mmmm. Donut holes.

Wow, good shot of the lion! I think I've seen him once.

We had our safari guide stop in the middle of the safari and refuse to move the truck until people sat down. A family was just letting their kids stand up and she had kept telling them not to. That was pretty eventful. Haha.

Woo hoo! Olivia was tall enough for Everest!

Awww, didn't like the ride because it made her cheeks shake. That's awesome.

I HAVE WANTED THAT SHIRT FOREVER! Every time I go, I look at it and then talk myself out of it for some reason.

Sanaa is a great restaurant. I love the bread service.

 

[amazingact21]

Sanaa sounds like it was the perfect place to go after a morning in AK. Something a little better than the QS locations in the park and definitely a better selection of unique dishes.

I agree, the servings board for the bread looks really cool. I also loved the plate Olivia's dessert came out on. Very cute.

 

[AAshleySEG]

PIE!

I love pie, it is my favorite type of dessert! Those looks so delicious! I always love when Fall rolls around because I get to start making my pies for the holidays, and just in general really. Such a great time of year! Those looks really yummy, but who am I kidding, that french toast doesn't look half bad either!

Ahh, Sanaa! What a great restaurant, and not many people go there since it is sort of out of the way. We stay at Kidani all the time, so I guess we go there more than most visitors. Bread service is awesome, we always get cucumber raita and red pepper hummus too, but we like the red chile sambal as well. Have not tried those sliders yet...those looks like a must try, will put that on my list to try when we go there next!

That dessert trio looks good too! I can't remember ever getting a dessert there...hmm? That needs to change. Dang it, now I need to make a reservation there...haha! So glad that you guys enjoyed your lunch there! We can't tell too many people though, don't want it to get too crowded...LOL!

 

[Leshaface]

I also made my Eastern shoreline famous Creme Brulee French Toast ... I mean, the bottom of the pan is filled with melted butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup - what's not to like?

Also, instead of having a cake, Judi made her inter-continentally famous apple pie - including homemade vodka crust:

Why must you do these things right before my lunch time?!

I should mention at this point that Peter had fallen asleep and was riding in that state in the stroller as was Emma in the car seat attached to the stroller and Olivia was riding, awake, also in the stroller. The hostess at Sanaa was super impressed with our stroller set-up and indicated she had never seen it. Fortunately we were brought to a table that had enough room around it that we could leave Emma and Peter asleep in the stroller.

I'm trying to picture this...how in the world?

Perfect view!

While they had a rather impressive bottle beer list I really felt like something on tap and went for the Safari Amber Lager which is a rather refreshing beer and definitely hit the spot!:

Have had this at AK before and it's a very solid choice.

Whenever someone talks about Sanaa, all that they ever mention is the bread service. Wow!

We then also split the "You pick two" Slow Cooked in Gravy, Simple and Well Seasoned option - which we got the Goan Seafood Curry (on the left) and the Butter Chicken (on the ride) and then Basmati Rice.

I LOVE Butter Chicken! Have made it multiple times at home and it's something everyone in my household loves. Craving it now!

I am not a big cheesecake fan (I hate cream cheese)

WHAAAT?!

This looks awesome So a cool idea to keep kids busy!

Overall, we absolutely loved Sanaa and it is definitely in the rotation going forward. Also, great option for lunch if you need a break from the heat of Animal Kingdom.

I really, really want to visit Sanaa. DM is not adventurous and likes to stick to what she knows. This food is definitely out of her comfort zone unfortunately. She would like the bread, but not sure what else. This place may have to be a date night visit for us.