Non guest dining

[sabarrett328]

My wife and I have an event next month in Orlando. For dinner one night we have a reservation at Boma. We wanted to go and check out the resort and hopefully see some animals before dinner. I was wondering if there is a time limit that you can arrive early before the reservation to gawk around? I was hoping to get there maybe an hour to hour and a half before our reservation.

Is that possible?

Thanks,
Scott

 

[OKW Lover]

Yes, you can do this. When you get to the guard shack at the entrance to the parking lot you'll need to show a photo ID to the guard and tell them that you have a dinner reservation at Boma. It won't be a problem to get there a bit early to wander the lobby and check out the animals on the savannas.

 

[Kingkonig]

We did that as a family (at that specific restaurant too) back 15 or so years ago.

Actually I don't know if I've ever been to Disney World (post AKL opening) without eating at Boma. But I DO know that I've been to Boma multiple times without doing anything else at WDW.

 

[sabarrett328]

I know it can be done, I was wondering if there is any restriction on how early we can get there and hang around not being a guest. I doubt there would be any way of policing it other than someone at the gate checking that we are an hour or two ahead of our seating. Something tells me it doesn't matter, since most likely we are going to stop and spend some money, but who knows. Anyone have any info?

 

[_19disnA]

Disney has gotten wise over the years to people who want to park for free at a resort and then walk to one of the nearby parks. Resorts closest to the parks are the ones that tend to have the most restrictions. Time of day and how busy they are can also matter, since they don't want the parking lots of resorts to fill up such that people actually staying there have nowhere to park. Many older threads on this topic. Some will tell you none of that matters, while others will post comments about being turned away from various resorts.............so your mileage may vary.

If you have an ADR you are generally permitted to park for some period of time prior to your reservation. People trying to 'game' the parking system also figured out that placing a mobile order was a way to get around the parking restrictions, so Disney has gotten wise to that scheme as well.

 

[sabarrett328]

Ok, well thanks for the info. I guess we will see when we get there. Traveling is partially about the adventure!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I know it can be done, I was wondering if there is any restriction on how early we can get there and hang around not being a guest. I doubt there would be any way of policing it other than someone at the gate checking that we are an hour or two ahead of our seating. Something tells me it doesn't matter, since most likely we are going to stop and spend some money, but who knows. Anyone have any info?

Your question has been answered but I'll also chime in with the "experiences vary" comment, which is why these questions tend to get different answers/responses. Generally speaking for a non park walkable resort like AKL and your relatively reasonable arrival time I highly suspect you'll have no issues at all - they'll check your ID and look up your ADR on their little device, and off you go. But it's not outside the realm of possibility that any given guard on any given Disney day decides you're on the early side and enforces something different for whatever reason, so that's why it's hard to speak in total absolutes on the topic.

All of that said, enjoy your BOMA dinner and evening around AKL!

 

[LuvMyEAR]

We are strictly off-site guests but we visit Boma almost every trip. We love to stroll around the lobby and browse in the gift shop before our ADR, and walk out to view the animals where it is possible to do. All part of the enjoyment. Breakfast is our favourite, and we never schedule it for a park day. Don’t want to rush the experience!

 

[nedlanders]

Our family did this last spring 2024…had a Boma dinner ressie and arrived an hour early to explore the resort. The guard didn’t bat an eye! An hour was ample time to check out the animals, lobby, pool, gift shop, etc. Keep in mind you can stick around after your dinner, too. Kicking it in a rocker overlooking the savana was a really nice way to end our visit. Also, there is no parking pass or check out process when leaving, so stick around a while!

 

[Brob2132]

Agree with what everyone has said, but I’ll also mention I did it last year as well.

Was in Orlando for work and had very little time on my hands. But I was able to sneak over to Jiko to eat and arrived roughly an hour early to spend a bit of extra time in my happy place. No issues.

 

[proudmomof4]

We did this during our recent stay earlier this month, not at Boma, but 3 times at other resorts which are in close proximity to parks. We did not go to any parks on these days

5/4 - we had a lunch reservation at Beaches and Cream, we arrived at Beach Club about an hour and a half early, the guard looked up our reservation and welcomed us home.

5/11 - breakfast at Kona, I had a son coming over from Tampa to join us for Mother's Day breakfast, we were both permitted to park an hour before our breakfast time.

5/13 - dinner at Cape May Cafe, the guard didn't even look up our reservation, he just said things were slow that day and told us to park wherever we wanted.

As other's have stated, it all depends on the guard, how busy it is, and the resort.

In the past, we have tried to visit food courts and been turned away from CBR, Pop and AoA. We have never been turned away from POR, POFQ and All Stars.