OK, so shoot us! Boma was not a high point.

[skeezixspud]

Following all the rave reviews around here, we decided to try Boma on our recent trip. I'm afraid we were not as impressed as we'd hoped.

First, the lodge. My son is animal-mad, so we expected to love it. Not so. The whole place is REALLY dark, much more so than WL. (DH even complained that the men's room was so dimly lit that he had trouble helping DS with his snaps.) My family's favorite thing about it was the glass mosiacs in the front entry pavement. While the details at the lodge are impressive, I'm afraid the mood was just too dark for me on a vacation. I'm not sure I really like the restaurant "pit" thing, either. Is it just me, or does anyone else get the feeling that they took the general exterior plan for WL and pasted on thatch? The interior is very different, but the exterior structure is remarkably similar. Also, the chairs at Boma, while lovely, are unfortunate for a buffet, people's clothing kept catching on my chair as they passed me on their way to the pods.

We've decided that if that is African-inspired food, then we really don't care for it. I love trying exotic foods, but that was some of the blandest, uniformly soft-textured food I have ever had in my life. (Only one exception; I did like the Chicken Pepper Pot.) The other thing that I disliked about it was the use of green bell pepper to flavor almost everything. I love bell peppers, but I prefer to stay away from the green ones, which are essentially unripe. I ended up with the most horrendous intestinal gas problem I have ever had; I was popping simethicone like Chiclets, but I was in pain for 2 days. The prime rib was decent, I'll admit, but the tilapia was so tasteless it was duller than eating unseasoned white rice. The available poultry offerings were all dark meat and undercooked, and there was an aura of oiliness about most of the main dishes, which I did not care for, either.

The desserts were very good, as promised, but it will take more than a Zebra dome to get us back to Boma anytime soon. Oh, well, can't win em' all. Did we just hit them on a bad day or something?

 

[caverill]

We dined at Boma in February and had the same type of experience.

I thought it would be great fun and really wanted to enjoy the food, but I found little to my liking.

I doubt we will be returning to Boma during our next visit, even though we plan on spending a couple of days at AKL.

I agree that the lodge is dark, but I think it reflects the type of environment that they were trying to capture.

 

[amw5g]

Thus is the curse of a buffet. It must be prepared in very bulk fashion and it must also be prepared to sit out for irregular intervals in less than ideal conditions.
Perhaps a trip to Jiko (should you ever find your desire to try African-themed food again) would give you a better representation of the cuisine.
-Andrew

 

[Josiah Harper]

...to admit that I thought less of Boma than (it seems) most people do. After sampling almost everything, I still didn't feel as though I'd had a very satisfying dining experience. None of the food really stood out, or impressed me.

Perhaps next time, I'll try Jiko, as Andrew suggests. I really like AKL (but stay at BWV, usually), so I love a good restaurant as an excuse to visit other resorts.

Joe
***"A WALT DISNEY WORLD RESORT OUTING" NEW TRAVEL GUIDE***

 

[cindala]

You are not alone, but still in the minority. After all the hype, we too thought Boma was just okay when we dined there last summer. We won't be returning to eat there this year.

 

[allicat]

Shoot me, too! We didnt care for Boma either! I agree the desserts were good. We are going to try Jiko this trip and possibly the Boma breakfast. Im sure thats completely different from dinner. What can you really do to mess up eggs?

 

[4crusinransiers]

Thus is the curse of a buffet. It must be prepared in very bulk fashion and it must also be prepared to sit out for irregular intervals in less than ideal conditions.


As amw5g posted above....

..I could have not said it better. I have not been to BOMA.. yet....
we have a PS for Breakfast as we will be staying at the lodge.
I have been in the food service
industry my whole life and this is often a problem with buffets.I( am the Catering Director at a high volume Catering Company in Washington State.)
I on the other hand have heard
great things about BOMA, we have decided since its a buffet to do BOMA as a breakfast and Jiko as our dinner.

 

[NancyIL]

While I enjoyed the food at Boma, I agree that AKL looks like the Wilderness Lodge with thatch! I thought the interior details were well done, but neither the WL or the AKL is my "type" of hotel. I prefer the look of the Grand Floridian.

 

[KelliR]

Thank you so much for the honest and thorough review. I truly appreciate it. It is good to have all points of view. And, I think, my experience will be better because I am not expecting too much!

We will be staying one night at AKL on August 15th. We have eaten at Jiko before and we really enjoyed it! But my friends ate at Boma recently and they recommended not going. Since we will be at the AKL, and we have done Jiko, shall I try Boma for breakfast?

Thanks again.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I posted my opinions on the BOMA breakfast, after we returned from our Feb. trip. Maybe I was expecting too much, but noone in my family (DH, DS 10, and myself) enjoyed the experience. The buffet line was very narrow and we spent most of our time standing back trying to keep from getting run over by oncoming traffic. It was also very loud. Even my DS couldn't wait to get out of there. The food was mediocre at best. So far we rank this break. as the worst we've had at WDW. And we've been to quite a few. This is one rest. we won't return to, but would like to go to Jiko soon.

 

[disneyfan551]

ditto on all of the above...nothing great about the Boma dinner, but the desserts were good! We don't plan on returning anytime soon.

 

[Erikarate]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. My husband and I were starting to think we were crazy. I thought hands down Boma was the worst meal I've ever had at Disney. I agree with everything you said skeezixspud. And to tell you the truth, I though the desserts were even overrated. The coconut tiramasu was my favorite, but I've had better desserts at Disney.

 

[SamSam]

Although I enjoyed sampling the different foods at Boma's, I expected more in the way of different spices and unique foods. I think that perhap's in trying to please a wide range of people, they may have 'Americanized' the food too much for what I was expecting.
My husband and I really enjoy different ethnic foods, so I think we expected something truly different and unique.
IMHO people do need to try it and see for themselves, after all everyone's taste's are different and many people love Boma's.
Love Disney!

 

[cindala]

I think what happens is that when a restaurant gets a lot of hype, you tend to have unrealistic expectations of what the meal will be like. It's probably better to go eat with out any expectations, and hope for the best!

 

[eeyore0062]

skeezixspud, don't feel you have to apologize for not liking something. Everyone has different tastes. While I liked Boma, and the savannah of AKL, I too felt it was very dark for my taste. I also feel this way about WL.

That is the beauty of WDW... there are resorts and restaurants to suit everyone's taste, so you don't have to feel bad if something is not to your liking. Now that you have visited, it has actually saved you money from staying there and possibly spending money on something with which you would not have been happy.

So smile, now you know, and you are better off for it!

 

[jx3smom]

We ate at Boma in November and we also were very disappointed. The desserts were very nice and the service was good but we just did not enjoy the dinner all that much. We are looking forward to trying Jiko on our next visit.

 

[skeezixspud]

I'm not sure that I buy the theory of buffet food being bad because it has to be served in quantity and kept warm; that is usually a function of what one chooses to serve. Some things just do not hold well, and those things don't belong on buffets. That wasn't the problem, I don't think, unless they chose badly. Besides, the food hadn't BEEN out, we were the second table seated for the evening, right at opening time. They were still filling the pods when we arrived.

It was really the blandness that puzzled me; we have an Ethiopian and a Moroccan restaurant where we live, and both of them have very nicely spiced food; I was expecting to encounter similar seasonings. Other buffets at WDW seem to have no trouble seasoning food decently, so why not Boma? I know WDW buffets are always toned down to suit a range of tastes, but this was ridiculous.

I wasn't apologizing, really. I was just puzzled how my experience could differ so widely from the general consensus around here, which I usually tend to agree with. Does everyone LIKE bland food that falls apart when the fork touches it? (BTW; the name Pap for the cornmeal dish made me laugh. I grew up knowing the word Pap as describing rice cereal baby food. I'm sure that is what the cornmeal paste is really called, but it has unfortunate connotations in English.)

BTW, I'm all for theme lighting, but in a public restroom? We like WL; the dimness there feels soothing and cool. The dimness at AKL seemed somehow forbidding to me, perhaps because the ceilings are lower.

 

[WolfpackFan]

Okay, we've heard from a number of people asking that they be shot because they don't like Boma. Is there anyone out there that can give a contrasting view? Is there anyone out there that likes the food at Boma and if so what did you like? I've got PS's for dinner and am wondering if I should cancel them.

 

[kamgen]

Well, let me offer a different opinion.
My dh and I LOVE BOMA!!!
We have dined there for dinner on 4 occassions now, most recently for my moms 50th birthday in April. Our entire group loved it and ranked it as our favorite.
We took our younger cousins to WDW last December and, while afraid they would hate it, they LOVED Boma so much they ask us to take them back!

I am sorry that your experience was so poor. We have had nothing but exceptional service (Michael has been our waiter every time) and the food has been spicy, hot, and very interesting. We swear by the Boma Mustard and my husband LOVES the Oxtail soup.

I guess it is to each his own. But I did want to chime in with a vote for Boma! It is our favorite place to have dinner at WDW, and we have tried MANY.

Just my opinions.

Thanks!
Kamy

 

[Steffi]

Kamgen-I'm so happy to see a positive opinion about Boma! I have a PS there for next weekend to take my mom & mom-in-law out for a late Mother's Day dinner...reading this thread had me about ready to cancel & take them somewhere else!