Should we cancel Boma ADR?

[Disneybiginner]

We are staying at AKL for one night before our cruise. It will be our first time ever visit AKL. We also will have one night post cruise, but will stay at relatives house. We have 2 girls who love animals , age 6 and 4. Keep our situation in mind, should we cancel Boma ADR?

Our flight will land at 5:30 pm. We probably will arrive at AKL around 7:00 via DME. We currently have ADR at Boma @ 8:00pm. Here is my concern, should we keep the ADR, and discovery the rest of AKL the next day before we head to port? Or, should we just grab a quick bite at Mara and embrace the beautiful resort as much as possible, and leave Boma to next WDW trip? We also have Sana’a ADR on our post cruise day, we figured our girls will love to eat with animals wandering outside the window.

Thanks in advance for any input.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

To be honest, I'd cancel Boma. Not so much because "explore" but also because with a 5:30 flight landing, getting to an 8PM ADR might be a rush. You might have hungry kids in the airport. There might be a delay to gate. You might want to get your luggage yourself and not count on DME since with a 5:30 flight you'll be lucky to have your luggage by 9:30.

Were I you - and I am not! - I would handle things thusly:

1. If I have luggage, I would get it myself instead of delivery. Especially since there is cruise luggage pickup in the morning, you likely don't want Bell Services to hold all night, and late delivery is kinda a pain with little kids.

2. I would eat at Mara when I got there.

3. I would not rush to get to an ADR, or worry about where my luggage was or when it would be delivered.

4. I would have a nice adult beverage.

 

[kiford]

Boma's great but our last three flights were all late and we had to wait until the bus was ready to leave MCO. Granted we were arriving very late at night. While two of the flights were late due to weather, the latest one was just due to mechanical issues with the plane so we were over 2 hours late leaving. With the grounding of the 737 max planes, you might be more likely to encounter delays in leaving due to rescheduling of planes. A 5:30 pm landing to an 8 pm ADR is likely do-able but tight. You'd hate to be charged for a no show/late show and still have to end up eating in Mara. Plus Boma is best experienced when you're not rushed and tired especially for young ones.

 

[PsycProfPlum]

+1 on the above. Boma is excellent, but I'd rather not stress over missing an ADR (or having to bump and run it to dodge the fees). Plus there is so much to see at AKL-Jambo. As a bonus, the Mara is one of the better quick-services around, IMO.

 

[BalooFan]

I would probably cancel dinner at Boma. If you get to AKL in time for dinner, you can then check MDE for availability at Boma or eat at the Mara. What time do you leave AKL in the morning? If you have time, Boma has an excellent breakfast buffet.

 

[Spencer Wright]

To be honest, I'd cancel Boma. Not so much because "explore" but also because with a 5:30 flight landing, getting to an 8PM ADR might be a rush. You might have hungry kids in the airport. There might be a delay to gate. You might want to get your luggage yourself and not count on DME since with a 5:30 flight you'll be lucky to have your luggage by 9:30.

Were I you - and I am not! - I would handle things thusly:

1. If I have luggage, I would get it myself instead of delivery. Especially since there is cruise luggage pickup in the morning, you likely don't want Bell Services to hold all night, and late delivery is kinda a pain with little kids.

2. I would eat at Mara when I got there.

3. I would not rush to get to an ADR, or worry about where my luggage was or when it would be delivered.

4. I would have a nice adult beverage.

While I love Boma, I absolutely agree. Don't forget to get a Zebra Dome whether you go to Boma or Mara!

 

[MickeyT]

Plus you're going to be eating away at sea! Enjoy your land time too!

 

[Disneybiginner]

Thank you so much for all the input! Glad we asked here. We didn’t even think about the delays drama and possibly missing the ADR. It does make more sense to cancel it for this particular trip!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I would drop the arrival evening ADR and consider making a Boma breakfast reservation for the following day.

 

[aggiedog]

Agree with above for all the reasons stated, plus the fact that while Boma has been our favorite restaurant for years, it was hellacious the last time we went. Truly utter chaos. They were very late to seat us, the buffet lines were crazy long, there were kids running all over the place waving pompoms on sticks and hitting many patrons, cutting in the buffet lines, several tables of kids on loud electronics. The CM's did nothing. It was the least enjoyable WDW dining experience we've had in quite a while. It would not be the way I'd want to start my vacation. Not to sound like a grump, we have 4 kids ourselves, but this was seriously beyond the pale. We came out feeling like we'd eaten dinner in a crowed DMV waiting room.

 

[toodycat]

You might just want to move the reservation to 8:30 or have breakfast there. Boma is awesome. I don’t know how much resort you’re going to see at 8 p.m. The best time to view the animals is in the morning. Evening is a nice time to sit around the fire pit, though.

 

[MomOTwins]

Another vote for the breakfast. I've never flown into MCO without a flight delay.

 

[Minnie1222]

I vote for Quick Service food only. That way you'll have more time to explore the resort.

 

[Minnesota!]

I would do Mara that night and then a Boma breakfast, early. We like the first slot - which I think is 730?

 

[kniquy]

Our flight will land at 5:30 pm. We probably will arrive at AKL around 7:00 via DME. We currently have ADR at Boma @ 8:00pm. Here is my concern, should we keep the ADR, and discovery the rest of AKL the next day before we head to port? Or, should we just grab a quick bite at Mara and embrace the beautiful resort as much as possible, and leave Boma to next WDW trip? We also have Sana’a ADR on our post cruise day, we figured our girls will love to eat with animals wandering outside the window.

With that tight of a time frame i would cancel just to alleviate any stress of missing your ADR -no sense incurring a no show fee. You could book Boma for breakfast for your next day. But honestly we have been very happy with the Mara, so that is a good option for your arrival night dinner. Or once you are on the magical express bus I would look to see if there is a Boma reservation for once you arrive. You might get lucky and find one.