Skimpy review, but things worth noting 6/20-6/26

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

My husband and I just returned from a six day, kid-free trip celebrating our 10th anniversary. It was awesome! We at a ton of food and I thought some things were worth noting here...…But I have no pictures. We purposely left our phones behind much of the time in order to disconnect and just live in the moment. So here are a few things that stood out as far as food went:

The Boathouse: SO GOOD! I ordered the steak and fries, and it was cooked (rare) and seasoned perfectly. DH had the swordfish dish, and while it was good, neither of us enjoyed the sauce.

D-Luxe Burger: I had a regular hamburger, it was decent. DH had the burger special which was a triple cheese burger. He loved it, but give him beef, cheese, and bacon and he's happy. The fries weren't very good, they were hard as if they'd sat out too long.

Via Napoli: We shared a peperoni pizza here and we liked it. It didn't knock our socks off, but it was GOOD pizza if that makes sense. Service was great. I know it gets complaints about being slow but our pizza came out within 10 minutes of ordering, we actually cancelled our appetizer because the pizza came out first. They brought us some deconstructed cupcake dessert thing for free because it was our anniversary and it was tasty! It was a nice surprise.

We stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge and ate at the Mara a few times. I wish I could say I had more than Caesar salads but other than that I only had one chicken BLT sandwich. We usually ate there when we just wanted something lighter, so salads it was. The mugs were worth the money in our opinions. (No dining plan)

Boma: I didn't originally have an ADR for this, but after smelling it everyday as we walked by we had to try it. IT WAS THE BEST MEAL WE'VE HAD ON DISNEY PROPERTY. The options were fresh and cooked well. The beef was so tender, as was the turkey! The African inspired sides were just enough for DH and I to try (we aren't very adventurous) and I'm glad we did.

Snacks: Pineapple thing at Pandora... Nope. Not a fan. Brioche ice cream sandwich with vanilla ice cream and raspberry sauce was TO DIE FOR.

Drinks: Most were had by the pool. Coco-Jitos are my new go-to drink and DH loved the Banana Cabana. I had wine with a few meals, but I can't even begin to remember the names so I'll just say they were all pretty good.

 

[Cramden]

Thanks for the reviews! I keep flip flopping between BOATHOUSE and Tiffins for Lunch on my Animal Kingdom day. Currently booked at Tiffins for the convenience but really want to try BOATHOUSE. Have you been to Tiffins by any chance to make a comparison?

Thanks again.

 

[alltwelve]

Congratulations on your 10th anniversary! And thanks for the reviews!

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Thanks for the reviews! I keep flip flopping between BOATHOUSE and Tiffins for Lunch on my Animal Kingdom day. Currently booked at Tiffins for the convenience but really want to try BOATHOUSE. Have you been to Tiffins by any chance to make a comparison?

Thanks again.

We didn't! Sorry... But The Boathouse was very good!

Congratulations on your 10th anniversary! And thanks for the reviews!

Thank you!

 

[KenHutch]

Thanks for the good reviews. I converted several of my daughters relatives to the greatness of Boma by introducing them to Zebra Domes.

 

[chalee94]

Boma: I didn't originally have an ADR for this, but after smelling it everyday as we walked by we had to try it. IT WAS THE BEST MEAL WE'VE HAD ON DISNEY PROPERTY. The options were fresh and cooked well. The beef was so tender, as was the turkey! The African inspired sides were just enough for DH and I to try (we aren't very adventurous) and I'm glad we did.

Shhh.... Boma is getting hard enough to book as it is...

 

[BEASLYBOO]

We purposely left our phones behind much of the time in order to disconnect and just live in the moment.

D-Luxe Burger: I had a regular hamburger, it was decent

Via Napoli: we actually cancelled our appetizer because the pizza came out first.

Boma: I didn't originally have an ADR for this, but after smelling it everyday as we walked by we had to try it. IT WAS THE BEST MEAL WE'VE HAD ON DISNEY PROPERTY. The options were fresh and cooked well.

Congrats on your anniversary and what a great thing, giving technology a rest! Boma has no ambiance to speak off, it’s noisy but it’s one of the few buffets we enjoy. The interesting preparations, the many soup and salad selections allow us to look past the noise and the cafeteria atmosphere. Via Napoli, you said it all, good pizza but your appetizer should never come after your entree or at the same time, something they continually fail at, and frankly it’s not that hard! Thank you for sharing!

 

[rentayenta]

Thank you for the reviews and congratulations! DH and I will be going soon to celebrate our 25th; he’d love if I would leave my phone behind....still debating. Were also staying at AKL/V. Glad you tried Boma, it’s incredible.

 

[Spencer Wright]

...We stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge and ate at the Mara a few times. I wish I could say I had more than Caesar salads but other than that I only had one chicken BLT sandwich. We usually ate there when we just wanted something lighter, so salads it was. The mugs were worth the money in our opinions. (No dining plan)

Boma: I didn't originally have an ADR for this, but after smelling it everyday as we walked by we had to try it. IT WAS THE BEST MEAL WE'VE HAD ON DISNEY PROPERTY. The options were fresh and cooked well. The beef was so tender, as was the turkey! The African inspired sides were just enough for DH and I to try (we aren't very adventurous) and I'm glad we did....

Who ever is in charge of food and beverage for AKL seriously needs to take over for all of Disney. It has been excellent, and consistently so for quite a few years.

 

[trouttigger]

Thanks for sharing. We are staying at AKL for the first time in December, and I was wondering about Mara. We'll make sure to eat there. So glad to hear that it's good. And, like you, we aren't very adventurous, but we LOVE Boma.

 

[3 Hobbits 2 Disney]

Thanks for the reviews! I keep flip flopping between BOATHOUSE and Tiffins for Lunch on my Animal Kingdom day. Currently booked at Tiffins for the convenience but really want to try BOATHOUSE. Have you been to Tiffins by any chance to make a comparison?

Thanks again.

Keep Tiffins. In my opinion it is among the top 3 restaurants on property. While Boathouse is good, you can get seafood many places. Tiffins provides an entirely different food experience in a lovely environment.

 

[DisBuckMan]

Via Napoli: We shared a peperoni pizza here and we liked it. It didn't knock our socks off, but it was GOOD pizza if that makes sense. Service was great. I know it gets complaints about being slow but our pizza came out within 10 minutes of ordering, we actually cancelled our appetizer because the pizza came out first.

The fact that they brought out your pizza before your appetizer is a service issue...a constant source of complaints at VN.

I agree with your assessment on the pizza there...it's GOOD, but not great. Very inconsistent. They could take lessons from Naples, their sister restaurant at Disneyland. We ate there last month, and it was much better than the best pizza I've ever had at Via Napoli. Pizza was cooked properly, and was well covered with both cheese and pepperoni...not the sparse toppings VN is famous for.

Like I've always said....Via Napoli is consistently inconsistent.

 

[heidijanesmith]

Thanks for the review!

Agree with Via Napoli being inconsistent. We had terrible service last time we were there, so we are giving it a break for a while. Maybe we will miss it....

 

[nycdisneygal]

Happy anniversary and thanks for posting your reviews!

 

[ScottOKW2K]

Who ever is in charge of food and beverage for AKL seriously needs to take over for all of Disney. It has been excellent, and consistently so for quite a few years.

+10 !

Boma, Jiko, Mara, and Sanaa have ALL always been good since they opened, and continue to get excellent reviews.

 

[monorailmom]

Thanks for the reviews! I keep flip flopping between BOATHOUSE and Tiffins for Lunch on my Animal Kingdom day. Currently booked at Tiffins for the convenience but really want to try BOATHOUSE. Have you been to Tiffins by any chance to make a comparison?

Thanks again.

My DH and I tried Tiffins for the first time on our adults' only trip in May. We loved it! Of course, we also love the Boathouse.

Tiffins definitely has more of an atmosphere. Our host took a few minutes when seating us to explain our surroundings and the meanings of the many art pieces and photos around the restaurant. The menu itself is far more diverse than what you will find at the Boathouse. This can be a good or bad thing, depending on how picky of an eater you are. My DH is a pretty picky eater, and while he didn't love our appetizer at Tiffins (bread service) he did really enjoy his meal.

The Boathouse has the best seafood we've had at Disney World, and being from the Northeast, we are hard critics! We have never found it loud, or that we were seated too close to anyone around us. Some of the views are really nice if you're near a window. I even ordered a Lobster Roll on our visit in Feb ( a big deal for a MA girl like me to order that outside of NE!) but it was excellent! As a family we've also enjoyed the fried buckets of clams on previous visits.

I think you can't go wrong with either choice. However, if I was already in AK for the day, I'd keep it easy and skip the transportation issue and give Tiffins a shot.

Have fun!

 

[ariane37]

You are so right about Boma, whether it's breakfast or dinner it is the best buffet on property! We'll be there for Thanksgiving this year

Thanks for the reviews! I keep flip flopping between BOATHOUSE and Tiffins for Lunch on my Animal Kingdom day. Currently booked at Tiffins for the convenience but really want to try BOATHOUSE. Have you been to Tiffins by any chance to make a comparison?

Thanks again.

100% Tiffins, it has taken the #1 spot as our favorite signature