Team Renfroe trip report with TONS of pics & reviews

[Figment's Friend]

Great update! Those crab cakes look so delicious. Sounds like you had a great time that evening at Epcot! We ate at Boma last year and really enjoyed it, but being at AKL for an afternoon visit was even better! Can't wait for your next update.

 

[alan_renfroe]

Awesome as always!! I still havbe Narcosses on my list, but am not sure if it will be next year!!

We really loved it. I would like to try Citricos next time, just for variety.

That's it!! I have to start eating dinner before I read your dining reviews. I want to lick my laptop screen!! You have a beautiful family. I have really enjoyed all of the pictures that you have taken. We have stayed at the AKL and I cannot say enough about it and we always make a point to eat at Boma, my personal favorite. Can't wait to read more


Melissa

Hahahaha! Note to Melissa: the next post will be a review of BOMA. DO NOT READ until after you have eaten!

I noticed that while you drove to Florida you chose to use Disney transportation. I was just curious, was this because you wanted the full Disney experience, high gas prices, ...? Did you drive to AKL because it was too difficult to get there from CSR? or was it the time in the am?

Also, can you take either the boat or monorail to the GF? How about the Polynesian?

Hello bizneydizney! Great questions! Let me answer each of them, so that you will get our perspective as first-timers.

We drove to WDW, but we wanted to take Disney transportation to Magic Kingdom and Epcot primarily. Several reasons: (1) at Magic Kingdom, the bus takes you right to the park. If you drive, you still have to take either the monorail or ferry across Seven Seas Lagoon to get to the park. The bus is MUCH faster to get to MK. (2) at Epcot, you may have to park really far from the main entrance. Disney transportation takes you right to the front. (3) We felt that with the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, we actually made better time by taking the bus than by driving. (4) It was hotter than 4 hells....even in May! Those big, nice air-conditioned buses were awesome! (5) Getting the full experience definitely! It was really nice to leave the resort in the morning and never worry about driving.

We did drive to Animal Kingdom, Typhoon Lagoon, Hollywood Studios, and Blizzard Beach. These were close by the resort and were easy drives. We drove to AKL because you would have to take a bus to a park, then transfer to an AKL bus.....MUCH faster to just drive.

From the Magic Kingdom, you can take a boat to Grand Floridian AND Polynesian, or take the monorail. If time is a factor, see if the boat is docked at MK. If so, take it. IF not, hop on the monorail.

Great Trip Report and awesome pics! Just found you today and have thoroughly enjoyed it. Looking forward to more.

Thanks, TCKK! Welcome aboard!

What a truly magical day you had on Day 4, the lady was so right on....the time of your lives!

I'm really looking forward to your BOMA breakfast review as we are planning this for our upcoming trip!

Once again, your family is beautiful.

Hi TigerKat! You are right...I almost get a little teary-eyed when I think about some of the unforgettable moments we had on the vacation. It is a vacation none of us will ever, ever forget. Disney is truly a magical place!

 

[alan_renfroe]

Great update! Those crab cakes look so delicious. Sounds like you had a great time that evening at Epcot! We ate at Boma last year and really enjoyed it, but being at AKL for an afternoon visit was even better! Can't wait for your next update.

Thanks, FF! We had crab cakes at three or four places....but these were THE BEST! We enjoyed Boma and visiting AKL as well! Report is coming up.

 

[alan_renfroe]

On Tuesday, May 20th, we had 8:30am reservations for breakfast at Boma. We arrived at 8:10am and were seated immediately. There wasn't a huge crowd at all...in fact, probably 3 out of every 4 tables were empty!

I cannot remember our server's name, but he was fantastic! He sparred with the kids and made it fun for them. My DS orders water to drink most of the time, (can you believe he'd rather drink water than soda?) When he ordered water, our server asked him, "would you like African water or American water?" I think DS thought he was serious for a second, then he started laughing!

Although Disney does not call it a buffet, the breakfast is set up buffet-like. I took pictures of each station:

Breads

Pastries

Muffins

Pineapple, Cantelope, Honeydew, Grapes, Watermelon

Strawberries, Oranges, Apples, Yogurt

Fried Potatoes, Cheese Omelets, Ham & Cheese Omelets, Scrambled Eggs

Pancakes, Waffles, Brioche (like French Toast w/raisins)

Bacon, Sausage, Bobotie (which was awesome! it is corned beef, eggs, cream, potato & onions - i went back for more!), and a biscuit over curry dish. (I enjoyed this dish also...no other family member tried it.)

Carving station included Ham & Corned Beef

DW's first plate:

My first plate: Pineapple, Ham & Cheese omelet, Bobotie, Bacon & Sausage

DS's plate:

Jungle Juice and DD's plate. The Jungle Juice was SO GOOD! I think our server refilled my glass at least 3 times.

Boma is a beautiful restaurant!

Overall, I thought the breakfast at Boma was outstanding. I would give it a 9.0 out of 10. The service was great, the food was great and abundant, and the atmosphere was festive and fun. The fact that we were in sort of a hurry and that DD started to complain of a tummy ache is the only reason I wouldn't rank it higher. We would DEFINITELY go back for breakfast at Boma!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

...our perspective as first-timers.

So I knew it was your first trip report and I knew it was at least DD's 1st visit b/c I saw a photo of her wearing a pin but I missed that it was your first visit too! I was impressed enough that this was your 1st report and it's so terrific but for it to have been your first time in the parks blows me away! You're a certified expert now!

I'm really enjoying this report and get giddy when I see updates. Keep them coming!

 

[estherhead]

We're going to Boma this year & I can see I'm going to have to walk A LOT to get rid of the calories we eat there. Yummy! And AKL looks absolutely gorgeous. I wonder if your DD's tummy ache had to do with all the ridh foods you were eating in general, and not Boma specifically? THat is something I'm worried about as we'll be on the Deluxe dining plan & I'm worried about changing from eating simple foods (here at home) to rich foods there!

 

[englishrose47]

I want to try Boma for breakfast .I did the supper there and I didn't care for the food to much, but the restaurant is awesome and my server was great. I can definately see loving the breakfast. Awesome review as usual Alan. This was your first trip ??

 

[TCKK]

The food looks great at Boma's. We've never been there. We'll have to try it on a future trip. Thanks for showing and telling us all about it! Awesome

 

[TigerKat]

I am really excited about that breakfast now!!!!

 

[alan_renfroe]

So I knew it was your first trip report and I knew it was at least DD's 1st visit b/c I saw a photo of her wearing a pin but I missed that it was your first visit too! I was impressed enough that this was your 1st report and it's so terrific but for it to have been your first time in the parks blows me away! You're a certified expert now!

I'm really enjoying this report and get giddy when I see updates. Keep them coming!

Hi Christine! Yep, this was the first trip for ALL of us. We went from knowing absolutely nothing to feeling like we were very well prepared. Our WDW trip has been sort of my hobbie project this spring. I read three books on WDW, and spent a great deal of time on the disboards and allears sites. I literally learned about Disney World by reading the threads on this web site! That is one of the reasons why we wanted to do a very detailed trip report - to give first-timers our perspective.

Thanks for your kind comments, always!

We're going to Boma this year & I can see I'm going to have to walk A LOT to get rid of the calories we eat there. Yummy! And AKL looks absolutely gorgeous. I wonder if your DD's tummy ache had to do with all the ridh foods you were eating in general, and not Boma specifically? THat is something I'm worried about as we'll be on the Deluxe dining plan & I'm worried about changing from eating simple foods (here at home) to rich foods there!

Good morning, estherhead. As it would turn out, DD was beginning to have a stomach virus. It wasn't anything she had eaten...it was a virus. I tried to warn both kids about running their hands up and down que line rails and things like that...but you can't stop kids from touching things. Anyway, I don't want to get ahead of myself and my report, but there will be more on this subject coming up.

I want to try Boma for breakfast .I did the supper there and I didn't care for the food to much, but the restaurant is awesome and my server was great. I can definately see loving the breakfast. Awesome review as usual Alan. This was your first trip ??

I saw the dinner menu and I don't think we would care for it. Breakfast, however, was fantastic! Also, I forgot to mention it, but if you are paying out of pocket, I think Boma's breakfast is a great value. Yep, this was our first trip!

The food looks great at Boma's. We've never been there. We'll have to try it on a future trip. Thanks for showing and telling us all about it! Awesome

You are welcome. When we go back to WDW, I would do breakfast at Boma again.

I am really excited about that breakfast now!!!!

Hey TigerKat! We only had two scheduled breakfasts on our entire trip, but this was such a huge breakfast, we really weren't very hungry at lunchtime. (more later.)

 

[alan_renfroe]

After our wonderful breakfast at Boma, we drove back to our resort to change into our swimwear and get ready to go to Typhoon Lagoon.

We decided it would probably be faster to drive than to take the bus.

DS is doing an impersonation of the statue!

As we were walking the path to the main part of the park, we saw this LIVE SNAKE slithering across the walkway. (no kidding!)

Classic scene from Typhoon Lagoon:

We were there at rope drop at 10am. DW rented us a locker then we went to find some lounge chairs near the surf pool to set up our 'camp'.

First up....the surf pool!

(cont. in next post)

 

[englishrose47]

When we made our first trip as a family last year I did the same as you, read books and learned all the tips from my Dis friends! DD thought and still does that I am obsessed !! But she admitted my research paid off and we did so much more and had great adr's etc !! As you see in my sig I am NO computor expert and my next challenge is to learn to post pix I did a couple and now can't I am soooo computor challenged! After our first trip I was hooked and did a SOLO trip this Feb! Mert several Dis friends and had a BLAST!! When are you going again? We hope to go May 09 , but it is tentative as we have to see when we can all get off and then there's that money thing!!!!

 

[alan_renfroe]

Scenes from the Surf Pool:

Next, we did Gangplank Falls, then Keelhaul falls.

DD coming down Keelhaul Falls.

DW & DS also did Mayday Falls.

Next, we went to Crush N' Gusher. Honestly, this turned out to be one of my absolute favorite rides in ANY park!

This thing is very intense...but AWESOME! We all rode, but it was a little too intense for DD. DS & I, however, rode it three times. I was like a kid! I could have ridden it 20 times!

DD was fine the first time she rode....but the 2nd time she rode with me and I am heavier. When we got to the end of the slide, she was tossed off the tube and got strangled a little. We decided to slow things down and get in the lazy river.

DS & I wanted to go back to Crush 'N Gusher, but DD didn't want to go. DW & DD waited for us at the pool that connects with Crush N' Gusher while we rode one last time.

Before leaving the park, we saw Stitch! DD got her picture made.

We left the park around 12:45 to go back to Coronado Springs & lunch at the Pepper Market. Typhoon Lagoon had not been busy in the first hour, but was now getting really crowded.

All in all, we had a blast at Typhoon Lagoon! This is the best water park I've ever been to. To me, it was worthwhile just for Crush 'N Gusher alone! LOVED IT!

Next installment - lunch at Pepper Market.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

Still loving the trippie!

How did you like being "way out" in the Ranchos section? Most of the time I read that people try to stay away from it because it's so far away. I stayed in Cabanas at CSR, but the Ranchos look really cool!

 

[kaysmommie]

Great TL update!

 

[SnoopyDancer]

I love your trip report! You are an excellent storyteller and photographer. I can't wait until you go back, so I can read your next trip report!

 

[Snowy-girls]

Food looked great at Boma.The bacon looks just how i like it,not crisped so it's like snapping a stick dh loves the bacon like that though.Loved the Typhoon Lagoon pics,but Alan where's the pic of you with your body on show .Can't wait for more.x.

 

[TCKK]

After looking at your pictures of Boma I talked to DH and both DD's and they thought it looked really good. So DH and I decided to call and make reservations for breakfast at Boma's. Called and got in at 8:35AM on Friday of our trip. Can't wait!! Our intention was to only do counter service meals this trip, but looks like things are changing some.

 

[bizneydizney]

What is the jungle juice at Boma? It looked like orange juice.

 

[Figment's Friend]

Typhoon Lagoon!! I love your pics, your family looks like they are just having a blast! Crush 'n Gusher looks so much fun (haven't done it yet myself!), as does the Lazy River! Can't wait to hear about the Pepper Market