kirkharrod
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2004
- Messages
- 292
Day Three, Fri, Feb 13: Extra Magic Hour Animal Kingdom, Flame Tree BBQ lunch, Boma African Buffet Dinner, Downtown Disney, DisneyQuest pedometer mileage 9.7 miles.
**see day 1 and 2 reports previously posted
Up early for the Extra Magic Hour at the Animal Kingdom (3 out of 5 stars), we did the Kilimanjaro Safaris (5 out of 5) first and saw lots of nice animals, followed by the Pagani Trail, kind of like a zoo exhibit. The bird sanctuary, though is not to be missed. Our children did not want to see any shows on this trips, so we did not see any, except Flights of Wonder (5 out of 5), a bird show! Last year, they loved the shows. This year, not interested at all. Oh well. We were there to do what they wanted. We then went to Its Tough to Be a Bug (4 out of 5 stars). My 6 yr old hates 3D movies, so she did not like this one much because of loud noises, bad smells, sensations of bugs crawling around your feet, etc. Next was Dinosaur (4 out of 5), a roller coaster type ride with dinosaurs. It scared both my kids. I liked it. Primeval Whirl (3 out of 5) was like a (tame) Wild Mouse ride, that spins as it travels the track. The Boneyard (5 out of 5) was a big playground that my kids could have stayed at all day. While they played there, I went to Flame Tree Barbecue (3 out of 5) for a barbecue sandwich and delicious baked beans. The kids had a cheeseburger at the Restaurantasaurus (2 out of 5). The also serve Chicken McNuggets there, but no McDonalds burgers. The kids liked it.
The Africa area of Animal Kingdom (5 out of 5) looks very realistic, even built to look old. In the Asia area, we rode the Kali River Rapids (3 out of 5). You absolutely will get wet on this ride, and you may get soaked! They sell ponchos for $6, but heres a tip. The exit line passes right next to the entrance line. Offer someone $2 for their poncho as they get off the ride. Someone will take you up on it. After getting soaked, we decided to go back to the Coronado Springs Resort and get ready for dinner.
Dinner was at Boma (5 out of 5) at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. We were going to take the Animal Kingdom bus to AK and then take another bus to the AKL. We were the only ones on the bus, and my wife mentioned to the bus driver what our plans were. The bus driver took us right to the Lodge instead! I offered him a tip but he would not accept it. Things were going great already. Our PS were at 5:00 pm. We got a pager that would receive anywhere in the AK resort, so we went out and watched the Savannah from a porch for 20 minutes until we were beeped. I recommend getting a later PS because the buffet lines were crowded with people just getting there. The dinner buffet at Boma is fantastic, one of the most interesting dinners I have ever had. However, people, get this straight: YOU DO NOT HAVE TO START AT THE VERY END OF THE LINE AT THIS BUFFET! It is set up so you can walk up to any one of the 6 buffet stations. However, people still get in line at the first station and try to walk down the line. When I correctly walked up to the meat carving station, I was greeted by under their breath remarks about breaking the line. I just smiled and went on around the buffet, mostly because I was right, and partly because I am a big guy with a ponytail and a FuManchu mustache, and I scare people. Anyway, let me get back to the food. The buffet has pods with different selections. Here is everything I can remember: Carved prime rib, flank steak, pork tenderloin, turkey breast, salmon, and there might have even been lamb, baked chicken w/spices, chicken strips, pizza, good macaroni and cheese, 10 different salads, 4 soups/chowders ( I tried them all, they were all good), 10 different casserole style dishes, including the Bobotie, which I liked. It was kind of like Greek Moussaka. There was homemade flatbread, cracker style, which had 4 kinds of hummus with it. All were fabulous. Various sauces were around the carving station to dip your meat. Now I come to the dessert bar and the vaunted Zebra Domes. The dessert bar at Boma was the best of the buffets that I had. Everything was very good, and there may have been 25 different desserts. My wife loved the Zebra Domes, I did not care for them. They are kind of like a mocha flavored sponge cake, covered in white chocolate and drizzled with zebra stripes in chocolate. I did not care for them, but I am not a chocolate fan. The buffet was $23.88 for adults and $9.95 for kids and I would go there right now if I could. Strangers were walking around the buffet smiling at each other , asking each other, "Did you try the blah, blah, blah," talking about how great the food was. As for the wimps on the message boards who say they could not find anything they were willing to try at Boma, I say Open your mind and your mouth and you will be pleasantly surprised. We headed out to the bus stop to catch a ride to Downtown Disney and DisneyQuset. But I caught more than a bus. More on that in my next post!
**see day 1 and 2 reports previously posted
Up early for the Extra Magic Hour at the Animal Kingdom (3 out of 5 stars), we did the Kilimanjaro Safaris (5 out of 5) first and saw lots of nice animals, followed by the Pagani Trail, kind of like a zoo exhibit. The bird sanctuary, though is not to be missed. Our children did not want to see any shows on this trips, so we did not see any, except Flights of Wonder (5 out of 5), a bird show! Last year, they loved the shows. This year, not interested at all. Oh well. We were there to do what they wanted. We then went to Its Tough to Be a Bug (4 out of 5 stars). My 6 yr old hates 3D movies, so she did not like this one much because of loud noises, bad smells, sensations of bugs crawling around your feet, etc. Next was Dinosaur (4 out of 5), a roller coaster type ride with dinosaurs. It scared both my kids. I liked it. Primeval Whirl (3 out of 5) was like a (tame) Wild Mouse ride, that spins as it travels the track. The Boneyard (5 out of 5) was a big playground that my kids could have stayed at all day. While they played there, I went to Flame Tree Barbecue (3 out of 5) for a barbecue sandwich and delicious baked beans. The kids had a cheeseburger at the Restaurantasaurus (2 out of 5). The also serve Chicken McNuggets there, but no McDonalds burgers. The kids liked it.
The Africa area of Animal Kingdom (5 out of 5) looks very realistic, even built to look old. In the Asia area, we rode the Kali River Rapids (3 out of 5). You absolutely will get wet on this ride, and you may get soaked! They sell ponchos for $6, but heres a tip. The exit line passes right next to the entrance line. Offer someone $2 for their poncho as they get off the ride. Someone will take you up on it. After getting soaked, we decided to go back to the Coronado Springs Resort and get ready for dinner.
Dinner was at Boma (5 out of 5) at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. We were going to take the Animal Kingdom bus to AK and then take another bus to the AKL. We were the only ones on the bus, and my wife mentioned to the bus driver what our plans were. The bus driver took us right to the Lodge instead! I offered him a tip but he would not accept it. Things were going great already. Our PS were at 5:00 pm. We got a pager that would receive anywhere in the AK resort, so we went out and watched the Savannah from a porch for 20 minutes until we were beeped. I recommend getting a later PS because the buffet lines were crowded with people just getting there. The dinner buffet at Boma is fantastic, one of the most interesting dinners I have ever had. However, people, get this straight: YOU DO NOT HAVE TO START AT THE VERY END OF THE LINE AT THIS BUFFET! It is set up so you can walk up to any one of the 6 buffet stations. However, people still get in line at the first station and try to walk down the line. When I correctly walked up to the meat carving station, I was greeted by under their breath remarks about breaking the line. I just smiled and went on around the buffet, mostly because I was right, and partly because I am a big guy with a ponytail and a FuManchu mustache, and I scare people. Anyway, let me get back to the food. The buffet has pods with different selections. Here is everything I can remember: Carved prime rib, flank steak, pork tenderloin, turkey breast, salmon, and there might have even been lamb, baked chicken w/spices, chicken strips, pizza, good macaroni and cheese, 10 different salads, 4 soups/chowders ( I tried them all, they were all good), 10 different casserole style dishes, including the Bobotie, which I liked. It was kind of like Greek Moussaka. There was homemade flatbread, cracker style, which had 4 kinds of hummus with it. All were fabulous. Various sauces were around the carving station to dip your meat. Now I come to the dessert bar and the vaunted Zebra Domes. The dessert bar at Boma was the best of the buffets that I had. Everything was very good, and there may have been 25 different desserts. My wife loved the Zebra Domes, I did not care for them. They are kind of like a mocha flavored sponge cake, covered in white chocolate and drizzled with zebra stripes in chocolate. I did not care for them, but I am not a chocolate fan. The buffet was $23.88 for adults and $9.95 for kids and I would go there right now if I could. Strangers were walking around the buffet smiling at each other , asking each other, "Did you try the blah, blah, blah," talking about how great the food was. As for the wimps on the message boards who say they could not find anything they were willing to try at Boma, I say Open your mind and your mouth and you will be pleasantly surprised. We headed out to the bus stop to catch a ride to Downtown Disney and DisneyQuset. But I caught more than a bus. More on that in my next post!
