Dang Boma curse. This is the second time I've tried to post this chapter. The first time, I lost the whole thing. Good thing I type it all in Word, eh?
We dawn a new day. Again. This trip report is racing along entirely too quickly for my taste, since we're getting to the latter half of the week.
And we're getting to the worst dining experience of our trip.
:::sigh:::
Boma. Why have you forsaken me? In your hallowed walls, praised by DISers aplenty, why, oh why, did you pick the TK clan to...spit on?
We took the bus to the Magic Kingdom and immediately lined up for the bus for the Animal Kingdom Lodge. The driver wanted to know if we were headed to the Animal Kingdom, we told her no, the Lodge. It was a private ride for us, we were the only three on the bus, so I'm assuming she would have taken us to the AK if we wanted, which was very nice.
Perhaps we should have taken the hint. Now, I admit folks, I could write a whole chapter about how horrifying this experience was to me. But in retrospect, and at the time I said a couple of things, mostly to DH. One, we'd had a fantastic week, and stellar dining so far. We were bound to run across one bad meal. Two, everything happens for a reason, and the rest of our day panned out pretty well.
But honestly? HUGE dissappointment.
I don't know if I can describe to you how in love with food I am. How one of the reasons that I have trouble losing weight is not for lack of exercise but for love of food. I hate to blame it all on being part Italian, because it's really due to my parents views on food as well. It's part of my memories, part of those warm fuzzy feelings we all have about certain events. And a lot of that is tied in to food.
So for me to say to my husband, "Honey, I feel like that was fuel and nothing else," is a huge slap in the face to Boma. And I'm not trying to throw down here. I'm entitled to this opinion, and unfortunately, it's a negative one. Which is really not like me. But there you have it. All of the baked goods were dry as dust. No moisture at all. The food was unappealing. We tried practically everything and nothing said wow to us, you know? In that moment, I was sorely missing my standard Chef Mickey's fare. Simple, plain, but enjoyable edible.
Boma was not.
And I was sad. It had been hyped up so much, I expected it to be one of the highlights of our trip. Instead it felt like a waste of time. Now we had some good moments, and our waiter was very friendly. But he was so lax in service! Other tables got large cups of that yummy juice, ours were small. Don't know if they asked for them, but it put us out a little. It took him forever to clear empty dishes, and we felt a bit odd, because we were three people, and they sat us at a table for eight. I mean we had extra room to spread out, but it was just odd. He also took FOREVER to bring the check. Fifteen to twenty minutes forever. I sat there waiting, had already sent DH and DS out so it was quite obvious we were done. And he saw me. Waiting. But was chatting with another table. That whole time. Apparently, they liked their food. Fine, great, wonderful. Bring the check so I can pay and leave. I was so disgusted, even when he apologized for taking so long. But I am nothing if not gracious, and I didn't stiff him on the tip. I left something that seemed reasonable.
And that, my dear friends, is my one and only experience with Boma. Because my charming husband, the man who humored me so much on this trip, the man who could be taken anywhere to do pretty much anything and do it with a smile, said he would never, ever go back. And I wouldn't make him. Not even to try dinner.
Maybe ten years from now, DS will be a teenager, and he'll say, hey, there's this really cool restaurant I want to go to in the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and DH and I will sigh, roll our eyes, and give in. Because even if he's a teenager, he's still my little nugget. But until that day, c'est la vie.
We headed on to the Animal Kingdom with leaden bellies. That food just sat. Uncomfortably. I tried to move past it. Or hope it would move past me. Sooner rather than later. Even if it meant a number four of ZZUB proportions.
As we got into the Animal Kingdom, I felt refreshed. I wasn't going to let that breakfast affect our whole day. And this was an exciting day. The day we planned to conquer the Animal Kingdom by doing things we'd never done before.
In essence, going to the left.
See, we've never gone to Camp Minnie Mickey. Ever.
How many years have I been going to that park? Since it opened? Never gone left? Oh the tragedy of it all. NOBoma.
Now it wasn't terribly hot, which was surprising to me. We actually lucked out, and it was one of the coolest days I've ever had in the Animal Kingdom. Things were looking up as we stopped to reapply our sunblock. Even if it was cooler, it was still quite sunny.
So off to the left we went.
Pirates.
Ready to maybe meet some characters.
Like
and
Mickey was great. While we waited in line we chatted with the lady in front of us who had an amazing denim shirt she'd embroidered herself with TONS of Disney characters. That shirt kept DS so entertained. And she was great, letting him play find the character. We watched her get her pictures, and then it was our turn. DS was still a little shy, so we had the pirate treasure out. Mickey was so wonderful with DS, making a big deal over the treasure. He took a lot of photos with us, and then instructed a little session between him and DH which came out really cute.
After that, it was just about time to line up for Festival of the Lion King, which I was really, really excited to see. DS had taken a shine to the movie in recent months, and reading about this on ZZUB's trip report I knew it was something he would enjoy, and us, as well. Let me just say one word: AMAZING!
That show was incredible! The color, the movement, the singing. Oh my goodness! If you haven't seen it, I highly, highly recommend it. I turned to DH at one point and said, and I quote, "Does this make up for Boma?" I felt like we were being rewarded for slugging down that god awful food. And rewarded a plenty!
At first, DS was a bit nervous. It is pretty loud. We took out Spiderman, and half-way through, I stole a glance at DS to check on him. He was still holding Spiderman, but he had that perfect look of awe on his face. You know that look. That look that I lived for during this trip. That look of childhood innocence and astonishment all wrapped into one. It was pure heaven, that look. From that point on, I spent half my time watching the show and half my time watching DS. I was in heaven.
Afterwards, we knew we were running on borrowed time. It was getting close to nap time, but we were hoping to squeeze in a ride on the safari before DS conked out. On the way over, we decided to get DS an ice cream to keep him cooled off. I would have gotten him an Itzakadoozie, but they don't carry them in the Animal Kingdom. My theory on that is because the center of the stick is really like a straw, they won't have them there since it would harm the animals. And that concludes the scientific portion of this trip report. If there was one. A scientific portion that is. I think it's pretty evident this is a trip report. Anyway, the boy opted for a nice strawberry fruit bar instead.
We headed over to the safari, not knowing what to expect, and it was a walk on! WOO HOO! Now, I was concerned since DS hadn't finished his ice cream yet, but the cast members were so friendly, and insistent. Oh, no, no, they said, come right on in, he can finish it on the way there. We passed at least three of them who had no problem with the ice cream, and kept inviting us onward. Since there was no line, I took some time to look at all the wonderful details in the in the theming, and let people pass us. It was great.
For the first time ever, we got to sit in the front row! I was so excited. It was like the food gods had taken pity on me, talked to the ride gods, and I was being rewarded again! Our tour guide was wonderful. She talked just enough, you know what I mean? We saw lots of animals, and I didn't take pictures. I have plenty of pictures of that safari, and I'm sick of seeing it behind a camera lens. Sometimes you have to just enjoy it and let it live in your memory, savvy?
Now you all remember my son, right?
Little boy who fell asleep and stayed asleep during the
MNSSHP fireworks? Yeah.
Well, suffice it to say sleepy time is sleepy time. And he stretched out across our laps about halfway through the safari and went to sleep. Right then and there. Do you all have any idea how bumpy that ride is? He slept through the rest of it. Poor little nugget was done. Now, I wasn't worried, because this morning, he was feeling a lot better than the day before. I chalked it up to dehydration...I didn't know what was to come.
So, with sleeping child in stroller, DH and I decided to take a lovely little stroll. We got some photopass pictures taken in front of the Tree, and stopped at a little cart to get some slushy drinks. I had a slushy Chai Tea, and let me tell you, it really hit the spot. DH decided to do the single rider line on Expedition Everest, so I sat and waited for him in this nice area near Nemo with a HUGE fan blowing on me. With my slushy tea. And a happily sleeping toddler.
Oh, heaven.
After that, we headed to Dinoland to try our luck at some games. And the claw machine curse apparently had extended to carnival games now, because, no dice.
Bummer!
Up next - Do we stay to watch Nemo or go tropical?
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