Boma or Sanaa

[Mickey24c]

We would like to have dinner at Animal Kingdom Lodge to see the animals and resort. Which restaurant would you recommend? Keep in mind my family is not very adventurous when it comes to food!

 

[Karlzmom]

Be aware that Sanaa is at the Kidani area, not in the "main" Animal Kingdom Lodge. Its not hard to go between them, but if you are looking to see the main building know that you will have to travel over for dinner. Boma is in Jambo House, the main building.

While I really like Sanaa, if I was with "less adventuresome" diners, I'd go Boma so they can sample what looks good to them and not feel bad if there is something not to their liking, as there is no doubt something else on the buffet that will work for them. Sanaa has great food, but if you pick "wrong" for your taste, you would be stuck with it for the full meal.

Have fun! AKL is my favorite....

 

[disneybliss2]

I say try Boma. Boma is an African buffet at the main lodge. It has a variety of African inspired foods. There's plenty to appeal/please even the non-adventurous eater. You can schedule your meal so that you have time before hand or afterward (depending on reservation time) to go to the looking decks/areas outside to see the animals. Sanaa is located at Kidani Village which is another section of AKL. The food there is very good, but tends to be on the spicier side. There's a more limited offering there as well. It has an Indian inspired menu. You can see the animals outside while dining if you time your reservation right (huge glass window sections). Of the two, I would most definitely go with Boma. If you're family is picky, you'll find milder (yet still flavorful) food at Boma and more variety to chance finding things everyone likes. We really enjoy the dinner at Boma. Also, the inside of the main lodge is stunning which is where Boma is. It's so neat to walk around the outside grounds and see the animals at the different viewing areas. Another option is to eat the counter service at AKL called Mara. It doesn't have a huge menu selection but something that will please everyone.

 

[partigus]

I agree with the previous 2 posters...

1) not in the main building. How will you be getting there? car, or disney bus??I thought I'd miss the lobby of the Jambo House, but KV probably has the best common area design of any of the VC resorts I've visited.

2) Buffet will give you many more options. We took my sister and her kids here a few years back and they also would not be considered "adventurous" they loved the Tandori shrmp and chicken the server suggested. My only issue with Sanna- is that both times we ate there it turned into a 2+ hour meal...might be fine if you are winding down the daay and you were staying there, but with a "commute" back to another hotel- kind of a drag

 

[cmwade77]

Sanaa is good, but it is definitely for the adventurous eater. It is very easy to go between Kidani and Jambo though, they have internal shuttles or you can hop a bus going to Downtown Disney to get to Kidani or a bus going to any them park to get to Jambo house.

 

[bwang123]

Sanaa is good, but it is definitely for the adventurous eater. It is very easy to go between Kidani and Jambo though, they have internal shuttles or you can hop a bus going to Downtown Disney to get to Kidani or a bus going to any them park to get to Jambo house.

the walk is nice too. we walked to and from Jiko from Kidani and it wasn't bad at all.

 

[vdub322]

BOTH!!!

We ate at both during our last stay and really enjoyed them. Boma was scheduled, but Sanaa was a last minute addition because we were staying at Kidani and didn't feel like traveling to our ADR at Cape May Cafe. DD13 enjoyed Sanaa much more than Boma. She got a smoothie and Tandoori Chicken, which is a great option for less adventurous eaters. DH enjoyed Boma slightly more, but I think that is because Sanaa was on our last night and he had hit a major food wall. DD3 loved Sanaa because we sat right against the windows and the animals were carrying on and running around like crazy.

On this trip coming up we have Boma scheduled for dinner, and then again for breakfast on our departure day. And we might add Sanaa too. They are both excellent!

 

[jwfla422]

BOTH!!!

We ate at both during our last stay and really enjoyed them. Boma was scheduled, but Sanaa was a last minute addition because we were staying at Kidani and didn't feel like traveling to our ADR at Cape May Cafe. DD13 enjoyed Sanaa much more than Boma. She got a smoothie and Tandoori Chicken, which is a great option for less adventurous eaters. DH enjoyed Boma slightly more, but I think that is because Sanaa was on our last night and he had hit a major food wall. DD3 loved Sanaa because we sat right against the windows and the animals were carrying on and running around like crazy.

On this trip coming up we have Boma scheduled for dinner, and then again for breakfast on our departure day. And we might add Sanaa too. They are both excellent!

Can you see the animals at all when it's dark from Sanaa, just wondering if there is any lighting? I don't recall that there was in the main savannah as I remember the CMs showing you the animals at night with the special night vision binoculars. I have Sanaa on our list to try when we go and I'm looking forward to it.

We were big fans of Jiko but things changed a little there. Didn't love Boma at dinner, a little crazy and the buffet always had a line. Breakfast at Boma was better. Glad to know your dd like the Tandoori chicken at Sanaa as my dd (14) can be very picky and I know they also have them with shrimp.

 

[vdub322]

Can you see the animals at all when it's dark from Sanaa, just wondering if there is any lighting? I don't recall that there was in the main savannah as I remember the CMs showing you the animals at night with the special night vision binoculars. I have Sanaa on our list to try when we go and I'm looking forward to it.

We were big fans of Jiko but things changed a little there. Didn't love Boma at dinner, a little crazy and the buffet always had a line. Breakfast at Boma was better. Glad to know your dd like the Tandoori chicken at Sanaa as my dd (14) can be very picky and I know they also have them with shrimp.

I'm not actually sure about the lighting on the savannah...we were there in May of 2012 and our reservation was at 5pm. Maybe someone else can chime in on that one...I hadn't thought of it being dark outside if we eat there in January.

I think Sanaa can be ok for non-adventurous eaters. Our server was fantastic there, and he was very interested in the kids being happy too.

I am excited about breakfast at Boma! That should be a fantastic meal to ease the pain of departure day!

 

[SeniorWoodchuck]

Didn't love Boma at dinner, a little crazy and the buffet always had a line.

I've read that each station or "pod" at Boma is considered a separate area, and that it's not considered line jumping to go directly to the pod that interests you (soups, salads, roasts, breads, desserts...). I think Disney could make this clearer, as the pods adjoin and the whole setup looks like a single line. But I was never hassled by any CM or guest for starting in the middle.

Of course, if there's a line at your chosen pod, that's another story.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Love them both equally for a different experience, as the food is excellent at both!

If I want a quieter dining experience full of low conversation with a view of the savanna, then it's Sanaa (the bread service is to die for).

If you don't mind a noisier atmosphere with a wide array of excellent fresh salads, soups, dressings, side dishes then it's Boma. And no I don't stand in line in the meat area if I want salad,, anymore than I would stand in the meat line/area if I were ready for dessert. I go to the specific areas of the foods I want, I don't cut in front of people standing there, I go when there's an opening, it's never been a problem!

If you're picky you will have a better chance at Boma where they have the standard fair, plain roast beef, chicken nugget/french fry area, pasta area for kids and/or picky eaters! Sanaa's food is seasoned and cooked in sauces, you could get the steak plain grilled as it originally comes rubbed with coriander and chutney!

 

[bobrex]

Can you see the animals at all when it's dark from Sanaa, just wondering if there is any lighting? I don't recall that there was in the main savannah as I remember the CMs showing you the animals at night with the special night vision binoculars. I have Sanaa on our list to try when we go and I'm looking forward to it.

We were big fans of Jiko but things changed a little there. Didn't love Boma at dinner, a little crazy and the buffet always had a line. Breakfast at Boma was better. Glad to know your dd like the Tandoori chicken at Sanaa as my dd (14) can be very picky and I know they also have them with shrimp.

There is limited light on the Kidani savannah (Jambo tends to be a little brighter, esp. by the lodge entrance), so from inside Sanaa it's pretty dark looking out. The food at Sanaa is excellent, and while full of spices, it's not "spicy" in the traditional sense of the word (not hot.) Just very flavorful.

 

[2binak]

We go to Boma on every trip. I'm not adventurous at all when it comes to spices but DH & DD are a little more adventurous. We really like that we can try a small amount of something and decide if we want to go back for more or not. We haven't tried Sanna or Jiko because we don't want to be "locked in" to a meal that we may end up not liking.