You just graduated from college!! What's next? 5/13 - 5/21 THAT'S A WRAP!

[frozenheart]

Tuning in a bit late but I usually don't post. Congratulations to your daughter!
I know that 17 hour drive all too well. We're from Illinois as well.
That Sangria looks delicious!!

 

[gardengirl628]

Yay! So excited to read your report. Glad I didn't miss too much. Thanks for sharing!

 

[LindseyJo22]

Congratulations to your daughter, and what a fabulous graduation present!

I'll look forward to your reviews - it seems like you always have something exciting and unique planned

 

[OThopeful35]

Congratulations to your daughter!! I, too, am celebrating graduation in exactly 23 days at WDW. I love your reviews can't wait to see the delicious food you ate!

 

[jcmaro]

Yay! Another one of your reviews! Following along!!

 

[butiflfeet]

You got it right, my name is Kim! I'm looking forward to hearing more about the culinary tour. I've wanted to do it for a while now but we just never fit it in!

 

[vettegirl]

The lounge looks so amazing as do the offerings. I would have said no to bunk beds as well, not too comfortable for adults.

 

[momof3princes]

Thank you for sharing about Club Level, I have never been so I love reading about it. The sangria sounded amazing! Looking forward to hearing about the culinary tour

 

[happy2012]

Jumping in on the action!!! Congrats to your daughter!!!!

 

[nicoleakr]

Following !!! Love it!!

 

[MrsB1228]

Hi Carol! You were the first to join the party! I wish I had a prize to give you. Anyway, I'm very glad to see you here.

And I totally agree that there is no better place to celebrate than WDW. As for Emily though, I think she was campaigning for Las Vegas.

I didn't realize I was the first, I was just so darned happy to see your new dining report I didn't think about anything else, LOL!

Emily sounds like my DH, he's been heavily hinting at a Vegas holiday for a while now. I suppose one day I will have to agree ... but NOT TODAY!

At 12:40ish, I was told that if we didn't mind switching from the Zebra Trail room (that we had apparently been assigned to) to the Kudu Trail, then there was a room ready for us. Heck yeah, at this point I would take the Chunky Gal Trail, the Boogerman Trail, or even the Old Butt Knob Trail...all actual trail names, by the way.​

"Old Butt Knob Trail"

I have to give you all kinds of credit for being so patient with all the delays and problems with your Magic Bands. After a 17-hour drive, I probably would have been operating on my last nerve. The sangria was a nice little perk though, and I love their unique spin on it! The CL food offerings look good, especially those little brownies. I'm a sucker for chocolate and peanut butter.

Great start Barb! I look forward to the next instalment. ​

 

[OrangeKnickers]

Yay! Another jabead report! I have to say Barb, that yours are by far my favorite.

 

[jabead]

Is the culinary tour free? How do you sign up??

Yes, it's free and no need to sign up in advance. I'll post more details in my upcoming review.

Tuning in a bit late but I usually don't post. Congratulations to your daughter!
I know that 17 hour drive all too well. We're from Illinois as well.
That Sangria looks delicious!!

Hello fellow Illinoisan! Glad to have you here!

Yay! So excited to read your report. Glad I didn't miss too much. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for reading along!

Congratulations to your daughter, and what a fabulous graduation present!

I'll look forward to your reviews - it seems like you always have something exciting and unique planned

Thanks so much! Hopefully I won't disappoint.

Congratulations to your daughter!! I, too, am celebrating graduation in exactly 23 days at WDW. I love your reviews can't wait to see the delicious food you ate!

Congrats to you too on your graduation. Hope you have a great celebration trip!

Yay! Another one of your reviews! Following along!!

Thanks for following along!

You got it right, my name is Kim! I'm looking forward to hearing more about the culinary tour. I've wanted to do it for a while now but we just never fit it in!

The culinary tour review is coming right up!

The lounge looks so amazing as do the offerings. I would have said no to bunk beds as well, not too comfortable for adults.

Yes, I'm not sure why they originally assigned us to a bunk bed room when we were registered as three adults. I would think that they would save those rooms for families with kids that request them.

Thank you for sharing about Club Level, I have never been so I love reading about it. The sangria sounded amazing! Looking forward to hearing about the culinary tour

Culinary tour review will be up momentarily plus more on the Club Level later so please stay tuned!

Jumping in on the action!!! Congrats to your daughter!!!!

Thanks for jumping in! Glad to have you here!

Following !!! Love it!!

Hello and thanks for following!

The CL food offerings look good, especially those little brownies. I'm a sucker for chocolate and peanut butter. ​

​

You're in luck, those brownies will be making another appearance!

Yay! Another jabead report! I have to say Barb, that yours are by far my favorite.

Wow, thank you so much! Glad to have you here!

 

[jabead]

CULINARY TOUR OF BOMA AND JIKO
FOR THE LOW, LOW PRICE OF $0


It was then nearly 3:45 so I headed downstairs to the check-in desk for Boma restaurant. I told them that I wished to take the Culinary Tour and they told me to have a seat there in the waiting area and the tour would be starting shortly. I will note here that not only is this tour free, but you don't have to make an advance reservation (you just show up at Boma a little before 3:45 on any day of the week). Also you don't have be a guest of Animal Kingdom Lodge to participate. Anyone interested in learning more about these two great AKL restaurants is welcome!


NOTE: If you are staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge, check the Recreation Calendar that you are given in your Welcome Packet at check-in to confirm the start time. In the reviews that I had read previously, this tour began at 4:00 but it started at 3:45 when I was there in May. If not a hotel guest, it might not hurt to call in advance to make sure the tour is being offered that day and at what time.



Also note there is another interesting dining event on the above calendar called "Dine with Animal Specialists", which includes a four-course lunch at Sanaa. This is something I had never heard of before. As far as the Wanyama Safari listed in the bottom right, that I know about and would highly recommend. (See my three part review of this experience in my last dining report. LINK )


Ok, now back to the Culinary Tour, which began promptly at 3:45 with the introduction of the Boma cultural representative, who is shown in the photo below...




Though the tour began with only a handful of guests, there were several latecomers who joined our group so we ended up being a group of about 12. Our tour guide seemed to take these late additions in stride. As far as the restaurant portion of the Boma tour, our guide explained the significance of much of the restaurant's decor, including the tables.




Although this part of the tour was interesting, my favorite part was of course hearing about the food. For this we started at the Carving station, with one of the chefs telling us about the preparation of their meats...





I believe this was their Spice-crusted Beef Strip Loin that they were getting ready to carve...





And at least four accompaniments, which I think were something called Masai Mara plus Boma mustard, Horseradish, and Sambal...






Next was the soup section of the buffet, where we all got to sample their delicious Carrot Ginger Soup...









They had already began putting out some of the salads and other items from the cold section of the buffet, in preparation for the restaurant opening at 4:30...






Some of these that caught my eye were this Watermelon and Tomato Salad and Lentils and Hearts of Palm Salad with Goat Cheese, Chives, and Almonds...





I believe that the salad pictured in the back was a Marinated Artichoke & Preserved Lemon Salad and I'm not sure but I think the one in front is their Chicken Salad with a Chili-Cilantro Vinaigrette...





Two kinds of Cous Cous Salads, the one in front (with the pearl couscous) had tiny shrimp and the other was called Tunisian Cous Cous Salad...







For fans of the Garden Salad, the one at Boma looked pretty good...




And of course, there were several dressings and toppings to go along with it...





Fresh fruit lovers, there is the usual assortment of fresh fruits on the Boma buffet (oh, and applesauce too )...





Moving on down the buffet line, we came to the Breads section, which included things like pita bread, sun-dried tomato hummus, regular hard rolls and butter, and mealie bread (that looked like mini cornbread muffins)...





Then last but not least was the Dessert station, where they had out a few desserts including Coconut Cheesecakes (I think) and their Kenyan Coffee Tarts...






And of course, their famous Zebra Domes...




We were each given a zebra dome to try...




While I found several different descriptions of this dessert online, I thought this one sounded about right: Zebra Domes consist of a thin layer of white cake, a dome of Amarula Liqueur mousse, coated in a white chocolate ganache with a dark chocolate ganache drizzle. I'm sure I'm in the minority on this one, but for me these were just okay. I actually had my eye on those Kenyan Coffee Tarts, and secretly hoped that they might make an appearance at the concierge lounge that night so that I would have the opportunity to taste one.





That completed the Boma portion of our tour, but I lagged behind for a bit to listen to the drummers who were performing near the restaurant entrance...





By the time I caught up to the tour group I had missed the introduction of the Jiko cultural respresentative and whatever she said about the Cape Town Lounge & Wine Bar area...





But I did get to hear most of the tour regarding the restaurant decor...









Some of what was told to us I had read about previously, but I did learn a few new interesting things regarding Jiko.



Our Jiko tour concluded at the Chef's counter in front of the restaurant's two tandoor ovens...




Set out on the counter were four sets of the Jiko Bread Service, along with a plate for each of us to partake...











The Jiko Taste of Africa was something that I had had twice before, so I knew exactly which breads and dips I most liked and dug right into my favorites...







While all of these are good, my favorite combination was the Kalamata Hummus with the Naan bread. Yum!


Before leaving Jiko (at the end of the approximately 45 minute tour), we were each given a Jiko menu for that evening...







And I have to admit that after looking over the menu, I felt a few pangs of regret that our reservation was at Sanaa and not Jiko that night.


So overall, I thought this free tour was great and absolutely worth the time. If you are a guest of Animal Kingdom Lodge or even if you aren't staying there but would like to take a mid-afternoon break from the parks, this tour is both interesting and a good way to sample a few of the foods offered at these two great restaurants.

​

Next up: Evening Appetizers at the Kilimanjaro Lounge

 

[kastoney]

AKL Club level looks great. Especially love the sangria welcome. Can't believe all the drama with your room though. Yes of course 4 adults can sleep in a bunk bed room ; ) Funny story we got one on our last trip and I went to the top one to read my daughter a book and promptly got stuck trying to get down ; ) Ended up with bruises on my things from the trip down. So good decision. But still can't believe you didn't wait for a room on the old butt trail. It's my personal favorite

I had no idea about the Jiko and Boma tour, gonna have to check that out on a future trip. And I'm with ya on the zebra domes I just didn't get what all the fuss was about. Any idea if the Boma carrot soup is the same they used to have at Jiko? My heart broke a little bit when I saw it wasn't on the menu. That stuff is divine.

 

[naylor90]

Loving all the pictures of AKL club level. That whole resort looks so amazing. I may need to stray from my beloved BC next trip.

The culinary tour sounds like so much fun, great way to spend some time exploring another resort. Have you heard of any of the other Deluxes doing something similar?

 

[LindseyJo22]

I had no idea about the culinary tour. It looks wonderful (plus, samples)! I don't think we'll be checking out AKL too much on our September trip, but we're already planning a short weekend in January and I may see if Will wants to sneak off and try this! If not, it'll just go into the file for "next time."

As an Indian food fan, Sanaa is high on my list, so I'll look forward to reading your review!

 

[vettegirl]

Okay that tour is now on my Disney bucket list. It is truly is a hidden gem.

 

[JKSWonder]

The sangria looks right up my alley.

We stayed at AKL about three years ago and I had no idea they offered those kinds of tours there. Definitely making a note of that one. It really is amazing all the stuff you can actually find to do at WDW that is not advertised and a lot of it for free too.

 

[DisneyJo]

That tour sounds like fun and a great way to learn more about the restaurants for free - my favourite word