Spending your day walking around Animal Kingdom can definitely work up an appetite and if you are looking for a Disney World casual dining restaurant, you can head over to The Animal Kingdom Lodge (yes, you will need to take the resort bus) and enjoy an all you can eat buffet at Boma.
Our first experience at this restaurant was a few years ago when our daughter was celebrating her birthday. My husband had done his research, and this was our splurge dining as we didn’t participate in the Disney Dining plan during this vacation. Everyone else in our family had our ‘reservations’, no pun intended, on eating here because it is African dining. The menu is loaded with food we’ve never heard of let alone ever tried. But being that’s it’s a buffet we felt better knowing we could try small amounts and find something we liked.
The restaurant is very open, busy and can be noisy. Which for our family fits us well. I always had a clear view of our older kids if they wanted to walk up by themselves to grab food. We do have loud children too and I was a bit surprised when I could hear other families over them. When we sat down, our daughter was greeted with a birthday card signed by Mickey himself, so we were off to a good start. The smells are overwhelming, which eased our minds, and now we were excited to start eating!
The lines aren’t particularly long, because it’s set up with pods or stations. So you can move around and choose from each without waiting in one long line. Our middle son has food allergies, and I’ll say the Disney chefs and staff are so great about making sure you have a safe experience. One of the chefs walked us around to each station and showed us what he could and couldn’t eat. He has never had so many choices put before him, and he was thrilled. He loves to eat and wasn’t shy about trying new food at that point. There are over 60 menu items so everyone can certainly find something they will love. The rotisserie meats were amazing. I recall loving the saffron rice, butternut squash soup and sweet potato pancakes too.
Of course the desserts were also very good, but the the highlight was when the chef went out of his way, to go to a nearby restaurant at the lodge and brought our son some soy ice cream. I guarantee you this is something rarely found when we dine. He was so excited to actually eat dessert with us.
If you feel slightly adventurous, you will want to check out Boma. Make sure you come hungry! The price ranges from $15.00 – $35.00/person but it’s especially affordable if you are on the Disney Dining Plan as it’s worth 1 dining credit.
Learn more about Walt Disney World Dining and get suggestions for where to eat, how to use the Disney Dining Plan and more.
This great article is from Kim who works with Destinations in Florida as a Disney World and Universal Studios Specialist.
Just ate at Bomas. Wow! Pap and the hummus-awesome. Pork and all the other meat. Seafood coconut curry stew-wow!
We love Boma’s for breakfast! It is our celebration location! We can always find something to celebrate!
My daughter (age 13) and I love Boma’s! Their Mulligawtawny Soup, Bobotie, FuFu, and bread pudding are amazing! I love the unexpected combinations of flavors like the apples, honey, hot sauce, and curry in the Mulligawtawny Soup – comes out savory, not spicy.
We love Boma!!! There are so many great foods there. We loved the various salads (there was a curried chicken pasta salad that was fabulous), the bobotie & pap…plus the bread pudding was phenomenal!!!
This is our favorite non character meal and is a must dining experience for my family. The hummus and falafel are wonderful and it is a great way to try unique African influenced foods. The Zebra Domes and other bite sized desserts are always a joy. Though Disney is well known for their excellent food, the coffee around the park is usually poor, at best. But make sure to order a pot of French Press to finish your meal, it’s the best we have found at DW.