Lunch or dinner at Animal Kingdom Lodge?

[tschwa2]

I will be staying for 3 nights at Orange Lake before moving over to Grande Vista for the week starting next Wednesday. So I am looking for activities off Orange Lake property but closer to that area. Would a nice lunch or dinner at AK Lodge be worth it? Will they take reservations if I am staying off site for either meal? Am I too late for something maybe a week from today- next Thursday?

Any other suggestions for offsite activities in the area ideally that would be handicap accessible and in the 1-3 hr range?

Thanks.

 

[staceyeileen]

Anyone can book a dining reservation on Disney property, but a reservation is certainly required. AKL has some great restaurants. Boma is a great buffet with a good selection of foods to please any palette. Sanaa is also excellent, Indian-inspired cuisine. AKL is a beautiful resort, so you can take some time exploring while you are there and view the animals out on the savannah.

You should be able to get a reservation. Disney requires a credit card to hold dining reservations and charges a $10 no-show fee if not canceled a day in advance. So, the week prior generally sees lots of cancellations and things tend to open up, in my experience.

 

[chalee94]

Sanaa is the only sit down restaurant at AKV open for lunch - and it's in the Kidani Village building, not the old AKL.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/animal-kingdom-villas-kidani/sanaa/menus/

Mara is a quick service option for lunch or dinner if you don't want to spend a lot (and you wouldn't need a reservation). It's near the pool at the old AKL.

Boma is breakfast and dinner only - it's a $40 dinner buffet. My personal favorite restaurant at WDW - especially for ribs night, usually Wed and Saturday - but it doesn't appeal to everyone.

Jiko is dinner only - very classy but priced accordingly.

 

[paxsarah]

We had a great dinner at Sanaa last May, but if you were hoping in poking around the main lodge building a bit, you'd have to basically make another stop before or after your meal. We enjoyed both the food and the views at Sanaa, and there's an observation area right near the restaurant for additional viewing of the animals.

 

[vacationhopeful]

When my 12 yo nephew and I went for a week to WDW/AKV ... I knew ANY kid would want to eat out every night. My budget was limited and we had a 1 bdr condo with a full kitchen. I told him before we flew down, we would be eating in the unit (breakfast, lunch & dinner) .. to look thru his mother's kitchen and to pack anything he wanted to eat. Once onsite, I suggested he look at the menus, smell the food as we walked by and decide where to eat. We chose Boma for an early buffet... he read the labels of the food, asked questions (very good for a shy boy) and took small samples to taste before taking a larger potion.

When he got home the next day, he was full of telling his mom, how very good the food on the buffet was. My sister just looked at me and her picky eating child ... and later asked me HOW I got him to even try the food much less thinking it was great.

 

[vacationhopeful]

Other things to do:

The very common: Tour the NASA Space Center ... the Cape.

The very STRANGE: Travel up north to Cassadaga, FL ... a Spiritist center village for medians ... lots of Spanish moss, windy village road ... about an 1 hour drive north. Get a reading, find a place to watch people, grab a lunch, just take pictures. The village was founded in 1894 ... yes, much older than WDW. And yes, I have been there ... not as a follower .. just as a visitor driving thru. About an hour north of Orlando off the interstate. A website recommended daytime ... as the homes are a mix of the old, different with many benches & gardens.

 

[tschwa2]

I am leaning toward the Sanaa lunch reservations with the viewing area. Will I have to do anything special when I go to park other than say I have lunch reservations and will it be a problem to make a stop at the main lodge to poke around and take a look afterwards?

Also thanks for the descriptions and experiences. I did look on the Disney site and they do link each restaurant to trip advisor so I took a look at those as well. Some of the places sounded nice for DH and myself and while my oldest is open to trying things (he doesn't like most of what he tries), my youngest has a broader pallet but he doesn't like new things and has to be introduced to them slowly. The fifth in our group is 97 and has never been able to get dentures that fit well and she never eats very much at one sitting so I didn't think an expensive buffet would work no matter how good. My impression is we could lunch at Sanaa one day and dinner at Golden Coral another and still be ahead of a buffet at Boma.

 

[mdurette]

Most resorts at Disney have a check in kiosk at entrance of parking lot. You just mention you have a lunch reservation and they will let you through. Typically they ask for an ID (why, not really sure, but it is what they do). You will be able to roam around the entire hotel.

Another suggestion, is lunch or dinner on the Boardwalk at Disney. Completely handicap accessible, lots of great restaurants and a few shops. In the evening they have street performers that are fun to watch.

 

[silentg]

If you are still at Orange Lake they have restaurants on site. Very nice variety and much less crowded than in the theme park. There is a lot of restaurants on 192 and close to OL.
Silentg

 

[BigRedNole]

If eating at AKL, I recommend Boma in the Jambo House. I have not been in some time, but the 3x we at there, it did not disappoint at all.

 

[bnoble]

I second the idea of Sanaa. Fantastic. Get the "full" bread service.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Almost all of the Disney choices at the resorts are expensive. That's my opinion. I don't pay that much for food. It's just food. So call me cheap, I deserve it. I didn't like Boma enough to pay that much for a buffet with some strange choices.

However, I do love Be Our Guest at lunch, and Biergarten at lunch. We go to both every trip. Our grandkids love the buffet at Animal Kingdom with the characters. That is SO expensive, but it is good, and it's always nice and cool in there, since we always go early June or October.

 

[Lisa Davidson]

@chalee94 , that was helpful.

 

[Sea Six]

You don't have to go into a park to eat well. There are many nice restaurants at Disney Springs. And if you are cheap, there are now food trucks as well as places like the Earl of Sandwich and Wolfgang Puck Express.

 

[Weimaraner]

This thread brought back some nice memories of my Feb trip with my 9yo to AKL thru RCI exchange. She's not the most adventurous eater but tried new things on this trip and really enjoys Sanaa and Boma. I love their Zebra Dome desserts while she is crazy for the Jungle Juice which is served at Boma, Tusker House (in AKL) and we found a frozen (but not as good version) at the quick serve at Jambo: Mara. We were on the Quick Serve dining plan so she got sick of the chicken nugget and pizza kid offering at Mara so we sampled the other restaurants and in-room dining in our Kidani room. There are tons on ongoing activities at AKL and I found this article on visiting the resort as a non-guest http://wdwprepschool.com/how-to-tou...ot-staying-there/#Tour_4_Animal_Kingdom_Lodge

 

[icydog]

I am leaning toward the Sanaa lunch reservations with the viewing area. Will I have to do anything special when I go to park other than say I have lunch reservations and will it be a problem to make a stop at the main lodge to poke around and take a look afterwards?

Also thanks for the descriptions and experiences. I did look on the Disney site and they do link each restaurant to trip advisor so I took a look at those as well. Some of the places sounded nice for DH and myself and while my oldest is open to trying things (he doesn't like most of what he tries), my youngest has a broader pallet but he doesn't like new things and has to be introduced to them slowly. The fifth in our group is 97 and has never been able to get dentures that fit well and she never eats very much at one sitting so I didn't think an expensive buffet would work no matter how good. My impression is we could lunch at Sanaa one day and dinner at Golden Coral another and still be ahead of a buffet at Boma.

I don't know how Sanaa's menu will be for kids. I took my grandkids there and they wouldn't eat anything.

I like Mara for the whole family especially if your goal is to see the lodge and the animals. It's a quick service restaurant that serves full hot meals and lots of kid friendly entrees.

 

[silentg]

Where did OP end up going?

 

[tschwa2]

We ended up skipping everything completely and eating in in our Villa. My grandmother's health was such that I didn't want to risk having to pay if we couldn't keep the reservation. We spent a week at Grand Vista and a week at Orange Lake. No Disney, no Universal and no SeaWorld, just family time and relaxation. We did a 2 hour gator tour and ate at CiCi's for lunch once and Golden Coral once. The Golden Coral was terrible compared to the one in Williamsburg and the one at Massanutten.

 

[icydog]

We ended up skipping everything completely and eating in in our Villa. My grandmother's health was such that I didn't want to risk having to pay if we couldn't keep the reservation. We spent a week at Grand Vista and a week at Orange Lake. No Disney, no Universal and no SeaWorld, just family time and relaxation. We did a 2 hour gator tour and ate at CiCi's for lunch once and Golden Coral once. The Golden Coral was terrible compared to the one in Williamsburg and the one at Massanutten.

That Golden Coral on 535 used to be the absolute best GC restaurant in which I ever ate. It's just horrible, deplorable, dirty, disgusting now. Boy, whoever the GM is there he should be ashamed. I guess because it is always crowded and his numbers are up then the company doesn't care. It was always the biggest earner in the whole country. I wonder how it rates now. I know I gave it two more shots after a miserable dinner service and it only got worse!

 

[Inhislove]

We love to do Boma for a late brunch- they have carved meat on the buffet, Mickey and Simba waffles. It's half the price of lunch and still affords you the chance to check out the animals. Last time we were there, we also sat down and played in an African drumming circle- I love the AK lodge!

 

[FLDVCFamily]

Lunch at Sanaa is something DH and I do every time the kids are in camp and we're free lol. The bread course is to die for and honestly it's a cheap lunch too!

 

[Inhislove]

I love both Boma brunch and Sanaa lunch! You can also just tell the guard you want to go to Mara. The soups come out of the same kitchen as Boma, and everything from African stew to hamburgers are available.

If you want a good family diner type experience, we highly recommend the Denny's near Sea World (and Grande Vista). They typically do kids eat free on Tuesday and Saturday evenings 4-10pm. (Call ahead to be sure). They do 2 kids free per adult spending $6. I've walked in with our kids alone after Sea World and walked out in 45 minutes. Fast and friendly service and filling diner food.