The Pumpkins Dine Around Disney 2014 Trip Report Index! (And here is the Pre-Trip Report!)


Day 5 - Jambo Jambo
Downtown Disney; Boma (Breakfast); Sanaa (Dinner)
August 18th, 2014

We were supposed to be hitting a water park today, but there was a change of plans, and we ended up doing not very much! The day started with Steve and I (we Liam left home in bed - typical teenager!) going to take yesterday's hire car back to Disney Car Care to swap it for our new rental (and what would remain our car for the rest of our holiday). We handed back the keys, signed new paperwork, got new keys and headed back to Old Key West.

On the drive back to the resort, I go to overtake some dude to take the exit coming up…only, I was going a little bit too fast and suddenly saw the sheriff's car, and the flashing lights, and then the horror that I realised I was being pulled over. Cue huge fat tears from me for being so stupid (I never speed in the US!) and because I'd already been having a bad few days emotionally as it was. The police officer was very kind and told me not to panic, but that I was speeding and could he have my driving license, which I handed over (both parts). As he walked back to his car, I was sobbing to Steve, saying how I'd ruined the holiday and I might as well just go home now (totes emoshe I'm telling ya!) and the longer the officer was in the car, the more convinced of a huge fine would be coming my way. Luckily, he just issued me with a warning, and advised that if I was to be caught speeding again then I would receive a fine. Duly noted, and from then on, cruise control was on for pretty much every journey!


We picked Liam up and made our way over to Animal Kingdom Lodge for our breakfast ADR at Boma - Flavors of Africa. We had dinner here last trip and the food was really good, so we were hoping that it would be the same for breakfast.


When it comes to a buffet on the Deluxe Disney Dining Plan, you are entitled to one full buffet (all you care to eat) and one non-alcoholic beverage (usually refillable) for one credit per person.

It was busy when we went in for breakfast, so I don't have as many photos of the buffet as I would have liked, but here are a few…


As well as usual breakfast fayre - bacon, eggs, sausages, biscuits and gravy, there are other African delights like bobotie (one of my personal favourites!) which is corn beef, eggs, cream, potato. There is also a carving station with ham and a couple of different sauces to go with.


There is oatmeal, quinoa porridge and something called pap which is white cornmeal porridge with toppings like cinnamon and brown sugar.

There is a delicious baked goods selection with bagels, croissants, pastries, muffins, doughnuts etc. I really liked the yoghurt, granola and dried fruit/nuts selection. There is also fresh fruit and regular cereals like fruit loops and rice krispies.


Not only can you get Mickey waffles here, but there are also Simba waffles too! Would be rude not to have one of each!

We all really enjoyed the breakfast here and would definitely come back.


Animal Kingdom Lodge is just gorgeous - I love all the detail and design of the place, and there are several light fittings that I really love to be able to take home!


We've been to AKL before and I was blown away by the luxury feel to the lobby - the chairs are so comfy to lounge on and I would love to stay here one day!


Of course, we had to pay a visit to the resort store, where I bought the pumpkin decoration, I think it was $30? I asked about the Halloween sweets to see if they were a snack credit, but we were told no as they are more than one serving in the bag. However, we learned later in our trip that they were a credit. So yes, we did buy some, but that's into the second week of our hols!


I spied Pumpkin Mickey cookies, so naturally, because they are pumpkins, I had to buy one to bring home!



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I should mention that by now I had developed a rather large blister on the instep of my foot that was making my already hard time walking because of stupid weight gain, even harder. Couple that with water retention and the fact that somewhere along the line I twisted my foot too, I was not having a good time. I had some blister plasters with me, but they were rubbish at staying in place, so I thought it was a good idea to go out to Walgreens and buy a bandage to try and keep everything in place, and to give my foot a little bit of support.

Whilst we went off on that errand, (the nearest one was a few miles away) Liam went to the swimming pool, which was his favourite activity on resort. When we returned I strapped up my foot and asked Liam if he wanted to come to Downtown Disney with us on the boat - the answer was no, he'd rather be swimming, so we left him there! It was quite nice to have some couple time together, and the boat ride from Old Key West to Downtown Disney is really relaxing. Since I don't have much commentary, I'll just leave you with photos of the journey there and back!


The boat ride is around 15-20 minutes, and it was nice to get a different view of Downtown Disney, as well as to see the other parts of the resort.


Since I was in agony with my foot, we didn't actually venture far at all and just got back on the boat to go back! Lazy, I know. I wish we'd gone over to Characters in Flight and gone up in the balloon - it's been on our Disney Bucket List for 3 visits now, and this year was perfect with all the really good weather (and by good, I mean, little rain and lightning!) Oh well, next visit for sure…


Once back at Old Key West, we had a little wander in Conch Flats General Store, and I did a little bit of nature photography, before heading to the pool to find Liam


We bought an afternoon snack to tide us over till dinner that evening in the form of nachos (with a cheese dip, and I will use that phrase loosely as it's more like liquid plastic! ) and a fruit cup. I do believe that take-out desserts from a previous dinner may have been eaten by Liam!

The bag of nachos was huge, enough easily for two to share. The fruit cup had melon and grapes. I love how the fruit in Florida is always sweet! Both were one snack credit each.


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We whiled away a few hours around the resort, before getting ready to go back to Animal Kingdom Lodge - this time at Kidani Village for our dinner reservation at Sanaa. We've never been to Kidani Village before, and it is just as beautiful as Jambo House. The reception area is a bit smaller, but it adds to a really nice cosiness to it.


I adored the lamps here, even more so when it was dark and they were lit up - just gorgeous!


We got to AKL with time to spare before our ADR as we wanted to watch the animals on the savannah - what a lovely view to have from your hotel room!


Out on the savannah was a roaring fire pit, which I bet is fab to sit around when the sun goes down!


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We had to tear ourselves away from the lovely views to go and check in for our reservation, which we did have to wait about 20 minutes for, but that's fine, as you can see out onto the savannah (and I'm sure the buzzer works if you pop outside as well). I nipped into the loos, which are, just like the rest of the building, gorgeous! Probably the prettiest restrooms I've seen! Yes, I am that person who takes the most random of photographs (but don't worry, I was the only person in them at the time! )


Our buzzer went off and we were led to our table. The restaurant was pretty busy, and I was a bit gutted not get a table by the window, but there was no where to be moved to, even if we had asked! There was even more beautiful light fixtures - I LOVE this lamp shade and want it!


When it comes to table service restaurants on the Deluxe Disney Dining Plan you are entitled to one appetizer, one entrée, one dessert and one non-alcoholic beverage (usually refillable) for one credit per person.

We had to wait quite a while before our server got to our table, and when she did, she explained that she was also training another server, and asked if we would be okay with that. Of course - everyone has to learn! She made a few suggestions on the menu, and for one of the only times, we paid out of pocket for an extra appetizer as we couldn't make up our minds! Well, we could, but we also had heard that the breads here were awesome, so we had to try them too! All the apps were shared between us all.


Me: Indian Style Bread Service - choice of 3 breads and 9 accompaniments:
Breads - naan, garlic ginger naan, spiced naan, onion kulcha, papadum;
Accompaniments - red chile sambal, cucumber raita, coriander chutney, mango chutney, coconut chutney, garlic pickle, spicy jalapeno-lime pickle, roasted red bell pepper hummus, tamarind chutney ($11.99) (or you can have 3 accompaniments for $9.99)

Him: Appetizer Sampler for Two - potato and pea samosas, lamb kefta sliders, and choice of chana tikki or seasonal soup ($15.99)

The Boy: Peri Peri Shrimp - Cucumber, Apples, and Cilantro ( $11.99)

I just loved the way the bread service was presented - on a huge wooden board. It look amazing! Not enough bread to dip ratio though! Although, we are bread fiends, so that may also be the reason! The dips ranged in taste from mild all the way through to very hot. So we didn't eat them all. For our breads we chose naan, garlic ginger naan and onion kulcha. A food server (rather than our waitress) had brought the bread out to us and didn't bother to go through the dips, so when our waitress came to meal check us, she ran through them when she asked if the server had told us what they were.


We decided to have the channa tikki rather than the seasonal soup (which I believed had coconut in it, and if you've read previous reports, you know that my husband does not do coconut!). These were little chickpea patties. Very nice, and a touch of spice to them. The samosas where a little on the dry side, but had a good flavour, and the lamb kefta were good too. On the side was a carrot salad, some mango chutney and a yoghurt dip.


The shrimp weren't overly spicy, and they were presented nicely on the long plate.


Our entrées were brought out to the table before the appetizers had been cleared away, which wasn't very good. The food server just stood there not quite knowing what to do! So far, for service this was not boding well!


Me: Spicy Durban Shrimp and Goan Seafood Curry - served with basmati rice or five-grain pilaf ($22.99)

Him: Tandoori Chicken - with seasonal slaw and coriander khichdi ($19.99)

The Boy: Grilled New York Strip - Indian style roasted potatoes, seasonal vegetables, and tomato-date chutney ( $29.99)

I had a hard time deciding what I wanted, but in the end, I chose two dishes from the "Slow Cooked in Gravy, Simple and Well Seasoned" section. The other choices were Butter Chicken, Chicken Vindaloo and Beef Shortribs. I decided to try the five-grain pilaf with my choices of the Durban Shrimp and the Goan Seafood Curry.

Each dish was served in separate bowls on a long plate, which I decided to dump out onto the plate to eat. Everything was delicious, but very spicy! Especially the Durban shrimp!


Steve also had a hard time picking from the menu. He likes to try different foods, but quite a few that he fancied, when he checked for coconut, turns out they had coconut in. So he went for the chicken tandoori, which is not the hideous bright red that it is here in the UK!


[sarcasm] Liam, surprised me by just having steak, [/sarcasm] and didn't want the Indian style roasted potatoes with them either. They didn't have chips in this restaurant so he had to settle for rice instead. The steak was good. I wish he'd tried something else though! I think we replaced the "eat burgers at every meal" we had last year with "eat steak at every meal" this year!


Understandably, by now we were stuffed, but dessert is included, so we took our choices to go.


Me: Banana Cheesecake - pistachio and chocolate sauce ($5.49)

Him: Ginger Cake - citrus curd and spiced pineapple sauce ($5.49)

The Boy: Tanzanian Chocolate Mousse - Kenya coffee and caramel ($5.99)

We had to wait a long time for these to come out to us, and we ate them when we got back home to Old Key West. They survived the journey, and it was nice to see that even though they were take out, they were still presented nicely in the boxes. All tasted good, even after being taken home!


Once we received our desserts, we asked for the bill, which when it finally came to us, was completely incorrect. When we eventually caught our server's attention about it, she tried to blame it on her trainee, which I didn't think was too professional of her. We then waited nearly 20 minutes for her to bring the correct one out to us! Steve even went to the front desk to find out where she was, he was not impressed at all. As it turns out, I don't know how she did it, but we didn't end up paying for that extra appetizer, and nor was an extra credit taken for it.

We really enjoyed the food here, but the service on this occasion was not the best. I know it was busy, but that still isn't an excuse, especially as the restaurant did empty out a little later on. I would go back, because the food was really tasty, and different too...and I would ask for a window seat so we could look out onto the savannah, even if it meant we had to wait a little longer!


We nipped into the resort shop at Kidani Village on the way out of Sanaa and I bought a box of Zebra Domes (4 in a box), which are on the buffet at Boma for dinner, and are pretty lush! I don't have a photo of those, but here is one from our last trip! They are a little truffle type dessert which kind of taste like Baileys!



Read about the day before:
Day 4 - Let It Go:
Hollywood Studios; Chef Mickey's (Character Breakfast); Flying Fish Cafe (Signature Dining)

Read about the day after:
Day 6 - Journey to Atlantis:
Kennedy Space Center; Olivia's Cafe (Breakfast); Lunch with an Astronaut; Yachtsman's Steakhouse (Signature Dining)

Read ALL the days!

Great report and stunning photos as ever. We're staying part of our trip at AKL so may have to steal some of your ideas for good pics (including the loos !) Food also looks yummy. Those dips and bread...

Shame you got so upset when you were stopped for speeding but I would have freaked out too. Being hot with sore feet will not have helped I am sure. Its a great bragging rights story though, stopped by the sheriff and all.

Looking forward to the next instalment! xx

Another great read! Characters in Flight is on our bucket list too! Not managed it the last couple of visits so maybe next year! Food looks yummy at Sanaa but shame about the service.
Thanks for sharing.x

Just noticed our countdowns are the same! May see you in the Characters in Flight queue!x

Beautiful photographs once again, AKL is so photogenic.

Dinner sounds absolutely gorgeous. I generally don't order chicken when we eat out as I find it fairly bland but Steve's looks gorgeous. Shame about the service though.

I am really loving your reports! The photography is brilliant and I always end up with food envy!

Another great read and stunning photos.