Taste of Disney

I had done this free tour once before but it was 2 1/2 years ago so I thought it would be fun to do it again, especially since this time I had my friends, Paula & Hunter, along with me.

For the most part the tour was the same as it was back in May 2015, with just a few minor changes.  Here is my May 2015 Review of the Culinary Tour

One change was the start time of the tour.  Back in 2015 it began at 3:45 but this time (in Nov. 2017) it was scheduled to start at 4:15 (though it actually didn’t get started until a little later than that).  So even though this tour is not something you need to sign up for in advance, if this is something you are interested in doing I would call the hotel  to confirm the starting time (or check at the front desk or the guide/resort newsletter in your room if you are an AKL guest).

Another change is that previously the tour started at Boma but this time we began by touring Jiko.

A cultural representative led us on a brief walking tour through the Lodge’s beautiful signature restaurant, pointing out the significance of some of the décor and explaining the restaurant’s design.

Then we were led up to the chef’s counter and in front of the two large tandoor clay ovens…

…where several chefs were prepping for tonight’s dinner.

Here was a tray of what looked like their house-made naan bread which was ready to go into the oven…

At the chef’s counter there was also the Taste of Africa Bread Service waiting for us to sample…

This included three breads: Traditional Papadum, Sesame Fatir, and Flax Seed Naan

And four Dips…

They gave our group some time to enjoy the bread service, then it was time to move on to Animal Kingdom Lodge’s buffet restaurant, Boma.

Here we were greeted by another cultural representative who led us on a short tour of the restaurant.

Again I won’t go into the details of the tour…you will just have to go and find out for yourself.

The tour then ended with a walk-thru of the buffet line, first stopping at the grill to tell us about the meats being served at dinner that night.

Then we proceeded down the line and we were told about and shown some of the other dishes being served that night.  I took many photos of the buffet offerings so if you are interested you should check out my Boma dinner review, which will be coming up next on my blog.

Last we each got a bowl with a small amount of one of the two soups being served that evening, Butternut Squash.  I loved this and wanted more, so I was very happy that I had a reservation to dine at Boma in just about 10 minutes after the tour concluded.

Oh wait, I almost forgot.  We also each got to taste one of these…

In case you don’t recognize this dessert, they are Zebra Domes.  They are a specialty of Boma (although they can also be purchased at the Lodge’s quick service restaurant, the Mara) and are made with Amarula Cream Liqueur.

Then at 5:00 the beat of the drums and clapping of hands signaled the opening of the restaurant for dinner and the end of our tour…

It was time for the paying guests to be seated and after seeing all the food on the buffet line that evening I was very glad that I would soon be one of those guests.

So in conclusion, if you are a guest of Animal Kingdom Lodge or have some free time in your trip schedule for a visit to this beautiful resort, I recommend that you give this free tour a try.