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Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge Dining

• Animal Kingdom Lodge Menus:
  
• Boma
  
• Jiko - The Cooking Place
  
• Mara
  
• Uzima Springs
  
• Victoria Falls

Jiko

Kevin Klose has his review of Jiko along with the winners of the "Review a Restaurant with Kevin contest"

One theme that runs consistent throughout all the dining venues is the unique menus that are offered.  Jiko offers the most eclectic menu on property, offering authentic African cuisine.  Among the offerings, you'll find dishes as unique as Horseradish-crusted Salmon and Banana leaf steamed Sea Bass, to more traditional dishes like Baked Chicken and mashed potatoes and grilled beef tenderloin.  Even the traditional dishes are prepared with African flair, with dishes like the chicken featuring grapefruit, garlic and olives.

Price ranges at Jiko are from $5.50 to $10.25 for appetizers, $16.50 to $26.75 for entrees and $5.00 to $6.00 for desserts.  Speaking of desserts, if you are a chocolate lover, you MUST try the Cardamom flavored chocolate candies.  I won't tell you anything else...you must simply experience it to believe it.

The food at Jiko was superb.  Some in our party were a bit nervous at the eclectic menu, but quickly had their fears removed when they started to taste the food.  While the prices are in line with all of Disney's upscale restaurants, the offerings here are, by far, the best on property.  In our opinion, this restaurant has no equal on Disney property, and will rapidly become a very difficult place to get reservations.  Book your Jiko priority seatings early and often, as one visit to this restaurant will not be enough.

Boma
Boma is the more mid-range restaurant, offering both Breakfast ($14.99 - Guest ages 12 and up , $7.99 - Guest ages 3-11) and Dinner ($23.99 - Guest ages 12 and up, $ 9.99 - Guest ages 3-11) in buffet style.  For breakfast, the extensive buffet included such staples as scrambled eggs, bacon and French Toast, and such unique items as lamb or chicken sausage.  The buffet line is huge, and expands out it's offerings with a variety of fresh fruits and pastries.  Most notable here is the Kenya coffee prepared in a press pot (which was delicious), and the complimentary fruit juice that is offered .  We found the breakfast buffet to be very enjoyable, and while some of the dishes suffer from a lack of temperature, the flavor and freshness were excellent, and the unique coffee and fruit-juice offerings really rounded out the meal.  Please note that this is not a character buffet, as there are no character meals offered at Animal Kingdom Lodge.

For dinner, the buffet is equally as extensive, but we found the food lacking in both warmth and flavor.  The prime rib was tough, the pork ribs were adequate, and the chicken dishes were simply bad.  Dishes like the curry chicken pasta salad looked delicious, but lacked the punch and flavor normally associated with a curry dish.   Overall, we consider Boma's buffet dinner to be unremarkable, but we should also mention that it has great potential.  With a little more adjusting of flavors and temperature, this buffet could become a real contender on property.  

Mara
Mara, the food court area, offers standard fare found in most food courts for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Offerings for breakfast include cinnamon rolls, assorted danish, muffins, bagels, and various other bakery items, waffles or French toast.  Breakfast platters include eggs, seasoned potato wedges and a choice of bacon, sausage or ham (these offerings come in both adult and child sizes).  Breakfast wraps are also available (flour tortilla, bagel, biscuit or croissant, with eggs, bacon, sausage and cheese).  There is also a made-to-order omelets station.

A specialty item for breakfast is called Pops and Gravy, which is white corn-meal cake in an African sausage gravy.

Lunch and Dinner consist of a variety of options including hamburgers, grilled chicken, and pre-made sandwiches.  The resorts refillable mugs are available at this location.  There is also an assortment of fresh salads (some of which can be 'custom-designed').  The pizza offerings are also unique, as they are made to order, and come in both personal and family sizes.  Beer or wine is also available here.

Mara also offers a children's menu which is similar to the adult menu, only the portions are smaller by half.  There are also chicken strips and hot dogs available for kids.