We’re staying at AKL, and I’m looking at putting the kids in Simba’s Clubhouse for two hours one evening for DH and I to have a dinner alone. Given that we’ll be spending $30/hr on the clubhouse, I don’t want to do anything more than 2 hours, and I don’t want to spend $200 on dinner.
So, I’m considering:
-Boma (though this is less relaxing)
-Sanaa (would have to spend part of our time getting over to Kidani, and the menu isn’t as interesting to me)
-Jiko (because of price and timing, probably would just do apps and desert)
What would your choice be? A final choice would be to do any of the above and take the kids with us. Kids meals at Sanaa and Jiko are much less cheaper than the clubhouse would be, and we wouldn’t feel as rushed, but then we’d lose the relaxation of having kids with us. Thoughts?
I would go with the Jiko option for your “date night”. Boma is crowded and noisy; not “romantic” and is someplace you might want to take your kids. Sanaa is one of my favorites in WDW, but it’s much better at lunch when you can see the animals while eating, and given your time constraints the trip back and forth would cut down on your “alone time”. Jiko is a perfect setting for a “date night” and the food there is arguably some of the best in all of WDW (outside of V&A). It would be a shame to not enjoy the entrees as well, but I understand budget concerns.
4th option…maybe grab a pack of Zebra Domes from the Mara. Take them up to Victoria Falls Lounge, enjoy some of their cocktails and the 3 apps (Artisnal Cheeses, Breads and Spreads, Tapas plate) they offer. Then you can either enjoy the cupcakes at Victoria Falls or take them out back to the campfire area.
Then the view from Sanaa is the Savannah- and it would be very nice. Food wise- and experience I will always pick Jiko but Sanaa would be nice. I like to get the bread service and split an entree- plenty of food and a reasonably priced meal.
I think that actually sounds great. I think the menu at Sanaa would be more appealing to DH, and for the price savings for Jiko, we could leave the kids in the clubhouse for an extra hour, lol. I think that’s what I’m going to shoot for. Thanks!
It’s interesting to read that Simba’s Clubhouse charges an hourly rate, compared to Lilo’s Playhouse which charges a set fee per child for the evening. We’re taking our two children to the playhouse in September when we have our date night and we paid a set cost for the two of them to be there between five and midnight.
We did Sanaa in mid-June. Food was good but ordering the bread app, plus 2 adult entrees and 2 child entrees was WAAAAY too much food for 2 adults with large appetites and 2 preschoolers. We could have eaten half of that. The meat entrees (braised beef curry and lamb shank) were also fattier than we expected, although that was just our opinion and one experience. The bread app was awesome. Also, we stayed at AKL and realized partway through the meal that the view from our room was the opposite side of the savannah from the restaurant, and the view of the animals from our room was better than from the restaurant. He had an earlier dinner (I think it was 5:30,) and there was a drum circle at Kidani that we participated in after dinner. Unexpected fun. We did not try Jiko or Boma.
Is your room Standard or Savannah? If standard then my suggestion is take the kids to Sanaa, and use the Poly Kids club another evening while you and your partner have a whole night together, maybe see the fireworks. I’m assuming your kids are young. The AKL kids club was or is due to be closed, I’d double check. The Poly has only recently changed to $55 per night with no hourly rate, so the AKL might be changing too.
@Tate brings up a good point. It may be worth a call to the kids club and ask if they’re going to be switching to the same pricing structure as the Poly kids club uses. Another thought I had was, depending on your desire to do some going back and forth. Could you plan the date night around you guys using the Poly kids club instead?
I think that’s what I’m going to shoot for. Thanks!