Our current plans for this November have us spending one evening at Disney Springs because MK will be closing early due to the MVMCP. We were leaning heavily towards eating at the Boathouse (big seafood and steak lovers), and I know there are many other good options there as well. However, I really would love to try Sanaa. The reviews on the forum are great, of course, but friends of ours also rave about how good it is.
Would you give up that evening in DS in order to eat at Sanaa? I know Sanaa is best in the daylight, but there is no way I could talk my ride-loving crew into leaving the parks during the day just to eat. Does having to eat there at night lessen the experience of it enough to change your opinion of it? Also note, we have never been to any AK resort property, so seeing all of that for the first time might be fun for us too.
Edited to add: The adults would definitely enjoy Sanaa, but my teens are super picky and would not eat much at all, I suspect. So, I’ve got to consider that as well.
I like Sanaa but I think there are so many amazing choices at DS.
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I have never been to either but have been reading up a lot recently trying to decide for our next trip. With my teen and tween, I am going to choose DS. I think they will enjoy walking around there as well as the many food options. We may even try the Void (we are SW fans). Another option could be CG to watch the Hallowishes afterward.
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If the kids aren’t going to eat, there’s not much point going imo.
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I think this is just another reason my DH and I need an adults only trip next time, right?? 
You are probably right. I guess it’s better to choose somewhere that the whole group would enjoy, and my kids would always choose a steak and baked potato followed up by a sundae at Ghiradelli.
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I enjoy some of the individual restaurants at DS (Homecoming, I’m looking at you babe), but honestly I find the place itself generally pretty overwhelming in addition to being difficult to get to and from at various times of the day.
By contrast, Sanaa is a relaxing delight. While the view of the savanna is a nice addition, the food here sells itself and can quite easily stand alone. Taking a stroll around the resort with perhaps an after dinner drink at one of the lounges would make for a lovely evening.
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We did a 7 p.m. dinner at Sanaa on our last trip. If you head out to the viewing areas there will be cast members with night vision goggles. It was really cool!
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That is really cool! What animals could you see at night?
We saw several giraffes. It was odd because at first you would just see movement but then you would realize what it was. There were a group of them in amongst the trees. There were also some cattle and I feel like there may have been zebras but that might have been before it got dark.
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We got “harassed” by a small energetic bird
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One of those was right outside the window while we ate!
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Same thing for us several weeks ago–it was right up by the window.
Between Sanaa and Boathouse, Sanaa would win hands down; Boathouse was probably the most disappointing (and expensive) “signature” meal I’ve had at WDW. Sanaa and Raglan Rd are my two favorite non-park, non-signature restaurants in WDW. Morimoto’s in DS is also excellent. If you’re looking for steak and seafood I would recommend any of the “Disney signatures” over the Boathouse.
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I agree with @OBNurseNH on DS being overwhelming. I only like to go to DS if I have no set time frame. There are so many things that can distract you between point a to point b that getting from one side to the other feels like it takes forever.
I thoroughly enjoyed both Homecomin’ and Sanaa. Most all WDW restaurants have items for picky eaters. Sometimes not listed on the menu…
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I did Sanaa last year with DH who is a much pickier eater than he claims to be. The bread service was amazing and I enjoyed the butter chicken - but it definitely didn’t live up to the hype for me. He had a meal with 3 different kinds of meat and he wasn’t a fan of any of them. For him, it was a complete one and done.
I’m giving it another try in June (without DH this time so as not to influence my experience!) since I’ve heard so many rave reviews. But really the only reason I’m considering it is that we’re staying at AKL for that trip.
Boathouse is good for the picky eaters. DS9 requests it every trip (I think mainly for the parker house rolls!) and I know DH will enjoy his steak, but I mix it up because I really enjoy Homecomin.
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I love Sanaa but would not give up DS for it. I would totally suggest trying it- the bread service is so amazing and the service when we went was awesome.
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