Ohana, how much time to allow

[jm106]

We were able to book ohana on MK day(not the days I wanted but its ok) so how long should I allow from leaving the park(turnstiles) to get to poly? Dinner is 5:20 pm

 

[ladylinda65]

What park are you coming from and are you driving or taking WDW transportation?

 

[jm106]

From MK (magic Kingdom) disney transportation.

 

[Huff]

Poly is a 5-10 minute boat ride or a 15 minute monorail ride from MK. The biggest time is how long you will have to wait for either. The boat generally does not have much of a line but you may have to wait as much as 15-20 mins for a boat to arrive. Same possible wait for a monorail. I usually walk out of the park and see if a boat is at the dock or on its way and find the boat usually the faster option.

 

[jm106]

Poly is a 5-10 minute boat ride or a 15 minute monorail ride from MK. The biggest time is how long you will have to wait for either. The boat generally does not have much of a line but you may have to wait as much as 15-20 mins for a boat to arrive. Same possible wait for a monorail. I usually walk out of the park and see if a boat is at the dock or on its way and find the boat usually the faster option.

thank you

 

[loveslupins]

We have a reservation at ohana at 5:20 on our MK day too, so thanks for asking this

 

[aaronandterri]

when ever weve been to ohanas, we have always had to wait once we got there abyway and given a pager thing even with an adr....last christmas we waited an hour!!

 

[LilyWDW]

We were able to book ohana on MK day(not the days I wanted but its ok) so how long should I allow from leaving the park(turnstiles) to get to poly? Dinner is 5:20 pm

Ohana is one of those reservations you want to be early for. There is normally a line to check in (especially at opening) AND you should check in 15 minutes before your reservation. Thus, you should be checking in about 5:05pm. I would be arriving at the Poly by 4:50 or so to get in line to check in. I would thus leave MK sometime between 4:00 and 4:15.

 

[hannahdrewmom]

I'm not sure I'd leave Mk that early. You may be seated 5 minutes earlier than if you waited but you are giving up an hour more of actual park time. I'd probably leave about 4:45, that should get you there in plenty of time and hopefully the line from people who are there for the first seating/walk ups at 5 will have dispersed.

 

[DisneyFamily123]

I would plan to arrive at the Polynesian Resort 45-60 minutes before your ADR... to be on the safe side,. Sounds like a long time but you never know when transportation will be delayed... and the check-in process to get a pager can (not always) be a long wait. And if there early, you can find things to do to entertain yourself while waiting for your page to be seated.

If you take the boat, it goes to the Grand Floridian 1st, then the Polynesian, then back to MK. The monorail drops you off right at the ceremonial house (main building) where the restaurant is.

Been to Ohana twice - 2009 and 2010. We didn't have a great experience at Ohana this most recent trip... it possibly could take a lot of time from MK, but if you don't mind, then no big deal. It opens at 5pm, so if you really want to be seated as timely as possible... I would arrive well before then. I'd get to the restaurant to check in by 4:45pm, there may already be a line just to check in and get a pager. Plan to wait anywhere from 0 to 60 minutes to get seated, based on my experience and what I've read in the reviews. While waiting, grab yourself a drink and check out the gift shop, take some photos, etc.. I'd really like to know how far I could go with one of the pages and still have it work (could I walk to the beach?)

Here's a few tips to make your experience better... if you don't already know.

Go to the 1st floor resort registration desk. Ask for Leis - they have fabric leis (no charge). Ask for a resort activities schedule and when the welcome the night ceremony is. On most nights (I think nights when they have the Spirit of Aloha show), performers from the show do a short (10 min?) ceremony just outside the main building around 6pm - drumming, fire juggling, lighting the tiki torches.

You can view wishes fireworks from the beach by the Polynesian's volcano pool... and the electric lighted boat parade passes by a few minutes after 9pm.

While on the monorail, if you haven't been to the Grand Floridian, I'd visit their lobby. In the late afternoon and evening, there's a piano player and small orchestra that play. The lobby is beautiful and some neat floor tile work with characters.

Have a great Trip!

 

[juliebean]

Sorry to latch on - but I have a reservation for 7 at Crystal Palace and was thinking about switching to Ohana at 7... I've seen such bad reviews of CP lately that I'm scared...

I also have an 8 YO who wants to see fireworks and a 5 YO who is scared of them....I was thinking maybe it would be close enough to see them, but not so loud that the 5YO is crying (like when we got stuck behind the castle last time...nightmare).

Last - do we need to be on the beach to see the fireworks or can you see them from Ohana? Thanks!

 

[DisneyFamily123]

Sorry to latch on - but I have a reservation for 7 at Crystal Palace and was thinking about switching to Ohana at 7... I've seen such bad reviews of CP lately that I'm scared...

I also have an 8 YO who wants to see fireworks and a 5 YO who is scared of them....I was thinking maybe it would be close enough to see them, but not so loud that the 5YO is crying (like when we got stuck behind the castle last time...nightmare).

Last - do we need to be on the beach to see the fireworks or can you see them from Ohana? Thanks!

Our DS was afraid of fireworks... but at Disney World, he magically overcame it. I don't know if it was just being at Disney or what. Fireworks are better from the beach. But if in MK, at least there are some places (stores, etc.) where you could duck inside with DS5 or watch from a "safe" distance.

By the way... we love Crystal Palace. If I had the choice between Ohana and Crystal Palace, and could only pick one..... I'd pick Crystal Place without a 2nd thought.

 

[goofy2008]

We did ohana on our MK day and it works good...

 

[MusiqChic99]

5:20 is a good time. It's right after opening time and things tend to go smoother...at least in our experience.

It's the time we had in Nov. We made it to Ohanas at 5:10 and were seated about 10 minutes later. We had issues getting to Poly though because of an emergency potty break for my son. We would have been at Ohanas at 5pm though. We just make sure to get at any ADR at least 20 minutes before time.

I would leave by at least 4:40. And I would take a boat over there as opposed to the monorail. Too many horror stories of being stuck on the monorail and missing an ADR. And I want nothing to stand between me and that bread pudding! LOL

 

[jm106]

Well I had forgottenabout this post from a few weeks back. We decided to switch it anyway to our day of rest from parks so we are coming from our resort, taking a leisurly monorail ride then heading over to Ohana. We are still ealry at 5:20 still so hoping they wont bee all that late since its only open at 4;30. WE made it early purposly so we are ok with a wait. No hurrying, just going for the enjoyment.

 

[Thee Incredibles]

Just the info I was looking for! Thanks for the advice!