Ohana's not what it used to be

[darlingdeb]

We had so many wonderful memories of Ohanas when our kids were little. They still do hula lessons for the kids, etc. but somehow everything feels rushed and thrown together. We had a window view which was very pretty with all the buildings lit up. The service in't what it used to be-very rushed and not very friendly. The friendliest person was the chef who came over to talk to us because of food allergies. The waitress and her helper seemed peeved, kind of just rushed along. I don't know if they were short staffed.
The food-shrimp, chicken and steak were decent.
Salad was good. They now serve noodles instead of rice and stir fried veggies. I liked the rice better. Veggies were good. Desert was bread pudding with real vanilla ice cream on top. Kids got chocolate brownie cupcakes with white frosting and mini m&ms on top. I asked for a brownie and it was unbelievably great!
Overall it was fine but expensive for the bad service we got.

 

[pumba]

this will be our third year in a row going there..and we have had the noodles ..SO sorry that you had a rushed time...we are going again in May ..as we have enjoyed the food and atmosphere.. thanks for your report though

 

[Mom2m&k]

We have been twice in the last two years and about to go again next month. The noodles are one of my favorite parts of the meal and we have had great experiences. Sorry yours wasn't fantastic!

 

[senadler]

We really like Ohana both for breakfast and dinner; however I do agree about the servers. I think they have too many tables and are very rushed. I try not to hold it against the servers as they are working very hard. Even with the service challenges, we still keep on our top choices.

 

[jdkdorn]

we just went for the last time. We requested a window table, castle view and told them we were willing to wait. Our table overlooked the roof and part of the pool and was right by the back kitchen. We waited an extra 30 minutes for this. Then someone comes to the table and puts down a salad and walks away, no greeting. Next the server comes up and takes drinks and walks away. The same original guy them drops off the wings, dumplings and noodles. It is all ice cold. the server comes back with the drinks and I tell her the food is ice cold. She leaves comes back with skewers. I told her again I want new wings and dumplings and noodles. She states that the manager will be out shortly. We get hot wings & dumplings and no noodles and never saw the manager. I felt the whole time that they just wanted us out and we were a hindrance to them. We are going on a big family trip in March and will skip this restaurant.

Waste of our money

 

[lorimay]

We were just at Ohana, this past Saturday, I have to say we have always enjoyed and raved about it in the past. This time it was just "meh".
It was suppose to be just me and hubby, then our kids and grandkids all decided to tag along. I felt so lucky to be able to get a table for 8 last minute.
The servers both came out and said," hope you're all hungry, we are going to stuff you full of food."
Well, they brought out the salad, wings, noodles and veggies. He comes with the skewers once and never comes back. When he finally came back we ask for more steak and he seemed bothered by the request, I mean it is all you can eat and we had 3 grown men who eat more than 2 steak and chicken squares. He then brings out one plate of the bread pudding with one scoop of ice cream, we are 6 adults, really? Once again bothered when more was requested. I don't think we should have to feel bad to ask for more, we are paying a pretty penny for this meal. I don't have to tell you how much this meal was for 6 adults and 2 kids, you all know. We were not on a dining plan so it was out of pocket.

I was so looking forward to this meal and I was so disappointed, we won't be back anytime soon.
I feel bad for writing this, I really do, we have always loved this dinner.

 

[SweetSpot]

We were spoiled our first time there years ago. Great servers, the food was hot, not just dropped as they walked by, the servers made sure our meal was as it should be and asked if we needed anything. I agree the service is now terrible there and I also found the food to be just okay. There was nothing that was worth the cost to us especially after a our frustrating dinner service. The servers may have many tables but they aren't taking orders and making sure all meals are delivered as they should like most table service restaurants. They drop plate after plate, in our case not even bothering to say what they were dropping (ex. the sauces) overwhelming the table rather than serve in courses and disappear for long periods of time. I had just taken my first bite of salad when meat came to the table, way too rushed! We had one round of skewers and were not offered more. My DH wanted to order another beer but no server came around to give him the opportunity. For this terrible service the servers are given an automatic 18% gratuity if using a dining plan. This is an expensive meal, luckily we have TIW, these servers are making good money on tips given the number of tables they are "overwhelmed" with and the customers are the ones who suffer.

I loved Ohana but definitely will not be back anytime soon.

 

[Jetta8300]

My husband and I tried it our last trip in 2014 and it was definitely strange. We were seated at a table for two, but it was squished up to the side of another table for 2. I could touch the other woman's elbow, but my husband was like 7 feet across from me at this incredibly long and awkward table. I couldn't even hear him, but I was almost in the same seat as this other woman. They brought out all of the courses very fast, and the server didn't really talk at all. Then when the meat course came around we could barely flag down anyone to get any meat so we continued to eat wings and noodles.

We kind of felt like we were eating in a cafeteria mess hall of some sort. I have to say that I really liked the food, the wings especially and the bread pudding. But the whole atmosphere was really strange especially that really long table. Are all tables for 2 like this?

 

[TravelMommy]

We loved Ohana, our first family trip in 2004, had a wonderful experience, service was awesome. We had a similar experience as OP at another buffet, this year (we have been skipping Ohana due to the bad reviews) and I really feel the guaranteed 18% gratuity has had an effect (bad one) on service. Prices have been going up and up and up, food quality does not appear to be going up, only down, down, down. This is why we will probably only eat at QS and at a few (1 or 2) TS.

 

[SweetSpot]

My husband and I tried it our last trip in 2014 and it was definitely strange. We were seated at a table for two, but it was squished up to the side of another table for 2. I could touch the other woman's elbow, but my husband was like 7 feet across from me at this incredibly long and awkward table.

My DH and I were also seated at this type of table but we were on the very edge of the walkway at the starting line for the games they play with kids. I had kids hitting my legs with brooms trying to get their coconuts/balls? moving and parents crowding our table and leaning over us as we ate trying to get pictures of their kids.

 

[Jetta8300]

My DH and I were also seated at this type of table but we were on the very edge of the walkway at the starting line for the games they play with kids. I had kids hitting my legs with brooms trying to get their coconuts/balls? moving and parents crowding our table and leaning over us as we ate trying to get pictures of their kids.

I feel like we were right in the center of the restaurant, It's hard for me to remember exactly since it was 2014 but I know we were far away from windows and where the circular tables were (it looked very pretty over there and I envied them. haha). It was just really uncomfortable, I felt like I was eating dinner with this woman, and my husband was eating dinner with her husband, and we couldn't hear eachother. I felt like I had to slide a plate down to him to share the food. lol. We both couldn't reach the food if it was in the middle. I would like to try the place again if the table was different! But it was SO WEIRD.

 

[Ravishing_Leah_Rude]

Our first experience at 'Ohana was phenomenal. We had a great table by the window, food was brought out in a timely manner, not rushed, our "cousin" chatted with us for awhile, and so did other "cousins" who dropped off meat, and the food was really good. Each year since then, little by little, it has spiraled down hill. Cramped seating, all food dropped off at the same time, one helping of one kind of meat, no "cousins" around to ask for more, and the quality of food has become inedible. We skipped it this year and didn't even miss it. Maybe next year...... maybe not, there are so many other places to try.

 

[brinkley07]

We loved 'Ohana to start with, but I agree it's gone downhill. After our visit in October we won't go back for a while. Unfortunately the food was mediocre, the service fair, and the other patrons rude. When we did need our server for drink refills we couldn't find him. It was disappointing. On the good side we are venturing out to try new places!

 

[eastendlights]

Yes, it used to be one of our must do every trip dining experiences and our last two meals there were borderline awful. The steak was stringy, the shrimp mushy and the chicken was slimy-just nasty. It seems they are using the lowest quality proteins to be had. The only things we really liked were the dumplings, wings and bread pudding. I had made an ADR for our trip later this month hoping the reviews would be better. I canceled it a few weeks ago.

 

[Jake&IzzyLand]

The bread pudding is the best part for me, you can order it at the lounge, no need for the disappointment!

 

[princess aleya]

I completely agree. The last time we were there we felt very rushed through our meal. We decided that would be our last visit for a while.

 

[Mark P.]

Jeez, I thought it was just a bad night for our server. She was friendly and all, but rather than place a bowl or drink, etc., she basically dropped, slid, slammed them down. Didn't feel exactly rushed, but at the same time, didn't feel very relaxed either. Too bad to hear same from others.

 

[RobynPrincess]

I'm done with Ohana myself, I do enjoy the food but I'm so sick of being rushed through with disinterested servers that I don't want to do it anymore. Mind you, staying in poly and having the room service Ohana meal is very appealing.

 

[Irishcastles23]

We tried Ohana for the first time last March and had a horrible experience and as a result will not likely go back. We had breakfast reservations at 10:00 a.m., but waited over an hour for our table. Due to the long wait my husband had a diabetic reaction from low blood sugar and had to run to purchase a candy bar to compensate. The service once we sat down was pretty much non-existent, the food was cold and a few of the characters had to be called back as they missed our section entirely.

 

[summerlady]

Wow! We had dinner at 'Ohana in September 2014 and again last September. Both times the food was excellent and service was great, our servers were attentive and we didn't have to wait for anything. We were asked if we wanted more bread, more salad (which we didn't), and the skewers were brought to our table regularly. In 2014 they had those crummy lettuce wraps but we asked for salad instead and it wasn't a problem. Definitely going back there for dinner again, ADR time for me is March 15. DH would go there just for the dessert, and again, we were asked if we wanted more.