Ohana's - What A Disappointment!

[Albytaps]

Just back from a 7 day trip. We ate at Ohana's a week ago on Saturday night at 8 pm. Luckily, we had a terrific server (curly blond haired lady) and her helper was awesome as well. Ohana's is now our favorite Disney World Table service restaurant. The food was excellent! Not only did they keep coming back with more of our favorite (steak) but the dessert was heavenly. We will most definitely try to eat there every trip from now on.



PS
The only negative was that it was the only restaurant where we had to WAIT past our ADR time. It was packed and it showed us it's popularity.

 

[OllieDannyandMe]

My trick for having a good experience at 'Ohana is to have nothing else planned for the rest of the evening. If I am not rushed, then I have the luxury of asking for my needs to be met (even if I have to get up out of my seat and find a cast member to meet them).

I have had the best service at 'Ohana and the worst service there. It really does seem to be hit or miss.

I enjoy the atmosphere and the entertainment. I enjoy the side dishes, and I LOVE the dessert. I like some of the meat--it has that Brazilian steakhouse seasoning, which isn't my favorite. Usually the shrimp is good--the one time it was not, I told my server what was wrong with it and the next batch was perfect.

I think of 'Ohana as a high maintenance restaurant. I really have to be on my toes and monitor what they are doing, if I want to count on being satisfied. It is not a place that I can just show up and trust that they are going to take care of me. But, for me, it is worth the extra work to go there. My DSis will never go back. She expects more from the restaurants that she frequents. The extra effort is not worth it to her. To each their own, I guess.

 

[DW2010]

Hmm, I'm getting kinda worried now because I had really wanted to eat at Ohana on our trip this year because I have never been.
After all of the negative comments, I'm not sure what to be expecting. Especially since I'm going during the high season, it will probably be extra busy and service will be even worse than I'm reading...

What's a girl to do eh? lol!!

lol, me too. Our food was really good in 2010, but the service wasn't exactly great. I just didn't really care as it was our first night at Disney, and we were just happy to be there. We had a great time! I have a reservation scheduled for our arrival night again and aren't sure what to do.

 

[tinkerpea]

I see my thread has generated quite a few different views. Just to clear up any misunderstandings, my waiter's name was MORRIS. To those that think I did not check the menu first, I did!!!! I'm looking at it again now, I still would not think that it was all meat from looking at it. It says Egg noodles and stir fried vegetables as an accompaniment....where was that? I did not receive any noodles or vegetables, just a salad (which was good). We only received the shrimp one time, I had five of them, at that point I believe there were no more shrimp being grilled since all fire pits had been shut down but one, and the meats were pretty dry at that point. To the woman that says being ignored for the whole evening was no reason for me to be rude to the waiter, were you there?? Did you see me being rude to the waiter??? I simply asked him if we had done something to offend him and he laughed in my face! If anyone was being rude, it was MORRIS, not myself. And yes, I'm rejecting O'hanas for all of my future visits based on that one experience, I feel there are far too many excellent restaurants at DW to go back and "possibly" have another bad experience, so why bother? I ADORE the African buffet at the AK Lodge, I love the Garden Grill, the German Biergarten, I could go on and on...too many other better places, IMO. And to the lady that was there the same night as we were, WOW!!!! I'm willing to bet you had the same waiter!! That meal is far too expensive (especially for a family of four) for it to be anything less than top notch. As a side note, I contacted Disney's customer service line and they were more than nice. I was told that the manager at O'Hanas would speak to MORRIS and I was also refunded the entire amount of my check, her idea, I did not request a refund. I don't complain very often, this one just really appalled me, I guess because it was Disney and everything truly is so magical there most of the time. Thanks everyone!

I just want to thankyou for your review im so pleased you got refunded as your correct for a family of 4 is no way nr a cheap night out

I have not visisted Ohanas and i have been to Disney many times( look at my Signature) but for the 1st time have booked to go in October and like YOU im greatly EXCITED!!!! of course us 1st time restaurant visiters are going to be overly excited at getting a ressie to a place that is ment to be amazing and hard to get! ...... i have 3 boys and if i have service like you i will be walking out and up to a manager to correct it, I do not think from your OP that you was rude to the server and would have said something along those lines aswell if i had got that answer i would have had a few more choice words!!!! totally out of order to speak to a customer in that way SHOCKING i hope the rest of your trip was far more magical and lived up to your excitment x

 

[tinkerpea]

i understand your frustration but you didnt have to be rude to the waiter. im sure he was trying his best and it was an honest mistake. think about it, disney doesnt just hire slackers- im sure he really was super busy.

???????? ARE YOU FOR REAL????????

The OP was nothing of the sort not even close to rude!!! if that had been me i think i would have been far harsher! and for all the annivarsary dinners ive had at Disney if i knew that sombody else was being treated so badly because they was paying more attention to me id be devastated...

Im sure you would have sat there for over 30mins with no food drinks etc etc and then gone out of the restaurant as it was closing perfectly happy considering you would have been ignored for the whole meal (if the op had not asked another server this is what would have happened) and not wondered what the hell just happened and why you had just paid so much money for .....well nothing

 

[scottmel]

We ate there for the first time last June and enjoyed it. We took the first seating of the night, I read somewhere that works out best in terms of wait, etc. DD12 loved this meal. Made me promise to go back this summer and we are. Give it a try but I will make sure I DO NOT get !!!!

 

[wendylovesdisney]

We always go here. It's one of my favorites. However, I've had rough experiences at times. It's one of those places where it's really great or really bad.
I've also had a time where they basically forgot to bring meat. I waited forever and finally someone came and asked if I was ready for dessert and it was like.... Ummm.... No!
Also had times where the waiter stank,
with no drink refills... Had to flag people for items they don't bring.
Also I've had amazing meals.
So it's a wash.

 

[TDC Nala]

Removed and edited a couple of posts regarding negative references to servers using their names.

The mods in Restaurants have decided to do this because 1) the server isn't there to defend him or her/self and 2) if a place happens to have two or more servers by the same name, don't really want to send DIS readers in there rejecting servers because of their name. (Two names were given in this post and both have been deleted)

 

[mom2my3kids]

While I am not taking sides with the server at all, things do happen.. BUT they should of taken care of your whole bill or at least half of it..Being a server for 14 years things do happen but I will tell you I have never ever let a table sit for this long.. Even being totally busy and just over looking a table, he should of apologized and taken care of you...sorry we had a bad experience the last time too, it was a slacking server but it wont stop us from going back again this is or favorite place to eat..

 

[goofy78]

We ate there for the first time in 2011 and it is a must do for us in 2013! Great food and the kids loved the coconut races! Best dessert we've ever had too!

 

[Madamx]

Removed and edited a couple of posts regarding negative references to servers using their names.

The mods in Restaurants have decided to do this because 1) the server isn't there to defend him or her/self and 2) if a place happens to have two or more servers by the same name, don't really want to send DIS readers in there rejecting servers because of their name. (Two names were given in this post and both have been deleted)

FYI, you will never find 2 servers/CM's with the same name at a single location ever. Disney makes sure that doesn't happen by asking one of the CM's to choose a different name. That's how they know comliments/concerns are for which person.

I used to work at the Disney Store and this was all explained to us. It's like that everywhere within the organization when CM's have to interact with the public.

 

[Belle72]

We ate at 'Ohanas the first week of April. Our server told us that there were no kid's selections. They had to eat what was offered for the adults. My DD9 has a peanut allergy and we had already talked with the chef about food choices. The server was quite firm about there not being alternate choices. We just found a mgr and it was quickly fixed. I think the server was trying to expand DD's food horizons. DS5 and loved the regular offerings. But for a picky (or allergic) kid there are kid friendly choices. Iposted so others were ware that there is the option.

 

[TDC Nala]

FYI, you will never find 2 servers/CM's with the same name at a single location ever. Disney makes sure that doesn't happen by asking one of the CM's to choose a different name. That's how they know comliments/concerns are for which person.

I used to work at the Disney Store and this was all explained to us. It's like that everywhere within the organization when CM's have to interact with the public.

Doesn't make any difference. We've made the decision that we will remove the server's name where they are posted in this context. If a guest has a concern about a server they should be reporting it to Disney.

 

[crimsontide27]

FYI, you will never find 2 servers/CM's with the same name at a single location ever. Disney makes sure that doesn't happen by asking one of the CM's to choose a different name. That's how they know comliments/concerns are for which person.

I used to work at the Disney Store and this was all explained to us. It's like that everywhere within the organization when CM's have to interact with the public.

Completely bogus information here, period.

 

[LisaS321]

Thank you everyone! And Sweetpea, you too! I am so envious you are going for a 22 day visit in October, how wonderful!!!! I too will be there in Oct for the Food & Wine festival, one of my favorite events! I never knew one little post on Ohana's would generate any response, let alone 4 pages worth. There seems to be a common theme going, it's definitely hit or miss apparently and honestly, with all the other wonderful places to eat in DW I wouldn't take a chance for another miss night. TRULY, when he came to our table and I asked him if we had offended him, if he just would have said he was exceptionally busy and had just sincerely said he was sorry for the oversight I would have been OK with it, I do believe it was the laughing in my face that really offended me! Did I mention at the very end of the evening when the restaurant was basically empty he ran over and plopped a frozen raspberry drink if front of me and said "Here, drink this, it's very good and it will make up for your unhappiness, it's on the house"!!!! Well OMG, first off, I do not drink, second, I hate raspberries and third, how dare he think that alcohol would make it all better.

 

[cjallen]

We have enjoyed Ohana for several visits and never had poor service, bad food, etc. I would never recommend discounting a Disney dining location because of poor service on one visit, it is very rare to have poor service. Our family has been visiting Disney parks for almost 15 years, all with table service meals and have had less than a handfull of poor service issues.

I highly recommend discussing poor service with the manager before you pay your tab, before you leave. Many times the manager on-site will try to help make sure your visit was not in vain and allows them to address the problem right then.

 

[AshClan]

We ate at 'Ohana a couple of weeks ago and, overall, had very good service. Probably the best server I have had in my 4 or 5 visits there. I had read this thread before going and was a little concerned, but I was pleasantly surprised.

My overall feeling about 'Ohana is that the food is great, and the service is spotty, and a little rushed. My main complaint (and the reason I don't go that often) is the totally over-the-top singing lady. I'm sorry, but she drives me batty!!!

 

[HoltDisney07]

Doesn't make any difference. We've made the decision that we will remove the server's name where they are posted in this context. If a guest has a concern about a server they should be reporting it to Disney.

Just want to make you aware you missed one.

 

[Mad Hattered]

Just want to make you aware you missed one.

Yes, it's in post #44. Luckily I had read this thread before all the editing so I know not to get dealt either guy on our next trip.

 

[DisneyMom21]

We ate here on 4/30. We had to wait 30 minutes even with our ADR, but it was worth it. Servers were very good, food was plentiful & very good. We will definitely go back next trip.