1st time at Ohana...

[Tigpooh]

This will be our 1st time eating at Ohana and I am hoping it will be as awesome as it is sounding. I also hope I didn't make a mistake. I had a res for a Sunday eve at 8:45 which I thought was way late, but kept anyway. Not knowing about "Wishes" I kept an eye out for something better to come along...and it did! I scored 5:30 the same eve so I switched the time. I was so excited but now that I know about "Wishes" did I make a huge mistake? Would 8:45 have been a magical time or just way too late? Is 5:30 a good time to eat at Ohana and not be overly rushed? Heck, we could try to make it back to the park for wishes I suppose...MK is open till 1am that night..

 

[River Country]

IMO

I know i am gonna get beat up for this but if you really wanna see fireworks eat at the Cali Gril. Better Food and Better Service. I am not a fan of Ohana and yes 8:45 is way late and you probably wont sit then anyway. At 5:30 you will more than likely be rushed out the door. Again these are just my experiences, i know there are die hard Ohana lovers on here.

 

[Tigpooh]

IMO

I know i am gonna get beat up for this but if you really wanna see fireworks eat at the Cali Gril. Better Food and Better Service. I am not a fan of Ohana and yes 8:45 is way late and you probably wont sit then anyway. At 5:30 you will more than likely be rushed out the door. Again these are just my experiences, i know there are die hard Ohana lovers on here.

Yikes...rushed out the door? I mean, I don't like to eat super slow...I do want to enjoy the parks too, but I hate feeling rushed.

Thanks for your opinion

 

[Snurk71]

Keep the 5:30. It wouldn't be a surprise if you didn't get seated until after 9:30 going on 10:00 with an 8:45 ADR.

And you won't be rushed in any way with a 5:30 ADR. That's about the time we usually go and there's nothing magical about that time to put a rush on. Some servers are rushers, others aren't. We typically are there for an hour to an hour and a half. You should have plenty of time to get over to MK for Wishes afterwards. I might suggest taking the boat from the Poly because the monorail gets packs from 7:00 on with people going to MK.

I don't remember for sure, but I think O'hana's first seating is at 5:00. I'll just say that you don't want to be in the first seating - the place is a madhouse at opening. So 5:30 should clear out some of that first seating rush.

 

[CAJUNWDWFAN]

You will be just fine with the 5:30pm ADR. My suggestion is eat casually like you normally do. Then you can go outside on the beach and watch Wishes there. You will actually get a better view there than from inside Ohana and you will not have to request a window seat at Ohana. They also play the Wishes music outside, you just have to be close to one of the speakers to hear it well. I've never been rushed or made to eat quickly at Ohana. It's good that you have the earlier ADR. As the night goes on, the wait time for your ADR gets longer and longer usually and this is fairly typical of any restaraunt at WDW. The ADRs tend to start to stack up.

For my upcoming trip were eating at Ohana and all that was available is 8:05pm, i'm still checking daily to see if anything around 6pm or so becomes available, but 8:05pm isn't all that late.

 

[JimmyV]

And you won't be rushed in any way with a 5:30 ADR. ...We typically are there for an hour to an hour and a half.

I don't remember for sure, but I think O'hana's first seating is at 5:00. I'll just say that you don't want to be in the first seating - the place is a madhouse at opening. So 5:30 should clear out some of that first seating rush.

There is a built-in inconsistency between the two statements above. If people with 5:00 ADRs are clearing out by 5:30, then it seems to me that the early diners are indeed being rushed out the door, and do not have the luxury of dining over the course of an hour to an hour and a half. Or are you saying that the podium is less crowded at 5:30, but all of the 5:00 diners are still seated and eating?

That said, I would keep the 5:30 over the 8:45, and inform your server as you are seated that you are in no rush and would like a relaxing meal. They should get the message. That will leave plenty of time for a decently paced meal and a trip back to the MK (or whatever viewing spot you choose) for Wishes.

 

[Snurk71]

There is a built-in inconsistency between the two statements above. If people with 5:00 ADRs are clearing out by 5:30, then it seems to me that the early diners are indeed being rushed out the door, and do not have the luxury of dining over the course of an hour to an hour and a half. Or are you saying that the podium is less crowded at 5:30, but all of the 5:00 diners are still seated and eating?

Yes. The line to the podium will be past Kona's entrance at 5:00. It takes the staff a while to seat that first block of diners. A 5:30 ADR will be seated at a first time table for the night - not one where someone has already eaten.

 

[TGaines107]

My favorite restaurant! Arrive early for dinner, hit the bar, listen to the water below, gaze upon a park bathed in a retreating Sun. I have never once felt rushed. They were excellent in their serving of the meal and its plentiful to be sure. The firepit, the singing and over all flavor of the Pacific. The meats just kept coming and coming as much as you want. It was so delicious. I tell you this, I prefer the earlier seating because you will roll out of there stuffed like a pig and you'll definitely need to walk some of it off to avoid being in a food coma. So either walk the hotel, its shops and the resorts environs or hoof it over to MK and just walk while enjoying the pleasant memory you've just made at what will soon be your favorite restaurant as well.

 

[kappyfamily]

Sometimes you have to wait a bit before you are seated at ohanas so it could be close to nine before you even have food. To me it's way too late to eat. There's so much meat! No way would I want that in my gut that late! Have fun you will love it!

 

[ibela]

We are slow eaters, even a trip to McDonald's lasts about 1hr for us (between talking and potty breaks). The only meal I ever felt rushed at was CRT, and there we ended up staying for a 2nd turn of the fairy godmother and mice (before it was princesses, last year). We were at Ohana for close to 2 hrs. We go to WDW fairly often and with 2 toddlers, I'm not looking to always be "go, go, go". When the server brought came over with the meat shortly after the salad I said we didn't like to be rushed and after that, she'd come by and ask if we were ready for more. No rush at all. But a nice tip.

 

[JerseyJanice]

The earlier time will be much better. At 5:30, you won't be behind any potential back-log of people being seated. On a busy night, the later your ADR, the later you're likely to be kept waiting.

For Wishes, you'll be best off eating early and going inside the Magic Kingdom to enjoy the show. They're nice to see and hear inside Ohana, but nothing beats seeing it inside the park.

And honestly, we have never, ever, ever been rushed in any Disney restaurant. Been served too slowly many times, but we've never been rushed. It always shocks me whenever I see someone post that they felt rushed in a Disney restaurant. I don't think it's possible.