2 Adults + 4 Kids = Whole Lot of Food (2009 Dining Review)

eeyore_04

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jul 17, 2010
Messages
4
Our family spend two weeks every year at Walt Disney World, as we prepare for our 2010 trip and all the delicious food. I thought I would share our 2009 Dining Review with you:

Your Reviewers:

Me (25)
DH (25)
DS: Ryder (7)
DS: Kyran (5)
DD: Emmersyn (3)
DD: Sawyer (1)

Enjoy !!!!


Day 1
'Ohana Dinner
 
'Ohana Dinner
Disney's Polynesian Resort​
Those of you versed in Lilo and Stitch or those of you who have been lucky enough to visit the beautiful islands of Hawaii, know that "Ohana" means "Family" and at this retaurant they drive this point home. Food is served family style, everyone in the restaurant - including you - are "cousins" and Hawaiian entertainment is aimed at bringing everyone together to participate in common activities.

Type of Food: Polynesian
Reservations: Recommended
Service: :thumbsup2:thumbsup2:thumbsup2:thumbsup2
Friendliness: :thumbsup2:thumbsup2:thumbsup2:thumbsup2:thumbsup2
Parking: Hotel Lot
Bar: Full Service
Wine Selection: Limited
Dress: Casual
Dinner: Daily 5-10 pm.


Price of Meal
2 Adults & 3 kids (any child under the age of 3 is free); includes coffee, tea or soda.
Table Credits: 5 with a $22.00 tip.
Price without Table Credits:
Subtotal: $106.95
Taxes: $13.37
Tip: $22.00
---------------------
Total: $141.98​

Atmosphere
You're greeted at 'Ohana by "cousins" at the podium who take your name, give you a buzzer, and send you out into the Polynesian to explore. This was the only restaurant we did not mind having a 20 minute wait for, our 6 PM reservation.

Your buzzer works on the whole 2nd floor of polynesian resort, so while the boys stayed and listened to a very talented hawaiian musician in the waiting area, I took the girls and we went shopping at the shops across from 'Ohana. The time just flew by.

Ohana' is a large room wrapped around a massive fire pit, which is the origin of your food for the evening. The room is edged with nearly floor-to-ceilling windows with views of the Polynesian Resort Grounds, Seven Seas Lagoons, and Magic Kingdom icons like Cinderella's Castle and Big Thinder Mountain.

Your "cousins" host will take you on a tiny tour of the restaurant, passing by the open kitchen and array of "sample drinks" then by the open pit where Cast Members are grilling long skewers of meat and shrimp, and then on to your table.

Once you are seated in the large cushy chairs, you will be greeted by your server for the evening. This person will be taking care of your drinks and other specifics. He'll be joined by the second serving "assistant"

Another cast member you’ll be acquainted with by the end of the evening is the Hawaiian cultural ambassador and “entertainment director.” This individual is in charge of passing out leis, teaching hula lessons, serenading honeymoon and anniversary couples through a romantic slow dance, leading the restaurant in Hawaiian renditions of “Happy Birthday,” and emceeing coconut races and hula hoop contests for the kids. As you’d imagine, she’s very busy, but you’re sure to have as interactive — or as relaxed — an evening as you wish. (This for us is what made the evening, the entertainment kept the kids entertained, while we could enjoy a hour long dinner).

Now, even though you’re seated and have met your servers, there actually won’t be much ordering; ‘Ohana offers a set menu. For those who have dietary restrictions, likes, or dislikes, however, be sure to bring these up to your server. ‘Ohana is famously good with ensuring everyone at the table has food that fits their needs. There is also a very small children's menu upon request and kosher selection may be available, best to order in advance.

EAT

The meal at ‘Ohana includes plates and bowls full of Polynesian-inspired dishes. It begins with a delicious freshly-baked pineapple bread, dubbed “‘Ohana Welcome Bread,” which is brought to your table by the “cousin” who seats you. Be sure not to fill up on this, though — there’s MUCH to come!

Next up, one of your cousins will bring you Mixed Greens with honey-lime dressing. The dressing is absolutely amazing. A Must Try :lovestruc

Just as you’ve dug into your salad, large plates of lo mein noodles with vegetables and teriyaki sauce, stir-fried broccoli, pork dumplings drizzled with a sweet and sour sauce, and honey-coriander chicken wings show up on your table. These are some of the best chicken wings on Disney property.

Finally, your cousins come by with the main event — grilled meats stacked high on skewers. This is a show in and of itself! One meat will come to your table at a time: mesquite grilled turkey, asian BBQ pork loin, marinated sirloin steak, and spicy peel n eat shrimp. The meats are accompanied by three sauces: peanut, spicy mustard, and sweet n sour. Your server will recommend which sauce to try with which meat.

And lastly, but, most importantly, the dessert. If you don’t save room for this, you haven’t gotten even half of your money’s worth at ‘Ohana: ‘Ohana bread pudding a la mode with bananas foster sauce.

Thoughts on the Food: Overall, the food presentation is what saves this restaurant over the quality of food. My biggest complaint is that the meat was too well done for our liking, it was really dry. It felt like it sat on the grill far too long. The dessert was to die for and everyone in the family truly enjoyed it.

Tips
Before choosing this restaurant make sure everyone in the family or party likes this food, it is a set menu. We are quite blessed that we do not have picky eaters in our family. There was something for everyone in the family to enjoy. Even with our youngest she just shared food with mommy or daddy.

On a couples trip a few years ago, DH and I made reservations for 5pm, when the restaurant opens. We request a window table, order a Hawaiian drink, and watch the sky over the Magic Kingdom change from blue to pink to orange to red as the sun sets behind the Grand Floridian. There’s nothing more relaxing, as far as I’m concerned. (It was very romantic)

Consider booking a reservation for an hour before the Magic Kingdom Fireworks are scheduled. Request a window table, and prepare for an amazing show! ‘Ohana will pipe the music right into the restaurant!

Insist on being in the main dining room, where the fire pit is located. There are tables around back, but you can't see what;s going on from there.

Overall: :thumbsup2:thumbsup2:thumbsup2

Note: Will post pictures once I reach 10 posts.
 

Can't wait for more!!! Does anyone know if O'hana will give my picky 5yr. old some chicken nuggets or something similar??
 
Cinderella's Royal Table​
Cinderella Castle, Fantasyland, Magic Kingdom​

When DH and I were deciding which restaurants we were going to chose for dinner on vacation our conversation sounded like this:

Me: "Emmie would love to have dinner with Cinderella, you know she would talk about it for months, do you think the boys would enjoy it."
DH: "Why wouldn't they, having dinner in the castle would be magical."
Me: "It will cost us two table credits."
DH: "Well, then the food must be really good too."

This conversation still rings in my head...

Reservation: Required
Service::thumbsup2:thumbsup2:thumbsup2:thumbsup2
Friendliness::thumbsup2:thumbsup2:thumbsup2:thumbsup2
Parking: Magic Kingdom Lot
Bar: None
Wine Selection: None
Dinner with Fairy Godmother: Daily 4-8:30 PM

Price of Meal​
Table Credits: 2 credits each with a $40.00 tip​
Price without Dining Plan (includes tip and gratiuty): $218.72​

Atmosphere
Cinderella’s Royal Table in Cinderella Castle at Magic Kingdom theme park offers a Character Dining experience in a mythical, medieval setting. The entrance is behind the Castle in the Magic Kingdom, and it’s very easy to find. The greeters/hostess are very friendly and informative.

After checking in, you are taken to the first chamber where Cinderella is greeting little ones and posing with families for the free photo. Cinderella is great, and quite striking. Our Emmie was so nervous, but she loved seeing Cinderella all decked out in her beautiful princess gown. Our daughter was dressed in her Cinderella outfit (which she wore for like 10 days of this trip), and most kids were dressed up as Disney Princesses. The boys really couldn't care less, other then to get her autographs (I make them Character autograph scrapbooks).

Next you are taken up the winding stairs, past the restrooms, to the main chamber. The dining room decor includes medieval royal flags, stained-glass windows, and the ever-present “stone.” While it is cool to be in Cinderella’s castle, I was not really impressed with the overall look of the room. It just seemed plain to me. We were tucked in a corner and did not have a view of the park. Also, sound seemed to bounce off the walls and was kind of loud.

The atmosphere and entertainment is kind of bland, to match the overall look. The Fairy Godmother and some of the mice from Cinderella come out to put on a small show. Normally, I would walk around and take photos, but there is not really anything worth taking a picture of.

Eats​
Having taken our seats and ordered our drinks, we munched on the very hard dinner rolls. DH, the 3 eldests kids and I are on the Disney Deluxe Dining Plan ,we decided that it was really not necessary for our 1 yr.old today, she had not eaten much todayso I was prepared to have to share or spring for an additional meal for the youngest one; I was surprised that they give children under 3 a plate of noodles, drink & dessert for free!

Looking over the menu, I was not really impressed with the adult entrees. The options were very limited and did not sound all that appealing. In my life I have dined at some very nice restaurants, and while I am not expecting a 5 Star meal, I expected, for 2 Meal Credits each, that this meal would have a good selection.

After about 15-20 minutes of playing with play doh, our meal came. The appetizer/salad tasted OK — nothing special. Throw in some pears and strawberries, and something to spice it up some. While eating our salad, we attempted to entertain the kids (they were more entertained at 'Ohana), who were bored and ready to leave.

DH ordered the chicken with potatoes, and it came with some super hard bread. My daughters turned up their noses at the noodles. It was just a Mickey plate of plain noodles. I don’t blame for her for not eating it. Throw some pasta sauce on there — “What’s a matter you?!” I ordered the salmon with asparagus and rice.

The boys ordered chicken fingers off the the children's menus, they looked delicious. They seemed happy to eat them.

Again, both meals were very bland and lacked any sort of flavor. We come to Disney for the food and love visiting all the unique restaurants. Each place has flavors and meals that are unique to Walt Disney World. We find ourselves craving the ribs from Boma, Dole Whips from Magic Kingdom, Bread Pudding from ‘Ohana. So far nothing from this meal stands out and makes us want to come back again. Maybe dessert will be better.

I ordered the chocolate cheesecake. I mean, who can mess up chocolate cheesecake? The highlight for me was the edible Celebrate Today wafer on the top of the whipped cream. I did not even finish my dessert. I know that is hard to believe, but it’s true. It was dry, and even with the chocolate sauce, lacked flavor.

DH ordered the crème brulee, and he ate a few bites more than I did. The only person who seemed to like her dessert was our little ones. They loved their chocolate candy crown on vanilla ice cream.

Overall, let me save you money and/or dining credits and just say “skip this meal.” Out of our whole trip, this meal was the worst meal. It was nice to get a photo of our little ones with Cinderella, and the thought of eating in the castle sounds cool when you tell people about it; but if you’re foodies like us and love Disney Dining, I would visit some place else.

Tip​

Views at the restaurant are very limited, but there are some stained-glass windows that overlook Fantasyland. (Always ask it would not hurt).

Our dinner only had Fairy Godmother, Cinderella and the mice. I hear the breakfast has more princesses.

When you make your reservation, you will automatically have to purchase the group photo (it is included in the set price).

There is a 24-hr. cancellation policy, but will be charged for the full meal when you make the advance reservation.

Overall: :thumbsup2:thumbsup2:thumbsup2
 
Thanks for the info on The Royal Table. We actually have this planned for breakfast one day during our visit. It is pretty expensive so now I am apprehensive about it. I would hate for it to be a let down when we could have used the money for something else. I will look to see if there are reviews of the breakfast:) Your reviews so far have been great. I am definitely seeing Ohana in a new light:)

Oh and I forgot to mention that this is our first trip:) So everything will be new to us.
 
Very detailed! Reading and waiting for pics popcorn::

I still can't justify using 2 ts credits for CRT...my girls LOVE Akershus (and us too!)
 
Love the info! We will be traveling to WDW next year with our 4 kids that are almost the same ages as yours are. Can't wait to hear the next review!!!
 
Thanks for the detailed review on CRT.

My sisters are taking there daughters for the Cinderella factor (one sister also has a son) . I have a son that will be almost 5 and my sister's son will be 8 we were toying with the idea of going with the boys too -we didn't want the boys to feel like they missed out of going inside the castle - I think we will stick with the original idea for the boys and leave the partk and head over the Grand Floridian Cafe
 







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