Fixed price menu - worth it with 10-year-old?

[UsualNoise]

I've been trying to nail down my last couple restaurant reservations and I'm considering Ohana. However, my 10-year-old (as of a few weeks ago) daughter eats AT MOST half a bowl of mac-and-cheese at the Disney restaurants. Basically, I'm wondering if paying $30+ for that half bowl of mac-and-cheese for her is worth the adults eating there. I'm leaning towards no, but I'd be willing to be convinced otherwise.

If it matters, I'm paying out of pocket (no dining plan) but I'm guessing that doesn't affect the price you get charged.

 

[sharonabe]

I've been trying to nail down my last couple restaurant reservations and I'm considering Ohana. However, my 10-year-old (as of a few weeks ago) daughter eats AT MOST half a bowl of mac-and-cheese at the Disney restaurants. Basically, I'm wondering if paying $30+ for that half bowl of mac-and-cheese for her is worth the adults eating there. I'm leaning towards no, but I'd be willing to be convinced otherwise.

If it matters, I'm paying out of pocket (no dining plan) but I'm guessing that doesn't affect the price you get charged.

Is mac n cheese the only thing she eats? The meats at Ohana are really good, so if she eats steak or grilled chicken, she will probably eat these. I have a picky eater, but he loves meat as long as it's not sauced or gravied in any way. He LOVED Ohana. They will also bring kid friendly fare to your table if you ask; not sure what that is, though.

 

[~Tonga Wingo~]

My nephew was able to get chicken strips and mac and cheese in June.

 

[TDC Nala]

They will bring Mac and cheese or chicken strips, but without a reduction in price.

 

[UsualNoise]

Yeah, I should have been clearer - the food isn't the issue. The amount for the price is. Regardless of what the food is, my daughter will eat the equivalent, volume-wise, of half-a-bowl of mac and cheese. So ... is it worth the $30+ for that?

Or, put another way, will the ultimate price tag of ~$100+ be worth it for essentially two adult meals?

 

[Hopefully]

Yeah, I should have been clearer - the food isn't the issue. The amount for the price is. Regardless of what the food is, my daughter will eat the equivalent, volume-wise, of half-a-bowl of mac and cheese. So ... is it worth the $30+ for that?

Or, put another way, will the ultimate price tag of ~$100+ be worth it for essentially two adult meals?

Unfortunately, only you can answer that. "Worth" is a totally subjective assessment.
'OHana is extremely popular, for a reason. It is a great atmosphere and lots of fun for families and young children. They have entertainment like coconut races and hula dancing and singing etc. for the kids. It has a beautiful view over the lagoon to the Magic Kingdom and the Castle. If you time it right, you can see Wishes fireworks.
The food is very good and plentiful. It is all you care to eat, and the adults would enjoy that.
You need to decide if, not only the amount of food your daughter would eat, but the entertainment, the atmosphere, the view etc all add up in your opinion to a special evening.
Good Luck

 

[davedmaine]

I guess it's up to you. If you really want to eat at Ohana (and you should) and cost isn't an issue, then go for it.

 

[IncredibleboysMom]

My answer would be no. We eat at places like O'Hana when we have the dining plan. On other trips, we try to eat at places that you order from the menu so DS 13 and I can share some things, or he can order kids meal. I like O'Hana, just not THAT much.

 

[smiths02]

I really loved Ohana both times we went-it was the best meal of our trips (2009 and 2011) [although reports are that it has declined] That being said, no I would not pay $100 for essentially two adults to eat there. It is not worth that. The experience is not worth it to me. [You may be able to go to Kona and ask for the bread pudding-it has happened before. At the very least, you could experience some of the same flavor profiles at Kona]

 

[TDC Nala]

You'll have that issue at any fixed-price meal. Only you can decide if the atmosphere/food is of enough value to the adults to pay the adult price for a child who won't eat much.

Are you looking for reviews of the meal? There are plenty on the boards but they vary a lot. Some love it and others say it's the worst place they've ever eaten.

 

[robinb]

I couldn't being myself to pay that much for my DD to eat a bowl of mac n cheese. The experience of 'Ohana - or any other fixed price meal for that matter - was just not worth it to me. We stopped going to the buffets and other fixed price restaurants once my DD turned 10. Last month's trip was the first time that my now 13-year old ate all adult meals at table service restaurants (whoops, I just remembered she ate off the kids menu at Yak & Yeti). She ate off the kids menu on previous trips.

 

[UsualNoise]

Thanks for the feedback thus far. I'm probably going to skip Ohana on this trip - I'll be trying out Kona Cafe instead as I've heard almost all good things about it.

The only way I would have done Ohana with a fixed price menu is if we got a table during the fireworks at MK ... but there were none available. Not a huge loss, as we did California Grill and got to see the show from the top of the CR last time.

 

[robinb]

Thanks for the feedback thus far. I'm probably going to skip Ohana on this trip - I'll be trying out Kona Cafe instead as I've heard almost all good things about it.

The only way I would have done Ohana with a fixed price menu is if we got a table during the fireworks at MK ... but there were none available. Not a huge loss, as we did California Grill and got to see the show from the top of the CR last time.

Make your Kona reservation so you can finish in time to watch the fireworks from the Polynesian's beach .

 

[Kimosabe]

We are dealing with this regularly now, as we have DD10 who is the same size as DD8. DD10 is quite petite for her age, so quite often, a waiter will give her a kid's menu if she wants it, even if we "confess" that she is 10.

As for Ohana, that is one of my favorites on property...but not so much for the rest of my family (DW, DD10 and DD8). Ate there in 2012 for the first time, and you could argue that the kids' activities are included in the price (like the show in the Luau, at Hoop De Doo, etc.), but DD10 was not particularly interested in the activities at Ohana anyway, as they tend to focus on the younger kids (or so she convinced herself).

We just ran across a similar pricing problem with trying to book the Luau at the Poly. Because of DD10's age, we would have had to pay almost $80 for her. I realize that a nice chunk of that includes the show, too, but the main problem we had with this is that the adult price includes unlimited beer and wine, and obviously a 10-year old isn't drinking any of that....but that doesn't matter. I think the 10-year-olds-are-adults-at-WDW rule is crazy anyway, but especially when alcohol is included in the adult pricing. I can appreciate that they have to set an age at some point, so if I want to eat at WDW, we just accept the rule and plan carefully on restaurants.

 

[dvcterry]

Even if you pay out of pocket, you will be charged the correct pp rate for the prix fix meal. The servers have, from what I found, have been very accommodating in offering something from a child portion here or there or bread; however, you pay. If you see that it is a restaurant and offering that you would want to try, then go for it; otherwise don't try to justify the cost. We had gone to a restaurant with a larger group and the server did the amount of children and commented that we were charged all adults and the children did not eat. The menu changed from what I saw online, and this, too is subject to change, but I said there's not much that can be done-we prepaid.

 

[pixarmom]

We've been making these decisions quite a bit over the past few years! Our boys are now ages 6, 12 and 13. Our 13-year-old is now to the point where $40 for a meal is more justified, given the amount and variety he eats. But not for our 12-year-old. So we've eliminated most fixed price restaurants from our rotation - not because we don't like them, but because it's not a great value and we've found other restaurants we prefer. Some fixed price restaurants remain on our rotation for the experience or tradition, like Garden Grill for dinner. And both our 6-year-old and our older boys have great fun at character meals, so we'll plan Tusker, Ohana or Cape May, but only for breakfast. (That's also a questionable value, but it's fun to mix in at least one character meal.) We've found that signature meals and ADRs in World Showcase usually work better for us than fixed price meals anyway.

So maybe skip Ohana this time, and see what happens in a couple years. I'm guessing that when our boys are 14, 20 and 21, we'll be reconsidering this issue!