Kona Cafe: What happened to you?!

[poohbear2]

We love or should I say loved the Kona and always had a great meal. But last night we were so disappointed. I guess I should have been on the boards longer before we left but what happened to the big loaf of bread you get at dinner? Instead you get the little loafs that you can get at the supermarket. The menu seems like it has been cut in half as well as all the desserts. My mom got lamb chops which were fatty and tough. She said something about it and the server asked if she wanted a new meal but I am surprised the chef even sent it out. The Kona was always packed when we went but there were few people when we went. Not sure if it was me or others feel the same way.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Short response DDP.

Long Response Disney Dining Plan. Seriously, I think that in order to make money on the reimbursement the restaurants just keep cutting extras and quality. Of course those of us actually handing them cash, who are more profitable, also get the same junke since they need to make more off of us to make up for the poor DDP reimbursement.

 

[Nohal]

Wow no big loaf of bread! Do they still give you the macadamia nut butter with it? DDIL wants to eat there this trip. We haven't been since they took my coconut chicken off of the menu.

 

[Grumpy92]

Totally agree with you the quality and offerings at Kona are not what they used to be. You could say that about a lot of the restuarants and I blame the dining plan as well.

 

[chupacabra]

Kona was not horrible on my visit last April but it was far from good! I wont be back

 

[wdwpracticalprincess]

Oh no! Going with our family of 6 in October. We were planning on hitting Kona after drinks at Trader Sam's. I hope others will share their experiences.

 

[momof2cuties]

We were there Monday night. Had a 8:05 res and rushed back from Epcot to make it...only to wait for about 30 mins for a table. So I started annoyed. Bread and Mac nut butter was delicious and they brought us more when we asked. Food was good but I don't think worth the cost. We were paying out of pocket. We had pork chops, duck, filet and kids shrimp skewer. Service was very slow and I didn't think it was worth the cost and the time it took for our last night...we could have stayed in the park.

The bread and butter were the highlight...yum!

 

[Praying Colonel]

Oh no--this is a must do on every trip for us. DW and I have an ADR here for 8/22. Hope this was just a bad night and not a true decline.

I know we all like to beat on the DDP, but it's been around since 06. Why would it cause a decline 9 years later?

 

[Kimosabe]

We had an excellent experience there in June and loved the food. Among other things, our group (ten in all) had the steak, pork chop and sushi, all of which I tasted and loved. Appetizer and dessert were also good, along with the service. I guess every place is going to have a rough night from time to time. Can't argue against the negative effects of the DDP overall, but in general, we still enjoyed Kona dinner very much.

 

[branv]

I checked out the menu before making ADRs for dinner and was surprised by how blah the menu seems now. It's been a long steady decline IMHO anyway. But for me it's officially hit the point of not being worth a visit for anything but breakfast. And since I've discovered Trader Joes coconut pancake mix, I'm not even sure it's worth the trip for breakfast for me anymore (plus we've always had atrocious service for breakfast).

Anyone else remember how neat and cute the Kona Kone used to be? Sigh...

 

[Nohal]

Loved the Kona Kone now it is a nothing special desert.

 

[NuttyDisneyDad]

I cant wait for Kona in Oct!!!

 

[poohbear2]

We were there Monday night. Had a 8:05 res and rushed back from Epcot to make it...only to wait for about 30 mins for a table. So I started annoyed. Bread and Mac nut butter was delicious and they brought us more when we asked. Food was good but I don't think worth the cost. We were paying out of pocket. We had pork chops, duck, filet and kids shrimp skewer. Service was very slow and I didn't think it was worth the cost and the time it took for our last night...we could have stayed in the park.

The bread and butter were the highlight...yum!

Did you have a large loaf or did you also get mini rolls?

 

[poohbear2]

Totally agree with you the quality and offerings at Kona are not what they used to be. You could say that about a lot of the restuarants and I blame the dining plan as well.

I didn't want to admit it but with this current trip I totally agree 100%.

 

[momof2cuties]

Did you have a large loaf or did you also get mini rolls?

We got a round loaf that we cut into 5 wedges....which just wasn't enough for us! Wish we could find it at home.

 

[maxiesmom]

Maybe they ran out of the large rounds and subbed in the loafs? I agree you really can't blame the Dining Plan for this one, not when the plan has been around for years and years.

 

[Minniesgal]

We have always loved Kona but in honesty never really like Dinner. We much prefer lunch the menu is much better.

 

[perdidobay]

I've never eaten at Kona before and have an adr for October. What is good on the dinner menu? How is the sushi? You guys have me worried now....

 

[DizDaD7]

I've never eaten at Kona before and have an adr for October. What is good on the dinner menu? How is the sushi? You guys have me worried now....

Not as worried as me...

All these years of going to WDW, we've never even tried Kona, but heard all the reviews over the years.....Friends of ours are going to CM, (Which we're done with) and 1 other family as well as us, decided to try for something else close by. We were able to score a 5:30 ADR (for 8) about a month ago for our upcoming trip in a week....

Only time will tell..I'm going in with an open mind , as always so hopefully things will be fine...My kids love sushi, DD loves lamb, we all love steak, and my DW is GF, so hoping for good choices as well.

 

[jerseygal]

Had a DELIC meal in December at Kona! The server even said we could get the bread pudding from Ohana for dessert since I asked the server. We decided instead on the creme brulee which was delic! Hope it is good for our October ADR!