Kona or Ohana for dinner

[MissionMouse]

I've eaten at both and highly recommend Kona over Ohana any day of the week. The food is better, the service is better and just a better deal for the money.

Agree 100%. A decade ago I would recommend Ohana, but I would not provide one now if the person/family wants quality food and service.

 

[Sweetpeamd]

We've eaten at both. If you have young children I'd do Ohana because they have activities for the kids during your meal. However, it is very very loud and crowded. If you can handle the noise and crowd it's ok; we found the meat to be dry and the servers too busy. Kona is more relaxing.

Agreed! We, as a family, love Ohana. Our kids love the games and the food is okay. Sit by the window for a fantastic view of the castle and hopefully Wishes if you time it right. The food at Kona is a little better (Shrimp and Scallops, yum!) and the meal feels quieter and less rushed. Check out the menus and see what your family would prefer.

Whichever one you choose, a great idea is to go down to the Poly beach after your dinner and watch Wishes. It's a beautiful setting.

 

[Brocktoon]

We tried Kona for the 1st time over our last WDW trip, and it was one of the best meals of the trip. It could have been the rediculous amount of Lapu-Lapus our group downed, but I preferred the steak and rest of the meal over Le Cellier (which we still hit year after year). Kona is definetly now added to our repeat visit list for future trips.

last year we went to the Luau and they had pineapple bread that my daughter fell in love with and wants again! I am not doing the luau again - it was nice but toooooo expensive. So my stupid question is do they have this amazing bread at either Kona or Ohana. I def need to book one of these and that is the deciding factor. Thanks!

Not sure if it's Pineapple Bread, but Kona does serve some sort of tasty sweet bread along with macadamia butter

 

[lvdis]

I vote for Kona! We ate at both in November and while they were both good, we absolutely loved the teriyaki steak and wonderful bread at Kona. My family wanted to do it a second time, but we didn't have a chance to this trip. I'm sure you'll enjoy either one! Have fun!

 

[planitdad]

We've (family of 4) eaten at both several times, and love them both, but choose O'hana for atmosphere, large comfortable tables and a more overall Disney experience.

Food and service can be hit or miss at both - trust me! Never had a real bad experience at either though, but Kona tends to be a little too packed in tight for my taste, especially considering I feel O'hana is even more spacious and generous with table space than most.

To those die hard Kona fans, I would agree that for breakfast Kona is hard to beat.

 

[disney4us2002]

I would pick KONA a millions times over Ohana!
We just ate a Ohana a few weeks ago and it was terrible! Sorry! I know Ohana gets a lotta love here on the Disboards...
The salad was soggy, the noodles were gluey and tasted like spaghetti drowned in soy sauce. The dumplings were soooo dry. They honestly were inedible! The veggies were just frozen broccoli and pea pods..nothing bad...nothing great. The chicken wings were incredibly sweet..not good sweet. The meats all tasted the same. At one point we were given turkey and pork at the same time and I couldn't tell the difference between the two. And I must be the only living person that does not like that desert. ick!
Kona, on the other hand, has always been a wonderful dining experience. We have enjoyed every meal we have had there. Service can be a bit up and down...but I would recommend KONA.

<--- That's me raising my hand saying I agree with you. I didn't like Ohana and especially the dessert. Yuck! It was incredibly LOUD and all the meats were tough and dried out too. The kids were absolutely NOT peeling the shrimp (yes, they are spoiled as I don't cook unpeeled shrimp) and not one in our family of 5 chose to return to Ohana on our last trip. The Kona dessert menu alone is worth a trip!

 

[DisneyFamily123]

Stupid question - last year we went to the Luau and they had pineapple bread that my daughter fell in love with and wants again! I am not doing the luau again - it was nice but toooooo expensive. So my stupid question is do they have this amazing bread at either Kona or Ohana. I def need to book one of these and that is the deciding factor. Thanks!

I remember Aloha having Coconut Bread but didn't really seem to be any pineapple in it. Ohana's Dinner has the very same bread.... BUT, Ohana's breakfast served a coconut pineapple bread that warm with lots of pineapple and very delicious! Also served with a warm cinnamon raising bread that was also good.... I could have eaten the bread and skipped the rest of breakfast!

 

[iheartdolewhips]

We're going to try 'Ohana for the first time this trip, but we LOVE Kona! It is one of our absolute favorite places to eat at WDW - we eat there every trip.

Wow, the responses are pretty evenly split - unfortunately, we'd have to drop Liberty Tree (possible depending on which characters they have in January), Mama Melrose (Fantasmic Dinner package), Akershus or Chef Mickey's to try both.

Looking at your list of options, I would recommend dropping Mama Melrose. We ate there last May and weren't impressed at all. Both my husband and I had a hard time finding something on the menu we really wanted and both weren't very pleased with the food. It was just eh, not that great. From what I've heard from others the Fantasmic dinner package isn't worth a lot either - the seats they reserve are far off to one side and aren't the greatest. I've even heard of someone that didn't even get one of the reserved seats because they ran out of room before they got there from the restaurant. I'd skip Mama Melrose and do Kona and 'Ohana.

 

[njtinkmom]

I remember Aloha having Coconut Bread but didn't really seem to be any pineapple in it. Ohana's Dinner has the very same bread.... BUT, Ohana's breakfast served a coconut pineapple bread that warm with lots of pineapple and very delicious! Also served with a warm cinnamon raising bread that was also good.... I could have eaten the bread and skipped the rest of breakfast!

I checked the menu's and it's actually called the Pineapple Coconut bread - it did not really have any pineapple in it so we must be talking about the same thing! So Ohana's it is! My dd will be sooo happy Thanks for letting me know!!

 

[a1tinkfans]

Which do you prefer for dinner? We booked Kona after days of trying for Ohana and have convinced ourselves the menu is actually more appealing and we don't really need more buffet or family style meals. Today our TA emails a ressie for Ohana so now we must decide

I have enjoyed BOTH several times.
Kona is typical restaurant in the atmosphere type, and Ohana is more "festive" interactive, better for kids IMHO. BOTH have same/similar food items...made by same kitchen so I do not think that is the biggest factor. The Ice Cream for kids at Kona is FUN and yummy...The "show" at Ohana and family style versus ordering off a menu is also a difference. I think which ever you choose, you will enjoy. I will say though, that if only TIME you can get is LATE at Ohana, skip it....the service seems to slide downward later in evening and that is from personal experiences with my family. I think Ohana is more "sensory" music, family style, great views of MK versus Kona, which is more typical restaurant ..... I really love to do both each trip....TRY online and you MAY be able to do just that!
Have a great trip!!

 

[Jerry@dvcstore]

Ohana for Dinner, Kona for Breakfast. That's what we do.

 

[MrsLS]

Kona no question. We liked Kona a lot. we didn't really like Ohana or the food, except for the salad & chicken wings.

 

[Nahanni]

Thanks for all the opinions. The Kona supporters presented a compelling case emphasizing food quality, service and a nice atmosphere, but logic goes out the window when planning a Disney vacation .

We've decided to keep our Ohana ADR because:
1) Our TA says it is a very hard ADR to get on 3 weeks notice (We don't usually commit to vacation 180/90 or rarely even 60 days out).
2) Since we're in at opening, hopefully, Ohana is at its best
3) We hope the kids will enjoy the experience - first hawaiian-type.

We'll add Kona breakfast on our last day and definitely include dinner plans for a future visit.

 

[Iott Family]

Ohana for Dinner, Kona for Breakfast. That's what we do.

Thats how we are doing it this go around! We have done the breakfasts at both and dinner at Ohana numerous times. The kids love the atmosphere