Let's talk about dinner time = freshness

[koryandleslie]

Don't scream..........but I have an ADR at Ohana's at 9:55pm. Yes, I know it's late. It's the only one I can get and feel lucky to have it. I have no kids, plus will have had a great break that afternoon. I'm not worried about staying awake, not making RD the next day, etc., etc. What I am worried about is good food.

How will the food be at that time of night? Will stuff had been on the grill for a while?

I've heard this restaurant is usually noisy, so hopefully, it will have settled down a little bit by this time.

It is on 10/10 at 9:55. If anyone has an earlier ARD there and willing to trade for something else, I'll take it. If not, tell me about freshness, please.

 

[NuttyDisneyMom]

We always ASK for a 9:30-9:45pm on purpose so we can watch Wishes while we eat! The food does NOT disappoint at all, in any way. There are always still quite a few people in the restaurant, until right around when wishes starts. We love that the tables thin out and we are NEVER rushed either! You'll have a great time!

 

[koryandleslie]

Thanks!!!

Can you help with the "plan"............

MK is open until midnight

Spectro is at 8:00
Wishes is at 9:00

I figured we would watch Wishes near main street and leave afterwards on the monorail to the Poly for 9:55 reservations.

Should we do it some other way, such as watching Wishes from somewhere at the Poly, hoping to be seated sooner. Leaving MK shortly after Spectro? What do you think?

 

[DannysMom]

Spectro is at 8:00
Wishes is at 9:00

I figured we would watch Wishes near main street and leave afterwards on the monorail to the Poly for 9:55 reservations.

Should we do it some other way, such as watching Wishes from somewhere at the Poly, hoping to be seated sooner. Leaving MK shortly after Spectro? What do you think?

I would think that if you watched Wishes from anywhere in the MK, you would likely get caught up in the throng of people that will be leaving immediately after the fireworks & may have a hard time getting to your ADR on time.

You might think about watching Wishes from the beach at the Poly, they pipe the music out there, but pretty quietly, so not near the same experience as watching it from inside the MK. But you can get yourself a drink from the pool bar or from Ohana's bar to have while you watch the show, something you can't do at the MK.

 

[lovemyzoe]

In your situation, I would probably watch Wishes from the beach at the Poly. I am not a big fan of crowds and you will be fighting quite a crush out the door once Wishes ends.

 

[koryandleslie]

So, we watch Spectro near the exit. Over around 8:40ish........will we be at the Poly by Wishes at 9:00?

 

[lazydazy8]

I would think that if you watched Wishes from anywhere in the MK, you would likely get caught up in the throng of people that will be leaving immediately after the fireworks & may have a hard time getting to your ADR on time.

You might think about watching Wishes from the beach at the Poly, they pipe the music out there, but pretty quietly, so not near the same experience as watching it from inside the MK. But you can get yourself a drink from the pool bar or from Ohana's bar to have while you watch the show, something you can't do at the MK.

As for watching Wishes from the Poly beach, let me set the scene...

It was our first trip to WDW since our honeymoon (8 years prior). We had dreamed about taking kids to WDW back then. I had health issues in my past that would make having children questionable.

Fast forward 7 years. We have a DD7 and DS5! I planned our trip with them for almost 2 years. We didn't tell the kids. We took them to a hotel close to the airport for a surprise fun night, with dinner out, hotel with a pool, and a ride on the carousel (where the kids were beaming, yelling, "this is the BEST surprise EVER!!!") Little did they know, that they would be woken up the next morning at 4am to go to the airport for WDW.

Again, to make a LONG story short, this vacation was a long time coming (we hadn't had one since our honeymoon), every detail was planned. We met up with a family of our closest friends down there (another surprise to the kids). On our last night, together, we ate at O'hana. (A tradition we have done every year since). Our ADR was at 5:15. We enjoyed a delicious, relaxing dinner with great friends. We headed up to the monorail in order to get a ride over to the MK where we would catch a bus back to our resort. As luck would have it, the monorail was down. The castmember couldn't tell us how long it would be down. He suggested we take a bus or go out and take the boat shuttle. We were enjoying our last night of this long anticipated trip, so we decided that a boat ride would be a great way to end the night.

As we approached the dock, we noticed a couple sitting on the bench out on the dock. We smiled and they told us that we were just in time. "Just in time for what?" we asked. "Wishes."

It was the most magical night of our trip. There we were, kids hand in hand, all of us cuddle together with a romantic view of Cinderella's Castle with the Wishes soundtrack playing in the background. It was the greatest way to end our trip!

As long as you get the full effect of Wishes from down on Main Street at some other point in your trip, I urge you to enjoy it from the Poly dock or beach!! It is nothing short of magical!!

 

[emmabemmainc]

We also had a late reservation time this past January--I didn't think that the food was "old" tasting, by any means.
The restaurant was quiet, even though about half the tables were full.
The only problem we had, is that my 7 year old was bummed, b/c they only had one hula lesson and no coconut races--I guess we were too late for that.

 

[koryandleslie]

We also had a late reservation time this past January--I didn't think that the food was "old" tasting, by any means.
The restaurant was quiet, even though about half the tables were full.
The only problem we had, is that my 7 year old was bummed, b/c they only had one hula lesson and no coconut races--I guess we were too late for that.

Pefect..........quiet, no hula dances or coconut races and still good food. That's what we want!!!

How long does dinner usually take at Ohana, w/o the races or dances?

 

[Kathy Z]

If you watch Spectro from the portion of Main Street towards the train station (we were near the Cinema) you will be able to exit earlier than 8:40 pm. That will give you time to make it to the Poly by either monorail, resort launch or ferry before Wishes at 9:00 pm. (If you go by ferry you'll have about a 10 minute walk from where it lands near the Tahiti longhouse to the beach by the volcano pool.)

One time during our May visit the monorail was having problems. It took about 30 minutes to get from the Poly to MK. A couple that was traveling from the CR to the GF was worried because they were going to be late for their ADR. What would normally take 15 minutes turned into 45 minutes for them. I guess that's one reason Disney is now saying plan 90 minutes if using Disney transportation. In May we were told to allow 60 minutes.

 

[TDC Nala]

I just ate at Ohana yesterday at 8:55 pm but weren't seated until 9:20 due to difficulties with the pager. Absolutely no problems with "freshness." They do finish the entertainment about then. There was only one incredibly loud maraca parade. I would never go there any earlier again.

 

[Jeanieblue114]

As for watching Wishes from the Poly beach, let me set the scene...

It was our first trip to WDW since our honeymoon (8 years prior). We had dreamed about taking kids to WDW back then. I had health issues in my past that would make having children questionable.

Fast forward 7 years. We have a DD7 and DS5! I planned our trip with them for almost 2 years. We didn't tell the kids. We took them to a hotel close to the airport for a surprise fun night, with dinner out, hotel with a pool, and a ride on the carousel (where the kids were beaming, yelling, "this is the BEST surprise EVER!!!") Little did they know, that they would be woken up the next morning at 4am to go to the airport for WDW.

Again, to make a LONG story short, this vacation was a long time coming (we hadn't had one since our honeymoon), every detail was planned. We met up with a family of our closest friends down there (another surprise to the kids). On our last night, together, we ate at O'hana. (A tradition we have done every year since). Our ADR was at 5:15. We enjoyed a delicious, relaxing dinner with great friends. We headed up to the monorail in order to get a ride over to the MK where we would catch a bus back to our resort. As luck would have it, the monorail was down. The castmember couldn't tell us how long it would be down. He suggested we take a bus or go out and take the boat shuttle. We were enjoying our last night of this long anticipated trip, so we decided that a boat ride would be a great way to end the night.

As we approached the dock, we noticed a couple sitting on the bench out on the dock. We smiled and they told us that we were just in time. "Just in time for what?" we asked. "Wishes."

It was the most magical night of our trip. There we were, kids hand in hand, all of us cuddle together with a romantic view of Cinderella's Castle with the Wishes soundtrack playing in the background. It was the greatest way to end our trip!

As long as you get the full effect of Wishes from down on Main Street at some other point in your trip, I urge you to enjoy it from the Poly dock or beach!! It is nothing short of magical!!

Thanks for sharing that story...so sweet.

We have a tradition of going to the Poly our first day into town and having something from captain cooke's and sitting out on the beach with a drink...we watch the electrical water pageant (very unique, shows every night on the water) and then watch the fireworks.....it's a great way to relax from travelling and kick off the trip!

 

[Johnbear]

I figured we would watch Wishes near main street and leave afterwards on the monorail to the Poly for 9:55 reservations.













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[tami82]

When we went we had a 5:05 reservation. When the waiter was giving out the shrimp had noticed the one skewer wasnt as hot and actually had me put them on another plate and brought back a nice hot one (I didnt even notice and probably wouldnt have minded but it was nice for him to go out of his way to do) You shouldnt have anything to worry about at all.