No "Stay out of the damn lakes today"...?

[WRLeGrand]

I think they point Pete was making is that you should be able to eat somewhere you like and enjoy coming to, while having a great experience. For me personally, O'hana has been the place that I want to dine time after time. Just because I come each time does not mean that I deserve a bad experience (rushed in the case mentioned on the Podcast).

Craig, I get what you are saying about just going somewhere else, but Disney is not a place where most people just go somewhere new. Maybe that it is our fault as a fan of Disney or said restaurant, but we do not have the luxury of eating every where at Disney to find our "spot". All the best...

 

[KingLlama]

But here's the thing....Disney restaurants CAN change. Here's a personal example...

I used to HATE eating at Tony's Town Square. HATED it. But here's what I did about it...I stop by my favorite Italian place in Orlando on the way to the park. I order my favorite Italian food. Then I sneak the food into the park. Then I get a table at Tony's. Then I sit and eat it at Tony's. And now, I LOVE eating at Tony's.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

While I don't travel to WDW on vacation anymore, I do travel other places regularly that this same theory can apply to. My favorite restaurant when I travel home to visit my family used to be a "staple" restaurant. It was my favorite. The menu hasn't changed the last 3 times I've been home and it regularly changed based on season before. While I know I could still have a great meal with the dishes that had remained, I opted to choose a new restaurant that was actually different and a unique experience.

At the same time, there is a Western PA diner that I only eat 4 different items off the menu and it hasn't changed since I can remember and I would be up in arms if it ever did change. But, it's a diner, and I can fault it when it doesn't live up to expectations in food or service.

The point being, flagship meals shouldn't be repetitive. In my opinion, they should change and evolve. It should be the restaurant that stays the same in terms of service and invention, but they don't ever let anything become sterile or repetitive, save for a selection of "signature" dishes. 'Ohana hasn't changed in any way from the first time I've been there. As a culinary experience, it's about as boring as a diner that's been serving the same food for 50 years. If they are going to treat it like that then it should be the same price and it should be avoided when it's at its worst. If it wants to live up to its reputation, then it needs to do something else.

And yes, you can argue a place like Hoop-Dee-Doo hasn't changed up the menu at its place in forever nor the show, but it still has repeatability. I factor in a minuscule amount of improv and a heavy supply of beer, wine and sangria to make up the difference. So... maybe Ohana should have unlimited booze?

Unlimited Lapu Lapus and it would become the hardest ADR to get ... Until they changed it to a 2 credit location

 

[TresGriffin]

Unlimited Lapu Lapus and it would become the hardest ADR to get ... Until they changed it to a 2 credit location

Unlimited Lapu Lapus would sure sell me. LOL

 

[ChrisFL]

It's like Lilo and Stitch said: Ohana means............"get in, get your food and get out!"

 

[wed100105]

I wholeheartedly agree. Heck, if I really want to be served endless meat on a skewer, I can go to the Brazilian steakhouse within walking distance of my office right here in Atlanta, and for slightly less money and better quality service. Why would I waste time and money on a supposedly similar yet subpar experience.

I can have a fantastic meal over in Disney Springs and have a great experience as an alternative.

(This said, a Brazil pavilion at Epcot would be great for this reason.)

Bolded emphasis is mine.

We visited WCC, Ohana, and a couple of Disney Springs restaurants last weekend (over Easter). Hands down we enjoyed our Disney Springs food more than WCC and Ohana. Polite Pig was fantastic; $77 (military discount) for a huge table of food that was hot and delicious vs. $100 for WCC (2 adults, 1 Disney adult who ordered an appitizer, 1 7 year-old, and 1 infant who ate off our plates). Ohana was $210 for the five of us. While our food was good, it wasn't great. Our service was fine and we weren't rushed, but we weren't wowed either. DH and I both said that Ohana has finally priced us out.

We're going again in June with my cousin (no DH on our June trip) and we're doing the dining plan. My cousin picked Ohana as her TS pick of the week. I hope it's delicious. If not, we'll most likely scratch it off our "Must-Do" list going forward. We're typically an Ohana breakfast and dinner during a week-long trip family, too.

 

[TresGriffin]

I think the important thing is to also not lean on the over-hype that certain places on property get. I’ve started to gather through this forum and the Dis Unplugged dining videos that the places and things that get the most hype turn out to not be what they’ve been cracked up to be. Like they’ve been “fine” but not “wow”. Which lends itself to some considerable disappointment, especially if you have an experience as Pete relayed to us in the latest WDW show.

I call it the Dole Whip theory. People make it sound like it’s the best thing in the parks. And they’re tasty and refreshing on a hot day, mind you, but I’m much more drawn to the citrus swirl which doesn’t get as much attention.

I think we as guests should learn to manage our expectations, but its also incumbent on Disney to do their best to exceed them. It’s a two way street.

 

[disneysteve]

I think the important thing is to also not lean on the over-hype that certain places on property get. I’ve started to gather through this forum and the Dis Unplugged dining videos that the places and things that get the most hype turn out to not be what they’ve been cracked up to be. Like they’ve been “fine” but not “wow”. Which lends itself to some considerable disappointment, especially if you have an experience as Pete relayed to us in the latest WDW show.

I call it the Dole Whip theory. People make it sound like it’s the best thing in the parks. And they’re tasty and refreshing on a hot day, mind you, but I’m much more drawn to the citrus swirl which doesn’t get as much attention.

I think we as guests should learn to manage our expectations, but its also incumbent on Disney to do their best to exceed them. It’s a two way street.

One huge problem at Disney is consistency. They just seem to have none when it comes to their restaurants. A place could be great one trip and lousy the next. On the other hand, something like Dole Whip is always the same. How much you like it is personal, but the product is consistent.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Has anyone tried asking the wait staff to "slow it down". We will be eating there this September Im going to experiment. I will not let them set that bread pudding down until we are ready! I admit I will probably lose this battle as Im 99.99% convinced they are trained to rush people through.

 

[disneysteve]

Has anyone tried asking the wait staff to "slow it down".

That's exactly what triggered Pete's rant this week. Someone specifically told the server when they arrived that they didn't want to be rushed. Still, the appetizer was brought to the table before they had even given their drink orders, and the rest of the food showed up shortly after even after the guest again told the server they didn't want to be rushed.

At that point, I would have been speaking with a manager, but it doesn't sound like this guest did so.

Im 99.99% convinced they are trained to rush people through.

I'm quite sure you are correct. Too many people have complained about this same issue. It has to be the actual policy of the restaurant.

 

[disneysteve]

The problem is that since ADRs open up 6 months in advance, there is no way Disney can fix this (even if they wanted to) for at least 6 months. Fixing it means cutting down the nightly capacity of the restaurant and not accepting as many ADRs each day.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

Has anyone tried asking the wait staff to "slow it down".

I did. This happened to us at 'Ohana in December of 2017. Our server laughed at me every time I asked him to slow the pace...like it was some kind of game. I could have asked to speak to a manager, but there's not guarantee it would have helped and the damage was already done. The entire meal took about 45-50 minutes. I knew something was up when we were seated early. We've always had to wait well past ADR time (30-40 min avg), but not that night. I want to say we were seated about 20 minutes early. I said it in chat the other day, but I think this extends beyond the servers and is some kind of management directive. How high it goes...I don't know, but how many tables in 'Ohana have to be put into speed dining mode for there to be no wait to be seated?

 

[Brett Wyman]

I know the runners bring out each course without conferring with your waiter, thats just the way its setup. But I wonder how it would work out if you just told the runner to take that course back until you're ready.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

Just wanted to note...I can see both Pete's and Craig's argument. On one hand, I want it fixed because we've had so many great experiences at 'Ohana and it's sad to think that it may never again be possible to experience 'Ohana again in that fashion. There is also that part of me that's angry that they don't care enough about the guest experience to fix this and will use this as an opportunity to go out and try new places.

 

[tallguy001]

“Go somewhere else” isn’t going to cut it for a family who booked an ADR 6 months ago and who do not breathlessly follow the boards or the podcast.

 

[KellyHonos]

I saw both what Pete and what Craig were saying. I can't stand when people KNOWINGLY don't like a place, but continue to go to it in hopes it changed. If your time is limited and your past experiences at Ohana have been less than desirable, you can't choose to play victim and keep going there. I understand people have attachments to places, but Craig's point is that there are plenty of other lovely places to go spend your money and time at, and heck, maybe you'll like the new place you try even more! He's just advocating that getting caught up on something that's out of your control is a big waste of time.

On the other hand, Pete feels that Disney is cutting corners by not addressing the culture that exists within Ohana and that's taking advantage of people who may not know to stay clear of that place. Not everyone is on the boards. Not everyone is a DIS-er. If a family is booking their reservation through a disney dining agent, of course they're going to get a biased review of Ohana from the agent. The agent isn't going to say service has been lacking....the agent may not even know that.... Pete is just sticking up for what is right, while Craig is being more realistic.

I served for many years. I can speak from first hand experience, that when the culture is bad, it's bad from the bottom to top and top to bottom. Usually what effects (affects? I've never mastered the art of knowing the difference) the culture is how the servers feel treated by management. If servers don't feel appreciated or valued, they in turn will stop appreciating or valuing their job. I'm not making excuses for the poor service at Ohana. I wouldn't enjoy being rushed either. But clearly there's something going on behind that scenes that is affecting (again, not sure of the usage lol) their service. I know at the restaurants I used to serve, the longer ticket times ran (the time it takes for the kitchen to cook your food) the longer people sat at a table, and the longer people sat at a table, the bigger the wait got, and the bigger the wait got, the more irritated people became. It was a domino effect. So typically it was the goal to get the customer their food as soon as possible. But pacing was a huge thing at the last place I worked. Drinks, apps, entrees, desserts, and the check should have been timed out at a good pace to where the customer felt special and tended to, but not rushed. I'm thinking that management has the servers aiming to get a table in and out in a certain amount of time to accommodate reservations, and it's putting pressure on the servers to rush customers, and customers aren't having it. Serving is actually a really fun job if it fits your personality type. I can't see why someone would sign up to serve in DISNEY WORLD and aim to disappoint their tables. Especially if their tip is going to suffer for it. I have a feeling it's deeper than the servers just not caring.

 

[Spaceace5150]

This thread has gone a difference direction, but I thought the tagline should have stayed retired after the tragic accident...it was for awhile, but then brought back.

 

[disneysteve]

This thread has gone a difference direction, but I thought the tagline should have stayed retired after the tragic accident...it was for awhile, but then brought back.

I think the tagline became all the more important after the death of the child, even though the original point of that statement wasn't warning about gators but rather nasty organisms in the water. Far too many people don't recognize the danger of going in the water at Disney (or Florida in general).

 

[disneyland_is_magic]

I think it's an important tagline. I can easily see how those coming from other areas might not understand the seriousness of both the water safety and gators. Where I live much of the water in the wild is (relatively) safe to enter, it's a very natural part of outdoor exploring here to include swimming in lakes, river rafting and canoeing.
Obviously with little ones (and adults too) you take serious considerations for drowning, ie sudden drop offs, undercurrents that make it dangerous, always using life jackets but water activities in lakes by their nature are fun and common here.

 

[disneysteve]

I think it's an important tagline. I can easily see how those coming from other areas might not understand the seriousness of both the water safety and gators. Where I live much of the water in the wild is (relatively) safe to enter, it's a very natural part of outdoor exploring here to include swimming in lakes, river rafting and canoeing.
Obviously with little ones (and adults too) you take serious considerations for drowning, ie sudden drop offs, undercurrents that make it dangerous, always using life jackets but water activities in lakes by their nature are fun and common here.

Exactly. Going into lakes is normal in many areas so folks may naturally think it's okay in Florida too and it just isn't.