O'Hana bad?

[mmps108]

I just realized that I should have posted this request here instead of the dining review area.

I have an ADR in August for O'Hana. There are several reasons why I wanted to have dinner at the Poly. One, we can't afford to stay there and dinner is the next best thing, two, we spent our honeymoon in Maui and this is our first trip to WDW since we got married, three, we are going to the Pirate and Princess Party that night so I wanted to be close to MK.
Our TA gave O'Hana glowing reviews, but now I'm reading mixed reviews about the food and the atmosphere and I listened to the review on the DIS unplugged...I'm thinking that I should change our ressie to Kona Cafe instead.

HELP!!!

 

[juju]

Kona might have better food, but Ohana is more fun

 

[disneyag]

Ohana has more fun atmosphere, while Kona has a more subdued atmosphere. Check out their menus on this website and see which one you'd enjoy more. Ohana has a set dinner, but you order from the menu at Kona.

I like them both for different reasons.

 

[MeLaNie9]

Kona definitely has better food, it was the best meal of our trip - service and atmosphere were both great too.
Ohana was ok - we really liked the chicken wing and "chips"/dips appetizers, but the meats were mostly quite dry and flavorless and it took forever for all of the meats to be served to us. It was an excruciating long meal because of this - the best meat was (of course) the last served to us and by that time we were pretty full from trying everything prior. They had the bread pudding dessert which we didn't care for, but we are not bread pudding people. We were there with our 2 1/2 year old son so he wasn't participating in the kids activities and we were seated right by the walkway on which these activities took place (we didn't know this when we were seated) - it was absolutely crazy for us when they were going on. The servers were definitely friendly, but we just didn't have a great time.

 

[Gina35]

We always go to 'Ohana when we're at Disney; it's one of our family traditions.
This year (Aug) my daughter wants to go to the luau, as we haven't seen it in several years. We are a Poly-crazy family, so we had planned to go to both "Ohana and Kona. Now, with the luau as well, I suggested we drop 'Ohana and just go to Kona. My entire family vetoed me!!! They don't care for the atmosphere at Kona, saying it looks like a cafeteria. They all love 'Ohana. I enjoy it too, but I REALLY love the taste of Kona's food. Anyway, it looks like I have to wait until another time to go to Kona again! So it all depends on who you ask!!

 

[MJMcBride]

I like 'ohana's a lot. here's my review of it:
http://www.mouseextra.com/2007/04/04/a-review-of-ohana/#comments

 

[tinkerkel2u]

Another big Ohana fan here!! BUT, I've never been to Kona before, so I can't compare them. I just know I absolutely love the atmosphere AND food. The first time I went, it was just me and my two teen boys. They loved the food, and loved that they could eat as much as they wanted (you know how teens are) The second time I went, I brought my best friend, and we had the time of our life. I can't say enough about the wonderful scalloped potatoes, YUM.....and don't get me started on the chicken winges and sausage. Even if there is something you don't really care for, there is always plenty of what you love the most.

What can I say.... I LOVE OHANAS!!!

 

[princessblueeyzes]

I love O'hana's it has a great enviroment and superb food.

 

[apostolic4life]

Ohana's is one place the entire family loves. Breakfast or dinner, we have always enjoyed the atmosphere and the food. Is it the best food you will ever eat? No. The food is really good though. I love the dressing they use on the salad, and the sticky wings are excellent. The chips and dips were very good too. The only thing we found dry was the turkey.....we loved the beef though, it came to us between medium and medium rare (perfect for the everyone in our family). The bread pudding is ok, but not a WOW type of dessert. This is a great place for the whole family.

 

[dreamin in pa]

We have never been to Kona so can't compare the two. We went to O'hana last year for the first time and everybody loved it. In fact, that is the only place DH requested for this trip. Every other ADR was left up to me as long as this one was on the list.

 

[Snow_White]

My husband and I have dined at both restaurants and we prefer Kona by a mile. Ohana is very loud and is a complete and total gorge fest (which some people quite enjoy--but we prefer reasonable amounts of higher quality food). The food is OK, nothing special (except for the dessert which is HEAVENLY). We usually don't even get served half the meat until we're basically done our entrees, so we really hate their serving methods (randomly giving you parts of your meal at random times. bleh.). I've always found the meats to be quite average--nothing special to say the least. Kona Cafe is a wonderful alternative to the Ohana gorge fest. EXCELLENT food in a more peaceful setting. Kona is one of our only "must-do's" on each and every trip we take to WDW. Switch to Kona--you won't regret it!

 

[bananajo71]

We went in august and it was my favorite meal of the trip. But I also didn't eat at Kona's.

 

[katdocnorf]

I have been to both. If you are looking for a more romantic meal, etc you would want to go with Kona. O'hana is more for family and children. I am a big fan of O'hana as well. I always try to do a breakfast and Dinner there each trip. The kids love rolling the ball around on the floor. It's just a good time. And yes noisey because of that good time.

The waiters/waitresses also teach you the lingo which I think is neat to. The explain what O'hana means and then go on calling you cousin and so forth. Its just a fun time. And I love the pinapple with caramel at the end.

 

[TheDisneyClan]

'Ohana is our favorite meal every trip, in fact we usually do it twice. Give it a shot

 

[Summer-Caitlin]

I have a question about the meat, I don't like my meat medium-rare, but prefer it medium-well, as this place is buffet style is there any way I can request it this way?

 

[eeyoreiscool]

We have been to 'Ohana several times over the years and it is one of our favorite restaurants. We haven't had a bad meal there. If you don't like how your meat is cooked, you can request it to be cooked more or less depending on your preference.

 

[JennyDrake]

O'Hana is great for meat lovers. I produce organic meat for a living and I test recipes for a national magzine so I am a "food snob." With that said, Hubby, nieces and nephew (all teens) LOVED O'hana. It is meat, meat and more meat. Our service was sluggish. We repeatedly had to ask for more meat, drink refills, etc. Two of my friends have been since the DDP and they report service is even worse. Still, if your party loves meat....

Kona has great food, but I found their breakfasts to be "blah." LOVED lunch and dinner menus.

Jenny

 

[apostolic4life]

My husband and I have dined at both restaurants and we prefer Kona by a mile. Ohana is very loud and is a complete and total gorge fest (which some people quite enjoy--but we prefer reasonable amounts of higher quality food). The food is OK, nothing special (except for the dessert which is HEAVENLY). We usually don't even get served half the meat until we're basically done our entrees, so we really hate their serving methods (randomly giving you parts of your meal at random times. bleh.). I've always found the meats to be quite average--nothing special to say the least. Kona Cafe is a wonderful alternative to the Ohana gorge fest. EXCELLENT food in a more peaceful setting. Kona is one of our only "must-do's" on each and every trip we take to WDW. Switch to Kona--you won't regret it!

Kona is a wonderful restaurant, but that does not diminish the wonderful things about Ohana. I agree the food is not the same, but what buffet or family style meal has ever been known for cuisine of the highest quality. Ohana is totally about the experience.

As for being a gorge-fest, each individual can decide how much food to consume. I do not have the mentality that some carry into an all-you-can-eat restaurant: I have to eat everything to get my money's worth. Eat what you normally would and forget the rest. Better yet, pace your meal by controlling the server's food delivery. We always communicate with our server if we are being rushed or if the pace is too slow and the server always is willing to work with our pace of dining. This is your dining experience, so take control and help the server give you the experience you are looking for!!!!

Mahalo my DIS Ohana!!!

 

[hildarumpole]

We haven't tried Kona, but ate at Ohana recently. The service was poor and the meat was dreadful. The side items and dessert are great, but not worth a repeat visit. It's also a very noisy bustling atmosphere.

 

[cinder1]

We love Ohana and always eat there on our vacations. I don't like all of the variety of meats they serve, but there is enough offered that I'm fine. The bread pudding dessert is fabulous. The service can be quite sluggish so just be prepared.

We have eaten at Kona and were not impressed. The service was worse than any we have received at Ohana (in fact, we spoke with a manager about it while there). My dinner was ok and DH was not impressed with his either. But it definitely was quieter.

My kids love the activities at Ohana, but if you don't want to be involved with that, ask to be seated on the outside (away from the aisles) or in the area behind the grill (not in the main dining area). You might even get a seat quicker if you don't want to be in the main dining area since most will want to be there for the kid's activities.

My DH will tell you he thinks Ohana is the best bang for the buck at WDW. Each of us love a different food or other quality of Ohana, but everyone (me, DH and 4 kids) agree it's a must do.