Ohana dinner -- is it really that good? Strategies to land a res?

[goofyintoronto]

I truly despise this place. The food is average at best.

Totally agree. The food quality at Ohana dinner is pretty poor. Slimy wings, dry meat, dry potstickers, honestly not good at all. That's why it surprises me to hear people say they consider it the best restaurant on property. To each their own obviously. But it'll be a while before I give it another shot. In my opinion, not worth the price. Thankfully when I went I paid via DP credits. Not OOP. Had i paid OOP I wouldve been really annoyed.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

We were there on August 25th. It was awesome as usual...cousins.

 

[Spencer Wright]

This is a must do for every trip and I absolutely love it. We eat early (5pm or so); and therefore, this may impact the food quality. I would not call it gourmet cooking, but think it is very good. The service is fast, and can be rushed; but we do not mind. I think it does get some hype because it is in the Polynesian, the monorail is right there, and you can get tables with great views of MK. We had the chicken the last time and thought it was absolutely delicious. The bread pudding is a perfect end to the meal.

This seems to be one of the really polarizing restaurants. I am wondering if in part, it is because the food quality deteriorates as the night goes on??? Ohana is extremely hectic and they should slow it down a bit for a nicer experience, but it will continue to be a must do!

 

[Lisa F]

This seems to be one of the really polarizing restaurants. I am wondering if in part, it is because the food quality deteriorates as the night goes on??? Ohana is extremely hectic and they should slow it down a bit for a nicer experience, but it will continue to be a must do!

I think this is true... I think everything deteriorates, including wait times, quality of service and quality of food when it gets zooey, particularly at 'Ohana.

I have been going to 'Ohana for decades now but only occasionally and every few years. Every few years I read how it's gone downhill. We always have a great meal. The current incarnation of menu is my favorite of all time (I know some disagree though)

BUT my son is on the spectrum and 'Ohana has always had wait time issues so I try to book first seating, at 3:30. We have a "sunday dinner" type situation with it and eat it on a day when an early dinner/late lunch works. There is very little wait to be seated, the waitstaff is not rushed, the food is fresh and hot and good. I think as it gets busier it becomes more variable - people still have great meals at later times but with the cost of a Disney trip in general I prefer to up my odds of a good meal any way I can.

 

[Lupin]

If you've never been, I would recommend trying it at least once since it's a pretty unique dining experience at Disney. Is there better food on property? Yes, but the atmosphere and charm make up for it. It's essentially a Brazilian BBQ (meat on sticks) with Asian food (noodles and dumplings) in the mix. The Bread pudding dessert is always amazing. If you time the dinner right, you can watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the restaurant which is always fun. They even pipe the music from the park into the restaurant so you get the full effect.

There are some drawbacks - it's hard to get a reservation these days and the price per person is pretty crazy. If you're on the dining plan - then absolutely go for it. If not, you may want to consider if $60+ per adult is worth it.

 

[Kippa-Dee-Do-Dah]

We ate there a few weeks ago for the first time. Before our trip, I'd read really amazing and really terrible reviews. So I was holding my breath, and our experience was....awesome. We had a 4 pm dinner reservation, which I kept trying to change, but could never find another time. It ended up working out for us because 1) service wasn't rushed, and 2) we could clearly see out to the castle and Space Mountain from our table. Service was great, no issues, very friendly. The kids loved the games and music. We thought the food was fantastic (and we love trying new places. And my husband is hard to please, so.) The bread pudding was divine. It is loud in there - if you're looking for a quiet meal, this isn't it. This meal is supposed to be loud and fun, and we thought it was.

My sister has food allergies, so she was given some alternatives (for example, a different salad and bread). I can't remember but I do think she was able to eat the meat. Can't remember what she had for dessert. They were more than accommodating - every Disney restaurant was. There's a website focused on gluten-free at WDW - Google "Gluten Free Disney World blog".

We would totally go back! But would like for someone else to pay next time. That price tag was the only negative of our experience!

 

[goofyintoronto]

This seems to be one of the really polarizing restaurants. I am wondering if in part, it is because the food quality deteriorates as the night goes on??? Ohana is extremely hectic and they should slow it down a bit for a nicer experience, but it will continue to be a must do!

NOPE! We were there for our 530pm ADR and we had dried out meat, dry potstickers, slimy wings. Awful.

 

[luvdisney73]

This is our favorite table service credit. We try to eat there at least twice on our trip.

 

[mrswillson]

My husband and I have been twice, and our experiences were consistent both times - great food, horrible service.

The first time we went was for our mini-moon; we snagged a reservation the week prior and dined during the 9 o'clock hour (so we got to see Wishes, which was a neat experience). We were very happy with all of the courses - the meats were tender, the salad and subsequent sweet dressing were delicious, the potstickers were tasty (and one of my favorites of the evening), and the Pineapple Banana Bread Pudding was absolutely to die for. Personally, I would go through the hassle of trucking myself out there and stressing about a reservation just for dessert. However, we didn't end up leaving the restaurant until almost 11:30 pm and that was strictly because of horrible service. The servers weren't attentive, and the food was extremely slow coming from kitchen to table. The experience was completely black and white in terms of good food yet poor service, but we decided we would subject ourselves to long meals in the future there because we liked the food so much.

Our second trip mirrored our first almost to a T, with the exception that I have since adopted a gluten free diet due to a thyroid disease and was not able to have the same selections I loved before. The chef and kitchen staff went above and beyond to provide me with gluten free bread options, safe meats, and a specially made dessert - but as one of the posters above mentioned, it just isn't the same when you can't indulge in the normal dishes.

All in all I would definitely recommend O'hana at least once. It's worth the experience, and if you're a fan of all-you-can-eat and banana bread pudding, you truly can't go wrong.

 

[Belleandtinker]

O'hana is one of our favorite restaurants for dinner at WDW. We have always had good experiences there- having dined there probably 6 times over the last 10 years- but I have read several poor reviews.

We go for the food, not the "fun." My wife loves the grilled shrimp, one DD loves the chicken wings, another DD loves the steak, and I love several things. We al love the bread pudding except for younger DD that has food allergies.

My 13 year old DD has allergies to nuts, eggs, and dairy and O'hana has been great for her. A chef comes out to go over the menu, letting her know what she can have and preparing some things to replace what she cannot have.

We hope to go back summer 2019- our first time in a few years thanks to several factors. My daughters have both said O'hana is top of their list of restaraunts when we go and my wife said this morning she wants to go there twice. It is not for everyone, some people do not like it, but it is a must-do for us.

We are looking at summer 2019 too

 

[crabbygal902]

It’s good, but it’s not worth getting all twisted up about if you miss it.

Some alternatives:

The outdoor tiki terrace has great food and drinks, no ADRs, fantastic atmosphere, live entertainment but in a more relaxed mood than bananas ‘Ohana. The menu is somewhat similar and flavor profiles that are in the same family. Seems like we’ve been able to get the same wings there as the ones on the ‘Ohana menu.

Kona Cafe also has similar flavors.

If you are staying at the Poly, you can get the ‘Ohana dinner through room service.

I’ve heard rumors that you can get the ‘Ohana bread pudding dessert at Tambu Lounge, if it isn’t closer for a refurb during your stay.

No ADRs? Hakuna Matata!

 

[MissionMouse]

OP, keep in mind that a restaurant being booked out does not equate to it having great food. At Disney there is a combination that can make a place popular from characters, theming, location/view, Wishes viewing, past reputation before dining plans, family traditions (start/end vacation), special event/menu or dining plans. Also, notice the array of responses you have received...from the best to the worst. Overall, also notice they have also dined at O'hana, so I would recommend trying it for yourself and experience to form your own opinion. It will book out early in the ADR window as you see...its not due to great food or service. It's menu changes periodically to control cost, so the Polynesian themed foods can be dropped for non poly offerings...service is a hit or miss. We also found the table location to also be connected to our level of satisfaction too. ADRs can open up as people refine their plans...Good luck

 

[DaisyDuck001]

My first visit to Ohana, four years ago, it was good. But my two more recent visits were very disappointing to us in terms of both service and food, to the point where I'm most likely done with this place. During my trip this spring, we enjoyed all the restaurants we dined at, except Ohana. I wanted to give it another chance, but now I wish I hadn't. As for your question of strategies to land a reservation, my best advice is to choose a different restaurant. I know that people's opinions are all over the place on this question.