'Ohana means HURRY

[NandP]

Hoping to enjoy an old classic, we snagged a reservation for 'Ohana for 12 people on our last vacation... knowing the skewers were gone and grilled shrimp was back had no bearing on our decision to have a fun "Family Experience" at the classic meal venue. Well, here goes.... We arrived prior to our reservation time to check in, we got to our table, served drinks and it all began! The procession of dishes started: first the rolls.. delicious! As the rolls were being buttered, plates of salad arrived, tin cups with maybe a teaspoon of dressing to share among 3-4 people. Then came the plates with noodles, pot-stickers, sausage and veggies. Table is getting crowded already, salad and appetizers being pushed out of the way, skillets of beef, chicken, grilled shrimp where squeezed onto the table. Within minutes the table looked as if we were there for 2 hours, an obscene amount of food filled our table. After about 15 minutes the waiters started clearing plates, some with food still on them. My sister-in-law seated next to me had a forkful of food moving towards her mouth when they started to pull away her plate; she still had her selections on the plate! They did bring a few plastic containers for to-go leftovers, large enough to hold maybe a cupcake. The table was cleared of skillets still filled with food selections. SO MUCH FOR ALL YOU CARE TO ENJOY!!! Bread pudding came out and along with the checks (split incorrectly as we were 3 families), our entire visit from check-in to leaving was less than 45 minutes.
I will say the food was good, flavors were fine, quality and amount offered was great, but we did NOT have the time to enjoy any of it! Rushed out is not how to enjoy a meal. 'Ohana is off our list for good!!

 

[thanxfornoticin]

That sure doesn't sound like much fun. I have to say, in recent years, our experience with service hasn't been great either. I guess they are so popular with so many ADRs each night, they need to nudge people along to get to the next seating. But there's "nudging", and then there's kick you out.....

 

[Brett Wyman]

This was an issue and major complaint pre-pandemic closing as well. I feel for the wait staff as they have obviously been trained and coached to function in this manner to flip those tables. We found that if we expressed to the serving "team" your desire to wait, they sorta listen. In our case they still brought the entrees while we were eating the starters, and brought the desert while we still had forks to mouth with dinner. But they didn't clear the plates at least(which made for a messy table). And after they delivered all of the food there was no rush to get us to leave, and we had a big prime corner fireworks view table too. This was pre-pandemic though. They may be even more agressive now.

 

[CBMom01]

Ohana breakfast has been a part of all but one of my WDW trips because my son loves Stitch so much and I love the Poly. But the last time (2019) honestly wasn't very good at all. The CMs were friendly and the food was ok but we waited a long time for our table and our food, which was lukewarm when it arrived.

 

[Kae]

did you ask the servers to slow things down?

 

[Shannon G]

If someone started clearing my plate while I was taking a bite, I might be tempted to stab their hand with my fork.

 

[Alan1972]

what did they say when you asked them to slow down the service?

 

[meremac]

Ugh that stinks. We had a similar experience at Remy on the Disney Dream, and it left me with such a bad impression that I won't go back or recommend it to anyone. We were doing the wine pairing menu, so it was a very expensive meal. Our waiter even ASKED us at the beginning if we were in a rush, and we said not at all, we have nowhere to be, please take your time. Even after reminding him of this several times, the service was ridiculously fast. If I took a bite of food and sip of wine and then didn't take another bite for 60 seconds while I chatted with my husband, our server would come over and try to take away my plate! At several points, he was literally standing behind us watching and waiting for us to put the last piece of food in our mouths so he could take our dishes away and bring the next course. And we were NOT going super slow by any stretch of the imagination. This was a multi-course meal with expert pairings that really needs to be enjoyed with a little time in between courses...but it was over in about 75 minutes. I spend more time in the main dining room! It was really bad. I'm sorry that happened to you.

 

[NandP]

what did they say when you asked them to slow down the service?

They Asked if we want boxes

 

[Sandiz08]

We’ve always felt rushed at ohana unless we got some of the last seatings, even prior to covid.

 

[SL6827]

I would have sat at that table for another 45 minutes. Disney will do this as long as the guest ALLOWS it to happen.

 

[Laurieannc]

Ugh! So sorry you had such an experience! We were there in July and were very fortunate to have an amazing server and staff who went above and beyond for us. Hopefully if you decide to visit again you will have a better experience!

 

[Grasshopper2016]

our entire visit from check-in to leaving was less than 45 minutes.

That is preposterous! With tax and tip, 'Ohana runs around $70 per person (though maybe the tip is a lot less under these circumstances!) If you add drinks, you can easily be pushing $100 per person. The food, while good, is not worth anything approaching that. You are paying for the atmosphere and the experience. But if they rush you through like it's a Taco Bell, then what exactly are you paying for?

 

[eMoneyBug]

I know the tip, dine late, it was fabulous being the last table of the night! We had been once before early dinner several years ago and we felt rushed. Not this last time we had a corner table overlooking the pool and pageant and fireworks. It was epic dinner for sure.

 

[erinch]

The last time we ate at ‘Ohana, my “cousin” reminded me of why I am glad we don’t have many relatives. We had food allergies to contend with, that required modifications and we requested that our food arrive at the same time as the special prep. That was a non-starter. We did make them take away the mains, as we had only received the apps 5 minutes previously. We didn’t let them put them on the table and that worked. But then our cousin quit speaking to us and we couldn’t get a second round of drinks. My now 26 year old and married DD has the fondest memories of coconut races as a 5 year old and wants to take her new hubby, so we may brave it again in June. Or maybe we will suggest they have a date night and we go someplace else. Almost anyplace else.

 

[loves to dive]

I can't remember if we've ever eaten at Ohanas but I feel sure we have since we stayed at Poly at least 6 times. At other TS restaurants on property we have had the opposite problem, having to wait for everything to the extent we have had to flag down a manager to ask if our server left (we've had to do that twice). Since my family has been in the restaurant business my entire life, I would have just politely told them to take the main dishes back to the kitchen since I wasn't done with my salad and again asked them to leave everything alone if I wasn't done yet. #1 rule in the restaurant business is not make your customers wait for drinks or the bill, otherwise let them relax.

 

[DISNEY1975]

If the busser/waiter was clearing dishes and nothing was said for him/her to stop then I dont see why they couldnt continue. I definitely would have said, politely, that I was still eating. If they then continued clearing, then I would complain.

 

[Micca]

We've loved that space since it was the Papete Bay Verandah in the last century. We stopped going to 'Ohana in the early 2000s because we came to this conclusion: It's not what it was, and it's not want we want it to be. A stop at the Tambu Lounge now satisfies any urges to revisit a once great dining experience.

 

[purpliequeen]

Agreed with a previous poster, if someone took my plate while I was still eating, my reflex would be to stab their hand with a fork.... hmm.... that's a sign of an aggressive dog.

Only dined once at Ohana for dinner pre-COVID and the experience was very rushed and loud and chaotic with the kid activities and such. Even with a kid, I don't think I'd ever go back. Especially since apparently you can order some of the favorite dishes out of other outlets around the resort....

 

[NandP]

Update... after sending a note to Disney, they sympathized with us and made good as only Disney can. They were not happy to hear about our experience and felt we should not have had the issues we did. Kudos to Guest relations.