O'hana or Kona?

[Mermaid02]

I really want to eat at the Poly (mostly so I can check out the restaurant) and I can't decide between these 2. My son is allergic to peanuts and shellfish so I thought Kona might be better, but I just don't know. If you had to choose, which would you pick?

 

[WDWLVR]

Kona Cafe is a must stop for us. It is my DH's favorite place - especially for lunch!

 

[BCV23]

Kona is excellent for all three meals. Yum!

We've only had breakfast at 'Ohana and that was some years ago but we didn't care for it. Both breakfast and dinner there have lots of loyal fans though.

But at Kona, the meals are cooked to order while at 'Ohana it is mass produced all you care to eat.

I think either place will work with you extrememly well about your son's allergy.

 

[Kez250]

I went to Kona with my son on Oct 1 for Dinner - I was disappointed - the food was ok nothing great (dinners before were citricos and artist point - so maybe we were spoilt) but the worst thing was the chaos - there were people everywhere milling around - we had to wait 20 mins for drinks as the bar was 'busy' our server was pleasant but very rushed - am not sure whether this is normal at this restaurant but it's not something that I like to feel while I'm trying to enjoy a leisurely dinner.

I haven't tried O'Hanas so I can't comment on that

K.

 

[Eeyore2003]

With a little one, I would pick Ohana's with the coconut races and hoola hooping. Kona also has good food, but I would opt for something fun for your son to do. I wouldn't worry about the food, there's such a variety that I'm sure your son will find something to eat.

We've eaten there once and thought the meat was excellent,but didn't care for the side dishes. I just read another link on how they changed the menu and the side dishes sound greatly improved and I've just changed a reservation for our upcoming trip to Ohana's. Much more fun for my neice that night than the "Yachtclub Galley"!!!

 

[maggs]

I had a pretty bad experience at Ohanas - hated the food, poor service and no effort to involve us in the fun. I am hoping to try Kona on our nexr visit though - it sounds great!

Maggs

 

[turnlisa]

We ate at Ohana's and while the games were fun for my kids, we didn't really get to eat. We don't let our kids wander around by ourselves so I took one DS and DH took the other...and you get the idea. Last trip we ate at Kona twice -- once for breakfast and once for dinner. Loved it both times! I loved the breakfast (had to try Tonga Toast after all) but my DH loved dinner more. Both were excellent with excellent servers. Our dinner was very relaxed and we were encouraged to just relax. Loved it!

 

[Leota]

Ohana is fun & it's a good place for me to let my teenage son eat his fill, but Kona has MUCH better food. I think it is one of the best restaurants in it's range in WDW. It's not the fanciest, but it is consistently very good.

 

[YayDisney!]

I went to Kona with my son on Oct 1 for Dinner - I was disappointed - the food was ok nothing great (dinners before were citricos and artist point - so maybe we were spoilt) but the worst thing was the chaos - there were people everywhere milling around - we had to wait 20 mins for drinks as the bar was 'busy' our server was pleasant but very rushed - am not sure whether this is normal at this restaurant but it's not something that I like to feel while I'm trying to enjoy a leisurely dinner.

I would have to agree with you about the quality of the food at Kona. We just returned from our 9 day Disney vacation and had dinner there on Sept. 27. We had a terrible waiter, he basically ignored us, never once refilling our drinks. It took us 1 1/2 hours from the time we put our order in to fully finish the meal - and we're not slow eaters. The food was just ok - nothing great or special at all. I didn't even care for my apple brown betty dessert (it was undercooked), although my husbands creme brulee was very good. I was really looking forward to this dinner at Kona due to the great comments on this board, but this place did not meet our approval. Could have been an off night, although it was not busy at all when we were there.

Ohana, on the other hand, was our favorite meal during this trip. The atmosphere was warm and inviting. Our waitress (cousin) was attentive and super sweet. The food was staggering - we felt this was a great value to the price (my husband can eat alot, and he expects to get full when paying alot for food). The meat, although not top quality, was delicious and plentiful. Just the shear variety of foods was fun for us - we enjoyed sampling the many different items and the flexibility to get refills on your favorites. Our 6 year old daughter loved the coconut races and the hula hoop contest. Great fun and we will make Ohana a tradition every year!

 

[DisneeDazed]

Just got back from staying at Poly 9/28-10/4, ate at Kona for both breakfast and dinner, both were very good food and service. We ate dinner at Ohana's and had a great meal and DD7 and DS5 really liked the games and entertainment. My kids are not shy and were eager to get invloved in the fun, nobody "got us involved". My DD liked the "adult food" while DS was in the mood for Mac and Cheese which was happily served to him. We dined and laughed while having a great view of The Castle.
In my book you can't go wrong with either it just depends on your personal tastes.

 

[henrylovespooh]

My 2 and 3 year olds loved Kona and so did DH and I. We ate around 5:30 p.m. and it wasn't loud. The food was great (I had crab cakes and filet mignon - yum!) and the desserts were fabulous. The look on the kids' faces when they got their "Kiddie Cones" was priceless. They fill a waffle cone with vanilla ice cream, dip the bottom in chocolate and stick it vertically on a plate, and put M&M's on it. There's also a chocolate Mickey thing that comes with it.

I can't wait to go back there.

 

[liamandcaili]

Hi Mermaid02,

My son has a shellfish allergy as well, which we discovered after he ate a couple bites of shrimp and got rushed to the ER a month ago. I switched my reservation from O'Hana to Kona...mostly because DSis is not a big meat-eater and without being able to have the shrimp (because his allergy is so severe, his allergist said none of us should be eating shellfish when he is with us) there was not much for her to have at O'Hana. Kona seems to have more options that don't include shellfish.

I don't think you have to worry about anything getting into your son's food though. From everything I've read, the Disney restaurants are very good at accommodating allergies...they will even have you speak to the chef.

I am sure you will enjoy whatever place you choose.

 

[forever-sunshine]

Thanks for the thread. I was going to ask the same question today. I think that I am leaning toward Kona's. I have an ADR for O'Hanas but I am worried about the chaos they seem to be having still. Plus I am beginning to think that I want at least a couple of meals that are "Good" food, not just mass produced. My kids are shy so they won't get into the activity at O'Hanas.

I called to change my reservation this morning and the rep from Disney Dining told me not even to worry about making a reservation at Kona because it is easy to get into. Is this true?

 

[Forever42]

I called to change my reservation this morning and the rep from Disney Dining told me not even to worry about making a reservation at Kona because it is easy to get into. Is this true?

Not necessarily. We tried to walk in a week and a half ago, on a Sunday night, and there was an hour wait around 7pm. We just ate dinner at the Tambu Lounge instead. It never hurts just to have a PS.

 

[1disney25]

I vote for Ohanas. They are kid-friendly and have wonderful food!! I would definitely go back. Have fun with which ever you choose!!

 

[eeyore45]

Just back, and I used to LOVE Ohana, but not again for us!! The service was poor, at best - the choas was shocking!! It seems when they announce the coconut and hula activities, they would rather not do this - they yell, they are not enthusiastic at all - they yell, we will have 3 races, we will have 3 rounds of hulas... and yet there are always those parents that get overly excited to get their child "first"... shocking attitudes!! We were a party of 5, and we stated up front we would order a bar tab... they charged my parents for "nachos" ummm can you say WONTONS!! Unbelievable!! My daughter was told to have smoothie it was included, then they charged extra, she ordered the bucket of crushed ice with syrup (snow cone style) and then it fell on the floor, the server/cousin said she'd be right back... my dad and I looked at each other, and bent to clean up partly so no one would slip... that cousin never did come to clean it up, another cousin did bring a replacement - Just cant say enough about the poor attitude of our server!


The food was bland, the "sirloin" steak was over processed, or over marinated to disquise the poor quality of beef, much different than last year. The wings were still good, but good luck chasing someone down to replace them! The pork was the only meat worth repeating, so no, we wont be coming back.

I cant report on Kona this year, but last year I ordered the food to go, and we ate in our room, very quiet and romantic, I'd do that again in a heartbeat!! (we do prefer the teryiaki flavor tho)

 

[Mermaid02]

Thanks everyone- my son also has ADHD and I'm thinking the chaos might send him over the top and nobody wants that! I think I'll switch.