Ohana Reservation

[Lizziekris]

So, we were able to get a dinner reservation for O'hana at a decent time during our upcoming trip. After so many bad reviews is it worth keeping or should we go somewhere else? We have never been and I am excited to try it because the food sounds really good.

So, the question is, do we keep our reservation, or is there somewhere else you would recommend instead? We will be going to Disney at least a couple more times this year because we have Annual passes, but this is the first time we have found a time close to our normal dining time.

 

[Linleedo]

At a decent time, it was wonderful for us. We had loved it the first time. At 9:00pm, it's not so good. The staff are prepping to go home. They were running out of food, the food was served cold, no one came back to check to see if we needed drinks, etc.

 

[rwdavis2]

I would think the earlier the better.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

If you've never tried it, I would probably keep the reservation. We've been multiple times over the past 10 years and our last visit in December was terrible. It's definitely off our list. But others like it. You'll never know until you try.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

The problem that seems to be coming up a lot of late is that it's turned into sort of a speed dining experience. We've eaten at 'Ohana for dinner many times and it's always been a well paced meal that we could relax and enjoy. We ate at 'Ohana back in December and it was a horribly rushed experience and saw a number of posts around the time of people having similar experiences. I know some will say that you can say something to your server, but we tried and it made no difference. If we escalated it any further, it would have destroyed an already less than acceptable experience. I thought it was because it was the holidays and they were trying to keep up with turning tables in peak crowds, but the DIS Unplugged team recently did a dining show review and they had a similar experience (see below). Still, you won't know for yourself until you have a firsthand experience.

 

[Hopefully]

If you are looking forward to it I would definitely keep it

 

[Nancyg56]

The problem that seems to be coming up a lot of late is that it's turned into sort of a speed dining experience. We've eaten at 'Ohana for dinner many times and it's always been a well paced meal that we could relax and enjoy. We ate at 'Ohana back in December and it was a horribly rushed experience and saw a number of posts around the time of people having similar experiences. I know some will say that you can say something to your server, but we tried and it made no difference. If we escalated it any further, it would have destroyed an already less than acceptable experience. I thought it was because it was the holidays and they were trying to keep up with turning tables in peak crowds, but the DIS Unplugged team recently did a dining show review and they had a similar experience (see below). Still, you won't know for yourself until you have a firsthand experience.

I agree. 'Ohana seems to be using a system of herd 'em in and herd 'em out.

OP- If you have been looking forward to this experience, I would keep it, but bear in mind that it may not be as awesome as one would believe for a restaurant that is so difficult to get in to.

 

[DizneyMommy]

I would keep it! Since you’ve never been there, you have nothing to compare it to as a lot of the negative reviewers do. We went last trip 8 years ago and we were very excited to finally score a reservation for our June trip after months of trying. We found it to be a really fun break away from the parks, enjoyed the boat ride over from MK, and took a couple of great family photos while at Poly. The view is fantastic, and the kids loved the games. We loved the food. And we are not linger-ers with 3 kids and a 2 year old so rushing isn’t a bad thing for us! I’m hoping for another great evening!

 

[scrappinginontario]

We have been a few times (most recently in Jan of this year) and are booking again for December when our 180 day arrives. I'd keep it!

 

[mom to minnie&mickey]

I was just surfing the WDW dining page for our upcoming trip and was not expecting any availability but there it was......an 8:00 p.m adr. A bit late but maybe we might see the fireworks depending on our seats. Without thinking about it I booked it for my dd and I. We are really looking forward to it (first time as well) even after reading the mixed reviews. As far as them rushing you, just do not fall for that. Eat at your own pace and do not accept any food they bring unless YOU are ready for it. Keep your adr and give it a try.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

We have eaten their many times and have always enjoyed the food. We never ate past 8pm though. I don't know if it will help but maybe say to the server at the beginning that you don't want the different courses on top of each other. I would go especially if you got an early time.

 

[lynch34]

Ohana is great. Even when its "average Ohana," its still better than most. With that said, I only go when I have the dining plan. No way would I pay out of pocket for it.

 

[Miss Frankie J]

So, we were able to get a dinner reservation for O'hana at a decent time during our upcoming trip. After so many bad reviews is it worth keeping or should we go somewhere else? We have never been and I am excited to try it because the food sounds really good.

So, the question is, do we keep our reservation, or is there somewhere else you would recommend instead? We will be going to Disney at least a couple more times this year because we have Annual passes, but this is the first time we have found a time close to our normal dining time.

I think if you dig around many restaurants around WDW have received negative reviews. I think every experience is different and honestly I have eaten at Biergarten countless times but back in 2016 I had such a bad experience I never want to go again. THAT BEING SAID....

I think if you could find an early reservation it would be better even if it is super early. last year I had a 330 reservation time at Ohana and the service and food was amazing and the atmosphere more relaxed because it wasn't full yet. I think if you have never gone I would go, however a late time for dinner for any buffet I would avoid.

 

[North of Mouse]

I think 'Ohana happens to be a restaurant that some people really enjoy hating!! That's the only reason I can think of when so many just use the 'food comes too fast, I've been rushed' reason for disliking it. 'No' one can rush you out - just take it on yourselves to relax and enjoy your meal. We never let ourselves be rushed, have never not been brought more food - and, yes, there's been times when we've asked for more of a certain food if wasn't forthcoming when we were ready for it. No biggie!

If you look at all the reviews for all the restaurants at Disney - you 'will' see negatives, maybe not just all the copy cat ones that you may be seeing for 'Ohana.

OP, just try it for yourself and make your own informed decision. We have been too many times to count over many years and look forward to each and every ressie - love that place, and just went again in April.

Those that don't care for it, no problems, the ADRs are really hard to get most times, so there are plenty that love to take your places there.

Everyone has their favorite/non favorite places to dine, and that's the way it should be - we don't all have the same tastes.

 

[CuteAsMinnie]

We dined at OHANA on May 7. The ENTIRE experience was OUTSTANDING!!

ALL food offerings: bread, salad, veggies, wings, noodles as well as the chicken, steak and shrimp was EXCEPTIONAL!!!! Bread pudding g did not disappoint.

There was an instance where a piece of my chicken was dry and one piece of steak was tough. Our server did not hesitate to return with more chicken AND steak and both were AMAZING!!!!

We were NOT rushed, everyone was VERY attentive and earned a hefty tip. We could not have been more pleased with the entire experience.

We follow the general rule of dining earlier rather than later, for a number of reasons. This ressie was at 6:20 and we arrived 5:45 hoping to be seated early. We were seated at 6:00, with a lovely table by the window.

We HIGHLY recommend OHANA as a dining experience.

 

[Lizziekris]

Thanks for the replies! I travel enough to know that there are always negative reviews. I am just glad to see that there are still some positive reviews. Our reservation time is at 4:55, so hopefully this is still considered early enough where it won't feel so rushed. I'm looking forward to seeing the Polynesian from the inside, since we have only ridden by it on the monorail. I'll report back on how things go.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We had an 8:10 PM reservation about two weeks ago. We didn't leave until closer to 10PM. We had a nice enjoyable dinner and they spaced out the various dishes. And brought back the shrimp three or four times for my son. He ate his weight in shrimp.

 

[Ladyfish77]

We enjoyed the food, but we were in the rush, rush crowd. We went at the beginning of November. We were seated behind the grill area, so if they did any sort of coconut races or anything else, we never saw it. Server popped over to table every time he brought food, but could never be found after the food was delivered. We didn't get any opportunity to ask for more meat from the skewers. Finally had to grab a different server to get refills on our drinks. Not really a nice experience for a meal we were paying a good amount of $$ for. Don't know if we'll try again.