One Ohana Opinion (TLDR; wouldn't go back)

[Skywise]

It's a mixed bag for me.

Frankly I have yet to find a restaurant at WDW I'm anxious to go back to. For other cities/resorts I've traveled to there's always the "And we're gonna eat there again because I want X!" Not at DW - anywhere. Sure I like places like LTT or Sci-fi Drive In but I don't HAVE to go there.

There are elements of Ohanas I like (potstickers, bread, salad) the main courses are OK - had the same issue with their beef my last visit. I like the shrimp but peeling it is always a pain (not sure if you're supposed to eat them unpeeled or not but I can't! )

My groups always consist of adults so the entertainment is almost always more distracting than entertaining.

Taken altogether I rate it an overall positive. (unlike say Coral Reef) Is it worth the cost? No. But NOTHING at Disney is.

 

[Regan117]

I don't understand people who go to Ohana for the "entertainment"...it isn't a dinner show.

We like it. We've always had good food and a good server and we have dinner there every trip.

 

[Kate FM]

Ohana is one of the best meals I had my whole life

 

[Jennasis]

I don't understand people who go to Ohana for the "entertainment"...it isn't a dinner show.

We like it. We've always had good food and a good server and we have dinner there every trip.

Are there people who go for the entertainment? I always had assumed/heard it was the food that was the big draw.

 

[VAfamily1998]

I wasn't a fan. I felt too "rushed" with courses coming too close together. I went with my two sons who were 10 and 17 at the time. My 10 year old LOVED it! He felt it was the best restaurant we went to that trip (we also went to Sanaa, BOG breakfast, Sci Fi dinner, and Boma breakfast). He participated in the coconut races--but he was by far the biggest/oldest kid there.

I don't think I would go back. It's a difficult to get reservation. We had a 3:50 pm reservation, which was fine for us because we were waking up VERY early the next morning (Disney race) and wanted an early dinner. But I have heard that later reservations tend to run very late, and that's a deal breaker for me.

 

[allsaintsatx]

Are there people who go for the entertainment? I always had assumed/heard it was the food that was the big draw.

I've read more than a handful of posts of people complaining that the guy with the ukulele was "it" for the "entertainment" at Ohanas, so I guess maybe some people are thinking they're getting a 50% off Spirit of Aloha show if they eat there. Not quite.

 

[Pipkin]

I couldn't agree more. It's been hit or miss over the years and we reached the never again point last year. The server dropped hot skewered meat in my lap twice, never an apology.

 

[Regan117]

I've read more than a handful of posts of people complaining that the guy with the ukulele was "it" for the "entertainment" at Ohanas, so I guess maybe some people are thinking they're getting a 50% off Spirit of Aloha show if they eat there. Not quite.

Same.

 

[DisneyHardin]

Same for us. We tried it and we very unimpressed. The food was not good. The atmosphere was chaos. The shrieking person with the ukelele was torture. They seated us (just DH and I) on the racetrack where the coconut races got hrough and we were constantly bumped, shoved and subjected to the screaming, jockeying for position, pushy parents and upset kids participating. We waited 45 minutes past our ADR to be seated, BUT on the plus side our server was great!

I'm glad we tried it, but unless it undergoes some major change we will leave those ADR's for others to enjoy.

We were seated right on the aisle the first time we went and it was a disaster with the kids, the lady screetching the directions for the kids and the mom with her boobs in our food leaning over our table to get a picture of her snowflake standing up there!!! We have been back several times since then and we ALWAYS request a table away from the aisle and have always been accomodated.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

O'hana is a 50/50 shot. You might get a good day or you could get a bad day. IMHO the price is too high to bother risking a bad day so we don't eat there anymore

 

[rg35]

O'hana is a 50/50 shot. You might get a good day or you could get a bad day. IMHO the price is too high to bother risking a bad day so we don't eat there anymore

Yeah. We went on a non-park day too, so I wish we would have gone to Disney Springs and tried Frontera Cocina or Art Smith's instead.

 

[Parker Clan]

We love Ohana.. Gone there almost every one of our trips for dinner. The food is delicious. It's always been a great experience for us

 

[Megara5115]

We were underwhelmed by Ohana (dinner-first time) on our December 2016 trip. I think there is so much hype: it is harder to book reservations, it is at the Poly, and it is expensive that I just figured it would be amazing! It was just fine... not memorable and kind of meh. Luckily for us no cold food or poor service. Just a one and done for sure.
We did breakfast our previous trip and while the food was just basic Disney breakfast, at least you have Stitch and you can experience the restaurant. Also you can get a nice view of the castle from some tables.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Couldn't agree more, OP! Probably the worst meal we've had in WDW. Our experience was much like yours, expect we barely saw our server. Never again, for sure.

 

[samsteele]

Have any of the PP been within the past year?

I went 3 yrs ago & had a similarly disappointing experience. While service was decent, the food was poor. Pretty much an echo of the above experiences. I want to give it another try this Fall, have one of those off-time 4pm ADRs, and had been hopeful because of the number of good vlog reviews I've watched over the past year. eg the DIS team has posted a number of positive reviews this year or so. Was hoping it had turned a corner & improved.

 

[Shell54]

We ate at Ohana for the first time in May. We were a party of 3 adults. Food was pretty good. Service was very slow..also what is this I keep reading about the delicious coconut pineapple bread to start your meal with?? Um no..we were asked if it was our first time dining at Ohana as were entering to be seated&we replied yes. We were handed a bread board of dry sour dough type bread on our way to our table. I guess they were out of the good stuff.. we have a reservation there for dinner on the 31st. Kind of thinking of cancelling it and booking something else.

 

[kimieko]

Were there others at your table who could eat shrimp? If yes I would expect the server to bring it to the table so they could enjoy some. I would expect that if you ate at 'OHana you are not so allergic that even the smell triggers a reaction or you wouldn't be there at all.

No, there weren't. I do expect them not to bring shrimp to the table when they were told 3 times that I had an allergy. No matter what the issue was, having to ask or advise the server 3 times on anything is poor service.

 

[wanderingdee]

I'm so glad you posted this. Ohana isn't really my type of food, but after hearing everyone rave about it I felt as though I was depriving my family of a once in a lifetime experience by not going. After seeing that not everyone loves it I think we'll skip it, maybe I'll order my husband the twilight feast from room service so he can try it.

 

[nicki.momof3]

No, there weren't. I do expect them not to bring shrimp to the table when they were told 3 times that I had an allergy. No matter what the issue was, having to ask or advise the server 3 times on anything is poor service.

I know you told your server but how were the many other servers that bring the food around supposed to know? There are so many different people approaching the table all the time that I don't know how they would know. Now if it was the same person every time I can understand being upset but 3 different people is excusable in my opinion. Why would you go to a place that had shrimp as a family style food if you have such a severe allergy. There are so many other choice that clearly would have made you happier and more comfortable. A place that has servers walking around with skewers of shrimp probably wasn't the best choice.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I know you told your server but how were the many other servers that bring the food around supposed to know? There are so many different people approaching the table all the time that I don't know how they would know. Now if it was the same person every time I can understand being upset but 3 different people is excusable in my opinion. Why would you go to a place that had shrimp as a family style food if you have such a severe allergy. There are so many other choice that clearly would have made you happier and more comfortable. A place that has servers walking around with skewers of shrimp probably wasn't the best choice.

In other words "it's Disney so it's OK for them to give you poor service"

Really? Quit trying to defend poor service LOL!