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

[absolutmey]

I hate to hear this. We like O'hana. We've been twice for dinner.

First in October 2014, 2 adults, 1 child - food was good, service was slow but the manager must have noticed something was up with our table (one table next to us flipped twice while we were there, the other flipped once) and came over and gave us FP for the next day. DS was too shy to participate in the coconut races and I don't remember any signing at all.

Second visit was October 2016 4 adults, 1 child - food was good, our server was amazing; so sweet and attentive. The female ukulele player/singer was the absolute best. She sang I Lava You and I wanted to cry it was so beautiful. DS actually got up and got a lei. We had a great experience ... of course it could have been the two lapu lapu I had

We plan to go again on our next trip with an even bigger group. Hopefully our luck will continue.

 

[amberpi]

As a deluxe hotel, I don't understand why the Poly is the only one that doesn't have a signature dining experience? The GF has 3, the Dolphin has 2 and all the rest have one (unless you want to split hairs about the YC/BC thing). I know some of the deluxe villas don't have one, but why not the Poly?

 

[Arielfan98]

YES! Everyone raves about ohana, but honestly it's so overrated. I went for the first time in January and found it disappointing. The salad and bread pudding are the best part, but the service is really lacking there. Our waitress seemed like she would rather not have been working and the meats were rubbery/gross.

 

[maryj11]

Great this is not good. I just cancelled BOG for Ohana! I have been to Ohana for dinner 2 other times but it has been several years. It sounds like it is going down hill.

 

[kimieko]

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.

I didn't say I had such a severe allergy. I said I had an allergy and the server should not have brought it 3 times. And yes, it was the same server. If it wasn't I would understand, but it was. Again, like I stated, it was poor service no matter what the issue..having to ask for something 3 times is poor service....this is the same thing.

 

[sandieb]

O'Hana was our splurge restaurant -been there many times. We have not gone the last 3 visits to WDW. Spotty service (one time was amazing, the others very indifferent to poor), mediocre food - really too much food, and very unsettling atmosphere - noisy, chaotic, and the coconut race is fun, but not so in this tight area. We have always had a long wait to be seated - usually about 45 minutes.
I saw another poster say they did not find ANY RESTAURANT at WDW particularly memorable and I agree. We've had many nice meals and often have outstanding service, but the food rarely in the excellent category. The food we most enjoy is at Chefs de France with desserts taking 1st Place.

 

[TCRAIG]

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.

Agree - I enjoyed the noodles but the rest was so so - and the steak was Not good. I'm glad we tried it but have no desire to return - too much $$ for it to be worth it for us.

 

[thaggie1]

I agree! And the crowd it draws to the lobby is one reason I opted to book my resort not at the Poly but for the quieter life at the GF.

 

[MickeyEars]

We love 'Ohana and eat there each and every trip. We were just there in June and it was delicious!! We had great service. We booked a last minute December trip and I'm desperately trying to get a reservation. I'm checking several times a day and I also have the Touring Plans reservation finder checking.

Hopefully something will open up!!

Carla

 

[Disneylover99]

For me, the food has always been good, but the service is so hit and miss. Plus my enjoyment is affected by where we are seated. I prefer to be seated further into the restaurant where the action is and not near the entrance way. It's quieter there, but it just lacks the Ohana ambiance. I like to be in the thick of things I guess.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

We love Ohana - we eat there each trip at least once. I can't count how many times we have been there and never had a bad meal. We are a family of 6 and always go with other people and none of us had a bad meal. I agree that the service could be spotty but we always enjoyed the food. I didn't like it when they removed the chicken - I am glad that it is back. We absolutely loved Lipoa (the female singer). She sang to our table many times. We enjoyed chatting with her. We are so so sad that she is not there anymore. We are going in August and will be sad to be there without her but look forward to one of our favorite meals.

 

[Arielfan98]

Just out of curiosity for those who love Ohana and have had excellent service there....were you large parties? What size was your party? When I went in January with my sister (party of 2), I noticed the larger groups got the more exciting/attentive service, while the smaller parties got the servers who were lacking. Thanks!

 

[GBBTomorrow]

I think 'Ohana is really in the eye of the beholder. I thought it was fine both times we went. I enjoyed the food, and thought the service was mediocre. I had no major complaints, but it didn't change my life or anything. On the other hand, my teenage son says this is one of the best places he has ever eaten and always wants to go back. He LOVES it, with a passion!

 

[Viking7641]

Just out of curiosity for those who love Ohana and have had excellent service there....were you large parties? What size was your party? When I went in January with my sister (party of 2), I noticed the larger groups got the more exciting/attentive service, while the smaller parties got the servers who were lacking. Thanks!

Not surprised. (one) downside of making these people rely on tips IMO.

I usually experience this when they find out I don't drink, and if I do it's a (one) 1 beer

 

[shaycamp21]

We have been going to Ohana since 2005 (back when they had the shrimp wontons and Maui scallop potatoes yum). Over the years with the various menu changes I do feel like the food quality has gone down while the prices have gone way up. It used to be a must-do for every trip but then we started skipping it after being disappointed. We gave it another try on our last trip in 2015 and were underwhelmed. Needless to say we are skipping it again for our upcoming trip next month.

 

[CoolDisneyKitten]

We've been to 'Ohana 3 times (I think), and the last time we went the experience was so bad we said "never again!!" Now we're thinking of booking our next trip at the Poly and we're wondering about giving 'Ohana another shot. I think we're crazy. Disney-drunk.

Reading this thread (esp the bits about the god-awful coconut races) reminds me of why we said "never again" in the first place...

 

[hmcater]

Our last trip, we went to 'Ohana 3 times, twice for breakfast and once for dinner. It is our must do restaurant every time we visit. We've never had anything but excellent food and service.

 

[Nebraska_Disney]

If you go and ask about any TS Restaurant at WDW, you are going to get similar responses meaning they will be all over the board. Each person has things they like and dislike about almost every place you can eat. Ohana has been on our list since our first visit back in 2009. My kids (now 12 and 15) both love it. Our last trip was in March 2016 and had excellent service, excellent food, and enjoyed it completely. We have done both breakfast and dinner and both have been great. In 2013, we had a bad dinner experience, but that was mostly due to the very poor server we had. We had to wait for food to show up and even for drinks to be refilled. A few things we have learned over the years: Later ADR's are going to be slower to be seated as they do get backed up in a hurry. If you look at how the tables are situated, you can get an idea of where larger parties are going to be seated compared to parties of 2. I'd consider this if you don't want to be part of the coconut races.

My point is, don't take what you hear on WDW forums as a reason to not try it. It may be bad, it may be great, but to each their own. I like the food and that seems to be fairly consistent. Our waitress brought a whole plate of pot stickers back for us last time and we only had asked for a few. The wings are good and the skewers are good too, but I miss the turkey.

 

[Roxyfire]

Great this is not good. I just cancelled BOG for Ohana! I have been to Ohana for dinner 2 other times but it has been several years. It sounds like it is going down hill.

Just as many people say they don't like BoG dinner as 'Ohana. Many of us have had great experiences there even very recently. One thing I do notice in most of these reviews is that the later you go in the evening, the longer the wait, the worse the "experience" tends to be. If you've been before you know what to expect, food served family style, the children's coconut races, etc. Some have built this restaurant up in their minds and it'll never match the image. I will say when we were there on May 28th, the manager came by all the tables and wanted to be sure we were having a great time. We also got a survey afterward asking about our experience. So I'm thinking these bad reviews have management watching.