Thoughts on departure day breakfast

[ehlander]

Hello! Our flight leaves at 11:55am and we are doing the magical express. Since we are staying at the Polynesian I thought we could have our last meal either at Kona Cafe or Ohana. What do folks suggest? Our children are 8 and 7. What time do I make the reservation for? I do not want to sign up for a character meal and feel rushed to make the bus. Thanks for your help! First time back to WDW since I was a teenager myself and there was only Epcot and MK.

 

[MudQueen22]

We were planning 'Ohana breakfast on our departure day for our next trip, and we aren't staying at the Poly.
Since you have a bus to catch, I think you need to go with the earliest reservation possible.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

ME will pick you up about 3 hours prior to your flight, so around 8:45 - 9:00 am. Neither breakfasts take that long. I think you would be fine if you scheduled something around 7:15 am.

 

[AndiMarie]

Ohana breakfast would be perfect! My kids were 9,9, and 7 last year and loved it and my 7 (now 8) year old wants to do it again as his restaurant pick this year. I've been trying to get an early adr for our April trip with no luck so try early. It would be a perfect departure day breakfast. My kids had so much fun dancing with Stitch and Mickey! Kona is also yummy but more low key I would do a Kona breakfast on a relaxed day.

 

[Harambe]

For me, I'd feel more comfortable going to Capt Cook's, grabbing some breakfast and going out to hang by the pool! No pressure - no check to wait for. Simple!

 

[ggdvc]

I would also suggest CS instead of TS. While a 7:00/7:15 ADR should allow plenty of time to eat without feeling rushed, I'm the type of person who'd constantly be checking my watch and getting antsy, so I wouldn't be able to really enjoy the meal. Besides Captain Cooks, you could also hop on the monorail and go to Contempo Cafe (Contemporary) or Gasparillas (Grand Floridian)

 

[dcpkiddo]

I also agree that TS may make you feel a bit rushed. Mom and I have both tried TS vs CS on departure day for breakfast, and the only day TS really worked smoothly for us was a day when our flight didn't depart til early afternoon. With such an early flight and an even earlier bus arrival, I would consider Capt. Cooks instead Hope you guys have a blast!!

 

[Ensusieasm]

Hello! Our flight leaves at 11:55am and we are doing the magical express. Since we are staying at the Polynesian I thought we could have our last meal either at Kona Cafe or Ohana. What do folks suggest? Our children are 8 and 7. What time do I make the reservation for? I do not want to sign up for a character meal and feel rushed to make the bus. Thanks for your help! First time back to WDW since I was a teenager myself and there was only Epcot and MK.

You need to be out at the bus stop for ME 15 minutes before your pick up. That would be 8:45am. You will have packing up to do that morning, and making sure your luggage is taken care of if you are checking it in to your airlines there at the Poly. It would be pretty tight, but if you are all super organized in the early morning, perhaps you could pull it off if you had a 7am reservation. I missed my ME bus one time when it pulled out 5 minutes ahead of schedule, and I had to pay 60 bucks for a cab.

 

[HopperFan]

We tried Ohana on a depart day and never again. We ended up leaving before all the characters came because everything was so slow. I think we were there 1.5 hours.... Should have known based on dinners there.

I would do Kona.

 

[Nancyg56]

I would not book 'Ohana. I love that breakfast, but your timeframe is going to be very tight. I think either Kona or CS.

 

[soniam]

Ohana breakfasts can be slow due to characters. If your kids are fine with not seeing them all, then you might be ok. I didn't think the food was that great. We did it once and never again. Kona looks to have a better menu. I would be antsy though and would do CS.

 

[Nancyg56]

Ohana breakfasts can be slow due to characters. If your kids are fine with not seeing them all, then you might be ok. I didn't think the food was that great. We did it once and never again. Kona looks to have a better menu. I would be antsy though and would do CS.

I think with a 7 AM ADR they would be okay. I would not linger though.

 

[kastoney]

If you book right at restaurant opening you will be fine. From an adult perspective I'd want to do Kona. Hands down best breakfast on property. Now if you are looking to do something more special for your kids last meal, Ohana may be the better bet but timing wise may take a bit longer.

 

[Dis703]

We only had one experience with Ohana and it was bad enough we won't be returning. Very long wait to be seated for a very limited selection of poorly cooked food. If you want TS I'd go with Kona Cafe but it would have to be a very early ADR and I'm not sure I want to do that on my last morning. If you guys are really morning people and can be packed and ready to go then I'd give it a try. Kona was definitely much faster IME.

 

[mickeynut1]

For me, I'd feel more comfortable going to Capt Cook's, grabbing some breakfast and going out to hang by the pool! No pressure - no check to wait for. Simple!

I would also suggest CS instead of TS. While a 7:00/7:15 ADR should allow plenty of time to eat without feeling rushed, I'm the type of person who'd constantly be checking my watch and getting antsy, so I wouldn't be able to really enjoy the meal. Besides Captain Cooks, you could also hop on the monorail and go to Contempo Cafe (Contemporary) or Gasparillas (Grand Floridian)

I agree with both of the above. Ohana is one of our favorites for breakfast and we always do a TS breakfast at our resort on check out day, but I wouldn't feel comfortable with this time frame. Having to be at the DME pick up site by 8:45-9:00 would be cutting it too close for me. Also, according to the Disney site (and Allears.net), Ohana doesn't open until 7:30, so getting a 7:00 ADR isn't possible.

 

[ehlander]

Thanks Everyone for your wonderful help! Will stick with Kona.

 

[jmkjr72]

We just canceled our last day ohana because our flight time was bumped up 5 hours