Was this experience at Ohana typical?

[travelin' mouse]

While visiting for Night of Joy in September, my husband and I decided to try Ohana's for our one big splurge. It was the worst Disney experience we have ever had. The food and the service were equally bad. I couldn't decide wether to say anything, after all we have had wonderful times at Disney and excellent service over all (been many times). I wrote an e-mail when we arrived home and the Disney people were wonderful. I felt like they really cared.

Cathy K.

 

[wilwij104]

My wife and I ate there in October 2004. To be honest, the service was great as was the food. This was the first time we tried Ohana, and I could not get enough of the wonton things and the green beans. Our server was happy to continue to fill it up whenever we needed. Also, it was hot out, so both my wife and I drained our drinks as fast as our server could fill them, which was fast. The turkey was a touch dry, but the other meats were done to perfection.

To add to this, my wife is a pickey eater. She prefers to go to Emeril's, Artists Point, etc.. For my wife to say that a "quick service" type restaurant has good food is saying something.

Ron

 

[Bichon Barb]

That would be a great big YES from me. It was very rushed.

Two years ago, DH and I took our two sons and my MIL and FIL there for dinner. They came out with the appetizers which included about a cup or two of rice for six people. Then the meat kept coming and kept coming. We kept waiting for some side dishes but they never arrived. LOL. And neither did the waitress. I guess she figured the small portion of rice was enough and never bothered to ask us otherwise.

It was so rushed that the boys never got a chance to play any of the games that Ohana is so famous for.

I haven't read the replies to this thread, but I know bad experiences are the minority.

 

[KristiKelly]

We've eaten there several times and we've never had a bad experience. DD5 is a picky eater and doesn't really eat much but she loves the activities. Both kids always ask to go back.

 

[UKDEB]

To add to this, my wife is a pickey eater. She prefers to go to Emeril's, Artists Point, etc.. For my wife to say that a "quick service" type restaurant has good food is saying something

Ron, this is very encouraging for me. 'Ohana has never appealed, but there are very few WDW restaurants we haven't tried now and, on the basis of the rave reviews on these boards, we've decided to take the plunge this trip. My expectations aren't high, so I'm hoping that will mean I shouldn't be disappointed.

 

[GrumpyLuver]

My experience at O'hana was wonderful. We had a 7:00 p.m. PS and were not rushed at all. We were able to enjoy our dinner at a leisurely pace and also got to watch Wishes from a window table. Our servers were very attentive and we even managed to get the recipe for the Honey Lime salad dressing. I can't wait to go back!!

 

[ReninDetroit]

Ohana is an interesting place. I thought the way food is served was very unique, but none of the food was particularly good.

 

[Mady/Sophiemom]

denman,

The shrimp are supposed to be blackish--they are encrusted with a chili pepper rub that is very dark in color. When the outside is removed (very, very messy) the shrimp inside are to die for based on our experience.

To add to this: You may also ask for some not-so-seasoned shrimp. My 4 Y.O. did not like the seasoning, and the server brought her a whole scewer of grilled shrimp- All were tender, and very good.


We have eaten at O-hana twice, and it is a must do this trip too!!!

 

[LAWalz23]

My mom and I had a wonderful experience there in Jan of this year. My mom enjoyed it so much she is planning to take my father next year. The food pretty much did come all together, as I recall, but it was not a problem for us and we were asked numerous times if we wanted more of anything.

 

[wilwij104]

My experience at O'hana was wonderful. We had a 7:00 p.m. PS and were not rushed at all. We were able to enjoy our dinner at a leisurely pace and also got to watch Wishes from a window table. Our servers were very attentive and we even managed to get the recipe for the Honey Lime salad dressing. I can't wait to go back!!

Honey Lime salad dressing! I was wondering what type of dressing it was. I also enjoyed the salad.

Ron

 

[Aimeedyan]

I hope your exp was unusual, it was certainly not the exp we had - which was great! We've only been once, had a decent waiter, quick service for food, and relaxing time. We were there way over an hour, taking our time and enjoying things. We loved the food, as well.

I saw a couple complaints in this thread about how the food was cooked - you can easily ask your waiter to have them cook it a certain way. If it's rare and you want medium well, just ask! If you want shrimp with no spices on it, just ask! If you want your pork a little less done, just ask! That should not be a reason to not return, IMO, since it's something you can change by simply asking.

If the food appeals to you, I'd give it another shot - since every waiter will offer a diff exp. Ours was decent, not incredible but efficent and got our food out quickly and was around to refill things, so we were happy. I'm glad you did take care of things there with management =)

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

I LOVE 'Ohana! We had a wonderful, grandfatherly server who had been working there a number of years. I wish I remembered his name because I absolutely adored him. Unfortunately I forgot to look at his tag. We had to wait for the table, and I had drank one mai tai and two pina coladas before dinner even began! Anyway, he was an excellent and attentive server, gave us a romantic window table with a PERFECT view , was extremely friendly and brought drinks and food promptly. He brought us 4 skewers of the awesome shrimp since we prefer seafood to meat. I definitely do not think you had a typical experience. I truly think a lot of individual experience comes down to the quality of the CM's. Always give a restaurant another try because a "not-so-Disney" CM can ruin even the best place! Good luck! Hope next time is better!
Aloha!
Lulu

 

[Carol Ann]

We've stayed at the polynesian 5 times in the last 8 years. We ate at Ohana's only once however. That was enough. The service was just ok and the food was very average. There are very few restaurants at DW that aren't very very good. We've tried a great number of them and have found only 4 that we'd never go back to. Ohana's is one.

OK, now I am curious about what the other 3 are...

 

[maggs]

Erinch
Your experience sounds almost identical to ours. We were so disappointed with the poor service and the mediocre food that I havent been back since my first visit in 1999.

Maggs

 

[Cruise04]

Very interesting about the experiences in September as we were there just a few days before the people that were there during Night of Joy which was right around that horrible hurricane time. Hopefully they were just exhausted from everything they had dealt with over the previous few weeks. I enjoyed O'Hana and there were just two of us and I'm an incredibly picky eater. I was surprised at how well I enjoyed the food. And we were never rushed. It was a very nice meal and time.