Ohana=Overrated!

Tiffany_m15

The Importance of Body Language!
Joined
Mar 23, 2016
Ohana February 2018 Post 1 of 8

We traveled to Disney World for 3 days to stay at Fort Wilderness for our first time ever camping in a tent. It happened to be some of the hottest days on record so it was...interesting...but that's a story for another time.

What I wanted to post about today is a restaurant that everyone talks about and it's one of the hardest reservations to get: Ohana!

My mother and I went and I'll tell you from the start, we weren't really impressed.

We had an early 4pm reservation, got there 10 minutes early, stood in a very long check-in line and waited about 20-25 minutes for the table. When we were seated we had a really great view of the castle despite sitting towards the back of the room and there was a beautiful blue sky framing it.

For our drink order, I asked for water and the waitress said "You should just get soda because it's included in the price." I preferred water but then when the water came it was not the good filtered water so I'm guessing the waitress was trying to tell me something...lol.
 
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Ohana February 2018 Post 2 of 8

First off, the bread everyone raves about was dry and stale. I was half expecting the bread from Kona Cafe because that stuff is perfection. But this bread was a different shape and flavor. It had the texture of having been roasted under a heat lamp for a loooong time. (To get an idea: go down to the beach at the Polynesian and eat a spoonful of sand...Mmm, can you taste the pineapple?) The butter also had an unusual flavor and consistency. The salad came immediately and before we even had plates the big dish of sides was delivered. My mom, knowing only that it was all-you-care-to-eat, said "How are we going to eat appetizers too?!?" We were already feeling rushed.
 
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Ohana February 2018 Post 3 of 8

The salad was great after we asked for extra dressing. Because the food came all together, when we were done with the salad, the sides were cold. Even though we said we weren't ready for the meat yet (it came when we were just dishing out our salad) the waitress left it "just in case". I'm guessing she knew that with the early rush it was going to be hard for her to get back to us. Unfortunately, the meat was also cold by the time we got to it. Despite discovering that the sides were cold we found that we liked the noodles and the potstickers too. So we requested new sides sans the vegetables because they were undercooked and very bland. The sides came out quickly which was nice.
 
Ohana February 2018 Post 4 of 8

When they finally came back around with the hot meat...it was lackluster. The chicken tasted overwhelmingly like char (The waitress was even raving about the chicken saying that 'The good chicken guy is here today' but we just weren't feeling it). The beef had a thick line of grizzle running through it that I could not cut through. The shrimp I tried were okay but they were peel and eat so most of the seasoning was gone once you peeled off the shell and they were quite messy.
 


Ohana February 2018 Post 5 of 8

But the dessert?...It was incredible! I was worried that the bananas would be overripe and slimy in the custardy bread but they were just right. The caramel fosters sauce was so tasty poured over the ice cream and all the melty goodness swirled together just right in one bite. Absolutely delicious! I wish I had ordered another!
 
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Ohana February 2018 Post 6 of 8

If I had to boil down the majority of the issues at this restaurant to one thing, it would have to be that they were trying to serve too many people all at once when dinner service started:

-We waited a while for our table.

-The bread had obviously been prepped and set out too far in advance in preparation for the mad rush of people.

-The sides and meat came out so quickly and got cold because they were trying to turn over the table as quickly as they could.

-They started cooking the chicken too far in advance waiting for the rush and that's why it was charred/burned.
 
Ohana February 2018 Post 7 of 8

The Pros and The Cons:

Pros:
- Conveniently located on the Monorail line
- View of Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom if you're lucky (or request it and wait)
- All-You-Care-to-Eat of what you end up liking, if that's your sort of thing
- Dessert was excellent

Cons:
- The service was so-so, we waited for a bit and then ended up feeling very rushed
- The majority of the food was only marginal at best
- The price, rather expensive $$$ for a family, especially if you have any picky eaters, unless you are on the DDP (One table service credit)
 


Ohana February 2018 Post 8 of 8

The Verdict:
We paid over $100 for two of us to eat salad, noodles, potstickers, and dessert basically. I've been way more satisfied at Kona Cafe and paid far less. We had high hopes because we've eaten at Ohana for breakfast and it was excellent but dinner was definitely a different story.

Overall, I don't think I could recommend Ohana for dinner nor would I make reservations myself to go back.
 
Ohana February 2018 Postscript:

There were things that I haven't included in my overall review of the restaurant. We were very hungry by the time we sat down for dinner. We had skipped lunch knowing that the meal was buffet-style and usually when we are hungry like that everything is delicious...lol...but even being as hungry as we were the food was really nothing special and in some cases just bad. I'm also the kind of person who likes everything I need for a meal on the table at the same time. If I had all three meats and our sides on the table all at once I would have known to go easy on one thing because I would have tried a little of each rather than eating all of the one thing we had while waiting for the next thing, getting full on what wasn't so good and then not getting to eat more of what I did like.

Also, our server was very busy and was not exactly the nicest person we came across on our trip. We generally try to give people the benefit of the doubt though because bad days can happen to anyone. Due to the fact that she was busy and the coconut races had just begun, our dessert and check took forever to arrive. We had allotted a little more than 2 and 1/2 hours from reservation time of 4pm to eat and to make it to MK for a Fastpass reservation. We weren't seated until about 4:30, we waited quite a while for the second round of meat skewers. Then waited while a wedding proposal happened near us. Then waited through the coconut races for our dessert. Then waited for our check. By this time it was about 6:15. We used the restroom and waited for two monorails and made it to MK by 7. By this point the Happily Ever After crowd was heading in and the lines were very long and our FastPass window was closing and we knew we wouldn't make it. I know they probably would have let us in but we were already running late for our plans to take a carriage ride at Fort Wilderness during the fireworks so we decided to skip it all together. While these things contributed to our evening not going exactly how we planned it, we didn't let that affect our overall experience of the meal. Stuff happens, you know?

On the plus side, our fireworks-view carriage ride was amazing! Really peaceful! Love Fort Wilderness!
 
We tried Ohana for the first time in October. The bread was dry, as you mentioned. We enjoyed the rest of our meal. Our server packed our dessert to take with us, very sweet.
The issue we had with Ohana was the amount of tables packed in the available space. We were a party of two seated at a small table directly in front of the restrooms. It felt as if we were seated in the walkway. I understand why there are so many tables. Everyone wants to eat here. I think it's a one and done for us.
 
We tried Ohana for the first time in October. The bread was dry, as you mentioned. We enjoyed the rest of our meal. Our server packed our dessert to take with us, very sweet.
The issue we had with Ohana was the amount of tables packed in the available space. We were a party of two seated at a small table directly in front of the restrooms. It felt as if we were seated in the walkway. I understand why there are so many tables. Everyone wants to eat here. I think it's a one and done for us.
I never thought about it but you are right. There are just too many tables. While we did have a great view, our table for two was tucked so far into the corner that anything that happened made our table inaccessible. The proposal near us and the parents standing around for the coconut races basically meant that our server couldn't get back to us.
 
Interesting write up. We were there February 18th and had the total opposite experience. The bread was great, the salad was great, the apps were great and the food was better than the first time we ate there. However I did feel the rush that so many people have been mentioning. We just said no thanks to the meats until we were ready to eat them. Also our check did take forever to get there.

I agree they have way too many tables and our server wasn't pleasant. She wasn't mean but just not the most friendly person ever..definitely not the normal Disney server.

I would try it again but that's just me. We are going back in April so I'll have three times under my belt.
 
Interesting write up. We were there February 18th and had the total opposite experience. The bread was great, the salad was great, the apps were great and the food was better than the first time we ate there. However I did feel the rush that so many people have been mentioning. We just said no thanks to the meats until we were ready to eat them. Also our check did take forever to get there.

I agree they have way too many tables and our server wasn't pleasant. She wasn't mean but just not the most friendly person ever..definitely not the normal Disney server.

I would try it again but that's just me. We are going back in April so I'll have three times under my belt.

Yeah, we had a similar situation with our server but despite us passing on the meat she left it anyway (maybe she was hoping we would make due) and when we were ready for hot meat she was nowhere to be found. We did really like the salad. I'm curious about the bread because so many people love it. What time was your reservation? I wonder if they were baking it fresh throughout the night and we just happened to hit it wrong?
 
Our reservation was at 3:55 but got in about 10 mins early. We like to go to those big meals as early as possible. The first reservation was at 3:30 and the next one is at 3:30.
 
We've been to 'Ohana twice. The first time was amazing, the last time not so much. It's a hit or miss and with it being so expensive, I don't want to risk a miss. we won't be back for a while.
You are exactly right! With what Ohana costs, your experiences shouldn’t be so starkly different. One person has an amazing dinner and then ours is not good. You have two completely different experiences from your first time to your second time.

I don’t mind spending the money but with the reputation Ohana has and how difficult it is to get a reservation you would think that the meal would be at a higher level than what we experienced.
 
You are exactly right! With what Ohana costs, your experiences shouldn’t be so starkly different. One person has an amazing dinner and then ours is not good. You have two completely different experiences from your first time to your second time.

I don’t mind spending the money but with the reputation Ohana has and how difficult it is to get a reservation you would think that the meal would be at a higher level than what we experienced.

I think time also has a lot to do with it. The first time our ADR was for 9:30 PM. It was empty and the food was fresh. The second ADR was for 8 PM during Fireworks, it was packed! our waitress was running around with her head cut off. by the time the food made it's way to out table, it was cold.
 
I think time also has a lot to do with it. The first time our ADR was for 9:30 PM. It was empty and the food was fresh. The second ADR was for 8 PM during Fireworks, it was packed! our waitress was running around with her head cut off. by the time the food made it's way to out table, it was cold.
Makes sense considering we were in the first group of the mad rush when they opened.
 
OP - your experience was the same as my 2 dinners at Ohana over the past few years. Loved the dessert. Could have left everything else. I'm always happy for others who have enjoyed their dining experience. I've just never had a good experience here. Like PPs have mentioned, way too $ for such inconsistent food.
 

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