Ohana is located at Disney's Polynesian Resort. They offer a character breakfast in the mornings and a non-character dinner in the afternoon and evenings.
On this trip we had both Ohana breakfast and Ohana dinner, and this is our Ohana dinner review. We had an incredible Ohana dinner on our last trip and it was one of the top restaurants we wanted to go back to again. Ohana generally gets mixed reviews for one reason or another, but after Ohana dinner on our last trip we were shocked how anyone could say anything bad about this place, everything was excellent! Unfortunately, it seems like we had an experience this time that was more aligned with what some of those mixed reviews say.
✅ Pineapple bread service and the butter were top notch
✅ Noodles and wings were perfect
✅ Salad was very nice and fresh and always shout out places that put the dressing on the side for the guest to choose how much they want and not just soak it all over
✅ Pineapple bread pudding and ice cream were delicious
👎 The steak and shrimp were uninspiring
🆗 The rest of food items was generally "ok" this time
❌ The food courses came out super fast after one another (which is okay for some). Felt quite rushed overall.
The theming of Ohana is excellent. Disney's Polynesian Resort as a whole is a lovely place to hang out, and that extends into Ohana. When we were seated, our server introduced herself and brought us some pineapple bread and butter.
This bread is beautiful. It had hints of pineapple but it was not overpowering at all. I could have eaten the whole thing! Served with the bread was the salad. The salad was fresh and the dressing (which was actually quite nice) is given to you on the side. I love places that do this because I'm not always a fan of dressings and often like to eat salad dry or with my main meal.
Before we got even half way through enjoying the bread and salad the skillet comes out. This was my first "okay, we're getting rushed like people talk about" moment. Now of course, not everybody minds this. Some people like their food courses to come as quickly as possible, but not everyone does.
The skillet is usually the big jackpot! The noodles were beautiful and the wings were also delicious. Although, I found the pot stickers to be a little lacklustre this time.
Next up was the steak, which sadly was too chewy to eat this time. They were indeed a tad chewy last time, but these cuts felt a lot more rough and I just couldn't eat them.
I don't eat shrimp but the other half had a couple and she said they were "alright" and didn't care for them anymore after that.
Then finally came the chicken in chimichurri. The chicken itself was not too bad, but the chimichurri sauce this time was way too overpowering. I just stuck to the wings in the skillet as they were lovely.
At this point, we've had food thrown at us over a short period of time and when we got through a chunk of it our server asked if we wanted anything else. We asked for more noodles, wings, and more steak. I wanted to see if a fresh steak was more edible. This is where things slowed to a crawl. We sat there patiently twiddling our thumbs and having a chat while we waited, but it didn't seem like we were getting anything else! Maybe 10 or 15 minutes passed and our server came over and asked if we wanted anything else. I got a déjà vu and said we're still waiting on the last lot! She looked annoyed and she went and talked to someone. It looks like our order got lost in the chain of command somewhere and she went straight to get all the items and brought them over herself.
Well, we didn't need that much more food, but here we are! The noodles and wings were again just as good as the last skillet, but disappointingly the steak was still inedible.
There was barely any room for dessert, but here it comes! This pineapple bread pudding is absolutely delicious. I wish I had a second stomach to enjoy it fully. Before we even tucked into our dessert our bill was brought over. Now, I don't generally mind this happening because there are times I just want to be done and leave, but I know this is a major pet peeves for some. All that did was add to the feeling of being rushed, even if not intentional by our server.
To put it bluntly, this meal wasn't worthy of a nearly $150 bill. Our last meal here we left thinking it was worth the money. If this was our first experience here, we wouldn't come here again. Especially at this price without characters. Ohana dinner has some goodwill because of those noodles and the experience we had last time, so for us, all is not lost.
As much as it pains me to say, I'm not sure this will rank high on our return list after this experience. The main difference I can see from our truly excellent meal last trip to this one is because we were going to Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween party, we booked the first sitting at 4 pm. This meal was later in the evening at around 7 pm. I think if we decide to make room for Ohana next trip, we will absolutely go when it opens and see if that's the trick to a good meal here.
There definitely seems to be some inconsistency with the food and service here, perhaps it's based on the time you eat, which if so, is unacceptable. I've forever read mixed things about Ohana but after our experience last year I was baffled how anyone can say anything bad about this place. Sadly, it seems like this might have been what people call the "typical" rushed experience. Also, there is quite fast-paced music playing in the background which I didn't notice last time, which is a common trick buffets use to get people to eat faster. I think if you've never been to Ohana, I would still recommend you try it. However, try and go as close to opening time as possible, as that might be the trick to getting a worthwhile experience.
Food 3.5/5
Service 3/5
Experience 2/5
Overall 3/5
Join the Mickey From The UK email club & never miss any of our Disney content
Tick the box to confirm you want to opt into our emails
(Your email will never be shared, sold or spammed as outlined in our privacy policy. Only Disney goodness you'll receive.)
Direct Link:
HTML Link: Click the text box above which will highlight, and then copy/paste the link.
Welcome to a magical world that swings, slides and rocket-rides your mood until you start to feel a little more... you. Welcome to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Welcome back to being you.
... Read more >
Virgin Atlantic has unfortunately now followed suit with most of the industry and now charging customers to select the seats they want. This will result in much more expensive flights if you and ... Read more >
Luminous: The Symphony of Us will debut at EPCOT on December 5th, 2023. This means that EPCOT Forever's last showing will be on December 4th, 2023.
Read more >
For the Brits who enjoy visiting Disneyland Paris, the EU Version of ESTA - named ETIAS - was originally slated to be launched in 2023, but was subsequently delayed in into 2024. Now, sources at ... Read more >
The Walt Disney World guest boat that travels between the Magic Kingdom area resorts is returning October 1st, 2023.
All aboard! 🛥️ Guests at Walt Disney World will once again be able to... Read more >
Disneyland Paris has announced that the new Halloween festival will begin October 1st and run through November 5th, 2023. The full press release is below.
Disneyland Paris Booking Guide
If yo... Read more >
Disney has today announced that the gold Walt Disney World 50th statues situated across the Walt Disney World theme parks will be sticking around a little longer! Disney will be removing the 50th... Read more >
In a new SEC filing, The Walt Disney Company disclosed a 10-year plan to "expand and enhance" its domestic and international parks, and cruise line capacity. Nearly double the amount spent in the... Read more >
Disneyland Paris and McDonald's have announced a new location will be constructed to host a new restaurant at Disney Village, Disneyland Paris.
Work on the new restaurant will begin in Septem... Read more >
Disney Parks live-streamed Disney Treasure event showcased the upcoming new ship. During the presentation Disney Cruse Line announced:
The three rotational dining restaurants will be Worlds Of... Read more >
