‘Ohana - What am I missing?

H

hystericalbende

Member
Original Poster
We just hit our 60 day mark for our trip in Feb. I went to look at dining reservations and was stunned to see multiple dinner reservations open at ‘Ohana on each night of our trip. We go most years, and this is never the case. Even at slower times of the year, it’s been hard to find 1 or 2 options during our trip. Is there something I’m missing? Is the construction making this less enjoyable? I appreciate any insight. Meanwhile, I grabbed one of the many Valentine’s dinner reservations…

Jennie
 
Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
I think it's sort of a Be Our Guest situation. Reviews/quality in comparison to the price have gone downhill for long enough now that even the less frequent visitors (like my family, for whom it used to be a must-do and is now no longer even a consideration) have picked up on it and bloggers are starting to drop it from their must-do lists, so it's less in demand and an easier "get" than it used to be. (That's not to say it's a bad meal: it's just that a few downgraded menu substitutions, plus the loss of the tableside service of fresh-grilled meats, plus the price increases, have made it harder to justify the price for some.) Your mention of the construction may have a little something to do with it, too: if parking and/or walking there is more of a hassle, guests staying at other resorts may be discouraged from going.

I found the same was true when we visited four months ago: at 60 days out, I could have booked 'Ohana for almost any day of our trip.
 
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Phonedave

Phonedave

Well-Known Member
Weather_Lady said:
I think it's sort of a Be Our Guest situation. Reviews/quality in comparison to the price have gone downhill for long enough now that even the less frequent visitors (like my family, for whom it used to be a must-do and is now no longer even a consideration) have picked up on it and bloggers are starting to drop it from their must-do lists, so it's less in demand and an easier "get" than it used to be. (That's not to say it's a bad meal: it's just that a few downgraded menu substitutions, plus the loss of the tableside service of fresh-grilled meats, plus the price increases, have made it harder to justify the price for some.) Your mention of the construction may have a little something to do with it, too: if parking and/or walking there is more of a hassle, guests staying at other resorts may be discouraged from going.

I found the same was true when we visited four months ago: at 60 days out, I could have booked 'Ohana for almost any day of our trip.
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I think that is it. It has been on a slide for a while now. It is starting to really loose the cache it used to have with people.

We are in the same mindset as you. It used to be something we actively tried to book. It is no longer even an option for us.
 
Doberge

Doberge

True Bayou Magic
Premium Member
O'Hana is fine. Price increases for kids have outpaced adults and that's annoying considering the number of kids just eating mac and cheese and nuggets compared to steak and shrimp. It was something like $55/$30 in 2017 and is now $62/$40. For adults, $1 per year and and 12% total in 6 years is okay, but kids up $10 or 33% is very high. With inconsistent quality I think some families that maybe stretched to make it work before now balk at kids prices.

Service had long been inconsistent but ha had only seemed to widen worsen. I don't think it's specific to O'Hana though, service is almost universally down. IMO service has gone from part of the experience to "just another person with a job to do." But at the prices charged they really need to do a better job than a forced smile while quickly dropping off food and drink.
 
Phonedave

Phonedave

Well-Known Member
Doberge said:
O'Hana is fine. Price increases for kids have outpaced adults and that's annoying considering the number of kids just eating mac and cheese and nuggets compared to steak and shrimp. It was something like $55/$30 in 2017 and is now $62/$40. For adults, $1 per year and and 12% total in 6 years is okay, but kids up $10 or 33% is very high. With inconsistent quality I think some families that maybe stretched to make it work before now balk at kids prices.

Service had long been inconsistent but ha had only seemed to widen worsen. I don't think it's specific to O'Hana though, service is almost universally down. IMO service has gone from part of the experience to "just another person with a job to do." But at the prices charged they really need to do a better job than a forced smile while quickly dropping off food and drink.
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Pedantic call out.

It is not an Irish restaurant - O'Hana

It is 'Ohana, as in Family.
 
D

DisneyHead123

Well-Known Member
This is not specific to Ohana, it’s all the restaurants recently. Reservations are more open than I’ve ever seen them (as someone who started planning trips for my family around 2016.)
 
C

CAV

Well-Known Member
Used to be a go-to for us. We don't even consider it anymore because of the changes (that were obviously instituted to increase profits at the "expense" of guest experience).
 
Bocabear

Bocabear

Well-Known Member
Sadly the prices have risen and the quality has fallen...We did this restaurant every trip for years...Now we pass on it....and we are Tiki people...Just can't justify the cost and hassle of booking 6 months in advance for an overpriced mediocre meal.
There are other places to go... Hopefully there will be a new restaurant at the Poly Tower that will be better and easier to get into.
 
R

Rabflmom

Active Member
December 2023 we were there for last seating. It was our first time. Your kids wont be eating chicken nuggets and mac-n-cheese here. We loved the meal. The salad and bread were winners from the get go. Actually got seconds. I am not a big chicken wings fan but they were delicious. They are not the burn your innerds hot. I had never heard of pork dumplings but have to say I ate the most and we ordered a few more. When I saw the dinner skillet with Terriyaka beef, I was expecting beef strips in terriyaka sauce like in a stir fry, but it was a big square of beef like filet mignon and so good. The guys got seconds on that. The grilled chicken was very good. The noodles were a little sweeter than Chinese ones and the grilled veggies were all mine. The bread pudding with ice cream for dessert was really good and they brought out a cupcake for my birthday. I only drank one drink because the alcohol in it was on the heavy side since I don't drink a lot of mixed drinks anymore. Our service was top of the line, didn't rush us. Watching and hearing the Christmas fireworks while eating made the night. The entertainer went to all the tables and listened when I said I didn't want Happy Birthday sung at our table . So even though we didn't even let them serve shrimp on the side because 2 of us have allergies, it was worth every penny. It has now replaced Boma as my favorite dinner at Disney and I can't wait to go back.
 
James J

James J

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
LittleMerman said:
We never see it open and always have a hard time finding these reservations. Love it though - def a fave restaurant on property!
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There's only a short 3 hour period between breakfast service ending and dinner starting that it's closed, otherwise it's open for most of the day:

Breakfast – 7:30 AM to 12:15 PM
Dinner – 3:30 PM to 10:00 PM
 
LittleMerman

LittleMerman

Well-Known Member
James J said:
There's only a short 3 hour period between breakfast service ending and dinner starting that it's closed, otherwise it's open for most of the day:

Breakfast – 7:30 AM to 12:15 PM
Dinner – 3:30 PM to 10:00 PM
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I meant we don't see reservations open often but thank you =)
 
H

hystericalbende

Member
Original Poster
I appreciate all the feedback. As an update, we kept our reservation and were glad to experience the restaurant. Our food was delicious, and the bread pudding exceeded the hype I had heard about for years. Our service was good, and we didn't feel too rushed.

Unexpectedly, the worst part of our experience was the atmosphere. Perhaps it was the timing of our reservation (peak dinner hours), but the lobby of the Poly was packed and loud. I have never seen it so busy before. The noise from the lobby carried to the middle of the restaurant, where we were seated. While I appreciate the talented ukulele player, this only added to the noise level and made the whole evening feel chaotic. It's unfortunate, but I would equate the ambiance to eating in the Pop cafeteria. I really couldn't believe it. I would consider returning, but maybe only at the earliest or latest of reservations.

Still dreaming of that bread pudding, though...

Jennie
 
wdwfan22

wdwfan22

Well-Known Member
The quality of Ohana has really gone downhill but the price continues to increase. The experience isn't worth is. You can almost always find a reservation for it now, and if you can't just show up and they will almost always seat you. It's sad because it really use to be good. So many Disney restaurants have decreased in quality.
 

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