Disappointed with Ohana.

[hiptwinmama]

We usually sleep in on vacations, so we have never tried Ohana prior to our last trip. I have heard wonderful reviews of the Ohana Best Friends Breakfast. So, we agreed we would finally get out selves up early and try it. We enjoy character meals, and accept that what you are paying for is the experience and not just the food. I have to say, I was really disappointed. And for the following reasons.

1. Our server was not friendly, or at least very fake friendly to the point it seemed rude.
2. We had to wait to long for coffee refills, and the waitress even made the comment that my husband would pay later for drinking so much coffee.
3. Other than the bread, the food was barely average. I guess I should have read up more before going. It was very generic and something I could have gotten at a local diner for $5 (except for the bread and waffles which were great).
4. The characters were fine and we enjoyed them, except that once we finished our meal we had to sit and wait another 20 minutes for Mickey and Pluto.
5. Based strickly on the food, I cannot recommend Ohana's Best Friends Breakfast.

Please don't lynch me Ohana Lovers, this is just an honest review.

 

[Master Yoda]

Where Ohana shines for food is at dinner. At breakfast you might as well be at Trails End. From a food standpoint, breakfast tends to be the least interesting character meal. 90% of the menu is replicated from one place to another including the non-character buffets. You might have one or two unique items, but that is about it.

 

[hiptwinmama]

I just should have read more before booking... the generic breakfasts are another reason we never do character breakfasts. I had heard so many wonderful reviews that I expected great food. The eggs were gross, the bacon drenched in grease, and server was horrible. That being said we had the best server we had ever had at Chef Mickey's, we've been to Chef Mickey's many times but for some reason that time was the best.

 

[erasure fan1]

I love Ohana but for dinner. I am not a fan of any of the character/buffet breakfasts. The best breakfasts I have had are the order something off of the menu with no characters type. The problem for me is the cost for mediocre breakfast food just isn't worth it. Character meals especially have become all about exploiting peoples wants to meet the characters and less about the quality of the meal. Get em in get em out while charging as much as you can and spending as little on the quality of the food as you can.

 

[captainkidd]

Where Ohana shines for food is at dinner. At breakfast you might as well be at Trails End. From a food standpoint, breakfast tends to be the least interesting character meal. 90% of the menu is replicated from one place to another including the not character buffets. You might have one or two unique items, but that is about it.

Yeah, I wouldn't bother going back there for breakfast, but would never miss going there for dinner.

 

[Master Yoda]

I just should have read more before booking... the generic breakfasts are another reason we never do character breakfasts. I had heard so many wonderful reviews that I expected great food. The eggs were gross, the bacon drenched in grease, and server was horrible. That being said we had the best server we had ever had at Chef Mickey's, we've been to Chef Mickey's many times but for some reason that time was the best.

Live and learn. If you want a good breakfast buffet, Whispering Canyon at the Wilderness Lodge is a great option. Boma is also an excellent option if you are on the Dining Plan, but it is overpriced if paying out of pocket. For a made to order breakfast it is hard to beat the Kona Cafe at the Poly. The pineapple/macadamia nut pancakes, Tonga Toast and the 100% Kona Coffee press pot are almost legendary.

 

[Gabe1]

Live and learn. If you want a good breakfast buffet, Whispering Canyon at the Wilderness Lodge is a great option. Boma is also an excellent option if you are on the Dining Plan, but it is overpriced if paying out of pocket. For a made to order breakfast it is hard to beat the Kona Cafe at the Poly. The pineapple/macadamia nut pancakes, Tonga Toast and the 100% Kona Coffee press pot are almost legendary.

I'm not a fan of Boma dinner but we did enjoy Boma breakfast. We Originally loved Boma's dinner but the changes since it opened 'till now have really dumb-ed down the dinner menu which once was fantastic.

 

[Jo DeVil]

We go to O'Hana Best Friends Breakfast for DS8 Birthday he loves Lilo and Stitch the food, is OK just like all the other breakfasts. But for the last 3 visits it is hit and miss, we have had bad serves which can really spoil it, we had a really moody one, we had to keep asking for things, We are not big eaters, she brought the check and we said we were not ready, her reply was I would have thought you had had enough, She then returned and just stuck DS Birthday Cupcake on the table and walked away no Happy Birthday! The year before Mickey has brought it out and everyone sang. I asked for the supervisor as I wanted the tip taken off the bill and explained what had happened he sat us in the bar area with fresh drinks and after 5 mins they took DS the the entrance of the restaurant Lilo and Stitch came out with a cake and everyone sang, he was also given a Birthday card signed by all of them. the next year it was back to the fantastic birthday. We are back there in Oct we will see how it goes this time!
TTFN Jo

 

[jlsHouston]

We have done Ohana's with Lilo & Stitch twice. It was in the ADR's our first trip ever to the world July 2011 and this last trip at Thanksgiving since we stayed at the POLY... I had to book it again just to see if it was improved.. It was NOT. IMO Ohana's remains the restaurant needs 100% employee replacement or maybe all the servers and hosts from BOMA's needs to come retrain them... While we LOVED Akerhaus breakfast served family style and even got some Mickey Waffles which they normally don't bring to the table, Ohana's just cannot master how to serve family style... and they are crabby to borderline hateful. Only place I leave a 8% tip....and I feel like that is overtipping them.. Kids enjoy characters but DD and I rate Ohana's for breakfast between a 1 and 2, however we love the food so much at dinner we give it a 3-4 in spite of the poor service...

 

[jlsHouston]

We go to O'Hana Best Friends Breakfast for DS8 Birthday he loves Lilo and Stitch the food, is OK just like all the other breakfasts. But for the last 3 visits it is hit and miss, we have had bad serves which can really spoil it, we had a really moody one, we had to keep asking for things, We are not big eaters, she brought the check and we said we were not ready, her reply was I would have thought you had had enough, She then returned and just stuck DS Birthday Cupcake on the table and walked away no Happy Birthday! The year before Mickey has brought it out and everyone sang. I asked for the supervisor as I wanted the tip taken off the bill and explained what had happened he sat us in the bar area with fresh drinks and after 5 mins they took DS the the entrance of the restaurant Lilo and Stitch came out with a cake and everyone sang, he was also given a Birthday card signed by all of them. the next year it was back to the fantastic birthday. We are back there in Oct we will see how it goes this time!
TTFN Jo

OMG... she thought you'd had enough ????? Yah of her crappy service... Thankfully the manager made the bday experience right!

 

[Stu bailey]

Agree it is the least interesting /pleasing character meal. For us it is a dinner/drinks place only, every trip.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I really think most of these meals can be pretty hit or miss. I measure them on character interaction, food, and service. Characters always come first b/c that's what you're really paying for. The only one we've done that failed all 3 was Tusker House, but I'm sure if we returned on a different day at a different time with a different service- it might have been wonderful. When we did 'Ohana breakfast, we had great service and character interaction, but the food had BIG issues. Considering it was a matter of runny eggs, overcooked waffles, raw sausage and rock hard potatoes...I'm sure someone a few tables over had a plate of perfect food... i.e. it's a consistency issue. I keep debating about booking 'Ohana for our last day breakfast since it's a less chaotic Mickey meal than Chef Mickey's, but considering our food issues from our last visit...I'm more inclined to book Kona.

 

[EvilQueen-T]

I haven't done breakfast there but I understand how they can be hit or miss. I have had one great and one bad experience with dinner there as well. On the bad night (an 830pm seating) the food was so overcooked it was like eating dust. All the water in bay lake wouldn't have made the meats moist, plus our server was a flake who was good at disappearing for long periods of time. I'm not they type to monopolize a server but we went our whole dinner without drink refills despite asking her when she did show up and only saw her when she brought out an initial round of food that sort of thing. We even got our salads after the main meats had come around for our meal. I actually got assistance from another server several times so I gave her the tip in cash rather than tipping the one we were suppose to have. The other trip ( a 530pm seating) the food and service were fantastic. I have no complaints what so ever from that night.

 

[hiptwinmama]

Live and learn. If you want a good breakfast buffet, Whispering Canyon at the Wilderness Lodge is a great option. Boma is also an excellent option if you are on the Dining Plan, but it is overpriced if paying out of pocket. For a made to order breakfast it is hard to beat the Kona Cafe at the Poly. The pineapple/macadamia nut pancakes, Tonga Toast and the 100% Kona Coffee press pot are almost legendary.

We did Kona Cafe for breakfast and the Tonga Toast was amazing!!!! That is probably why I was so disappointed with Ohana, all I wanted was some Tonga Toast.

 

[Zman-ks]

Yeah, I wouldn't bother going back there for breakfast, but would never miss going there for dinner.

Same here...dinner at Ohana is a must for us.

 

[bethymouse]

Our breakfast at 'Ohana was mediocre at best.
But, the dinner on the other hand- fabulous!

 

[hiptwinmama]

I really think most of these meals can be pretty hit or miss. I measure them on character interaction, food, and service. Characters always come first b/c that's what you're really paying for. The only one we've done that failed all 3 was Tusker House, but I'm sure if we returned on a different day at a different time with a different service- it might have been wonderful. When we did 'Ohana breakfast, we had great service and character interaction, but the food had BIG issues. Considering it was a matter of runny eggs, overcooked waffles, raw sausage and rock hard potatoes...I'm sure someone a few tables over had a plate of perfect food... i.e. it's a consistency issue. I keep debating about booking 'Ohana for our last day breakfast since it's a less chaotic Mickey meal than Chef Mickey's, but considering our food issues from our last visit...I'm more inclined to book Kona.

Agreed, but we have never had a less than amazing experience at Akreshus. Chef Mickey's is always chaotic, but we still love it. However, this year we book the first 5pm ADR and got there 20 minutes early. It was a game changer for Chef Mickeys, the restaurant was very slow to fill up and it was not nearly as loud, and the food was fresh.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Agreed, but we have never had a less than amazing experience at Akreshus. Chef Mickey's is always chaotic, but we still love it. However, this year we book the first 5pm ADR and got there 20 minutes early. It was a game changer for Chef Mickeys, the restaurant was very slow to fill up and it was not nearly as loud, and the food was fresh.

You may be on to something with that first dinner ADR at Chef Mickey's. We had a 7:20p when we went and the food was pretty yucky; however, I booked my friend's family into that first dinner slot at Chef Mickey's and they loved it. I was at least semi-forgiving with our experience as the character interaction was very good and the service was decent.

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

Where Ohana shines for food is at dinner. At breakfast you might as well be at Trails End. From a food standpoint, breakfast tends to be the least interesting character meal. 90% of the menu is replicated from one place to another including the non-character buffets. You might have one or two unique items, but that is about it.

Absolutely this ^^^^ Ohana is a must do for dinner for my family. We normally do Ohana for both breakfast and dinner each trip, but breakfast has been replaced with Boma

 

[Minnie1976]

We usually sleep in on vacations, so we have never tried Ohana prior to our last trip. I have heard wonderful reviews of the Ohana Best Friends Breakfast. So, we agreed we would finally get out selves up early and try it. We enjoy character meals, and accept that what you are paying for is the experience and not just the food. I have to say, I was really disappointed. And for the following reasons.

1. Our server was not friendly, or at least very fake friendly to the point it seemed rude.
2. We had to wait to long for coffee refills, and the waitress even made the comment that my husband would pay later for drinking so much coffee.
3. Other than the bread, the food was barely average. I guess I should have read up more before going. It was very generic and something I could have gotten at a local diner for $5 (except for the bread and waffles which were great).
4. The characters were fine and we enjoyed them, except that once we finished our meal we had to sit and wait another 20 minutes for Mickey and Pluto.
5. Based strickly on the food, I cannot recommend Ohana's Best Friends Breakfast.

Please don't lynch me Ohana Lovers, this is just an honest review.

My son loves Ohana breakfast with the charaters. He and his wife make it a point to go there when they visit WDW. My husband and I went for the 1st time to Ohana's Breakfast with the characters this Ocober and we were not impressed either. We finally left before we saw all the characters. They were very slow in coming around to the tables and the service left a lot to be desired.