Question about O'hana

[R W B]

Just ate at O'hana tonight for the first time and it was wonderful!

However, my fiancé and I noticed all the wasted food they collected from our table alone and figured they have to have hundreds of pounds of wasted food every night. So, while the waiter was handing us our bill my fiancé asked him about all the waste and he said they have a contract with a local farmer that picks up the waste and theirs a process and all but he eventually feeds it to his pigs/live stock.

Anyone know if this is true or was our waiter quick on his feet or had a pre made answer for that question?

 

[sissa216]

Oh that's interesting- would be nice to find out! My husband used to work for a bread company, and they would sell all the stale bread to a local farmer in the same fashion. Glad you enjoyed 'Ohana, it is one of my favorites.

 

[Betsyboo]

That would be good if true. I thought the same thing last week. Portions were huge, especially for two people.

On a side note @R W B would you care to share your experience with your ADR, such as wait time? We had quite the wait last week. Thanks!

 

[lunchbox1175]

I saw an article once, not sure if it was on here or not, that discussed the very unique energy plant that WDW has built that uses wasted food and such to help power WDW....anyone else remember it or where there might be a link to it?

 

[R W B]

That would be good if true. I thought the same thing last week. Portions were huge, especially for two people.

On a side note @R W B would you care to share your experience with your ADR, such as wait time? We had quite the wait last week. Thanks!

This past Tuesday we had a 7:05 reservation for Le Celier in Canada, checked in for 7:03 and had a table by 7:07.

Our O'hana reservation was for 9:20, checked in for 9:19 and didn't get seated til 9:50. I was pretty upset about that.

 

[Mawg]

I saw on the food channel something about this, the wasted food going to a pig farmer. Or, maybe it was Vegas.

 

[Potter]

I bet they toss it out with all the other trash because there would be enormous cost to separate it and store for pick up.

 

[Betsyboo]

This past Tuesday we had a 7:05 reservation for Le Celier in Canada, checked in for 7:03 and had a table by 7:07.

Our O'hana reservation was for 9:20, checked in for 9:19 and didn't get seated til 9:50. I was pretty upset about that.

Ohana was our only time issue last week with any ADR. It was 50 minutes past our 8:10 ADR before we were seated. We weren't the only ones waiting. I had been on a fast all day to gear up for the Ohana feast and by the time we sat down I had the shakes and would have eaten anything. The food was good and we may give it a try again but I'm not sure. The waiting area was a zoo.

 

[R W B]

I bet they toss it out with all the other trash because there would be enormous cost to separate it and store for pick up.

That was my thought too so I'm not really sure.

Ohana was our only time issue last week with any ADR. It was 50 minutes past our 8:10 ADR before we were seated. We weren't the only ones waiting. I had been on a fast all day to gear up for the Ohana feast and by the time we sat down I had the shakes and would have eaten anything. The food was good and we may give it a try again but I'm not sure. The waiting area was a zoo.

How many people were you with? It was just my fiancé an I eating so I figured they had to wait for a small table because we noticed big parties got seated pretty quickly. My fiancé's sister is also here with us on this trip and her an her husband have 5 children so their a party of 7 and they went Wednesday night to O'hana and they said they checked in about 15min early and got called back about 5 min after their ADR time was which I would of been happy with. The waiting area is crazy lol.

As far as the food goes, it wasn't bad. I really like the chicken. I think we should of tried O'hana before the Canada steak house though because the O'hana steak just doesn't come close to the Filet Mignon I had Tuesday which I expected, not much would compete with that. I also really liked the noodles too lol. The bread pudding was amazing though!

 

[Betsyboo]

That was my thought too so I'm not really sure.


How many people were you with? It was just my fiancé an I eating so I figured they had to wait for a small table because we noticed big parties got seated pretty quickly. My fiancé's sister is also here with us on this trip and her an her husband have 5 children so their a party of 7 and they went Wednesday night to O'hana and they said they checked in about 15min early and got called back about 5 min after their ADR time was which I would of been happy with. The waiting area is crazy lol.

As far as the food goes, it wasn't bad. I really like the chicken. I think we should of tried O'hana before the Canada steak house though because the O'hana steak just doesn't come close to the Filet Mignon I had Tuesday which I expected, not much would compete with that. I also really liked the noodles too lol. The bread pudding was amazing though!

We were a party of 2. That seems to be a problem for them. There were two other couples that had waited 30+ minutes and were still waiting when we were called. Larger groups seemed like they were seated quickly.

 

[m3owbox]

That was my thought too so I'm not really sure.


How many people were you with? It was just my fiancé an I eating so I figured they had to wait for a small table because we noticed big parties got seated pretty quickly. My fiancé's sister is also here with us on this trip and her an her husband have 5 children so their a party of 7 and they went Wednesday night to O'hana and they said they checked in about 15min early and got called back about 5 min after their ADR time was which I would of been happy with. The waiting area is crazy lol.

As far as the food goes, it wasn't bad. I really like the chicken. I think we should of tried O'hana before the Canada steak house though because the O'hana steak just doesn't come close to the Filet Mignon I had Tuesday which I expected, not much would compete with that. I also really liked the noodles too lol. The bread pudding was amazing though!

Did they rush you? Ive heard about couples having the feeling that they were being rushed while eating there.

 

[R W B]

We were a party of 2. That seems to be a problem for them. There were two other couples that had waited 30+ minutes and were still waiting when we were called. Larger groups seemed like they were seated quickly.

Yea, I would definitely agree with that. I think it's safe to say they have problems with parties of 2.

 

[R W B]

Did they rush you? Ive heard about couples having the feeling that they were being rushed while eating there.

No not at all, the opposite actually. They seated a few tables of 4 each around us about 15-20min after we were seated but we all got to the meat part of the meal at the same time.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I saw an article once, not sure if it was on here or not, that discussed the very unique energy plant that WDW has built that uses wasted food and such to help power WDW....anyone else remember it or where there might be a link to it?

I watched a Disney related podcast recently that discussed this for a couple of minutes, so I'm guessing it's the same thing. Found a recent article on it too...

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com...0140220_1_food-waste-walt-disney-world-scraps

 

[lilclerk]

Not to hijack this thread, but I'm worried about all these long waits at 'Ohana. We've never been to this restaurant, and it's my roommate's number one pick for this trip... are the waits still bad if you go earlier in the evening, like right when they open? It's just the two of us.

 

[R W B]

Not to hijack this thread, but I'm worried about all these long waits at 'Ohana. We've never been to this restaurant, and it's my roommate's number one pick for this trip... are the waits still bad if you go earlier in the evening, like right when they open? It's just the two of us.

From what I've been able to gather, small parties have a wait but large ones don't.

Pretty sure that's at anytime unless your one of the first when they open.

 

[lilclerk]

From what I've been able to gather, small parties have a wait but large ones don't.

Pretty sure that's at anytime unless your one of the first when they open.

Bummer... I'll shoot for the earliest possible, and we'll snack later. Thanks!

 

[Betsyboo]

I'll add that I think our wait also corresponded to Wishes. Our ADR was 8:10 with an 8:00 Wishes. I think people stuck around for the view which backed up the tables that followed.

With that said, if we go back, we'll plan around Wishes and maybe choose an earlier dinner time.

 

[R W B]

I'll add that I think our wait also corresponded to Wishes. Our ADR was 8:10 with an 8:00 Wishes. I think people stuck around for the view which backed up the tables that followed.

With that said, if we go back, we'll plan around Wishes and maybe choose an earlier dinner time.

Wishes for 8? What time did the park close during your trip?

I will say that was a positive about us being pushed back is that we did get to see Wishes from the restaurant but it was for 10pm, not 8.

 

[Rob562]

I also heard the pig farmer story from our Keys the the Kingdom tour guide *many* years ago. An additional part of the story he included was that the farmer signed the contract back when WDW first opened, and the language said food waste from "Walt Disney World", not specifically the Magic Kingdom or the two hotels that existed at that point. Fast-forward 30 years and he now gets a MUCH larger supply...

Edit to add: Did a search and found this (poorly scanned) article mentioning the pig farmer, though it also mentions that the pig feed program didn't start until 1992, so the CM's story was a slight embellishment, but not too badly.
http://infohouse.p2ric.org/ref/06/05430.pdf

-Rob