For years, one of the most popular restaurants among Disney World Hotels, especially for breakfast, was ‘Ohana.
This is a table service spot where the food is served family-style (meaning all-you-can-eat, but it’s not a buffet where you go get your food yourself). There’s a character meal with Lilo and Stitch for breakfast, and a non-character meal dinner in the same space. It’s been adored for many, many years, but now we’re REALLY worried about this spot.
Most of the reviews of ‘Ohana left on our Reviews page (yes, we do have a reviews page where you can review any and every experience in Disney World and Disneyland!) were extremely positive. Now, however, we’re noticing that many of the recent reviews are negative.
'Ohana Restaurant
Services: Table Service
Now, every restaurant has off days, we understand that, but these negative reviews are consistently about guests having the same negative experiences. We’ll note here that these reviews are about dinner at ‘Ohana, and not the character breakfast there. Whereas once the food was praised for being delicious, comforting, and somehow unique at the same time, one reviewer named CariB shared the following about her experience in April 2024:
The noodles were oily, flavorless, and cold. The shrimp were coated in a brightly colored seasoning, and the only way to eat them was to open them with your fingers. All three of us had yellow nails and cuticles for two days after the meal, which is just gross. The biggest disappointment was the meat. If you remember when the meat used to come around on a skewer, you’ll be crushed to know that they just slap some bowls of meat down on the table. It’s chicken on the bone that is plain and sticky, and a bowl of steak (?) that has a gross, sweet teriyaki sauce poured over it and is a terrible texture. It’s nothing like the delicious skewers of meat that were cooked so well in the past.
While no restaurant in Disney World is guaranteed to be quiet with so many families enjoying their meals, ‘Ohana in the past has been seen as a relatively calmer meal, especially for dinner. It appears that has changed too, with disneymom35 leaving this review in August 2023:
They also sat us at a table near the entrance which was already kind of dark and they proceeded to dim the lights while we ate, which became kind of comical at one point, because we couldn’t see what we were eating.
But what about the service? Disney service is typically top notch, especially at table service restaurants where families are paying $50+ per adult to dine. Well, it seems this has gone downhill as well, with one reviewer sharing that it was clear their server was “reciting from a script.” After their experience in March 2023, another Anonymous reviewer shared:
Our server gave us the drinks menu but then didn’t come back to take the orders. After someone else brought us our starters we had to flag someone down to get our drinks. The starters were nice but the mains were overcooked and chewy at this point our server appeared again to bring us our puddings and the bill.
And another review from February 2023 shares:
The waitress ignored us the whole time we were so excited to be there and we left hungry. Very disappointed
YIKES! It definitely seems like this restaurant is having some pretty serious issues right now, and we’re surprised that Disney hasn’t done something about it sooner. If you’re planning on dining there for your next trip, you may want to hold off until the restaurant can start turning things around.
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Do you agree with these reviews? Tell us in the comments!
I agree with the negative reviews I have read. I experienced the same last night. Staff that doesn’t come around often enough for all you can eat style. Less than desirable food for the price. Both the steak and chicken were spongy. Steak was rare and hardly changed even after requesting medium to well. Serving of meat were huge. Here’s an idea, take the size from the skewers and put that in a bowl. Oh and the shrimp, what a sticky mess. Serve it peeled. At $50 a plate, I don’t want to get dirty and work for my food. Granted, it has been a long time since I last went, but what happened to my “Cousins”.
Nothing in the past to compare, but we were there for dinner Wednesday, and we all thought the meal and service were great.
Came in July 2023 it was decent. Came in December 2023 it was a better experience. Came in April 2024. It was horrible a lot of changes. Rushed rushed. The noodles had no sauce and were gross. Throw two pieces of small dry meat at you and run so you won’t complain. Pot stickers were dried out. It was one of the worse experiences on property. Even the waiters were running away because they knew you were ready to complain.
100% agree. Been going there for years and went again February of 22 (first time after Covid) and was not at all impressed. Went again this past July against my better judgment (went for other family members who remembered it being good) and it was just as bad. Now I love the Polynesian and the lounge and food there but this has gone from a must do to avoid at all costs. The first review in this article could have been written by bc it’s exactly what I have felt and would have said myself about all of it
Won’t do again. Shame
Couldn’t agree more!! The quality and service has degraded so much at Ohana’s that we’ve simply removed it from our “must-do” Disney World restaurants. We recently ate at the Tambu Lounge during our Spring Break Disney trip, just to get some noodles and potstickers and avoid the overpriced Ohana dinner that now comes with a bowl of overcooked steak and flavorless chicken. I certainly hope Disney can do something to bring back the quality and service that once made the Ohana experience top notch.
Just had the Ohana noods and pot stickers at Tambu Lounge and they were delicious as always!!
Ever since the Luau was closed, the Polynesian has a lacked a signature restaurant like California Grill, Narcoosees, Jiko, etc… A family friendly restaurant is not attractive to the adult dining crowd. Further, there is a segment that views all things tiki/Polynesian as problematic or cultural appropriation, which is unfortunate and mistaken. Considering that the new Polynesian DVC looks like a glass hotel rather than any South Pacific theming and there is no bringing back the Luau while Mr. Iger is in charge, I don’t expect the resort or its restaurants to get much love or upgrades in the future. Sad since it was a favorite of Walt’s.
The Poly opened 5 years after Walt passed away.
The breakfast has also gone down hill. For the price now, the quality is sub par, if you are a party of 2 you are served the equivalent of one normal meal and service is SLOW. We won’t go back there again. Better breakfast at the Wilderness and you don’t have to pay $25 per person extra just to see a character pop by your table for maybe a minute.
Sad to say it, but these reviews sound like our experience as well. We felt that our waiter was just ready to get us out as quickly as possible. He brought the wet towels when he brought our drinks, before our food. The food was no where near the quality for the price! This was my husband’s favorite restaurant, but he doesn’t ever want to eat there again.