‘Ohana

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Before my first trip to Walt Disney World, I did a lot of research, I mean a lot of research! And one of the most consistent opinions I heard through various blogs, podcasts, and YouTube channels was that ‘Ohana was the best restaurant throughout the entire resort. This included all four parks, every hotel, and Disney Springs (where if you aren’t shopping, you’re eating!) That is a lot of property to cover and so saying it is the best restaurant is quite the statement.

But I think it might actually be true! Now, I am far from being able to say that I have eaten at every single restaurant at Walt Disney World, but from what I have sampled, ‘Ohana so far has been my favourite. I have actually been putting this review off for quite some time because I didn’t want to be miserably craving their food the entire time I wrote it, but I have a ‘Ohana dinner booked in a few months so I will just remind myself of that every time my mouth waters.

‘Ohana is located at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort in the Grand Ceremonial House, which is the main building of this expansive resort. It can be found upstairs near the back of the building with views that overlook the Seven Seas Lagoon with Magic Kingdom in the background. If you are having dinner there, I highly recommend booking your reservation for when the fireworks are happening. The music accompaniment is played throughout the restaurant during this time and almost every table has at least a partial view of Magic Kingdom.

Photo from the My Disney Experience app.

The monorail is probably the easiest way to get to the Polynesian if you are not staying there. The monorail can be caught from Magic Kingdom or the Transportation and Ticket Center. Make sure to get on the Resort Loop and not the Magic Kingdom Loop. The Polynesian is also an easy walk from the TTC and there is a water taxi from the Magic Kingdom. Buses are available from the other three Parks as well as Disney Springs so there are many options in getting there.

‘Ohana is open for breakfast and dinner. The breakfast hours typically run from 7:30 am to 12:00 pm and dinner is from 3:30 pm to 10:00 pm. Both meals are All You Care To Enjoy family-style, meaning that the servers bring a set menu to your table and you can always ask for more. However, only the Best Friends Breakfast with Lilo & Stitch is character dining. Aside from Lilo and Stitch, guests also dine with Mickey and Pluto. Dinner at ‘Ohana does not include character dining but there usually is some form of live entertainment such as a ukulele singer or hula lessons.

Breakfast is served in a big skillet filled with scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon, fried potatoes, and the classic Mickey waffles. Seasonal fresh fruit and pineapple-coconut breakfast bread is served on the side. Dinner starts off with the signature pineapple-coconut bread (which thankfully doesn’t even taste like coconut if you are like me and hate coconut!) and a mixed green salad. Pork dumplings and Honey-Coriander Chicken Wings are brought next with some peanut and sweet & sour sauces on the side. Teriyaki noodles and stir-fired veggies are also served. Then come the skewers! The serves come around with large skewers filled with meat and heap the meat onto guests’ plates. The meat is all cooked over an open oak fire and includes sweet & sour chicken, Szechuan sirloin steak, and spicy grilled shrimp. Please remember to peel your shrimp first before popping it in your mouth.

Doesn’t this all sound amazing? And I haven’t even gotten to the dessert yet! Dessert at an ‘Ohana dinner is amazing. It is bread pudding; delicious bread pudding drizzled with caramel sauce and topped with bananas and sided with vanilla ice cream. I love it.

So 10/10 for ‘Ohana! I can’t recommend this restaurant enough. Please note that due to the high popularity of this ‘Ohana, reservations should be a top priority at your 180 days out mark for Advanced Dining Reservations.

Have you eaten at ‘Ohana? Do you prefer breakfast or dinner? Let me know in the comments!