Good morning all! We are only 136 days out from our trip and I had a question I was hoping some of you might shed some light on.
On our final day, I currently have reservations at Chef Mickeys and another member of our group has a reservation at Ohana. Originally, we wanted Chef Mickeys because it seems to be the restaurant that most embodies what we think of as Disney. However, after some reservation changes during our park days, I thought Ohana might be better for the opportunity to meet Lilo and Stitch. During our trip we have TS meals planned at Via Napoli, Hollywood and Vine, Sci Fi, CRT, Tusker House, and BOG in addition to our final meal at CM or Ohana.
Any thoughts on which would be the better experience? Thank you in advance for all of your help!!!
Since you will have already met the characters at Hollywood and Vine, if it were me I would take the family style service at Ohana with the opportunity to meet Lilo and Stitch. But I haven’t eaten at either yet so I can’t rate how the food compares.
CM is the only dining experience where you can meet all of the “Fab Five” (Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy). At TH you’ll get 4 of the 5 (all but Donald). Ohana is the only CM where you can meet Stitch. From a purely character standpoint, it’s a choice between Donald and Stitch.
I have not been to either, but having spent (way too much) time here and in chat over the last 5 years, I would say that the general consensus is that the food at CM is mediocre, at best, and the food at Ohana is pretty good. This is probably more important to the adult members of the party then to the kids. In either case, you’re paying the high price for the characters, not the food.
At CM, the characters take turns coming around to the tables for a minute or two, wave, hug, take pictures etc. My understanding is that at Ohana, there are interactive games and activities that the kids can join.
Truth be told, I would not voluntarily go to either (it just irks me that they can get away with serving average food and charge premium prices just because they throw in a couple of CMs), but if I had to choose I’d probably go with CM; I have always loved the classic Disney characters, and Stitch is near the top of my least favorite Disney characters.
If the Hollywood and Vine meal is for dinner or lunch (as their trip is after the May 14th character change) the characters are Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy and Goofy. So it would be Pluto lost by choosing Ohana over CM.
What is your schedule for that last day? Departure days are awfully hectic, and where are you coming from - and heading to afterwards? We’re considering a “last meal” at Chef Mickeys - but for brunch after a quick spin through the Magic Kingdom, since we have a late afternoon flight home. The menu at Ohana looks better, but the schedule doesn’t work for us.
Thank you for the feedback everyone! Our flight will be at 3:00 that day, so the meal will be the last thing on our to do list. It sounds like Ohana might be the winner, as the kids love Lilo and Stitch, but I am worried about the food offerings. I know it is family style eating, but I am worried that the offerings are quite minimal.
Again, thank you for the continued assistance. Both meals will probably be great, and eventually I will just have to make a decision, but until then, I love hearing everybody’s thoughts.
We did this exact thing. MK had EMH at 8 that morning. We stayed there until 10. We did 7DMT, Pooh, Teacups, Enchanted Tales, Small World, met Merida and then went to CM for a 10:35 reservation via the monorail. We had time to explore the gift shops before being seated. It was a great ending to a really fun trip. Our ME pick-up was at 2 so we had plenty of time to ride back to POP!, get our cases from bell services and stash our new purchases in our carry-on bags before ME arrived.
My daughter and I loved Ohana when we went last year. It is served family style, but is still all you care to eat. So it’s the benefit of the buffet without needing to get up to get more food. I LOVE the bread- OMG. They will bring you only what you would like more of, so if you didn’t care for the potatoes, stock up on the Mickey waffles. Enjoy!
