OHana was AWFUL--

No-Wishes was not a factor at all. We didn’t care about it. The 8:00 ADR was the earliest we could get. Since our family normally eats at 7:30-8:00, that was an acceptable time. The problem happened when we didn’t get seated until 9:00. A good restaurant that is running late has many ways to remedy this, all of which I outlined for the manager. There were at least 50 people furious and waiting to be seated. Does this affect my love for Disney? Absolutely. The fact that you all are saying this is normal cements that we will not return. A vacation that costs $15K should not have dining issues.

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$15,000? How long were you there? That is a lot of money to spend on a WDW vacation. No wonder you are upset!

I am sorry you had a bad experience. However, the cost of a vacation in no way guarantees a particular experience or outcome. I have done dirt cheap vacations (think primitive tent camping in the wilderness) and deluxe five star tours. Each led to fabulous memories and unique bumps in the road that become part of the fabric of the story.
Take your concerns up the ladder, so to speak. But I would advise throwing out the premise that you are owed anything further based upon the purchase price/expense of your vacation. Just my opinion.

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We are a large family. We have to stay in the 2 bedroom villas. Dining plan, airfare and tickets all add up.

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Sorry, I disagree. I have much different expectations from the Ritz-Carlton than I do from Motel 6.

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My point in starting this thread was to warn people that OHana is a hot mess and to choose other dining. I do not have the time to engage in arguing with Disney fanatics that believe that waiting an hour for a reservation in fine. That would never fly in the general public. A restaurant that made it’s patrons wait for a confirmed reservation would fail. If Disney fans are willing to wait for terrible food, so be it, but I wish someone had warned me off. I would have gladly eaten somewhere else.

This is an atypical experience!

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I’m not saying you wouldn’t. But it also can’t be implied that you were due extra compensation than say, someone who only spent 7k or 10k. The cost of the dinner there is the same for all parties.
Again, I hope you get some answers as you take this to those who can help you.

raises eyebrows I never implied that I was due any compensation or that I would be due more than someone else that paid less. I just want to warn people away.

Sorry you had a rough time but there are few restaurants on this planet that could handle the kind of volume these restaurants do. Honestly if you weren’t concerned about wishes you should have avoided the hour and a half before the show altogether at any restaurant within viewing of the fireworks because this is pretty standard practice. The waitstaff expect it and it’s not like they can forcibly remove the guests. I don’t think that warrants anything for free. If you had problems with the food being prepared incorrectly that should have been addressed, however, saying that it’s too bland or spicy or just not liking it isn’t really the restaurants fault. I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the food but we see ten positive reviews of the food for every one negative around here so it can’t be that bad. Take it as a lesson learned and plan differently on your next trip.

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Well, good thing I just canceled our DVC stuff. We were considering it. Now we are not. I am truly glad to know that.

Yes, I can clearly see the connection between booking a late evening ADR at Ohana and being surprised it took a while to be seated and not liking the food (which happens, can’t make everyone happy all the time) and DVC. Oh yes, direct connection between those two.

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The connection is that everyone is saying that all the dining is always or usually late and that having on-time reservations is unusual. If that is the case, then this is not how I want to spend my vacation dollars. I thought is was highly unusual, but apparently not. We attended when crowd levels were at a 2 across WDW. If we did DVC, we might try to travel at a busier time. If seems from this thread that is is normal to wait to be seated, which for us, is unacceptable. This is good info for me to have.

If that is normal, then is can be planned for easily. Our reservations were for 8:10. Wishes ended at 8:05.

Normal is waiting 15 - 20 minutes for your table. People are on vacation though and most aren’t in any big hurry to eat and run. An hour is out of the norm but that is one of the busiest restaurants in the park and it’s all you can eat so people take advantage of that. Waiting 15 minutes for a reservation is normal anywhere in the world. Sure sometimes you get seated right away but definitely not always. If wishes was over at 8:05 why would the manager have said at 8:45 that people were waiting for wishes?

In either case it doesn’t really matter. Honestly if one bad dining experience is enough to put you off from Disney it’s probably just not a good fit for you. Being laid back and going with the flow is a must when you visit any place with that level of population. We’ve left after checking in for a table a few times and have never been charged, so maybe he didn’t know that.

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Raises eyebrows back.
You threw out the $15,000 comment. I was merely saying that all patrons that night paid the same for their dinner, that’s all.

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Sorry you had a bad experience, 'Ohana is notorious for running behind on ADRs. After 2 mediocre meals there we took a long break, but decided to give it one more try in January. It was pretty bad. The steak and pork was overcooked and the shrimp raw. I wasn’t aware that they brought back the chicken and the salad- maybe too many complaints about the menu changes. ( I actually enjoyed the veggie lettuce wraps in January) Regardless, we’ll stick to Kona for our Poly dinners:)

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I have never eaten at Ohana, but it has had a long history of being a “fan favorite” - although being behind on ADRs has been a long-standing issue. But lately, I’ve been reading more bad reviews than good ones, so it has fallen off my list of “new restaurants to try”.

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My family and I ate at 'Ohana in February this year. Our ADR was at 5pm and we were seated within minutes. We all loved the food. The skewered streak was cooked perfectly rare and the chicken and shrimp were good too, as were all the sides, dessert etc. The also provided a choice of kids meal for the little dude - he had grilled cheese and fries, but there were other options - he ate more of the main offerings anyway. Service was really friendly if maybe a little speedy, but that suits us with having a little one. The staff were even really sweet about it when the little fella chucked some noodles on the floor (he has autism) - we were mortified and were trying clean it up - our ‘cousin’ was lovely about it.

I’m not saying this to say that the OP is wrong, this is just to say that we had a very different experience and that if you are thinking of going to 'Ohana, don’t be afraid to give it a go - we love it and go every trip. Be aware that they can get behind with the seating and that your ADR is not a reservation in the usual sense - you will get the next available table. I’d defo recommend going for an earlier ADR than usual. It can get a bit crazy at the Poly in the evening - just such a popular place - we always stick to around 5pm to avoid this.

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I’m sorry you had a bad experience!
We ate at Ohana this past Feb and it was amazzzzzzzing. It was the best meal of our entire trip. Service was quick despite it being busy and our waiter was the nicest guy ever!
I was originally going to make an 8pm res but opted to make an earlier one because I figured people would “camp” at their tables for Wishes. As a former server, I hate “campers”! Haha. They are essentially taking up 2 whole reservations by sitting there beyond a reasonable dining time.
That being said, I understand being frustrated with your experience and wanting it to be rectified.
I probably would have slammed back a couple lapu lapu’s and stumbled my way home :wink:

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