FULL REVIEW: How Does ‘Ohana Dinner at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort Compare to Before?
It’s a very special day because one of DFB’s favorite restaurants is back! That’s right, ‘Ohana at Disney’s Polynesian Resort has reopened!
‘Ohana at the Polynesian Resort
This restaurant has a very special spot in our hearts and we often review it very favorably! From the great atmosphere to the delicious bread pudding, this spot has it all! As if stopping by ‘Ohana for breakfast wasn’t enough, we also decided to grab some dinner! Come explore the newly reopened fan-favorite with us!
Atmosphere
Currently, there’s some construction going on at the Polynesian Resort as the resort continues its significant overhaul. We headed inside the Polynesian and made our way over to ‘Ohana!
Welcome to ‘Ohana!
For dinner reservations, you can use Mobile Dine Check-In on the MyDisneyExperience App, which allows you to check-in to you reservation from your phone!
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Once you’ve checked in using the app, you’ll get a text message confirming your check-in and another message when your table is ready.
We’re on our way!
You can head over to the restaurant entrance and you’ll be escorted to your table!
Time to check-in!
Inside, you’ll find lots of Polynesian theming and a relaxing atmosphere that will immediately transport you to Hawaii!
Tons of theming!
There’s one big dining room at ‘Ohana filled with lots of cool tiki statues, oars, and other Polynesian-themed decor! Be sure to take a look around the restaurant while you’re there — this is some of our favorite theming in Disney World.
One big dining room means this place is hustling and bustling!
In the center of the dining room is a small kitchen where you can see the chefs hard at work!
They’re grilling it up!
For this meal, our table was by the window with an excellent view of the Polynesian Resort! The table setting was your standard plate and a cloth napkin. The only seating option at this spot are chairs and tables, no booths!
Our wonderful seats for the evening
Not only is this spot beautiful on the inside, but you also have so many awesome views from ‘Ohana, including a great view of the Magic Kingdom, the fireworks, and the rest of the resort.
What a view!
We saw a Cast Member perform some songs on the Ukulele, however activities like the Coconut Races are not currently available. Now, it’s time to EAT!
Eats
We sat down, scanned the QR code menu, and checked out ‘Ohana’s family-style menu! The first thing that stands out is the flat fee! Right now, ‘Ohana is $55 per adult and $33 per child, with alcoholic and specialty drinks costing extra. The meal is all-you-care-to-enjoy, so you’ll probably want to come with an empty stomach! This spot serves Polynesian and East Asian-inspired cuisine that has become a big hit! Many of our favorite menu items are still here, but there have been a few changes which we will point out throughout this review.
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If you have specific dietary requests, ‘Ohana has a few different menus. For plant-based diets, there is a plant-based menu.
Plant-Based ‘Ohana Menu
There is also an allergy-friendly menu.
Allergy-Friendly ‘Ohana Menu
There are also plenty of great drink options including smoothies themed after Moana, Lilo, and Stitch! Check out our ‘Ohana breakfast review to see the Stitch smoothie!
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For those who want a cocktail without the alcohol, try a mocktail like the Sparkling No-Jito with Lime Juice, Pure Cane Sugar, and Mint topped with Soda Water or the Keiki Lemonade with Minute Maid Premium Lemonade, Pineapple, Passion Fruit, and Citrus!
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However, if you’re looking for something with more kick, you can try one of ‘Ohana’s numerous cocktails including the Polynesian Mai Tai with Plantation Original Dark Rum, Bacardí Superior Rum, Bols Orange Curaçao, Lime Juice, Orgeat (Almond), and Pure Cane Sugar and the Lapu Lapu with Plantation Original Dark Rum and Tropical Fruit Juices served in a fresh Pineapple and topped with Gosling’s 151 Rum.
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There are a LOT of cocktails to choose from — you really can’t go wrong here!
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If cocktails aren’t your style, perhaps some beer? There are quite a few beers on this menu, including an assortment of Kona Brewing Co. and Maui Brewing Co. Hawaiian beers!
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There’s also wine…
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…and more wine.
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Now that you know what ‘Ohana has to offer, let’s get into the food! To start off, we got two drinks: a classic Iced Tea…
Iced Tea!
…and a Hawaiian Mule, which costs $13! This drink features Pau Maui Handmade Vodka, Lychee-Citrus Reduction, and Fever-Tree Ginger Beer. This drink is the perfect balance between a refreshing tropical drink and a more bitter cocktail! If you want that refreshing, fruity flavor without overwhelming sweetness, this is the one for you. The ginger and lime really come through on this drink, so beware! If you’re normally a fan of mules, you’ll love this one.
The Hawaiian Mule! LOVE the cup!
For our bread service, we got Ohana Coconut-Papaya Scones and Cheddar-Bacon Biscuits with Honey Butter! These are no Homecomin’ biscuits, but they’re pretty delicious! The Coconut-Papaya Scones were sweet and moist (more like a biscuit than a scone) and the coconut flavor was really strong! If you love coconut, you’ll love this one. This option replaced ‘Ohana’s signature Pineapple Bread.
So crisp and yet so fluffy!
The Cheddar-Bacon Biscuits were great with the honey butter, a great sweet-salty combo. We wish the jalapeño flavor was stronger, but the cheddar and bacon flavors were full, smokey, and a great savory variation on the typical dinner roll!
Butter makes it better!
Next, we tried the Mixed Greens Salad! The sweet almond brittle on top, the acidic vinaigrette, and the fresh veggies made this an exciting bite. There was a hint of sweetness from the vinaigrette that went perfectly with the brittle and the sweetness of the carrots and baby tomatoes. The red onions added a strong flavor that really cut through everything else and made the salad even fresher. The flavor balance was great and this was a very refreshing salad overall! Although we miss ‘Ohana’s old salad, we’re pretty happy with this one.
This isn’t your ordinary salad!
Now, let’s talk about the Honey-Coriander Chicken Wings. OMG! These were absolutely delicious! The skin was crisp, the wings had just the right amount of sauce, the meat was moist — these were just the perfect wings. The honey-coriander glaze wasn’t overly sweet and had a nice spice to them without being too spicy. These wings were a winner as usual!
These were seriously delicious!
Yet another winner from this trip were the Pork Dumplings Tossed In Garlic-Chili Sauce! Just like the wings, these dumplings were crisp on the outside and nice and tender on the inside. The flavor wasn’t too intense, just the right amount of heat. Our only complaint here is that we wanted more sauce, but this was a winner in our books.
Yum!!!
We’ve made it to the main event, the ‘Ohana Skillet with Woodfire-grilled Teriyaki Beef, Island Shrimp Casserole with Herbed Breadcrumbs, Roasted Eight-way Chicken with Polynesian-inspired Chimichurri Sauce, Kielbasa Sausage, ‘Ohana Noodles, and Roasted Broccolini! First on the list are the iconic ‘Ohana Noodles! These are pure perfection!
Some of the best noodles in Disney!
Savory with just a little bit of sweetness, these noodles have an amazing balance of flavor and the cabbage added a nice little crunch! If you love noodles, especially chow mein, you’ll love these. Even though we had a little scare when we didn’t see them on menu originally, we’re glad these iconic noods are here.
They look even better up close!
The Broccolini, Roasted Eight-Way Chicken, and Kielbasa Sausage on the other hand were just…okay. The broccolini was typical, cooked well with a little bit of salt and pepper, but nothing particularly special. The roasted chicken was moist and had a nice mild flavor that hardly compares to wings we had right before! The new kielbasa was mild in terms of spice and well cooked, but we wish it had a bit more kick to it. However, it was still some good sausage.
These three get the job done, but they’re nothing to sneeze at! The chicken certainly made us miss the good ‘ol days when your server would bring around the meat on skewers. If that’s what you’re expecting or what you liked most about ‘Ohana, you might be a little disappointed.
The ‘Ohana Noodles with the Chicken, Kielbasa, and Broccolini!
Next up was the Island Shrimp Casserole. This one was a surprise for us, it was much better than we expected! It was like mac and cheese but, instead of pasta, it had shrimp!
A shrimp…casserole???
The crunchy breadcrumbs, creamy cheese, and big pieces of shrimp made this one a fun bite with lots of different textures! This was sooo good! However, we would’ve loved some grilled shrimp in here instead.
It’s even better than we thought it would be!
After the shrimp, we tried out the Woodfire-grilled Teriyaki Beef! This one was great as always! It used to be served on a skewer, but it actually thrives in the new skillet format! The teriyaki sauce was sweet and balanced the smokey flavor of the beef. This is the quintessential teriyaki beef, so if you typically love those flavors, or love barbecue, you’ll enjoy this one!
Teriyaki beef is always good!
Last (but by no means at all least) the glorious return of ‘Ohana Bread Pudding with Homemade Caramel Sauce!!! If you’re a fan of DFB, you already know how we feel about this one! This is, in our book, the perfect Disney dessert! The pineapple bread pudding is the perfect amount of fruity and the vanilla ice cream is rich and delicious!
The moment we’ve all been waiting for… BREAD PUDDING!!!
And did we mention that caramel sauce??? It takes a perfect dish from delicious to divine! Although there aren’t any bananas in this new sauce, the ‘Ohana bread pudding remains the ultimate dessert.
The sauce really brings it all together. Perfection.
And just like that, the meal was over!
Nosh or Not
Stop by ‘Ohana for Dinner if you…
- Love to try lots of different things in one meal. Rather than ordering one entree and eating one thing like at other table service restaurants, you’ll get to try all sorts of eats at ‘Ohana!
- Are looking for great “All-You-Care-To-Eat” dining. If you really enjoy this dining style, ‘Ohana is a great all-you-care-to-eat spot!
- Want a long relaxing meal! This is not an “in-and-out” type of meal, it’s a bit more drawn out!
You might want to skip ‘Ohana for dinner if you…
- Don’t think you’ll get your money’s worth! You do have to eat quite a bit to make this a steal, so if you’re more of a snacker, this might not be the meal for you.
- Are on a budget! The price point of this spot is a bit steeper than many other spots in the area, and you might want to visit a quick service restaurant instead. If you’re staying at the Polynesian, you can check out places like Kona Cafe, and Captain Cook’s which are more budget friendly.
- Are a die-hard fan of the classic ‘Ohana experience. This meal is certainly different than we are used to, especially with the disappearance of the meat skewers. For the time-being, these are not available, so if that is a major reason you visit ‘Ohana, you might want to skip.
Overall
Although we miss some of the old parts of ‘Ohana (looking at you, broom races!), we are very very happy to have ‘Ohana back! The atmosphere feels like home, even though there have been some changes to the overall experience. If you’re a fan of classic ‘Ohana, we are warning you that is IS different! However, we would still recommend giving this new experience a shot — the food was still great, the atmosphere and views can’t be beat, and it’s still one of Disney World’s most beloved restaurants. The service was attentive, helpful, and super nice! While the meal is pricey, you do get a LOT of food for what you pay. As with other all-you-care-to-eat meals, it’s only worth it if you are able to eat a lot of the meal. The price is pretty similar to other restaurants like it including Chef Mickey’s and Crystal Palace. Although we miss the skewers, we were very pleasantly surprised by the Teriyaki Beef. Also, even though the bananas are now missing from the Caramel Sauce for the Bread Pudding, we thoroughly enjoyed the dessert. So even though ‘Ohana is a bit different nowadays, we still highly recommend making a stop here if it makes sense for you and your party!
Click here to read our ‘Ohana Breakfast Review!
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What do you think of the return of ‘Ohana? Let us know in the comments!
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