Goodbye 'Ohana

[Pdollar88]

'Ohana is the only place that we now dine that serves the meals like that. There is a very popular place in the NC mountains that does the same, but the appeal there is not the same for us.

Random tangent - you mean Shatley Springs? That’s right near where I grew up!

*Edit: Aww darn - you meant Daniel Boone Inn. I got excited. It’s a bit more upscale but still close to my hometown!

 

[MakiraMarlena]

not giving up on them so long as they have the shrimp. Actually I no longer eat the meats. Just shrimp.

 

[DVC_Dad_Canada]

The trend in restaurants in general (not necessarily in WDW) is away from buffets and the two hour dinners. Millennials (people 21 to 35) are wanting quicker dining experiences. They want to know exactly what is in their food and where it is sourced from. Also, it must be "instagram worthy".

'Ohana's, like any family style buffet, is caught between a rock and a hard place, similar to Main Dining rooms on cruise ships. The under 35 will complain service is too slow, and over 35 will feel rushed.

 

[KrazeeK120]

The trend in restaurants in general (not necessarily in WDW) is away from buffets and the two hour dinners. Millennials (people 21 to 35) are wanting quicker dining experiences. They want to know exactly what is in their food and where it is sourced from. Also, it must be "instagram worthy".

'Ohana's, like any family style buffet, is caught between a rock and a hard place, similar to Main Dining rooms on cruise ships. The under 35 will complain service is too slow, and over 35 will feel rushed.

And us 35 year olds are just confused. It’s crazy to me how often I feel “caught” between 2 generations.

 

[NYCgrrl]

And us 35 year olds are just confused. It’s crazy to me how often I feel “caught” between 2 generations.

Don't worry. Eventually, they'll find a group to lump you into.
Spent years being told I wasn't a member of the Boomers and now I am, LOL.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I think this is the only restaurant I have ever heard complaints about food coming out too quickly. We usually pace ourselves since we pay them. At WCC the skillet always hits immediately and we still take our time and enjoy ourselves.

Go to LeCellier. All that was missing was the cattle prod.

Server dropped off wine, appetizer and bread. 3 minutes later he made a fly by drop of the entrée. And then he disappeared. Wine glasses empty, water glasses empty by the time he makes his next appearance. He has the check in his hand and says "you don't want desert do you"? Nope, I don't want to waste any more money on your poor quality food and bad service. (his tip did reflect the "service" )

 

[Jadyreen1282]

3 minutes. Was the meat raw?

 

[goofyintoronto]

Go to LeCellier. All that was missing was the cattle prod.

Server dropped off wine, appetizer and bread. 3 minutes later he made a fly by drop of the entrée. And then he disappeared. Wine glasses empty, water glasses empty by the time he makes his next appearance. He has the check in his hand and says "you don't want desert do you"? Nope, I don't want to waste any more money on your poor quality food and bad service. (his tip did reflect the "service" )

Good for you for letting the tip reflect the service. That must've been a horrible dinner experience. My experience there wasn't much better to be honest. That place is highly overrated.

~~~~~~~~

I've been to Ohana ONCE, and that was enough for me. Slimy wings, dry meat, dry pot stickers, flavourless noodles. Really poor food quality at ridiculous prices. And as for service, you're either rushed or ignored. Lol. That place cracks me up.

 

[goofyintoronto]

3 minutes. Was the meat raw?

You might want to tag the person or reply to their post...this ensures they'll actually see your question.

There could be several scenarios as to why it was dropped off 3 minutes later. Off the top of my head, LC could've taken FOREVER to make the appetizer (many times ive had an entree would arrive shortly after the appetizer...very poor timing) which resulted in the appetizer and entree arriving around the same time. Or perhaps they cooked both the app and entree at the same time. Or the entree was made just prior to the app being made. Again, very poor timing on their part. That's a big no-no.

 

[bfamily5]

We have O'hana's booked for our last night in the world - is it possible to tell them at the podium that you would prefer a slower pace? Hope so! Has anyone tried this and had luck?

 

[AngieInOH]

We have O'hana's booked for our last night in the world - is it possible to tell them at the podium that you would prefer a slower pace? Hope so! Has anyone tried this and had luck?

I think you'd have better luck telling your server not at the podium.

 

[DisneyFive]

Again, simply tell them that you are not ready for the meats. They aren't going to kick you out. Having all of the other stuff come right away (salad, noodles, wings, potstickers...) isn't a bad thing IMO. Eat at your own pace and let the servers know when you are ready for the meat skewers.

It makes sense that they want the pace to be quick, as it's an insanely popular TS location (for pretty good reason IMO). Some people will like the quick pace BTW, but many do not.

Dan

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Telling the podium won't help. If the server approaches too soon with the meats, tell him or her that you will let them know when you are ready for meat.

 

[athumann]

I feel like I started seeing a downward trend when they began offering the dining plan. Maybe a coincidence, maybe not.

 

[DVC_Dad_Canada]

I feel like I started seeing a downward trend when they began offering the dining plan. Maybe a coincidence, maybe not.

That was 2005. If it's been going downhill since then it would be closed by now.

 

[athumann]

That was 2005. If it's been going downhill since then it would be closed by now.

Not necessarily, I didn't say it turned to garbage the second the dining plan was implemented, I just feel like I've seen things SLOWLY going downhill since then.

 

[TiggerTrigger]

We had a speed dining experience at 'Ohana back in December. We asked our server to slow things down, but it did nothing. Sure, you can complain to a manager, but your experience is now already tainted, so involving a manager just makes it feel even worse. And since this doesn't seem to be a one-off situation...logic would say the rushing is management directed. i.e. we're sorry you don't like what we told our servers to do. I've only encountered one person who wasn't horribly rushed through their 'Ohana experience in the last year and she had the polar opposite...so painfully slow that they spent over 2 hours at their table waiting. To add insult to injury, something was different with the dumplings/potstickers this time. I normally can't get enough of them, but these were not good.

 

[Sandiz08]

Been once,never again. Not worth what you pay for it.

 

[freshmanjs]

Of course Disney can't win. They're always going to be too fast for some and too slow for others.

If they were providing consistent service and some folks perceived it as fast and some perceived it as slow, then this comment would make sense. But, that's not what's happening at all. It is, in fact, very fast for some and very slow for others. Disney actually can win. They just don't run the place well.

 

[freshmanjs]

It's fascinating.

The complaints about service are either they are moving in reverse or going at lightspeed.

The servers can't win.

They also cannot read. your. mind.

Being passive-aggressive gets me nowhere but frustrated which is why politely asking for what I want makes for a happy vacation.

Nope. They actually are sometimes slow and sometimes fast. Neither is good. They could "win" by providing reasonably timed service like all good restaurants do.