Dining Review: Ohana Character Breakfast

Stitch didn't molest her but will you be so lucky?

Disney has a number of character dining locations. Some, like Chef Mickey’s, have almost become a rite of passage. Overall character meals are one of the best ways to interact with the characters.


Most people might not think of Ohana when they are looking for a character meal. In some ways I can understand that. If you have the choice between Chef Mickey’s and the seeing the fab five or going to Ohana and seeing Stitch and friends most people would lean towards Chef Mickey’s.

Here is why you should lean towards Ohana.

The Food: The food is typical Disney breakfast food. You are not going to find anything amazing but you will get decent breakfast food. So why would Ohana get a leg up here? While they offer fewer options when compared to Chef Mickey’s, you don’t have to deal with a buffet. The food here is delivered to your table. It’s in a family style format.

The Service: The service is a little better than Chef Mickey’s. Your server interacts with you more and it seems like they have fewer tables they have to deal with.

The Characters: The description says “Lilo and Stitch” but that’s a little deceptive. Lilo and Stitch will be there but they will be joined by Mickey, Minnie, and some other characters. You will see Lilo and Stitch and some other characters but the others could be mixed. One thing I will warn you about – Stitch tends to molest women. If you are just a couple and Stitch comes up he will try to kiss the girl. I don’t mean kiss her hand. I mean full on grab her and try to make out with her. I wish I had caught this on video because it seemed a little extreme.

The Atmosphere: The atmosphere at Chef Mickey’s can be hit or miss it really depends on where they stick you. The atmosphere at Ohana is very nice. The south seas feel is great and you get some nice views out the large windows. Overall Ohana beats Chef Mickey’s in this area.

Cost: At the time of this publication Chef Mickey’s cost $4 more than Ohana. You get a better selection of food at Chef Mickey’s but nothing else is better than what you get at Ohana. That being said take a chance on Ohana. You’ll save money and have a great character experience.

Buy 4 Get 3 Free Making a Comeback?

Everyone who held out and waited and crossed their fingers that Disney would bring back one of their best deals of all time can jump for joy. According to a reliable source the buy four get three nights free promo will be making a comeback next week.

Keep in mind that if this pans out we could see a big spike in attendance at the Disney parks. This means you will want to spend some extra time in planning your trip. Check the crowd levels before you pick your days. You can get that info on a site like tourinplans.com. Also use a touring plan if you are planning on going to a park on a busy day. It will save you time.

Will I be there? Yes. I’m one of the people who was holding out. I even blocked off the time I wanted months ago. It was a gamble but it looks like it’s going to pay out. I’ll announce later when I’m going to be there so everyone can avoid me.

Another Year Announced – Nothing Like Being Consistent

So Disney announced some information about next year and big surprise, ticket prices are going up. At this point I’d be surprised if Disney didn’t raise ticket prices. It almost feels like a running cliché. To be honest, if Disney didn’t raise ticket prices I’d stop dead in my tracks and ask “What’s wrong?”

On the down side there wasn’t anything that really surprised me about their announcements. Couldn’t they mix it up for once? Maybe announce a new kind of ticket or option to add a little spice.

One thing I think could really mix things up is to add bonuses to plans and tickets. For example: If you buy a 10 day pass you get a Disney pin that you can’t buy anywhere. I think doing something like that would take the sting out of a ticket price increase.

The dining plan also went up in cost – big shocker there. I did the dining plan once. It was ok. I can honestly say I won’t be doing it again. I ate way too much on the dining plan because I had to get my money’s worth.

Next I’m expecting that Disney will announce a promotion soon. What will replace “What Will You Celebrate?” Maybe “Come Be Broke With Us!” I think that would be fitting. They could dress all of the characters like hobos and make them panhandle from guests.

I’m also expecting an announcement in regards to a discount for the 1st quarter. This could be the wild card. I could see Disney doing nothing but that’s unlikely. I don’t think they’ll extend the free dining. It will have been going on for three months with limited success. I’m not sure if they will do the buy four get three free either. That was a great promotion but it cost them.

Hold It In – We All Win!

Disney announced their latest “green” promotion this week. In an effort to reduce water use, all guests are encouraged to go to the bathroom less. For every hour between 5pm and 7am that your room’s toilet does not flush you will receive one dollar towards your bill.

In addition Disney is shutting down random restrooms across the property. On the closed restrooms doors is Disney’s new “green” slogan “Hold It In – We All Win!”

Disney is also placing signs on all of the other restrooms that inform guests: “If it’s yellow, let it mellow, if it’s brown flush it down.”

Disney expects that the new program will save an estimated one million gallons of water a day and also save roughly 100,000 dollars a day in expenses.

However not everyone is on board with the new program. Many have already expressed criticism of the plan.

“I’m terribly offended by those signs. I think they are offensive and crude,” stated Minnie Mouse in an interview after the announcement was made.

She continued “What if you can’t hold it? Are you supposed to jump in the bushes? I think this idea could really backfire!”

Grumpy Dwarf stated “It stinks!” when asked to comment on the new program.

Grumpy may have a point. Disney World could become very smelly while the program is in place. Is that worth the estimated 100,000 dollar a day savings? Only time will tell. For now it might be a good idea to bring a nose plug or gas mask with you on your next trip to the World.