If you have not figured it out by now, I will come out in the open. WE LOVE FOOD! As a family, we love food, we love dining, we love restaurants, we love cooking and watching cooking shows. We have been taking our kids to restaurants since birth and I cook with them almost daily. They admit that garlic and onions smell good while they are stirring them in butter on the stove, but still refuse to taste, one sense at a time, I have appealed to their sense of smell, taste can not be far behind.
A huge excitement factor in our Disney trips is the dining. There is a massive misconception about Disney that there is no good food. People tend to think that if you go to Disney you better be prepared to eat, burgers and fries and chicken nuggets. WRONG! It is actually very difficult to find french fries on any menus including kids menus. Disney has made an effort to offer many healthy options for dining on kids menus. There are numerous restaurants on Disney property that are incredible. One of our favorite Disney Dining experiences can be found in our personal family favorite resort THE POLYNESIAN.
The Polynesian resort is Disney magic! It is themed to be a tropical paradise with an indoor waterfall, tiki torched lined paths and a white sandy beach with hammocks that overlook Cinderella's castle. All stresses melt away as soon as you hear the waterfall and soak in the tranquil ambiance of the Polynesian Resort.
Ohana is located on the second floor of the resort. In the center of the restaurant is the grill. Flames shoot from the open horse shoe shaped grill and the smells that come from the marinated meats and seafood on skewers are hypnotizing. The restaurant has a wall of windows, many of the windows, offer incredible views of the castle and the volcano pool. A center walkway which encircles many of the tables exists for the entertainment and the family parades. Ohana also hosts a character breakfast with Lilo and Stitch and friends for breakfast, but for dinner it hosts paradise for dining.
It is a family style all you care to eat type of meal, which I like to call the lazy buffet. Meaning, you can eat all you care to eat and you don't have to move a muscle. If you are going to dinner here to make the most of the experience, you want to eat a light breakfast and a light lunch. Save room for the many courses, each one more flavorful than the next.
When you are seated by your "cousin", you are greeted by name by a friendly server that will ask you if you know what Ohana means. They will explain that Ohana means family and here you are a part of the family. You will walk by a bar highlighting specialty drinks and the grand finale which I will save for the end of the story. Hint, it is one of the reasons you should save room all day for this meal.
After being seated in comfortable chairs and your drink order is taken, and the food will start to arrive. PACE YOURSELF! Delicious loafs of bread and a mixed green salad with a tantalizing citrus dressing will first arrive. We usually ask for more salad as the dressing is light and delicious and we love our greens. Ohana offers complimentary "off menu" selections for the children typically including macaroni and cheese, hot dogs and grilled cheese. Ask your server, they will often not offer, but this is free of charge for the kids.
Next the honey-coriander wings will arrive with the pork dumplings with sweet and sour sauce. It has just begun. You must be patient and pace yourself. You may want to eat three plates of wings and two of dumplings, but better things await. You are scaling the Ohana mountain of culinary pleasure, each step gets you closer to the finale awaiting you at the top of the delicious mountain.
Your server will next deliver a trio of tempting sauces, a peanut sauce, a spicy mustard and a sweet and sour sauce. Then finally, you will see your server approaching you with the heavenly skewers of meat delivered to your table straight from the open grill. The peel and eat shrimp are huge and perfectly cooked. I prefer the peanut sauce for dipping for the shrimp. Then you will be delivered grilled turkey, pork loin and grilled sirloin. They will keep coming back and offering you more and more and more. The meats are tender and juicy and hot and moist and delicious.
You will find yourself eating and eating and dipping. Asian noodles and stir fried vegetables are also delivered to your table. Just when you feel like this meal could not get any better you will begin hearing the lovely sounds of the live ukulele music from the center walkway inviting your children out to participate in a parade. Not only is the food incredible, but there are kids activities built into the meal. Hook, Tink, Cinder and Beast go running and we watch them as they happily parade with music makers and then play the limbo game while we are suddenly enjoying a 15 minute date! Hey, take any magical moments you can get!
The children return excited and ready to enjoy the top of the mountain, the finale, the reason for fasting through the day. The bread pudding served with mounds of vanilla ice cream and adorable carafes of banana caramel sauce served piping hot. This dessert inspires you to find nooks and crannies of available space in your stomach you swore did not exist just 15 minutes prior.
The bread pudding is served warm and by itself is good, but add to the warm bread pudding the cold rich vanilla ice cream and then drizzle the hot rich caramel sauce filled with real bananas and suddenly you start hallucinating with pleasure. This trip was free! There was no cost at least it was all justified in this one moment when you first tasted this luscious dessert! You find crazy things coming out of your mouth like, " Kids, when are we coming back to Disney next? Maybe should bring the whole family for Christmas next year!" The power of this dining experience does that. It makes you fall in love with the mystifying magic of the power and enjoyment of a Disney vacation.
I am surprised that they do not offer complimentary wheel barrow service to exit this restaurant, because after dining here you feel like you might need it. I always leave this dinner with the post Thanksgiving meal experience. Otherwise know as unbutton the top button on your pantzitis. We love this restaurant, because it is more than a restaurant, it is a dining experience Disney style and it is incredible and not to be missed.
The cost is Adults $30.99; Children 3-9 $14.99 or one credit off your dining plan. Advance reservations are strongly recommended.
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