On the evening of Sunday, July 20, 2014, Doctor Disney quite possibly visited ‘Ohana in Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort for the last time ever. It’s something that pains me to say or write, but it’s come to a breaking point and there is really no way around it at this point. Perhaps it will be a regretful decision in the future, but it can always be changed.
I doubt that will happen though.
Let me assure you that this is not something being written to discourage anyone from eating at ‘Ohana. I’m not saying you shouldn’t eat there or that you should cancel your reservations. This is a personal account and one that also touches on a number of emails and comments I’ve gotten while being a lot of questions about ‘Ohana.
It’s a place that is very dear to me and has been my favorite Disney Dining location for many years, but this is how the last 6-8 months have unfolded.
First and foremost, let me state that my wife does have some medical issues she deals with. No need to get into details, but it’s a fact you need to know if you’re reading this. More on that later though.
Back in December, my wife and I went to eat at ‘Ohana after our Disney Cruise Line wedding. We had not eaten there in a couple of months so we were truly looking forward to it. The meal was wonderful as usual, and so was the service. We arrived home in the early evening and watched TV.
As we prepared for bed around 11:00 p.m., my wife started feeling rather sick and began vomiting. The stomach cramps, violent vomiting, and overall sick feeling continued until the early morning. I took her to the emergency room and she was admitted into the hospital for four days. The doctors said she had a severe virus, but couldn’t pinpoint the exact cause.
We went home when she was better.
In late January, we returned to ‘Ohana as it is our favorite restaurant. Once again, the meal was amazing and the service was great. After dining, we returned home.
Less than 24 hours later, my wife began feeling ill again. After much of the same from a month before, we went back to the emergency room. She was admitted to the hospital again with a severe and serious stomach virus. It greatly drained her immune system and resulted in pneumonia and the flu and a week-long hospital stay.
I also ended up getting very ill on two nights while there.
We went home.
Maybe by now, we should have have put two and two together. Perhaps we were oblivious to it or perhaps we just didn’t want to think it was ‘Ohana, our favorite restaurant.
In mid-March, we returned to ‘Ohana and enjoyed the meal once more. All went well. After returning home, my wife began feeling ill again. By all means, she should have gone to the hospital, but she refused and was sick and down for about four days.
By this time, we started realizing what it was. At least, that’s what our assumption was because she had not been this sick or hospitalized at all, except for after our visits to ‘Ohana. Not to mention, it was now three trips to ‘Ohana in four months and three illnesses.
We also realized that there had been certain items she had not eaten on different visits, just by chance. It’s her all-time favorite restaurant and she didn’t want to stop going so we did the process of elimination of what she had not eaten so obviously what made her sick, was something else.
The chicken skewers were now gone. She didn’t eat the shrimp twice and the steak once. Another time she hadn’t eaten the vegetables or salad or dumplings. We had two more main items to go through so we went back in late April.
Upon this visit, my wife didn’t eat the noodles served at ‘Ohana. All tasted great and we enjoyed it while receiving great service. Unfortunately, once again, we ended up home and she was greatly sick. This time, we couldn’t afford another trip to the ER which resulted in another hospital stay of four days.
This past weekend, we had friends in town so we went to ‘Ohana because it is their favorite restaurant. This was when we learned about the situation with the salad, but that had already been eliminated by the process of figuring out what my wife shouldn’t eat.
We sat down and the lettuce wraps and dumplings were brought out. My wife had half of a dumpling. The noodles and chicken wings were brought out, and we knew that the chicken wings were the last thing to take off in the process of elimination.
After eating two small bites of noodles though, she realized that something tasted similar. She noticed that the same glaze or seasoning was on virtually everything. She decided not to continue eating as she didn’t want to risk getting sick, but didn’t want to leave so our friends could enjoy their meal. She told the server and he actually had the chef come to our table.
My wife explained the situation and the chef of ‘Ohana that evening advised us that everything is cooked in the same area with many of the same seasonings, preservatives, and sauces. No matter what, we realized something was going to make her sick so she asked what was available as a kid’s meal.
The chef advised of hamburgers, hot dogs, macaroni and cheese, chicken fingers, and the usual stuff. My wife simply asked if she could have some chicken fingers so everyone else could still enjoy the other food. The chef said he would have it prepared for it momentarily.
A short time later, our server brought out the “chicken fingers” which were just circular chicken nuggets and fries. No big deal and my wife was ok with that. She asked for honey mustard sauce, but was advised they have no other condiments but ketchup.
Again, ok. Everyone ate and that was that.
Upon receiving our bill, my wife had still been charged the full $36 for an adult dinner. I asked the server about it and he said he would get a manager over to fix that up since it should have been changed and needed to be.
A guest services manager from ‘Ohana comes to our table and says that the bill is correct for this reason:
“Throughout the Walt Disney World Resort, our pricing is based on age. So no matter what you eat while in some of our restaurants, you will be charged by age. Here at ‘Ohana, it is ‘all you care to eat,” not ‘all you can eat’ so that’s how it goes.”
So I asked if I was correct in wondering if my wife was going to be charged $36 for an order of chicken nuggets and fries. The manager told me that was correct because she could have had as many chicken nuggets as she cared to eat.
We were never advised of that fact and the chef simply stated he would make her “a kid’s meal order of chicken nuggets.” All remained calm and the guest services manager said she would take care of it this time and alter the bill. I did ask about other scenarios though and my wife wondered if she would be charged that way every time if she didn’t eat the main courses.
The manager said, “You can call some time in advance to our dietary needs line and they will be able to prepare a proper meal for you if you wish to eat at ‘Ohana, but you’ll still be charged the full price of an adult ‘Ohana meal, whatever it may be at that time.”
We relayed the reasoning behind my wife’s issues in the past of ending up in the hospital three out of our last four trips to ‘Ohana, and even asked if we called ahead and advised she was bringing in her own food so the rest of us could still eat there, would she still be charged?
The answer was a simplistic “yes.”
Needless to say, but we left ‘Ohana that evening and for the first time in five trips to the restaurant, my wife had not gotten sick.
We have no plans on returning to ‘Ohana and that’s quite unfortunate because it was our favorite Disney dining location for a very long time. Together, we had eaten there at least 30 times before the first incident where she got sick.
With the hospital visits, my wife was advised that her medical issues were not the reasons she ended up in the hospital at all. Her condition did worsen due to dehydrating due to the severe amount of vomiting, but her medical problems were not the initial cause of the stomach viruses she contracted.
We know that we can still get the dessert from the lounge and will likely do so.
There is no ill-will toward ‘Ohana, but considering the circumstances…we don’t find it worth it for my wife to ever get that sick again or pay a rather steep price for some chicken nuggets. It’s just not worth it and there are so many other dining options in Walt Disney World that we can enjoy.
Over the past six months, I’ve seen reports and gotten a number of emails complaining about the menu changes, the service, and most importantly…food poisoning at ‘Ohana. Many have personally told me that it has happened to them, and I’m inclined to believe it due to what has gone on with my wife and even me on occasion.
Some say that’s the “issues” that caused the chicken skewers to be removed.
While I’m not going to pass judgment and say that eating at ‘Ohana causes food poisoning, I’m simply going to state that we won’t be dining there anymore. It’s just not worth the risk of another hospital stay or illness or the cost.
My hope is that those that dine there…well, you enjoy it and remain in good health. Continue to frequent it if you wish and have had no problems with it. Continue to enjoy the food keep revel in the awesome atmosphere that is ‘Ohana. I don’t like to speak negative about anything Disney, but this needed to be presented.
Enjoy it in good health.
I find this quite troubling. We love to eat at Ohanas but the price has just gone beyond what I want to pay. The thing I find troubling is that if your wife has an issue with the food or and allergy to something it should have been addressed. I know in the past and at other restaurants they cater to what the person needs. Your wife should have had a meal made for her and not just chicken fingers. In the past Chef T. J. worked at Ohanas and would work on special meals himself just to make she the customer had a great meal. He once came out to talk to us and we did not even have any special request. I did not know who he was but he asked about our meal and the food. We were asked about taste, quality and was it cooked enough. he asked if we were celebrating anything and we were. it was our anniversary. He told us thanks and came back with a special dessert in addition to the normal dessert. Our waitress came by and said that was a Chef T. J. special and not many folks get it. I wish he was back at ohanas or that other chefs would do what he did in the past. This would make dinning experiences mush better for the prices they charge. To top this off we had just spoke last night that we also will not be retiring to Ohanas do to the coast and just how hard it is to get in. This article just proves another reason to back up that decision.
Wow they definitely should have made an exception, we have a breakfast booked there with our twin 6 year old daughters, they have no medical issues, should i still be worried? only your wife who has a medical issue got sick in all those visits?
what a shame for you both 🙁
Kim, I did get sick once as well. Now, we have eaten breakfast there a couple of times and never had any issues. Again, I’m not telling anyone not to eat there, just be aware of what has happened.
This story truly saddens me. I have a hospitality background and this is not the way a successful hospitality company should be doing business. If they still had intended on charging you the full price, that should have been explained before the chef took the order.
I wish you had pursued the restaurant after your wife had her first two experiences. Any illness that serious, especially twice seems like a breakdown in food safety. I can’t imagine an allergy to anything would have caused her to be that sick.
I’ve been to Disney most of my life at least once a year and slowly the customer service is heading in the wrong direction. This is a prime example of that.
On another note, love the postings and articles.
Well said, justin ….
We have been to disney most of our lives…..at least once a year….and the customer service….across the board…..has been steadily heading in the wrong direction….plus…..reduced services….poorer quality food dishes……fewer and fewer staff members seem to care much.
Sad to hear of experiences above….but not surprising anymore.
My daughter and I have gluten intolerance and have eaten at O’Hana’s several times for both dinner and breakfast. My meals have been outstanding and I even think they have been better than my husband and son’s all you can eat options. I am sorry you keep getting sick there. Honestly I am surprised you could ever go back after getting sick just once. I had a bad experience of food poisoning one time at a restaurant and I can never go there again. The thought of being that sick even though it would probably never happen again makes the food completely unappealing.
We won’t eat at O’Hana for dinner as we have been told by the Chef that due to the severity of my peanut allergy, it wouldn’t be safe. My allergy is airborne and as that is one of the sauces (for a time it was the only sauce they had readily available), it was too risky. I would end up in a hospital if I reacted to peanuts.
We have visited here in November for breakfast however we also will not be back. We found the service really lacking. We checked in and waited 15 minutes outside before we were called in. The restaurant was half empty and we hadn’t noticed that many people suddenly leaving after we had arrived. Our server was never around, they forgot to bring me coffee (took me 30 minutes to get coffee), we waited 20 minutes for our bill and honestly half the tables were empty. Mickey and Stitch visited our table twice during our meal – that’s how empty it was. We won’t be back.
My family of 4 became very ill after eating there approx. 3 years ago… The whole family (Healthy with no medical history issues) spent 3 days in our Villa trying everything to stop the vomiting and the runs. Have not been back there since, which is a shame because it was in our top three of places to eat… I found this article absolutely creepy as I read it…….. I wonder what it is that is going on there….. It’s not effecting everybody, but quite a few as these stories run and people read it. We are Disney regulars and love the magic, We have moved on from O’Hanas however as it was the worst illness my family has ever encountered……..
We experienced the same thing . So sad !
My family and I recently ate at Ohonas which use to be out favorite restaurant until a recent mild case of food poisoning which occurred after eating there on September 15,2014. 3 of 4 in our party were deathly ill with violent vomiting and dirreah for several long hours. We all ended up in the Care Center Clinic and the rest of our vacation was ruined! I doubt we ever return to eat there :((((((
Ohanas was an absolute must for me and my husband. I found myself making reservations for Ohanas before making hotel reservations. Lol, wanted to make sure we were able to get our dining reservation for our favorite restaurant because if not, we would then rearrange our vacation schedule, THAT is how much we loved Ohanas.
Our last visit to Ohanas was 08/31/14. This was and will be our last visit.
When we arrived we were seated at the best table in the restaurant. Perfect view for fireworks. Unfortunately, that is the only thing positive I can say about our so called “magical” experience at our favorite restaurant.
We had horrible service from all of our so called “cousins”. We had to actually stop eating because we had absolutely nothing to drink, and trust me, when I took a bite of my piece of pork that was on my plate I needed something to drink because the meat was raw. Yes, raw.
So, I pushed it aside. Then, took a bite of my steak. Guess what???!!!! Yes, bloody.
Pushed it aside to eat my shrimp. Needless to say, at that point I just gave up.
As if the food wasn’t bad enough our “cousin” brought our bill. Have to say it really hurt to pay $90.00 for just me and my husband for a meal we could not eat.
Don’t get me wrong here folks, we have paid the price many many times but was worth it because the service and food were fantastic.
What has happened to Ohanas?
I have been going to the Poly since 1972 and I have to say, when I walked in and saw my beloved waterfall ripped out, I was heartbroken. Tears and all. Now, Ohanas is no more.
What next??????
How can we get in touch with management to see what will be done? Are they even aware of all the people who have gotten ill??????
P.s,
Also had reservations for November. Notice I said “had”.
Yep, cancelled!!!!!!
So I googled this issue after reading these comments. Interesting that I FINALLY , after 7 trips to WDW, was able to get ADRs for Ohana Dinner. Unfortunately, we had to postpone our trip from the past week to Thanksgiving bc of my DH’s Orders Anywho, now I’m glad I saw this so I dint stress about rebooking it. About 3 years ago, we changed our eating habits and do our best to “Eat Clean”. Since that change, We have developed a sensitivity to MSG and other forms of glutamate. Certain Chinese/Japanese places will make me sick at my stomach, cramps, foggy head and just tired. Even had some Wing places and Cheap Sandwich shops effect me. I’ve never ingested enough to vomit, but wonder if that’s wants going in here? If the same spice is used for everything, that could be the case. As I said I’m thankful to read this, as you may have just saved me from getting sick. Sad that I will skip it, after waiting so long to eat here bc I’ve been told it was the BEST place in WDW.
Reference for you: http://www.truthinlabeling.org/hiddensources.html