A character breakfast at Disney’s Polynesian’s ‘Ohana

Before our first family trip to Walt Disney World, I was gutted I missed out on dining at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort’s ‘Ohana restaurant. Dinner at ‘Ohana is one of the most difficult Disney dining reservation to secure, and I had failed to book it 180 days out when the advanced dining reservations opened for our holiday.

But for our last holiday, I made sure I didn’t make the same mistake again. We were staying in the hotel and wanted to make the most of its restaurants, resulting in both dinner and breakfast in ‘Ohana on different days.

And it was the breakfast that really had us grin and want to come back for more. ‘Ohana is located on the second floor of the Great Ceremonial House–the main building–at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort, and the breakfast in this restaurant is a character meal, while the dinner is not.

In terms of evenings, restaurant-goers praise ‘Ohana for having tables with views of the fireworks; family-style serving of its barbecue menu; and frequent entertainment, such as coconut racing for children.

With young children in tow, it was still the breakfast that continues to be the talking point for us. This meal was also served family-style, meaning large platters of fruit, pineapple-coconut bread, scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, sausages and Mickey and Stitch waffles quickly appeared on the table after we arrived and they were refilled when needed.

The scrumptious food exceeded our early morning Disney expectations, and the service was spotless with a friendly and positive waitress looking after us.

When the characters started coming around we didn’t have to worry about ensuring everyone was at the table, which is the case at the buffet-style character meals, and I think the family-style serving of food makes for a more relaxed character dining experience.

At the ‘Ohana breakfast, Mickey, Lilo and Stitch were circulating, greeting guests at their tables, and Pluto was standing by the entrance, where diners could have their photos taken with him by a PhotoPass photographer. (Since we had the Memory Maker, I liked that there was a PhotoPass opportunity at this restaurant too. Read about taking Memory Maker HERE)

I had been particularly excited to see Mickey in his tropical Hawaiian-style outfit at ‘Ohana, and since we were less familiar with Lilo and Stitch I hadn’t been sure if they would be a hit with the children. But I should have had zero doubts.

Later in the week, I found myself searching for a Stitch pin for our Disney pin collection, and on our next holiday, Stitch is the one character the children have requested to meet again. The blue, fluffy koala-like Stitch turned out to be extremely likeable, and meeting him while enjoying a brilliant breakfast in our hotel made for a family holiday highlight.

Now, even looking at the pictures from that first encounter with Stitch makes me smile, and I’m thrilled to have secured a 2020 booking for breakfast at ‘Ohana.