Ohana is the best restaurant in Disney World for dinner – hands down.
From the unlimited chicken, steak, and shrimp all the way to the potstickers noodles and the oh so famous bread pudding, there are zero misses on the Ohana menu.
However, in order to enjoy this incredible experience, you have to first get an elusive reservation.
But thankfully, there are a couple ways to get a reservation with just a little work and perseverance – here’s how:
How to Get an ‘Ohana Reservation
Here are five ways you can get an ‘Ohana reservation:
1. Continue to search 24/7, every spare second you have
If you want to dine at Ohana, you’re going to have to search every second of the day until you snag one.
What I do is every spare second I have, I go on the app and search for a reservation. I do this over and over and over all day, every day until a time pops up.
People tend to cancel reservations often, especially since Disney charges you $10 a person for no-show dining reservations.
That’s why there’s always a great chance that you find a reservation at a prime at like 5 or 6 pm. Almost to the point that you might find one for tomorrow or even same day.
2. Search for a specific time, never the generic “dinner” search preference.
When trying to book an Ohana reservation, I recommend that you go through the app and select a specific time like 5:00, 5:30, 6:00, etc.
Times will sometimes like to pop up when you’re more specific as opposed to the general “dinner” search.
Plus, your chances drastically increase when you search for a time around 9 pm and later.
3. Check in for any walk-in time slots at the hostess desk at 3:00 pm.
‘Ohana dinner starts at 3:30 pm. What I suggest is that you go the the hostess desk to see if they have any times, last minute cancellations, or even availability now.
You can even try to join the walk-in list via the My Disney Experience app once you’re in close proximity to the Polynesian Resort.
Just know that your chances are higher on a weekday and non-holiday. Absolutely no weekends, and never on Christmas/New Years week.
The worst thing that can happen is that they say no.
4. Adjust your party size on the app to see if any reservation times pop up
One of my favorite ways (but also pretty unethical) is to simply just adjust the party size on the app when searching for a reservation.
So if you are looking for a time for 2, start searching for reservations for a party of 3, 4, etc.
And if you happen to snag a time slot, when checking in at ‘Ohana, just tell the hostess that your party size changed.
Just note that this usually only works when you have a reservation for more than how many people that you have, not less. Because let’s be real, the last thing you want to do is make a reservation for 2 but have to change it to 5 at the hostess’ desk.
5. Start your search at 6:00 am exactly 60 days out from your visit
This is the most surefire way to snag a time.
You can start to make Disney restaurant reservations starting 60 days out on My Disney Experience or on the phone.
So exactly 60 days out from your trip, be sure to start searching and refreshing the reservation page at 6:00 am.
There’s a 99.9% chance that a dinner time will pop up.
(Just note that pre-covid you can book dining reservations up to 120 out but they have recently adjusted this.)
6. Order room service if you’re staying at the Polynesian Village Resort
Believe it or not, you can actually get a modified room service version for two of an ‘Ohana dinner meal delivered straight to your room called the Twilight Feast.
Sure it’s not a buffet style and it’s pretty pricey, but you literally get everything ‘Ohana has to offer.
Like they even will give you a serving of bread pudding and a pint of vanilla ice cream.
…
How to get an Ohana reservation (summary)
- Continue to search 24/7, every spare second you have
- Search for a specific time, never the generic “dinner” search preference.
- Check in for any walk-in time slots at the hostess desk at 3:00 pm.
- Adjust your party size on the app to see if any reservation times pop up
- Start your search at 12:00 exactly 120 days out from your trip
Well those are my top ways to get a reservation at Ohana. But if you happen to have any additional tips on how to get a reservation at Ohana, please let me know in the comment section below.
Thanks!
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