Dining with Lilo and Stitch at 'Ohana

If you have seen the movie Lilo and Stitch, you are aware the 'Ohana means family. This restaurant sticks to that meaning by serving family style meals, and calling the servers "cousins". My family dines at 'Ohana on almost every Disney trip!

To "get the most for your money" out of the Disney Dining Plan, it is recommended to book  your table service credit for dinner. With that being said, not all character dining locations offer a dinner option. In fact, at 'Ohana, characters only appear at breakfast. We love dining here for breakfast, and then hopping on the monorail to head to either Magic Kingdom or Epcot next!

'Ohana is located in the Polynesian Resort. If coming in off the monorail, you will arrive on the second floor, and as you enter the resort, head towards your right, where you will see the check in desk for the restaurant. 

Once you check in, you will receive a pager that will buzz when your table is ready. You can then pick up a lei, and hang out in the lounge located just in front of the restaurant. You can also have a family picture taken while you wait, and have the option of purchasing a print of that later on during your meal. 

Once your table is ready, your cousin (server) will be waiting to walk you back to your table. The theme throughout really is awesome!

Before you are seated, your server will stop by to pick up your basket of freshly baked breads, which include pineapple sourdough bread and cinnamon raisin bread. 

The pineapple bread is soooo good!

Your feast here is served family style, which means you can sit back and relax as your food is brought to you! There are 2 reasons why I love the family style meals at Disney: 1) you do not have to worry about missing a character if you are at the buffet, 2) if you have a child under the age of 3 with you, they eat all they want for free!

First, you will be brought fresh fruit....

 

and next, the famous POG juice.

Let me explain the reason it is famous. POG stands for Passionfruit, Orange and Guava. I know, the first time I heard that combination, I was thinking hmmm.....not sure about that. But let me say, this is my absolute favorite! In fact, I have searched hard to try to find something comparable in the grocery stores. I have found a couple of things that are close, and some recipes as well, but nothing quite like what is served here. You will also be served coffee, and your choice of a different drink, IF for some reason you did not like the POG as much as I do! 

Next comes the rest of your breakfast which includes a platter of:

Hua Paka (scrambled eggs)

Uala Kahiki (island style potatoes)

Pua'a (pork sausage links and smoked bacon)

Biscuits

 

Help yourself to as much as you like, at any time, just ask for another platter!

Your server will separately bring Mickey Waffles!

As you see, they perfectly hold just the right amount of syrup. Or, you could always eat them a little differently.....

The characters that will visit your table include Lilo, Stitch, Mickey and Pluto. 

As always, characters are great with all ages!

During your meal, usually about every 30-45 minutes, will begin the "'Ohana Family Parade". Kids will be given maracas to shake and dance their way around the restaurant with the characters. When you see the servers breaking out maracas, and you start to hear the music, have your cameras ready!

Advanced dining reservations are strongly encouraged! 

I have focused on the character breakfast here, but 'Ohana also offers dinner as well, but without the characters. See the menus for both here:

Official Disney Menu: 'Ohana Character Breakfast

Official Disney Menu: 'Ohana Dinner

Character Dining at Chef Mickey's

When most people think of character dining, the first thing they think of is Chef Mickey's. This is the only dining location where you can meet the Fab Five, which include Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto. Not to mention the great location. It is on the fourth floor of the Contemporary Resort, so it does not require park admission. If you are making the quick walk from Magic Kingdom, go up the elevators to the fourth floor, and if you are coming in on the monorail, take the escalators down one floor. 

There is no missing the bright lights of the Chef Mickey's sign, and if you do not see it, trust me, your kids will point you in the right direction. Mine always know exactly where it is! 

 Once you go through this archway, you will check in at the desk located just before this next sign:

When you have checked in, you then have the opportunity to take a photo with this Mickey. One of the cast members will bring you a printed copy that you can opt to purchase, or, you can do like we do, and just use your own camera to take as many photo's as you like!

As you enter the restaurant, you will notice the very modern, contemporary feel flows throughout.

I just love the buffets at Disney. The best part is if you have a child under the age of 3 with you, they are always considered free. At a buffet, that child can eat as much as they like!

Salad Bar

Child Buffet Items

Meat Carving Station

Self Serve Ice Cream

Ice Cream Toppings

Key Lime Tarts

So as you can see, there many items to choose from on the buffet. Here is a link to the Breakfast and Dinner menus:

Official Disney Menu: Breakfast at Chef Mickey's
Official Disney Menu: Dinner at Chef Mickey's

Now on to characters. Just like at other character dining locations, the characters will follow a pattern around the restaurant. When the first character comes to your table, if you notice the table they were at right before yours, more than likely the next character will follow that same pattern. This will give you a heads up, so you can have the kids faces wiped clean, autograph book in hand and camera ready when they show up at your table! It will typically take about an hour for all five characters to make it around to your table.

Posing with Donald Duck

Chef Mickey!

Goofy

Pluto

Minnie Mouse

Chef Mickey's is a very popular restaurant, with that being said, it is a good idea to make your dining reservations 180 days in advance to secure the time that is best for your family. The awesome part about dining at dinner, if you time it right, you can watch the fireworks from Magic Kingdom from the outdoor patio which is also located on the fourth floor of the Contemporary. If you book your dining reservations about 90 minutes prior to the start of the fireworks, that will give you plenty of time to enjoy your meal, then get in place to watch the fireworks from there!

Private Character Meet and Greet for Disney Visa Cardholders

There are many reasons why I love my Disney Premier Visa Card. I receive 0% financing for 6 months on every Disney vacation package or Disney Cruise Line vacation I book, I earn Disney Reward Dollars (like a Disney gift card), receive discounts at many dining and shopping locations, and the list goes on. I have to say that one of my favorite perks for being a card holder, is the private character meet and greet located at Epcot!

Every day, from 1pm - 7pm, in Innoventions West, a card holder can stop  by for their private meet and greet, and also receive a free 5X7 photo of your choice! Did you catch that I said EVERY DAY…..that’s right, if you visit Epcot 4 times in one trip, you can get 4 different free photos! This works great when you have a park hopper ticket. Here are the details:

First, you enter Innoventions West,

and just across from Where’s the Fire?,  you will find where to show your card and get in line.

My recommendation is to not go when it first opens, at 1:00, the line tends to be much longer at this time. As you see, I showed up a little later that afternoon, and did not have a wait at all!

Be prepared to show your credit or debit card, this is what gets you into the meet and greet.

The cast member will fill out a slip for you, and be sure to hang on to that slip.

This meet and greet is always the best. You do not have other families in a line watching you, and making you feel rushed. They only let one family in this room at the time. There will always be more than one character, but they will rotate the characters daily. The kids feel so special with the amount of time that is taken with them. I always hand my camera to one of the cast members, and let them take pictures with it, as well as the Disney photographer which is taking photos for us to choose from for our free 5X7. Here are just a few of the many photos that were taken with my camera. 

My youngest, at the time, 18 months, meeting the characters

My oldest getting sweet hugs from Minnie

Goofy, just being goofy...trying to eat the autograph book

...and then he pretended to eat the spaghetti in the photo on the wall

Minnie pretending she was going to leave with us

After we are all finished playing, hugging, and waving bye for several minutes, we head over to pick out our free photo. This is located in the Epcot Camera Center, just under Spaceship Earth at the front of the park. 

Remember that slip I wanted you to hang onto? You now give it to the cast member in the Camera Center. When they put your code in, you will have a computer screen all to yourself to choose which photo you want, and can also add special effects to it! 

Once you choose the one you want, they print it up right there and give it to you! 

If you have a Disney Visa card, but have never taken advantage of the private meet and greet, it is a must do! If you do not have a card, here is a link to all the perks of having one!