by Beauty and the Beast Diva
There is no hotel quite like the Polynesian. It’s practically impossible to not feel like you’re being transported to a tranquil island paradise as soon as you step onto the property. Tucked away on the 2nd floor of the lobby in the back-left corner you will find ‘Ohana, a LOVELY restaurant where you can find Mickey, Lilo, Stitch and a few other friends decked out in their best Hawaiian garb and a truly delicious breakfast.
I will admit, I am NOT a morning person- Toast (with about 4 cups of coffee) usually suffices me for breakfast. But in Disney, I NEED to eat, I get hungry around 10:30 and I will complain like a toddler until I eat something, so a substantial breakfast is ALWAYS in our plans. We love to try out different locations in Disney for breakfast because it gets us up and moving, we also usually make VERY early plans so we can be at a park for opening. So here I was, 7:30AM, standing in the Polynesian lobby without my morning cup of coffee waiting to be seated at ‘Ohana. They offer an area for stroller parking and an area with couches and chairs for waiting, or you can roam through the lobby with a “buzzer” when your table is available.
Disney Diva Tip: The lobby is so peaceful! Consider grabbing a cup of coffee when you get there in their quick service location and taking in all the beauty of their lobby or their gorgeous lush landscapes OR their stores—Disney Shopping Diva might be a better name for me…
We opted to stroll through the lobby shops and took in the beautiful tranquil décor. When the buzzer went off, we were greeted by our “auntie” who walked us through the restaurant to a counter top area where we were given a basket of warm cinnamon bread and pineapple bread (AKA Heaven on Earth). We were then brought to our table and offered drinks, and we were given the specialty juice that is included in the breakfast buffet price, which is a combination of orange, guava and passionfruit juices (AKA 2nd Heaven on Earth). My husband must have had 10 glasses full of it. It was like a vacation in a cup! There was also a plate of fresh fruit on the table while we waited for our meal which was delicious.
We indulged on the DELICIOUS breads and fresh fruits, feeling like we were in an island paradise. I would have been good with just that and then our HUGE platter full of eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, biscuits, and Mickey AND Stitch waffles. This is a pretty standard family style breakfast buffet but we devoured all of it. We made breakfast sandwiches with the biscuits, my little one indulged on Mickey waffles, and we left very little on our family style plate when we were done.
The highlight of the meal was the view for sure. We overlooked the pool area (which is AMAZING) and some of the Magic Kingdom. Luckily, we had a seat RIGHT next to the window and it was so magical. We were greeted by Mickey, Pluto, Stitch, and Lilo- my daughter was at a rough age for characters so after an epic fail with Mickey, we just waved to Pluto, Stitch and Lilo and they just waved back from a distance, which made my daughter VERY happy. The characters led the children in a parade around the restaurant, complete with maracas and other instruments, for some reason this always makes me a little teary-eyed.
In true Disney fashion, we were NOT rushed out of the restaurant once we were done eating. We sat and talked about the day ahead and watched other families interact with the characters, which again makes me tear up and laugh all at the same time. I sipped on coffee and my husband finished a carafe of that magical, tropical juice without a care in the world feeling like we were on an island paradise, and not about to go wait hours and hours to meet princesses just so my daughter could scream and cry. Once we finished up, we hopped directly on the monorail, located on the 2nd floor of the Poly lobby, directly across from ‘Ohana (and we left our car at the Poly all day- they let you park there if you have breakfast reservations without any questions) and headed the Magic Kingdom. Unfortunately, we JUST missed rope drop which normally I would frown upon but that little escape at ‘Ohana was completely worth it!
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All for Dreams Travel is an Independent Agency with Gateway to Magic Travel, an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner.
‘Ohana is my favorite restaurant, for breakfast or dinner. Great review!