‘Ohana Breakfast: Allergies and Accessibility

We started off our second Disney day with an early breakfast reservation at ‘Ohana – one of our family’s favorite meals on property and a long-standing tradition for us. We ran a little late to our reservation. After taking the bus to Magic Kingdom, one of the younger kids had a bathroom emergency and so my wife stopped to let them use the Magic Kingdom entrance area restrooms while the oldest and I took off (as fast as I could) for the resort loop monorail to Disney’s Polynesian Resort. We got there and let them know we were running late for the reservation, but the rest of our group was on the next monorail and would be arriving any minute. My daughter and I sat in the lobby area to wait, and almost at the same moment my wife and the other kids walked in, we received a text that our table was ready.

My wife parked the stroller outside the restaurant, and I was able to leave my rollator just around the corner from our table. We were seated around one of the big circle tables near the entrance of the restaurant. The tables here are big and near the bathrooms, but they don’t have a view of the castle. They’re in the darkest section of the restaurant.

A note about BATHROOMS: The restrooms for ‘Ohana are just outside of the restaurant, near the steps to the ground floor. There IS a companion restroom available here, and it houses a changing table that is lower to the ground so guests are able to change diapers while seated in or on a mobility device.

SEATING was fine. There were no arms on the chairs that would impede my ability to use them.

Once we were seated, the server came over, got us started on drinks and let the chef know we needed an allergy consult. After a few minutes the chef came to speak with us, tablet with the ingredients in hand. I was able to find out they use Bloomfield Farms rolls and waffle mix, and the vegan egg replacement they use is JUST Egg, a product I have been able to use at home safely.

My wife, who has celiac disease, ate almost everything in the traditional ‘Ohana meal with minor adjustments. I was also able to eat an allergy-friendly version of nearly everything. We both enjoyed fresh fruit, pork breakfast sausage links (I was slightly apprehensive after the reaction I had to something in breakfast sausage in the days leading up to the trip, but I was fine!), Hawaiian-style ham topped with pineapple compote, fried island-style potatoes, allergy-safe Mickey Waffles, and the allergy cinnamon sugar doughnut. She also had scrambled eggs. I was able to have the scrambled “eggs” (the JUST Egg I mentioned before.)

We got to sing along to “Hawaiian Rollercoaster Ride” and visit with Mickey, Pluto, Stitch, and Lilo. The oldest kiddo has had a love of Stitch going back to when she was a year old, and so she showed him a couple photos of when they met back in 2012… and Stitch decided to recreate the photo with her. The youngest was a bit unsure of Lilo and Stitch, but the minute Pluto came around the corner, it was game on. He kept telling Pluto “it Mickey!” while holding up a Mickey waffle, and then when Mickey himself came over, he kept saying “Mickey! It you!”

It’s hard to pick a favorite part about this meal. The character interaction here was great. I’m a little bummed that the big parade hasn’t returned since the reopening, but I’m beyond happy to see the characters back in the restaurant. In terms of food… that doughnut is DELICIOUS, you wouldn’t even know the Mickey waffles were using an allergy batter, AND the meats and potatoes are absolutely AMAZING.

I was worried that it was going to be disappointed with my options since I’d only had this meal before my severe allergies developed. But breakfast at ‘Ohana lived up to my memories, and was a big highlight for my family.