‘Ohana Dinner: Allergies and Accessibility

My first visit to ‘Ohana for dinner was in 2017. At that time, my wife and I were on a kid-free trip for our anniversary, and we had an early reservation one afternoon before we finished the night our at the parks. At that time, my wife was eating gluten-free but my food allergies were still undiagnosed. (I definitely had symptoms, but we hadn’t nailed down the trigger foods at that point so I was still eating everything.) It was a completely different experience than the Best Friends Breakfast featuring Lilo & Stitch, which we also love. It was very relaxing, with lovely ukelele music and a view of the castle across Bay Lake. We loved it so much that we decided that day that we were going to have to bring the kids next time.

This March, we were supposed to do a late dinner there on Friday night, after Magic Kingdom. However, after missing our Garden Grill reservation on Thursday, we made a speed run to catch a 9:30 pm opening.

We arrived and were taken to a table almost immediately. We were seated on the far side of the restaurant near the corner, with a view of Cinderella castle lit up in the distance. With it being as late as it was (just after 9:30, and the restaurant closed at 10:00) and how much walking I had done to get to the restaurant on time, we asked if I could just bring the rollator to the table, and it wasn’t an issue, as long as I parked it out of the walkway.

We got the kids set up, and the toddler fell asleep in the high within five minutes of sitting down. At that point, my wife asked if we could just bring the stroller to the table so he could lay down and get some sleep. Now, normally, strollers have to be parked outside the restaurant due to space, but, honestly I think it was allowed this time because people were starting to clear out and reservations were coming to an end.

The chef came over to the table pretty quickly, and he was super thorough. He even made sure to check with me as to whether it was okay for shellfish to be on the table. (I’m not airborne reactive, so it was fine.) The chef shared that he also is anaphylactic to shellfish. I instantly felt more at ease, knowing that he understood how dangerous cross contact could be.

I was able to eat most of the food here, with modifications.

The salad was delicious. I was brought mine out in a separate bowl from the rest of the table (with the allergy pick, of course). The kids had the “regular” ‘Ohana bread, while my wife and I enjoyed the allergy rolls. (I had soy free, dairy free spread to go with mine instead of butter.)

When it came to the entrees, there were a few things neither of us could have. The kids were able to eat the ‘Ohana noodles and the pork dumplings. My wife was able to eat most of the other items as they normally come, including the honey-coriander chicken, teriyaki steak, and spicy shrimp.

For me, I was able to enjoy the chicken wings and steak without the sauces (except the chimichurri sauce which was AMAZING!) I also had white rice and broccoli. Even without the teriyaki sauce (steak) and the honey-coriander sauce (chicken) the food here was still absolutely fantastic and flavorful, The chicken wings were crispy and delicious. The Chimichurri steak was my favorite dish of the night, and I’m so glad they had at least the one sauce I could have.

When we got to dessert, I was offered the raspberry sorbet… which is pretty tasty on it’s own. But I knew from the breakfast the morning before just how delicious those vegan cinnamon sugar donuts were and asked if they could incorporate those into my dessert. (There is a dessert listed on the allergy menu that includes the donuts with a soy-based frozen dessert, but due to my soy allergy, this wasn’t an option for me) They were completely willing to work with me, and I was not disappointed at how it turned out!

The meal was fantastic. The musician walked around the restaurant serenading the guests, congratulating couples on honeymoons and helping making birthdays feel a little more special. I could have stayed for hours taking in the atmosphere and the music. By the end of the meal, all three of our kids were falling asleep at the table as we finished up, paying for our meal and cycling through the restroom before heading out.

The middle kid asked for a photo with the castle in the background, so we snapped a selfie before heading out to the monorail station and on to the bus loop at Magic Kingdom to get to our hotel for the night. ‘Ohana dinner remains at the top of our family’s must-do list for meals when we’re visiting Walt Disney World. Even with all our special dietary needs, we all had a fantastic experience.

Just after 11:00, I snapped a quick photo through the window of Cinderella Castle in the distance as we headed back to the monorail station and transferred to the resort bus. The next morning was going to be an early one.