'Ohana or Garden Grill?

[whositsandwhatsits]

I'm prone to motion sickness too (no reading in the car regardless of where I'm seated, no Tea Cups, no Star Tours, and no roller coasters that go upside down for me), but I've not had a problem at Garden Grill, so it probably varies by person. It takes about an hour for the restaurant to make a full revolution, so it's going pretty slowly.

To the PP, were you seated at the one of the upper or lower tables? I'm wondering if that makes a difference? I've always been seated at the lower tables and not had any problems with motion sickness (despite my family all being somewhat sensitive).

Yes, we were on the top level, near the door to the kitchen. I bet being on the lower level, especially with the breeze would make a difference!

 

[figment_jii]

Yes, we were on the top level, near the door to the kitchen. I bet being on the lower level, especially with the breeze would make a difference!

Breeze? I don't understand...the restaurant is inside the Land Pavilion.

 

[whositsandwhatsits]

Yes, when we went down to that level for a moment, at least one section felt a lot cooler, like there was a breeze. Anywho, I'm agreeing with you that that level may be better b/c it's not as stuffy.

 

[belle912]

We eat at the Garden Grill every time we go to Disney. We love it there - it is quiet, the character interaction is always amazing and the food is excellent! My husband get motion sickness extremely easily and he has never had a problem here. It rotates so slow that you won't even make it a full rotation if you are there for an hour long meal. If it wasn't for the scenery moving I would never notice it.

The characters have always spent a long time with the table and sometimes come back for a brief hi after you have already seen them. The food is yummy and always very fresh.

You should give it a try - it is a must do for just about everyone in my group (we travel multi-family most times 10 - 15) and is on pretty much everyone's list of three restaurants they want to eat at on the trip. (I organize and make dinner reservations for the entire group)

 

[glohoffman]

Thank you all for your replies! I definitely have a lot to think about! The only thing keeping me from ohana is the inconvenience of leaving the park.

 

[Elevationist]

About an hour before your ADR (so 4:20) because you have to take the monorail from Epcot to the TTC and then another monorail to the Poly. If all goes well, it won't take that long, but better to be safe than sorry. You can always look around the Poly if you're early.

Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but is the monorail the only option for transportation from Epcot to the Polynesian? I've been to the Poly plenty of times, but never departing from Epcot. Could she not just hop on a bus to save time?

Also, OP: I totally feel your pain. I've done dinner at both, and LOVE both! Just based purely on the food, it's Ohana all the way. It's soooo delicious, and is always the one "MUST DO!" restaurant on my wish list every trip. However, the character interaction at the Garden Grill is top-notch, and it would certainly be a million times more convenient than trekking all the way up to the Poly.

So I guess my best advice is this... Do you plan on continuing to tour Epcot after you eat dinner?

If yes, stick with the Garden Grill. I'm sure you'll like it, and you'll spend so much more time enjoying the magic of park, and that much less time traveling to and fro.

If no, go with Ohana. It's so delicious, and such a unique dining experience. And delicious. Did I mention it's delicious?

 

[yankee3366]

Óhana is always a must do for us (twice if possible).

 

[wendybeth75]

My vote is O'hana. Even though it is just a slight movement, the Garden Grill made DH and I a little queasy from the movement.

 

[glohoffman]

Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but is the monorail the only option for transportation from Epcot to the Polynesian? I've been to the Poly plenty of times, but never departing from Epcot. Could she not just hop on a bus to save time?

Also, OP: I totally feel your pain. I've done dinner at both, and LOVE both! Just based purely on the food, it's Ohana all the way. It's soooo delicious, and is always the one "MUST DO!" restaurant on my wish list every trip. However, the character interaction at the Garden Grill is top-notch, and it would certainly be a million times more convenient than trekking all the way up to the Poly.

So I guess my best advice is this... Do you plan on continuing to tour Epcot after you eat dinner?

If yes, stick with the Garden Grill. I'm sure you'll like it, and you'll spend so much more time enjoying the magic of park, and that much less time traveling to and fro.

If no, go with Ohana. It's so delicious, and such a unique dining experience. And delicious. Did I mention it's delicious?

I dont know if we plan on continuing to tour Epcot. If so it will just be leisurely around world showcase, as all of our fastpasses are for earlier, and we have two young girls who may not want to do an entire day there. Ahhhh decisions are so hard!!!

 

[glohoffman]

My vote is O'hana. Even though it is just a slight movement, the Garden Grill made DH and I a little queasy from the movement.

This is what i'm scared of. DH has some sensory issues in my opinion, and gets migraines really easily. If he starts to feel gross or whatever, our whole evening could be shot.

 

[wallskm]

I want to go here on our November trip because I am a huge fan of Chip and dale...but I get weird motion sickness. I am 100% fine on roller coasters/fast rides but CANNOT do spinning rides. I also get very sick if I read in a car, heck even when I am a passenger in a car...I know it moves slowly, but will I be okay here? I got sick on a boat in a placid lake but EE and RnRc and ToT do not bother me...

I am a lot like you and I have eaten at GG twice with no issues. The restaurant spinning is so slow that you don't really notice it.

 

[Disneytigergirl]

I was really excited to eat at Ohana for a long time and after we left I was kind of disappointed. It was good, but really fast and i wished I had enjoyed it more but I didn't. I would try it again, probably. I loved garden grill when I ate there on my more recent trip. The characters are great and the good was very good as well. They left off most of the sauces per the request of my party as well.

 

[Jackiemarie21]

I would go with Garden Grill. We LOVE 'Ohana but GG was a Standout for us last time! The food was amazing! It was by far the best charcater meal. It didn't have that crazy feeling other character meals tend to have. It was like a nice relaxing dinner and Mickey and the gang stopped by to say hi every few minutes. There was no crazy parade, napkin, waving or dancing (don't get me wrong we love all that too, just not every meal). It was also my DD (2) first exprience with the furry characters and they were amazing with her! I would also hate the hass of leaving the park for dinner, but that's just me.

Also, I am very prone to motion sickness and I was fine. I had no idea we were even rotating most of the time.

 

[Tebrown96]

I'm excited that we have ADRs for both during our upcoming trip! I just wanted to chime in on getting to Poly from EPCOT. You can always take the monorail from EPCOT to the TTC and then walk to Poly - may be quicker than waiting for the resort monorail to come and depending on the number of people waiting. It's a short walk and it allows you to see some more of the gorgeous Poly grounds.

 

[suffieldhockeymom]

The food at GG was great and the characters were even better. Ohana has lots of meat, coconut races and games for the kids. You can relax on the beach after diner and roast marshmallows and watch a movie while waiting for the water parade and Wishes.

 

[mommy2mb]

We just ate at Garden grill a few weeks ago, and we were really disappointed with the food. We had ate here a couple years back, and thought it was ok so thought we would try again. We love Ohana's and eat here every trip it's 1 of our favorites.. My 2 boys actually find Ohana's more fun then the Garden Grill.