Writing about Disney Food — all of it — well, it’s kinda the point of this blog. But I am never happier than when I can share one of my truly favorite meals with you.

And ‘Ohana’s Best Friends Character Breakfast definitely qualifies! Let’s take a closer look at this experience as we head into the Great Ceremonial House and see why ‘Ohana Breakfast is definitely #OnTheList!

Atmosphere

Recently, Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort underwent a lengthy refurbishment. If you haven’t visited the resort in a while, you’ll definitely notice some changes to the lobby and other public areas.

With the Resort’s name change (the Polynesian resumed its original, opening day name), we also welcomed a couple of exciting new additions — the Pineapple Lanai and Trader Sam’s Grog Grotto.

But I was nearly as excited to find out several of my favorite food destinations would remain the same. You can still enjoy some of the best (hidden gem) food at Kona Cafe. And Coffee or Sushi or Hawaiian Shave Ice — depending on the time of day you visit — is still available at the Kona Island Sushi Bar. Tambu Lounge and Captain Cook’s also remain largely unchanged (although the latter was renovated a bit).

And so, thankfully, is ‘Ohana. By night, ‘Ohana offers a family-style, all you care to enjoy dining experience that’s similar to a Brazilian steakhouse, with skewered and grilled meats, plus side dishes to complement them. (Save room for the best part — their Bread Pudding!)

But one of my favorite Polynesian food attractions — worthy of a spot #OnTheList — is the Best Friends Breakfast.

If you haven’t visited ‘Ohana for a while, here’s the good news: not much has changed! You’ll still find the same atmosphere featuring natural finishes common to the Islands of Polynesia. And that big wood pile is put to good use at night with the grilled meats.

And don’t forget to keep an eye out for Tikis! They’re everywhere.

Now that you have a feeling for the atmosphere, let’s check out who your dining companions will be.

Characters

It’s an interesting assortment of friends that you’ll encounter at ‘Ohana. One of my favorite details, though, is that you get to spend time with Mickey Mouse himself — and he’s dressed to impress in a colorful Hawaiian shirt and lei!

Because there are four characters at this meal, you’re likely to have a good amount of quality time with each one. And don’t be surprised if you see them at your table multiple times.

While all of the Fab Five don’t join Mickey at ‘Ohana, you will also see Pluto here. He’s always so fun with the littles! I’ve seen kiddos that are scared of Goofy (He is a giant), but Pluto always seems to elicit giggles. It’s the ears, I think.

But the other characters you’ll meet here are Lilo and Stitch. On our visit, Lilo particularly was great with the kids. It was clear to me that this Cast Member is a mom, a grandma, or otherwise has mad baby wrangling skillz. She was incredible as she interacted with the 1-year old in our party; he was completely mesmerized! He loved it especially when she started “using” his pacifier.

Stitch was a champ, too, and was super cuddly as he got down to the kids’ level.

And if the character interaction doesn’t leave you smiling like a kid again, you’ll love witnessing the controlled chaos of the Coconut Races!

Eats

While many character breakfasts are buffets at Disney, the family-style service model at ‘Ohana remains. I’m a big fan of this for one reason especially: I stay seated at my table, while the characters and the food come to me. Most parents will come to value this style of service, since they don’t have to juggle getting food with feeding and childcare.

You’ll start your breakfast with Aloha Juice/Lilikoi Juice/POG Juice…whatever you want to call it, a combination of Passion Fruit, Orange, and Guava Juices.

A Fresh Fruit Plate arrives next. Ours included cubed Cantaloupe, Honeydew, and Pineapple, garnished with Raspberries.

Incidentally, the small child in our party made quick work of the raspberries on the platter! Our server noticed, and brought an entire bowl of raspberries for him to enjoy. And they were perfect — ripe, but not mushy.

The main Family Breakfast Platter includes all you care to eat Scrambled Eggs, Sausage, Bacon, Breakfast Potatoes, and Biscuits. These are pretty standard for Disney breakfasts, but the potatoes are a stand-out here.

We also received a basket of fresh Breakfast Breads, which included Cinnamon Raisin and Pineapple varieties. Both were amazing, but I could have eating an entire pan of that cinnamon raisin! Super moist and sweet.

But in addition to all of that, servers also brought Mickey Waffles. Each person is served as many as they’d like, but these, to my surprise, were not left on the table to grab more as we wished. You can always request more, though.

In fact, that’s the way with everything. If you’d like more of any item, just ask. They’re happy to bring it to you.

There were also Stitch Waffles for the kiddos. But I’m not really sure how many kids are going to prefer Stitch waffles to Mickey waffles. Either way — they taste pretty much the same.

We took full advantage of the “all you care to enjoy” and made sure to get our fill of favorites, like Mickey Waffles and the addictive Potatoes and Sausages. With autographs and pictures checked off our to-do list, we were happy to close the books on another fantastic ‘Ohana breakfast.

Overall

There’s no doubt that a character dining experience should be on your Disney Food Bucket List. After all, how can you beat the combination of food and interaction with some of the most popular characters in the ‘World? On top of that, they come to YOU instead of you standing in line. And it all takes place in air-conditioned comfort.

But add in coconut races, decent food, and laid-back, family-style service, and you can see why ‘Ohana tops my list. If I could only do one character meal, this would be it.

Now, it’s time to hear from all of you! Will you be adding the Best Friends Breakfast at ‘Ohana to your Disney Food Bucket List? Leave a comment and tell us if it’s your favorite!