'Ohana vs. Spirit of Aloha

[neitzelt]

Hi! My DH, DS (9) and I are staying at the Poly next January (our first DVC reservation - YAY!). I would like to do either 'Ohana or the Spirit of Aloha show. I have been to the luau many moons ago but I am sure it has changed since then. What would you recommend for an 8 year old boy (who loves all types of food)? I have heard that 'Ohana has a fun atmosphere. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Quellman]

Ohana has a musician who comes out various times and plays some songs, leads kids races, happy birthday songs, anniversarry celebrations, the like. I sadly have not done Spirit of Aloha. People seem to fall into two groups, love it or don't care for it. Not hate, just a meh. We have not booked it because our son is too young to enjoy the show and we never booked it previously because we always thought the show would not be exciting enough for us.

 

[neitzelt]

Ohana has a musician who comes out various times and plays some songs, leads kids races, happy birthday songs, anniversarry celebrations, the like. I sadly have not done Spirit of Aloha. People seem to fall into two groups, love it or don't care for it. Not hate, just a meh. We have not booked it because our son is too young to enjoy the show and we never booked it previously because we always thought the show would not be exciting enough for us.

Thanks so much for the input!

 

[brinkley07]

We have done both and I thought the SOA was mediocre at best. I wouldn't pay the price to go back to it and really can't recommend it. Our last experience with 'Ohana wasn't great either due to food quality and service. If it's between only those 2 I would go with 'Ohana as the lesser of 2 evils. If you wanted to go to a great show I would do HDDR. Have a fun trip!

 

[neitzelt]

We have done both and I thought the SOA was mediocre at best. I wouldn't pay the price to go back to it and really can't recommend it. Our last experience with 'Ohana wasn't great either due to food quality and service. If it's between only those 2 I would go with 'Ohana as the lesser of 2 evils. If you wanted to go to a great show I would do HDDR. Have a fun trip!

Thank you! I haven't done HDDR yet, but seeing we are staying at the Poly, I figured I would take advantage of our "home" location.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

Go to SOA if you want to see Polynesian dances. Go to HDDR if you want to do the Hokie Pokie.

 

[LuckyBelle81]

We did SOA when our oldest daughter was 6 and our son was 3. They both really like the show. The music and the fire dancers were really cool. I remember going when I was about 13 and it made a big impression on me then. I think it provides a unique opportunity to experience a culture that you don't get to be a part of unless you can make it out to the islands. The food was not the best I've ever had but it definitely wasn't the worst. I felt like the point of the venue was more about being immersed in the cultural experience than the dining alone. We have never done 'Ohana so I can't speak to that experience other than to say that we have friends that book their ADR there as soon as they book their resort reservations. My ILs took our kids to HDDR on our last trip while DH and I had a date night and they loved it (they were 9,6, and 2). Good luck making your choice! I'm sure you will have a great time regardless of where you end up.

 

[neitzelt]

Go to SOA if you want to see Polynesian dances. Go to HDDR if you want to do the Hokie Pokie.

Lol...thanks...that makes sense!

 

[neitzelt]

We did SOA when our oldest daughter was 6 and our son was 3. They both really like the show. The music and the fire dancers were really cool. I remember going when I was about 13 and it made a big impression on me then. I think it provides a unique opportunity to experience a culture that you don't get to be a part of unless you can make it out to the islands. The food was not the best I've ever had but it definitely wasn't the worst. I felt like the point of the venue was more about being immersed in the cultural experience than the dining alone. We have never done 'Ohana so I can't speak to that experience other than to say that we have friends that book their ADR there as soon as they book their resort reservations. My ILs took our kids to HDDR on our last trip while DH and I had a date night and they loved it (they were 9,6, and 2). Good luck making your choice! I'm sure you will have a great time regardless of where you end up.

Thank you - I am sure fire dancers will score big with my soon to be 9 year old...

 

[iloveeeyore]

Thank you - I am sure fire dancers will score big with my soon to be 9 year old...

We have done both many times. For my once 8-year-old boy I would do 'Ohana instead of SoA, HDDR on a different night (my son's favorite no-to-be-missed event), and make sure you catch the torch-lighting ceremony at the Poly, where you can see the fire twirler, the best part of SoA, for free.

 

[neitzelt]

We have done both many times. For my once 8-year-old boy I would do 'Ohana instead of SoA, HDDR on a different night (my son's favorite no-to-be-missed event), and make sure you catch the torch-lighting ceremony at the Poly, where you can see the fire twirler, the best part of SoA, for free.

Thank you! I had heard about the torch lighting ceremony but didn't know any details about it. We will have to check it out!

 

[kitkatsmom]

We've done both. Both are good to try once SOA was a good time with a decent show (not like actual Hawaii) but expensive and I didn't love the food. Ohana was better food but it's a restaurant atmosphere. My kids like the show at SOA more than the dinner so pick what you think the kids would enjoy more.

 

[lovin'fl]

SOA luau has terrible food. Ohana is better.

 

[ddluvsdisney]

We did SOA a few years ago and wasn't impressed. However we do Ohana every year. My teenage boys love the food! As well as us. Ohana also has the best dessert on property!!

 

[LuckyBelle81]

Like I said before, we have never done 'Ohana and we weren't overly impressed with the food at SOA, but you might want to follow some of the threads that are specifically about 'Ohana because there seem to be a lot of complaints recently about how bad the food has gotten and how inconsistent the service has become. I am in no way an 'Ohana-hater, just passing on what I've seen elsewhere on the boards.

And I'll add that in no way do I think going to SOA is "the same" as going to Hawaii...it provides a taste of the Polynesian culture (or at least the popularly commercialized culture that has been exported to the mainland) that you are not likely to find in many other venues outside of the islands themselves.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We've done both with DS (who is now 8) and he enjoyed them both. I think he was more enthralled with SOA, however! He absolutely loved the food and the dancing. The fire twirling was a huge hit. O'hana has good food (IMHO), but the entertainment is shorter and much more understated than SOA. If you want more of an "event" do SOA. If you'd rather just have a Polynesian meal, do O'Hana. Or, as we did, do both!!!

 

[senadler]

While we do not do SOA every trip, we do try and schedule it when we stay at the Polynesian. We also really enjoy Ohana, and plan that most trips, always for breakfast, and usually for dinner as well. I think since you are staying at the Poly, SOA is more of an event for the evening than just dinner. My son, now 11, has enjoyed it for many years, especially the fire dancer. On our past trips to the Poly we have done both, but in your situation, if you need to pick, I would probably go with SOA.

 

[neitzelt]

We've done both. Both are good to try once SOA was a good time with a decent show (not like actual Hawaii) but expensive and I didn't love the food. Ohana was better food but it's a restaurant atmosphere. My kids like the show at SOA more than the dinner so pick what you think the kids would enjoy more.

Thank you! We did go to Hawaii for our honeymoon and I don't expect the beautiful luau that we had there. But, it is Disney so it should be nice.

 

[neitzelt]

SOA luau has terrible food. Ohana is better.

Thanks!

 

[neitzelt]

We did SOA a few years ago and wasn't impressed. However we do Ohana every year. My teenage boys love the food! As well as us. Ohana also has the best dessert on property!!

I have heard about the dessert - it is on my 100 things to eat at Disney before you die! Thank you!