Is Polynesian Luau worth it?

[Carlyzmom]

I have been to the Luau 10 years ago and would skip it, BUT my family is all gung-ho on going. Has anyone been lately? Any comments or suggestions? Thanks!!

 

[Carlyzmom]

Come on! No one has been to the Luau lately?

 

[lucysdad]

went last year for the second time. Same opinion from the first time. The show is great, the food is mediocre, the service is horrible. Not that I have an opinion either way

 

[eeyoregon]

Does anyone know off the top of their heads what time(s) the lua is? TIA!

 

[lucysdad]

Well, Lucy's Mom has a different opinion from Lucy's Dad. I thought the show was boring. After a while, the dances from the different islands started looking the same, with the exception of the fire dancer. That guy was exciting. I agree that the food was mediocre, and the service was poor. I'd go to Hoop-de-do for the money. The food was better. The service was good, and the show a hoot--very interactive and fun!
Lucy's Mom

 

[desamnik]

the atmosphere is wonderful on a nice evening. The food, I thought wasn't bad at all. We had a wonderful server, very attentive. My DH never had to ask for a beer, and probably ended up with a few more than he would have normally drunk. (is that how that is worded?)

The show on the other hand, is a bore. My dd (6) liked it because she got up and did the hula which was fun. My ds (9), hated everything about the show. The story really is long and lame, so unlike Disney entertainment.

By the time the fire dancer came on we were ready to scoot.

We do the Hoop de Doo each time and love that show, food, service, it is FUN! So if you haven't done that, I recommend it over the Luau.

 

[eeyorethegreat]

We love both HDDR and the Aloha. Very different shows. As far as the food- both ok not oh wow great but honestly you have to go into the dinnershows for the show and look at the food as secondary. Hard to look at it th at way when the cost is so high but this way you don;t anticipate the food being spectacular. We have had good service at both shows every time we have gone. I'd say if there are more who want to go than not give it a try there are more who would rather look at other options skip it it is a pretty big expense.

 

[sunny04]

We're going in October...now I'm concerned the whole family will think it's a bore.

 

[mickeynut1]

We went for the first time in September and we loved it . We thought the food was great and the show was cute (liked the fire dancers at the end the best ). I read many horrible reviews before we went and I decided we just needed to try it for ourselves and I'm glad we did .

 

[DaveClan]

I'm a big fan... the show was good with good music, fire dancer was fantastic, and I thought the food was great as well. Not to mention all the draft beer you can drink. lol

 

[frdeb1999]

Our family likes it. Although I do have to agree that the service can be less then fantastic. We always manage to have a great time though.

 

[Dawn68PA]

We went in '06 and enjoyed it. The show was a little too long though. The food was fantastic! We wanted to go back just for the meal this time but couldn't fit it in our schedule.

 

[Carlyzmom]

Thanks for all the input guys! I do remember last time I went - 10 years ago - my little sister and I ate so much pineapple that our mouths were raw! YUM! But we got bored and left early. My family wants to go again. I was thinking I might let my folks take my kids and this would be a nice time for me and the hubby to have a date night!

 

[heaven2dc]

Having a date night with hubby sounds like a great plan! We went 11 yrs ago and had a blast. There were 12 of us with the youngest being my DS25 who was 15 (he was a little bored except when fire dancer came out). I got pulled out to go onstage to learn the hula and at the end the female hula dancers pulled the guys from our group out to dance. There was one male fire dancer that wouldn't quit sticking out his rather long tongue at my sis-in-law - she was videotaping the show for her husb who didn't come to WDW with us and I almost fell out of my chair laughing. That show is so different than the one I went to in January this year. This one is more of a story line surrounded around a young girl who leaves the island & comes back "home". I think more preteens and teens might like it than adults (as well as little ones getting to go up on stage).

We were almost 1/2 hr late cuz I took the monorail going the other direction from MK and but our hostess took us right to a front table! She was an excellent server, very attentive. The food leads something to be desired - loved the salad, chicken was a little dry but dipped it in the bbq sauce that was on the ribs and it helped. Would I do it again? Probably not but have recommended it to my DBFF's daughter who is going in August to try at least once (she's taking her DS 13 so he may enjoy it).

I think your plan sounds great!

 

[Clotho]

Everything about the SoA was poor for us. We went last Sept. HORRIBLE service (I have told this story ad nauseum in other threads, you will undoubtedly search for them, yes?), food was poor, show was at times dull and other times extremely poorly acted and cheeeeeesy (in a not-good way--Disney can pull off cheese, but this wasn't it).

I actively recommend people against it. I read lots of bad reviews before I went and thought it just couldn't be that bad, and tried it anyway. What a waste of money. HDDR on the other hand is one of our favorite things in the whole world! Have you done that one yet?

 

[sunny04]

Is the "Luau" the same thing as the Spirit of Aloha dinner? They are the same thing, right?

 

[Clotho]

Yes, sunny, they are the same thing.

 

[spaceace510]

Well, Lucy's Mom has a different opinion from Lucy's Dad. I thought the show was boring. After a while, the dances from the different islands started looking the same, with the exception of the fire dancer. That guy was exciting. I agree that the food was mediocre, and the service was poor. I'd go to Hoop-de-do for the money. The food was better. The service was good, and the show a hoot--very interactive and fun!
Lucy's Mom

These are my exact thoughts!!! Go with HDD!!!