I know a lot of people on here don't like it, but we've been twice and loved it both times. Yes, the show is corny and yes, the food is not the best ever--but we had fun. My daughter loved going up and dancing and the atmosphere is wonderful. The breeze was perfect, it was dark out and you're close to the water--magical!!
I think the setting will be the best part. I hear HDD is corny too, but fun as well. My MIL has done HDD before, but not the luau.
The show was good -- our kids were a little bored though (4 & 7 at the time.) The food was OK, but considering how great the rest of the food was that trip, it seemed worse. We were staying @ Poly & have never been to Hawaii, so it seemd like something we should do that trip. However, we've decided that our next luau is going to be in Hawaii! Just not sure when......
Oooh! I love Hawai'i! I preferred Maui over Oahu. It's less "touristy", beaches weren't as packed, but you must visit Pearl Harbor. I've not been to the Big Island, but wanted to go there too.
As w/ any restaurant and experience, you'll have your likers and not.
We've been to the show twice. Both times it rained the whole time so the show wasn't what it normally would have been. It's just no fun in the rain so perhaps that clouded (pardon the pun) our opinions. The food was so so. The bread though was AWESOME.
I could have been satisfied w/ only bread.
I've never been to an actual Hawaiian luau (oh to dream...one day
) . I would imagine though that it's not any different or better than what you have seen. I WISH it was Disney-like. I never understood why it wasn't or the option wasn't there. Wasn't it a option over a decade ago? I could see a luau w/ all the Disney characters ( I don't recall them anyway) and Lilo and Stitch (hello McFly!!!
). That would be the only thing to bring me to do it again. There are so many other WONDERFUL options on property.
If characters were there too, then it would be awesome!
I'd like to do Artist Point, Jiko, & Boma breakfast. CG is another option, & am trying to decide if I want to do Tutto for my birthday dinner or not.
We did the Luau and enjoyed it. My kids are older and they loved the pineapple and food. For me it was nice to have a chance to sit and watch the corney jokes and the show. We enjoyed it and had a great server.
After having the surgery I am sure there are so many restaurants that will no longer serve you as they used to. So with that being said, at least you will have the show while everyone is pigging out. Congrats on your lifestyle change. Our friends attended with us, both having had the surgery 6 months prior. They ate chicken and rice and a bit of salad. Saved their pineapple for dersert. No bread and no dessert and I drank all the wine they might have had themselves. They did enjoy it as many of the 1 hour meals we went to, was a waste of time and food for them. They no longer do restaurants without shows and opt out for counter services. They did however like the Hoop Dee Doo show better.
I can't do rice *at all*. About 80% of the time, chicken doesn't agree with me.
I like wine, & can drink it, but I go from zero to loopy on 60 sconds
I love pineapple, but it burns like the dickens when I eat it. Usually what DH & I try to do is split an entree & app, or we each get an entree, and I take it home to have as another meal or two.
My DW and I consider the Luau a very poor value. The show is OK if you have never been to a luau; the food is mediocre to poor. The show and food were much better many, many years ago.
I don't have much room in my tummy for mediocre food. I wouldn't mind paying for a good show though. Too bad.
We do the dining plan and the Luau requires 2 pts. I don't really think it is worth it. I do have to add that we were there on Thanksgiving night so they were introducing their Holiday show and the food was a Thanksgiving Feast with a Polynesian twist. I would have prefered to have the normal fare or a regular Thanksgiving meal. Our kids want to go back but not when they are serving a special menu. Have a great trip!
We're not doing the dining plan, so it's REALLY expensive to me. If my MIL wants to pay for all of us to go, fine, but I don't think I'll be paying for this myself.
DD and I have been once. She is such a picky eater that when making the reservation I told them this. They brought her a hot dog and fries. I enjoyed the dinner but did not think it was fantastic.
So value wise for us it was a waste. The show was cute. DD did enjoy getting up on stage and dancing.
I would not go back again. Once was enough for us. Although I am glad at least that we tried it.
Ya know, with all the wonderful shows WDW has, I'm surprised that this one consistently gets "meh" reviews. You would think they could do so much more.
The bottom line for us is it's 'just OK'.
It's not bad, certainly worth doing once, I suppose, but the term 'lackluster' comes to mind for both the show itself and the food.
Since the 80's we've been there three times, and I swear - the food hasn't changed one bit since then.
It's like something from 'A Hawaiian Cafeteria' as one of my friends put it.
Pretty bland, often less than hot, and really... just sort of 'meh'.
Wow, so much for them "plussing" themselves. Sounds more & more like I'm gonna pass on this one.
Honestly, we LOVE the Luau and do it every trip. The food is great and it's family-style serving, so there's only so much that they put out on the table at a time. So that could help with the limiting the amount of food you want to eat. Plus, the entertainment is great!
I'm glad you like it! Was the chicken dry? I can do chicken so long as it's moist enough. I usually stick to dark meat so that I can avoid the issue of it being dry.
Hey Beka! We did the aloha dinner last September, and honestly, I did not think it was worth the 2Ts credits we used.. the show was cute enough, but the food wasn't that great, and def not worth risking your gastric on!
Hm, only bread pudding, cobbler, & cookies are worth risking my pouch for!
OH yeah, I should add, I've had the gastric by-pass as well. After the last time we went to the Luau though. Too much bread after that is a big no no. No matter how GOOD that bread is, you'll most likely be in agony if you eat a little too much and then horror, drink anything to make it expand in your stomach!
At least, that's how bread affects many of us. The luau bread was most awesome so getting carried away can happen fast.
How long since your surgery? It's been 5 years since mine. Sadly, mine was a dismal failure in results.
My VERY best wishes for you!
I really appreciate the inside scoop! Gummy breads really do me in. Flour tortillas do too about half the time. Rice is a definite no-no, pasta can make me sick too, depends on how cooked it is, and how much I eat, but I can always do lasagna. Dry meat is really bad too, and some frozen dinners. Turkey & pot roast make me sick a lot, and chicken does sometimes. I can always do fish. I've only gotten sick off canned tuna once, & I think that's because I ate too much. Actually, I think my breakfast had gotten stuck & I didn't realize it, so I had tuna for lunch & well, there I was.
