Would love to hear what everyone thinks of Spirit of Aloha?

[dsnygirl2006]

Hi everyone
We have this booked for our upcoming trip, my DH has been begging to go for years, so I finally just booked it, I never hear a lot of positive things about it, so I was just wondering if I could get some opinions/advice/reviews from you guys on how it is?
Thanks

 

[Gigi22]

DH and I went to SoA about a year ago. It was an OK Disney entertainment experience. It is worth doing once--I don't think we will do it again, but that is just our personal preference.

Most of the singing and dancing is not very authentic, but is done with great energy and enthusiasm. The fire dancer is quite impressive, your son will probably enjoy the fire dancer a lot. There are a couple of opportunities for the little kids to get up and dance and blow off some energy. Take your camera!

Be prepared--the food served is essentially a lot of barbecued meats (chicken, ribs) and a relatively small amount of salad and veggies. Not light eating! I was disappointed in the chocolate volcano dessert, it is just a kind of chocolate gelatin pudding with red berry sauce.

There is a long lineup to get into the dining area. Before you get to sit down, they take your picture, which they then sell to you (a set was about $25 last year). In our case, our departure was delayed for several minutes because we had to pay for the pictures and specialty drinks towards the end of the performance. As I recall, the servers were collecting payment for both photos and drinks. If you desperately want to get your son to bed, or you want to leave promptly at the end of the luau, you may want to avoid purchase of the photos and special drinks.

 

[3happydancers]

Hi everyone
We have this booked for our upcoming trip, my DH has been begging to go for years, so I finally just booked it, I never hear a lot of positive things about it, so I was just wondering if I could get some opinions/advice/reviews from you guys on how it is?
Thanks

For what it is worth, I have come to learn that ultimately, you need to experience things for yourself to get a true review. What someone else might not like, you and your family might think otherwise. (Though feedback from others is a good thing, just don't take it as a final decision maker).

That said, we have read both positive and negative reviews but decided to experience this dinner show last year for the first time. For my family, the main meal was great, my daughter loved the ribs, and the dessert was ok but we are not big dessert eaters so we did not much care one way or other. As for the show, we found the very beginning a little slow, but keep in mind a story was being told and we should have paid more attention to it. Soon enough the show became very entertaining and we had a great time. My daughter, then 11, loved it and has even asked to go again. So, this year we are booked for a second round.

I did not care for the picture taking (too expensive). We did purchase a few drinks which was paid for at the end, but I don't recall this taking long to do. It did not concern me as my daughter is older and I had no worries about young ones becoming overly tired and out of sorts.

Hope this helps!!! Hope your vacation is a magical one!

 

[disneyobessed]

Depending on when you are going, I think I read 2 mos.. so Sept.? Its HOT. We did the 7pm seating (I think) in Aug a few years back and it was so hot we couldnt wait for it to end to get inside the A.C. My boys were 6 adn 7 at the time and they loved it. They also really liked Hoopd De Doo, that is definatly one to consider as well.

 

[michellejed]

We also did it once and it was in Janurary..froze our behinds off

We enjoyed it and the food was just OK for us but once is enough

 

[Meriweather]

I like it......a lot of fun. Food is okay.
I have been 3 times, once before it had Stitch, 1 with DH several years ago and once with BFF. We all liked it.
Not in a big hurry to do it again, but would take someone that hasn't been before.
I think everything should be tried once

 

[disneygirl 17]

It was ok - Once was enough for us too.

 

[mom2faith]

I have to agree with PP. We enjoyed it, but it was a once only thing for us. DD liked hula dancing with the kids, and the show was good. Food was OK - not spectacular, but not bad by any means.

It was HOT, but it is hot everywhere in September. We got there early and got some fabulous photos on the beach at the Poly before we headed to the show (this was while we were in the waiting area, after the "photo" was taken).

I have to suggest going and trying it. It really was a good experience, just not one you need to do again (if that makes sense).

 

[mischief32]

We enjoyed the Spirit of Aloha and will go again in 2012. We just went to it this in May 2010 and enjoyed ourselves very much. I thought the food was good. My husband loved the chicken and ribs. There was a great amount of chicken, ribs, vegetables and rice. The salad and fresh pineapple to start was great. We will go back again. I think some people are just too picky and expect too much from Disney at times..

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

For what it is worth, I have come to learn that ultimately, you need to experience things for yourself to get a true review. What someone else might not like, you and your family might think otherwise. (Though feedback from others is a good thing, just don't take it as a final decision maker).

My daughter, then 11, loved it and has even asked to go again. So, this year we are booked for a second round.

I have to suggest going and trying it. It really was a good experience, just not one you need to do again (if that makes sense).

We enjoyed the Spirit of Aloha and will go again in 2012. We just went to it this in May 2010 and enjoyed ourselves very much. I thought the food was good. My husband loved the chicken and ribs. There was a great amount of chicken, ribs, vegetables and rice. The salad and fresh pineapple to start was great. We will go back again. I think some people are just too picky and expect too much from Disney at times..

Count us among the ones giving it a try in AUGUST so it's going to be hot! I have resolved that I just can't do it all in one trip. SoA is one of those things I have not managed to do so this trip is going to be the one

Hope you have a good time. I say it's good to try everything at least once

 

[mmlover74]

We did this and I must say we loved the fire dancer. He was awesome...even catching the fire sticks from another person.

There was plenty of food and it is all you can eat, so really noone should leave hungry. ITA with PP on the dessert...it was good, but I thought it would have had more flare to it.

I loved their pineapple coconut bread and even asked for the recipe. I can't wait to make it in my spare time. Would I do it again? I think so.

We arrived late to even have the pics taken, but my friends had theirs done and it was $30. They will put it on photopass if you buy the pics. We got our leis at the end since we were late. My friends took our pics and used our camera, so we didn't miss out.

 

[pumba]

we went in May with our son and his wife and our two grandkids...4 and 5 at the time....The food was delicious and we enjoyed the chicken especially....it was all you can eat and the beer was good too.....
We did ask for the alternative for the kids to eat in case they didnt like the offerings of the meals..but they ate the hotdogs and all the chicken and spareribs......so at least we knew that they would eat well...
Have a great time

 

[Princess&CowboyMommy]

We are one of those families that LOVE SOA!! DH and I did it on our Honeymoon 10 years ago and then took our kids and my mom to see it in December 2008. We all loved it, especially my mom. The Fire Dancer is definitely the highlight, but we liked the wholesomeness of the dance show as well.

The food we actually all liked. They'll bring extras of anything you like the most. And my daughter and son both had kids' meal boxes of hot dogs and macNcheese. My son decided he was ok with the chicken instead, but my daughter was happier with the hot dog box. She had 2 (he brother's left over).

We didn't do the picture - we politely declined as we don't like to spend the extra $$ for those pics.

We are going back this year for Christmas - we can't wait!!!

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

We loved it in January. Great food, service and show. We didn't like the dessert though. Some people say the show is a bit hokey but we like hokey dinner theatres so we enjoyed it I am torn between doing it again next January or trying Ohanas.

 

[KateB]

DH and I went during our honeymoon and enjoyed the show. We were down front and there were several kids sitting on the ground watching. You could tell that they were really enjoying the show. It was also fun because they had kids come up and dance with them, which I thought was cool for the kids. I would recommend going so that you can experience it and decide if you ever want to go back. That is our moto when it comes to Disney dining. So many of our fav resturants don't always get the higest reviews on here. It's all about what you enjoy and the day of the week.

 

[mom_to_2]

We LOVED this last year! It was me, my husband, and our 2 young sons (4 and 1 at the time). Everyone loved the food and the entertainment! HAVE FUN!!!!!!!

 

[Motomom06]

Did it in Dec 09. Froze our butts off!! Thought the food was fantastic! The show was ok. As others have said, once was enough. Going to Disney again in Oct 10 and we are trying Narcoosses to watch the fireworks for our 2 credits.

 

[amberg@eastlink.ca]

we actually went in april this year after hearing lots of no's and not doing it last october. we must be in the minority tho, as we really enjoyed it. we stopped by the gift shop for toys for the kids tho, cus i was really worried they'd get bored over two hrs. heck they surprised me! dd4 sat and watched the whole thing and ds was pretty good and this kid sits still for nothing. we actually had it on our list for feb's trip next year but a prior poster brought up the cold factor....may have to rethink it.
the only thing i didnt like was the begining before the show, you go up get your lei and the pics done, then are jammed into a holding area, and i mean jammed! i was so hot while waiting...no seats and filled with everyone waiting for the show to start...so dont get there tooo early. then they send you down a ramp while you get a waiter/waitress to seat you. this part is very well coreographed.

over all i will do it again in the future tho!

 

[GoofyinMN]

We went in '08 with kids age 6 & 9. We loved it. They got the kids involved with the dancing and the food was great. We are planning to see it again when we go back in Jan. '11.