Did you like the Spirit of Aloha Dinner and Show at the Polynesian?

[GreatLakes]

My wife and I did this show on our last trip and it wasn't worth it to us. The food was ok, the show was ok, but we paid way to much for something that was merely ok. We did a lot of new things on our last trip (California Grill, Lunch with an Animal Expert, visiting the horses at WL, etc) and this was the only thing we though wasn't worth it.

 

[rainboots]

I am so torn! The reviews are so mixed. Only one member of our group of 10 has been to Hawaii & a luau. We have 3 kids (3, 5, & 8), and the two older ones are enamored with the idea of Hawaii. We will be on the DDP, so it would mean giving up a TS meal elsewhere & paying OOP for a QS. It has such potential to be awesome or a giant disappointment!

 

[maltdizzy]

I am so torn! The reviews are so mixed. Only one member of our group of 10 has been to Hawaii & a luau. We have 3 kids (3, 5, & 8), and the two older ones are enamored with the idea of Hawaii. We will be on the DDP, so it would mean giving up a TS meal elsewhere & paying OOP for a QS. It has such potential to be awesome or a giant disappointment!

Tough to say.

I haven't spoken highly of it in this thread, but I doubt it will disappoint all 10. And it is a good large family venue for dinner (long, shared tables). Just know...it's a stage show featuring polynesian dancing and fire dancers on a relative small (underwhelming?) stage; "throw-back" dinner theater.

There are highlight youtubes video you can watch to decide. Other things to consider is...are you done in the parks for the day? Because the dinner shows will fill a whole evening.

 

[angierae]

I loved the luau. Yes, the storyline is a bit cheesy but the later dancing is amazing, and the food was delicious.

 

[rainboots]

Tough to say.

I haven't spoken highly of it in this thread, but I doubt it will disappoint all 10. And it is a good large family venue for dinner (long, shared tables). Just know...it's a stage show featuring polynesian dancing and fire dancers on a relative small (underwhelming?) stage; "throw-back" dinner theater.

There are highlight youtubes video you can watch to decide. Other things to consider is...are you done in the parks for the day? Because the dinner shows will fill a whole evening.

We would be done for the day, it would be our first full day on property after a long day of travel & Fantasmic! It would probably make for a really relaxing day, actually. I may see if I can rework some of our dining....

 

[fairytalelover]

We would be done for the day, it would be our first full day on property after a long day of travel & Fantasmic! It would probably make for a really relaxing day, actually. I may see if I can rework some of our dining....

It's the same for us so I went ahead and reserved it. We are looking forward to it.

 

[AquaDame]

We were three adults and didn't enjoy it... we much preferred Hoop de Doo. Food was OK, but 'Ohana was better in that regard. We're also spoiled by going to the touristy luaus in Hawaii itself, so maybe thats why though, everyone is different!

 

[GWS]

I am not sure if anyone has gone to The Golden Horseshoe in Disneyland and seen the show that they have, is it cheesy like that?

If so then that is fun for me and I will enjoy the Spirit of Aloha show.

 

[maltdizzy]

I am not sure if anyone has gone to The Golden Horseshoe in Disneyland and seen the show that they have, is it cheesy like that?

Don't think the luau is directly comparable to the Golden Horseshoe since the various GHS shows have been significantly shorter and tighter (and "free").

I haven't seen the current Golden Horseshoe show (last one I saw there was Billy Hill and the Hillbillys, who are now at Knotts), but I always liked the Golden Horseshoe shows and found them fun...by comparison the Hoop Dee Doo Revue was pure torture for me. The luau isn't as slapback as the other shows...it's just hokey..."contrived; mawkishly sentimental".

 

[fairytalelover]

I am not sure if anyone has gone to The Golden Horseshoe in Disneyland and seen the show that they have, is it cheesy like that?

If so then that is fun for me and I will enjoy the Spirit of Aloha show.

I love the show at the Golden Horseshoe in Disneyland!

 

[kelowatt]

I'm a pescetarian (vegetarian who eats seafood). How will the food selection be? At HDDR they made me a lovely salmon when we called the day before.

 

[myhoney]

We did it, and while it was ok, we said we wouldn't need to do it again. Food was ok, story was ok, although the dancing/fire show at the end was pretty cool. We are going back next year and our two youngest haven't been to WDW. So we are probably going to do it again, especially since we have the DxDP with a few credits to spare. We loved the HDDR, though. That for us was a must do again!

 

[senadler]

I wouldn't hesitate to do either dinner show at least once. I would say that we really enjoyed them both the first time, and now we just like them. The show doesn't really change, so after you have seen it a couple of times it does get a little old. We will go on some trips, I took the kids to SOA last October when we there for a quick trip, and we are all planning to go back to HDDR this October when traveling with extended family.

 

[Bellabully]

We really enjoyed the show, particularly the Fire dancers. Food was decent and plenty of beer and wine! We were 3 adults and 8 year old and all enjoyed it.

 

[DISNEY1975]

I LOVE it! Its a first night tradition. Puts us in the Disney Spirit. Relaxing, good food, wonderful atmosphere. Just love it. The show is a tad tad tad bit corny to begin with, but ends very well with the hula and fire dancers.

My pictures are too large to attach Ill try to work on that.

 

[midnightlouise]

We went in 2013 and everyone agreed we were glad we did it, but it's not something we'd do again. The food was fine, there was certainly plenty of it, and the fire dancing was flat out amazing. Since you've never been, I would definitely recommend you try it at least once, for the dancing if nothing else.

 

[MissMet]

Waste of time & money, IMO.

 

[MarieKat]

I liked it OK. The show was definitely hokey and not a true luau, but you're in Disney not Hawaii and you're going to watch a Disney show, not anything really authentically Hawaiian. The food was good BBQ food, again nothing really Hawaiian about it though the pulled pork was good. The rolls were yummy. In Hawaii those rolls would be poi and you would have different flavors on the meat and more emphasis on the pork, but again you're not in Hawaii you're in Disney so set your expectations accordingly. It was fun though. I'm glad we did it, not sure I'd do it again.

 

[d-train]

We loved the dinner show! I am a performer at a pro dinner theatre, and knew exactly what we were getting ourselves into when we made the reservation though. Tons of fun, food was good and plentiful, staff could have been more responsive and quicker, but they were stretched thin and the crowd was large. Spend the few extra dollars for the better seating. We got the mid prices seats, not bad, but after being there, will spend up for the better seats for sure.

Hint: when they ask for audience volunteers and participation, go for it!

 

[401Disney]

On my honeymoon in May I gave my wife the choice between Hoop Dee Do and Spirit of Aloha for our last full day dinner because I thought it would be fun to see a dinner show on our last night. She chose the luau because she loves they poly and she has been to a traditional luau in Hawaii before. That being said she really enjoyed herself at the show. Was it exactly like the luau in Hawaii... No of course not but it was still a fun and good time. The food was pretty good for something that's being mass produced for 100+ people at once.

If you go into the show expecting to have a sub par time then that's exactly what your going to have. I read plenty of poor reviews for this dinner show but still went in with an open mind and still had a great time.