Review: Spirit of Aloha luau at Disney’s Polynesian Resort

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During my family’s recent stay at Disney’s Polynesian Resort at Walt Disney World, we had the opportunity to attend the Spirit of Aloha dinner show, which is modeled after a traditional luau. Although I have been to an authentic cultural feast in Hawaii, I was looking forward to experiencing Disney World’s long-running version for the first time.

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Category 1 luau seating

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Categories 2 and 3 luau seating

The event begins when the check-in opens at the Great Ceremonial House about 45 minutes before show time. The luau is offered twice each night — at 5:15 and 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. In general, seating is based on the category of table you select when you book the luau. For example, we paid for Category 1 seats (the most expensive) and were in the second tier of tables off to the side of the stage. A cast member told me the front row and the center tables were released to those who checked in before me. So, checking in as early as possible is key for getting those seats.

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Also, getting to the lobby early means you’re less likely to have a long line ahead of you for the professional group photos being taken there. There is no obligation to purchase the photos, so why not get a shot of the family wearing leis in front of the waterfall? A PhotoPass photographer will bring prints of the photo to your table at the end of the meal. One package is offered: a 5 x 7 and four 4 x 6 prints of your group, plus a stock photo of the luau performers, for $35. We chose to buy the package, even though it was expensive, and my husband appreciated that I stopped asking him and the kids to pose in front of the waterfall afterward!

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After photos, guests can wander back from the Great Ceremonial House to Luau Cove, a short walk along the waterfront and beside the beach toward the Grand Floridian. Once seating begins, it moves quickly, but there is quite a queue in the beginning. A hostess explained that the meal is served family style, so we should ask if we would like more of any of the foods brought to our table. Also, she said, kids meals could be ordered separately (at no additional charge).

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The appetizers were waiting for us at our table: pineapple-coconut bread, mixed greens with honey lime vinaigrette, mango slaw, soba noodle salad and fresh pineapple. My husband and I enjoyed trying each item, but our young kids zeroed in on the bread and waited to see what was coming next.

Unfortunately, that’s when our experience really went off course. It took our server at least 15 minutes to stop by to take our drink orders, and he was very rude and rushed in that first interaction. The inappropriate behavior continued when we tried to ask for more pineapple and bread and order a kids meal for my 8-year-old daughter. I have never been treated so poorly by a cast member in all the years I have been going to Disney World, and I was shocked at how he was behaving. So, as the stage production was beginning, I left the table to find a manager and ask for another server. That took quite some time, and the manager was of no help, either, stating that he could not reassign our table to another server. He offered no solutions himself.

So, I headed back to my table disheartened and angry that I would have to continue dealing with our server for the two-hour experience. There was no incentive for his behavior to change because the gratuity is included in the price of the luau, which is expensive, even with the inclusion of alcoholic beverages. The total for our family of four was about $250. (See full pricing information on the AllEars.Net resource page.)

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By now, I had missed the set-up for the show, so I had no idea what was going on, and the main courses already had appeared at our table. They included Aloha pulled pork, BBQ pork ribs, roasted chicken, jasmine rice with nori and a vegetable medley. My 10-year-old son was happy with the ribs, and my daughter settled on baked chicken nuggets. My husband and I tried each of the dishes, but weren’t overly impressed with any of them.

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We tried to focus on the dinner show, which tells the story of Auntie Wini hosting a fun-filled luau to welcome home one of the local girls who has been living on the “mainland.” It moves along slowly, but seeing the Hawaiian Wedding Song and the Birthday Hula performed are fun touches. Audience members are invited to join the professional dancers several times near the stage.

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The main attraction, however, is the final third of the show, which features traditional dances from Tahiti, Samoa, Tonga, New Zealand and Hawaii. The dancers and the costumes are mesmerizing, and who could look away when the Samoan fire knife performer takes the stage? A dessert of warm pineapple bread pudding with caramel sauce is served during this act, and we found it to be the best part of the meal.

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Still, our server’s behavior, though out of character for most Disney cast members, certainly affected our evening and left my husband and I with little spirit of aloha (which means love in Hawaiian). We walked out of the open-air restaurant feeling like the dinner show was overpriced for what we received. Our kids weren’t as aggrieved as we were, so perhaps the show is best recommended as a tropical — though expensive — diversion for youngsters after a long day in the theme parks. Aside from this, though, it’s hard to think that our family will be saying aloha to this show again any time soon.

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46 Replies to “Review: Spirit of Aloha luau at Disney’s Polynesian Resort”

  1. How about an updated review? We just went, and our server was really nice! He even offered a taller seat for a child that couldn’t see the stage. He said he’d had this job for years, so y’all must have had the wrong server. Even our fellow audience members were very courtious, and hardly batted an eye when the fire dancing guy dropped his torch. The cast were all native Polynesian, and we’re amazing at their jobs!

    1. Hi, and thanks for your feedback on the Spirit of Aloha show. As you can see, this review is five years old — servers come and go, and experiences like this change all the time. We’d love it if you could visit our Rate and Review section and leave this review there so others can benefit from your experience. You’ll find the review section for Spirit of Aloha here: http://allears.net/reviews/spirit-of-aloha-dinner/

      Thanks so much!

  2. My wife and daughter and I attended the luau tonight. and were quite disappointed with what we paid 250 dollars for.
    To begin, the appetizers and entrees were light years away from resembling hawaiian luau fare. The noodles were basic pasta with some chopped spices and salad dressing, the slaw was pretty tasteless. The “pulled pork” was severely smothered in salt and quite dry. The chicken was fatty and overall the meal was bad diner food.
    This was no Luau… It was cheesy dinner theater. A ridiculous plot was thought up by someone with little imagination while it should have simply been a presentation of a real Luau.
    As advertised! Quite honestly I feel robbed after paying $250 for about $35 worth of bad takeout and viewing a 1980s canceled Disney Channel reject.

  3. Just got back from WDW late last night. I felt the need to comment on this review (I always read them, but since my experience was very different, I thought readers could benefit from another viewpoint). Loved the Luau when we went for our wedding trip back in 2000. We had 9 adults and 2 little girls this trip so we thought it would be a great dinner show to experience together. I was hesitant after reading the reviews on it. And surprised since 99% of Disney is truly magical. We did take the tip to get there early though which made a huge difference (although it was about 90 degrees on Tuesday and it was HOT waiting around outside!) We got there around 4:35pm for the 5:15 seating. Our waitress was a bit “rough” in the beginning but ended up being fantastic and our drinks were never empty! The show was fantastic. All ages loved it (it is a little slow in the beginning but the dancing at the end and the fire guy is worth it!) From 2-80 years old… and we were category 2. Love Allears.net. Keep up the honest reviews.

  4. Since 1977 we have been to Disney World 87 times. We live in Florida so it’s close. I used to be a Disney World fanatic. No longer. About 15 years ago, I started to really notice the “attitudes” of the cast members. Every year, the friendliness of these cast members has gone downhill in a big way. And this show is typical. My wife and I saw this show many years ago and it was very disappointing. I felt like we just got ripped off. The service and food were awful. We were at Disney World back in January with our daughters and their husbands. Never again will we set foot in Disney World. It is way too crowded and the prices are ridiculous for what you get. The Disney advertising machine wants you to believe that everything is magical. I don’t think paying $100 for admission and being constantly jostled around and waiting in line for an hour for a lame attraction is magical. Even the Haunted Mansion is no big deal. And $400 for a room Disney wants you to believe that it is a 5-star resort. Far from it. $25 for a t-shirt ? UGH. Like I said, never again.

  5. We did this show a few years back and haven’t gone back since. All of the comments on this blog rang true with us as well. An ok meal with an ok show. Definately not worth the money paid. I would much rather go repeatedly to the Hoop Dee Doo Revue and have done so numerous times. The Spirit of Aloha is one part of Disney that disappoints.

  6. We go to disney every year did this show about 8 years ago and have not done it seance because of the same thing. Thought about trying it again, but won’t now. That is too much money to waste.

  7. We just came from the World and went to the Luau on July 20–just a few days ago, and had a similar experience. As soon as our server knew we weren’t ordering adult beverages beyond what was on the menu, the demeanor changed. There was limited interaction with the show as it had rained earlier so all guest dances were done under the sheltered eating area at tables and seats.

    I also agree that the “story” is a bit lame and didn’t understand why the show stopped. Then it dawned on me. . . the first break was to sell photos and the second break was for “last call” on alcohol and to take care of any outstanding bills. We had Photopass + so just needed a bag for our photo and we didn’t order alcohol so the breaks seemed annoying.

    Also went to the bathroom to find quite a wait as there are only 3 stalls for women. An update is definitely needed in the bathroom!

    While there were plenty of signs leading us to the Luau, there were NO signs leading us when we exited. Since there were multiple paths, we had to “guess” which one would take us back to the main building. The Luau alcove is almost to the Grand Floridian (which you can see from the monorail) so it is quite a hike to the cove and back.

    We thought we were the only ones who didn’t “get it” but after reading the comments, I am glad to know we aren’t alone.

    It will be Hoop Dee Do for us from now on.

  8. Thank you for the honest review. When people are spending that kind of money they need to know that their experience may be less than expected. From all of the bad comments it looks like Disney needs to clean house over at the Luau. We took our kids to that show back in the 80’s and didn’t like the food or the service back then. We have made 20+ trips since then and have never gone back. I was just thinking about giving it another try in November but that won’t be happening now!

  9. I am still angry over an incident that happened at H.&V. We were four adults, one child,3, and a five-month old infant. She sat on my lap and does not eat any solid food yet. She didn’t use a plate, utensils, glass, napkin nor did the server even acknowledge her, and yet we were counted as a party of six.When we asked about it, we were told that any party of six is an automatic 18% gratuity. I don’t have a problem tipping, usually 20%, but for an infant to be included in the number was just wrong. Disney has to take a hard look at the practice of suggested or automatic gratuity. Where is the incentive for good service? Disney keeps raising their room rates and ticket prices and everything else, now it’s time to raise their standard of service. On our next trip, it will be counter service. Just don’t want to deal with servers that expect something for nothing..

  10. We did the Hawaiian Luau at the Poly once. Had almost the same experience and it was back in 1977. I guess the servers still are not trained well.
    With that said, we do the HDD every time we are in WDW and have never had a problem with service where we sat. We have sat in all 3 price tiers.

    Maybe because the WL HDD has A/C and the Poly Luau does not have A/C makes a difference with the servers attitudes ? Just my guess.

  11. We went in 2010 and had exactly the same experience. Even though we made our ADR the first day we could and purchased category 1 seating, we were put near the back on the side. When we asked, they said our party (10) was too big to be at the front tables. Our server barely acknowledged us. Our drinks were placed on the table so fast, one spilled all over us. We finally had to go up ourselves to obtain a cloth to mop up the spilled drink. The show was atrociously inane and the fire guy kept dropping his baton. We tried to find a manager afterwards to tell him/her about our experience, but the cast members shooed us out saying they had to get ready for the next show. We told our concierge (we were staying at concierge level at the Wilderness Lodge that year) and he said that everyone complains about the show and service and that he would gladly authorize a refund. There were tons of empty seats at our show, so one would think the management would get a clue, but it appears they haven’t.

  12. I had been to the luau many years ago with my children, and it was wonderful. My son had not been in Disney since 1987 and in 2009 he and his family were able to come with us. All he wanted was to attend the luau. We will never attend again! Food is now mundane and entertainment is not very good. In old times we got dances from all Polynesian islands and history of the dances. Very little humor, but lots of fun and wonderful dancers. The new show is not nearly as entrancing and the venue is way too large to see clearly. We decided never to attend the luau again.

  13. We attended the luau last September and weren’t wowed by any stretch. We arrived late due to getting stuck on the monorail, so the beginning seemed very rushed. The food and service was okay, nothing to write home about, and probably the most disappointing thing was that we attended the 8:00 show and we were so tired after a long day in the parks that we ended up bailing on the show as soon as the dessert was finished. I wasted 2 dining credits on the meal, and we ended up leaving after an hour because of our flight home leaving early the next day. Be warned, if you do this meal, it’s about 2 hours long!

  14. This is so disheartening to hear! My family and I travel to Disney each year, and just returned from another successful trip. We are thinking about what to do on our next trip, and I was seriously considering booking this dinner show for us. Now, however, after reading so many negative reviews we will do something else. I sincerely hope Disney sees this and does something to change the numerous negative experiences their guests have experienced. Disney’s amazing customer service is what keeps my family coming back year after year. I’d hate for that to change.

  15. None of the Dinner Shows are worth the money they charge. You can get better food at a fast casual restaurant and the shows are pretty ‘cheeky’.
    Go to the free shows in the Parks. Much better entertainment.

  16. Your experience sounded almost identical to mine a couple of years back at the Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue show at Fort Wilderness. Our waitress was extremely rude from the beginning. She was annoyed when we asked for a taller chair for my five-year-old son who could not see the stage. I found out later that they have plenty of them available for just such a situation, but she acted as though she had never heard of such. One of the kids accidently spilled a glass of water and the glass broke. We had to sit through the entire show with broken glass on the table, even though we asked her nicely if we could get it removed. She never so much as smiled once during our entire interaction with her. I wondered if there had been an issue before the show, since they were fifteen minutes late opening that night and all the servers seemed a bit off.
    I did go find a manager because it was really affecting our enjoyment of the show, and the manager said basically the same thing to me that they did to you – they could not give us another server.
    If the tip hadn’t been mandatory, this would have been one instance that I would not have tipped at all. Later on, I told the front desk manager at FW about the situation, and he refunded our meal. Nevertheless, I can no longer recommend the show to any of my family or friends, and I will certainly not go back. It’s a shame because the show itself was really good, and I know a lot of people love it.

  17. We’ve been to this show twice…once in 2004 and again in 2009. I have to say there was a big difference in food and service between the two. In 2004 the food was excellent and the service was fantastic. At that time there was no category seating and we were placed at a table close to the stage. In 2009, we must of had the same server that that the author had because we experienced the same rude attitude and slowness. That trip a severe storm hit in the middle of dinner. Other servers were informing their tables that the show would be cancelled and passed out ponchos so guests could leave without getting drenched. Our server never mentioned the cancellation and never came around with ponchos. By the time we flagged him down and asked for ponchos, there were no adult sizes left and he threw 6 child sized ponchos on our table. Needless to say, no one in our party was small enough to fit into a child’s poncho. That trip we vowed not to attend this show for awhile since the cost is so high and the service so poor.

  18. Our family had the same experience during our last trip to Disney in December 2012. Our server was female and very rude. We asked for coffee at the end of the meal and she threw the dishes on to the table (coffee cup and saucer). Yes, that is right, she threw the dishes. Needless to say we will not return.
    We went to the show many years ago and enjoyed it. The story (history) of the different dancing groups was interesting. During this last visit the story line was boring and uninteresting.
    The food was nothing to write home about. One person in our party asked for a refill of one of the items. He had to wait forever and when it did come it was a very little portion in a very small plate.

  19. We just got back today from the Polynesian. I had stayed there as a child, so it was fun to be back. SO much has changed, of course. We went to the luau Friday night. It was raining, typical for Florida at this time of year, so they checked us in at the Ceremonial House and then gave everyone free ponchos for the walk to Luau Cove. We paid for Category 1 seats and had a table right up front. The weather was a total damper on the evening, but it didn’t seem to affect the show too much. The biggest noticeable effect was that the dancers could not come out onto the front stages. The food was good. Fresh pineapple – yum! We LOVED the soba noodle salad and I am trying to find the recipe *hint, hint*. I don’t eat beef or pork, so cannot personally attest to either. The chicken was pretty tasty- not dry and fairly flavorful. I was surprised that I liked the pineapple coconut bread and the dessert, as they both contained flavors I don’t usually care for.

  20. My daughter and I had a poor experience as well. Will never go back or recommend it to others. Glad to see they replaced the volcano dessert. Most disappointing experience we have had at Disney.

  21. My wife and I have booked the Spirit of Aloha countless times since the Poly first opened. Most recently with with our granddaughters over New Year week this year.

    I think the quality of the food and the show has diminished in recent years. It used to be more like a real Hawaiian luau and I think it would benefit from recapturing the original concept. Today’s show, with the forced story line, is too frantic in its presentation. On our last visit, the sound system was way out of balance, making it sound like Auntie was screaming at the audience. A luau should be a relaxed and friendly family experience.

    Of course, it is very unfortunate when a cast member is suffering from a shortage of pixie dust. And truly shocking that a team leader could not address the problems to your satisfaction. My wife is a former cast member and I know that training is all about solving problems when they occur.

    I hope Disney is listening and does some re-imagineering to bring the magic back to this once wonderful show.

  22. Hi.

    That’s awful and we know exactly how it feels. My 40th birthday was ruined the exact same way. My philosophy is that if you don’t like people then don’t have a people job. I hope Disney management reads these horrible reviews and takes action. I actually had no help from the management that day either and made several calls when I arrived back home. I demanded to know the course of action that was taken with our rude server and had several follow up calls from various customer service reps and finally someone from management who promised retraining for this particular employee. I feel your pain and am truly sorry. I hope your next trip is magical. We actually leave tonight fro our 30th trip to the mouse.

  23. Sorry you had such a bad experience, that is one of the reasons I don’t always agree with the included gratuity. I have heard that you can raise or lower that automatic gratuity if you ask, that manager should have let you know that. We went in 2011 and while it wasn’t the best food, it was ok(different menu than you had), the show was good, the second part especially. I could do without the cheesy stuff at the beginning, but the main show was good.

  24. So sorry that you did not enjoy your luau experience. I debated over many trips whether we should give the luau a try, especially after reading so many negative reviews – same with the Hoop Dee Doo. After thoroughly enjoying the corny but so much fun Hoop Dee Doo, we gave the luau a whirl this April, along with my cousin’s family.

    We all really had a great time. We also had Category 1 seating. I’ve always been told for Hoop Dee Doo that seating is not “first come first serve” according to category, but that you are seated based on when you made your reservations. I always make dinner show ADRs as early as possible and we’ve not been disappointed, sitting front and center. We arrived pretty late at the luau and still got our great table in front.

    While the food is not stellar or “worth the money”, it was pretty tasty and plentiful. We were lucky to have a great server. She did forget to bring my picky eater’s mac and cheese at first but was very apologetic and otherwise attentive. We’ve always felt the cost for the dinner shows is not for the food but for the entertainment. Perhaps the show was corny but we all enjoyed it, adults and kids (who were 14, 12 and 7).

    Please contact WDW Guest Services and let them know about the ill treatment you received. They need to be made aware.

  25. I have read reviews like this, and that is why I always go to Ohana’s. The food they offer is about the same and you do get a little show as well, plus fireworks if you time it right.

  26. We attended last September and loved it! Our service was excellent. Drinks were filled before we were even half way done and our server offered my daughter a kids meal as soon as we were seated. Food was great! Going back in October to celebrate my birthday.

  27. I am sorry to hear you had a bad experience. My husband and I took our 4 year old son to Disney for the first time in January. We had debated going to this show since as a child I had gone to Mickey’s Tropical Revue (in the 80s they had a kid luau and an adult one) and loved it. But seeing the menu, I knew my son wouldn’t eat anything there. I am glad we did not go since it is so expensive and it sounds like many people are having issues with food, servers, show etc. Hope Disney brings back the kids Luau again someday!

  28. We had the same experience about 3 years ago. We were not aware that a child’s meal was an option. My two ate pineapple, and bread mainly. When I think back I just remember being soo thirsty, and wanting to leave. We asked for refills, never came. The server was also male and seemed annoyed by our requests.
    We had a much better,but similar experience at Hoop Dee Doo. Feeling rushed no refilled drinks or food.
    We also had the same experience at the Lilo and Stitch breakfast. We were with a large group and the gratuity was to be deducted automatically. We did not want to encourage bad service, so we found a manager, and requested it be removed from the bill. He/she did, we left and got coffee – the best coffee we have ever had on property, so something good did come of it.
    This was the 2010 trip, and we just kind of figured like all companies during that time Disney was trying to cut back and went too far. So, I am very glad to have read this recent review.
    I think we are going to ‘Ohana for the first time ever.
    I am off to read the Kona review, hoping all good!!! Thanks.

  29. I was actually considering booking this experience for my family of 4 this October as it would have been a first for us after 13 trips to WDW. I stopped considering after I read all the bad reviews, particularly regarding service and the food not being so good. It is so weird to me that with all the bad reviews the management does not look into this at all. They are allowing people to be ripped off and I think that is so wrong. Shame on management and I am sorry you had this experience. Someone needs to pay attention at WDW.

  30. We have reservations for Aloha our last night of a weeklong trip in November. Based on this blog and comments, we will cancel.

  31. We had the same problem when we went to the luau during our honeymoon and had the same issue poor service. Our waitress we not friendly at all, we had to ask numerous times for drink refills and felt like we were being a nuisance to her. The show was okay (wouldn’t have been my favorite regardless of service) and the food less than stellar. However, it was the awful service that put a huge damper on our evening. We have been going to Disney for years and, while this was our first luau experience, it was quite possibly the worst service we had ever had resort-wide.

  32. I hate the fact that you had a poor experience with the server as well as the manager. My wife and I are going to Disney in November and have made reservations at this show. In our several visits to Disney World we are always impressed with the friendliness and helpfulness of the cast members. I’m sure this was an anomaly but I would certainly recommend you following up with a complaint about both the manager and server. Hopefully you got their names. Disney seems to pride themselves on customer service so I can’t imagine they would tolerate this.

  33. My family and I had a similar experience at the dinner, we attended in late June of this year. We also had paid for the Cat. 1 seating when we made the reservation. The day of the show, we were brought to the second level of the seating on the right hand side. We immediately asked to see a manager. He took our ticket and I followed him. Within a few minutes he moved our party to the ground floor seating center table. There is no indication when making a reservation that it is first come first serve for the ground level seats plus during our dinner, prior to the manager moving us, many of the ground level tables were still empty so I’m wondering what the policy truly is. There was nothing special about the food, it was good but not great. We did enjoy the dancers. The show itself was very nice and of course the fire dancer kept our attention! My 4 year old daughter also enjoyed the show, except for the men with painted faces. When the dancer realized he scared my daughter, he was quick to smile and make a funny face. Kudos to the talent, they did a nice job!

  34. We had nearly an identical experience last year. Our server acted like we were a nuisance just for being there. We asked for food for our kids (after he suggested we do that) and he made it seem like we were being ridiculous. He was so rude, my dad thought he was drunk. It was SO out of character for Disney – we had such great service everywhere else. It completely ruined the experience for us.

  35. So sorry you had such a poor experience at the luau. We were there in March – we had category 1 also and our server was absolutely wonderful. He couldn’t do enough for us! I’m so glad that the menu was changed back to include ribs – not having them when we went was disappointing. And the bread pudding looks delicious! We had the lava thing. I was looking through some old photo books and found my Polynesian Revue tickets from back in 1985 – adults were $21 – and children were $12! Gratuity was not included. And we thought that was expensive! They even had a cocktail show at 10PM that we went to in 1979…. only $10 or so – which included one drink and a souvenir glass. They also had a character luau with Mickey & Minnie – sure wish they would bring that back! Especially for the kids!

  36. Thanks for the review, warts and all! It is worrying that such an experienced former Sentinel journalist and Disney ‘watcher’ such as yourself was unable to persuade either the server or manager to address the service issues. What hope is there for the ‘ordinary’ Disney guest in such circumstances? The Polynesian’s luau is always one of our quintessential WDW experiences and it is a shame that your first exposure to its appeal was not to the high standard we always expect from the Mouse…

  37. I am very surprised to read your experience at the Luau wasn’t anything but excellent. My family has been to Walt Disney World on vacations for the last eight years. (I even honeymooned at Disney.) We’ve always done the Luau on every visit. Never, have we been disappointed with the service or the show. My kids love the show, and the kids’ meals are great.
    I hope you can give it another try one day. I find that Disney’s Luau is close to authentic (except for roasting a whole pig in a ditch).

  38. My husband and I went to this on our honeymoon and were similarly disappointed. The food, though fine, was not up to par, especially considering the price. The show during dinner was cute enough, but nothing to write home about. The show after dinner, however, was great. Still, it’s not enough to ever bring us back to this show.

  39. Wow- how terrible for you to have such a bad experience there! We were there 3 years ago, also sat category 1, but had a wonderful time. The food was delicious, my picky eater daughter loved the ribs, and our server was wonderful. We did not do the show this year because no one could confirm the ribs were on the menu again. Now that I read your review I am glad we opted for Ohana’s this time.

  40. Feels like a dumb Disney Channel show live on stage…

    We’ve done this show and I have to say, I don’t love the theme of the show. They try to squeeze a “story” into the show (similar to a Hoop De Doo Story which works for them – not so much with the luau). For me, just show some dances, tell the story of the dances, etc., and I’m perfectly fine with that. I don’t need (nor do I want) you to jerry-rig a silly storyline into what could be a beautiful show.

    But that’s just me, and I’m sure I’m in the minority. All the dancers (when they actually danced) were wonderful to watch so for that reason alone, I was pleased. It was just having to sit through the “Disney Channel-esque” storyline that drove me nuts.

  41. Thanks for always including the good, the bad & the ugly!
    In 2000, my then-fiance (now husband) and I went to the luau, mainly on the recommendation of friends who used to go often. The main enticement was the promise of unlimited mai tais! Our priorities were a little different before we had a child…
    Anyway, by the time we went, that unlimited booze was no longer offered. Disney is constantly reevaluating how they do things. Let’s hope they address the service issues soon.

  42. Thanks for another great blog post. I have always wondered about the show, and have heard similar stories. Also, thank you for being honest and showing areas where service, even if a one off, was less than stellar. It is much appreciated.

  43. That’s too bad that y’all had such poor service, from both the server and the management. Especially considering Category 1 seating prices, service should be top notch. I really feel that automatically including the gratuity is a mistake. My wife and her family experienced the show back in 2000, and we have been debating whether or not to go ourselves. We have done dinner at Ohana with our daughters a few times now…based on this (and other) reviews, I guess we’ll stick with Ohana instead.

  44. That is too bad. For $250 you really should have a nice time and the food should be good.
    Like you said the tip is included so…… Maybe Disney should stop that practice.
    Really shocked that the manager was not helpful or concerned. That shouldn’t happen. Just messes up your whole evening, not to mention wishing you had spent $250 on something a lot more magical.