Aulani on site Luau

DH and I did VIP back in June and felt it was worth every dollar. There seemed to be conflicting information about when booking opens online and even when you speak with the Aulani CM's by phone. We booked at 60 days from the date of Luau (not first day of trip) - I called 7am Hawaii Time (1pm ET) and the General Admission seats were already sold out (odd since I called the previous day and they would not let me book). We arrived about 20 minutes early and were the second people on the VIP line. Even being sans children we really enjoyed all the preshow activities and loved that we had completed all the activities (and already had two rounds of drinks lol) by the time General Admission was admitted in. Also worth noting, the bartenders make some great tropical drinks-they can make almost any drink you can find at any of the resorts bars/lounges.
 
April has been available to book online for at least a month, but May is still not posted. So it definitely not updated monthly - and definitely available to book more than 60 days out. I’m hoping to book for May, so I’ll just check every few days I guess. Weird.
 
We are here now and did the luau last night. We did not do the VIP tickets and had excellent seats. We all enjoyed the show and activities at the beginning but were very disappointed in the food. People at our table that we did not know agreed about the food. The show was worth going for but the food was a huge letdown. However, the activities and the food at the character buffet dinner were fantastic. We wished we would have skipped the expense of the luau and instead did a second character buffet dinner.
 
We are here now and did the luau last night. We did not do the VIP tickets and had excellent seats. We all enjoyed the show and activities at the beginning but were very disappointed in the food. People at our table that we did not know agreed about the food. The show was worth going for but the food was a huge letdown. However, the activities and the food at the character buffet dinner were fantastic. We wished we would have skipped the expense of the luau and instead did a second character buffet dinner.

What was wrong with the food?
 


Beef was almost all fat, pork was tough, chicken was fatty and not done enough. Show was super but food was so much better at buffet!
 
Beef was almost all fat, pork was tough, chicken was fatty and not done enough. Show was super but food was so much better at buffet!

How odd. I had the beef twice at the buffet and thought it was nice but the beef at the luau was a cut above that night. I didn't have the chicken but the pork was delicious. And the bread pudding with the caramel sauce was amazing (OK, mostly it was caramel sauce - I had the bread pudding for plausibility about having caramel sauce). Could have been an off night. I liked the food at the buffet but I thought the food at the luau was better in general.
 


We're trying to decide between this and Paradise Cove Luau near the resort. Disney really expensive for family of four but Paradise Cove if you do middle package is about the same. We are going to be at the resort most of the week so thought it may be fun to do something somewhere close. Does anyone have any recommendation for which one they think we should do?
 
We really enjoyed Paradise Cove. We enjoyed all the activities, thought the show was excellent, and I thought the Mai tais were great. The food was just okay, but that seems kinda standard, unfortunately.

Honestly I mostly booked there outvof spite, because the Starlit Hui was still running when we booked Aulani, and that was just strike three on Disney taking away things I'd already planned on in about a year and a half stretch. I also didn't like the vague wording about what the Aulani luau would include (lots of "mays")--but now it may be more set in stone--and I knew what things there would be to do at PC. The canoe ride was big for us, and I was especially grateful for it (short as it is) since both our other canoe outings got cancelled.

As far as "getting away" from the resort, it's like a 5 minute walk and the cove looks pretty much like Aulani's Cove (and you can walk down there during the day if you want), so I wouldn't think of that as much of a difference. That said, the PC activities are at or near the beach and include some sunset photos (all printed on glossy paper--yuk) with the fire twirler, so that's a little different. You can also get some lovely photos there with your own camera; they have a nice view along the coast.

From what I hear, the Aulani show is more of a Disney style story, which is always awesome. PC is more like the Poly luau, where there are performances representing the different island cultures. They also have a really good house band playing Hawaiian music in between. I've heard it called cheesy, but IMO the performers were top notch. It's quite a long show, too--those same performers work non-stop for the whole time. It's amazing.

Good luck choosing. Whatever you pick, just forget the other choice existed and lose yourself in the evening. Some people call it one and done, but I'd like to do some kind of luau every time I go. Next time we will probably look for something small,just for a change, but we really enjoyed it.
 
Just did the VIP luau this week. It is excellent. Quality through and through. Food was fresh and well presented. Activities are great. Size of crowd is perfect. Show was excellent. Not too long or short, Far superior to Poly. No high school musical before the action!
My husband loved it which is saying something and my children were transfixed. Sat front and center. We will absolutely do it next year!
 
Do you need to pay for the luau at the time of booking? I wanted to use my Disney chase rewards when I arrived at Aulani to pay for it. I am also booking for extended family and would not want to charge all of it to my card. I would also worry about booking it for my family and then having my sister's family get locked out. Thanks!
 
I just want to mention something that I just noticed up thread. Hawaii is 5 OR 6 hours from east coast time. We don't change clocks for daylight savings, so we are at standard time all year. Which means when you're on Daylight savings time we're 6 hours behind eastern time and from from Nov to March we're 5 hours behind the east coast. It obviously matters if you're trying to call Hawaii at 7am but you're an hour late.
 
Do you need to pay for the luau at the time of booking? I wanted to use my Disney chase rewards when I arrived at Aulani to pay for it. I am also booking for extended family and would not want to charge all of it to my card. I would also worry about booking it for my family and then having my sister's family get locked out. Thanks!

Yes you do!
 
Can anyone tell me about the cancellation policy regarding the Luau? I plan on getting 6 VIP tickets for our family and just wondering if they allow rescheduling to another date if our plans need to change or if you can cancel within a specific time period?
 
Can anyone tell me about the cancellation policy regarding the Luau? I plan on getting 6 VIP tickets for our family and just wondering if they allow rescheduling to another date if our plans need to change or if you can cancel within a specific time period?

Since the luau is technically a 'tour' booked through Pleasant Activities, their 24 hour cancellation policy applies. Below is the T&C language I rec'd on my email confirmation for our upcoming trip in April --

Terms & Conditions: Tour activities cancelled


within 24 hours of event date are non-refundable.

Activities which include air or hotel are non refundable.

Policy exceptions to above will be noted on E-ticket's

Customer Instructions. No refunds on "no shows".

charged a processing fee for ticketing, archiving and

administrative costs at all applicable locations.
 
Since the luau is technically a 'tour' booked through Pleasant Activities, their 24 hour cancellation policy applies. Below is the T&C language I rec'd on my email confirmation for our upcoming trip in April --

Terms & Conditions: Tour activities cancelled


within 24 hours of event date are non-refundable.

Activities which include air or hotel are non refundable.

Policy exceptions to above will be noted on E-ticket's

Customer Instructions. No refunds on "no shows".

charged a processing fee for ticketing, archiving and

administrative costs at all applicable locations.

Thank you so much!
 

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