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Heading to Disney’s Hawaiian Aulani Resort?
You have got to get you and your family tickets for Disney Aulani’s Resort’s Ka Wa’a Hawaiian Luau. You know what, I’ll even go as far as saying that if you are staying anywhere on the island of Oahu, you need to find a way to get yourself to this luau. It’s that memorable of an experience for the whole family.
Claire was a month shy of two years old when she attended the Aulani luau. There were tons of kids of all ages: babies/toddlers and of course, the kids at heart.
THE LOGISTICS AND QUICK TIPS
The Cost: At time of publication, adult tickets are $179 for VIP and $139 for general adimssion. Children age 3-9 VIP tickets are $109 and $89 general admission. Children 2 and under are free- yay! Do make sure that you get tickets in advance since the event is only held on select nights and you do not want to miss out!
The Attire: Don’t be left out! Wear your favorite hula dress, Hawaiian shirt, or other island-inspired gear!
The Location: The Hawaiian luau itself is held on select nights at Aulani’s hotel property. I was pretty shocked because I felt that all of the land was already allocated and used for the pool and rooms, but Disney surprised me yet again by hiding a corner of the resort where they hold the luau.
The Entrance Timing: When we went, VIP entrance was 5pm, but at time of publication it looks like it now starts at 5:30pm. During our experience, around 5:20pm they started letting in regular ticket holders (now looks like that was pushed back to 5:45pm). General admission ticket holder’s seats get assigned upon arrival, so it’s really important you arrive early so you can get seated closer to the stage and grab dinner quicker. Even as a VIP, where the seats are assigned in advance, get in line early so you can be one of the first families let in rather than having to suffer watching everyone else have fun while you are (temporarily) on the sidelines.
Time Line for Dinner and the Show: Tables start to get called back to the buffet lines beginning at 6pm. Again, another perk of VIP tickets is that you will get your food first. And if you are a painfully slow eater like me, you will want all the time you can get so then you can get ready for the show. Around 6:50pm they take a performance break prior to showtime and at that point everyone beelines it toward the bathroom. There are only two stalls at the closest women’s restroom, so I suggest heading to the bathroom 6:45ish unless you want to be waiting in a terribly long line (think the line for the airport terminal’s women’s bathroom right before boarding- eek!). Show starts at 7:15, you don’t want to miss a second!
The Food: Guys, the buffet food was really good. And you know I’m not one for buffets or resort food in general! This was actually my favorite meal on Aulani’s property. Check out a sample menu by clicking here.
Claire’s plate of food from the kids’ buffet line. They had pretty much all the tried and true kid staples: chicken strips, meatballs, mac and cheese, fresh fruit cups and adorable Moana cupcakes. I tried all of Claire’s food and it was super tasty, too bad she didn’t leave me any leftovers!
Don’t laugh, but the food at the buffet was actually some of my favorite on the resort. The meats were really tender and in typical Hawaiian luau fashion, they even had a full pig roast!
THE PRESHOW
There is plenty to do in the two hours leading up to the 7:15pm show.
Music on Stage. A nice little four piece band played soothing traditional Hawaiian music and served as a nice backdrop for dinner and activities.
The live band playing traditional Hawaiian music before Disney Aulani’s hula show began. Note Claire’s Welcome Drink, she downed two of them before the musicians finished their first song.
Special Welcome Drink and Necklace. I don’t know which Claire was more excited for, the welcome drink or her necklace. The kids’ necklaces are fish hook pendants, like Maui from Moana, while the adults’ had shells for the ladies and kukui nuts for the guys.
Ukelele Lessons. This one was my favorite pre-show activity. To an extent, you almost got private/small group lessons. Naturally, I forgot everything I learned. Welp, there’s always next time!
Claire and I loved the ukelele lessons! The teachers were very patient and we weren’t rushed out to the next activity.
Kapa Printing (Bark Cloth Design). This was basically a colorful stamp on a sheet of thick paper. Either way, our almost two year old liked picking her pattern and color and it’s still on our refrigerator to this day.
Ku’i Ke Kalo (Taro Pounding). Kids (well, and adults, too) get to sit and pound the taro into a paste. You’re given a fresh taro sample in case you want to try some with your dinner.
The taro pounding is a really fun hands-on activity for kids of all ages.
Tattoo Station. Clem and Claire each got quick-dry tattoos to channel their inner Maui.
Flower Bracelet Making. A couple of the hula dancers were on hand to handmake a fresh flower bracelet to wear for the evening. I felt like Claire was dressed and ready to go to prom!
Claire felt so special with her very own fresh flower bracelet! Many of the men and women that facilitated the different pre-show activity stations were the hula dancers themselves!
THE SHOW AND HULA DANCING
More or less, the show starts off with the kids having an opportunity to run to the stage and hula with Mickey and Minnie. Really sweet, really fun and sets the show off nicely. Moana also made a quick guest appearance.
I’m not going to give away too much, but you know, Disney is Disney. They’ve got great dance, both hula style and Tahitian, even adding in fire elements! The music is great, the showmanship is the best we saw on The Island, and it all honors and respects the Hawaiian culture. It’s entertainment at it’s finest, keeping toddlers and adults alike in their seats. To see a quick clip of the Tahitian Dance and to see the multiple stages throughout the audience, see the video below.
Midway through the show, a couple of lucky kids are selected to dance and play instruments on the small stage in the middle of the audience for a song. Claire was one of those kids (she is completely and utterly my daughter) and even gave “Aunty” a good laugh with her dance moves. Check out where her love for hula began!
Be sure to stick around after the show ends for photo opportunities with the cast. They won’t leave until you do!
TOP 4 REASONS TO BUY VIP TICKETS
Two words: worth it. We bought the VIP tickets, not sure if we just wasted money or not, but figured the potential upside would be worth the $40 difference per adult ticket. So glad we did for a host of reasons:
- First, the 15-20 minutes extra you get to do the pre-show activities is huge because you should be able to do most of them in time before it becomes too crowded with all of the regular ticket holders.
Getting VIP tickets to Aulani’s Hawaiian luau gave Claire plenty of additional time to twirl around and enjoy herself before remaining seated for the show.
- Second, tables in the VIP section get called first to the buffet, giving you time to leisurely eat, run to the bathroom and change diapers before showtime, and even gives the kids a few minutes to run around before remaining seated for the show.
- Third, you get seated closer to the stage. This is a big deal at the beginning of the show when kids are called up to hula with Minnie and Mickey so the little ones have time to get to the front and see. And then obviously, during the show you are seated closer to the main stage. There are a couple mini stages near the back of the audience so everyone will be able to see some hula up close, but the main stage is where it’s at.
- Drinks included! Two glasses of wine and two waters practically make up for the difference in price right there. Oh, and somebody comes to your table and takes your drink orders so you don’t even have to wait in line at the bar. Like I said, VIP tickets are WORTH IT.
I mean, the drinks are Disney prices at Aulani’s luau. But with VIP tickets, it’s all included and you can order from your seat!
So Overall…
In typical Disney fashion, Aulani has created a Hawaiian luau entertainment experience so well done, that you forget the cost of the tickets, and frankly leave the show not even caring how much you spent but would have gladly paid double. Well, maybe I shouldn’t go that far, but you get the idea. It’s truly a crowd pleaser for the whole family. If you’re heading to Aulani with your family, or really anywhere on the island of Oahu, make sure you attend the Disney Luau!
I’ll leave you with this: Disney is the best at creating lasting memories, and their Aulani Ka Wa’a luau was one of our favorite and most memorable moments from our trip to Hawaii.
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