Polynesian Luau

Location

Luau Cove at the Polynesian Resort. Luau cove is located on the east side of the resort.

Times

There are two shows one at 6:45PM and another at 9:30PM.

Cost

The cost for the Luau is $38 for adults, $20 for children. If you have a Magic Kingdom Card (MKC) or an Annual Pass (AP) you may be eligible for a discount, depending on the show you are attending, time of year. etc. Ask when you make your reservation, and ask again when you pay.

Reservations

Reservations can be made up to two years in advance by calling 1-407-WDW-DINE (1-407-939-3463). The seating is by the order of the date you reserve, so the sooner you call the better seat you are going to get. My mother called about 6 months in advance. We sat in the first row in the middle. It was great.

Food

Everything including the Tropical Lavas is All-you-can-eat.

• Appetizer: There were 3. Lettuce with Peanut Butter, a noodle dish, and something else (sorry the memory is already fading)
• Entrees: Mahi Mahi, Chicken, Rice, another kind of fish (sorry memory again).
• Dessert: Pineapple Upside-down Cake (I think, definetely a pineapple cake)
• Beverages:Tropical Lavas (alcoholic), Tropical Punch, Coke products, coffee, water.

Show

There are basically two parts of the show. During the dinner portion, there is a Polynesian Fashion show. It introduces you to the cast, and lets you look at something while you are eating. After you have finished dinner the real show will begin. The latter portion includes tradional dances from many of the islands of Polynesia, including a fire dance.

My Comments

We were rather lucky with this show. We were down in Florida in late Aug/Early Sept. in 1997. There was an encephalitis scare, and we caught one of the last shows before Disney canceled the evening shows. We were also lucky in that our table was in the first row, center. We had a great view, and a very attentive server.

The seating is under a very large, dark green tarp. Therefore it gets very hot under the tarp. From where we were sitting we got to feel a nice breeze come off the Seven Seas Lagoon. There are fans in the dining area, but they weren't very powerful, so it was very hot the farther back you went in the dining area.

Most of the food was just okay, like most of the other food on Disney property. I thought the chicken was excellent, and so we kept having the server bring more of the chicken. The rice was also very good. The fish I didn't care for, because I don't like white fish; the rest of my family thought that it was just okay. The tropical lavas were very good. It is a rum based drink, I don't normally like rum but I managed to drink 2 of them. My dad highly recommends the tropical lavas :-)

I've never been to Hawaii to see the Polynesian Tropical Center, but my parents have. They thought the show was very similar, so if you are familiar with the Hawaiian shows you probably don't need to see this one. My parents also say that the show at the Tahitian Terrace in Disneyland was better than this show, so if you thought that show was wonderful, you most likely will be disappointed in this one. The performers seemed to be bored, and had there own little things that they did to keep themselves occupied. Some of the girls looked like they were going to start laughing at any moment. There were a couple very good male performers. Especially the Fire dancer.

All in all, we didn't think the show would be worth the price if we had paid full price (we had MKC discount), or if we had sat further back in the dining area. If you have never seen a show like this, and are able to get a discount, and you are able to reserve the show several months in advance (to get a good seat) it's not a bad way to spend the evening.

View my Guestbook

Page last updated January 13,1999