On our first night at Disney Aulani, we went to the Ka Wa’a Luau on property. The Preferred Seating was $204 per adult, and the General Seating was $175 per adult. The difference between the seatings is that the preferred seating is assigned and right by the front of the stage. You also can enter 10 minutes earlier, which means you can check out the side festivities earlier too. Don’t worry though. On this night, we noticed the general seating area was no where near full, so I imagine you can checkout the side festivities pretty easily. The luau is hosted on the Hālāwai Lawn.

Ambiance & Service

We splurged for the preferred seating just because for some of us it was our first luau. When you enter, they have you take pictures with some of the dancers. They do give you a card with a QR code that you can link up to your Disneyland Photos app, and you can download the pictures for free. You can however purchase the pictures from the photographer for a fee (I think it was like $20?).

When you check in, they give you those nut necklaces, and they ask you to wait in line to take welcome pictures with some of the dancers. After you take a picture with the dancers, they give you a free drink as you are waiting to be seated by the host (your choice of a “Ka Wa’a Sunset” or a blue non-alcoholic drink). After the host seats you at a large rectangular family/community sized table with others, you are encouraged to visit a few side demonstrations and activities. We got our temporary polynesian tattoo and wrist flowers. While all this happening, there was very chill Hawaiian music being played live in the background by the band.

Before the real show starts, the hosts dismiss each table (starting with the preferred area) to go pick up their food from the buffet line. Some people did double fist plates to save travel time. But remember, this isn’t really a race, and you will have more than enough time to make at least 2-3 visits to the buffet foods before they do a last call. Once the show started, it was quite entertaining and mesmerizing.

In total, the experience lasted for about 3 hours, so you can expect to be done close to 8-8:30 PM.

Food

Not pictured are the drinks. There are both unlimited alcoholic and non-alcoholic. The alcoholic drinks all tasted pretty good, although I’d argue that the Mai Tai was quite strong. I definitely enjoyed the Ka Wa’a Sunset, which came with coconut rum, passion fruit juice, and grenadine. You can see the list of tropical alcoholic drinks by clicking on the PDF at the top of this post.

Because it’s buffet style, I pretty much nibbled on something of everything.

Salads:

• Lettuce was fresh and crispy, and the papaya seed dressing adds a slight tang to it.
• Taro Macaroni Salad tasted pretty much like normal macaroni salad. I didn’t really taste much of the taro, but regardless it was pretty good.
• Lomi Lomi Salmon looks like regular salsa, but they mixed small salmon with tomatoes. To be honest, it basically just tasted like salsa to me.
• Ahi Poke tasted like much of the poke that we had at various markets and small shops around Oahu.
• Poi was basically taro soup. This was not something I’m a fan of, but for others they may like it. It was a bit watery with the starch.

Entrees:

• Okinawan Sweet Potato Puree was absolutely delicious. This was something that made it onto my plate multiple rounds.
• Seasonal Stir-Fry Vegetables was just veggies.
• Imu Style Braised Pork tasted like pulled pork with salt and some light seasoning. It’s similar to kalua pork.
• Oven Roasted Teriyaki Chicken was pretty good for what it was. The teriyaki glaze was pretty light, so it brought a nice balance between sweet and savory. The chicken also came with skin, which I liked a lot. Some pieces of the skin were baked to a slight crisp.
• Hawaiian Local Catch with Yuzu Macadamia Nut Sauce was not very memorable. I tried a bit of this, and it basically tastes like fish fillets in a buffet. I recall that the fish did not taste overcooked.
• Sweet Bread Rolls was pretty good, but it wastes space in your stomach.
• Alaea Sea Crusted Prime Rib was arguably the best part of the entrees. The prime rib was all cooked very nicely, and the meat quality was noticeably much better than our previous night at Haleiwa Joe’s. The creamy horseradish and au jus had very nice seasonings to it, and so the prime rib made it onto my plate a few more rounds in the evening.

Desserts:

• Macadamia Nut Brownie was really good. It wasn’t excessively sweet, and it still had that fudge texture and taste.
• Haupia (Coconut Pudding) was surprisingly really good. The sweetness was very mild.
• Guava Cake tasted like the typical guava jam that some Latin countries apply to their cakes.
• Passion Fruit Cake was very delightful. It had a good balance of sweet and tart.
• Seasonal & Tropical Fresh Fruit was just normal fruits you see in buffets such as pineapples, strawberries, cantaloupe, and honeydew.

Final Verdict

The Disney Aulani luau was a very fun and enjoyable experience without ever having to leave the Aulani resort. I had heard from others this is one of the better, if not the best, luau on Oahu, but I really have no experience to compare to this. Unless you really want to be close to the front and the energy of the sounds, the general seating is sufficient if you’re looking to save money. Otherwise, I’d totally splurge for the preferred to make the most out of your time.

Yelp Jabs

All beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) are included. The whole dining experience felt really rushed. I had to be stern and say no I’m still eating when several of the workers asked if I was done. Food was mediocre, at these prices I would expect more.

I’m not sure how it was like back in 2021, but know that in 2023 for buffet style, the food was pretty good. If you are expecting fine dining quality, be prepared to be disappointed.

I waited all night for Mickey and Minnie to make their appearance, and maybe even Lilo, Stitch and Moana! I was disappointed that I missed Mickey and Minnie’s brief hula show because I went to the bathroom at that time.

The one thing I realized about Aulani as a resort is that it has a really light Disney supplemental theme to it similarly to . It’s unlike the other amusement park hotels where there are heavy Disney accents to it.

Revisions

1. Apr 28, 2023 - Initial revision.