I’m sorry about another luau thread
. We’ll be at Aulani in June and are debating between Aulani’s luau and Paradise Cove. It will be myself, DH, DD (16) and DD(13). It seems like both have great reviews. I’m not too concerned about the price difference. I’m trying to figure out which one is best for us.
Can anyone compare them for us?
I’ve attended both luaus and found them to be very different. I attended the Paradise Cove Luau first in 2014 and Aulani’s Luau in 2019. When I attended the Paradise Cove Luau, I booked the deluxe package. The package came with a lei and Mai tai greeting, photo souvenir and gift, seating right by the stage, and the convenience of having your meal served to you instead of having to get in the buffet line. Instead of the three exotic drink tickets you're given a $24 gift card that you can use for drinks(alcoholic and non-alcoholic) or the items in their gift shop (It appears the card is now $20). While you're waiting for the Imu ceremony, they have activities such as lei making, tattooing, etc.. About an hour before the ceremony, they show you some of the cultural things like hula, husking a coconut, climbing a coconut tree, casting fishing nets, etc.. The only other place I'd seen those activities was at the Polynesian Cultural Center.
Dinner wasn’t served until 7 pm. Also, if you want something to drink with dinner keep one of your "drink tickets" for that or plan to pay OOP. They don't provide a beverage with dinner. The food was ok--don't come for the food because most people don't like luau food. However, what I did like was that there were enough American food on the menu(fried chicken, salad, macaroni salad, pasta salad, corn, etc—the menu may be slightly different now) so that you didn't go hungry if you didn't want to try the Hawaiian ones. The show was great and you're out by 8:45pm. It’s a short walk there from Aulani.
When I did the Aulani Luau, I did the VIP luau on Christmas Eve. It included a lei, beverages, photo and priority seating, early check-in, and first crack at the buffet table. As OP have said, the venue is not as exciting as Paradise Cove because you’re on the side of the building. There were only four activities you could participate in before the luau( poi making, stamping, and 2 others) started and they were done in about 5 minutes because they sat about 5 people at a time for each. The luau itself focused on the story of Aunty’s family. While it still included the dancing, the story line may take some getting used to if you have never attended a luau before or are expecting a show without a story line. If I remember correctly, dinner is served after the show has been going for 30 minutes to one hour.
Given COVID, there will probably be some slight changes to the buffet. It looks like Aulani is now doing a 3 course meal instead of the buffet. IMO you can’t go wrong with either. Paradise Cove was the first luau I did on Oahu, so it‘s normally what I judge other luaus against. Good luck with your decision.
