Six months ago, I posted an article about Spirit of Aloha — the dinner show at the Polynesian — probably being closed permanently. Sadly, this can now be confirmed. A staple from the very earliest points of Walt Disney World, the show was a celebration of Hawaiian culture, dance, and festivities. The Luau is now over and cast members who had desperately waited for a return are notified that the experience will not return.
In its place, new DVC Villas will be built.
Here’s my original reporting from September:
In fact, in a variety of different ways, it doesn’t appear that Disney is supporting the Luau. It doesn’t appear labeled on Google Earth or Maps, Disney has worked on pathing around much of the Seven Seas Lagoon EXCEPT near the Luau Cove building, and other people with connections (i.e. Martin) are saying it would not be a surprise for a DVC to go up.
Little things like the Luau are what made Disney special. While we watch these sorts of experiences disappear (I’m looking at you Hoop-de-Doo), some of the extra wonders of Disney World are saying goodbye. Will the average visitor notice? No. However, the overall package is diminished… and that will be felt, even if it is not something just anybody can articulate. Unfortunately, it seems to be the trend with Disney World these days.
I guess Luaus just don’t bring in thousands of dollars per guest like other offerings can.
Mahalo to the cast and aloha to all.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below…
The Hoop-de-Doo was great and an important part of the campgrounds. My reasons for not going to Disney just keep mounting up. In 10 years I was intending to take my grand kids there, but it looks like that may not be happening anymore.
Hoop-de-Doo isn’t necessarily gone yet, but expect major changes that could result in the show being drastically different.
I’m split. The Luau was ruining the Poly. Imagine paying the prices for the Polynesian, and your main restaurant is packed and random people are walking around the grounds. Removing the Luau improves the guest experience for the hotel staying guests. The Luau was for hotel guests, but the Luau became the dinner/show for easy access to Magic Kingdom.
On the other hand, Disney is building another hotel. I wonder if anyone at Disney does the math on hotel rooms and park capacity. I assume Disney only considers their hotels, and ignores Swan and Dolphin plus other hotels.
At this point Disney needs a fifth park and an expansion/reimagine of Animal Kingdom. As Disney won’t add a park, we should anticipate a precipitous drop in attendance.
At this time, Disney is losing the bloggers. Even the ones forced to be happy sound monotone. Disney lost a lot of fans already.
The biggest problem I have (and will be doing an article about it) is they very cheaply decided to move a scrapped hotel plan into the new Polynesian DVC plan. The problem is that it is not at all suited for the Polynesian theme. It will permanently be a blot against the beauty and design of the Seven Seas Lagoon.