KA WA'A - A LŪ'AU

This luau was hosted by Aulani and I was a bit skeptical about it.AmbianceAulani is just beautiful.Customer ServiceHawaiian people are just very kind and warm in general. Here at Aulani it is top shelf. Food and CocktailsWe got the Preferred Package and this includes unlimited alcohol. Our server would take our drink orders and bring them to us. Food was excellent u get the pork and poi of course. Prime rib, chicken, fish, salmon poke, purple sweet potato mash. Salad and vegetables all good. The fish a bit dry but had good flavor. There was something for everyone. Fancy finger desserts tasty. EntertainmentWe had a good view of the main stage and seated next to small stage where warriors performed war dances and hula dancers performed. The fire performers were experts.This was the highlight of the luau. They were extremely talented the men fit and women beautiful, high level of precision and skill.They had a view activities like temporary tattoos, learning ukulele and pounding poi. You were also welcomed with a kukui nut necklace and given a lei bracelet that tied into the show.They don't do the ritual of pulling the pig out of the ground but don't really think it is an option of doing this on this beautiful property.I have been to maybe 4 luaus over the years and this by far was the best. A little pricy but well worth it.

We went to the luau (booked 6 months in advance). It was so convenient to walk over from our hotel room. There are 2 separate locations for check in if you are preferred vs general. The preferred is closer to the pana community hall room and you cut through the ewa tower to get the lawn and check in if you are preferred. General line over passed ama ama and auntys beach house. They let you in early if you are preferred. There are 4 activities- ukelele lessons, flower bracelets,Taro making and temporary tattoo. We hit up all of the activities in about 20 min. Photo is also right when you walk in. There are drinks prepared already- alcoholic and nonalcohol. Theres also a drink bar as well. And then you are shown to your tables. We shared with another family. I believe the table seats 16 total?Dinner is buffet style. You get called up by table. Around 6:30 is when it starts. Food wasPretty good.Show starts around 7:30 and is about an hour. It was a good show. It ended at 8:30.

This luau is performed on the Disney Aulani's Resort property. You do not have to be a guest to book a show. I booked the luau online about a few months in advance for the Friday show. We parked in guest parking which is a garage to the right of the front entrance and it cost us $40. I do think there was a way to validate it, we didn't get a chance look into it so we just paid it.To get to the general check in, we entered the front entrance of the lobby and made it a left until we saw a sign that said Ewa tower. You can either take the elevator or stairs next to it to go down to the ground level. Upon getting to the ground level, we went outside and followed the path to the left until we saw signs that pointed us to general check in. We saw the line of people and lined up around 5:10pm. They did check us in a bit slowly. We didn't get to enter the actual luau grounds until 5:40pm.We got kukui bead leis and took photos with the Polynesian performers upon entering. When you are assigned a seat and seated, an employee will come by to show you the photos and they are available for purchase for $45. We did purchase ours since it came with all the 4 digital photos they took and one printed photo of our choice.This is a great luau for kids of course. It's Disney! All the cast members are friendly and helpful. There was a temporary tattoo station, a ukulele station, lei bracelet station, and interactive activities with hula performers. The show is really really good! The singing, dancing, and storytelling is magical and easy to follow along. They make small references to Disney characters here and there, but the primary focus is Polynesian culture. The lead female and male singer also have such beautiful voices.The buffet was served table by table. I believe the sooner you got in line to enter the luau, the closer you'd be seated to the stage behind the preferred seating and sooner your table would get to go first. The food was pretty good and filling. My favorite was the prime rib roast with their au jus sauce and mac salad. The kalua pork was way too salty for me unfortunately although the meat was tender. They do have a kids bento box too available, I'm not too sure if that is ordered ahead.They do pack up the food without announcing a last call. I glanced behind me at 7:10pm and the food was already gone.I also enjoyed that your server can also take your drink order for the open bar so you don't have to get up. I only got to drink #2 since the alcohol was strong.There are bathrooms available but it is like a 2-3 minute walk outside of the luau grounds and back into the hotel and pool area. There are signs to point you in the right direction.Overall, I thought this luau was very enjoyable! I've been to the Old Lahaina Luau before so I feel like this one is worth the price point if you want to have a great experience in O'ahu.

Excellent luau! Highly recommend attending this one. I've been to other luaus on the island and his is by far the best. This luau doesn't all of the Polynesian islands. It only covers O'ahu and the surrounding area. Great storytelling about O'ahu. The food is delish and the entertainment is top notch!!This luau runs only 3 days a week, so reservations are necessary.

This was a phenomenal Lu'au. Truly top notch in every way. The food was shockingly good, especially the poke and poi. The entertainers were all amazing!! Service was fantastic. The band was so good and they even had an authentic pedal steel player (very rare) to give the music a real Hawaiian sound. This lu'au is one you will never forget. It's 10/10. I'm very glad I was able to experience it.

Spectacular storytelling of the first ancient explorers to the shores of Ko Alina. Easy to follow and beautifully told through music and dance. We reserved preferred seating 3 months in advance and had a great table that we shared with another family. Our server was exceptional very attentive and super friendly. We had a great meal and delicious desserts to follow. Drinks were amazing and the coffee was delicious. We had a magical evening from the start with the temporary tattoos and lei bracelets and the complementary photo. Parking was also validated from our server. We parked in the guest parking. Loved every minute of our family time at the KA WA' A, a Luau at Aulani.

I wanted to like this luau a bit more but overall it fell a little short for me, so honestly it's more like 3.5 stars for the price. We had the general seating. Check in was simple and you take some photos at the start. They gave us cute kukui nut leis and they have little stations once you get in to go experience. Flower lei bracelets, poi making, tattoos, etc...Seats are pre-assigned and we sat on the very right back side table which was fine because we had young ones. They gave us a nice welcome drink upon arrival. Our waitress was very friendly. Food: Buffet style and the waitress tells you when you can grab food. Food was ok. Poke, kalua pork, sweet potato, and haupia were my favorites. They cleaned up the food super fast, so if you want seconds/dessert, jump on it! Once it gets dark, buffet is done and the show begins. Show: The show wasn't bad, but out of all the luaus I've seen it wasn't great. They have a pretty small group and it felt like a lot of story and not a lot of performance. I felt myself getting bored/tired, thankfully staff came around and offered coffee. Fire dancers at the end were the most entertaining. Overall, maybe this luau just wan't to my taste. A lot of families and kids looked like they enjoyed it though! So don't let this review stop you from seeing it! Just sharing my honest opinion of my experience.

I've been to a few lu'aus through several trips to HI, but I have to say, Aulani's Ka Wa'a Lu'au was really well done.It's expensive, there's no sugar coating that, and be sure to book well in advance (several months). For general seating, we waited in line and upon entry, got a brown seed lei and photo opp with hula dancers. Before the buffet lines were open, there were stations to get temporary tatooes, bracelet leis, and play the ukulele. Oh and the drink stations were open as well.Buffet was well organized and went table by table. There was a bountiful selection of food. My favorite happened to be the sweet purple potatoes. Menus are subject to change.I think the best part were the performances. Compared to past lu'aus that I've been to, the flow and storyline for this one was much better. They had really good MCs and wove in nice stories to better educate us on each performance. Of course, the hula dancing, singing, and fire throwing were also very impressive on their own.

This luau deserves no less than 5 stars and I would give it 6 stars if I could. The food, service & entertainment was all incredible. We paid a little extra for the preferred seating and we are so glad that we did. We got there early to check in and were the 2nd family which gave us plenty of time to enjoy the pre-show activities as well as the delicious drinks (all you can drink). Also, the preferred seating got us an early release to the buffet which I always prefer when it is served buffet style. I highly recommend this luau to anyone going to Oahu. You do not need to stay at the Aulani in order to go to the luau!

For our first family luau, the preferred seating was worth it for the extra $$$:-Early entrance-A server takes your drink order vs. having to wait in line at the bar and unlimited drinks.-Separate buffet line for preferred.Was able to go back a few times for the prime rib as there was leftovers.Food and dessert was delish.Kids meal was good and they liked it. Some of the kids fell asleep after dinner.Everything was easy, clean, and kid friendly.It was a great first luau for the family.