Luau, Hoop Dee Doo, or punt

[Clay Ransone]

I will be taking my folks down to WDW in late November/early December of this year. We have been to WDW many times. The last two trips we did the Hoop Dee Doo. The last visit it was a done up for Christmas. While I am kind of over the Hoop Dee Doo my mom loves it. She suggested we go and check out the Luau rather than the Hoop Dee Doo but I'm not sold on it. The Luau menu is not that exciting to me. Mom will probably be in the same boat with the Luau menu. Will the Luau have any Christmas stuff added to the show? While I do enjoy a dinner show I'm just not feeling either one right now. Should I stick with the Hoop Dee Doo? Is anyone ready to sell me on the Luau? Should I punt and go and have dinner at one of the parks? My PS date is May 30th.

[Jared]

Clay, I'd punt and have dinner at one of the parks, but you'll probably see a lot of people disagree. I don't like either dinner show, and Disney's Spirit of Aloha Show is definitely the lesser of the two. If you're tired of the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue, which I was after one showing, I'd definitely skip it altogether and enjoy one of the other better restaurants elsewhere.

[tinkerbelle75]

I am one of those who absolutely LOVED the luau show and food! Out of our party of 11, there was not one person who had one complaint*( except that maybe they had more room in their stomachs)
Why not give it a try? If you've sat through HDD that many times, it's bound to be a welcome change!

[joonyer]

I'm not that interested in the Luau menu either, and we've been to HDD already so If I were you, I'd go to the California Grill for dinner, and watch Wishes after/during your dinner. You'll have fabulous food and service and an experience you won't forget.

[pox24]

Punt...

[BluewaterBrad]

If it was me I would Luau. We like the dinner shows, but too much would be too much. Again, a great steak somewhere at the resort would be great too!

[mouseketeer mom]

I am one of those who absolutely LOVED the luau show and food! Out of our party of 11, there was not one person who had one complaint*( except that maybe they had more room in their stomachs)
Why not give it a try? If you've sat through HDD that many times, it's bound to be a welcome change!

Me too! We loved it so much we did the luau twice! Once in 2004 and once this past Thanksgiving! Whats not to love? The food is yummy and the fire dancer and all of the dancers are so entertaining. Ok..the storyline is a little goofy, but..the show itself is very, very fun!

[patandtwins]

My vote is for the Luau over the Hoop De Doo. We've done the Hoop DD 2 or 3 times and are over it. We did the Luau last time and it was better than I expected. I was nervous about the menu too, but actually loved it. The pina colattas are yummy too. There are, however, tons of other non-show restaurants that are fabulous. Le cellier and Boma. I heard Marakesh(sp?) is really good and there are belly dancers. I also heard that California Grille is fantastic, as well as the Hollywood Brown Derby. I also like the Coral Reef which you can watch fish in a big tank around the room.

[Mickey91]

We went to the Luau in 2003. We loved it!!

[CU Tiger]

Are you going to a show just to go to a show? It does not sound like you want to go at all, so I would punt. I like the Hoop De Doo better than the Luau, but I would go to the Luau if you have not seen it just to try something new. If you have a low expectation going into the show, you will typically get what you expect because of your mood. Go enjoy a nice dinner somewhere else and do not worry about it.

[Belle_0717]

IMO PUNT!

Why not check out O'hana - for poly feel or Coral Reef - for seafood or Cali Grill - if you want to spend the money.

[Kairi_7378]

Since you've done HDD, I'd try something else, personally. I'd do O'hana or Kona Cafe rather than the Luau if you want to do something tropical. If not... I'd do CA Grill or Artist's Point, or head to Epcot and try something there.

[TheMartellFamily]

IMO there is just so much to choose from that if you do not want to do HDDR then try something else. You may find something else that you can try and like it so much more. If it is a dinner and a show there are other places too. There is Morrocco with the bellydancers. There is Germany. You can even do California Grill and make sure you see the fireworks from the MK while you are there. So here are some ideas for you if you do not want to do HDDR.

[DizneyRox]

For us, the HDD is a must do, especailly at Christmas. You couldn't pay me enough to waste my time at the Luau.

If you want to try something different, you can head to the parks or any of the other resorts. There is a lot to choose from, but again, the Luau would be at the bottom of my list, well after the french fry stand at MK and Pizza Planet at MGM. I'd actually rather fight the birds for scraps outside of Casey's.

[Clay Ransone]

Tradition and Christmas stuff has won out. I looked at all kinds of menus both in the parks and at the resorts. The more I thought about it the more I kept coming back to the Hoop Dee Doo. The Christmas version is pretty good and I know my mom will be happy. As long as I can get a Category 1 table I will be happy. Thanks for all your suggestions.

[FromKnoxvilleto Disney]

PUNT!!! Go try something new. There are many places to enjoy dining at WDW. Pick one you haven't been to and roll the dice. You never know what you will enjoy until yoy give it a chance.

[Clotho]

I make it my duty to warn people off the Luau. I had read many reviews warning ME off the luau, but I figured "it can't be as bad as that."

Yes it can. And worse.

We went last year, Sept 2007.

The food was not that good. Fine, but not for the price. I far preferred the options at HDD.

The service was AWFUL. Two glasses dropped near our exposed feet (separate times, not at once!) and not a single apology, nor handed anything to clean up with, and they barely cleaned it up at all. No smiles, no kindness. We could never get someone to come and refill our drinks, so we had one drink each and then sat there without anything.

The show was sub par.

Stay away.

[DizneyRox]

I make it my duty to warn people off the Luau. I had read many reviews warning ME off the luau, but I figured "it can't be as bad as that."

I hope I was one of those. I hate sounding like a broken record, but the Luau is just horrible, so I try to chime in as often as I can.