Is Preferred Seating Worth It at the Ka Wa'a Luau?
Can you really say you have been to Hawai’i without attending a luau? We certainly did not want to pass on the opportunity to experience one ourselves. While luaus are offered at various other hotels and facilities, we made sure to book Aulani’s Ka Wa’a Luau many months in advance before our trip (reservations are required). This performance takes place on select nights on the Hālāwai Lawn, weather permitting, and offers two ticketing options, preferred and general seating. For a $30/person upcharge, we booked preferred seating.
Above: Our Ohana welcomes us to the banquet table with a traditional Hawaiian greeting.
Our evening started at 5:00pm, which is when registration at the lawn opens for preferred seating. After checking in, we joined a short line, where we were greeted by performers and gifted our own kukui nut leis. Once the “doors” opened, we took pictures with performers and were greeted by our seating host, who took us to our table in the front row! There, we were handed delicious cocktails (bottomless) and it was recommended that we get up and explore the various cultural activities around the lawn. This was a fun, educational and unexpected aspect of the luau. We learned how to pound taro into poi, make a flower lei, play ukulele, and even got tattoos! We noticed right away that preferred seating almost eliminated the lines for these activities, as they started to fill up once general seating patrons were on site.
Performances on stage began immediately after we were seated, with beautiful music and hula. Prior to the meal, we were privileged to hear a traditional Hawai’ian blessing, the Oli Aloha greeting. As preferred seating guests, we were first to be escorted to the bountiful buffet, featuring Hawai’ian delicacies such as lomi lomi salmon, imu style braised pork, ‘ahi poke, mahi mahi, and poi. Our seating hosts were checking on us often to make sure we had everything we needed, and refill our cocktails. Did we mention that drinks were included with admission? Between the two of us, we had quite a few Ka Wa’a Sunsets and Mai Tais! We were both very impressed with this buffet and this meal was one of our favorites of the entire trip.
Above: Our amazing performers honor us with a traditional Hawaiian dance!
With our bellies full, the hosts made their rounds one last time for drink orders, as the “show” was about to begin. This whole time we thought the show was already going on, but apparently there was even more in store for us. The performers took to telling stories of Polynesian history and culture, illustrated with beautiful costumes, pyro-techniques and of course, hula. While most of the performances took place on the main stage, dancers were positioned on platforms throughout the seating area so that all patrons could have a special view of the show. We even got to see special guest appearances from two beloved characters - check out the video to see who showed up! By 8:00 pm, the show wrapped up and we were offered the opportunity to meet and greet with several performers.
So, the big question remains…was the experience worth the price? Overall, our answer was a resounding ‘YES’ - and the $30 upcharge for preferred seating was well worth the additional investment, too! The food and entertainment offerings were unmatched, and we will cherish the memories forever. But we’d never ask you to take our word for it, when we have video evidence to support our conclusion! We invite you to check out the vlog from this experience to decide for yourself whether or not we got our money’s worth out of this jam-packed evening!
