News Disney's Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show will not reopen and is permanently closed according to reports

[TalkingHead]

Nice way to celebrate the resort’s 50th! Years ago I attended a luau on Maui, and I was chatting with one of the performers afterwards. When I told him I lived in Florida, he perked up and said he was hoping to get hired for the WDW show. Here I was thinking Maui seemed pretty much like paradise and this guy was wanting to move to Orlando.

 

[montyz81]

Looks like they just repurposed Reflections: A Lakeside Lodge.

Why wouldn’t they just restart the WC construction again with the lakeside lodge. With all the land, why do they keep putting hotels on top of each other. The “blessing of size” is no longer a blessing!

 

[Ayla]

Actually, for our 25th anniversary we did a Luau on Kauai last year. (In that picture, we don't look like 2 kids barely old enough to drive, let alone get married!) I don't remember the WDW one well enough to compare, but the pre-closing WDW price was actually cheaper than the Hawaiian luau. And the food probably just as good - Hawaii was fine, but nothing to get too excited about. (I'm not sure it's possible to serve a few hundred people simultaneously and have it be spectacular.)

We went to a luau for our 25th last month on Maui (Old Lahaina, for those familiar) and it was spectacular. It was $300 plus tip for 2 people and it was worth every penny.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Why wouldn’t they just restart the WC construction again with the lakeside lodge. With all the land, why do they keep putting hotels on top of each other. The “blessing of size” is no longer a blessing!

They're not putting hotels on top of each other, they're expanding an existing resort on the existing resort's footprint.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

you can be sure the new resort will have a level of theming on par with the Riviera... That is the new way of things.
We stayed at Riviera in the 3 bedroom suite...which was very nice, but did not feel in any way like a Disney property...it felt like any other Marriott hotel... Plain nicely manicured grounds, Plain nice pool... Nothing that felt like classic Disney...

Classic Disney looks and smells like cigarette smoke and mildew.

The good ol' days weren't always good, and tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems.

 

[networkpro]

Well they had to do something with the show and dining pavilion, either reconstruction or demolition as the kitchen and dining area (besides the newer roof) is original from my first visit in 1972. They will need to do some construction for the bus stop as its insufficient for those additional rooms more in line with AKL or Beach/Yacht club with multiple bays and extended seating.

 

[drew81]

Remember when Disney debunked rumors of P.U.S.H.’s cancellation and then a few days later the trash can was done for good?

 

[Ayla]

Remember when Disney debunked rumors of P.U.S.H.’s cancellation and then a few days later the trash can was done for good?

Sure do. I don't believe a word any "WDW spokesperson" says. I'm guessing the leak was too early so they had to squash it.

 

[Bocabear]

Classic Disney looks and smells like cigarette smoke and mildew.

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The good ol' days weren't always good, and tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems.

For their time they were quite luxe and quite special...they were also not $1000 a night...
Remember also at that time "Theme Parks, Theme Settings, Thee Architecture" were all quite unique...In the past 50 years we have become quite numb to the concept...we live in a world full of thematic design...Maybe not always fantastical, but thematic nonetheless...Disney seems to have just given up and are making everything simple modern and lacking the Disney Touch that they created.

 

[prberk]

This is absolutely sad. A Polynesian resort without a luau. It and the landscape and tiki torches really made the theming of the Polynesian the best on property.
Now we get a new “Marriott” tower overwhelming the beautiful longhouses. So much for sight lines and theming.

As for the press release that said how much people loved the monorail resorts and that this was a way to let more people experience them… how about just building more monorails to the other resorts? Oh, wait: that would cost money that we can’t charge for. Better to take the luau out of an Hawaiian resort.

 

[prberk]

I never got around to seeing it, but this show was one of the things that made Walt Disney World what it was.

It goes back to the idea of a "vacation kingdom" with a wide variety of activities instead of just theme parks and hotel rooms.

Also, perfect timing to get rid of an opening day attraction that would otherwise be celebrating 50 years with the rest of the resort...

Cannot agree more, although I have been to the show. Both that and Hoop De Doo were great evenings out with a nice, relaxing family entertainment that contrasted nicely with the frenetic energy of the theme parks — like you said, rounding out the resort experience.

 

[OG Runner]

I really enjoyed this show. I am disappointed it will not be returning. I am assuming it occupied part of the area where the
new DVC tower will be located.

 

[Rinx]

As a DVC member, I say

I love the Poly for so many reasons. That tower looks like

 

[mf1972]

Remember when Disney debunked rumors of P.U.S.H.’s cancellation and then a few days later the trash can was done for good?

and now we got bob chapek. i personally cannot tell the difference.

 

[ToTBellHop]

and now we got bob chapek. i personally cannot tell the difference.

One was a talking trash can. The other is trash that talks.

 

[Captain Culpepper Cline]

They're not putting hotels on top of each other, they're expanding an existing resort on the existing resort's footprint.

They’re adding a timeshare next to the resort that is much larger and has little cultural reference or value.

Fixed that for you.

 

[ToTBellHop]

They’re adding a timeshare next to the resort that is much larger and has little cultural reference or value.

Fixed that for you.

We kind of need to see the inside to determine cultural reference. I’d love to be surprised. Poly, as it is, has not really attempted to represent culture in the way AKL does. Maybe they will?

 

[TikibirdLand]

Now, you're makin' me homesick... for Maui!

 

[CaptainAmerica]

They’re adding a timeshare next to the resort that is much larger and has little cultural reference or value.

Fixed that for you.

Spirit of Aloha had zero cultural value and, if it premiered in 2022, would almost certainly be branded "racist."

We kind of need to see the inside to determine cultural reference. I’d love to be surprised. Poly, as it is, has not really attempted to represent culture in the way AKL does. Maybe they will?

I'm laughing hysterically at people who think there was ever any kind of cultural value at the Poly.

 

[CaptinEO]

Spirit of Aloha had zero cultural value and, if it premiered in 2022, would almost certainly be branded "racist."


I'm laughing hysterically at people who think there was ever any kind of cultural value at the Poly.

You're right, a 2022 Hilton has way more culture

In all seriousness the polynesian/tiki room isn't an educational museum, they are idealized/entertainment versions of real life cultures.