Since people have mentioned Tiki Room, a stray musing...
So, Country Bear Jamboree was developed for Mineral King, yes? The idea being that MK was not just going to be a ski resort, but a Disney ski resort, which offered world-class, technologically advanced entertainment in addition to great skiing.
Now that Disney is building resorts that aren't attached to theme parks, was there any consideration given to adapting this model to, say, Aulani? Wouldn't a modified Tiki Room, with an extended show that ran for a few performances a night, be nice counter-programming to the same Luau that you'll find at every resort on Oahu?
I tend to think that this is the sort of thing which would give Disney a comparative advantage over other resorts in the area.
Obviously it would be somewhat difficult to maintain AAs, considering they can barely do it in places where lots of AAs are heavily concentrated. But I wish P&R had pursued it
This is really an intriguing suggestion, but there may be several reasons they wouldn't pursue it, even beyond the $$$ of course.
First, frankly I'm not sure Aulani needs it. There already is really nothing like it on Oahu, and maybe only a couple of similar places on Maui or the Big Island. Believe it or not, due to this Aulani is a big draw for Oahu locals, at least it was when we were there. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, special locals' rates. Second, at least according to a (non-Disney) bus driver I was talking to, inter-island hopping for locals is way way down due to greatly increased air fares and the death of the ferry. So if you want that get-away-from-it-all bigger than life resort experience, on Oahu Aulani is by far your best choice.
Also, there was a lot of local political opposition to Aulani due to fears that it would be too Disneyfied, and plans to include a Tiki Room like show would have only made things worse. Of course, as it turned out Aulani may be the most Hawaiian of the big resorts, which is a big part of its charm. You are immersed in its Hawaiian story (not plot) and being there makes you want to learn more about the Islands.
Finally, they compete with all the other Luau shows in a very non-modern-Disney way. Although there is no meal associated with the show (no big loss in my opinion) and it is on a smaller scale, the show itself is free. It is so popular, they are moving it to a bigger venue.
By the way, as you can probably tell, I am a huge fan of the place. It feels like the old Disney of not settling for "good enough", of plussing things wherever you look, and great immersiveness. Plus you are in Hawaii, so what's not to like?
