Will be on our honeymoon in November and visiting both Oahu and Maui, which is better the Old Lahaina Luau or a visit to the Polynesian Cultural Center?

Polynesian Cultural Center is not what it claims to be. It is a mormon owned Entertainment theme park that in many presentations mocked polynesian rituals/customs. Does not even compare with the Old Lahaina Luau which is an honest effort at authenticity. STAY AWAY FROM THIS PARK. Do a search here and at lonelyplanet.com (chat room) and see what other posters have said about the Polynesian Cultural Center.

I really enjoyed the Polynesian cultural center. Our group of eight family members attended there site last October. We choose the Ambassador package. With our entertainment card from the entertainment book we received a total of $47.00 off for each 2nd guest.With our ambassador pkg we received our own tour guide. He took us around the several villages making sure we were at each show on time. The employees are all students and are from different islands and represent their islands at each village you visit. Make sure you see the island of samoa. The buffet did not move me at all. Make sure you take the photos in the grass skirts with the family. We did it after dinner before the night show. This was awesome I was more impressed with the evening show than anything else. Do I regret going? Absolutely not! Would I do it again? No, I've seen I once, to many others things I have to do on my next visit in August. Whatever you decide ...... Enjoy!!!

I don't know why some people dislike the Cultural Center. I thought it was great. It was informative and the show was excellent. I would pace myself and get there in the afternoon then stay for the show and dinner. The Old Lahaina Luau is pleasant if you are staying nearby and stroll over for dinner and a show.

My vote goes to Old Lahaina Luau - in almost every category!

Old Lahaina - no contest. I've spent considerable time in Hawaii (had a part-time job there for a couple of years) and have also taken friends and family there. I would never go back or take anyone to the Polynesian Cultural Center.

I think you are comparing apples and oranges here. PCC is like a Polynesian theme park (without rides) better suited for children EXCEPT FOR the magnificent evening show. To me that is worth the price of admission, but unless I had a 10 year old with me, I wouldn't spent hours touring the mock villages, etc. in the park. I'd just go for the gorgeous show! Now you could also go to the Old Lahaina Luau for the truest luau experience in Hawaii, with the true Hawaiian dancing and charm, and the best luau food (now, keep in mind, you may not like luau food, no matter how high quality it is.) The two experiences are really not much alike! I would do both - but only the show at PCC!

The show at the Polynesian Cultural Center was the part that I particularly didn't like. The costumes are not authentic.

Stay away from the Polynesian Cultural Center. It was the worst part of our trip to Hawaii. It is a Mormon run tourist trap. I wish I would have known better. You have been warned!!!

The show at the Polynesian cultural center is fine if you are looking for a Las Vegas style musical of Polynesia. In the "Polynesian Review" we saw Elvis was worked into it. The food was crap the information on the Polynesian is mixed with satire putting a comic slant on everything even inside a Maori temple. I remember saying to my friend you would never catch all of these mainlanders laughing if they had a minister doing the hoky poki in front of an alter. But hey it is not white culture so it's all in fun? Right? WRONG! I WOULD NOT GIVE THEM MY MONEY.

I have to admit I saw the show many years ago, maybe they have added "comedy" to it nowdays (or maybe I didn't "get it" then). But remember alot of people still do love the show maybe Sahar would too.

Pehaps you would like the shows if you are living someplace very remote. I am thinking of a rural environment not driving distance to a city. Otherwise this place is pure nonsense.

2 different experiences. I enjoyed the entire Polynesian Cultural Center, but our tour bus arrived at 1pm and we only had time to see about half of it. Dinner was o.k. I would skip and go over to McDonald's if you have kids, at least you can eat there at your own time. Show was very good, and the overall atmosphere and pageantry was very nicely done. Maybe it is not truly authentic, but I wouldn't know what truly authentic is supposed to mean. All I know is that it was fun and interesting which is all I asked of the place. I had no experience running into overzealous mormons looking to persuade my faith. Only the lack of caffeine anywhere. The Old Lahaina luau is also outstanding, but completely different atmosphere. PCC is an excellent daytime trip, and while the show was very good, you can see others that are equally impressive at other events such as Old Lahaina luau.

Really now, do you think any of the Luau's are authentic? They are geared for tourists and their money. A real
Hawaiian luau is personal and not for
hulaing, leid tourists per se.

A Hawaiian friend of mine, who is a competitive hula dancer here in San Francisco, told me that the hula dancing at PCC is very authentic, and that by going through the park I could get a good sampling of information about all the Polynesian islands. I thought it was fun. I saw a man make fire by rubbing sticks together, I learned about pottery and crafts from the islands, and I even got to learn some hula steps.

The only drawback was the food at the luau, it's not that it was bad, it was just neutral. Like cafeteria food.

I think if you have 3 or more days on Oahu, the PCC is definitely worth a visit.

Have a great trip whatever you choose!
Shel

if you have time to watch a movie, rent Paradise, Hawaiian Style...it was partly filmed at the PCC and includes some of their performances.

Hi Sahar wow what a mix of comments? I am hawaiian (1/2)and I don't have any friends in Hawaii that understand PCC to be a place for learning about our past. It basically exist to make money for the school. The Polynesians that attend the school don't have strong emotional ties to our past which is why you see some confusion here.

The posters who don't think that our rituals should be honored with truth, well that is who you will see in this park. People who are here on vacation and could care less about really knowing us.

Just wanted you to know what to expect. A great big aloha to you and your family.

Dear Haole: Luaus personal? A luau is a party! Baby luau, birthday luau, church
fundraiser luau...they are to elebrate, have good food & good fun, and quite often to make money. Granted, at a tourist luau, the food is often quite westernized, the lei will be basic
orchid, and the entertainers will sneak in some non-Hawaiian acts, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a luau.
Sahar- if you are trying to decide which one event to allocate your entertainment dollars to, I
would suggest the Old Lahaina Luau. If you are short of time, I'd still say OLL. If you want to know if they are worthwhile attractions, I'd say they both are, but in different ways. A luau is a hawaiian feast, PCC is about sharing Polynesian cultures. Most of the performers at PCC are natives of the islands they represent, and they pass on a lot of their culture in an entertaining way. The Samoan village in particular is always fascinating. These kids are proud
of their culture and would be offended by people here claiming that they are somehow not authentic. The park is Polynesian though, so if you want to stick to only Hawaiian culture the luau
is the one to visit.