New experiences are planned to begin in November at Aulani as the resort celebrates its 5th anniversary.
KA WA’A, a luau at Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa, will feature a buffet of island specialties, live music, and traditional Hawaiian dance. Guests can learn the hula kahiko and the modern hula ‘auana. Before the luau begins, families can do activities, crafts, and enjoy pre-show entertainment.
Moana, the title character from the upcoming film Moana, will begin a meet and greet in November as well. She is “an adventurous teenager who, with help from demigod Maui, sails out on a canoe for a daring mission to prove herself a master wayfinder and save her people.”
The Disney Parks Blog explains that both of these experiences honor Hawaii’s “deep cultural roots in canoe exploration—a voyage which brought Hawaiian ancestors to the beautiful ‘Ewa Loa plains surrounding Aulani Resort.” A 1/6 model of a Polynesian voyaging canoe called the Hokule’a has recently been put on display in the Maka’ala lobby. When Disney Imagineers were designing Aulani, they actually sailed on the Hokule’a with master navigators and used the canoe’s design as inspiration for the resort’s décor.
News source/photo credit: Disney Parks Blog
