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Polynesian Cultural Center

emste

By emste,
in Hawaii

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agabbymama

agabbymama

Posted
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How is this? It looks very interesting. Also, should we buy tickets in advance? Which package? All help appreciated. Thanks

 

ABSOLUTELY

First trip to Oahu, went to the Polynesian Cultural Center, and loved it. Went back about 3 years later, did a private guided tour of the Polynesian Cultural Center. About 10 years later, went to Oahu a third time and stayed near the Polynesian Cutural Center and walked to it. Planning a trip to Hawaii and Oahu in May, and have already purchased the Oahu card which includes admission to the Polynesian Cultural Center. If you are staying on Oahu any length of time, you might want to look at the Oahu card. It really does give you quite a savings.

 

Be sure to get the admission, plus the luau and evening show.

All of the workers, performers, etc. attend Brigham Young Hawaii University. A lot of the performers are from the various Polynesian Islands represented at the Center. They are informed and interesting to talk to about their homes and history.

 

As far as my husband and I are concerned, it is one of the top places to visit on Oahu.

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suziehmkr

suziehmkr

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This was a highlight of our trip. I recommend it to anyone. Now that I am a Polynesian dancer on the mainland, my husband has already expressed interest in returning since he really "gets" how much work goes into the performances now. When we do go back, we will spring for the private guide. It will be worth every penny!

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3boyzmom

3boyzmom

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The PCC is wonderful! We have been twice- with very different results.

The first time we went, we didn't buy tickets in advance. At each "village" they have a different activity or presentation. We spent the whole time trying to figure out which village we should be in when- and missed quite a few of them. We still had a great time, but it wasn't exactly what we hoped for. We also didn't realize that the villages were mostly closed during the boat parade.

 

The last time we went (2 years ago), there were 7 of us, so we knew we had to plan ahead a little better. We paid the extra money for the private guide. IT WAS WONDERFUL! Our guide made sure we saw everything- sometimes this meant "skipping" a village and coming back to it later- which we never would've done on our own. We had seats for every activity, took part in some of the ceremonies, etc. My son has some hypoglycemic issues, and when I could tell he was starting to struggle, I just mentioned to our guide that he needed something- she was back in 5 minutes with a bowl of sherbet- which of course he was thrilled about, and got him thru till dinner. My mom has some mobility problems- they even handled this! I can't say enough about the whole experience. PAY THE EXTRA FOR THE BEST PACKAGE! It is SO worth EVERY penny!

 

Enjoy! I'm jealous!

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leoandhugh

leoandhugh

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Although the PCC makes for an interesting tour it also makes for a VERY long day. I doubt that you could do all you would like to do and make it back in time for an 11pm sailing, but maybe the ship has an excursion which is timed to do that - I dont know for sure:)

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Lionesss "Live from...." Rare

Lionesss

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I will have to admit that the PCC is very nice and very well planned out.

But if you are traveling with teens, tweens and children, they may become bored.

Too much culture for some, not enough for others.

 

It is enjoyable and well worth the money, but, it is a long day.

 

Enjoy

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CaribbeanBound

CaribbeanBound

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It is a long day and it's on the North side of the island (long trip to get there). We liked it. Be sure to stay for the night show. It's awesome.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
sparkle

sparkle

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Absolutely take the Ship's excursion to PCC! After the show, everyone leaves at once, and there is only the two lane road going back. The ships will wait for passengers on their tours. We got back at 10:55 and they were ready to disconnect the gangplank as soon as the last person from our bus got on the ship. :eek:

 

It really is worth it to get the package with the guide, luau and show! Our guide was a student at BYU, absolutely wonderful! She asked if anyone was celebrating an anniversary and got those people seats in the front row for one of the shows. It is a beautiful place and we learned so much. Our tour left at noon and we got back just in time to sail, so it is a long day, but it really is worth it.

 

Enjoy!

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ski ninja

ski ninja

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If you are going to Oahu early or staying late your ticket to the PCC can be used for 2 days incase you needed more time to "see it all". My family was there last May and had a good time. We didn't do the best of planning since we got hung up at one village for longer than we planned b/c it was so interesting. I don't think you can really go wrong no matter where you are at anytime, all the little 30 minutes shows at each village are very interesting. We went in having a game plan and ended up winging it based on where we were at any given time. We had a 2 1/2 year old with us who seemed to be okay with it, she probably didn't get the culture aspect but enjoyed looking at everying. She napped in the stroller and we took snacks like cheese, ham and crackers with us so we had food with us she could eat when she got hungry.

 

It is a long day and if you are on a ship I would definately book through it b/c I would hate to miss the ship b/c you got stuck behind someone on the 2 lane road or had trouble getting out of the parking lot.

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bryanwal

bryanwal

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Thanks Suzie. This looks very helpful.

 

Last June we were waiting for a flight from SeaTac to Salt Lake and struck up a conversation with a young man who was a BYU Hawaii student and who works at the PCC. He said he would give us a tour and possibly get us in free. We'll likely take him up on the offer!

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DAGVBSB

DAGVBSB

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How is this? It looks very interesting. Also, should we buy tickets in advance? Which package? All help appreciated. Thanks

 

We visited the PCC in 2002 on our first trip to Hawaii. My daughter was not quite 5 and she still remembers it to this day and still mentions things she learned there. It was one of the best places that I have ever visited!

 

Get one of the higher end packages. (Ambassador or above) The guided tour can't be beat and you get better seating for the evening show.

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emste

emste

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We visited the PCC in 2002 on our first trip to Hawaii. My daughter was not quite 5 and she still remembers it to this day and still mentions things she learned there. It was one of the best places that I have ever visited!

 

Get one of the higher end packages. (Ambassador or above) The guided tour can't be beat and you get better seating for the evening show.

 

Thanks. My kids are also younger, 5&7 and I was worried they would get bored. There is so little time and so much to do. I think this is the luau we will choose to do.

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  • 2 weeks later...
reney313

reney313

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Maybe I am a little different than everyone..after reading all the awesome reviews on the PCC, I was excited to go. Our family all went one afternoon. It was OK. I enjoyed walking around and watching the shows of the different cultures. I was NOT impressed with the Luau, at all. I, personally, found it very "commercial and fake" and not at all what I expected. The fire show was very entertaining, but became very long and a lot of the same thing. I really wish they would have explained what they were doing and maybe I would have enjoyed it more. Overall, I enjoyed the grounds and walking around. I would not do the luau again. For the price, if I only had one day in Oahu, this probably wouldn't be my choice. If you're there for more than a day, then it might be more worth it.

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sptrout

sptrout

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Maybe I am a little different than everyone..after reading all the awesome reviews on the PCC, I was excited to go. Our family all went one afternoon. It was OK. I enjoyed walking around and watching the shows of the different cultures. I was NOT impressed with the Luau, at all. I, personally, found it very "commercial and fake" and not at all what I expected. The fire show was very entertaining, but became very long and a lot of the same thing. I really wish they would have explained what they were doing and maybe I would have enjoyed it more. Overall, I enjoyed the grounds and walking around. I would not do the luau again. For the price, if I only had one day in Oahu, this probably wouldn't be my choice. If you're there for more than a day, then it might be more worth it.

 

Are you referring to the luau or the Horizons Show, which are two different things. The luau is primarily just a dinner to feed all the people who are visiting the PCC before they move on to the Horizon Theatre. Several years ago there was not anything called a "luau" at all, just a buffet inside one of the main rooms to easily feed the masses of people.

 

I cannot see how anyone would consider the Horizons Show either commerial or fake. There is nothing even close to commerial about it. Just 90 minutes of dancing featuring all the islands that are at the PCC. Is the show (dances) fake? Takes a better historian than me to figure that one out. As for the fire dancing, as I remember it, it was about 10 minutes of the 90 minute show. Oddly, most people want to watch fire dancing more than any other part of the show. Just read all the negative comments about the Old Lahiana Luau not having fire dancing.

 

I do agree that if I had only one day on Oahu I would not recommend going to the PCC; just takes too much time (3 hours of travel time alone). However, if time allows, go for it!

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reney313

reney313

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No, the Horizons show and the Luau were two different things. You are correct. The Luau is what was commerical to me. (fake backdrop (but pretty)--pretty certain the pig they pulled out is the same one every show, etc.) The Horizons show was the best thing there. I also believe it was very authentic. I only wish they would have explained what the differences were in the dances and shows from a cultural perspective. After awhile, it was a lot of the "same" thing from my untrained eye and I'm sure there were differences that I would have like to have known about.

 

If there is an option to do the regular PCC "tour", no Luau, and then do the Horizon's show, for me...that would have been better. The Luau had some entertaining pieces to it but for the additional cost, I didn't feel it added the value.

 

I hope I didn't come off wrong in my opinion.

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sptrout

sptrout

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No, the Horizons show and the Luau were two different things. You are correct. The Luau is what was commerical to me. (fake backdrop (but pretty)--pretty certain the pig they pulled out is the same one every show, etc.) The Horizons show was the best thing there. I also believe it was very authentic. I only wish they would have explained what the differences were in the dances and shows from a cultural perspective. After awhile, it was a lot of the "same" thing from my untrained eye and I'm sure there were differences that I would have like to have known about.

 

If there is an option to do the regular PCC "tour", no Luau, and then do the Horizon's show, for me...that would have been better. The Luau had some entertaining pieces to it but for the additional cost, I didn't feel it added the value.

 

I hope I didn't come off wrong in my opinion.

 

Thanks reney313, we are on the same page now.

 

I have been to the PCC twice (about 20 years apart!) and the first time there was nothing called a luau, and the second time we had a private, order off a menu, dinner.

 

My guess (since I have not been to their Luau) is that PCC's Luau is not up to the level of others since, as I mentioned earlier, I think it is just a way for them to feed a whole bunch of folks before the main show.

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suziehmkr

suziehmkr

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The Horizons show was the best thing there. I also believe it was very authentic. I only wish they would have explained what the differences were in the dances and shows from a cultural perspective. After awhile, it was a lot of the "same" thing from my untrained eye and I'm sure there were differences that I would have like to have known about.

 

 

Being a Polynesian Dancer, I think I can help a bit. Each & every "village" has it's own distict dancing. Most of these dances were explained during the village shows and/or in the brochure that we received. I can see how someone who is seeing it for the first time could think they were similar. But in fact, they are different and they are very accurately portrayed in the Horizons show. Unfortunately, to this day - most people think that grass skirts are worn - they are not made of grass. :D

 

I don't even think we really paid to much attention to the show during the meal because we were just enjoying the food & our tablemates.

 

I am REALLY glad you did enjoy the Horizons Show and clarified that you were talking about another part of the show - because it is truly one of the best - if not THE best Polynesian show. They were amazing! Now that I dance, I can totally appreciate how hard they work. Not only are they performing during the day in that awful heat in each of their villages & the canoe parade, they then go on to perform a 90 minute - highly intense show. No small feat.

 

I think you can purchase the dinner that they serve you at your table and you don't have deal with the "luau" portion.

 

We plan to return and use the private guide (even at the extremely high cost) on our next visit.

 

Aloha!

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Genghis Khan

Genghis Khan

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Has anyone done the tour of the Poynesian Cultural Center through a cruise line shore excursion that offered the upgrades to either the Ambassador or Super-Dooper Ambassador package that offer the personal tours, priority entertainment seatings and upgraded dinner menu? We are on Princess and I recall the shore excursion mentions the package "starting" at $159 (or thereabouts). Seems to imply the option to upgrade exists. Too far out yet to book for our cruise so I was wondering of others' experience on this.

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