Original Disney World Attraction Permanently Shuts Down

An original Disney World experience is permanently going away. Disney has confirmed that the Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show, a long-running dinner experience at the Polynesian Village Resort, will not be returning. The luau-style dinner show was an opening day attraction at Walt Disney World and featured traditional Polynesian entertainment along with an all-you-care-to-eat dinner selection. The Spirit of Aloha originally shut down in March 2020 along with most other live entertainment at the park due to COVID-19 restrictions. But while other live shows have made their way back to the park, the Spirit of Aloha remained shut down.

The reason for Spirit of Aloha's shutdown might upset fans. Disney announced plans to update the Polynesian Village Resort, including a new building with Disney Vacation Club villas. The space used for the Spirit of Aloha will be used for the new villas. Disney did note that the new addition would "honor" the Spirit of Aloha, but it's unclear if that just means that memorabilia or theming from the show will be incorporated into the villa, or if the villa will include a space for a new dinner show of some kind. You can check out an illustration of the new addition to the Polynesian below: 

With the confirmed closing of the Spirit of Aloha, there's only one dinner show technically remaining at Disney World. Hoop-Dee-Doo is a different dinner show located at Fort Wilderness and has also been closed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. While Hoop-Dee-Doo is rumored to be on the chopping block as well, a Disney representative recently stated that it would not be replaced with a new show. 

The new expansion to the Polynesian Village Resort will be opened in 2024. Expect to hear more news about the expansion to the iconic Disney World hotel in the near future.