Luau or Orlando dinner show?

The short answer

These are two good family dinner shows on the same interstate: one where it meets the coast, one inland. The luau is the one to book from a beach hotel: it is local, the fire-knife dance is a real Samoan art, and it fits after a day on the sand. The pirate show is the one to book from an Orlando hotel, where it is close and its scale suits children who have spent the day in theme parks. Driving across for either one is possible, but it turns a two-hour show into a much longer evening, so let your base decide before the themes do. Whichever you choose, both include dinner, soft drinks and parking, so the price you see covers the evening apart from the bar.

Where each one is

Daytona Beach is a coastal resort city in Volusia County, on the Atlantic. Orlando lies inland. Interstate 4 joins them: it begins in Tampa, runs through Orlando and ends at Interstate 95 on the edge of Daytona Beach, and it is often congested. Daytona Beach lies on the Atlantic coast north-east of Orlando, about an hour's drive away. That is a manageable drive, but it is a long round trip to fit around a two-hour dinner show, which is why the trip you are on matters more than any difference between the two evenings. If your trip splits between the parks and the coast, the question answers itself: book whichever show is near the hotel you are in that night.

The Daytona luau in brief

The luau is an indoor Polynesian dinner show. You are greeted with a lei, eat a dinner of island dishes with water, tea and soft drinks, and watch performers from a Samoan family with Nuʻuuli roots give warrior chants, live music, hula and dances from several islands, with a host keeping the evening moving. The finale is the Samoan fire knife. Parking is included, and beer, wine, photographs and souvenirs cost extra. It runs about two hours, and the start time for each date appears in the booking calendar. The worth-it guide on this site covers it in full.

Read next: Daytona luau: worth it?

The Orlando pirate show in brief

The pirate show, sold as Pirates Dinner Adventure, takes place in an Orlando showroom built round an indoor lagoon, where a replica 18th-century Spanish galleon is anchored under night-sky lighting. The audience sits on six further ships around the lagoon, and each ship cheers on its own pirate as actors, singers and stunt performers play out the adventure with cannon blasts and pyrotechnics. Guests can be given a part in the show. The deluxe package covers general seating, a three-course dinner, unlimited soft drinks and parking, and it lasts about two hours. The room is built for the show, with the lagoon at the centre and the audience around it on all six sides.

Dinner and drinks compared

Both evenings put dinner and soft drinks in the price, but in different ways. At the luau you eat island dishes from a menu that changes, served for the whole room, with water, tea and Coca-Cola soft drinks; anything alcoholic is sold at a cash bar. The pirate show's deluxe package serves a three-course dinner with unlimited soft drinks, and it lists no alcohol. If a glass of wine matters to your evening, budget for it at either show. For dietary needs, message the venue through your booking before the day in both cases, since neither publishes a fixed menu you can plan around.

Scale and atmosphere

Here the evenings part ways. The pirate show is built for spectacle: a purpose-made room, a ship in a lagoon, a cast of actors and stunt performers, and pyrotechnics, with the audience split into crews that cheer against each other. The luau is a smaller kind of evening, carried by one family's dancing and music, with a host who talks to the room and a lei at the door. Its big moment is a single dancer with a burning knife rather than a battle on the water. Neither is better; they reward different moods, and the real question is which one your group will talk about afterwards. Fans of live dance will lean towards the luau; fans of theatre effects, towards the ship.

For children

Both are family shows. The pirate evening is noisy, interactive and full of effects, which suits children who like to cheer and take part. The luau is gentler for most of its two hours, with hula, drums and a host inviting guests in, and then it ends with fire. If your children are small and tired after a park day, the shorter drive matters more than the theme. Check the ticket types for your date on each booking page, and remember that both venues are wheelchair accessible if you are bringing a chair.

Getting there and back

Parking is included at both, so a car is the easiest way to either show. From a hotel on the coast, the luau is a local evening and the pirate show means two long stretches of Interstate 4. From a hotel near the Orlando attractions, it is the other way round. If you are moving between the two areas during your trip anyway, the best plan is to book each show on a night when you are sleeping near it. Save the address that comes with your confirmation to your phone, and leave margin for traffic, because both evenings open with something you would not want to miss. Both start at times shown on their booking calendars, so line the two up before choosing.

Booking terms

On terms, the two shows are nearly twins. The luau and the pirate show both let you cancel at no charge until a day ahead of the show, and both let you hold seats now and settle the bill later while plans firm up. The pirate show must be booked at least two hours before it begins; the luau's calendar shows which start times are still open for each date. Prices differ by date and package, and the booking pages show the current figure in your currency before you pay. Read the inclusions on the page you book from, since packages can change, and keep your confirmation for the address. Booking either one early also means you choose the start time that suits your day, not the one that is left.

A third evening: alligators by flashlight

If neither dinner show appeals, Gatorland's flashlight tour is a different kind of night out near Orlando. For about ninety minutes a guide leads you along wooden walkways to the park's alligator breeding marsh after dark, with a flashlight, insect repellent and food to toss to the alligators below. Children aged two and under join free, and the tour is wheelchair accessible. Bring comfortable shoes, water and some cash, and leave food, coolers and pets behind. Gatorland, founded in 1949, sits south of Orlando, so this too is an evening for people based inland rather than on the coast.

Who should choose neither

If you want a quiet dinner and conversation, neither show is for you: both are loud, busy rooms built around a performance. If you are hoping to watch a sacred hula or a formal Samoan ceremony, remember that the luau is entertainment drawing on those traditions, not the ceremonies themselves. And if your group dislikes being pulled into the action, sit back and say no with a smile, since both shows like to involve the audience. For a different kind of Florida evening, the flashlight walk among Gatorland's alligators is a night out without a dinner table.