Bob, Jesse and I went to a Luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center. I thought it would be an authentic luau since it was at a cultural center.
It started off normal. We each received a lei with real orchids.
While waiting for dinner, we had a Hawaiian host and a show was put on at the front stage. The host was pretty much a Hawaiian Wayne Newton.
Dinner was an all-you-can-eat-buffet and the food was scrumptious! Pork, chicken, fresh fruit, poi rolls.
After we finished dinner we had about 45 minutes until the polynesian show started at the main amphitheater. Conveniently, there was a short tram ride which advertised a tour of the BYU college campus and the town. We hopped right on! The tram started moving, the guide picked up the hand-held microphone and announced that she wasn’t with the Polynesian Cultural center or with the BYU college… she was a mormon. We didn’t learn anything about the BYU campus. We were dropped off at the mormon temple.
As soon as we stepped off the tram, the tram drove away and we were stuck on the mormon temple campus. We were told not to enter the temple because it is sacred and for mormons only. Instead, they tried to herd us into the mormon visitor’s center to watch a 5 minute video about their faith. Bob, Jesse and I were the only people in the group to decline watching the video and told them we’d wait outside. They were offended. Meanwhile, I took pictures of flowers to keep busy for 5 minutes.
As soon as the tram showed up again we quickly got on it to go back to the cultural center. Apparently the entire Polynesian Cultural Center was built and funded by the mormons. It is unadvertised and I maintain we were kidnapped by those crazy folks.
The show started and we had no idea what was going on. We think some little boy was washed out to sea and became the Lion King. We left at intermission.
