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The Spirit of Aloha Show is a dinner show offered at the Polynesian Resort. This show “Celebrates rich traditions of the South Pacific within an open-air covered theater”. Also at the Polynesian Resort is ‘Ohana, which is a family styled restaurant that I wrote and raved about back in early June. These are two fantastic ways to get a flavor of the Polynesian Resort. People get their dining reservations for these two restaurants months in advance. But hidden in plain site on the second floor of the Polynesians’ Great Ceremonial House is another Unknown Magic. It falls in as an Unknown Magic, because as my son said last night, “Look at all the people waiting for ‘Ohana, they could be eating this incredible food here.” And as we talked more about it, he said, “I’m sure it’s because it isn’t talked about as much. Someone should talk about it on the internet.” So, I told him I would. So here is today’s Unknown Magic, A little Polynesian Pearl, the Kona Café.

As I said the Kona Café is located on the second floor of the Polynesian Resort’s Great Ceremonial House. It is actually immediately to the left as you come in the building from the Monorail Station. As you get to the Kona Café it looks like a lot of the other small sit-down restaurants that are in the Disney Resorts. It is a little different though. First of all they serve Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner, many of the restaurants like this in Disney only serve Lunch and Dinner.

As you approach the Kona Café there is a Sushi/Coffee Bar on the outside of the main seating area for the restaurant. This is very neat, during the breakfast hours they serve hot, strong Kona Coffee from Hawaii. Later in the day, they prepare fresh Sushi; things like, cucumber sushi rolls or crab cake rolls. You can also get these as appetizers for your meal or as your meal. We tried the Shrimp Tempura and it was delicious. The Sushi Bar also has a seating area off to the one side, so that you can just there and enjoy a meal and some drinks.

The main dining area of the Kona Café is decorated with a very Hawaiian, Polynesian flair. The room is dark, with tans and browns and oranges decorated the walls and seats. The light fixtures are muted with colors that make them look like warrior shields or tropical plants. There are Tikis on the walls and over head there are great fans and other decorations. There is even a statue of Lilo and Stitch that looks was carved out of chocolate. The restaurant itself isn’t a closed off area (meaning the people walking by in the resort can be seen), so it gives a very casual feel as you are eating. But even with this going on, the room has a definite Polynesian atmosphere.

As you first walk in to be seated, the host or hostess takes you up to the dessert counter where they have all the desserts for that day on display. Some restaurants do this to make you think about the desert as you are eating because the food isn’t that good. Not here. The meals here are wonderful. My Son had a steak that melted in your mouth, I had a shrimp and scallop plate, with rice (my wife said they were the best scallops she’s had in a very long time) and my wife had the Pan-Asian Noodles, which is Asian noodles with peanuts, chicken and vegetables in a peanut sauce. It was very good also. I’ve actually had the Pan Asian noodles before (we have eaten here a few times.)

The food, the atmosphere and the cast members working at Kona Café make this restaurant an Unknown Magic worth looking into. Last night we had a Magical Experience by booking our reservation on-line in our room, a couple hours before we went to the Polynesian. The food and atmosphere were as wonderful as they always are. When you go to Walt Disney World, make sure you go to the Polynesian Resort for Dinner. Try to book your ‘Ohana dinner, to enjoy the things I talked about in my earlier post, but for a great meal in great atmosphere, do a Lunch or Dinner, or even Breakfast at the Kona Café an Unknown Magic worth the trip.