To each their own but I think the Polynesian Cultural Center is fantastic.

https://www.cougarboard.com/board/message.html?id=33331961

The pricing makes complete sense to me. I can see many individuals not enjoying the Cultural Center because that is not their thing or because just doing stuff outdoors while in Hawaii is more up their alley but everyone is different. That is totally okay but I don't think you can argue that it is not priced fairly. I'm bias because I grew up there by the way but I still think all these arguments are valid.

1. The cost of living is extremely high and the whole experience is people driven, even more so than a place like Disneyland where rides are a massive part of the attraction. The whole thing is built on interaction with the staff. At the Cultural Center its all performers, guides, teachers and artists. Just to pay for the human capital it would be costly for any business.

Those who feel it is overpriced I suspect are comparing it to the cost at a place like Utah or Vegas. Stop that and start comparing it more to San Francisco, DC or New York. If you had to pay for a daytime experience that lasted 5-8 hours, plus a buffet or Luau with live entertainment, plus a high quality Vegas like entertainment show in one of those locations do you think it would cost less than $200 a person? Unlikely. In fact even in a relatively cheap place like Vegas I suspect you would pay something similar for the entirety of the experience.

Cost of the property and maintenance at a distance of a few hundred yards from the ocean is also heavy.

Also, I don't know where they are today but they were on a shoe string budget 25 years ago when I was in high school. My Dad was very connected to the leadership over the Center and they genuinely came close to shutting it down for awhile because the margins were just not making it. The students are the reason they kept it around but it came close for awhile. Don't know if they do this now but Senior missionaries were a big part of the reason they could be successful at the time. If not for that free labor filling certain duties the Center would have been in a world of hurt.

2. In the church we are frequently very familiar with Polynesians, especially if you live out west. Not true in most places of the world or even the US. When I lived out in the Midwest the folks out there had very little concept of the island heritages other than what they might have seen in a few television shows. If you have more familiarity with the culture and/or don't have a great interest in cultural experiences than the PCC likely feels overpriced. If you have an interest and don't know a lot about it the experience it powerful and immersive.

By the way the PCC is as unfabricated as entertainment comes generally speaking. That's one of the things I love about it. I only share this to say the PCC experience is unique because it more closely mimic's past and even modern day Polynesian culture than most similar experiences. Be critical if you like but roots of Polynesia run deep in crafting, singing, dancing, eating food and good humored joshing. I can't number the number of events where singing, dancing and food were happening as I grew up. In most places of the world you would not have someone perform a ballet or sing at their wedding, graduation or retirement. Not in Polynesia. A group or individual dance or song are very common and even expected and often they may run throughout the whole event.

When I see the Tongan drummer at the PCC hilariously messing with the visitors it reminds me of every good natured Polynesian ribbing I have received in my life. I have been dressed down and embarrassed and laughed through the whole thing countless times. Its one of my favorite things about those cultures.

The crafts that the Polynesian villages are just as authentic. In the islands we built leis with flowers, leaves and shells; we wove items from tea leaves and coconut tree leaves and made things out of coconut husks, shells and special woods. The more intricate and delicate some of those items were the more love you were sharing with someone you gave it to. Some of my parents most prized possessions are things like a wooden koa bowl or a beautiful Maori oar that were painstakingly carved by someone who loved them and given to them at important life events.

3. Not really related to price but the PCC is a massive missionary tool particularly for Asia. They encourage and promote tours of Laie that include the temple visitor center and BYU-H. It would literally stun you to hear about the number of in roads, baptisms, miracles that have arisen through those missionary efforts. China in particular over the last few decades. Chinese foreign dignitaries constantly stop in at the PCC. I know some individuals that are convinced that one of the primary reasons the City of Laie may exist is because it is paving the road to open up China to the church someday. The PCC is the "worldly" entertainment that has drawn in and started many of those discussions and opened hearts and eyes to the gospel.

I'm not Polynesian by the way, in case you were thinking I'm just pushing my own culture, but I love the PCC and Polynesia and it people. I love going there still. It reminds me of the "May Days" (kind of a Hawaiian festival of song and dance) we had growing up. It's commercial but it is also a great manifestation of the Aloha spirit and it even better because the church runs it and does good with the proceeds.