Moana Themed Dinner Night

Hello, readers!  This week’s Disney Themed Dinner is inspired by one of my MOST FAVORITE Disney movies…Moana!  I absolutely adore this film because it features a brave heroine, exciting adventures, fun musical numbers, lots of laughs, and a few tear-jerking moments.  These elements create movie success in my book, and I couldn’t wait to create a menu for our Moana Themed Dinner featuring nods to the film and flavors of the Pacific Islands. 

Download a printable version of our Moana Themed Dinner Menu here:

“Mmmm That’s Good Pork!”

Pork is a popular meat served in the Pacific Islands.  This is referenced in the film as Moana enjoys pork prepared by a fellow villager (much to sweet Pua’s dismay!).  I decided to put any potential guilty feelings aside and serve up some pork as part of our Moana Themed Dinner (while hopefully not offending any other adorable piggies).  For our entrée, I used this recipe for Slow Cooker Hawaiian Pulled Pork from Just a Taste.  This shredded pork comes together easily in the crockpot and is complimented with fresh pineapple pieces.  I served up the pulled pork on Hawaiian slider buns with a drizzle of barbeque sauce.  The sandwiches were flavorful and went over well with the whole family!

“Cheeehooo!”

For our first side dish, I stumbled across this recipe for Spirit of Aloha Fried Rice from The Mouse For Less.  For those who are unfamiliar, Spirit of Aloha is a dinner show at Walt Disney World’s Polynesian Village Resort.  This dining experience features hula dancers, drummers, and fire spinning while guests dine on Polynesian dishes.  It is unclear whether this is an official Disney recipe or a copycat, but I knew this luau inspired recipe would complement our Moana Themed Dinner perfectly!  The fried rice was delicious and the kids really enjoyed it too, vegetables and all.  Recipe win!

For our second side dish, I wanted to incorporate two popular ingredients in the Pacific Islands: coconuts and sweet potatoes!  I found this recipe for Samoan Sweet Potatoes with Creamy Coconut Sauce from Gormandize With Us.  This was a unique recipe to me as I have never used coconut milk while preparing sweet potatoes before, but I have to say, it was pretty tasty!  This dish was a good balance of sweet and savory as the sweet potato and coconut milk complemented the acidity of the onions and garlic.

“Boat Snacks!”

Our dessert offering was inspired by the popular Walt Disney World treat – the Pineapple Dole Whip!  This fan favorite indulgence is a pineapple soft serve found at several tropical locations throughout Walt Disney World including Adventureland and the Polynesian Village Resort.  Rather than try to replicate the frozen soft serve treat, I decided to mix things up a little and used this recipe for Pineapple Dole Whip Cupcakes from Delish.  These cupcakes were super easy to whip up because the recipe calls for cake mix as the base.  The yellow cake mix is jazzed up with fresh pineapple and topped with a pineapple butter cream. And decorating them to look like the frozen Walt Disney World treats was also a lot of fun!  Needless to say, they were a hit with the kids.  But really, what cupcake ISN’T a hit with kids?!     

“You’re Welcome!”

That wraps up our Moana Themed Dinner Night!  By utilizing Polynesian flavors as well as recipes inspired by popular Walt Disney World dishes, we were able to create our very own tropical dinner worthy of a demi-god.  This dinner was a lot of fun for the family. We also enjoyed dressing up as our favorite Moana characters while watching the film.  Putting a themed spin on our movie nights really makes them feel that much more magical and memorable for the kids! 

Have you ever hosted your own luau themed party at your home?  Share some of your ideas in the comments!

Looking for other Disney inspired Dinner Nights?  Check out our Lilo and Stitch Dinner HERE and our Lady and the Tramp Dinner HERE! 

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