Aulani March 2018 Trip Report

[Sunclytie]

Hi everyone! My family just got back from 5 nights at Aulani and we had an incredible time. To get over the coming-back blues, and because these trip reports were so helpful to me when I planned my Hawaii trip, I thought I would post my trip report as well. I'm also happy to answer any questions that anyone might have. We can't wait to go back!

My husband, 3-year-old daughter Dot, and I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I just celebrated a big birthday and wanted to go someplace tropical and relaxing where we and Dot could have fun together. The more I researched, the more Aulani made sense: you can have a mai-tai on the sand, watching the waves gently roll into the lagoon, and you can also run around with your toddler doing the endless activities.

Also, since I have to fight increasingly miserable Bay Area traffic every day, I did not want to drive on this vacation. We needed to find someplace with lots of stuff for kids to do at the resort. So we decided to stay put at Aulani for the entire 5 nights. It turned out really well — there definitely is enough to do for a week.

I'll post a day-by-day recap, and then wrap up with some other thoughts about Aulani. It wasn't a perfect trip, but it was really great, and I have officially fallen in love with Hawaii.

 

[Sunclytie]

Day 1: Travel Day
We got a great deal on San Jose to Honolulu flights, and were scheduled to leave 9 in the morning. Counting backwards that meant we needed to leave at 7 to be at the airport at 8 (accounting for Toddler Time), so we had to be up at 6 AM. Fortunately we'd gotten Dot pretty excited about going to Hawaii, so she was ok with getting up pretty early. Everyone got dressed, ate breakfast, did some last minute packing, and took care of all the things you have to do to go away for a trip. Amazingly, we only left 5 minutes late.

There was no traffic at all to the airport so we arrived on time, parked in our favorite spot at the SJC economy lot, and made our way to the airport. Security was a breeze at this time of the morning (and I find is not bad at SJC anyway) and we were quickly headed toward our gate. I don't love Peppa Pig, but they did do an episode once about Peppa going through airline security which makes the whole process much easier for Dot to understand. After putting all our shoes back on and repacking our bags, my husband and I stopped off for some coffee and we got on our Hawaiian Airlines flight.

There was a slight delay taking off — about half an hour — which was a little bit tough to explain to Dot. The flight from San Jose to Honolulu takes about 6 hours — she's done longer flights but it's still not easy to get a small person to stay still for so long. She has an iPad that we only use on flights and she can watch as many movies or TV shows as she wants when she's on an airplane, so she likes that, and she got a couple of new toys, so that was exciting as well. She very quietly watched Lilo and Stitch (is that not the best Disney movie?), Tangled, and the Lion King, and then started to get a bit antsy. Breakfast cheered her up a little bit, and she was willing to watch Moana, and then fell asleep for the rest of the flight. Good as gold.

We arrived at HNL at about 1 in the afternoon, and it was a grey and cloudy day — but much warmer than back home, which was awesome. We went to baggage claim, got our bags. As part of the package I booked, shuttle transportation to Aulani was included, and I was told to find the shuttle provider (Hele Hele) in the baggage claim area. They were very easy to find! After checking in, and a brief trip to the bathroom, everyone headed to the very large and comfortable black van. Dot had our own car seat, and we were finally headed to Aulani.

It's about a 30 minute ride from the airport to Aulani, and again, there was no traffic at all. On the way, you pass by lots of suburban areas, shopping centers, and we briefly glimpsed Pearl Harbor. Then we exited the highway and noticed that the exit was beautifully manicured with lots of trees, shrubs, and flowers, and discovered we were in a kind of planned golf community. This is Ko Olina, the neighborhood Aulani is in, and we pulled up to the beautiful hotel. It's gorgeous and does not at all look like a typical resort.



We were warmly greeted and received our leis (orchid for me, kukui nut for my husband, and a Menehune necklace for Dot). Dot also wanted a flower lei, which they very happily gave us. The greeters did not think our room was ready, but very helpfully gave us a map and some directions around the resort, which I could not absorb at all because I was really tired from all the travelling. They were nice, though.

I have to confess this point in the trip was our lowest point in terms of aloha levels. My husband dropped off the bags at bell services while I went to the front desk to see if our room was ready, and Dot burst into tears because she wanted to go swimming (and was exhausted as well). We all lost our tempers a little bit but decided to go get some lunch to cheer everyone up. We randomly wandered into the valley pool area and ended up at Ulu Cafe. My husband got a poke bowl, Dot didn't want anything, and I got my very first Dole Whip:


It was really good. But the swirl was definitely too sweet — all pineapple is the way to go. We finished our lunch, changed into our swimsuits, and played in the big pool for a couple of hours until we got a text that our room was ready. Poor Dot did not want to leave the pool, but we did entice her with seeing our new house for a week. We had an island/gardens 1 bedroom, and I had requested a high floor with an odd number in the Ewa tower. We got room 1171, and check out the view!

It was perfect because it was right next to the elevator (with no noise at all) and had the great ocean view (and of the oil refinery as well, but you can't have everything). It also overlooked the Haleiwa Lawn so we could see the luau some nights.

We showered, changed, and decided to head over to Pizza Corner for an easy dinner. With a three-year-old in tow, it takes about 10 minutes to walk over — for two adults it would be more like 5. So a really easy walk. Pizza Corner was pretty backed up and gave us free garlic knots to tide us over. The garlic knots were great, the pizza was so-so, but we ate it hungrily and realized the whole day had caught up with us. So we headed back to Aulani and collapsed into bed.

 

[Sunclytie]

Day 2: More beach, more pool

Our arrival day was cloudy and grey, but the next day was much, much nicer:


We went to AMA AMA for breakfast, because I thought it would be a nice way to kick off our first full day at Aulani. Dot had the Hawaiian bread basket, which she very much enjoyed, and my husband had the Japanese breakfast, which he said was very good. I was excited to give Loco Moco a try; the server suggested I substitute Kalua pork for the hamburger, which was a good idea. It was tasty, but there was more gravy than I like and it was very salty.

After breakfast we headed back upstairs to change for the pool, but Dot was having such a good time playing hide and seek that she didn't want to leave the room. I was getting a little annoyed that we went halfway across the Pacific Ocean to play the same games we would have at home, but then I figured, hey, it's her vacation too. Finally, though, we were able to get everyone changed and into the pool.

A note about the pool chair situation: the week started out crazy busy (on a Sunday) and it got progressively easier to find pool chairs throughout the week. There were never any pool chairs directly by the pool in the shade, but we found a corner we liked by Keiki Cove (the little kids' splash pad) and we could usually at least find one there.

First we tried the lazy river. We grabbed two rafts and floated along, but it was too cold for Dot to enjoy it. She wanted to go into the hot tub afterwards, which was a popular choice as all the hot tubs were filled with kids. But it was cute, she kept saying, "Ahhhhhhh." After that we went to the main pool and splashed there for a while.

It was then time for lunch, so we went to Mama's Snack Stop and got fish and chips and coconut shrimp. Really good! We then got some shave ice. Dot wanted "pink" flavor, and I got Li-Hing Mui (sour plum), guava, and mango. I also got the condensed milk on top, which sounds a bit gross but turned the shave ice into a really nice ice cream. I heard a woman complaining in the elevator that she got orange and vanilla flavor to make it taste like a creamsicle, but it didn't work. She should've just gotten orange with condensed milk on top!

We played in the pool for a while longer and then it was time to shower and get changed as my husband and I were headed for a night out! The babysitter arrived with lots of great toys for Dot to play with, and my husband and I went over to Roy's.

This, without a doubt, was the best meal we ate all week. I had trouble deciding between the macadamia nut crusted fish and the special so they made a combination plate for me. Everything was fantastic. Highly recommended.

We had booked the sitter for six hours but that was a little bit ambitious. We finished at Roy's around 10, and went for a walk around the Four Seasons and on the beach path at Ko Olina, but everything was closed. It would have been nice to have a bar at the hotel open a bit later. But we were pretty tired anyway so we headed back to the room.

 

[wishiwasindisneyjen]

Loving your report so far, can't wait for more.

 

[Sunclytie]

Day 3: Spa Day
Today was mom's day off. Woo-hoo! It was a bit cloudy again, and everyone got to sleep in. Note: I don't think any of us ever fully got onto Hawaiian time until we got home.



Our sleeping schedules were all over the place and Dot even started napping again. After we woke up, we headed to Ulu for breakfast, and got some much needed coffee. We didn't find out until the last day that the Wailana Bar (by the adult pool) served espressos and lattes, but we made do with the drip coffee at Ulu and it was pretty good. We also tried the coconut chia pudding they serve, and that was also good, and filling! I definitely want to start making chia pudding at home for summer breakfasts.

After breakfast was over, we went over to the community hall to sign up for a ukelele lesson. I've been messing around with a ukelele, teaching myself how to play with YouTube videos, and thought, what better place to brush up my skills than in Hawaii? We also got a princess matching game, per Dot's request, and checked out the movies they had for rent. Because Disney distributed all the Studio Ghibli movies, there were great movies like My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service, both of which we checked out. Dot loved them both!

We went back to the room to "play" the matching game, and I changed into my swimsuit and went to the spa to check in. I don't have enough good things to say about the spa. The woman checking me in and giving me the spa tour was so nice - I did pick out a stone with "Listen" on it and threw it into the little pond - it was slightly silly, but the room with the pond in it was so lovely. The gardens were gorgeous as well and so quiet.

I got a lomilomi massage with hot stones as a birthday present to myself, and the masseuse was fantastic - I felt wonderful afterwards. I sat in the steam room to get rid of a lingering cold. It was really hot in there! Then I went to go experiment with the hot and warm pools (I wasn't brave enough for the cold plunge) and the reflexology path, which was surprisingly intense. You should bring your own reading material as there isn't really that much at the spa, but I was enjoying listening to the birds and zoning out.

I felt a bit hungry and got one of the slightly strange snacks in the co-ed relaxation room - a bran muffin with half a macaron stuck to it. It was tasty, but odd. I then went to go use the jacuzzi, which I had all to myself. It was peaceful and lovely and a great respite from chasing after a small person.

As great as it was, like a typical mom with some time off, I started thinking about all the things I'd like to do that I thought I wouldn't have a chance to: have a trip around the lazy river, have lunch all to myself, get my favorite flavor of shave ice. So, somewhat reluctantly, I got out of the jacuzzi, settled up, and went off in search of some solo fun.

 

[Sunclytie]

Day 3.5 Solo and Family Fun

Right after I left the spa I ran into this guy:


There was no line whatsoever to meet Mickey, but the line for Duffy was 20 deep. Really interesting!
Since Dot didn't love the lazy river the previous day, and I wasn't sure that I'd get to do it again (Narrator: She got to do it again) I decided to take one more float in it. I do love a lazy river and it was a lot of fun. I also got my favorite shave ice flavor because I didn't think I would get to do that again (Narrator: she was right) and some more coconut shrimp.

I met up with Dot and my husband at Keiki Cove, where everyone was having a great time:



Then we went to check out the beach:



We splashed around for a bit and then I went off to take a ukelele lesson.We learned how to play a few chords on the ukelele and then combined them together to learn how to play "Let It Go." Afterwards, you could rent a ukelele to show off your new skills!

This is one of the things I think is so awesome about Aulani — just these little things they do like the craft lessons and the ukelele lessons — they are easy and relatively low cost, or free, but they just add so much to the experience. It's funny, while I was there a friend sent me the NY Times article about how stressful a Disney Cruise is. I texted back, "Clearly he needs to come to Hawaii, chill out, and learn how to play the ukelele."

When I returned, my husband was taking Dot around the lazy river in just her life jacket, not a raft, so it was a lot more comfortable for her. We floated around a couple of times and then she fell in love with the infinity pool, which was beautiful, but COLD. That whole grotto area is gorgeous. My husband and I traded off swimming floating in the hot tub with Dot and getting mai tais and soon the sun was setting and it was time to be thinking about dinner.

I'd made reservations in advance on OpenTable at MonkeyPod, and the whole shopping center was fun to explore. The food at MonkeyPod was pretty good and the drinks were really, really strong. Then we headed back to the room to collapse!

 

[bobbiwoz]

I love reading your report.

 

[ebonyeyes]

Great TR! Love following along your adventure! Can't wait for more

 

[Sunclytie]

Thanks @wishiwasindisneyjen, @bobbiwoz, and @ebonyeyes! It's fun to write.

Day 4: The Luau

Today was my husband's day to go to the spa, so after breakfast at Ulu Cafe and a bit of playtime in the morning, he went off by himself. Dot and I played in the room, despite my best efforts to get her to go to the pool. It wasn't particularly interesting, but I will say that we never could get Dot onto Hawaiian time until we got home. It wasn't terrible, as California is only two hours ahead of Hawaii, but it did put Dot's naptime in a very weird place during the day and meant lunchtimes were lengthy, multi-course affairs as she always woke up hungry!

We went for a walk (I remembered to pack swimsuits for the two of us) and and Dot fell asleep in my arms back in the lobby. It's such a beautiful place, the Aulani lobby, and it was fun and really peaceful to watch all the people coming and going.



When Dot woke up, she agreed to come with me to get ice cream, and then wanted some lunch. So we had our multi-course lunch and then FINALLY she agreed to come to the pool. We used the restroom to change into our swimsuits — I know we should have used the lounge but I needed to keep Dot focused on swimming right then. We jumped into the infinity pool by the ocean, which was beautiful but coldcoldcoldcoldcoldcold. I think Dot thought that my teeth chattering and my yelping were funny, and she was fascinated by the water falling over the edge. So we alternated between that pool and the hot tub nearby for a bit, and then I finally got her to go around the lazy river with me. As we passed by, we saw Moana over the bridge, who asked us, "Have you seen Hei Hei?" I said, "Not today!" Dot said, "I'm swimming!" Moana replied, "You're doing a great job!" So charming.

We could only go around the lazy river twice, though, because my husband came to meet up with us, and we had to change and get ready for the luau! I'd done a bit of research on luaus and we decided to go to Disney's because 1) there wouldn't be a long walk back after it was over 2) the food actually looked pretty good and 3) it would probably be best for little kids. And I was right on all three points!

I'd decided to go for VIP seats because, well, it was my birthday trip and I wanted the drinks and the nice seats. ;-) I'm glad we did VIP because getting in early and getting to the buffet line early was great with an antsy toddler, but the drink service was not quite good enough to take advantage. And the lines at the bar were pretty long. Overall, though, I thought it was worth it, particularly for a special occasion.

Before the luau there were a number of crafts and activities to do — we particularly enjoyed the taro pounding and the tattooing. It was also fun to make leis. My husband and I grabbed our first drinks of the evening. He had a mai tai and I had a Blue Hawaii, both of which were pretty good.

Then it was time for the buffet and the food was really quite good! A couple of standouts were the poke, which was really fresh and flavorful, and the roast pork, which could be put either in a pork bun or eaten on its own. All the buffet dishes were good, but the desserts were flavorless.

The show began and they did a great job of getting the kids involved. Dot learned how to hula (that's her in the blue dress):


She was a little scared of the loud music but enjoyed the dancing, particularly the fire dancing at the end. She also really enjoyed meeting and talking with the dancers afterwards. All in all, it was a great experience.

 

[luvmychaos]

Thanks @wishiwasindisneyjen, @bobbiwoz, and @ebonyeyes! It's fun to write.

Day 4: The Luau

Today was my husband's day to go to the spa, so after breakfast at Ulu Cafe and a bit of playtime in the morning, he went off by himself. Dot and I played in the room, despite my best efforts to get her to go to the pool. It wasn't particularly interesting, but I will say that we never could get Dot onto Hawaiian time until we got home. It wasn't terrible, as California is only two hours ahead of Hawaii, but it did put Dot's naptime in a very weird place during the day and meant lunchtimes were lengthy, multi-course affairs as she always woke up hungry!

We went for a walk (I remembered to pack swimsuits for the two of us) and and Dot fell asleep in my arms back in the lobby. It's such a beautiful place, the Aulani lobby, and it was fun and really peaceful to watch all the people coming and going.



When Dot woke up, she agreed to come with me to get ice cream, and then wanted some lunch. So we had our multi-course lunch and then FINALLY she agreed to come to the pool. We used the restroom to change into our swimsuits — I know we should have used the lounge but I needed to keep Dot focused on swimming right then. We jumped into the infinity pool by the ocean, which was beautiful but coldcoldcoldcoldcoldcold. I think Dot thought that my teeth chattering and my yelping were funny, and she was fascinated by the water falling over the edge. So we alternated between that pool and the hot tub nearby for a bit, and then I finally got her to go around the lazy river with me. As we passed by, we saw Moana over the bridge, who asked us, "Have you seen Hei Hei

I cannot get the hang of replies or quotes or whatever the heck we’re supposed to do here!!
ANYWHO, I’m super excited by your review of the luau. I have read about every. stinking. luau. on Oahu and I keep coming back to Aulani’s as well. Just the ease, the food choices, the “Disney difference”. We aren’t big drinkers so I don’t know if I can convince my parents to pay $80 more for VIP(+$200 for our family of 5 ) but I am a brat and like feeling special

 

[Sunclytie]

I keep coming back to Aulani’s as well. Just the ease, the food choices, the “Disney difference”. We aren’t big drinkers so I don’t know if I can convince my parents to pay $80 more for VIP(+$200 for our family of 5 ) but I am a brat and like feeling special

Like every Disney destination you can pay extra for more convenience and a seamless experience, which is what VIP is. We waited in two lines all night - to get in and to get a drink after we had our first rum punch. After waiting in the short line to enter the luau, everything was all laid out - no waits at the craft stations, no wait to get (a really nice) lei, no wait to get food, nothing. As soon as the host said, "Let's have a feast!" we got to go to the buffet. And there is drink service, it's just slow. So if you have little kids or are just impatient, I think VIP is worth it for that.

And the Disney luau is really well designed for kids. Just as Dot was getting bored, they invited the kids to come up and learn hula, and out came Mickey and Minnie, so that was really exciting and kept her going. Moana makes a little speech at the beginning as well. There's also an intermission before the sun goes down so the kids can run around. The whole evening is just very thoughtfully designed for families. I was impressed.

 

[Sunclytie]

Day 5: Mickey Mouse and the Canoe!

This was our last full day at Aulani....:-( On the day I went to the spa my husband and Dot discovered a boat on the beach. It's in the design of a traditional Hawaiian canoe with a sail, but is made out of fiberglass. You can get a ride in it for an hour and explore the Oahu coastline. So my husband made the reservation for this day, but first we were off to Makahiki for the character breakfast!

When you arrive for your reservation, you're put in a line to meet Mickey. You hang out with Mickey, get some pictures, and then go into the Olelo room to wait — I guess to control capacity and flow. But it kind of stinks if you're a kid, because you've just gotten excited to meet some characters but then you're told you can't meet any more until you go into the main restaurant. There wasn't a line to meet Mickey, so he played with Dot a bit more, which was incredibly great. He was the sweetest Mickey I have met. That was the best part of the breakfast.

Our canoe reservation was at 10 and the clock was ticking, and we still hadn't changed into our swimsuits. So we were beginning to feel some time pressure. One piece of advice: don't do what we did. Go down to breakfast in your swimwear. Then you can just get going with your day.

We were finally seated and waited a bit for drinks, but nobody arrived. Well, that's not true — Minnie did! It was great to meet her so quickly after we sat down, and Dot adores her, so she was thrilled. After that Dot and my husband went off to get some food, then they came back and I went to get my own food. Finally, the server, who was very sweet, arrived, apologizing profusely. Fortunately the coffee came quickly!

The food at the Makahiki breakfast is very good — they have the best Mickey waffles I'd ever had, great fresh fruit (including sweet and sour pineapples, which were really yummy), great tater tots, fresh pastries — all fantastic. I was hoping for some more Japanese items but there weren't as many as I'd hoped for, just a few pickles.

During the meal Aunty leads lots of songs and parades, so it's very noisy but a good atmosphere. However, we didn't see all the characters — Pluto was also meeting but never came to our table, and they didn't ask about it like they do at Disney World. Fortunately Dot doesn't care much about him.

We finished breakfast, made it downstairs, and came down the stairs at 10:01 to discover that our canoe had left long ago. Oh no! Fortunately they were able to put us on the 11 AM boat, and gave Dot some sand toys to play with while we were waiting. Perfect.

I love the beach at Aulani better than any of the pools. The water is clear and pleasant to swim in and the waves are the perfect size for little kids. The sand is soft and great for sandcastle building. It's just lovely.

After playing in the sand and the ocean, it was time to get our canoe. The rental is a bit pricey but it's a lot of fun. The captain was a nice guy from Florida and the first mate was a local guy and we did an hour-long sail along the coastline looking for fish and turtles. We didn't see any animals, but it was hearing from them about how the canoe works and what we were seeing. The mountains on the other side of Paradise Cove (the Waimea range?) were gorgeous. Dot really loved the ride, but my husband sort of wished we could take advantage of the gusty winds to go really, really fast.

After that we went to grab lunch at Ulu cafe (poke bowls for my husband and me, fruit and croissants for Dot) and then it was time to go back to the pools! We splashed and swam for hours.

We had signed Dot up for Stitch's Space Goo at Aunty's Beach House because she loves Stitch (we had met him a couple of times) and because we wanted to have a little time for ourselves. Dot had been to Aunty's during the open houses but she wasn't really into it, so we thought if there were something specific for her to do she'd like it more. She was there for about five minutes before she started crying that she wanted her Mommy and Daddy. I think it's because she's the kind of kid who likes to hang back and watch things before she gets involved so she knows it's safe, and they wanted her to start getting involved right away. Maybe we should've insisted she stayed for free play one day, but for whatever reason, it didn't work for her.

So we all played for a bit longer and then headed back up to change for dinner. We decided to have dinner at AMA AMA — all three of us — to celebrate our last day. We really believe in taking Dot out to nice restaurants so she knows how to behave, but she was in a bad mood and really tired and wasn't having it. I took her out for a walk and when we came back she passed out in my arms.

We were sat alllllll the way in the back of AMA AMA, so if we craned our neck we could see the sun setting over the beach, but were mostly looking at people's heads. My husband took this picture from the front:



The service was really indifferent and unfriendly, but the food was pretty good. Except for the escargot. They were burnt. But the scallops and fish were delicious. It was quite difficult flagging the server if we needed anything.

My husband mentioned loudly that it was my birthday, and the server perked up and brought us a dessert to go, which was nice. Overall, though, that was probably the worst meal of the trip.

We went upstairs, put Dot to bed, and enjoyed my birthday chocolate mousse!

 

[Sunclytie]

Argh! Why the internet is so spotty in San Francisco, CA, home of innumerable tech companies, I do not understand. I can't delete the duplicate post so please enjoy this picture of Aulani:

 

[scottmel]

Thanks for the report! I book VIP Luau for July....We are not drinkers at all, don't drink anything. But I still like the idea of no lines! Ca you tell me if the VIP guests enter earlier to be able to go to the craft stations earlier?

 

[Sunclytie]

Ca you tell me if the VIP guests enter earlier to be able to go to the craft stations earlier?

Yes, they do.

 

[Sunclytie]

Day 6: Leaving day
Our last day arrived and nobody felt much like leaving. We went down to Ulu Cafe one more time for breakfast. Dot and I then went to do the lazy river and the hot tub one last time while my husband packed. When he finished, he came to get us so we could rinse off and change into our traveling clothes.

We were supposed to meet our shuttle at 11:15 and finished everything at about 10:45. But when we got downstairs to check out, the line was enormous and not going anywhere. An Aulani cast member told us that as long as we had a credit card on file, we didn't need to check out. I said, "So we could just walk away right now?" and she said, "Yes." So we followed her instructions. We went outside, checked in at the shuttle, got in, and began the not-so-fun ride to the airport. Fortunately Dot was pretty tired, so she didn't fuss too much.

We arrived at HNL, got our boarding passes (all while a very large man was trying to pressure me into getting off the machine! Wait your turn, dude!), checked our luggage, and headed off to the plane. We stopped for lunch and got some Honolulu cookies as souvenirs, and then boarded. The only notable thing about the flight was in this direction they gave us free rum punch. And that was the end of our trip to Hawaii.

 

[Sunclytie]

A couple of last thoughts:

A few things we did that I forgot to mention:
One day I did sunrise beach yoga. It was really great. You have to sign up in advance at Laniwai Spa, and then on my scheduled day I got up at 5 AM to change and get down to the beach by 5:55 for a 6 AM class. It was very easy to find and there were a couple of cast members to help. You need to be familiar with yoga to take the class (because the teacher doesn't explain the poses), but if you are, it's a very gentle, pleasant session to help you stretch out and relax. And of course it's lovely to see the sun rising over the ocean.

Dot also enjoyed the Menehune Bridge, the water playground for little kids. She was scared of it at first, and I thought I wasn't allowed to go up on it with her. It turns out that parents can climb the structure, they just can't go down the slides. But once Dot saw that we were enjoying it, she got up her courage to go down the slides and really enjoyed that. However, the water is really, really cold, and there are sprays and buckets dumping all over you constantly. On a hot day it would be awesome, but on a colder, breezy March day, it was less fun.

How's the food?
I think the food is the weakest aspect of Aulani (relatively speaking). The best places are Ulu Care, Mama's Snack Stop, and the shave ice place. The character restaurant was too expensive to go more than once, I think, and we didn't have luck at AMA AMA. Breakfast and lunch were easy, but dinner is a bit harder. The best place we went was Roy's, like I said, and Monkeypod was pretty good. We also went to Pizza Corner and that was all right. We didn't try any of the places at the Four Seasons, and there are a couple of other places to try in the shopping center across the street. It's too bad that the restaurants at Aulani weren't better. If we go back (and I hope we do) I'm hoping we can do things like grab apps at the Olelo Room one night. We did go there for drinks once and it was great.

Do you need a car?
I see a lot of people asking whether or not you need a car at Aulani. For us we were able to get along fine without one and would definitely have had enough to do for two or three more days just at the resort. Having a toddler also makes a difference — if we were able to grab a Lyft or a taxi, we could go offsite for dinner in the evenings and probably have more fun, but a small one makes that harder. And it is so, so nice to not have to drive. On the other (third?) hand, as beautiful as Aulani is, I kind of felt like we didn't see the best of Hawaii. It would have been fun to go to the North Shore and see some of the beautiful landscape in the middle of Oahu. Next time, hopefully!

Chia pudding? What?
I had this for the first time at Aulani and it was what I always wished a yogurt parfait would be. Yummy and sweet, really filling, and pretty good for you! Here's a recipe that tastes exactly (if not a little bit better) like the chia pudding at Ulu Cafe.

Ask me anything!
I really feel like there's not a whole lot of up-to-date information on Aulani — most of the blogs out there are really old and aren't relevant anymore. So if you're planning or have booked a trip, feel free to ask me anything you want to know and I'll do my best to help. We had a great time and I'm definitely planning to go back.

Thanks for putting up with this very lengthy trip report!

 

[scottmel]

Thanks for the great tips! Can you elaborate on the early entry VIP time to the luau? Do they note the time on the ticket that you are able to enter?

 

[Sunclytie]

Thanks for the great tips! Can you elaborate on the early entry VIP time to the luau? Do they note the time on the ticket that you are able to enter?

Yes, you get a voucher from the company that runs the luau, Pleasant Holidays, that says you are to be at the lawn to check in at 5 PM. You also need to bring your voucher with you. When we got there there right after 5 there were about 40 people in front of us, and it took us about 10-15 minutes to actually get in the area and get our leis and drinks. They have both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks available. Then after that they showed us to our table, and we could go to the crafts with no wait. I would say there were a couple hundred people after us in line that I saw, but I don't know which were VIP and which weren't, nor do I know when the non-VIP guests got to check in. We definitely didn't experience a rush of people, though, when all guests were allowed in. It was all very seamless and easy.

 

[princessbride6205]

Our last day at Aulani (first visit) was Saturday! Did we overlap? We had the exact same experience at Ama Ama. I knew not to have extremely high expectations, but given the fuss Disney makes about it being a fancier place and the prices, I thought we'd at least have excellent service. Although now that I think about it, friendly but frazzled and sometimes invisible waitstaff were a theme at Makahiki and the Olelo Room as well.

I enjoyed your trip report! I need to get mine started before I forget everything!