Hello! We returned from a 5-night stay in a one-bedroom villa at Aulani last week and I can honestly say it was the most relaxing family trip we've taken so far. Granted I did a lot of research here in the Aulani forum and elsewhere online, but it made the trip even more enjoyable because I knew what to expect in terms of the situation with the beach chairs, Aunty's Beach House, Ama Ama, etc. So here's a huge THANK-YOU to all who have offered guidance and tips along the way!
Topics I'll include:
Pre-Trip Preparation
We came up with the idea of going to Aulani some time in fall 2015. We are not a Disney family (*gasp*), mostly because we don't let our kids watch a whole lot of TV or play video games, so although they know about some Disney stories they don't know all the characters, and we have yet to take them to Disneyland (we live in northern California).
Having said that, we did take our kids (8 and 4 years old at the time) on a DCL Alaskan cruise in July 2015 (see trip report), and we all enjoyed it immensely. A couple months later DH and I were talking about spring 2016, and he suggested looking into Hawaii because that's a destination we would want to travel to with kids while they're still little--by the time they're teenagers they may be too cool to hang out with us at the beach! So I looked into Aulani and liked what I saw. Around December we booked the room, and I've been hanging out in this forum ever since!
As is our custom we kept the trip a surprise from the kids (we only told our kids about the cruise while waiting in the hotel room, an hour before we departed for the cruise terminal in Vancouver, haha). This time the trip was to take place over spring break. A friend suggested doing a scavenger hunt for clues around the house, or put stuff in a box for them to open; I chose the latter. The week before the trip, I went to the local AAA office in the hopes of picking up a map of Oahu, but all they had was one for the whole state of Hawaii. I found a leftover graphic of Stitch that I used for a Fish Extender gift magnet from the cruise, glued it over where Aulani is located on the map, put the map in an old shoe box, and added:
We were to depart on a Sunday. The Friday before, DD5 came home from preschool at lunch, When DS9 came home in the afternoon, I had the two of them open the box, and they figured out we would be going to Hawaii. They were thrilled of course, but DD was also miffed at the same time because "Mommy, the teachers asked the kids to raise their hands if they were going on vacation, and I didn't raise my hand. You should've told me!!! Next time you have to tell me, OK???" Oy vey, can't win either way...
I pretty much spent the whole day Saturday packing. I had started a little bit earlier in the week, but couldn't really get into it. I am very organized in general, you know, I'm the type with a ton of lists in Excel and what not, but I also tend to procrastinate a lot. That last-minute rush seems to drive me, and this was no exception. However, once Saturday arrived there was no putting it off any longer, so I packed all day while DH, DS, and DD hung around the house doing what, I don't know. My mind was focused on getting us ready for the early departure the next day.
Topics I'll include:
- Alamo Car Rental at HNL and Aulani
- Aulani:
- Aunty's Beach house pre-registration
- lazy river, family infinity pool, lagoon
- beach chairs and how easy/hard it was to get them
- Meals at Ulu Café, Mama's Snack Stop, Ama Ama, and Lava Shack
- Photopass
- Beach with sea turtles 10 minutes away (see preview)
- Ka'ena Point Beach
- Dealing with food allergies
- And whatever else comes to mind
- Pre-Trip Preparation (see below)
- Tips re. Aunty's Beach House Pre-Registration, Meals, and Day 1, Sunday, April 10, 2016: SFO-HNL, Alamo car rental, Target, Safeway, and Aulani
- Some random photos of the bathrooms and kitchen area
- Day 2, Monday, April 11: Lazy river, infinity pool, Ulu Café, lagoon, Aunty's Beach House, Stitch's Space Goo, and Monkeypod
- Days 3, Tuesday, April 12, Part 1: Lazy river, infinity pool, Ulu Café, Mama's Snack Stop, Dole Whip, Lava Shack, Aunty's Aloha Party
- Day 3, Tuesday, April 12, Part 2: Lagoon, character meet-and-greets, Ama Ama dinner, food allergies, Starlit Hui
- Day 4, Wednesday, April 13, Part 1: Lazy river, infinity pool, Alama Car Rental @ Aulani, ABC Store, unexploded ordinance (whaaaa?!?), Ka'ena Point Beach
- Day 4, Wednesday, April 13, Part 2: Turtle place by Paradise Cove, Roy's, Surf's Up with Chip & Dale at Aunty's Beach House
- Day 5, Thursday, April 14, Part 1: Infinity pool, chairs, lazy river, Ulu Café, Mama's Snack Stop, Mickey & Minnie, Stitch
- Day 5, Thursday, April 14, Part 2: Turtles!
- Day 5, Thursday, April 14, Part 3: Food allergy incident at Ama Ama
- Day 5, Thursday, April 14, Part 4: Sunset photos, scavenger hunt, Photopass photo CD
- Day 6: Coming soon...
Pre-Trip Preparation
We came up with the idea of going to Aulani some time in fall 2015. We are not a Disney family (*gasp*), mostly because we don't let our kids watch a whole lot of TV or play video games, so although they know about some Disney stories they don't know all the characters, and we have yet to take them to Disneyland (we live in northern California).
Having said that, we did take our kids (8 and 4 years old at the time) on a DCL Alaskan cruise in July 2015 (see trip report), and we all enjoyed it immensely. A couple months later DH and I were talking about spring 2016, and he suggested looking into Hawaii because that's a destination we would want to travel to with kids while they're still little--by the time they're teenagers they may be too cool to hang out with us at the beach! So I looked into Aulani and liked what I saw. Around December we booked the room, and I've been hanging out in this forum ever since!
As is our custom we kept the trip a surprise from the kids (we only told our kids about the cruise while waiting in the hotel room, an hour before we departed for the cruise terminal in Vancouver, haha). This time the trip was to take place over spring break. A friend suggested doing a scavenger hunt for clues around the house, or put stuff in a box for them to open; I chose the latter. The week before the trip, I went to the local AAA office in the hopes of picking up a map of Oahu, but all they had was one for the whole state of Hawaii. I found a leftover graphic of Stitch that I used for a Fish Extender gift magnet from the cruise, glued it over where Aulani is located on the map, put the map in an old shoe box, and added:
- a pair of water shoes
- sunscreen
- a bag of sand (gathered from their shoes during preschool years, you know, dump them out in a corner of the garage before entering the house)
- some jelly beans (I always give them munchies on plane rides to ward off pressure during take-off and landing)
- a pack of Crazy 8 cards (to keep them entertained during the trip)
- a pair of swim goggles
We were to depart on a Sunday. The Friday before, DD5 came home from preschool at lunch, When DS9 came home in the afternoon, I had the two of them open the box, and they figured out we would be going to Hawaii. They were thrilled of course, but DD was also miffed at the same time because "Mommy, the teachers asked the kids to raise their hands if they were going on vacation, and I didn't raise my hand. You should've told me!!! Next time you have to tell me, OK???" Oy vey, can't win either way...
I pretty much spent the whole day Saturday packing. I had started a little bit earlier in the week, but couldn't really get into it. I am very organized in general, you know, I'm the type with a ton of lists in Excel and what not, but I also tend to procrastinate a lot. That last-minute rush seems to drive me, and this was no exception. However, once Saturday arrived there was no putting it off any longer, so I packed all day while DH, DS, and DD hung around the house doing what, I don't know. My mind was focused on getting us ready for the early departure the next day.
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