Currently At Aulani...Random Thoughts!

[Iceman93]

Your questions are too vague. It's like someone saying "Should I visit New York City or upstate New York, and if so, for how long?" To give a decent answer to that question, we need to know who's in your travel party, what's your budget and flexibility regarding vacation days, what's your lifestyle (outdoor adventurers? luxury pamperers? a mix of the two?), will this be a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Hawaii or perhaps the first of many trips, etc.

 

[Paul Stupin]

I would also price it out in total. So take the cost of the rental car/parking and compare that to the cost of airport transfers, rental for the days you want a car, and higher cost of food while eating at the resort. We rent a car for our entire stay and will go out almost every day to go get dinner off site. It might sound cheaper to just rent for the days that you need it, but that's not always the case.

Yeah, renting for the days we need might be more trouble than it’s worth, especially if I opt out of the insurance. And it’s nice to have the car for dinners in Kapolei, and more spur of the moment plans.

This was our first stay at Aulani on points, and we absolutely loved it. In terms of design, aesthetic, and sheer fun, seems like a Disney thought of everything!

 

[Lilsia]

Yeah, renting for the days we need might be more trouble than it’s worth, especially if I opt out of the insurance. And it’s nice to have the car for dinners in Kapolei, and more spur of the moment plans.

This was our first stay at Aulani on points, and we absolutely loved it. In terms of design, aesthetic, and sheer fun, seems like a Disney thought of everything!

There is a good chance that your insurance will cover the rental car.

 

[cgattis]

I agree with the previous posters—there’s something for everyone, you just have to decide which island has more of what you like to do. But if I had to pick one island for a first trip, I’d say Oahu. I personally think Pearl Harbor is THE must-do and that’s in Oahu. But as others have said, there’s a great mix of everything else too. But if live lava (LAVA!!) is a priority, there’s only one island for that. Maui is like Oahu in that it has a mix of touristy and way-out places. Our next trip is Maui only. Kauai is just jaw-droppingly amazing (and had intended to split with Maui next trip), but the small size drive the hotel rates sky high, and I didn’t like B&B stuff before Covid—it’s a hard NO now. If you’re a huge Disney fan, you’ll always wish you’d gone to Aulani, so I’d say at least part of a stay there, and then the rest somewhere else on Oahu (if it’s more about cost) or another island (if it’s more about seeing more). Either way—it’s Hawaii!! Life is gooood!!

 

[ladydi1814]

Thank you for this info!
We are slated to travel to Aulani in June and this information is helpful to know what the experience around the pool is like.

 

[Paul Stupin]

I‘ve been to all the islands, and I like Oahu best as well. But one thing about the hotels in Hawaii. My experience is that most of the nice ones are pretty much the same. Nice pool, nice beach, a few nice restaurants. And because there hasn’t been a whole lot of new hotel construction over the years, most have been around for a long, long time.
What I love about Aulani is that for us it’s truly different. First, it’s relatively new. Second, the architecture and lobby are stunning. And truly unique. Third, with the slides, the lazy river, the multiple pools, and the beach, it just seems like there’s more to do on property. And, a fun plus, it’s super easy to stand up paddle board in the lagoons!
Re the nightlife, unless you’re in Waikiki and want to head out to some sort of nightclub, there’s really not a whole lot to do after dinner no matter where you are in Hawaii. We live in Los Angeles, and actually love staying on LA time, where we’re tired enough to go to bed early and wake up around 6. It really expands the day and it’s such a change of pace to wake up so early and actually feel rested! After dinner, we really enjoyed taking a walk on the beach pathway down past the other lagoons and checking out the stars.

 

[dreamit]

‘We live in Los Angeles, and actually love staying on LA time, where we’re tired enough to go to bed early and wake up around 6. It really expands the day and it’s such a change of pace to wake up so early and actually feel rested!

I agree! We’re in Central time and while we didn’t quite stay on our time, we didn’t look to adjust. (Our body clock probably got to PST.) There are so many benefits to getting an early start to the day and it’s great doing so when feeling rested. On the other end of the day, we were tired and ready for an early night. It was easy to go to sleep since there really isn’t much to do anywhere in the evenings and it always seemed to feel later than it was. We avoided looking at the time to further help with keeping this schedule. As I’m typing this I can just *feel* the morning on the island. I’m so hoping we can visit again within the next year or so.

 

[Paul Stupin]

Speaking of things to do in the evening, one thing I would have totally appreciated was a way to watch either Netflix, Amazon, Hulu or Disney + on the tv in the room. Since Disney owns the latter two, it doesn’t seem like the impossible dream. Or, is there a way and we just never figured it out?

 

[DTDkettleCORNfan]

Speaking of things to do in the evening, one thing I would have totally appreciated was a way to watch either Netflix, Amazon, Hulu or Disney + on the tv in the room. Since Disney owns the latter two, it doesn’t seem like the impossible dream. Or, is there a way and we just never figured it out?

We haven't been to Aulani (yet!), but usually bring our Amazon Firestick to watch those channels when travelling.

 

[Peter C]

Are they still offering the refillable drink mugs during Covid?

 

[CateinPhoenix]

Are they still offering the refillable drink mugs during Covid?

I did not see anyone wtih them. We did get the refillable popcorn bucket but when returning for a "fillup" they just gave another bag and didn't actually fill the bucket again.

 

[aulanidreamer]

Are there any sort of water stations or fountains down by the pool or are they doing refills at the counter with a new cup each time? Ordering drinks and water bottles constantly will get spendy quickly I imagine. I don’t recall if Aulani allows small coolers by the pool for water or soda bottles. Probably the soft sided one would be ok.

 

[amycockrum]

If you haven't don't Diamond Head yet get there early. and you have to wear your mask the whole trip due to close quarters.

Just curious...why do U say get there early? We are going in a couple of months

 

[Lilsia]

Just curious...why do U say get there early? We are going in a couple of months

One issue is parking, the park fills up fast and there are a lot of people. Second, most of the trail is in direct sunlight and it gets very hot to walk it in mid day. Have fun.

 

[margot31]

One issue is parking, the park fills up fast and there are a lot of people. Second, most of the trail is in direct sunlight and it gets very hot to walk it in mid day. Have fun.

Parking is very limited. We parked further over at a community college cause we arrived around 10 am. By There is no real resting places also for you to stop and sit. It is a you better be moving. Depending on the time of the year it can be very hot. We went pre covid and it was warm.

 

[Paul Stupin]

Parking is very limited. We parked further over at a community college cause we arrived around 10 am. By There is no real resting places also for you to stop and sit. It is a you better be moving. Depending on the time of the year it can be very hot. We went pre covid and it was warm.

I believe it’s only open now thurs-sun. It was closed when we were there. I’m sure the view on top is great, but the walk itself looked dry and dusty and kind of unpleasant.

 

[margot31]

I believe it’s only open now thurs-sun. It was closed when we were there. I’m sure the view on top is great, but the walk itself looked dry and dusty and kind of unpleasant.

You are crawling up from a crater. So till you get out of the crater all you see is the inside of it. While the hike up is not great at views at the top is stunning. And apparently I took no photos of the top to show. It was so crowded and all I didn't want to loose my phone while trying to deal with keeping track of my kids.

 

[Lilsia]

Parking is very limited. We parked further over at a community college cause we arrived around 10 am. By There is no real resting places also for you to stop and sit. It is a you better be moving. Depending on the time of the year it can be very hot. We went pre covid and it was warm.

Yep, those are the reasons why people should get there early.

 

[Jimmynguyen77]

Thanks for the update. Planning an April trip and still haven't decided if its worth it if many things are still closed.

 

[JC1984]

To the person asking about where to go. Best way to think of the Hawaiian Islands (Big 4):
Hawaii: Volcanos, Half lava desert, half rain forest. Not very crowded(personally my favorite)
Oahu: LA on the beach. Bucket list to see Pearl Harbor and the best known sights.
Maui: Less crowded than Oahu...But has the Road to Hana
Kauai: Extremely laid back...Your on "Island Time"
I would go to any island but Oahu if I didn't have young children and a desire to go to Aulani with DVC. I have been to Oahu and seen what I wanted to see once but really to me it was like going to NYC once was enough. I liked the Big Island the best followed by Kauai and then Maui. Each has their own draw so I would say if you can go to each at least once.