lovewdwfun
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2011
I found reviews so helpful and not very plentiful, so I wanted to share my thoughts. I went with my three kids (3, 10, 12) and husband for a week in February.
Aulani: We really enjoyed it and would recommend it, but I think if we come back we’d do another island. The pool was awesome, but it really is in the middle of nowhere. I’d read up and knew about traffic, but I still wasn’t prepared for about an hour and a half to and from every place we wanted to go. I would not go without a car- there really isn’t enough to keep you busy for a week at the resort. A couple resort says were more than enough.
I found the resort nice, but sub-par for Disney. Cigarette butts on the ground, a dirty cup on the ground next to the pool for hours, and a lifeguard who kept falling asleep (even after we talked to other employees) were a few examples. Only one person ever said “Welcome Home.” Characters weren’t as plentiful as I thought and were often only out for a portion of the day (e.g. 12-5, which is when we were out).
Aunty’s Beach House was great, as were the staff members. My youngest two loved it, but my oldest was bored and didn’t go back.
Room location - we had island view 568 and could see parts of the luau and a small bit of the ocean. It’s a great room.
Restaurants:
Ulu Cafe: The açaí bowl was good, but rest was nothing remarkable.
Makahiki: Dinner was amazing. We decided to go back again on a non-character night. Breakfast was meh- standard and not better than Ulu. I wouldn’t recommend breakfast.
Ama Ama: Breakfast was average for me, but I had an amazing view. We enjoyed lunch.
Monkeypod kitchen (across the street): This was great. Make a reservation. Go before 5:30 and appetizers and pizzas are half off!
Eggs n things (across the street): OK, not great, but no line for dinner, which was nice.
Limon Rotisserie (ten minutes away in Kapolei): What a great find! Very affordable Peruvian food with live music. We loved the empanadas and my husband loved the chicken. I highly recommend.
Haliwea Bowls (North Shore): Good açaí bowls
Matsumoto shave ice (North shire): Everyone else loved it but I couldn’t tell the difference.
Ted’s Bakery (North Shore): Just OK, O wouldn’t goout of my way to go there
Kahuku Farms; My favorite meal of the trip, salad with homemade dressing and pizza. It’s a farm cafe and everything is fresh from the farm. We were wowed.
Fumi’s shrimp truck: My husband enjoyed the spicy shrimp.
Luau at PCC: Food was really not great. We were all disappointed,
Attractions:
Makapuu Lighthouse trail: OK, but not really my thing
Hānauma Bay: See above.
Byodo Inn: Worth it if you are in the area, but not the hour and a half each way just to see it. My kids enjoyed feeding the fish and there was a booth selling Hawaiian food.
North Shore: Fantastic. So fun just driving through the town of Haleiwa. Definitely find a reason to spend time here.
Dole Plantation: Don’t go out of your way. The reviews are right, it is just a tourist trap.
Kahuku Farms Grand Tour: SO much better than Dole plantation. Book in advance. One of the owners of the farm gives you a tour and you learn so much about farms and growing food in Hawaii. Afterwards there was a phenomenal and generous sample of fresh fruit from the farm for everyone who goes on the tour. I tried fruits I’ve never had. This was a surprise highlight.
Waimea Valley: I’d skip and do something else
Oahu Nature Tours Endemic Bird Tours: one of my kids is into birding so we paid $400 for a half day private bird tour. He loved it. They saw 18 “life birds,” some of which are only seen in Oahu. They also saw a whale and learned about the island.
Kualoa Ranch: We likes the movie sites tour a lot, especially seeing wild pigs! Allow plenty of time to get here, it took almost two hours.
Polynesian Cultural Center: Highly recommended. Get here at 11 to explore the marketplace - all the foods you come to Hawaii for in one place! Go from food truck to food truck eating different types of food. We loved it. You’ll need the whole day at PCC and still won’t see everything. We got the luau package. We didn’t love the luau but the Ha! breath of life show was remarkable. Overall, it was our favorite day, with Kahuku Farms/Kualoa ranch being our second favorite day.
Any questions?
Aulani: We really enjoyed it and would recommend it, but I think if we come back we’d do another island. The pool was awesome, but it really is in the middle of nowhere. I’d read up and knew about traffic, but I still wasn’t prepared for about an hour and a half to and from every place we wanted to go. I would not go without a car- there really isn’t enough to keep you busy for a week at the resort. A couple resort says were more than enough.
I found the resort nice, but sub-par for Disney. Cigarette butts on the ground, a dirty cup on the ground next to the pool for hours, and a lifeguard who kept falling asleep (even after we talked to other employees) were a few examples. Only one person ever said “Welcome Home.” Characters weren’t as plentiful as I thought and were often only out for a portion of the day (e.g. 12-5, which is when we were out).
Aunty’s Beach House was great, as were the staff members. My youngest two loved it, but my oldest was bored and didn’t go back.
Room location - we had island view 568 and could see parts of the luau and a small bit of the ocean. It’s a great room.
Restaurants:
Ulu Cafe: The açaí bowl was good, but rest was nothing remarkable.
Makahiki: Dinner was amazing. We decided to go back again on a non-character night. Breakfast was meh- standard and not better than Ulu. I wouldn’t recommend breakfast.
Ama Ama: Breakfast was average for me, but I had an amazing view. We enjoyed lunch.
Monkeypod kitchen (across the street): This was great. Make a reservation. Go before 5:30 and appetizers and pizzas are half off!
Eggs n things (across the street): OK, not great, but no line for dinner, which was nice.
Limon Rotisserie (ten minutes away in Kapolei): What a great find! Very affordable Peruvian food with live music. We loved the empanadas and my husband loved the chicken. I highly recommend.
Haliwea Bowls (North Shore): Good açaí bowls
Matsumoto shave ice (North shire): Everyone else loved it but I couldn’t tell the difference.
Ted’s Bakery (North Shore): Just OK, O wouldn’t goout of my way to go there
Kahuku Farms; My favorite meal of the trip, salad with homemade dressing and pizza. It’s a farm cafe and everything is fresh from the farm. We were wowed.
Fumi’s shrimp truck: My husband enjoyed the spicy shrimp.
Luau at PCC: Food was really not great. We were all disappointed,
Attractions:
Makapuu Lighthouse trail: OK, but not really my thing
Hānauma Bay: See above.
Byodo Inn: Worth it if you are in the area, but not the hour and a half each way just to see it. My kids enjoyed feeding the fish and there was a booth selling Hawaiian food.
North Shore: Fantastic. So fun just driving through the town of Haleiwa. Definitely find a reason to spend time here.
Dole Plantation: Don’t go out of your way. The reviews are right, it is just a tourist trap.
Kahuku Farms Grand Tour: SO much better than Dole plantation. Book in advance. One of the owners of the farm gives you a tour and you learn so much about farms and growing food in Hawaii. Afterwards there was a phenomenal and generous sample of fresh fruit from the farm for everyone who goes on the tour. I tried fruits I’ve never had. This was a surprise highlight.
Waimea Valley: I’d skip and do something else
Oahu Nature Tours Endemic Bird Tours: one of my kids is into birding so we paid $400 for a half day private bird tour. He loved it. They saw 18 “life birds,” some of which are only seen in Oahu. They also saw a whale and learned about the island.
Kualoa Ranch: We likes the movie sites tour a lot, especially seeing wild pigs! Allow plenty of time to get here, it took almost two hours.
Polynesian Cultural Center: Highly recommended. Get here at 11 to explore the marketplace - all the foods you come to Hawaii for in one place! Go from food truck to food truck eating different types of food. We loved it. You’ll need the whole day at PCC and still won’t see everything. We got the luau package. We didn’t love the luau but the Ha! breath of life show was remarkable. Overall, it was our favorite day, with Kahuku Farms/Kualoa ranch being our second favorite day.
Any questions?
