mouthdoc
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Sep 15, 2009
We just returned from a week at Aulani. I won't go in to great detail about our time there. I'll just give some of my opinions and reflections about the trip and resort. We spent a couple of nights at the Grand Californian in Disneyland as well. Didn't go to Disneyland . I wanted to but my DD's would rather see LA so we drove around Hollywood, ate, went to a studio tour, etc. It was a fun day. My wife and I then ate at Napa Rose that evening - great!
Aulani was wonderful, as expected. Pure Disney - beautiful grounds, lots of detail and authentic theming. The cast members were exceptionally friendly. We stayed in a 2 bedroom villa (2 older DD's) and just had a great time. Some thoughts: Jet lag is the opposite from going to Europe. Its actually pretty easy going to Hawaii, but I had a tough time when I returned home, that foggy feeling lasted a few days. We rented a car, and I would highly recommend that. There is a nice shopping district very near to Aulani, with a Target (they are expanding the food section and should be open soon), a Costco (bought wine there, but not much else. Found the Kona Coffee here expensive $22 a lb. - cheapest I found was at Target $10 - 17 / lb) There is Safeway in the shopping village too. Food (store bought) is quite expensive here I found, at least 50% more per item than in my home town. I saved about $16 with a Safeway card (filled out the application there) so I would recommend getting one or bringing your own if you go. (We have no Safeways around here). In Aulani, the umbrellas are free, but you do have to sign up for them. We rented a "casabella" the first day, a wooden, double chaise with a cover. The umbrella worked much better, and, again, was free instead of $30. I agree with just about everyone else's posts: get your groceries and utilize your kitchen for lots of meals. We skipped a luau too, the Starlit Hui is fun, very entertaining.
Well, that's about it for now. I'll post again with my thoughts on the food at Aulani (and elsewhere) as well as excursions / activities on Oahu.
Aulani was wonderful, as expected. Pure Disney - beautiful grounds, lots of detail and authentic theming. The cast members were exceptionally friendly. We stayed in a 2 bedroom villa (2 older DD's) and just had a great time. Some thoughts: Jet lag is the opposite from going to Europe. Its actually pretty easy going to Hawaii, but I had a tough time when I returned home, that foggy feeling lasted a few days. We rented a car, and I would highly recommend that. There is a nice shopping district very near to Aulani, with a Target (they are expanding the food section and should be open soon), a Costco (bought wine there, but not much else. Found the Kona Coffee here expensive $22 a lb. - cheapest I found was at Target $10 - 17 / lb) There is Safeway in the shopping village too. Food (store bought) is quite expensive here I found, at least 50% more per item than in my home town. I saved about $16 with a Safeway card (filled out the application there) so I would recommend getting one or bringing your own if you go. (We have no Safeways around here). In Aulani, the umbrellas are free, but you do have to sign up for them. We rented a "casabella" the first day, a wooden, double chaise with a cover. The umbrella worked much better, and, again, was free instead of $30. I agree with just about everyone else's posts: get your groceries and utilize your kitchen for lots of meals. We skipped a luau too, the Starlit Hui is fun, very entertaining.
Well, that's about it for now. I'll post again with my thoughts on the food at Aulani (and elsewhere) as well as excursions / activities on Oahu.