Just booked Aulani 1st time to Hawaii

Hey everyone. We just booked Aulani and was hoping for some tips for a first timer. Never been to Hawaii so this will be our first trip. Suggestions would be greatly appreciated. THANKS

If you're planning on going to Pearl Harbor, make sure that you get advance tickets to see the USS Arizona. It's actually a free tour, but you can reserve your tickets for $1.50l. If you don't have tickets ahead of time, you need to be there when they open when they hand out the free tickets. They'll probably all be gone by 10:00 am. Even then you may get a 3:00 pm time which doesn't work too well if you're there early. This was money well spent. We got 11:00 am tickets and were there early. They let us get on a 10:00 boat. Pearl Harbor was worth the visit. I don't think that you need to prepare for any of the other things at Pearl Harbor. Only the USS Arizona gets filled up.

If you can schedule your Pearl Harbor day for a day that Aloha stadium also has their flea market, it's worth visiting too. Especially if you're in the market for souveniers. I picked up $10 Hawaiin shirts, etc... They have a lot of the same toursit type stuff, but they also have some nice stuff too. My DW picked up some nice hand crafted earrings cheap. It's right at Pearl Harbor so it's good to combine the day.

I wouldn't plan a day around the Dole Pineapple plantation. If you're driving by it (and you probably will if you explore), it's worth 20-30 minutes of shopping (and Dole whips), but in my opinion it's not a destination of itself.

Also, grab lunch at Leonard's bakery on the North shore. It's a dive with a long line, but was worth it.

Highly recommend Monkey Pod restaurant across the street from Aulani. There are other good places to visit there too when you want some "non-Disney" food. If you're looking to go to Makahiki for their character breakfast, you might want to make reservations ahead of time.

If you're looking to rent a cabanna one day, I might suggest you consider the Executive Lanai instead. We did this (there is only 1) and it was a great decision. Much more private than being right next to another Cabanna. It didn't have electric, or a TV/fan, but was a bit cheaper and came with the best view.

Finally, traffic in Honolulu can be a pain. Just be prepared for it an pack your patience. Avoid rush hour if at all possible and you won't be that bad.

Enjoy!

How long was the line at Leonard's? This is on my list, but we will have two preschoolers. Is there ample seating?

THANKS!!!!!! I have a lot of planning to do!!!!

I, too, am a first timer to Hawaii when we go in October. DW has been there before. We have been looking at places to eat while we are there. We really would like to go where the locals hang out and not where the tourist (even though we are tourists) will be. Hey, I am a native Floridian. So I have been around more than my fair share of tourists!!! As a PP stated about the Arizona, we will get our tickets ahead of time. We have a lot of planning to do as well. Hope you have a great time!!!

juncker said:

If you're planning on going to Pearl Harbor, make sure that you get advance tickets to see the USS Arizona. It's actually a free tour, but you can reserve your tickets for $1.50l. If you don't have tickets ahead of time, you need to be there when they open when they hand out the free tickets. They'll probably all be gone by 10:00 am. Even then you may get a 3:00 pm time which doesn't work too well if you're there early. This was money well spent. We got 11:00 am tickets and were there early. They let us get on a 10:00 boat. Pearl Harbor was worth the visit. I don't think that you need to prepare for any of the other things at Pearl Harbor. Only the USS Arizona gets filled up.

If you can schedule your Pearl Harbor day for a day that Aloha stadium also has their flea market, it's worth visiting too. Especially if you're in the market for souveniers. I picked up $10 Hawaiin shirts, etc... They have a lot of the same toursit type stuff, but they also have some nice stuff too. My DW picked up some nice hand crafted earrings cheap. It's right at Pearl Harbor so it's good to combine the day.

I wouldn't plan a day around the Dole Pineapple plantation. If you're driving by it (and you probably will if you explore), it's worth 20-30 minutes of shopping (and Dole whips), but in my opinion it's not a destination of itself.

Also, grab lunch at Leonard's bakery on the North shore. It's a dive with a long line, but was worth it.

Highly recommend Monkey Pod restaurant across the street from Aulani. There are other good places to visit there too when you want some "non-Disney" food. If you're looking to go to Makahiki for their character breakfast, you might want to make reservations ahead of time.

If you're looking to rent a cabanna one day, I might suggest you consider the Executive Lanai instead. We did this (there is only 1) and it was a great decision. Much more private than being right next to another Cabanna. It didn't have electric, or a TV/fan, but was a bit cheaper and came with the best view.

Finally, traffic in Honolulu can be a pain. Just be prepared for it an pack your patience. Avoid rush hour if at all possible and you won't be that bad.

Enjoy!

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Thanks for your very helpful post. We are thinking about going back to Hawaii for the first time in 9 years. We will keep some of your recommendations in mind!

These threads will be helpful when planning your trip to Aulani/Oahu:
Aulani Villas and Views - http://www.disboards.com/threads/aulani-villas-views-updated-01-23-2015.2907389/
What is the one thing you wish you knew - http://www.disboards.com/threads/aulani-whats-the-one-thing-you-wish-you-knew.3180904/
Places to eat around Aulani and on Oahu - http://www.disboards.com/threads/going-to-aulani-lets-list-places-to-eat.2858912/

I have been to Hawaii 5x now (last time to Aulani). There is a LOT to see in Hawaii but I would highly suggest before you buy your airfare you try to add a few more nights on another island. Each island has its own personality and offers nearly as much to see. It is just simply too far to go and too expensive to even GET there to not take advantage of at least one more island while you're only 30 or 45 minutes away from it. The Big Island is not known so much for its beaches but it has awesome snorkeling and a beautiful rugged, rocky black lava coast in many areas. And of course it is home to the active volcano, Kiluea and Volcanos National Park http://www.nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/index.htm. This island is very big and takes a lot of time to explore. The time before last when we went we spent a few nights on the Big Island and splurged on a helicopter tour over the island and volcano - INCREDIBLE. Maui is home to some of the world's very best, well known beaches and offers lots of golfing, zip lining and snorkeling among other things. I have only done a day-trip to Kauai - also very beautiful and home to Waimea Canyon, which is often compared to the Grand Canyon http://www.hawaiistateparks.org

Aulani is fabulous - don't forget to leave yourself time to enjoy the resort. IMO there is a fine line between trying to see everything and do everything which would leave you with NO down-time to enjoy the resort and plopping yourself down at the resort for SO MUCH time that you don't get out and enjoy the island. Save that for another trip once you've done your sightseeing. Again, it's just too much to GET there to not get out and explore. I personally would not bother with the PCC (been there, done that and found it too expensive and too long of a day plus I was not comfortable there) but I would most definitely do Pearl Harbor / USS Missouri. You should plan a day to go into Waikiki (you can't go to Oahu and not see Diamond Head). Hanauma Bay is a famous state park outside of Honolulu which features snorkeling. It gets crowded EARLY but is considered by many not to be missed. I have been probably 3x but have skipped it the last couple of times due to the crowds. It could be done first thing on your Waikiki day. http://www.hanaumabaystatepark.com. This last trip was the first time we ever actually got OUT of Waikiki and explored more of the island. We booked surf lessons on the North Shore and spent one day up there. It was a great day and I still can't believe it took me that many trips to get up there. You should definitely plan on one day for that.

Definitely do check out the threads that Girimama33 gave links to in her post above. Lots of good info. already out there on the DIS to help you plan.

Thanks these are amazingly helpful. Anyone travel with a child with autism? I asked on the disabilities board with no response yet.

For food/drinks/supplies, there is a Target about 5-10 minutes away if you have a rent-a-car and easy to find. Not sure if you will be staying in a room with a full fridge or a mini fridge, but a great place to stock up at reasonable prices. Full service grocery section included in this store...

My daughter has autism. She has sensory issues with water where she is afraid of it, and loves it at the same time. We were there in the summer and will be there in a few weeks. She is 6 and loved the menehune bridge and slides there. She wouldn't go on the bigger slides. We spent most of our time at the pools, lagoon or hanging in a cabana/executive lanai. It was nice having a place to retreat to. We didn't use the kids club at all since my parents were with us. I may use them this time for dinner if she is up to it.
If you have any other questions, let me know.

THANKS so much!!! You guys are so helpful! Target trip is a MUST!

My son with autism is too old for the kids club but my other one is perfect but I don't think he is going to want to leave his brother.

I recommend hitting the Costco if you go the Target, they are the same exit. Eating out in Hawaii is very expensive, especially for families. We don't mind cooking while on vacation and saved a ton of money eating dinner in our room every night. We did splurge on a character breakfast and ate out while doing touring of Oahu, but for the most part, we fed the kids in the room. On a few nights, my husband and I went over to Monkeypod for happy hour and elected to have the dinner program for our girls offered at Aunty's Beach House. It was not a bad deal ($10or so per kid I think) and my kids said it was great!

Regarding using Aunty's Beach House, if you are going during peak times, you will need to go early to sign the kiddos up for all the cool programs listed in the Daily Iwa. There is limited space for those offerings and while your kids can still go to the kids club if they are not signed up for one of the scheduled programs, they will be limited in what they can do. My girls love the activities so we learned quickly to be out there in line before opening. The dinner program also fills up fast.

Oahu gets a bad rap IMHO. We enjoy the island, the traffic issues can be avoided as long as you time your touring right and there is lots to do and see. I agree with skipping Dole Pineapple Plantation but a trip to Haleiwa for Matsumoto's Shaved Ice is pretty cool and there are places to see the sea turtles in that area. The Aulani staff is great at providing recommendations. We like Waikiki but I am a city person so I like the hustle and bustle feel of the area and enjoy walking along the strand of hotels lining the beach. We also enjoyed the hike up diamond head even with small (at the time) children. My daughter was really proud of climbing all those steps at the end and the view is fantastic!

Have fun planning your first trip!

How early did you get there to sign up for the stuff at Aunty's? We are going in early June.

AZMermaid said:

How early did you get there to sign up for the stuff at Aunty's? We are going in early June.

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Like an hour before they opened. Resort was at capacity ( presidents week, February) and it was the only way to get the girls signed up for the programs they wanted. I sent my dh down and usually headed down around the same time each morning to reserve our spot at the pool