Aulani - a few more questions?

amystevekai&bump · Jul 29, 2015

Hi again all :wave:

Assuming we get the all clear to fly on Tuesday, we will be in Aulani in a couple of weeks time! :thumbsup2

As we now won't have a car due to DH being unable to currently drive, I'm just trying to make some last minute adjustments to our plans. :thumbsup2

We have 7 full days now at Aulani (ive arranged all of our sightseeing tours for whilst we are in Waikiki), and I've got 4 days worth of the Ama Ama casabellas booked and one day in a cabana. Today I also managed to book the two boys into the Fish are Friends activity at Auntys. But I've just read on another thread how it's possible to now book the free activities on the phone in advance too - is that right?

I've also read about the Hali Hali shopping shuttle which takes guests to 3 shopping centres. Has anyone done this before? We would like to go to Ala Moana center, but are not interested in the other two places on offer - is it possible to stay at one for the duration, or is it more of an excursion where you have to do all three? I haven't been able to find very much information about it. Alternatively we do have some free time during our waikiki stay, where we could fit in a visit to the mall, but I'm wondering how the walk is from the Outrigger Waikiki beach? I see that it's just over a mile, but is it a flat walk with places to stop enroute? DH is getting a wheelchair, but we don't know how we are going to get on with it yet!! :faint:

Finally, does there tend to be a monthly schedule? Just wondering whether there is any way of finding out the schedule of activities for whilst we are there? As we now have a full week, it would be good to know when certain activities are likely to be on (such as the family animation workshop, starlit hui etc)?

Thanks so much for any advice :thumbsup2

wanderlust7 · Jul 29, 2015

We walked to Ala Moana once from Hilton Hawaiian Village. I think it was pretty flat, but HOT (and this was in December). There's a lot of shopping and restaurants along Kalakaua (sidewalks can get a little crowded) until you get to about Beach Walk or the Hard Rock Cafe. Personally, I'd probably opt for a cab. If you're going in the evening after it's cooled down, it might be okay.

When I asked about the activities schedule, I was told there's no way to know in advance and to just wait for the Daily Iwa to come out the afternoon/evening before.

amystevekai&bump · Jul 29, 2015

wanderlust7 said:
We walked to Ala Moana once from Hilton Hawaiian Village. I think it was pretty flat, but HOT (and this was in December). There's a lot of shopping and restaurants along Kalakaua (sidewalks can get a little crowded) until you get to about Beach Walk or the Hard Rock Cafe. Personally, I'd probably opt for a cab. If you're going in the evening after it's cooled down, it might be okay.

When I asked about the activities schedule, I was told there's no way to know in advance and to just wait for the Daily Iwa to come out the afternoon/evening before.

Thanks ever so much for replying :thumbsup2

I think we will opt for the cab - I hadn't thought about the crowded sidewalks - I can easily call a cab from the hotel and I guess it will be easy enough to find one at the mall to bring us back :thumbsup2

That's a shame about the activities schedules, but I will just have to make sure I read them each evening ready for the next day. :wave:

wdrl · Jul 29, 2015

amystevekai&bump said:
That's a shame about the activities schedules, but I will just have to make sure I read them each evening ready for the next day.

Its not like you'll be at the mercy of waiting for the Daily Iwa to see what activities and events are scheduled for the next day. Aulani's Daily Iwa includes a weekly calendar of planned activities and events around the resort. It displays the times and locations so you can plan ahead by several days. Here is a link to the official Aulani website showing a sample Daily Iwa: http://resorts.disney.go.com/media/resorts/pdf/iwa/Aulani-Sample-Iwa-Calendar.pdf.

As you probably know, the Daily Iwa is not delivered to your villa. You can pick up a copy from the front desk, concierge, the Community Hall, and other places around the resort.

wanderlust7 · Jul 29, 2015

wdrl said:
Its not like you'll be at the mercy of waiting for the Daily Iwa to see what activities and events are scheduled for the next day. Aulani's Daily Iwa includes a weekly calendar of planned activities and events around the resort. It displays the times and locations so you can plan ahead by several days. Here is a link to the official Aulani website showing a sample Daily Iwa: http://resorts.disney.go.com/media/resorts/pdf/iwa/Aulani-Sample-Iwa-Calendar.pdf.

A Weekly Iwa! I had no idea they had this. Is it new? We went in February.

Disdreamprincess · Jul 29, 2015

Hey Amy

Are you staying onsite at Disneyland?

wdrl · Jul 29, 2015

wanderlust7 said:
A Weekly Iwa! I had no idea they had this. Is it new? We went in February.

No, its not new. We've been to Aulani twice (September 2012 and October 2014) and both times the Daily Iwa had a page showing a weekly calendar of events.

wanderlust7 · Jul 29, 2015

wdrl said:
No, its not new. We've been to Aulani twice (September 2012 and October 2014) and both times the Daily Iwa had a page showing a weekly calendar of events.

Then I wonder if they discontinued it. I kept all my Daily Iwas and no weekly calendar. I specifically asked a CM (think it was someone at Aunty's) if I can find out the activities beforehand and was told no, only the day before. I remember thinking that's very odd!

Anyone gotten a Weekly Iwa this year?

alohamom · Jul 29, 2015

I would not walk all the way to Ala Moana because once you get there, you will be walking all around the mall and then walking back! You could also take the Bus but I am not sure how that might be with the wheelchair. you could try to contact the Outrigger and see if they run a shopping shuttle, they probably do.

amystevekai&bump · Jul 30, 2015

Thank you everyone for replying :thumbsup2

. Would be great to see a weekly plan if they still have one, I wasn't too worried about the family activities before, but now that DH won't really be able to go in the pool, I'm hoping to introduce some non water based activities into each day for the boys - I love pool time, but usually DH is the one to be in there with the boys, and I can't stay in there as long as him, so I'm hoping to coax them out at various points!! :goodvibes

I think you're right about the mall - I hadn't factored in all of the walking once we get there!! :hyper:

Oh and Disdreamprincess - yes, we're onsite at the villas at Grand Californian, so hoping that will make for a relaxing and easy time too! :thumbsup2

Sir William · Jul 30, 2015

wanderlust7 said:
Then I wonder if they discontinued it. I kept all my Daily Iwas and no weekly calendar. I specifically asked a CM (think it was someone at Aunty's) if I can find out the activities beforehand and was told no, only the day before. I remember thinking that's very odd!

Anyone gotten a Weekly Iwa this year?

We received a weekly schedule on check in last month.

Girimama33 · Jul 30, 2015

wanderlust7 said:
Then I wonder if they discontinued it. I kept all my Daily Iwas and no weekly calendar. I specifically asked a CM (think it was someone at Aunty's) if I can find out the activities beforehand and was told no, only the day before. I remember thinking that's very odd!

Anyone gotten a Weekly Iwa this year?

Sir William said:
We received a weekly schedule on check in last month.

I was going to mention the weekly Iwa as well. I received the weekly Iwa at check in during both of our trips...most recent being March 2015.

I agree that you should take a cab to Ala Moana.
If you do not get an answer about the shopping shuttle, maybe you can e-mail Aulani and they can answer your questions.

southerngirl528 · Jul 30, 2015

Ala Moana is a pretty big mall. LOTS of walking. And wow! The traffic we hit in late January trying to get there after our Pearl Harbor tour! YIKES. I think it took something like 20 minutes once we got within a couple of blocks of the place. :sad2:

wdrl · Jul 30, 2015

The more I think of it, perhaps the weekly calendar of events is an insert to the Daily Iwa that is only included in the check-in packet, or only updated once a week. If you don't have the weekly calendar included in your copy of the Daily Iwa, go by the Front Desk or concierge and see if they have a copy.

amystevekai&bump: Please let us know what you find out once you get to Aulani!

wanderlust7 · Jul 30, 2015

Sir William said:
We received a weekly schedule on check in last month.

Girimama33 said:
I was going to mention the weekly Iwa as well. I received the weekly Iwa at check in during both of our trips...most recent being March 2015.

Gosh, I guess the weekly schedule was left out of my check-in packet or somehow I lost it before I saw it. Good to know, thanks!

nkereina · Jul 30, 2015

OP - do you have anymore info on the casabella loungers at Ama Ama? Are they in the sun or partly shaded? Is the location good? It's my understanding these ones can be reserved in advance but some of the other casabella loungers cannot be. Is that accurate?

Girimama33 · Jul 30, 2015

nkereina said:
OP - do you have anymore info on the casabella loungers at Ama Ama? Are they in the sun or partly shaded? Is the location good? It's my understanding these ones can be reserved in advance but some of the other casabella loungers cannot be. Is that accurate?

The Ama Ama decks where the casabellas are located are in the shade most of the day.

nkereina · Jul 30, 2015

Girimama33 said:
The Ama Ama decks where the casabellas are located are in the shade most of the day.

Thanks. Do you know if the casabellas on the beach area are sunny?

Girimama33 · Jul 30, 2015

nkereina said:
Thanks. Do you know if the casabellas on the beach area are sunny?

Yes. They are in full sun.

AZMermaid · Jul 30, 2015

We got a weekly Iwa at check in. The week was up two days later so I went down and got the new one no problem. It was a good overview but didn't have everything. This was in June

Aulani - a few more questions?

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