Aulani or Disney Cruise with young kids?

[jlbridg2]

My DH and I are looking at vacations for next fall (2017) and with initially pricing them out we have found the cost to go to Aulani (from the East Coast) to be about the same as a Disney Cruise (7-night). We have 2 young boys, will be 5 & 3 at the time of travel . Any feedback about which one we should do? Either way we will do both at some point and probably do them both more than once. So neither would be once in a lifetime for us. We are looking for relaxation and my DH is only comfortable going Disney. We are DVC members so we might actually get to do Aulani including airfare cheaper than DCL. Thoughts? What did you do and would you do it again with kids that age?

 

[happymommy]

Done both (sort of; we go to Hawaii every other year).

Your kids are the perfect age for the Disney cruise. Mine were a bit older, and found the kids' clubs not interesting - should have done it when they were younger. Son was 11 and daughter turned 9 on the boat, and they weren't interested at all in the clubs. Our friends had a younger daughter, maybe 5 or 6 years old, and they had to drag her out of the activities every night at the end! She loved it so much.

We love going to Hawaii, but it does involve more parental involvement with stuff like swimming in the ocean playing in the pool.

Having all the meals covered, prepared for you, and no dishes to wash makes the cruise a bit more appealing to me for your kids' ages! Having the housekeeping come in daily (was it twice, I forget) to make beds, etc.... makes it also so much more carefree and pampered.

 

[wanderlust7]

We did both last year (Aulani in February and Disney cruise in November). DD was 3 and DS was 6. If it makes a difference, the kids' club at Aulani requires potty training. I believe the current cruise policy does not require it, just that you come back periodically to check. Also, for cost, did you factor in that food is included on the cruise?

Aulani was more relaxing for us, but that's because we've been to Oahu several times before and didn't have any must do's. It was our first DCL cruise and only 5 days. I think we tried to do too much. They're both great choices and I don't think you can go wrong either way. But since you're on the East Coast, if you don't want to deal with a long flight and the time difference, maybe the cruise is better.

 

[Gr8scott]

We have done both as well although our son was a bit older. If it were me I would do Aulani twice and skip the cruise altogether, although I have to admit that having our stateroom broken into on the cruise and having $300 stolen from my wife's purse and subsequently the in-law's getting robbed as well in the adjoining stateroom probably biases my opinion quite a bit.

Trying to be objective though, Aulani is just so much more a satisfying vacation in my opinion. That being said I am sure our unfortunate break in is not that common and certainly fun can be had on a Disney cruise as well. If I had to make a decision I would likely do the cruise first and save the best for last. We just returned from a 2-week stay (10-nights at Aulani) and it was just awesome...

 

[longboard55]

We go to Hawaii a lot, but nothing tops a Disney cruise. Your ages a perfect for a cruise

 

[jtba]

we (DH, DS8, and DS4, and me) did a 7-night alaskan cruise to alaska last summer, then 5-night stay at aulani this past april. there are links to both trip logs in my signature below.

whenever anyone asks me this question i would first ask is if their child is 3 or above (which your younger one is) because the kids' clubs are 3-12, and you would have to pay for the nursery (ship) / babysitter (aulani) by the hour if they're 0-2.x. but in your case you don't need to worry about it.

second question is whether your kids still nap. i ask because my younger one was still napping when we went to alaska, which cut into our excursion time a bit, so we only did half-day excursions. if we had to do it again we would go to aulani first (so she could nap in the hotel room), and wait to take the cruise until she no longer naps. after she dropped her naps in the winter, it totally opened up our days when we went to aulani in april--we could just play all day long and not have to watch the time.

honestly we really enjoyed both trips equally! they're very different. there was so much to do on the ship all day long (excursions during the day, evening shows at night, for example; there are many many more activities throughout). when we wanted some adults time we would just drop off both in the kids club. the meals are "free" because they're included as part of the cruise costs. but the dinner times are set.

aulani is much more relaxing overall because we just spent the whole day in the lazy river, pools, and beach, and there were no excursion nor meal times to meet (other than reservations at ama ama). BUT their kids' club process is more ornerous, in that you have to pre-register your kids, and you can't just drop them off whenever you want to because of capacity issues. with some pre-planning you can do it, but it's just not as easy as on the ship. and the meals are relatively more expensive.

so there are some things for you to consider with both destinations. but either way you will have a great time!

 

[Golden Rose]

We've also done both. We've done 3 Disney cruises with our kids and one trip to Aulani, and as others have said, we love both. For us, the Disney cruises were at least as relaxing as Aulani, but we were in a Royal Suite all three times, and were pampered throughout the trip. We also spend a lot of time in the room relaxing, which is one of the reasons we always splurge for suites on cruises. I'm going to take that back - our one holiday cruise was not relaxing. We had so much we wanted to do that we were really busy and scheduled, which is not how we usually cruise. (Don't get me wrong, it was AMAZING, but it was not relaxing.) We have one kid who would like to live in kids' club and one kid who goes maybe 2 or 3 times a trip, which was true for both places.

If you are coming from the East Coast, the flight/s to Aulani could be awful. Our son has always been a good traveler, but our daughter, who was 3 at the time just couldn't handle the long flights. She couldn't stay in her seat. She kept wanting to talk and sing loudly. She was so bad that my mother, who was traveling with us, pretended she didn't know my daughter. I tried to stay on top of the situation, and get her to behave, but I was at my wit's end. She just couldn't be still and quiet for that long, even with all the copious entertainment and snacks I provided. She is much better now at flying, but I am smarter about making her jump in place.

You can make either trip relaxing. Either trip would be wonderful. I, personally, would cruise with kids that age instead of doing Aulani because it is just easier, assuming your kids like kids club. We've done 6 cruises with our daughter and um, 10 I think with our son (only 3 were Disney), in part because we really like cruising with kids, and the kids really love cruising. Both kids also absolutely adored Aulani and have asked to go back. You will have a great time no matter which you choose.

 

[P-Family]

Disney Cruise!!!

 

[Aviator621]

Also done both, and for their age, would go with Cruise if for no other reason that getting them into Auntie's at Aulani can be a real trial depending on the time of the year. Also felt Auntie's tended to be geared to slightly older ages.

 

[KBinCO]

i think if you'll do both, do a cruise. That is coming from someone who hasn't been to Aulani yet, though. I'm currently trying to plan Aulani for next year, when my girls are 7 and 9, but we did a 7 night cruise when they were 4 and 5 and it was fantastic for all of us.

 

[twodogs]

I have never been on a Disney cruise, and just returned from our first trip to Aulani with our DDs, ages 8 and 10. We flew non-stop from Dallas, so about 8 hours. While we had a fantastic time, there is no way I would want to do that length of flight with a 3 year old. My kids are seasoned travelers and have been flying since they were infants, but I would still not have been comfortable on that length of flight with them at that age. I think they get too bored, and it would have been a long flight for me, trying to keep them entertained and quiet. Since Hawaii doesn't do daylight savings time, we had a 5 hour time difference (yours would be 6 hours). My kids actually did great with this, but that is because we took a day time flight to Oahu, and then we were able to keep them up until about 8pm Hawaii time on arrival night (1AM our time, way, way past their normal bedtime) because they were so excited to be at Aulani. They transitioned to Hawaii time right away. However, I could not have kept them up like that at ages 3 and 5, so the time adjustment would have been rough.

Lastly, I feel Aulani is best enjoyed when your kids are strong enough swimmers to use all of the pools and the beach. My children starting swim lessons at age 3, and they are confident and safe swimmers now, but not at age 3 (or even 5, to be in the pool without me right there). So I think yours kids would get a lot more out of Aulani when they are a little older (and the adults might be able to relax a little more). That said, we saw every age of kids there, and all seemed to be having fun (not sure how the parents were holding up!!). Have a great trip, whatever you choose!!

 

[happymommy]

I forgot about mentioning the time change. First time we took our kids back to Hawaii they were 4 and 6, and while the 5 or 6 hour time change was okay going over, when we came home it was miserable (still can be, even though we go frequently). I couldn't get them up in the mornings and couldn't get them to bed at night before midnight for a couple weeks at least after we came home.

That is something to seriously consider.

 

[jlbridg2]

Thanks so much for the feedback!! It is amazing to hear how everyones trips are a bit different. The time change, the long flights and the kids clubs are my biggest concerns about Aulani and sounds like some others have had the same experience. Leaning toward a cruise for this next vacation but excited to plan our Aulani trip when the kids are a bit older.

 

[nkereina]

I can't speak to it from a perspective with children, but I will say they are two very different vacations. IMO, a cruise isn't all that relaxing. The pools leave a bit to be desired on a cruise ship, so we tend to participate in the activities. We have activities planned for each port and even though it may include a beach day, we do check our watches quite a bit to stay on a time schedule. That's important with a cruise. For a resort vacation like Aulani, that is the epitome of relaxing IMO. No schedule, do what you want when you want type of thing. However, if you plan to rent a car and explore the island, then that's a little different. As an adult with no kids, we'd opt for Aulani.

 

[AZMermaid]

I think you can't go wrong either way, but I took my kids to Aulani last summer at 3 and 4.5. They loved it and talk about it weekly at least. The (eek-still unfinished but 3/4 done) trip report is in my siggie. I loved being able to cook in the room and it was very relaxing. I loved the space compared to the cruise. We just suffered through one cranky first evening at the start and then they were adjusted to the time change. They were great on the flight due to iPads.

My kids were good enough swimmers that I didn't have to hold them the whole time and could do the slides and stuff. My 4 year old even took surf lessons! If they are weaker swimmers, that might give me pause to wait... But life jackets are readily available. We plan to go again when they are 7 and 8 and have said it will be nice to be able to sit with our drinks while they swim!

It was our best vacation to date!

 

[blondietink]

We have done both and with kids your age, I would vote for the disney cruise. However we did not find it at all relaxing as there was something going on all the time on our 4 day cruise. We went to WDW after the cruise and actually found it peaceful compared to the cruise. We personally love Aulani and Hawaii in general and have gone there 3 times.

 

[jlbridg2]

Thanks so much for all the feedback... We decided to do a cruise for this trip and are saving Aulani until the boys are more seasoned travelers!

 

[Mom2disneygirls]

I think it depends on you and what you want. My husband preferred Aulani for relaxation he felt he had to do things on the cruise (whereas I perceived it as we wanted to do things). I prefer the cruise because it is easier for me to relax when I know my kids have things to do and for us with a young child, tween and young teen Aulani had gaps there with the older 2 and that made it difficult for us to secure time for "mom/dad". That said the spa was AMAZING while I love the spa on Dream not so much on Magic but the spa at Aulani with the relaxation gardens just fabulous. I also like the inclusive factor with food etc on the cruise but my husband took on much of the cooking at Aulani. You won't go wrong either way... but if you want to have special time without the kids go to Aulani before the get out of enjoying the kids club.... my 8 year old LOVED it.

 

[OriolesFan]

My DH and I are looking at vacations for next fall (2017) and with initially pricing them out we have found the cost to go to Aulani (from the East Coast) to be about the same as a Disney Cruise (7-night). We have 2 young boys, will be 5 & 3 at the time of travel . Any feedback about which one we should do? Either way we will do both at some point and probably do them both more than once. So neither would be once in a lifetime for us. We are looking for relaxation and my DH is only comfortable going Disney. We are DVC members so we might actually get to do Aulani including airfare cheaper than DCL. Thoughts? What did you do and would you do it again with kids that age?

My husband and I went to Aulani for our anniversary and it was perfect! Having done both Aulani and the cruise, I would suggest Aulani for just the two of you. The cruise is definitely the better way to go for a trip with the kids. There's so much for you do to on the cruise for everyone in your family.