Aulani: What's the One Thing You Wish You Knew?

[eeyorefanuk]

Book any excursions ahead of time. There are very few that include transportation, if you haven't rented a car.

Make some time to visit another beach. We were very disappointed with Aulani's man made lagoon.

How far away is the beach you recommend

 

[Sir William]

A few questions:
There are conflicting posts about bringing your own beverages (including alcohol) down to the pool. I'd love to make some mixed drinks and bring some beer down. Will they allow that?

Was there anything you wished you had brought for the kitchen? Do they have blenders?

Is there a minimum age for the rainbow reef?

Thanks!

I've seen people bring their own beverages down to the grills to enjoy while cooking. Haven't noticed at the pools because I don't spend much time there.

You can request a blender from housekeeping.

Kitchen has most things you'll need, but we bought some aluminum foil to keep leftovers in and also to cover food from the grill up to the room. We did buy a silicon spatula to use for scrambled eggs and omelets (the room has the pancake turner style spatula), but that was all we needed. I do the cooking so I've kept the meals simple and within the range of the pots, pans and utensils provided. We also brought/bought dishwasher tablets and a small bottle of washing detergent. Housekeeping had delivered additional paper towels and TP on request.

I've seen some very young children in the Reef, but I would say the youngest is about 4-5. Just a guess as I'm looking at the fish, not my fellow snorkelers. Everyone is required to wear a flotation vest; for adults it's inflatable and for children it's solid, so the child must be large enough to wear at least the smallest available vest. There are also two viewing windows so if you don't want to snorkel, or don't want to pay to use the Reef, you can view some of the fish from there. By the way, the water is very cold. Most people don't stay too long.

 

[SingingMom]

How far away is the beach you recommend

DH and DD took a surfing lesson for DD's 21st birthday. It included transportation - with "girls who surf" company. I don't know where we went, but it was beautiful. Warm, clean, pretty waves. What I expected Aulani's beach to be like. We did not rent a car, since I wanted hubby to relax. We should have rented the car. Lol

 

[carissa1970]

Best beach we found was at the end of the road, if you keep driving on the highway and do not get off at the exit for Aulani...stay on that road until it dead ends at one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen! Probably a 30 min drive at most,, goes through some small town areas, and beautiful scenery. If you look on a map, you will see how the highway ends. There are even restrooms and a shower. Very windy, though.

 

[Sir William]

A few questions:

Is there a minimum age for the rainbow reef?

Thanks!

Checked with the CM at Rainbow Reef earlier today. There is no age limit on for Rainbow Reef, however young children need to wear a flotation device (provided and required for everyone in Rainbow Reef), and has to be capable of snorkeling on their own.

Just passing on what they told me a couple hours ago.

 

[Amw1064]

I wish I would have known how long I would be having Aulani "withdrawals". Honestly I am 2 weeks home and it is all I think about.

 

[nemofans]

Young kids don't have to use a snorkel in rainbow reef. They were fine with our DS just using goggles and a life vest.

 

[alohamom]

I wish I would have known how long I would be having Aulani "withdrawals". Honestly I am 2 weeks home and it is all I think about.

LOL-I totally know this feeling. Hang in there!

 

[lodge]

That Aulani is part of a homeowner's association and one may not use their own paddleboards, scuba gear (to leave from the Aulani beach), boogie boards. This should seriously be mentioned somewhere.
Not trying to be a Debbie-Downer but we weren't too fond of Aulani besides the above points. I think we are accustomed to the diversity of activities at WDW or DL, as well as the improvements on line problems (advent of the FP+ system as opposed to Aulani's outdated stand-in-line 30 minutes prior to opening of community center and kid's club.

 

[sahara910]

Best beach we found was at the end of the road, if you keep driving on the highway and do not get off at the exit for Aulani...stay on that road until it dead ends at one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen! Probably a 30 min drive at most,, goes through some small town areas, and beautiful scenery. If you look on a map, you will see how the highway ends. There are even restrooms and a shower. Very windy, though.

When I am looking at a map are you saying to the east side of Oahu or NW side?
also for Rainbow Reef does anyone know if it is actually warmer in the summer? It said 82 but no way that was right in November lol My son wanted to try but it was too cold for him. Good to know he can use goggles instead though!

 

[carissa1970]

When I am looking at a map are you saying to the east side of Oahu or NW side?
also for Rainbow Reef does anyone know if it is actually warmer in the summer? It said 82 but no way that was right in November lol My son wanted to try but it was too cold for him. Good to know he can use goggles instead though!

NW side. I'm sorry I don't have better details. Let's say you were driving to Aulani from the airport. If you kept driving past the exit off the highway, the road eventually dead ends at the beach. I found a couple photos. Besides us, there were about 10 others there, most were snorkeling.

 

[gioiamama]

Does anyone know if the refillable mugs are using the rfid chips as in the parks? Or are they self service honor system as in the past?

 

[AlaskaMOM]

NW side. I'm sorry I don't have better details. Let's say you were driving to Aulani from the airport. If you kept driving past the exit off the highway, the road eventually dead ends at the beach. I found a couple photos. Besides us, there were about 10 others there, most were snorkeling.
View attachment 108916 View attachment 108917

I know exactly which beach youre talking about. It's just past the town of Makaha. A very nice local (not touristy at all) area we rented a home there a couple years ago and loved the neighborhood feel. But anyway the beach there is nice, and has the basics: lifeguards, restrooms, good parking lot. Hope that helps

 

[southerngirl528]

I think anyone expecting an immersive "Disney" experience akin to DL or WDW is going to be less than happy at Aulani. One thing Disney has said since before ground was broken was that Aulani would be "big Hawaii, little Disney". IOW the emphasis is on Hawaii, it's history, culture, language, music and lore. And those things are precisely why we LOVE Aulani. As someone that truly loves Hawaii, I would have been greatly surprised and disappointed if it had been too "disney-fied".

Had Disney not done their homework and demonstrated their commitment to Hawaii, they could never have recruited some of the most revered Hawaiian artists and cultural kumu (teachers). Keali'i Reichel was very reticent when Disney asked him to be a cultural consultant and had no interest initially, but a friend talked him into just meeting with Disney to check it out. After that meeting, Keali'i became very instrumental, along with many other highly regarded natives and cultural experts, to give their input into all things Aulani. Keali'i wrote the chant for Aulani and was present for the blessing ceremony of Aulani at their opening. His handprint is all over the Starlit Hui as well. Aulani has top-notch live Hawaiian music in their 2 lounges, including many Na Hoku award winners. To bring more "Disney" to Aulani than there currently is would, IMHO, take away from the wonderful marriage of Hawaiian aloha spirit and Disney pixie dust.

 

[alohamom]

Thanks for posting the Makaha beach area pics Carissa-so beautiful!

 

[DisMom829]

So glad I found this thread! I'm patiently and secretively making plans to take the kiddos Thanksgiving break 2016! We are DVC, so I have to wait for the 7 month window to open up. I've started a notebook with tips found on this thread. We plan on renting a car so we can explore the island. My kids will be 15/11 by then. Will 7 days on island (not including travel days) be sufficient? I know we have enough points for a 7 day stay, but we could move to cash if longer is recommended. Main things on DH's list are Pearl Harbor and USS Arizona visit, pineapple plantation and beach time.

 

[southerngirl528]

Sounds like an awesome family trip plan, DisMom829! As for whether 7 days being enough? First, do you mean 7 nights? Which really gives you 6 full days. Where are you flying from? Have you and the fam ever been to Hawaii? Are you going to visit any other islands while in Hawaii?

For us as east coasters, it's quite a flight to Hawaii so I much prefer a longer stay. Our shortest thus far has been 12 nights. If you can't do that much, you certainly should not feel badly, just enjoy every moment you DO have!

 

[DisMom829]

Sounds like an awesome family trip plan, DisMom829! As for whether 7 days being enough? First, do you mean 7 nights? Which really gives you 6 full days. Where are you flying from? Have you and the fam ever been to Hawaii? Are you going to visit any other islands while in Hawaii?

For us as east coasters, it's quite a flight to Hawaii so I much prefer a longer stay. Our shortest thus far has been 12 nights. If you can't do that much, you certainly should not feel badly, just enjoy every moment you DO have!

We will be flying from Houston, Texas. Leaving out on a Saturday, and returning home on a Sunday. I've been looking at flights for this year watching schedules. So 9 days, 8 nights total. We have never been to Hawaii, this will be our first trip and right now we only have planned on staying only on the island of O'ahu. So far I have we will arrive on a Saturday, get a rental car and buy groceries/supplies at Target/Safeway. Sunday explore the resort. Monday maybe visit the Dole Plantation/North Shore. Tuesday, Pearl Harbor. Leaving Wednesday-Saturday open. We would leave for home on Sunday. This is the early planning and over a year away. But I'm a planner

 

[southerngirl528]

That sounds like a pretty nice plan to me, DisMom! I especially like that you have left several days open to just enjoy the resort. Or whatever! With 8 nights, if it was me I would just stay right at Aulani/Oahu the entire trip. I think one of the loveliest parts of a Hawaii vacation is just…being. Just soaking in how lovely it all is. (I think I just felt my blood pressure drop a couple of points…LOL) Are you a Costco member? There's a Costco and that Big Target (not a SuperTarget, but has lots of groceries plus alcohol for those that want that) just about a 5 minute drive from Aulani.

 

[DisMom829]

Thanks southerngirl528! I think my blood pressure is dropping as I look at pictures tonight, LOL. We're not Costco member's, but both DH and I have membership discounts available thru work, so we'll be joining before we go. Hoping to take advantage of the car rental discount with Costco also. We may put a relax day between sight seeing days just to take it all in. We've been to the Bahama's and Jamaica several times. We absolutely love Jamaica. But we feel it's time to branch out and explore Hawaii.