Aulani?

[Disneybridewifemama]

is there a board like this for aulani? I couldn't find anything.

 

[wanderlust7]

It's under DVC Resorts.

 

[Amw1064]

I wish there was. You can find info scrolling through DVC resorts and DVC trip reports.

 

[MomtoAlexnWilliam]

We went in October and loved it! Any questions I can answer for you?

 

[WestFamily]

Haha! I was just coming the forum to ask this: Aulani vs Disney Cruise. Has anyone done a comparison of the costs and the fun differences between the two? Both cost an arm and a leg, so while it's a personal preference: Which is better to you and why?

 

[MunFam]

I, personally, did not like Aulani for a Hawaii vacation. We have done quite a few and we just could not "buy in" to what they had to offer. Everything was extra, parking, food, etc. I just felt nickel and dimed. With DCL, once you are on board, you are pretty much done paying for everything. Aulani was quite isolated too. The beach and pools were nice, I will give them that. It did have the "disney thing" going for them, but if you want to do Hawaii, there are a lot better options out there in my opinion. If you want a relaxing tropical Disney vacation to just sit on the beach, Aulani would work. If you want to actually see and do things while on a tropical vacation, a cruise might be better and definitely more convenient and cost effective. **We live at the beach, so for us, the beach was not a big deal, so do take that in to consideration.

 

[WestFamily]

I, personally, did not like Aulani for a Hawaii vacation. We have done quite a few and we just could not "buy in" to what they had to offer. Everything was extra, parking, food, etc. I just felt nickel and dimed. With DCL, once you are on board, you are pretty much done paying for everything. Aulani was quite isolated too. The beach and pools were nice, I will give them that. It did have the "disney thing" going for them, but if you want to do Hawaii, there are a lot better options out there in my opinion. If you want a relaxing tropical Disney vacation to just sit on the beach, Aulani would work. If you want to actually see and do things while on a tropical vacation, a cruise might be better and definitely more convenient and cost effective. **We live at the beach, so for us, the beach was not a big deal, so do take that in to consideration.

Thank you! Your response was my gut feeling, especially after pricing it up.

 

[Sir William]

Haha! I was just coming the forum to ask this: Aulani vs Disney Cruise. Has anyone done a comparison of the costs and the fun differences between the two? Both cost an arm and a leg, so while it's a personal preference: Which is better to you and why?

Depends. We've done 5 Disney cruises, the last one in March, and we've stayed at Aulani twice, the last time for 2 weeks in June & July.

Haven't done a cost comparison but in our case airfare alone is much more to fly to Aulani from Virginia. Only the Med cruise we did last year was comparable in price to flying to Aulani.

At Aulani we had a car and I explored the island daily. Set my own schedule, but even taking into account the rental car, entrance fees, etc, I spent much less than a couple of excursions on the ship. On a cruise you visit a number of different ports, but your time to explore is more limited, and you're almost by necessity limited to taking excursions to see or do anything. Of course, if you are without a car at Aulani, you're in the same situation, though you can spend all your time at the resort, just as you could spend all your time on the ship.

We bought food and I cooked most of our meals at Aulani, only eating dinner out every 3rd or 4th night. On the ship, meals are included in the fare and all I have to do is show up and decide what to eat.

Aulani rooms are huge compared to a ship's cabin, but the scenery changes on a cruise. Aulani pools, etc are also much larger, and thery have a lazy river, which I've yet to find on a cruise ship.

One of my favorite pastimes is to read for hours on the veranda on the ship and the lanai at Aulani, but overall the ship also has more "free" activities than Aulani.

I enjoy both, but for entirely different reasons. However, I try to cruise at least once a year, but Aulani stays will be spaced about 3 years apart.

 

[MomtoAlexnWilliam]

We loved Aulani, but comparing the two is difficult. They are completely different experiences.

Aulani is secluded and we loved that part. We can't stand the crowded beaches of Waikiki or anywhere else for that matter. The cove beach was peaceful, the pools weren't crowded and the slides entertained our kids. The characters out and about gave us that touch of Disney!

We rented a car and explored the island. We spent small amounts of money each day as compared with money we typically spend on port excursions. Plus, we were able to book our own activities (cheaper) without fear of being left behind by the cruise ship if we took longer to complete them!!

Overall, we had an amazing time. It is not a cheap vacation. The biggest single chunk for our family was airfares. It is much cheaper for us to fly to a port!

Food costs on site were comparable to food costs at the parks. All overpriced! Their seafood buffet was the best bargain of the trip. Roughly $35 per adult. Yummy crab and shrimp! We ate quiet a few meals off site and they were much more affordable!

If you have more specific questions, let me know!

 

[lorimay]

We will be doing a 5 night stay at Aulani next month before our 10 night DCL cruise. We got 30% off our Aulani stay plus $50 a day credit and a free character meal. It is costing about half of what the total cruise cost is for a category 5B. This was a fall special offered at Aulani.
I booked the cruise on opening day, so we got the best rate on that. The price has gone up almost $2,000 since May 2014.

 

[Chemist]

Haven't been on our cruise yet, but we went to Aulani when Little Dude was four.

We LOVED it.

Random thoughts:
1. I didn't feel nickel and dimed, so much as realized that it isn't designed as an all-inclusive experience. Hawaii is certainly expensive, and you can do it cheaper elsewhere. (Of course, you can do a cruise cheaper elsewhere, too.)

2. My recommendations on whether or not to stay there depend on what kind of vacation you are looking for. Are you looking for a lovely resort on the beach to hang out with your family? Then go Aulani all the way!
Are you looking for a home base to use to explore the island? Then it may not be the right location for you. Its isolated and you are paying a premium for a beautiful resort you may not stay at.

3. The Disney theming was very low, which we appreciated. No princesses. Mickey and Minnie were there on vacation. The kid's club was Aunty's beach house, Auntie being a lovely Hawaiian woman.

4. WE stayed on property most the time. DH and I took a snorkel trip one afternoon and left little dude in the kid's club. Another day we went up to the North Shore to check out the beaches there. (We made a potty stop at the Dole Plantation, which I don't understand the popularity of.) We weren't looking to sight-see, so we stayed on site and had fun as a family. (Pearl Harbor is close by, but we couldn't do it with a sensitive young child.)

 

[CaliforniaCastaway]

We have been on 16 Disney Cruises since 2005, and went to Aulani in July 2014. Hands down, our family would rather do a Disney Cruise. We found that when Aulani is at capacity during the busy season, it is way too crowded. You had to go down to the pool at 6:30 a.m. in the morning to find a lounger. By 8:00 when the pool opened, all of the chairs were already taken. The lazy river had a huge line and was wall-to-wall people. There is really very little Disney theming, as well. The resort feels cramped, crowded, and doesn't have the wide open airy feel like so many other resorts in Hawaii, like the Grand Wailea on Maui or the Hilton Hawaiian Village on Oahu. Also, the traffic on Oahu is terrible, so if you want to head in to Waikiki (or past Waikiki), it is a pain. My daughter was 12 at the time and, unfortunately, they maintain strict age requirements for the children's programs so her only choice was Auntie's Beach house with very young kids. If your child is at the upper end of the age range, DCL will typically allow them to join an older program if you sign a waiver. If you wanted to sign up for the programming at Auntie's Beach House, you had to get in line at least an hour before to assure your child a spot (very limited availability). Also, my children love participating in the kids program on board the ship because it allows them to make friends over the week. This is not the case with Aulani, with guests coming and going. My preteen/teen kids were actually bored at Aulani. While my older teen son enjoyed renting a paddle board, that was an additional cost, and there was always a line/wait for that as well. I would recommend DCL over Aulani, particularly if you have older kids.

 

[CT15]

Haven't been on our cruise yet, but we went to Aulani when Little Dude was four.

We LOVED it.

Random thoughts:
1. I didn't feel nickel and dimed, so much as realized that it isn't designed as an all-inclusive experience. Hawaii is certainly expensive, and you can do it cheaper elsewhere. (Of course, you can do a cruise cheaper elsewhere, too.)

2. My recommendations on whether or not to stay there depend on what kind of vacation you are looking for. Are you looking for a lovely resort on the beach to hang out with your family? Then go Aulani all the way!
Are you looking for a home base to use to explore the island? Then it may not be the right location for you. Its isolated and you are paying a premium for a beautiful resort you may not stay at.

3. The Disney theming was very low, which we appreciated. No princesses. Mickey and Minnie were there on vacation. The kid's club was Aunty's beach house, Auntie being a lovely Hawaiian woman.

4. WE stayed on property most the time. DH and I took a snorkel trip one afternoon and left little dude in the kid's club. Another day we went up to the North Shore to check out the beaches there. (We made a potty stop at the Dole Plantation, which I don't understand the popularity of.) We weren't looking to sight-see, so we stayed on site and had fun as a family. (Pearl Harbor is close by, but we couldn't do it with a sensitive young child.)

 

[CT15]

Haven't been on our cruise yet, but we went to Aulani when Little Dude was four.

We LOVED it.

Random thoughts:
1. I didn't feel nickel and dimed, so much as realized that it isn't designed as an all-inclusive experience. Hawaii is certainly expensive, and you can do it cheaper elsewhere. (Of course, you can do a cruise cheaper elsewhere, too.)

2. My recommendations on whether or not to stay there depend on what kind of vacation you are looking for. Are you looking for a lovely resort on the beach to hang out with your family? Then go Aulani all the way!
Are you looking for a home base to use to explore the island? Then it may not be the right location for you. Its isolated and you are paying a premium for a beautiful resort you may not stay at.

3. The Disney theming was very low, which we appreciated. No princesses. Mickey and Minnie were there on vacation. The kid's club was Aunty's beach house, Auntie being a lovely Hawaiian woman.

4. WE stayed on property most the time. DH and I took a snorkel trip one afternoon and left little dude in the kid's club. Another day we went up to the North Shore to check out the beaches there. (We made a potty stop at the Dole Plantation, which I don't understand the popularity of.) We weren't looking to sight-see, so we stayed on site and had fun as a family. (Pearl Harbor is close by, but we couldn't do it with a sensitive young child.)

Hello- Did you stay as a DVC member or hotel guest? I am trying to plan a trip to Auani for next year but need more info. Can anyone tell me if the DVC rooms are dedicated to one floor? I really don't want to get there and find that I am stuck on the first floor. Also can anyone tell me how difficult it is to island hop? I was thinking of going to another island for a day or two. Ok so really ANY info you have /suggestions ect., about your trip to Aulani would be helpful.... thanks much!

 

[CaliforniaCastaway]

We rented DVC points and stayed as a DVC member. Staying as a DVC member avoids the additional parking charge at the resort. The DVC rooms are not dedicated to one floor. The first room we were given was a 2 BR, Pool View on the First Floor right along the main walking path to the pool. It was a dark cave with no privacy--people could look right into your room. We moved to an Island View on the other side of the tower overlooking the area where they have the luau. Although it was an Island View (downgrade from Pool View), we actually had a lovely view of the ocean. We could also watch the luau show from the room. Really liked this location.

 

[Mrs Green]

Island hopping is not hard. Look at Hawaiian airlines for flights. Flight times between islands frequent each day.

 

[Amw1064]

We have been on over 20 Disney cruises over the last 12 years and just did Aulani this past June. We had our 12 year old daughter with us and had to fly from Florida so our tickets were pricey. (a touch over $1000 each) We live right near the beach at home and we LOVED Aulani. We stayed with our DVC membership and had free parking and were on the 16th floor of the Ewa wing. We stayed for 11 days. After the first day I said to my daughter that I would give up ever going on another Disney cruise to come back. Her response on that day was, "well not never another Disney cruise but I love it here". By the next week she told me, "Mom, cancel our Disney cruises so we can come back to Aulani". While I haven't cancelled my upcoming Disney cruise, I haven't totally decided yet if we are going. We had no issues with anything and we went sightseeing on our own. It was suppose to be a once in a lifetime trip but is now a we are already booked for next summer.

 

[wdrl]

Hello- Did you stay as a DVC member or hotel guest? I am trying to plan a trip to Auani for next year but need more info. Can anyone tell me if the DVC rooms are dedicated to one floor? I really don't want to get there and find that I am stuck on the first floor. Also can anyone tell me how difficult it is to island hop? I was thinking of going to another island for a day or two. Ok so really ANY info you have /suggestions ect., about your trip to Aulani would be helpful.... thanks much!

The DVC portion of Aulani makes up over two-thirds of the total accommodations at the resort. The DVC villas have four different view categories -- Standard View, Island View, Pool View, and Ocean View -- and depending on which category you book, your DVC villa could be anywhere from the 1st floor to the 16th floor.

This thread has some maps showing the layout of the villas and photos of the views from some of the villas.

Island hopping isn't that hard to do. There are many visitors to Hawaii that routinely visit more than one island during their vacation. Aulani even offers day-trip excursions to Maui or the Big Island. It makes for a long day (these day trip excursions can last 12+ hours), but its an option to consider. By the way, there are no ferries in Hawaii, so all island-hopping is done by air.

 

[CT15]

The DVC portion of Aulani makes up over two-thirds of the total accommodations at the resort. The DVC villas have four different view categories -- Standard View, Island View, Pool View, and Ocean View -- and depending on which category you book, your DVC villa could be anywhere from the 1st floor to the 16th floor.

This thread has some maps showing the layout of the villas and photos of the views from some of the villas.

Island hopping isn't that hard to do. There are many visitors to Hawaii that routinely visit more than one island during their vacation. Aulani even offers day-trip excursions to Maui or the Big Island. It makes for a long day (these day trip excursions can last 12+ hours), but its an option to consider. By the way, there are no ferries Califoin Hawaii, so all island-hopping is done by air.

Thank you for the info very helpful.. My concern is that after spending all the $$ on a flight [ from the east cost so $$] I don't want to get my DVC ocean view room and get stuck on the 1st floor looking into the bushes and grass. I know that at AK in Jambo house they have a dedicated floor - so I was concerned that Aulani may have done the same thing. And California Castaway mentioned that there is no charge to park if you are staying with points - I did not know that!! good to know!! If any of you have any other helpful ideas as to how to get a room on an upper floor not the first! I am thinking of going in Sept. SO hopfully it will not be too crowded. Is it necessary to rent a beach chair /cabana ?? Thanks again everyone.. very helpful.

 

[chunkymonkey]

I was there a few years ago - I did not remember it being that crowded in October but the resort was still very new then. I have a little review on my blog here.
I didn't have to rent any cabanas or chairs...we had plenty to choose from, but not sure if that has changed.

The thing about Aulani is that it's a gorgeous resort, but it's still a resort and not a cruise, so depending on if you like the cruise lifestyle, it will be very different. Aulani is not all inclusive and there aren't a ton of activities (there are some for kids mostly). They do however have an amazing pool, lazy river, and gorgeous spa. And the lagoon at Ko Olina (although man-made) - is great for swimming and beach lounging.

With that said, I LOVE Hawaii and write about on my blog, but I wouldn't go to Hawaii and just stay at the Aulani the entire time. It's pretty isolated in a remote resort area on the west side of Oahu and a lot of the beauty of the island should be explored. There's lots to do on Oahu like Pearl Harbor, Iolani Palace, Polynesian Cultural center, not to mention the glorious beaches of Kailua, Lanikai, the North Shore, and the people-watching mecca of Waikiki. I also did not love the food at Aulani. There are a few restaurants in the immediate area that are quite good (Roy's, Monkeypod Kitchen) but they will be your typical resort prices. If you go to Aulani though, for the price you pay you'd want to spend most of your time there enjoying your room and facilities. I'd recommend a split stay. Maybe a few days exploring the island from a base in Waikiki followed by a relaxing stay at Aulani. Or maybe even a cruise and Aulani !