Activities at Aulani

[lizard1]

I am interested in the Family Fun Animation class. Is that class filled on walk-up basis, or do you sign up ahead of time for it? If you sign up ahead of time, how far in advance can you do so?

Also, does it seem like the activities offered are at the same times/days each week, or do they vary? The number one thing my daughter wants to do is learn Hula, so I want to make sure that we can make an 'Ohana Hula.

 

[jakesmum]

You register for the Family Fun Animation Class at the Pau Hana Room (community hall) on the day. So you will need to check the Daily Iwa the night before.
We stayed 7 nights, and some of the activities were offered a few times during the week. If there is something special you wanted to do, i would sign up for it the first time it's offered.
If you daughter is aged between 3-12yrs she can go to Aunty's Beach House - i think they offer a Hula Class in there (i'm not 100% sure though)

 

[E&Cmom]

Yes, there is a hula class in Aunties as well as the Ohana one. With both you sign up the morning of. We waited to long with the Ohana one and were on the waiting list but didn't make it in. DD1 did the one in Aunties.

As a family, we did the Ukelee class, animation, canoe building/racing and lei making. I always looked at the Iwa the night before and circled what we were interested and then DH who is an earlier riser would go when they opened and signed us up.

 

[Bearland]

Yes, there is a hula class in Aunties as well as the Ohana one. With both you sign up the morning of. We waited to long with the Ohana one and were on the waiting list but didn't make it in. DD1 did the one in Aunties.

As a family, we did the Ukelee class, animation, canoe building/racing and lei making. I always looked at the Iwa the night before and circled what we were interested and then DH who is an earlier riser would go when they opened and signed us up.

What time in the morning do they start taking sign-ups? Do people line-up ahead of time? Also, can just one person sign up the entire family without any of the rest being present?

 

[jakesmum]

What time in the morning do they start taking sign-ups? Do people line-up ahead of time? Also, can just one person sign up the entire family without any of the rest being present?

Yes, one person can line up and book the whole family in. It depends how busy the resort is, as to how early people line up.

 

[twodogs]

Yes, one person can line up and book the whole family in. It depends how busy the resort is, as to how early people line up.

Can you ballpark a time to line up in moderate crowds (not full on summer but not slow) please?

 

[E&Cmom]

I agree it depends how busy the resort it. We went the week of Labor Day from Thursday at Thursday. The first few days was packed so it was hard to get into any activities unless you got there really early. Luckily almost everyone went home on Monday so the last few days we didn't have to line up.

 

[Bearland]

Do the sign ups at the Pau Hana room start at 8AM? Do you need to bring anything along with you in order to sign-up in the early morning (pool wrist band?, room card?, confirmation number?, etc.), or do you literally just write the names of your group members on sheets of paper?

 

[AZMermaid]

Last June, 7:45 was fine for animation. 8:20 got us wait listed for the canoes. We did get in, but barely. We did the Ohana Hula and I thought we just showed up.... But maybe I'm remembering wrong! I'd bring your room key, but I don't think we needed it. Definitely we didn't need any more than that to sign up.

We always got in line for Auntys at 7:00 and were about 15th. This was before they would prebook a couple classes for you.

 

[twodogs]

Last June, 7:45 was fine for animation. 8:20 got us wait listed for the canoes. We did get in, but barely. We did the Ohana Hula and I thought we just showed up.... But maybe I'm remembering wrong! I'd bring your room key, but I don't think we needed it. Definitely we didn't need any more than that to sign up.

We always got in line for Auntys at 7:00 and were about 15th. This was before they would prebook a couple classes for you.

Thanks! So helpful!

 

[cgattis]

Are these free activities (not the ones at Auntys)? Could someone post a Daily Iwa as an example of what's offered and when? Thanks!!

 

[Gorechick]

Are these free activities (not the ones at Auntys)? Could someone post a Daily Iwa as an example of what's offered and when? Thanks!!

You can look up the Daily Iwa on the Aulani site. https://resorts.disney.go.com/aulani-hawaii-resort/about-aulani/iwa/

 

[E&Cmom]

Are these free activities (not the ones at Auntys)? Could someone post a Daily Iwa as an example of what's offered and when? Thanks!!

The ones mentioned above are all free. If I recall they do have other craft ones which an local artisan will come in which do often have a fee.

 

[AZMermaid]

They were free. Shameless plug.... I have Iwas posted in my (unfinished) trip report on my signature

 

[twodogs]

Question on Aunty's pre-registration (which I can't do for another week due to our arrival date being greater than 90 days away), do you just give them your inclusive trip dates, and they just choose the free activities and dates randomly for you? Or can you select which free activities you want to pre-register for and on which days/times?? Will they keep my two kids together in the pre-registered free activities, or register them potentially for different activities or different days from each other? I am so confused by this process. I also think I may do one of the paid Aunty's activities, like Surf's Up, but I think I have to call for that one? Thanks!

 

[sleepymouse]

Question on Aunty's pre-registration (which I can't do for another week due to our arrival date being greater than 90 days away), do you just give them your inclusive trip dates, and they just choose the free activities and dates randomly for you? Or can you select which free activities you want to pre-register for and on which days/times?? Will they keep my two kids together in the pre-registered free activities, or register them potentially for different activities or different days from each other? I am so confused by this process. I also think I may do one of the paid Aunty's activities, like Surf's Up, but I think I have to call for that one? Thanks!

For the paid activities, you will have to call to sign up. There is no way to do this online during preregistration. For the free activities, I went online right when my 90-day window opened up and filled out the pre-reg form for my boys (ages 10 and 5). You could select 3 out of 4 activities you were interested in, but I only chose 2 because I wanted to ensure better odds of getting what I really wanted - Stitch's goo. About 9 days later, I received an email from Aunty's and both my children were scheduled together in the 2 activities I had requested. They sent me dates and times, and there was a number I could call to request changes. I ended up calling and moving 1 of the activities to a different date. We are staying 6 nights, and Aunty's told me that for that length of stay they allow you to book 2 free activities, so it worked out perfectly.

 

[twodogs]

For the paid activities, you will have to call to sign up. There is no way to do this online during preregistration. For the free activities, I went online right when my 90-day window opened up and filled out the pre-reg form for my boys (ages 10 and 5). You could select 3 out of 4 activities you were interested in, but I only chose 2 because I wanted to ensure better odds of getting what I really wanted - Stitch's goo. About 9 days later, I received an email from Aunty's and both my children were scheduled together in the 2 activities I had requested. They sent me dates and times, and there was a number I could call to request changes. I ended up calling and moving 1 of the activities to a different date. We are staying 6 nights, and Aunty's told me that for that length of stay they allow you to book 2 free activities, so it worked out perfectly.

Thank you, that is super helpful! How did your 10 your old like it? Mine are going to be almost 11 and almost 9 when we go, but they are fine playing with younger kids at parties etc. Was the older child bored? Some on here have said things are more geared towards the younger ages like 4-7 crowd at Aunty's. We have never done a kids' club before, so I am getting a little worried about that aspect.

 

[E&Cmom]

Not the poster quoted but I will still answer. Lol....It depends on your child. I have seen many posts on here that older kids often get bored at Aunty's. It is true that most activities are geared to younger kids but my older daughter who was 11 at the time didn't care. She went to Stich Goo, the Volcano, the kids Hula lessons as well as the tween crafts and loved it. She is a joiner though and doesn't mind being with younger kids. My then 7(almost 8) year old was more of a problem. She is shyer and at the time did not like group activities. Now at 9 she is getting better. We signed her up for the goo and she didn't want to wear the lab coats and glasses ( I have no clue why) and then didn't want to participate in that or any other activity in Aunty's even with her sister. She was happier playing on the computers or doing crafts on her own.

 

[sleepymouse]

Thank you, that is super helpful! How did your 10 your old like it? Mine are going to be almost 11 and almost 9 when we go, but they are fine playing with younger kids at parties etc. Was the older child bored? Some on here have said things are more geared towards the younger ages like 4-7 crowd at Aunty's. We have never done a kids' club before, so I am getting a little worried about that aspect.

We actually have not been yet. We are going in April. I figure we will just try it and see how things work out. I know I don't want to have to line up early so this gets us 2 guaranteed entries. Then, if the kids want to go more, we will just drop by mid-day and see if there is space and not worry about special activities.

 

[letsgoreds]

We just returned and my 10yo DS enjoyed the pre-registered activities (King of Comedy, Space Goo, Aloha Party...in that order), but didn't have any interest in just hanging out there like my 5yo DS. There seemed to be some older kids in the activities, but mostly 8U just hanging out.

We stayed for 7 nights, requested the 3 activities, and received all 3. The boys also really enjoyed the classes in Pau Hanna...Canoe Racing, Animation, and Ukulele practice. Thankfully, all 3 were on the same day (Thursday), so I just had to get up early/stand in line one day. I was in line an hour early, and was second in line. It was Presidents' day week, and busy with kids off break.

Occasionally they have some Tween (11-12 yo) activities. They are few and far between, and should be 9-12 IMO. They have a decent amount of teen activities, but the 9-12 yo kids are kind of in a black hole, activity wise.

One night, at the end of the day we rolled into Pau Hana and saw some families making leis. We didn't have time to stay, as we were going to do the Mehenuene Trail, so they just bagged up a ridiculous amount of flowers + needles/strings, and gave them to us to work on in our rooms.

All of them really enjoyed the Starlit Hui...the pre-show activities/crafts were cool. We managed to do all three (corsage, star, fish). My 5yo didn't catch the hula practicing...but just jumped right on stage when it was time to perform during the show, lol.

The Daily Iwa are available each night at 7pm...became a nightly job for my 10yo to head to the lobby and pick one up.