Aulani and DL 30th Solo Trip

[argents]

Hello! I’m planning a trip next year to celebrate my 30th birthday and would love some advice/support/encouragement.

For some context I am from the UK and I can’t drive, so won’t be renting a car on this trip. I have nearly 2 weeks booked off in April/May next year and have never been to Disneyland so that is a definite part of the trip. I’m fairly flexible about what else I would like to do with the 2 weeks, and have weighed up a few different options but I am currently leaning most towards Hawaii!

Current plan for the trip:
- Fly to LA, stay overnight before getting an early morning flight to Honolulu
- Check in to Aulani for 5 nights, which would give me 5 full days, plus the first afternoon. Planning on doing 1-2 excursions (not necessarily via Disney) but otherwise relaxing.
- Overnight flight back to LAX, check in to hotel in Anaheim for 5 nights.
- 4 full days at Disneyland, plus 2 days for sightseeing/other LA bits tbc.
- Fly home

Anyone’s thoughts on this would be appreciated - is it enough time? Too much? Is uber a thing on Oahu? Am I crazy for doing this solo?

Thanks in advance!

 

[hardcorestitch]

Definitely can see you waking up late on the days you aren’t at Disneyland. If you can do that, it would certainly work out to be a great visit to Disneyland!

 

[Steelers0854]

How are you with Jet Lag? if it were me I would do DL before Hawaii. I would rather be jet lagged and out of it for DL. Plus DL is going to be more hustle and bustle and Hawaii will likely be more of a relaxing trip (unless you really want to be super active), so I would rather space things out, get my steps in and then go relax on the islands. I also think 4 days at DL is overkill. I would drop a day and add it to Hawaii, and I think you will still want to stay longer once you get there lol. Im not sure what you want to see in LA, but Anaheim is a bit of a trek to some of the major places to go, especially without a car. So unless you are planning on changing hotels you may consider reallocating your “see LA days” and add it to Dl or Hawaii.

 

[argents]

How are you with Jet Lag? if it were me I would do DL before Hawaii. I would rather be jet lagged and out of it for DL. Plus DL is going to be more hustle and bustle and Hawaii will likely be more of a relaxing trip (unless you really want to be super active), so I would rather space things out, get my steps in and then go relax on the islands. I also think 4 days at DL is overkill. I would drop a day and add it to Hawaii, and I think you will still want to stay longer once you get there lol. Im not sure what you want to see in LA, but Anaheim is a bit of a trek to some of the major places to go, especially without a car. So unless you are planning on changing hotels you may consider reallocating your “see LA days” and add it to Dl or Hawaii.

I’m not sure how I’ll be with the jet lag tbh - I last went to the west coast in 2014! When I’ve been to WDW or the east coast previously I’m usually up early the first day but fine after that. I’ve always found it worse coming home, which is my worry that if I did DL then Hawaii I would have awful jet lag with an 11 hour time difference.

Yeah there’s not much I’m desperate to see in LA so maybe it’s worth rethinking/reallocating that or staying elsewhere. I’m definitely leaning towards more time in Hawaii but is 4 days totally overkill for DL? I thought it might be nice not to rush it, but will rethink if it’s just way too much time!

 

[cruisehopeful]

Since you've never been to Disneyland, I think 4 days is a good amount of time. There might be some after hours special ticketed events. May usually has Star Wars. I'm not sure what April has. I think they had something. If you happen to be there during an after hours event, you'll want to keep your eye on ticket sales because they do sell out.

Do you have anything specific in Los Angeles that you want to see? I generally don't recommend going there unless you want to see some specific things. Extra days in Hawaii would be my first choice.

 

[jimmymc]

Overall, I think combining Aulani and Disneyland is a great idea.

The jet lag will definitely be worse going to Aulani first, since you're on the complete opposite side of the globe. So I would assume your first day at Aulani is just relaxing and getting over the time change. There are plenty of Ubers, Lyfts, and taxis in Oahu. I've used them as far as the north shore.

Four full days at Disneyland is really good for a first trip. Some advice for LA, make sure you have specific things in mind when you go out into the city. Most of the city isn't walkable, so you'll be taking a lot of Ubers or public transit. Some suggestions from me are Redondo Beach, The Art, Petersen, and Academy Museums, California Science Center, and Koreatown Plaza. The Anaheim Packing district is good if you want some nice food that isn't too far. And downtown Santa Ana is nice if you just want to walk around for a bit.

 

[Flossbolna]

We are just doing a combined DL/Aulani trip coming from Europe. I would definitely do DL first. Time change takes some out of you and I am very happy I could do the 9 hour (for you from UK only 8 hours) adjustment before adding more hours.

I also would recommend to have more than one night between two separately ticketed flights. If something goes wrong with your first flight, you will need to reschedule your second one. You could look into open jaw tickets. Like LHR-HNL and then back LAX-LHR. For transatlantic flights this often is a good option. You might even save money this way. I always research flight options with Google Flights as it gets you to filter results.

 

[maxbuffmelvin]

I’m not sure how I’ll be with the jet lag tbh - I last went to the west coast in 2014! When I’ve been to WDW or the east coast previously I’m usually up early the first day but fine after that. I’ve always found it worse coming home, which is my worry that if I did DL then Hawaii I would have awful jet lag with an 11 hour time difference.

Yeah there’s not much I’m desperate to see in LA so maybe it’s worth rethinking/reallocating that or staying elsewhere. I’m definitely leaning towards more time in Hawaii but is 4 days totally overkill for DL? I thought it might be nice not to rush it, but will rethink if it’s just way too much time!

Drop the one night in LA and add an extra night in Hawaii. I prefer Waikiki/Honolulu over LA.

I don't think 4 days is overkill at DL, if you are a Disney Parks fan.