Aulani first timer needs help!

[tommygunn]

Hi fellow disers!

I'm a huge wdw nerd and am making my first trip to Aulani in mid July. Any advice? What not to miss? What ressies do I need now? Traveling with wife and 13 and 11 year old kids (neither are super adventurous). Thanks in advance. Appreciate it!!

 

[crystal1313]

We will be there around the same time as you. 7/11-7/18. Make dining reservations! I made ours online. Also call and check about cabana availability if that's something you want. Is your 11 year old going to try Aunty's? If so, register for aunty's online. Are you going to Pearl Harbor? You can sign up two months in advance for Arizona tickets on their website. Hope that helps!!

 

[Thometake]

Go on a menehune hunt - you find them in the most unexpected places!

Get to the Starlit Hui early - they have some local games and crafts to participate in before the show starts. Some characters stick around after the show for photo ops, so don't race away at the end of the show, either (we got our fave photo with Sticth that way).

Be sure to take some time to snorkel in the lagoon. We swim out close to the mouth of the lagoon and saw plenty of fish and even a couple of giant sea turtles on several occasions! Just don't touch the coral out there - it's natural and rather sharp. If you aren't lucky enough to catch turtles in the Aulani lagoon, my friends and family who live in the area say that if you walk past the hotel to the right (as you are facing the ocean) and walk up to the next cove, there are almost always turtles hanging around there.

And don't forget to reapply sunscreen regularly. July can be hot and humid, so you sweat off your protection without realizing it (if possible, try to get a natural sunscreen that will do less harm to the ocean wildlife).

Most of all, relax and enjoy the island lifestyle.

Aloha!

 

[Disneybridewifemama]

Absolutely do not miss out on walking to the hidden cove next door and swimming with the sea turtles. Highlight of our trip!!

 

[Amw1064]

We made our first trip last summer and returning this June as well. Since you love WDW, you need to do the Character Breakfast. Make your reservations now as it fills up. It was really cute. Our daughter is 13 and we all loved it. Definitely do the Menehue scavenger hunt, ukulele lessons, hula lesson. We loved all the family activities they had each day. Go to the secret cove at Paradise Cove and see the turtles and/or monk seals. We were lucky enough to see both. Take a drive to the North Shore and see more turtles. We made a stop at the Dole Plantation on the way. If you have never been, I would suggest a trip to Pearl Harbor. We did the Aloha swap meet after that. My daughter tried a surf lesson but she wasn't a huge fan to be honest. However she did love paddle boarding around the lagoon at Aulani. We did the luau at Paradise Cove. We had a good time and had fun with all the preshow crafts.

This year we are returning to the North Shore area and adding Hanauma Bay to our plans as well as the Polynesian Cultural Center. Of course, the character breakfast as well.

 

[Disgirl614]

hello fellow wdw nerd! I went to aulani for the first time last May and it was wonderful. We ate at both the buffet at the resort and Ama Ama, both are delicious. The resort offers snorkeling gear for their manmade reef, it is very inexpensive. We also took advantage of the paddleboarding in the lagoon. I think this was $30 for 1 hour. Not sure if you or your wife enjoy spas, but theres is wonderful. Many days for breakfast and lunch we ate at the quick service restaurant located near the pool. There is a plaza across the street that has an abc store, ice cream shop and a few other restaurants( the Monkeypod Kitchen is delicious, you would need reservations for that). We also did the Paradise Cove luau which is within walking distance from Aulani. One downside to Aulani is that they have staff members watch chairs and if there is not at least one person on your chairs for more than 15 minutes, they will fold your towel up and let other guests take your chair. My family felt that we could not all be in the water together.

Overall, it is beautiful and a wonderful trip!

 

[aulanidreamer]

15 minutes?? That seems a too quick. An hour was more reasonable.

 

[alldiz]

I am also a Wdw nerd, i am going to Aulani next summer before my Hawaiian cruise

Great info so far.
How far is north shore? Is that where the big waves are? Are they big during summer as well? Also shrimp trucks? Worth going? What kind of food? Shrimp wrap?

I am thinking of staying Waikiki 2 nights before cruise to do Pearl Harbor...any other must see near there?
For car rental will I have to go back to airport to return?
Sorry to hijack
Thanks
Kerri

 

[nkereina]

One downside to Aulani is that they have staff members watch chairs and if there is not at least one person on your chairs for more than 15 minutes, they will fold your towel up and let other guests take your chair. My family felt that we could not all be in the water together.

15 minutes? Is that new? It was previously an hour. If someone left to get a drink or food, that could take 15 minutes alone. Someone could also be riding around the lazy river or in the hot tub for 15 minutes without going back to the chair.

 

[KristieGriggs]

I am also a Wdw nerd, i am going to Aulani next summer before my Hawaiian cruise

Great info so far.
How far is north shore? Is that where the big waves are? Are they big during summer as well? Also shrimp trucks? Worth going? What kind of food? Shrimp wrap?

I am thinking of staying Waikiki 2 nights before cruise to do Pearl Harbor...any other must see near there?
For car rental will I have to go back to airport to return?
Sorry to hijack
Thanks
Kerri

I think it took us a little over an hour to get to Aulani from the North Shore. The waves aren't that big in the summer. But we did see some surfers. We did see the shrimp trunks. I'm not a seafood fan so we didn't stop there. But it must be good because it was crazy crowded!
We also stayed in Waikiki 2 nights before Aulani (and one night at Turtle Bay on the North Shore). That was really convenient because it saved us from sitting in traffic. While there I would definitely suggest Diamond Head, Hanauma Bay, and Lanikai Beach.
We returned our car at Aulani (just with the valet) and just had to pay a $50 drop fee for not returning it to the airport. (I think you may have to rent through Alamo to do that.)
Just make sure you let the front desk know you returned the car so they will not charge you for parking the entire week. (Just made that mistake...) ;-)

 

[Disgirl614]

15 minutes? Is that new? It was previously an hour. If someone left to get a drink or food, that could take 15 minutes alone. Someone could also be riding around the lazy river or in the hot tub for 15 minutes without going back to the chair.

When we went in May of 2015 we watched staff members take towels from the people next to us after 10-15 minutes after getting up. It scared us for the rest of the trip! The protocol may be 1 hour, but this staff member did not follow that

 

[Drusilla99]

15 minutes? Is that new? It was previously an hour. If someone left to get a drink or food, that could take 15 minutes alone. Someone could also be riding around the lazy river or in the hot tub for 15 minutes without going back to the chair.

I was there a couple of weeks ago, and saw staff members fold towels within 15 min of people getting up, because they didn't know when the group left; but never saw towels removed before the hour was up. Some towels stayed folded for multiple hours without being removed.

 

[Fuhnuh]

I am also a Wdw nerd, i am going to Aulani next summer before my Hawaiian cruise

Great info so far.
How far is north shore? Is that where the big waves are? Are they big during summer as well? Also shrimp trucks? Worth going? What kind of food? Shrimp wrap?

I am thinking of staying Waikiki 2 nights before cruise to do Pearl Harbor...any other must see near there?
For car rental will I have to go back to airport to return?
Sorry to hijack
Thanks
Kerri

We have found that, as KristieGriggs said, it usually takes about an Hour to get to the North Shore from Aulani. We have gone to Waimea Falls and Bay the last 5 summers. The waves are usually smaller during on the North Shore during the summer. Waimea Bay had pretty decent summer waves for four of our visits, but it was as calm as a lagoon the last time we were there. We have been during November and December when the surf there has been rough enough that the lifeguards were only allowing "experienced" people who were properly equipped in the water. I don't know what the criteria was, but took the hint to just sit and watch.

We have found that car rentals are much cheaper from the airport, but there are some offices near Waikiki. Perhaps you could rent and return to airport and take a car service to Aulani? In the alternative, I would ask if you can return an airport car rental to their Honolulu/Waikiki location. There may be an uncharge to do so, but we can always hope. I would also suggest looking at Hanauma Bay to see if that would interest you. We just did a tour bus from the hotel. We had a car rental but did Pearl Harbor through a tour. Can't really remember what the reason was, but there must have been one? Some of the farmer's markets are pretty cool. We really enjoy the one on Thursdays at Waimea Falls. We also went quite a few times before doing a catamaran sailing or snorkel cruise in Waikiki and both were much enjoyed by everyone traveling with us. We have only taken the one in front of the Outrigger, but there are others by the Sheraton and the Royal Hawaiian. Have a wonderful time at Aulani and touring the island.

 

[Amw1064]

We left things on our chairs for an hour all the time and nothing was ever moved. Occaisonally the towels would get folded onto the back of the chair and I was just there last week. Definitely go see the turtles next door. We did Paradise Cove luau again and we were with 2 other families and we had kids 11-13 and we all had lots of fun. Just be there by 5 so you have time to do all the activities. Everyone loved the North Shore. Waves were not big. We stopped at Mackys food truck. Did Dole Plantation and Matsumotos shaved ice. Hanauma Bay is nice but the water was a bit to cold for me. Loved Lanikai beach near Hanauma. Swap meet is fun. We tried the character dinner this year and it was really good and the same price as the normal buffet at the restaurant. Also did the breakfast with the group. Kids all paddleboarded, ukulele lessons, hula lessons, made leis. We had so much fun.

 

[HD1]

I was there a couple of weeks ago, and saw staff members fold towels within 15 min of people getting up, because they didn't know when the group left; but never saw towels removed before the hour was up. Some towels stayed folded for multiple hours without being removed.

We are here now. There are new rules for morning pool. If you are going to save seats before the pool opens at 8 a.m., which I highly recommend, one person must remain with the saved seats the entire time, otherwise the staff will remove your stuff and open the seats. After the pool opens, you must be in your seat or at least one person from the party a portion of the hour...which could mean 5 minutes or so, otherwise the staff marks your chair by folding your towel along the back and the hour countdown starts. This has not been a problem, as the staffing seems to be a bit low. I have only seen a couple of towel markers the entire time we have been here.

In contrast, I have seen the before 8 a.m. taking of unattended saved seat markers several times. I even watch the aftermath when the guest is arguing with the current seat occupier, who sat there because there was nothing there, hence the staff took the stuff to the community pile.

It's a game to be played. So get down to the pool area early, I say at least by 7 a.m. and stake your spot. Take markers such as books, sunscreen, etc and claim your chairs. Then don't move, not even for coffee, just sit and wait until 8 a.m. when you can get your towels and place them on your seats. Then you can leave for up to one hour max, and then touch your seats again. You can do this all day if you wish or just leave someone with the seats. If you see the towel marker on your seats, just unfold it and keep on moving.

Tip: the last thing you do before going to your room for the night, is ask for pool towels. These will be your markers for tomorrow morning you're welcome

Have fun and enjoy Aulani!

 

[nkereina]

The pool chair game sounds irritating. For those who have been, about what time would you say people start leaving the pool area and chairs open up? And is it accurate that generally beach chairs are available all day? I'm thinking the approach we might take is to start our mornings at the beach and then after lunch, or later in the day, move to the pool. Or even commute to the pool from our beach chairs.

 

[lizard1]

The pool chair game sounds irritating. For those who have been, about what time would you say people start leaving the pool area and chairs open up? And is it accurate that generally beach chairs are available all day? I'm thinking the approach we might take is to start our mornings at the beach and then after lunch, or later in the day, move to the pool. Or even commute to the pool from our beach chairs.

We reserved the executive lanai several days so we didn't have to play the game. However, it seemed that the chairs were occupied most of the day, until about 6 when people would head to dinner (and the slide lines would go down). It did seem that chairs on the beach were more available and we saw a couple every time we went down. We found that the pool was mostly empty after 6/7 at night, other than that many people seemed to camp at the pool all day.