CAL DIS2007
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2007
- Messages
- 35
We just got back from a 7 night stay at the beautiful Aulani.
I'd like to post a quick overview of good/not so good:
Resort: Beautiful, clean
Upon arrival the lobby is open and airy, the wind really picks up out at Ko Olina
Pool/Lazy River: Crowded on Fri and Saturdays, I think locals come down
Also noisy if you have an ocean view room over the lazy river. They close the pool for maintenance around 3:30 - 4:00 every day, that clears out a lot of people. Also chairs are hard to get after 9:00 a.m. I usually found a chair with just a towel on it and sat in it. I liked to stay near the pool check in/towel area near the lazy river. Another good spot is near the water slide against the back of the big rock with the slide in it. You will need shade and an umbrella, the sun is hot and intense. The slide area and lazy river are noisy, lots of screaming and lots of kids. We also became itchy due to something I can't figure out...
Restaurants: Unfortunately, we did not find anything that we really liked or raved about. We mainly walked across the street (Monkeypod and Hawaiian BBQ and Pizza Corner). We also drove to the Target exit which is about 1 mile up off H1. We ate at Ruby Tuesday, Outback, McDonalds, Zippys, Leonards, and Costco. Buy a refillable mug for $18.99 or bring a water bottle to fill with ice water. They have ice water available near the towel pick-up/sing-in area. You must get a wrist band each day to use the pool/lazy river. I really liked the splash area, I would walk through it just to cool off.
Must sees: Pearl Harbor and the Swap Meet. We skipped Paradise Cove. Also drive to the North Shore.
Great staff, we really liked the photopass guy, he is super nice.
Aunty's beach House: waited in line for 1 hour early in the morning. Our son who is 9 only went for 2 hours. He mainly just wanted to play in the pool. Oleo room has appetizers and drink specials from 5:00 - 7:00 and you can listen to great music.
Time diff: we had a 3 hour time diff. The curtains are hard to keep closed, the sun woke us up no matter how hard I tried to keep them closed. Next time I am bringing a binder clip or something. I tried to push the ottoman against the curtains, nothing helped. The sun was constantly on our room. we had an ocean view room over the lazy river on the 11th floor in the Ewa Tower. the Ewa tower is the best, central to everything and easy to get to the pool/lazy river. we also switched rooms to a garden view for 2 nights, I thought that room was much calmer and quieter.
If you're going to Aulani I hope this information is helpful. Overall we were most disappointed in the food at Aulani. Our son really liked the chicken strips each day though.... but the price you are paying, it's better just to walk across the street. Oh we did try to bbq a salmon on a cedar plank one night in the bbq area. The flys attacked our food and it was hard to eat with the flys. Also we stayed out at the Lazy River until dark one night and these moth like bugs attacked us. I hope that Disney will try to do something about the bugs. I'm going to try to e-mail them about the food and bugs. But it's an outdoor place, what are you going to do? Oh and the pigeons will attack your food if you leave it and go into the lazy river. I had to cover someone else's food with a towel.
I'd like to post a quick overview of good/not so good:
Resort: Beautiful, clean
Upon arrival the lobby is open and airy, the wind really picks up out at Ko Olina
Pool/Lazy River: Crowded on Fri and Saturdays, I think locals come down
Also noisy if you have an ocean view room over the lazy river. They close the pool for maintenance around 3:30 - 4:00 every day, that clears out a lot of people. Also chairs are hard to get after 9:00 a.m. I usually found a chair with just a towel on it and sat in it. I liked to stay near the pool check in/towel area near the lazy river. Another good spot is near the water slide against the back of the big rock with the slide in it. You will need shade and an umbrella, the sun is hot and intense. The slide area and lazy river are noisy, lots of screaming and lots of kids. We also became itchy due to something I can't figure out...
Restaurants: Unfortunately, we did not find anything that we really liked or raved about. We mainly walked across the street (Monkeypod and Hawaiian BBQ and Pizza Corner). We also drove to the Target exit which is about 1 mile up off H1. We ate at Ruby Tuesday, Outback, McDonalds, Zippys, Leonards, and Costco. Buy a refillable mug for $18.99 or bring a water bottle to fill with ice water. They have ice water available near the towel pick-up/sing-in area. You must get a wrist band each day to use the pool/lazy river. I really liked the splash area, I would walk through it just to cool off.
Must sees: Pearl Harbor and the Swap Meet. We skipped Paradise Cove. Also drive to the North Shore.
Great staff, we really liked the photopass guy, he is super nice.
Aunty's beach House: waited in line for 1 hour early in the morning. Our son who is 9 only went for 2 hours. He mainly just wanted to play in the pool. Oleo room has appetizers and drink specials from 5:00 - 7:00 and you can listen to great music.
Time diff: we had a 3 hour time diff. The curtains are hard to keep closed, the sun woke us up no matter how hard I tried to keep them closed. Next time I am bringing a binder clip or something. I tried to push the ottoman against the curtains, nothing helped. The sun was constantly on our room. we had an ocean view room over the lazy river on the 11th floor in the Ewa Tower. the Ewa tower is the best, central to everything and easy to get to the pool/lazy river. we also switched rooms to a garden view for 2 nights, I thought that room was much calmer and quieter.
If you're going to Aulani I hope this information is helpful. Overall we were most disappointed in the food at Aulani. Our son really liked the chicken strips each day though.... but the price you are paying, it's better just to walk across the street. Oh we did try to bbq a salmon on a cedar plank one night in the bbq area. The flys attacked our food and it was hard to eat with the flys. Also we stayed out at the Lazy River until dark one night and these moth like bugs attacked us. I hope that Disney will try to do something about the bugs. I'm going to try to e-mail them about the food and bugs. But it's an outdoor place, what are you going to do? Oh and the pigeons will attack your food if you leave it and go into the lazy river. I had to cover someone else's food with a towel.
