Aulani Thanksgiving Resort Report

[taysmom]

A little background first...

DVC member since 2005 at OKW and SSR. Invited to a preview of Aulani at DL resort summer of 2010 and bought that day. I couldn't wait to spend time back in the islands. We used to vacation on Oahu and Kauai annually but started Disney cruising so switched. With the new ships out and pricing me out of cruising in florida, I was thrilled to switch to a disney DVC property on my favorite vacation spot.

So in December 2010 I booked our trip for 3 at thanksgiving in 2011. BTW, I changed my mind several times over the next 6 months. Studio mountain,garden view, ocean view, 1 bdrm ocean/garden etc. Finally settling on 1 bdrm mountain view. I had NO problem switching back and forth even after the 7month window. In fact, I purposely changed at the 7month window to use points from another contract and put my points back and banked for a 2012 trip.

I know flights can be expensive for the holidays and I cannot stress enough that if you want to go to hawaii at the holidays, book as soon as the flights open. I used miles for my tix and had to book asap, however I watched the flight prices and did not realize how fast the prices would rise. Almost $300 per tix in less than 3 months.

Fast Forward to Nov. 2011:
Day 1
Traveling to Oahu is Myself 42 (43rd birthday during the trip) DD 13 and DC (cousin) 17. This is my cousins belated sweet 16 present and her first trip to the islands. My dd has been with me 3 previous times and I've been a few more with out her over my lifetime.
Our Hawaiian flight left on time and even got us in 10 min early and right above the baggage claim which was nice. I have not flown in a few years and was unpleasantly surprised that they were charging for earphone (ipod ear buds would not work). Overall thought a nice flight. Hawaiian Airlines is my preferred travel to the islands. If you can use them, I'd recommend it. I spoke with many others here who took continental/united/american and all had horror stories of delays, missed connections and 24 hour trips to arrive to the islands. UGH!

I decided to rent a car for this trip as I wanted to show the cousin the island attractions. I have never been to Ko'Olina before and I am glad I rented a car. The price per person of a shuttle was $60 which was about the price of the car rental for the week. I'm sure we could have taken a cab for less or had a car service pick us up for less, but I wanted a car so I chose this route. The resort has a car rental service FYI, if you don't want to rent at the airport.

My plan was to go to the grocery store before getting to the resort, but then I was afraid our room wouldn't be ready. So straight to the resort we went.

I'm not going to lie...the view driving out to the resort leaves ALOT to be desired. I was a little afraid. I usually stayed in Waikiki on the beach or at turtle bay in North Shore so seeing alot of industrial was not such a magical view, but then after kapolei, you can see the resort along with the marriott and something magically changes. We all started smiling and getting excited. Ko'Olina is a pretty area once you get off the freeway.

We pulled into Aulani and up to check in. They will take your car for you for free while you check in FYI. We were greeted by so many alohas. They also gave each of us a beautiful orchid lei. It was very nice and while they did not introduce you like the cruise lines, we felt very welcomed. They offered us a lovely glass of fruit infused water and walked you to the desk to get checked in.

For me at check in I had to link two different ressies together as I used different contracts to book our week stay. This created a seperate problem. While I had charging rights with our room key, they could not get it to work on any of our cards. I have gotten 5 sets of room keys and today I will be headed down to the desk to fix the current set. Additionally, while I linked the ressie and secured the same room for the entire week, I still received messages reminding me of check out time on the day of my first ressie end. I had to go to the front desk to confirm that we were not required to move.
They apologized and let me know we could stay in the same room.

Our villa was ready WOOHOO! We headed up to the room, dropped our bags, checked the whole thing out, changed and headed back down to the car and the store. Safeway is about 5 min. back down the highway in Kapolei. It was the closest grocery store. It's in a large shopping center with a Chili's, many fast food and other stores. There is a costco close by also if you have a larger group. We purchased about $200 in groceries hoping to last most of the week. After lunch and shopping we went back to the resort. The bell men were very helpful and brought our groceries right up with the girls while I parked the car. DVC member park for free otherwise it costs. I didn't pay attention to the price but I will look and post later.

I came back to the room and we all put on our suits and headed to the pool area to check it out. We did everything even though it was after 5. It was beautiful all around however everything closes early so we really didn't check out the stores, restaurants etc. We were still 2 hours ahead so off to bed we headed around 7pm.

Day 2 and pictures to come...

 

[spiceycat]

sounds like you are enjoying your stay!

thanks for the report and keep going!

 

[LouisianaDisneyFan]

Sounds like fun so far! I'd love to read more about your stay... =)

Quick question... were you charged the transient accommodations tax based on the value of your DVC room? We were told when we purchased our Aulani points that a fee would be charged for each stay based on the rental value. I'm just wondering if that was charged by the hotel upon staying there or later by DVC. Also, I'm wondering about the amount of the tax. Thanks for any info!

 

[taysmom]

Sounds like fun so far! I'd love to read more about your stay... =)

Quick question... were you charged the transient accommodations tax based on the value of your DVC room? We were told when we purchased our Aulani points that a fee would be charged for each stay based on the rental value. I'm just wondering if that was charged by the hotel upon staying there or later by DVC. Also, I'm wondering about the amount of the tax. Thanks for any info!

Yes we were. I believe the total was about $51 for the week in a 1 bedroom mountain view. It was less than I expected for the stay. They charged me up front for the first 3 days (contract 1) and then again on the first day of contract 2.

 

[thewelts]

Thank you for posting. I can't wait to hear more. We arrive in 2 weeks!

 

[taysmom]

Sunday was a little overcast and very windy. We started the day at Makahiki Buffet for the Character Breakfast. For those of you uesd to goofys kitchen at DL, you will be sorely disappointed. My recommendation is to save your money. The few characters on vacation at this resort are easy to find throughout the day with limited wait times. Additionally, the limited menu for the $35 charge per adult was upsetting. Mickey, Minnie, Goofy came by, had coffee and sat for a bit at our table. Definately plenty of time to spend with them. Aunty was there with helpers singing and had games for the smaller kids (think 10 and under). After our letdown we decided to head up to the north shore this day. For those planning to drive around the island..the weather can change in an instant. On our way up to the Dole Plantation it started pouring rain. At the plantation it was a heavy drizzle. Not enough to stop us from enjoying the place but enough to be annoying. I would recommend to always bring a sweater/sweatshirt and throw it in the back of the car. The plantation was about 20 min away. Not so bad. After that we headed another 5 min. north to the town of Haliewa. A famous little surf town. If we had the ambition to head more north we could have seen some of the triple crown at Banzai or gone out to Turtle Bay. However, with the rain we decided to head back to Aulani and veg at "home".

That night we made dinner in our villa. The 1beds and larger have all of the amenities. In fact the only thing I could not find was a pizza cutter. BUT they had a great serated knife I used to cut the pizza.

As far as the kitchen goes, we found everything we needed including dish soap and dishwasher soap. I recommend bringing an insulated cup with lid for the pool area if you like ice in your drinks. I purchased one from the local abc country market across the street for 9.99 but kicked myself as I have 2 at home. However, I have used it everyday since purchase. It comes in handy. And while I didn't buy the soda package, you can get ice and my dd did fill it with soda, not thinking. There is no security around the soda machine so it's not hard to fill whatever with soda. It's wrong but easy

After dinner we went down to the lazy river and floated for a bit before returning and going to sleep. The time change still had not hit me yet. I feel very bad for those of you travelling from beyond the west coast.

 

[Shuweb]

Indeed the weather at Aulani has been unpredictable. The strong winds make the poolside weather a little too cold. The pools have certainly been too cold for me. I spent more time in the hot tubs.

Sofor anyone coming... Bring your skins and wetsuits!

Sunday was a little overcast and very windy. We decided to head up to the north shore this day. For those planning to drive around the island..the weather can change in an instant. On our way up to the Dole Plantation it started pouring rain. At the plantation it was a heavy drizzle. Not enough to stop us from enjoying the place but enough to be annoying. I would recommend to always bring a sweater/sweatshirt and throw it in the back of the car. The plantation was about 20 min away. Not so bad. After that we headed another 5 min. north to the town of Haliewa. A famous little surf town. If we had the ambition to head more north we could have seen some of the triple crown at Banzai or gone out to Turtle Bay. However, with the rain we decided to head back to Aulani and veg at "home".

That night we made dinner in our villa. The 1beds and larger have all of the amenities. In fact the only thing I could not find was a pizza cutter. BUT they had a great serated knife I used to cut the pizza.

As far as the kitchen goes, we found everything we needed including dish soap and dishwasher soap. I recommend bringing an insulated cup with lid for the pool area if you like ice in your drinks. I purchased one from the local abc country market across the street for 9.99 but kicked myself as I have 2 at home. However, I have used it everyday since purchase. It comes in handy. And while I didn't buy the soda package, you can get ice and my dd did fill it with soda, not thinking. There is no security around the soda machine so it's not hard to fill whatever with soda. It's wrong but easy

After dinner we went down to the lazy river and floated for a bit before returning and going to sleep. The time change still had not hit me yet. I feel very bad for those of you travelling from beyond the west coast.

 

[taysmom]

Monday morning was gorgeous, so we decided to stay on property today and hit the poolside. One of the best things I brought was a portable softside cooler and ice pack. This morning I packed up some sandwiches, chips, fruit, drinks and cookies and headed down to the pool. Most of the chairs had towels on them by 10am! BUT don't worry. I found out later that the employees put a folded towel on each chair. So don't worry about taking chair. However if you see someones stuff or the towel has been opened, that chair is probably taken.

Here are some of my poolside tips:
If you have little kids and don't mind mist, the best chairs for you are by the water play structure and the openings to the lazy river. They are shaded in the morning but usually see sun by 11am. Very easy access to the bathrooms too.
If you want sun I'd recommend the chairs in the front row, not behind any trees. The ocean front chairs are nice.
If you want no kids or looking for a quiet kid free zone, the chairs in front of AMA AMA are perfect and very little children as you can't see the pools. You are looking at the ocean all day. Goregeous views! No shade though.
There is a pool on the marriott side and it's noted as the quiet pool, but I saw kids playing in the pool. I didn't spend any time laying out over there.
If you are looking for Cabana's: We found no problem getting one until about 1ish. I believe they were $275 for the day. The main pool ones were nice. There were others on the back side of the water feature.

Kids and adults alike were enjoying all the amenities the pool area had to offer. The lazy river is the bomb My favorite thing overall! The tube slide into the lazy river is nice. The main pool is nice but more little kids. THe hottubs by the main pool are great at sunset but there is a nice hidden one over the lazy river that is wonderful at night. I really didn't like the body slide into the main pool. BUT my kid loved it. To each is own

Using my daily agenda I noted that there was a starlight Hui that night. This was a wonderful family fun activity. Traditional Hawaiian activites, crafts, singing and hula. Characters were participating, children were learning the hula and afterwards a dance party. It was great! I highly recommend this event.

I do have pictures and am going to spend time figuring out how to add them to the site. Check back for more later.

 

[taysmom]

This morning was another questionable weather day so we decided to head off property and check out Pearl Harbor. All of the ads, travel advisories and everyone said to head out early. I checked and it opened at 8am but I had to get those kids ready. We got out the door around 9:45am and arrived parked and in the door by 10:15am. It's very close to the resort, back towards the airport. Pearl Harbor itself is free. There is a museum and the movie/boat to the memorial. However they do charge to see the Bowfin sub and the missouri battleship and aircraft museum. We walked in and they handed us our movie/boat time of 12:15pm. In the two hours we had to wait we had plenty of time to go slowly thru the museum and check out the Bowfin sub. I had friends that went the next day a little later than we did and had a longer wait time. They ended up spending 5 hours and still didn't get over to the aircraft museum. They have redone the place since the last time I was there and it was much easier to get around. Plenty of free parking too.
After we finished we headed in to Waikiki. I wanted to take the cousin to the Ala Moana Mall since it's so huge and has everything from Sears to Prada. What I forgot about was how moody hungry teens can be. Trying to find something to satifsy everyone, specifically my picky kid, was a pain so we settled on the food court. Best value in town LOL . After lunch we headed out and checked out Waikiki, and then headed south east and out toward Haunama Bay. BTW Haunama is CLOSED on tuesdays. We were just driving and looking and pulling into the scenic overlooks to take pictures. The kids were in awe of the beauty of the coast on that side. We drove all the way around to Kailua and cut back across the Pali Hwy to head home. The kids were getting hungry again and antsy being in the car.

That night we did the stargazing that the hotel offered. It was fun and educational. It was fascinating to learn about how the stars influenced the decor of the resort and I learned several new things about stars above hawaii. We also saw Jupiter, clear and bright.

Bed time beckons early on the islands. BTW..the beds in the 1bed. are fantastic. I was so comfy, it made it hard to get out of bed some days.

 

[spleen]

Love the trip report to date - thanks for so many details (including the tips about the pool chairs)!

 

[taysmom]

Well I woke up this morning and realized I was just as pasty 5 days in as I was at arrival I looked out the window and saw a beautiful clear sky, so I decided today was chill day at the pool. Bringing the cooler and ice pack was a bright idea as I packed up again with sandwiches, chips, drinks etc. and left those lazy kids and headed down to the pool. Once securing chairs by the main pool. My favorite location to be "in the action". Chairs close to the ocean front cabana but not to close to the walkway. You can see the action at the pool and look right and see the ocean. What a life. I had also packed my iphone with podcasts so I lied around all day listening and sunning and occasionally eating. The kids came down and joined me about 45 min. later. The 17yo wanted to lay out too, but the 13yo was very bored just laying around. Enter the daily schedule, where we could look up what events were happening in the teen club. Eventually we found a good balance of pool time with her. The passed too quickly and the kids headed back up to the room to chill. When I came back up they were in their jammies and it was only 5!! So I said get dressed lets go walk around the beach. After alot of shrugging we headed down to the boardwalk. We first headed left out of the gate towards the wedding chapel and marriott timeshares. We went all the way down to the 3rd lagoon. It was a nice walk down, we turned around and headed back past aulani toward the mariott ko'olina. Now here's the secret..the path ends and there is a cut thru that takes you to a small lagoon. It has tidepools and rocks and a small beach. I was told that occasionally you can find sea turtles at this beach. We took some great sunset pictures and a couple of xmas pics too. A great place to watch the sun go down. After our discovery we were on a high, so we headed back to Aulani to try the Menehuene Trail. We only had an hour before we had to turn in the guides, but I recommend doing this during the day and at night. It was really cool. We had some kinks, but overall I will do this again as we didn't get to finish on our trip.
We went over the the bar to get a burger, but alas they only offered puupuus (appetizers and fancy ones at that!) even though we were told they were offering the poolside menu until 8:30pm. One of many food disappointments.

 

[OurDogCisco]

Great Trip report... thanks for all the tips especially about the food service/quality. Anyways, we go to Hawaii a lot and so, I buy the cooler bags that they sell at Costco and I use it as my carryon bag for the plane. I put my stuff I need in it for the plane and then, when we get to Hawaii I use it as a cooler bag. It works great and keeps things cold. I bring gallon size ziplock bags so I can make ice bags too. Here's a picture of what I'm talking about. One of my cousins does this all the time too.

 

[thewelts]

Do you need you own Smart phone to participate or does Aulani provide the technology?
Thanks!
(10 days and counting!)

 

[taysmom]

Do you need you own Smart phone to participate or does Aulani provide the technology?
Thanks!
(10 days and counting!)

They provide the tools.

 

[taysmom]

For those planning to spend a holiday at aulani, please read this post!!

When I planned this trip I knew we would eat our holiday meal on property. I also knew I was bringing to very finiky eaters with me. So in researching for the proper spot, I decided the Makahihi Buffet was the right choice. It was priced up for the holiday meal but still under what AMA AMA was charging and at the time I booked there were no other on property options. And to be honest I didn't know about Roy's and I didn't want to drive as I thought I may want a cocktail. I booked our dinner time months ahead so there was no menu available yet. HOWEVER, I would call the dvc member services every month to see if there was a dinner menu available or if they planned a special dinner for the holiday. Each month they would say no and tell me to call back as things were changing. Remember I booked our trip before the resort was open. Eventually they posted a menu for the night and I was disappointed as it wasn't a traditional mainland dinner but more hawaiian dinner. Kailua turkey, seafood (think japanese) buffet. No pumpkin pie etc. But it was still a better deal than AMA AMA. (also remember I have 2 finiky eaters that I'm paying adult prices for). Well flash forward to 1 week before our trip and a friend who is also going (but staying hotel side) lets me know they have opened another dining option. I call MS and sure enough they are offering another buffet that is $20 more per person but it offers entertainment. They don't know what the entertainment is, but it "will be better" than the dinners at the other locations. So I move up, I mean we are only there for the holiday and I'm hoping it's more luau type entertainment. They also have no menu available but tell me it will be traditional thanksgiving with a hawaiian twist. Ok, sounds a little better so we're in.

Flash to Turkey Day....
We wake up and it's GORGEOUS...best day yet and our last full day on the island. I'm up and ready to head to the pool. Vacationers be WARNED, if you are there on holidays the pool will be packed early. 9:30am and I'm not finding any chairs in my regular spaces near the main pool. I eventually head over in front of AMA AMA and find a nice space, full sun looking at the beach. It's beautiful and smells good too . We spend our day in and out of the water. Getting hot enough to lazy river and then back to dry off and tan. A very lazy day. Eventually we have to go and get ready for dinner. Our dinner is in the ballroom which happens to be below our balcony view. I could see them setting up the buffet in the morning. We headed down for a 6:15pm dinner time (we are hungry) and am dismayed that we have to wait for a bit. They offer cocktails (at a cost) and collect payment $250 for 3 adults but I brought my own drink and just want to feed the kids. They eventually open and we are led into the ballroom, which is...a ball room. Nothing fancy done. The tables were not decorated. Just a bunch of tables set up throughout the room. We are led to our table which is near the kitchen entrance. YEA! The bright note was that was the door the characters went in and out of so they always stopped at our table.

Here's the bottom line: They took the menu from Makahiki and moved it up to the ballroom The entertainment was a couple singing current adult contemporary and some characters taking pictures in the corner.
Worst Part: Cost, no mashed potatoes or pumpkin pie
Best Part: Portugese Sausage Stuffing and Banana Bread Pudding, no line for characters. 1st time I saw chip and dale at the resort.

In the end the Makahiki Buffet has the true traditional mainland dinner with some hawaiin touches (including mashed potatoes). Oh and the poolside dining with awesome view.

FYI: Roy's was offering a traditional dinner with all the trimmings for $25 per adult or their regular menu and they are within walking distance.

I met many lovely people at the resort and I'm a chatty lady, so I did get some info on the other locales. Roys was great according to some guests. Good price, meal just like home easy to access. AMA AMA was ok. Food was good but service was a little slow. Views are fabulous. Also AMA AMA surved a traditional lunch plate during the lunch time and everyone who had that said it was great.

After stuffing myself on stuffing (it was soooo good), I waddled off to bed.

 

[taysmom]

Friday was our last day at the resort. Check out is at 11am but we didn't need to be at the airport until 1pm luckily they have a nice room for members who are in flux if needed.

First of all It's my birthday!

I started my birthday with a tour of the Grand Villas. For members only at 8am they offer tours of the rooms. You can register the day before with DVC sales for the tour. I'm sure they have a non member tour but that comes with a pitch. :thumbsup
The Villa was beautiful, and I'd love to invite my entire family and stay in one but It would cost me 2-3 years of my points depending on the season.

I took a video tour and will post on my blog listed below in my signature. In fact, I'm going to post a bunch of pics in my blog. It's just easier to post than on here.

After the tour I talked my friends into joining me for breakfast at AMA AMA. Just the adults no kids. I went over to see if I could get in (i'd heard walkins were welcome) and they said they could seat me in 45 min. Perfect. I went back to the room, woke up the kids and told them to be packed up and ready to leave by 11am, showered and finished my packing. I left the kids telling them if they finished everything to head down to finish the menhuene trail and went off to the restaurant.

This restaurant is ocean front, however not all seats are unobstructed ocean view but ours were.: We had a wonderful brunch buffet for $25 per adult. Best deal at the resort in my opinion. The worst part of our meal was the slow service but the food was awesome. AND they had an omlette station with some island favs not the standard fare. Yummy!

Due to the slow service, I arrived back at my room at 11:15am and was unaware you are LOCKED OUT! The housekeeper was in another room and let me use the phone to call the front desk and get security to open the door for me. We took our luggage and went down to the desk to make sure I was properly checked out and loaded the car. Because we had some time to kill, we headed east towards Maile opposite of the airport. It was a good learning experience for the kids to see that you can have ocean front houses that aren't the prettiest. The coastline was still beautiful.

Around noon we turned around and headed back towards the airport. Since the airline food is small, I decided to stop at safeway to get the kids some sandwiches and snacks for the ride home. Good Choice.

We got stuck in traffic (accident) and I started sweating our arrival at the airport but alas I forgot we were flying Hawaiian..who has their own terminal! So even though we arrived at 1:15pm at car rental drop off for a 1:40 boarding time, we made it to the gate with 5 min. to spare. ANd we didn't even run or take the wiki wiki.

We said goodbye to the island and headed home. Our flight was a little delayed leaving but uneventful otherwise. In fact there was a space in between me and the guy next to me and we loved it. We put our stuff their and used that tray to keep our leg room LOL


Here's my next trip for sures:

No car rental. We won't be leaving the resort and if we do, I'll rent onsite for just a day. Although it would be great if they had a zip car available for hourly rentals.

Bring a cooler/ice pack again.

Bring non perishable food in my carry on. Peanut butter was way expensive as were chips/cereal etc. I figure I'd save about $30-40 in groceries by shopping at home. I'll also bring sandwich bags/aluminum foil with me.

Pack less clothes/more bathing suits..I spent most of my time in my suit/coverup. Plus the w/d is there. Save the $25 luggage charge.

Rent a 1bed even thought it will only be 2of us. Non view with a kitchen is totally worth studio with a view. I spent most of my time at the pool with an ocean view anyways.

No character meals.

Brunch buffet at AMA AMA. So yummy!

Do more ohana activities. I didn't do hula or excercise in the am. I will next time.

DON'T miss the Starlight Hui - Fabulous free activity!! Loved it!

Finish the menhuene trail

Anyone going, Have fun! Anyone thinking about it...do it, it's worth it once.


Check my blog for pictures. I'll be updating later today.

 

[podsnel]

Thanks for all the great tips! Your pics looked great, too-

 

[bannilong]

I can't wait to hear more. We arrive in 2 weeks!

 

[nifferearly]

Thanks for the great report! We're leaving in 5 weeks and I can't wait.

We currently have a character buffet booked. My son is 7, but we go to WDW 4-5 times per year so characters are fun but not a huge deal. I'm wondering if I should cancel after hearing your comments. Can you please tell me more of what's on the buffet? And also on the Ama Ama buffet? I wasn't even considering that until I read your report. Thanks!

 

[taysmom]

Thanks for the great report! We're leaving in 5 weeks and I can't wait.

We currently have a character buffet booked. My son is 7, but we go to WDW 4-5 times per year so characters are fun but not a huge deal. I'm wondering if I should cancel after hearing your comments. Can you please tell me more of what's on the buffet? And also on the Ama Ama buffet? I wasn't even considering that until I read your report. Thanks!

If he is ok with leaving you and the table it could be fun. There is alot of dancing around and the younger kids were very engaged with aunty and her friends. However there are not alot of characters at the resort. I saw goofy, mickey, minnie, chip, dale and stitch. And thats it. As for the breakfast itself, there were 8-10 items on the main buffet line and a side line of fruit and japanese breakfast. They had a keiki (kids) area which has some more pancakes/waffles and toast. No omlette station. If you are used to goofys kitchen or carnation house ( I have no wdw reference) you will be disappointed.
For AMA AMA, they do have an omlette station with a more exotic variety of the standard omlette fare. It was YUMMY. They also had more variety of fruit, meat/cheese (think european), bread table and keiki table. Plus the view can't be outdone.
I love breakfast buffet and if I had to choose I would always go back to ama ama. The limited characters are plentiful throughout the resort and very easily accessed. I don't think your son would even notice, it really is nothing like DL's character meals in my opinion.