Aulani then DL, or DL then Aulani?

[mouschievous]

Ok, so we have no plans to go to Aulani, but since our September trip is postponed until further notice, I figured I could start dreaming up new plans

If you were going to do both Aulani and Disneyland in one trip, which order would you do it in and why? If it matters, we're on the west coast. Also, what time of year would you go (assuming that all things are normal, pre-covid type travel conditions)

 

[cruisehopeful]

Hawaii doesn't change the clock for daylight savings time. So, depending on time of year, it could be 2 or 3 hours earlier than the west coast time. That's something I'd keep in mind for planning depending on your normal routines. For example, I usually wake up at 5am - 6am. When I am in Hawaii and I wake up and am wide awake at 3am there is absolutely nothing for me to do. Nothing is open and I am ready for breakfast. For me, it would be better to do DL first in hopes that I would be very tired when I got to Hawaii and would sleep in a bit longer.

If you usually sleep in late, maybe going to Hawaii first would be nice because you'd end up getting an early start to your days.

 

[Freya424]

We did this last year. We did Disneyland first but we were coming from the east and it helped break up the time change. I think I would still do DLR first because we go all day and walk a lot there and at Aulani we relax more and move at a slower pace. Both times we’ve been to Aulani we’ve went in April/May and we enjoyed that time of year.

 

[whoever]

We just did this last October. Disney First, then Aulani. Worked out great!!

 

[thanxfornoticin]

DL then Aulani.... then DL again!

 

[4DisneyAddicts]

We did DL after. We are on east coast. For me, it made leaving Hawaii a little easier. And, I liked breaking up the flight on the way home. You are excited on the way TO Hawaii, so that got me through the flight. On the way home, I was more tired.
But I am sure you can't lose either way!

 

[crystal1313]

I think I would go to DL first and then relax and enjoy all the incredible amenities at Aulani. We LOVED Aulani and had the best time there! So beautiful and relaxing =)

 

[OKW Lover]

Agree with several of the PP's that especially if you are coming from the east coast the best sequence would be DL then Aulani.

 

[travelplanningnerd]

We're mountain time and did DL then Maui in 2018 - it was great. Spent four days wearing ourselves out and then the first few days of our beach portion just laying by the pool.

 

[nkereina]

I'd recommend posing the question on the Aulani forum too, lots of posters there have done a combined DL and Aulani trip.

I've done both places, but not at the same time. We came from the east coast and wanted to maximize our time in Hawaii, so we chose to spend all of our time there and did DL a few years later. I know a lot of people from the east coast prefer to stop in DL on the way home from Hawaii both to help lessen the blow of leaving Aulani, and to break up the long, excruciating flight home. Most of the flights home are red eyes, so flying to CA instead would give you more flexibility to fly at a decent hour.

I've also seen other east coasters say they like to DL first to help acclimate to the time change. Since we went from the east coast straight to Hawaii, we had to adjust to a six hour time difference and were wide awake by 4am and ready for bed by 8pm on our first couple of days there. Taking the red eye home, we stayed up once we got home and went to bed at our normal time, so there was less of an impact on the way back.

Being that you're already on the west coast, the time change, flight times and flight length is less of a consideration. I still would say that having DL to look forward to before returning home is a nice way to ease back into reality, so that would likely be my choice. But on the flipside, will you be touring Oahu or just spending time at the resort? Visiting Aulani after DL would be a nice way to relax after busy days walking in the parks. You're also already in vacation mode at that point, which I think helps to make it easier to unwind at Aulani. But that would be less of a factor if you plan to sightsee and be active in Hawaii as well.

 

[mfleeting]

I would do disneyland first because then you can just relax at Aulani and recover. But it’s a decent time change in Hawaii. I would suggest your first day going to Hawaii to keep busy, stay awake, no naps, and go to bed around the same time you normally would that way you wake up in Hawaii time and not home time. We were warned about this but didn’t listen the first day cause we were exhausted went to sleep at like 8pm and woke up at 3am way bored. The next day we wore ourselves out and went to bed closer to midnight and woke up at a better time the entire week.

 

[MouseyMin]

To me, the answer is simple. Which part of the trip are you looking forward to more? Do that LAST!

 

[Grumpylarr]

Both times we have done this trip we have done Aulani first then DL. Flying from Michigan we wanted to do the long flying day first. Also by stopping at DL on the way back it helped with the time change. Always find it harder adjusting to time change heading East where you lose time.

 

[azdisneylover]

DL, then Aulani, then DL one last time (and make sure you pick up goodies from the candy shops, including Marcelines) to help your travel back home less painful.

 

[vacay77]

I’d go to DL, then Aulani because that way you can relax at the Aulani after walking all over the parks. May and October are nice times of the year to go to both, but keep in mind that it might be Halloween Time at the parks in October and that will affect the time you can spend in DCA if it’s the same day as a Halloween Party. And that could also affect crowds at DL.

 

[ktlm]

We are on central time. in 2016, we did Aulani/ Maui then DL. That worked out really well for us. I had planned it that way to break up the time change on the way home. We were so excited to arrive at Aulani that the time change didn't bother us at all. We wound up staying up 24 hours from the time we got up at home because we were having so much fun at Aulani (ready to go to bed at 22 hours- but then DD just HAD to be able to say she stayed up 24 hours in a row). Then we went to bed and got up and had a relaxing morning floating the lazy river and sitting on the beach. Dealing with 2 shorter time changes on the way back was great. We never felt the time change at all. Since you are West coast-that would not be an issue for you.

The real way it really benefited us was that we were in Hawaii when Hurricane Darby was headed towards it (hit as a tropical storm) and we had to leave Hawaii a day early to get ahead of the storm. So, instead of losing a vacation day, we just added a day at DL! By the way--- you probably want to find out when we are traveling and avoid it because that was the summer after we rode out Hurricane Matthew at Disneyworld. Hurricanes 2 vacations in a row!!!!

Honestly, I don't think you can go wrong either way.

 

[nutshell]

I always do busy first and relaxing second. So I could do DL then Aulani. Just like when we cruise we do the parks first and cruise second. Have fun!

 

[RedVines2001]

I vote Aulani then DL. Yes it’s a long journey there but what better place to get over travel fatigue than Aulani. Having DL to look forward to really softens the blow of leaving Hawaii. That TSA checkpoint at Honolulu airport is the most depressing line in the world, especially as you’re watching all the people just arriving in Hawaii. Would be a lot better to be able to think of it as an extended line for DL. My $0.02.

 

[montreid]

For west coast not as much an issue with flight programming, especially if southwest airlines.

Personally would hit DL at the end if you don't visit DL often. Flip it if DL is a routine for you. It'll cap off your visit. That's how Disney destinations does it's tours.

You will probably be tired at the end of your vacation because of putting DL last, but the memories.....

 

[gottalovepluto]

If you must do DLR + Aulani in one trip I would do DLR first. I’m exhausted after any trip to DLR as it’s a lot more physical work than anything I usually do lol so sleeping it off by the pool and lounging about for a couple days in tropical breezes after would be great.

That said being from CA myself, I would opt to make them two separate trips. Plane travel that far is also tiring, and to go all the way to Hawaii and only see Aulani- that’s a travesty. I’d want the energy (and cash lol) to spend at least a few days on another island!

Since we’re dreaming post-COVID... If you’re looking for a DLR trip where the magic doesn’t end so abruptly (hey, getting dumped from DLR into LA traffic is an ABRUPT change of pace ) I would look at a 3 or 4 night Disney Cruise out of San Diego right after your DLR trip. Relax Disney style without a 5-6 hour plane trip.