Aulani Traveling with Toddler Questions : Playpen comfort, early mornings, car seat..

[mrsmousketeer]

Traveling to Aulani tomorrow with my toddler son, 15 months old! Super excited. Still have a few lingering questions mostly due to trying to pack.
1) Trying to figure out whether I should bring my travel crib with b/c I know DS sleeps in it well. Does anyone have an opinion on the playpens Aulani supplies? Are they comfortable enough for full nights sleep? My son was pulling apart the mattress at our playpen at home for a while, it was so flimsy. Wondering if anyone had an issue with the ones here, or if they were just fine.

2) We have a shuttle picking us up from airport and taking us to Aulani and I paid a $5 upcharge for carseat. Wondering now whether I should take a carseat with me in case we want to go shopping. I've been to Hawaii before so don't plan on doing any major excursions. But if I changed my mind and wanted to go to Waikiki or shopping, are there shuttles that would take us without carseat? Or should I bring my huge carseat with me?

3) Slightly worried about the time change and DS waking up at 4 am everyday. Are there things to do, things to see with toddlers super early in the morning? Suggestions?

4) I think character breakfast requires reservations. Can we just show up and try to get a reservation when we go? I have no idea when DS will be waking and would prefer just to show up. LMK.

5) How far are the 2 BR garden villas from a standard hotel room. I have family in both, and want to know how far the walk would be.

6) Should I pack beachtoys? I read somewhere but can't find it now, that Aulani will let you rent beachtoys.

Any other toddler related advice would be appreciated!

 

[alohamom]

I think as far as the car seat goes, I would bring one. The trip to Waikiki is on major highways with tons of traffic and high speed travel. It would be a shame to not be able to get out and about once you are there because you cant get a car seat. There are also a couple of boutique stores and shops across the street that make for a nice little shopping excursion off property.

If your ds gets up super early, the lobby has a child friendly section opposite the check in desk so that kids can be entertained if there is a wait for check in so that might be an option. Plus the lobby itself has a couple of water features and it is fairly big so he could run around or play there for fun. I am sure he will be fine and you will have a blast...

 

[mrsmousketeer]

Whats the easiest way to travel to Waikiki? Shuttle or taxi? Another question is what do I do with the carseat once I get there?

 

[CailinFig]

Traveling to Aulani tomorrow with my toddler son, 15 months old! Super excited. Still have a few lingering questions mostly due to trying to pack. 1) Trying to figure out whether I should bring my travel crib with b/c I know DS sleeps in it well. Does anyone have an opinion on the playpens Aulani supplies? Are they comfortable enough for full nights sleep? My son was pulling apart the mattress at our playpen at home for a while, it was so flimsy. Wondering if anyone had an issue with the ones here, or if they were just fine. 2) We have a shuttle picking us up from airport and taking us to Aulani and I paid a $5 upcharge for carseat. Wondering now whether I should take a carseat with me in case we want to go shopping. I've been to Hawaii before so don't plan on doing any major excursions. But if I changed my mind and wanted to go to Waikiki or shopping, are there shuttles that would take us without carseat? Or should I bring my huge carseat with me? 3) Slightly worried about the time change and DS waking up at 4 am everyday. Are there things to do, things to see with toddlers super early in the morning? Suggestions? 4) I think character breakfast requires reservations. Can we just show up and try to get a reservation when we go? I have no idea when DS will be waking and would prefer just to show up. LMK. 5) How far are the 2 BR garden villas from a standard hotel room. I have family in both, and want to know how far the walk would be. 6) Should I pack beachtoys? I read somewhere but can't find it now, that Aulani will let you rent beachtoys. Any other toddler related advice would be appreciated!

They have the regular Graco pack and play in the room. We've never used it but you might want to bring one of the thicker covers that you can put on the pad.

Would you consider driving so you can keep your car seat in your rental? I'm not too sure about those shuttles but we usually just rent a car when in Hawaii. The other option is you probably won't want to leave the resort once you get there...especially if you've been to oahu before.

There's a lot of people walking about early in the morning. My kids were up at 4am everyday! We didn't go downstairs that early but if you did, it would be fun for him just to walk around the resort.

If it's slow the Makahiki I'll probably be able to accommodate you. I originally scheduled a 9am breakfast but bc my kids were up early they moved it to the earliest slot for me that morning.

It depends which building you guys are in. The standard hotel rooms are in the Waianae building. If the 2 bedroom requested that building they'd be near to each other.

They do have beach toys for rent. Since you're approaching slow season they shouldn't run out.

Have a great time! Your little one will love it!

 

[DenLo]

. . .

They do have beach toys for rent. Since you're approaching slow season they shouldn't run out.

Have a great time! Your little one will love it!

Beach toys are free to Aulani guests. But you can't get them until the beach shop opens. I don't know if you can keep them overnight.

Make sure your child gets plenty of sunlight the first day, that often helps the body adjust to the time change. Also if you slowly start change the nap and bed times to match Hawaii standard time might help. Have him go to bed an hour later. It wouldn't hurt the adults to do the same thing.

 

[CailinFig]

Beach toys are free to Aulani guests..

Correct. That's what I meant to say.

 

[SevenWonkas]

We went to Oahu with my son in 2013 - he was 25 months old. We had a long day of flights, and arrived at our resort just before dinnertime. While he'd already napped on the flight, I put him down for a 2-hour nap when we got to our room. He thought it was bedtime, so he was tired anyway. After waking him up we had dinner and walked around the resort. He went to bed again around 8, which was actually later than his normal
Bedtime. I think this adjusted his internal clock, because he pretty much slept on his normal schedule (on Hawaii time) the whole trip! We also kept the blackout curtains closed in his room.

We may have just been lucky, though, because he's always been a low-key guy. He's just now started to climb out of his bed, and he's almost 3.5! Up to this point he'd just chill out in bed until we went into his room to get him!