Aulani: What's the One Thing You Wish You Knew?

[OKW Lover]

Our experience with traffic on Oahu is that its only bad between the airport and Waikiki. Heading to Aulani or other parts of the island aren't a problem at all.

 

[CailinFig]

I think the traffic is bad on weekdays at the times mentioned by the previous poster. It just depends where you are heading when locals are going to/leaving work.

We went to Aulani last October and there was no mention re:1 hour rule. I only knew about bc of the dis boards. Our last trip this past April they asked me if I knew about it every time we received our bands.

 

[jliehr]

Our experience with traffic on Oahu is that its only bad between the airport and Waikiki. Heading to Aulani or other parts of the island aren't a problem at all.

Trying to get to Aulani in the afternoon rush hour is a pain, North Shore can get backed up as well with people pulling on and off the road to park with the beaches with people stopping to let them in or out. We took about 35 minutes to drive 10 miles close to Laniakea (Turtle) Beach

 

[manning]

Coming home from either the Bahamas or Aruba, I "stuck" a banana to eat while waiting for the plane on the way home in a carryon not knowing...

I was flagged going through security and the bag was thoroughly checked...I WILL NEVER do that again...SCARY!

You could have brought the banana in..but it would have had to be stored in your stomach. I believe fresh fruit is not allowed to be brought in.

 

[jerseygal]

I had been tasting and "dreaming" of WDW favorite, DOLE WHIP!

Was told that ABC Store across street from Aulani had Dole Whip...
I am a Dole Whip Lover, but this was not "quite" the Dole Whip that I was yearning for...Almost thin like pineapple sherbert...No "creamy" taste like at WDW!
Ice Cream Shop next to Island Coffee right by Monkeypod MUCH BETTER!!!YUM!

 

[WDW_Diane]

I had been tasting and "dreaming" of WDW favorite, DOLE WHIP! Was told that ABC Store across street from Aulani had Dole Whip... I am a Dole Whip Lover, but this was not "quite" the Dole Whip that I was yearning for...Almost thin like pineapple sherbert...No "creamy" taste like at WDW! Ice Cream Shop next to Island Coffee right by Monkeypod MUCH BETTER!!!YUM!

Had a similar experience at Peets Coffee on Waikiki Beach, I think it was at the Sheraton. Was better than what you had, though. We were there to board a catamaran out back, which was totally wonderful.

 

[WDW_Diane]

Wish I had known that I'd dream of a return trip DAILY. Really! Driving to Destin this year to see what all the fuss us about. Can't compare, I'm sure. Will be back to Aulani by 2017, if not sooner.

 

[carissa1970]

Wish I had known that I'd dream of a return trip DAILY. Really! Driving to Destin this year to see what all the fuss us about. Can't compare, I'm sure. Will be back to Aulani by 2017, if not sooner.

You should start a thread afterward with your opinions on Destin. I've heard a lot of people talking about it on here, and it would be cheaper for us than Hawaii!

 

[amypetecar]

I had been tasting and "dreaming" of WDW favorite, DOLE WHIP!

Was told that ABC Store across street from Aulani had Dole Whip...
I am a Dole Whip Lover, but this was not "quite" the Dole Whip that I was yearning for...Almost thin like pineapple sherbert...No "creamy" taste like at WDW!
Ice Cream Shop next to Island Coffee right by Monkeypod MUCH BETTER!!!YUM!

The best dole whip ive had on the planet is on the same island at the Dole Plantation!

I know its heresy, but it was WAAAYYYYYY better than in adventureland.

 

[OKW Lover]

The best dole whip ive had on the planet is on the same island at the Dole Plantation!

I know its heresy, but it was WAAAYYYYYY better than in adventureland.

That was our experience as well!

 

[WDW_Diane]

You should start a thread afterward with your opinions on Destin. I've heard a lot of people talking about it on here, and it would be cheaper for us than Hawaii!

Hmm, I might do that. Yes, it will be waaaay cheaper than Hawaii. It won't have the Hawaiian vibe, though. Thanks!

 

[yolie912]

I had it at the Dole Plantation with the waffle cone and it was pretty awesome!!

 

[J&K'sPrincessMommy]

I have a question about the PhotoPass CD, if you pre-purchase it online (is that possible?) can you get the CD and edit, add borders, etc?

 

[Halefamilyof6]

I don't think you can pre-purchase it online. I bought ours at the end of the trip. As far as borders, you may be able to pick a few pictures to have borders added too....BUT I'm not sure. They just take all the passes and slap the photos on a CD and give you a bunch of stock photos of the resort too (which was nice because I've used them in our photo book I'm making).

 

[luv2boys]

Anyone know if there are showers/restrooms that are public at north shore? Don't want to wear wet swimsuits back to aulani.

 

[poohj80]

I have a question about the PhotoPass CD, if you pre-purchase it online (is that possible?) can you get the CD and edit, add borders, etc?

We ordered our CD after we got home so we could add borders. Beware...if you add any photos from events like fish feeding in Rainbow Reef or Hangin' Ten with Chip n Dale, you get all the photos from the event added, not just yours. Plus, for us, we seemed to get about a dozen copies of all those event photos. It took too long to delete all those extra photos online so we just kept them with our order. We ended up with 6 CDs of digital photos.

 

[Mrmouse4me]

I wish I realized there were so many lounge chairs / umbrellas on site. We never had trouble finding a place to hang out. The outdoor furniture was top notch. Most of the chaise lounges were padded and very comfortable. There were tables/chairs available to eat at and plenty of lounge chairs to soak up sun or just relax in the shade.

In fact we cancelled our cabana reservation because we didn't need to "reserve" spots to hang out. We were there June 7 -14th. It may be more crowded later in the summer, but we had an AMAZING experience.

Thanks to everyone that posted all of that wonderful planning information! If I can help return the favor just let me know.

 

[WDW_Diane]

I wish I realized there were so many lounge chairs / umbrellas on site. We never had trouble finding a place to hang out. The outdoor furniture was top notch. Most of the chaise lounges were padded and very comfortable. There were tables/chairs available to eat at and plenty of lounge chairs to soak up sun or just relax in the shade. In fact we cancelled our cabana reservation because we didn't need to "reserve" spots to hang out. We were there June 7 -14th. It may be more crowded later in the summer, but we had an AMAZING experience. Thanks to everyone that posted all of that wonderful planning information! If I can help return the favor just let me know.

We were there around that same time period last year and always saw unused chairs. The resort didn't seem crazy crowded either.

 

[WDW_Diane]

We ordered our CD after we got home so we could add borders. Beware...if you add any photos from events like fish feeding in Rainbow Reef or Hangin' Ten with Chip n Dale, you get all the photos from the event added, not just yours. Plus, for us, we seemed to get about a dozen copies of all those event photos. It took too long to delete all those extra photos online so we just kept them with our order. We ended up with 6 CDs of digital photos.

If you don't mind, how much did you have to pay? Was it a package deal, as many photos as you can get for one price?

 

[poohj80]

If you don't mind, how much did you have to pay? Was it a package deal, as many photos as you can get for one price?

$99 just like at the resort but with borders and edits. No limit on number of photos just like at the parks.