Aulani

Chellymouse

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Oct 30, 2007
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Our "dream trip" is now a reality, 4 days at DLR followed by 11 days at Aulani in Sept. Anyone out there been to Aulani? We have done a good bit of research, renting a Jeep Wrangler for our time and have decided to grab the go Oahu card. We know we are going to Pearl Harbor and planning a day trip over to the big island to see volcano national park. Would love to hear from those who have been on things that were worth it and not so much. We are thinking of doing the VIP tour at the Polynesian cultural center however it's a bit $ and wonder if it's worth the $$! Still strange we are not going to WDW this year though. TIA!
 
Our "dream trip" is now a reality, 4 days at DLR followed by 11 days at Aulani in Sept. Anyone out there been to Aulani? We have done a good bit of research, renting a Jeep Wrangler for our time and have decided to grab the go Oahu card. We know we are going to Pearl Harbor and planning a day trip over to the big island to see volcano national park. Would love to hear from those who have been on things that were worth it and not so much. We are thinking of doing the VIP tour at the Polynesian cultural center however it's a bit $ and wonder if it's worth the $$! Still strange we are not going to WDW this year though. TIA!

Congrats on your trip, you will have a great time! I did Pearl Harbor on my own and loved it. Just make sure you get there early(by 8am). While the tickets for the Arizona memorial are free, they are timed. When I went I got there about 9am because I got lost and the earliest ticket I could get to the Arizona was 12:30. I was ok with that because I also paid to see the Bowfin and USS Wisconsin while I waited. Make sure you check the website about what you can't bring in. Basically, no bags are allowed. You can also purchase your tickets online if you want.

On a separate trip, I stayed on the Big Island for a week and took a tour to Volcanoes National Park. It was sooo worth the money I paid because it meant I didn't have to drive all the way around the island. I think I took the Grayline tour because they spent the most time in the park. If you are doing a day trip by flying over, it is going to be a very long day. It was about 12 hours for those of us being picked up on the island. We had some in our group who flew over from Oahu and they were the first to be picked up at the airport(Kona) around 5/5:30am and dropped off at the airport for their 7pm flight. After the bus picked them up, they came an picked everyone else up and we went around the island. If your flight comes into Hilo, you are right there at Volcanoes--so check to see which airport you fly into. We stopped at the following places on our tour: Black Sand Beach, Volcanoes Nat'l Park(spent about 2-3 hours in the park), Rainbow Falls, Big Island Candies, Waimea Coffee(think that was the name) and then back home--I think I remembered everything. You see a lot of amazing scenery and some of the stops are just bathroom breaks.

The Polynesian Cultural Center was the only Aulani tour I paid for. Again, I was glad I did because I didn't have to drive back late at night. The PCC is huge and we were able to see most of the Polynesian island exhibits. You see the major ones(four of them) and the canoe pageant. On the Aulani tour, we got there about 2pm, just in time for the pageant. You have a tour guide who takes you around and the prime rib dinner was part of our tour. Some people in our group switched to the luau instead, and everyone went to the Ha performance. It was awesome and you forget that none of the performers are professionals. The show lets out at 9:30pm and virtually everyone on our bus slept on the way back. Although we made good time getting back, the driver was safe. He actually had to drive the bus back to the PCC after he dropped us off--that meant a two hour round trip for him.

I hope all this helps. I saw a lot my first trip to Aulani and did most of it on my own: 'Iolani Palace, Honolulu Museum of Art, Bishop Museum, the Spalding House(great view of Diamond Head from here and included in the Honolulu Museum Art ticket), hiked Diamond Head, and Pearl Harbor. I started with Tripadvisor and researched what I thought would be interesting.
 
We've been to Aulani twice. Pearl Harbor is a must do and as the previous poster mentioned, get there early. We left hotel around 6 a.m. because traffic can get really bad and there is very limited parking. It's also important to get to Pearl Harbor before the tour buses do. A nice trip is to the North Shore. The famous Matsumoto shaved ice is there. Always a long line. And not far from there is the Dole Pineapple Plantation. Many people seem to like the food trucks there but we didn't stop there. There is also a wonderful bakery in downtown Oahu, Leonards Bakery. Go there for the malasadas. Unbelievable!! Be prepared for very limited parking and long lines but well worth it. Have a wonderful trip!
 
We did Oahu last spring. Aulani for 5 nights, North Shore area for 8 nights (my moms was on a mission trip), and Maui for 6 nights. Couple things (my sister went right after me so I had typed this up for her):

Oahu
- skip Chinatown it's a joke
- LOVED and returned twice to Liliha Bakery to get the Cocoa Puffs...to die for. We also visited all the other bakeries but this one was by far the best (and practically open 24 hours i think)


Aulani
- definitely do the snorkeling...fab.
- the character breakfast was fun
- night show is decent but after PCC you'll be disappointed doesn't even compare so I shouldn't compare
- do not miss Goofy's Pool party - soooooo fun
- don't need character meet and greets they're around (except Donald was hard to find but showed up in kids club)
- sign up for kids club BEFORE it starts raining the first time or EVERYONE and their dog will be in there and the line is out the door with everyone filled out paperwork
- if you go one exit towards Honolulu there is a costco, grocery store, home depot, wendy's, and a FABULOUS place called Aloha Salads. We ended up grabbing food here 3 times...fast and fresh.
- sunset is beautiful on the beach don't miss

PCC
- every dime you spend here is worth it...do not let the costs scare you.
- in each country there is a kids activity - ask what it is if they dont' prompt you
- don't miss the 2:00 boat parade thingy - fab - arrive early for good front row seating it fills quickly
- night show is a MUST - if you do nothing else on Oahu this is what you should do. My 5 year old son asked to go back.
- the staff is AMAZING!
- i would plan a FULL day here to see and do everything

North Shore
- gotta eat at the famous

Diamond Head Crater
- (hike 2 hours roundtrip)…this was a pretty hike and the boys (twins age 5) did it just fine. The last of the hike is 200 stairs straight up…be warned…you can stop along the way though so take your time. Bring lots of water…nothing along the way or at the top. You’ll want 2 bottles each probably. And we had shaved ice once we were down (in the parking lot). It’s a beautiful view at the top. DO NOT DO THIS IN THE AFTERNOON – pure sun…no shade…and it gets HOT up there. We started at 11 and should have gone earlier. Parking lot fills fast but the queue to get in goes fast as well. lots of people coming and going.

Dole Plantation
- only if youre interested. We went because it had the “world’s largest maze” and thought it would be fun. Not a must. But we enjoyed it. Buy your “dole whip” ice cream in the restaurant there. Yum. Total tourist trap and not a way to spend time in Hawaii IMHO looking back. Maze was $6 and you have to find all the hidden places and stencil it in on map and see how fast you can make it out. Maze also not kept up well so you can see thru places and it needed water!

Bishop Museum
- only if interested. again not the best time spent if in Hawaii. I would have much rathered gone to a new beach. the science center is good for the little ones. They make lava, have a fake volcano that erupts, etc. But otherwise you might not enjoy. We went to the planetarium and the boys didn’t follow any of the info. I barely did. LOL

Waimea Fall
- an easy walk to a water fall you can swim in…where the warning sign reads "listeria" possible if you swim. Skip it.

Waikiki Beach or Ala Moano Beach Park/Downtown ara
- good photo shot of downtown if you want to see the “city” life. The Iolani Palace and King Hamehame whatever his name is statue is just a drive by I wouldn’t get out or even go out of my way to see, but Iolani Palace does have a smashed penny machine!

Turtle Bay
- great area for whale watching, seeing the big sea turtles in sand, and for snorkeling safely with children. To the right of Turtle Bay resort public beach with bathrooms and showers. We watched whales here just right off shore. If you want to walk down a mile the best snorkeling is supposed to be at Kawela Bay which is on their property.

Hanuama Bay
- snorkeling is supposed to be fab…it was always full and we never got in and tried twice. Gotta go FIRST THING to beat crowds.

Must sees….

a. North Shore (eat at Matsumoto’s Shaved Ice* and Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck-only 10 minutes from Mom, see Banzai Pipeline)

b. Makapuu Point Lighthouse Overlook beautiful…hike around to lighthouse if you want…we just stopped at overlook.

c. Waimanalo Beach (beautiful water and white sand here…thought it was the prettiest on the isle)

d. Pearl Harbor* (I would allow 3 hours for this…arrive 1 hour early and you can do audio tour…I would pay for audio it was GOOD…and then see the movie and take boat out to Arizona)

e. Mormon Temple Campus…there's a replica of the Lladro Christus inside and it is gorgeous! Walk behind temple and up for overlook of city. Fab view!

Must eats...

a. Liliha Bakery – Cocoa Puffs (crème puff filled with the best chocolate and topped with buttersomething)

b. Leonard’s Bakery – Malasaladas (donut with no hole fresh and hot)

c. Edozuki Noodle House – eat the Ramen!

d. Papa Ole’s- on way to Turtle Beach in Laie…would have eaten here again and again. Hawaiian “plate lunch”. Beef Teriyaki was yummy and mac salad.

e. Da Kitchen…Hawaiian plate lunch…but their Fish Tempura and mac/potato salad is out of this world!

f. Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck (if you get the marinated scampi everything will be off but the tail…otherwise you’ll be peeling eyeballs and tentacles, etc.)
 

Thanks so much everyone! I guess I should mention we are DINKS, so no kiddos, but thank you for the info texasgingerbread! We are going to get our tickets for Pearl Harbor our first full day and plan on getting those online as soon as we are able. We will have a rental so we can get around on our own. We did find a tour over to the big island as I definitely want to see volcano national park. We know that will be a long day so the day after, we plan to laze the day away at Aulani and on the beach. North shore for sure, probably 2 days because I want to surf. Tried to talk DH into a shark cage excursion, however I have been vetoed.
 
Any suggestions on whether to do luau or dinner-prime rib at PCC? We are going in September and want to do PCC.
 
Any suggestions on whether to do luau or dinner-prime rib at PCC? We are going in September and want to do PCC.

We are doing the luau at PCC and we may also do the one at Germaine's. We just received the entertainment book today, it was $25 with shipping and it appears to be a good investment. There a many good coupons in it and it looks like the entertainment book may be a better deal than the Go Oahu card based on the things we want to do
 
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I enjoyed the luau more so than the prime rib buffet. The luau had a little show with it. I would recommend at least the Ambassador package.
We have done the day trip to the big island for the Volcano park. It was worth it just be prepared. It was a very long day. There were some parts of the tour that kind of boring and also do not expect to see red flowing lava. They will not let you go to those areas.
 
If you're trying to save money and you have a car you could pop out for dinner and come back for night show. Do not skip night show. Believe it or not there is a Taco Bell and traditional Hawaii plate lunch right around the corner in Laie. Also Giovanni's shrimp truck is just up the road as well if you have the time. I would pick luau over prime rib. Luau though you will see the dancing at boat parade and the dancing again at night show. Fire at day show and fire at night show. Your call.
 
I'm all about the fire shows!! We are looking at one of the higher end packages at PCC as these appear to be more inclusive. Thanks so much!
 
I'm all about the fire shows!! We are looking at one of the higher end packages at PCC as these appear to be more inclusive. Thanks so much!
They're expensive but worth every single penny. Honestly the best I've seen to date...anywhere. And if you want to see the fire show during the day the main guy does a show I think it was around 2:30ish...right after water boat parade thingy (get there early for the water parade thing). Immediately following the parade be all the way into the park and you should be one of the first ones to get seating for the fire show. Then you can grab a spot in the shade if you want or sit on the front row. He'll pick 2 kids to come up and "help him out" and ask them to drink from a coconut so if you're front row and if you have kids and they raise their hands quickly they might get chosen. :)
 
If you're getting the Go Oahu Card, get the 3 day variety. It includes a bonus activity which I believe PCC dinner show , $99 value, is one of the choices. So for $174 you get the $99 show automatically and admission to the PCC also which is worth $49. Plan 3 days away from the resort and do the PCC one day, then two or three activities each of the other 2 days. We like Waimea Valley, Waikiki Ocean Club, Wet n Wild, Sea Life Park and Kualoa Ranch. It's a great deal if you plan it out.
 



















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