Part 4
I am going to fit one last chapter in before I leave for my trip tomorrow because I want to finish the Aulani part of our trip and write my (probably unpopular) review on it. I won't be able to write the next chapter for at least a week.
Kira and I carried on with our tour of the main lobby area.
And then we headed back down to the pool area. Here's the prices for Rainbow Reef. I would have loved to do this but it's way too cold for Rob in there and Kira would need special prescription goggles to actually see anything.
Back to our spot to chill for a bit longer. Rob ended up moving over a little to be under the umbrella as Rob and Kira's chairs were a little in the sun by now. Mine was fine, so I just stayed there and Kira just moved into Rob's old chair.
I never did mention it, probably because I only have video and not a photo of them but after lunch we got two Dole Whips from Ulu Café. One for Rob and I to share and one for Kira, who isn't big on sharing.
They decided that it was time for another!
You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you just how many Dole Whips we had this trip.
These ones were very melty. She had apologized when she gave them to us as they were already quite melted when she handed them over. They were $7 USD each, plus tax here at Aulani. I didn't care for this one, it was really melted so I let Rob have this one to himself.
Please don't ask me why he was sitting like this while he ate it.
All day long, we had flowers and leaves dropping on us from the tree above us. It scared the crap out of all of us the first few times it happened.
By the end of the day, there were hundreds of these flowers all over the ground!
For the last few hours, I popped in and out of the Wailana Pool every 20-30 minutes to cool off. Sometimes Kira would join me and we would chat and laugh, other times, it was just me in the pool, in a shaded corner trying to find some peace and quiet.
There were lots of kids in the pool and they were very loud. I don't begrudge kids in the pool, being kids but when they are so loud that your brain hurts, it makes for a less than pleasurable time.
Rob stayed in his lounge chair, reading his book most of the day but it's hard to concentrate when all you hear is "MARCO! POLO!" being screamed out every few minutes for hours on end.
At one point, it was beginning to really grate on my nerves so I left to cool off in another pool. I headed to the infinity edge pool and found a small little corner overlooking the ocean. I left about a 6-inch space between me and the corner, which I thought was pretty safe where no one might wedge themselves in there but I was clearly wrong. A few minutes later, a kid about 12 or 13 years old, made his way into that tiny little space next to me, all the while screaming at the top of his lungs, some rhyme game to his friend, who was about 20 feet away. I am deaf in my left ear but sadly he was screaming in my good ear.
I moved over a little and then he proceeded to kick me over and over (swimming back and forth), all the while continuing to scream, until I left.
So, here's my thoughts on the pool area of Aulani. I completely get that this is a family-friendly resort and I'm not complaining that there's kids at a family resort BUT what would be nice, for those of us who either don't have kids or have older kids, is to have a quiet area where we don't have to listen to all of the screaming all day. Obviously, the Wailana Pool was adult-only before and is going to be again very soon, which is such a good decision by Disney but it's just sad that they didn't make this change sooner.
It's like Disney cruises. There's many great family-friendly places on all of the ships, but there's also adult-only areas for when you want or need a break from kids. Even at WDW and DL, while there's no adult-only areas technically, there's always a quiet space somewhere that you can go if you need a break from the crowds or kids or you just need some space.
So, back to our spot with the still-noisy kids, I suggested we move over near the adult hot tub so we can get away from the marco-polo-ing and get ready to watch the sunset because watching sunsets in Hawaii is an event and mandatory, of course!
Rob set up shop just a few feet away from the adult hot tubs and Kira and I then headed down to the ocean.
She stayed on the beach enjoying the waves.
I headed out into the ocean and enjoyed the lovely quietness as I swam way out, as far out as I was legally allowed.
While I was way out there, this guy, in his early twenties, swam up to me and said "Aren't you scared being way out here?" to which I quickly and nervously replied "SHOULD I be???"
I had assumed that he was a local that knew something that I didn't but then I realized that he was also out there, with me.
And then he replied with a shrug of his shoulders and a puzzled look on his face and I immediately felt better.
I watched as people lined up to get their sunset photos.
And I enjoyed watching the sun set behind the beautiful palm trees.
I asked Kira to join me in the water and then watched the rather entertaining journey of her trying to get in.
Don't get me wrong, it was just as comical for me getting in and out, she just didn't get it on camera.
Kira and I enjoyed the next 30 minutes or so watching the sun go down. What a view!
This was Rob's view.
If you look closely, you can spot a teeny tiny Kira and Cass.
Kira was done and headed back to Rob while I enjoyed a few more minutes out in the quiet end.
Once I was done, we headed into the adult hot tub so Kira could warm up.
I really loved this tree that was right next to the hot tub.
We grabbed our stuff and headed over near the Waikolohe Pool just so I can swim in it and say I have been in all of the Aulani Pools.
We were a little snackish by now and thought maybe we would split something over at Off The Hook but at night it turns into a table service restaurant and the wait for a table was 40 minutes!
Umm no thanks! We decided we weren't that hungry after all.
It was now 7:40pm and we decided to just call it a day and head over to the Marriott to check in.
We grabbed our luggage from Bell services and then got valet to grab our Jeep.
I will stop here and finish off my review of Aulani now.
Please keep in mind, this is MY review, based on MY experience and MY preferences. I have already mentioned that my opinion of Aulani is probably very unpopular and I doubt many people will actually agree with it. So please keep those things in mind.
Let's start with the good.
It is a GORGEOUS resort! I mean truly, truly beautiful! The buildings themselves are stunning, you can see them from miles away and they definitely stand out in their beauty. Nothing else on the island (that I saw) looks as nice as Aulani does. It looks even better at night with the lights and all of the tiki torches on. The effort that went into even the tiniest details is awe-inspiring. It is not DISNEY in Hawaii, it is HAWAII with Disney features. Apart from the characters, you could probably spend a week there and not even know it is a Disney resort, if you weren't paying close attention. The foliage, the colours, the views, not only of the ocean but all around is simply breathtaking.
The room was fantastic and we had the very cheapest room so I can just imagine staying there in an ocean view 1-bedroom villa!
The lagoon is also lovely. There are four man-made lagoons at Ko Olina. Aulani shares the first lagoon, also called Kohola (whale) Lagoon, with the Four Seasons Resort. The second lagoon, the Honu (turtle) Lagoon is home of the Beach Villas, a condo resort. The third lagoon, Nai'a (dolphin) Lagoon is where the Marriott Beach Club timeshare resort is (where we will be checking into in the next chapter) and the fourth and final lagoon, the Ulua (fish?) Lagoon is located near the marina and a large public parking area, used mostly by locals.
What else is good?
Dole Whips! That is definitely a pro for this family!
Unfortunately, that's where the good ends, in my opinion.
Now for the bad.
Price-wise, everything at Aulani is outrageously priced. I get it. They charge so much, for the rooms, the food, the extra activities, the merch, because they can! And people will pay it! Aulani is filled to capacity almost every night, regardless of the season! Before Covid, you could find some nightly rates for around $400 during the off-season but those rates are long gone, probably never to be seen again. You get better value for your money using DVC points but you need to plan ahead for those and not all of us can afford to buy DVC.
Having said that, if you have the money, Aulani is the place to spend it! And if you have little kids and are okay with the noises of other little and not-so-little kids, there is no better place on Oahu! Just the characters alone is worth it if you have the cash to blow.
The food, while expensive, is also not that good. We obviously didn't try everything but what we did try was so overpriced and just mediocre. I don't mind paying higher prices for food (remember, we dropped $7 USD each, plus tax, on many, many Dole Whips!) if the food is actually good. It just wasn't. When Rob and I were at Aulani last October, we split some chicken strips from the Ulu Café and while the chicken strips were okay, the fries were inedible! We ended up throwing them out, they were so gross! And that was $20!
After spending the entire day there, I can now tell you that there are not enough bathrooms! I waited in so many lines just to use the bathrooms! The ones closest to Ulu Café and the beach and the two pools we used the most had exactly TWO stalls!
While they had a decent amount of characters out to meet and greet, be prepared to wait in lines! I saw some of the lines and how long they were and there is no way I would wait that long, out in the hot sun for any character! But for those who don't go to the parks often or at all, it's a great way to see them.
The layout of the resort is not the best. Once you get the lay of the lands, it's a little easier to navigate but so many people didn't know how to get to where they were wanting to go. I helped out more than a few people and I heard many others saying that they had gotten lost. There aren't enough signs (if any?) and the fact that you had to walk all the way around the lazy river, the two slides, the kids huge play area and the main pool is not ideal. Yes, we did find a bridge that went over the lazy river but still, I didn't love the layout.
Not. Enough. Chairs. I think this is a direct effect of having everything in the middle of the two towers and not a lot of extra space, so not sure what else they could do?
And lastly, and this is kind of nitpicky but I'm still going to say it because it was an issue last October and again on this trip so they can't say it's something they didn't know was an issue,
but the ice and drink machines, ugh....Disney!!!
When we were there last year, both ice machines stopped working around 4pm. Now for some of you, this is not a huge issue, if at all, but for someone who overheats easily and also just loves their drinks very cold, this is a problem. Well, guess what? It happened again. Both ice machines stopped working. If you wanted ice after about 3pm, you were out of luck! There are only two ice machines, both right at Ulu Café and you could not get ice from the Coca Cola Freestyle machines. They had three Coca Cola machines for drinks at Ulu Café and only two of them were working. And one of those was not working properly so the drinks that came out of it were disgusting! I was not the only person who had the same opinion, I saw many other guests taste their drinks and then dump them immediately because they were so bad. Now, like I said, I don't mind spending $22 for the basic refillable mugs, or even $34 (plus taxes) for the nicer ones but when there's no ice and only one of the drink machines work properly (and the lines to get the drinks were insane sometimes!) I am not a happy camper.
And there is no ugly. Not in Hawaii.
I will say that Kira and I have some sensory issues (who knew there was a name for that! Not me! Not until last year, that is!
) and the whole screaming kid thing is more of a "me" problem for her and I and I bet most people wouldn't even notice it.
I'm not saying we had a bad day. On the contrary, actually. We had a blast and made the best of everything! I am 100% glad we did the one day at Aulani. I wanted all of us as a family to experience it together and we are very lucky that we had the opportunity to do so. I know many people won't ever get to Hawaii in their lifetimes and I am betting most people would love to have the problems that we had, right?
BUT.
Without the discount, the one night would have been $900 USD plus tax so you have to figure out the value for the money you spend, right? And if I am just basing it on that, for us, I would have to say that it was not worth $900.
So, that's our 20 hours at Aulani.
Join us in the next chapter as Kira and I check into a very lovely luxury resort in our swim suits and cover ups.
See you in just a little over a week!
....but overall we get a one bedroom villa (or two bedroom if we have the points) and cook/prepare the majority of our meals (still getting the occasional lunch or dinner out). Also I am so so so thankful the adult pool is coming back!!
I have also heard there's a few really good items on the regular OTH menu but since we didn't want to wait 40 minutes for a table, we weren't able to try them. 
We've never been to Hawaii--I despise flying, and I just haven't been able to muster up the courage for the long flight LOL Aulani is absolutely gorgeous. Other people I know have expressed some of your same opinions, especially on the food and $$. I do hope to visit someday myself! 
I am finally here, took me long enough, huh? I started late last night, and finished at 2:00 am. (albeit with no honey nut Cheerios, hello they were stale, it has literally been that long since I read a Cass trippie, I had to settle for cinnamon Life, it was almost as good). You as always, my friend, did not disappoint and didn't leave any detail out, absolutely loved it. Loved it! 
. Oh you have some winners of photos together, love love.
Can't wait to see pics!!! 
