Mollydolly334
Honorary Floridian
- Joined
- Oct 4, 2015
Hi everyone!
I usually hang out over on the Trip Report boards, but I've been lurking here for the past few months. My name is Molly, I’m 28 years old, and I’ve been a Disney fan for life with MANY trips to WDW under my belt! My boyfriend, Jake, and I have been planning a trip to Hawaii since March. We were planning on spending 8 nights in Waikiki from August 21-29. This was my first time in Hawaii, but Jake had lived there for a year back in 2019-2020 for his AuD externship, so he’s very familiar with Oahu.
Due to the kindness of one of my best DISfriends (@chunkymonkey ), we were able to rent points to spend one night at Aulani in the middle of our trip (August 24-25)! This would have been totally out of our budget if we tried to pay OOP, so we are eternally grateful that we got this chance! We spent two full days enjoying the paradise and amenities of Aulani
And, while we were staying at Aulani, Jake the boyfriend became Jake the fiance
We got into Ko Olina at about 10:30 AM on the 24th; the drive from Waikiki was only about 45 minutes. During our time in Waikiki, we stayed at the Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort- 10/10 would recommend this resort as well!! It was in a great location and had direct access to Waikiki Beach. Plus, we booked through Costco Travel and were able to get meal credits to use at Duke’s/Hula Grill PLUS the resort fee was waived!
But, back to Aulani! Upon walking in, we were immediately stunned by the beauty of this resort! It reminded me of a combination between the Poly and AKL at WDW.
It was a gorgeous day, so we jumped into our suits right away and spent the day at the pool! (Well, after I had thoroughly perused both gift shops
) We had no problem finding lounge chairs right outside of Off the Hook, with primo bar access and great views of the lagoon!
These spots weren’t necessarily shaded, but to us Wisconsinites, the sunshine felt amazing!
We spent the day in and out of the beach and lagoon, and it was wonderful! We had breakfast at Duke’s in Waikiki before we left, so we just snacked for the afternoon since we had reservations for a very special meal at 5:45!
Had to get Mickey Mouse shave ice! The flavors I got were lilikoi, lychee, and guava.
Mickey bars were also had
We did the lazy river and tube water slide once, then just swam and relaxed for the afternoon! We also took a walk around the lagoons to check out the Four Seasons resort.
We got our room assignment at about 3:30 PM, which was perfect timing because we needed to start getting ready! We had booked standard seating at the KA WA’A Luau at Aulani
We were in the Ewa Tower in Room 457 (Standard View DVC Studio). When I Googled the room the check out the location/view, I was greeted with multiple DISboards threads claiming this room to be “the worst room at Aulani.” Great…..
Here was our room! A beautiful room overall with more space than we had in Waikiki!
Our view, however, left much to be desired, with a brick wall instead of a lanai and a wonderful view of a roof
Honestly, it didn’t bother us in the slightest, since we were only staying one night. We were pretty much just using the room to sleep! We had to laugh though that of course we were assigned the “WORST ROOM AT THE RESORT”
At about 5:10 PM, we headed down to the Luau!! We lined up for about 45 minutes, then were finally let into the area at 6:00 PM. We joked that even in Hawaii, Disney = lines!
Even though we didn’t spring for premium views, we still had a great view of the entire performance!
We definitely indulged on all of the Hawaiian food! These were my plates.
Although I didn’t come close to finishing all of it, I wanted to try a little bit of everything. Thumbs down to the mac salad and poi (it tasted like paper), but MAJOR thumbs up to the chicken, kahlua pork, macadamia nut brownie, and mashed purple sweet potatoes!
We loved the show and had an amazing time. It definitely wasn’t in-your-face Disney (I could have used even more Disney touches), but followed a great storyline.
We finished with the Luau at about 8:00, and I suggested that we hit up the Olelo Room for a nightcap. Jake is usually Mr. Go-With-The-Flow, but he was INSISTENT on walking the beach first. Hmmmm…. Ok
I was starting to feel a little jittery at this point, so we made awkward small talk about the Luau, LOL! We took the beautiful path over to the Four Seasons and reached this gorgeous tree with hanging lanterns.
Immediately after I snapped this picture, he started talking about our journey as a couple, and I just KNEW! The tears started flowing, then he got down on one knee and popped the question!
I was ECSTATIC! You could see the tears in my eyes! I was so happy that he proposed at a place that was Disney, but also relieved that it was intimate and private. I love you, Jake!
We immediately called our parents (who both answered- it was 2 AM back home!!). Then, we finally went to Olelo Room to celebrate and have our nightcap
Jake and I were on cloud nine for the rest of the evening and so excited to spend the next day at Aulani.
We were up early the next day (August 25th) and spent most of the morning contacting our friends and family to tell them the news Our phones were blowing up all day with messages!
I got an iced caramel macchiato from Wailana Coffee Bar…
And we re-visited our engagement spot in the daytime
Since we were celebrating, we decided to splurge for a shaded casabella lounger for the day. It was SO worth it!
Cheers to us!
We spent most of this day with our booties parked in this chair and jumping in/out of the ocean! We grabbed some mini corn dogs and mozzarella sticks from the snack bar for lunch, and were also treated to some free Mickey Bars from the staff to congratulate us on our engagement
We stayed in our lounger until 5:00, then we spent some time in the adults-only infinity pool until about 6:00.
Then, we walked back to “our spot” to sit on the rocks and watch the beautiful sunset
Our tree!
It was just about time to head back to Waikiki… So we changed, took one last look in the gift shop, and headed out at 8:00 PM. We will miss you, Aulani!
Overall, we had an INCREDIBLE time! Jake loves Disney parks almost as much as I do, but claimed Aulani to be his favorite Disney property he’s ever visited! Since we have such a special connection to this place, we know that we will be back many times in the future!!
Thanks for reading along, friends! It was so much fun sharing the magic with all of you
I usually hang out over on the Trip Report boards, but I've been lurking here for the past few months. My name is Molly, I’m 28 years old, and I’ve been a Disney fan for life with MANY trips to WDW under my belt! My boyfriend, Jake, and I have been planning a trip to Hawaii since March. We were planning on spending 8 nights in Waikiki from August 21-29. This was my first time in Hawaii, but Jake had lived there for a year back in 2019-2020 for his AuD externship, so he’s very familiar with Oahu.
Due to the kindness of one of my best DISfriends (@chunkymonkey ), we were able to rent points to spend one night at Aulani in the middle of our trip (August 24-25)! This would have been totally out of our budget if we tried to pay OOP, so we are eternally grateful that we got this chance! We spent two full days enjoying the paradise and amenities of Aulani
And, while we were staying at Aulani, Jake the boyfriend became Jake the fiance
We got into Ko Olina at about 10:30 AM on the 24th; the drive from Waikiki was only about 45 minutes. During our time in Waikiki, we stayed at the Outrigger Waikiki Beach Resort- 10/10 would recommend this resort as well!! It was in a great location and had direct access to Waikiki Beach. Plus, we booked through Costco Travel and were able to get meal credits to use at Duke’s/Hula Grill PLUS the resort fee was waived!
But, back to Aulani! Upon walking in, we were immediately stunned by the beauty of this resort! It reminded me of a combination between the Poly and AKL at WDW.
It was a gorgeous day, so we jumped into our suits right away and spent the day at the pool! (Well, after I had thoroughly perused both gift shops
) We had no problem finding lounge chairs right outside of Off the Hook, with primo bar access and great views of the lagoon!These spots weren’t necessarily shaded, but to us Wisconsinites, the sunshine felt amazing!
We spent the day in and out of the beach and lagoon, and it was wonderful! We had breakfast at Duke’s in Waikiki before we left, so we just snacked for the afternoon since we had reservations for a very special meal at 5:45!
Had to get Mickey Mouse shave ice! The flavors I got were lilikoi, lychee, and guava.
Mickey bars were also had
We did the lazy river and tube water slide once, then just swam and relaxed for the afternoon! We also took a walk around the lagoons to check out the Four Seasons resort.
We got our room assignment at about 3:30 PM, which was perfect timing because we needed to start getting ready! We had booked standard seating at the KA WA’A Luau at Aulani
We were in the Ewa Tower in Room 457 (Standard View DVC Studio). When I Googled the room the check out the location/view, I was greeted with multiple DISboards threads claiming this room to be “the worst room at Aulani.” Great…..
Here was our room! A beautiful room overall with more space than we had in Waikiki!
Our view, however, left much to be desired, with a brick wall instead of a lanai and a wonderful view of a roof
Honestly, it didn’t bother us in the slightest, since we were only staying one night. We were pretty much just using the room to sleep! We had to laugh though that of course we were assigned the “WORST ROOM AT THE RESORT”
At about 5:10 PM, we headed down to the Luau!! We lined up for about 45 minutes, then were finally let into the area at 6:00 PM. We joked that even in Hawaii, Disney = lines!
Even though we didn’t spring for premium views, we still had a great view of the entire performance!
We definitely indulged on all of the Hawaiian food! These were my plates.
Although I didn’t come close to finishing all of it, I wanted to try a little bit of everything. Thumbs down to the mac salad and poi (it tasted like paper), but MAJOR thumbs up to the chicken, kahlua pork, macadamia nut brownie, and mashed purple sweet potatoes!
We loved the show and had an amazing time. It definitely wasn’t in-your-face Disney (I could have used even more Disney touches), but followed a great storyline.
We finished with the Luau at about 8:00, and I suggested that we hit up the Olelo Room for a nightcap. Jake is usually Mr. Go-With-The-Flow, but he was INSISTENT on walking the beach first. Hmmmm…. Ok
I was starting to feel a little jittery at this point, so we made awkward small talk about the Luau, LOL! We took the beautiful path over to the Four Seasons and reached this gorgeous tree with hanging lanterns.
Immediately after I snapped this picture, he started talking about our journey as a couple, and I just KNEW! The tears started flowing, then he got down on one knee and popped the question!
I was ECSTATIC! You could see the tears in my eyes! I was so happy that he proposed at a place that was Disney, but also relieved that it was intimate and private. I love you, Jake!
We immediately called our parents (who both answered- it was 2 AM back home!!). Then, we finally went to Olelo Room to celebrate and have our nightcap
Jake and I were on cloud nine for the rest of the evening and so excited to spend the next day at Aulani.
We were up early the next day (August 25th) and spent most of the morning contacting our friends and family to tell them the news
Our phones were blowing up all day with messages!I got an iced caramel macchiato from Wailana Coffee Bar…
And we re-visited our engagement spot in the daytime
Since we were celebrating, we decided to splurge for a shaded casabella lounger for the day. It was SO worth it!
Cheers to us!
We spent most of this day with our booties parked in this chair and jumping in/out of the ocean! We grabbed some mini corn dogs and mozzarella sticks from the snack bar for lunch, and were also treated to some free Mickey Bars from the staff to congratulate us on our engagement
We stayed in our lounger until 5:00, then we spent some time in the adults-only infinity pool until about 6:00.
Then, we walked back to “our spot” to sit on the rocks and watch the beautiful sunset
Our tree!
It was just about time to head back to Waikiki…
So we changed, took one last look in the gift shop, and headed out at 8:00 PM. We will miss you, Aulani!Overall, we had an INCREDIBLE time! Jake loves Disney parks almost as much as I do, but claimed Aulani to be his favorite Disney property he’s ever visited! Since we have such a special connection to this place, we know that we will be back many times in the future!!
Thanks for reading along, friends! It was so much fun sharing the magic with all of you
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Congrats!
