Excursions at Aulani

[sayhello]

I hAve done the NCL Hawaii cruise and it is not a "typical" cruise. The ship has an American crew which does not treat the passengers with high regard. The food is cafeteria at it's best and shows are pitiful BUT it is a great way to see a lot of the islands at one shot. The view of the volcano lava flowing into the ocean is beautiful. We did a lot of excursions through the cruise line and everyone was first rate. Looking back we remember our time visiting the different ports and thought the ship was a large taxi. For the price I would say " go for it" .

Thanks for the info, carpenta. That's pretty much what I'd heard.

Sayhello

 

[Cousin Orville]

Kevin - where did you eat in walking distance? We are planning on pretty much staying put at the resort. Is it too hot to walk in August? Lol

"SingingMom" ....Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

Monkeypod and Roy's. Both were very good. I've never been in August, but I would think the weather would be great!

 

[Cousin Orville]

Sayhello,

The podcast just mentioned the cruise in passing, although it sounded like Pete may be planning a cruise.

 

[abdgeek]

I think I'm getting over-ruled by my hubby and kids - they'd prefer a trip to Hawaii next March vs. Backstage Magic ABD. I'd like to plan 4-5 days at Aulani (and also spend a few days in Kona).

There is messaging about "exclusive Disney excursions" and even "ABD" on some of the excursions noted on the site and other Disney boards.

For those of you who have been there, how are the excursions at Aulani?

thanks!

There are four ABD tours at Aulani that are hosted by an adventure guide. They are the first four that show up when you go to the Aulani Excursion page. Below are the names and info that's on the Aulani website. There's a lot more info when you click on the excursion.

•Catamaran Experience: Look for whales (seasonally) and dolphins, go snorkeling and enjoy musical entertainment while you sail along picturesque ocean waters.
•Kualoa Ranch Experience: Go horseback riding and enjoy leisure time on a beautiful beach.
•Manoa Valley Rainforest & Bamboo Forest Hike: Behold natural splendor on this privately guided hike through a lush Hawaiian rainforest. You may even see a 200-foot waterfall!
•Waimea Falls – North Shore Experience: Set forth on a guided tour that takes you to some of the most spectacular sights on O‘ahu—including Waimea Falls and Diamond Head Crater.

Aulani has tons more excursions than these, but for most of them you have to drive to Ala Moana(Waikiki) to catch the tour. When I went two years ago, I looked at the excursions page and then did my own sightseeing by renting a car for three days. My thinking was, if I have to drive to Waikiki to catch the tour I might as well drive myself to what I want to see. On my own I did: Pearl Harbor, Diamond Head, Iolani Palace, Bishop Museum, Honolulu Museum of Art and Spalding House(perfect view of Diamond Head and Waikiki from back of property). The only Aulani excursion I did was the Polynesian Cultural Center(PCC) and I paid the extra for pick-up and return to the hotel. I also did the outrigger canoe(rent on the beach), a splurge at $99, and was able to see the Black Pearl which was docked(relatively speaking) on land near Aulani.

While I haven't taken any of the ABD tours at Aulani, I did just book the catamaran tour for when I will be there this summer. Sayhello was correct that, in the past, these tours have been cancelled due to low capacity(minimum of 10)--the one I wanted in 2012 was. However, I'm not sure that is the case now. The CM told me that it varies by time of year. My trip is a little more than a month out and when I called to ask about the catamaran tour it was already half full with the max being 40.

I also understand letting ABD do everything. I will go on my 4th ABD trip this summer and like that the only thing I have to do is show up and ABD does the rest! Hopefully, the ABD Aulani Excursions will meet our expectations. If nothing else, the tours pick you up right at Aulani.

 

[SingingMom]

There are four ABD tours at Aulani that are hosted by an adventure guide. They are the first four that show up when you go to the Aulani Excursion page. Below are the names and info that's on the Aulani website. There's a lot more info when you click on the excursion. •Catamaran Experience: Look for whales (seasonally) and dolphins, go snorkeling and enjoy musical entertainment while you sail along picturesque ocean waters. •Kualoa Ranch Experience: Go horseback riding and enjoy leisure time on a beautiful beach. •Manoa Valley Rainforest & Bamboo Forest Hike: Behold natural splendor on this privately guided hike through a lush Hawaiian rainforest. You may even see a 200-foot waterfall! •Waimea Falls – North Shore Experience: Set forth on a guided tour that takes you to some of the most spectacular sights on O‘ahu—including Waimea Falls and Diamond Head Crater. Aulani has tons more excursions than these, but for most of them you have to drive to Ala Moana(Waikiki) to catch the tour. When I went two years ago, I looked at the excursions page and then did my own sightseeing by renting a car for three days. My thinking was, if I have to drive to Waikiki to catch the tour I might as well drive myself to what I want to see. On my own I did: Pearl Harbor, Diamond Head, Iolani Palace, Bishop Museum, Honolulu Museum of Art and Spalding House(perfect view of Diamond Head and Waikiki from back of property). The only Aulani excursion I did was the Polynesian Cultural Center(PCC) and I paid the extra for pick-up and return to the hotel. I also did the outrigger canoe(rent on the beach), a splurge at $99, and was able to see the Black Pearl which was docked(relatively speaking) on land near Aulani. While I haven't taken any of the ABD tours at Aulani, I did just book the catamaran tour for when I will be there this summer. Sayhello was correct that, in the past, these tours have been cancelled due to low capacity(minimum of 10)--the one I wanted in 2012 was. However, I'm not sure that is the case now. The CM told me that it varies by time of year. My trip is a little more than a month out and when I called to ask about the catamaran tour it was already half full with the max being 40. I also understand letting ABD do everything. I will go on my 4th ABD trip this summer and like that the only thing I have to do is show up and ABD does the rest! Hopefully, the ABD Aulani Excursions will meet our expectations. If nothing else, the tours pick you up right at Aulani.

Abd geek -THANK YOU! I am going to book the catamaran, horseback, and maybe the waimea falls this week! Hopefully there are open spots!

"SingingMom" ....Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[sager1969]

We went to Aulani in 2011 and 2013. In 2011, we did the Manoa valley hike. It was fun, but a little more taxing than I expected. Luckily, we were in shape and were able to handle it. We had to wear rubber boots and that was really weird; however, it was so muddy that my white tennis shoes would have been ruined. We did get rained on in the rain forest. You are picked up in a van and taken to a residential area and then go down this alley/street and poof your are in the rain forest. It was really beautiful and fun. My son and one other girl did slip and got really muddy, but they had towels to clean up with. It was a very quiet ride back with snacks and water as everyone was exhausted.

We did the 1/2 day Pearl Harbor tour through Disney. It was good because we had guaranteed tickets to See the Arizona, but we did not have enough time. This was a very moving experience and I would go with my own car or choose the whole day tour.

Our favorite excursion is the Disney exclusive Sail and Snorkel. We loved this so much that we did the whale watching tour later in the week booking straight with the sailing company. The company that does this tour is called Hawaiian Nautical. We did this again in 2013. They are fun and safe. We love hanging with them.

We did other things on our in 2013 with car rented. The Kualoa Ranch was ok once. I injured my toe pretty bad on bunker step. I would not do that one again. But is a fun place and they have lots of different tours to do. Research and make your own decision. I am movie and TV buff so I did enjoy the tour.

We did the dolphin thing at Sea Life Park. Very small but we had fun with the movie star dolphins. I would not have to do this again, but the area is beautiful and we drove home through the mountain.

We trekked to the North Shore and the Dole Pineapple Plantation. The highlight of this day was getting a dole whip and seeing the turtles on Turtle Beach.

There is much to see and do. Again, I loved the sailing and snorkeling the best. Lots of people love the Polynesian cultural center. We have not gone there yet. That is my plan for next time.

You will have fun at Aulani and the beach there. Last trip we did too much and it was not relaxing. Have fun!

 

[hilarys]

Monkeypod and Roy's. Both were very good. I've never been in August, but I would think the weather would be great!

Since we are in California, Hawaii is just as easy to get to as Orlando, we usually go to Hawaii every two to three years. Last summer we went to Oahu the first week of August. We spent 3 night on the North Shore and 5 nights at Aulani. We are DVC members and stayed in a villa - which I love for breakfast and lunch in the room. If we had been there longer probably would have done a couple of dinners too. MonkeyPod is great and an easy walk. We did not go to the Roy's there, but have been to many other Roy's in Hawaii and California and they never dissappoint.

As far as weather in August it was perfect to me, I never felt too hot. I do like the heat though.

Due to only being at Aulani for 5 days, we did not do any of the excursions. We have in the past done a Hummer tour of Kualoa ranch which took us on a tour of spots where LOST was filmed. The show had just wrapped up and as huge fans of the show, this was an amazing tour. The ranch is absolutely beautiful and we love that side of the island.

Happy to answer any other questions.

Hilary

 

[abdgeek]

Abd geek -THANK YOU! I am going to book the catamaran, horseback, and maybe the waimea falls this week! Hopefully there are open spots!

"SingingMom" ....Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

I just returned from Aulani and did the ABD Catamaran excursion. We had 45 people on the trip, so ABD went over the number slightly. The ABD guide was on our bus and gave us some info about Hawaii. Other than that, I got the impression he was just there to make sure everything went ok. It took two vans to get us there, so one van had the guide and the other didn't.

I thought the excursion was great. The company ABD used was Hawaii Nautical(I hope I'm remembering correctly). We had the entire catamaran, which holds 85 people, to ourselves and a ukulele player to keep us entertained(he played current music and old favorites which was great). There were about 5 crew members on the boat and 3-4 of them were in the water with us while we were snorkeling. Where we went snorkeling was very deep and the captain said the currents could be strong so that was why they were in the water with us to keep us from drifting, help us see the wildlife, and make sure we were ok. I think I saw more fish, turtles, etc. on this snorkeling trip than I've ever seen snorkeling before. I've done snorkeling many times, but have never had another company go in the water with us--they usually just stand on the boat and watch you.

Make sure you eat before you go because lunch wasn't until about 3 pm(after you snorkel). I thought lunch could have been better for the price I paid for the excursion. It was make your own deli sandwiches, pasta salad, and chips and salsa. They also had unlimited beverages and a limit on the number of alcoholic beverages you could have. Unfortunately, we didn't see any dolphins, but they tried to find us some. Some people saw some flying fish. All in all, I thought it was a great excursion although the ABD guide didn't seem to do much.

 

[SingingMom]

I just returned from Aulani and did the ABD Catamaran excursion. We had 45 people on the trip, so ABD went over the number slightly. The ABD guide was on our bus and gave us some info about Hawaii. Other than that, I got the impression he was just there to make sure everything went ok. It took two vans to get us there, so one van had the guide and the other didn't. I thought the excursion was great. The company ABD used was Hawaii Nautical(I hope I'm remembering correctly). We had the entire catamaran, which holds 85 people, to ourselves and a ukulele player to keep us entertained(he played current music and old favorites which was great). There were about 5 crew members on the boat and 3-4 of them were in the water with us while we were snorkeling. Where we went snorkeling was very deep and the captain said the currents could be strong so that was why they were in the water with us to keep us from drifting, help us see the wildlife, and make sure we were ok. I think I saw more fish, turtles, etc. on this snorkeling trip than I've ever seen snorkeling before. I've done snorkeling many times, but have never had another company go in the water with us--they usually just stand on the boat and watch you. Make sure you eat before you go because lunch wasn't until about 3 pm(after you snorkel). I thought lunch could have been better for the price I paid for the excursion. It was make your own deli sandwiches, pasta salad, and chips and salsa. They also had unlimited beverages and a limit on the number of alcoholic beverages you could have. Unfortunately, we didn't see any dolphins, but they tried to find us some. Some people saw some flying fish. All in all, I thought it was a great excursion although the ABD guide didn't seem to do much.

Sounds great! Did they give you "noodles" or anything to float with? I'm not sure I am up to rough currents. Lol

I must make those excursion reservations soon!!

"SingingMom" ....Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[abdgeek]

Sounds great! Did they give you "noodles" or anything to float with? I'm not sure I am up to rough currents. Lol

I must make those excursion reservations soon!!

"SingingMom" ....Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

They don't give you noodles, but they do give you a life vest. They tell you that you have to wear it, but you don't have to inflate it. I always inflate mine because it means I have to use less effort in snorkeling. I wouldn't call the currents extremely rough(but I guess that's relative). We were told to look up about every 20 seconds to make sure we hadn't drifted somewhere we shouldn't be. Most of us stayed together and followed the crew member in the water who was pointing out things and telling us where to go.

Also, several people had difficulty with motion sickness. They said they took their medicine, but still had issues.

 

[SingingMom]

They don't give you noodles, but they do give you a life vest. They tell you that you have to wear it, but you don't have to inflate it. I always inflate mine because it means I have to use less effort in snorkeling. I wouldn't call the currents extremely rough(but I guess that's relative). We were told to look up about every 20 seconds to make sure we hadn't drifted somewhere we shouldn't be. Most of us stayed together and followed the crew member in the water who was pointing out things and telling us where to go. Also, several people had difficulty with motion sickness. They said they took their medicine, but still had issues.

Thanks for the info. Hmmm.... I guess I better bring Dramamine. Nader if good old Xanax will do the trick?! Lol

"SingingMom" ....Sent from my iPad using DISBoards