General Aulani Trip Thoughts - First Timers - July 2024

[ahhhshmatthew]

Hi All --

Thought I'd post some random thoughts from our recent Aulani trip. Notable info - went with my wife, our 5YO, and my parents (incl. a Dad who is very "old man grumpy don't want to do Disney"). We did 3 nights (arrived 4:00 Weds, stayed Thurs/Fri, left Sat around noon). We tacked this on after 4 nights at the Kahala. Wife and I are Disney veterans (5YO is quickly becoming one too), with many WDW and DCL trips, as well as DLR being our "home" base. Worth telling you -- we went over the 4th of July holiday -- Happy to comment further or share more info with anyone about to go, thinking about going, etc. Definitely missing stuff here, but still a little off on time zone!

• Overall -- As a total synopsis, we had a great time. We enjoyed the main pool, the lazy river, both water slides, and the beach. CM service was great, weather was fantastic (highs in the low 80s, with a handful of brief rain sprinkles) and the overall aura/vibe is quite magical. I wasn't certain I'd enjoy it like we do other Disney trips, but we really had a great time.
• Total Stay Time -- Overall, we think 3-4 full days would be about our maximum for future trips. We very much loved the resort. The CMs were fantastic, everything was clean, and the overall "vibe" of the resort was laid back and fantastic. At least as of this post, things are being run very well. Overall though, and this may partially be because we are not typical "beach vacation people," we think 3-4 days at the front or back of a few more Hawaiian vacation days is what is best for us.
• Food -- Generally thought the food at the resort was good. Nothing was the "best we've ever had," but we read a lot of reviews/posts saying the food was terrible. Absolutely do not agree with that assessment, but to each their own. We had Makahiki breakfast and dinner, lunch from the pool bar, lunch at Off the Hook, multiple breakfasts/snacks at Ulu Cafe, and other food delivered from the pool bar. Skipped 'Ama'Ama as we weren't interested in anything prix-fixe / formal. Overall, nothing we had was "bad" or inedible, and many of the things were what I'd called "above average" for a standard resort. Funnily, the poke bowl from Ule Cafe (which is essentially a Grab 'N Go / order at the cash register place) was an absolutely fantastic highlight. Overall, we enjoyed the food, but if you are a Disney Foodie, then I might temper expectations / not come all the way out just for food.
• Aunty's Beach House -- Our 5YO did a "paid" experience (Surfin', Fishin', Dancin' Party) and a "free" one. 5YO loved both. The day of each, the reservations were gone, so my advice would be to book them sooner rather than later. Be advised - you'll have to go down and register them / pay beforehand (the day before at least), and I found it easier to do that as soon as we arrived so I didn't have to worry about it. Waited about 10 minutes, took 5 minutes, overall not a huge pain.
• Characters -- Characters, even during our busy stay, were great. For the most part, the lines were very short and the characters very accessible. Multiple times we bumped into them walking around the pool area. This was a definite highlight. I prepared for long lines (similar to DCL) and we never waited any longer than 4-5 minutes for anyone.
• Pool / Beach Chair Nightmare -- Let's get this one out of the way Anyone who has read about going to Aulani (or been there) has surely come across this topic / dealt with it. Not only did we experience this, but we also experienced it over the 4th of July holiday, so I think it's fair to say that our experience was probably as "peak difficult" as it gets. This topic requires a few you sub-thoughts:
  • The entire process is frankly, lunacy. While the resort's policy on chairs is obviously meant to prevent hogging, the clear loophole is that all anyone has to do to prevent losing a chair is simply "unfold" the towel that was folded by the CM. You don't have to come back and sit or lay in the chair, "use" it in any way, etc. If you just walk back timely, and unfold the towel, you'll keep that chair all day. This can be done by one person, for multiple chairs. It takes very little effort to comply, and as a result, once chairs are claimed, they stay that way for most of the day.
  • There were an immense amount of unhappy guests dealing with this issue during our stay. Heard multiple complaints being lodged, and rightly so. This is an expensive resort, that requires a long haul trip to come to, and not being able to get a singular chair (or having to wake up at the crack of dawn with a multi-person party to claim them) is an absurdity that really only exists (for the most part) in the Disney sphere.
  • We were lucky our 1st day to find an open chair, then even luckier, when the 2 chairs next to it got timed out. We ended up splitting those 2 chairs with another family, totaling 2 chairs for our family of 5. It was clear this is an anomaly.
  • CMs were very direct with us - it was their opinion that the problem were large families / groups (6-7+) taking a chair for each person in the party. They wished Disney made it more clear that you really don't need a chair for every single member of your party, as most of the time, you are rotating into pools, slides, meals, activities, etc. Not registering an opinion on this, just sharing what CMs said was a frustration for them.
  • FWIW - as others have noted, beach chairs do last longer than pool chairs. On July 5th, there were still a smattering of chairs available at 9:30-10:00, but those did get taken shortly after that.
• Cabanas / Casabellas -- As already noted, we were there during an incredibly busy time. We ended up joining the waitlist for any cancelled cabanas/casabellas, and believe it or not, we hit the jackpot. The resort called us on the first day, and noted they had 2 cancelled casabellas (1 on the beach and 1 a short distance away in front of 'Ama'Ama) for the next day. These made ALL the difference on this day, but again, seemed like an anomaly that we got them at all. We were able to enjoy our morning, not worry about the chair frenzy, and easily flitter back and forth to our spots with our stuff, sharing time laying down, etc. I highly recommend trying to jump on these at the 90 day mark / joining the waitlist if you strike out - FWIW, the casabellas worked fine for us and were pretty affordable all things considered, and I don't think we'd ever "need" a cabana. Important edit here -- we probably only scored the cancellations b/c my Dad complained to the GM about the chair situation. The GM ended up calling him an hour or so later and offered the Casabellas.
• Makahiki Character Breakfast -- As true Disney vets, we dropped the ball on this one. I simply forgot to set my alarm to get the coveted breakfast reservation. There were no cancellations leading up to our trip. We were told our best chance was to show up at 6:45 a.m. and join the waitlist, as priority is given to hotel guests (it's clear that many non-hotel guests join the same list). This was, simply put, as easy as it got. My wife is usually up early, so she hopped into the line. Not only did we get to dine here, but the staff simply asked my wife if we'd like to eat "right now or a bit later." Yes - we even had time choice flexibility. Given that this took place during the 4th of July holiday, when the resort itself was essentially full, my advice is not to worry too much about snagging a reservation if you have a bit of "what time do we eat" flexibility. As for the meal - we loved it Great service, food was very good, and characters came around many times. Overall not as "novel" or over the top as some other character meals, but it was definitely enjoyable and ofc our 5YO loved it.
• MonkeyPod -- Saw reviews elsewhere that spurred us to go. Do it! It's right across the street (we walked). Food was fantastic. Service was a tad slow (it was BUSY) but fantastic meal.
• Mina's Fish House - Just across the way at the Four Seasons. Walked down to Aulani Beach and right over. Another great one! Fantastic food and great service.
• 4th of July -- While we called ahead and knew this, as of 2024, Aulani does not do anything unique for 4th of July, including fireworks. We were told that in this particular area of Hawaii, fireworks are not allowed, and that you'd need to go to a military base to see them. Overall we weren't bummed, but we overheard many many people saying they just assumed there'd be fireworks/shows to celebrate. Just a heads up!
• When To Go -- If you can make it work, I'd recommend avoiding holidays (incl. major ones and 3 day holidays). CM told me directly that a huge chunk of their DVC owners are locals, and for the most part, any holiday is extra slammed as a result.
• Will We Go Back? -- I wasn't sure beforehand, but afterward, I think we will. Will we rush back? No, but I'd be willing to guess the next time Hawaii is on the docket (which might take a few years), we'll get in a few days at Aulani. Important to re-state: we aren't really a "beach vacation" family, so that definitely plays a role, but given I was considering this our "one and done" Aulani trip beforehand, felt this was worth noting.

 

[Iceman93]

That's a great synopsis, and I'm really glad you enjoyed your trip! I'm writing this from the balcony of my villa at Aulani; we were here at the same time as you and are here for a few more days. When I do write my own trip report, I may just add it to this thread because you did such a nice job!

We've been owners at Aulani since our first trip in 2012 and are largely disappointed with how things have gone steadily downhill (and rapidly so since COVID), but it's nice to see the perspective of a first-time family and how much you're enjoying things.

 

[ahhhshmatthew]

That's a great synopsis, and I'm really glad you enjoyed your trip! I'm writing this from the balcony of my villa at Aulani; we were here at the same time as you and are here for a few more days. When I do write my own trip report, I may just add it to this thread because you did such a nice job!

We've been owners at Aulani since our first trip in 2012 and are largely disappointed with how things have gone steadily downhill (and rapidly so since COVID), but it's nice to see the perspective of a first-time family and how much you're enjoying things.

Thanks! Mind giving me any insight into how it has gone downhill over the years? Would be curious to hear about what was offered / how things were prior.

 

[Iceman93]

Yup, I'll include that in my review once the trip is done!

 

[Tigger's ally]

Hi All --

Thought I'd post some random thoughts from our recent Aulani trip. Notable info - went with my wife, our 5YO, and my parents (incl. a Dad who is very "old man grumpy don't want to do Disney"). We did 3 nights (arrived 4:00 Weds, stayed Thurs/Fri, left Sat around noon). We tacked this on after 4 nights at the Kahala. Wife and I are Disney veterans (5YO is quickly becoming one too), with many WDW and DCL trips, as well as DLR being our "home" base. Worth telling you -- we went over the 4th of July holiday -- Happy to comment further or share more info with anyone about to go, thinking about going, etc. Definitely missing stuff here, but still a little off on time zone!

• Overall -- As a total synopsis, we had a great time. We enjoyed the main pool, the lazy river, both water slides, and the beach. CM service was great, weather was fantastic (highs in the low 80s, with a handful of brief rain sprinkles) and the overall aura/vibe is quite magical. I wasn't certain I'd enjoy it like we do other Disney trips, but we really had a great time.
• Total Stay Time -- Overall, we think 3-4 full days would be about our maximum for future trips. We very much loved the resort. The CMs were fantastic, everything was clean, and the overall "vibe" of the resort was laid back and fantastic. At least as of this post, things are being run very well. Overall though, and this may partially be because we are not typical "beach vacation people," we think 3-4 days at the front or back of a few more Hawaiian vacation days is what is best for us.
• Food -- Generally thought the food at the resort was good. Nothing was the "best we've ever had," but we read a lot of reviews/posts saying the food was terrible. Absolutely do not agree with that assessment, but to each their own. We had Makahiki breakfast and dinner, lunch from the pool bar, lunch at Off the Hook, multiple breakfasts/snacks at Ulu Cafe, and other food delivered from the pool bar. Skipped 'Ama'Ama as we weren't interested in anything prix-fixe / formal. Overall, nothing we had was "bad" or inedible, and many of the things were what I'd called "above average" for a standard resort. Funnily, the poke bowl from Ule Cafe (which is essentially a Grab 'N Go / order at the cash register place) was an absolutely fantastic highlight. Overall, we enjoyed the food, but if you are a Disney Foodie, then I might temper expectations / not come all the way out just for food.
• Aunty's Beach House -- Our 5YO did a "paid" experience (Surfin', Fishin', Dancin' Party) and a "free" one. 5YO loved both. The day of each, the reservations were gone, so my advice would be to book them sooner rather than later. Be advised - you'll have to go down and register them / pay beforehand (the day before at least), and I found it easier to do that as soon as we arrived so I didn't have to worry about it. Waited about 10 minutes, took 5 minutes, overall not a huge pain.
• Characters -- Characters, even during our busy stay, were great. For the most part, the lines were very short and the characters very accessible. Multiple times we bumped into them walking around the pool area. This was a definite highlight. I prepared for long lines (similar to DCL) and we never waited any longer than 4-5 minutes for anyone.
• Pool / Beach Chair Nightmare -- Let's get this one out of the way Anyone who has read about going to Aulani (or been there) has surely come across this topic / dealt with it. Not only did we experience this, but we also experienced it over the 4th of July holiday, so I think it's fair to say that our experience was probably as "peak difficult" as it gets. This topic requires a few you sub-thoughts:
  • The entire process is frankly, lunacy. While the resort's policy on chairs is obviously meant to prevent hogging, the clear loophole is that all anyone has to do to prevent losing a chair is simply "unfold" the towel that was folded by the CM. You don't have to come back and sit or lay in the chair, "use" it in any way, etc. If you just walk back timely, and unfold the towel, you'll keep that chair all day. This can be done by one person, for multiple chairs. It takes very little effort to comply, and as a result, once chairs are claimed, they stay that way for most of the day.
  • There were an immense amount of unhappy guests dealing with this issue during our stay. Heard multiple complaints being lodged, and rightly so. This is an expensive resort, that requires a long haul trip to come to, and not being able to get a singular chair (or having to wake up at the crack of dawn with a multi-person party to claim them) is an absurdity that really only exists (for the most part) in the Disney sphere.
  • We were lucky our 1st day to find an open chair, then even luckier, when the 2 chairs next to it got timed out. We ended up splitting those 2 chairs with another family, totaling 2 chairs for our family of 5. It was clear this is an anomaly.
  • CMs were very direct with us - it was their opinion that the problem were large families / groups (6-7+) taking a chair for each person in the party. They wished Disney made it more clear that you really don't need a chair for every single member of your party, as most of the time, you are rotating into pools, slides, meals, activities, etc. Not registering an opinion on this, just sharing what CMs said was a frustration for them.
  • FWIW - as others have noted, beach chairs do last longer than pool chairs. On July 5th, there were still a smattering of chairs available at 9:30-10:00, but those did get taken shortly after that.
• Cabanas / Casabellas -- As already noted, we were there during an incredibly busy time. We ended up joining the waitlist for any cancelled cabanas/casabellas, and believe it or not, we hit the jackpot. The resort called us on the first day, and noted they had 2 cancelled casabellas (1 on the beach and 1 a short distance away in front of 'Ama'Ama) for the next day. These made ALL the difference on this day, but again, seemed like an anomaly that we got them at all. We were able to enjoy our morning, not worry about the chair frenzy, and easily flitter back and forth to our spots with our stuff, sharing time laying down, etc. I highly recommend trying to jump on these at the 90 day mark / joining the waitlist if you strike out - FWIW, the casabellas worked fine for us and were pretty affordable all things considered, and I don't think we'd ever "need" a cabana. Important edit here -- we probably only scored the cancellations b/c my Dad complained to the GM about the chair situation. The GM ended up calling him an hour or so later and offered the Casabellas.
• Makahiki Character Breakfast -- As true Disney vets, we dropped the ball on this one. I simply forgot to set my alarm to get the coveted breakfast reservation. There were no cancellations leading up to our trip. We were told our best chance was to show up at 6:45 a.m. and join the waitlist, as priority is given to hotel guests (it's clear that many non-hotel guests join the same list). This was, simply put, as easy as it got. My wife is usually up early, so she hopped into the line. Not only did we get to dine here, but the staff simply asked my wife if we'd like to eat "right now or a bit later." Yes - we even had time choice flexibility. Given that this took place during the 4th of July holiday, when the resort itself was essentially full, my advice is not to worry too much about snagging a reservation if you have a bit of "what time do we eat" flexibility. As for the meal - we loved it Great service, food was very good, and characters came around many times. Overall not as "novel" or over the top as some other character meals, but it was definitely enjoyable and ofc our 5YO loved it.
• MonkeyPod -- Saw reviews elsewhere that spurred us to go. Do it! It's right across the street (we walked). Food was fantastic. Service was a tad slow (it was BUSY) but fantastic meal.
• Mina's Fish House - Just across the way at the Four Seasons. Walked down to Aulani Beach and right over. Another great one! Fantastic food and great service.
• 4th of July -- While we called ahead and knew this, as of 2024, Aulani does not do anything unique for 4th of July, including fireworks. We were told that in this particular area of Hawaii, fireworks are not allowed, and that you'd need to go to a military base to see them. Overall we weren't bummed, but we overheard many many people saying they just assumed there'd be fireworks/shows to celebrate. Just a heads up!
• When To Go -- If you can make it work, I'd recommend avoiding holidays (incl. major ones and 3 day holidays). CM told me directly that a huge chunk of their DVC owners are locals, and for the most part, any holiday is extra slammed as a result.
• Will We Go Back? -- I wasn't sure beforehand, but afterward, I think we will. Will we rush back? No, but I'd be willing to guess the next time Hawaii is on the docket (which might take a few years), we'll get in a few days at Aulani. Important to re-state: we aren't really a "beach vacation" family, so that definitely plays a role, but given I was considering this our "one and done" Aulani trip beforehand, felt this was worth noting.

Thanks. As a first timer next spring, I am keeping this thread handy.

 

[Tigger's ally]

Yup, I'll include that in my review once the trip is done!

Looking forward to your review as well.

 

[VandVsmama]

Today was day 1 of our first ever Aulani stay. So far, it's been fantastic. I totally understand why people love it here. It smells amazing here. All of the cast members we've encountered have been awesome.

 

[Iceman93]

Okay, as promised I'm going to add my review to this thread, and because I liked the OP's format so much I'm going to plagiarize that as well!

I'll start with some context. We were a party of five people--my wife and I (early 50s), our two daughters (20 and 11), and my mom (90). We booked a 2br poolside villa using our Aulani direct-purchased DVC points. We stayed at Aulani for eight nights after having already spent five on Maui and five on Kauai. We have been to the Hawaiian islands multiple times and like different islands for different reasons; we bought into DVC during our first Aulani stay in 2012 (grand opening activities were still going on) because we completely fell in love with the place.

We are what I would call upscale travelers (I'm sure some would say "snobs"). We appreciate the finer things and are willing to pay for them, which is what first got us to buy DVC at Aulani. Of course the architecture and design are phenomenal, but the rest of the experience also lived up to the same promise; it was the only Disney experience we felt approached the level of DCL in terms of guest service and overall "vibe".

This was our fifth trip to Aulani, but first since 2018. Obviously, since that time COVID-19 happened, as did Bob Chapek's run as Disney parks & resorts chairman and then CEO. I think everyone on this discussion board knows that Mr. Chapek was hyper-focused on short-term profit, making decisions (and expecting the same from his subordinates) that kept each quarter's numbers going up, up, up with no regard for long-term growth, guest loyalty, etc.

Okay, now for the review, plagiarizing the OP's format:

• Overall -- We had fun; I think it would be hard not to in a tropical paradise. But our entire family felt this was far and away the worst resort we stayed at this trip, and the worst Aulani had been in our many stays. If we return (it's shocking to even have to preface that with an "if"), we will do a much shorter stay.
• Total Stay Time -- I used to say that a week wasn't enough to experience all the magic Aulani had to offer, let alone touring and seeing other sites on Oahu. Now, after this trip, I agree with the OP that three to four nights at Aulani is enough; there are better places on Oahu for seeing other sites (Aulani no longer offers a compelling enough experience to overcome its non-ideal location as a base of exploration), and the resort itself doesn't have enough going on to make a longer stay worthwhile.
• Arrival experience -- No more flower leis for the women or kukui nut leis for the men. For what it's worth, we did get welcomed with leis at our other resorts so this made Aulani notably low-rent in comparison. It was also disappointing that I left my rental car with the valet (as required) while we checked in and got the bell staff to take our bags, then when I went back to get my car to take it to self parking it took almost 30 minutes for the valet to retrieve it. I get that the valets probably don't like DVC members who get free self parking, but in the past I'd never felt like a second-class citizen right from arrival.
• Room -- Our very first Aulani stay was in a 2br ocean view villa; the so-called "ocean view" was so underwhelming that we decided not to bother again in the future. Every stay since then has been in a 2br poolside gardens villa, and the first two times they were on the ground floor (which I consider to be the best location in the whole place). Last time all the ground floor villas were under renovation so we were on the 3rd floor, which is the lobby level so that was okay. This time, despite requesting ground floor 11 months ago when we made the reservation, we were put in a room on the 2nd floor. The front desk associate who checked us in (and that's another thing--why bother with online check-in when you still have to go to the front desk and do the whole check-in process anyway) tried to find us something on the 1st or 3rd floor but was unsuccessful, so eventually we took a villa on the 5th floor. I get it--requests are only requests, but it started things off on a bad foot.
• Food-- One of our biggest disappointments! We used to love the variety of dining options at Aulani, but they have been significantly "dumbed down". Not being able to eat breakfast or lunch at 'Ama 'Ama was a tremendous loss. Let me run through the options for each meal:
  • Breakfast -- Character breakfast at Makahiki (which we did not do since we're not character meal people) is the only sit-down option. Food is available at Off the Hook to eat there or take back to the room; the process was cumbersome and slow, and the food just okay. Grab-and-go, including hot made-to-order items, is also available at the Ulu Cafe and we found quality varied quite a bit from day to day. The best breakfast was actually the made-to-order malasadas at The Olelo Room, but obviously that would get old day after day. I should also point out that, at every of our Aulani stays including this one, we bought the adults on our party refillable mugs so we could enjoy the coffee stations. Never again! The coffee used to be really good, clearly branded as Honolulu Coffee Company. This time it was bitter and simply not good (and we tried getting it at all three locations); the branding has been removed, implying they've changed it to something not worth bragging about.
  • Lunch -- No true sit-down option--insane! Off the Hook is there but we never saw tables available; we did take advantage of mobile order which worked well, but I think it's crazy they add an automatic 18% gratuity for a meal I have to go pick up in a paper bag. Ulu Cafe had grab-and-go options, and Mama's Snack Stop had a few fried items.
  • Dinner
    • 'Ama 'Ama -- We loved 'Ama 'Ama so much on previous vacations that we had planned to book three dinners here; due to the craziness that advance booking has become, we only ended up eating here twice. The first time was just my wife and I, and it was probably the best meal of our entire vacation. While I wish they hadn't gone prix fixe, every item we ordered was delicious, beautifully-prepared, and skillfully-served. It was an expensive meal, but worth every penny (the exact kind of experience that made us fall in love with Aulani in the first place). But then our next meal there, with the whole family, was very different. Our server was a dud (he belongs in a Denny's or Chili's, not a fine dining restaurant) and the food was much more varied in quality. We left feeling a bit screwed, as the experience this time was NOT worth the cost.
    • Makahiki -- One of the meals we wanted to have at 'Ama 'Ama was our arrival night, but since it wasn't available we did Makahiki instead. Things started off on the wrong foot when we didn't get seated until almost 30 minutes after our reservation time (and there was no acknowledgement of this from the hostesses, let alone an apology or compensation). The meal itself was fine, but nothing special. We had originally booked another dinner at Makahiki later in the trip but we decided to cancel it. There's no reason both sit-down dinner options should be prix fixe, and we just didn't feel the overall experience at Makahiki was worth it.
    • The Olelo Room -- One of the things we enjoyed in the past was making dinner at The Olelo Room out of their sushi and pupus menu. The same was true this time! It's nice that they have live musicians here, the bartenders make some great cocktails, and the food (particularly the fresh-made sushi and sashimi) was really good too.
    • Roy's -- I don't know any restaurant near Aulani that gets such mixed reviews. Some people have a terrible time here, but my family has had nothing but amazing meals and that continued for our two dinners here this trip. Cocktails, appetizers, entrees, desserts, wine, service, and atmosphere were all great.
    • Monkeypod Kitchen -- Okay, I guess this place gets mixed reviews too. But the price point is lower, so expectations are probably lower too. We had a dinner and a lunch here, and both were great. Live music, a wide variety of good food, and friendly, gracious service. We ate at a couple of other Merriman restaurants during our vacation, and they were all really good.
    • Mina's Fish House -- We didn't actually eat here, but I thought I had to include it in the review. My wife and I had an absolutely TERRIBLE meal experience when we ate at Noe (the Italian restaurant); it was so bad that I vowed never to eat at the Four Seasons again. Well, two cast members we met at Aulani stealthily recommended we eat at Mina's, saying it was better than anything Disney had to offer. Sadly, by the time we decided to take their advice, no reservations were available.
  • Room Service -- And I have to point out that the lack of room service is completely, utterly unacceptable at an upscale resort like this! It's simply an expected, necessary thing to offer and there's no excuse, post-COVID or ever, not to have this be available for all meal periods.
• Aunty's Beach House -- What a colossal let-down! Our older daughter loved her time there in the past, back in "the good old days" when kids could be checked in for complimentary time at Aunty's all day, every day. Having to book Aunty's time in advance was bad enough; having the complimentary time only 90 minutes is even worse. But after our daughter had her first Aunty's session she asked us to cancel the others we had reserved. She said there was basically nothing to do; all the attendants were apparently working the paid events, so aside from a couple of touchscreen video games she just wandered around, bored. We still had her do the Surf's Up paid activity, which also turned out to be a bust. Too many kids, not much to do, and we cancelled the remainder of the paid reservations. Sigh... This used to be a big selling point of Aulani, that included in your exorbitant room fee was a world-class kids' club so the parents could enjoy some guilt-free adult time. No more.
• Menehune Adventure Trail -- This is something else that our whole family enjoyed in the past. This time, we did one of the trails and then gave up on the whole thing. The technology Disney uses for the handheld tablets is outdated, and many of the special effects the kids are supposed to be able to trigger aren't working. The cast member in the Pau Hana room apologized, said she had heard that more than half the effects were broken, and she had no idea when (or if) they'd ever be fixed.
• Characters -- We are not character people, but I was shocked at how long the lines were to meet ANY characters. It was nice to get a high-five from Goofy and Max when they walked by, and a shaka from Pluto, but I'm really glad we're not character people because we would have spent extensive time in line if so. The worst, and this was hilarious, was the "DVC member exclusive" chance to see Moana, where the line (if you can even call it that) completely clogged the hallway near the DVC area.
• Pool / Beach Chair Nightmare -- Yup, it sucks. And here is where I'm going to reveal some of that "potential snob" attitude, but we really noticed a difference in the caliber of Aulani guest this trip compared to our previous ones. The degree of selfishness exhibited all over the resort was stunning. Just walking around felt like a bad day at Disneyland where a single family will spread out to block off an entire walkway; this happened repeatedly. Kids running around unsupervised, or worse, supervised yet allowed to get away with selfish, immature behavior (like line-jumping). And the saving of pool chairs was just another example of how people were behaving in entitled, selfish ways. Our family of five people only needed a single chair to plop down our towels, cover-ups, and flip-flops--at certain times of the day we'd have to walk around for quite awhile just to find a spot.
• Cabanas / Casabellas -- Ironically, as self-professed "like the finer things" people, we have never booked things like this at Aulani. This trip was no exception. While we like to spend an hour or two enjoying the water, we don't want to spend an entire day doing so. It's sad that things have gotten to the point where, in order to have a safe place just to stow their flip-flops and swimsuit cover-ups, people feel they have to wake up at 3am months in advance for the privilege of spending money booking a cabana.
• 4th of July -- As the OP said, no fireworks in Ko Olina. This was disappointing but not unexpected, as we'd done our research in advance, but based on the amount of grumbling we heard out and about I think a lot of guests were pretty upset. We thought it was cool that Aulani did a special red-white-and-blue pool band for the 4th, and that they offered special patriotic-decorated treats in the Ulu Cafe that day (each of which was delicious, particularly the whoopie pie made with huge macarons).
• Merchandise -- On every previous visit to Aulani, we ended up having them ship a huge purchase of ours back home because we didn't want to buy an extra suitcase or stuff it all in our current luggage. This was the first time that we barely bought anything, because the quality and variety of merchandise was so poor. We were actually wearing some of our old Aulani shirts on this trip, and got stopped nearly constantly by people asking where we'd bought what we were wearing. When we explained they were from previous visits, it led to several conversations commiserating at the lack of worthwhile stuff to buy now.
• Stargazing Experience -- We booked this in advance as we'd greatly enjoyed it in the past. I was shocked when I went to the pau hana room to check in to find that the room was literally full of other guests who were also doing it. Since the entire experience is only 30 minutes, it was going to leave something like 30 seconds each to look through the telescope! Maybe I was spoiled that, in the past, we'd done the experience with one other family and another time just us. Maybe we got lucky, but the astronomer decided it was too cloudy to stargaze, so we got a full refund (after lining up with the dozens of other families also getting theirs--couldn't they have just processed these automatically?).
• Pools, Ocean, Slides, Lazy River -- Of course all these were fun, and one of the main reasons for staying at Aulani. Lines for the water slides were so long that we didn't use them very much, and it was even difficult to find tubes for the lazy river. The "bubble effect" wasn't working in the cave on the lazy river, nor were all of the little spurting fountains. Finally, I found it shocking how many people were enjoying all the water areas at Aulani who did NOT have wristbands on--it seems like Disney could cut down on crowding by more aggressively enforcing the wristband requirement (but then they might have fewer people buying the high-priced cocktails and whatnot, so I suspect neglecting to enforce this is one of those short-term profit over long-term experience decisions).
• Laniwai Spa -- The spa is still beautiful, but is clearly showing signs of age. One of the technicians told me they're getting renovated "any day now", then admitted with a laugh that they've been told that by management since 2018. I was particularly put off by the spa garden, which is supposed to be a luxurious, relaxing place to spend time before and after treatments. Everywhere I looked I saw flaking paint and chipping concrete; there is a circle of showers with five different experiences, and only two of them were working correctly.
• Cast Member Attitudes -- Don't get me wrong, we met plenty of great cast members who exhibited true aloha. But we also experienced that everywhere else we went on the islands. The only cast member we met who might have met my definition of "above and beyond" was our server the first night at 'Ama 'Ama. Sadly, though, we met quite a few who did not live up to even a basic standard of guest service; it was obvious they considered their Aulani job no different than they would have a job at McDonald's.
• Overall Lack of Luxury -- Aulani used to feel like a true high-class resort. To me, part of "luxury" is feeling special--an example is staying at a Ritz-Carlton that might have a few hundred rooms, but never having to wait in line at the front desk to ask a question and having the front desk staff remember my name after a single interaction. Aulani used to be like this! Now it feels like a Wal-Mart experience. Lines everywhere, the need to wake up at 3am months in advance for the chance to reserve experiences, and a general sense that the guests are just sources of revenue as opposed to welcomed, well... guests. And it shows in the type of guests we saw--I lost count of the number of big wagons people were dragging in full of cases of Bud Light and Truly seltzers. I might expect that at a Motel 6 or a Hampton Inn, but not at a supposedly-luxurious multi-star resort.
• Will We Go Back? -- It's shocking that I even have to wonder about the answer to this question. We used to *love* Aulani; it's why we bought into DVC in the first place! But many of the things that made us fall in love with the place are gone, potentially having changed forever. I think we will go back again, but we'll probably just end up using our points for a few nights in a grand villa rather than a lengthier stay in a 2br villa like we've always done in the past.
• Other Stuff I've Undoubtedly Forgotten -- Feel free to ask any questions. My entire Aulani experience is fresh in my mind, so I'll be happy to answer anything or clarify any of the stuff I wrote in my review.

 

[VandVsmama]

We are headed home tomorrow from our 1st stay at Aulani. We are not DVC members. Here's my general thoughts so far:

1. the vibe here is different than Waikiki. We've all really enjoyed it. Love the theme'ing of this resort.
2. the suggested $5/bag to tip Bell Services for both dropping off your bags and picking them up was a little annoying.
3. the room - The 4 of us (me, DH, 2 teenage daughters) are in a studio. The bathroom layout has worked well for us and we've had plenty of room to store out luggage and other stuff. We're in a standard room and have a view of the mountain behind the resort. It's quiet and we really enjoyed that. Liked how the balcony feels private.
4. pool chairs - A lot of people get worked up over pool deck chairs, but for us on this trip, it's been fine. We haven't hung out at the pool or beach all day. We'll do it for a couple of hours and then do something else. We all have tended to get up really early while here. It wasn't until yesterday that I thought to get 2 pool chairs near the infiniti pool before I got breakfast at Ulu Cafe. At the pool towel/wristband location, one grandma skipped the entire line to walk up and ask angrily if this was really the only way to get pool towels and "You mean I really have to wait in this long line just to get a towel?" Then she stormed off. Um, the line moved really fast, lady, but whatever.
5. chairs on the beach - these were always available. Love the beach here.
6. Monkeypod - DH & I went there for dinner a couple of nights ago. I don't understand why everybody raves about this place. I thought it was just ok. Service was good.
7. character breakfast - DH got a last minute spot for this yesterday morning because he went to Ulu Cafe early for coffee and asked about it and they had an opening for 7:30 am.
8. cast members - everyone we've encountered has been great.
9. Caught some of the uncle storytelling by the main pool yesterday. That was pretty neat.
10. Tried out the adults-only infiniti hot tub. That was pretty nice.
11. Ulu Cafe is really busy in the evening!
12. We rented a car and the self-park was easy and close by. It was a mild annoyance that you have to valet your car upon check in, but that's not a deal breaker for us.
13. Did a tour w/DH of the DVC villas. The 3 BR villa is pretty spectacular. We talked w/a DVC CM and are considering purchasing a DVC contract. If we decide to proceed at some point, we'll probably buy a resale contract. And yeah, we're aware that it means that we probably wouldn't get the DVC member discount on merchandise purchases or other 'perks' like that. The perk would be basically being able to go to Hawaii or WDW more often and not breaking the bank.
14. pool complex general thoughts - we liked all of the options for different pools. My teenage daughters loved the lazy river and the 2 water slides, especially the one that you need an inner tube to go down. We went in the lazy river in the evening a couple of times when there was hardly anybody else in it because all of the younger kids were out and getting ready for bed. Lazy river & water slides closed down at 8 pm and the other pools & hot tubs closed down at 10 pm. The front desk CM who checked us in told us that normally, all of the pools close at 8 pm, but at this time of year, it's 10 pm.
15. fitness classes on the beach - a couple of mornings, I was either on the beach or in the infiniti pool and saw part of 1 of the fitness classes they have on the beach. The instructor seemed pretty great and it looks to be a great option if you want to get a good workout in while on vacation here.
16. Kualoa Ranch - went there yesterday afternoon for a 2 1/2 hr ATV tour. It was an hour's drive to the other side of the island. Reminded me of Maui in the 80s when I'd go on vacation there with my parents. The ATV tour was fantastic. Saw the biggest monkey pod tree I've ever seen in my entire life. We were all dusty and dirty at the end of it, but it was totally worth it.
17. Waiahole Poi Factory - ate here for lunch yesterday on the way to Kualoa Ranch in Kaneohe. Had the lu'au beef (beef slow cooked with taro leaves), poi, lomilomi salmon. All of the plate lunches come with this haupia (coconut) custard sort of dessert. I'm not a fan of coconut, but it was really good. DH & YDD got the kalua pork and enjoyed it. Lots of locals and tourists eating here.

Prior to this trip, my DH was really negative about coming here and a real Negative Nancy about DVC, but my DH (who acts like he hates going on Disney vacations) has actually had a really good time while we've been here. The kids & I have had a great time, too.

 

[ahhhshmatthew]

Okay, as promised I'm going to add my review to this thread, and because I liked the OP's format so much I'm going to plagiarize that as well!

I'll start with some context. We were a party of five people--my wife and I (early 50s), our two daughters (20 and 11), and my mom (90). We booked a 2br poolside villa using our Aulani direct-purchased DVC points. We stayed at Aulani for eight nights after having already spent five on Maui and five on Kauai. We have been to the Hawaiian islands multiple times and like different islands for different reasons; we bought into DVC during our first Aulani stay in 2012 (grand opening activities were still going on) because we completely fell in love with the place.

We are what I would call upscale travelers (I'm sure some would say "snobs"). We appreciate the finer things and are willing to pay for them, which is what first got us to buy DVC at Aulani. Of course the architecture and design are phenomenal, but the rest of the experience also lived up to the same promise; it was the only Disney experience we felt approached the level of DCL in terms of guest service and overall "vibe".

This was our fifth trip to Aulani, but first since 2018. Obviously, since that time COVID-19 happened, as did Bob Chapek's run as Disney parks & resorts chairman and then CEO. I think everyone on this discussion board knows that Mr. Chapek was hyper-focused on short-term profit, making decisions (and expecting the same from his subordinates) that kept each quarter's numbers going up, up, up with no regard for long-term growth, guest loyalty, etc.

Okay, now for the review, plagiarizing the OP's format:

• Overall -- We had fun; I think it would be hard not to in a tropical paradise. But our entire family felt this was far and away the worst resort we stayed at this trip, and the worst Aulani had been in our many stays. If we return (it's shocking to even have to preface that with an "if"), we will do a much shorter stay.
• Total Stay Time -- I used to say that a week wasn't enough to experience all the magic Aulani had to offer, let alone touring and seeing other sites on Oahu. Now, after this trip, I agree with the OP that three to four nights at Aulani is enough; there are better places on Oahu for seeing other sites (Aulani no longer offers a compelling enough experience to overcome its non-ideal location as a base of exploration), and the resort itself doesn't have enough going on to make a longer stay worthwhile.
• Arrival experience -- No more flower leis for the women or kukui nut leis for the men. For what it's worth, we did get welcomed with leis at our other resorts so this made Aulani notably low-rent in comparison. It was also disappointing that I left my rental car with the valet (as required) while we checked in and got the bell staff to take our bags, then when I went back to get my car to take it to self parking it took almost 30 minutes for the valet to retrieve it. I get that the valets probably don't like DVC members who get free self parking, but in the past I'd never felt like a second-class citizen right from arrival.
• Room -- Our very first Aulani stay was in a 2br ocean view villa; the so-called "ocean view" was so underwhelming that we decided not to bother again in the future. Every stay since then has been in a 2br poolside gardens villa, and the first two times they were on the ground floor (which I consider to be the best location in the whole place). Last time all the ground floor villas were under renovation so we were on the 3rd floor, which is the lobby level so that was okay. This time, despite requesting ground floor 11 months ago when we made the reservation, we were put in a room on the 2nd floor. The front desk associate who checked us in (and that's another thing--why bother with online check-in when you still have to go to the front desk and do the whole check-in process anyway) tried to find us something on the 1st or 3rd floor but was unsuccessful, so eventually we took a villa on the 5th floor. I get it--requests are only requests, but it started things off on a bad foot.
• Food-- One of our biggest disappointments! We used to love the variety of dining options at Aulani, but they have been significantly "dumbed down". Not being able to eat breakfast or lunch at 'Ama 'Ama was a tremendous loss. Let me run through the options for each meal:
  • Breakfast -- Character breakfast at Makahiki (which we did not do since we're not character meal people) is the only sit-down option. Food is available at Off the Hook to eat there or take back to the room; the process was cumbersome and slow, and the food just okay. Grab-and-go, including hot made-to-order items, is also available at the Ulu Cafe and we found quality varied quite a bit from day to day. The best breakfast was actually the made-to-order malasadas at The Olelo Room, but obviously that would get old day after day. I should also point out that, at every of our Aulani stays including this one, we bought the adults on our party refillable mugs so we could enjoy the coffee stations. Never again! The coffee used to be really good, clearly branded as Honolulu Coffee Company. This time it was bitter and simply not good (and we tried getting it at all three locations); the branding has been removed, implying they've changed it to something not worth bragging about.
  • Lunch -- No true sit-down option--insane! Off the Hook is there but we never saw tables available; we did take advantage of mobile order which worked well, but I think it's crazy they add an automatic 18% gratuity for a meal I have to go pick up in a paper bag. Ulu Cafe had grab-and-go options, and Mama's Snack Stop had a few fried items.
  • Dinner
    • 'Ama 'Ama -- We loved 'Ama 'Ama so much on previous vacations that we had planned to book three dinners here; due to the craziness that advance booking has become, we only ended up eating here twice. The first time was just my wife and I, and it was probably the best meal of our entire vacation. While I wish they hadn't gone prix fixe, every item we ordered was delicious, beautifully-prepared, and skillfully-served. It was an expensive meal, but worth every penny (the exact kind of experience that made us fall in love with Aulani in the first place). But then our next meal there, with the whole family, was very different. Our server was a dud (he belongs in a Denny's or Chili's, not a fine dining restaurant) and the food was much more varied in quality. We left feeling a bit screwed, as the experience this time was NOT worth the cost.
    • Makahiki -- One of the meals we wanted to have at 'Ama 'Ama was our arrival night, but since it wasn't available we did Makahiki instead. Things started off on the wrong foot when we didn't get seated until almost 30 minutes after our reservation time (and there was no acknowledgement of this from the hostesses, let alone an apology or compensation). The meal itself was fine, but nothing special. We had originally booked another dinner at Makahiki later in the trip but we decided to cancel it. There's no reason both sit-down dinner options should be prix fixe, and we just didn't feel the overall experience at Makahiki was worth it.
    • The Olelo Room -- One of the things we enjoyed in the past was making dinner at The Olelo Room out of their sushi and pupus menu. The same was true this time! It's nice that they have live musicians here, the bartenders make some great cocktails, and the food (particularly the fresh-made sushi and sashimi) was really good too.
    • Roy's -- I don't know any restaurant near Aulani that gets such mixed reviews. Some people have a terrible time here, but my family has had nothing but amazing meals and that continued for our two dinners here this trip. Cocktails, appetizers, entrees, desserts, wine, service, and atmosphere were all great.
    • Monkeypod Kitchen -- Okay, I guess this place gets mixed reviews too. But the price point is lower, so expectations are probably lower too. We had a dinner and a lunch here, and both were great. Live music, a wide variety of good food, and friendly, gracious service. We ate at a couple of other Merriman restaurants during our vacation, and they were all really good.
    • Mina's Fish House -- We didn't actually eat here, but I thought I had to include it in the review. My wife and I had an absolutely TERRIBLE meal experience when we ate at Noe (the Italian restaurant); it was so bad that I vowed never to eat at the Four Seasons again. Well, two cast members we met at Aulani stealthily recommended we eat at Mina's, saying it was better than anything Disney had to offer. Sadly, by the time we decided to take their advice, no reservations were available.
  • Room Service -- And I have to point out that the lack of room service is completely, utterly unacceptable at an upscale resort like this! It's simply an expected, necessary thing to offer and there's no excuse, post-COVID or ever, not to have this be available for all meal periods.
• Aunty's Beach House -- What a colossal let-down! Our older daughter loved her time there in the past, back in "the good old days" when kids could be checked in for complimentary time at Aunty's all day, every day. Having to book Aunty's time in advance was bad enough; having the complimentary time only 90 minutes is even worse. But after our daughter had her first Aunty's session she asked us to cancel the others we had reserved. She said there was basically nothing to do; all the attendants were apparently working the paid events, so aside from a couple of touchscreen video games she just wandered around, bored. We still had her do the Surf's Up paid activity, which also turned out to be a bust. Too many kids, not much to do, and we cancelled the remainder of the paid reservations. Sigh... This used to be a big selling point of Aulani, that included in your exorbitant room fee was a world-class kids' club so the parents could enjoy some guilt-free adult time. No more.
• Menehune Adventure Trail -- This is something else that our whole family enjoyed in the past. This time, we did one of the trails and then gave up on the whole thing. The technology Disney uses for the handheld tablets is outdated, and many of the special effects the kids are supposed to be able to trigger aren't working. The cast member in the Pau Hana room apologized, said she had heard that more than half the effects were broken, and she had no idea when (or if) they'd ever be fixed.
• Characters -- We are not character people, but I was shocked at how long the lines were to meet ANY characters. It was nice to get a high-five from Goofy and Max when they walked by, and a shaka from Pluto, but I'm really glad we're not character people because we would have spent extensive time in line if so. The worst, and this was hilarious, was the "DVC member exclusive" chance to see Moana, where the line (if you can even call it that) completely clogged the hallway near the DVC area.
• Pool / Beach Chair Nightmare -- Yup, it sucks. And here is where I'm going to reveal some of that "potential snob" attitude, but we really noticed a difference in the caliber of Aulani guest this trip compared to our previous ones. The degree of selfishness exhibited all over the resort was stunning. Just walking around felt like a bad day at Disneyland where a single family will spread out to block off an entire walkway; this happened repeatedly. Kids running around unsupervised, or worse, supervised yet allowed to get away with selfish, immature behavior (like line-jumping). And the saving of pool chairs was just another example of how people were behaving in entitled, selfish ways. Our family of five people only needed a single chair to plop down our towels, cover-ups, and flip-flops--at certain times of the day we'd have to walk around for quite awhile just to find a spot.
• Cabanas / Casabellas -- Ironically, as self-professed "like the finer things" people, we have never booked things like this at Aulani. This trip was no exception. While we like to spend an hour or two enjoying the water, we don't want to spend an entire day doing so. It's sad that things have gotten to the point where, in order to have a safe place just to stow their flip-flops and swimsuit cover-ups, people feel they have to wake up at 3am months in advance for the privilege of spending money booking a cabana.
• 4th of July -- As the OP said, no fireworks in Ko Olina. This was disappointing but not unexpected, as we'd done our research in advance, but based on the amount of grumbling we heard out and about I think a lot of guests were pretty upset. We thought it was cool that Aulani did a special red-white-and-blue pool band for the 4th, and that they offered special patriotic-decorated treats in the Ulu Cafe that day (each of which was delicious, particularly the whoopie pie made with huge macarons).
• Merchandise -- On every previous visit to Aulani, we ended up having them ship a huge purchase of ours back home because we didn't want to buy an extra suitcase or stuff it all in our current luggage. This was the first time that we barely bought anything, because the quality and variety of merchandise was so poor. We were actually wearing some of our old Aulani shirts on this trip, and got stopped nearly constantly by people asking where we'd bought what we were wearing. When we explained they were from previous visits, it led to several conversations commiserating at the lack of worthwhile stuff to buy now.
• Stargazing Experience -- We booked this in advance as we'd greatly enjoyed it in the past. I was shocked when I went to the pau hana room to check in to find that the room was literally full of other guests who were also doing it. Since the entire experience is only 30 minutes, it was going to leave something like 30 seconds each to look through the telescope! Maybe I was spoiled that, in the past, we'd done the experience with one other family and another time just us. Maybe we got lucky, but the astronomer decided it was too cloudy to stargaze, so we got a full refund (after lining up with the dozens of other families also getting theirs--couldn't they have just processed these automatically?).
• Pools, Ocean, Slides, Lazy River -- Of course all these were fun, and one of the main reasons for staying at Aulani. Lines for the water slides were so long that we didn't use them very much, and it was even difficult to find tubes for the lazy river. The "bubble effect" wasn't working in the cave on the lazy river, nor were all of the little spurting fountains. Finally, I found it shocking how many people were enjoying all the water areas at Aulani who did NOT have wristbands on--it seems like Disney could cut down on crowding by more aggressively enforcing the wristband requirement (but then they might have fewer people buying the high-priced cocktails and whatnot, so I suspect neglecting to enforce this is one of those short-term profit over long-term experience decisions).
• Laniwai Spa -- The spa is still beautiful, but is clearly showing signs of age. One of the technicians told me they're getting renovated "any day now", then admitted with a laugh that they've been told that by management since 2018. I was particularly put off by the spa garden, which is supposed to be a luxurious, relaxing place to spend time before and after treatments. Everywhere I looked I saw flaking paint and chipping concrete; there is a circle of showers with five different experiences, and only two of them were working correctly.
• Cast Member Attitudes -- Don't get me wrong, we met plenty of great cast members who exhibited true aloha. But we also experienced that everywhere else we went on the islands. The only cast member we met who might have met my definition of "above and beyond" was our server the first night at 'Ama 'Ama. Sadly, though, we met quite a few who did not live up to even a basic standard of guest service; it was obvious they considered their Aulani job no different than they would have a job at McDonald's.
• Overall Lack of Luxury -- Aulani used to feel like a true high-class resort. To me, part of "luxury" is feeling special--an example is staying at a Ritz-Carlton that might have a few hundred rooms, but never having to wait in line at the front desk to ask a question and having the front desk staff remember my name after a single interaction. Aulani used to be like this! Now it feels like a Wal-Mart experience. Lines everywhere, the need to wake up at 3am months in advance for the chance to reserve experiences, and a general sense that the guests are just sources of revenue as opposed to welcomed, well... guests. And it shows in the type of guests we saw--I lost count of the number of big wagons people were dragging in full of cases of Bud Light and Truly seltzers. I might expect that at a Motel 6 or a Hampton Inn, but not at a supposedly-luxurious multi-star resort.
• Will We Go Back? -- It's shocking that I even have to wonder about the answer to this question. We used to *love* Aulani; it's why we bought into DVC in the first place! But many of the things that made us fall in love with the place are gone, potentially having changed forever. I think we will go back again, but we'll probably just end up using our points for a few nights in a grand villa rather than a lengthier stay in a 2br villa like we've always done in the past.
• Other Stuff I've Undoubtedly Forgotten -- Feel free to ask any questions. My entire Aulani experience is fresh in my mind, so I'll be happy to answer anything or clarify any of the stuff I wrote in my review.

I had been anticipating your review as I noted. When you mentioned how things had changed, I could not have possibly imagined just how much change there had been. So many of the things you mentioned had changed were things that we assumed had just always been that way, and things we said before coming "Gosh I wish this was different." The lack of ease of Aunty's Beach House, lack of breakfast options, no breakfast/lunch at 'Ama'Ama, 'Ama'Ama being prix-fixe, etc.

Do you get good use out of your Aulani DVC points at other Disney hotels?

 

[gatechfan99]

We are headed home tomorrow from our 1st stay at Aulani. We are not DVC members. Here's my general thoughts so far:

1. the vibe here is different than Waikiki. We've all really enjoyed it. Love the theme'ing of this resort.
2. the suggested $5/bag to tip Bell Services for both dropping off your bags and picking them up was a little annoying.
3. the room - The 4 of us (me, DH, 2 teenage daughters) are in a studio. The bathroom layout has worked well for us and we've had plenty of room to store out luggage and other stuff. We're in a standard room and have a view of the mountain behind the resort. It's quiet and we really enjoyed that. Liked how the balcony feels private.
4. pool chairs - A lot of people get worked up over pool deck chairs, but for us on this trip, it's been fine. We haven't hung out at the pool or beach all day. We'll do it for a couple of hours and then do something else. We all have tended to get up really early while here. It wasn't until yesterday that I thought to get 2 pool chairs near the infiniti pool before I got breakfast at Ulu Cafe. At the pool towel/wristband location, one grandma skipped the entire line to walk up and ask angrily if this was really the only way to get pool towels and "You mean I really have to wait in this long line just to get a towel?" Then she stormed off. Um, the line moved really fast, lady, but whatever.
5. chairs on the beach - these were always available. Love the beach here.
6. Monkeypod - DH & I went there for dinner a couple of nights ago. I don't understand why everybody raves about this place. I thought it was just ok. Service was good.
7. character breakfast - DH got a last minute spot for this yesterday morning because he went to Ulu Cafe early for coffee and asked about it and they had an opening for 7:30 am.
8. cast members - everyone we've encountered has been great.
9. Caught some of the uncle storytelling by the main pool yesterday. That was pretty neat.
10. Tried out the adults-only infiniti hot tub. That was pretty nice.
11. Ulu Cafe is really busy in the evening!
12. We rented a car and the self-park was easy and close by. It was a mild annoyance that you have to valet your car upon check in, but that's not a deal breaker for us.
13. Did a tour w/DH of the DVC villas. The 3 BR villa is pretty spectacular. We talked w/a DVC CM and are considering purchasing a DVC contract. If we decide to proceed at some point, we'll probably buy a resale contract. And yeah, we're aware that it means that we probably wouldn't get the DVC member discount on merchandise purchases or other 'perks' like that. The perk would be basically being able to go to Hawaii or WDW more often and not breaking the bank.
14. pool complex general thoughts - we liked all of the options for different pools. My teenage daughters loved the lazy river and the 2 water slides, especially the one that you need an inner tube to go down. We went in the lazy river in the evening a couple of times when there was hardly anybody else in it because all of the younger kids were out and getting ready for bed. Lazy river & water slides closed down at 8 pm and the other pools & hot tubs closed down at 10 pm. The front desk CM who checked us in told us that normally, all of the pools close at 8 pm, but at this time of year, it's 10 pm.
15. fitness classes on the beach - a couple of mornings, I was either on the beach or in the infiniti pool and saw part of 1 of the fitness classes they have on the beach. The instructor seemed pretty great and it looks to be a great option if you want to get a good workout in while on vacation here.
16. Kualoa Ranch - went there yesterday afternoon for a 2 1/2 hr ATV tour. It was an hour's drive to the other side of the island. Reminded me of Maui in the 80s when I'd go on vacation there with my parents. The ATV tour was fantastic. Saw the biggest monkey pod tree I've ever seen in my entire life. We were all dusty and dirty at the end of it, but it was totally worth it.
17. Waiahole Poi Factory - ate here for lunch yesterday on the way to Kualoa Ranch in Kaneohe. Had the lu'au beef (beef slow cooked with taro leaves), poi, lomilomi salmon. All of the plate lunches come with this haupia (coconut) custard sort of dessert. I'm not a fan of coconut, but it was really good. DH & YDD got the kalua pork and enjoyed it. Lots of locals and tourists eating here.

Prior to this trip, my DH was really negative about coming here and a real Negative Nancy about DVC, but my DH (who acts like he hates going on Disney vacations) has actually had a really good time while we've been here. The kids & I have had a great time, too.

On number 12, not sure what you mean with you have to valet your car at check in. When we got there, we just went straight to self park. We pulled a ticket at the gate but didn’t need it to get out once we got our room key later. We just parked there immediately and came back a few hours later to get our luggage when the room was ready.

 

[VandVsmama]

We are headed home tomorrow from our 1st stay at Aulani. We are not DVC members. Here's my general thoughts so far:

1. the vibe here is different than Waikiki. We've all really enjoyed it. Love the theme'ing of this resort.
2. the suggested $5/bag to tip Bell Services for both dropping off your bags and picking them up was a little annoying.
3. the room - The 4 of us (me, DH, 2 teenage daughters) are in a studio. The bathroom layout has worked well for us and we've had plenty of room to store out luggage and other stuff. We're in a standard room and have a view of the mountain behind the resort. It's quiet and we really enjoyed that. Liked how the balcony feels private.
4. pool chairs - A lot of people get worked up over pool deck chairs, but for us on this trip, it's been fine. We haven't hung out at the pool or beach all day. We'll do it for a couple of hours and then do something else. We all have tended to get up really early while here. It wasn't until yesterday that I thought to get 2 pool chairs near the infiniti pool before I got breakfast at Ulu Cafe. At the pool towel/wristband location, one grandma skipped the entire line to walk up and ask angrily if this was really the only way to get pool towels and "You mean I really have to wait in this long line just to get a towel?" Then she stormed off. Um, the line moved really fast, lady, but whatever.
5. chairs on the beach - these were always available. Love the beach here.
6. Monkeypod - DH & I went there for dinner a couple of nights ago. I don't understand why everybody raves about this place. I thought it was just ok. Service was good.
7. character breakfast - DH got a last minute spot for this yesterday morning because he went to Ulu Cafe early for coffee and asked about it and they had an opening for 7:30 am.
8. cast members - everyone we've encountered has been great.
9. Caught some of the uncle storytelling by the main pool yesterday. That was pretty neat.
10. Tried out the adults-only infiniti hot tub. That was pretty nice.
11. Ulu Cafe is really busy in the evening!
12. We rented a car and the self-park was easy and close by. It was a mild annoyance that you have to valet your car upon check in, but that's not a deal breaker for us.
13. Did a tour w/DH of the DVC villas. The 3 BR villa is pretty spectacular. We talked w/a DVC CM and are considering purchasing a DVC contract. If we decide to proceed at some point, we'll probably buy a resale contract. And yeah, we're aware that it means that we probably wouldn't get the DVC member discount on merchandise purchases or other 'perks' like that. The perk would be basically being able to go to Hawaii or WDW more often and not breaking the bank.
14. pool complex general thoughts - we liked all of the options for different pools. My teenage daughters loved the lazy river and the 2 water slides, especially the one that you need an inner tube to go down. We went in the lazy river in the evening a couple of times when there was hardly anybody else in it because all of the younger kids were out and getting ready for bed. Lazy river & water slides closed down at 8 pm and the other pools & hot tubs closed down at 10 pm. The front desk CM who checked us in told us that normally, all of the pools close at 8 pm, but at this time of year, it's 10 pm.
15. fitness classes on the beach - a couple of mornings, I was either on the beach or in the infiniti pool and saw part of 1 of the fitness classes they have on the beach. The instructor seemed pretty great and it looks to be a great option if you want to get a good workout in while on vacation here.
16. Kualoa Ranch - went there yesterday afternoon for a 2 1/2 hr ATV tour. It was an hour's drive to the other side of the island. Reminded me of Maui in the 80s when I'd go on vacation there with my parents. The ATV tour was fantastic. Saw the biggest monkey pod tree I've ever seen in my entire life. We were all dusty and dirty at the end of it, but it was totally worth it.
17. Waiahole Poi Factory - ate here for lunch yesterday on the way to Kualoa Ranch in Kaneohe. Had the lu'au beef (beef slow cooked with taro leaves), poi, lomilomi salmon. All of the plate lunches come with this haupia (coconut) custard sort of dessert. I'm not a fan of coconut, but it was really good. DH & YDD got the kalua pork and enjoyed it. Lots of locals and tourists eating here.

Prior to this trip, my DH was really negative about coming here and a real Negative Nancy about DVC, but my DH (who acts like he hates going on Disney vacations) has actually had a really good time while we've been here. The kids & I have had a great time, too.

FWIW, other than first thing in the morning, there was hardly ever a line at the pool wristband/towel pick up locations.

 

[OKW Lover]

the suggested $5/bag to tip Bell Services for both dropping off your bags and picking them up was a little annoying.

I've never seen a suggestion like that. Where did you hear it? We've only ever tipped on deliver of our bags.

DH & I went there for dinner a couple of nights ago. I don't understand why everybody raves about this place. I thought it was just ok. Service was good.

I sort of agree with this. I think it gets good reviews because its fun and relatively inexpensive when compared to the offerings in the resorts.

Did a tour w/DH of the DVC villas. The 3 BR villa is pretty spectacular.

Yes, they are! We've been fortunate enough to have stayed in them.

 

[Iceman93]

Do you get good use out of your Aulani DVC points at other Disney hotels?

No, we've only ever used them at Aulani. One time we rented them out through David's because we weren't going to use them, and made some money off of them. Our family hasn't done a WDW vacation for over a decade, and we just pay cash for DLR visits. And we don't have enough points to be able to use them for DCL or ABD. So, Aulani only!

 

[xoxoallieann]

No, we've only ever used them at Aulani. One time we rented them out through David's because we weren't going to use them, and made some money off of them. Our family hasn't done a WDW vacation for over a decade, and we just pay cash for DLR visits. And we don't have enough points to be able to use them for DCL or ABD. So, Aulani only!

If your points are direct, you might want to consider using them for a stay at the Disneyland Villas or Grand Cal, but based on your review of Aulani, I think you'll be disappointed in Grand Cal's current state until they do the refurb.

 

[VandVsmama]

I've never seen a suggestion like that. Where did you hear it? We've only ever tipped on deliver of our bags.

DH said it was in small print on the bell services ticket.

 

[leecrouse]

Just throwing in my two cents. Been here for a week with one more week to go. I’ve never experienced the level of guest rudeness as I have over the last week in all my DVC stays. The sad thing is that we have heard it from others out and about and on this thread. The chair hogging is on another level, people creating barricades by walking four wide in public areas, taking selfies in the middle of a busy walkway, cutting in front of waiting people at an elevator, etc. People either have zero situational awareness or they flat out don’t care. Love Hawaii and love the resort but the guests ruin a very expensive vacation coming from the east coast. One and done for my family.

 

[bennifer]

We’ve been home for about 2.5 weeks and I’m still processing it! This was our first time at Aulani and first time in Hawaii . We spent the week before on the Big Island.

We didn’t have the complaints about the valet- when we pulled up a CM asked if we were planning on self parking and directed us to the garage immediately. That was easy for us!

The food was ok. Ulu Cafe had surprisingly good poke bowls and açaí bowls. Off the Hook was ok. The Olelo Room was fantastic. Monkeypod was good, and Eggs N Things was terrible.

The pool chairs. I watched people every morning go and start their day at 6:00 am on the chairs from my balcony. We only had 1 dedicated resort day, and we were lucky to get 2 chairs (there were 3 of us) together at 9:00 am.

The merchandise was really lacking in my opinion. I really wanted a shirt or I don’t know, something to remember our stay but there really wasn’t much.

The people not just at Aulani, but on Oahu itself surprised me. Not the locals, they were great. But the visitors were not. My 15 yr old said constantly that he felt like he was in Florida. Too busy, too loud, too much. Very unlike our experience on the Big Island.

I really liked Aulani itself. Our ocean view studio was gorgeous and bigger than I was anticipating based on other DVC resorts I’ve stayed at. The CMs were very nice and helpful.

Will we go back to Aulani? Chances are it’s a one and done for us. We live in PA so if we ever make it back to Hawai’i we’ll do Maui and Kauai instead.

 

[gatechfan99]

Well I thought I would add in my thoughts as we just got back today and everything is fresh on my mind. I will say this review will be a good bit more positive than some of the other posts in this thread, so just wanted to add my perspective.

• Overall -- This was our 3rd trip to Aulani. First was 2019 and next was soon after Covid reopening in 2022. We have loved each of our trips. More than once, my wife commented "why can't we just make this a priority and come every year!". This time we were traveling with our 3 kids, aged 16, 14, and 11. It's a little ironic that some posters have commented on their dislike of the clientele there. We have a lot of beach time on the Gulf Coast and even at the "high-end" condos, it is night and day at Aulani compared to what we are used to closer to home. I had pointed out while we there to my wife how pleasant it is where portable speakers aren't blaring, people aren't wheeling around cases of beer around the pool deck (along with everyone in the lazy rivers drinking heavily), and there's not the loud packs of teens/twentysomethings that are just taking over everything. Those are the types of things we get closer to home and Aulani is such a pleaseant difference.
• Total Stay Time -- This was our first trip to do things off Oahu. We started with 3 days on the Big Island, 3 days, on Maui, and then 6 days at Aulani. We loved our whole trip, but it was unanimous that everyone enjoyed their Aulani days the best. We had done things like Pearl Harbor and Kualoa Ranch on previous trips so didn't do that this time. Even without that, 6 days felt like the minimum needed to both enjoy the resort and do so many of our desired plans off property.
• Food -- No complaints here. We enjoyed Ulu Cafe for breakfast and pizza (we all commented on how good their pizza is). We did Makahiki for breakfast and dinner. Also Off the Hook and Olelo Room and enjoyed them all. I thought the quality of the Makahiki food was better than it was the last time we were there soon after Covid re-opening.
• Characters -- To be honest, this isn't a big part of our life any more. We are DVC and have been to WDW so many times with so many character greetings, that we're just not going to go out of our way to get pictures with them at this point. I did notice them quite a bit and sometimes, the lines to wait seemed better than others.
• Pool / Beach Chair Nightmare-- OK, so here's my perspective on this. It worked well with our system if you have a plan going into it. We had stayed somewhat on Central time for most of the trip, so it wasn't a big deal for me to be up by 7:00 each day. Each day we were going to be at the pool in the morning, I got up, went straight down there with some reading material, and got a set of 3 chairs for the 5 of us reserved. There were always plenty of options to choose from at that time. Were the absolute perfect ocean view already taken? Probably, but I never spent much time assessing. All I cared about was 3 together with a pretty good amount of shade and it worked every day. Then when the rest of my family came down around 8 or so, I went off to get breakfast and walk around more. The 3 chairs worked perfectly for the 5 of us as we traded them out coming and going all day. My one complaint on the pool is that it seems like they really need more tubes. It was a little bit of the Hunger Games with everyone stalking the slide and lazy river exits waiting on someone to get out and give up their tube.
• Cabanas / Casabellas -- I talked about this in another post. We liked the Cabanas the day we got one at Keiki Cove. Not very loud there and very convenient to everything. Even though it was fine having chairs the other days, it's still so nice to have a day with comfortable seating, shade, a fan, a refrigerator, tv, etc., to really make it easy to stay there all day.
• Makahiki Character Breakfast -- we did this one day. The food was fine, the price is a little outrageous to me, especially with my kids not being big breakfast eaters. If you want some WDW type character interactions, this is good to do. Otherwise, don't feel bad if you skip it.
• MonkeyPod -- as others have said, it's fine. It's nice to have one dinner place you can walk to especially if you didn't have a car.
• When To Go -- So we've now done early summer, mid-summer, and early March (Mardi Gras). This felt like the busiest of the 3 times. It was not technically a holiday weekend but the weekend still felt more crowded than the weekdays.
• Will We Go Back? -- Absolutely. Our oldest kept trying to play the sympathy card by saying it was her "last trip" since she'll be off in college soon, but I feel quite sure we'll find a time with all 5 of us down the road. Again, there is no comparison to the Alabama/Florida beach vacations in terms of resort and beach quality, along with the overall vibe of the guests, so I guess the overall impression can be very relative to what other beach vacations you have taken. I will also say, this was the first time that all our kids felt old enough and responsible enough to roam around without us. They bought their food, did the pools, etc on their own most of the time. Another step to really help make it more relaxing for my wife and I.

 

[VandVsmama]

I have a couple more thoughts on our trip which ended just day before yesterday:

The beach:
I love the beach in front of the Aulani so much more than Waikiki's beach. At Waikiki, you're on top of everybody. DH & ODD went for a walk on the beach at Waikiki early one morning at the start of our trip and ODD said they had to dodge around a gazillion professional photographers doing private photo sessions w/tourists (the kind where everybody being photo'd wears the same outfits and all that). Whereas at Aulani, early in the morning, the beach was pretty quiet, just a few people. It was peaceful and really lovely. DH ate breakfast a couple of mornings in a row sitting in the 1st row of chairs there on the beach. He loved it.

I also liked how it seemed/felt pretty easy to get away from people or at least feel like people weren't all on top of you all the time. Did not like that feeling in Waikiki at all. Waikiki felt a lot like "RUSH! RUSH! RUSH! Hurry up!" and Aulani felt the total opposite of that.

Next time we go, I want to stay the whole week at Aulani, stay in a 1 BR units instead of a studio, cook for ourselves so we can eat out once a day instead of every meal, and I want to do the Aulani luau.