Hawaii for Disneyworld Lover?

[HairyChest]

every yeari plan a trip, i want to go to disneyworld. This year im in the middle of planning and my family is trying to decide between hawaii or disneyworld.

Anyone of you disneyworld lovers had no desire to go to hawaii but went? Wasit worth it? Did you wish you had gone to the world instead?

Wecan only afford 1 tripthis yearand i feel like ill missdisneyworld too much but i do love the poly so i may fall in love with hawaii. (Either going to do maui or aulani if we do hawaii)

 

[xlxo]

fyi... there is a Disney's Aulani on Oahu.

The Disney Wonder occasionally makes a visit to the Islands in some years.

 

[automaticsoap]

I think it's hard to answer your question without knowing what other places you have visited and liked other than WDW. For me personally, Hawaii was never a place I had a strong desire to visit -- because I don't consider myself a beach person -- but I went to Maui 2 years ago for a wedding and fell in love with it! I had such a great time that I'm going to Oahu/Aulani in 2 months!!

 

[mindy32]

I think it depends a lot on you and your family's taste and what you go to WDW for. If you go to WDW because you love the general vibe, character meets, eating out, spending time at the hotel relaxing by the pool etc then Aulani could meet a lot of your 'wants'. If you go to Disney and purely love rides, the castle, ie. You're park commando style, don't spend much time at the resort, then Hawaii may not be for you, unless you're willing to try something completely different.

Hawaii was never on my must do list until recently. We actually went because it was more accessible and affordable for us (we're Australian) for just a one week trip. But now that I've been, I really enjoyed it, particularly Aulani and DH and I have intentions in going back.

 

[mindy32]

I should also add, Hawaii is beautiful. Whilst it is a different experience to the parks, if you feel like doing something new, it's a wonderful place to go.

 

[blondietink]

My husband had no desire to go to Hawaii but I talked him into it in 2013. The first night after our very long flight he wanted to know when we could go back again and he had just gotten there. I liken it to nature's theme park. There is so much to see and do and the people who live on the islands are just so incredibly friendly and helpful. There really is an aloha spirit on the islands. Each island has a different vibe. The only one I have not been to yet is the big island Hawaii. Our kids loved it and have been begging to go back, so in April we are going for 3 weeks, dividing our time between Oahu and Kauai this time.

We have been to WDW over 20 times, and we did not miss it at all. We did go to Disneyland and California Adventure in November for a change of pace and absolutely loved it compared to WDW. We will spend the extra money to fly to LA instead of Florida to get our theme park fix.

 

[Ashlotte]

If you've never been to Hawaii, you should try it. Aulani is very understated Disney, so it may not fill your craving, but life is short and you should try new things.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

I would say do it once - it truly probably is a once in a lifetime experience

 

[OKWJan]

We work at Disneyworld and never get tired of it. My husband was not really excited about the trip to Hawaii, but loved it and we are going back this year. He loves to drive and we drove all over the island exploring and had a great time. Laying on the beach is not his thing, but exploring is. The island offers something for everyone

 

[HairyChest]

Hmmm . Yea from all i hear, maui sounds like the place to be. I wish aulani was on maui, itd make it easier for me to pick hawai over disneyworld this year.
The other thing is i live in cali and we are 10 minutes from the beach so i wonder if that is part of why im not sure.

 

[JoeA]

As others said, it really depends on what you like to do. We had to talk my wife into visiting HI (Maui) in 2007 and since the we've been 8 times (well, I've been 10!). My daughter is moving there this month so we're taking the 9th family trip over in March to visit her. We love to hike, snorkel and take mai tai cruises and sometimes just hang at the pool or beach. If that's "how you roll" then you'll love the Islands.

On the other hand, if you dislike very long flights but like Disney resorts and rides then...WDW!

 

[Polynesianmonorailstop]

every yeari plan a trip, i want to go to disneyworld. This year im in the middle of planning and my family is trying to decide between hawaii or disneyworld.

Anyone of you disneyworld lovers had no desire to go to hawaii but went? Wasit worth it? Did you wish you had gone to the world instead?

Wecan only afford 1 tripthis yearand i feel like ill missdisneyworld too much but i do love the poly so i may fall in love with hawaii. (Either going to do maui or aulani if we do hawaii)

 

[Polynesianmonorailstop]

We got married this past July and went to Hawaii for our honeymoon instead of WDW. We spent a week on Kauai and a week on Oahu. We did one night at aulani and loved it!!! It all depends on what you're looking for. It has all the Disney touches but is way different than WDW and is def pricey. I suggest going if you have the opportunity. I feel like every Disney fan should experience it in their life time.

 

[cedricandsophie]

We have been to Aulani four times and are going again in May. It's my husband's fav place. We also go to Disney world at least once a year,sometimes twice and usually do a cruise. But when we go to DW we might stay ten days and go to the Parks one day. We love the resorts so much we don't want to leave and we have been to parks a lot. Aulani is laid back, informal, wonderful place to unwind. We just lay by the pool all day and do the lazy river and slides over and over. Some people would hate thst. There is limited night life. But we can't get enough.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

On the other hand, if you dislike very long flights but like Disney resorts and rides then...WDW!

For the OP, who said they live in Cali, the flight to Hawaii would be only slightly longer than the flight to WDW.

 

[HairyChest]

Ive priced everything out and it pretty much comes out even for me in pricing. 1 week in maui or 1 week at disneyworld. Accomodations at the grand wailea vs grand floridian.

We are only going to be 2 adults this trip BUT we looooove disneyworld

 

[mickeynut1]

Hmmm . Yea from all i hear, maui sounds like the place to be. I wish aulani was on maui, itd make it easier for me to pick hawai over disneyworld this year.
The other thing is i live in cali and we are 10 minutes from the beach so i wonder if that is part of why im not sure.

Maui is amazing! All of the islands are great and offer something different, but we loved Maui and are thinking about going back next year for our 25th anniversary. If we decide to split between 2 islands, Maui will definitely be one of them .

Ive priced everything out and it pretty much comes out even for me in pricing. 1 week in maui or 1 week at disneyworld. Accomodations at the grand wailea vs grand floridian.

We are only going to be 2 adults this trip BUT we looooove disneyworld

Everyone is different, but if it were me, I'd try Hawaii. The Grand Wailea looks amazing and is where we will stay if/when we go back. The rates are comparable to the GF (sometimes cheaper depending on the time of year and discounts), but airfare is the biggest hurdle for us (family of 4) as flights average anywhere from $1,000-$1,200/pp. With that said, if I could take a trip to Hawaii for about the same cost as WDW, I'd choose Hawaii without hesitation .

 

[thedogatemyhomework]

Have you considered doing a split stay with maui for 4 days and aulani for 3 (or whatever split works for you). Its not that long of a flight between islands, and there are lots of them.

If you like hiking, also consider kauai, and the big island (hawaii...the island).

The character breakfast at aulani is good, and there are some tours available like kualoa ranch (jurrasic park filming location). Oahu has a zoo in waikiki (very small compared to san diego), and a mini sea world with no rides. There is a water park as well.

Mostly comes down to beaches/hiking vs rides, and/or if you want to try something different or go with the sure thing.

 

[vanillarum]

Whether you go to Aulani or not you should experience Hawaii at least once. We went on our honeymoon in 1985 for 2 weeks. Since then, both my children have done CPs at WDW, and our son worked there for over 4 years. Needless to say, we have not been back to Hawaii since. My wife is dying to return. We have been to the Carribean numerous times (we were big scuba diving fans!). I love the Carribean since it is so close to us (we are on the East coast). But now that neither of our children are working at WDW, hopefully we will get back to Hawaii. I have never heard anyone say that they did not like Hawaii. Good luck.

 

[wilbret]

If you go to WDW every year, I'd say go to Hawaii and mix it up!