Hi guys,
Here now at Aulani for a week and wanted to give a bit of a trip report/observations from our time here so far. Hopefully some of it is helpful for those coming or thinking of coming.
We are a group of 5 adults from the UK - Its our third time here since 2017 and we absolutely fell in love the first time and will continue to visit whenever we can (may be longer between visits than we'd like due to rising costs but who knows!). We're renting DVC points and staying in a 2-bed Ocean view villa. I used the dis thread on this forum to check out views from the various rooms and called ahead to put in a room request, we got exactly what we asked for and am so happy with the view.
- Landed just before 1pm on Sunday April 16th from LAX, smooth flight and nothing like seeing the blue waters and green mountains as you descend through the clouds! Those with a keen eye can make out Ko Olina and Aulani. We rented a minivan for the week. Last time we were here we had to get a shuttle bus from the airport terminal to the Alamo rental center but I see there is now a new set of desks inside the terminal which made picking the car up an absolute breeze and we were on our way to Aulani by 2:15pm - around a 25 minute direct drive from the airport.
- Stopped at the Target in Kapolei, just 8 minutes from Aulani to pick up some groceries for the week, we do treat ourselves and eat out a lot but good to have some bagels, cereal, chips and juices for the room.
- Arrived at Aulani around 3pm, of course this was a busy time as lots of people checking in now so we were in quite a long queue, took about 30 mins before we got to the front but had a lovely cast member. I recommend checking in online if you can to bypass this process, we needed to do it physically as we wanted multiple cards on file for our group but if you don't need that then you can save this queuing time
- Got to our room, everything was clean and looked just how we remembered it. Was happy to see they now have the big flat screen TVs with Disney on demand and casting options from your phone for YouTube, netflix etc.
- Rather than a detailed trip report, just wanted to give some general info here for the rest of this post, may do a proper report when I get home.
- Getting your seat for the day isn't too bad if you're not picky. Yes there are better spots that are right next to certain pools but we normally have been going down to get seats at around 8 and can get something a couple rows deep in the seating areas which is fine by us as we're normally only sitting there every now and then.
- The weather is in the late 80s, early 90s this week so it's feeling super hot from 11-4ish. The floors get really hot at times so flip flops/water shoes are good if you're going to be walking about a lot.
- Pool temperatures are of interest to a lot of us I know and we all have our own opinions on what is good but i will say that it's all comfortable and doesn't feel too cold anywhere. The lazy river does feel a bit cool when you first go in if you're completely dry but it takes 30 seconds to adjust and then you're good and it is refreshing on the hot days. I will say it's not as warm as I remember it being the last couple times but it's really not a big deal and it's packed all day so it's certainly fine with everyone that's here.
- We're eating at Makahiki tonight and Ama Ama later in the week so can't comment on how they are yet (been before to both of them but been a few years). But we've eaten at the following and I recommend them all:
1.Eggs N Things - Over the road by Monkeypod/ABC Mart (5 min walk). Had a 10/10 breakfast here, fresh hot food, great coffee and a wonderful server.
2. La Hiki - At the four season's next door, this was a buffet that cost around 60 dollars each including gratuity which is super expensive for us but there was good variety, a nice view of the ocean and we were impressed with the hotel grounds as we hadn't visited before. Hard to recommend considering the price but if you want a non-character buffet breakfast then it's an option.
3. Haleiwa Beach House - On the North Shore, food was phenomenal. I had a teriyaki beef sandwich with garlic fries and a guava cheesecake that I'm still thinking about today!
4. Monkeypod - 5 minute walk from Aulani. Despite everyone loving this place and non-stop recommendations, we'd never been in our last couple of visits so looked forward to trying it out. In our opinion it was good but not great, we all had different food so tried a lot of the menu but no-one loved their food, only liked it. However I know we're in the absolute minority here so probably disregard what I'm saying.
- The stores are stocked well for most items but a lot of t shirts only have small or 4xl a lot of the time, we're told to come back daily as they get new stock so we'll see how it goes but so far the few shirts we like aren't available in our size.
- The parking garage isn't great for minivans. We knew this from our last trip but we have 5 big suitcases so need this vehicle type but it can be a bit tight to get in to some spaces.
- The hotel is busy this week, lots of people everywhere, it's the end of busy season as of last weekend but still a busy lobby and restaurants/pools as we walk around. This means that character queues are probably around 10 people deep if you're not one of the first there. Not a big deal at all but just an observation.
That's it's for now I think, a bit of a brain dump but I wanted to give some info. If anyone has any questions then I'm happy to answer if I can.
Time to go watch the sunset and then to Makahiki for dinner, have a good day!
Here now at Aulani for a week and wanted to give a bit of a trip report/observations from our time here so far. Hopefully some of it is helpful for those coming or thinking of coming.
We are a group of 5 adults from the UK - Its our third time here since 2017 and we absolutely fell in love the first time and will continue to visit whenever we can (may be longer between visits than we'd like due to rising costs but who knows!). We're renting DVC points and staying in a 2-bed Ocean view villa. I used the dis thread on this forum to check out views from the various rooms and called ahead to put in a room request, we got exactly what we asked for and am so happy with the view.
- Landed just before 1pm on Sunday April 16th from LAX, smooth flight and nothing like seeing the blue waters and green mountains as you descend through the clouds! Those with a keen eye can make out Ko Olina and Aulani. We rented a minivan for the week. Last time we were here we had to get a shuttle bus from the airport terminal to the Alamo rental center but I see there is now a new set of desks inside the terminal which made picking the car up an absolute breeze and we were on our way to Aulani by 2:15pm - around a 25 minute direct drive from the airport.
- Stopped at the Target in Kapolei, just 8 minutes from Aulani to pick up some groceries for the week, we do treat ourselves and eat out a lot but good to have some bagels, cereal, chips and juices for the room.
- Arrived at Aulani around 3pm, of course this was a busy time as lots of people checking in now so we were in quite a long queue, took about 30 mins before we got to the front but had a lovely cast member. I recommend checking in online if you can to bypass this process, we needed to do it physically as we wanted multiple cards on file for our group but if you don't need that then you can save this queuing time
- Got to our room, everything was clean and looked just how we remembered it. Was happy to see they now have the big flat screen TVs with Disney on demand and casting options from your phone for YouTube, netflix etc.
- Rather than a detailed trip report, just wanted to give some general info here for the rest of this post, may do a proper report when I get home.
- Getting your seat for the day isn't too bad if you're not picky. Yes there are better spots that are right next to certain pools but we normally have been going down to get seats at around 8 and can get something a couple rows deep in the seating areas which is fine by us as we're normally only sitting there every now and then.
- The weather is in the late 80s, early 90s this week so it's feeling super hot from 11-4ish. The floors get really hot at times so flip flops/water shoes are good if you're going to be walking about a lot.
- Pool temperatures are of interest to a lot of us I know and we all have our own opinions on what is good but i will say that it's all comfortable and doesn't feel too cold anywhere. The lazy river does feel a bit cool when you first go in if you're completely dry but it takes 30 seconds to adjust and then you're good and it is refreshing on the hot days. I will say it's not as warm as I remember it being the last couple times but it's really not a big deal and it's packed all day so it's certainly fine with everyone that's here.
- We're eating at Makahiki tonight and Ama Ama later in the week so can't comment on how they are yet (been before to both of them but been a few years). But we've eaten at the following and I recommend them all:
1.Eggs N Things - Over the road by Monkeypod/ABC Mart (5 min walk). Had a 10/10 breakfast here, fresh hot food, great coffee and a wonderful server.
2. La Hiki - At the four season's next door, this was a buffet that cost around 60 dollars each including gratuity which is super expensive for us but there was good variety, a nice view of the ocean and we were impressed with the hotel grounds as we hadn't visited before. Hard to recommend considering the price but if you want a non-character buffet breakfast then it's an option.
3. Haleiwa Beach House - On the North Shore, food was phenomenal. I had a teriyaki beef sandwich with garlic fries and a guava cheesecake that I'm still thinking about today!
4. Monkeypod - 5 minute walk from Aulani. Despite everyone loving this place and non-stop recommendations, we'd never been in our last couple of visits so looked forward to trying it out. In our opinion it was good but not great, we all had different food so tried a lot of the menu but no-one loved their food, only liked it. However I know we're in the absolute minority here so probably disregard what I'm saying.
- The stores are stocked well for most items but a lot of t shirts only have small or 4xl a lot of the time, we're told to come back daily as they get new stock so we'll see how it goes but so far the few shirts we like aren't available in our size.
- The parking garage isn't great for minivans. We knew this from our last trip but we have 5 big suitcases so need this vehicle type but it can be a bit tight to get in to some spaces.
- The hotel is busy this week, lots of people everywhere, it's the end of busy season as of last weekend but still a busy lobby and restaurants/pools as we walk around. This means that character queues are probably around 10 people deep if you're not one of the first there. Not a big deal at all but just an observation.
That's it's for now I think, a bit of a brain dump but I wanted to give some info. If anyone has any questions then I'm happy to answer if I can.
Time to go watch the sunset and then to Makahiki for dinner, have a good day!
I guess this is when the addonitis happens for most members huh?! LOL!!
