Just Back From Aulani Stay

[nemofans]

Here are some thoughts from our 1st trip to Aulani!

We just got back from Aulani and we had an amazing time! My 6 yr old called the resort a fantasy place and vowed to move into the resort to live forever. We arrived on June 8th & it wasn't crowded much. By Friday, June 12, it was much more crowded. We had no problem getting lounge chairs all week. They started watching lounge chairs and moving people's stuff on Sunday, June 14th.

Some of the pools were open late: lazy river til 8pm, main pool til 10pm, infinity pool til 8pm, menehune bridge & rainbow reef til 5pm.

We did not need to wait in line much at all. We did not bother with the line for Aunty's Beach House as we only did drop off. We did sign them up for Fish Are Friends class ahead of time. My boys (6 & 10) loved Aunty's! They also loved the Menehune Adventure Trail activity. They diid both outside & inside trails. The inside trail gives the kids a token to keep!

We got in line for Starlit Hui after 7:30pm so we were seated fairly quickly. The activities b4 the show were fun for the kids. The shows were Sat, Tues, Thurs. We went Tues night. My boys thought it was ok & didn't want to stay for the dance party.

Rainbow Reef was crowded when it opened in morning so we waited til lunchtime which was much better. We used our own snorkeling gear and used their life vests. Very cool!

We didn't have issues with food choices as there are different choices throughout day. We used Ulu Cafe a lot, especially after the other food stands closed.

We were in a hotel room #136 (king & pull out sofa). Our view was of one of the lazy river entrances. I was worried about noise being on the ground floor, but when the balcony is closed, it blocks out the sound. We actually enjoyed having a ground floor room as we kept our snorkeling gear on the patio so we could just grab it when ready for rainbow reef & drop it off easy after w/o going inside. That way we weren't lugging a lot of stuff everywhere.

We did the Pearl Harbor excursion through Aulani and were disappointed that we had to tour Honolulu b4 going to Pearl Harbor which made the tour a long one. We would have rather spent that time at Pearl Harbor so we weren't rushing through that stuff. It made for a long day for our kids.

We rented a car & went to Kualoa Ranch which I loved! I am a big LOST fan (as well as Jurassic Park) so it was amazing standing in that valley. We also stopped at the Byodo In Temple (another LOST sight) which was cool. My boys actually liked this place, especially the koi. You only need 30 min tops for this place.

I will answer any questions if I can!

 

[Amw1064]

We are still here but our visits over lapped. We arrived the 10th. I totally agree on it getting a little more crowded each day. We have never had a chair problem and we just check our stuff hourly. No problems at all. We rented a car so we have done our exploring on our own. Pearl Harbor/swap meet, surf lesson and then yesterday we did a 10 hour trip stopping at Dole plantation, Haleiwa for Matsumotos shaved ice, then the Waimea falls which we loved and swam out to the falls and then to Lanikea beach where we saw at least 20 sea turtles It was an awesome day! We are not big adventurous people but the drives were all very easy and concierge gave us little cards with directions for everywhere.

 

[JoeA]

We were there June 8th through the 15th! It's a great resort. I miss the lazy river already!

And the rum.

 

[rnorwo1]

Duplicate

 

[rnorwo1]

We are going next May, so I'm reading everything I can, thanks for the info! One question: is Rainbow Reef "good enough" for snorkeling, or should we just go somewhere else? I know that's a subjective opinion, but were your kids happy with it? Were there a lot of fish and places to swim, or was it like being in a small pool with a lot of people? Thanks!

 

[JoeA]

We are going next May, so I'm reading everything I can, thanks for the info! One question: is Rainbow Reef "good enough" for snorkeling, or should we just go somewhere else? I know that's a subjective opinion, but were your kids happy with it? Were there a lot of fish and places to swim, or was it like being in a small pool with a lot of people? Thanks!

It's a good size pool and a great way to see fish if you aren't willing or able to snorkel in the ocean (e.g. with smaller children or people who don't feel comfortable in the open ocean).

We took several snorkel boats and I did see lots of little ones but that can get expensive, especially for families.

 

[nemofans]

There are a few fish in the lagoon if you stay along the rocks, but not a lot. Rainbow Reef is perfect for kids & I even enjoyed seeing all the fish in there. They just swim right by you not caring you are there. Younger kids who don't know how to snorkel can just use goggles with the life vest too. The water is cold, but you get used to it once you are out there. They do fish feedings at 10:15 am right at the viewing windows which the kids enjoyed watching.
We got shave ice almost everyday & my favorite flavor is lilikoi (passion fruit)!

 

[heybets30]

Nemofans ... how long was the drive to byodo in temple? That's on my short list of places to visit ... curious how traffic & timing was for you. Also, what time of day did you visit the temple?

 

[camtheriot]

I have a question for you, how did you kids like it compared to Disneyworld? I have 4 children, and 2 of them want to go to Hawaii this year while the other 2 want to go back to Disneyworld. I am so torn!! My husband and I went by ourselves to aulani 3 yrs ago and we LOOOVED IT,! But I also love Disneyworld! Just as much as my kids do. Lol... Just don't want to spend that kind of money if they will just KINDOF like it. Lol

 

[nemofans]

My younger DS has been asking to go back to WDW and he's the one that now wants to live at Aulani. It is a kids' paradise. If they like swimming or being in water, then they'll love it.

We rented a car on Thursday, June 11th. We left at around 8 am and there was NO traffic. Yay! We were headed to Kualoa Ranch and b/c of no traffic, we were going to get there very early. So we stopped at the temple which is on the way to the ranch. It took about 30-35 min from Aulani to the temple.

 

[Amw1064]

My daughter is 12 and loving it here. She likes seeing all the sea turtles and yesterday a monk seal. (Both at the lagoon by Paradise cove) we go to Disney monthly as we live an hour and a half away but we also go to the beach at home weekly. Point is, she loves it here. She has not been in Aunties at all since she is right at the border for kids/teen club. I say you should go to Aulani! I think it is awesome. Abbey loves the family activities. She has made so many lei's, head pieces, bracelets, done ukulele lessons, hula lessons, scavenger hunt, paddle board, etc.