Belle_Ann
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2015
- Messages
- 122
So, it was our first time on Oahu and first time at Aulani. I read a ton of good info here to help me plan so thought I'd share a few thoughts now that we've sadly returned, and I'm almost over my jet lag. Our party was myself, my husband, and 2 kids (9 and 13).
Being spring break, I was really concerned about crowds but must say I was pleasantly surprised. Given, it was the week before Easter week but I still was worried. Certainly it was busy at Aulani but I never felt like I was dealing with the massive crowds I've seen on cruises or at disneyworld this time of year.
I never had to wait behind more than 1-2 people at stores or quick service restaurants, there were always chairs at the beach, we could get beach toys, etc. it didn't feel like massive crowds in the pools. Character lines maybe 5-10 people.
The pool chair situation.... yes if you want a prime spot with a view you need to get there early. I went a few times about 7:45am and got good spots. But really this has been the case at all beach resorts I've been to. One day we got there around lunchtime and found spots easily at the tables by Rainbow reef. Later in the day people would leave and we grabbed good spots.
They were patrolling the chairs. One day I grabbed a few chairs in a great spot around 7:45 am and then about 8:05 a lady came up and claimed I 'stole' her chairs where here stuff had been placed earlier in the morning. I told her there was nothing on the chairs when I arrived and luckily before it got heated, a lady near by told her one of the workers had taken all her stuff away since you can't leave it unattended before 8. So, she was annoyed but moved on.
The pool hours were great for us so I guess we lucked out. The lazy river closed at 8pm but the main family pool and hot tubs were open until 10. We did night swimming a few times and there was hardly anyone around. We tried to not actually fully adjust to the time zone since we're from the eastern time zone so we were early to bed and early to rise anyway.
The Aulani Luau... we've never done a luau so I didn't have anything to compare to. We chose to dp the Aulani one for a few reasons. Given our short time at Aulani, I didn't want to cut my day short to travel somewhere else. But I also have one picky kid eater that we have to pay adult prices for so it was going to kill me to pay the luau price and have to buy him food later. At the Disney one, he found good options from the kids table and ate some off the adult table. I thought the luaua was well done, and was interesting to hear the story of the Ko Olina area. It wasn't too long either. And there were great musicians during dinner. I'm not sure I'd do it again (or any luaua really) but it was fun one time.
Photopass pictures... we got as many as possible during the days and 2 nights did sunset pictures. There were 2-3 different photographers on the beach each night and they took tons of different photos of the family, the kids, etc. It was a great deal to get the $99 cd and all those pics.
We had an awesome ocean view 1 bedroom and listened to the outdoor music from the lounge from our balcony each night. I meant to hit Costco but never did and just picked up a few things from Island Market (ABC). They had plenty of variety to meet our needs for a few days,
We had an amazing time and are trying to figure out how soon we can go back. My only frustration was the food selection. Honestly the snack snack at the pool seemed some of the better food and value vs Ulu. But it did close a bit too early (5pm). Even the pool bar food was disappointing. Not terrible but they could easily do better. we did eat there for dinner twice and enjoyed siting outside by the pool, but they had few options and some were a joke (e.g. A pile of chips with melted cheese in a cup on the side does not equal 'loaded' nachos!). We don't like cooking on vacation but did do some breakfasts in the room, had take out pizza one night, etc.
We did have one breakfast at AMA AMA which was delicious, and one dinner there that was very good but not amazing. The view made up for it though
Any questions, let me know and I'll try to answer.
Being spring break, I was really concerned about crowds but must say I was pleasantly surprised. Given, it was the week before Easter week but I still was worried. Certainly it was busy at Aulani but I never felt like I was dealing with the massive crowds I've seen on cruises or at disneyworld this time of year.
I never had to wait behind more than 1-2 people at stores or quick service restaurants, there were always chairs at the beach, we could get beach toys, etc. it didn't feel like massive crowds in the pools. Character lines maybe 5-10 people.
The pool chair situation.... yes if you want a prime spot with a view you need to get there early. I went a few times about 7:45am and got good spots. But really this has been the case at all beach resorts I've been to. One day we got there around lunchtime and found spots easily at the tables by Rainbow reef. Later in the day people would leave and we grabbed good spots.
They were patrolling the chairs. One day I grabbed a few chairs in a great spot around 7:45 am and then about 8:05 a lady came up and claimed I 'stole' her chairs where here stuff had been placed earlier in the morning. I told her there was nothing on the chairs when I arrived and luckily before it got heated, a lady near by told her one of the workers had taken all her stuff away since you can't leave it unattended before 8. So, she was annoyed but moved on.
The pool hours were great for us so I guess we lucked out. The lazy river closed at 8pm but the main family pool and hot tubs were open until 10. We did night swimming a few times and there was hardly anyone around. We tried to not actually fully adjust to the time zone since we're from the eastern time zone so we were early to bed and early to rise anyway.
The Aulani Luau... we've never done a luau so I didn't have anything to compare to. We chose to dp the Aulani one for a few reasons. Given our short time at Aulani, I didn't want to cut my day short to travel somewhere else. But I also have one picky kid eater that we have to pay adult prices for so it was going to kill me to pay the luau price and have to buy him food later. At the Disney one, he found good options from the kids table and ate some off the adult table. I thought the luaua was well done, and was interesting to hear the story of the Ko Olina area. It wasn't too long either. And there were great musicians during dinner. I'm not sure I'd do it again (or any luaua really) but it was fun one time.
Photopass pictures... we got as many as possible during the days and 2 nights did sunset pictures. There were 2-3 different photographers on the beach each night and they took tons of different photos of the family, the kids, etc. It was a great deal to get the $99 cd and all those pics.
We had an awesome ocean view 1 bedroom and listened to the outdoor music from the lounge from our balcony each night. I meant to hit Costco but never did and just picked up a few things from Island Market (ABC). They had plenty of variety to meet our needs for a few days,
We had an amazing time and are trying to figure out how soon we can go back. My only frustration was the food selection. Honestly the snack snack at the pool seemed some of the better food and value vs Ulu. But it did close a bit too early (5pm). Even the pool bar food was disappointing. Not terrible but they could easily do better. we did eat there for dinner twice and enjoyed siting outside by the pool, but they had few options and some were a joke (e.g. A pile of chips with melted cheese in a cup on the side does not equal 'loaded' nachos!). We don't like cooking on vacation but did do some breakfasts in the room, had take out pizza one night, etc.
We did have one breakfast at AMA AMA which was delicious, and one dinner there that was very good but not amazing. The view made up for it though
Any questions, let me know and I'll try to answer.
