Not an Official Trip Report but let me share some tidbits from our Aulani Vacation

[jerseygal]

Oleo Room is on our "to do" list for great appetizers..

Doing Waikiki after Pearl Harbour and have read great things about Waimea Falls!

We are adding a Full Day at Kualoa Ranch!!! CANNOT WAIT to do the ATV's, and the Ocean Voyage Tour, and Secret Island! Read that the Ocean Voyage Tour in the Catamaran is exceptional as well as the scenery from the ATV's..

Our "older" sons WILL LOVE IT!

Since I have been told to arrive at Kualoa Ranch no later than 8:00AM, I have been told to allow at least 2 hours traveling time with traffic....That means we
will pull out of Aulani EARLY AT 5:45AM that day....Hopefully, the day at Kualoa Ranch will be worth it....Read GREAT REVIEWS!

THANKS FOR YOUR COMMENTS!

 

[poohj80]

Oleo Room is on our "to do" list for great appetizers..


We are adding a Full Day at Kualoa Ranch!!! CANNOT WAIT to do the ATV's, and the Ocean Voyage Tour, and Secret Island! Read that the Ocean Voyage Tour in the Catamaran is exceptional as well as the scenery from the ATV's..

Our "older" sons WILL LOVE IT!

Looking forward to returning to Aulani when DD is older so we can enjoy all of the above as well!

 

[aboveH20]

10. Number ten is to buy another coffee mug. That was the one souvenir I wanted to buy so I could enjoy my morning coffee and relive the trip. I bought the mug (thanks DVC presentation) but at $15 I’m afraid to use it -- it sits above my computer where it see it all day. Next time I’ll have to buy a spare so I’ll have one if I break one.

Sadly I learned from experience that even Disney mugs break -- or chip.



Yup, gotta go back and get a drinking mug to go with my "looking at" mug.

Oleo Room is on our "to do" list for great appetizers..

Doing Waikiki after Pearl Harbour and have read great things about Waimea Falls!

We are adding a Full Day at Kualoa Ranch!!! CANNOT WAIT to do the ATV's, and the Ocean Voyage Tour, and Secret Island! Read that the Ocean Voyage Tour in the Catamaran is exceptional as well as the scenery from the ATV's..

Our "older" sons WILL LOVE IT!

Since I have been told to arrive at Kualoa Ranch no later than 8:00AM, I have been told to allow at least 2 hours traveling time with traffic....That means we
will pull out of Aulani EARLY AT 5:45AM that day....Hopefully, the day at Kualoa Ranch will be worth it....Read GREAT REVIEWS!

THANKS FOR YOUR COMMENTS!

You're still in the "looking forward to" stage. Am I the only one who hates to get too close to the trip and start the "it's going to be over too soon" stage?

The Kualoa Ranch sounds great. My sons (now 26 and 28) would have LOVED that!

We never had traffic problems, but I know some people do. At least you'll be on east coast time for a bit. Although I must say, we very quickly lost sight of the fact that we should be five hours ahead. What do they call it? Island time?

Looking forward to returning to Aulani when DD is older so we can enjoy all of the above as well!

Yes, at each age it's got to be a different experience -- just like at WDW. I'm sure when my sons were younger they would have loved just playing in the sand and water at Aulani -- with an occasional shave ice thrown in!

 

[poohj80]

I'm sure when my sons were younger they would have loved just playing in the sand and water at Aulani -- with an occasional shave ice thrown in!

Ours wasn't occasional, it was daily!

 

[yolie912]

Loved reading your trip report!

 

[jerseygal]

Been reading these threads for SO LONG NOW!

Dis has been SO HELPFUL on all of our trips!

Saw they you cruised on Disney too! We sailed August, "11 and had such a
GREAT TIME! First family cruise for us and boy was it MEMORABLE!
Just loved Castaway Cay! BEAUTIFUL!

Have FUN thinking about and planning your next trip!!!

 

[aboveH20]

Ours wasn't occasional, it was daily!

You're a much better trip planner than I. Gotta add that to the list for next time.

11. Shave ice every day.

Loved reading your trip report!

Thanks. It's fun to relive the trip.

Been reading these threads for SO LONG NOW!

Dis has been SO HELPFUL on all of our trips!

Saw they you cruised on Disney too! We sailed August, "11 and had such a
GREAT TIME! First family cruise for us and boy was it MEMORABLE!
Just loved Castaway Cay! BEAUTIFUL!

Have FUN thinking about and planning your next trip!!!

Absolutely Dis provides a lot of information. (I'm currently reading Disneyland threads semi planning a trip to see my sons in June.)

We did a Disney cruise for our 25th anniversary. I've already started thinking I would like to have dinner at Palo for my brithday next year. I wonder when I should mention that to my husband.

I guess that's the good news - bad news about Dis. It's sooooo addicting and always makes me want to plan the next trip.

 

[BobDes]

Thanks so much for all of your tips ad sharing your Aulani experience. We leave in 11 days for our first visit there!
There is sooo much info to go through!!!

 

[poohj80]

You're a much better trip planner than I. Gotta add that to the list for next time.

11. Shave ice every day.

No planning required...the shaved ice is right there by the pool...easy!

 

[Crazy4Disney06]

Thank you so much for this fantastic report! My family will be going to Aualni for the first time in August. Your post has me excited and taught me a few things I did not not as well!

 

[aboveH20]

Thank you so much for this fantastic report! My family will be going to Aualni for the first time in August. Your post has me excited and taught me a few things I did not not as well!

Thanks for taking the time to read and reply. Be prepared . . . one common theme seems to be that people go to Aulani thinkiing it will be a one time trip they can cross off their bucket list but then return home trying to figure out when and how they can go back. My husband and I keep talking about it and if it weren't for the long flights and his restless leg problem, I think we'd be going back sooner rather than later.

Have an amazing time!

 

[OurDogCisco]

I loved your tips. I've been going to Hawaii for 20 years (at least once a year and sometimes twice) so, I love reading a newbies thoughts and tips.

One tip I'd like to share is that Oahu isn't really known for their snorkeling except at Hanauma Bay. I definitely recommend that place especially if you can get their first thing in the morning at 6 am. But even so after 20 years that place isn't what it use to be. We have a timeshare on Maui and there is reef right out front of the resort and over the years the reef is slowly dying. So, less fish. At Napali Shores in Maui you can see turtles for days. I love all the islands. We've stayed at Ko'Olina twice and Aulani once. Hope to work it into our vacation plans soon.

 

[lovetotraveltx]

We get to Hawaii in 54 days. Loved reading your tips/thoughts! Thank you

 

[4DisneyAddicts]

We enjoyed the Mo’olelo Fire Pit Storytelling a couple times. It takes place around the fire pit (we’re still trying to figure out how Uncle turns it on and off) and it’s so relaxing to sit by the fire and listen to Uncle weave a tale. It happens a couple times a day -- check the Iwa.

Starlit Hui is the evening show with hula dancers, ukulele music (Heart & Soul are excellent) and characters. It was on Monday and Thursday evenings when we were there and we went to both. They have mats for families to sit on, and lots of activities for the kids, but they also have some chairs set up, when we immensely enjoyed!

There are quite a few exercise options -- fitness walk, beach body boot camp, yoga, canoe racing, etc. (Not to mention a fully outfitted exercise room.) We didn’t partake of any, but I did enjoy a morning walk to the marina. Aulani faces west, so sunsets are spectacular, but the marina is a good spot for a sunrise. I believe the ocean walk is about 1.5 miles total.

There are a number of cultural walks. Aulani means messenger, and Disney has done a good job of trying to share Hawaiian culture in many ways throughout the resort. We did The Nature and Wildlife of Aulani and The Art and Culture of Aulani. They both last about 45 minutes with stops around the resort to talk about some of the artifacts, vegetations, etc.

While I’m guessing it was designed for the young ‘uns, my husband and I did the Menehune Adventure Trail. You get an iPad-like handheld unit and are given directions to a number of locations where you “make things happen.” I think our curiosity was piqued because as we walked about the resort we would see kids at various rocks “making things happen“. It’s a must if you have kids, and fun if you don’t. You get to borrow the device for an hour at a time and there are four trails. We were a bit slow out of the gate, so we finished two trails in an hour.

There is an intra resort shuttle that travels among the Ko Olina resorts, and we hopped on just to see where it went. It’s free, it was something to do, and it gave us a mini look at the area. It stops at Roy’s and runs until 11PM if you have dinner there. It took about half an hour to do the whole loop and while I’m not saying to put

Is there a fee for any of these? Thanks so much, I have enjoyed your tips!

 

[aboveH20]

Is there a fee for any of these? Thanks so much, I have enjoyed your tips!

Excellent question. No fee for any of the above mentioned activities. And our favorte activity -- gazing at the ocean -- was free too!

I went to Disneyland for a couple days in June. I've been going solo to Disney World for the past few years but my sons have both relocated to California so it seemed like a good excuse to visit Disneyland. I must say by the end of the day my legs remembered why we enjoyed Aulani so much -- pure relaxation without the lines and crowds.

 

[4DisneyAddicts]

Thanks!

 

[cjsmith]

Two months ago today we were wondering if we’d be able to fall asleep before our 5:40 AM flight. I won’t say it’s all a distant memory, but Hawaii seems like longer than two months ago. We’ve talked a lot about going back -- not sure when -- and things we’ll do again and do because we didn’t do the first time.

Here’s out Next Time List -- in no particular order

1. Hike Diamond Head. I’ve read so much about how strenuous it is, so before our next trip I’d like to be intentional about prepping (training sounds too serous) to do the hike.

2. Breakfast buffet at Makahiki. We got in on the promotion that included breakfast each morning at Ulu Café and it was fine, but eight breakfasts there didn’t provide a lot of variety. Each morning we awoke to the sounds from Makahiki so it’s on the list.

3. Speaking of Ulu Café, we had their malasadas for breakfast, and now we’re putting Leonard’s on the list for next time.

4. The Bishop Museum. We had semi planned to go there the day we went to Iolani Palace, but ran out of time. I’m interested in Hawaiian history and would like to see it.

5. A return trip to the Polynesian Cultural Center. It’s open a relatively short amount of time each day and we did the ambassador tour, so next time we’d like to go back and explore on our own. I suspect we’ll do a luau while we’re there. We did the Samoan buffet and will try a different one next time.

6. We didn’t make it to the Olelo Room until our last day when we went on the history and cultural tour. Gotta go back and have a Shirley Temple and some appetizers!

7. Check out Waikiki. We saw it from the air, now we’d like to see it from land. I don’t know if we’d stay there for a couple nights or just do a day trip. As part of that venture my husband would like to go to the Hawaii Army Museum. (He was an army captain in Viet Nam.)

8. Return to Waimea Falls and see the falls! It rained the day we went so we just made it as far as the visitor center and gift shop. Apparently it’s an easy walk, so it would be perfect for a sunny day.

9. I know my husband would love to be able to check out Schofield Barracks where he lived when his father was stationed in Hawaii, but I’m not thinking that’s going to happen.

10. Number ten is to buy another coffee mug. That was the one souvenir I wanted to buy so I could enjoy my morning coffee and relive the trip. I bought the mug (thanks DVC presentation) but at $15 I’m afraid to use it -- it sits above my computer where it see it all day. Next time I’ll have to buy a spare so I’ll have one if I break one.

We went in February for my birthday ending in zero. My husband has a birthday ending in zero in 2016, so hopefully he’ll want to go back for his birthday is we don’t make it there before then.

I know I'm not the only one Photobucket doesn't like, but honest to gosh I tried to make the photo smaller!!!

I've enjoyed reading your report. We are heading to Hawaii in October to visit my son who is a new officer in the Army and stationed at Schofiield Barracks! From the pictures, it looks really nice. Even though my son has his own place , we figured that ending the trip up at Aulani would be fun for the 3 of us. After 5 nights in Waikiki and 3 in Maui, staying for the end of vacation at Aulani should be the perfect way to end everything.

 

[aboveH20]

I've enjoyed reading your report. We are heading to Hawaii in October to visit my son who is a new officer in the Army and stationed at Schofiield Barracks! From the pictures, it looks really nice. Even though my son has his own place , we figured that ending the trip up at Aulani would be fun for the 3 of us. After 5 nights in Waikiki and 3 in Maui, staying for the end of vacation at Aulani should be the perfect way to end everything.

Congratulations to your son. My husband lived at Schofield Barracks when his father was stationed in Hawaii. He was six months old so claims not to remember it, but we drove past on the way to Dole Plantation and the North Shore.

How nice to be able to visit Hawaii under such happy circumstances. When my son enlisted in the Navy I had dreams of visiting Hawaii or San Diego, even Guam which was on my son's list for a while. We live in New York. He was stationed in Connecticut. Not quite what I had in mind, but now he lives in Santa Barbara, so we're okay visiting there.

Enjoy Hawaii.

 

[dukehoopsfan]

aboveH20 - I wanted to tell you that I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your trip report. We are in the early planning stages of a trip to Aulani in 2017. It will be our 30th wedding anniversary, our daughter and son in law's 5th wedding anniversary and graduation for our son from college. I have printed out your report and put in my planning binder to reference back to - as it will be very helpful.

On a completely different topic....we too live in the Saratoga County area....in Saratoga Springs...small world on the forums!

 

[aboveH20]

aboveH20 - I wanted to tell you that I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your trip report. We are in the early planning stages of a trip to Aulani in 2017. It will be our 30th wedding anniversary, our daughter and son in law's 5th wedding anniversary and graduation for our son from college. I have printed out your report and put in my planning binder to reference back to - as it will be very helpful.

On a completely different topic....we too live in the Saratoga County area....in Saratoga Springs...small world on the forums!

Hi, neighbor. I worked at the racetrack after I retired, it was the first time I had ever been. Last week I finally returned and took a tour. I was the only one in the 1:30 tour so the guide took me up to the rooftop and watched a race. What a view.

But, you'll also enjoy the views at Aulani. We are trying to decide if this is the year we go back. If only they could haul the islands a little closer to the mainland. Our sons live in West Hollywood and Santa Barbara so we're thinking we could visit one on the way there and one on the way back. This time we would like to check out a couple more islands, but we certainly weren't bored after eight nights -- and we never saw snow!