Outdoor eating areas

[wisconsinmom]

What are the options for outdoor eating areas at Aulani? We are in a studio but hoping to do some creative cooking/grilling to do some dinners at the resort. Is there some available outdoor seating?

 

[BobNed]

What are the options for outdoor eating areas at Aulani? We are in a studio but hoping to do some creative cooking/grilling to do some dinners at the resort. Is there some available outdoor seating?

There are a couple picnic tables near the grills. See this post: http://www.disboards.com/threads/master-list-of-dvc-grills.2641843/page-4#post-55265067

 

[cmph]

You can also sit at the beach! Everyone abandons the beach casabellas by dinner time, and flattened - they're kind of picnic table-ish. There are also tables around the pool area that you can eat at (easier at dinner time than lunch time to find a free one). Some are specifically for the pool restaurants, but not all. The elevated area by Rainbow Reef has free-for-all tables. Pretty much all of the tables have little plastic signs on them, and some of them will say "Reserved for Off the Hook" etc but some of them purely warn you not to feed the birds, so don't necessarily assume every table with a sign is reserved for a restaurant.

We timed our hot dog grilling night to be when we watched the Starlit Hui. We sat on the mat and ate while we waited for the show.

BTW, the grills were not avail during lunch time, just dinner time. I have no idea why. I guess there is a gas line master that they don't open until then, but I think the hours were 4:30-8-something. We couldn't figure out why they wouldn't have them avail whenever. And some times there is a line to use them.

 

[happymommy]

I don't understand either why the grills aren't available until dinner time. At the Marriott next door where we stay, they're available all the time (unless they're cleaning them, which they do daily of course). With the time change, we often eat a big lunch and then nap or relax out of the sun for a couple hours. Plus there are 3 separate grill areas with several grills in each. I don't get how they can only have four grills for the whole resort at Aulani. I probably grill at least 3 times a week there!

 

[blondietink]

We also love to grill at Aulani and the lack of grills and restricted hours are a problem. Perhaps they are trying to force people to buy food at the resort, but it doesn't work for us.

 

[cmph]

I can only guess that they don't maintain enough clean utensil kits for two meal times (of course obvious solution is to just buy more for the guests to use!), without enough time to re-clean between lunch and dinner... but also, they probably don't want anyone to sit at the grills and hog them for slow-cooking for numerous hours. No one is going to do that in the evening.

 

[happymommy]

I just bring my own utensils personally anyway. I have tongs that I like that I pack in my suitcase, but don't the villas have tongs and such?

I think it's to discourage grilling. I don't grill at Disney but do a lot in Hawaii!

 

[cmph]

I just bring my own utensils personally anyway. I have tongs that I like that I pack in my suitcase, but don't the villas have tongs and such?

I think it's to discourage grilling. I don't grill at Disney but do a lot in Hawaii!

I didn't find tongs in ours (1-bedroom, but I assume all villas are equipped the same), or even a flat spatula. I had to use a rounded slotted spoon to move pizzas in the oven!

 

[alwayssmile]

I didn't find tongs in ours (1-bedroom, but I assume all villas are equipped the same), or even a flat spatula. I had to use a rounded slotted spoon to move pizzas in the oven!

This is super helpful info for me! Anything else "normal" that's missing? One of my kids has a very strict diet due to food allergies, so we need to cook!

 

[cmph]

This is super helpful info for me! Anything else "normal" that's missing? One of my kids has a very strict diet due to food allergies, so we need to cook!

DH has celiac, so we couldn't rely on restaurants outside of Aulani and couldn't bring ourselves to spend the money to eat 3 meals a day on-site anyway! He made sandwiches to bring on our excursions and we bought him breakfast supplies at Island market and on a Safeway run. None of that required cooking utensils, though. No pizza cutter, and the knives were pretty darned awful, so we had some interesting pizza slices! I wish we had bought foil or a cheap pan, b/c there is just the one rectangular pan. We didn't want to put his gluten-free pizza directly on the oven rack, so he got the pan, but we also had to put that on the top rack b/c we couldn't put our non-gf pizzas on the rack above without a pan or foil and have the flour sprinkle down onto his. Consequently his pizza took forever to cook, and ours was a bit burnt on bottom by the time the cheese melted. So - if you expect to do anything like that, get a cheap disposable pan or foil. Other than cooking frozen pizzas in the oven, we cooked hot dogs on the outdoor grill, and bought breakfast/snack things. Most of our lunches were either around the pool or off-site (with DH bringing his). Most dinners were at resort restaurants, no adventurous cooking in the villa.

There were pots/pans/lids, but we didn't use them so I can't say what's missing that you might need? I'm sure things "disappear" from the villas without staff noticing, unfortunately. Plenty of dishes, cups, eating utensils. Also a rice cooker.

 

[alwayssmile]

Thanks! Looks like I should throw a couple of small kitchen items into our suitcases.

 

[happymommy]

I've called sometimes for extra things, like cookie sheets, tongs, or sometimes if the nonstick pan isn't quite up to par another one. Housekeeping can always bring extra things, as long as they have them. I do have a very small nonstick pan I may have brought with me on occasion - sometimes theirs at either DVC or Marriott aren't quite as good, and I like to make eggs when we have a full kitchen sometimes.

I always bring or buy some Pam for either the eggs or using on the grill to make sure fish won't stick!

 

[heaven2dc]

I don't understand either why the grills aren't available until dinner time. At the Marriott next door where we stay, they're available all the time (unless they're cleaning them, which they do daily of course). With the time change, we often eat a big lunch and then nap or relax out of the sun for a couple hours. Plus there are 3 separate grill areas with several grills in each. I don't get how they can only have four grills for the whole resort at Aulani. I probably grill at least 3 times a week there!

I have a question (and thanks for giving insight on the Marriott or now Four Seasons & their grills) - When you say you grill at least 3x's a week there, are you referring to the grills at the Marriott where you stay or are you referring to when you stay at Aulani using Aulani's grills? Thanks!

 

[happymommy]

I have a question (and thanks for giving insight on the Marriott or now Four Seasons & their grills) - When you say you grill at least 3x's a week there, are you referring to the grills at the Marriott where you stay or are you referring to when you stay at Aulani using Aulani's grills? Thanks!

I've actually never stayed at Aulani, LOL! I always stay at the Marriott so I'm referring to their grills. They have three grill areas (one for each tower) with several grills each, so I go to the one closest to the tower that I'm staying in (but my favorites are the Hale Naia since those overlook the ocean!).

It's nice to grill and let the others chill in the room, but often my daughter comes along to carry things (like my wine, LOL!).

 

[blessed2BaMama]

I've called sometimes for extra things, like cookie sheets, tongs, or sometimes if the nonstick pan isn't quite up to par another one. Housekeeping can always bring extra things, as long as they have them. I do have a very small nonstick pan I may have brought with me on occasion - sometimes theirs at either DVC or Marriott aren't quite as good, and I like to make eggs when we have a full kitchen sometimes.

I always bring or buy some Pam for either the eggs or using on the grill to make sure fish won't stick!

Will they bring you cookie sheets if I you ask? Do you know other things they can provide on request? Thanks so much, I'm making my list of things I need to bring from home!

 

[blondietink]

I can only guess that they don't maintain enough clean utensil kits for two meal times (of course obvious solution is to just buy more for the guests to use!), without enough time to re-clean between lunch and dinner... but also, they probably don't want anyone to sit at the grills and hog them for slow-cooking for numerous hours. No one is going to do that in the evening.

There is not a lunch time grilling option so that is out for your theory of not having enough utensils. They don't turn on the grills until 4 pm and they are turned off at 7:30 pm.

 

[happymommy]

Will they bring you cookie sheets if I you ask? Do you know other things they can provide on request? Thanks so much, I'm making my list of things I need to bring from home!

I'm not sure what they keep in inventory, but I would think for sure cookie sheets are available if you need extra! I also bring or buy nonstick Reynolds Wrap for easy cleanup! I actually sometimes have a lot of stuff I bring like extra plastic food storage containers for sure - they never have enough.

 

[twodogs]

Cookie sheet is in the drawer under the oven. It took us 3 days to find it!

 

[BCV23]

I don't understand either why the grills aren't available until dinner time. At the Marriott next door where we stay, they're available all the time (unless they're cleaning them, which they do daily of course). With the time change, we often eat a big lunch and then nap or relax out of the sun for a couple hours. Plus there are 3 separate grill areas with several grills in each. I don't get how they can only have four grills for the whole resort at Aulani. I probably grill at least 3 times a week there!

My guess is that the hours are limited for safety reasons. That is always the priority for Disney. I can imagine hot grills left running for hours would be dangerous with small children running around.

I think comparing the Marriott timeshare to Aulani is an apple to oranges comparison. The Marriott tower are huge and there are no hotel rooms, right? Fewer dining options for what appears to be a larger resort. BTW, are the grills gas or charcoal?

We also love to grill at Aulani and the lack of grills and restricted hours are a problem. Perhaps they are trying to force people to buy food at the resort, but it doesn't work for us.

I think if the demand was there for longer grilling hours, Aulani would adjust. Perhaps their research suggests there are not just enough people interested in spending their day hours cooking. And as I mentioned earlier, I think hot grills left unattended would be a no go for any Disney resort.

I didn't find tongs in ours (1-bedroom, but I assume all villas are equipped the same), or even a flat spatula. I had to use a rounded slotted spoon to move pizzas in the oven!

You should have had tongs and a spatula. There is a good list on Allears of all that should be in a one or two BR. There should also be a list in the kitchen itself. Sometimes things are in unexpected drawers or shelves in my experience.

 

[happymommy]

I can see the hours limited for safety, but I've stayed at many Marriott and DVC resorts, and they are pretty similar. The grills at the Marriott are gas like Aulani. Marriott does have studios, and you can book all the rooms on a cash basis, just like DVC.

The do have fewer dining options at the Marriott I guess - 3 full service restaurants, two bars, and snacks available at the little shop (Starbucks, sandwiches, salads, pastries - not anything too great really!).

The refill mugs are outrageous priced - $35. Going for 4 weeks next time, I may buy one (or get one off Ebay since they're not chipped). They used to give one as a platinum gift, but stopped last year (grrr). I do like we can get POG in them!

Even though villas come with a spatula, I have a kind that I like better so bring a couple with me!

You could even make sandwiches or hotdogs in the room, use paper plates, and have a nice meal on the beach!