Tips for first time visit

[Jason franks]

Hey looking for any recommendations or tips for our first trip to aulani in september. I am going with my wife and 2 and a half year old daughter.

 

[rdefensor]

Our 3 year old loved the water play structure and went up and down the slide about 50 times/day. She wasn’t into the lazy river so much. The tubes were a bit too big for her still. They have life jackets available at the same areas where you can get towels. We found it best to hit the pools early right after breakfast when it’s not so hot... and then back out again later in the early evening.

The pauhana room had dvd and games that you can borrow to keep the kiddo occupied during downtime.

 

[tankin]

@Jason franks Not sure what you are looking for but ...
Across the street is a Island Country Market... It great for "light groceries" and much cheaper than Aulani. Its part of the (in)famous ABC chain.
Monkey Pod across the street is good
Character Breakfast is fun... more HI paced that WDW or DCL.

 

[gatechfan99]

Just got back, a few things that come to mind
-pool chairs have been discussed extensively in another post. If there on a weekend, try to be down there to reserve one or two by around 7:30 or 8:00 at the latest. If coming from the East Coast, it shouldn't be a problem to be up a while before that.
-if your daughter is only 2.5, she will love the Menehune Bridge water play area. That would be a good area to camp out for the day since she will want to run back and forth between the play area and your chairs. Also life jackets are provided, so it should be easy to get in lazy river with her as well.
-character breakfast at Makahiki is the best character meeting option, so I would recommend that.
-if you're renting a car, there's a Target, Costco, Safeway, Foodland about 5-10 minutes away to get all your groceries needs. Otherwise, you can get some on property or walk across the street to the restaurant and shopping area for a pretty good grocery selection.
-if you've never been to Hawaii, I would at least rent a car for one day and drive around the island. Weekend would be preferable for better traffic. Pictures and words just can't describe the views in some areas, especially if you drive through the valleys and mountains in the middle of the island.
-the beach is great for small children. The ocean water is very calm in the lagoon and easy to play with. Again, they provide life jackets if you desire and I think they also have beach toys you can check out. There are also several 2-seat lounge chairs that are covered that you can rent for the day (I think about $200). Might be a nice option to have for at least one day if you all want to stay out there but your daughter wants to take a nap.

 

[CateinPhoenix]

Just on Hawaii in general, bring half the clothes you think you will need and twice the $

 

[mfleeting]

Go get some water from a store across the street or target (also the Hawaiian Sun drinks are really good). Get a refillable mug for soda, tea, cocoa, and coffee (I think). Go early in the morning for a good chair spot in the shade. Rent a car from Aulani and see some of the island if you’ve never been even if it’s just for a day.

 

[BigTex71]

If you are a DVC member, get the refillable popcorn bucket. You get free refills when you show your DVC blue card.

 

[thedogatemyhomework]

if you're going this year then september is well into the first set of pool closures for the refurb (aulani website has the list of whats closed, and when), difficult to say what kind of impact it could have...could be less people there but the pools that are open feel more crowded...might be mostly a ghost town...disney may even have some extra activities and such planned in case the refurbs impact guest experience more than the room credits can make up for.

even if the pools that are open are crowded...oahu does have quite a few beaches...and the room credit can make character breakfast far more affordable...$82 for 2 adults...minus $50 per night room credit...so $32 for character breakfast.

 

[t3hWheez]

It’s $50 per person, per night if I am reading that correctly.

https://www.disneyaulani.com/faq/pool-refurbishment-faq/

 

[jodybird511]

Don't know if you're staying in a villa (with a kitchen), but if so, I highly recommend getting groceries--esp for breakfast, lunch, and snacks--also booze, if you all enjoy cocktails. We saved SO much money by doing this our last trip. Also, it's not always fun having to dine out for every meal when you have a toddler--much more relaxed if you can have some simple meals in your villa. Also, we have found the food at Aulani to be only ok (with the exception of Ama Ama), and very expensive. For me, I'd rather either eat offsite or cook--and when I say "cook," I use that term generously, as most of our meals were very simple preps. If you know you'll be doing some cooking, you may want to consider bringing some things from home, like spices, dry snacks, a sharp prep knife, Ziplocs/plastic food storage containers. Also, you'll want to bring reusable grocery bags, as HI does not use plastic bags. And, unrelated to food, you may wish (again, only if in a villa) to bring Tide pods for laundry. We also bring dishwashing detergent. The 2 detergents are only needed if you're in a villa and staying on points. If you're on a cash reservation, these will be provided for you as needed.

 

[MickeyDee]

The Luau was AMAZING! My niece is a bit older than your little, but there are lots of hands on activities before the show begins and the characters make an appearance.

 

[linco711]

If you are a DVC member, get the refillable popcorn bucket. You get free refills when you show your DVC blue card.

Do they sell them there? Do you remember an approximate cost? Thanks

 

[linco711]

It’s $50 per person, per night if I am reading that correctly.

https://www.disneyaulani.com/faq/pool-refurbishment-faq/

I think it’s per room...not per person.

 

[BigTex71]

Do they sell them there? Do you remember an approximate cost? Thanks

They sell them at the Ulu Cafe. I believe they are $10.
We refilled ours a few times during our stay, then gave it to a fellow DVC traveler before we left - since we don't need yet another Disney popcorn bucket taking up space at our house. LOL

 

[linco711]

Thank you!

 

[minniebeth]

They sell them at the Ulu Cafe. I believe they are $10.
We refilled ours a few times during our stay, then gave it to a fellow DVC traveler before we left - since we don't need yet another Disney popcorn bucket taking up space at our house. LOL

Do you know what the refills cost for non-DVC members? My kids love popcorn

 

[BigTex71]

Do you know what the refills cost for non-DVC members? My kids love popcorn

I don't know for sure, but I think it was $1.50 per refill for non-DVC.

 

[minniebeth]

I don't know for sure, but I think it was $1.50 per refill for non-DVC.

Thank you so much! I think we can budget for that.