Trip Report - 16 Days in Hawaii - Maui, Oahu, and Aulani!

Just wanted to say thank you for the beautiful report, Matt, as I’m not sure I got around to commenting much as it concluded. I’ve re-read it now and also sent my lurker husband here to enjoy your beautiful photos - we are heading to Maui and back to Aulani again for Christmas and both enjoyed reading about your family’s Hawaiian adventure. Thanks again for taking the time! It was so helpful.

Awesome. Thanks for the feedback, and have a Merry Christmas in Aulani!

Would you reccomend Aulani for a toddler that’s 4?
Yes! Without hesitation, I totally would! They have a fantastic splash zone just for younger kids, a 4 year old would LOVE the activities at Aunty's Beach House, of course the beach is amazing, the larger pool areas are totally kid friendly too...
 
Awesome. Thanks for the feedback, and have a Merry Christmas in Aulani!


Yes! Without hesitation, I totally would! They have a fantastic splash zone just for younger kids, a 4 year old would LOVE the activities at Aunty's Beach House, of course the beach is amazing, the larger pool areas are totally kid friendly too...
Sorry one more question is it all inclusive?
 


Thank you for the great report! We have Hawaiian cruise on DCL booked for 2020 and plan to spend 5 days on Maui before heading to Honolulu for a few nights.
 
You're welcome. Thanks for reading along and providing feedback! :hippie:

Your 2020 trip sounds AMAZING. Best wishes, and an early "Bon Voyage!"
 
I've just found your TR, thank you for sharing your experiences and photos - they're wonderful. We'll be visiting Oahu this summer, staying in Waikiki for 3 nights then spending a week at Aulani to relax so this has given me some insight into what to expect when we're there.
 


Thank you so much for this TR ! We just found out my BF's work is sending us to Maui for 4 nights and we are extending 5 nights at Aulani. I have very time to plan and your TR is saving me so much time and research. I pretty much plan on just duplicating your Oahu itinerary. (Maui is all work planned activities and excursions)

Thank you! Thank You!
 
I was searching for pictures of one-bedroom villas which did not have the strange triangular balconies and found your trip report. I was thrilled to see the pictures of your Aulani villa and then thought that the poster looked familiar. I had enjoyed your DL trip report so much some years back that I went ahead and read the whole trip report over two evenings now. Another great read! Thanks for all the information in your report. I loved the Ranch tour on Oahu. I had looked into it, but wasn't so sure if it is something I would want to spend money on. But your pictures convinced me that it is worth it!

Now I am off to read the report about the Mexico cruise!
 
I've just found your TR, thank you for sharing your experiences and photos - they're wonderful. We'll be visiting Oahu this summer, staying in Waikiki for 3 nights then spending a week at Aulani to relax so this has given me some insight into what to expect when we're there.

Thanks for reading along!!! 3 nights at Waikiki plus a week in Aulani sounds amazing!! I hope you have a fantastic trip!!!

Thank you so much for this TR ! We just found out my BF's work is sending us to Maui for 4 nights and we are extending 5 nights at Aulani. I have very time to plan and your TR is saving me so much time and research. I pretty much plan on just duplicating your Oahu itinerary. (Maui is all work planned activities and excursions)

Thank you! Thank You!

Wow, it sounds like your BF found a great place to work!!!! How cool! Not sure if you've finished the trip or not, but I hope it was awesome!!!!

I was searching for pictures of one-bedroom villas which did not have the strange triangular balconies and found your trip report. I was thrilled to see the pictures of your Aulani villa and then thought that the poster looked familiar. I had enjoyed your DL trip report so much some years back that I went ahead and read the whole trip report over two evenings now. Another great read! Thanks for all the information in your report. I loved the Ranch tour on Oahu. I had looked into it, but wasn't so sure if it is something I would want to spend money on. But your pictures convinced me that it is worth it!

Now I am off to read the report about the Mexico cruise!

How cool! It's fun to see old trip reports still being helpful/interesting to people today. Yes, the ranch tour was totally awesome. Definitely glad that we did that one!!!! Thanks for reading my TR's, and I'm stoked that you are off to read about the Mexico cruise too. Hope you have an amazing trip to Hawaii :hippie:
 
Aloha everyone! Welcome to my latest trip report. :hippie: My family and I are pretty big Disney fans, and while we've visited Walt Disney World and Disneyland lots of times (and even been on a couple Disney Cruises), we sure didn't think we'd be getting to Aulani any time soon! Well that was until my in-laws announced that they wanted to take their entire family to Hawaii to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. 15 of us in total! :eek:

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So, in June 2016, we spent six nights in Kihei, Maui and then island hopped over to Oahu for six nights in a condo at the Ko Olina Resort (next door to Aulani.) And then after the rest of the extended family headed back home, we spent a final three nights enjoying Aulani by ourselves (DW, DD16, DS13, DD9.)

So yeah, a total of 15 nights... this was our first time visiting Hawaii and we were pinching ourselves the whole time. Memories for a lifetime!!!

Since we only spent three nights at Aulani, I questioned whether or not to write a traditional trip report here on DISBoards. (Especially over six months afterwards!)But after thinking about it for a while, I think it's worth sharing our experiences because while Aulani was fantastic and we don't regret it in the least, the resort does have room for improvement (value and service wise) when compared to other flagship resorts like the Grand Floridian, The Polynesian, Disneyland Hotel, etc. And those who are interested in exploring the island of Oahu while staying at Aulani may find some of our island experiences interesting too. (We spent a total of nine nights on Oahu.) :cool1:

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They say a picture is worth a thousand words… no clue what the how many words this collage is worth, but I hope it gives you a decent glimpse at some of the highlights from our trip. These photos are just the tip of the iceberg... as I'll be sifting through over 5,000 of them for this TR. In the meantime, here are a few other highlights:

Maui:
  • Breathtaking sunrise at the summit of Haleakalā
  • Lots of beach time around Kihei (but mostly Keawakapu Beach)
  • Checking out the ʻIao Needle at ʻĪao Valley State Park
  • Experiencing the amazing Old Lahaina Luau
  • Driving the amazing Road to Hana
  • Exploring the Lava Fields at the southwest corner of Maui
  • Lots of good food and tasty treats!
Oahu:
  • Taking the boat out to see USS Arizona Memorial and then exploring the USS Missouri in Pearl Harbor
  • Hiking to the top of Diamond Head crater and swimming at Waikiki Beach
  • Shopping at the LeSportsac outlet store and Ala Moana Center in Honolulu
  • Exploring the lagoons in the Ko Olina Resort area
  • Going on the Jungle Expedition Tour in the Kualoa Ranch
  • Wandering through the beautiful grounds at the Byodo-In Temple
  • Exploring the North Shore (with a stop at the Dole Plantation)
  • More food and tasty treats…
  • And of course Aulani!!
I assume that many of you will be more interested in reading about our Aulani and Oahu experiences. So to keep you from waiting too long... I'm starting this TR with the Maui experiences already written.

If I've piqued your interest enough to continue, then I guess you can "choose your own adventure." Either start with our fantastic experiences on Maui, or feel free to skip ahead to our arrival in Oahu. (See the table of contents below for links.)

I’m totally creeping on you for any Maui advice. I’ve read old Lahaina is the best luau but I’m hesitant with the lack of fire dancing. This is our third luau but my parents are coming along and it’s their first trip to Hawaii and possibly their only one ever and I want the best luau experience for them. Would you still recommend it? Any personal favorites for restaurants? We like our food! Any off the wall random finds you really enjoyed? We’ve never been to Maui. They want to do the lavender farm and I want to see a rainbow eucalyptus and do the road to hanna. I want to see a black sand beach! I haven’t read through your post so these may be answered and I apologize if so.
 
Really late to the party...loved your trip report.

It gave me insight on what to expect on our upcoming trip in April. Loved all the map visuals and pictures. I realize your trip was years ago but I’m sure landmarks haven’t moved.

Every trip report I have seen has said Diamond Head is a chore to get up. Hope we can make it.

The road to Hana can be done in a day, good to know. I heard you don’t want to be on it at night.

We fly in 2 weeks early, island hop and do the last 2 nights are at Aulani then we are on the DCL Hawaii cruise around the islands and return to Vancouver. I well need the 5 sea days to recoup lol.

Thanks for sharing , getting really excited now. I showed my husband some of it , he is the planner and organizer .
 
I’m totally creeping on you for any Maui advice. I’ve read old Lahaina is the best luau but I’m hesitant with the lack of fire dancing. This is our third luau but my parents are coming along and it’s their first trip to Hawaii and possibly their only one ever and I want the best luau experience for them. Would you still recommend it? Any personal favorites for restaurants? We like our food! Any off the wall random finds you really enjoyed? We’ve never been to Maui. They want to do the lavender farm and I want to see a rainbow eucalyptus and do the road to hanna. I want to see a black sand beach! I haven’t read through your post so these may be answered and I apologize if so.
There is a free botanical garden along the way to Hana with plenty rainbow eucalyptus. Bring bug spray though!! I would definitely recommend being back off that road before dark. Waianapanapa Beach was amazingly beautiful—one of the highlights of our whole trip for me!! Wear sandals not sneakers because depending on the sun, you might need to keep them on! I thought my kids were being wimpy but it was really hot!! I also recommend you take drinks and snacks. You read about all these great places to stop, but we found many of them closed for the day or permanently. I do recommend the coconut milk ice cream stand (Coconut Bob’s maybe? Just google it.). ETA: Glen not Bob! It was fantastic. We enjoyed driving upcountry too, to see the big ranches (DH is a cattle farmer). We also did Haleakala but not at sunrise (just didn’t want to tackle that) and it was still very cool (and very cold at the top LOL). Any other Maui questions, just start a thread. Lots of DIS’ers have done combo trips.
 
Spectacular trip report! We're planning a trip this summer 2020 to Kauai for nine nights and Aulani for seven nights. We rented out one year of points to pay for our airfare and we're using two years of points for the seven nights at Aulani...so three years total. Your report gave us a lot to think about for planning at Oahu.

mahalo
 
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