What do you wish you had brought to Aulani?

[happymommy]

I wouldn't ever pack drinks to Hawaii - you can buy it across the street at the Island Market reasonably anyway, even liquor.

Now, to Disney, I have brought one bottle in a wine diaper (I can get beer or wine delivered from Safeway but not my vodka, or rum). Most it saves me is really like $20 though, so no big deal.

 

[Bejeweledj9]

Yes we did weigh it - I was worried a bit. We were close! But not over 50 - had some Disney Magic that day!

And we had an free checked bag to use, so why not. Yes, you can obviously get that stuff there, but I didn't want our first stop to be the store, I wanted it to be the beach And I was super happy about bringing the milk - I still have the picture from the ABC store where a gallon of milk was over $10.

 

[Brancaneve]

If you have a kitchen with a dishwasher, I would absolutely bring dishwasher detergent and I always bring gloves to save the manicure

 

[bnk1120]

A soft cooler is great to have to take drinks to the pool and when you leave the resort.

 

[amysibbo]

We wish we had brought our own snorkelling gear as we could feel all the fish in the ocean but couldn't get a proper look at them!

 

[Jemwillow]

A water proof pouch is a must. Bought one over there for $15 at the target in Kapolei. Helped my iPhone work as an underwater camera loved it! Didn't use the water shoes at all. For coffee filter I would use doubled up paper towels. I probably wouldn't pack this but some might ...a snorkel mask combo. The one you rent is good for the rainbow reef then you can get another one at the beach. You can also upgrade and get the package for the entire stay. But it was like $40/pp. you can get a 10% discount if you are DVC. We didn't then my daughter wanted to snorkel the next day ugh!!!

 

[Jemwillow]

another quick tip if you have a full kitchen. is to fill up empty tic tac containers with salt and pepper/or your must have condiments. That was you don'y have lug along full bottles or throw away ones purchased on the island.

 

[cgattis]

another quick tip if you have a full kitchen. is to fill up empty tic tac containers with salt and pepper/or your must have condiments. That was you don'y have lug along full bottles or throw away ones purchased on the island.

That's genius!!!!! Thanks!!!

 

[Siliobear]

Do you plan on cooking in your villa at all? If so, I wish I had brought some simple condiments like those small shakers of salt, pepper, some sugar and dried herbs that I use a lot at home. I now have a Ziploc bag full of that stuff so when we go on vacation that includes a kitchen, I have it ready to throw in the suitcase.

Are you saying the villas don't stock salt, pepper, sugar?

 

[cgattis]

Are you saying the villas don't stock salt, pepper, sugar?

There were none of those things in ours, except for a couple of sugar packets in with the coffee.

 

[blondietink]

Are you saying the villas don't stock salt, pepper, sugar?

Sometimes previous guests will leave what they have picked up in fast food places, but other than that, no there is generally none of those things provided in the villas.

 

[BayGirl22]

another quick tip if you have a full kitchen. is to fill up empty tic tac containers with salt and pepper/or your must have condiments. That was you don'y have lug along full bottles or throw away ones purchased on the island.

If you stay in condos/timeshares a lot or camp you could use something like this: https://www.amazon.com/Swiss-Advance-sw-sp-Swiss-Spice-Pepper/dp/B000BS5IXA
I have one that I think is actual Swiss Army brand, purchased in Europe. Its moisture proof so keeps contents dry for much longer.

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

Yes we did weigh it - I was worried a bit. We were close! But not over 50 - had some Disney Magic that day!

And we had an free checked bag to use, so why not. Yes, you can obviously get that stuff there, but I didn't want our first stop to be the store, I wanted it to be the beach And I was super happy about bringing the milk - I still have the picture from the ABC store where a gallon of milk was over $10.

I'm very interested in this. We will have free checked bags as well. How did you ensure the drinks would not spill/explode? Would like to possibly take drinks, salsa, applesauce.

I try to pick up extra condiment packets, salt/pepper, jelly/jam to take with us when I see them around.

I'm not sure how we would keep milk cold but I do plan to take what I can from home since I know stuff is super expensive there.

 

[squeezle]

I'm very interested in this. We will have free checked bags as well. How did you ensure the drinks would not spill/explode? Would like to possibly take drinks, salsa, applesauce.

We use these to keep things from leaking in our luggage - they are like a ziplock bag with an absorbent liner. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004FLK2IU/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_2?ie=UTF8&smid=A2ZMY2TBBDRA6P&th=1

I'm not sure how we would keep milk cold but I do plan to take what I can from home since I know stuff is super expensive there.

You could consider shelf-stable milk cartons that do not need refrigeration.

 

[ppjluvsdvc]

I do not think you should try to bring any carbonated beverages in your checked baggage.

 

[cgattis]

I do not think you should try to bring any carbonated beverages in your checked baggage.

We've done that before with no issues. YMMV I guess.

 

[Bejeweledj9]

I'm very interested in this. We will have free checked bags as well. How did you ensure the drinks would not spill/explode? Would like to possibly take drinks, salsa, applesauce.

I try to pick up extra condiment packets, salt/pepper, jelly/jam to take with us when I see them around.

I'm not sure how we would keep milk cold but I do plan to take what I can from home since I know stuff is super expensive there.

We had the Tetrapaks of soy milk from Costco and those are pretty durable. Same with juice boxes and wine. You could do the squeeze packs of applesauce? And maybe individual packs of salsa. Everything liquid we took was either in plastic or those tetrapaks. We already had the refillable cups from our previous trip so we didn't worry about soda, etc. Oh we also took coffee, filters and creamer pods.

 

[Bunless]

I have a spread sheet with notes for what to take/not to take on vacations. I just read my Aulani notes...

Hawaii:
Don’t Bring/Bring less of
--Paperback books (or more than one, I just stared at the water the whole time, and napped)
--extra shoes--only one pair, maybe two needed (it's not a fashion show, it's a beach)
--Straw Hat (looks great in photos, blows away every chance it gets)
--not as many pairs of underwear (because you're just going to wear your swimsuit all the time)
--Chocolate or candy (in the heat, it melts.. plus I just wanted fruit)
--Gym Bag (HAHAHAHAHAHA)
--less jewelry (you're at the beach! not a fashion show)
--straws (water quickly replaced sodas and mixed drinks, improved stress level much?)
--chopsticks (already in the unit)

Still Bring
--3 dresses--BUT ONLY THREE one long, one short, one nice (swimsuit and coverup the rest of the time)
--beach bag
--beach safe (find the key!)
--body glide
--Salt
--Pepper
--Chip Clips (remember, it's humid, protect the chips)
--Glad-ware

Bring More
--Coffee!!!
--3 swimsuits instead of 2

Brought Too Many
Kind Bars, Packs of Nuts, Granola Bars (still bring, but only one per day, instead of one per day for each person)

 

[GooglyBear808]

When I was there I walked down to Ulu cafe to pick up a dole whip and grabbed some packets of salt, pepper, shoyu, and ketchup to take up to our villa. One night we made popcorn and noticed we had no salt so I ran downstairs to Ulu cafe but they were closed and the condiment organizer was gone!! Just an FYI

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

laundry detergent
more gym clothes (we worked out every morning)
swim shirts - even though we used lots of sunblock our kids still burned. We ended up getting a couple at the sporting goods store next to target


Anyone know if I can bring a couple of limes and an onion in my carry on? May seem silly but I can probably buy all of those for less than $1 at home.