What to do at Aulani?

[4luv2cdisney]

My DH is seriously pushing a Hawaii trip. I am not enthused. It sounds boring and is a long expensive flight. We don't really like to swim. We never even bring our bathing suits on trips unless we are doing the rare afternoon at Typhoon Lagoon. Our kids are teens / young adults. What is there to do???

We have always vacationed at WDW because it is no-thought required trip (other than planning ADRs and FP) and there is always something for everyone. Any non-WDW has not gone well for at least 1 of our travelers. We simply are not on the same page as far as what we like to do. I don't even know where to begin.

 

[disneynutz]

Site seeing is about all is there is if water isn't your thing.

Bill

 

[Jocelynaus]

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[BillPA]

There is about 2 days worth of things to see on Oahu. Best to plan at least 1 or 2 additional islands to visit. Maui is good for 3-5 days and the Big Island is our favorite and good for a week+, more if you just like to relax and enjoy the people and culture.

 

[4luv2cdisney]

I am currently trying to negotiate a few nights at Disneyland before and/or after resulting in a shortened stay in Hawaii and more importantly NOT being on an airplane for an entire day. I can barely handle the flight to LAX. As it is, one of my D's threw up the entire way home from MCO last time and it's only a 2/12 hour flight. Ugh.

 

[DVCkidsMOM]

We really enjoyed Aulani a few years ago with our teens. At that time there were teen activities including a beach party. We did do a surfing class nearby that wasn't by Disney. Aulani has a large outrigger sailboat excursion. We had a car so drove to the Polynesian Cultural Center two days. We drove to various trail heads and went hiking four or more other days. Our tour of Pearl Harbor was a no-go due to government shut down. We were there for over a week and were never bored. The only "beach" we did was during the surfing class and we only went to the pool for the lazy river twice. Our total time spent wet over the week+ was about 6 hours.
So we had a great time - even though we don't spent much time at the pool and I actually hate the beach. In fairness, though, we are hikers/backpackers and we like checking out local culture; if my teens would only be happy with a video game or roller coaster, then they might not have a great time. It is different from a theme park, that's certain. YMMV

 

[Jocelynaus]

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[rob5589]

We went to Aulani last June. I’m from NJ so we stopped in LA on the way to break up the flight and visited DL for a few nights which we loved. I also wouldn’t center your entire Hawaii trip going to just Aulani. We stayed 4 nights and thought it was more than enough time being Aulani is situated in more of a secluded area in Oahu.