A overview of Disney’s Aulani Resort and Spa in Hawaii

The place is Aulani?

Aulani is on the island of Oahu, about 17 miles from Honolulu’s Daniel Ok. Inouye Worldwide Airport (HNL). It is on the western aspect of the island in Ko Olina, which is usually a 30-to-40-minute drive from the Honolulu airport, relying on site visitors.

There are a lot of room selections at Aulani

Aulani has 351 lodge rooms, together with 16 suites, in addition to 481 two-bedroom Disney Trip Membership villas and 21 Grand Villas unfold out over a few towers. We now have executed each of our stays in one of many normal lodge rooms with two queen beds.

A normal rule of thumb at Disney: Even when the rooms are costly, do not count on them to be the star of your trip.

The room at Aulani was fully ample, however it was — because the identify described — normal. Your $600-plus per night time is not going to over-the-top room lodging with butlers and soaking tubs; it should the on-site actions, so modify your room expectations accordingly.

The 2 queen beds had been comfy, and housekeeping was immediate every day. I might have appreciated extra retailers by the mattress, however I am going to take that trade-off for the very cool air con that labored higher than at most of the resorts we have now visited in Hawaii.

Subsequent to the TV space was a small desk with two chairs, which was practical and enormously appreciated when ordering room service or bringing a pizza up — which is, with out query, one of the best worth dinner on the property.

My favourite a part of the decor within the room was probably the Hawaiian-themed Mickey lamp on the desk. Usually talking, Mickey was an understated aspect at Aulani, although he’s actually there in case you search for him.

Our rooms on each visits had a minifridge and a balcony. On our second go to, we had been even upgraded to a partial ocean view.

The toilet has a single self-importance, which most likely would have been higher as a double, given this was a room for households.

Having a shower-tub combo, although, was the best name for a room with two queen beds. Disney’s H2O line is now not at Aulani, which is a bummer in case you’ve come to affiliate that odor with all issues trip, however as an alternative, it at present has Malie.

Aulani’s swimming pools and seaside are the celebs of the present

There’s a lot to do at Aulani. And that is the place the resort actually will get each nice and overwhelming on the identical time. Given the costs and the plethora of facilities, if you keep at Aulani, you might be most likely staying put at Aulani. Until you are working with a bigger price range, this most likely is not a lodge you keep at to make use of as a house base to plan journeys from whilst you get pleasure from all that Oahu has to supply.

Aulani swimming pools

With that in thoughts, let’s begin with a dive into Aulani’s swimming pools, seaside and waterslides.

Aulani has an enormous 7-acre pool advanced that goes manner past conventional, fundamental swimming pools.

The Waikolohe Stream is 900 toes lengthy and features a conventional lazy river in addition to two tubing slides. On one, you could possibly go in single or double tubes, and the opposite was a physique slide. And, sure, there have been lifeguards all over the place.

Professional tip: The road for the slide with the tubes is often for much longer than the road for the physique slide.

There’s additionally the Menehune Bridge, with waterslides, splash options and extra.

Subsequent up are three swimming pools and a 3,800 square-foot snorkeling lagoon, Rainbow Reef, which is stocked with stunning fish and another underwater surprises to search out. If you’re an skilled snorkeler, this most likely will not be very spectacular, however it’s a good way for youths to get their flippers moist snorkeling in a really managed surroundings.

It prices $20-$25 for one-day snorkel entry (that features gear), or you should buy a length-of-stay cross in case you assume you will go a number of instances. Or, simply benefit from the view at no cost from these cool peekaboo home windows.

Throughout our March go to, the Rainbow Reef was a bit too chilly for our tastes because it is not heated, which made our periods additional temporary, so contemplate that in case your crew does not like chilly water.

Aulani additionally has an adults-only pool, a zero-entry pool, infinity swimming pools, sizzling tubs and loads of water actions to maintain your group busy. These swimming pools had been all a cushty, regulated temperature.

We vastly favor heading to the swimming pools both very first thing within the morning or round 5 p.m., when most individuals are leaving for the day. The slides and lazy river had been open till 8 p.m. throughout our keep, and the principle pool stayed open till 10 p.m.

Pool chairs are sizzling commodities throughout the center of the day, and it’s essential to decide up a coloured wristband on the towel hut day by day. Sadly, in order for you a “good” chair spot, that is a kind of locations the place you most likely must both begin your pool day early or look forward to the primary spherical of individuals to begin to depart. Cabanas and coated chairs can be found however dear, so count on to spend a couple of hundred {dollars} per day if you wish to go that route.

Aulani seaside

Aulani is on the shore of Ko Olina seaside, with tender sand and water that’s usually calm sufficient for swimming and best for photographs.

Life jackets, boogie boards, chairs and umbrellas are complimentary, however you may as well lease snorkel units ($25) and stand-up paddleboards ($45) or reside out your “Moana” adventures and e book a crusing canoe expertise for $119.

However no matter you do, do not miss the epic sunsets at Aulani, that are nearly cause sufficient to return all on their very own.

The sunsets are really epic right here and I extremely advocate you make it a degree to be exterior and attempt to catch an excellent one at the least a couple of times in your journey.

There are Disney characters, Aunty’s Seashore Home and extra

Now, let’s discuss all of the non-swimming issues there are to do at Aulani, of which there are various.

Aunty’s Seashore Home

Children ages 4 to 12 could make a reservation to play at Aunty’s Seashore Home, which is actually a children membership much like what you discover on a Disney cruise, simply on land and with a Hawaiian aptitude.

Throughout our 2019 go to, my children completely beloved Aunty’s Seashore Home, which was a critical draw to the property for us. Nevertheless, we could not go to Aunty’s Seashore Home this time for 2 causes. First, my oldest child has aged out. However my youthful kiddo could not go both, as the method to e book a slot there has modified throughout the pandemic, and also you now have to essentially plan forward.

You e book 90-minute slots to play beginning three months out, they usually completely promote out. Don’t wait till you get to Aulani to determine the Aunty’s Seashore Home state of affairs — e book this a part of your journey months prematurely or threat being disenchanted and pissed off with this function of the resort if you arrive.

Additionally of word is that there appear to now be extra premium (i.e., pricey) choices at Aunty’s Seashore Home than there was, which additionally limits the “free” instances to go. However even these refill, so make these bookings for issues like video games with Moana or a dance get together with Disney friends.

Meet Disney characters

Aulani is nice for assembly Disney characters with traces which might be a lot shorter than what you’d usually discover at Disney theme parks. They usually haven’t solely a few of the common suspects, akin to Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Chip, Dale and Goofy, however some harder-to-find associates, akin to ShellieMay, Duffy, Sew and Max.

The Aulani app is nice for telling you who shall be out at totally different instances throughout the day, so you’ll want to set it up earlier than you begin your journey. We wish to line up about 15-20 minutes earlier than the beginning time for the favored characters.

Courses and actions

At Aulani, there are various totally different actions and courses you may participate in. Just a few, like night storytelling by the hearth pit, are open to all who present up, however many, akin to making your personal Mickey ears, koi fish feeding, T-shirt stamping and animation courses, have restricted capability and require you to enroll prematurely.

A few of these actions are included, whereas some (akin to making ears or T-shirts) require an additional charge. You’ll be able to e book within the exercise room on-site, however I like to recommend reserving actions within the Aulani app at the least a couple of days earlier than your journey.

Laniwai Spa

I have not had the time or the price range to splurge on remedies on the Laniwai Spa, however from a walk-by, it appears (and smells!) unbelievable.

There are 15 remedy rooms, together with a household remedy room that sounded actually cool for these trying to calm down collectively. There’s even a teen portion of the spa for these 14 to 17 years outdated and a hydrotherapy backyard.

If you wish to ensure you get the remedy you need on the time you need, it’s essential to — you guessed it — e book it effectively prematurely. You’ll be able to e book spa appointments as much as 90 days prematurely on-line.

What to eat at Aulani

There are a number of eating choices at Disney’s Aulani, starting from the you-gotta-get-it Mickey-shaped shave ice to nearly high-quality eating at Ama Ama.

Makahiki

I like to recommend doing one breakfast while you’re at Aulani at Makahiki, which provides a standard Disney character breakfast. You will probably begin by assembly Mickey in his Hawaiian trip apparel, then get to say hello to Minnie, after which a couple of different characters will come by as you get pleasure from your meal.

This can be a three-course breakfast that begins off with a tropical yogurt parfait with fruit akin to coconut and pineapple, together with sugary and completely scrumptious malasadas.

You then have your decide of entrees, akin to numerous omelets, French toast, pancakes and a Hawaiian-style loco moco, to call a couple of.

This meal prices $50 per grownup and $29 for youngsters ages 3 to 9, which you will quickly understand is a relative discount for a sit-down meal at Aulani. This restaurant can also be open for dinner with the identical three-course idea and priced at $75 for adults and $30 for youths, however with out the characters, as they’re solely there within the morning.

Reservations open up 30 days prematurely — and it’s essential to e book precisely on that day to have one of the best probability of getting a breakfast spot as it is extremely well-liked.

Ama Ama

The nicest restaurant at Aulani is the beachside, open-air Ama Ama. We ate there on a visit a couple of years in the past and definitely loved the meals. We had reservations to return on this journey, however as soon as we realized that it’s now a four-course meal that prices $125 per particular person ($55 for youths 3 to 9 years outdated), we opted to skip a return go to.

I am unable to say that I am thrilled with this transfer to the dear set-course meals at so a lot of Aulani’s eating places, because it makes it robust for households and children who desire a nicer meal however aren’t going to get wherever close to their cash’s price out of a pricey multicourse dinner. Paying $125 for a 10-year-old to have dinner is only a entire lot, even for Hawaii.

Ulu Cafe

For a meal that does not high $100 for 2 individuals, head to Ulu Cafe, which is the place we have loved most of our Aulani meals through the years. This quick-service and grab-and-go venue had an assortment of pastries, muffins, drinks and packaged items along with a couple of sizzling gadgets at breakfast, lunch and dinner.

At lunch, you may get Mickey-shaped Spam musubi, which I feel is fairly unbelievable. It does promote out, so do not wait till too late within the day in order for you one.

There are additionally build-your-own poke bowl and acai bowl stations, that are very stable.

From 5:30 p.m. to eight p.m., you may order a pizza for $24, which is the most cost effective household dinner on the property. You should buy a refillable mug to load up with tender drinks and such at some stage in your journey.

Off the Hook

Subsequent to the pool and seaside is an assortment of kiosks, snack outlets and a poolside cafe with desk service for lunch and dinner referred to as Off the Hook.

Children meals listed below are $15, a poke bowl was $25 and my teen’s burger was $23. Fortunately, this restaurant continues to be a la carte, so you may order as a lot or as little as you need. Additionally, reservations should not required, so simply head over there if you’re getting hungry.

Olelo Room

One spot we have not tried but however that was at all times intriguing with some night music was Olelo Room. Right here there was a sundown joyful hour menu with appetizers, sushi and sashimi, together with drinks.

Accessibility

Disney’s Aulani has wheelchair- and hearing-accessible rooms that you would be able to reserve by checking the accessible rooms field when making your reserving. The big exterior pool space is paved for wheelchair entry, and there are ramps to entry many of the areas. Moreover, the swimming pools do have lifts obtainable.

Causes Aulani may not be for you

• Aulani is an costly trip vacation spot, and I am not simply speaking concerning the rooms (once more, I extremely advocate renting DVC factors to assist there). However your on-property meals, drinks and snacks and any actions you e book will add up in a rush, which makes this not the best match for each price range.
• Getting slots for some actions, Aunty’s Seashore Home and even breakfast is aggressive and requires advance planning or excessive luck, which is not everybody’s cup of tea.
• Aulani may be very busy and, with a number of towers of rooms, can host many individuals, so if you’re trying to “get away from all of it” and have some peace and quiet, this is not essentially the best trip selection.
• Aulani does have some Disney-themed actions and characters, however it is not a alternative for, say Disneyland or Disney World, so in order for you an all-in Disney journey, chances are you’ll not discover that at Aulani. On the flip aspect, in order for you a Disney-free a part of Hawaii, this is not that.

Trying out

Aulani is a Disney resort in Hawaii, however it is not actually like most different resorts in Hawaii, neither is it precisely like most different Disney locations. I’ve discovered that liking one or each of these issues does not essentially assure that Aulani shall be a slam-dunk to your trip.

Honestly, on my first journey to Aulani, I did not get pleasure from it as a lot as I hoped at first. I discovered it too frenetic and it required extra planning and advance reserving than I needed out of a Hawaii trip.

However, by the tip of that journey, I had adjusted my expectations and actually began to get pleasure from it. And now, with the good thing about figuring out what to anticipate from previous experiences (and having children which might be older), I very a lot loved Aulani the second time, and I am even plotting a 3rd go to.

That mentioned, in case you actually need to maximize Aunty’s Seashore Home, your meals, and so on., then there’s simply no manner round planning and reserving at the least elements of your keep beginning 90 days prematurely on-line.

However I additionally discovered that with my children now older, a few of that mattered a bit much less; we might go to the later-timed actions that the youthful households usually do not do, and it was simpler to have a extra laid-back Aulani journey that was fairly satisfying.

Aulani was an amazing lesson that generally, when two of your favorites combine, what you find yourself with is not fairly what you had been anticipating, however that does not imply it could’t nonetheless be superb.

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