The end of our trip, the highlight, the resort... Aulani is a disney twist on a traditional Hawaiian resort, it is not Disneyfied, there are beautiful Disney moments, but don't expect the intense Disney experience...
Firstly, it's beautiful! The details, the water features, the staff, the pools, honestly gorgeous... Unfortunately or first experience was the bell staff forgetting to bring our bags and our keys not working, twice! Lining up with everyone checking in made that really annoying, twice!
We checked in online, so when we arrived our room was ready and we were shown to it right away... We loved our lei, kakui nut and for the kids the exclusive Aulani menehune necklaces... We also pre registered at Auntys beach house to save paperwork on our trip, we were incredibly lucky to be offered a place for each child at the stitches space goo, which was great considering that people queue up for hours to get in to those programs...
We all loved it, the facilities were amazing... I wouldn't come here without kids, but as a family, so much fun!
Auntys Beach House
So pre registered we went ahead in completed registration on arrival, paid for the GPS bracelets ($13 each, refundable with receipt at the end), and checked it out... It looked pretty good so we agreed that the kids could go back for a play and the dinner program later... They thoroughly enjoyed their 1-2 hours a day at Auntys, the both felt safe and entertained... It was our first kids club experience, and it all felt pretty good...
Wrist bands
The next thing was to show our cards to get wrist bands in order to get towels, photos with any characters, basically it was evidence we were staying there... This was easy, and cool, enjoyed not having to cart towels around with us, we would finish in the water and grab some...
Lazy river
Probably our family highlight, we spent hours on this every day... Jump in a tube and be taken around the grounds... Sounds simple, but so much fun, such a beautiful ride, so many lovely water features...
Family pool
With smaller kids, it's awesome to have a pool where everyone can reach the bottom so we can all play... We laughed so much in this pool... It's a walk in pool, so suitable for all ages...
There is a lot of reserving sun beds, one morning that we wanted to spend the whole day in the water, I got one at 7.45, this was a thing, except people then took off for hours... There is a reservation policy where after an hour your stuff will be removed, and it did happen, took closer to 2/3 hours... We saw some people leave their stuff for 3 hours after putting towels down, they lost their mind when they realised their seats had been used by someone else...
Fireworks
We LOVE the 4th July fireworks, we have been lucky to be in the US the past 3 4th July celebrations... What was so cool about the Aulani 4th experience was that there was way more space than people... We got there an hour or so early and found a spot to sit and had a wonderful time... Probably my favourite fireworks so far because the whole lagoon was lit up, they were being launched a couple hundred meters from where we sat... Amazing...
Whirlpool infinity spa adults only
While the kids were playing at Auntys we went to the adults only infinity spa, very relaxing and quiet... Serene...
Menehuna trail
You can go to the community centre and borrow an iPad for an hour at a time and follow the menehune trail, which is basically a trail of Disney Magic around the grounds... We started inside which was good because it was hot... Next outside, but after a few, we were done... The kids loved it, we just felt it was too much talking in the program and not quick enough to the next spot...
Merchandise
This is not Disney crazy merchandise... There is a shop, it has some cool stuff, we still managed to spend $500 there, but there could have been so much more!
Aulani eats
Makahiki Buffet
The buffet here is really good... So many options, and they cater for all different food allergies... The chef came out and showed me everything I could eat, and all the things that I couldn't eat that they could make GF for me... I didn't need to take him up on that, I was so well fed! I did feel that $20US was a lot for the kids corner of food, but it was our last night so I let it go... Definitely make a reservation, it's hard to get in otherwise...
Pizza corner
Pizza corner is your average pizza joint, pizza and ribs were good... Was strange eating off paper plates and plastic cutlery in the restaurant... Not great service, but the amount you have to do with servers, it didn't matter...
Monkey pod
We booked on open table, luckily, there es a queue of people waiting... Food was tasty, all organic, sustainable, etc, but small portions...
Ulu
A nice selection here, but it didn't seem like much GF, so I asked and they had LOADS of options! I just wish they were written up to start! Good spot for lunches, to eat by the pool...
We loved it here, will definitely be back! We hardly didn't any of the activities on offer, so know that we need at least an extra day! And maybe a bigger suite... The room was lovely, great bed, big lanai, but we could do with not being in the same room as our kids!
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