Disney Aulani
We truly love this place. But it is seriously overpriced. I wouldn’t choose it over a Disney park, but I would choose it with the kids every time we are in Hawaii.
Check in is not until 4pm. We showed up at 10am, checked our stuff in, got our wristbands and towels and had a glorious pool day! I do really miss the leis and Kakui nut necklaces, and the cute little drink they used to greet you with, but covid 🤷🏻♀️ The kids loved the water slide, we all love the lazy river. We got our refillable cups ($22US with free refills) and popcorn bucket ($11US with $3 refills) straight away to get max benefit from them.
Room was ready at 2pm, we got a 1 bedroom suite through David’s DVC rentals, it is lovely. Fluffiest towels, beautiful H20 toiletries, the sofa bed is THE MOST COMFORTABLE SOFA BED! It’s made exclusively for Disney. Because we were there for the 4th of July, we ended up having to get a room with a view, all of the cheaper rooms were gone the minute they were released.
The food here is wild. You can get extras and actual meals at the Ko’Olina shops, the abc/island shop is the best! The food budget on site would be three times what we spend on Waikiki, it’s worth having a few things on site and getting a few things offsite. There is a lot of food that we don’t/can’t eat, lots of fried options. Quick service and restaurants, with okay options, but the cost is wild. I did budget for this, but it’s a reminder that you should too.
Thingamabobs - A Mermaid's Tale
Book early! This is a cute and free activity, I’m not going to say too much about it, but highly recommend! The cast members were loads of fun. It’s a half hour activity, it doesn’t run on island time so do not be late. Meeting place is at the very left of the lagoon, where the boat is. My other tip is to book an early session, we did 9am and the sun was already blazing hot.
Makahiki - The Bounty of the Islands
Monday Character Breakfast
You basically need to book this within an hour of release, it goes that quick! It isn’t a buffet anymore, it’s pastries and fruit then your own main. Our kids are over the ‘Keiki menu - 9 and under’ but mace ordered off that menu and we were charged at the kids price for his meal. Marley swapped out the Belgian waffles for the Mickey and Minnie waffles. There are always options. I loved the French Toast, but it was a MASSIVE serve. We took the pastries to go, and had them for lunch.
We met Mickey (you can pay for these photos, but they aren’t included in photo pass), they will take pics on your phone for you too. We purchased the pics, they were very cute. Around $35USD, you can download them off the photo pass app.
Family Animation
Another free one that fills up. Much like an Art of Animation session in the parks, you will be guided in drawing a Disney character. We got Daisy Duck. The cast member was fantastic. An excellent experience always!
You can watch prerecorded ones in your room too!
They did change the venue on the day, so keep an eye on the app.
Character meets
We love a character meet, these are free and rotate all day in the resort. The characters and their handlers are always great. They will take photos for Photopass, they will also take pictures using your phone too.
Fire pit story
If you are up, go in the evening so the fire has the desired effect. I think these are every second day, make sure you go if you can! It’s a 20-30 minute story. You can watch prerecorded ones in your room too.
4th July fireworks DO NOT HAPPEN ANYMORE! Wild. Generally I would highly recommend not going on a day with a public holiday. It was full, hectic and crowds bring out arseholes.
The Aulani Players Present Moana
This was awesome,a 30 minute retelling of the story of Moana. We loved this, very funny and a little interactive.
Pin trading
2-3pm lava shack pool
3-4pm lobby main store
There are queues for these, the best pins go first. Since covid, they make you put your pin in a tub, and you take one off the board. If you are further down the queue, it’s just scrappers.
Snorkelling
We didn’t do it this time, we did last time, and the family loved it. You can pay for a one off or a flat fee for the duration of your stay. Worth checking out if that’s your vibe.
