Aulani Spring Break/ Easter Trip

[kkayluvsdis]

Really enjoying your TR! Thank you for taking the time to share. We are leaving for Aulani in 39 days. We have been trying to get there for the past two years so it seems unreal that we are actually going! Planning for such a big trip is overwhelming. Sounds like you guys did a really good job of slowing down and enjoying the resort with sounds so amazing. I also work in radiology-ultrasound-so I understand your frustrations with getting time off approved.

You have a beautiful family. Thanks again for sharing your experiences!

 

[CaptainAmerica]

We traveled in regular economy seats on Hawaiian airlines. We chose this over upgrading to the extra legroom because in the back of the plane there are 3 seats across from the 2 window seats. Worked well for our family of 5.

Thank you! I didn't know this. We've done BOS to HNL twice and we were a party of 4 and then a party of 8, so we always grabbed the front row or front two rows in Extra Comfort or whatever they call it. Next trip we'll be a party of 5 and I think I'd rather sit with just my family in a smaller seat for 11 hours than a stranger in a slightly bigger seat.

 

[pinkxray]

Live shot of me showing this TR to my wife.

Lol. I know that feeling. I am currently planning our Nov. WDW trip and I am stalking dvc to add a night. Aulani is wide open and I keep thinking we should just skip WDW and go back to Aulani. Unfortunately, DD will be on Thanksgiving break part of the time from college so we would have to say, sorry we are going to Aulani for Thanksgiving but you can’t come.

My vacation fund is also pretty low. Who knew a trip to WDW could seem like a cheap trip after this one.

I'm really enjoying your trip report! The chicken tender tour of Oahu!

We are headed to Aulani (first trip to HI) in early July, and we have a lot of the same plans as you, so I'm loving all your detailed reviews and pictures. Since my kids are DD16 and DD14, I'm very interested in the DD17 report!

We're doing the ATV tour at Kualoa Ranch, too. Did you feel like afterwards you would have been too dirty to be comfortable visiting the Byodo-In temple and a restaurant? I have the tour booked early afternoon on a Saturday, and wondering if I should plan on driving straight back to Aulani after...

We were pretty dirty. Mostly on our faces. Our clothes didn’t look too dirty to me but we did have a change of clothes for after. We purposely planned to go to the beach before the temple so we would be in fresh clothes. I did plan on trying Buzz’s steakhouse but was going to do take out.

Our tour guide did mention that it wasn’t as dusty as it usually was so I am sure other people have come out worse. I would have been ok to wash my face in the restroom, swap clothes and go out though. When we passed the restaurant we planned to try it had outdoor seating and most people seemed to be from the beach so I wouldn’t have felt out of place.

I don’t know if DD17 will be much help. Looking back it almost seemed like she wasn’t even on the trip. She much preferred to be texting her friends than hanging out with us. While planning she would say she wanted to snorkel than when we got to the snorkeling pace she wanted to leave. I think it would have been different if she had a sibling her age. She did have a good time when she actually ventured out though. She really like Kualoa Ranch, Climbworks and the beaches we went to. She didn’t like Aulani’s fake beach though. She wanted the waves.

Really enjoying your TR! Thank you for taking the time to share. We are leaving for Aulani in 39 days. We have been trying to get there for the past two years so it seems unreal that we are actually going! Planning for such a big trip is overwhelming. Sounds like you guys did a really good job of slowing down and enjoying the resort with sounds so amazing. I also work in radiology-ultrasound-so I understand your frustrations with getting time off approved.

You have a beautiful family. Thanks again for sharing your experiences!

Thanks for reading! My coworkers were constantly mentioning how excited I must be before the trip. I couldn’t get excited until we arrived. I had this constant fear something would happen and we wouldn’t be able to go. Someone would get covid, get hurt, they would bring back tons of restriction,etc. It was such a relief to finally touch down at the airport after planning for so long.

Thank you! I didn't know this. We've done BOS to HNL twice and we were a party of 4 and then a party of 8, so we always grabbed the front row or front two rows in Extra Comfort or whatever they call it. Next trip we'll be a party of 5 and I think I'd rather sit with just my family in a smaller seat for 11 hours than a stranger in a slightly bigger seat.

It worked great for us. No having to be uncomfortable around a stranger for 11 hours, we were close to the restroom for the kids, and to get the snacks for sale it looked like you headed to the back of the plane. I was worried about extra motion in the back but didn’t have any issues. Only negative was being some of the last people to de-board but we would do it all over again if traveling as 5.

 

[buzzrelly]

The kids waited patiently.

Adorable

On the way over the rain stopped and the rainbow came out

Perfect timing and absolutely gorgeous!

I picked up two slices of pie to go. They don’t look too great after travel.
We got chocolate cream pie and strawberry Haupia.
The kids ended up eating the chocolate and the strawberry got lost In the fridge for a few days. I will make sure to leave room for pie next time instead of bring it back.

Womp, womp...but I'm sure it still tasted delicious

Tonight was date night! Dh and I had a 515pm reservation for Makihiki. No kids. (No way am I paying for 3 kids to eat chicken nuggets.)

The steak was fine. I feel like a lot of mine was fat and went in the trash.

Dh and I agreed we wouldn’t go back to Makihiki in the future. It was $65 per person before tax/tip

So nice you got to have a date night, sorry the food was disappointing. I made a dinner reservation here but now may cancel. It's a lot to pay for mediocre food.

We will probably go to Olelo room for apps and desserts next time.

That's a good idea. I'm really kind of slacking with this Aulani part. I had been so focused on the DLR part of our trip that I haven't done much research about where to eat in HI. I did finally book the luau at Aulani this week after checking and checking and a few phone calls, I was lucky and they had a cancellation for one of our nights. Beyond that, I have Makihiki booked for both dinner and breakfast, and that's it. We aren't fancy eaters though, so I'm sure we'll be happy with their QS, but that Oleo room sounds interesting too.

The pictures of the kids already done with the Easter egg hunt were taken at 4:02am

The kids spent time watching cartoons while I watched Aulani wake up from the balcony.

Oh my...we'll be in the same boat, but maybe not quite as bad after a week in CA.

I was hoping to do a nice stroll but as soon as we got a picture somewhere DD said “Ok, let’s go”

DS didn’t object to bunny ears.

They're both super cute

Once 6am hit, I grabbed the Aulani special coffee and a cookie for DD.

What's the Aulani special coffee?

We live along the coast in CT and I spend a lot of time over the summer jogging along the coast in our town. Our bathroom facilities are using immaculate so this was a change. However, Long Island sound water is nice to look at but I don’t go in so I’ll still take Hawaii any day.

I know exactly what you're referring to. When we go to the beach in CT, we usually go to Hammonassett. The facilities are pretty nice but I don't go in the water too much. Definitely a far cry from that HI water!

Originally I had hoped to get a bday cake delivered for DD but they didnt have that option available yet at Aulani. I didn’t want to deal with picking something up so I told DD she could pick out a treat. She wanted a Moana cupcake.
We picked up the two cupcakes available at Ulu cafe to share

So cute! Happy Birthday!

Anyway housekeeping came in, went through the bathroom and into the tub room where DD was like “ hey, I’m in here!!“ I don’t know if they knocked and we didn’t hear it (probably) but they came in and passed the little kids watching tv and just proceeded into the bathroom. After DD shrieked they ran out so not sure why they didn’t call out when coming in since obviously we weren’t with the kids in the living room.

That is absolutely ridiculous! I'd be furious. Did you say anything to management after? I've tried to get in the habit of ALWAYS latching the top of the door because I'm afraid of this.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

What's the Aulani special coffee?

Mocha macadamia nut latte.

 

[Sydnerella]

Mocha macadamia nut latte.

I assume I can get this with coconut milk or some dairy free substitute?

 

[buzzrelly]

Mocha macadamia nut latte.

Sounds good, I'll have to try it!

 

[pinkxray]

So nice you got to have a date night, sorry the food was disappointing. I made a dinner reservation here but now may cancel. It's a lot to pay for mediocre food.

I hate writing not so good reviews and discouraging people from trying it since they might miss out. I hope if you try it you have a great meal!

They're both super cute

That is absolutely ridiculous! I'd be furious. Did you say anything to management after? I've tried to get in the habit of ALWAYS latching the top of the door because I'm afraid of this.

Honestly, it happened so fast and we were so confused by what even happened I didn’t say anything. We could have missed the knock since my kids are super loud. It was just so strange.

I always lock the locks too! However no one else in my family does. I’m lucky they even shut the door when they are the last one in

Mocha macadamia nut latte.

I assume I can get this with coconut milk or some dairy free substitute?

Yes! I tend to stay dairy free with my coffee lately so I use Nutpods at home and in the room at Aulani. I have no issues with dairy other than not wanting to drink it much so I just got the regular drink. However while I was waiting they were still setting up for the morning and I saw a cart with milks and noticed non dairy options. I don’t recall what they were but just remember thinking it was a nice option if I ever decide to really go dairy free.

 

[pinkxray]

I had our next day all written up and the Dis glitched and it was gone. I don’t have the energy or memory now to do too in to detail so mostly pics for now.

Tues. was another resort day with a few plans.
7am at Eggs N Things
11am Aulani massage
4pm dinner at Monkeypod

We walked over to breakfast bright and early around 645.


A nice man walking by offered to take a family photo. This was pretty common on this trip. There was always someone offering to take a family photo and it was so appreciated! Thank you to anyone who does that. We tried to return the favor whenever we could.

Once they opened we had to sign in on the ipad outside. We choose to sit indoors since it was too early to be around the chickens and bees outside.
The kids got mini pancakes and eggs.


I had a wrap with eggs, ham and cheese.


Dh had pancakes, eggs, potatoes and sausage.


The food was ok. The best part was the coconut syrup. It was delicious. I considered buying a bottle to bring home but decided not to spend any extra money here. The hostess and our waitress were just not very nice. They had an attitude that made it feel like we were bothering them by being there. Hopefully they were just having a bad day but it really seemed like they both needed to get out of the restaurant industry. There were a young woman and man that brought over our food and they were extremely friendly though. Dh and I agreed we won’t return in the future.

After breakfast we walked over to the Paradise Cove beach area. We wanted to check it out to see if it was worth lugging over our swim stuff.
We decided it looked worth spending some time there, so we went back to the room to get changed quick. We headed back about an hour later.



It was a nice place. Not too busy and the views were a bit different than Aulani since the Four Seasons wasn’t blocking anything.









I had an appt for a massage so I didnt stay long. Right as I was about to leave DS cut his foot on a rock. (Yes, he had water shoes. 2 pairs. Did he want to wear them ever? No.)

Dh was capable of taking care of it so I headed along. The cut wasn’t too bad but it was difficult to get the cut clean on a beach. Dh moved DS on the grass right near the beach right before leaving for a few minutes to clean the cut. The grass belongs to Paradise Cove. There are security guards all over. As soon as DS went a few inches on the grass a guard headed over and proceeded to yell at DH. He tried to explain that he just needed to get off the sand for a minute to get the sand out of the cut before putting the band aid on and a shoe. The guard didn’t want to hear it.
We had seen the lovely location of the cove and discussed trying the luau there next trip. Sticks the guard was so horrible because they just lost our business. I get there are tourist who act entitled and trash the island but that is the exact opposite of how we behave.

While Dh was being yelled at, I was in a totally relaxed space in the spa. I didn’t get any pictures. This is my first spa experience. I have never had a massage bc I do not like people touching me. However, Im getting old and stuff hurts so I swallowed that dislike and got the 50 minute massage. It was amazing. So relaxing and all my stress just melted away.
I will definitely be back next time. I told DH next time I’m going alone and he is going with me once too.

While I had my massage, Dh headed to the gym. DD17 was finally up. The kids had lunch in the room and every one was ready to head to the pool when I got back.
The little kids wanted to hit the play area and DD17 was on a mission to get shave ice.

While walking to the pool there was a DVC guide. I had mentioned to DH I had hoped to check out the grand villa. He asked the guide and he said let’s go! We headed up and checked out the view from the grand villa.





Those views are amazing. I told the kids one day we will bring them and their families and stay there. Hopefully a 40th or 50th anniversary trip.






The kids enjoyed a few hours at the play area. Dd enjoyed her shave ice.
We didn’t have much time before we had to head up and get dressed for dinner.

We had dinner at Monkeypod. Everyone was hungry.



The kids all had pizza. We ordered regular fries and the garlic fries.




I had the pizza with olives, sausage and peppers. I didn’t love it. It was too tangy for me. I think I expected more of a cheese pizza with topping but there was barely any cheese. Between the sauce and the salty olives it was just too salty for me.
We all liked the cheese pizza and fries though. Pretty sure Dh had a burger and devoured it quickly. Our meal was ok. Service was fine and friendly. Thankfully it was happy hour so the prices were cheaper. Not sure we will go back next time but wouldn’t avoid it. It was just nothing special.

We had originally planned to get ice cream next door but we skipped it for some reason. We never made it there. Next time.





We spent some time at the beach after dinner.
After some nice long bubble baths in the giant tub we all feel asleep easily.

 

[pinkxray]

Wednesday

Today was supposed to be a fun filled, offsite day. DD17 and DH had plans to zipline at Climbworks around 9. Again, we heard traffic can be horrible so we left super early and had no traffic. We got there around 8 but just let the kids play in the parking lot for awhile.

My plans while they were gone were to explore the North Shore. Stop at all the food stops and little stores you see on YouTube. Check out beaches and take some pictures. My day didn’t go quite so well. DS wanted nothing to do with walking on a beach or going in the water since his foot hurt. It rained on and off. I didn’t know where anything was and don’t typically drive a big car and didn’t love trying to find a space quick with a minivan.
Overall my morning was kind of a bust.

After dropping DH and DD off we headed out for some breakfast. I was hoping for Sunrise shack but after driving right by it a few times I decided to skip trying to find a space and went to Teds bakery.





DS picked a cinnamon roll, DD had some kind of doughnut and I had Teds omelet. I know it had potatoes and ham. Maybe onions and bacon? Everything was very good. I also picked up glazer for DD17 but ate it while waiting for my omelet. Our family all preferred the bakery items here over malasadas.

We stopped at a Safeway and stocked up on snacks. We drove along the coast and would stop at a beach with a parking lot along the way. As soon as we parked it would rain. DS would proclaim he wasn’t getting his foot wet so we would just hang out. We made it as far as Polynesian culture center.






I wish I had known a bit more about how close everything was. I probably would have headed to Halewai if I had known I could have made it back in time.

We had nothing much to do so we headed back early to wait for the others.

Meanwhile, Dh and DD17 had a great time. They did ask we I didn’t sign them up to zip line at Kualoa Ranch but were happy at Climbworks. I picked Climbworks after asking them which one based on it having more reviews.














They would both do it again and would also like to try the one at Kualoa ranch too.

We drove down the street and had lunch at seven brothers.



My salad was great. Of course, the kids didn’t like the non fry shaped fries so they were all still hungry. DD17 got chicken tenders and fries from a food truck and DS for a churro.

Afterwards we were supposed to explore North Shore. The kids were all tired and wanted to go back. Dh was a bit bummed when he was able to snag a parking space right in front of Sharks cove and no one wanted to go. We decided to just head back to Aulani.

One the way kids fell asleep. When we passed the Dole plantation Dh and I ran inside to check it out. He had two pineapples shipped home. I had hoped to find a tshirt but they had no large shirts. All of the shelves for large were empty I left empty handed.



I have no idea what we had for dinner that night. I think some of us grabbed food at the market across the street and others had leftovers.
We spent the time after dinner on the beach, pools, and hot tub once it was dark. It was probably the best night weather wise so we stayed out as long as we could that night.

 

[pinkxray]

Thursday

Today was our last full day. Earlier in the week we had discussed maybe heading to Waikiki since we had such a great time there. However, DD5 had yet to really see any characters and her main reason to go to Aulani was to see Duffy.

We decided to just hang at Aulani and do everything we hadn’t gotten to yet.
I picked up a doughnut and muffin at Ulu Cafe.
The Muffin was perfect. The doughnut was gross. How do you mess up a doughnut with chocolate? It tasted like wax. No one would eat it and it went in the trash.







We spent hours in the pool.

Dh decided to try the snorkeling area.








We had lunch at off the hook. I originally planned to grab fish and chips from the snack shop and bring it to eat with the family. When DH ordered a burger it sounded good. When the waiter said “avacado or bacon” I decided to get a burger with bacon and avacado.
The burger was $21 plus another $7 for the two add ins. Lol. $28 burger. It was so good though. I also got a non alcoholic drink in the pineapple. Pina colava? Whatever the pina colada that has a red purée in it is.
DD17 wanted a drink in a pineapple for her instagram.
We all enjoyed the meal but I had to laugh that between 5 people my burger and drink was pretty much half the bill.









We did some character meets.






For dinner I ordered salads from Aloha salads for DH and I. The kids had nuggets from ulu cafe and dole whips for dessert.




After dinner we headed to the room to pack. We had hoped to spend the rest of the night in the pool or hot tub but the weather was kind of iffy.
After packing Dh and I spend a few hours sitting on the balcony over looking the ocean with the music from Olelo room playing. It was probably the first time we ever got a good use out of a balcony. I always think I’ll use them and don’t.
The weather did clear up but it was so relaxing just hanging out on the balcony with the music that we just stayed.

 

[pinkxray]

Friday morning

Our last morning
I bought breakfast from Ulu cafe.
I also grabbed some treats to bring home and on the plane
Breakfast was fine. DH barely cooks but has perfected all the breakfast foods we like so the breakfast he cooks up in the room beat Ulu cafe.





Our flight was around 3pm so we planned to stay in the pool until 10. Clean up and check out at 11. Then have lunch at the hotel before heading to the airport.

We were also determined to find Duffy. We had spent 8 days there and had not seen him. DD5 LOVES Duffy. She has slept with her stuffed Duffy every night since she has been old enough to sleep with a stuffed animal.

I checked the character line but Duffy wasn’t coming out until after we left


We were at the pool as soon as it opened and collected our last bracelet.
The kids chose the front pool to close out our time in Aulani.
They had a blast for 2 hours.


Around 10am we headed to the room. We received at alert our plane was delayed about an hour. Everyone showered and stuffed last minute things in our bags. While I was in the pool with the kids Dh had disappeared.

When he arrived back in the room he told me that he had asked if there was any way Duffy would be around. A very nice CM said Duffy could come out a little early to meet DD. With the plane delayed it worked out perfectly.

We had a quick lunch at Ulu cafe.

It was time to leave. We had exactly enough time to meet Duffy right before his official meet time. We pretty much had to meet him and go.

We were to head to map near the restaurant.
on the way we saw Mickey and Pluto.






Soon after Dh saw the CM he had spoken to earlier. She led us to where DD could met Duffy.
Duffy came out and Dd was thrilled to see him. She gave him a big hug and told him she loves him.
She was able to talk to him for a few minutes and then we had to go.We thanked the lovely CMs that made our trip. We jumped in the minivan and dashed to airport.









Once at the airport our flight was delayed again. Our 3pm flight didn’t end up leaving until around 8. Once on board we all fell asleep and pretty much slept the whole way home.

 

[pinkxray]

Final thoughts

This trip was amazing. It has been a tough few years health wise personally and it doesn’t help working in a hospital and dealing with covid and Online learning,etc.

We needed a real vacation. Not a theme park vacation. Relax and recover. It was everything we needed and more. Looking back at the pictures it almost looks like DD17 wasn’t even there but I am happy she went. It was nice to spend time with her before she heads to college. Looking forward to the future when she wakes before noon on vacation though.

The kids had a blast. They loved spending all day at the beach and pools. I loved that the kids could have fun while I could relax.
Aulani was amazing. The 1 bedroom is beautiful and I loved our ocean view. 62 points a night was well spent. We our currently booking our fall trip to Disney and we are picking a studio for the 4 of us in WDW so we can bank our points to get back to Aulani in 2024.

We are committed to getting back in 2024. We will most likely do a split stay between either Royal Hawaiian or Outrigger and Aulani. We will Explore more next trip but this trip was heavy on enjoying Aulani and it was a great choice for us. There were no negatives. We only encountered the 3 unfriendly people and everyone else was great.
I still can’t believe how lucky DD5 was to get to meet Duffy. The CM that made it happen made DDs trip. She has the picture of her hugging Duffy over her bed.

Dh is not a Disney person. He would be happy to never go to WDW again. I am getting a bit tired of the constant negative changes in WDW. Aulani makes you forget all of that. It is truly paradise.

 

[NAB]

Thanks for writing this trip report.

Loved the pictures. The pictures of Duffy melt your heart glad she got to finally see him.

And you get pineapples at home to help remind you.

 

[alohamom]

Wow-that is amazing that the CM got Duffy to come out just for your daughter!

 

[OKW Lover]

Love the views from the Grand Villa. Looks like the unit was fairly high up. Was it
#901? We've had that one a couple of times.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Love that final picture of your family looking out towards the ocean.

My family and I are happy to be doing DLR this summer and a land and sea next year (hopefully more changes to genie will happen before then) and we also are looking forward to being more relaxed in California.

 

[pinkxray]

Thanks for writing this trip report.

Loved the pictures. The pictures of Duffy melt your heart glad she got to finally see him.

And you get pineapples at home to help remind you.

Wow-that is amazing that the CM got Duffy to come out just for your daughter!

Meeting Duffy was definitely a highlight. We kept telling her we thought Duffy must have gone on vacation since we never saw him. She was thrilled to meet him.
I thought DH was crazy to even ask about getting Duffy out a little earlier. The CMs that made it happen were amazing and made our awesome trip extra magical.

Love the views from the Grand Villa. Looks like the unit was fairly high up. Was it
#901? We've had that one a couple of times.

I think it was floor 10.
We need to find a few more people to need a grand villa but it is on my list in the future for sure.

Love that final picture of your family looking out towards the ocean.

My family and I are happy to be doing DLR this summer and a land and sea next year (hopefully more changes to genie will happen before then) and we also are looking forward to being more relaxed in California.

I would love to get to CA one day. I try to convince DH to stop on the way to Hawaii but he doesn’t have any desire to go to Disneyland.