Aulani: What's the One Thing You Wish You Knew?

[mickeyspallori]

Hi everyone!! What a great site! My adult daughter and I leave for Aulani in 13 days. Our package includes a one day car rental. We have been to Waikiki, Pearl Harbor, the Ranch and most of the must do tourist things on Oahu. We are looking for everyone's favorite sites to see. We hear the North shore is beautiful. We are not making plans, just getting in and driving. Any suggestions?? Thanks so much!!

 

[DRUMZ2B]

Hello Everyone, I will be there in 12 days and I am a DVC member staying in a studio. I was wondering about laundry facilities. Where are they located? and do I have to pay?
I've heard tokens mentioned. Was hoping for some clarity.

Thank You

 

[Loveallthingsmouse]

Hello Everyone, I will be there in 12 days and I am a DVC member staying in a studio. I was wondering about laundry facilities. Where are they located? and do I have to pay?
I've heard tokens mentioned. Was hoping for some clarity.

Thank You

We went last summer, the laundry facility we used was on the first floor, there is one in each tower. We just asked at the front desk for the tokens and the happily gave us plenty to use and said we could get more if needed. Doing laundry in paradise seemed so much nicer than at home. Have a wonderful trip, we are counting down to our visit in July!

 

[DRUMZ2B]

Awesome...................Thank You.

 

[aulanidreamer]

I signed our daughter up and got our confirmation back as to what activities she is signed up for...it was not all three that I asked for, it was only two. In any event, I believe that she is good to go and we don't need to wait in line for this stuff. We leave in 16 days.

Did this work? When did you get confirmation back? Was it just with the preregistering or from a premium activity? Trying to figure out what has changed since we last were there. I just preregistered today but the premium experiences were mostly full. I registered two of three kids and am hoping for a cancellation for one more spot before we arrive.

 

[jimmytammy]

Enjoying reading this thread! Reading 2 pages a day to not get overwhelmed, lots of great tips! Hoping to book at 7 mos for a Sept trip

 

[JulieWent]

We are going in March. I'm not doing lots of planning, but I was just wondering: I know you can rent snorkel equipment for the reef at Aulani. If you want to snorkel elsewhere on the island (away from Aulani), do you usually bring your own gear? Or are there places to rent around the island?

 

[southerngirl528]

JulieWent, there are tons of rental places for snorkeling equipment on island. I'm not as familiar with the options on Oahu as I am on Maui. Perhaps some snorkelers will add their rec's.

 

[Mickey_fan_4_life]

Anyone have experience with ordering a special cake at Aulani. Will be there for my 30th Birthday!

 

[tlh]

Going in March and wondering about getting the 2016 entertainment book is it really worth it? Cost 24.50
Also, how is paradise cove luau and food? Heard mixed reviews. We will have a car, bit it is nice being so close and not having to go too far. Thanks!

 

[SuperRob]

The one thing I'd wish I'd known was to bring earplugs.

Why?

Because the music throughout the resort is so wonderful, you're going to want to take it home and listen to it all the time ... and they don't sell a CD of the resort soundtrack!

I had seriously debated spending my last morning there just recording the sounds with my iPhone so I'd always have them.

Lol. We did record it. I had to be up with my coffee every morning just to hear the opening chant.

Haven't read the rest of the thread, but if you were like me and loved the soundtrack, you can actually get it on iTunes now. We're listening to it getting ready for our trip in just 92 days! Set the last track (the nearly 30 minute one) on repeat, and it's like you're back in paradise!

 

[kungaloosh22]

Haven't read the rest of the thread, but if you were like me and loved the soundtrack, you can actually get it on iTunes now. We're listening to it getting ready for our trip in just 92 days! Set the last track (the nearly 30 minute one) on repeat, and it's like you're back in paradise!

Thanks for the heads up about this! I also found it on Google Play Music, and am happily listening now.

 

[SuperRob]

Going in March and wondering about getting the 2016 entertainment book is it really worth it? Cost 24.50
Also, how is paradise cove luau and food? Heard mixed reviews. We will have a car, bit it is nice being so close and not having to go too far. Thanks!

I bought the entertainment book for our trip four years ago. Didn't use it ... it's mostly for chain restaurants and whatnot, and we tried to avoid that stuff. Plus, we rarely left Aulani ... it was just too nice there. We took a day and hit the Dole Plantation (tourist trap, but I wanted a Dole Whip), the North Shore and some of the food trucks up there, hit Turtle Bay Resort (my wife loves "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" and wanted to see it), then went home. We had another day where we did Pearl Harbor, then while in downtown Honolulu went to Helena's and another place I forget (Edit: Leonard's bakery!). That was it. We spent the rest of our time at the resort.

If you do the Paradise Cove luau, I'll be interested to hear what you think. Walking distance is interesting for us, since we'll have a one-year-old, and being able to leave easily if she gets cranky will be a big deal. I will say that if you don't care about the food, the Starlit Hui is basically a luau without the food, and you can do that without needing to pay. Plus it's got a little Disney touch at the end for all the kids.

 

[G'sMaman]

Going in March and wondering about getting the 2016 entertainment book is it really worth it? Cost 24.50
Also, how is paradise cove luau and food? Heard mixed reviews. We will have a car, bit it is nice being so close and not having to go too far. Thanks!

Have you considered getting the mobile app version? It's only .99 for the first month and $4.95 after that. You could always cancel after the first month if there are no coupons that interest you or just print out the ones you want and then cancel the subscription. We used it for the Polynesian Cultural Center and saved quite a bit. BTW - with the mobile version you can change the city so your coupons are not limited to just Hawaii. I can email you the link or you can Google it. We've been to Aulani 3 times and love it!

 

[sgrap]

Have you considered getting the mobile app version? It's only .99 for the first month and $4.95 after that. You could always cancel after the first month if there are no coupons that interest you or just print out the ones you want and then cancel the subscription. We used it for the Polynesian Cultural Center and saved quite a bit. BTW - with the mobile version you can change the city so your coupons are not limited to just Hawaii. I can email you the link or you can Google it. We've been to Aulani 3 times and love it!

Hmmm, interesting! I have 2 books for our area and was thinking about buying the Hawaii version. Can I just get those coupons by using my membership from the other books? I would imagine the online coupons might be different than the printed book coupons, though.

 

[G'sMaman]

Hmmm, interesting! I have 2 books for our area and was thinking about buying the Hawaii version. Can I just get those coupons by using my membership from the other books? I would imagine the online coupons might be different than the printed book coupons, though.

I believe you can! Here's what the website says:

Entertainment Book Members!
Please locate the membership card found in the front of the book. Peel the sticker to reveal the membership code and click on the link below for instructions on how to activate your new membership:

Click here for instructions

Actually, I found that there are probably more online coupons because they are able to update it more often and you have access to over 100 cities (or so they say ). At a minimum, you should get all the coupons from the book. When you print the coupon, it will have your name on it. You can usually only print one coupon per subscription (similar to one coupon per book) so if I were you I'd create 2 accounts - one for each book. Then you have double the coupons. When we were in Oahu a couple of months ago, we used the coupons for the PCC, Dole Plantation and Bishop Museum. Well worth our .99 investment! Good luck.

 

[jtkboston]

Actually, I found that there are probably more online coupons because they are able to update it more often and you have access to over 100 cities (or so they say ). At a minimum, you should get all the coupons from the book. When you print the coupon, it will have your name on it. You can usually only print one coupon per subscription (similar to one coupon per book) so if I were you I'd create 2 accounts - one for each book.

Are these on-line coupons usable just by displaying them (say on a smartphone screen), or do you have to plan ahead and print them out before you can use them?

 

[G'sMaman]

Are these on-line coupons usable just by displaying them (say on a smartphone screen), or do you have to plan ahead and print them out before you can use them?

I believe you can show them on screen, but I always worry about cell coverage and whether my phone will have enough battery life when I'm traveling that I personally like to print them out ahead of time for peace of mind.

 

[darrenwatson66]

Haven't read the rest of the thread, but if you were like me and loved the soundtrack, you can actually get it on iTunes now. We're listening to it getting ready for our trip in just 92 days! Set the last track (the nearly 30 minute one) on repeat, and it's like you're back in paradise!

You can also listen to in on the Pandora app!

 

[MichelleB]

What is the name of the soundtrack????