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

[kungaloosh22]

What is the name of the soundtrack????

Aulani: Music of the Maka'ala

 

[MichelleB]

Thanks!!!

 

[mickeyspallori]

If you have Spotify, it's on there as well

 

[blessed2BaMama]

We are headed to Aulani in October 2016! I have a few more questions:

1) are the outdoor grills gas or charcoal? Would we need to buy the charcoal? And do they provide grilling utensils?

2) I have a 12 yr old. I know he is within the age range to go to Auntys, but wondered if he would be the only "older one" participating in special activities.

3) as we've never been to Hawaii, do we all really need to bring Hawaiian shirts ?

4) opinions of Paradise Cove luau?

 

[QuiltTeddy]

We are headed to Aulani in October 2016! I have a few more questions:

1) are the outdoor grills gas or charcoal? Would we need to buy the charcoal? And do they provide grilling utensils?

2) I have a 12 yr old. I know he is within the age range to go to Auntys, but wondered if he would be the only "older one" participating in special activities.

3) as we've never been to Hawaii, do we all really need to bring Hawaiian shirts ?

4) opinions of Paradise Cove luau?

I can answer most of your questions. We were just there in late April.

1. Gas grills. Pool level there is a room where you can pick up the utensils. It's a first come, first serve, so if you know you are going to grill, try to get them early. You have until 7:45 to return them the same day.

2. We don't have kids.

3. Not really -- they are a dime a dozen down there.

4. Paradise Cove luau was FANTASTIC! I was not a fan of the food, though, but I'm a picky eater. Everyone else said it was "ok". We did the tickets where we paid a little more and they brought us our food and we were right at the stage. It's also within walking distance from Aulani.



Hope this helps!

 

[rnorwo1]

We are headed to Aulani in October 2016! I have a few more questions:

1) are the outdoor grills gas or charcoal? Would we need to buy the charcoal? And do they provide grilling utensils?

2) I have a 12 yr old. I know he is within the age range to go to Auntys, but wondered if he would be the only "older one" participating in special activities.

3) as we've never been to Hawaii, do we all really need to bring Hawaiian shirts ?

4) opinions of Paradise Cove luau?

1) response above is correct. We were there a few weeks ago and were the first ones to use them that evening, probably around 5, but they were full later that evening. We grilled steaks, hamburgers, hotdogs, and sausages all at once, and then ate off them the entire week, so we didn't have to keep cooking each night.

2) My 7 yo loved Auntys, but I cannot imagine a 12yo would. I was in there several times, and it was definitely geared towards younger kids. Unless there was an older room that I didn't see, that is. They have some special older kid activities, but my older kids weren't interested, so I can't comment on them. We toured the island quite a bit, so when we were at Aulani, the pools and other activities were more than enough entertainment.

3) um, no! We did not wear one Hawaiian shirt, lol! If you want to, though, they are for sale everywhere. The swap meet had tons that were very reasonably priced.

4) we enjoyed the luau a lot. We were a big group, but we got there when they opened and we didn't finish all the activities until right at the time to be seated to eat, so make sure you get there early. I got the entertainment book app, which was $.99 for a month, and it had a coupon that helped tremendously at the luau (since there were 11 of us).we used it at Pearl Harbor, too, for the Missouri and Bowfin. Then, at the end of the trip, I canceled the subscription.

Oh, and most of our group declined to go to the Starlit Hui at Aulani "because we just went to a real luau!" Don't make that mistake, the Starlit Hui was wonderful! It's very different, so you can't compare the two, but the show wa very, very good.

Have a blast!

 

[MichelleB]

We just returned.

1. Definitely go see the turtles in the cove by Paradise Luau.....a highlight!

2. If you go to Target, take bags for your purchases. They do not supply any bags to take your items out of the store.

3. Costco has prices comparable to the mainland....same prices as here at home for us. Pineapples were $2.99 there instead of the $6+ at the Dole plantation. Macadamia nuts were a GREAT deal there too. Gas was $.35 cheaper per gallon there if you have a car although the gas on the island was around $2.50 which surprised us because that's what it was at home for us.

 

[blessed2BaMama]

1) We are now trying to plan our dining reservations for our October trip . We will be flying in from the East Coast and should land in Honolulu about 3 o'clock. I'm trying to decide if it would be a good idea or a bad idea to make a reservation at Makahiki that first night and if so what time I should plan so that I'm sure we have time to pick up car from Alamo, drive to Aulani, check in and get down to dinner. Because of the six hour time difference will we be too tired to eat dinner ?

2) are there any Aulani restaurants that are takeout/ fast food/quick service that are open at night time ?

3) can you tell me one thing that after you got there you realized you wish you had packed or you wish you had brought with you?

 

[sgrap]

We just returned.

1. Definitely go see the turtles in the cove by Paradise Luau.....a highlight!

2. If you go to Target, take bags for your purchases. They do not supply any bags to take your items out of the store.

3. Costco has prices comparable to the mainland....same prices as here at home for us. Pineapples were $2.99 there instead of the $6+ at the Dole plantation. Macadamia nuts were a GREAT deal there too. Gas was $.35 cheaper per gallon there if you have a car although the gas on the island was around $2.50 which surprised us because that's what it was at home for us.

We just returned and I agree with all these suggestions! Highly!

We did the Chief's Luau at SeaLife Park and it was fabulous. Heard terrible things both online and in person while we were there (from people who had just been that week) about Paradise Cove and Germaine's Luau.

 

[sgrap]

1) We are now trying to plan our dining reservations for our October trip . We will be flying in from the East Coast and should land in Honolulu about 3 o'clock. I'm trying to decide if it would be a good idea or a bad idea to make a reservation at Makahiki that first night and if so what time I should plan so that I'm sure we have time to pick up car from Alamo, drive to Aulani, check in and get down to dinner. Because of the six hour time difference will we be too tired to eat dinner ?

2) are there any Aulani restaurants that are takeout/ fast food/quick service that are open at night time ?

3) can you tell me one thing that after you got there you realized you wish you had packed or you wish you had brought with you?

2), the bars are open, not sure how late, the little Ulu cafe closes at 8:30. There are fast food places the couple of exits before Aulani. Or food court at Costco--we did that a couple of times, open until 8:30 on weekdays.
3) A fitted sheet for the little 'murphy' beds in the 1-bedroom unit. We were very glad to have brought our spray bottles with the fans and many people were envious. Oh, I wish I had an really good waterproof enclosure thing with a neck strap for my cell phone. Also, we had to buy the spray pain relief for sunburns there (early 20's sons weren't very good about sunscreen despite my nagging and then were in pain!). So that would be good to buy. We brought refillable water bottles which were great. And a huge waterproof type swim bag for outings to the beach.

For the person asking about Hawaiian shirts, go to the swap meet for any souvenir or clothing type purchases. Great deals there, wished we would have bought more. Couldn't talk the males in our family into going back!

 

[MichelleB]

I must be in the minority on the swap meet....we went but didn't enjoy it much. We bought my son a tshirt & I got a tote bag. That was about it. Just FYI for those going, it does cost $1 per person to get it. No big deal but hadn't seen that posted here before.

 

[sgrap]

I must be in the minority on the swap meet....we went but didn't enjoy it much. We bought my son a tshirt & I got a tote bag. That was about it. Just FYI for those going, it does cost $1 per person to get it. No big deal but hadn't seen that posted here before.

It was bloody hot, and I can't say that I enjoyed it but it did have the absolute best deals. I would recommend going early--not sure when it opens. But we got there about 11 a.m. and it was hard to find a parking spot and was very hot. If it had been cooler and I didn't have 3 cranky males wanting to leave, I probably would have really enjoyed it. We only made it less than half way around and that took us an hour. Found my daughter a beautiful Hawaiian dress and got some great gifts.

 

[MichelleB]

It was bloody hot, and I can't say that I enjoyed it but it did have the absolute best deals. I would recommend going early--not sure when it opens. But we got there about 11 a.m. and it was hard to find a parking spot and was very hot. If it had been cooler and I didn't have 3 cranky males wanting to leave, I probably would have really enjoyed it. We only made it less than half way around and that took us an hour. Found my daughter a beautiful Hawaiian dress and got some great gifts.

It's open 8-3. We got there a few minutes before 9 & it was packed then too. There was NO air moving there & I agree ..... bloody hot! The heat probably had a lot to do with the lack of our enjoyment. We did stay for 2.5 hrs & got through most of it though. Prices were better than in stores.

 

[jtkboston]

1) We are now trying to plan our dining reservations for our October trip . We will be flying in from the East Coast and should land in Honolulu about 3 o'clock. I'm trying to decide if it would be a good idea or a bad idea to make a reservation at Makahiki that first night and if so what time I should plan so that I'm sure we have time to pick up car from Alamo, drive to Aulani, check in and get down to dinner. Because of the six hour time difference will we be too tired to eat dinner ?

I would suggest you pick up dinner on your way to Aulani, or get something simple nearby. Last summer my family arrived at Honolulu from the east coast, around 3pm local time arrival, and by the time we got to Aulani it was at least 5pm. We dropped stuff in our room and drove the few miles to Costco to get groceries and ate pizza there for dinner. We weren't in the mood for anything fancier. We survived until maybe 8pm local time, then hit the hay and woke up the next morning ready for Hawaiian fun.

 

[bearsgirl]

1) We are now trying to plan our dining reservations for our October trip . We will be flying in from the East Coast and should land in Honolulu about 3 o'clock. I'm trying to decide if it would be a good idea or a bad idea to make a reservation at Makahiki that first night and if so what time I should plan so that I'm sure we have time to pick up car from Alamo, drive to Aulani, check in and get down to dinner. Because of the six hour time difference will we be too tired to eat dinner ?

2) are there any Aulani restaurants that are takeout/ fast food/quick service that are open at night time ?

3) can you tell me one thing that after you got there you realized you wish you had packed or you wish you had brought with you?

Don't forget to allow ample time for luggage to arrive, shuttle to the rental car place and fighting the horrendous traffic out of Honolulu and into Ko'olina. It's not like landing in Orlando and simply driving from airport to WDW.

 

[alohamom]

1) We are now trying to plan our dining reservations for our October trip . We will be flying in from the East Coast and should land in Honolulu about 3 o'clock. I'm trying to decide if it would be a good idea or a bad idea to make a reservation at Makahiki that first night and if so what time I should plan so that I'm sure we have time to pick up car from Alamo, drive to Aulani, check in and get down to dinner. Because of the six hour time difference will we be too tired to eat dinner ?

I would suggest stopping in Kapolei, the town at the exit just before Aulani. That way you might just beat some of the home bound rush hour traffic out to Aulani. It is only about 5 minutes from Kapolei to Aulani and there are many choices of places to eat there-things a simple as Taco Bell and Subway to places like Ruby Tuesdays and Chilis or even sushi. This is where Target/Costco/Safeway/Walmart are as well.

I honestly would not do Makahiki that night, I always think I wont be tired and we always are...

 

[Bronte]

We are planning on going December of 2017 but love reading all the great ideas
Thanks for posting !!!!!
This will be our youngest daughter's graduation gift trip.
Ages will be 47, 49, 25 and 22. We plan to get a one bedroom ocean view with our dvc points.
I have read about great crafts and activities for kids but are there such free activities for the adults too ???

 

[nkereina]

2. If you go to Target, take bags for your purchases. They do not supply any bags to take your items out of the store.

Thanks for this info! I haven't seen this before and we were planning on doing our grocery shopping there, as we don't need large quantities from Costco (nor do we have a membership there). Do you recall if Target has reusable bags for purchase or do they provide boxes like you'd see at Costco or Sam's Club/BJs?

 

[MichelleB]

Thanks for this info! I haven't seen this before and we were planning on doing our grocery shopping there, as we don't need large quantities from Costco (nor do we have a membership there). Do you recall if Target has reusable bags for purchase or do they provide boxes like you'd see at Costco or Sam's Club/BJs?

They have bags you can purchase....they're $1.50 each. I hadn't seen it posted either & we had quite a lot. The cashier asked if we'd like to purchase bags & I said the regular bags were fine. Poor guy looked at me strange for a minute & then explained that they don't provide bags. I had just bought a tote bag so we filled that & bought the other bags we needed. Funny thing though....he then credited us the $.05 per bag we used!

 

[MichelleB]

One more Target thing....suspect it's all stores though. They charge a deposit on drinks. We bought some bottled water (the plastic bottles like ice mountain or such) & the price on the shelf was $2.12 & then there was a $.70 deposit that rang up for it also. I asked if bottles are supposed to be returned but the cashier didn't know & had no idea why the deposit gets charged. Not a game stopper but just an FYI on drinks.