February 2021 Aulani Visit - Advice Please!

[hlrubin507]

I have a twice-rescheduled trip for Aulani that I now "have" to take in February 2021 due to expiring points (2/28/21). Ideally we would have re-scheduled for once the kids' club re-opened but it's either this or send the points to no-man's land (RCI). We are flying nonstop on Southwest out of Oakland and staying 5 nights in a 1-bedroom Island View Villa. I am planning to rent a car. We will have our two girls ages 9 and 6 with us. I have been to Hawaii several times but never to Aulani (or Oahu).

Please tell me your best advice!

Since I have never been there, I don't really know what the partial closures will mean for us in practical purposes in terms of eating, restaurants, etc.. Are there any activities for kids at all, like crafts or outdoor movies or anything?

Any outings you particularly recommend with kids, like light/scenic hikes or whale watching or such? We will have only 4 full days (Saturday to Tuesday) so will mostly just enjoy the pools and the beach but I wouldn't mind going out a couple times.

Also, I see people on this forum talking about room requests but I don't actually know how to make such a request other than calling the front desk -- is that what people do? I understand that a request for a higher floor in the Ewa building is a good one to make for our room type.

Thank you all in advance for your advice to this Aulani newbie!

 

[jodybird511]

I have a twice-rescheduled trip for Aulani that I now "have" to take in February 2021 due to expiring points (2/28/21). Ideally we would have re-scheduled for once the kids' club re-opened but it's either this or send the points to no-man's land (RCI). We are flying nonstop on Southwest out of Oakland and staying 5 nights in a 1-bedroom Island View Villa. I am planning to rent a car. We will have our two girls ages 9 and 6 with us. I have been to Hawaii several times but never to Aulani (or Oahu).

Please tell me your best advice!

Since I have never been there, I don't really know what the partial closures will mean for us in practical purposes in terms of eating, restaurants, etc.. Are there any activities for kids at all, like crafts or outdoor movies or anything?

Any outings you particularly recommend with kids, like light/scenic hikes or whale watching or such? We will have only 4 full days (Saturday to Tuesday) so will mostly just enjoy the pools and the beach but I wouldn't mind going out a couple times.

Also, I see people on this forum talking about room requests but I don't actually know how to make such a request other than calling the front desk -- is that what people do? I understand that a request for a higher floor in the Ewa building is a good one to make for our room type.

Thank you all in advance for your advice to this Aulani newbie!

Hi! First off, for room requests, you can do this via chat with DVC Member Services, or you can call Member Services to put in a room request. The sooner the better, and always remember that it is only a request and not guaranteed! We own at Aulani, but we haven't yet been back since COVID--had our last summer trip canceled--so I can't speak to what activities are and are not happening. I can tell you that the Pau Hana room has *historically* had video rentals (free for DVC members), coloring pages, board games, crafts, etc. Again, don't know what is and is not happening currently. There are not a lot of night activities at Aulani during a normal time, so we tend to rent a movie every night and relax in our villa--this is the norm for our Aulani trips. We also really enjoy listening to live music outside the Olelo Room, and I believe I've seen pix of this happening currently, so that might be something fun for your family--even though it's technically a lounge, kids are always around.

If your kids like animals, I would say yes to whale watching! Not sure how adventurous your kids are and what type of swimmers they are, but if these aren't a concern, I would also highly recommend considering a snorkeling trip--we did a trip with Wild Side Tours, and it was the highlight of our trip. Our kids were 8 and 14 at the time, but I will say our 8 year old is probably the strongest swimmer in the family (competitive swim team), so definitely not appropriate for all kids. The tour we did involved snorkeling in ~ 60 foot waters. In terms of meals, even under normal circumstances, dining at Aulani is pretty limited and sort of meh for the price, so I would suggest stopping for groceries on the way from the airport, so that you have supplies in the room, and then you can supplement. We always stay in at least a 1 bdrm in order to have a full kitchen for this very reason. We also hiked Ka'ena Point and saw some cool stuff. I always recommend Pearl Harbor, as I feel as though it's important for all Americans to visit this site. I know some folks are a little leery about taking young kids there, but depending on the kid, it can be appropriate--our youngest was 7 the first time we went, and he was very interested and also appropriately respectful. We enjoyed Waimea Valley--you can see beautiful vegetation and a waterfall--you can even swim in the pool beneath the falls if you choose. Our kids enjoyed this--i know it gets mixed reviews. We liked it, but it was a one and done, b/c it's not cheap to enter. Happy to answer any specific questions you may have.

 

[StayAwake]

On my 12/10-12/16/20 trip:

Pau Hana Room was open and was offering free DVD "rentals". We didn't see any crafts/board games, although they did have a scavenger hunt. Menehune Adventure Trail was also available. Character greetings were happening multiple times a day.

Both waterslides were open. Free beach items like bodyboards were available. All the pools were open, including the kid's activity area. Lazy river was open and very popular with kids.

Extra cost activities available were Make Your Own Mickey Ears ($25 or $35 with lights) & Fish Feeding at Rainbow Reef. These needed to be registered for in advance at the Pau Hana Room. Other additional cost activities we enjoyed were Stand-up Paddle boarding & Snorkeling at Rainbow Reef.