Why do you love Aulani?

VandVsmama

DIS Veteran
Joined
Mar 28, 2011
Our family has never been to Aulani. We are tentatively planning a vacation to Maui some time next summer or maybe next October. DH & I have always wanted to visit Pearl Harbor, so I thought of us taking a day trip to Oahu just for that.

But I know how much everybody on the DIS seems to just love Aulani. And on the DIS Unplugged podcasts, they talk about it fairly often. So that tells me that there must be something unique or special about this particular resort that has people want to go back time and time again.

So I looked on the Aulani website and holy moly, the nightly rate is expensive! Even for a basic room. Our family would likely do 5-7 nights on Maui in a condo right on the beach, followed by 2 nights maybe at Aulani. While on Oahu, we would not be renting a car. If we do a stay at Aulani, it would be a "stay at the resort" portion of the trip.

I've looked at places in Waikiki and we are just not interested in staying anywhere in Waikiki.

So tell me....why do YOU love Aulani? What is it about this particular Disney resort that makes you want to go there over other places in Hawaii? Thanks in advance for all of your feedback!
 
We've just returned from our 2nd trip to Aulani, and what we love most about it is that their focus is on the Hawaiian culture, with a splash of Disney. Our kids (13 and 15) love the water slides and lazy river, and DH and I love relaxing in the evening listening to Hawaiian music in the Olelo lounge.

We spent 6 nights on Maui (rented a condo) then 4 nights at Aulani. We're DVC so it's definitely easier spending points than cash! My advice would be to rent a car (it won't cost you much more than transportation to/from the airport, although you'll have to pay for parking) and visit Pearl Harbor from Aulani. It's only 30min if you go when traffic is light. You can book tickets 60 days ahead. Then you can grab lunch and head back to Aulani for the afternoon/evening.
 
On our honeymoon, we spent 3 nights in Maui and 6 nights at Aulani. Also stayed in Waikiki and Kauai. While Waikiki did have more of a city feel, I do think it's worth at least a visit even if just for dinner and walking around. We loved the shopping, the atmosphere, the action. It was a nice change of pace.

IMO, Oahu has more to see and do than Maui - at least to our interests. Maui was beautiful but it was VERY windy when we were there in September and the waves were big. I am not a strong swimmer, so we couldn't enjoy the ocean as it knocked us over even while just wading. The sand also blew around and in our faces due to the wind. We stayed in the Kaanapali area at the Westin, but it was noticeably windy when we walked out of the airport as well. Our shuttle driver didn't think anything of it, so I don't know whether that's par for the course or just our bad luck. At Aulani, they have man made lagoons that provide a buffer from the open ocean, so the water was much more calm and easier for me to swim in. I can see why it appeals to families with kids. As far as Oahu though, the Dis Unplugged podcast has mentioned that Oahu captures almost anything you can want in Hawaii - beaches, shopping, hiking, nature, history, nightlife - you name it. It kind of has the best elements of the other islands in one. My point in saying this is that I wouldn't rule out some exploration during your stay at Aulani. We did every other day as an touring day and then as a resort day, and it worked out really well for us.

I like that Aulani has an emphasis on the culture. We stayed at a Westin and two Marriotts during our trip as well, and while beautiful, it didn't capture the Hawaiian touches like Disney can. Also, since it's Disney, we knew what kind of quality we were getting. We also liked the Ko Olina area in general - safe, well maintained, easy to drive places, a few dining options, etc. I do think having a rental car is important if you want to go anywhere, and we would have been sick of the food in Aulani/Ko Olina if we didn't leave the area at all.

Lastly, I highly recommend renting DVC points to stay at Aulani. It will save you a ton of money on the room and will let you get a studio or a villa that comes with a kitchen or kitchenette. We got some basic breakfast items, snacks, and drinks for the room which helped curb our food budget. We also got free laundry, which I needed to do by the time we got to Aulani. And most importantly, we got free parking. David's DVC Rental is a broker and a good place to start for it.
 
You question is a good one.

I could NEVER justify the cost of even one night and we are regular Hawaii travellers. We have been many times over the years to all the islands, with and without kids, and were married on the Big Island.
There are so many options of places to stay that offer the same things on paper, maybe even more in the case of the Grand Wailea on Maui or The Grand Hyatt Kauai. We have been to these resorts and enjoyed our time there.

Then I found out about renting DVC points and thought maybe we should try Aulani, even if just for one night. We had always wanted to but in all honesty I was worried it was going to be too Disney-fied and take away from all the reasons we go to Hawaii. Dont get me wrong, we are a big time Disney family and go to WDW or Disneyland on a regular basis as well. We LOVE Disney.

The first time we stayed at Aulani was August 2015. Our itinery was Toronto to Oahu, Oahu to Big Island, BIsland to Oahu with the majority of the time being BI. I decided to see if I could rent points for the first part of the trip and stay a few nights at Aulani. It worked out cheaper for me to rent points for a standard studio then it was to get an equivalent hotel in Waikiki so we stayed at Aulani.

I went in with conservative expectations and was blown away. Aulani hit all of my families sweet spots. The fact that most people were families was a big factor, it made me more comfortable than say, a bunch of partying singles or a lot of romantic honeymooners. The lazy river at Aulani is probably our favorite resort pool feature of any pool or water park we have ever been to. (The secret dive cave at the Hyatt Maui is a close second-so cool) @nkereina mentioned the emphasis on culture, they do this very well without being preachy. It is done with honor and pride. She also mentions the safety of Ko Olina, that is also a factor for me.

The bottom line is we came into our first stay at Aulani expecting to say "one and done" but we came out wishing we had booked more time there. We ended up returning last summer and are just in the tentative stages of planning a return.
Part of the reason is also because we have fallen back in love with Oahu. If only Aulani was located in Kailua area, I would probably buy DVC for it if that was the case.

One thing I will mention is we did seen a marginal change in quality from our first visit to our second visit (approx 2 years in between). Little things like the bags at Kalepa's General Store were gorgeous thick printed specialty boutique bags and are now plain brown handle bags. The cupcakes were amazing and now are bland and generic. They have character cupcakes now which is fun for kids but on our first visit my daughter and I shared an amazing pineapple coconut creamy one that could rival any patisserie in Paris but they now taste like a Little Debbie cake, so sad. The food at Ulu was better on our first visit too. There were a few others things like that but really in my mind they dont make or break the deal for me.

Good luck deciding!
 


The cost is quite high. Over $600/night for a basic hotel room, so over $1200 for 2 nights before taxes and $30+/night of resort fees, which brings the total to about the same amount as 7 nights in a condo on Maui would cost us. Sounds like DVC points rental could cost a lot less! If we do a couple of nights at Aulani, we definitely will not be renting a car. We're not interested in exploring Oahu other than seeing Pearl Harbor because we're going to be in explorer mode earlier in the trip. We would likely do an organized Pearl Harbor tour. During the Maui portion of our trip, we're planning on plenty of beach time, but we also want to do stuff like:
  • participate in a canoe tour of the Maui fish pond in Kihei --> it's run by a Hawaiian non-profit group which is working to restore a really old fish pond that the native Hawaiians used ages ago. http://mauifishpond.com/canoe-tour/
  • take the kids to visit the Surfing Goat Dairy (http://www.surfinggoatdairy.com/)
  • get guava malasadas from Komoda's Bakery & General Store (in Makawao)
  • go see the wind surfers on the beach next to Mama's Fish House
  • have breakfast at Tasty Crust in Wailuku
  • go to the Saturday morning swap meet in Kahului. It's only $0.50 admission!
  • explore Lahaina, especially some of the free museums which we've never been to
  • go to a luau
  • see the Haleakala volcano crater...but NOT for sunrise. Probably sunset. There are a couple of groups on the island that do astronomy tours there after sunset. It's run by astronomers who bring their telescopes up to the crater and they explain the night sky and you get to look at cool stars & planets from millions of miles away.
  • go to the Kahanu Garden & Pi'ilanihale Heiau in Hana - it's a national tropical garden and the ancient Hawaiian temple (the heiau) has been there for centuries. A non-profit group worked for 20 years to clear out the encroaching jungle so it could be uncovered. It's apparently considered a really sacred place and the garden & area around the heiau is open to the public (you just can't climb the temple, stand on top of it, touch it or anything like that).
  • maybe take the kids horseback riding
I think that wrapping up the trip with a couple of nights at Aulani would be really cool! A couple of days to unwind some more before we have to return to real life. :-)
 
Last edited:
On our honeymoon, we spent 3 nights in Maui and 6 nights at Aulani. Also stayed in Waikiki and Kauai. While Waikiki did have more of a city feel, I do think it's worth at least a visit even if just for dinner and walking around. We loved the shopping, the atmosphere, the action. It was a nice change of pace.

IMO, Oahu has more to see and do than Maui - at least to our interests. Maui was beautiful but it was VERY windy when we were there in September and the waves were big. I am not a strong swimmer, so we couldn't enjoy the ocean as it knocked us over even while just wading. The sand also blew around and in our faces due to the wind. We stayed in the Kaanapali area at the Westin, but it was noticeably windy when we walked out of the airport as well. Our shuttle driver didn't think anything of it, so I don't know whether that's par for the course or just our bad luck. At Aulani, they have man made lagoons that provide a buffer from the open ocean, so the water was much more calm and easier for me to swim in. I can see why it appeals to families with kids. As far as Oahu though, the Dis Unplugged podcast has mentioned that Oahu captures almost anything you can want in Hawaii - beaches, shopping, hiking, nature, history, nightlife - you name it. It kind of has the best elements of the other islands in one. My point in saying this is that I wouldn't rule out some exploration during your stay at Aulani. We did every other day as an touring day and then as a resort day, and it worked out really well for us.

I like that Aulani has an emphasis on the culture. We stayed at a Westin and two Marriotts during our trip as well, and while beautiful, it didn't capture the Hawaiian touches like Disney can. Also, since it's Disney, we knew what kind of quality we were getting. We also liked the Ko Olina area in general - safe, well maintained, easy to drive places, a few dining options, etc. I do think having a rental car is important if you want to go anywhere, and we would have been sick of the food in Aulani/Ko Olina if we didn't leave the area at all.

Lastly, I highly recommend renting DVC points to stay at Aulani. It will save you a ton of money on the room and will let you get a studio or a villa that comes with a kitchen or kitchenette. We got some basic breakfast items, snacks, and drinks for the room which helped curb our food budget. We also got free laundry, which I needed to do by the time we got to Aulani. And most importantly, we got free parking. David's DVC Rental is a broker and a good place to start for it.
Agree to all of this. We are DVC so that makes it easy but we absolutely love Aulani and have gone 3 years in a row all the way from Florida. We stayed at the same Westin in Maui and we definitely like Oahu better. The resort was nice but no comparison to Aulani. I felt like I was home in Florida. At Aulani I feel like I am in Hawaii.
 


At Aulani I feel like I am in Hawaii.

I'm a little confused at this. Aulani, which is in Hawaii, made you feel like you were in Hawaii? I'd love for you to elaborate since I've never stayed there and currently live in Honolulu, so I heavily rely on Aulani fans to help me understand certain things.
 
get guava malasadas from Komoda's Bakery & General Store (in Makawao)
If you don't already know, get there early. We had heard that but logistics put us there around 1:00 on a weekday. There were 4 cream puffs in 2 giant cases--they were sold almost completely out. There was a tray of rolls and a tray of stick donuts, though, which is (just luckily) what we were hoping for anyway.
 
I'm a little confused at this. Aulani, which is in Hawaii, made you feel like you were in Hawaii? I'd love for you to elaborate since I've never stayed there and currently live in Honolulu, so I heavily rely on Aulani fans to help me understand certain things.
I meant that when we stayed at Aulani the whole resort has a Hawaiian feel. From the lobby down to the music playing by the pool. When we were on Maui at the Westin I kept thinking to myself "this is just like home". About an hour later my 14 year old said exactly the same thing. There was no Hawaiian music and while the resort was beautiful it just didn't seem Hawaii to me if that makes sense. However, I live in Florida very close to the beach and we have the same plants/palm trees, beach, etc.
 
You question is a good one.

I could NEVER justify the cost of even one night and we are regular Hawaii travellers. We have been many times over the years to all the islands, with and without kids, and were married on the Big Island.
There are so many options of places to stay that offer the same things on paper, maybe even more in the case of the Grand Wailea on Maui or The Grand Hyatt Kauai. We have been to these resorts and enjoyed our time there.

Then I found out about renting DVC points and thought maybe we should try Aulani, even if just for one night. We had always wanted to but in all honesty I was worried it was going to be too Disney-fied and take away from all the reasons we go to Hawaii. Dont get me wrong, we are a big time Disney family and go to WDW or Disneyland on a regular basis as well. We LOVE Disney.

The first time we stayed at Aulani was August 2015. Our itinery was Toronto to Oahu, Oahu to Big Island, BIsland to Oahu with the majority of the time being BI. I decided to see if I could rent points for the first part of the trip and stay a few nights at Aulani. It worked out cheaper for me to rent points for a standard studio then it was to get an equivalent hotel in Waikiki so we stayed at Aulani.

I went in with conservative expectations and was blown away. Aulani hit all of my families sweet spots. The fact that most people were families was a big factor, it made me more comfortable than say, a bunch of partying singles or a lot of romantic honeymooners. The lazy river at Aulani is probably our favorite resort pool feature of any pool or water park we have ever been to. (The secret dive cave at the Hyatt Maui is a close second-so cool) @nkereina mentioned the emphasis on culture, they do this very well without being preachy. It is done with honor and pride. She also mentions the safety of Ko Olina, that is also a factor for me.

The bottom line is we came into our first stay at Aulani expecting to say "one and done" but we came out wishing we had booked more time there. We ended up returning last summer and are just in the tentative stages of planning a return.
Part of the reason is also because we have fallen back in love with Oahu. If only Aulani was located in Kailua area, I would probably buy DVC for it if that was the case.

One thing I will mention is we did seen a marginal change in quality from our first visit to our second visit (approx 2 years in between). Little things like the bags at Kalepa's General Store were gorgeous thick printed specialty boutique bags and are now plain brown handle bags. The cupcakes were amazing and now are bland and generic. They have character cupcakes now which is fun for kids but on our first visit my daughter and I shared an amazing pineapple coconut creamy one that could rival any patisserie in Paris but they now taste like a Little Debbie cake, so sad. The food at Ulu was better on our first visit too. There were a few others things like that but really in my mind they dont make or break the deal for me.

Good luck deciding!
Haha, I missed that cupcake as well. I sent my daughter up to get it for me and she came back with this Nemo thing. I was so bummed. Also you are correct on the bags. I didn't even think about that.
 
I meant that when we stayed at Aulani the whole resort has a Hawaiian feel. From the lobby down to the music playing by the pool. When we were on Maui at the Westin I kept thinking to myself "this is just like home". About an hour later my 14 year old said exactly the same thing. There was no Hawaiian music and while the resort was beautiful it just didn't seem Hawaii to me if that makes sense. However, I live in Florida very close to the beach and we have the same plants/palm trees, beach, etc.
Yes, Aulani does a good job of producing that romanticized take on Hawaii people dream about. I will certainly give them that. Though, as I said in a similar conversation, you can stick Aulani anywhere tropical and get the exact same experience. Did you leave the resort on Maui? Like to Haleakala, the Lavender Farm, Hana, Iao Valley, etc. or mainly stay at the beach?
 
Yes, Aulani does a good job of producing that romanticized take on Hawaii people dream about. I will certainly give them that. Though, as I said in a similar conversation, you can stick Aulani anywhere tropical and get the exact same experience. Did you leave the resort on Maui? Like to Haleakala, the Lavender Farm, Hana, Iao Valley, etc. or mainly stay at the beach?
We went down the beach to black rock and my husband and daughter jumped off of that. Certainly we do not have that in Florida and the following day we did about 3/4 of the Road to Hana and hiked up and down so many waterfalls. We all loved that and definitely the waterfalls are better on Maui. The last day we stayed at the resort so they could hang out in the waves as we live on the Gulf of Mexico side of Florida and the water is totally flat.
 
During the Maui portion of our trip, we're planning on plenty of beach time, but we also want to do stuff like:
  • participate in a canoe tour of the Maui fish pond in Kihei --> it's run by a Hawaiian non-profit group which is working to restore a really old fish pond that the native Hawaiians used ages ago. http://mauifishpond.com/canoe-tour/
  • take the kids to visit the Surfing Goat Dairy (http://www.surfinggoatdairy.com/)
  • get guava malasadas from Komoda's Bakery & General Store (in Makawao)
  • explore Lahaina, especially some of the free museums which we've never been to
  • go to a luau
  • see the Haleakala volcano crater...but NOT for sunrise. Probably sunset. There are a couple of groups on the island that do astronomy tours there after sunset. It's run by astronomers who bring their telescopes up to the crater and they explain the night sky and you get to look at cool stars & planets from millions of miles away.
I think that wrapping up the trip with a couple of nights at Aulani would be really cool! A couple of days to unwind some more before we have to return to real life. :-)

We did all of this with our kids, 13 and 15. I'll give my two cents:

-Fishpond tour: got a call the night before that they needed to switch our 8am tour to 8:45. No problem, except the guide didn't show until 9. She did a great job (she was not the guide mentioned in the trip advisor reviews) and we enjoyed it and learned a lot. Tour was a bit shorter than expected due to wind and brewing storms, but that was understandable.

-Stopped at Surfing Goat after Haleakala but didn't do the tour (pricey with two teens). We did try a flight of cheese and crackers and they were yummy.

-Skip the malasadas at T Komoda's, rent the car on Oahu, and go to Leonard's. I love guava but was not impressed.

-Lahaina/luau: We enjoyed Lahaina and especially the Old Lahaina Luau. Much better than Paradise Cove near Aulani. Kids loved trying different tropical drinks, food was delicious and hula authentic.

-We thought about stargazing at Haleakala but decided just to go during the day instead. Hubby was glad we did because driving that before/after dark would have been stressful. Wear pants and sweatshirts!

Otherwise, we snorkeled at Kapalua Beach, jumped waves at Polo Beach, visited the Maui Ocean Center and Sugar museum, tried Maui Coffee, and ate lots of good food!!

We enjoyed Maui and would go back, but Kauai is still our favorite!
 
Yes, Aulani does a good job of producing that romanticized take on Hawaii people dream about. I will certainly give them that. Though, as I said in a similar conversation, you can stick Aulani anywhere tropical and get the exact same experience. Did you leave the resort on Maui? Like to Haleakala, the Lavender Farm, Hana, Iao Valley, etc. or mainly stay at the beach?

I know this wasn't directed at me, but I'll answer. I completely disagree that you could stick Aulani anywhere and get the same experience. We've taken other tropical vacations and would choose Aulani over any other. We did the DVC art and nature tour at Aulani, and the thought put into Aulani's design is incredible. The music performed live nightly is authentic. The cast members know Hawaii and many are natives. See my post above in terms of what else we did on Maui. We've also been to the Big Island and Kauai. We've always made an effort to learn and experience the culture. That happens just as much at Aulani as anywhere else! You should go check it out for yourself!!
 
I know this wasn't directed at me, but I'll answer. I completely disagree that you could stick Aulani anywhere and get the same experience. We've taken other tropical vacations and would choose Aulani over any other. We did the DVC art and nature tour at Aulani, and the thought put into Aulani's design is incredible. The music performed live nightly is authentic. The cast members know Hawaii and many are natives. See my post above in terms of what else we did on Maui. We've also been to the Big Island and Kauai. We've always made an effort to learn and experience the culture. That happens just as much at Aulani as anywhere else! You should go check it out for yourself!!
Agree!
 
Haha, I missed that cupcake as well. I sent my daughter up to get it for me and she came back with this Nemo thing. I was so bummed. Also you are correct on the bags. I didn't even think about that.
Yes! I remember having an amazing muffin from Ulu Cafe in 2013 (think it was mac nut) and was so disappointed they didn't have it last week. They had malasadas but not really anything else Hawaiian. It was the typical blueberry and banana nut. One of the few Aulani disappointments (that and that I couldn't convince the teens to hula with Minnie).
 
Cash rooms at Aulani are definitely too expensive for us. But we rented DVC points for our first stay there. We spent 4 nights at Aulani and 4 nights at a beach resort at Waikiki. During our time at Waikiki, we kept wishing we could go back to Aulani. On our next trip we spent 8 nights at Aulani and had a much more pleasant and relaxing time. After seeing different parts of the island, we always looked forward to returning to our home base at Aulani. Love the pools and lazy river, the movies on the lawn, Aunty's Beach House, and the ocean views (gorgeous!). The food offerings seemed to have improved. We thought the food was mediocre on our first trip. But on our recent trip, we really enjoyed our meals at Makahiki breakfast and dinner buffets, Ama Ama, the luau, and even the food at Ulu Cafe (we saw lots of specialty pizza orders).
 
I know this wasn't directed at me, but I'll answer. I completely disagree that you could stick Aulani anywhere and get the same experience. We've taken other tropical vacations and would choose Aulani over any other. We did the DVC art and nature tour at Aulani, and the thought put into Aulani's design is incredible. The music performed live nightly is authentic. The cast members know Hawaii and many are natives. See my post above in terms of what else we did on Maui. We've also been to the Big Island and Kauai. We've always made an effort to learn and experience the culture. That happens just as much at Aulani as anywhere else! You should go check it out for yourself!!

You could easily get local people to staff a resort in another tropical location. Tons of locals are tired of living here due to the high cost of living, low-paying jobs, and the increased overcrowding. Many actively seek opportunities elsewhere, and guaranteeing someone a job if they're willing to move would attract many takers for sure.

Authentic Hawaiian/Polynesian entertainment is found all over the world. Locals physically leave Hawaii all the time, and many take their culture and traditions with them to their new home. When I wanted to start learning hula, I'd unknowingly end up looking at a halau/Polynesian dance classes located in places like Oregon, Alaska, California, Texas, Oklahoma, and Virginia. Many kumu/owners of these schools and dance centers are often from/lived in Hawaii and trained with respected teachers. They are not some random mainlander who picked up a few moves and decided to open up a business.

I looked up the guided nature walk since I didn't know what it was. But the website says, "Enjoy an in-depth look at the one-of-a-kind environment that Walt Disney Imagineers created to reflect the rich tradition and beauty of the island."

They are kind of proving my point about Aulani being manufactured. Perfectly so, yes. But still manufactured.

I've been to Aulani to eat, go to the lagoons, and shop for mainland friends who want exclusive Aulani items. It's beautiful, but I could never shake the feeling as though I was in a Disney fantasy of Hawaii. There is nothing wrong with that, though. Fantasy and imagination are the essences of the Disney brand. If it was any other way, I'd consider it to be a let down for those loyal to the company. But I'm not big on fantasy, don't care for resorts, and can take or leave Disney as a company. Just give me Belle and Moana and I'm good. lol I'm only on this message board I really enjoy reading about people's travels to the state and helping them plan if I can. :)
 
I really appreciate everyone's replies! It's really helpful reading everyone's various points of view. Some additional thoughts:

  1. Komoda's bakery on Maui - thanks for the reminder to get there early! We've been there before and we lucked out midmorning by getting some malasadas and they had plenty left.
  2. Maui Ocean Center - I forgot about this! Thank you! We went there ages ago when our kids were really young and I'd really like to take them there again.
  3. Surfing Goat Dairy - I think that we'd skip the tour and just explore it on our own without the tour. We'd probably combine this with a visit to Komoda's bakery and hit up the wind surfing beach next to Mama's Fish House. I read that at one end of that beach, dozens of sea turtles show up in the afternoon to nap. I mean....sometimes 20 or 30 sea turtles!! WOW!
  4. We most definitely won't be staying at a hotel resort on Maui. Probably doing a simple condo in Napili or Kahana, but I'd prefer Napili. I have fond memories of playing in the surf there as a kid with my sister on family vacations.
  5. We live in Arizona, so we do not have tropical resorts near us. There are fancy hotel resorts in our area, but they have a totally different vibe. If I lived in Florida, I would probably feel the same way about Hawaiian hotel resorts compared to Florida ones!
  6. To be honest, the biggest reason we'd give Aulani a try is because of our kids. I know that we'd have a wonderful family vacation without it just staying on one island. I have a friend who went with her family to Aulani and she had a wonderful time and said how wonderful the customer service is there.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top