Hello fellow Hawaiian Fchatters, We are planning on taking the kids to Hawaii this summer, and wanted to see what the local opinion of Aulani is? The kids are fired up about Mickey, but is the resort worth it? also, do you have any must sees while we are their? Thanks in advance!
You are going to want to search this forum for the many threads on what to do here. We love the Aulani, our kids are 5 & 9. We stay in the timeshare side of the resort but are not time share members so there is a way to do it and you can search online. The timeshare side has free parking for two cars and also free Disney movies to watch, free interactive iphone orienteering drills for the kids to explore the grounds. These rooms have a fridge, I think microwave too (check this to be sure). You can "check" your kids into Aunties playhouse for free if you are on the timeshare side too, not sure about the hotel wing. This is nice to have some alone time with your wife for a nice stroll to the marina. I think they are under construction for some portion of the resort now, possible expansion? So do your DD on this to make sure you aren't getting the raw end of the deal.
We stayed there last year and it was fantastic.....but keep in mind it is not a mini version of Disneyland. Rather, the resort has a Disney "theme." The place must have cost a fortune to build. Wood, wood, wood and gorgeous designs everywhere. Of all the hotels I have stayed at on Oahu, the Aulani ranks right up there at the top. Our room had a retro Mickey Mouse lamp, that was the closest we got to seeing any characters up close. Gorgeous room with lots of nice details and touches. It was also very new. There is also a restaurant that has the Disney characters come out but you might need to make reservations well in advance as they were booked solid. No walk-ins when we were there. We also saw kids/parents having their photo taken with Mickey Mouse. Not sure how they lined that up but it was nice to see.
