Aulani Pre-Trip Report- Adults Only/ Anniversary

justme0729

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jun 11, 2014
Hello, all! I haven't done a pre-trip report (or much of a trip report) before but I thought it would be fun for keeping my thoughts together as we plan our trip to Disney's Aulani Resort and Spa in HAWAII! :flower1:

Screen Shot 2018-11-16 at 7.49.15 PM.png

So...

Who?
Me- Samantha, 24 years old, the Disney lover and planner
DH- Kevin, 25 years old, the Disney convert :cool1:


When?

8 Nights in March 2019!

Why?
We bought DVC points at Aulani (yes- without staying there first but I know we will love it) and want to go visit our new HOME! We have also had Hawaii on our bucket list. We were going to do a Disney cruise because we honeymooned on a 5 night double dip on the Disney Dream and absolutely LOVED it but my DH can't really go on a cruise because of work since he needs to be available and have internet. So... we thought the next best thing (or maybe better- who knows?!) would be a tropical vacation at Aulani with easy phone and internet access and a whole island to explore on our own time :) We have been married for almost a year and a half now so in March, it will be a couple months shy of our two year anniversary so I might also be calling this our anniversary celebration!

How?

DVC points, credit card reward savings for the past 3 years, and saved up Disney gift cards at 10%+ off!

Plans to Come...

Screen Shot 2018-11-16 at 7.34.07 PM.png

 
Accommodations:

We will be staying using DVC points in a deluxe poolview studio. We almost booked island view but we heard that construction for Atlantis might be going on next door so we wanted to make sure we avoid having a view of the construction. We would have loved ocean view but wanted to conserve our points and figure we will be at the ocean all day!

Screen Shot 2018-11-16 at 7.57.24 PM.png

Flights:

We booked nonstop flights on American Airlines using reward points to and from Chicago to Honolulu International Airport. Our flight to HNL leaves at 10:20am and our flight coming back home leaves from HNL at about 6:50pm. We have never been on a flight longer than 3.5 hours so it will be interesting to see how we do on a 9 hour flight! We decided to pay for "extra comfort" to give us a little more leg room on the way there and then we booked a set of a row of 2 economy seats on the way back so we don't have to worry about the 3rd person in the row to see what we like better.

I'm planning on stocking up on comfortable gear/ accessories and entertainment for our flights! I already bought a travel pillow, eye mask, ear plug set from Amazon for $5.99 at the time. I also want to get cheap travel blankets and set up our computers/ ipads with books or movies.

Screen Shot 2018-11-17 at 6.18.37 AM.png

Itinerary:
I have been working to make an itinerary for the trip but I always end up coming back to making a long list of things we could choose to do. Here are all the items I am thinking about:

Ama Ama dinner
Island Tour
Trip to see Volcanoes
Laniwai Spa
Scuba diving
Swim with dolphins
Pearl Harbor
Catamaran see dolphins/ whales
Diamond Head Hike
Lanikai/ Kailua Beach
Waimea Bay Cliff and Falls
Sunset dinner cruise
Luau
Helicopter flight
North shore shrimp
Paddle board
Manoa Waterfall hike- jurassic park
Snorkel at Hanauma Bay
Ziplining at Kuala Ranch
Cockroach cove
Halona Blowhole
Whale/ dolphin watching
Dole plantation
Parasailing
Make beach (clear water west side)
Swim with dolphins
poke bowl
acas bowl
Mochi ice cream
Ted’s bakery haupia pie
Aloha Stadium Swapmeet
Magic of Polynesia show
Dinner in Waikiki

If you have any input for planning, feel free to share!
 
Last edited:
I do have a few reservations booked.

A breakfast at Ama Ama at 9:00am for our first morning 3/22/19 (maybe)

A dinner at Ama Ama for our first evening at 6:30pm on 3/22/19

A character dinner buffet at 6:45pm 3/24/19

A character breakfast at 11:00am on 3/27/19

And I can't decide if we should do the spa the first full day or our departure day...

Laniwai spa 4:00pm on 3/22


Laniwai spa 11:00am 3/29
 
Well, how was the trip to Aulani? We are going at the end of May this year and I'm beyond excited.
 


Sounds like a lot of fun! Also consider going to Haleiwa by the north shore. They have a great food truck scene (Giovannis shrimp truck and the crepe truck are amazing!). The town itself is really cute and fun and you can go up to the beach there just to check out the surfers. When we went a huge sea turtle was on the beach just chilling.
 

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