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

[BowlingAriel]

just bumping up

 

[Mickey Fliers]

Thank you for this thread. We are headed to Aulani in April with our 4 children. We will be arriving from Japan and are excited just to be able to read. haha

Our kids will be 16, 14, 11 and 5. Is there enough for them to do? Is renting a car a good idea?

 

[BCV2003]

Thank you for this thread. We are headed to Aulani in April with our 4 children. We will be arriving from Japan and are excited just to be able to read. haha Our kids will be 16, 14, 11 and 5. Is there enough for them to do? Is renting a car a good idea?

Definitely rent a car. I am here right now and couldn't imagine being here without one so much to see and do around the island.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[aymekae]

I'm glad we decided on an "every other day" schedule. We alternated a lazy day at the resort and a day exploring the island, even if just for a few hours.

I wish I had known more about Honolulu traffic patterns and getting to the other side of the island early in the morning. We jumped in the carpool lane, but it forced us off the highway and into downtown Honolulu before we could find a chance to get out. Not expecting that! Instead of a picturesque sunrise, we were trapped in the city and spent awhile getting out.

I used Yelp to find some good places to eat, but then again, I felt like we spent a lot of time leaving the resort in search of food. I never thought I'd say this, but next time I'm buying groceries.

 

[Airb330]

Definitely rent a car. I am here right now and couldn't imagine being here without one so much to see and do around the island. Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Agreed. You'd want a car.

I'm going in early November and car rentals have dropped steadily in the past 2 weeks. My advice is book something early but keep checking. Right now Thrifty's "city specials" that you have to click on are a great deal. Go like a normal reservation but on the price screen there is a little button for the special, it usually is significantly cheaper though all cars might not be included.

Also try "United Alamo" in google. It'll bring one to the united airlines alamo page; they've been offering up to 35% off and an additional $15 or $30 off depending on length. I snagged a van for 7 days for $220 in Maui and a standard car for 4 days in Honolulu for $58 all in the past week. A few months ago we were reserved for $400 in Maui and over $150 for Oahu with various vendors. The key is to keep shopping around!

 

[Disney Dreams]

Having just returned from 8 amazing days, I would encourage anyone going to Aulani to consider renting a car. We were very happy to have one.

I shopped deals twice a day and ultimately ended up with a full-size vehicle for 8 days for $127. (My initial booking was $240 for the same car.)

The deals are out there. Hunt them down! (You'll want the extra money to pay for food in Hawaii! )

- Dreams

 

[BowlingAriel]

Hey guys - I know there is a list of items in the DVC rooms - but for the life of me, I can't find it.

I know no salt & pepper anything else you HAD to have to cook but wasn't there?

 

[Cinderpamela]

@BowlingAriel

Here is the amenities list from the DIS Aulani Page:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-resorts/aulani-hawaii-resort/dvc.htm

This is actually a more complete list from All Ears:
http://allears.net/acc/faq_aulani.htm

 

[BowlingAriel]

CINDER

Thanks - I knew it was somewhere and kept searching with no results.

 

[hopemax]

That the bar menus are different for lunch vs dinner times. My DH saw something he wanted on the lunch menu, but when we went back later to track down some dinner, it wasn't listed. We were actually satisfied with the food options at the Resort; didn't find it as hard to find something we wanted from the bars. We ate at Monkeypod both at Aulani and once when we were on Maui...both times we had terrible service. There is nothing worse when your server keeps visiting a neighboring table, and being super chatty but won't even look at your drink glass. We also had lunch during our Target run at the Aloha Salads. That was super tasty.

Also, these are some things we did find out but based on the couple people asking us, it might be something other people would want to know.

Concierge has flat rate priority mail boxes and they will ship them for you at no additional charge. You pay what you would to mail from the PO. We got 2 large and one medium, and I sent one home, one to my Dad and one to my Grandma.

Also, if you want macadamia nuts or hershey's macadamia kisses Costco has the best prices by far. If you don't make it to Costco, Long's Drugs is next best. There's one in the shopping center across from the Walmart, but their prices were better than Walmart. Good for alcohol too, if you need it.

 

[BowlingAriel]

Ok so last minute panic plans are starting. Those "what ifs" LOL

I know the 1 bedrooms have a full size coffee maker - do they still only give you 2 packs of coffee? Is housekeeping generous to refill daily? If I wait to buy extra at Target when I get there, do the "pre-packed" bags fit?

Sorry I am a Keurig junkie here at home.

 

[jerseygal]

Love Macadami Nuts!

THANKS FOR THE TIP ON LONGS DRUGS!

 

[Disney Dreams]

Ok so last minute panic plans are starting. Those "what ifs" LOL

I know the 1 bedrooms have a full size coffee maker - do they still only give you 2 packs of coffee? Is housekeeping generous to refill daily? If I wait to buy extra at Target when I get there, do the "pre-packed" bags fit?

Sorry I am a Keurig junkie here at home.

Since this thread is not really about the topic you are asking about, you may want to start a thread specifically for your question in order for it to get answered. I didn't stay in a one bedroom, nor do we drink coffee so I don't know the answer.

- Dreams

 

[WDW_Diane]

What month were you there? Wonder if you can see them in June.

We went in June, at different times of day, and never saw either. However, it was a beautiful place and we have great photos from that location.

 

[WDW_Diane]

I'm glad we decided on an "every other day" schedule. We alternated a lazy day at the resort and a day exploring the island, even if just for a few hours.

I wish I had known more about Honolulu traffic patterns and getting to the other side of the island early in the morning. We jumped in the carpool lane, but it forced us off the highway and into downtown Honolulu before we could find a chance to get out. Not expecting that! Instead of a picturesque sunrise, we were trapped in the city and spent awhile getting out.

I used Yelp to find some good places to eat, but then again, I felt like we spent a lot of time leaving the resort in search of food. I never thought I'd say this, but next time I'm buying groceries.

We did the "every other day" looking around the island too, and it worked well for us. We didn't want to fly all the way to Hawaii and stay at a resort the whole time. We shopped at Target on our first day for groceries.

 

[BCV2003]

If you do take the HOV lane, you can get off before you get to Honolulu. There is an exit from the HOV lane for the airport. We took that and then back tracked two exits. Much quicker than sitting in the traffic.

Some other highlight were:
-seeing the large sea turtles on the North Shore at Laniakea Beach
-snorkeling at Hanauma Bay where we ended up swimming with a large sea turtle and got video of it
-ATV ride at Kualoa Ranch
-hiking up to the top of Diamond Head

We basically drove the whole perimeter of the island and a few of the roads through the center.

We planned Diamond Head and Pearl Harbor on the weekends so we didn't have to deal with the worst of the traffic.

 

[amym2]

Ok so last minute panic plans are starting. Those "what ifs" LOL

I know the 1 bedrooms have a full size coffee maker - do they still only give you 2 packs of coffee? Is housekeeping generous to refill daily? If I wait to buy extra at Target when I get there, do the "pre-packed" bags fit?

Sorry I am a Keurig junkie here at home.

We were in a 2bdrm but I assume it would be the same. We had two packs and since we were staying on points, housekeeping did not enter the room until day 4, at which time they replenished everything. You might consider getting the refillable mug for coffee, although DH said the coffee wasn't that good.

 

[Airb330]

We were in a 2bdrm but I assume it would be the same. We had two packs and since we were staying on points, housekeeping did not enter the room until day 4, at which time they replenished everything. You might consider getting the refillable mug for coffee, although DH said the coffee wasn't that good.

Yes it's the same as I'm in a one bedroom villa now. It's also the same as the 1 at GCV. It uses regular filters.

BowlingAriel, We bought some Starbucks at target and filters. I believe you could do the same at the Island Country Market across the street from Aulani. You'll get much better coffee that way. I'd reccommend target though. Skip those pre-filled packs though. We just used some for a week on Maui and they suck (we thought the maxwell house beat Folgers though). I brought them from home thinking about convenience. We all are much happier with $2 filters and a bag if ground Starbucks (or even 8 o'clock ) over the packs.

 

[BowlingAriel]

I brought them from home thinking about convenience. We all are much happier with $2 filters and a bag if ground Starbucks (or even 8 o'clock ) over the packs.

Thanks - I was thinking of bringing some too - great idea.

 

[amym2]

There's also a coffee place in the shopping center with the Island Market, right across from Aulani.