HOW LONG IS TOO LONG? AFTER 4 DAYS IM READY TO LEAVE AULANI

Allen B Wing

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jun 15, 2017
I am a massive Disney fan and my wife and son have been spoon feed a heavy dosage of my love of Disney to the point that they are now lovers of all things mouse, this being said, I find that spending more than 4 days and nights at the Aulani cheapens the experience. I heard the Dis Crew say that they spend 10 days at the Aulani, but I wonder what it is that they do for the other 6 days to occupy their time. After my 4th day at the Aulani, I was tired of getting in the pools, eating the overprices food, and seeing the same meet and greets....Dont get me wrong, I LOVE THE AULANI, i find myself looking at other people's horrible YOUTUBE videos, wishing I could be back, but when I go back, I only want to say for a few days. I think Hawaii is intensely beautiful and needs to be seen and explored and I find the Aulani is so amazing but limiting in what is can offer, am I go back? Hell Yes, but this time, I will make the Aulani a part of my vacation and not the entire trip.....Please let me know if I'm crazy...
 
Do you rent a car and explore the island? I think we left the property nearly every day over our past two stays - even if it was to grab dinner, grocery/Costco trip, Leonards Malasada food truck, swap meet, Pearl Harbor, Dole Plantation, North Shore, we haven't made it to the following, but it is there: Waikiki, Diamond Head, Polynesian Cultural Center, various hikes, Lanikai Beach, Hanauma Bay, and the list goes on. We usually have a mix of touring days and resort days while we are there.
 
Yes I spent my first 3 days exploring the island , while staying at the Hilton in Honolulu. We had a car and left the property for at least one meal and we went to Dole and Pearl Harbor and the north shore and the bay.... I must be crazy, my co-worker read my post and called me crazy , saying that he could stay at the Aulani for a month lol to each their own I guess
 
We spent seven nights at Aulani...a split stay where we stayed the first four nights in a DVC studio with ocean view, then flew to the Big Island for a couple days, then back for three more nights in Aulani in an ocean view one bedroom. It wasn't nearly enough for us. We explored somewhere on the island every day but our last. We made daily visits to Paradise Cove next door to swim with sea turtles and tropical fish, went to the luau. We ate off property most of the time. Can't wait to go back. I'm with your co-worker ;-)
 


I'm not sure if it's fair for people to call you crazy because you don't enjoy spending days and days at the same facility. You seem like you're more of the exploring type, and there's nothing wrong with that. Being a huge Disney fan doesn't mean you have to be satisfied with staying in the same spot for a week (I'd be ready to leave on day 2).
 
I've been to Hawaii before, but never Aulani. To me, Hawaii is all about exploring the islands and enjoying the beaches. I would have no interest in flying cross country and then halfway across the Pacific Ocean just to hang out at a resort all day, every day. I could do that at Disney World for a fraction of the cost. So I might be dissatisfied, too, if I were just hanging around at the hotel the whole time.
 
We've been to Aulani four times now and each stay was longer than the previous one. Our most recent visit (May 2017) was 12 nights. Still not too long.
 
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We stay at the Marriott next door, and I'm leaving tomorrow for a month! That being said, I prefer to get out in town, cook our own meals much of the time, and relax. Aulani is a bit of sensory overload and the restaurants are a bit expensive to me. We like local places when we eat out, away from the resort (but we do have some favorites in Waikiki, just don't care for the drive in traffic, so often don't even go there when we visit Oahu).
 
The podcast crew who spends 10+ days at Aulani have also explained that from everything they know, Disney expected people to stay at Aulani and enjoy some of the resort but to spend the majority of their time exploring Hawaii. Instead, the experience has been that guests tend to say at the resort for the entire duration without leaving the property. This is why the pool chair situation is worse than anticipated, sometimes things seem crowded or small, etc. People think of Aulani as a destination in and of itself whereas Disney's intention wasn't quite that, if that makes any sense. This is what I've gathered from the podcasts.

That said, we spent 6 nights at Aulani and found it the right amount of time. We arrived around 4pm on Saturday. Explored/enjoyed the resort Sunday. Spent Monday in the North Shore. Tuesday we spent half the day at the spa and half the day at the pool. Wednesday was spent on the windward side of the island. Thursday was a beach/pool day at the resort. Friday we left around noon to go to the airport, so we just did the character breakfast. We found it the perfect amount of time for us because we did find we were repeating meals (ate at Ulu and Monkeypod a few times), and we also walked over to the Marriott one night to check things out so we were running out of things to do. We didn't want to do a luau because we had done one on Maui earlier in the trip. If we ever return to Hawaii, we'd stay at Aulani but keep as a "home base" while we venture off and explore the island more.
 
Your not crazy you are entitled to feel how you feel. I personally wouldn't want to stay 10 days anywhere.
I am more of a split stay girl. Hell I will break up 10 days at WDW at 2 resorts for sure!

I think because Aulani is so expensive that some people want to use it as there destination. We are kind of doing that.

We are staying at Aulani 5 nights.
We will leave for one day to do the North Shore. Rest will be pools, beach, spa, luao , and Aulani activities.
We will then go to Waikiki for 1 night before a POA cruise around the islands .
We will do a lot of exploring then .Have an excursion to Pearl Harbor on way to airport from cruise. We will also go to hanauma bay on morning at Waikiki before boarding ship.
Personally I hope everyone goes out touring when I am there(Aulani) LOL
Kerri
 
The podcast crew who spends 10+ days at Aulani have also explained that from everything they know, Disney expected people to stay at Aulani and enjoy some of the resort but to spend the majority of their time exploring Hawaii.
Interesting. Since Aulani isn't really close to much and expensive, I always assumed that they intended people to stay for the whole time. Also, isn't the parking fee ridiculous there if you don't haver whatever club/points thing that allow free parking?[/QUOTE]
 
We go for 7-8 days and it is not too long. We use Aulani as home base and do a lot of exploring and eating at local places, then come back and relax. We love having the space to relax and play games in the evenings, and the kitchen for quick grab meals. We have hardly ever eaten anything but quick serve at Aulani....always find fun local places to go.
 
I understand. Our first trip we just stayed at Aulani and decided we wanted to experiences more of what the state has to offer. So now we split up out trips to Hawaii with 3-4 nights at Aulani and several nights on another island. And when we are at Aulani, we only have one 'resort' day and spend the rest of our time visiting other parts of Oahu.
 
We don't stick around Aulani during our usual 7 night stay. Maybe one or two days we will just relax at the resort. I am sure many people feel that because the price of a room/villa is so high, they want to get their money's worth out of the resort. We usually stay half in Waikiki and half at Aulani before heading to another island. This time we were originally staying 9 nights, but now because our flight lands late, we have cancelled the first night at Aulani because of the high amount of points needed, and are staying at an airport hotel. After Aulani we are heading to Maui for 11 nights.
 
I feel that way about resorts and cruises as well. Heck, I feel that way about Disney and Europe. Four days and I want to be in a new place. (Yes, cruises put you in a new place, but the ship itself gets really constricted and small and the same after about four days).
 
Interesting. Since Aulani isn't really close to much and expensive, I always assumed that they intended people to stay for the whole time. Also, isn't the parking fee ridiculous there if you don't haver whatever club/points thing that allow free parking?

Yes the parking fee is high but I'd assume this is because Aulani expects most people to rent a car in Hawaii (since they expect most people to tour the island), so they charge a premium for parking because they can. It's also on par with the other parking fees the other resorts charge in Ko Olina.

As for Ko Olina, it is secluded but it's also up and coming. The lagoons make the ocean swim-able so it's appealing to families with kids, and there was enough land available for a Disney resort. And even though there's not much in the immediate vicinity, the longest drive for someone from there is maybe 90 minutes to two hours (being an island) so no commute is ever too bad if you're touring the whole island.
 
As for Ko Olina, it is secluded but it's also up and coming. The lagoons make the ocean swim-able so it's appealing to families with kids, and there was enough land available for a Disney resort. And even though there's not much in the immediate vicinity, the longest drive for someone from there is maybe 90 minutes to two hours (being an island) so no commute is ever too bad if you're touring the whole island.

I live in Honolulu and have been to Aulani to swim and eat. I have also worked a few jobs at the Four Seasons at various hours of the day and night, so I’m speaking from some experience. If attractions involve 90 minutes to 2 hours in a car, then that’s considered isolated by Hawaii standards.

In terms of the commute never being “too bad”, I guess that’s a matter of perspective and opinion. Hawaii is constantly ranked as one of the worst states to commute. Perhaps vacationers don’t see the traffic as being bad because you’re not burdened with picking up your kids from school, getting to work on time, doctor’s appointments, etc. But when you’re late for work, stuck on the H with no alternate routes available, you’re often ready to kill. Lol I wish that I could run on the famous island time, but that’s a luxury often not afforded to residents of the actual island. Sadly ironic.
 
I agree that I would prefer to split my time and not do 10 days just at Aulani. We did 5 days there and 5 days in Maui and it was perfect, though I would definitely take more time to explore other areas too if I had more vacation time/funds!
 

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