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

[dclpluto]

I only been to aulani once for 8 nights after a 10 night DCL cruise. 8 nights didn't seem long at all.

 

[nkereina]

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.

You're speaking from a local's perspective. I was just speaking from a tourist's perspective. As someone who lives on the east coast and is probably Disney/Aulani's target demographic, the fact that Aulani is off the beaten path isn't a factor for me considering the longest commutes from there isn't bad to me. 90 minutes to 2 hours to do and see whatever I want to on the island sounds fantastic, since most of our road trips at home can be much longer than that. In other words, the location of Aulani is not a deterrent for me to stay there when visiting Oahu. And I think Disney sees it the same way, if it's true they expected more people to tour the island while staying there.

You are right about the traffic and would know about that better than any of us, but as a tourist, I can work my schedule around that or at the very least, just roll with it since I'm not on a time schedule necessarily. We found it relatively easy to forego the conveniently located resorts in favor of Aulani, even if it meant the drive was 15 minutes longer or we had to contend with traffic.

 

[Midoria]

You're speaking from a local's perspective. I was just speaking from a tourist's perspective. As someone who lives on the east coast and is probably Disney/Aulani's target demographic, the fact that Aulani is off the beaten path isn't a factor for me considering the longest commutes from there isn't bad to me. 90 minutes to 2 hours to do and see whatever I want to on the island sounds fantastic, since most of our road trips at home can be much longer than that. In other words, the location of Aulani is not a deterrent for me to stay there when visiting Oahu. And I think Disney sees it the same way, if it's true they expected more people to tour the island while staying there.

You are right about the traffic and would know about that better than any of us, but as a tourist, I can work my schedule around that or at the very least, just roll with it since I'm not on a time schedule necessarily. We found it relatively easy to forego the conveniently located resorts in favor of Aulani, even if it meant the drive was 15 minutes longer or we had to contend with traffic.

It's funny how tourist often say they are envious of residents, but really, they are getting the better end of the deal.

 

[JPPT1974]

It is about traffic as well as that of the right time of getting there. But residents that are familiar know when to go and when not to.

 

[buffettgirl]

It's funny how tourist often say they are envious of residents, but really, they are getting the better end of the deal.

Well....yes and no. Vacation really is just vacation, no matter where you go. It's always fun to visit a place and to wonder what it's like to live there, and imagine it's nothing but sitting on the beach, sipping cocktails. And I'm not going to lie, there are days like that. It's great to get up and never wonder about what to wear - coming from the east coast, this is still wonderful to me. It's great being both isolated and still in a big city where there is just about everything you want. It's great to just decide to go to the beach, and a beach is there , pick the beach if the weather is crap on one side of the island, or the waves too small for surfing.

But most days are just like they are on the mainland. Get the kids to school, deal with traffic, squish your car into the worlds smallest parking spaces, deal with more traffic. Deal with overcrowded target/supermarket/mall. Curse living in the middle of nowhere when there is literally no box of pasta on the grocery store shelf. Curse when there is every other store, but there's no Ikea, there's no Kohls, there's no Dunking eff'ing donuts (though it's coming - end of July!!!) Curse when you feel like you really LIVE here yet long time residents still see white military people as just passing through, even though I love this place at least as much as I love where I grew up. And then there's just regular living - do the laundry, cook the dinner, wash the floors, pick kids up from school, get them to the doctors appointments/orthodontist/sports and deal with MORE traffic.... and most days pass by exactly like the do on the mainland.

 

[Amw1064]

We just got back from 10 days at Aulani and 3 on Maui. You could leave me at Aulani for a month and I would be happy. We would go tour around the island every other day. We could never figure out where the time would go.

 

[amysibbo]

Our family is one of those 'Disney families' where every vacation is to a Disney Park. When we went to Aulani in 2015 we were there for 7 days and spent all but 1 at the resort.
Then again it was our only vacation where we actually didn't need a 'vacation to rest from our vacation' so we were happy to laze around in the pools and sea all day. We found there was just enough to do around the resort, from the sea, to the many pools, the water slides, and the lazy river. And the one day we had out of the resort we spent wishing we were back by the pool!

 

[ppony]

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...

Thanks for posting this! I've been wondering the same thing. Knowing us, this would be my feeling as well. My husband's brother is now stationed in Hawaii, so we were considering staying at Aulani for 3-4 days and then the rest of our time w/ his family. I really appreciate your post as I wondered as resort-oriented as my family often is when we go to WDW or DLR, w/o a park(s) to go to, the shine will wear off quickly. Particularly for my one on the spectrum.

 

[oceanmarina]

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...

No you are not crazy, I know exactly how you feel. We have not been to Aulani, but when we do a beach vacation (we usually do Turks & Caicos for that), we don't do more than 6 nights as that is plenty for us. We do Disney every year, and our 7 night trip last summer was a little too long for us. After night 6 I was getting that i'm ready to go home / homesickness feeling. And then of course when i'm home i'm also watching youtube videos & missing Disney , so I know how that is. We are doing 5 nights this August in Disney, hopefully that will be the perfect trip length for us.

 

[mfleeting]

Me and my husband felt exactly the same way. We were actually glad that we stayed in Waikiki for the first 3 nights but upset that we rushed to get to Aulani. The kids however loved Aulani and would have stayed forever if we let them.

If we had to redo the trip we would do the first 3 nights at Aulani to get our pool time and relaxing in and then enjoy 5 nights in Waikiki. While we were in Waikiki we also explored the island a lot. We enjoyed a lot more ocean time as well but we did not like the rocks.

 

[corrie563]

4/5 days is enough for us at Aulani... The rest we stay in Waikiki and explore the island, keeping Aulani for last to just relax...