Over this summer, my family and I spent four nights at Disney’s Aulani Resort on the island of ‘Oahu, so since nobody asked for my opinion, here are my thoughts on our Aulani vacation.
1. The Room
My family stayed on the 12th floor of the resort on the side opposite the pool. We had a view of a grassy lawn down below and the mountains of ‘Oahu. Despite not being able to see the gorgeous pool and ocean, I loved to sit out on the veranda and enjoy the breeze and peaceful quiet of the less busy part of the resort. I could only hear very faint noises from the pool and the occasional hula lesson going on on the ground level.
Our room had one bed, a queen size pullout sofa, and a single Murphy bed that folds out of the wall. Since there were three sisters and none of them really wanted to share the sofa bed, the front desk Cast Member who checked us in offered to send up an additional twin size air mattress for my youngest sister to use. Even with the extra mattress on the floor, the room was spacious enough that we were able to sleep comfortably and have enough room in the morning to get ready for the day.
2. Food
During our time at Aulani, we enjoyed meals at restaurants both in the resort and in the surrounding area.
At the resort, we dined at Makahiki, a table service buffet, ‘Ama’ama, table service, Ulu Cafe, quick service, and Off the Hook, a pool bar. Despite the fact that my family does not particularly enjoy Disney buffets, we decided to try Makahiki, which lived up to our expectations of Disney buffets. The food was good, but neither the amount of food nor its quality was enough to make it worth the price. We much preferred ‘Ama’ama, where we ate breakfast before hopping on a plane to Maui. I loved the restaurant’s theme of Hawai’i through the ages, from ancient times to modern day, and the food was delicious and satisfying. We loved sharing the Hawai’ian bread service, and I loved my breakfast of pancakes with macadamia nut and vanilla sauce. Of the quick service options near the pool, we preferred the Ulu Cafe, where we were able to eat custom poke bowls and dole whip (a family favorite in the Disney parks!). Off the Hook served standard pool bar fare like chicken tenders as well as some options of tacos (all of which seemed too expensive to be worth it).
At the nearby Ko Olina Center, which was about a five minute walk from the lobby, we were able to get out of the Aulani bubble in order to have meals at Just Tacos, Pizza Corner, and Two Scoops. Two Scoops was a nice place to grab some ice cream on our first night on ‘Oahu after grabbing some groceries at the supermarket in the shopping center. Pizza Corner was standard pizza, which was a breath of fresh air after being surrounded by poke and other Hawai’ian dishes for a while. Just Tacos was a funny choice for us – we came to Hawai’i only to end up at a Mexican restaurant that could be found anywhere in the States. However, I loved the food here. The amount and quality of food was great for the very reasonable price. It was a nice alternative to the traditional Hawai’ian fare of Aulani as well as its Disney prices.
Perhaps our favorite meal on ‘Oahu was at Mina’s Fish House, a beautiful open-air restaurant at the Four Seasons Resort next door to Aulani. I enjoyed an appetizer of Ahi tuna tartare for my entree, which was both delicious and filling, as well as a yuzu crème fraîche cheesecake and a glass of sparkling rosé. Many of the restaurants we tried on this vacation were hit or miss – some of us would really enjoy it while others did not – Mina’s Fish House was a resounding success with all members of the family.
3. Excursions
We did two excursions as part of our Aulani vacation – a visit to Pearl Harbor on our first morning and a surfing lesson on our second.
Pearl Harbor was a universally enjoyed excursion by all members of the family. Coming from a family very proud of its military service, I was very interested to see the site in person and experience this piece of history firsthand. In fact, so much of what I learned at the site about the attack was completely new information, things they didn’t teach us in history class. We were unable to go out on the Arizona Memorial due to damage on the structure, but even taking a boat out to the memorial and seeing the sunken hull of the ship was poignant and strangely beautiful. As my mother would say, we enjoyed our day of edu-tainment (get it? like educational entertainment?).
A note about this excursion – the bus transportation from the resort left at 6:45am, and so we decided to go on our first morning when we were still on Eastern Time. Definitely keep that in mind if you decide to pursue this excursion (which I highly recommend).
Our second excursion was not quite as enjoyable as the first. My mom and 14-year-old sister sat out the surfing lesson, choosing instead to stay at the resort and do the Menehune Adventure Trail. My dad, my 18-year-old sister, and I took a beginner’s surfing lesson through the Kai Sallas Surf School, a program we booked through Aulani. They drove us out in a van from the resort to a stretch of beach on the south side of the island where we met up with the other half of the group that had left just before us.
My complaint with this excursion was that it didn’t seem very professional and definitely not up to Disney’s standards of guest service. Many instructors seemed to expect us to know a little bit already about how to surf, even though it was a beginning surf lesson, and when we struggled or voiced our confusion about how to proceed, some instructors rolled eyes or became frustrated with us. There was very little advice on how to improve and it seemed to be a lot of “wipe out and then do the same thing again hoping for different results,” which was not a very effective way to learn.
My sister wiped out particularly hard one time and decided she was tired and wanted to sit on the beach for the remainder of the lesson. I did the same, having landed on a rock in an already-sensitive place on my back. I’d had fun, but I’d also had enough. The instructor treated it like a giant inconvenience that he had to help me to shore and set my board out of the way. As it turns out, he had treated my sister the same way.
Upon packing up to go back to the hotel, we were told that they were calling a taxi to take us back to the hotel, since there were too many people to fit in the van. They said they would cover the fare since we’d already paid for transportation in our excursion fees, and I didn’t have a problem with any of this. The other group must have taken a taxi to get here, so it was only fair that we were to take the taxi back. What we did not know was that we would have to wait 20+ minutes outside in the heat, wet and tired from surfing, for the taxi to arrive. A couple of the guys waited around so we weren’t alone, but again it seemed like we were causing a giant inconvenience for them. The lack of patience they had with us, both in the water and out, was frustrating and did not feel like Disney levels of courtesy.
4. Activities & Amenities
Most of the time we spent at the hotel was spent pool- or beachside, and so the amenities and activities of the resort became very important to our daily activities. We usually spent a good time each day floating down the lazy river and lounging by the pools, both of which were lovely ways to pass the time. My sister and I spent most of our time at the adult pool where we were able to enjoy a coffee or piña colada in the peaceful serenity of a kiddo-free area. That said, the family pool was not unenjoyable – the energy was just different at the larger family pool. More activities were going on, and it was more central than the adult pool, leading to a busier atmosphere. We stayed at Aulani from 5/26-5/30, likely before some of the summer crowd really began. As such, it was not difficult to find seating at the pool or beach, but there were still enough guests that the activity level was never boring.
My one complaint about the Aulani pool and beach situation was the fact that the beach was a part of a man-made lagoon, sort of in the style of Disney’s private island Castaway Cay. It was nice to be able to rent paddleboards to use on the calm water, but there were almost no waves like at a normal beach. My mom described it as swimming in a saltwater lake. It would have been nice to have a little more of a real beach at the resort, but I don’t feel that it was really a downer on our overall experience.
One of my favorite activities at Aulani was the art tour we did on our second night at the resort – a Cast Member showed us the art of the lobby level of the hotel, explaining the history and significance of certain details that we would have otherwise missed. As it turns out, one side of the resort is the “feminine” side, many pieces of art themed after the Moon goddess Hina and feminine culture of ancient Polynesia, and the other side is the “masculine” side, the art themed after ancient Polynesian masculinity and Kū, god of war and husband to Hina. After learning this, it became impossible not to notice the masculine or feminine details in various parts of the resort – Imagineers really don’t miss a beat!
If you disagree with my Aulani opinions, leave your two cents in the comments! Also let me know if you’ve been to ‘Oahu and experienced something that we missed! Mahalo for reading!
My Opinions That Nobody Asked For 