Aulani – Disney’s Hawaii Resort Trip Report
Our Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa Trip Report covers our first visit to this resort in Ko Olina, Oahu. The report covers our thoughts on the resort, photos from the visit, and random tidbits. For this particular visit to Aulani, we stayed 3 nights, spent a lot of time at the resort, ate at every restaurant, lazied in every river, slid in every water slide, and drank at every bar…ALL IN THE NAME OF RESEARCH! 😉
We’ve had a lot of questions about Aulani from a variety of different (for lack of better term) “demographics,” and we think this is because it’s a resort with a lot of depth thanks to the work of the Walt Disney Imagineers in creating an authentic environment that would celebrate Hawaiian culture and history, while also being a luxurious destination that would appeal to both families and more ‘typical’ tourists to Hawaii seeking a romantic getaway. All of this flowery language probably sounds like a press release, but really it’s just meant to explain why we think there’s so much interest in Aulani. In a way, it breaks the mold on the formula of the resorts on Waikiki Beach, and there’s a lot of curiosity about what Disney has done in Hawaii.
Hopefully, this report will provide some insight into the things about which you’re curious. Accompanying the rambling text that will more likely raise more questions than it answers will be hundreds of photos from Aulani, including lots of food, spa, lazy river, and other photos. Besides the typical vibrant landscape photos that are common on our blog, we will also share photos of the details that make Aulani a worthwhile place to visit in Hawaii, whether you’re a Disney fan or not!
The first installment of the Aulani Trip Report is now live!
Click the links below to go to each installment…
Part 1 – Aloha Awakea, Hawai’i!
Part 2 – 4 a.m. Jetlag Photo Shoot (Coming Soon…)
Part 3 – Sarah’s Spa Day & Tom Rocks Out (Coming TBD…)
Part 4 – The Gremlins of Aulani (Coming TBD…)
If you like the photos you see in this trip report and are interested in seeing more or purchasing prints, or downloading images, check out my Disney Photography Gallery! If you’re new to our trip reports, make sure to check out our past Disney Trip Reports to read about more of our adventures at Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Tokyo Disney Resort, and Disneyland Paris.
If you are planning a trip to Disney’s Aulani Resort & Spa in Hawaii, we highly recommend reading our Aulani — A Disney Resort & Spa Trip Planning Guide for comprehensive advice for Aulani and beyond!
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Your Thoughts…
Have any thoughts, questions, or things about Aulani that you’d like to see addressed in this trip report or future posts? Please share them in the comments below!
You can add me to the list of people hoping to read parts 2-4!
Hey,
Is there any chance that part 2- 4 will be posted at some point?
When will the rest of the Aulani reports ever be posted? We’re (not so) patiently waiting! Pretty please!
Will parts 2-4 of the Aulani report ever be posted? We’re (not so) patiently waiting! Pretty please!
Will parts 2-4 of this trip report ever be posted?
As a former resident of Hawaii (I lived on the North Shore back in the 90’s — so this is my former neighborhood!) — I have to say, I cannot wait to go to Aulani! Our family travels regularly with Disney Cruise Line -and this would be a perfect “stop over” stay for us when the Disney Wonder travels to Hawaii. My 4 year old son recently became enamored with the kids activities (aka kids clubs) on the cruises, so he would be a perfect fit for Auntie’s Beach House, too. Plus the zero-entry pool and all the family-friendly activities make it a happy vacation for all of us. I would also recommend for tourists to take advantage of all that is Hawaii -the botanical gardens, Hilo Hattie’s for your Hawaiian shirts or mumus, and of course, visiting the DOLE Plantation!
Oh! And please try authentic poi and lau lau while in this tropical paradise, too! Oh there’s so much to do and experience! Can’t wait to plan my next trip…!
Great photos for this article, by the way – I’ll Pinterest some of them! 🙂 Thanks for this article! Or rather, “Mahalo”.
Thanks for the tr! Your Japan trip report guided me through my trip to the japanese parks last year. I’m leaving for Aulani in two weeks, and it would love to read more about it!
After reading the article couldn’t wait to be there. Thanks for the post.
Looking forward to seeing more photos of Aulani!
We went last year to celebrate our 30th anniversary along with our first trip to Disneyland on the way back. We rented points after reading one of your posts and very much enjoyed our ocean-view studio.
What an absolutely fantastically amazing resort!
We did our off-resort sight seeing and beaching in the mornings, floated and snorkeled all afternoon into the evenings in the lagoon.
We had planned to go offsite for meals to stretch our budget further but found we were too relaxed and lazy most nights to leave the resort.
When planning this trip, we figured that due to the long flight from NH that it will likely be a once in a lifetime trip ( I hate to fly but this was well worth it). On the way home, my husband said, ” We need to start saving for our 35th anniversary!”
Haha, that’s the problem with those ‘once in a lifetime’ trips. The really good places almost NEVER end up being spots you want to visit just once after actually going. They’re usually worth the sacrifice and savings, though!
Thanks for sharing that info about the shirt and shorts! We called today to book our trip!!! Looking forward to your next installments.
Thanks for the upcoming trip reports!! We are planning for Aulani in 2016 and your insightgs will be invaluable for us.
You’ve got to share where you found your fantastic shirt and Sarah’s shorts. They look like must-haves!
My shirt is from the Aulani by Tori Richard collection, which you can find at Aulani, or possibly in his online store: http://www.toririchard.com/
Sarah’s shorts are from Forever 21.
You Guys are MY Favorite. I’m never going to any other site for info again. Period. Thanks for Sharing.
Ha, thanks for the kind words, but I’d definitely recommend checking out other sites in addition to this one. It’s good to get a range of opinions about all things Disney, as personal preferences do vary, so there’s a good chance you could disagree with certain things here!
YAY! I know you got a lot of pressure from us to write this trip report, and we so appreciate it. I can’t wait to read about Aulani! 🙂 Thank you!
I don’t always give in to peer pressure, but when I do, it usually ends in a trip report being written. 😉
I heard someone say recently “mortgage your house, sell your kids, do whatever you have to do but make sure you take a trip to Aulani!” I have a feeling this person was both beinf hyperbolic and dead serious at the same time.
Depending upon how much you love your kids, you might just want to sell an organ instead. I hear they fetch more, and there are several organs that are (probably) unnecessary. 😉
Looking forward to reading more.
I’d love to one day go to Aulani. I’m DVC but it’s a long old trek from the UK…maybe one day. In the meantime I’ll just dream 🙂
A friend and I visited Aulani in September last year on our way home to Australia, having spent the previous three weeks in Disney World and Disneyland. We absolutely loved Aulani and would love to go back and stay there next time.
While we didn’t stay at the hotel, we had a character breakfast there and made use of the adults only pool.
The only part we were really disappointed in was the quality of the food at breakfast, which we didn’t find fantastic, as far as buffet breakfasts go.
The ambience of the place blew us away. The detail was amazing. Most things you looked at needed more than one glance, as you noticed new details each time. The location was lovely, especially being away from the commercialised, touristy Waikiki.
My girlfriend wants those shorts Sarah is wearing. Who makes them!? Thanks!
Can’t wait to read all of this!