26/06/2024
Last week, our family had the amazing experience of visiting Aulani- a Disney Resort and Spa, located in Kapolei on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. We were staying in the Waikiki area and were able to get an uber to the resort for under $50.00 including tip for the 45 minute ride one way. The experience exceeded our expectations and was well worth the effort to make the trip.
What can you do at Aulani if you are not staying at the resort?
People not staying at Aulani are welcome to visit the gift shops, restaurants, beach, and tour the property in general. Visitors are not able to use the pools or meet the characters (excluding those you meet at the character breakfast). They enforce this using wristbands to distinguish resort guests. As a visitor, you can book dining reservations 30 days out just like resort guests. Reservations open at midnight Hawaii time and can be made online or by phone. For visitors parking on site, you are able to get your parking validated by showing receipts for purchases of at least $100. Otherwise, you will be charged for parking.
Our Experience
We visited Aulani on a Monday morning with a dining reservation for Makahiki Character Dining at 10:00am. We arrived at 9:15am and were greeted by the beauty of the main lobby which is quite reminiscent of the Polynesian Village Resort at Walt Disney World. Upon entering the resort, you turn to the right passing the gift shop, Kalepa’s Store, before going down the staircase to Makahiki. After checking in for our reservation, we were given a card with our last name and directed outside where we were greeted by Mickey Mouse and a photo pass photographer. Mickey was absolutely fantastic and spent over 5 minutes with our party. The cast member willingly took photos for us on our phone along with the photos the photographer took. After we finished with Mickey, we were given back our card and led back inside. We then gave the card back to the check in desk and were seated on a couch to wait for our table to be ready. While waiting our turn, we enjoyed watching the characters pass by and wave to us in the waiting area. Once our name was called, we were led into the dining area and met Chef Goofy who was adorable with his cooking utensils.
The Makahiki Character Breakfast in a prix fixe menu that includes non-alcoholic beverages, starters including Malasadas (sugar donut) and yogurt parfaits, and your choice of entree. I have a gluten allergy and was provided with mini gf muffins to replace the donut and allergy safe mickey waffles for my entree. During the meal, a talented ukulele player/singer provided Hawaiian music and interactive songs for the children. In addition to Mickey and Goofy, we also got to meet Pluto and Max Goof during our meal. All character interactions were superb and they willingly signed autographs too! The food was some of the best we have ever had at a character breakfast, right up there with Topolino’s Terrace.
Following our breakfast, we moved outside to the pool area and began to head towards the beach. Although we were not staying at the resort, we were welcome to roam as we pleased as long as we did not enter the pools. As we walked the path, we saw many characters roaming around to meet guests in a very relaxed manner. When we reached the sand, it truly felt like a picture postcard of beauty. The beach is perfect for children as they use wave breakers to create a safe lagoon atmosphere for wading in the water and playing in the sand. They have sand toys and boogie boards available for guests to borrow for the day.
After our glorious visit on the beach, we stopped at the Ulu Cafe to see their offerings. This quick service restaurant is very similar to what you will find at resorts at Walt Disney World. This is also where they have the freestyle pop machines for the refillable mugs as well as popcorn buckets with refill deals similar to those offered in the parks. Next we encountered Rainbow Reef, a private saltwater lagoon that is home to hundreds of tropical fish. They offer daily or length of stay passes to explore this reef using snorkeling equipment. We enjoyed seeing marine life and watching the snorkelers through the viewing window. Our next goal was to locate the medallion coin machine as my husband loves collecting them from the parks. We were able to find it in the Pau Hana Room which is home to the community hall at Aulani. Finishing up our outdoor adventures, we visited the Papalua Shave Ice stand to purchase a mickey shaped shave ice treat! We took this inside and sat on the lobby level with an amazing view of the pool to enjoy this.
We wrapped up our incredible visit by exploring some hallways with amazing traditional Hawaiian art and a few wonderful Disney touches along the way. Our final stop was to Kalepa’s store for a few souvenirs. It was great to see so much merchandise of Duffy and his friends along with exclusive Aulani items. In all we spent over 4 hours visiting and soaked up every minute of it. It is definitely worth a stop and we will be back one day for a proper stay!
Tips for a magical Aulani visit:
Be sure to visit the registration desk in the lobby to get your Aulani buttons! We were able to get birthday, just married, and aloha buttons for various members of our party. They did ask for a room number but when we said we were just visiting, the cast member still let us have the buttons.
Visit one of the many ABC stores in Hawaii to get a wooden surfboard for just $14. Perfect for character signatures. These 12 inch long boards are a fantastic way to commemorate the trip. Be sure to bring along plenty of sharpie markers to use for this!
