# Here at Aulani: Aulani is the Business



## Beefnot (Jan 13, 2015)

We have been here in a 2br ocean view since Wednesday and will be departing Saturday. Aulani is quite simply gorgeous, the most exquisitely themed resort that I have ever experienced. There is just so much life and enchantment at Aulani.  So much so that my wife decided to let her cousin and cousin's daughter take our much larger (by >100+ sq ft) 2br Marriott Ko Olina OV exchange yesterday. I had a twinge of regret, but I can't fault it.  More to follow in the next couple days, right now I'm sleepy... :zzz:


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## GregT (Jan 13, 2015)

Beef,

Enjoy Aulani and let us know how you liked it.  We enjoyed our stay and excited to return for 3 days in June 2015.  It is a terrific property and a great complement to Marriott Ko Olina.   I hope you make the most of both properties.

Have fun out there!

Best,

Greg


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## Beefnot (Jan 14, 2015)

GregT said:


> Beef,
> 
> Enjoy Aulani and let us know how you liked it. We enjoyed our stay and excited to return for 3 days in June 2015. It is a terrific property and a great complement to Marriott Ko Olina. I hope you make the most of both properties.
> 
> Have fun out there!




We sure are. After having gone to the absolutely fantastic Fia Fia luau last night at Marriott and touring MKO grounds, we do now have a greater appreciation for MKO. That aside, the architecture, theming, and details at Aulani are simply breathtaking. I was not prepared for how elaborate the resort is. 

The grand lobby is just that, grand, with a huge and gorgeous lanai off the back. Both towers are attached to the grand lobby, and this provides a splendid hotel resort feel. I didn't pay any attention to the shops, that's not my thing to pay inflated hotel prices for things.

We are in the Ewa tower with a pool/ocean view. I would recommend this, an even numbered room ending in probably xx70 or higher, as the view is great and positioned for great sunsets. The 2 bedroom 2.5 bath unit itself, while noticeably compact, is luxuriously appointed with a wonderfully laid out master bathroom. 

Aunty's beach house has been a hit for my kids. The activities are great. Word of warning though: DO NOT wait to complete the registration process until the day you plan to first check in your kids. It is a bit lengthy, requiring additional paperwork to that already submitted online (oh you didn't do that? Go to the Disney Aulani site and find the Aunty's Beach House registration section and follow the instructions), and requires photos of all children as well as adults in the party that will be authorized to pick up the kids. So plan on doing this the first day you arrive. Also, if you want to sign the kiddos up for any scheduled activities, you probably want to get there early, as in before 8am the day of, to put their name on the lists (don't need to bring the kids down for the sign-up part), as space can run out during high demand times. For free play slash day care, they start taking kids at 930am.

There is a "Daily Iwa" that provides a rundown of the day's activities planned for the resort. It gets printed every afternoon for the next day's activities.

The pool complex which dominates the center of the resort is quite spectacular, with a great lazy river and several pools and jacuzzis. After strolling around MKO's spacious grounds, Aulani now feels a bit dense. They have packed a lot into a relatively small footprint. All good nonetheless.

One other note is that we did the character buffet breakfast one day at Makahiki and had lunch one day at Ama Ama. They were both fine, albeit pricey. More so Makahiki, at $32 per adult, whew. I forget the kid price, maybe $20 or something. But the kids will love having Minnie and Chip and Dale coming to their table to take photos and interact, and dancing around the restaurant with Aunty (or whoever the woman is, she is a 50ish lady who sings and MCs, and I just picture this must be Aunty). Plenty of photo ops.

If I think of anything else over the next few days, I will post.


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## frank808 (Jan 14, 2015)

Makahiki.  Sign up now for the member mingle friday night at 5pm.  Great adult drinks and some great food.  The crab cakes and pork sliders are yummy.  Great for the family as there is trivia and prizes.  Like the welcome home Wednesdays  at wdw.  Lot more fun and less selling than the monday mingle.  Well see you tonite.


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## blondietink (Jan 14, 2015)

I will agree that Aulani is absolutely fabulous!  We can't wait to go back.  Last time we had a one bedroom oceanview on the 14th floor.  Simply awesome!!!!


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## Beefnot (Jan 14, 2015)

frank808 said:


> Makahiki. Sign up now for the member mingle friday night at 5pm. Great adult drinks and some great food. The crab cakes and pork sliders are yummy. Great for the family as there is trivia and prizes. Like the welcome home Wednesdays at wdw. Lot more fun and less selling than the monday mingle. Well see you tonite.



 Ok let me fix that. Thanks for the pointer.


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## blondietink (Jan 14, 2015)

One of our favorite things to do was to get into the lazy river about 7 pm when it is dark and just float around until they closed it at 8 pm.  So wonderful looking up at the stars and lights in the trees and listening to the Hawaiian music coming from the lounge.  then moving to the main pool and hot tubs and closing that down, too. Memories never to be forgotten.


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## Boonie (Feb 28, 2015)

Loved it there!  The most beautiful Disney resort hands down!


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## Southerngirl528 (Mar 12, 2015)

So happy you all loved Aulani too, Beefnot! We were there for a 2nd stay just a couple of weeks after you! I agree that it is truly fabulous. I think it's the best resort Disney ever built.

For anyone going, if you are music lovers and especially if you love great Hawaiian music as we do, both lounges at Aulani have truly superb live entertainment. Many are Na Hoku Award winners. We spent most evenings at Olelo Room grazing on pu-pu's (appetizers) and beverages whiling away the hours listening to wonderful Hawaiian music. After staying a week this time, we are already planning our next stay!


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## piyooshj (Mar 18, 2015)

I am hoping we can make it to Aulani some day.


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## Southerngirl528 (Mar 26, 2015)

Piyooshj, I truly hope you get to go to Aulani someday soon too. If you do start making plans, please feel free to PM me with any questions I might be able to answer. It would be my pleasure to do so!


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## hntngfamly (Mar 30, 2015)

Wondering if anyone has matched RCI search for Aulani?? Thanks.


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