Elleny76, mahalo for sharing your experience! My DH & I have stayed at Aulani 3 different trips with NO kids and absolutely love it. It is a very special place. Maui is our first love, and we spend a few weeks every year there but we will always return to Aulani. Being a DVC member makes it super easy for me to do, but I would stay there anyway if I was not a member. The hustle and bustle of Waikiki are not our thing so the Ko Olina area is perfect for our Oahu stays.
I think when people expect a "Disneyland" experience, they have not done their homework before booking/staying at Aulani. There was a really good article in Hawaii magazine interviewing Keali'i Reichel (if you are a Hawaii freak like me, you will know who that is), who was very reticent to be a cultural advisor to Disney when Aulani was being planned. It took a friend of his asking him to just meet w/Disney. Keali'i wrote several pieces of music for Aulani, and for the official blessing/opening ceremony. His handprint is all over the Starlit Hui show which was performed at Aulani until recently when they went to a luau format.
I know of no resort in Hawaii or anywhere else that pleases everyone. I wouldn't give you 10 cents for a primo hotel in Vegas. Not my thing. But lots of folks love it. Aulani's prices are pretty much in line with any other high end beachfront Hawaiian resort IMO. I think it is the fact that Aulani is very vertical and that Waikolohe Valley pools area fills up the area between the towers, that makes it feel crowded at times. But in 3 stays I have not once had any problem at all finding nice pool chairs or getting into AMA AMA to dine.
I have found the Aulani experience to be lovely, from the staff to the attention to detail on Hawaiian culture and lore. They have truly outstanding live Hawaiian music in the 2 lounges nightly. Almost all of them being Na Hoku Hano Hano award winners. I have personally spoken at some length with Teresa Bright, whom DH & I LOVE to hear while at Aulani. She is native born and I asked her what she thought about Disney's declaration that Aulani would be "big Hawaii and little Disney". She surprised me by saying how amazed she was each time she came to perform at the attention to detail and how very well she was treated there.
Aulani is not for everyone, anymore than is Hilton Hawaiian Village or Halekulani for everyone. And for various reason. That's the beauty of it all. Hawaii holds something for almost everyone.