American Idol

[ArcticTeacher]

se received a letter in our DVC unit yesterday stating that American Idol will be taping on the beach in front of Aulani on Monday January 28th. It also said AMA AMA would be closed that day for taping as well.

 

[Jinkey]

Thanks for posting this! Our family is coming to Aulani next week and I was hoping they wouldn’t be filming when we are there. I hope they don’t disrupt your vacation. I would be upset if I couldn’t use certain areas while there. Please post updates.

 

[rlk]

I hope the disruption is minimal. We had two events cause closures when were staying at Aulani several years ago. The fist was a radio show broadcasting for two days. This closed off the seating area by the snorkeling pool. The other was a promotional event for a Disney show. The one starring the girl from The Suite Life on Deck. This closed the beach starting around 3:00 in the afternoon.

While these things were annoying, they didn’t impact our time at Aulani.

 

[ArcticTeacher]

Thanks for posting this! Our family is coming to Aulani next week and I was hoping they wouldn’t be filming when we are there. I hope they don’t disrupt your vacation. I would be upset if I couldn’t use certain areas while there. Please post updates.

We leave tonight and will not be here during the taping, however we did see a bunch of American Idol staff around Aulani today- I didn’t see anyone I knew.

 

[Samantha Morgan]

I saw Bobby Bones posting a few things around the hotel. I wondered if/how it might disrupt people.

My inlaws were in St. Marten when they were filming the bachelor there and said it was kind of a pain the way the area had certain things blocked off for the show that they typically enjoy.

 

[Caracoles]

We are here now and it is ridiculously loud. At 8:30 AM. Giant stage set up on the beach and when we asked about the extent of the impact, they told us we could go enjoy one of the other lagoons. Not happy.

 

[rlk]

We are here now and it is ridiculously loud. At 8:30 AM. Giant stage set up on the beach and when we asked about the extent of the impact, they told us we could go enjoy one of the other lagoons. Not happy.

I'm sorry that you are having this experience. I would ask to speak with a manager and let them know how much this setup is negatively impacting your vacation.

 

[keaster]

When they announced that American Idol would be there in January, I was relieved to see it wasn't during our dates earlier this month!

 

[Caracoles]

We have spoken to a manager already, and the response was basically, "it's a public beach and this was decided by the Ko Olina Neighborhood Association and we only got the information a few days ago and there's not much we can do." ??? Ummm, OK.

I just feel really aggravated because we stayed at the GCH in November and dealt with jackhammers and concrete sawing at the pool area. At least there, we were in the parks most of the time and the hotel and pools were not our main reason for being there.

We're going to do our best to have a great time - just hoping I don't get filmed in my bathing suit for all of America to see!

 

[TagsMissy]

I am not certain what you want the resort to do honestly. the manager is correct, the beach is public not owned or controlled by Disney. i know it sucks, we've been there during the annual kids festival and it's a madhouse; the beach gets large stages, etc but there's nothing really the resort can do.

 

[DisFan84]

Here now. I didn’t find it disruptive- I thought it was pretty cool to watch got quite a few pics of Ryan Seacrest and the judges. Something Idol related is being built right now where the luau takes place. We’re watching from the balcony.

 

[PittDisney]

I am not certain what you want the resort to do honestly. the manager is correct, the beach is public not owned or controlled by Disney. i know it sucks, we've been there during the annual kids festival and it's a madhouse; the beach gets large stages, etc but there's nothing really the resort can do.

I have a hard time saying oh it’s the Ko Olina neighborhood association or whatnot. Aulani is a Disney resort. American Idol is on ABC, which is part of Disney. They will be promoting the heck out of Aulani. I feel sorry for the managers who have to deal with this because they had no role in it, but it is certainly Disney’s doing.

 

[goofy4prez]

Sorry to hear about American Idol putting a hampering on your vacation; Especially difficult falling victim to a show that has "Jumped the Shark" years ago. (those of you younger, Google the expression) It's tough, but I hope you can move on and enjoy the rest of your time in Hawaii.

 

[Caracoles]

Apart from the bright lights and noise on the balcony our first evening and morning, it ended up not being bad at all. We went down to the beach at night to watch the performances, which was fun and really interesting to see how it's all put together! They took the stage down yesterday and filmed all around during the day. I think they're done, but I haven't ventured out yet this morning. Currently enjoying a beautiful rainbow and trying to get a little work done before I go play.

To be honest, I didn't expect management to do anything - I realize that they couldn't. But when I asked them how many days we could expect lights/noise and if beach access would be blocked, I did hope for more straightforward answers than what they gave. If we weren't going to be able to enjoy the beach and resort, we wanted to adjust our plans and venture out during that time. And I thought it was comical to blame the neighborhood association when it's an ABC/Disney show being filmed at a Disney property. I'm generally not a complainer, but was admittedly grumpy when I finally made it out to the balcony to enjoy a drink after a long day of travel and was greeted with stage lights being projected at me.

We're having a great time and Aulani is as lovely as I remember! It will be fun to watch the show when it airs.

 

[makthompson]

When we were there a year and a half ago we were on the beach and we were told they were going to start filming and if we don't want to be in it then we should move our seats. they were just using the main isle through the chairs for a kid and his "dad" on the show to run into the ocean and then they filmed them in the ocean on boards. It was kind of cool to watch. Although I would have been upset if they had told me the beach is now closed and you need to leave the area.