Here now, first timer. Observations for you. LIVE REPORT.

[smudgemass]

We arrived 6/5 Boston Logan, to Newark direct to HNL on united. Economy seating and was ok not overly uncomfortable. Long though and no free meal, really United? 12 hours and not even a $2.00 ham sandwich?? Oh well we had snacks.

Arrived in Oahu for a 10 day trip at12:30pm local, celebrating our daughters graduating from high school and college. DVC members staying in 1 bedroom.

Rental car at Alamo was a bit shaky at first, shuttle bus service was poor with the first two busses full passing by and when we did get our car it was not fueled and we noticed after we left the lot, had to return and get it gassed up. And on our way (three of us). My oldest and her boyfriend were arriving at 3:30 and I would return later to pick them up. So we have 5 adults the youngest 18 in a one bedroom.

Hotel;

Room- nice and clean, comfortable for the five of us, not crowded at all garden view, quiet, overlooking golf course and you can see diamond head in the distance. Perfect spot, 1st room off the elevator. The pull out bed under the tv may be the most comfortable in the room. Perfect for my 18yo daughter.

Pool- very crowded, but you can find quiet places to sit, we liked the deck behind Ama Ama. Not close to the pools but very relaxing with a spectacular view of the bay. Short walk to any pool and even closer to the ocean. I found that people here have a way to beat the chair system and was very disturbed they would go through all the trouble to do this then just follow the rules. For those who know what I'm talking about I will refrain from mentioning it. Shame on you!
Never an issue getting chairs if you are by the pool just before 8:00am. If you wait...not so easy. Pool attendants do a very good job enforcing the rules, several times we noticed them taking things off chairs if you left them before 8a and enforcing the 1hr unoccupied chair rule. Be aware if this.

Food- meh...basic Disney fare for quick service. Not many choices. They could use a moderate priced restaurant. Hooks was the closest to that. Just Ok. Ama Ama tonight. Looking forward to it. Monkey pod across the street was ok too. Happy hour was good, choices were good. Would recommend. All were pricey.

Sitting at the pool as I write this and will have some breakfast and add to it later.

 

[PattiPB]

Thanks for the live updates! Keep it coming!

 

[smudgemass]

Day one, first full day after arrival, up at 4am(10a) body time. Went to get tickets to Pearl Harbor @5a in line by 5:45am to get tickets to the Arizona. Third in line and noticed full family in front of me and got the feeling I was in trouble tying to get 5 tickets. Was told by the guard all members needed to be present to get tickets for a specific time. The guard said be polite and hope that the ranger is in a good mood and said your chances are 50/50.

The Line behind me at 7:00a was beyond the back parking lot and down the street. Success...5 tickets were given for 1:00p and the ranger made it a point to say that he should only give out tickets to party members present.

Very moving experience....must do if you are on Oahu.

Dinner at the Monkey Pod during happy hour. The best part was the fact it was happy hour. Food good not great.

 

[Minnie824]

Thanks for the info, we'll be there in a couple of weeks for our first trip! Looking forward to more updates from you. Have a great time!

 

[smudgemass]

Day 2
North shore, Waimea falls, swimming at the falls was great, hike in super easy, filming of jumanji 2 was in progress.
Must do.

Drive up to turtle bay, nothing to write home about, nice to see, then back down the coast, stopped at beach where they hold the surfing competition, no waves. Then to lanikai beach where we saw several turtles.
Shrimp trucks, Matsumoto shave ice and lunch at Haleiwa Joe's. All very good. Quick stop at Dole plantation then Back to resort for pool time.

 

[WardFam]

Loving your report! We will be there at the end of November with our 3 boys 8, 11, and 14. I really want to hike manoa falls but then I'm not sure what to do the rest of the day. Was it worth the drive up to the north shore? Were you glad you combined the 2?

 

[alldiz]

Thanks for you live report. Can't wait for our 1st trip next month.
I am leaving Aulani for 1 day to do a North Shore tour. I also would like to know if it was great. We were going to do the Manoa Falls Hike as well. Is that the one you have to pay to get in my North Shore?
Is it shaded?
Thanks
Kerri

 

[mfleeting]

Did yall do Manoa Falls or Waimea Falls? Waimea Falls is on the north shore and Manoa Falls is closer to Waikiki. We were at Waimea Falls last week and something was filming and we were wondering what is was. Couldn't go swimming though as I had cut my foot on some coral a few days before and did not want to risk it.

 

[smudgemass]

Did yall do Manoa Falls or Waimea Falls? Waimea Falls is on the north shore and Manoa Falls is closer to Waikiki. We were at Waimea Falls last week and something was filming and we were wondering what is was. Couldn't go swimming though as I had cut my foot on some coral a few days before and did not want to risk it.

Edited...thanks for the help. It was Waimea falls. Oops! No swimming allowed at Manoa falls.

 

[smudgemass]

Day 3

Kualoa ranch...we did the ATV one hour tour and this was probably the best of the trip outside the resort. Everyone loved it. Highly, highly recommended. If you look into this and are torn between the one hour or two hour tour as I did, we felt the one hour tour was plenty. Two hours may have been too long, and not really worth the extra expense. Rained as we left the ranch, stop for lunch and resort late afternoon, evening.

Day 4

Resort in the morning till around 1:00pm then off to Waikiki to do the Mai Tai catermeran sail through the Harbor off Waikiki beach, 90 minutes, they serve beer, wine and mai tai's for a fee, got the groupon for 85$ for all five. Worth it, was fun and they do a great job, though parking was tough to figure out. Youngest daughter got a bit sea sick though. Dinner at Tommy Bahamas in Waikiki. Very good. I would Recommend. Return to resort. Nice evening, Waikiki is very crowded.

 

[smudgemass]

Day 5

Hiked Diamond Head. Easy hike, though the steps at the top are tough.
Sunny start, cloudy/rainy finish . So our views at the top weren't great. But we could see Honolulu through the mist/clouds. Get there early, the lotfills fast. We got there around 7:30 and the lot was full. We got lucky and we're able to park at the lookout before the tunnel. I was a bit nervous parking there, it was too easy getting a spot there and was skeptical. Worked fine no issues. Resort return for more relaxing and sun.

We did this offen and it worked great for us as we really wanted to enjoy the resort and sun. 1/2 day excursions are easy to do giving plenty of extra time to relax at the pools and beach. Getting chairs later was never an issue, we always had the adult pool as a fail safe as we were all 18 or over.

 

[smudgemass]

Day 5 continued

Dinner show at Paradise Cove.
I may be a bit critical here and my apologies if so. I did a lot of research on a luau before our trip. Read reviews and all. I decided that this was the route to go, using the entertainment book 25% off coupon.

The good,
Organized, the show itself was good, not great. The fire guy was incredible. Dancers were very good. The show overall was a B+

The not so good,

Complimentary Mai Tai was just juice.

The grounds, many reviews say they are beautiful, it seemed to me that some of the areas seemed run down, in need of fresh paint, and TLC.

The table and chairs/seating. Plastic cheapo patio chairs, tables not very sturdy and uneven, crammed in seating. Not very comfortable for show viewing. Do not upgrade to center or box seating. You will be disappointed in my opinion.

Food....probably the worst part of the package. Cafeteria food at best, cattle call feel. I know it's a buffet but just seemed rushed and confusing. Food was terrible.

Be prepared for a lot of audience participation. To be expected, especially when they are in between sets. Not my thing and they can get to be annoying at times.

Sadly, I would not recommend, but if you feel you need to do a luau, it will suffice.

 

[smudgemass]

Day 6

All day resort day. Up early to get our spot at the pool.

Girls had 2:00pm spa, A plus rating,
They all loved it.

Boys played golf at Ko Olina GC.@2:10pm. Went out as a twosome.
Beautiful course, played crappy but had a great time. They had a summer special for $99pp with clubs for nine holes. Got my golf fix in.

Dinner at Ama Ama.
Food was good for price, not great. The view from this restaurant was amazing. If your at Aulani, this is a must do. Even at the that price.

Great relaxing day!

 

[smudgemass]

Thanks for you live report. Can't wait for our 1st trip next month.
I am leaving Aulani for 1 day to do a North Shore tour. I also would like to know if it was great. We were going to do the Manoa Falls Hike as well. Is that the one you have to pay to get in my North Shore?
Is it shaded?
Thanks
Kerri

I edited my error, it was Waimea falls and yes you do need to pay. I want to say it was about $15pp. And it was somewhat shaded. The hike was easy and on a paved road.

 

[smudgemass]

Loving your report! We will be there at the end of November with our 3 boys 8, 11, and 14. I really want to hike manoa falls but then I'm not sure what to do the rest of the day. Was it worth the drive up to the north shore? Were you glad you combined the 2?

We never made it to Manoa falls. As far as the drive to the north shore, it's about an hour to get there passing several beaches and Waimea falls. It all depends what your family likes. Seeing the turtles was a must for us and the swim in the falls was really cool. For us it was 3/4 day trip and well worth the drive. With younger kids in tow, only you would know best. A lot of sights, kinda boring for a kid IMO

 

[livinthelife]

Thank you for the report, especially the Pearl Harbor info. We are arriving on Sunday and planning to visit Pearl Harbor. I had not even thought about arriving at PH that early to get tickets. I was thinking 7:00 a.m. and we would have been one of those at the end of the line down the street.

 

[smudgemass]

Thank you for the report, especially the Pearl Harbor info. We are arriving on Sunday and planning to visit Pearl Harbor. I had not even thought about arriving at PH that early to get tickets. I was thinking 7:00 a.m. and we would have been one of those at the end of the line down the street.

Coming from the east coast the day before, I was up super early with nothing better to do. I took a chance and got lucky. Dragging everyone down would have been tough. Good luck.

 

[smudgemass]

home now.

Day 7

Hanuama Bay, second best day trip of the week. Arrived before 8:30am and the lot was almost full. $1.00 to park and $7.50 each person to enter the park. Well worth the price of admission. Watch a short video on the reef so when you see people sitting and walking on the reef you can just look in disbelief that they would ignore the instructions in the video. Sad that we had to see people doing this. Other than that, what a day! The sights were great, snorkeling here was awesome. We had a weird weather day here, sunny for a bit then would downpour for ten minutes off and on for the whole morning. We stayed for about three hours and left for lunch, wish we stayed longer but the weather was frustrating. Stop for lunch at the Kona Brewing company, with a great view of hikers tracking up KOKO crater trail. 1000 steps to the top. We did not do this but man it looked tough. Even our waitress, who was an avid hiker would not do this, apparently the steps are spaced far apart making it tougher for shorter people. Back to the resort for some pool time and dinner at The Pod. Just drinks and a few pizzas, OK not great.

 

[smudgemass]

Day 8

Last full day, Resort day. I had to drive to the airport two times to drop off my daughter's BF at 1:00p and my daughter at 5pm. My wife and other daughter stayed by the pool for the day. We decided to have dinner at Mahaiki, food was good, service was shaky at best, waters never filled and plates were stacking on the table. Nice tip IMO for doing nothing. Again, OK not great.

We would leave Wednesday @11:00 for the airport for a 2:00pm flight to Newark direct. Long flight? Yes, but no terrible. I would definitely fly direct again.

Overall, my take on this trip. You need a car for a trip this long. Aulani is gorgeous and if you have young children staying at the resort only could be done, the downside is the food choices here and around here are either limited or very expensive. With a car that would open more choices, better value, and options are many outside the resort. The resort area of Ko Olina is also a very nice part of the island, unlike the rest of Oahu which is very crowded and hectic, with plenty of traffic on the roads. Ko Olina has a secluded sort of feel, though crowded, it seemed like a slice of paradise in this area. I would return to Aulani, but next trip would defiantly be shorter, and a trip to the other Islands would be done.

This was a great way to celebrate our daughters and definitely a trip with many memories, and that's what it was all about, and we had fun doing that.

 

[smudgemass]

Thank you for the report, especially the Pearl Harbor info. We are arriving on Sunday and planning to visit Pearl Harbor. I had not even thought about arriving at PH that early to get tickets. I was thinking 7:00 a.m. and we would have been one of those at the end of the line down the street.

7:00 am you would be fine, but I would have everyone there. You may (probably will) get a later time in the day for the Arizona tour though.