We always combine Aulani with time on another island. We enjoy that part of the vacation as well, but there’s just something so magical about Aulani. Sounds hokey, but for us it’s true!
Having stayed at larger resorts on Oahu before, what felt different at Aulani was a sense of place and less commercial feeling. I know Disney is still a business and is not the perfect representation of Hawaiian culture, but it felt much, much closer to authentic than the Hilton Hawaiian Village, for example.