Overwhelmed and confused

[poohs4me]

I booked a room and a car that is as much as I have done. I am going the first week of May. What else should I be booking? I read previous reviews but am still lost

I tried to book the Luau but am too late.
Thank you for any help you can give me

 

[gatechfan99]

Don't be overwhelmed, if you've already booked a room and car, those are really the most important things.

-Don't worry about the Luau on property. The Chief's Luau is about 2 miles away and many people say it is better. It's the one we went to last week and was outstanding. You can book that online
-Dining reservations on property are just for breakfast and dinner at Makahiki. You can't do that until 30 days in advance and it's not hard to get when you do that.
-I would consider an Open Table Reservation for Monkeypod for dinner which you can walk to across the street.
-Off property, if you want to go to Pearl Harbor and go to the USS Arizona Memorial, you can reserve your time with a $1 ticket online from the National Park Service. I believe that is 60 days out but we got ours about 30 days ahead of time.
-Also Kualoa Ranch has a lot of activities and some do sell out in advance, but as long as you book 2-3 weeks in advance, you should have your choice of times.
-You can book spa online as well, I'm not sure when that booking starts but I would think it has plenty of availability still in May if you're interested.
-You can also book a Photo Session but as mentioned in another thread, if you don't book anything in advance, you can still walk up to the PhotoPass photographers and use them

I can't think of anything else we booked ahead of time. You're in good shape.

 

[poohs4me]

Thank you!!

 

[CampbellzSoup]

The syllabi luau is pretty lame I’ll be honest compared to Chiefs luau …but I would call and get a reservation they have some that you can call for and they’ll squeeze you in. Trust me though it was meh

 

[Van@Disney]

I you have any interest in a cabana etc. that should be done ASAP.

 

[poohs4me]

I you have any interest in a cabana etc. that should be done ASAP.

Can you do this from the app or how do I do this?

 

[WAstateDVCDaddy]

For cabana reservations, call in. Disney has the info on the DisneyAulani.com site:

RESERVATIONS

• (808) 674-6200
• Main Line

If they don’t have any, you can always check the day before or day of. There’s no cost to reserve, so a lot of people reserve, but cancel before they get charged.

 

[TheHulamuffins]

Relax, poohs4me, you got this! If you have not been to Hawaii before, then I would recommend checking the Activities list at the Aulani site (it is down in the fine print near the end of the main Aulani web page).

Once you see Activities, under the heading Pool Areas, you will see Poolside Cabanas. Click on that and you should see a number to call for reservations. (I guess the number was posted while I was typing.) I did not see a way to reserve directly online, though there might be one.

Also, under Activities, if you click "Excursions," you will see a whole list of possible side trips. These include dolphin encounters, kayaking, surfing, zip lines, a walking tour of Waimea Valley, a tour focused on movie locations, Pearl Harbor tours, and a "Wild Boar" off-road expedition. If the spa is open, I cannot recommend highly enough planning to go there. I recommend scheduling that for your last day, if your flight leaves in the evening from Honolulu. I would also recommend checking out the Viator site for trips. The ones that leave from Ko'olina or pick you up at your resort will probably be the most convenient. You don't want a trip from Maui unless you will be on that island. Disney had a shopping shuttle trip to Honolulu when we were there. I liked the Dole plantation tour, though it is admittedly a bit of a tourist trap--but a nice one, and of a variety that you cannot find elsewhere. At the Dole plantation store, they had a "Pick a Pearl" site (really, pick an oyster), and I selected one that had a lovely black pearl. I have acquired white, pink, golden, and silver pearls that way at the Japan pavilion in Epcot, but never a black pearl there.

I think that you will find anything to be enchanting, if the type of activity appeals to you. My favorite excursion was a snorkeling trip, reserved through Ocean Joy--you may need to go through the Viator page to find that. I am not sure if the sea turtles will be around during a snorkeling trip in May (they were not there on a trip we took in March, but were there in August). Whale watching should be great in season--the trip we reserved was canceled due to weather though. I think reserving a whale-watching tour in the morning gives you better odds of avoiding cancellation. The Polynesian sailing canoe trip that we took was also excellent; this tour left right from the lagoon at Aulani.

I also recommend Roy's very highly as a restaurant for dinner, if you want to eat somewhere away from Aulani. It is within walking distance, or you can take a resort shuttle, if they are running.

We are planning to go back, but possibly not until 2023. My idea for the return trip is to alternate days that are 100% at Aulani, enjoying what the resort has to offer, with days that include an excursion.

You will have a wonderful time!

 

[FoodieFriend]

Besides the pool cabanas, there's also reserved casabella seating & a lanai in front of AmaAma which you can call to reserve in advance at the number from PP for pool cabanas. And as stated above, you can even call after you've arrived as they do typically have cancellations. The casabellas on the beach/lagoon are available for reservation on the day you plan to use them, they are not bookable in advance. All of these are great for check-in day in case you arrive & your room isn't ready yet or your flight home is late in the day & you have to check out at 11a.

All other seating by the pools or lagoons are first come/first serve & the pool chairs can be hard to find when the resort is busy. The chairs on the lagoon have never been a problem for me to find.

 

[Lilsia]

It depends on what you plan to do on your vacation. Are you planning on doing a Hawaiian vacation or just staying at the hotel? Spa, Makahiki, luau, and cabana is what you need a reservation for at Aulani. Things like Kualoa Ranch, surf lessons, or any other activity that needs a reservation should be booked ASAP since they sell out months in advance. If you think of it in an organized way, it should not be anything close to overwhelming. To me, overwhelming means that your spouse just died, your kid is sick, and your house is being foreclosed on, vacation planning should be fun. If you keep it in perspective, it is not that bad. I usually figure out what I want out of my vacation destination and then find out where I can do those things. Make a list of what you want to do and then go day by day with your itinerary.

 

[TheHulamuffins]

I agree with FoodieFriend--we never had a problem finding chairs on the lagoon. We did not have too much trouble finding chairs around the pools, but that was in March and August. It is probably different at other times.

 

[cgattis]

The syllabi luau is pretty lame I’ll be honest compared to Chiefs luau …but I would call and get a reservation they have some that you can call for and they’ll squeeze you in. Trust me though it was meh

Autocorrect got him…. think he meant the Aulani one is kinda lame…

And there’s always Paradise Cove essentially next door which runs every night (I think), so you should be able to get a spot even last-minute AND it’s like a 5 minute walk, if you don’t want to drive. We enjoyed it.

 

[BecBennett]

This thread is just what I needed

 

[Bigmajor]

Don't be overwhelmed, if you've already booked a room and car, those are really the most important things.

-Don't worry about the Luau on property. The Chief's Luau is about 2 miles away and many people say it is better. It's the one we went to last week and was outstanding. You can book that online
-Dining reservations on property are just for breakfast and dinner at Makahiki. You can't do that until 30 days in advance and it's not hard to get when you do that.
-I would consider an Open Table Reservation for Monkeypod for dinner which you can walk to across the street.
-Off property, if you want to go to Pearl Harbor and go to the USS Arizona Memorial, you can reserve your time with a $1 ticket online from the National Park Service. I believe that is 60 days out but we got ours about 30 days ahead of time.
-Also Kualoa Ranch has a lot of activities and some do sell out in advance, but as long as you book 2-3 weeks in advance, you should have your choice of times.
-You can book spa online as well, I'm not sure when that booking starts but I would think it has plenty of availability still in May if you're interested.
-You can also book a Photo Session but as mentioned in another thread, if you don't book anything in advance, you can still walk up to the PhotoPass photographers and use them

I can't think of anything else we booked ahead of time. You're in good shape.

 

[Bigmajor]

Hello,
In regards to your post about things to do once there. We will be going in August with a 4 and 6 year old. We would like to check out Pearly Harbor, but I am worried the kids will be too young. Do you have any advice? Were there any other little children there?
Thanks!

 

[gatechfan99]

Hello,
In regards to your post about things to do once there. We will be going in August with a 4 and 6 year old. We would like to check out Pearly Harbor, but I am worried the kids will be too young. Do you have any advice? Were there any other little children there?
Thanks!

There are definitely young kids there (when we looked through our videos, there was a baby/toddler making a lot of noise on them the whole time but we didn't even notice when we were there). We had been 3 years ago as well and my son was 5 at that time. He might not have fully appreciated the significance, but still enjoyed the boat ride and seeing the sights. There is a WWII-era submarine there that you can tour and the kids should love that as well. Also the USS Missouri Battleship if you want to spend even more time. I wouldn't miss out.

 

[PocahontasLookALike]

We were bummed the Aulani luau was sold out for when we were there but we booked paradise cove and were VERY pleased with it. The show was so good. The food was great. And the nice walk from aulani was easy and beautiful!

 

[mort1331]

We were bummed the Aulani luau was sold out for when we were there but we booked paradise cove and were VERY pleased with it. The show was so good. The food was great. And the nice walk from aulani was easy and beautiful!

And love the money savings,,,do you think the Disney one is worth an extra 2-300 more for a family of 4?

 

[PocahontasLookALike]

I haven’t seen the Aulani show but I will say thr paradise cove show did not leaving us wanting more! we did the orchid seating level.

 

[WAstateDVCDaddy]

There are definitely young kids there (when we looked through our videos, there was a baby/toddler making a lot of noise on them the whole time but we didn't even notice when we were there). We had been 3 years ago as well and my son was 5 at that time. He might not have fully appreciated the significance, but still enjoyed the boat ride and seeing the sights. There is a WWII-era submarine there that you can tour and the kids should love that as well. Also the USS Missouri Battleship if you want to spend even more time. I wouldn't miss out.