Aulani: 1st Time! Suggestions?

[Mariano O'Kon]

Hi Everyone!

I am travelling with my kids (18 and 12) to Aulani.

It will be my 1st time in Hawaii and I am staying 2 days in Waikiki before staying 5 days in Aulani.

Any suggestions on what should I do? What activities should I avoid?

Any feedback on Wet'n Wild? Is it worth it?

Any and all feedback will be appreciated!

Oh... I am leaving today... getting there tomorrow afternoon... :-)

Thanks!!

Mariano

[lawgirl]

Aulani is gorgeous. You are going to love it. We did the Makahiki character brunch and it was awesome. Great food and amazing character interaction. We are going back in the spring and that is at the top of our list.

There is a luau close to the Ko Olina / Aualani property that my friends did and said it was awful.
On Waikiki the Hilton does fireworks every Friday night on the beach, and its pretty cool. Also, the Atlantis Submarine docks off of the Hilton coast and is one of the coolest things I've done. I've heard the Polynesian Cultural Center is good, but its across the island from where you will be staying, and I think its an all day thing. Traffic on Oahu can be nuts, so plan for alot more time driving than you think.

The Bishop Museum is awesome. They have a volcano activity center, and alot to do.

Oahu is gorgeous. Have fun!

Oh and Walmart in Honolulu has the best souvenirs...waaaay cheaper than the other gift shops. We always stock up there.

[faline]

What a great trip you have coming up!!

On Oahu, be sure to visit Pearl Harbor - it really is a must see. Traffic wise - it is much easier to get to from the Waikiki area than from Aulani. From Aulani, you're heading towards Waikiki along with all the workforce heading in that direction.

We spent a few nights at Aulani last year. We really enjoyed the resort and spent most of our time there. We rented a cabana one day which, though expensive, for totally worth the cost. There is a lazy river which was fun. I sort of wish I went through the snorkeling pool but didn't do that. They have several really awesome hot tubs - think of hot tubs the size of small swimming pools! I was less impressed with the pools which are not very deep at all - although I'm not a terrific swimmer, I was wishing for a deeper pool area.

There are lounges out on the beach but we didn't really spend much time there. The beach aeaa is not very large. We tried a bit of snorkeling - perhaps we didn't go out far enough as I really didn't see anything of interest.

They do have paddle boards to rent if you'd like to try that.

Having been to Oahu several times before this last trip to Oahu was far more about relaxing on Disney property than it was about sight-seeing.

A trip to Pearl Harbor can be a full day excursion if you do any of the other things in that area - the USS Missouri; USS Bowfin (submarine); air museum; not to mention the Arizona Memorial and the museum there. We have also driven to the north side of the island - not as easy to do as it was years ago when we stayed on the North Shore and could easily and rather quickly ride on down to Waikiki and back in short order.

Other attractions on Oahu include the Polynesian Cultural center (already mentioned); Sea Life Park (sort of like Sea World); the Honolulu Zoo; the Waikiki Aquarium; and Diamond Head.

You can be as busy or as idle as you would like to be!!

[Mariano O'Kon]

Thanks for the answers!

I really appreciate the time both of you took to write these detailed responses.

AWESOME!

Mariano

[lawgirl]

Are you enjoying it? Have you made it to Aulani yet? (I'm so jealous...it's one of my favorite places)