Disney's Aulani in Oahu

We love Hawaii.  I mean, we really love it.  Every year, for 10 years now, we have to visit one of the islands at least once.  Yeah, some people have yearly family reunions there, but for a family that doesn't have as much vacation days as those of our peers, at least once a year is saying a lot.

We've only been to either Maui or Oahu.  And to Maui more than Oahu.  In Maui, we've stayed at the Ritz Carlton in Kapalua and The Grand Wailea in Wailea; in Oahu, we've stayed at the Ko olina Beach Villas, and the most recent trip we were at Disney's Aulani, also in Ko olina.

The lagoons in Ko olina are open to the public.  Ko olina is like a little city on its own.  There are restaurants and convenience shops, art galleries, and souvenir shops.  There are 3 different resorts there, and this time we chose to stay at Aulani because of the kids.

Where do I even start?  There's so much to tell you!  We stayed there for a week, and everyday of that week we were busy doing something.  The water play alone...oh my.  The water play area is ginormous!  There are so many different pools, most of them only 3 feet deep so you don't have to worry too much about your kids.  I say most because there are a couple of "18 and over" pools, where we didn't try out, so I couldn't tell you how deep that one is.  There is also a lazy river, where you float around the water play area, and go under water falls.  There is a water jungle gym area where the smaller kids can play.  There is a big bucket of water in that area that sits on a higher level, and dumps water down when a bell rings.  The children LOVE it.

Small slide in the water jungle gym

There's even an area where you can go snorkeling.  No, I don't mean in the lagoon, but in middle of the resort.  Yup!  You can rent gears from the resort, and snorkel in the resort!  We didn't get to try it out, but it looked fun.

My favorite part?  The lazy river slide.  Oh, it was SO fun!  My sons took turns going down the slide with me in a double floaty.  Even I was screaming like a baby!  It's super safe too; there's a light indicator on the top with a staff member who tells you when it's safe to go.  No one bumps into each other, and you end up in a shallow pool below.  There's also another slide that doesn't require a floaty, but I was too chicken to go down that one.  :)

You can also rent kayaks, paddle boards, boogie boards, and snorkel gear to use in the lagoon as well.    My kids and my husband just want to play on the beach, so we didn't rent any of those.  Although it might have been fun to go on a kayak.  The resort itself even have life vest rentals; I've never seen that before, I thought that was pretty neat, for the little ones that can't quite swim yet.

The lagoon

Giant Connect Four at the beach

The resort offers childcare too.  Adults can drop their kids off at Aunty's Beach House and go for a massage.  Or you can reserve an activity there for the children to enjoy, like making Stitch's Space Goo.  However, just a warning...if you want to reserve any activities, you must get there early...like at 7am early.  There's a line out the door because space is limited!  But that's only for schedule activities though.  If you just want to drop the kids off for child care, that would be fine.

It is incredibly safe at Aunty's Beach House.  They give you a bracelet that you scan when your child "checks in."  And when your child leaves, they have to scan the bracelet again.   Adults who enter the facility have to sign in and out.  There are plenty of staff that watches your children.  There's a playground for them to play.  And if you want, you can purchase lunch and dinner for them too.  We only left our kids there for a couple of hours once (my husband felt bad leaving our daughter!).

Because we were there over Independence Day, we were able to watch fireworks from our room.  Whether you have a view of the fireworks or not from your room doesn't matter though.  They fire over the lagoon, so you can always watch on the beach.  From what we could see from our balcony, the beach, although open to the public, wasn't too crowded.  So everyone got a nice view.  Fireworks were accompanied by music, they even played "Let It Go."  Needless to say, my daughter was overjoyed!

Fireworks!

The food there was pretty good.  There's something for everyone.  You can do fancy, or casual.  The cocktails are great.  There's a buffet there, and they make sure allergies are taken care of, by telling you what to avoid.  There's a very casual appetizer area, where there are a couple of musicians playing the ukelele for entertainment.  I just remember the Pulled Pork Flatbread Pizza that we got at Ulu Cafe  that was really tasty.  Mmmmm!

Delicious cocktails

Speaking of food.  One day we were on our way to the Polynesian Cultural Center, we got to stop by the famous Giovanni's Shrimp Truck for lunch.  Their Shrimp Scampi was so good.  Garlicky, buttery, goodness. They give you white rice to go with the plate, and the sauce and the rice together makes for a perfect combination!

Shrimp Scampi from Giovanni's Shrimp Truck 

And as for the Polynesian Cultural Center, at first I was hesitant to go.  But after speaking to several friends about it, they all recommended that it was a great place to take kids.  There was a canoe parade where all the different polynesian cultures got to show off a little bit of their native dances.  Then we got to stop by each culture and witness what they each had to offer.  The Hawaiians did their Hula dance, the Fijians did their music, and their grass weaving.  It was really fun for the children, and would've been more fun if it wasn't so hot.  One of my sons even got on stage with the Samoan host while he made fire with just a piece of wood and a wooden stick.

At the Fijian center

C and his fish

J & K and their fish

C & J hula dancing

C "assisting" the Samoan host

I would recommend Aulani to my friends now.  The first time we went to Oahu, I didn't have as much fun.  It was mostly because I was pregnant with my daughter, and I was so nauseous in my 1st trimester.  This time we were able to enjoy it so much more since the kids are older and more self-sufficient.    This was the first trip we took as a family where we didn't have to bring any baby supplies!  It was a big deal for us not having to pack diapers and bottles!

I do have a few tips though.  I heard that Aulani is busiest in June and July.  And sure enough, we were there late June to early July, and it was packed.  Children everywhere.  If you want a lawn chair by the pools or on the beach, you have to get there early to save them!  Otherwise, you're out of luck until there's an opening.  Oahu is so hot, you really do want to find a chair with a shade.  However, I'd suggest bringing hats anyway.  Just in case.

Also, don't make the mistake I did!  Of all things to forget to bring to Hawaii, I forgot all my bathing suits.  Yup.  I brought everything you can think of for the me and like, 20 different swim suits each for the kids for the 7 day vacation, but I didn't bring a single one for myself.  So we had to drive to the closest mall, which, unless you're a teenager with teenage taste, there really wasn't much of a swim suit collection.  The "nicer" mall is about an hour away.  Oahu only has that one highway, HWY 1, and during traffic hour, it's not a nice road to drive on.  Aside from LA having the most traffic in the nation, Honolulu is #2 on that list.  So, bring your swimsuits!

You really will enjoy Aulani.  Especially your little ones.  It's fun with lots of stuff to do for everyone.  There are even fitness classes to take.  I took a TRX class one day, and that nearly killed me.  ;)  There's even spinning classes (for a fee) offered at the gym.  I may be the only crazy person who wants to exercise myself to exhaustion while on vacation.  But hey, in case you're a lunatic like me, at least you'll have options at this resort!

Our little superheroes all ready for water action!

On that note, thank you for reading!  I hope I gave you enough suggestions and tips for you to plan your next vacation at Aulani!  Click here to check out Aulani's official website to get more info.  Maybe I'll see you the next  time we go!

Xoxo,
Lin