Has Hawaii been on your bucket list like mine? A great family option on the island of Oahu is Disney's Aulani Resort. Located on the western side of Oahu sits Aulani among the lush landscape and amazing mountains in Ko'Olina.
My family just had the pleasure of experiencing this once-in-a-lifetime resort for ourselves. Upon our arrival at the Aulani Resort, we checked in and got right down to checking out everything this resort had to offer while waiting for our room to be ready.
Everywhere you turn you feel the island culture woven into every aspect of the resort. Compared to the resorts at Walt Disney World, the Disney theming was very subtle as they wanted to let the culture and history of Hawaii be the hero with this resort. From finding every Menehune that were hidden all around the resort, to the artwork around the main areas of the resort, it immersed you into the storytelling that is a major part of the Hawaiian culture. Aulani still had the Disney service you expected.
While part of the resort is a part of Disney Vacation Club, there is also plenty of rooms to book for those without being a part of the DVC. We booked a 2 bedroom villa with an island/garden view for our stay and we had a perfect view of the Luau from our balcony. The resort offers every room type from standard rooms all the way up to a 3-bedroom Grand villa which will sleep 12. You have a choice of standard, island/garden, pool or ocean views.
My kids favorite part of course was the secluded beach and pool area. The resort has a secluded beach area with chairs and umbrellas for guests. They even had a hut where you could check out sand toys and boogie boards for no charge. The beautiful sugar sand beach and crystal clear water were an inviting sight as we came down from the pool area.
The resort pool area has multiple pools including an infinity pool and spa overlooking the beach area, a splash pad for the littlest guest, kids play area, a lazy river, and two slides! This resort pool area by far was our favorite pool area of any Disney Resort we have visited. And of course, we could not turn down getting a Moana-themed Dole Whip or Mickey-shaped Shaved Ice to cool down.
And characters, characters, characters! It wouldn't be a Disney resort without seeing characters! Seeing characters that we do not see much of in Orlando was a huge bonus. We got to see Stitch, Angel (Stitch's Girlfriend), Lilo, and of course, Moana made the memories even sweeter.
If you love Disney like I do and have Hawaii on your bucket list, consider visiting Aulani. In my opinion, this resort knocked it out of the park while staying true to everything that is Hawaii. You will not feel like you are at a Disney Resort until you see Mickey walking by you on your way to the beach!
Contact Me at kriskrick@partofthatworld.com or follow me on Facebook.
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