There are times each day when Disney Characters are available for photos. Their “special local character” is the Menehune, a small magical type person from ancient Hawaii who is mischevious. You never actually see the Menehune, but there are statues hidden here and there and indications that they are present.
Obviously it is a place geared toward children, and they do it very well. There are activities for children and some for adults and many for families. Children over the age of 3 can do activities at Aunty’s Beach House on their own and those younger can attend with an family adult. Many of the activities are included in the price of the room, but some are not so check on that before assuming one way or the other.
There is storytelling by Uncle (you may see a couple of different Uncles depending upon what day of the week it is—everybody has to have a day off sometime!). He exudes aloha and good fun and has a huge store of knowledge about Hawaii–past and present. Hula lessons for children and science lessons about volcanoes.
For adults or children–how about an introduction to ukulele playing? Maybe take a walk with a cast member and learn about the nature and wildlife at Aulani? Use a hand held device to search for menehune. It’s fun but not as easy as it sounds. I had to return my first one to get another. Still, it was fun and very “Disney” with pictures coming to life and stars appearing like magic on the floor or in rocks. I did a couple of these—there are several—but did not finish—too much to do, too little time! Want to look like a Hawaiian? Try the temporary tattoos!
Though any food or drink you purchase seems to be about 25% more than necessary and parking is $35/day (we are not anywhere near a big city so why is that?), they do provide ice water at various points around the property. There are options to save money on a vacation here. Across the street are places to eat like Hawaiian BBQ, a Country Market (associated with the ABC Stores) that sells hot food and deli items, Two Scoops Ice Cream shop and other places available with more being built. The Marriott next door has a decent Happy Hour and you can get coffee at 5:30 am there. The Aulani does not have an early morning option for coffee, though there is the normal hotel room coffee if you are desperate. They do need to come up with the early morning option for those who have not yet adjusted to this time zone.
One of the best deals going is to buy the special cup at the Kalepa’s Store near the lobby upon arrival. With it you get refillable coffee and fountain drinks for your entire stay. Even for three days it would have been a good idea as the cup including tax is about $20 and coffee is about $3.50/cup. Wish I had known about this when I got there and not two days into my three day stay.
Menehune Bridge is a great water feature place for small children to play, with water sprays, showers, splashing pools and such. Lounge chairs are close for adults to supervise, but the kids do love it!
Then there are the water slides! Grab an inner tube for one or two people, climb the steps up the mountain volcano and slide down, dumping into a lazy river. Along the river are various carvings in the “rocks” that are fun to find—animals and such. You are never out of sight of a life guard. They particularly watch the splash downs of the tubers. They are also right there when you do the other slide which is just you and the water, spiraling down through the dark mountain and splashing into a pool at the bottom. This can be a bit disorienting. The lifeguards do not hesitate to jump in and help you right yourself at the bottom (water is only 4 feet there, but still enough to cause momentary panic). I wasn’t panicked, you understand, but they did grab me on my first run and explained the best way to do it. My other slides were much more fun! Maybe again today! There were a lot of small (like 4-5 years old!) children doing this! Some without life vests, but vests were available for any who wanted them. The slide is individual and those kids couldn’t wait to get into that dark tube!
The walking paths are well lit for walking early in the morning or late evening. The fitness room is well equipped and easy to access. I did not use it as I’m more of an “outside” walker. There is easy access to the sidewalk that runs along the shore and is maintained by Ko’olina. It makes for nice strolling or jogging. I wished for a map would have given me distance indicators so I’d know when I had completed my two miles. Perhaps there might even be distance calculated for how many times to walk around the lazy river area to equate to a mile. Early morning walkers still on a different time zone will feel just a bit more secure walking on the property itself.
You can snorkel in the lagoon using their equipment (extra charge) or bring your own as we did. The water was rather cloudy on the day we went into the water so we didn’t see many fish, but another time might be pretty good and they say there is a turtle who likes to hang out in the lagoon sometimes. You can also snorkel in their artificial reef (pond) for a fee of $20 for one day or $40 for your entire stay. This would be really good for rookie snorkelers as there are tons of fish and instruction to go with the equipment. Glass windows on this pool make it so even if you aren’t snorkeling, you can see the fish (no cost!).
Some real pluses about the design of the rooms–lots of outlets! No more hunting behind furniture or unplugging the only reading lamp in order to recharge your phone. Also, internet access from the room is amazing! Easy and quick and there is a strong signal. Nice! The rooms have a coffee maker with refills of coffee each day. The “refrigerator” is more of a cold box but did nicely for sandwich makings. I loved the “hot pot” for making hot water that can be used for tea (replenished daily if the tea is used) or soup or instant oatmeal we had brought.
Open only since August of 2011, the Aulani is a work in progress. The designers were obviously very conscious of the Hawaiian heritage of the area while still catering to the need for advanced technology. Go visit if you can–even if only for two or three days. If the price (depending upon time of year and what promotion might be going on) is a bit steep, move to another property on O’ahu or on a neighboring island for the remainder of your vacation.
