After years of dreaming and a health scare with our youngest daughter, we finally decided to go to Aulani. We flew from Washington DC to Honolulu on a non-stop flight, so when we landed in Oahu, we were exhausted. We picked up our rental car & drove to the Aulani resort. Now, I don't know about your kids, but when my girls arrive at a destination, they need to explore every inch of it before they can go to the room. Needless to say, everyone got a second wind. When we arrived at Aulani, we were greeted with an "Aloha" and a flower lei. The girls & I went inside to look around the lobby while my husband parked the car. When he came in, we met a sweet woman who talked to us about the story behind the Aulani resort, walked us outside to talked to us about the pools & lagoon area (we couldn't see much since it was night), the restaurants on property and the other opportunities we would have for the week. She then helped us get our keys for the room, the girls looked around a little more and we went to the room.
We walked into our 1 Bedroom Villa- Standard View room and were in awe. The room had a similar feel as the Animal Kingdom or Wilderness Lodge Villas, but went a step further, obviously, by adding the Hawaiian details. One of my favorites was the Surfing Mickey on the lamp shade! We took the time to check out the master bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, tub, then finally hit the wall. We were so tired from the long travel day. Unfortunately, my husband & a couple of my girls started talking at about 4 am because they couldn't sleep. Our body clocks were so messed up! After laying there for about an hour, we all got up and got dressed. The sun was starting to come up, so we walked to the lobby & headed outside to see the pool & beach areas in the daylight.
We walked outside to the Waikolohe Valley pool area. There we looked at the Waikolohe Stream, where you can slide down 2 different tubes form the top of Pu-u Kilo, then float around the lazy river, at the Volcanic Vertical, the body slide into the pool, the Menehune Bridge and even the Rainbow Reef. Then, we walked down to the Aulani Beach at the Ko Olina Lagoon so we could watch the sun rise and just soak in the beauty of the island. We took some pictures, including one by the Stitch statue. I had read that if we were going to see Pearl Harbor, we should schedule it early on the first day since you would already be awake, so that's what I did and I'm so glad I followed that advise.
Our first breakfast on Oahu was at McDonald's because it was the first thing we found. I did like the sign.
We headed over to Pearl Harbor to get the tour. It was a humbling and very moving experience. If you ever go to Oahu, it is definitely a must-see that you do need to schedule in advance. (it gets crowded as the day goes on) We grabbed something for lunch, stopped at Targe for some groceries, then we went back to Aulani to enjoy the pool & beach.
Now, at Aulani, you get "the daily 'IWA" every day which tells you everything that is going on at the resort for children, youth and families. I saw at Aunty's Beach House, the children's area, that they were making Stitch's Space goo. Since we were back in time, I took my youngest daughter over to make some goo. It is a beautiful area for children with a games area, arts & crafts area, video games area, outdoor play--the opportunities are endless! When we arrived, I checked her in & tried to sign her up for the goo making, but didn't realize that you needed reserve a spot for it and it was all full. I put her on the waiting list and left her just in case she could participate. I went back in a hour to get her. She didn't get to make any goo, but did make some other arts & crafts. Note to self: make sure you sing up early for these activities! The staff was very friendly & it was a great place to let your children hang out for awhile.
My 2 younger daughters had studied up on Aulani & couldn't wait to swim in Rainbow Reef. It is the only private snorkeling lagoon on Oahu & they wanted to swim with the fish! You could either pay per day or for the length of your stay, so we got each girl a "length of your stay" band. They picked up their life vest, snorkel & mask set that was provided, showered off & went right in. I watched them & took pictures from the overlook & the glass window underneath. They loved swimming with thousands of tropical fish & even found their first Menehune.
