Unfortunately disappointed compared to WDW resorts

[RJP77]

Just got back from Aulani, and I know this might sound like sacrilege, but I was disappointed. To be completely balanced, here is the good:

1. The weather - Without question the weather is perfect in Hawaii in August compared to Florida with daily rain storms.
2. The Landscape - Beautiful mountains and the scenic ocean view from the resort, also tops Florida.
3. The pool - No resort in WDW has a lazy river + infinity pool + beach on the ocean
4. The food - Mostly not the big box food clearly used in WDW. At WDW you can tell they are ordering in bulk for every resort/park at once.

So what was disappointing:

1. The room - I know I was staying on DVC points and we don't get cleaning service every day, but it feels like they are cutting back every way they can. No dish or hand soap in the room on check in and only 3 tiny bottles in the shower. I get more from Holiday Inn. Plus the room wasn't exactly clean enough. It wasn't dirty, and I might be nit picky, but for the best of the DVC resort, I wanted it spotless on check in. Even they get cleaning service it isn't high end. Just didn't meet my standards on this. Certainly nothing more than you get at GF, WL, BLT, etc.
2. The cost - Holy smokes is everything expensive. We are a family of 5, so a dinner at Makahiki crossed $500 for us. Not something we could do more than once, but even once wasn't worth it. The price fix menu of salad, NY steak and cheesecake wasn't worth the money. Throw in some drinks and a tip. It just wasn't worth it. And the quick serve options are also expensive. The Luau, again family of 5 here, $178/person. Basically a thousand dollars for the show. Good show, but not worth a thousand dollars.
3. The stores - So disappointing. For a property that size, how are the stores that small? The Poly for example has a much bigger store with a much better selection of items. Give me a place to get lost in my options.
4. Not enough Disney - I know they want to keep the locals happy, but you can easily forget you are at a Disney resort. I don't want to forget that. I want to be surrounded by the magic. The characters are sparse and hard to find (unless you pay extra for a character breakfast). Things like Disney movies under the stars are once a week. We just didn't have that "in the Disney bubble" feel.

Overall, we are flying 5 people from the East coast, over 11 hours to Hawaii. The cost of flight, food, rental car and sightseeing was just astronomical. When you couple that with not enough Disney feel, poor shopping options, limited food options and a room that was just "meh", and we were disappointed. For us, flight to Orlando is under two hours, a quarter of the price and we are surrounded by limitless Disney food options and shopping within WDW. Sure there is no ocean at my doorstep and Florida has the regular rain storm, but for someone not local to Orlando, there just isn't anything that compares to living in Disney for that vacation.

Just my initial thoughts. Feel free to disagree.

 

[Dreams&wishes]

Thank you for your review. We live in Australia and I often think that going to Hawaii could be a closer Disney fix than going to the parks, but for similar amount of money I have always been concerned that it might not be enough Disney and not enough to do. You confirmed this for me so thank you!

 

[scroogie]

Conversely, I really enjoyed it because it was relatively toned down on the Disney theming. If I want everything to be Disney characters, theming and music, I'd visit the DL or WDW resorts. They have character meet and greets, character breakfasts, Mickey and Minnie appear in the luau, practically all of the merchandise is character or Disney-themed, they play Hawaiian versions of classic Disney songs in some public areas, they have that cute Mickey Mouse lamp in the rooms and Disney on demand content on the tv. What else do you need to make it feel "Disney" when you're in Hawaii and not attached to any theme parks? Aulani is substantially more Disney-themed than, for example, Vero Beach, which outside of the character breakfast and the very seldom-appearing characters, you could absolutely forget that you're at a Disney resort. The Hawaiian people are very proud of their culture, and Disney tries their best to pay their respects to that with what they do at Aulani. Look at how many of the activities are based around Hawaiian culture, tradition and folklore as opposed to being based on Disney IP. I really like that.

The outdoor Disney movies tend to play on the nights the luau is off, which tends to be more than once a week.

It's fair to comment on the price and quality of the meals, I agree on most points. What sticks out for me though is the reference to the Makihiki menu. The dinner is absolutely not just "salad, steak and cheesecake". There were (from memory) around 8 main selections, only two of which are steak. Pasta and fish also make an appearance. Cheesecake is one of the three desserts. Limited? Kind of. But you're not being forced as specifically as you are making out.

It's completely fair to not enjoy something, and it's completely valid to offer feedback and constructive criticism based on reality. However, there are parts of what you have said that are over-exaggerations and stretching of the truth and I think it's important to make other people aware. There's already one comment that appears to have decided against visiting based on not-completely-factual information.

 

[Narcoossee11]

Hawaii is VERY expensive as you learned. EVERYTHING has to be brought there. Cost of living is sky high.

Hawaii Views itself as Polynesian not American. Totally different believes and standards of life. NO over time, family comes first.
That is why Aulani is so heavy Polynesian, not what the mainland USA thinks of when we think HI.
When it was built, the resort had to agree to many rules with cultural importance.

Disney is too American in many ways for the locals.

 

[princesscinderella]

We stayed twice at Aulani on our trip a couple of weeks ago at the start and end of our vacation. We had soap bars and dishes by all the sinks on our first half and then when we checked in for our second stay the bars of soaps and trays were gone at both sinks in the one bedroom. We called housekeeping and they brought us one bar. They had three bottles of each shampoo, conditioner and body wash though so that was more than enough. I can’t use the liquid h2o Disney soap because it has wheat as an ingredient and gives me and my daughter a rash. I wonder if it’s a supply issue and temporary

 

[Lilsia]

We like that Aulani is not like the parks, with in your face Disney. The prices are high, but no more so then any other resort on the beach in Hawaii in a private community. We are DVC and so might tour a bit differently then someone paying cash. We stay for at least two weeks and have a car to go out and about most days. We do not eat many meals on property. In a 2 week stay, we eat at Makahiki only once. The rest of the time, we go to local places. Hawaii has always been an extremely expensive vacation destination. And they will always give you more soap and shampoo if needed. I think they start out with the bare minimum in case a person does not need it. We had a room overlooking the luau lawn and always saw the characters out and hardly anyone there meeting them. They do tell you that that is where the characters are having their meet and greet. I am sorry that you did not see that. I think that a person should go to Hawaii to experience Hawaii. If a person is looking for Disney, then to go to the parks. Aulani is a beautiful resort, but it is just a hotel, the real treasure is the Island.

 

[mort1331]

Thank you for your views,,always good to see how others see.
We are now a week back from our 10days there.
Not too Disney,,,I agree..with the themeing part,,but service part for us was right where we expected. We liked that the Disney was there,,but you had to look for it.
We too were shocked at how limited the shopping was there,,not sure why,,would have liked more,,but it did not ruin it for us.
We had a 1bdrm,,clean,,couplr if times we called for some things,,vaccum, broom and dust pan,,,was there in less than 30mins. We have waited at BLT and SSR for hours.
We went to Hawaii for our trip and just staying at a DVC resort. As pp said about Vero, never been, but have been to HH and less theming there.
Im sorry it didnt live up to your expectations,,but if you flew that far,,and we did too from Toronto,,and only stayed at the resort,,then I can see the down part....Many of my co-workers thought there was rides there,,and I explained,,no its a Disney hotel..thats all. We used it as our home base for seeing the island,,and a great place to have down time on days off.
For food again I look at HH,,very small qs and no sit down,,,eat all meals outside the resort or cook in room. We approached this the same. Had chicken fingers and fish and chips once,,then my girls both said,,1 and done,,we will eat in room instead.
But your points are valid and will be helpful to others that are thinking that they will have Mickey around all the time,,so thank you.

 

[Version 6]

Thank you for your review. We live in Australia and I often think that going to Hawaii could be a closer Disney fix than going to the parks, but for similar amount of money I have always been concerned that it might not be enough Disney and not enough to do. You confirmed this for me so thank you!

Fellow Aussie here.

We are about to do our second trip to Aulani, BUT I would absolutely not travel from Australia to Hawaii specifically for Aulani.

As part of a trip to Oahu, it's great. But if we happen to be spending 10 days on the island, we might spend 3 nights at Aulani and a week elsehwere.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

As part of a trip to Oahu, it's great. But if we happen to be spending 10 days on the island, we might spend 3 nights at Aulani and a week elsehwere.

I don't understand why the place you stay impacts your ability to experience the rest of the island. If you stay at Aulani, you're not CONFINED to Aulani.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Just got back from Aulani, and I know this might sound like sacrilege, but I was disappointed. To be completely balanced, here is the good:

1. The weather - Without question the weather is perfect in Hawaii in August compared to Florida with daily rain storms.
2. The Landscape - Beautiful mountains and the scenic ocean view from the resort, also tops Florida.
3. The pool - No resort in WDW has a lazy river + infinity pool + beach on the ocean
4. The food - Mostly not the big box food clearly used in WDW. At WDW you can tell they are ordering in bulk for every resort/park at once.

So what was disappointing:

1. The room - I know I was staying on DVC points and we don't get cleaning service every day, but it feels like they are cutting back every way they can. No dish or hand soap in the room on check in and only 3 tiny bottles in the shower. I get more from Holiday Inn. Plus the room wasn't exactly clean enough. It wasn't dirty, and I might be nit picky, but for the best of the DVC resort, I wanted it spotless on check in. Even they get cleaning service it isn't high end. Just didn't meet my standards on this. Certainly nothing more than you get at GF, WL, BLT, etc.
2. The cost - Holy smokes is everything expensive. We are a family of 5, so a dinner at Makahiki crossed $500 for us. Not something we could do more than once, but even once wasn't worth it. The price fix menu of salad, NY steak and cheesecake wasn't worth the money. Throw in some drinks and a tip. It just wasn't worth it. And the quick serve options are also expensive. The Luau, again family of 5 here, $178/person. Basically a thousand dollars for the show. Good show, but not worth a thousand dollars.
3. The stores - So disappointing. For a property that size, how are the stores that small? The Poly for example has a much bigger store with a much better selection of items. Give me a place to get lost in my options.
4. Not enough Disney - I know they want to keep the locals happy, but you can easily forget you are at a Disney resort. I don't want to forget that. I want to be surrounded by the magic. The characters are sparse and hard to find (unless you pay extra for a character breakfast). Things like Disney movies under the stars are once a week. We just didn't have that "in the Disney bubble" feel.

Overall, we are flying 5 people from the East coast, over 11 hours to Hawaii. The cost of flight, food, rental car and sightseeing was just astronomical. When you couple that with not enough Disney feel, poor shopping options, limited food options and a room that was just "meh", and we were disappointed. For us, flight to Orlando is under two hours, a quarter of the price and we are surrounded by limitless Disney food options and shopping within WDW. Sure there is no ocean at my doorstep and Florida has the regular rain storm, but for someone not local to Orlando, there just isn't anything that compares to living in Disney for that vacation.

Just my initial thoughts. Feel free to disagree.

This is what happens when DVC members try to do Hawaii on the cheap.

You failed to properly budget for your Hawaii vacation. And you failed to understand that this was a Hawaii vacation with a touch of Disney, not a Disney vacation with a touch of Hawaii.

 

[PalmettoPath]

We love it because it is low key Disney and because it's different than WDW resorts (in a good way for us). Love how they focused on Hawaiian culture in their theming. Love the ambiance, and overall vibe. Hawaii is expensive everywhere you go because just about everything is shipped in. We don't really care that much about shops onsite as a determiner of how much we like or dislike a hotel. But to each their own. We spend two weeks at a time there and could happily spend a whole summer there Different strokes, but that's what makes the world go round.

 

[Version 6]

I don't understand why the place you stay impacts your ability to experience the rest of the island. If you stay at Aulani, you're not CONFINED to Aulani.

It doesn't.

My point to the poster I quoted was just that I wouldn't make a point of coming to Oahu JUST for Aulani.

It's a good resort, particularly if you have kids. But by no means is Aulani specifically worth a flight from Australia.

 

[KittyKitty]

Both Hawaii's and Alaska's costs are about 1/3 higher than the mainland.

 

[jimmymc]

I don't understand why the place you stay impacts your ability to experience the rest of the island. If you stay at Aulani, you're not CONFINED to Aulani.

But if you care more about the rest of the island, there are cheaper and better located places to stay. I think Aulani has a premium cost due to the pools, lagoon, and theming.

You failed to properly budget for your Hawaii vacation.

$500 for dinner for 5 and $1000 for the Luau is expensive even for Hawaii. Even across the street from Aulani is half that price. And I think the point was that they weren't worth the price regardless of where you are.

 

[jimmymc]

DVC makes Aulani doable, but I definitely prefer to eat from Foodland or go to restaurants off-site. Aulani restaurants compound Disney pricing with Aulani pricing, and except for some of the quick service meals I don't think they are worth it.

A lot of people have similar thoughts on the Disney theming. Originally the imagineers of the hotel thought people were going to spend more time out exploring the island, so they didn't include as much Disney theming and activities. Once people started visiting and not leaving for multiple days, they started adding things.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

It doesn't.

My point to the poster I quoted was just that I wouldn't make a point of coming to Oahu JUST for Aulani.

It's a good resort, particularly if you have kids. But by no means is Aulani specifically worth a flight from Australia.

Right I agree with all of that. Honestly I don't think any resort is worth the flight from anywhere if all you're going to do is the resort. You don't go on an "Aulani vacation," you go on a "Hawaii vacation" and you stay at Aulani.

 

[TARIE7291]

I completely understand some of your pros and cons. We have visited Aulani approximately 6 times and each time we go back, we enjoy it more and more. My first visit I had high expectations like the WDW resorts and was a little disappointed. After my first visit, my opinions have changed. I do believe some of the activities at WDW resorts are better than Aulani. We visit OKW and VB quite often and enjoy the activities the resort provides. It’s hit or miss on the cleanliness of the rooms, but I can tell when we visited this past June the rooms were refreshed with their soft goods update. When we visit Aulani we are visiting Hawaii and I would take Hawaii hands-down any day over Florida. Also we were Disney cruisers and it’s cheaper for us to go on a longer Hawaii trip using points than a 7 day Disney cruise, including food, car rental, airfare, etc. Mind you we are coming from Chicago. When you visit Aulani embrace the beauty of the island and the culture.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

$500 for dinner for 5 and $1000 for the Luau is expensive even for Hawaii.

Makahiki dinner is $68 for adults and $28 for children.

I'd consider $68 dollars for a three-course meal that includes a ribeye steak a fair price in Connecticut, let alone Hawaii.

If OP really spent $500 on his Makahiki meal, he must have ordered something like $100 worth of alcohol, even if all of his kids are Disney-adults.

Even across the street from Aulani is half that price.

I'm sorry, that's just false.

Monkeypod corn soup - $12
Monkeypod ribeye steak - $53
Monkeypod desert - $11
Total Monkeypod three course per adults - $76

Aulani is absolutely expensive, but it's Hawaii-expensive. I don't think it's Hawaii-multiplied-by-a-factor-of-Disney expensive.

 

[Imurhuckleberry]

So basically cost and theming? Both of which could have (should have) been known prior to arrival.

Hawaii is expensive. Disney makes it even more so.

It's a Hawaii vacation, not a wdw one.

I'm sorry you had a net negative experience. Hopefully others can learn from your post

 

[CaptainAmerica]

So basically cost and theming?

If I'm reading it correctly, it almost seems like there was too much theming for OP, in the way that most of us understand theming.

It sounds like he wanted more Art of Animation and less Animal Kingdom Lodge.