Aulani with a 2-year-old

[Dugette]

So, long story short, we were some of the lucky people to get dirt-cheap airfare to Hawaii during Delta's price glitch last week (I was looking just to get an idea of airfare, as my in-laws were talking about taking a family trip - they ended up booking an earlier trip instead, though). So, our family of 3 will be flying first class from Minneapolis to Honolulu in November 2014 for $70/each. This was not a planned trip at all, but we had to take advantage of that price! Our daughter will be just over 2 years old at the time of travel. She just went on her first trip to WDW earlier this month (14.5 months old) and had a great time and was very adaptable schedule-wise and slept through the majority of both flights. Hoping she does equally well with this trip too.

We still haven't committed to any plan, but are leaning very strongly towards renting points (we are not DVC) and staying in a standard view studio at Aulani for all 9 nights. Since this trip was not planned, we are trying to keep costs down while still having an enjoyable trip. We are looking into things we want to do around the island, as we plan to rent a car for the full time also.

Some questions that we've come up with so far:

1.) Aulani doesn't seem to cater to 2-year-olds. I know that we cannot leave her at Aunty's Beach House, but we can accompany her to some of the activities there. Looks like the only other option is super expensive in-room babysitting. I think we will just be switching off caring for her vs. doing other not-as-kid-friendly activities, unless there are options I haven't found yet?

2.) On the topic of 2-year-olds, I can't seem to find a clear answer as to whether she is a paid "kid" or free at the character breakfast. Some older things seem to indicate that 3 and under are free (like she was at WDW), but other things just say "9 and under" for kids rates. Anyone know what the current info is?

3.) Anyone set up a pack 'n' play in a studio? Is there a good spot? Hard to tell from the floor plans. Wish we could do a 1-bedroom, but I don't think we can swing it.

4.) How do the little ones handle the time change? I think it is a 5-hour difference for us? We arrive at 6:30pm and leave around 10pm, by the way. Any recommendations to help her adjust, at least somewhat? By the way, we are planning to bring her carseat on the plane and hoping she will sleep a fair amount (especially with the redeye on the way home).

5.) How many dining chairs are in a studio? We plan to buy food at Target and have some meals in the room. We'll probably bring her little travel high chair that attaches to a chair, unless they provide in-room high chairs or boosters?

6.) I've been searching for info on bringing a little one to Aulani and have not found a whole lot. I'm a big fan of trip reports, so if you know of one with a toddler, let me know! (I did find a couple brief ones).

7.) I'm sure I have more questions, but can't think of them. If you have any other advice on bringing a 2-year-old, though, I'm all ears!

Thanks!!

 

[wdrl]

Since we didn't have any children with us when we visited Aulani, I can't answer some of your questions about having a two-year old. But I can answer some of your questions about the resort and the studios.

Aulani studios have a lot of space. I think you'll find sufficient space to put up a pack'n'play. Studios only have two chairs and a nice-sized table. You also have two patio chairs on the balcony which, by the way, is larger than the average DVC balcony.

Here are a couple photos that might give you an idea of the amount of space and furniture in an Aulani studio:

DVC studios don't come with highchairs. But you might be able to have the resort furnish you with one if you request it.

Some advice: If you hope to book a Standard View studio for nine days, then I urge you to book soon. Standard View accommodations are very popular; a lot of locals seem to book Standard View villas, especially studios, and especially for the weekends. I'm not saying that getting a Standard View studio at the seven-month mark is impossible, but Standard View villas book faster than other accommodation types at Aulani.

Congratulations getting that phenomenal deal on airfare! We are flying back from HNL to Houston in October 2014 and the cheapest one way airfare I've found is $501 for a one-stop or $1,151 for a nonstop. Wish I had been surfing airfare the same time as you!

I'm sure you'll enjoy Aulani. Its a great resort.

 

[CailinFig]

Our youngest was less than a year when we visited. We would go as a family to the Open House mornings between 8-9:30 at Aunty's. Your two year old will love it. There's dancing, toys, crafts, and an outdoor playground in the back.

There are also family activities around the resort not just restricted to Aunty's that can be found on the Daily Iwa. There were games in the pool area and beach area, family crafts in the Pau Hana room (community hall), the Starlit Hui, movie nights on the lawn... There's so much to do. I think it's a great place to take young kids. My kids never wanted to leave the pool!

Since you're visiting other parts of the island I think you'll find plenty to do. Hawaii is probably one of the most kid friendly vacation spots!

The only issue with having kids younger than 3 was not having adult time. We did switch off if somebody wanted to do non-kid activities.

I can't recall the cutoff for the character breakfast but I *think* 3 and up had to pay.

As for time change, we're only 3 hours ahead but I would try to make their naps later and have them sleep a little bit later each night. Kind of vague, but we just kind of winged it depending on how tired they were. They eventually adjusted about 4 days into our last vacation.

Congrats on getting the airfare as well! That's an amazing find!

 

[dsneygirl]

We took our 7 month old so much younger but too young for auntie's etc.

We had a PnP in the studio no problem, it might be tight with a high chair as well. You may just want to get the $30 one at the Target that attaches to a chair to save room.

Aunties open house will be a hit. The main pool is zero entry so great for little ones.

Does your 2 year old still nap? Our guy would just fall asleep in the stroller and we would park him in the shade. There are lots of places to go for a nice walk and you could take turns.

As for the time change we were 6 hours difference but we didn't really do anything to try to adjust. It just happened gradually. But the whole 10 days we rarely saw past 9pm and were up most mornings before 6.

I would take my little one for an early morning stroll most days around 6:30 it was just gorgeous and so peaceful.

Enjoy!

 

[Dugette]

Thank you all so much for the feedback! That really helps out. The pictures are great and show an angle that we haven't seen before. Looks very spacious and I'm thinking the pack 'n' play may be able to fit next to the TV, along the wall?

Sounds like we should have plenty to do with DD and we'll have to check out some of those activities, like the open house at Aunty's. She loves swimming, so I'm sure we'll spend a good amount of time in the pool also. And the new toddler splash pad I'm hearing about.

Sounds like she might be free for the breakfast, so that would be awesome. Hopefully she'll handle the time change okay. I can deal with a 6am wake-up time, but I'm worried about 3am. Luckily, she seems to take after me and likes to sleep in a bit on weekends, so there's hope that she'll adjust quickly.

She's only 15 months right now, since the trip isn't until November 2014, but she takes one 2-hour nap per day currently. I'm assuming it will be about the same at 2 years old, though who knows. She did great napping in her stroller at WDW, so walking her around the resort is a good idea.

We actually have one of the little strap-on high chairs from Target. We may bring it with us, as we have a crazy free checked bag allowance because of our First Class tickets (three 70-pound bags each, so we can bring everything we own )

As far as booking right away, we took that to heart and put in a request with one of the DVC rental companies. They got back to us saying that they don't have an Aulani owner that has points to allow them to check 11-month availability. So, that's a bummer, as we don't really want to wait until 7 months and take the chance we can't get something. We'll put in a request with the other company too and see what happens. I haven't seen any individual listings from Aulani owners, but I'm keeping an eye on that too. This may be tougher than I thought.

 

[Carrie in AZ]

Do you have your heart set on staying in a studio or would you consider booking a regular room? I'm not clear if you are staying in a studio for price alone or if you are hoping to cook some in your studio?

We have been blessed to stay in a one bedroom and a studio. I personally wouldn't consider cooking much in the studio as, in my opinion, it didn't seem conducive to cooking. Maybe normal stuff like cereal in the mornings, fruit, and maybe deli sandwiches but not really cooking. And all of those things could be done in a regular room as well, so that is where I was going with this studio vs. regular room questioning.

My opinion is your 2yo will LOOOOOOOVE Aulani!! She will LOVE the pool, splash areas and going around the lazy river with you while sharing your tube. She will love looking at the fish in the snorkeling lagoon through the big window. She'll love playing in the sand down at the lagoon. You can walk next door to the Marriott and see the rays they have. She'll delight in seeing the characters when they are out for their meet and greets. The list goes on!

On our visits to Aulani we have seen tons of little children having the time of their lives there! My best advice would not to be to stress about the sleeping, where to nap, what to eat, etc. it will all totally work out!! Everyone there is very nice, also. I'm guessing if you have some specific requests, they will help you!

Have a wonderful time!

 

[Dugette]

Thanks, Carrie. We're looking at the Studio primarily due to cost. Since this trip wasn't planned, we're trying to keep costs down as much as possible (while still having a great trip). Renting points is our cheapest option. For a regular room, we'd have to pay significantly more (I even figured that if we got a 30% discount - the most I've seen that Aulani sometimes does - and then paid for a standard regular room with Disney gift cards purchased with my discounts at Target, it would still be more than renting DVC points for a standard studio). So, that's primary. But we do want to make some use of the kitchenette. Nothing major, but some breakfasts and lunches. Simple things. A regular room doesn't have a microwave, does it? That's part of the studio appeal too.

Your description of all the wonderful things that kids love about Aulani makes me want to go right now! Thank you, that helps a bunch!