First timers, bunch of questions

[VGCgroupie]

My family and I will be taking our first trip to Aulani (and Oahu in general) in May. I have a few questions if anyone could help out.

1. We booked the luau already but is this info right on the rest?

1.1. Dining is 30 days out (day by day)

1.2. Activities (make your own ears, ukulele) now 45 days out (day by day)

1.3. Cabana rental is 90 days out (length of stay) (over the phone)

Are all of these midnight Hawaii time? Or 6 am like Disneyland? Reports seem to be all over the place when I google and get old threads here. Some people say midnight some say 6 am….

2. I hear getting pool chairs are a pain, but what about the lagoon beach? We’d rather be by the ocean water than the pool, do I need to get out there at the break of dawn also?

3. I rented DVC points for the first time , and I see dvc gets free parking. Is there anything special I need to do to make sure I don’t get charged?

4. My son is dying to ride around in a jeep . Can anyone recommend a rental car company that does jeeps with removable tops (airport pickup and drop off preferred)

5. We are planning to explore the island (dole, botanical garden, Waikiki etc) is there anywhere on the island a young, tourist family should avoid?

Any other hot tips would be great!

Ive read many many reviews that Dole is a bust. Personally I would skip it unless you know you have a bunch of time or will be back many times. We also chose to skip the botanical garden, honestly every time we left Aulani my son (9) was just wanting to get back to Aulani, although he did love the UTV at Kualoa. He didn't love the ride in a bus movies tour there though, he was a bit bored.

We strongly disliked Waikiki. It doesnt feel super family friendly to me. I don't mean it's unsafe, I just mean it felt like a busy fully packed bikini/hard body surf city... complete opposite of Aulani. Our encounters with people who work in Waikiki was also not great, they aren't great with kids.