Live trip report June 27th to July 3rd

[crystal1313]

In the studio you just get a mini fridge so no ice maker, but the 1-bedrooms and bigger you get a full size fridge/freezer with an ice maker. Each floor has an ice machine in a room by the elevators if needed.

Thank you!! Enjoy Kona!! Prop planes scare me, so sorry the trip over was terrifying!

 

[KateP85]

Recap

In general, we really liked Aulani. I was worried it was going to be too 'Disney' - we live 20 minutes from WDW and DH works there, so I had concerns about traveling half way around the world for something on my doorstep. But Aulani was just a beautiful Hawaiian resort with Disney touches. The service was wonderful, the Cast Members were all friendly and polite, honestly much nicer than I've seen at WDW in recent years. It was nice that there were a few Disney characters but they weren't everywhere. There were plenty of things for everyone to do; lots for kids of all ages, for whole families, and for adults on their own.

The restaurants were nice, but definitely on the pricier side. There are places to eat just across the street, and if you have a car, Honolulu is only a 30 minute drive away. It's also easy enough to grab groceries and cook in the room if you have a kitchen. When we go back, we'll definitely try more of the offsite places to eat.

The pools are gorgeous, but the situation with the pool chairs is crazy. There aren't enough chairs, plain and simple, and this is made worse by people taking way more chairs than they need. I never saw anyone from Disney taking things off chairs when they weren't in use. I'm not sure what the solution is; they definitely need to police people saving chairs they're not using, but I know that must be tough, you only have so many Cast Members around the pool and they can only do so much. The beach was beautiful and we were always able to find chairs there.

Will we be back to Aulani? Probably. I really liked the resort, and Harrison had a great time. Grayson didn't get a whole lot out of the trip, being 3-months old, so we need to come back so he can experience it. If it weren't for Aulani though, I wouldn't visit Oahu again. We love Kona, and this is our 3rd trip to Hawaii and we still haven't been to Maui. So our next trip will most likely be a split trip between Aulani and Maui. It will be a few years before we come back, I would say at least 3, probably more if we have another baby - it's a long flight with little kids! We also have beautiful beaches and great pools/water parks a lot closer to home!

Once we get home next week, I'll take a photo of my souvenirs and scan in the photo pass photos I bought. If anyone else has questions I can try to answer them too, and thank you to anyone reading along!

 

[blessed2BaMama]

I have loved your trip report- especially since you were writing it as you were living it! I feel like I know your family with all the special personal descriptions! I hope I'll do as well in mine on our October trip! Have fun on Kona!

 

[crystal1313]

I really enjoyed following your trip report and appreciate you taking the time to answer some of my questions. We leave in less than a week and are SO excited! Thank you again for sharing and have an amazing time in Kona with your adorable family =)

 

[brandyleeann]

This was a wonderful trip report - thank you for sharing

 

[twodogs]

Really enjoyed your report!! Please post about Kona if you have time, as I would love to hear about that.

 

[disnygirl55]

I enjoyed your trip report very much - thanks for sharing!

 

[KateP85]

Kona

As promised, a few pictures from Kona:

The view from our villa at the Hilton Waikeola Beach Resort:



One of the black rock beaches:



The Hilton has a huge lagoon that leads out to the ocean, so you get fish and green sea turtles swimming in it! You can snorkel in the lagoon, you're just asked to give the turtles some space and not bother them:



One of the craters on Mauna Loa:



Playing in the beautiful water:

 

[KateP85]

We fly home tomorrow We've had a wonderful time, but I'm sort of ready to get back - vacationing with 2 little ones is hard work. I've also managed to get sick in the last few days; I though it was just a cold and a cough, but yesterday my temperature hit 101 and DH dragged me to the doctor - I have bronchitis. So that sucks. I'm on antibiotics and feeling a bit better, but when I'm sick, I just want to be at home!

 

[ihearthawaii]

We fly home tomorrow We've had a wonderful time, but I'm sort of ready to get back - vacationing with 2 little ones is hard work. I've also managed to get sick in the last few days; I though it was just a cold and a cough, but yesterday my temperature hit 101 and DH dragged me to the doctor - I have bronchitis. So that sucks. I'm on antibiotics and feeling a bit better, but when I'm sick, I just want to be at home!

That sucks! At least it happened at the end of your trip.

Did you like the Hilton? That was one of my options before I decided on Aulani for our next trip.

 

[KateP85]

That sucks! At least it happened at the end of your trip.

Did you like the Hilton? That was one of my options before I decided on Aulani for our next trip.

Oh we LOVE that Hiltin, it was our third time back there. The resort is huge, so many different pools and lagoons, it feels a lot less crazy and chaotic than Aulani. We stay at the Hilton Grand Vacation Club at the resort because we have points with them, and the rooms are beautiful.