Aulani: What's the One Thing You Wish You Knew?

[carissa1970]

Has anybody use the "Entertainment Book" for Oahu? If so, worth it? Planning on taking a trip in2015 for our 25th anniversary. Robin & Angel "D".

We used it. Unfortunately not enough because my son doesn't do well in restaurants, but there were tons of coupons we could have used. We left it behind hoping someone else could use it. Well worth it.

 

[amym2]

The books can be purchased at entertainment.com. They are usually $25 or $30 but are deeply discounted by summer because the majority of coupons expire Nov. 1. The company was going through bankruptcy, I think, but they are still selling 2014 books.

 

[WDW_Diane]

The books can be purchased at entertainment.com. They are usually $25 or $30 but are deeply discounted by summer because the majority of coupons expire Nov. 1. The company was going through bankruptcy, I think, but they are still selling 2014 books.

If you're going to the Polynesian Cultural Center and they have a BOGO coupon, that alone would be worth the book price. We loved the PCC.

 

[jerseygal]

What is the Dole Plantation Maze and how far driving is the Dole Plantation?

Is it "on the way" to something else, like the North Shore Beaches or Waikiki?
What about Pearl Harbor, on the way to Pearl Harbor?

Thanks vey much!

Although I have heard of all of these as "must dos", I don't quite know which of these is "combinable" in a trip off property!

Already think we are doing the Kulou Ranch...Think that we will do the ATV's which look like SO MUCH FUN on You Tube!

CAN'T WAIT FOR AULANI!!!!

THANKS TO ALL THE "EXPERTS" FOR A LITTLE GUIDANCE ON LOGISTICS OF CAR TRAVEL FOR GOING OFF PROPERTY!

 

[mom2aidanNpiper]

What is the Dole Plantation Maze and how far driving is the Dole Plantation? Is it "on the way" to something else, like the North Shore Beaches or Waikiki? What about Pearl Harbor, on the way to Pearl Harbor? Thanks vey much! Although I have heard of all of these as "must dos", I don't quite know which of these is "combinable" in a trip off property! Already think we are doing the Kulou Ranch...Think that we will do the ATV's which look like SO MUCH FUN on You Tube! CAN'T WAIT FOR AULANI!!!! THANKS TO ALL THE "EXPERTS" FOR A LITTLE GUIDANCE ON LOGISTICS OF CAR TRAVEL FOR GOING OFF PROPERTY!

The dole plantation is on the way to the north shore- it's literally on the same road and you just pull over we personally didn't enjoy the maze as it was very hot out and the kids got tired quick so we quit lol. But we did walk around a bit and then get dole whips! We have it scheduled as a stop on the next trip after north shore on our way back- just for dole whips!

I use google maps a lot when planing our day trips- it helps to see where things are in relation to each other and see aprox drive times and you can get a sense of what order to do things in

 

[amym2]

We also thought the maze was hot, but the kids enjoyed it and the gift shop was fun to walk around. I wouldn't go out of my way to go there, but it was worth a stop on the way to the North Shore.

Just remembered that there was also a buy an adult, get a kid free ticket to the USS Missouri in Pearl Harbor in the Entertainment Book. There isn't really anything on the way to Pearl Harbor, but you could combine it with a trip to Waikiki or shopping in Honolulu. We did PH in combination with a stop at the Punchbowl (beautiful cemetery with a great view).

 

[WDW_Diane]

What is the Dole Plantation Maze and how far driving is the Dole Plantation? Is it "on the way" to something else, like the North Shore Beaches or Waikiki? What about Pearl Harbor, on the way to Pearl Harbor? Thanks vey much! Although I have heard of all of these as "must dos", I don't quite know which of these is "combinable" in a trip off property! Already think we are doing the Kulou Ranch...Think that we will do the ATV's which look like SO MUCH FUN on You Tube! CAN'T WAIT FOR AULANI!!!! THANKS TO ALL THE "EXPERTS" FOR A LITTLE GUIDANCE ON LOGISTICS OF CAR TRAVEL FOR GOING OFF PROPERTY!

We just went in June to some of the places you mentioned. As another poster mentioned, look up exact addresses and print out a map with the routes ahead of time, this came in handy.

One day, We went to the Polynesian Cultural Center up near North Shore, and on the way there, stopped at the Dole Plantation. We walked around their gardens (free) and got a Dole Whip in the large shop, did not do the maze on the advice of many people on this forum.

We drove along the North Shore on our way to the Polynesian Cultural Center and stopped to eat in Haleiwa Town at Waialua Bakery. This town also has the famous Matsumotos shave ice place, but there was a long line for that and we had just eaten, so did not do it. When we came through later, it was closed.

We enjoyed the Polynesian Cultural Center and wish we had purchased the ticket that includes the luau, as we were hungry at closing time and there wasn't really a good food option nearby. A great tip I read was "bring a hat" and boy was I glad I had mine! The PCC is pricey, but we were glad we went. It's not something I'd do on every trip though. We stayed until closing time.

From there we drove to Turtle Bay, which is a well known resort hotel with great sunsets. They have bleachers set up for viewing, which we barely arrived for. We drove back to Ko Olina in the dark. I wouldn't want to do that by myself, but with my DH was fine.

I agree that Kuoloa Ranch looked interesting, but it was even farther than our North Shore day and we didn't want to drive back up that way again. It would probably take up a whole day by itself.

You can get free tickets to Pearl Harbor, you don't need to pay for them. Reserve them on the government national parks website now before you go. It is like $1.50 to do this ahead of time. We didn't get ours early enough and had to stand in line with hundreds of people at 6:00 in the morning to get ours. Pearl Harbor is very close to the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet which I believe is on Wednesdays and the weekend. Best souvenirs, hands down. Great prices, fresh fruit, etc. Must go! This is all great to do on a Waikiki day if you are condensing travel. We went out on a catamaran from behind the Sheraton Waikiki, and they also have Dole Whip at Pete's coffee at the back of the resort. I got my catamaran ticket so for a great price on Travelzoo.com before our trip.

Have a great time!

 

[jerseygal]

Will reserve Pearl Harbor on line, definitely!

Have heard about the shaved ice...Can't wait to try it!

Absolutely LOVE DOLE WHIPS! Dole Whips are a MUST DO!

Want to try to balance time away from Aulani , while spending the majority of the vacation having R&R with the family enjoying this beautiful resort!!!!!!!!!!

Anxious to take morning and evening alks along the 1.5 mile path along the 4 lagoons!

Lastly, eager to try the infinity hot tub by the beach...Adult, 18 and over! YES!

THANKS AGAIN!

 

[carissa1970]

Dole Whips are awesome, but if you are okay with pineapple frozen yogurt, they have it in the teen center at Aulani. You can go in and buy it, or any other flavor they have. You just can't stay unless you are a teen! Lol!

 

[amym2]

Just to clarify... not all of Pearl Harbor is free. The USS Arizona tour is free (and well worth the couple of dollars to reserve ahead of time) but the USS Missouri, Bowfin submarine, and Pacific Aviation Museum all have admission fees. I *think* the Bowfin and PA Museum also had discount tickets in the Entertainment Book, but we only did the USS Missouri (unfortunately the USS Arizona was closed due to the gov't shutdown).

 

[jerseygal]

Although we don't have teens anymore, that is great security for those using the Aulani Teen Center. Can't have just "anyone" staying in a place like that around teens.. Great security measure! Love frozen yogurt, so will have to try the pineapple! YUM! Think it will "call me" at least a few times during our trip!


Thanks for the clarification on the "on line" situation with the USS Arizona! Agreed, certainly worth a couple bucks reserving on line, rather than waking at the "crack of dawn"!

Heard that traffic is better on weekends to do Pearl Harbor..
IS THAT CORRECT? THANKS!

 

[cinjam]

Just to clarify... not all of Pearl Harbor is free. The USS Arizona tour is free (and well worth the couple of dollars to reserve ahead of time) but the USS Missouri, Bowfin submarine, and Pacific Aviation Museum all have admission fees. I *think* the Bowfin and PA Museum also had discount tickets in the Entertainment Book, but we only did the USS Missouri (unfortunately the USS Arizona was closed due to the gov't shutdown).

Should I purchase the Missouri admission now, before we arrive?

 

[msabol01]

I don't think you need to. The major crowd issues are the Arizona Memorial since there are a limited number of launches and seats that go out to the Memorial. The Missouri is a self pace tour (with the exception of a 10-15 minute introduction).

 

[funhouse8]

The sailing was through Makani Catamaran. it was included in the Go Oahu card. They offer morning and noon sailings. And if I remember right you are limited to one sailing per card activity day so you could do multiple sailings. I want to say the cruise is normally around $50. They also offer snorkeling trips which you pay an add on fee. Each trip lasted about 3 hrs. Between the catamaran, ha Breath of life dinner show and the movie studio tour combined with Costco discount the cards paid for themselves.

Adult 3-day at Costco is 139.99 and the child is 117.99. Going direct the tickets retail 190 to 175 for adults and 165 to 145 for children

Which Movie tour did you do with the card? Was it easy to book?

 

[krisbars]

Our family normally goes to DW where we are constantly on the go. Nine nights was too long at Aulani for us. We loved it there, but we did get bored even after exploring much of the island. I think I would split my next trip up and either visit more than one island or stay on a different part of the island to begin.

 

[jerseygal]

If I were to do 9 nights, I think I would do 5 nights, Aulani and 4 somewhere else and split it up! Our family of two older sons likes to be on the go a bit!

 

[phyllis1966]

We are going to Hawaii for the first time this July, for 10 nights. We're spending 5 at Aulani and 5 at the Grand Hyatt on Kauai...we are so excited! I don't know if we'll ever make it back there, so we wanted to stay on 2 of the islands and see as much as we can, while still having time to relax and soak it all in.

 

[jerseygal]

Enjoy your 10 Day Hawaiian Adventure!

We are going for 7 nights Aulani in May! CANNOT WAIT!SO EXCITED!!!

All of this feedback and helpful hints is INVALUABLE!

Where would we be without DIS??????:

 

[owensamo]

This June/July, we will spend 7 nights at Aulani and 7 nights on the Big Island with a group of 10, and then 2 more nights at Aulani for just the 3 of us before going home (just to be able to fly on miles).

We're used to more active vacations - even on our DCL vacations, we're usually doing something and not just at the pool or sitting around on deck - so I hope this timing works out okay.

I think we'll probably plan for 3-4 days of touring on Oahu from Aulani and just spend the rest at the resort. I expect that, since our Big Island resort isn't on the beach, we'll have more non-resort stuff planned for those days. The last 2 days we're just going to camp out at Aulani and enjoy the resort before heading back to the real world.

I've been watching a lot of Hawaii Life and Buying Hawaii lately, so I'm perfectly prepared to step foot on Oahu and start looking for a house - because I'm sure once we're there, we won't want to ever come back! So maybe there's never too much time in Hawaii!

 

[bamor]

This June/July, we will spend 7 nights at Aulani and 7 nights on the Big Island with a group of 10, and then 2 more nights at Aulani for just the 3 of us before going home (just to be able to fly on miles).

We're used to more active vacations - even on our DCL vacations, we're usually doing something and not just at the pool or sitting around on deck - so I hope this timing works out okay.

I think we'll probably plan for 3-4 days of touring on Oahu from Aulani and just spend the rest at the resort. I expect that, since our Big Island resort isn't on the beach, we'll have more non-resort stuff planned for those days. The last 2 days we're just going to camp out at Aulani and enjoy the resort before heading back to the real world.

I've been watching a lot of Hawaii Life and Buying Hawaii lately, so I'm perfectly prepared to step foot on Oahu and start looking for a house - because I'm sure once we're there, we won't want to ever come back! So maybe there's never too much time in Hawaii!

We will be there late June/early July also and keep saying the same thing! There was a Hawaii Life on recently where they were looking for a house in the Ko Olina area! My husband came across a special on the Menehune also.