Food Costs at Aulani

[JoshF]

Hi All!

Considering purchasing resale at Aulani. Can someone give me an idea on the costs of food and drinks there. Thanks!

 

[kyton]

The resort itself is fairly pricey however you can get better prices offsite. There is Safeway, Target, Foodland, Target as well as many other places all located within a 5-10min drive. Walking distance there are a few restaurants at the strip mall, golf course as well as the other 2 resorts (Marriot Beach Club and Four Seasons) - most of these places have happy hours which can mean meals can be cheaper.

Did you have specific food / drinks in mind?

 

[JoshF]

Thanks! Wondering what the cost of typical meals are onsite if I eat at the restaurants on property for Lunch and Dinner.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

From 2017: AMA-AMA Breakfast: pancakes $17, omelette $23, pot of coffee $13. For dinner: snapper $40, lamb $49, sides a la cart $9, soup or salad $14, Moma snack shop: hot dog $7, chicken tenders and fries $10. Makahiki (buffet) for dinner: adults $47 and kids $21.

 

[cgattis]

I’d say prices are about Disney park/resort prices plus 20-30%. Pretty steep. The ABC Market across the street has some good grab and go options (poke, sandwiches, bowls, etc) at pretty reasonable prices. But for a longer stay, a trip to Target, Walmart, Foodland, Costco, etc. would save you some money for sure.

 

[jodybird511]

I’d say prices are about Disney park/resort prices plus 20-30%. Pretty steep. The ABC Market across the street has some good grab and go options (poke, sandwiches, bowls, etc) at pretty reasonable prices. But for a longer stay, a trip to Target, Walmart, Foodland, Costco, etc. would save you some money for sure.

Agreed. I find the prices for food onsite to be very pricey, and IMO, the quality is only average, with the exception of AMA AMA. As a result, we only stay in 1 BDRMs, such that we can have a full kitchen. We also buy our own booze and bring insulated cups so that we can make cocktails and take them down to the pool with us. Mixed drinks are in the $15 range, if I remember correctly. We do own at Aulani, FWIW.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Since all their food has to be shipped in, the price of food in general is pricey there. You can google disney menu and see what the current prices are at Aulani

 

[FinnFogg]

Agreed. I find the prices for food onsite to be very pricey, and IMO, the quality is only average, with the exception of AMA AMA. As a result, we only stay in 1 BDRMs, such that we can have a full kitchen. We also buy our own booze and bring insulated cups so that we can make cocktails and take them down to the pool with us. Mixed drinks are in the $15 range, if I remember correctly. We do own at Aulani, FWIW.

This is exactly what we do. Breakfast for everyone and other meals for the kids in the room. Cocktails in insulated cups at the pool. And then my husband and I happy-hour hop...Mina’s one day, Monkeypod the next, Longhi’s if we want stretch our legs...while the kids are at Aunties. We own as well and go 3-4 time a year. Love it.

 

[corgi_monster]

A few previous posters listed prices so here is how Aulani prices compare to the rest of the Oahu:

Makahiki prices and quality are in line with what you'll find at similar buffets on the island. In a nutshell, it's overpriced for the quality unless you're a big, big eater.

Breakfast at AmaAma is a good value. We ate there last mother's day and paid less than $200 including tax, tip, extra sides, and extra entrees for a party of 4 adults and 2 kids.

Our family consisted of 2 adults and one very hungry 2yo during our last Aulani stay and we consistently spent $40-$50 on quick service meals, including drinks and desserts. The quality was just ok. Except the coconut shrimp, which is hands-down the best I've ever had.

Restaurants in Kapolei are priced for locals, and with the exception of a few locations, do not target the tourist market. A take-out meal at Zippy's (a local institution) will cost you about $10-$12/person and includes an entree like Korean chicken (my fav), two scoops of white rice, and one scoop macaroni salad. Zippy's has a table service area with slightly higher prices. The food court at Ka Makana Alii Mall has about a dozen eateries you won't find on the mainland.

If you go to bitesquad.com and type in Kapolei, the site will generate a list of restaurants and you can browse their menus/prices. Some restaurants charge a tiny bit more on bitesquad, but you can get a really good idea of what local restaurant prices are like.

As far as groceries, check Instacart.com. The online prices for food are consistently 20% more than what you'd pay in store. The markup on alcohol (which Costco and Safeway are not delivering at the moment) can vary wildly.

If you need to throw a budget meal into your itinerary, I HIGHLY suggest 7-11. I know how strange this sounds lol. 7-11 stores in Hawaii are Japanese owned and the sushi is very, very good for the price. You can also get ham and cheese breakfast sandwiches made with Portuguese sweet bread, manapua, pork hash, Japanese canned coffee, Nanding bakery bread fingers, spam musubis, garlic chicken musubis, and all kinds of local favorites. It's not haute cuisine but it's excellent quality for the price.

 

[Lilsia]

They are Disney resort prices. But I would not let the decision of buying into Aulani depend on food costs. Any resort area has high food cost is you stay on property. Aulani is pretty far out from things and it is smart to rent a car for your stays and go eat local or get groceries and cook. Using points at Aulani is the best value to point ratio in DVC. If you paid OOP for a studio room it would be over $600/night.

 

[Brancaneve]

Honestly, I wouldn't let food prices deter you from buying at Aulani. That is our home resort and every time we have gone, we have only eaten ONCE at the resort per stay. Our teenagers love to buy popcorn and snacks so we will usually let them charge those to the room, but give them a limit.

Upon our arrival, we leave our guests and kids in the room and we drive to Target and buy all of our food for the week. On our last trip we discovered that Aulani has a grilling station and beverage station (behind Ama Ama)! Now I know that I can take our meals up a notch! They even have picnic tables so you can grill and eat right there.

We typically eat in the room and go to the surrounding restaurants for dinner. Also, if we are exploring the island we will have lunch somewhere and then eat in the room for dinner.

Because we live in California, our usual dinner time here is happy hour time in Hawaii. We therefore typically make happy hour our dinner hour and save quite a bit there.

We do enjoy an occasional drink when we listen to music and those are PRICEY! A beer is around $9-$11 so we don't do that every time.

Best of luck!

 

[MouseOfCards]

A few previous posters listed prices so here is how Aulani prices compare to the rest of the Oahu:

Makahiki prices and quality are in line with what you'll find at similar buffets on the island. In a nutshell, it's overpriced for the quality unless you're a big, big eater.

Breakfast at AmaAma is a good value. We ate there last mother's day and paid less than $200 including tax, tip, extra sides, and extra entrees for a party of 4 adults and 2 kids.

Our family consisted of 2 adults and one very hungry 2yo during our last Aulani stay and we consistently spent $40-$50 on quick service meals, including drinks and desserts. The quality was just ok. Except the coconut shrimp, which is hands-down the best I've ever had.

Restaurants in Kapolei are priced for locals, and with the exception of a few locations, do not target the tourist market. A take-out meal at Zippy's (a local institution) will cost you about $10-$12/person and includes an entree like Korean chicken (my fav), two scoops of white rice, and one scoop macaroni salad. Zippy's has a table service area with slightly higher prices. The food court at Ka Makana Alii Mall has about a dozen eateries you won't find on the mainland.

If you go to bitesquad.com and type in Kapolei, the site will generate a list of restaurants and you can browse their menus/prices. Some restaurants charge a tiny bit more on bitesquad, but you can get a really good idea of what local restaurant prices are like.

As far as groceries, check Instacart.com. The online prices for food are consistently 20% more than what you'd pay in store. The markup on alcohol (which Costco and Safeway are not delivering at the moment) can vary wildly.

If you need to throw a budget meal into your itinerary, I HIGHLY suggest 7-11. I know how strange this sounds lol. 7-11 stores in Hawaii are Japanese owned and the sushi is very, very good for the price. You can also get ham and cheese breakfast sandwiches made with Portuguese sweet bread, manapua, pork hash, Japanese canned coffee, Nanding bakery bread fingers, spam musubis, garlic chicken musubis, and all kinds of local favorites. It's not haute cuisine but it's excellent quality for the price.

Thanks for the useful tips!

 

[Mommy2Logan]

Two adults and 1 young child

Breakfast at Ama: $100 including tax and tip

Pool Waiter Lunch: Two baskets of coconut shrimp, a shave ice, pineapple juice and four mai tais: $150 including tax and tip

Happy Hour at Monkey Pod Across the street: apps, flatbreads, four cocktails, juice $100

Dinner at Mina's Fish house next door: $350 tax and tip

Carryout pizza at the shop at Aulani: $25

2 Drinks, a juice, and appetizers at Olelo Room: $100 tax and tip

Character breakfast: $130 tax and tip

Sit down lunch at the restaurant by the pool: 3 orders of tacos, two cocktails, one juice $115 with tax and tip.

 

[happymommy]

We own at the Marriott Ko Olina, and honestly some trips we spend less on meals there than any other type of vacation. We do the same as Brancaneve, drop off the kids and luggage, then I make an initial Target run to start off with breakfast things, salad, drinks, etc... We almost never eat at the hotels there (but do have a few favorites in Waikiki), rather we’ll often eat lunch out if we’re driving around, grill many dinners (or lunches, as the grills are open 24/7 at the Marriott). If we’re with others and can use more large quantities of food, we’ll do a Costco run as well. We never go for less than 2 weeks, so stocking up isn’t too wasteful.

Lots of really good local spots we enjoy, like Korean BBQ places and of course Sushi Bay!

I agree to not worry so much about food costs if you’re thinking about buying there. We prefer the Marriott in that it’s way more spread out, the villas are bigger, and there are tons of grills open all the time to use. I love, love, love Disney, but Aulani is a bit too crowded for my taste.

If you’ve never been, it may be worth it to rent from someone like on redweek for a trip first to see if you’re wanting to purchase there. We were invited by friends first two times at Ko Olina (Marriott) and the second time we purchased. We go every other year (East Coast), own 2 weeks, but in 2015 I locked off so had two weeks in the studio with my youngest, then my oldest and DH flew over and we all had 2 weeks in the one bedroom (got rollaways for them for free, and one used it in the living room, one used it in the sitting room which is essentially a tiny extra bedroom with the rollaway). Lots of owners there go for multiple weeks. Many days we just chill and enjoy the beach & pools, maybe every few days we’ll drive around (we lived on Oahu for a few years so like to go back to where we lived).