Here now, first timer. Observations for you. LIVE REPORT.

Loving your report! We will be there at the end of November with our 3 boys 8, 11, and 14. I really want to hike manoa falls but then I'm not sure what to do the rest of the day. Was it worth the drive up to the north shore? Were you glad you combined the 2?
It was my error, I confused the two falls, It was Waimea Falls on the North Shore.
 
Great review!! We were there May 9th for one week and it was the best. We didn't dine out as much since we had a one bedroom villa. Went to Costco and Target for most of our groceries. We loved it so much we bought into DVC!
 
Thanks for adding the pictures!

We have the sunset sail with Mai Tai next week. I wonder if it's the same vessel in your picture.
 


Thanks for adding the pictures!

We have the sunset sail with Mai Tai next week. I wonder if it's the same vessel in your picture.
Yes it is. Same boat, captain was tons of fun. Hope you like a drink or two cuz it's all included in the sunset sail. They do a great job and if you are driving give yourself plenty of time to get there. We got there just in time as we were unsure of where to park. It was a bit confusing.
 
Thank you for the report, especially the Pearl Harbor info. We are arriving on Sunday and planning to visit Pearl Harbor. I had not even thought about arriving at PH that early to get tickets. I was thinking 7:00 a.m. and we would have been one of those at the end of the line down the street.
It was actually D Day the day we were there, could have been busier than normal.
 
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All day resort day. Up early to get our spot at the pool.

Girls had 2:00pm spa, A plus rating,
They all loved it.

Boys played golf at Ko Olina GC.@2:10pm. Went out as a twosome.
Beautiful course, played crappy but had a great time. They had a summer special for $99pp with clubs for nine holes. Got my golf fix in.

Dinner at Ama Ama.
Food was good for price, not great. The view from this restaurant was amazing. If your at Aulani, this is a must do. Even at the that price.

Great relaxing day!


Hi- question- do you know if there Aualani guests or DVC get a discount at the golf course? We are going in Sept, and I would love to play- but don't want to pay$600 for a round!
thanks!
 


Yes it is. Same boat, captain was tons of fun. Hope you like a drink or two cuz it's all included in the sunset sail. They do a great job and if you are driving give yourself plenty of time to get there. We got there just in time as we were unsure of where to park. It was a bit confusing.

Hi- did you book the sunset sail through Disney? Do you know if the sail is offered daily or only certain days?
did you find there was a lot of traffic to deal with getting to the boat?
 
Hi- question- do you know if there Aualani guests or DVC get a discount at the golf course? We are going in Sept, and I would love to play- but don't want to pay$600 for a round!
thanks!
Yes, they do give out discounts, but it still very expensive with rental clubs on top of the greens fees. Over $200pp. That is why we chose the summer special for nine holes with clubs for $100 (end in August i believe). Check out their rates http://www.koolinagolf.com/tee-times-and-rates/

Beautiful course though.
 
Hi- did you book the sunset sail through Disney? Do you know if the sail is offered daily or only certain days?
did you find there was a lot of traffic to deal with getting to the boat?
No, we bought the Groupon and booked directly with Mai Tai. The groupon does not include the sunset sail BTW/ http://www.maitaicatamaran.com
https://www.groupon.com/deals/maita-i-catamaran-1

The traffic was fine getting into Waikiki, but finding the Sheraton Garage (they validate for up to four hours at a special rate, i think it was $9) was a tough so give yourself enough time to get there. We were rushed and just made it to the boat. Downtown Waikiki was very busy and crowded.
 
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Coming from the east coast the day before, I was up super early with nothing better to do. I took a chance and got lucky. Dragging everyone down would have been tough. Good luck.

This was perfect...leaving monday...group of 5 (my DH, DS 21, DS 18 and DD 14) in a one bedroom also. We seem to be doing similar stuff but I focused on your pearl harbor experience. I was unable to book in advance and was planning on a 5:30 am get in line thing....hoping to get tickets. You give me hope!!!
Great pics!!
 
This was perfect...leaving monday...group of 5 (my DH, DS 21, DS 18 and DD 14) in a one bedroom also. We seem to be doing similar stuff but I focused on your pearl harbor experience. I was unable to book in advance and was planning on a 5:30 am get in line thing....hoping to get tickets. You give me hope!!!
Great pics!!
You are going to have a great time. SO MUCH FUN!!
 
I enjoyed reading your report. We are flying out of Logan on Aug 4th and staying at Aulani for 10 days also. We're going BOS-LAX and then LAX to Honolulu. That's the only part I'm not looking forward to - the looong flight. How long did it take you to adjust to the time change? We'll have two 10 year olds who I expect will be cranky on day one at least.
 
I enjoyed reading your report. We are flying out of Logan on Aug 4th and staying at Aulani for 10 days also. We're going BOS-LAX and then LAX to Honolulu. That's the only part I'm not looking forward to - the looong flight. How long did it take you to adjust to the time change? We'll have two 10 year olds who I expect will be cranky on day one at least.
Really not too hard to adjust, stay up the day you arrive as long as you can. The good thing about coming from the east coast is you will be up early, so getting your pick of pool chairs will not be a problem. The flight is long, we flew direct so much longer than you, since you split yours up. With younger kids this is a good move. With the entertainment choices on planes now days it make for passing time easier. Good luck, you will have a blast, it goes by way to quick.
 
I enjoyed reading your report. We are flying out of Logan on Aug 4th and staying at Aulani for 10 days also. We're going BOS-LAX and then LAX to Honolulu. That's the only part I'm not looking forward to - the looong flight. How long did it take you to adjust to the time change? We'll have two 10 year olds who I expect will be cranky on day one at least.
We will be flying from Boston, too. What airline did you choose?
 
Pearl Harbor tickets can be booked at 60 days out via www.recreation.gov beginning at 7:00 Am HST. They also release more tickets 24 hours before also beginning at 7:00 AM HST again online. There is no charge for the tickets but there is a $1.50 service charge for booking onlne. The tickets get you into the pre tour movie and then the U.S.S Arizona Memorial. There is a lot more to see at the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument. Try for tickets early in the day. Sometimes the boats to the memorial are canceled due to weather conditions (especially high winds). The boats are run by the U.S. Navy and if there is any question about the safety of the boats they will cancel. (The U.S.S aizona Memorial is maintained by the U.S. Navy and the National Park Service. The Arizona is still considered an actively commissioned naval vessel. We got the audio tour which is $7.50 and is great. You can follow the audio tour in any order because it is digital. You just type in the number of the place you are at and it describes what you are seeing and what happened. There are many park rangers as well as volunteers available to answer questions. We were very lucky to meet 2 PH survivors. They are often just outside the gift shop and available to answer questions etc. Remember you cannot take any bags into the monument. There is a bag check just out side the gates. Bring one large bag and put smaller bags inside so you only have to pay for onw. You can bring cameras, cell phones, a small clear water bottle as well as wallet/money/credit cards, but nothing to carry them in. DO NOT leave anything in your car, either inside the car or in the trunk! That goes for anyplace you go on the island. You can also get tickets to visit the U.S.S Bowfin (submarine), the U.S.S. Missouri and the Pacific Aviation Museum. You will be bused to Ford Island to see the aviation museum and the U.S.S. Missouri. Remember they are on an acitve duty military base.
 
Thank you for posting this! Our family loves Maui and we are headed there April 18 for our Anniversary but I have been wanting to go to Aulani and this info is so helpful!
 
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Kualoa ranch...we did the ATV one hour tour and this was probably the best of the trip outside the resort. Everyone loved it. Highly, highly recommended. If you look into this and are torn between the one hour or two hour tour as I did, we felt the one hour tour was plenty. Two hours may have been too long, and not really worth the extra expense. Rained as we left the ranch, stop for lunch and resort late afternoon, evening.

Day 4

Resort in the morning till around 1:00pm then off to Waikiki to do the Mai Tai catermeran sail through the Harbor off Waikiki beach, 90 minutes, they serve beer, wine and mai tai's for a fee, got the groupon for 85$ for all five. Worth it, was fun and they do a great job, though parking was tough to figure out. Youngest daughter got a bit sea sick though. Dinner at Tommy Bahamas in Waikiki. Very good. I would Recommend. Return to resort. Nice evening, Waikiki is very crowded.





Great info- quick question we will be there next week, and I am looking at the catamaran sail looks fun. Did you book that trip through Aulani? Who was the tour company?
 

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