What's happening to Aulani??

[Hayla]

When did this happen? I don’t remember seeing that it reopened.

We are here now. The fitness center just reopened. They also added movies on the lawn and ohana Hula this week. We’ve seen them clearly training staff around the resort, so I expect more to start soon. Since we’ve arrived, we’ve also seen an increase in photographers and poolside wait staff around the resort. They also added a scavenger hunt for kids around the resort yesterday, looking for holiday wreaths. The staff have been wonderful.

 

[JC1984]

We are here now. The fitness center just reopened. They also added movies on the lawn and ohana Hula this week. We’ve seen them clearly training staff around the resort, so I expect more to start soon. Since we’ve arrived, we’ve also seen an increase in photographers and poolside wait staff around the resort. They also added a scavenger hunt for kids around the resort yesterday, looking for holiday wreaths. The staff have been wonderful.

Thanks for the update! Be sure to let us know if Aunties opens!

 

[TreAntDeu]

We are here now. The fitness center just reopened. They also added movies on the lawn and ohana Hula this week. We’ve seen them clearly training staff around the resort, so I expect more to start soon. Since we’ve arrived, we’ve also seen an increase in photographers and poolside wait staff around the resort. They also added a scavenger hunt for kids around the resort yesterday, looking for holiday wreaths. The staff have been wonderful.

Ask about the grills

 

[Dory92130]

Just back - Had a lot of fun during 5 days at Aulani. Pleasantly surprised on the amount of lifeguards on hand and felt able to let our autistic son roam more freely than usual pools (like Sheraton Waikiki) Plenty of waitstaff poolside and photographers too.

Wished they had more 'free' activities as the premium experiences all were in full force. Stargazing looked a lot of fun, but booked already. Venus was particularly bright this past week and the digital scope looked phenomenal

 

[JC1984]

Ask about the grills

If the grills don’t open soon I am selling my DVC

 

[CaptainAmerica]

If the grills don’t open soon I am selling my DVC

I know I'm in the minority of DVC owners but "grill my own food on vacation" is something that has never occurred to me.

 

[JC1984]

I know I'm in the minority of DVC owners but "grill my own food on vacation" is something that has never occurred to me.

We can’t all have rich MILs like you . I am hiring a personal chef for a night so I splurge a little. I also have a follow on DL trip. So believe me I will be giving my money away soon enough.

 

[Lilsia]

I know I'm in the minority of DVC owners but "grill my own food on vacation" is something that has never occurred to me.

I know that a lot of people cook when at Aulani. For us, we go to Hawaii partially for the food. I live in the middle of nowhere, meat and potato country, and I love all of the Asian and Pacific foods available. There is no way that I am cooking on my vacations anyway. I am part of an Aulani fan group on FP, and the amount of people that give the horrible advice to "upgrade" from a studio to a 1 bedroom is shocking. Their premise is that your family of 4 can save a "ton" of money by paying $500+ extra a night to go from the studio to a 1bdrm and cook some of your meals. As if you are going to spend that $500 a day eating out, plus you still have to buy the uncooked food. LOL There are a ton of restaurants in Kapolei that have good food at a decent price. Even if you don't have a car, you can order it in.

 

[JC1984]

I know that a lot of people cook when at Aulani. For us, we go to Hawaii partially for the food. I live in the middle of nowhere, meat and potato country, and I love all of the Asian and Pacific foods available. There is no way that I am cooking on my vacations anyway. I am part of an Aulani fan group on FP, and the amount of people that give the horrible advice to "upgrade" from a studio to a 1 bedroom is shocking. Their premise is that your family of 4 can save a "ton" of money by paying $500+ extra a night to go from the studio to a 1bdrm and cook some of your meals. As if you are going to spend that $500 a day eating out, plus you still have to buy the uncooked food. LOL There are a ton of restaurants in Kapolei that have good food at a decent price. Even if you don't have a car, you can order it in.

I don’t make every meal in the room. It is a balance. I travel so much for work I just tired of eating out. I love to eat especially ethnic foods as I live in a place not known for its ethnic food choices.

 

[TreAntDeu]

I know I'm in the minority of DVC owners but "grill my own food on vacation" is something that has never occurred to me.

We rarely do it. Actually the 1 time we have used a grill at a resort was in Hawaii after deep sea fishing(we caught some beautiful tuna). That was fun.

But we make liberal use of the kitchens in the room for breakfast, lunch, snacks...

We usually only do our dinners at restaurants

 

[mort1331]

If the grills don’t open soon I am selling my DVC

Fire sale??

 

[JC1984]

Fire sale??

No fires allowed on Aulani property

 

[Hayla]

Fire sale??

We like to grill too, so I checked. Definitely still closed as of yesterday. I mentioned it in my survey

 

[JC1984]

We like to grill too, so I checked. Definitely still closed as of yesterday. I mentioned it in my survey

My wife has called once a week. The Aulani Customer Service basically told her the stuff still closed will just open one day without announcement. I love grilling too. Vacation to me is time with family. I involve my 4 and 3 year old sons with me when I grill. It is great bonding time.

 

[teach22180]

I know the refillable mugs are not available, but I also heard that all sodas are in bottles. Is that true?

 

[TreAntDeu]

What is the coffee situation like?

 

[Lilsia]

What is the coffee situation like?

Same coffee that all of the US Disney properties use, Joffrey's.

 

[Lilsia]

I don’t make every meal in the room. It is a balance. I travel so much for work I just tired of eating out. I love to eat especially ethnic foods as I live in a place not known for its ethnic food choices.

I get that and if you are in that room type anyway, then it makes sense. My point was that people are advising others to spend more on 1bdrm as a way to "save" money by cooking in their room. Which is ridiculous considering the cost.

 

[JC1984]

I get that and if you are in that room type anyway, then it makes sense. My point was that people are advising others to spend more on 1bdrm as a way to "save" money by cooking in their room. Which is ridiculous considering the cost.

True if I didn’t have 3 kids. We would be staying a studio just to save points for a longer stay at OKW

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I get that and if you are in that room type anyway, then it makes sense. My point was that people are advising others to spend more on 1bdrm as a way to "save" money by cooking in their room. Which is ridiculous considering the cost.

I like 1 bedrooms, 2 bedrooms, and Fort Wilderness cabins to cook breakfast, but I know it doesn't work out to a cost savings. For me, it's speed and convenience. My family is usually up by 6:30 when resort QS might not even be open yet, and it's very easy to just scramble a bunch of eggs while everyone is getting dressed, which gets us out the door to the day's activities quickly. Plus my scrambled eggs are way better than Disney's.

I've never cooked a meal other than breakfast though.