Get the daily Iwa each night at the front desk. Usually available around 7 pm, it shows the activities for the next day so you can plan your day and decide if you need to get up early to register for activities.
Speaking of activities, some of these, like the extra paid events in the Kid’s Club, can be signed up for early, up to 3 months in advance.
If you want a pool chair in the shade, plan on being down there between 8 and 8:30 AM. Get in line for your towels, and get those coveted chairs!
Wear flip flops to and around the pool. The rocks are slippery and hot!
The beach rental hut has free bags of sand toys to check out each day, as well as boogie boards if the surf is not too strong. You don’t need to buy or bring these items if only using at Aulani.
There are rotating daily family crafts in the Pau Hana room. They are relatively inexpensive and you get a souvenir to take home too!
There are Disney movies and games that you can check out in the Pau Hana room.
The ukulele lessons are FREE. Yes FREE.
Also, the Menehune scavenger hunt is FREE. Do it. It was so much fun for our daughter, but I will warn you there is a lot of walking back and forth in the pool area so you will get your steps in!
Call 2447 each morning at 8 to find out where the characters will be that day. They rotate each day, though Moana seemed to be around every morning. I suggest getting in line a few minutes before the start time for the character, as they do cut off the lines to keep the characters on time.
The food is decent. We generally got our food from the Ulu Cafe near the pool when eating at the resort, and had a salad, PB&J (guava jam-yum!), flatbread, kid’s breakfast plate, and açaí bowl. Many of the items were shareable between two people, and while yes, expensive, we didn’t find it to be that much more than food across the street at the Ko Olina restaurants. Plus, if I am spending $$$ to stay at the Disney resort, you better believe I’m going to indulge in some Disney treats!
In the villas, there is a microwave, but not in the regular hotel rooms, which is what we had this time. There is a microwave at the Ulu Cafe which we would just use to heat up leftovers when needed.
Splurge on a spa treatment. My massage was amazing, and a few hours of quiet time away from the kids and the crowds was heavenly. There is no in-out at the spa, though, so schedule at a time when you can spend some extra time before/after your treatment to get your money’s worth.
