We stayed at Disney’s Aulani Resort. But before I dive into what I liked and didn’t like about the restort, I want to be transparent. This trip was not sponsored by Disney in any way (I wish it was! lol). The only reason I am creating an entire blog post about our experience is because you guys seemed to be really interested!
We were lucky enough to stay in a two bedroom villa (did you catch my room tour on stories?!). I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again – staying in a suite/villa is the only way I’ll travel now that we have two littles. If you don’t have seperate bedrooms as well as a kitchen area, it makes travelling with kids who need frequent naps and snacks next to impossible IMO. Villas are obviously going to be more pricey than a regular room though, so I understand ultimately you have to do what works best overall for your particular family. I had a few questions about the cost of our room and I think it would be most helpful if you went on their website and just selected what rooms/dates you were interested in to get an accurate rate!
The resort was larger than I anticipated it would be and there were LOTS of things to do – especially if you have kids! Some of my favorite things about the resort were: the multiple pools/waterslides available and how accessible they all were, copious amounts of activities that went on every day for kids of all ages that were ran out of their kids club (aka Auntie’s House), the resort is located on a beach so we didn’t have to travel to get to one if we didn’t want to, live music most evenings at multiple locations throughout the resort, and the Disney characters (we were able to see and take photos with Mickey, Minnie, Moana, Stitch, Chip & Dale, Goofy & Max, and Pluto) that were walking around/super interactive with the kids throughout the day.
Though overall we absolutely loved this resort and would go back again, there were a few things I didn’t like about it. It is quite far away from the biggest city in Oahu – Honolulu (especially if you are trying to get there during rush hour), I found the dining options to be pretty pricey overall (though there were multiple options, I wasn’t wowed by anything we ate on resort), and just in general the resort is pricey. I mentioned this on my stories, but the only reason we were able to stay at the Aulani Resort is because my FIL gifted us some of his DVC points. There was no way we would have been able to afford our stay without his help!
We were fortunate enough to have my parents join on us on this trip. It was the first time we have traveled with them and the longest vacation they have ever taken! It was so nice to have them there to help us out with the kids and to create some new, lasting memories with them. They were in complete awe of the whole experience and loved the resort. They described staying at Aulani as a once in a lifetime experience! I definitely recommend checking it out if you have the opportunity to!
Some of the beach photos within this post were from a gifted Flytographer shoot we did while on the island. I love working with Flytographer and would 100% encourage you to book with them for your next family trip! Don’t forget you can use my code KITEEN50 for $50 off your next shoot! (valid until the end of the year)
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