Is it really surprising that there is a lot to do inside a beach resort with a touch of pixie dust? From character meet & greets to luaus and some of the best swimming pools in Hawaii, Mickey & Minnie made sure that there is always something for you to do. You will find a good mix of free cool things included with your stay and paid, optional activities that the entire family can enjoy.
Of course, the stars of the show are the character Meet & Greets, and you can find them practically everywhere! Some of them casually stroll around the resort, while you can also take pictures with them at premium character breakfasts and even spot them at a special luau. Combined with the cozy beach and some of Hawaii's finest swimming pools, Aulani offers a fantastic experience.
You don't have to limit yourself to staying only at Aulani if you wish. You can book one of the many paid excursions that can take you to historic places like Pearl Harbor or even offer opportunities to swim with dolphins. Want to go further? You could also rent a car and explore Hawaii on your own, visiting popular restaurants, landmarks, and the beautiful city of Honolulu. There's plenty to do and see in the Aloha State.
What’s Included at Disney Aulani
Let’s check some of the main activities that are included free of charge when you stay in Aulani. Some of the most popular ones are:
- Meet & Greet with Disney characters
- The Waikohole Valley & Stream
- Aunty’s Beach House
- Nature Tour
- Scavenging Hunt
- Fire Pit Storytelling at Night
- Pool Parties with Disney characters
- Fitness Center
- Disney Movie Nights
- Live Hawaiian Music
- Ohana Hula Dancing
Meet & Greet
Sure, there is a specific paid character breakfast at Makahiki where you can 100% find a lot of Disney characters, but you can also get lucky and find several of them just walking around the resort, much like they do at a place like Magic Kingdom and Disneyland. You can find the classic characters like Mickey & Minnie, but also Chip & Dale, Stitch, Moana and even… Shellie May? I don’t know who Shellie May is, but she is there. Somewhere.
The Waikohole Valley & Stream
The Waikohole Valley is the main central area of Disney Aulani, where you can find the majority of the swimming pools and slides. It’s a fantastic area full of splash zones, a few rope bridges, and everything else that can keep your children entertained all day as they explore and discover new attractions. And you know what might be the best part? The Waikohole Stream! This is basically Disney Aulani’s lazy river - one of the longest in any beach resort - that takes you through beautiful views as you relax and float around the resort, carried by the gentle waters.
Aunty’s Beach House
Aunty’s Beach House is Aulani’s version of a kids' club, open from 9:30am to 9pm. Wait, it’s more than that. In fact, it’s considered one of the best kids' clubs out there! You need to register and book a spot for your kids before you arrive, so do it in advance. Pre-register all the kids in your family who will be going as early as 90 days in advance so you don’t have any headaches when finally starting your vacation.
Families can register children for 1.5-hour blocks of standard programming at no charge. Most activities here are free, but some require an additional fee.
The premium activities at Aunty’s Beach House are:
- Kakamora Chaos with Moana: Enjoy playing a variety of games with Moana. Prices typically range around $70.
- SURF'S UP! – A Surfin', Fishin' and Dancin' Party!: play games, interact and dance with a random Disney character. Prices range around $70.
- Becoming Sea Creatures: learn more about the oceanic life and get a visit from Olu Mel. I had to Google his name. He is apparently a giant turtle? Nice to meet you, Olu Mel. Prices range around $90.
Nature Tour
Do you want to know more about Hawaiian wildlife and nature? The “Maka’Ikai: The Culture Through Nature Tour” is a complimentary activity that takes place on select days at Disney Aulani. This guided tour will teach you about the rock formations that form the resort, discuss design decisions for the buildings, and explain more about Hawaiian culture. This is a fun, unique activity for families that takes 45 minutes. At the time of this writing, I don’t think you can book this activity in advance, so you should probably visit the lobby and try to secure a spot as soon as you arrive.
Scavenging Hunt
The scavenger hunt sounds so cool, and I bet I’d love to try it out if I were thirty years younger. Yeah, getting old is not fun. Anyway, the Menehune Adventure Trail makes our little ones feel like Indiana Jones in the middle of Hawaii. The adventure starts at the Pau Hana community center, where our little ones receive clues and riddles to find secrets scattered across the resort. It sounds like a great activity for our children to make new friends and uncover a few archeological secrets!
Paid & Optional activities at Disney Aulani
There are also several premier, paid activities for you, your children and your entire family at Aulani. Some of the most popular ones are the Character Breakfast, but you might also enjoy the Ka Wa’A luau. Do you love golf? There is a championship golf course at walking distance so you can practice your birdies.
Here are some of the most popular optional activities at Disney Aulani:
- Character Breakfast
- The Disney Luau at Ka Wa’A
- Make your own Mickey Ears
- Stargazing
- Aulani's Laniwai Spa
- Golf
- Paid Tours & Excursions
- …and make sure to check out what’s near Aulani by yourself!
Character Breakfast
Price: $50 for adults; $29 for children.
If you are going to Disney Aulani, there is a good chance that you will want to try the character breakfast. It’s your opportunity to get a picture with Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Minnie, Chip & Dale, and sometimes even more characters as you enjoy the morning Hawaiian breeze! The character breakfast happens every day at the Makahiki restaurant and costs $50 per adult and $29 per child. This is a three-course meal that focuses more on character interaction than the food itself, although the omelets can be rather tasty!
The Disney Luau at Ka Wa’A
Price: $180 for adults; $110 for children.
Much like the character breakfast, the Luau also takes place “inside” a restaurant! Make sure to make reservations in advance for the Ka Wa’A Luau, which features Moana, Mickey, Minnie, and several performers who dance, sing, and tell stories for three hours while you enjoy good food and take as many pictures as you can. The buffet offers delicious seafood and even includes alcoholic drinks! The price can be steep, at $180 for adults and $110 for children, but it’s a great activity for a night out with your family.
Make your own Mickey Ears
Price: $27 for traditional ears; $37 for LED ears.
Of course Disney needed something related to Mickey Ears at Disney Aulani. You can stop by the Pau Hana Room and make your own ears with the help of various accessories and flowers! You can even decide if you want LEDs on your brand new Mickey Ears. This is a fun activity for families, and you can take your beautiful Hawaiian-inspired ears home or wear them around the resort to show your support for the Big Mouse.
Stargazing
Price: $45 for adults; $35 for children.
“Imi Loa Na Hoku – Explore the Stars” is a premium experience held on select days with sessions typically at 8pm and 9pm. As the name suggests, you can enjoy the beautiful Hawaiian night sky accompanied by a telescope and an expert who will teach you about the stars that say aloha from billions of miles above. You get to look at the moon, stars and learn more about them for 45 minutes. Don’t expect anything crazy like spotting a black hole or the rings of saturn, though.
Aulani's Laniwai Spa
Price: depends.
This is considered one of the best spas in all of Hawaii, and maybe in the United States! Just check some of the reviews online: people say it’s great, well worth the money, and they dream of going back someday. The Spa at Aulani offers almost anything you can think of, from facial treatments to massages, and even something for the little ones, like a full Moana transformation. Prices can be steep, with an 80-minute Signature LomiLomi massage costing $260 and the Moana transformation costing $172. Visit the spa at least once, and make sure to book a spot early for a nice massage!
Golf
Price: 9 holes for $115, 18 holes for $225.
Let’s see what Disney has to say about the Golf Club just across the street, shall we? Well, “Ko Olina Golf Club features a championship 18-hole course created by renowned architect Ted Robinson—and is recognized by Golf Digest as one of the Top 75 Resort Courses in the US. It features multi-tiered greens, dramatic water hazards and unparalleled views.”
Aulani resort guests have a special discount when playing there. Prices are about $225. Prices include a golf cart, but you still need to rent golf clubs. The fairways are wide, surrounded by tropical trees, which gives the course a distinctly Hawaiian feel. There are also water hazards on some holes. I'm familiar with those pesky hazards from playing Mario Golf - if I hit them often in the video game, you can be sure I'd end up losing all my balls in the water during a real game.
Paid Tours & Excursions
Price: from $80 to $300.
Much like every beach resort out there, you can also book special tours & excursions that take you to explore Hawaii. Some of these excursions include a Zip Line Tour at the Coral Crater Adventure Park for $110, a Dolphin Encounter program for $198 and a tour across Pearl harbor for $150.
Check out what’s near Aulani by yourself!
You are in Hawaii, friend! This is your chance to explore the island and say aloha to everyone you meet. I know you want to enjoy your time with Mickey to the fullest, but it might also be a good idea to save a day to take an Uber and visit other places. Honolulu is just forty minutes away, after all!
Want somewhere closer? You can walk to the Four Seasons Resort, located right next to Disney Aulani, and have dinner at the excellent Mina’s Fish House. You can also visit the Four Seasons Resort in the morning and walk along the beach until you reach the huge Ko Olina Marina. There, you can enjoy a few drinks and even try some optional tours that take you out on the ocean or for fishing.
Heated Pools & Jacuzzis in Disney Aulani
There are a total of nine pools/jacuzzis scattered around Disney Aulani, and they certainly rank amongst the best when we are talking solely about beach resorts. They are not just beautiful and surrounded by lush trees, but they have that Disney magic of always being surrounded by green, kept clean and giving away to gorgeous vistas.
The pools officially open at 8am. Pool chair demand is very, very high! You can't just throw a towel on a chair to secure a spot and leave. You must also be present at your chair; otherwise, unattended items will be taken to the nearest Kawele Korner. From 8am to 8pm, belongings left unattended on a chair for more than an hour will be taken to the nearest Kawele Korner.
Let’s check the main pools.
The Ka Maka Grotto
This is the infinity pool that overlooks the beach. We don’t need to say that it looks amazing, right? This is one of the most beautiful pools in the entire resort, and it seems to seamlessly blend with the sands. The Ka Maka Grotto is a great spot to watch the sunset, and it looks awesome at night with hundreds of blinking lights.
Waikolohe Pool
Is this the main pool at Disney Aulani? Most likely. It boasts water slides, a sprawling lazy river, and is typically the hub for parties. Here, you'll discover the Volcanic Vertical, an enclosed tunnel body slide that sends you through a thrilling (tip: it’s actually safe) volcano. Tubestone Curl, an open-air tube slide, offers single or double-rider tubes and concludes in the Waikolohe Stream. The Waikolohe Stream is the lazy river, so make sure to grab your free float and get a tan while you relax, close your eyes and… and… zzzZZZzz.
Rainbow Reef
This is the only paid swimming pool in the entire resort. Wait, did I say swimming pool? The Rainbow Reef is an artificial saltwater lagoon at Aulani Resort that houses hundreds of tropical fish. Visitors can get free snorkeling gear to explore the fish and discover a few hidden secrets and easter eggs. Access to the lagoon costs $35 for adults and $25 for children for a single visit, or you can purchase a pass for the duration of your stay for $45 ($35 for children).
Getting Married at Disney Aulani
Yes, you can fulfill your dream of getting married in a beautiful tropical destination surrounded by Disney characters! You can book a spot for your wedding at Aulani up to 12 months in advance, and booking 10 or more rooms for guests also gets you a special rating. You can customize your wedding at Disney Aulani in a bunch of cool ways, from selecting from dozens of venues to hiring performers to play live music and more.
Venues include an outdoor courtyard, tropical gardens, a ballroom and, of course, the beautiful Aulani beach. Seriously, there are a lot of options, even in places that aren’t technically a part of Disney Aulani, but Disney makes sure to bring you there.
Food options range from plated menus to the traditional (and delicious) wedding buffet. A variety of beverages, including alcoholic drinks, are also offered. Guests that plan their wedding can choose between a packaged deal with unlimited drinks or a traditional cash bar where each drink is paid for individually.
Prices
Disney offers two wedding packages for you to choose from: the Lōkahi Package and the Pilialoha Package. The prices below do not include any applicable tax, gratuity or additional fees.
Lōkahi Package
This package includes a 4-hour reception and a 1-hour ceremony and has a starting price of $16.500. Venue fees may or may not be included in this price and could require an additional payment. For instance, the Aulani Beach Venue costs an additional $15,000. Food and drinks are not included in this package.
Also according to Disney, “we require that a 10-room night minimum be booked by you and your guests, in any combination, during your stay. If your party books 25 rooms or more, the bride and groom will receive a complimentary one-night stay”.
Pilialoha Package
This is an intimate wedding ceremony for the couple and up to 18 guests, with prices starting at $5.600. This package is more about the ceremony itself, so don’t expect a fancy party or a reception for your guests.
According to Disney, “we require that a 4-room night minimum be booked by you and your guests in any combination during your stay. This will be in addition to your base price of $5,400”.
Renewing your vows at Disney Aulani
We all love to celebrate special occasions, whether it's a ten-year anniversary or a major life milestone, and that’s where vow renewals come into play. Interestingly, it’s very hard to find detailed information about vow renewals at Disney Aulani. The website does mention them, and you can certainly renew your vows there, but it doesn’t provide much more detail.
Vow renewals at Disney Aulani follow the same concept as a wedding: you get your own wedding planner and can select your favorite venue. Vow renewals start at $3,900 and typically include only a small ceremony for the couple. They don’t include a cake or food; you essentially only get water. However, you can add additional services to your renewal for an extra cost, which can get expensive. For example, a cake with food and sparkling cider for four guests ordered from the resort can cost up to $500.
For more information about vow renewals at Disney Aulani, make sure to send us a message.
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