Updated May 2023. Originally posted February 2019.
First, let’s talk about our love of Disney
Real talk. Everything Disney is magical if you love Disney. If it’s Disney—and we love Disney—I’ll pretty much just throw down my Signature Disney Rewards Visa Card and tell them to take my money. And we love Disney. At least, I do and my daughters do. My husband and son are just along for the ride. I was at Walt Disney World (WDW) Resort 13 times from April 2016 to April 2017, and yes, I live on the West Coast. I was only at Disneyland 3 times in that same time period.
My tween daughter had been begging to go to Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa in Ko Olina, Hawai’i for 2 years. She did a class project where she planned a vacation. She chose Hawaii and discovered Aulani. Of course, she researched the whole thing, and with her love of Disney, Aulani was naturally on her list of places to visit. We were planning a family vacation last summer and planning to visit Oahu, so we started to look into Aulani and wondered if Disney Aulani was worth the price.
Is Disney Aulani Worth the Price? What you need to know about Disney Aulani before you book
The base cost of Aulani
Now, as a family of 6, we can’t travel inexpensively. Family travel for 6 that is cheap just isn’t a thing. Even “budget” hotels are pretty unfriendly options for us when it comes to being cost-effective. We can do the occasional suite for a few days, but we own a couple of timeshares because that works better for us.
When we all travel together, we really need something that has a 1-or 2-bedroom option for any length of time. So while we don’t always choose 5-star resorts, we’re pretty accustomed to 4-star resorts and expensive vacations. There often isn’t a way around that. I’m not saying this to be braggy or anything; I’m simply stating the facts and setting the stage for a cost comparison when I get into why Aulani isn’t worth the money.
We chose Hawaii in the summer, which is peak tourist season because that’s what worked with our schedules. When we started researching prices at Aulani, I was a little shocked at the price. I expected spendy, but maybe not as spendy as what we paid. We opted for two standard hotel rooms, which was literally the least expensive option available for us for the size of our family.
The Aulani 2018 published rates for the week we were in Aulani were $665/night for each standard room (sleeps 4), essentially $1330/night. A 1-bedroom villa (sleeps 5) was $819/night, and a 2-bedroom villa (sleeps 9) was $1959/night. We paid the $665/night times two rooms plus taxes and fees. I would have considered one standard room and one 1-bedroom villa had we been able to get them right near each other, but that wasn’t an option.
The Aulani 2019 published rates for the same dates in July were $604/night for each standard room (sleeps 4), essentially $1208/night. A 1-bedroom villa (sleeps 5) was $1044/night, and a 2-bedroom villa (sleeps 9) was $1509/night. I’m shocked at how much less the rooms start for the 2019 season. If you’re coming with a large family, that 2-bedroom villa is a big savings at $400/night less than the 2018 season.
The Aulani 2021 published rates for the same dates in July are $639/night for each standard room (sleeps 4), essentially $1278/night. A 1-bedroom villa (sleeps 5) was $1134/night, and a 2-bedroom villa (sleeps 9) was $(unable to confirm)/night. Clearly, there are still some great deals available with Aulini having recently opened back up after being closed due to COVID-19.
The Aulani 2022 published rates for the same dates in July is $674/night for each standard room (sleeps 4), essentially $1348/night. A 1-bedroom villa (sleeps 5) is $1179/night, and a 2-bedroom villa (sleeps 9) is listed at $1649/night. It’s obvious that Aulani is working toward moving back to its typical rates as the country is finding its “way” through the pandemic.
We’ve left the previous rates in for year-over-year comparative purposes.
As of May 2023, The Aulani 2023 published rates for the same dates in July is $774/night for each standard room (sleeps 4), essentially $1548/night. A 1-bedroom villa (sleeps 5) is $1319/night, and a 2-bedroom villa (sleeps 9) is listed at $2159/night.
For perspective, the Hilton Grand Waikikian 2-bedroom suite that slept 6 was $588/night through the Hilton website for 2018. While this resort is 4-stars and not 5, it’s also about 25% of the price in the worst-case scenario. Same island, similar amenities, better service, better beach access, better activities, better overall experience. The Hilton Grand Waikikian 2-bedroom suite 2023 published rate is $1291/night through the Hilton website.
Making a reservation at Aulani
If you’ve ever booked at WDW, I feel like the online process for that is fairly simple and straightforward. Making the reservation at Aulani through THEIR wasn’t nearly as self-explanatory. I ended up making multiple phone calls and ultimately booked over the phone with an agent who booked us a “package,” which included transportation back to the airport for our last day (we hadn’t decided what our plan was at the point we initially booked our Aulani portion). She assured me I could cancel that at any time if we decided we didn’t need it. My suggestion based on my experience, DO NOT BOOK until you know EXACTLY what you need.
Better yet, save yourself a headache and book through our affiliate partner GetAwayToday.com for all things Disney-related. I’ve never had any problems and they have the best rates around. The best way to book Aulani is over the phone at 855-GET-AWAY and tell them Whisky + Sunshine sent you. You can book an Aulani vacation, a Disney Cruise, Disneyland Vacation, Walt Disney World Vacation, and hundreds of other vacation destinations and tickets/hotel rooms.
Making changes to an Aulani reservation on Aulani’s website
When I called to make that change on Aulani’s website, it was the biggest hassle to change because apparently there was a specific date by which I needed to make that change (which was NOT articulated to me on the phone and not easily found in our paperwork—I was “changing” not “canceling” the reservation as far as I could tell but as far as their system could tell I was “canceling” the whole thing and rebooking (the only thing on the paperwork was about canceling, not changing.
Okay, so a manager, an hour, and a whole lot of credit card charges and refunds later I was all set with a “new” reservation minus the no longer-needed transportation add-on, which was about $280 for 6 people one way (about $20 less than our car rental for a week on Oahu).
What’s included in the Aulani cost
Well, not much. I jest, a little.
You get your room, obviously, and the allure is the use of the pool facilities and oceanfront. But pretty much everything is an extra fee. Just like being at Walt Disney World or Disneyland. Totally expected.
There’s also Aunty’s Beach House Kid’s Club for ages 3 to 12, but my kids wanted to hang out with us and use the pool and swim in the ocean (after all, that is what we were paying to be there for, right?) But if you had young children the camp activities, would be a perk for sure.
If you’re playing at the oceanfront, there are chairs and umbrellas, as well as boogie boards that are all included. Keep in mind while the use of those items is included, the beach and oceanfront themselves are public property.
Parking, all food, etc., is an added fee or cost.
If you are a Disney Vacation Club (DVC) member I’m certain there are other benefits, but we are not so I can’t speak to what those benefits are. I can only speak to what the cost of staying strictly as a standard hotel guest is.
SUP Rentals at Aulani
You can rent SUP and snorkels on the beach, You can also bring your own tubes and snorkel gear if you have it. We had tubes, but we rented SUP. The cove is fairly well protected with a breakwater, which is great for learning, but it’s pretty windy even in that protected area because of its location on the island; not ideal for learning to SUP or spending much time on the SUP, but a nice opportunity if you’ve never done it and want to try.
Skip the Character Dining
…unless you have all morning to waste
If I were to do it all over, I would skip the Disney Character Dining experience at Makahiki. We made the mistake of making a reservation for 8:15 am on Saturday morning the weekend we were there. It seemed like a good idea. Nice and early, we’d have the rest of the morning and the whole day ahead of us. Um, no.
Now, having done somewhere upwards of close to 100 character dining experiences over the years at all the parks, I knew you never get in at your reservation time. Never. However, I didn’t expect to be asked to show up 15 minutes early to be seated an hour past our reservation time for an early morning reservation. I get that you can’t kick people out for dragging their heels while eating.
However, I’ve got years of experience in bars and restaurants, including dining room management. At that hour of the day, if you’re an hour behind in seating people, that’s straight up a management issue. You either are overbooking or don’t have the place staffed appropriately or both. And given there were several families waiting like we were, not cool.
My kids were hungry. Which turned to hangry. I was hangry. At 9:30, after checking in with the hostess a couple of times, we were finally seated. Once we were seated our server was great. The manager followed up and graciously comped the little girls’ meals for the snafu, but get it together Aulani.
Information and finding your way around Aulani
I have to compare this process, again, to check in at any resort at WDW. You check in, and you’re instantly handed a packet of information that has everything you need for your stay: room number, keys, maps, schedule of activities, etc. Well, we got some of that.
We got keys/room numbers and a map. We received no information about the pools and where to get bands, so once we loaded our luggage and changed, we had to come back to the concierge and ask. And later in the day, we had to ask about the luau. And the breakfast location. And. And. And.
The lack of information was night and day compared to the information/communication process at check-in compared to even a value resort at WDW or on a Disney Cruise Line, which is wildly disappointing. We realized we missed so much that first day because there were activities on a schedule we never received but didn’t know to ask about. But the second day we asked because we saw characters in the afternoon and asked the cast member about their schedule and she said, “Oh, look on Daily ‘Iwa.” Thanks for that information.
Let’s hope the new app will alleviate some of this!
What is worth the price at Aulani?
What’s awesome at Aulani?
The pools at Aulani are awesome.
The lazy river is fantastic. It has one of the best lazy rivers I’ve ever seen. Is it really worth $1330/day for a family to hang out at? Probably not. Did we enjoy it while we were there? Absolutely. My girls loved the waterslides. Even my teenage son had a nice time hanging with his sisters and playing in the waterslides and lazy river. There’s also a small, adults-only infinity pool as well as the Ka Maka Grotto family infinity pool. My youngest were too old for the Keiki Cove kids splash zone waterpark area, though, so only little kids can use that experience.
Quick Service Food at Aulani is affordable
Shockingly, the quick service and bar food at Aulani was reasonably priced. We paid notably less for food at the Off the Hook and Pāpālua Shave Ice than we did in Waikiki. I was pleasantly surprised. Sure, you pay $1 to add Mickey Ears to your shave ice, but the whole thing was still a couple of dollars less than shave ice at the Hilton Grand Waikikian in Waikiki.
The KA WA‘A – A Lū‘au
We booked the luau when we first booked rooms. We knew we wanted to do the luau as we’d heard good things. Even our friend who lives on Oahu had heard that Aulani does one of the best luaus around. He wasn’t wrong. I attended a luau on the Big Island in March (it was good but it was nothing compared to The KA WA‘A), and we watched the luau several evenings from our deck at the Hilton Grand Waikikian. The KA WA‘A – A Lū‘au was worth every penny we spent and worth the experience even if you aren’t staying at Aulani. You don’t have to be a guest at the hotel to buy tickets. I would recommend anyone go to The KA WA‘A.
Would we go back to Aulani?
Maybe. If I could go back during the off-season for one of the 30% or 40% off Visa Card specials they run in addition to the slightly lower hotel room rates during an off-peak season and I didn’t bring the whole family, I would consider it.
To pay $1330/night for the experience we had this time around? Nope. Not even close to worth the expense. I would much rather pay for a 4-star resort with better service, activities, dining, access to the beach, and location for other things to do in town than more than double the price for a 5-star resort that didn’t offer us any of the things a 5-star resort should be offering.
Mask and Face Coverings at Aulani
Since Aulani is a Disney Parks property, it shouldn’t be a surprise that they also have a mask and face-covering policy in line with Walt Disney World and Disneyland. However, the face-covering and mask requirement at Aulani is may be more strict at times, as Hawaii law dictates.
As of the time of this posting, Aulani no longer requires face coverings for Guests outdoors, and face masks are optional for fully vaccinated Guests in most indoor locations.
Aulani Resort expects Guests who are not fully vaccinated to continue wearing face coverings at all indoor locations.
All face coverings (whether disposable or reusable) should:
- Be made with at least 2 layers of breathable material
- Fully cover the nose and mouth and secure under the chin
- Fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face
- Be secured with ties or ear loops and allow the Guest to remain hands-free
At this time, based on guidance from health authorities, neck gaiters, open-chin, triangle bandanas and face coverings containing valves, mesh material or holes of any kind are not acceptable face coverings.
Costume masks are not considered appropriate and are prohibited from being worn.
Face coverings may have an integrated transparent plastic panel to aid in viewing the wearer’s mouth. These face coverings should:
- Be a fabric face covering featuring a solid plastic panel containing no openings that is attached to the fabric on all sides using tight-knit stitching
- Meet all face-covering requirements listed above
Please note, face coverings are not permitted while experiencing water slides or in the water.
Aulani has a whole page on its health and safety plan on its website.
New Aulani Mobile App
Aulani finally has its own Mobile App! It’s quite as robust as the app at Disneyland or Walt Disneyworld, but it’s designed for Aulani explicitly.
The app helps with contactless options at the resort and replaces the newspaper (Daily ‘Iwa) they used to hand out. Guests log in to the Aulani app with the same account information they do for their MyDisneyExperience accounts.
The Aulani Mobile App lets you:
- Plan your day, stay connected and explore all the magic that’s happening during your visit
- Manage your Aulani Resort reservation details
- Begin the check-in process in advance using a convenient Online Check-In service
- Search for fun and interactive activities on the “Daily ‘Iwa”
- Find places of interest on the resort map
Download the Aulani Mobile App here.
MagicBands Coming to Aulani
It feels like Aulani spent the whole shutdown working on tech upgrades. Aulani also announced it will be rolling out Disney MagicBands at the resort soon (date TBD). They have not yet announced if there will be a fee for them or not; they recently started charging for them at Walt Disney World.
How great will it be to have the convenience of your room key attached to our wrist vs carrying it around with you? No more cards falling out in the Lazy River or on a slide! While Aulani hasn’t said anything yet, it stands to reason there will be the ability to make room charges to the MagicBands, too.
Currently, Aulani uses MagicBands in Aunty’s Beach House with the kids, similar to the way they do on the DCL ships. They are to be returned at the end of your stay and are not for use at any of the resorts that use magic bands.
Aulani Changes in Amenities Due to COVID
Certain dining, amenities, activities, and recreation may be limited in capacity and subject to limited availability or closure. Also, certain experiences, services, and amenities may be modified, have limited availability, or may be closed. Please refer to the Aulani App for a list of the day’s offerings and activities.
The Best Way to Book an Aulani Vacation
The best way to book an Aulani vacation is through our affiliate partner GetAwayToday.com for all things Disney-related. They have the best rates around and incredible customer service. I recommend calling them at 855-GET-AWAY and telling them Whisky + Sunshine sent you, but you can do it online. Not only can you book your Aulani vacation, but you can also book a Disney Cruise, Disneyland Vacation, Walt Disney World Vacation, and hundreds of other vacation destinations and tickets/hotel rooms.
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I am a DVC member. (Best money we ever spent.) We love Aulani and come at least once a year. I don’t know what amenities you were looking for or how beach access could get any better but for our money nothing beats Aulani (we’ve stayed in multiple other hotels that don’t hold a candle to this resort). They have lost some of the special touches (flower leis for the ladies and Kukui nut leis for the guys) since Covid but it’s still pretty fabulous. We’ve take our grown kids, their families, my parents, our friends and every one of them loves Aulani and is wowed by how wonderful it is. I would say book through David’s rentals to save money if you don’t want DVC membership.