Budget Aulani Disney Resort Hawaii Reviews and Planning Guide is more than a Disney Aulani review and tips. It’s a resource for helping you plan the best Budget Aulani Disney Resort Vacation with Kids. It is designed to help you make the most of your experience. You can also learn 13 ways to save on your Aulani vacation to make it a cheap Family Vacation.
Aulani Disney’s Hawaii Resort on Oahu is the Best Family Resort in the World. While Disney’s Aulani Resort Hawaii can be expensive, there’s a way to visit Aulani Resort and Spa on a budget vacation. Aulani Resort Kids Activities that are included with your stay can keep you busy having fun.
Where is Disney Aulani Located?
The location of Aulani Resort Hawaii is in the Ko Olina Beach area in the Kapolei community on the island of Oahu. They are also part of the Disney Vacation Club Family.
What is Disney Aulani Like?
Here’s a quick Disney Aulani review. While Aulani is not a Disney in Hawaii theme park. The resort offers a wonderful pool complex including 2 water slides, one that is a tube slide that brings you into the lazy river. Aulani Disney Resort pools consist of 2 pools and several hot tubs. Instead of a wave pool, you can enjoy the beach and calm lagoon on the ocean. There is plenty of Disney characters and a wonderful Aulani kids club called Aunties Beach House that is included. Aulani is not all-inclusive but there are many affordable nearby dining options that help to make a stay at Aulani affordable.
Many wonder how expensive is Aulani Hawaii. This guide will give you tips on how to find deals and how to save on your overall trip to Aulani.
Join the AffordableFamilyTravel.com Crew on facebook to share tips and tricks for affordable family travel.
How Much does the Disney Hawaii Aulani Resort Costs:
- Hotel: $2142 5 nights after 30% off Aulani discount found on their website
- Flights: $477 per person (NYC to LAX one way on SWA with 20,000 miles and companion pass) This was prior to Southwest Airlines’ arrival to Hawaii. You could now fly for free with a southwest companion pass and points.
- Transportation: $57 Aulani to airport
Aulani Tips and Tricks for Disney Resort Hawaii
- You can pay as low as $300/night by renting through Disney Vacation Club (DVC) which includes free parking
- Looks for Disney Aulani Deals. You can book a “cash” room for as low as $350/night when they offer 30% off 5nights or more or even less with their 40% off offer which requires a timeshare presentation.
- Studios and villas include fridges that will hold a week’s worth of food or more. They also have microwaves
- Across the street are several dining options the most affordable being the country market which has hot entrees starting at $5
- You can register the kids for dinner at aunties but you can save by feeding them dinner in your room (we stocked up on chicken nuggets and hot dogs) and drop them off after for a nice date night or two or three.
- Buy or bring microwave popcorn to enjoy while watching the movies on the lawn.
- The Photo Pass is $99 for the length of your stay. On our first trip we had over 200 photos and our second was over 300 photos. It’s a great value. If you show up for sunset photos on the beach show up early because it gets too dark as the sun is actually setting.
- Aulani pool access is only for guests. They do not currently offer day passes. I think Aulani is worth at least a 1-night stay as you get 2 full days of access to everything it has to offer which would probably be a better value than what the cost of day passes at Aulani would be anyway.
Disney’s Aulani Resort Review
Aulani Disney Resort Hawaii has everything I enjoy on a vacation: a beautiful beach including boogie boards and sand toys available, a really fun pool complex including a tube slide into a lazy river, a child’s splash area, an infinity pool, and both family and adult-only hot tubs.
They also have a great kids club, Aunties Beach House, and family activities all included in your stay. One activity we enjoyed was Aloha Fun with Disney friends which is a surfboard rug activity and includes a character. We all enjoyed the animation program which includes drawing and painting and the pool party.
We attended the toddler splash beach games. Every time we signed up we were warned our son may have to set aside for an activity (he’s 7). He never needed to. Both days were the same activities passing the ball game with the family, digging for treasure, and sandcastle building. This activity was held daily when we went a few years ago and seems to be held every other day now. They also offer uncles storytelling and movies on the lawn.
Since our kids love Aunties Beach House and hate eating out, we were able to feed them in our room for cheap and drop them off at the kids club while we enjoyed dinner out. You can preregister for dinner at Aulani each morning and $15 for the meal or you can opt to feed them prior. They close half of the kids club for the kids eating and the other half is open for drop-off even during dinner. We rarely get date nights so this was an exciting bonus for us. Staying hear you also have access to affordable local food which I love!
Who Should Visit Aulani Disney’s Hawaii Resort
Good for: Most families with kids who love beaches, water slides, and lazy rivers. Those who enjoy a kids club because Aunties Beach House is great.
Not Good for: Those looking for a lot of adventure and nightlife. The resort does have some evening activities but a lot of things shut down early. Also, it’s much easier to get to the north shore and other activities such as the Polynesian Culture Center from the Waikiki area. Many Adults enjoy the resort, they have an adult-only pool and Aulani spa.
When to Visit Disney’s Aulani Resort Hawaii?
Aulani Resort is a great resort to visit year-round. However, if you want to avoid the crowds so there’s less fighting over beach chairs and shorter lines for the water slides, I have found the end of February and early March to be a quieter time to go. Disney Aulani Hawaii Resort is busy during the summer and holidays so be prepared for crowds during this time.
We found that Aunties Beach House at Aulani Disney Resort is busy in the evenings but we were able to drop it off by 5 pm without an issue.
Kids’ Favorite Aulani Disney’s Hawaii Resort Activities
- Boogie Boards at the Beach
- The tube slide and lazy river
- Character meet and greets (call the character line in the morning to find out where and when they will be out)
- Toddler Splash Beach Games
- Aloha Fun on the lawn with Disney Friends
- Pool Party
- Kids club, Aunties Beach House
You can check out some of Aulani’s Daily Iwa, Aulani’s activity schedule, from our Trip to get an idea of the activities offered, as well as the ones posted on their website. I also have several located in the files at the bottom of this post.
Disney’s Aulani Resort Hawaii Activities
KA WA‘A — A Lū‘au at Aulani Luau
KAWA’A is Aulani’s Luau that you can enjoy for an additional free. They used to offer one called Start Lui Hui which was included with your stay. The current Luau includes food and additional VIP options. If you’re lucky you may end up with a garden view room that looks out onto the lawn where it’s held.
Hawaii Disney’s Aulani Resort Pool
Aulani offers 3 Pools. An Adult Only Pool is perfectly located in a quiet area of the resort and near the Pool Bar. The infinity pool offers nice views of the beach and the main pool is perfect for families. There’s a tube slide that goes right into the pool and it’s also where the Character Pool Parties are held.
Aulani also has a Lazy River at Aulani Resort. There’s a Tube slide that allowed single and double tubes that go right into the lazy river. It’s a fantastic Pool Complex for families to enjoy an afternoon together.
Aulani Beach at Ko Olina Lagoon
There are a few Disney Beach Resorts but Aulani is Disney’s Best Beach Resort. The beach at Aulani, Disney’s Hawaii Resort, is a nice wide crescent-shaped beach surrounding the Lagoon. Barriers keep the lagoon waves calm and it’s great for wading and snorkeling. The Beach shack offers complimentary sand toys and boogie boards that you can check out and enjoy.
The beach is also where the Toddler Splash Beach games is held which is one of our favorite programs. There’s also a large Connect Four board and ping pong table at the beach if you want to take a break from the water and play some games.
Menehune Adventure Trail at Aulani Hawaii
The Menehune Adventure Trail at Aulani is a fun scavenger hunt. Simply check out an Ipad and follow the special program which will take you on a hunt through out the resort where the mischievous Menehune will create some pretty cool things. Aulani manahui ipad games a popular activity especially at night so make sure you don’t wait till your last day to do this activity.
Aulani Photo Pass
The Photo Pass is $99 and comes with additional photos that they preload as well as all photos taken of you and your family during the stay. They will put a photo pass band on your kids and scan them whenever photos are taken. There are sunset photos but go early because the lighting isn’t right when the sun is actually setting. We even caught photographers in the pool and lazy river. The photos at the character meal are not included but for $35 you can get 1 print photo and they will load all the photos onto your photo pass just let the person know when you are purchasing your photo. When you do activities that may not end up on your band make sure to stop int he the gift shop where the photo pass counter is and add your photos to the pass.
Disney’s Aulani Resort Rooms
Aulani Disney’s Hawaii offers a variety of room types. There are some limited rooms with great ocean views. From my experience and from others I would say it’s not always worth the price to upgrade to an “ocean view room”. the resort buildings are set back away from the ocean.
We have only stayed in a studio because with smaller kids we like the sleeper sofa and studios come with not only a mini fridge but also a microwave which we utilize. Larger 1, 2, even 3 bedrooms are available and include kitchens and even washers/dryers. Check out a 2 bedroom here.
How to Plan a Budget Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa Vacation
Affordable Aulani Resort Booking
Aulani Disney Hawaii Resort isn’t cheap and it may not be in everyone’s budget but the reason I feel Aulani is affordable is that it includes so many activities we have everything we need. You can stay here for as low as $300 a night or $2100 a week. Just keep your eye out for Disney Aulani Deals as much as 40% off. You could also consider a credit card that allows you to earn points that can erase charges.
Aulani may be available in some credit card travel portals to book with points. However, they are currently not in the Chase credit Card Travel portal. Compare Aulani Resort to Hotel and park passes at Disney or Disneyland and the price is very reasonable. Between the pool with water slides, Aunti’s Kids Club, and the Ocean with beach toys available, you will be busy all day each day of your stay.
When to Book to get Best Aulani Resort Prices
If you plan to book Aulani with DVC points you own or rented DVC points you need to book at the 11 months (for the home resort) and 7 months if not in order to get the best room option availability. The benefit of booking DVC is that Aulani Parking is included. Aulani parking is not cheap and can add up if you are comparing a cash price and DVC make sure to consider Aulani parking into the costs.
If paying cash you can book ASAP and then watch for offers which you can then cancel and book as long as you are within the period of the cancelation policy. I found that Aulani discount offers are posted on their website, 3-5 months prior to the stay. This is when you can find offers such as 30% off a 5-night stay or longer which is the Aulani hotel’s best price I have seen.. I find booking this deal and having the flexibility to book my stay around my flights to be a bigger saving than renting DVC 7-11 months in advance and having fixed dates for flights as flights tend to cost more that way.
Aulani resort prices can be under $500 and we have been able to book Aulani Resort prices for $300/night with the 30% off during the offseason. During the same time, DVC prices for a studio were about $50 cheaper and comes with complementary Aulani parking. We didn’t need Aulani parking at the Resort and we saved more money on flights by being able to flex our dates a few days to get the cheapest flights for our general trip period.
Affordable Aulani Food on a Budget
There are many Ways to Save at Aulani. Several of these tips include ways to save on food at Aulani. There are several options for eating affordable at Aulani. Villas include stoves so you can cook while Studios and hotel rooms do not. Studios do have microwaves and fridges. There are also frills at Aulani so you can pick up all sorts of things at Costco, Target, or the island country market (across the street). We chose to get chicken nuggets and hot dogs for kids’ meals along with PBJ grilled cheese easy Mac and microwave rice. Our kids were thrilled to eat all their favorites.
Island Country Market (an ABC store) Across the Street From Aulani Disney Resort Hawaii
I love Hawaiian food so I chose to pick up food at the market for my lunch and dinner but it was still very affordable.
Across the street there is the Island Country Market by ABC. The store had almost anything you need (this is true of all ABC stores in Hawaii though not all have a deli). The market has sushi, poke, salads and sandwiches and hot entrees premade ready to grab and go. They also have a menu with made-to-order sandwiches and Hawaiian plate meals.
Aulani Restaurants / Aulani Hotel Food
Onsite the pool area offers large portioned fish fry or chicken tenders with 4 pc for each entree on a large bed of French fries. ULU Café also offers some reasonable prices they offer a kids fish meal for only $10.95. You can read Disney Aulani reviews and view menu options for Ulu Cafe on Yelp. we picked up some mandalas (Hawaiian donuts) from here one morning. they were pretty good but not cheap.
This is also where you can get free drinks using an Aulani refillable mug sold for one price good for your entire stay. They have fountain drinks and coffee and it’s a great value. The Refillable Mugs are good for the entire trip but they do not have a chip and people have been known to bring them back for the next trip. I have a feeling eventually they will add the chips in like they have at Disney World.
We have not eaten at Ama Ama but many people rave about it. To be honest the menu seemed a bit generic and didn’t seem to offer much of a Hawaii option. However, they do have a daily fish which is local.
Disney Aulani Character Meals and other Dining options
The character meals at Aulani Disney Hawaii are for breakfast and dinner. are comparable or less than similar meals at Disneyland and Disney World parks. While these definitely fall in the splurge category, they can be a good value and a nice way to enjoy some Hawaiian specialties.
I recommend booking an 11am breakfast -as a brunch to get the best value. The quality of the food seems to have gone down in the last 3yrs and it is not necessary to do a character meal as all the characters are easily accessible during the day. However, my kids really enjoyed parading around with uncle and aunty and the characters during the meals.
You can save a lot of Food. We picked up groceries for $180 would cover breakfast lunch and dinner for kids and breakfast and lunch for your partner (if they are like my husband and prefer more boring food). Entrees across the street average $7 so for your lunches and dinner plus partners dinner it’s another $150 for the week which is $330 for food and you can find affordable alcohol across the street as well. Below you find more tips for affordable eating at Aulani.
Disney’s Aulani Resort Hawaii for Cheap or as Affordable Aulani can be
People wonder How expensive is Aulani. It can be very expensive but the value is great because the resort offers so much more than accommodations. 13 easy to save on your Disney’s Aulani Resort Hawaii Vacation can help you cut costs. It includes a kids club that’s included in the price, a wonderful pool complex characters and entertainment, and more. Food activities and a hotel for $2430 for a week (not including flight) are considered a budget trip for us. Even factoring in flights which you can get as low as $650 from the east coast the total cost would be around $5,000 total for a week in Hawaii.
This is actually less than the cost of a trip to Walt Disney World for a week in a moderate resort with a Disney dining plan and flights from the east coast. If you are able to get flights free through Southwest Airlines, the trip to Aulani could be half of a trip to Walt Disney World. Check out how to earn southwest Airlines companion pass and you could fly to Hawaii for free.
What Does Aulani Mean
“Aulani means ‘messenger of a chief’ or ‘messenger of a greater authority.’ So the committee quickly determined that this would be the name it would present to Disney as the name for this new resort.”
The name was decided as Disney’s Aulani Resort Hawaii was designed to share the stories of the Hawaiian people to visitors of the island including through Hawaiian story telling.
Aulani Disney’s Hawaii Resort is better than the Disney Cruise Line (DCL)
I think it is because while both have fun kids’ clubs – Auntie’s Beach House, Aulani has a much better and bigger pool complex and access to the beach every day all day long. It also happens to be in one of my favorite places and you can travel to Aulani for half the price of a DCL Cruise if your flight is covered by points.
Disney’s Aulani Resort Hawaii Photos and Files to Help you Plan
The Daily IWA files can give you an idea of what activities are offered and on what day. Photos of menus including Country Market and the size of the Aulani Fridge photos can help you plan for affordable meal options.
Files:
- Daily IWA (schedule)
- Aulani Resort Photos
- MonkeyPod Menu and Photos
- Country Market by ABC Photos and Prices
- Aulani Fridge photos
Related Articles:
- Fly Free to Hawaii on SWA
- Disneyland CA / Aulani Combo
- SWA Destination Tuesday Hawaii
- Polynesian Culture Center
- Hilton Wakiki and Hawaii Flights for Almost Free
- Polynesian Culture Center
Check out these other Disney posts:
- Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party
- DCL Mediterranean Cruise
- DCL Royal Princess Tea Party
- 7 shareable meals at Walt Disney World.
- Disneyland Paris
- Exploring Disney From Home
- Hong Kong Disneyland
- How my kid’s help pay for several trips to Disney
- 10 magical moments at Disney
Budget Aulani Disney Resort Hawaii Summary
With a little work and planning, you can have a budget Aulani Hawaii vacation with kids.
- Reserve your Discount Aulani stay with Aulani Resort Deals through their site such as 30% off 5 nights or more at Aulani Or by booking through DVC rentals.
- Grocery Shop to pick up affordable snacks and meal options, especially breakfast and lunch.
- Utilize cheap restaurants near Aulani Resort for affordable meals such as the Country Market where entrees can range from $5-$13 each.
- Take Advantage of Aulani’s onsite family entertainment as well as Auntie’s Beach House kids club, and the Aulani’s Pool, waterslides, and lazy river to cover entertainment at no additional cost.
- Learn how you and your family could fly for free to Aulani with Southwest Companion Pass and points.
Join the AffordableFamilyTravel.com Crew on Facebook to share tips and tricks for affordable family travel.
Follow Affordable_Family_Travel on Instagram
Wow I really am dying to visit here!!!
This is a really great post! Have you gone on a Disney Cruise? If so, how would you compare it as far as the activities/kids club goes? Thanks for all the tips! We love to travel, but are not fancy diners so I totally agree with and appreciate the points on how to save on food to splurge elsewhere 🙂
Sorry! Just saw that you answered my question on DCL at the bottom of the post 😉
Glad you found your answer. I hope you the comparison of the 2 is helpful if you have any other specific questions let me know.