I recently had the pleasure of taking a trip to Aulani, Disney’s resort in Hawaii. The property celebrated its 8th anniversary in August and while I missed that milestone, I was there for the first phase of its pool refurbishment (more on that in a bit).
This was not my first visit to Aulani. In fact, I was a guest just last holiday season. But in that short span of time, I caught several big changes and I can’t wait to share them with you!
Construction
First off, let’s talk about the pool refurbishment. It is split into two phases and takes place from August 19 through December 17, 2019. More detailed information can be found on the dedicated pool refurbishment page on Aulani’s website.
Along with the information on the website, guests receive an email prior to arrival detailing what will not be available during their stay. As an apology for the inconvenience, a $50 a night room credit is applied to the room at check-in.
Once checked in, guests receive several papers including a leaflet reiterating the construction information from the email along with a new map of the resort, which outlines what areas are affected. It should also be noted that the resort’s iconic and very social media-friendly Stitch statue is behind the construction walls and not available during the refurbishment.
Hints of construction are noticeable shortly after entering the resort. The view from the lobby’s lanai is currently obstructed with chainlink fences.
The work done on the kids-only water play area, the Menehune Bridge, is the most noticeable. The structure has been stripped (it usually looks as though it is made of wood) and during the afternoon it is quite loud. The sounds of what I presume to be jackhammers and saws are impossible to miss.
Temporary signs, like this one found at the Wai’anae Tower entrance/exit, directed guests around the construction to eateries on property. Normally, you could cut through the pool area.
Dining Changes
Thankfully, the resort isn’t all fences and jackhammers. There are plenty of good eats to be had on-property and a few of options have received some tweaks as of late.
One change that the sweet tooth in me was especially pleased to see was the option to order desserts from ‘AMA ‘AMA (Aulani’s fancy table service restaurant) at Off the Hook, the nearby pool bar. This is only available after 5pm but the fact that we didn’t need a reservation or fancy attire (the dress code is pretty lax but there still is one) was a plus.
Aulani’s lounge, The ‘Ōlelo Room, now serves sushi. It is available from 5pm to 9pm daily. This is in addition to their pūpū appetizer menu.
The ‘Ōlelo Room is now also open in the mornings, serving house-made cinnamon buns (with or without candied macadamia nuts) and croissants along with coffee and several alcoholic beverages.
Malasadas (think a Hawaiian take on doughnuts) are definitely a pastry that needs to experienced when in Hawaii. And for those can’t make it over to Leonard’s Bakery in Honolulu, Aulani kindly makes their own (although sans fillings, sadly). In fact, they have improved their previous recipe. Their malasadas used to be more doughy and smaller, just about golf ball-size. Now, they are lighter and nearly the size of a baseball! I prefer this new version by far.
Over at Little Opihi’s, Dole Whip floats are now being served. You can get them with guava juice, pineapple juice, or passion-orange juice.
Aulani, like Walt Disney World, offers free refills of beverages with the purchase of their travel mug. These drinks include freshly brewed ice tea, coffee, and, of course, soda. The soda machines are now Coca-Cola Freestyle machines, which offer tons of customization, like additional flavor shots, to your fizzy drink.
Next to these new soda machines are ones for ice and water. Previously, there was a sink for rinsing out your cup and getting drinking water and the ice came from the soda machine itself. The new system is more efficient because those of us who opt for iced tea or water can now bypass the soda machine entirely.
Recent Merchandise Additions
There were several new merchandise collections available for purchase at Aulani. The good stuff seemed to be located at Kālepa’s Store, which is for more general merchandise, rather than Hale Manu, the more high-end shop.
The collection causing the biggest buzz was Aloha Sunny Days, which featured Duffy the Disney Bear and his friends, ShellieMay, Gelatoni, Olu (an Aulani-exclusive turtle friend), and StellaLou. This collection included items like totes, journals, plush keychains, apparel, and even bags from Loungefly.
Duffy’s friend, StellaLou the bunny, is also a relatively new arrival to Aulani. She, like Duffy, ShellieMay, and Gelatoni, originated from Tokyo DisneySea.
The Menehune, mystical creatures from Hawaiian lore, are no stranger to Aulani. Statues of them are hidden throughout the resort. But only recently did they get their own merchandise line (they also had a Vinylmation blind box figure ages ago). This line is particularly noteworthy as it features shirts from Crazy Shirts, a company founded in Hawaii. In addition to apparel, there are also Menehune cups, frames, and keychains.
I visited at a time when the year’s Halloween merchandise had already hit the Parks. Some of it, like the Mickey Pumpkin cap, was also available at Kālepa’s Store. More remarkable, however, were the resort-exclusive seasonal items, like this Pineapp-o-lantern mug. In addition to the mug, two shirts (one kids, one adult), and several pins were sold.
Over in the Pau Hana room, you can take part in different workshops, some free and some not. One of the recent ones is the “Make Your Own Mickey Ears” activity. Anyone can join but only Disney Vacation Club members (this is partially a DVC resort, after all) can select the turquoise frame as a base.
And that sums up the recent changes and additions to Aulani. Thanks for joining me! I leave you now with this Hawaiian sunset. Aloha!
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