Aulani 2024: Day 4 – Recap, Thoughts & Observations (2/21/24)
Aulani Day 4 – Wednesday, February 21, 2024
For president’s week 2024 we traveled to Hawaii and stayed at Disney’s Aulani Resort on Oahu. Visit my 2024 Aulani Trip Summary page for links to all my picture posts, videos and more from this visit.
Daily Log:
This morning we started off with breakfast at Makahiki. After breakfast stopped by the room then went for a stroll around the lagoon. At 11am stopped by to see a Grand Villa. Once back changed and spent some time out in the lazy river and pools. Grabbed some lunch poolside and then headed back to the room as the clouds rolled in. A few passing showers rolled through and we watched from the room. Explored the lobby a bit and went to the 4:45pm fire pit story telling. Back to the room as more rain rolled through then called it an early evening.
Thoughts and Observations:
- I started my morning off at Makahiki for the character breakfast.
- Reservations – As with most Disney character meals this reservation you need to work for and you then pay for it. This was the first day of the trip with any availability and checked/called at the 30 day mark. Unlike Walt Disney World it is not 30 days from your first day, it is 30 days from each day so we had to keep checking back until we got the day we wanted.
- Characters – Mickey Mouse greeted everyone. After checking in you were directed into a queue to meet Mickey outside. This process was ok and Mickey was energetic. A PhotoPass photographer was on hand to take pictures (which they came by the table to try and sell you later). As you were being seating Chef Goofy greets you and welcomes you to the dining room. Max and Pluto were making the rounds to the table while we ate. They each stopped by our table twice during the course of our meal.
- Food – I opted for the French toast which was a decent breakfast. I thought the meal should have had more pastries/bread available, not just a single donut. The service was good and the food was served hot, which is sometimes a challenge with breakfast offerings.
- Value – Going in I thought breakfast at $50+ a person was a tad high, but everything at Aulani is so expensive it turned out to not be that far off of a la carte dining. At Off the Hook the French Toast was $23 and orange juice $5. I did not see anything equivalent to the Malasadas or Tropical Parfait but I am sure those would each be in the $5-10. So I estimated buying the food elsewhere at Aulani would be about $40 so it was a $10 premium for characters and a dining room experience.
- There was a Grand Villa available to tour so we stopped by and chatted with a cast member and took a look around. The Villa was on the 10th floor which offered a great view of the lagoon and ocean beyond. The room itself was nice but it was not as impressive to walk into as others, such as Bay Lake Tower. The balcony and view span the entire room and there are a number of doors and windows to look out but it was just not as impressive as the large two story window of other villas. The cast members were friendly and there was no hard sell of DVC. We actually ended up talking about Disneyland a lot since the CM was heading there soon.
- For lunch today I opted to eat poolside and tried the mini corn dogs. They were ok but I thought it odd they were the one offering that did not include fries on the menu.
- As the afternoon progressed a series of rain cells moved through with it varying from drizzly to a steady rain. We ended up hanging out in the room and watching the rain blow through. It was odd seeing the people in the lazy river below and on the pool deck yelling to each other about the rain and seeking cover. There was no lightning and it was a light rain so not really something you need to run for cover if you are already wet.
- We did spend some time walking around the lobby and then ventured out to the Fire Pit for some story telling since there was a break in the rain. I went to the 4:45pm session and it was a different experience in the daylight, I prefer the after dark setting more.
- Decided to call it an early evening due to the weather and nothing really going on around the resort.
