Disneyland in Hawaiʻi? Who would have thought? Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa had their official grand opening ceremony on Sept. 22, 2011.
Aulani is open to the public for dining, shopping and use of the wedding locations and convention facilities, according to HawaiiNewsNow.com. Those who want to stay at Aulani will experience the magic of Disney and an immersion into the local culture, can go on interactive property tours, and even snorkel with fish.
A weekend or two ago my mom and dad took me and my boyfriend out to Aulani for the day. Despite the rain the visit definitely met my expectations.
The importance of the Hawaiian culture can be felt at the hotel. You can tell that the developing team ensured helped from cultural experts.
I wasn’t sure what to expect of the hotel, but it exceeded a lot of what I thought it would be. The artwork, from local artists, as well as songs made uniquely for the hotel by Kealiʻi Reichel and work from a local kapa practitioner, Dalani Tanahy.
When we walked into the hotel we were greeted kindly by hotel staff and valet attendants.
The customer service was fantastic and the adornments on the wall were culturally accurate and served the purpose of giving visitors a glimpse into the history of the local culture.
The gift shop, filled with souvenirs for tourists that are more than just aloha shirts, or a hula dancer for a car dashboard, but koa hairpieces and postcards. The Disney characters can be found throughout the store, and even for newlyweds, or soon to be married, can pick up Mickey and Minnie wedding hats.
We started our Aulani adventure with the handheld interactive tour that took us around the hotel grounds, and we ended our stay with an informative tour for the inside of the hotel.
The tour for the outside hotel grounds a bit more kid friendly, equip with moving rocks, helping to find turtle friends.
The water slides are quite the fun, like a mini water park, guests can pick a one or two-man tube to slide down one of the slides in. At the bottom of the slide they can immediately cruise in the tube in the Waikolohe stream.
If you’re interested in visiting Aulani, devote a day to really take your time and participate in all the activities they have going on, including storytelling and taking pictures with Stitch or Goofy throughout the hotel.