7 Day Disney Trip Itinerary with Multi-Generations and a Toddler

My family took a week long trip to Disney for Labor Day. On this trip we had 6 adults and 1 child: my husband and I (early 30's) + our 25 month-old, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law (early 30's), and my mother-in-law and step-father-in-law (early 60's). Although we were there from Sunday through Saturday, we actually only went to the Disney parks for 3 of the days so that we could have plenty of down time to relax during the hustle and bustle of a Disney trip.

We stayed on property at the Copper Creek Villas at Wilderness Lodge the entire trip. For our park tickets, we actually got our tickets through Sam's Club and saved about $50. We already had an account in the Disney World Experience app that had our hotel reservation, and after we bought our tickets Sam's club emailed me a confirmation number. I went in to our reservation in the app and went to My Tickets & Passes and was able to enter in our confirmation number to link our tickets to our room reservation.

Pre-trip, we booked 60 days out for our dining and lunch reservations, my daughter's first haircut, custom droid making, and the fireworks cruise. We also were able to book our ride reservations 7 days before our trip through the new Lightning Lane system since we were staying on property. And 4 days before our trip we bought the Memory Maker photo package on discount.

Day 1 - Travel Day/Disney Springs

Traveling

We used MCO2Disney to take the 7 of us from the airport to our resort. What was nice was that they allow you to do a grocery pickup from either Publix or Target on the way to your resort for free. I placed our grocery order right before we got on the plane so that our order would be fresh and ready by the time our plane landed. What I didn't account for was not having wi-fi during the flight and missing the notifications that some items were out and asking for substitutions. We ended up missing almost a quarter of our order since I didn't choose a substitution in time. Next time, I'll try to place the order at least 2 hours before our flight so that hopefully I have time to review any substitutions.

We got lunch and hung out at Geyser Point while we waited for our room to be ready. It took forever to get a table, so we spent half our time at the bar. I regret not packing more food for our daughter this day. By this point in the day, she was over the snacks I had packed and really just wanted a meal, so I wish I had something more than just snacks to hand her. It ended up raining (classis Disney in September weather, and a theme for the week), so we let her explore the property in the rain while we waited for our table.

Epcot

For dinner, we had reservations at Enzo's Hideaway at Disney Springs. It was actually a long bus ride from Wilderness Lodge to Disney Springs, because the bus shares a route with The Contemporary resort too. Our daughter fell asleep while we were walking around Disney Springs that evening, and I wish I had known about the loud live band in the middle of the shopping area. Thankfully, a sound machine and the big sunshade on our Vista kept her asleep through half of dinner. She was cranky and ready to get going after dinner, and to our surprise, the waiter said that it was fine for us to take our drinks to go when we left dinner. We were informed we could drink while walking & shopping, but couldn't take drinks onto busses or into other parks. Not long after dinner, we caught the very last Dreams that Soar drone show. I don't know why they stopped the show, it was spectacular! Not only was it quiet so sleeping kids could stay asleep (except for the audio playing in the speakers, but nothing compared to fireworks), it was soo amazing to see the detail in the drones! We had just bought our MagicBand+ that night while shopping before dinner and didn't have them charged and synced to our accounts that night, so we did miss on that interaction. I really hope they bring back drone shows. 

Day 2 - Animal Kingdom/Epcot

Animal Kingdom

Because we were staying in a deluxe resort, we had access to the park at 7:30 am that day. Our daughter couldn't quite get up that early, so my husband and I sent his family ahead of us to rope drop Avatar Flight of Passage since we weren't able to do that last trip. We met up with them for our first Lightning Lane of the day at Kilimanjaro Safari. Our toddler really liked this, but sadly it was the only thing she really did this day.

Half of us then went to our next Lightning Lane at Expedition Everest while those who didn't like roller coasters waiting with our toddler. We ended up spending the next 15-20 minutes letting her watch the people come down the mountain so she could scream with them. We had one more Lightning Lane reserved for Kali River Rapids, but because our daughter couldn't ride on it and we were all ready to go to Epcot anyways, we cancelled this ride. In hindsight, we should have reserved Na'Vi River Journey instead so everyone could go on it.

Epcot

We took a bus over to Epcot and by now we were all ready to eat and get out of the heat. We walked in to Nine Dragons Restaurant, and it was completely empty! The portions are VERY big (and the price reflects it), so we realized that we should have split entrees to not waste so much food. By now, I really wanted to take my daughter back to the resort so that she could get a full nap, because she was clearly needing a good nap. My mother in law went back to the room with us, and the rest went on our Lightning Lane for Cosmic Rewind and then killed time at Living with the Land during a downfall and then went to San Angel Inn to drink margaritas while they waited for us. These drinks were strong, but had a weird flavor to them that I didn't love since I'm a classic lime girl.

Because we had cancelled our Kali River Lightning Lane, we were able to get Frozen Ever After Lightning Lane reservations for after nap time, and I learned that my daughter really likes Elsa after this ride. We had dinner reservations at Via Napoli, and this was probably our cheapest meal of the week. We were all pretty full off of the alcohol by now, so we just split one very large pizza. After dinner, we were in the perfect spot to watch the Luminous Symphony of Us fireworks show, which I packed light up Minnie Ears for my daughter to wear. Although we had extra hours at Epcot this night, we left after the fireworks.

Day 3 - Magic Kingdom

Tomorrowland

We had another early entry for Magic Kingdom at 8:30 this day. We took the buses, but found out that the boats from Wilderness Lodge to Magic Kingdom were already running, so we could have done that to save some time. We did a little family photoshoot on Main Street and then headed to Tomorrowland for our first Lightning Lane at Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. Tomorrowland Speedway had no wait and my daughter was just tall enough, so we did this ride first since we had lots of time. The pedal is oddly in the middle of the car, even though the steering wheel is on the right side of the car, so you spend the whole time with your left foot extended trying to get the car to go. 

Fantasyland

We also were able to walk on to the teacups at Mad Tea Party which is right next to the Tomorrowland Speedway. Right next to this is the Dumbo ride. There is the Casey Jr. splash pad right here that I had packed a swimsuit, swim diaper, water shoes, and a coverup towel in a wet bag for our daughter, but it was only about 9am by this time so we didn't want to get our daughter all wet just yet. I kind of regret this, because we never made it back over here so she could play in the water. To make up for it, my mother in law and I did take her on the Carrousel, which was absolutely her favorite part of the trip. And I know this because it's the only picture she actually smiled in! We made the mistake of doing Mickey's PhilharMagic show instead of It's a Small World. While the show was airconditioned, it was 3D and my daughter didn't like the things jumping out at her. It also should be called Donald's PhilharMagic show because Mickey is only in it for about 15 seconds at the end. 

Frontierland

While we were doing this, the rest of the group went over Big Thunder for a Lightning Lane and then over to the next Lighting Lane at Haunted Mansion. There's not a lot over here for toddlers, so I skipped this area entirely.

We then parked in front of The Diamond Horseshoe to watch the Disney Adventure Friends Cavalcade parade, which was actually pretty short so a little disappointing. I'd say it's something you stop and watch if you're already in the area, but don't necessarily go out of your way to watch. After this we headed over to the Castle to watch Mickey's Magical Friendship Faire which my daughter really liked, but got overheated about halfway through and then was over it. I wish we had been able to see the Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade, but it was during naptime so it's on the list for next trip. After the parade, we went to to the Liberty Square Portrait Gallery right by Ye Old Christmas Shoppe to get a silhouette done of our daughter as a souvenir. The guy was so fast, we were done in less than 5 minutes, but he did such a good job!

Adverntureland

My husband then took our daughter back to the resort for her nap, and the rest of us headed to our reservation at Skipper Canteen. Apparently, this is one of the few places in Magic Kingdom that sells alcohol. The Brazilian cheese bread is something you definitely should try here! After lunch, we walked on to Pirates of the Caribbean and then went to ride the Liberty Square Riverboat, but unfortunately it had just broken down so we went to shop while we killed time.

Main Street, USA

We ended up going on the Walt Disney World Railroad around the park until it was time for my daughter's first haircut at Harmony Barber Shop. This went better than I expected! The hairstylist had a light wand to keep my daughter distracted, and had me sit on the edge of the chair to keep my daughter relaxed. The stylist even put my daughter's hair in pigtails and pixie dusted her at the end! I'm so happy that we were able to have this memory. After her haircut, we took the WDWR train back over to Fantasyland for our dinner reservation at Be Our Guest Restaurant. It was pricey, but I thought the food was great and the kids desert was the cutest thing I'd ever seen! After dinner, half of us we went over to Tomorrowland for our Lightning Lane at Tron Lightcycle Run while the rest took my daughter back to the carrousel and then onto the People Mover while they waited for us. It started to downpour and lightning, so unfortunately the Happily Ever After fireworks kept getting delayed and we had to leave and then of course the show started as we were pulling away from Magic Kingdom. 

Day 4 - Resort Day

We had reservations for a character dining at Chef Mickey's this morning. It was pricey, but I thought the food was pretty good and it was great to be able to sit and eat while you wait for the characters to come by your table. There's people who make sure you're seen by each character at least once. There is a photo pass option on your way out, but there is no professional photographer to take pictures with the characters.

We then went back to the Wilderness Lodge pools. The main pool has a waterslide and behind that is a waterfall with an overflow feature into the pool, which is pretty cool. There's also a whole toddler area that is gated off that has water slides, a playground, and a splash pad. We weren't here for long because my daughter ended up needing a nap, but I really liked this pool.

After naptime, we had some time to kill so the plan was to take a boat over to Magic Kingdom, then the monorail over to the Contemporary, then the bus back to Wilderness Lodge to get ready for dinner since my daughter was all about the transportation. The boat's first stop was actually right where we were going to have dinner, and they had a great playground that was completely empty, so we figured our daughter would enjoy that even more. She had so much fun and even played through a light rain shower that came through. There's an outdoor bar right by the playground so I was able to get a really good mojito to enjoy while she played. This was actually a good move on our end because by dinner time, she was tired and ready to sit down for an hour. 

Our dinner was the Hoop Dee Doo Revue, which is a must-do for my father-in-law. The food and beer/wine (very limited selection and I didn't like any of the wine I tried, tasted like boxed wine) is all you can eat during the show. The show is interactive and really fun every time. Definitely some of the best food we have on the trip. 

Day 5 - Universal Day

This day, my in-law's had a granddaughter day, my sister & brother-in-law went back to the Food & Wine Festival at Epcot, and my husband and I went to Universal. 

The day that we went just so happened to be the first day of their Halloween Horror Nights so the place was SO empty before noon, because apparently most people only buy tickets for the night festival and don't get day tickets! We were able to walk on almost all rides with under a 20 minute wait!  We started at the Islands of Adventure side with Jurassic World VelociCoaster, which was a little too fast for me, but definitely a fun ride. Then we did Skull Island, which was just okay. After that we went to The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, which I really liked. A lot of the Universal rides were a similar format, but I really liked them because they were so immersive. Then there was Doctor Doom's Fearfall, which was disappointingly short with only one drop. We road The Incredible Hulk Coaster, which wasn't as intense as the VelociCoaster. We grabbed hot dogs at a kiosk outside of the Hulk for lunch, and I was disappointed that there weren't a lot of meal options nearby, just snacks. 

Then we took the Hogwarts Express over to The Wizzarding World of Harry Porter on the Universal Studios Florida side. The seats where kinda scratchy, which I'm is more historically accurate with the movies, but is not comfortable on a hot sweaty day. The train was cool because it had a little movie in the windows, but the room was stuffy and I wish the windows were functioning. We started with Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure which was my favorite ride of the day. Fast, but not scary. Next was Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts which was also fun and similar to the Spider Man ride. The Transformers ride had no wait at all, which was surprising because it's also similar to the Spider Man ride. We ended our day at Despicable Me Minion Mayhem, which is a more like a 3D show than a ride, and then played the Villain-Con Minion Blast, which was a shooter game but instead of sitting down you stand on a conveyor belt. By then, we felt like we had done everything we wanted to do and went back to our resort.

We originally had dinner reservations at Steakhouse 71 that night, but we cancelled them to just have a chill evening with pizza watching movies instead. Then we went to my favorite part of the trip, a pontoon ride on the Seven Seas Lagoon to watch the Happily Ever After fireworks.

Day 6 - Hollywood Studios

We started our last day again with an early entry due to staying at a deluxe resort and rope dropped Slinky Dog Dash. The line was really long, but once the park officially opened it actually moved pretty fast. We had a Lightning Lane for Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and the line was still short so we rode it again because it was a fun and very immersive "ride." We then had another Lightning Lane for Tower of Terror, which is my favorite Disney ride. Our next Lightning Lane was at Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway and it was such a unique ride! It's as fun as it's hyped up to be. Then we had lunch reservations at 50's Prime Time Café, which is my father-in-law's favorite Hollywood Studios restaurant. 

My toddler needed a nap so Ryan and I tried to go back to the room for naptime and things went off the rails. After waiting over 15 minutes for a bus back to our resort, our app updated saying the next bus would be another 20 minute wait. We thought something was wrong with the bus that was supposed to get us, because in that 15 minute wait busses had came and gone and came again for the same resort. We got desperate and hopped on the bus to Fort Wilderness with the plan to take the ferry over to Copper Creek. Big mistake and of course as we drove off our correct bus pulled up, and then when we got to Fort Wilderness we got off at the first stop which was a 30 minute walk to the ferry dock, and the ferry didn't start until after 3. 

We eventually got back to our room, but it seriously delayed nap time and then Ryan had to leave as soon as we got our daughter down because he had a reservation to make a custom droid at the Droid Depot. He also missed a Lightning Lane at Rock 'n' Roller Coaster and a drink reservation at Oga's Cantina that the rest of the family went to. They didn't like the cantina and said it was something to do once for the photos and that's it. 

My daughter and I made it back for our dinner reservation at Roundup Rodeo BBQ, which was my favorite restaurant of the trip! It is so cute where they let little kids ride a stick horse to their table, and I'm still on the hunt for a similar stick horse for Christmas! I couldn't believe they didn't sell them. The food was all you could eat and really good. The rattlesnake margarita was delicious and I regretted not getting a 2nd one to-go before we left. After that, the boys went to do Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and I took our daughter to Alien Swirling Saucers. The park was getting close to closing by now, so we were able to ride this ride 4 times back-to-back with no wait at all! Definitely my favorite memory of the trip. As we were leaving the park, we could see the ending of the Fantasmic show. 

My biggest regret of this day was that I had a false confidence we'd have time to stop by both Disney Jr. Play and Dance and For the First Time in Forever Frozen Sing-Along shows because they go on basically every hour. We ended up missing both shows because we were gone for so long for nap time and didn't have time before dinner. 

Day 7 - Travel Day

We had some leftover Dollar Tree Disney toys that I ran out of room to take back, so we left a box of them at the front desk to pass out to new guests as they checked in. For our next Disney trip, I have a foldable duffel that I'm packing in case I need an extra checked bag for the trip home. 

On our last day, the same driver from MCO2Disney picked us up about 3 hours before our flight to take us to the airport. One disappointing thing about the MCO airport is that there is NO toddler play area! I frequent HOU and DAL airports and am so used to a toddler play area at both of those, I was shocked to see that MCO didn't! 

Overall thoughts on this trip

We did a lot in this trip. I think the one thing that I didn't do before hand is set expectations with the group for traveling with a toddler. My daughter could have easily rope dropped early entrance OR stayed up late for the fireworks, but trying to do both was just too much. I don't regret going back to the room for nap time (except betting on the wrong bus the last day) because I think she slept so much better in an air conditioned, dark room. 

I felt like I didn't really get a magical Disney trip for my daughter since she actually spent a lot of time in the stroller waiting while others went on rides she was too short for. I had bought her a cute little Disney swimsuit and Disney wet bag and brought a Disney towel and water shoes so she could play in the splash pads at Magic Kingdom and Epcot, but we never had time for it. I want to go on another trip with no Lightning Lanes planned and just let her dictate what she wants to do and when.

Our next trip

We don't have anything booked right now, but it's no surprise that I want a second trip to Disney for our next family vacation. I'm thinking either a trip to Disney World again where we stay at Pop Century so we can take the Skyliner to Hollywood Studios and not have to worry about breaking down our stroller and spending a full day at Magic Kingdom in Fantasyland, or going to Disneyland and staying at Pixar Place Hotel and seeing all the kid-friendly rides over there. 

How to Spend 3 Days at Disney World

We're going back to Disney World this fall, and in my planning I came across our schedule from our last trip to Disney and thought I would share what we did to help anyone getting started on planning their trip. For reference, on this trip we had 6 adults (my husband and I (late 20's), my sister-in-law and brother-in-law (late 20's), and my mother-in-law and step-father-in-law (late 50's). We went in November, but this could work for any time of the year.

Day 1

Animal Kingdom

1. Kilimanjaro Safari
2. Avatar Flight of Passage
3. Na'vi River Journey - fast pass
4. Kali River Rapids - fast pass
5. Expedition Everest - fast pass
6. Dinosaur
7. It's Tough to be a Bug!
8. Dinner at Yak and Yeti - sign up for Landry's Club ahead of time to get pushed to the front of the waitlist

Epcot

1. Mission: Space
2. Test Track - fast pass
3. Soarin' Around the World - fast pass
4. Spaceship Earth - fast pass
5. Drinking around the world
6. Luminous the Symphony of Us Fireworks

Day 2

Hollywood Studios

1. Slinky Dog Dash
2. Star Wars Launch Bay
3. Twilight Tower of Terror - fast pass
4. Toy Story Mania - fast pass
5. Star Tours
6. Rock 'n' Roller Coaster - fast pass
7. Dinner at 50's Prime Time Café
8. Fantasmic Fireworks 

Day 3

Magic Kingdom

1. Sever Dwarfs Mine Train
2. Peter Pan's Flight
3. Space Mountain - fast pass
4. Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
5. Haunted Mansion
6. Pirates of the Caribbean
7. Big Thunder Railroad - fast pass
8. Mad Tea Party
9. It's a Small World
10. The Barnstormer

Fort Wilderness Resort

1. Dinner at Hoop Dee Doo Revue

Travel Guide | Disney Aulani in Oahu, Hawaii

My husband's family are Disney Vacation Club members and for years Ryan and his sister have joking-but-not suggested we need to take a trip to Hawaii and visit the Aulani resort. For Christmas 2019 we found out it finally worked and it was announced that the next Disney trip would be to Aulani in 2021. Obviously this was long before anyone had ever heard of Coronavirus, but after 2020 we decided that as long as we could, the trip would still be on. 

So vaxxed and masked, we went for Labor Day week, which just so happened to include my 29th birthday. Our trip was a Saturday-Saturday trip and what was great about such a long trip is that we had plenty of time to just relax and explore at the hotel while also being able to go out and explore a bit of the Oahu island. 

Disney Aulani Resort Review

Disney Aulani was smaller than I was expecting. It is just a hotel, not a monstrous resort like what you get at WDW. It was part of the Ko Olina suburb (idk how best to describe it so we'll go with that) on Oahu, which is about an hour away from Honolulu and Waikiki (everyone told us to avoid Waikiki because it is overcrowded, even our Uber driver avoided that area!). The entrance to the resort is open air and the view is breathtaking, if not obscured by the massive rock where there's a water slide, and was a beautiful resort. 

Overall, though, if we weren't DVC members I can't say if we'd say it we'd go again. I know it's Hawaii, but the prices were really outrageous and it didn't feel very Disney aside from the one lone Stitch statute by the lazy river, the one lone Mickey lamp in our room, and we did see a Mickey and Moana character. The staff was still really nice, but despite our trip being during Aulani's 10th anniversary year, it felt they just had this location for the sake of capitalizing on Hawaii.

 

The rooms at Disney Aulani

Because this trip was through DVC, we had the most amazing suite I've ever been in. We absolutely could not afford them if we had to pay with cash instead of points. We stayed in a 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom, ocean-view villa. Our villa took up the entire width of one tower of the resort, and our balcony was the entire width. I can't stress enough how amazing the balcony was! 

For this villa, you walk into the living room, with the living room in the front, the kitchen/dining to the right, and the master bed/bath to the right of the dining area (there was also an second separate entrance just for the master), and then to the left of the living room was the smaller of the 2 secondary bedrooms with a detached bathroom, and to the left of that was the larger of the 2 secondary bedrooms with an attached bathroom. 

Our villa had a full functioning kitchen, complete with supplies, so all we had to do was Door Dash groceries from Safeway on day 1 (and run the dishwasher) and we saved a lot of money on breakfast and snacks. There also was a full washer and drier and soap to do dishes. 

My husband and I ended up in the smallest bedroom because we were too busy gawking over the balcony to realize that his sister and her husband where already choosing rooms. I was fine by this because although our bathroom was detached while there's was attached, our bathroom had a tub/shower combo while theirs only had a stand-up shower option (the master has both a separate shower and jacuzzi tub with a view of the ocean, oh and a very fancy toilet!). This meant I could use my Lush bubble bar (easier to travel with than their bath bombs) and the leftover petals from my lei for a luxurious bubble bath (sadly, Disney did not give us leis! We didn't get any until our luau). Both secondary rooms had 2 queen size beds, but unlike a cruise they couldn't be combined into a bigger bed. But there was plenty of room with lots of places to store clothes and suitcases, and it was great that we had a wall of sliding glass doors to lead to the balcony from our room. My only gripe was that our room didn't have a lot of plugs so charging both our iPhones and Apple Watches wasn't as easy as a normal hotel.

Eating at Disney Aulani

We actually didn't eat at Aulani all that much. On our first day, despite it being 3pm, our villa wasn't ready so we headed to Off The Hook near the water slide. It was odd being sent to the bar (only for the bartender to tell us that we were standing on the wrong side of the bar and to scooch down to order drinks) and then going back to the hostess stand to try to get a table. Ryan and I split the mushroom pizza, and it seemed like everyone else really liked what they had. I got the mint coconut mojito for my drink and it was so damn good it's the only drink I ordered the rest of the trip. Ryan's sister and brother-in-law got the Lava drinks and said they were really good too, and his mom got the Mai Tai and she said it was very strong. All of our drinks came with flower garnishes that were fabulous. You'll mostly find local beer on your trip, so I suggest the Longboard beers in the red cans. 

The most of our eating came from Ulu Café, which was directly under our room and right between the main pool (Waikolohe Pool) and one of the side pools (Wailana Pool). It was great because it had beer/white claw (the bars didn't open until 11, so you also couldn't get liquor before 11), snacks, pre-made meals, and fresh meals. Our first night we ordered 2 pizzas from them and they were great. 

The only other place we ate at was their main restaurant, Makahiki, which is right under the main entrance. Go at night and it is beautiful! Outside, you can look up and see stars, or inside there is a huge mural that takes up the entire length of the restaurant and the lighting constantly changes which gives the mural new and interesting looks. The menu is a pre-set 3-course menu for $62 each ($25for children) where you choose 1 appetizer, 1 entrée,  and 1 desert. I got the caprese salad and it was good, but after trying Ryan's Cesar salad, I would recommend that more (it does come with anchovies). The shrimp fettucine was also good, and I got the brownie desert. It was good, but it wasn't amazing. This place also had breakfast where again it's a set price and set menu, but we never went. 

What to do at Disney Aulani

Our party was 6 adults, so for us I felt there wasn't a whole lot to do besides the pools and beach. One weird thing is that you have to go to the towel stand every day to get a towel and a wrist band to access the pool/beach. The wrist bands are neon for non-DVC and glittery for DVC but you have to get a new wrist band every. single. day.  I don't know why, but that was very annoying. Because we went during Labor Day weekend, we did learn that a lot of locals actually are DVC members and come for stay-cations during long weekends.  

 

There were several pools we went to: the main pool Waikolohe, a lazy river at Waikolohe Stream, which also had access to the 2 water slides, an infinity pool at Ka Maka Grotto which also had a hot tub, a secluded pool at Wailana Pool, an infinity 2-level adults-only hot tub between the main pool and the beach. The pools were actually heated so it was no problem at all to switch from the hot tub to the pool. You can bring drinks in the pool, but you have to stay on the edge of the pool to drink them. There are wait staff that will come by so you can at least order food/drinks around the pool. 

The beach is part of a cove that is 1/3 Disney, 1/3 Four Seasons, and 1/3 public access. There's lots of beach chairs, but they are zip-tied together so you can't move the chairs and the umbrellas are buried so you move them, and there's a table between every set of chairs but you also can't move that because the chairs are zip-tied together. If you're a DVC member, a cast member will help you find a chair but we never needed to use it because the beach was pretty empty most of our trip because we went at the end of the busy season and during COVID. There is a big boat that will take you beyond the cove for a couple hundred dollars, and there are stand-up paddle boards that you can rent for like $50/hour. There's also 2 seater covered loungers for about $100/day that Ryan's sister got and said it was nice, but those are up on the grass behind the beach. There is a beach-side bar that opens at 11 but we never used it because we were gone by then. But, there is no wait staff at the beach so you have to leave the beach to order drinks/food. The water itself is pretty cold, but you get used to it quickly once you get your whole body wet. The water is also very clear and you can see fish that will swim up into the cove, or you can snorkel in the cove for an even better view. Even while we were there, a wild seal came and sunbathed on the beach with us.

For kids, there's also a splash pad and a water playset to play at. There's also a small lagoon where kids can feed the fish or snorkel with the fish. People start lining up around 7:30am to get tickets for those because they sell out fast. We didn't do the snorkeling, but a family we chatted with said that your snorkel purchase lasts all day, but the water is so cold that kids don't really want to stay in there for long. There is a spot next to the snow-cone stand that is like an aquarium so you can see the fish swim by for free. There also seemed to be some scavenger hunt that kids could do on a green iPad, but we didn't look into that because we were all too old for that. There was a character breakfast that I saw kids going to, but it looked like Mickey was the only character you could see.

Eating outside of Disney Aulani

I think to get the most out of your Aulani trip, you really do have to leave the resort. This isn't a problem at all because you're on the small island of Oahu so everything is close by. We had dinner the first night and lunch our last day at Monkey Pod across the street from Aulani. The food was great and they have live music, but they only serve local beer (I recommend Kewalos Cream) and it's reasonably priced compared to the resort. There's also a great shopping center right there that has a grocery store where you can stock up and has gift shops and a Tommy Bahamas. 

For our second dinner, we ate at Roy's which was also within walking distance of Aulani. This was our priciest meal at over $100 per person. The food was great, but the service was the best I've ever experienced. Ryan's sister and I split a bottle of the house prosecco which was only $16 and really delicious. Ryan and I split the crab cake appetizer and it was amazing. His sister and her husband split the mac & cheese which was good, but more like risotto than mac & cheese. 

Our last meal was at Longhi's at the Marriott, also walking distance from Aulani. The zucchini fritta was okay, my crab-stuffed salmon was really good (the sauce was amazing), but Ryan's shrimp fettuccini was the best food we had the whole trip! This restaurant was also pretty pricey, but it was cheaper than Roy's and tastier than Makahiki at Disney.

The only other place I ate at was at Moke's Bread and Breakfast. Did I choose it just because it the name was similar to Monkeypod from earlier? Yes. Do I regret it? No. The food was pretty good, it was nice to just have normal food after all the over-priced fancy food. The waitstaff was the best, really, super friendly! But be warned to park very carefully because they tow like crazy (and quickly!!) over there.

What to do outside of Disney Aulani

What I loved about this trip was how we had so much time to do so much!! Our first big thing was the raptor tour at Kualoa Ranch. Kualoa Ranch is where a LOT of movies have been filmed, my favorites were Jurassic Park and 50 First Dates. The raptor tour is a 2-hour long UTV tour of the ranch, a little Hawaiian history, and a little movie tour. I loved it! This place also had 4-wheeler, bike, bus, and horse tours, each with their own focus at the ranch. There's so much to do here, I will definitely be coming back for more tours the next time I'm on Oahu. For the 2-hour raptor tour, it is very dusty so absolutely bring sunglasses (if you have skiing/off-roading googles bring those, you'll feel silly until you're on the trail) and bring a bandanna. But, this place is over an hour away from Aulani, so eat a big meal before (there's a small café but it was just okay) and be prepared to wait for over 30 minutes to find an Uber to take you back. What I wore: a bodysuit, jean shorts, Chacos, and sunglasses (women's/men's).

The day after Kualoa, we went to Pearl Harbor. You can book this through Disney and I recommend that because we had a van that could take us all over to it, and our driver showed us all around downtown Honolulu on our way there. Unfortunately, when we went there the actual memorial was under construction so we could only go to the submarine they had to tour and eat at the little food truck that was there. It was still a great experience, but I would definitely want to go back to the see the USS Arizona memorial. When we went, there was a clear bag policy in place and we saw several tourists being turned away for having the wrong bags, so pay attention! I knew this ahead of time so I brought my clear sunscreen bag, but I suggest you have a clear purse for this trip. There is a water fill-up station near the bathrooms behind the food truck, so pack a reusable water bottle to save money. It is mostly outside with not a lot of shade, so it gets hot fast. What I wore: black tank top, jean shorts, UPF hat, and sneakers.

One of my favorite dinners/things to do was at Paradise Cove luau and I can't recommend it enough. A lot of people we spoke to who had stayed at Aulani said that this luau was better than Disney's, and I can believe it. This is also walking distance from Aulani! It's a 5-hour ordeal so block off half a day for it, and get there early (doors open at 4:45). We did the Deluxe package, which I do think is worth it. For this package, you get front-row seating, servers (instead of having to go to the buffet), an arrival photo, and a free gift (they gave us metal wine tumblers with lids that we used the rest of the trip). Because we got there so early, we had time to take professional photos in the grass area. The photos were only $20 for a big photo, a medium-sized photo, and wallet-sized photos. It looked just like a cruise photo but instead of a fake background, it was a too-beautiful-to-be-real landscape for your background. They also had free spear throwing and Hawaiian bowling. There was also a small cove you could go to which had a canoe, but we didn't do that. The show itself was amazing and all of the performers were very professional! I also thought the food was great, especially the chicken and pork and salads, and the bar was great prices. Although the deluxe seats are right by the stage, the chairs are cheap flimsy plastic chairs, so if you want real chairs you'll have to book the Royal Box in the back, and those tables also have fans over them. But, the entire place is on sand!! We saw so many girls who showed up in heels and had to walk around barefoot all night because they weren't prepared for the sand. Where shoes for sand. Oh, but you do get leis when you get there! What I wore: maxi dress (so flowy and breezy) and platform sandals (super comfortable, wore them almost every day).

The last thing we did was on my birthday, Ryan rented a Jeep through the Alamo at Aulani. Every one else wanted to chill at the hotel, so it was our only day just the two of us, and we had such a great day! I wore a white body suit and paperbag shorts and my Chaco's, then I could easily change to running shorts for activities and a swimsuit for later. I threw this all in a packable backpack along with our JBL so we didn't  have to worry about syncing music to the Jeep and we had music for later. We did get delayed a little by eating at Moke's instead of eating before we left and as you can guess, our car was towed so we had to take an hour detour to go down to Honolulu to grab it and head back. After that, we hiked Lanikai Pillbox which is a gorgeous hike. Parking is difficult so try to park at any available spot you see near Lanikai beach, and if you've driven up to the golf course then you've gone too far to find parking. Once you're parked, walk up to the golf course. You'll see a small driveway/street on the left and there is a chain-link fence on the right side of the driveway. Walk along that chain-link fence and you'll find the trail. It is a short hike but it is HOT so bring a water backpack because not having enough water makes this normal hike pretty difficult. Tip: there is a lot of loose dirt so if you start sliding, turn sideways and crab-walk and you won't slide so much. After that, we tried going to Waimea Falls but apparently they stop accepting visitors after 4, so we just grabbed some beers and went to one of the free public beaches to chill until we had to head back and get ready for dinner. We had a lot more on our itinerary, but we didn't have time for it all. This is the itinerary that Ryan's dad gave us from a previous trip, and if we go back we'll definitely do more. 

Oahu Tips

Like I said, if we weren't going through DVC, I wouldn't stay at Aulani without kids. Don't get me wrong, it is a wonderful hotel and if you have the money to spend then do it, but it just seems like we could save a lot by choosing somewhere else. What I learned from our day Jeeping around the island is that if you have the time to just drive around and explore, there are LOTS of beautiful and free beaches you can go to without the Disney upcharge. Heck, 1/3 of the Disney cove is PUBLIC BEACH and right beside Aulani is an empty lot that will supposedly one day be an Atlantis Resort, but for now, it is also a FREE PUBLIC BEACH right next door. So, same view but for free and if you bring your own cooler you can save $20/drink and if you bring your own paddle board you can save $50/hour. 

As to getting to Aulani, we took a direct flight from Houston to Honolulu and then a private Disney van picked us up. For us, that was an 8-hour flight. If you're going during COVID, you'll have to show you're medically cleared to fly and you'll have to show this same screen again at check-in and again if you board a flight. For the flight, I highly recommend getting a Snuggie for the flight because the flights get cold and jackets are hard to take off when you're sitting shoulder-to-shoulder and blankets fall down, get a neck pillow, if you're short get an inflatable foot rest (the eye mask & ear plugs that come with this are also great), and a reusable cup with a lid because bumps are bound to happen in an 8-hour trip. Need a recommendation for movies/shows to download for your trip? Besides Lilo & Stitch and Moana, download something filmed where you can visit.

You're close to the Equator and the UV index can get up there in Hawaii, so avoid painful sunburns and focus on sun protection. I've had melanoma before, so I was obviously extra cautious. Here's what I recommend you pack: SPF face lotion to add to your skin routine (or a shimmery SPF for fun), an SPF foundation replacement, SPF lip balm which is also safe to use around your eyes, scalp SPF for your part (of anyone with thin hair), travel spray SPF to throw in your bag every time you leave the resort, and good old fashioned SPF lotion for everyday use because it covers better than spray. My rule is reapply every 2 hours IF the UV index is below 7, 1.5 hours for UV index between 8-10, and every hour if the UV index is above 11 (I've learned this from personal experience of burning too easily in high UV indexes. This is the Apple Watch face I use to keep track of all this. If reapplying sunscreen sounds like a lot of effort, the easiest thing to do is wear a long-sleeve swimsuit like this one or this one which I loved, pack a travel wide-brimmed hat, and wear water shoes to prevent both sunburned tops of your feet and hot-sand-burned bottoms of your feet.

For the beach, bring a metal koozie for your beer/cocktails or for your slim beers/whiteclaw to keep your drinks cold in the sun, pack towel clips (but also ask for an extra towel because one towel won't reach past your butt and the leg park of the chairs get REALLY hot), a silicone wedding band if you plan on getting in the water so you don't lose your diamonds (also recommend wearing this to Kualoa to keep dust out of your diamonds), a water bag if you plan to go to any waterfalls, an iPhone water pouch if you plan to swim with your phone (even if your iPhone is waterproof, it makes it easier to wear your phone as a necklace so you can swim and will float if you accidentally drop your phone), and a swimsuit coverup that is appropriate to go eat in. Other things that I'm happy I packed are a lightweight rain jacket because it is a tropical climate so it will rain on-and-off, a lounge outfit that is perfect for being comfortable while lounging on the balcony but also has a jacket for when the sun goes down, a sunglass box for all of mine and my husbands sunglasses (we packed 2 each just in case one of us lost on) and my extra large beach bag.

Last tip for traveling to Hawaii: book all of your reservations early in the day. We live in Houston, so a 7pm Hawaiian-time dinner reservation was the same as eating at midnight Houston-time. It sounds lame eating dinner at 4 or 5pm, but we actually found it really hard to stay up past even 10pm Hawaiian time. The good news is that it's very easy to wake up for a Hawaiian sunrise if you went to bed super early the night before!