Posted on Thu, 28 Jul 2011
Mickey Mouse Holidays
Come August, Walt Disney’s Aulani resort in Ko Olina, Hawaii will be another family friendly resort to put on your list of possible places to bring the brood. Developed by Disney’s ‘Imagineers’ together with local architects, artisans and historians, Aulani is themed around Hawaii’s traditional story-telling culture, plus a good dose of Disney magic.
Built by a white sand beach with a 9-acre lagoon, this 21-acre resort has loads to keep the kids happy and busy. First up, a huge water play area called Waikolohe Valley. Forget pails and gentle water shooters, this ‘water play area’ mimics the flow of lava as it moves toward the ocean, Waikolohe Stream, a tube-floating watercourse with ‘dangerous’ bubbling water, mysterious cloaking mist, and “several hundred feet of additional surprises”, the Tubestone Curl, a tube slide, and the adrenalin-rushing Volcanic Vertical, a tunnel slide.
If you like gentle, the 3,800 square foot Rainbow Reef snorkel lagoon gets you hanging loose with native Hawaiian fis, like angelfish, butterfly fish, and tangs, or head to the conservation pool which offers – only by appointment – a unique stingray experience where you can stroke stingrays. (Proceeds will support local research and conservation efforts in and around the Hawaiian Islands through the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund.)
More peace and quiet? The Laniwai, a 15-room spa including a couples room and a flex-room for 2 or more (a family spa session, anyone?), a fitness center and the only outdoor hydrotherapy circuit in Hawai‘i. Meanwhile, send the kids to Aunty’s Beach House, the kids’ club, where they explore Hawaiian culture through supervised entertainment, wildlife and nature programs, arts and crafts, etc; and pack your angsty teens to the teen spa with yogurt bar, computer access and mixology station! I don’t think they’d be complaining much there.
Two restaurants serve this hotel. By the beach, Ama-Ama, named after a local fish, serves up island flavours and local produce from brekkie to dinner. Buffet-style Makahiki is clearly the overtly family-friendly restaurant complete with Disney characters cavorting about while you dine, and wall murals painted by local artists.
Aulani is a big hotel, with 359 traditional hotel rooms and 481 two-bedroom villas. It’s 17 miles from Honolulu International Airport and approximately 30 minutes from Waikiki. Opens 29 August, reservations available now.
