My first impression was that it looked very similar to the Grand Californian. Its very rustic-looking and tropical at the same time. You get the Disney service: cast members are ready and available to help you answer any question you may have.
Disney created their own lagoon and it's really nice. The beach has rows and rows of lounge chairs and a Disney cast member will bring an umbrella to where you are sitting to shade you. The hidden ticket is that in order to get an umbrella and sit in the lounge chairs you need to have a wristband from the resort. Of course... we, with our big green Hilton Grand Vacation tote bags filled with our Hilton towels, stuck out like sore 'Hilton non-Disney' thumbs.
But my husband insisted that all beaches are public in Hawaii. So we settled on the grass with our Hilton towels and the girls ventured into the water while I sat and read my book. (I was determined to finish at least 2 books during this trip and I did!)
Parking was astronomical! $5 for 30 minutes or complimentary if you spend $30 at an Au'Lani restaurant. After two hours on the beach, we were starving so we headed to Ama Ama for a delicious lunch of...
Create-Your-Own Kebab (chocolate brownie, pineapple, marshmallows with warm chocolate sauce and a Mickey straw) for dessert.
The straw was the only 'Mickey' we ever saw at the resort (other than the gift shop).
Yep there's much more to come...
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2 comments:
did you get a chance to wander around the Disney resort and see rooms - and pricing? we've never been to Hawaii and being someplace that's not crowded is my ideal. after you leave the "compound", is there much "island life"? small towns?
We didn't get to 'explore' the resort just because we didn't want to draw attention to ourselves since we were not a hotel guest. If we were interested we could have sat through a timeshare presentation where they will allow us to use their facilities for the day. The majority of the rooms (75%+) are timeshare/owners and the rest are for regular bookings. Off-peak season rates start at $399/night; regular season starts at $449/night; and holiday is $480/night.I just googled Sept after school starts and it's $429/night for a regular room with a king bed, a bath and balcony. Not cheap. The resort is small compared to the one we stayed at but very quiet. Outside of the resort there are suburbs like where you live. Costco is even down the street. If you want quiet and non touristy, I would suggest the Big Island or Maui... definitely not Oahu if you plan to come over to the islands to vaca.
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