Disney Aulani Pools

First, before I get into my thoughts and reviews of the pools at Aulani, I MUST recommend purchasing one of these Waterproof phone pouches. We have taken these to Great Wold Lodge, Disneyworld, the beach, numerous pools and every time we go somewhere, everyone asks where we got them. Easy- Amazon. Buy it for your phones before you go anywhere you will be swimming often. Worth EVERY cent. You can take pictures with your phone in the water – even underwater! It is big enough to hold my iPhone in an otter box, plus my room key, gift cards, and cash. My Husband carries his Samsung Galaxy in his with no problems! You will see them around our necks in most pictures 🙂

If you were to ask my kids what their favorite part about Hawaii was, they would say “The pools!!” followed then by the beach 🙂 The above picture is the view we had of the pools when we got off the elevator on the 10th floor in the Ewa tower (where we were staying). Our room was Ocean View, so this is the bird’s eye view we got of the lazy river, and the kids play area (also you can see the restaurant where the Character Meal takes place) from our floor viewing area.

I am pretty sure I could just live on the lazy river, also called Waikolohe stream, for my whole vacation. There are a few spots, where you could get wet, and my older kids LOVED pushing each other into those, but you can easily avoid them if needed. There were always plenty of tubes, including double tubes, even during the busier times. My biggest complaint with the water parks in Disneyworld, is not having enough tubes/double tubes when trying to get into the lazy river. It is not too long, and it doesn’t take long to make the loop, but it is relaxing and fun for the entire family! I am pretty sure I went round it at least 30 times in our week there!

Then there is the Menehune bridge, also visible in the above photo. You will hear alot about the Menehune at your stay at Aulani!! This is a fun splash area for kids 48 inches and smaller. There are 2 waterslides, that my 4-year-old really enjoyed. There are lots of places to splash and get wet, with plenty of places and jets that give you the opportunity to get water poured on you! My biggest complaint is that parent’s can’t go up on the bridge with their small children. My almost 2-year-old did not want to go on it without me, so he missed out. My 4-year-old would play on it for awhile, but then want to go do something else or play with his older siblings, who could not go on it either. I know they want to keep it exclusively for small children, but they really should allow the parent to accompany their children, if they desire. So we actually did not play on here that often. Not to mention it opened later than the other pools and closed the earliest (by 5:00 when we were there).

Menehune bridge waterslide. As you can see there is water spraying/falling EVERYWHERE!

A corner at the bottom of the Menehune Bridge my son likes to hide in. You can see the other waterslide on the left hand side.

Lazy river, and you can see the Menehune bridge off to the left and top of their heads

To be able to use the pools/waterslides, you had to get a daily wristband. You would get this at the same place you can pick up your towels and life jackets. I am assuming this is to be sure only guests swim in the pools and take advantage of the amenities. I am not sure how the “hotel” side of the resort does it, but we had to show our room key, which they would scan, then we would get our wristbands for the day. You can get more and as many towels as you need at these stations throughout the day. There are also many Water stations throughout the pool area for you to get a cup of ice cold water. This way you won’t get dehydrated through your day! To get a life jacket, they will take down your name and room number, to be sure you returned it by the time they close in the evening.

My son kept his bracelets on the whole week – 7 total

You can see all the different bracelets on my daughter better – she kept all hers on as well. They wished we had gotten bracelets from the first day we were there (we got in late), but we didn’t think about it 😛

In order to keep people from hoarding pool chairs, they would come around every hour, and if the chair was unoccupied, they would fold a towel at the top of the chair. The next hour, if you were still not in the chair, they will remove your belongings, where you could retrieve them from the same place you get your wristbands and towels. To reset your time, you simply remove the folded towel from the top of the chair. You’re good for another hour then. So you can have a chair all day, but you must keep using it, or you’ll lose it.

In Rainbow Reef, you can snorkel with lots of different ocean fish. There are windows for you to view the fish, if you don’t want to snorkel or your children are too small to go in (no height requirements, just must be a strong swimmer). Now I assumed my older kids would want to do this, but once we got there, they were not that interested in doing it. They could see all the fish through the windows and didn’t have a desire to try it out. My husband and I did not have the best experience snorkeling at Typhoon Lagoon in August, so since our kids weren’t interested, we decided to skip it as well. The price wasn’t too bad, and I planned to do the “length of stay” option… Maybe next time?!?!

Keiki Cove is another fun place for little ones. It is a splash area for them to play in. There is an octopus in the ground (laid out by tiles) with different types of jets shooting out of the ground. My almost 2-year-old enjoyed Keiki Cove more than the Menehune bridge.

Keiki Cove splash area

Around the corner from Keiki Cove, is the infinity pool or the Ka Maka Grotto. This pool makes for some beautiful pictures overlooking the beach/ocean! However, when we got in the pool, it was COLD compared to the other pools. Therefore, my kids didn’t want to go in it often. However, on the last day, my husband got in the pool, and said it wasn’t as cold, so maybe it was a fluke? Still, it is a fun and beautiful pool! It is also open later in the evening, like the Waikolohe Pool.

Infinity pool

Infinity Pool Aulani

Infinity Pool Aulani – inside the grotto

Grotto at the Infinity Pool

Grotto at the Infinity Pool

We never went into the adult pool or infinity adult spa during our stay, as we always had kids with us, so I can’t give you a review of them!

There are 4 Whirlpool spas in the pool area. My daughter, who has no fat on her body and gets cold easily, would often get in one to warm up! I found them to be fairly full most of the time. We had a Jacuzzi tub in the Villa, so I didn’t have much of a desire to go in one, but my older kids and husband all did at least once (my daughter many times!)

Last, but not least, the pool we spent the most time in, the Waikolohe pool. This is the largest pool, and where all the action takes place!

Both waterslides are located in the mountain, Pu‘u Kilo, at the Waikolohe Pool. (see attached videos!) Be sure to take a close look at the Pu‘u Kilo mountain for hidden animals! It is fun to see them as you travel around the lazy river, or wait in line for the waterslides!

There is a body slide, Volcanic Vertical, that ends up in the Waikolohe Pool. It is enclosed and completely dark the whole time. It is a fun slide, but my kids preferred the tube slide more. I actually got stuck half way down – I was wearing fabric shorts and had too much friction on the slide (I am not THAT big of a person, I wasn’t “stuck” in that way!) and I just kind of stopped. So I had to use my legs to propel myself and get started again. It was fun, but my husband and I also enjoyed the tube slide more!

The tube slide, Tubestone Curl, was everyone’s favorite. We would try and get on the slide FIRST thing in the morning, when there was NO wait, because as the day progresses, the line can get long! (like 5-10 minutes). You can slide on your own, or with someone else in a double tube! My 4-year-old rode this waterslide the most – he simply LOVED this waterslide. The end of the waterslide puts you into the lazy river, or Waikolohe stream, where you have the option to go around the river, or exit and go again 😉

The Waikolohe Pool is where all the Pool Parties happen! My kids love a good pool party! Unfortunately, my husband had issues with the SD card in his phone, and we don’t have any pictures of the parties 🙁 But Mickey, Donald, Minnie, and Goofy will show up for songs and games, and all around fun for the whole family! Goofy even wears water shoes and can wade into the water! Fun! Check your Daily IWA for times, but they were usually at 2:00 in the afternoon.

We spent ALOT of time in the Waikolohe Pool. Just swimming around and having fun! It is big, so we never had problems with it being too full. It is also open the latest (until 8, when we were there – along with the Infinity pool), and was pretty empty the first few hours and the last few hours of the day! Before 9:30 and after 6:30, the pool is practically abandoned 🙂

There are plenty of pool options at Aulani for the entire family! We were there a whole week, and were not bored – there is something for everyone. We spent MANY hours per day at all the different pool options. This is probably one of the BIGGEST draws for the Aulani resort – they really did the whole area well!

Don’t forget to have your poolside Shaved Ice or Dole Whip to make your day even more perfect! 🙂