Neighborhood trick-or-treating is so old school. It only lasts one night, after all. What if it rains — or snows? What if it’s cold? (Coats really don’t add much to a princess or vampire ensemble.) What if one of the kids is sick? What if you’re stuck at work, despite your best efforts to get home early?
There are already 1,000 weddings a year at Walt Disney World in Orlando–upwards of 20 per cent among blended families, says Korrie McFann, who oversees Disney’s e wedding and honeymoon business around the world. The company anticipates Aulani to rival Orlando for the wedding business.
So go ahead. Bring the little ones. You don’t have to stay a week. And you don’t have to see everything. You can’t even if you try.
We’re sitting on woven mats under the stars listening to the best Ukulele playing I’ve ever heard. Rather than a huge luau with terrible food and hackneyed performances, Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa on Oahu has opted to celebrate Hawaiian culture with the Aulani Starlit Hui
“This isn’t passive entertainment,” promises Bill Vollbrecht, the LEGOLAND Parks designer who walked me through just before opening. “Kids aren’t just being entertained here. They are part of the process.”
Laniwai (the name means freshwater heaven in Hawaiian) is supposed to embrace the Hawaiian connection to nature. I think it can enhance family connections too both by encouraging families to enjoy the facilities together and on their own
There’s so much to keep kids busy right here at Aulani–the water slides and ides and lazy river, the Rainbow Reef snorkel lagoon, the chance to interact with the stingrays and play in the calmest lagoon I’ve ever seen.
Ready to learn the Coconut Walk? “Aunty,” who actually is well known Hawaiian entertainer Sonya Mendez, leads the children as they clap Coconut shell instruments together around the outdoor restaurant. In between songs, Goofy, Minnie and other Disney Pals—all decked out in Hawaiian gear—stop by for photos and hugs
What I like most is that this big resort—when it is fully open it will include 359 rooms and 481 two-bedroom condo units—is that it will up the ante for family resorts in Hawaii and elsewhere, improving the family experience in the process.
After a frenetic 10-day business trip that took me 10,000+ miles and included a final stop in Orlando, I decided to spend my last night at the Ritz (including a blissfully solo dinner at the hotel’s Vineyard Grill) and indulge in a couple of hours at the Ritz spa. I was so glad I did.
TakingTheKids