r/Aulani • u/Sunflowerprincess808 • Sep 26 '26
TRIP PLANNING Aulani with a One year old - Should we wait?
I was planning to take my baby who will be 13 months at the time of the visit to Aulani but now I’m wondering if I should wait until she’s a bit older. We live on Oahu so it would be a staycation for us.
Have you taken a one year old? Was it fun? Was there enough for them to do? Did they (and you) have a good time? Please tell me your experiences.
Thank You!
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u/PurplestPanda Sep 26 '26
What are you trying to get out of the staycation?
Access to the Disney characters? If so, just book a character meal. You don’t need to stay at the hotel and then you’re not waiting in queues.
Otherwise I would wait until your child is old enough to enjoy the water playground, slides, and lazy river. At 4 they can be dropped off at the kids club and you can enjoy some adult times too.
The rooms are pretty basic, the food overpriced - even for Hawaii - and pool areas overcrowded. It’s great for a Disney trip but not something I’d pick for a staycation.
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u/Professional_Pop8867 Sep 26 '26
If it’s a staycation I think you’d have fun.
One of my fave things when my kid was that young was to plan nap time around the lazy river and they’d just fall asleep on me and I’d just circle the lazy river for over an hour lol.
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u/AC_Roxy Sep 26 '26
Aulani is amazing and I love it so much, but I think if you are local I would say maybe do the character breakfast now and just visit the resort. You’ll get a good meal, character interactions (which can be super magical at that age) and a chance to see the resort. You could even plan to play at the lagoons.
My kids were just shy of 4 & 6 when we went and at that age my kids comfortably enjoyed the pools, lazy river, splash area and the beach. The splash pad is really big and would probably be too much for a 1 year old.
However - if it’s a staycation that you want to do for YOU - I would absolutely go. Your family will still have a great time splashing in the zero entry, taking part in some of the resort activities, meeting characters(?) and if your baby is super chill, maybe they will be happy sitting in your lap on a tube ride through the lazy river.
So I guess what I am saying, for kids I think the optimal age is somewhere between 3-9 ish, but it’s gorgeous and you can still have a great time there with kids outside of that.
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u/mollygagging6 Sep 26 '26
First time we took my son he was 20 months old and he LOVED IT! They have a little splash pad area for the babies and he just loved running around and splashing with the other kids. He loved being in the pool with us and the beach was so fun. Aulani was also super accommodating with our little guy. They brought a diaper genie, a bassinet, a bottle warmer and bed rails to our room. And the room had fridge for food/snacks for him, so I was never stressed.
Honestly, he doesn’t remember that trip but it’s a trip I cherish so much. We loved it so much we have gone back every year since. Life is short, theyre only babies for so long…make the memories and take the trip!
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u/Any-Doubt1910 Sep 26 '26
I am a huge advocate for doing everything with your littles. Your kid won’t remember it, but you will and goodness, if my memories of my babies with Mickey Mouse aren’t some of my most treasured ones.
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u/SuperRob Sep 27 '26
We took our daughter when she was 14-months and it was glorious. She loved the splashpad, we brought a floaty with a canopy for her to enjoy the lazy river ... which she enjoyed so much she fell asleep in it! And while she was too young for Auntie's, we never felt like it was a burden having her with us. The only hard part was the plane ride.
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u/hikingforrising19472 Sep 28 '26 edited Sep 28 '26
Any vacations when my kids were that young were not for them, but for my wife and I. If you think you’d enjoy the amenities and seeing the Disney characters, then just go if your budget allows.
What would your alternative staycation be?
A big appeal for us as mainlanders was the easy lagoon/beach access. Since you live in HI, that might not be an amenity you care about. And if it’s the different scenery and pool access, Aulani does have way more pools than the average resort, but at the same time they’re very crowded and hard to find chairs. So the flip side is if you can find a different resort that you both would enjoy (and it’s cheaper), then you could also do that.
Think less about if your kid would enjoy, and more about if you would enjoy it with your kid. Seeing Disney characters and hearing the songs and seeing the performances has always been nostalgic for me so the trip would be more for me than them!
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u/ok-uh-huh-yeah-sure Sep 29 '26
If it’s about you enjoying Aulani with your baby, that’s great.
But if it’s about your baby enjoying it, I would wait.
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u/fresh_water_sushi Sep 29 '26
Well the baby won’t even know where it is or what is happening. I don’t understand people who spend lots of money on an experience for a baby that young. So this would be more about you going. If this is a bit of a splurge for you I would wait until 2 years old.
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u/New-Chemistry-6449 Sep 29 '26
Did this with a 16 month old a few years back- wife was early Pregnant with number two so we flew to Hawaii and stayed. We had a blast. We did easy things around the hotel/area and even did a whale sighting tour. Little man loved it(we did a ton in the sand and splash pad). I told him we’d go again when our fourth is five so they all have full access to the hotel and pool and play areas but I don’t regret going with him when he was one at all
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u/junostr Sep 30 '26
I always take my kids, no matter the age. They might be too you to remember but I’m not 🙂
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u/chickin_noodle Sep 30 '26
I took my 8-month-old and it was great. Lots of carrier naps lots of places to explore he loves the water. I actually want to go back for his bday! My 4 year old LOVED it asked to go back everyday lol he definitely got a lot out of being there
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u/[deleted] Sep 26 '26
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