Tips on How to Afford Disney's Aulani Resort & Spa

Booking an Aulani Disney vacation - Tips on how you too can afford a trip to Disney's paradise.

Our Adventure!

A few years ago, I decided that we were going to take a family vacation to Hawaii, as I have always wanted to visit but would usually use our vacation savings on either Disneyland or Walk Disney World! Having never been, I immersed myself in planning, jumping from site to site, resort to hotel, island to island. Essentially trying to find everything that I was looking for to create a memorable family vacation was proving to be a little difficult.

Here is the deal....

I had a short list of must-haves and finding them all at one location was nearly impossible. The musts included a lazy river (yes, I know, but I was spoiled by Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach a few years before), water slides, swimming pool, a clean property, dining options at the resort, beach equipment to rent (paddle boards) and a beach within walking distance. I also wanted to be away from traffic and the downtown hustle.

When I would search for potential resorts with my very detailed list, I kept coming back to one – Aulani, a Disney Resort. I will not lie, I was bummed. Bummed because my first thought was….. how can I afford this? I can’t!…….keep looking. So, I kept looking, only to be disappointed. Not that there are not great properties, because do not get me wrong, there are, but none that could offer my family what Aulani could.

My next thought was, ok, what the heck, I will crunch the numbers and see what I come up with. My budget was set - $5000 (see my Pins for a savings jar & Disney savings calendar – they work!). So, I did, and to my surprise after many hours of searching and planning it seemed like it might just be feasible.

So, here I am, a frugal vacationer...

Always looking for the best deal, telling you that from my experience, you too can visit Aulani. It was a little more in reach than I had anticipated or had heard from others. First things first, before I go into how I put all of the pieces together which in the end was a 7-night, 8 days stay, I will tell you about tips I learned along the way.



1. Be flexible – Book on a special offer if at all possible. As of right now Aulani is offering the following specials - Save 30% on stays of 5 or more consecutive or Save 25% on stays of 4 consecutive nights. This is great, but Aulani also offers 40% off from time to time as well and can be worth the wait.

2. Start saving now – do you have a Disney jar at your house? We do! Extra change and a savings calendar can go a long way.

3. Do you plan to get a refund from the IRS this year– if so use it, because well…..you deserve it.



Ok, let’s get down to how I managed to travel to Aulani and keep the vacation under $5000 for a family of 4.



1. Airfare – for this trip it really made sense to book out airfare, a rental car and Aulani separately. Here is the reason why. My husband and I both have Alaska Air Visa’s, in which you get a companion fare coupon to use each year. At that time, it was $99 round trip (I believe it is still the same) for your companion ticket. So, we purchased our tickets for $400 apiece through Alaska Airlines, and used each of our companion fares. We essentially had to complete two separate transactions as we each had this coupon code, but it is worth it = $1000 for a family of 4 to fly to Hawaii – Oahu round trip. It also made sense to use the fare calendar that is offered, I was a little flexible, and being so saved money. Don’t use Alaska, no problem, take advantage of other airline mileage opportunities.

2. Rental car- After scouring the internet for the best rental car prices I settled on Costco Travel for $250. But again, it is worth the search as rental car agencies vary by price by day. Coupons are also widely available for rental cars as well through different sites including Groupon. In our experience the rental car made the most sense and was cost effective for our trip.

3. Aulani – Here is the deal, book through an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner- like myself or Get Away Today, when you can access at least 30% to 40% off of your stay, as often times other perks can be included. Also, sign up to receive special offers by email/mail – they will come, I promise. Or sign up to listen to presentation about the Disney Vacation Club – the discount and perks will be worth it.

So here was our breakdown - $350 per night for 7 nights = $2450 for our stay. This was in a standard room, oceanfront was not needed, although we could still see the sunset from our balcony, it was delightful. I’ve heard from others that this price seems very expensive, but when you include all of the amenities (check out my Aulani post) it was well worth it. The key is of course, utilizing Aulani to its fullest potential and taking advantage of the events and activities (a daily schedule is available at the front desk).

**TIP - Start a vacation layaway plan - by putting only $175 down to lock in your price - pay monthly for your trip!

4. Dining – If you read my prior post, what to pack and why, you will know that I intentionally packed a suitcase full of food for our stay (non-perishables of course). As an Alaska Air Visa Cardholder, you can check a bag for free, so it really makes sense in the long run as it is no secret that food costs are higher in Hawaii. Use the bag to bring back souvenirs. All in all, we spent $800 in dining (I had budgeted $100 a day, but we also splurged at dinner a few nights with sushi.)





a. Plan a few special dinners where you splurge but know that other nights maybe a pizza (Pizza Corner is right across the street along with the Island Country Market) will suffice just fine. Food trucks, especially the shrimp trucks in the North shore, are an inexpensive way to have a filling delicious lunch or dinner. Remember, there are also microwaves available at the food court.

The shrimp trucks on the North Shore were amazing!

b. Refillable mugs!! Yes, Aulani has them too and they are worth it! You can purchase a Resort-refillable mug for $18.99, at either Lava Shack or Kālepa's Store. Throughout your stay at Aulani Resort, enjoy refills of non-alcoholic beverages, available at the following refillable mug stations: Ulu Cafe: Offering fountain beverages, coffee, tea and cocoa from 6:30 AM to 8:30 PM, Lava Shack: Offering fountain beverages from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, One Paddle Two Paddle: Offering fountain beverages from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM.

5. Attractions – Aulani offers so much at the resort including entertainment it’s kind of hard to leave. There are of course some “must do’s” we had on our list on the island that we partook in, such as visiting the Dole Plantation, Pearl Harbor, snorkeling in the Hanauma Bay Natural Preserve (**Tip – arrive early to get in line as only so many visitors are allowed on the beach to snorkel at one time), and numerous other state parks along the beaches including our favorite in the North Shore. The GoOahu Card is another option to site seeing on a budget, Costco offers this card online. Overall for attractions and souvenirs, we spent roughly $500.



As you can see there are ways to visit the tropical island paradise, Aulani, while still being a little frugal for your trip. We cannot wait to book our next trip! Interested in any current Aulani specials, connect with me via the contact button below. If you have any tips or advice on traveling to Aulani please comment below.

Ready to go?  Check out  15 things you must do at Disney's Aulani!