You might think without the parks nearby that Aulani would lack in activity, but there’s truly no shortage of fun to fill your vacation days at Disney’s Hawaiian resort on ‘Oahu. If you visit the mainland resorts, you’ll feel at home and recognize a lot of the same activities and offerings you’d find at Walt Disney World or Disneyland.
Ko Olina provides an amazing backdrop for your island getaway, and you could easily spend your days draped across a beach lounger or drifting along the lazy river. But if you’re getting a little sun crisp or waterlogged, there is plenty to do away from the H2O.
Being a Disney Vacation Club resort, Aulani features a Community Hall, and it’s just like the ones at Walt Disney World! The Pau Hana Room offers games, arts, crafts and more for all guests, not just DVC members. It is also the home of one of the cutest Disney crafts we’ve tried, Make Your Own Mickey Ears.
Make Your Own Mickey Ears is offered multiple times a day and is bookable in the Aulani app prior to arrival. Reservations are encouraged, but we were told they could accommodate walk-ups if there is space.
A few days prior to our scheduled activity, a cast member called to confirm and remind us that there is a 24-hour cancellation policy. The evening before, we received another call asking us to stop in prior to our activity time to choose our ears and the embellishments we’d use.
Pricing and Inclusions
Standard ears – $27 plus tax
Light-up ears – $37 plus tax
Each person got to choose their ear color (black, silver, pink or gold) and whether or not they had LED lights. With each pair of ears, five embellishments are incuded. You can choose from bows, flowers and wooden charms. Additional embellishments are sold in sets of 5 for $6 plus tax. The leaves are included in the cost, as well, and are unlimited (within reason, I assume).
Once you choose your items, the cast members will have everything assembled and ready when you arrive at your scheduled time. If you cannot arrive in advance, you are able to choose these items at the time of the activity.
After we arrived and found our packets, a cast member came to give us a few details and tips, as well as make sure everything was correct with our choices.Â
Making the Ears
The key words here: hot glue (and lots of it!)
Everything is attached to the ears with hot glue, so if you want it to last, you’re going to have to cake it on. However, if anything falls off during your stay, you are welcome to bring the ears back to the Pau Hana Room and fix anything that needs a little more stick. We did have to do this for Big Guy’s ears, as GamGam wasn’t as liberal with the adhesive.
Speaking of kids and glue, if you have younger kidlets making ears, they will absolutely need adult assistance. Hot glue is, well, hot. And when it sticks to you, it’s one of the most dramatic craft injuries ever. Hot and stuck? No thanks. My middle kiddles were able to weild the glue on their own, but anyone younger than say seven or eight probably needs a little help.
Is it worth it?
I mean, price-wise? Eh, maybe. It’s cheaper than gift shop ears, and you get the fun of customizing them, but they’re definitely not as sturdy as regular ears. In fact…
Magic Tip: If you’re planning this experience, you may want to bring something with rigid sides if you plan to pack them. The ears are made of very thin and flexible metal and will absolutely lose their shape in a suitcase or bag. We were able to re-shape them, but they were never quite as good as when we first got them.
That said, we really had fun making them and even got to wear them again during our Disneyland stop a few days later. Although it’s probably a one and done for our crew, I’m so glad we took the time to get creative and enjoy this together.
@magicmemoriesmayhem We got a little creative during our recent visit to Aulani 🌺 #aulani #aulanidisneyresort #mickeyears #disneytrip #disneyvacation ♬ Hawaiian with pleasant swing feel(1453650) - ricca
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