Disney In Hawaii - General Tiki

V VanTiki Member Hawaii Joined: Nov 25, 2005 Posts: 1046	V VanTiki Posted posted on Mon, Sep 19, 2011 12:56 PM Last Sunday Ms. VanTiki and I decided to take a look at the new Disney Resort and see how it came together. I am a huge fan of 2 Disney “Grand” resorts (the Wilderness Lodge and the Grand Californian), and I was extremely curious how the imagineers would tackle a hawaii theme. I’ll be honest - I was very worried. I have become a tad burned out on the rainbow colored luau visions that most resorts represent as an accurate picture of the island. I also read a lot of the press in this thread about Disney’s hopes and plans for the resort, and they seemed rather grand. Could they pull off a Hawaii themed resort that was respectful to the culture and people of Hawaii and still have that feeling of escape and exotica that travelers seek? We took the looooooong drive out (The Ko’Olina resort complex is really in the middle of nowhere on Oahu - kind of like Las Vegas springing out of a dessert), parked the car in the non-descript parking garage, and stepped into the lobby. Wow. Wowie-doubble-wowie-wow! Such a refreshingly new and yet amazingly familiar place. I can’t tell you how impressed I was by the textures and details sprinkled around the resort that reminded me of growing up on the island. Plantation irrigation ditch stonework, abandoned sugar cane mills, a color palette of stone, red earth, and greens. And there was also a great sense of the fantastic. By fantastic, I mean the sense of South Seas adventure that Tiki Bars and the like exude. The great thing about the Aulani is that the design was so completely different from what I am used to - they incorporated traditional elements together in ways I’ve never seen. I want to go back with a better camera - but here are a few shots I took with my phone. So many interesting surfaces and details! The lashing, the adze shaped support for the beam on the right, and the adze-chipped texture on all the faux timbers (yep - they are all fiberglass). Of special note - the rain gutter styled after an outrigger canoe! Hawaiian language school themed bar. Really a unique concept. Beautiful carvings - amazing interactive lighted bar tabletop, and school desk chairs. Amazing weathering of a wood wall in classic old plantation house/store exterior style with a collection of vintage HI plates. This is in the alcove to the entrance of the pool bathrooms. Love the butterflies in the wood paneling. A subtle detail that really evokes hawaiian woodworking - perhaps not necessarily pre-contact style - but definitely the style that I have come to know growing up here. So - Overall I was quite impressed. But there is some bad with this review. First off, I’m wrestling with the same question that I had when the California Adventure park first opened. Yes, it is an amazing compact and unique vision of Hawaii - but why put in in Hawaii? Can’t I just step outside the resort and experience the real thing? I almost wish they built this resort in Disneyland or Disney World. Secondly, the location is a rough one for me. There is NOTHING around the resort, and you are looking at quite the car ride to get to most of the things tourists like to see. If you are heading into town in rush hour, you will be in for some of the worst traffic the island has to offer. Now - I’m not one to lounge at my hotel all day. Ms. VanTiki points out that if you are planning on spending your stay entirely on the Hotel property, the location is actually nice and isolated. Since this is Tiki Central - I should review the bars! There are 2 that we found. The above Hawaiian Language bar (which was closed) and Off The Hook by the pool. We had drinks and split a burger there. The decoration is amazing - the bar is modeled after (I’m guessing here) an abandoned sugar mill (like the classic Kualoa sugar mill) with a wonderful huge thatched roof. Plantation era bottles decorate some of the upper beams (bottle digging is a big hobby for some out here). THe only thing blowing the decor was two big plasma TV’s showing sports (ug). Fortunately, they were muted. I had a mai-tai, and it was a typical resort fruty mai-tai. Sadly, no souvenier mugs. The burger was good - and (another nod to plantation days), the food is brought out in stacked bento boxes. Whew! Curious to see what other folks think - both Local and Mainlander! Henrik “VanTiki”

Last Sunday Ms. VanTiki and I decided to take a look at the new Disney Resort and see how it came together. I am a huge fan of 2 Disney “Grand” resorts (the Wilderness Lodge and the Grand Californian), and I was extremely curious how the imagineers would tackle a hawaii theme.

I’ll be honest - I was very worried. I have become a tad burned out on the rainbow colored luau visions that most resorts represent as an accurate picture of the island. I also read a lot of the press in this thread about Disney’s hopes and plans for the resort, and they seemed rather grand. Could they pull off a Hawaii themed resort that was respectful to the culture and people of Hawaii and still have that feeling of escape and exotica that travelers seek?

We took the looooooong drive out (The Ko’Olina resort complex is really in the middle of nowhere on Oahu - kind of like Las Vegas springing out of a dessert), parked the car in the non-descript parking garage, and stepped into the lobby. Wow. Wowie-doubble-wowie-wow! Such a refreshingly new and yet amazingly familiar place. I can’t tell you how impressed I was by the textures and details sprinkled around the resort that reminded me of growing up on the island. Plantation irrigation ditch stonework, abandoned sugar cane mills, a color palette of stone, red earth, and greens. And there was also a great sense of the fantastic. By fantastic, I mean the sense of South Seas adventure that Tiki Bars and the like exude. The great thing about the Aulani is that the design was so completely different from what I am used to - they incorporated traditional elements together in ways I’ve never seen.

I want to go back with a better camera - but here are a few shots I took with my phone.

So many interesting surfaces and details! The lashing, the adze shaped support for the beam on the right, and the adze-chipped texture on all the faux timbers (yep - they are all fiberglass). Of special note - the rain gutter styled after an outrigger canoe!

Hawaiian language school themed bar. Really a unique concept. Beautiful carvings - amazing interactive lighted bar tabletop, and school desk chairs.

Amazing weathering of a wood wall in classic old plantation house/store exterior style with a collection of vintage HI plates. This is in the alcove to the entrance of the pool bathrooms.

Love the butterflies in the wood paneling. A subtle detail that really evokes hawaiian woodworking - perhaps not necessarily pre-contact style - but definitely the style that I have come to know growing up here.

So - Overall I was quite impressed. But there is some bad with this review. First off, I’m wrestling with the same question that I had when the California Adventure park first opened. Yes, it is an amazing compact and unique vision of Hawaii - but why put in in Hawaii? Can’t I just step outside the resort and experience the real thing? I almost wish they built this resort in Disneyland or Disney World.

Secondly, the location is a rough one for me. There is NOTHING around the resort, and you are looking at quite the car ride to get to most of the things tourists like to see. If you are heading into town in rush hour, you will be in for some of the worst traffic the island has to offer. Now - I’m not one to lounge at my hotel all day. Ms. VanTiki points out that if you are planning on spending your stay entirely on the Hotel property, the location is actually nice and isolated.

Since this is Tiki Central - I should review the bars! There are 2 that we found. The above Hawaiian Language bar (which was closed) and Off The Hook by the pool. We had drinks and split a burger there. The decoration is amazing - the bar is modeled after (I’m guessing here) an abandoned sugar mill (like the classic Kualoa sugar mill) with a wonderful huge thatched roof. Plantation era bottles decorate some of the upper beams (bottle digging is a big hobby for some out here). THe only thing blowing the decor was two big plasma TV’s showing sports (ug). Fortunately, they were muted. I had a mai-tai, and it was a typical resort fruty mai-tai. Sadly, no souvenier mugs. The burger was good - and (another nod to plantation days), the food is brought out in stacked bento boxes.

Whew! Curious to see what other folks think - both Local and Mainlander!

Henrik “VanTiki”

Post #607348 by VanTiki on Mon, Sep 19, 2011 12:56 PM