>> In 1934, Walt and his wife Lillian made their
first of many trips to hawaii and they instantly fell in love with
what they saw. Inspired by Hawaii's beauty and rich and
diverse culture in no time walt had some of his most
famous characters hula dancing playing ukuleles and hanging ten
and now nearly 70 years later disney has created the aulani resort
that in every way honors the island's walt disney so enjoyed
why disney in hawaii it's actually pretty simple it's three things
number one the hawaiians are the most fantastic
storytellers in the world two there's a very subtle layer of magic in
everything and three family if you know anything
about the hawaiians family is incredibly important disney
also is about storytelling family and magic
and so when you put disney and hawaii together
it's like the perfect marriage
the name aulani means one who speaks on behalf of a higher power
and that higher power is hawaii and the hawaiians
there's a lot of talk of hawaii about how spiritual the land is
and the water and the balance of both and this hotel does
capture the true meaning of aloha and what hawaii is all about
the aulani resort located on the island of oahu
sits on 21 oceanfront acres and features a white sand beach a
saltwater lagoon and dense tropical landscaping
architectural elements were included to reflect the rich history of the islands
all with the goal of immersing guests into hawaiian culture
aulani is a celebration of hawaiian culture
hawaiian history of the people of hawaii and it's told in a way that is just
absolutely fascinating for adults and just
tons of fun for the kids i grew up in hawaii and you see they really captured
the true essence of hawaiiana that i grew up with and to show my kids
that is amazing as disney's first hawaiian
resort it was important for the disney
imagineers to get every detail just right and since hawaiians are some
of the greatest storytellers in the world
ancient hawaiian stories can be found around every corner
when you first approach the resort on the outside of the building
are two immense sculpted murals and at first they look like a textile
pattern but in fact they are a kind of alphabet
the two towering bass reliefs on the outside of the resort reference
the rising and setting of the sun and the moon and are
appropriately placed facing east and west everything in
hawaiian history has some sort of spirit relating to every part of nature
and you see that throughout the hotel creating from the ground up
a truly authentic hawaiian experience was not an easy task
we did a ton of research we read a lot of books we went to a lot of places we
took a lot of pictures and then we said okay now it's time to ask for help and
that help came from local experts aulani is the first time that the
hawaiians were invited to participate in the development and the creation of the
place the hawaiian cultural leaders who worked
with us were very very gracious with their
knowledge and insight into hawaiian culture the
thatching methods are usually set at two fingers
apart so if this building wants to be let's say
six times the size of that will the same portion be used and that
traditional design inspired much of the resort's look from
the moment guests enter the lobby they're immersed right into the heart of
hawaiian tradition walking in and just with those arches
and the big ceiling the complex wooden edifice reaches up to
the gods and the exquisite 360 degree mural
artwork tells the story of both ancient and
modern hawaii all designed to provide visitors with a
truly authentic hawaiian greeting
when you get here and you live in this place you're living with a culture a
living culture not something that's contrived and an
important part of that living culture is the language of olelo to help guests
learn the language disney's imagineers created the olelo
room we help the guests that come down with a hawaiian language
we like to kind of call it a little 101 class in hawaiian i try to get everyone
leaving saying ukulele and not ukulele the hawaiians regard water as an
essential source of life and the home to many of its most
powerful gods the aulani resort honors this tradition
with the waikalohe valley a seven-acre recreation area comprised
of a variety of pools a foot lazy river an interactive play
area for kids and two water slides that test every
skill level we went on the slides like 100 times
and while aulani is definitely a family resort
disney imagineers also created areas catering just to adults
there's so many different little pools and spots that you can really get some
privacy there's also a snorkeling lagoon called
rainbow reef which includes over 1300 tropical fish the walt disney imagineers
went out and snorkeled around the island and looked around and saw what the reefs
looked like and recreated that here in rainbow reef coming up
we explore the beautiful island of oahu on horseback
and meet one of its most mischievous inhabitants
walt disney's connection to the islands began as it did for many
when the rise of the crews and tourism businesses in the 1930s
turned hawaii from a far away paradise to a bonafide vacation spot
the islands are a product of volcanic action
so we are sitting on the top of ancient volcanoes
that ultimately have eroded and become the islands of hawaii
the main volcano on oahu is diamond head and it can easily be hiked
hawaiians have a strong love of the outdoors and guests to aulani are
encouraged to explore all of the natural beauty of oahu
horseback riding through the kualoa ranch is one such excursion
this 4 000 acre private nature reserve still
serves as a working cattle ranch and since the ocean is such an integral
part of hawaiian life visitors have the opportunity to get an
up-close look at sea life in their natural habitat
they can also embrace local custom by riding in an
authentic hawaiian sailing canoe
back on land an afternoon at aulani's laniwai spa
is a way for guests to relax in a tropical setting lonely vine means
freshwater heaven bunny by was designed after a rainbow
and so it's a play on light color and waters as
you get to the very center point of the spa
that's where you see the final descent of the water coming from the heavens
the lonnie all the way to the aina beer this 5 000 square foot spa was designed
with guests of all ages in mind and it exemplifies the hawaiian word
nanea or relaxation so we had a massage and
then we get to go walk around the hydrotherapy garden
if you go outside and they have different showers that have
different pressures and they're all symbolic of different types of
rain it was perfect as parents unwind the younger guests of
aulani have their own special ambassadors to keep them
entertained and teach them about local customs
uncle and auntie are the heart and soul of aolani they
are our hosts they go out of their way to make
every guest at aulani feel like family auntie's beach house is a hangout for
young guests and disney imagineers designed every
aspect of it with kids in mind it is our kids club for children
ages 3 to 12. we have a game room we've got a computer
room we have this beautiful yard outside i just dropped them off at auntie's
beach house again and he just ran in and i'm like oh do you want me to
should i stay with you guys for a minute they were gone
and a favorite for kids of all ages is to sit around the campfire and listen to
uncle's thrilling stories it was really sweet to see them you know listening to
uncle and watching him and just being enthralled by the story one
of hawaii's greatest legends centers around the mischievous little
people of the island called the menehune and disney has created an interactive
high-tech scavenger hunt to find these mystical creatures
legend has it that there's around 300 men who scattered all throughout the
grounds they're finding little ones in like little
corners of the windows and everything and my four-year-old man
in designing aulani disney imagineers considered the unique needs of families
of all sizes and ages
and the wide variety of restaurants at the resort offer something for every
pallet
the magic of aulani and its strong connection to hawaiian culture grows
even more powerful at night with music dance and
storytelling another signature experience is the
aolani starlet hui it really is an opportunity for the family to come
together under the stars the starlight is a wonderful culture
sharing event there's a chance to enjoy some of the best musicians we have
wonderful dancers so it's a wonderful wonderful way of
also saying again this is an ancient culture but
it's also very much alive today one of the principles of
hawaiian hospitality we call it hokipa is acknowledging that you might come as
a stranger but when you leave you're a friend
maybe more importantly perhaps family
from the early days of disneyland walt disney infused magic and adventure at
every turn the same still holds true today whether
it's cruising to alaska or a tropical island getting a
personally guided tour through the wine country
or at the great wall of china or experiencing a resort that blends local
traditions with modern amenities walt's original
vision for new and exciting travel has grown much further than he could
have ever imagined
walt once said you know be like a sponge go out into the world
and soak it all up that's what walt did and that's what we do with these
products we had stretched out beyond the
properties that we already knew and we had reached out
into a new frontier i bet he would be very proud of the experience we created
because it was an extension of his love of travel of adventure and his
storytelling walt disney's love of travel continues
to inspire the dreamers at disney and as more trips are added every year
experiencing disney beyond the parks has never been easier