There is something about leaving for a family vacation to a Disney destination that helps make the early morning alarm that much easier to wake up to. With our next destination being Aulani, a Disney Resort and Spa, we all agreed to wake up to the soundtrack that is played in the Maka’ala (Resort lobby). Thankfully it wasn’t a ‘Home Alone’ type of morning, we had plenty of time to get ready, grab our luggage, and head to the airport for our flight to the island of Oahu.
After spending approximately five hours on the flight, we were a little more than eager to get to Aulani to celebrate Thanksgiving. If you have been to Aulani before, you know that your arrival reception is one of the best welcoming experiences Disney has to offer. After distributing our necklaces and leis, the Cast Member escorted us to the front desk for check in. Even after working with Disney to switch our rooms, our room was ready for us earlier than we had expected. We were checked in, unpacked, and ready for our Thanksgiving vacation at Aulani to begin.
When we had originally booked the vacation, we had planned on having a nice quiet Thanksgiving dinner at Ama Ama, the Resort’s fine dining experience. A month or so before our trip, Disney grabbed our attention when they released information regarding the Aulani Thanksgiving Feast, a family buffet hosted in the Kaiona Ballroom for $84.99 per adult and $42.99 per child (ages 3 – 9). A dinner at Ama Ama is on the more expensive side but this event would be a lot more so we had to weigh the pros and cons of attending the Feast. We had already committed to a specific budget for the trip which meant that we would need to reduce our spending in other areas and commit to spending a lot more for our Thanksgiving dinner.
I honestly didn’t know what to expect for the dinner. I believe they have had these events in the past but I have not found other reviews online. Just in time for the event, the Maka’ala had been fully decorated for Christmas. It was great to walk through the hustle and bustle of the lobby while families were taking pictures in front of the Christmas trees.
When checking in for the Feast, we saw Mickey, Donald, and Goofy taking pictures outside with other guests. As eager as we were to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving, the Cast Member assured us that they would be available all night for pictures, so we proceeded into the Kaiona Ballroom to be seated and to enjoy our dinner.
That is when it hit me.
“This was worth it.”
I admit that I was a bit skeptical of spending that much money for our family of four to attend the event but we reminded ourselves of the whole reason why we were visiting Aulani in November, which was to celebrate Thanksgiving. The vibe was happy and cheerful as we entered into the ballroom and filled with the sounds of familiar Christmas songs being performed live by local artists. We were seated at our table for four and I took a quick scan of the room to see that it looked like it was completely full.
We were then invited to the buffet room where they had a carving table, a table for traditional Thanksgiving side dishes with Hawaiian flair, a table for the keiki (children), and a table for the sweets. The selection was incredible and included what you would hope for and expect for any Thanksgiving meal. To say that I may have overpacked my plate would be an understatement. I still think I am running off my Thanksgiving dinner. Maybe this is common but my wife can be hard to please when it comes to traditional meals. For her, nothing compares to mom and dad’s cooking. She was very pleased with the dinner, claiming that the gravy was a very close second to her dad’s unbeatable Thanksgiving gravy. She did not have a chance to try the stuffing but I was extremely impressed. And oh my goodness, the mashed potatoes were incredible.
Our children are somewhat picky when it comes to their food so we were very pleased to see that the keiki menu had various options for our children to pick and choose from. Even if that meant that they didn’t necessarily eat a traditional Thanksgiving meal.
In between dinner and dessert, we spent some time with the characters taking pictures. We then attacked the dessert table which provided an assortment of pumpkin desserts, brownies, apple crisp, mini cream puffs, and so much more.
Eating an awesome dinner together as a family surrounded in Disney Hawaiian Magic with music of the season being performed on the nearby stage was amazing. We all agreed that not only was it worth the investment but that we would do it all over again.