Get Ready for Aulani

One of the most exciting developments to hit Oahu in a decade, Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa, represents a new chapter in Hawaii’s tourism evolution. Sure, this South Pacific paradise has seen plenty of big resorts… and luxury resorts… and big brands. But thus far it’s resisted an actual theme park.

Indeed, Aulani is not a theme park, or even a theme hotel. It is Disney’s dedicated, no-expenses-spared attempt to distill the essence of Hawaii into its purest form… and then stage it in one luxurious family-friendly setting, on a cache of land that was once reserved for royalty. Sprinkle a dash of Mickey magic around the entire 21-acre property, and you’ve got a recipe for amazement.

Joe Rohde, the senior Vice President of Walt Disney Imagineering who is helming this project, is no stranger to creating major-scale magic. His previous project was Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the development of which took several years and garnered its own Discovery Channel series. Rohde has great things in the works at the Aulani, including a water playground with hidden springs and waterslides carved into rock; an 18,000 square foot spa with an outdoor hydrotherapy center; and the Rainbow Reef snorkel lagoon and more intense “Contact Pond” where a limited number of guests will be able to interact with manta rays and other majestic creatures of the deep.

Romance on Oahu

So you think Waikiki’s not romantic? You might have a point… but Waikiki does not represent more than a small fraction of Oahu’s acreage. Other parts of the island offer rainforest and waterfalls, secluded beaches and barefoot-elegant marina settings. Resident romance expert Tanna Dang, owner of the Wedding Café, helps more than 5,000 couples a year plan their special day, and works with dozens of vendors around the island.

“Paradise comes in many forms,” she says. “For a lot of local weddings, a paradise wedding means getting married on a lush lawn underneath the stars. For a destination wedding, a paradise wedding could mean being barefoot on the beach.”

And for some, it might very well include a luxe Waikiki reception at the Royal Hawaiian, the Hilton Hawaiian Village, or the Halekulani. Or maybe luxe but out of the city, at Turtle Bay Resort or the Marriott Ihilani.

Hawaii History 101

Admitted to the union as the 50th state on August 21, 1959, Hawaii is the most isolated population center on the face of the earth. A state with its own time zone (Hawaii Standard Time), Hawaii sits 2,390 miles from California, 3,850 miles from Japan, 4,900 miles from China, and 5,280 miles from the Philippines.

Photo credit: Hawaii: Photodisc/Getty