Makahiki is a restaurant that is located on the first floor of the Disney Aulani resort. The restaurant actually serves breakfast and dinner at 2 different times, so this review will be for the dinner portion. Unlike breakfast, there was less of a crowd for dinner, so we were able to walk in with our reservations very quickly. We were seated in the outdoor section under the covered patio around 5:00 PM, which was when the sun started setting. Absolutely stunning.
To get our gourmand fix in, we booked ‘Ama’Ama as our fine dining Disney Aulani reservation. The price for this four course tasting was $125 per person. The menu offers contemporary island cuisine, which has many local flavors. The restaurant iself was designed to resemble a beachside house, and it’s located next to the Waikolohe Valley pool area, just a few steps from the beach. The whole restaurant has a very nice open and chill vibe. We were seated literally right next to the grass that was on the other side of the beach, where we had a straight, unobstructed view into the ocean and the sunset.
Makahiki is a restaurant that is located on the first floor of the Disney Aulani resort. The restaurant actually serves breakfast and dinner at 2 different times, so this review will be broken up into 2 separate reviews. For breakfast, Makahiki serves as a character dining experience. That means cast members dressed up as some of the Disney characters will come mingle with you while you’re eating. The people at my table simply loved this, whereas for me I’m a little indifferent. What is cool though is that the characters were able to express their emotions and thoughts pretty well without saying a word.
On our first night at Disney Aulani, we went to the Ka Wa’a Luau on property. The Preferred Seating was $204 per adult, and the General Seating was $175 per adult. The difference between the seatings is that the preferred seating is assigned and right by the front of the stage. You also can enter 10 minutes earlier, which means you can check out the side festivities earlier too. Don’t worry though. On this night, we noticed the general seating area was no where near full, so I imagine you can checkout the side festivities pretty easily. The luau is hosted on the Hālāwai Lawn.
Haleiwa Joe’s at Haiku Gardens in Kaneohe is known for its lush, beautiful views overlooking its own tropical garden and koi pond with a backdrop of a breathtaking Ko’olau mountain range. The restaurant opens for dinner nightly at 4 PM, and when we arrived at 3:30, there was already a line forming because they do not take reservations. Fortunately once they open, there are plenty of tables, but it feels that people are trying to get the best view overlooking the gardens.
This shrimp truck is located on Kamehameha Highway towards the north east end of Oahu between Hauula and the Shrimp Shack. As you’re driving north on this highway, it will be on your left side. The truck seems not very mobile, and for whatever reason has very high ratings on Yelp. Because Hawaii is pretty well known for these shrimp trucks, we decided to check this out after our Kualoa excursion.