We had the pleasure of dining at Aulani's Makahiki breakfast and it was a delightful, delicious experience! Makahiki is a restaurant at Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa in Ko Olina, Hawai'i. The Aulani Resort is recognizably Disney as soon as you pull into the property. Its well-manicured gardens, water features, and stunning lobby look like a Deluxe Resort at Walt Disney World.
As off-site guests to Aulani, (we stayed in Waikiki, but that's another blog) I have some helpful tips for visiting the resort, whether it be for the restaurants, the beach, or both!
Makahiki – The Bounty of the Islands is open daily and reservations can be made 30 days in advance. I made my reservation on the Aulani website. There were a few times to choose from. I chose the earliest available that day, which was 8:30 a.m., because we had jetlag from the trip. A friendly Cast Member called me a few days before the reservation to confirm it with me. You can, however, find earlier times on other dates.
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| Stitch greets guests in the gardens |
Guests get complimentary self-parking for up to 2.5 hours when you spend $50 or more at the resort. Be sure to bring your parking ticket and purchase receipt with you to have it validated. The host at the restaurant validated it for us when we were ready to leave. We took it to the parking garage and scanned it to leave.
After checking in with the host, we got to meet Mickey! The PhotoPass photographer got some cute photos outside on the patio. We also asked them to take photos with our phones.
Upon entering the restaurant, we then met Minnie. There was a PhotoPass photographer with her as well. There is an option to purchase all of the photos for about $35. We got to view them before purchasing too, which was nice.
There is indoor and outdoor seating at Makahiki. We chose the outdoor seating because it was a comfortable 73 degrees out, even for January! It was covered seating next to a beautiful koi pond and palm trees.
The menu is a 3-course breakfast including local ingredients. Although the website said the meal begins with a fruit platter and a basket of baked goods, we received fresh, hot malasadas (which are sugar donuts) and a parfait. The parfait was a perfect blend of sweet and tart. It included pineapple, coconut, yogurt, mochi, and granola.
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| Malasadas |
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| Fruit Parfait |
Mimosas and Aloha Mary's are available for Guests ages 21 and older, but we enjoyed our POG Juice (Pineapple, Orange, Guava) just like at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort!
Then, you can choose your choice of entrée—with delicious options ranging from classic American dishes to island-inspired fare.
While we looked over the menu and enjoyed our appetizers, we had live entertainment from "Aunty" — a resident of OÊ»ahu, playing the ukulele and singing Hawaiian songs. It was the perfect atmosphere for our first breakfast on the island.
After we placed our orders, we were visited by Chip and Dale! (They visited us twice actually, once before and once during the meal!) They were their funny and delightful selves.
Everything on the menu sounded amazing but I went with the Farmer's Omelet. It was twice the size than I expected. The vegetables were plentiful and soft. The potatoes were whole, baby purple potatoes and were perfectly crispy.
O'AHU FARMER’S OMELET
Three cage-free eggs, asparagus, bell peppers, cremini mushrooms, local tomatoes, grilled red onions, fontina and goat cheese, basil pesto, herb-roasted potatoes
My daughter chose the French Toast. It was a generous portion and plated beautifully. The berries were huge!
PUNALUU SWEET BREAD FRENCH TOAST
Sweet cream cheese, fresh seasonal berries, warm Vermont maple syrup.
Choice of bacon, pork link sausage, Portuguese sausage, chicken apple sausage, or ham.
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| French Toast |
My son chose the classic pancakes and he loved the Tahitian vanilla sauce!
BUTTERMILK PANCAKES
Macadamia nut Tahitian vanilla sauce, caramel, warm Vermont maple syrup.
Choice of bacon, pork link sausage, Portuguese sausage, chicken apple sausage, or ham.
My husband went with the waffles, his favorite! They looked and smelled amazing, and came with a generous portion of berries and cream.
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| Buttermilk Pancakes |
BELGIAN STYLE WAFFLE
Fresh berries, country cream, warm Vermont maple syrup.
Choice of bacon, pork link sausage, Portuguese sausage, chicken apple sausage, or ham.
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| Belgian Waffles |
Some of us subbed the breakfast meats for the potatoes, which was allowed. You cannot substitute meats for eggs, though. We purchased eggs for my toddler separately.
After our meal, we were excited to explore the resort grounds. First, we walked the beautiful lush paths around the pools down to the beach. The beach is open for use to the public. All beaches on O'ahu are public, by law. We only had a little bit of time left for our complimentary parking pass so we didn't swim. You can pay for more time, if you'd like to enjoy the beach. The pools are only available to Resort Guests. The Guests wear a wristband to access the pools.
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| Beautiful resort grounds |
Pro Tip: You can visit Ko'Olina Lagoon #4 with free parking just up the road. It's basically the same size and depth as Disney's Lagoon.
We stopped to get photos of the infamous Aulani Stitch statue and saw that Donald Duck was out greeting guests. I loved looking around the gorgeous lobby and at the artwork throughout the resort. Lastly, we had to look in the gift shop. Aulani is the only place to find Olu Mel, Duffy's sea turtle friend. We got some plush Olu Mel's as souvenirs. There were also Aulani Loungefly backpacks and Mickey ears.
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| We found Olu! |
Important Restaurant info:
Breakfast: 7:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Adult $50.00 Keiki $29.00
(9 years old and under)
Extra drinks, sides, and alcohol are not included. The tip is automatically added for groups of 7 or more. Hours, characters, and menus are subject to change without notice.
Make reservations: https://www.disneyaulani.com/dining/table-service/makahiki-buffet/
If you're interested in pricing and planning a visit to Aulani Resort, or Hawai'i in general, I'd love to help you out. Myself and several other Kingdom Konsultant Agents have visited Hawai'i and have a wealth of information to share.
Mahalo for reading!
Summer has traveled around the entire island of O'ahu a with her family, and can help your family plan an exciting itinerary, including Aulani! Contact her today at Summer@kingdomkonsultant.com.
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