Ko Olina

The Hua Kai tours to Oahu's North Shore are sticking around.

The daily round trip shuttles from Waikiki will now run through the end of the year, while service from Ko Olina to the North Shore is expected through October.

The round trip fare will increase from 5 to $10.

The Hawaiian Council launched the pilot program in June to help businesses recover after the Konalo storms.

Keep listening.

Uh, anyways, after they sort of expanded like that, a bunch of other stuff opened at Walt Disney World, and then on October 3rd, 2007, Disney officially announced that they were going to be opening a vacation club resort in Ko Olina, which is an area of, um, Hawaii that we're gonna talk about a little bit later.

But they said that it would include DVC rooms, it would include standard rooms, and it opened as Aulani in August 2011.

Uh, before that, they were selling timeshares there and whatever.

Deep dive, deep dive count.

But that's, yeah, that's the little history of DVC.

But then to actually get into about, like, Aulani and what it is, so I also wanna mention Ko Ol- Ko Olina.

This is a very-- This is cool.

for our magical Hawaii giveaway.

One lucky studio audience member is going to win a trip to Aulani, a Disney resort and spa in Ko'olina, Hawaii.

But before we find out who is winning this trip, let's welcome a few of our special guests and friends.

Come on out, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse.

102! 102! Congratulations, 102.

Let's take a look at what you just won.

Make unforgettable memories on a vacation to Aulani, a Disney resort and spa in Ko'olina, Hawaii, that the entire family can enjoy.

Walk along the white sandy beaches, float along the lazy river, or hurtle down a water slide.

Hey, good morning to you.

Isn't it always wild to see Ko Olina this quiet, uh, in the morning? I s- I'm sure a sight a lot of people don't see.

Well, that's not gonna be the case on Saturday.

Of course, the second- 72nd annual Ho'olaulea, Waikiki Ho'olaulea happening as part of Aloha Festivals.

Nothing like our culture here at home.

Over in Ko Olina, the annual Aloha Festival Celebration took place over the weekend.

The event included live performances along with cultural activities like lei making, fire knife lessons, and weaving, and of course hula.

Now, the celebration was part of the festival's 80th anniversary.

When we come together and Hawaii's culture is the foundation that we're standing on, it really enriches the experience that visitors have, uh, when they're here in Hawaii.

So we wanna be doing more of this.

We wanna enhance this, but this really is, um, the future of Ko Olina.

Oh, what a beautiful sight.

Kauai's North Shore gets more rain in winter.

Maui's south and west shores and Oahu's Ko Olina area are reliably sunny and calm almost year-round, which is a big part of why they work so well for a babymoon.

Let's chat about airline policies.

I wanna spend a few minutes here because people assume every airline has the same rule, and they really don't.

On Maui, the Wailea properties, like Grand Wailea, the Andaz, and Fairmont Kea Lani all have excellent spas and good cabana setups.

In Kaanapali, Royal Lahaina reopened after the 2023 fires and has since added a brand-new beachfront spa, so it's worth a fresh look even if you wrote it off before.

On Oahu, Ko Olina is ideal for babymoons because the lagoons are completely protected and calm.

Aulani Spa Laniwai has a dedicated prenatal massage treatment called Hapai, which is the Hawaiian word for pregnant, plus an outdoor hydrotherapy garden with soaking pools kept at lower pregnancy safe temperatures.