Aloha, Christina!
E Komo Mai (that means "welcome" in Hawaiian) to planDisney and mahalo (that means "thank you" in Hawaiian) for stopping by with your excellent question. Christina, we just visited
Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa in August for the third time, and there's no place I'd rather be than riding the Hawaiian roller coaster ride at Aulani. It's truly a unique destination where the magic of Disney and the spirit of Aloha come together for a very special vacation for your 'ohana.
Christina, recently, Aulani has started using MagicBands on their property. You certainly don't need to use them. In fact, we had forgotten ours for our vacation and we used the traditional plastic room key for opening our door and making room charges. If you have one, it can be paired to your account for easy access to your room and to charge purchases, and they do sell them in
Kalepa's Store (the Resort gift shop.) But those are really the only way to use them at Aulani. It doesn't work for anything extra like the Menehune Adventure Trail, which still uses the tablets for this fun activity.
To enjoy the
Menehune Adventure Trail, which is an interactive scavenger hunt in the pool area that brings scenery to life and makes hidden magic happen, you just check out the tablet from the
Pau Hana Community Room. I highly recommend it as it is a great way to learn about the legendary Menehune of Hawaii, and you'll delight in all the hidden treasures on property. For more daily activities, be sure and download the
Aulani app to your phone and check the Daily 'Iwa, which will keep you up to date for all of the fun cultural and educational activities, as well as magical moments like Character sightings and events, on property.
I hope this helps you, Christina. If you have more questions, surf back here to see me. Here at planDisney, we are your vacation planning 'ohana. 'Ohana means family, and that means nobody gets left behind.
A Hui Hou (that means "until we meet again" in Hawaiian,)
Keri