Disney Vacation Club Trip to Disneyland and Aulani Resort

As far as Disney experiences go, this was one for the books!

Disney Vacation Club West Coast Girls Trip

Source: Courtesy / Janeé Bolden

As you plan a vacation for your family and friends in 2025, we highly recommend any Disney families or Disney adults consider a journey in two stages like the one our Senior Content Director, Janeé Bolden, took to Disneyland and Aulani Resort.

Source: Courtesy / Janeé Bolden

The trip started at Disneyland where we stayed in the new Disneyland Hotel Villas. While our group of four comfortably shared a luxury studio – the same type of accommodation that the majority of visitors to The Villas experience – we discovered some truly luxurious offerings during a tour of the property – including a more luxurious. Fantasy-thematic two bedroom villa and the Large three bedroom Villawhich can accommodate up to 12 people and a baby! It’s a double-level show with a huge terrace where the fireworks are definitely visible! This definitely offered a luxury AirBNB for the ultimate Disney fan vibe.

Source: Courtesy of Janeé Bolden

Character-themed decor can be found on every corner of the property, drawing on historic Disney projects like Sleeping Beauty, The Princess and the Frog, Bambi, Frozen And Moana — but the real fun was interacting with characters like Goofy, Pluto, and Chip & Dale at a character-themed breakfast, like the one we enjoyed right next door to the hotel at Goofy's Kitchen , the second day of our trip.

Source: Courtesy / Janeé Bolden

This breakfast was the epitome of a fantastic feast – with almost every offering you can imagine available – whether vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, keto or meat lovers – the options were optional. And of course, there was everything, sweet and savory, to please the most capricious young palates.

Source: Courtesy / Janeé Bolden

After a few meals and photo ops, we headed to the park, which was a short walk from the restaurant. We spent most of our park time at Disneyland, where we enjoyed some favorite classic rides, including Space Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean. While we loved just walking around California Adventure Park – taking in the incredible Old West style of the park – Pixar Pier was definitely a crowd favorite (thanks to the Incredicoaster and Ferris wheel)!

Source: Courtesy / Janeé Bolden

Did you know that Disney Vacation Club members have access to their own private lounge? Lucky for us! We were able to take a break from the crowds and visit the Star View Station, a great place to enjoy a cold drink, refill our water bottles, and charge our phones before heading to the next attraction.

Source: Courtesy of Janeé Bolden

We spent most of the day at Disneyland, but ended the evening enjoying the ONE Color World show at California Adventure Park. If you're a fan of fireworks and light shows, you don't want to miss this! Similar to the screenings at Cinderella Castle, except on WATER with choreographed lights and music, we were able to relive some of our favorite storytelling moments from Walt Disney films including The Lion King, Moana, Ratatouilleand more. If you decide to visit the parks, be sure to reserve a special viewing area for your group so you can see without having to worry about finding a spot hours in advance.

Source: Courtesy / Janeé Bolden

Food is a very important part of any vacation and we wanted to be sure to highlight three standout meals from this trip. The first was an unforgettable dinner at Rose Napa where we celebrated our friend Chelsea's birthday. The restaurant is located inside Disney's Grand Californian Hotel and the food and service was phenomenal. Our waitress Wendy was truly unforgettable – she swore us to secrecy but she rapped for us. If you find yourself at her table, ask her, she does the same for you.

Source: Courtesy of Janeé Bolden

Another memorable and incredible meal was our lunch at Blue Bayou in Disneyland. Make a reservation if you can. The Imagineers have done some of their best work here, making it feel like a real Louisiana swamp. The food was a real treat for our friends, even Monique and Terri who are from New Orleans!

Source: Courtesy / Janeé Bolden

After three great days and nights at Disneyland, three of us (unfortunately Chelsea couldn't make the second leg of the trip) took a flight to Honolulu to spend the rest of the girls' trip in paradise at Aulani Resort & Spa. This magnificent complex was truly a wonder to behold. We arrived and settled into our Disney Vacation Club one bedroom villa before visiting the resort.

One of the best features of the hotel are the numerous murals and sculptures incorporated into the design and architecture. We really enjoyed this neighborhood that celebrates Hawaiian language and culture.

Source: Courtesy / Janeé Bolden

One of our favorite things about the one-bedroom villa we stayed in at Aulani was the double balconies where we could look out over the Lazy River on one side and the beach and ocean on the other.

Source: Courtesy / Janeé Bolden

One of our favorite activities at Aulani was the Make Your Own Mickey Ears workshop! We had to take a group photo with everyone wearing their new Hawaiian themed ears.

Source: Courtesy / Janeé Bolden

If you like excursions, Aulani offers paddleboards at Makiki Joe's Beach and you can also rent snorkeling equipment to swim with the fish at Rainbow Reef. We also spent time on the beach and took advantage of the adults-only pool since we were kid-free on the trip! Besides relaxing by the pool and floating on the Lazy River, also known as Waikolohe Stream, another highlight of Aulani is the Heavenly Spa. As soon as you check in, you can choose a stone with a special word, you learn its meaning and can set your intention before you go to your treatment.

Source: Courtesy of Janeé Bolden

One of the highlights of our trip was definitely our sunset dinner at 'AMA'AMA. The food was amazing but the view of the beach made the night unforgettable. As amazing as this dinner was, the journey wasn't over until we experienced KA WA'A LÅ«'au on Kipuka Lawn.

Discover some other memories and key moments of the trip!