Aulani, a Disney Resort and Spa is a breathtaking property located in Ko Olina on the island of Oahu in Hawaii – believe it or not, there are vegan options for you there! In this Ultimate Guide to Vegan Options at Aulani, we’ll share all of the current vegan options and modifiable options available for your visit to Aulani, a Disney Resort and Spa.
The Aulani resort is set up very similarly to most Disney DVC (Disney Vacation Club) properties so those familiar with staying in those types of villas will feel right at home. What sets Aulani apart is of course the location, the culture and history that is represented within the buildings themselves and amongst all at the resort, who are sharing the stories of the island with all of the lucky guests staying there. Since it is a self-contained resort, there are quite a few dining options there, and that’s what we are covering today. The information presented in the guide below was gathered during October of 2021 and added to in February of 2022, so the resort operations were still under reduced offerings and some reduced menus based on pandemic effects. We will continue to update as operations return to normal.
Please note: these menu options were accurate at the time of posting and are subject to change at any time by Aulani. Since I can’t just pop over to check or update the menus without flying 10 hours, be sure to ask for a chef and ensure what you are ordering is vegan before consuming it. Mahalo!
Quick Service Vegan Options at Aulani
Ulu Cafe – This is going to be where you find the most vegan options. This quick serve/grab and go cafe has a little bit of everything. They have quite a few refrigerated items like coconut chia pudding cups with berries, fresh fruit, and mickey-shaped PB&J uncrustables with fruit. You can also get Disney popcorn here, served in a souvenir bucket, and yes, you can get refills! They also serve Dole Whip, mango was the flavor while we were there, not sure if it changes often or not.
For the breakfast menu you can get steel cut oatmeal with traditional or tropical fruit and brown sugar. Also plain bagels or they could make a Farmer’s Market bagel without the cheese, just confirm the bagels are vegan before ordering. They also have fingerling potatoes here which are vegan as well, along with brown or white rice. Unfortunately the flatbreads were not vegan by themselves so couldn’t be modified.
They also have açai bowls, which sadly are served with honey drizzle, and the granola they use is pre-made with honey in it, so if you order one (they are made to order), you have to ask for no granola and no honey. With all the recent supply issues, they may change the granola brand, so I’d double check just to be sure. The Açai Bowls come in two varieties: Traditional and Tropical. I got both and thought they were each delicious.
Lastly, you can get Poke Bowls here. Just choose the “Build-Your-Own” option and you can choose a base of salad, brown rice, or sushi rice, choose the tofu as your protein, then add the veggies and toppings of your choice, which include the list in the photo above. For the sauces, the vegan ones are traditional sesame sauce, chili water, soy sauce, and yuzu soy sauce – so stay away from the creamy sesame and the spicy mayonnaise.
Wailana Pool Bar Menu – this location is a coffee bar from 6am – 10:30am and then switches to the Pool Bar menu after that. You can order items to go from here as well and bring them back to the room. The Coffee Bar menu offers soy and almond milk and uses Monin syrups, most of which are vegan.
The Pool Bar menu has a Beyond Burger, which may or may not have a vegan bun, based on supply availability. When I was there in October, the brioche bun they used was vegan, confirmed with the ingredients on the packaging. If it’s not available, you can have it served on lettuce. The burger normally comes with a tarragon aioli which is not vegan so be sure to ask for no sauce. When I was there the chef made me a traditional sesame sauce for the burger and it was wonderful.
The salads listed on the official menu link above were not on the menu when we went in October. Instead there was a Spinach Salad with a sherry vinaigrette that you could remove the feta cheese from and a Quinoa Salad, which was vegan without the mozzarella and by using the sherry vinaigrette from the other salad. You could also use one of the sauces from the poke bowls. Honestly, I just ate it without dressing and it was flavorful enough for me with the quinoa. Again, the flatbreads could not be modified vegan.
Papalua Shave Ice – all of the shave ice flavors are vegan, just don’t get the condensed milk on top or served with ice cream.
You pay up front for your shave ice, ordering however many flavors you want, and if you want Mickey ears for $1 more. Then you wait your turn and tell the cast member what flavors you want. As you can see, I quite enjoyed this activity!
Mama’s Snack Shop – French fries are the only vegan item there and they are cooked in a shared fryer with chicken tenders, mozzarella sticks, corn dogs and shrimp.
Little ‘Opihi’s Beachside Kiosk – This is where you get Dole Whip, all the fruit flavors but coconut are vegan. The vanilla and chocolate are not vegan. They had raspberry and pineapple when we were there. You have to go to Ulu Cafe for mango.
Table Service Vegan Options at Aulani
Off the Hook – this is a larger poolside bar with tables where you are brought to a seat, but the menu is exactly the same as the regular Wailana pool bar menu so see above. They may be able to bring things from other restaurants, so I’d always ask just to know for sure.
The ‘Olelo Room – We went here on our last night, and it immediately made me wish we had gone here for dinner every night. There were quite a few options we could get, including the best pasta I think I’ve ever had in my life. This is the room located to the left of Makahiki as you walk in to that area. the ‘Olelo room has a bar area, and outdoor seating right next to the outdoor seating for Makahiki. There was no advance reservations when we were there for ‘Olelo, we just put our name in the walk-up list and waited to be seated. You can view the ‘Olelo Room menu here and the ‘Olelo Room sushi menu here.
Here is where you can find the Veggie Sushi with Mickey-shaped Wasabi. Adorable and delicious. Those rolls were HUGE. Definitely shareable, and you get cute chopsticks with Mickey on them. They also have some Impossible meat Tacos, which were a little spicy and good. There is a miso soup, which I did not try, but appears to be vegan, so double check before ordering that. The menu here is all just appetizers and sushi, however, because we are vegan, they WILL make you the Plant-based Pasta that is on the Makahiki menu because it is an allergy request.
This Makahiki vegan pasta was SOOO good. It is made up of red lentil pasta, vegetables, vegan (Beyond) sausage, and chili oil along with some other spices. The chili oil is what did it for me I think, it was just so full of flavor and had just enough kick to it. I have tried and failed to make it at home. So be sure to ask about that if you’d like to dine at ‘Olelo and not do the whole Makahiki 3-course meal.
Makahiki – This is where the character breakfast buffet happens, and it used to be a buffet dinner as well, but with covid, they now have prix fixe meals for both services. Breakfast is still full of character though (pun intended)! They just don’t come around to the tables. We got our family photos taken with Mickey and Pluto when we checked in, and then when our table was ready, we met Goofy and Max before being seated. View Makahiki breakfast menu here. Be sure to take a moment and enjoy the beautiful murals on the walls!
Breakfast here is the best option in my opinion. It is pricy, but you have a beautiful tofu scramble, fresh fruit, and even vegan muffins and baked goods. The basket consisted of a chocolate muffin, blueberry muffin and croissant, all vegan. I couldn’t believe it! We need to send those to the mainland so Walt Disney World can figure out how to add vegan pastries to a breakfast. I really enjoyed the breakfast and would definitely do that again. Full disclosure, Disney did provide my family with a complimentary breakfast for our visit, but my reviews and opinions are my own. I would totally go back again, it was a must-do experience.
They also do have vegan/gluten-free Mickey waffles available here on request.
The dinner didn’t seem as worth it to me, so I was glad they were able to make the pasta for me at the ‘Olelo room. The prix fixe Makahiki dinner menu doesn’t show a vegan appetizer or dessert, just the pasta entree, but they are able to accommodate on request.
My friend visited in January and did get the dinner, so here are the options he received. The photos below are of a modified salad, the pasta I had above, and the vegan brownie from the Luau with a scoop of dairy-free ice cream.
Ka Wa’a Luau Vegan Options at Aulani – I will be posting about the Luau in a separate review, so stay tuned for that.
As of this article, Ama Ama is still not re-opened, but we were able to pop in and take some beautiful sunset photos while we were there.
Have you visited Disney’s Aulani? Let me know what vegan dishes you enjoyed at Aulani! I can’t wait to go back again at some point, it’s just so beautiful and relaxing, I miss it daily!
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