As we look ahead to 2025 for new great travel opportunities we highly recommend any Disney families or Disney adults consider a two-stop trip like the one our Sr. Content Director Janeé Bolden took to Disneyland and Aulani Resort in 2024.

A longtime Disney Adult, Janeé recruited three of her friends for a special journey courtesy of Disney Vacation Club that made for memories that will last a lifetime.

The trip began with a tour of The Villas At Disneyland Hotel where the four ladies stayed during the first leg of their journey. While the four shared a deluxe studio — the same kind of accommodations the majority of visitors to The Villas experience — the tour included stops at the more plush two-bedroom villas and the three-bedroom Grand Villa, which sleeps up to 12 guests and an infant! It’s a double-level show stopper with a HUGE terrace where fireworks are definitely viewable! It was definitely giving luxury AirBNB for the ultimate Disney fan vibes.

Source: Courtesy / Janeé Bolden

After a full day of travel, the tour was more than enough activity for us. We enjoyed a casual group gathering with some other guests at the Palm Breeze Bar before heading to bed since we had a full day of activities planned the following day.

The fun kicked off bright and early at Goofy’s Kitchen, situated near the Villas at Disneyland Hotel. This breakfast was the epitome of a fantasy feast — with nearly any offering you can imagine available — whether vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, keto, or meat lovers– the options were optioning. And of course, there was everything sweet and savory to appeal to more finicky young palates. Goofy’s Kitchen was also our first experience with a character meal.

Source: Courtesy / Janeé Bolden

Goofy was available for photo ops, and we met a few other characters as well, including Pluto, Chip, and Dale. After getting some good sustenance we headed to Disneyland Park to enjoy some rides.

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

Source: Courtesy / Janeé Bolden

We spent most of the day at Disneyland but closed out the evening by taking in the World of Color ONE 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 projections over at Cinderella’s castle, except over WATER with choreographed lights and music — we were able to take in some of our favorite storytelling moments from Walt Disney films including The Lion King, Moana, Ratatouille, and more. If you decide to visit the parks, make sure to reserve a special viewing area for your party so you can see without having to worry about finding a spot hours in advance.

On our first day of the trip, we spent most of our park time at Disneyland where we enjoyed some classic favorite rides including Space Mountain and Pirates of the Caribbean (Unfortunately Tiana’s Bayou ride wasn’t open yet). The second day was reserved for California Adventure Park. If you stay at the Villas at Disneyland Hotel, Disneyland Hotel, Pixar Place Hotel, or Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa — you can access the parks a half hour before they open to the rest of the public. We definitely took advantage of the early access hours. While we really enjoyed just walking around California Adventure Park — enjoying the incredible old West style of the park — Pixar Pier was for sure a crowd favorite (thanks to the Incredicoaster and the Ferris Wheel)!

Source: Courtesy / Janeé Bolden

We also had an unforgettable dinner at Napa Rose where we celebrated our friend Chelsea’s birthday. The restaurant is located inside Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel and the food and service were both phenomenal. Our waitress Wendy was truly unforgettable — she swore us to secrecy but she did rap for us. If you end up at her table definitely make a request she does the same for you.

Source: Courtesy / Janeé Bolden

Another memorable and incredible meal was our lunch at Blue Bayou at Disneyland. Make a reservation if you can. The Imagineers did 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 New Orleans natives!

After three beautiful days and nights at Disneyland three of us (unfortunately Chelsea couldn’t make the second leg of the trip) boarded a flight to Honolulu to spend the remainder of the girls trip in paradise at the Aulani Resort & Spa. This beautiful resort was truly a wonder to behold. We arrived and settled into our Disney Vacation Club one bedroom villa before touring the resort.

One of the best features of the hotel are the many murals and carvings you find built into the design and architecture.

We really enjoyed this area, which celebrates the Hawaiian language and culture.

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.

If you’re into excursions, Aulani offers paddle boards at Makiki Joe’s Beach and you can also rent gear for snorkeling to enjoy swimming with the fish at Rainbow Reef. We also spent some time on the beach and hit the adults-only pool — since we were kid-free for the trip! Besides relaxing poolside and floating down the Lazy River aka Waikolohe Stream — another major highlight of Aulani is the Laniwai Spa. As soon as you check in you’re able to pick a rock with a special word, you learn the meaning, and are able to set your intention before heading in for your treatment.

Source: Courtesy / Janeé Bolden

One of the highlights of our trip was definitely our sunset dinner at ‘AMA’AMA. The food was incredible but the views of the beach made the night unforgettable. As incredible as that dinner was — the trip wasn’t complete until we experienced the KA WA’A Lū’au on Kipuka Lawn.

Check out a few more key memories and moments from the trip!