<strong>The Moana Effect:</strong> Thanks to the hit movie, more travelers are becoming interested in learning about the local language and culture in Hawaii. Resorts like the Four Seasons Oahu (foreground) and Disney's Aulani are among those integrating native traditions into their properties.
The Moana Effect: Thanks to the hit movie, more travelers are becoming interested in learning about the local language and culture in Hawaii. Resorts like the Four Seasons Oahu (foreground) and Disney's Aulani are among those integrating native traditions into their properties.
Courtesy Four Seasons Oahu
<strong>Getting there:</strong> Hawaiian Airlines' redesigned A321neo features seat fabrics and dividers designed to reflect traditional bark cloth and fishing nets.
Getting there: Hawaiian Airlines' redesigned A321neo features seat fabrics and dividers designed to reflect traditional bark cloth and fishing nets.
Courtesy Hawaiian Airlines
<strong>How do you say "fascinating?":</strong> Each object in Aulani's Olelo Room is labeled with its Hawaiian name, and all of its staff are fluent in the language.
How do you say "fascinating?": Each object in Aulani's Olelo Room is labeled with its Hawaiian name, and all of its staff are fluent in the language.
Courtesy Disney
<strong>Light the way: </strong>Instead of tiki torches, Aulani's pathways are lit by fixtures replicating kukui nuts strung on a coconut frond midrib, as was done by some of the island's first inhabitants.
Light the way: Instead of tiki torches, Aulani's pathways are lit by fixtures replicating kukui nuts strung on a coconut frond midrib, as was done by some of the island's first inhabitants.
Valerie Marino
<strong>Eat up, study up:</strong> A patch of taro, a staple of the native Hawaiian diet, grows outside Aulani.
Eat up, study up: A patch of taro, a staple of the native Hawaiian diet, grows outside Aulani.
Paul Hiffmeyer/Disney Destinations
<strong>It's story time:</strong> "Uncle" visits the fire pit at Aulani to share Hawaiian folklore.
It's story time: "Uncle" visits the fire pit at Aulani to share Hawaiian folklore.
Disney/Florian Geiss
<strong>Color beyond the lines:</strong> The Four Seasons Oahu offers a painting workshop with a local artist as part of its #FSWayfinders program.
Color beyond the lines: The Four Seasons Oahu offers a painting workshop with a local artist as part of its #FSWayfinders program.
Courtesy Four Seasons Oahu
<strong>Dance with me:</strong> Dancers from Aulani's KA WA'A luau perform a 'ōte'a, a traditional dance of Tahiti.
Dance with me: Dancers from Aulani's KA WA'A luau perform a 'ōte'a, a traditional dance of Tahiti.
Kevin Norris
<strong>A class act</strong>: Children take part in a hula lesson at the Four Seasons Oahu, part of the resort's #FSWayfinders program.
A class act: Children take part in a hula lesson at the Four Seasons Oahu, part of the resort's #FSWayfinders program.
Courtesy Four Seasons Oahu
<strong>Making a legend:</strong> Dozens of Menehune are hidden around Aulani, tucked in corners or behind foliage. According to Hawaiian folklore, menehune are an ancient race of skilled craftspeople who lived in Hawaii before the first Polynesian settlers.
Making a legend: Dozens of Menehune are hidden around Aulani, tucked in corners or behind foliage. According to Hawaiian folklore, menehune are an ancient race of skilled craftspeople who lived in Hawaii before the first Polynesian settlers.
Kevin Norris