We were there in October - FOOLISHLY booked the same week that Oahu schools had fall break. Aulani was a MADHOUSE, 100% capacity by the weekend. So, we were a bit put off. My then 6 & 8-year olds LOVED everything about it, except for the crowds. Saw WAAAAY too many families fighting over stupid pool chairs. Kids loved the proximity of all the pools, and that they could pop in & out of each - and Aulani is fabulous for that, if that's what you want. I had to diligently work to get them into Aunty's on non-scheduled premium package days (Surf's up, Fish are Friends), so that was a pain in the you-know-what to do while on vacation, up and in line at 6:45am just to get them in for lunch. Your kids are small enough, Aunty's might not even be in the equation. Kids thought it was amazing. We had some not-so-great CM service, so as adults paying a lot for vacation, we left feeling like we wouldn't rush to return. Kids are DYING to go back - for Aunty's. But, we also stayed at the Fairmont Orchid on the Big Island the 4 nights before Aulani, on the concierge-level floor, and absolutely no comparison. We were catered to for just about EVERYTHING, the room was fabulous, the grounds spectacular. It was relaxing, spread out, a resort in every sense of the word. Aulani - there was a LOT of figuring things out. We thought of Aulani as very do-it-yourself. I was surprised how small the grounds are. It is not a sprawling resort - a la anything on the Big Island or Maui. We stayed in a DVC hotel room, it was a perfectly fine hotel room. But, having stayed at the Four Seasons Maui, the Halekulani, and the Fairmont previously, no comparison. Grand Wailea, when we stayed, was showing it's age a bit. We received MUCH better service at the Waikiki Outrigger Reef our first night on Oahu (though AWFUL, HORRIBLE pool for young kids) than Aulani. As a family, we all agreed we'd go to Grand Wailea down the road with the kids - mainly for the water/pool features (after we go back to the Fairmont Orchid!).
Best advice I got, and could get, was to SCOUR the DIS boards for information. You'll learn so much that will save you so much time & hassle when you get there! I know I probably sound negative, but I think we had our sights set SO HIGH, and when we got there & got some ruder CMs and the crowds were ridiculous, and it took 45 minutes for me to drive our rental car out of the parking lot the 50 or so yards because so many people were checking in, we were pretty let down. We are VERY glad we went & tried it, that's for sure. The kids had an amazing trip - TONS of memories. Hubby and I also really liked Aunty's so we could check in the kids & go to dinner across the street.