My Aulani & Oahu Adventure

kcb1dizbksfan

Mouseketeer
Joined
Aug 30, 2008
As the year draws quickly to a close, for me personally this trip to Aulani was clearly the highlight of the year. I planned this trip as a celebration of an age milestone for late October early November. I am not a DVC member and so I had to pay dearly for this trip and for the full ocean view. I had not previously travelled to Hawaii . . . but this location was on my bucket list.

This was a solo trip and wanted the greatest level of peace and quiet and to just focus on my photography. This was a relatively short trip given the length of travel. I flew direct from JFK to Honolulu for 10 hours . . . not the highlight of my trip for sure. I travelled coach and regretted not reserving comfort plus seating. On the return trip comfort plus seating was sold out and the night flight on the return and daylight savings time when I returned was painful to say the least.

I did not go to Hawaii and certainly not Aulani expecting any bargains and didn't not receive any during my short stay . . . so no false expectations and no disappointments. This trip was very expensive and was worth every penny.

This trip was one of the best vacations I have experienced to date. Some people don't care about their room view, but for me having a bad view given my photographic interests would have been a big disappointment and that was certainly not the case for me as my photos will show.

Photographically I have had some recent challenges with traveling to the World and having electronic problems with my camera (2 trips) and one trip where my rig fell on the hard cement before entering the MK, rendering my camera useless at the beginning of my vacation. With this trip, the camera worked flawlessly and overall my vacation followed in-line with that good fortune.

IMHO Aulani is by far the nicest resort of any Disney property and the best resort I have stayed at period. There is an understated elegance about this resort and you feel connected to it as soon as you arrive. Overall the cast members were great, absent one who was in training. All the cast members seemed very relaxed, the mid 80 degree temperatures, the open air lobby, the view of the lagoon and the Pacific Ocean immediately creates a tranquil vibe which I have not been getting at the theme parks over my last few trips. It was so great to regain my personal space back again. I live on Long Island, work in Manhattan and it is so nice to celebrate less people and more tranquility. I think the geographic location of Ko Olina being on the western side of the island in the suburbs and an hour drive from the busy Waikiki and Honolulu areas certainly helped make the environmentals more user friendly.

My agenda consisted of:
Day 1: Travel and getting acclimated to Aulani and the environment. Having dinner at the Monkey Pod restaurant (great margherita pizza).

Day 2: Hike to Manoa Falls through the tropical rain forest with a tour guide and a few other travelers, which departed from a hotel located in Waikiki Beach. Attempt to hike up Diamond Head, but the park was closed due apparently to some remediation work on the trail . . . big disappointment. Birthday dinner at Roy's a great restaurant located on the Ko'OLIna golf course. Great meal . . . I had sea base as my entree.

Day 3: Pearl Harbor - Tour guide and trip to the USS Arizona and Missouri (BB-63) battleship memorials. Tough and very moving day for me for many reasons. I was glad to go to the KA WA'A Disney Luau (general admission not VIP) to lighten up the end of my day.

Day 4: North Shore - One of the best days in Oahu . . . quintessential Hawaii views . . . a photographers paradise for sure. Back to the Monkey Pod for a Burger and Longboard.

Day 5: Aulani resort in the AM and travel day back to NYC. Went down the lazy river for a few hours and had a Ukelele lesson . . . alot of fun.

Great trip and memories . . . but this will be a once in a lifetime Epic event.

Mahalo,

DRNYKCB

Character Breakfast (Makahiki - Disney characters at Aunty's breakfast celebration)

https://flic.kr/p/DdXGJp

https://flic.kr/p/EJUNLd

Aulani Resort

https://flic.kr/p/EP5koJ

https://flic.kr/p/Da6TdZ


https://flic.kr/p/21S64MQ

https://flic.kr/p/21t1Cfe

https://flic.kr/p/21S6541



LUAU Ka Wa'A (Luau at Aulani)
https://flic.kr/p/22WBgZk

https://flic.kr/p/Di9MkH


https://flic.kr/p/Di9Mfc

NORTH SHORE
Hanauma Bay
https://flic.kr/p/21B5wgK

Sandy Beach
https://flic.kr/p/Di9M4v

(Halona Cove)
https://flic.kr/p/21B5v7a

Makapu'u (Extreme east end of the island)


Nuuanu Pali Lookout
https://flic.kr/p/22WBfeM

Byodo-In Temple
https://flic.kr/p/22WBeF2

North Shore Coast
https://flic.kr/p/EP5pbd

Mokolii (Chinaman's Hat)
https://flic.kr/p/22WBdLr

Fumi Kahuko Shrimp Farm
https://flic.kr/p/22WBcFk

Pearl Harbor
https://flic.kr/p/21S65wW

https://flic.kr/p/EP5nNU


Monoa Falls - (Tropical rainforest)
https://flic.kr/p/21S65Gf


https://flic.kr/p/22WBc4i
 
Wow - unless I'm going TOTALLY nuts, I read and left comments on this same post earlier today. However, it was under a different user name as posting it, and I can't even find my comments in my Profile. Very, very, weird!

I'll leave a MUCH shorter version of my comments - nice report, spectacular photos, belated happy birthday, thanx for sharing!
 


As always, you take great pics. Thank you for sharing! :-)
Thanks . . . glad to share a successful outcome . . . everything clicked on this trip . . . I had to be careful not to see the entire trip through the lens of my camera but to also ensure the majority of the time I was viewing everything through my own personal lens.
 
Wow - unless I'm going TOTALLY nuts, I read and left comments on this same post earlier today. However, it was under a different user name as posting it, and I can't even find my comments in my Profile. Very, very, weird!

I'll leave a MUCH shorter version of my comments - nice report, spectacular photos, belated happy birthday, thanx for sharing!
Thank-you . . . glad to share . . . Happy New Year to you!
 


Wow - unless I'm going TOTALLY nuts, I read and left comments on this same post earlier today. However, it was under a different user name as posting it, and I can't even find my comments in my Profile. Very, very, weird!

I'll leave a MUCH shorter version of my comments - nice report, spectacular photos, belated happy birthday, thanx for sharing!
Well - nobody confirmed I AM nuts, but nobody denied it either! :rotfl2: Just find what happened SO weird!!
 
Thanks for sharing. You pictures are awesome! A Happy belated Birthday.
I am reading all I can about Aulani. I will be heading there in July to celebrate a milestone birthday with my family.
 
Thanks for sharing. You pictures are awesome! A Happy belated Birthday.
I am reading all I can about Aulani. I will be heading there in July to celebrate a milestone birthday with my family.
@dislainey Here's hoping you have a wonderful, magical time @ AUlani, and a spectacular birthday!!
 
I had the BEST time at Aulani...the food is extremely overpriced however. Monkey Pod across the street for half price apps was the highlight of my trip.

Ama Ama was amazing for a special diner, however the food was "meh" but the view was breathtaking.
 

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