Trip report Aulani April 11-18 2016!
- Thread starter Iggipolka
- Start date
Iggipolka
<a href="http://www.wdwinfo.com/dis-sponsor/" targ
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2005
Oh My! Our spontaneous trip to Hawaii is Tomorrow! Can't quite fathom it. My daughter woke me up singing In the Tiki Tiki Tiki a room..... Yup, that's my Disney Crazy kid.
My 3&y yr old girls and I packed yesterday. Well, actually, they packed & my 6yr old did great, except for forgetting underwear, but hey, 10(!) dresses were way more important. My 3yr old packed all socks & got very mad when I tried to convince her to bring at least one swimsuit.
So, I repacked them after they went to bed and locked their suitcases.
I also packed their backpacks with books, snacks, coloring stuff, a couple small toys & sticker books. Although, I know they are going to be glued to their iPads the whole flight. Doesn't matter. It's all about surviving the flight with two kids.
Today, my oldest has a theater performance & then we'll be staying at a hotel by the airport where my spouse will join us late tonight. She's a rugby coach & their National Championships are this weekend in LA, so she gets to drive to San Francisco after their game today & get up super early for a flight tomorrow. I put her in a row by herself & the kids & I together. Hopefully she'll get some sleep on the flight!
Enough of my babbling. Time to finish up all the house chores & get ready to go!
My 3&y yr old girls and I packed yesterday. Well, actually, they packed & my 6yr old did great, except for forgetting underwear, but hey, 10(!) dresses were way more important. My 3yr old packed all socks & got very mad when I tried to convince her to bring at least one swimsuit.
So, I repacked them after they went to bed and locked their suitcases.
I also packed their backpacks with books, snacks, coloring stuff, a couple small toys & sticker books. Although, I know they are going to be glued to their iPads the whole flight. Doesn't matter. It's all about surviving the flight with two kids.
Today, my oldest has a theater performance & then we'll be staying at a hotel by the airport where my spouse will join us late tonight. She's a rugby coach & their National Championships are this weekend in LA, so she gets to drive to San Francisco after their game today & get up super early for a flight tomorrow. I put her in a row by herself & the kids & I together. Hopefully she'll get some sleep on the flight!
Enough of my babbling. Time to finish up all the house chores & get ready to go!
alohamom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2003
YAY-your trip really seemed to come up fast! One of the things I really loved about Aulani is the Hawaiian versions of Disney songs in the elevators so I am sure your daughter will love listening for all the different songs-I kind of think Tiki Room is one of them. Have a wonderful trip!
crystal1313
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2012
So exciting!! Have a wonderful time! Looking forward to hearing about your trip. Safe travels!
Iggipolka
<a href="http://www.wdwinfo.com/dis-sponsor/" targ
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2005
Hi! We are on Day 4 of our 7 day vacation & I'm already dreading departure day. Trying to stay in the moment as its been beyond wonderful.
Day 1: Flew out of San Francisco to HNL on Virgin America, 5.5 long hours, but the kids were good & we made it safely.
We picked up our Jeep from Enterprise & stopped at the Pearl Harbor NEX for groceries for the week & also a delicious sushi lunch at base Food Court. $150 for a weeks worth of groceries for a family of 4, including vodka & wine. Pretty damn good.
Then, onto Aulani! Both kids slept on the 30 min drive, which was delightful.
Even better, when we arrived at 1pm, our 2bd Ocean View Villa was ready. Yeay!!
My pictures are too big to upload on my phone, so I'll do that later. We are in the Ewa tower, facing the pool & ocean. Amazing.
Our luggage & groceries arrived from Bell Services & it was off to the pool & beach, POG+Vodka in hand. The pool water temp is cool to cold, but the kids don't care.
The lagoon is warmer & I just loved digging holes and castles in the sand with my kids & playing in the ocean. Perfect!! This is a Hawaii Vacation to me.
Around 5, the kids were getting Hangry & even though I had planned on cooking dinner, I was tired, so we splurged on the Buffett. My wife & I each had two drinks and ate our weight in sushi, shrimp & crab legs, plus delicious salads and amazing desserts. It was So good. Our 3yr old (T) ate 1 tatertot and our 6yr old ate a little noodles & part of a mini cheeseburger. Little bummed that we had to pay for their "dinner". They were just too tired to eat. Our meal cost $188!! THIS is why I bought groceries for the week.
By 8:30, we were all in bed and crashed out. The kids slept until 5am, better than I had feared.
More later, including our wonderful site seeing trip to an empty beach, a much better place to get Shave Ice than that popular place & pickled mango at the North Shore
Day 1: Flew out of San Francisco to HNL on Virgin America, 5.5 long hours, but the kids were good & we made it safely.
We picked up our Jeep from Enterprise & stopped at the Pearl Harbor NEX for groceries for the week & also a delicious sushi lunch at base Food Court. $150 for a weeks worth of groceries for a family of 4, including vodka & wine. Pretty damn good.
Then, onto Aulani! Both kids slept on the 30 min drive, which was delightful.
Even better, when we arrived at 1pm, our 2bd Ocean View Villa was ready. Yeay!!
My pictures are too big to upload on my phone, so I'll do that later. We are in the Ewa tower, facing the pool & ocean. Amazing.
Our luggage & groceries arrived from Bell Services & it was off to the pool & beach, POG+Vodka in hand. The pool water temp is cool to cold, but the kids don't care.
The lagoon is warmer & I just loved digging holes and castles in the sand with my kids & playing in the ocean. Perfect!! This is a Hawaii Vacation to me.
Around 5, the kids were getting Hangry & even though I had planned on cooking dinner, I was tired, so we splurged on the Buffett. My wife & I each had two drinks and ate our weight in sushi, shrimp & crab legs, plus delicious salads and amazing desserts. It was So good. Our 3yr old (T) ate 1 tatertot and our 6yr old ate a little noodles & part of a mini cheeseburger. Little bummed that we had to pay for their "dinner". They were just too tired to eat. Our meal cost $188!! THIS is why I bought groceries for the week.
By 8:30, we were all in bed and crashed out. The kids slept until 5am, better than I had feared.
More later, including our wonderful site seeing trip to an empty beach, a much better place to get Shave Ice than that popular place & pickled mango at the North Shore
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2004
Sounds like not enough vodka & wine.
crystal1313
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2012
Looking forward to hearing more! Thanks for sharing!!
alohamom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2003
Well that is awesome! Glad you guys are enjoying it.
alohamom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2003
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2004
Putting this on our list. Three weeks from tomorrow!!!!
Iggipolka
<a href="http://www.wdwinfo.com/dis-sponsor/" targ
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2005
Hi all from the Aulani Beach with my refillable mug full of POG & Vodka. Seriously, so good.
Thanks for reading along.
Day Two: Tuesday April 12th. I had it in my head to find Turtle Beach & since we were all up at 5am, I figured we could do a little Island Tour & be back for swimming in the afternoon.
So, after Banana Macadamia nut pancakes, lots of bacon (which left our villa stinking of bacon for three days) & even more coffee, we motivated the kids to the jeep.
I typed Turtle Beach into the Waze App and it was only 10 minutes away! Odd, but ok.
We turned West onto H1 (those who have bee to Turtle Beach know this isn't correct) and drove through a residential area with a McDonalds every 15'.
We stopped at a mini mart for water bottles and delicious lychee and strawberry juice.
Waze directed us to a beach access I between two houses. We had astoundingly beautiful, totally empty beach all to ourselves. Zero turtles, but who cares! L & I played in the big waves & got soaked. T was scared by the noise & strength of the waves, so did her best impression of a sloth & clung to my back with Huge Eyes.
I had brought big beach towels that I rented from Paradise Baby, but no swim suits or change of clothes. Whoops, well, we will dry.
Back to the jeep with the thought of stopping at a yummy Poke/Sushi place we went to last time we came, but the kids blissfully fell asleep in the car. Awesome!! We took advantage of the quiet and enjoyed a delightful drive over to the North Shore to find the Real Turtle Beach.
The kids woke up just as we entered that historic town that I can't spell or pronounce, but starts with an H.
We had a delicious Mahi Mahi plate lunch at a cafe just past the food trucks, with tortillas, rice & beans. We got two and split with the kids & still had plenty left over.
We were going to go to the famous Shave Ice place, but the line was so long. Instead, we found the Best Shave Ice place ever. San Lorenzo Shave Ice makes their own flavoring from scratch and their own ice from filtered water. Plus the small was twice the size of the other places. It was so good, plus they have a 15% military discount.
Right next door to San Lorenzo's was a Kiki boutique, super expensive, but I got the girls a couple cute dresses that were dry & not full of sand.
Finally, onto the real Turtle Beach! Well, except, along the way, we passed by a house with a hand written sign saying "Pickled Mango". We had to stop & try it & chat with the locals. I'm so glad we did. It was great to hear about their lives, L was amazed that they had lived on the island all their lives. The pickled mango is delicious, sweet and tart at the same time. Perfect for salads or adding to sandwiches. We ate some later mixed with tuna fish. Yum.
By now, the kids were getting cranky about not seeing turtles, so we finally made it to the beach. We parked, along with everyone else, in between the "No Parking Tow Away Zone" and ran through traffic to the beach. There was a Red Flag warning due to high surf and it was so beautiful with huge waves & bright blue water. We saw two turtles and 40 other loud tourists that chased a 3rd turtle away by their noise. Bummer.
They are amazing though and so huge. Both my kids were astonished that they were real & not in a zoo.
On the way back to Aulani, I saw a coffee farm! Woo! Much to the kids dismay about delaying swimming time, we stopped and got to walk among the coffee plants, have free samples and I got a Mocha Freeze & my kids split a milkshake. Yum.
We were back at Aulani around 2 and in the pool by 2:30. Again, the water was cool, but the kids were so happy to be in the pool & out of the car.
After several hours of swimming & snack breaks, we headed back to the room to feed the kids a bunch of noodles & hot dogs.
L asked to go to Aunty's, so we dropped the kids off & walked over to Monkey Pod for drinks & dinner. OMG. Everything I've heard about Monkey Pod is true. It's amazing. We had 4 appetizers, the poke taco's, babaganoosh, raw plate and garlic fry's and two very strong drinks each. Ya, we like to eat & drink.
We browsed the updated ABC store & sere impressed by the changes. Also got more vodka & wine.
We picked up the kids around 8 and they crashed out by 8:30. We enjoyed our drinks and the music on the balcony for awhile & then we were done for the day too.
Coming up: Day Three, All at Aulani!
Thanks for reading along.
Day Two: Tuesday April 12th. I had it in my head to find Turtle Beach & since we were all up at 5am, I figured we could do a little Island Tour & be back for swimming in the afternoon.
So, after Banana Macadamia nut pancakes, lots of bacon (which left our villa stinking of bacon for three days) & even more coffee, we motivated the kids to the jeep.
I typed Turtle Beach into the Waze App and it was only 10 minutes away! Odd, but ok.
We turned West onto H1 (those who have bee to Turtle Beach know this isn't correct) and drove through a residential area with a McDonalds every 15'.
We stopped at a mini mart for water bottles and delicious lychee and strawberry juice.
Waze directed us to a beach access I between two houses. We had astoundingly beautiful, totally empty beach all to ourselves. Zero turtles, but who cares! L & I played in the big waves & got soaked. T was scared by the noise & strength of the waves, so did her best impression of a sloth & clung to my back with Huge Eyes.
I had brought big beach towels that I rented from Paradise Baby, but no swim suits or change of clothes. Whoops, well, we will dry.
Back to the jeep with the thought of stopping at a yummy Poke/Sushi place we went to last time we came, but the kids blissfully fell asleep in the car. Awesome!! We took advantage of the quiet and enjoyed a delightful drive over to the North Shore to find the Real Turtle Beach.
The kids woke up just as we entered that historic town that I can't spell or pronounce, but starts with an H.
We had a delicious Mahi Mahi plate lunch at a cafe just past the food trucks, with tortillas, rice & beans. We got two and split with the kids & still had plenty left over.
We were going to go to the famous Shave Ice place, but the line was so long. Instead, we found the Best Shave Ice place ever. San Lorenzo Shave Ice makes their own flavoring from scratch and their own ice from filtered water. Plus the small was twice the size of the other places. It was so good, plus they have a 15% military discount.
Right next door to San Lorenzo's was a Kiki boutique, super expensive, but I got the girls a couple cute dresses that were dry & not full of sand.
Finally, onto the real Turtle Beach! Well, except, along the way, we passed by a house with a hand written sign saying "Pickled Mango". We had to stop & try it & chat with the locals. I'm so glad we did. It was great to hear about their lives, L was amazed that they had lived on the island all their lives. The pickled mango is delicious, sweet and tart at the same time. Perfect for salads or adding to sandwiches. We ate some later mixed with tuna fish. Yum.
By now, the kids were getting cranky about not seeing turtles, so we finally made it to the beach. We parked, along with everyone else, in between the "No Parking Tow Away Zone" and ran through traffic to the beach. There was a Red Flag warning due to high surf and it was so beautiful with huge waves & bright blue water. We saw two turtles and 40 other loud tourists that chased a 3rd turtle away by their noise. Bummer.
They are amazing though and so huge. Both my kids were astonished that they were real & not in a zoo.
On the way back to Aulani, I saw a coffee farm! Woo! Much to the kids dismay about delaying swimming time, we stopped and got to walk among the coffee plants, have free samples and I got a Mocha Freeze & my kids split a milkshake. Yum.
We were back at Aulani around 2 and in the pool by 2:30. Again, the water was cool, but the kids were so happy to be in the pool & out of the car.
After several hours of swimming & snack breaks, we headed back to the room to feed the kids a bunch of noodles & hot dogs.
L asked to go to Aunty's, so we dropped the kids off & walked over to Monkey Pod for drinks & dinner. OMG. Everything I've heard about Monkey Pod is true. It's amazing. We had 4 appetizers, the poke taco's, babaganoosh, raw plate and garlic fry's and two very strong drinks each. Ya, we like to eat & drink.
We browsed the updated ABC store & sere impressed by the changes. Also got more vodka & wine.
We picked up the kids around 8 and they crashed out by 8:30. We enjoyed our drinks and the music on the balcony for awhile & then we were done for the day too.
Coming up: Day Three, All at Aulani!
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2004
This sounds like its right up our ally. Any idea just where this was? Name?
crystal1313
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2012
I'm loving reading all about your trip. Makes me so excited for ours. Can't wait to read more!
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