Disneyland - DCL to Hawaii, Aulani & Disneyland (Again) - October 2012

[Aunt KatKat]

Please keep writing, I want to keep reading!!! Thank you for this.

 

[Goldeelox9]

October 19, 2012 - Vacation Day 8, Cruise Day 6 - Maui

UGH....I just lost this whole post...lets start again.

So we woke up super early since the Pride of Maui was picking us up a little after 7am. We threw on clothes and headed up to the top deck to see Land! Of course I checked my email right away. It's been like 5 days since I was in contact with my clients. Sure my boss was handling any problems but I needed to make sure everyone was ok.

It was breathtaking. It was amazing. It is a moment I will never forget...seeing the sun rise in Hawaii! I was in HAWAII!!!

Just a quick shot of the crew pool. So glad that we get the big pool. This is so small.

So back to the view...amazing!

We heard the announcement....The boat was clear for us to disembark.

We got off of the ship and went right to the Van pick up. We booked a snorkel excursion through Pride of Maui. They were great and even offered pick up and drop off at the ship. There were two vans of guests from our ship.

As soon as we were on the bus I called home to talk to my favorite little ones. this was the longest I have ever went without talking to them and I could not wait to hear those little voices!! We had a greta conversation and before I knew it we were at the boat.

As soon as we boarded we grabbed some muffins and juice and went to the top deck.

I called my Dad real fast. I missed my family so much. We always travel together and it was weird not having them with me.

I am glad we sat up on top the boat. Look at that view.

Pete went and grabbed us some snorkels. We were so excited to snorkel in Hawaii!

It took about 30 minutes to get to the Molokini Crater. Once we got there it was time to get into the water. Poor Pete...he wears a size 15 shoe and they did not have fins to fit him. We tried the largest ones and it looked like one of the Stepsisters trying on Cinderella's shoe.

He had to snorkel without fins. We didn't think it would be a big deal and we hopped in the water.

We had a waterproof camera and a case for our flip for videos. It was fun to swim around and take pictures.

There was also a photographer in the water taking pictures. We didn't plan on buying the Disk, but then on the way back to land we got together with 4 other couples and all split the cost. I made copies for everyone back on the ship. This is my favorite one they took!

There were so many fish. We were in awe. I was Pete's first time snorkeling and he really liked it.

 

[Goldeelox9]

October 19, 2012 - Vacation Day 8, Cruise Day 6 - Maui, Part 2

The water was freezing. I am spoiled in the Atlantic Ocean here on the east coast. Brrr!

But the fish were amazing!

It was time to head back to the boat. We were getting ready to head to Turtle Town.

There was slide on the ship but I was too chicken to try it.

These were the ladders to get back into the boat.

There was also walk in stairs. They were mainly from the scuba divers but anyone could have used them.

So we traveled 15 minutes of so and headed to Turtle Town. Pete was tired out from swimming with no fins.

We held hands as we swam and looked for turtles.

You know some Sea Turtles are 150 years old per Crush. LOL There were rules, we were not allowed to get within 5 feet of them and we could not touch them at all!

We were beat so we got back on the ship. We had a great lunch. Burgers, Chicken, Hot dogs, salads and DRINKS!

On the way back a whole school of Dolphins swam beside the ship! It was so exciting seeing them!

CLICK HERE to see a short video of the Dolphins Swimming.

We had a great time chatting with a couple we had met on the ship. They were great! The ride back was nice and slow. We got back to the dock around 1pm and reboarded the vans back to the ship. We had to shower and get ready for the fun luau tonight.

Once back on the ship we went to the top deck for some more pictures.

Of course I called the kids since it was almost bed time for them. We chatted and I found out my sister had broken her finger. They were leaving for WDW in 4 days! I hated being so far away!

I had arranged for a driver to take us to the Luau. We did not book the luau through the ship. I found one with fire dancers that was 1/2 the price. We went to the Te Au Moana Luau at the Wailea Marriott.

We used Steve Blue who owns Surf Taxi Maui.

He was great. He picked us up at 4pm and we made the drive to the Luau.

We got to the hotel and it was STUNNING! We wandered around and took some pictures.

We then started heading down to the beach. Taking pictures along the way of course.

 

[Goldeelox9]

October 19, 2012 - Vacation Day 8, Cruise Day 6 - Maui, Part 3


Pete was so excited when he found out I paid for the front row seating!!

We went and grabbed out seats and met out table mates. One of which was a Disney Crew member.

We received Leis when we entered. They were so pretty!

Pete grabbed us drinks (included in the price) and then the food was presented.

The sun started to set and the pre show started!

We headed up and filled our plates. It got insane the further down the line we went the better the food looked.

The pork was the best!

Then the show started....Lots of show pictures!!!

This is Morgan our DCL friend. We gave her a ride in our car on the way back to the port. She was so sweet.

 

[Goldeelox9]

October 19, 2012 - Vacation Day 8, Cruise Day 6 - Maui, Part 4

The Fire Twirlers were up next!

It was time to leave and we offered Morgan a ride back with us. Steve was coming to get us.

We made it back to the ship with 30 minutes to spare. We were both tired. Pete even came right to bed with me. The next day was another fun filled extra packed day!

 

[stitch'sgirl]

October 16, 2012 - Vacation Day 5, Cruise Day 3 - Day at Sea - Part 2

Oh Uncle! I had no idea he was on the cruise to Hawaii. Our family got to know him at Aulani. Love his stories!! What a great trip report, can't wait to read some more!

 

[Goldeelox9]

Uncle was amazing wasn't he. I had no idea he was at Aulani!

 

[Goldeelox9]

October 20, 2012 - Vacation Day 9, Cruise Day 7 - Kauai

Another Island today. We were up bright and early again. We wanted to be the first group off of the ship.

I am going to warn you now this will end up being 3 posts long....we did so much today!!

We again went up to the top deck for some pictures while waiting for the ship to be cleared.

Disney was working on a roof over one of the hot tubs at 7am. The pools were empty too. It was pretty cool seeing them so empty.

Before too long we heard the all ashore announcement. We were off the ship in no time and on the shuttle to the rental car location. We rented a car so we could drive all around the island today with no restrictions. We rented a full size car and got a Charger.

We had a full day planned. We hit the road on our way to our first stop. Kauai Coffee Company.

On the way we pasted some McDonalds. We stopped so Pete could get some Spam in Hawaii.

Apparently Spam is very popular on the islands. Walmart had a whole aisle with all different flavors. The Breakfast plater had Spam, Portuguese sausage, eggs and rice. So odd!

I had a hash brown.

It was like Key West. The whole island was overran with Chickens. We saw this one in the McDonald's drive through.

We drove down a long road to the Coffee Company. It was so close to the water and the view was lovely.

We went in for a tasting and to watch the video.

There were over 25 different types to try. Pete was in heaven.

This is where we sat to enjoy our drinks.

This was my drink of choice....LOL

I am not a coffee fan at all. As Pete drank I took in the scenery.

Pete went back for some refills.

We spent way too much money in the store. We bought post cards, coffee, a christmas ornament, coffee, a mug, coffee, chocolate macadamia nuts, coffee .....LOL

Then we got in the car and started towards the Canyon.

Before we got too far we stopped at the post office to mail Coffee to Pete's mom and some friends of ours. The post office is only open like 2 hours a day. We were there at the perfect time.

After mailing the packages we started towards the Waimea Canyon again. We didn't get far before we pulled over to take some pictures. The beauty was breathtaking.

We took a little video. CLICK HERE to watch it.

 

[Goldeelox9]

October 20, 2012 - Vacation Day 9, Cruise Day 7 - Kauai, Part 2

We finally made it to Waimea Canyon. It was about a 45 minute drive up to the top. It was turny and twisty too.

We took the trail up to the lookout.

O.M.G. That is what I said once we created the top and I could see. These pictures (and there are a ton of them) do not do this justice AT ALL!

I could have stared at this for hours. It was so deep and so gorgeous! Here is a quick VIDEO that gives a little more detail.

Isn't this amazing?

We took a few more pictures before we headed back to the car.

Of course there were some Chickens running around.

We headed back to the car but stopped and bought some fresh Pineapple from a street vendor and let me tell you, it tasted better then any other pineapple I have ever out in my mouth!

Thankfully Pete is allergic and can only eat a small amount so I got to have most of it.

We started down the mountain but had to keep stopping to take pictures.

 

[Goldeelox9]

October 20, 2012 - Vacation Day 9, Cruise Day 7 - Kauai, Part 3

We stopped one last time before we made it to the bottom and recorded THIS LITTLE VIDEO before taking one last picture.

These pictures truly do not do this any justice. It was so much more beautiful then these pictures.

It was lunch time at this point and we were hungry. We had passed a little roadside shack called the Shrimp Station. We stopped and I jumped out to grab us some shrimp.

I picked a Coconut Shrimp and a Garlic Shrimp. I was not real sure what we would end up with but each one was about $9 so I figures we could share.

Look at those shrimp. OMG the Garlic Shrimp were the best shrimp I have ever had. They were so good. The Coconut shrimp was so sweet! MMMM

We then explored the island some more. A Firehouse picture for my sister.

We went to the best gift shop. Pete bought his employees gifts, I got the kids Hawaiian outfits and my sister a pretty sarong. We got a Tiki Mask for our bedroom wall. Dancing Hula Girls for the dashboard, bracelets, necklaces....sooo much stuff. We were in the store for hours.

This was outside the shop....HAHA!

We drove around the other side of the island after shopping.

I have never saw anything so gorgeous!

We then stopped to take a walk in a little park next to the beach.

Pete decided he wanted some alcohol and I wanted a Famous (ok, maybe not famous but I saw Guy from the food network go here) Puka Dog.

We went to the shopping center.

After leaving there we went to yet another shopping center. I wanted a Hawaiian dress but could not find a style I liked. I settled for an amazing beach hat!

We had to rush to fill up the gas tank and return the car to the Airport. It didn't take long and before we knew it our time on Kauai was over. It went sooo fast! We loved Kauai, so very much. Pete said it is his favorite Island.

Again we were so tired. I wanted to skip dinner and go to bed. LOL

We did take a nap (so glad we had late dining) and then got ready for dinner. I wore jeans to the main dining room. I never do that, but I did not have it in me. I was tired and wasn't feeling it.

Donald and Daisy had a great time on the island. They were out for pictures in the lobby.

Tonight was a Hawaiian menu and I did not like anything on the menu. Bogdan tried really hard to find something I would want and he brought tons of options.

And what I ended up with..........

After dinner we went to the shops to look around. Then we stopped by the cubs to see what was going on. I was tired though so we didn't go in.

A Turtle was waiting for us when we got back to the room.

Pete went up on deck to talk to his deck group about their day. I went to bed! Aulani is tomorrow and it was another early early day!

 

[franandaj]

I'm still reading! Enjoying your report!

How was the Puka dog? I didn't see Guy go there, but Anthony Bourdain went to the one in Waikiki.

What an idea to rent a car for the day! I wouldn't have thought of that on a cruise, but I also haven't been to an American Port other than in Alaska. You two look so cute in all those shots at the canyon. I can understand how you would be so tired to be a little lax in the dining room. I'd have a hard time convincing my other half to even go to the dining room!

Sounds like you had a couple of wonderful days!

 

[Goldeelox9]

The Puka dog was good Fran.

We loved having the car. We rented on our last day on the islands in Hilo too. We paid less then $50 a day for the cars and having the freedom to do what we wanted on our time (as you can see we kept pulling over for pictures) was great for us. We were able to see so much on the islands. It did take a lot of planning on my part but was worth it.

I have programed all of our "Must Dos" into the GSP before we left home and then I had lists and phone numbers (in case we got lost). It was a great experience and one I would do again in a heartbeat!

 

[jedijill]

Just joining in! I've read your other trip reports in the past but had a 7 degrees of separation moment when I saw your picture on a co-worker's (Shawn S in NJ) FB page.

Jill in CO

 

[Goldeelox9]

Hey! I have a trip report coming up with Shawn S soon as I get this one done!

 

[jedijill]

Hey! I have a trip report coming up with Shawn S soon as I get this one done!

It's a small world after all....

Jill in CO

 

[Goldeelox9]

October 21, 2012 - Vacation Day 10, Cruise Day 8 - Ohau, Aulani


Yay! Today is the day I was looking forward to the most out of all of the days! AULANI! I had a client on the cruise with us, TerriLynn and her family. We each booked a one night stay at Aulani with a discount and arranges a transportation service to pick us up at the ship and drive us to Aulani and then after our day was over pick us up at Aulani and drive us back to the ship. We used Royal Hawaiian Tour. They gave us the best price.

Again we got up early (like 6am) and headed to the deck to take pictures. Before long we heard that the ship was clear around 7am and we took off. We wanted to get the most time at the resort since we needed to be back by 4:30pm.

Once in the terminal we found TerriLynn and we headed out side to find our car. We all boarded into the Mini Van for the drive. It was about 30-40 minutes away from the port.

We arrived at Aulani and were greeted at the door. The resort was amazing from the second we stepped in the lobby.

We went to check in and that was fast! The men were given Kukui Nut necklaces and the ladies leis. The children received a Menehune Necklace.

According to Hawaiian legend, the little Menehune (men-neh-HOO-nay) are shy folk who come out mostly at night. They are said to be gifted, possibly magical, craftspeople and if you come across a work-in-progress bridge or canoe (as you just might, when visiting Aulani), chances are its the work of the Menehune.

You may not spot them right away, but the Menehune will be there, represented by carvings concealed throughout the resort under tables, in the forest and hidden in corners where they are most likely to be discovered by kids. The Menehune have a hand, unseen, in the construction of Menehune Bridge, the childrens interactive water and slide play area at the resort.

We went to check out the Pau Hana room and to send our video Post cards. CLICK HERE This is the link to watch ours! It's so funny!

At this point we split up and TerriLynn and family went to do their own thing. We slowly made our way down to get a chair with an Ocean View.

We found the perfect seats. Look at the view.

We took a few pictures before we got comfy and settled in to start our relaxing.

 

[Goldeelox9]

October 21, 2012 - Vacation Day 10, Cruise Day 8 - Ohau, Aulani, Part 2

We laid and looked at the Ocean for all of about 10 minutes before we decided to head to the infinity edge hot tub. The crowds were still so light since it was only about 8:30am.

We had to get pool bracelets and towels by showing our room card. They we were set for the day. This is something you have to do each day when staying here. Aulani only lets hotel guests use the pools.

We just sat there and talked about how great it was to be here and how much we want to come back here with our families. I know my sister's kids would totally love it here!

It is just the very prettiest place I have ever been to! I have only booked 2 or 3 clients Aulani stays but every single one of them come back and send emails to our agency talking about what a great time they have had. While it is not a cheap vacation by any means it is surely worth every single penny!

I was dying to try the Lazy River so we headed there next.

Again the crowds were nice and low the first time we went around. It took us about an hour. The second time the crowds were getting heavier. We saw the tour group from the ship and waved from the pool. I was so glad we booked a day there instead of just doing the DVC tour offered by the ship.

There were all kinds of fountains and falls through out the lazy river. There was also A LOT of shade and that is a good thing for this fair skinned girl!

After being hit one too many times by a group of kids all trying to hold on to each other we decided it was lunch time.

We checked out the quick service options, but I wanted a tropical drink so we went to Off the Hook. We had no trouble getting a table and we ordered drinks right away.

They were playing the football games on TV and our..ok ok my Ravens didn't do so well!

SUCH a good drink. I wanted like 5 of them. But since lunch was like $38 I only had one.

We both had Burger and fries for lunch. They were pretty good.

We decided to go snorkeling in the Snorkel tank but first I needed a picture with my Main Mouse in Paradise.

 

[Goldeelox9]

October 21, 2012 - Vacation Day 10, Cruise Day 8 - Ohau, Aulani, Part 3

We got a text that our room was ready so we hurry up and collected out stuff from our seats and went to check out our room.

Mickey and Minnie had a Message for us. CLICK HERE to hear it.

We had a great View from our balcony! I could have sat here all day.

It was now like 12:00pm and we made our way to the Snorkel Lagoon.

After we got out of the snorkel lagoon we discovered our water proof flip case was failing us. We took the flip out and dried it off. Thankfully it survived!

We went back and found a spot again with a view of the beach.

CLICK HERE for a video view!

HERE is a message from my husband...HA!

I wanted to go swimming in the Ocean so we went down to the beach. There were beach attendants who asked our room number and showed us to chairs under and umbrella. All of the beaches in Hawaii are open to the public, but Disney reserves the chairs and umbrellas for resort guests.

We got a great spot!

 

[luv2sleep]

What floor was this room on? Pool or ocean view?

 

[Goldeelox9]

October 21, 2012 - Vacation Day 10, Cruise Day 8 - Ohau, Aulani, Part 4

Pete grabbed a snorkel before we went in the water. They are free for hotel guests.

The water was COLD! Freezing COLD!

The water was cloudy and we couldn't see anything! No fish at all.

There was a bride and groom on the beach! You know I needed a picture!

Sometimes when I think about it, it blows my mind that I swam way in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

We got out of the Ocean and went back to the pool. The show was going to start in 15-20 minutes and I wanted a good spot.

We met back up with TerriLynn in the pool. It was fun to watch the show from the pool together.

Goofy was awesome. He was in the pool earlier with the kids. Like IN THE POOL. Up to at least his knees. It was so cool!

CLICK HERE for a tiny bit of the show video.

We decided to go back up to the room so I could take a bath before we needed to leave.

On our way back to our room we walked past a really nice splash area for the kids.