Aloha, Happy Birthday and Merry Christmas

I'm caught back up again! Between my house drama and the new Dis format I'm behind on everyone's reports.

I haven't been to Hawaii since 1993 so I'm anxious to go back and stay at Aulani this time. Your pictures just make me want to go more!

Jill in CO
 
Orbitron said:
I can't wait for the second Disneyland part, I hope one of the highlights was meeting us! ;) Awesome trip report so far!
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I am in the moment typing up the last couple of days of our stay at Aulani and then I get going on Disneyland. Meeting the two of you was definitely one of the highlights of that part of the trip.

jedijill said:
I'm caught back up again! Between my house drama and the new Dis format I'm behind on everyone's reports.

I haven't been to Hawaii since 1993 so I'm anxious to go back and stay at Aulani this time. Your pictures just make me want to go more!

Jill in CO
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You are definitely in for a treat and there will be a lot more photos as our attention is moving away from the island and to the resort itself for most of the rest of this part of the trip report.

Corinna
 
Corinna, I have just joined the party (so to speak) and have loved reading your trip report so far. What a great birthday!

The Island is so lush, and the vegetation, sea and sunsets look spectacular. Do you think staying at Aluani adds so much more to your holiday than staying at a regular hotel?
 
I thought that I had commented here, but obviously I didn't. That Temple is beautiful, I will add that to my list for when we go there.

I would have to avoid the waterfall too, that's pretty rocky terrain for both Fran and I.

The Dole Plantation sounds like a worthwhile trip! So many fun things that you did on these two days. I like the idea of spending time around the resort, it seems so nice.
 


Mrs Doubtfire said:
Corinna, I have just joined the party (so to speak) and have loved reading your trip report so far. What a great birthday!

The Island is so lush, and the vegetation, sea and sunsets look spectacular. Do you think staying at Aluani adds so much more to your holiday than staying at a regular hotel?
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Welcome on board. It was a rather special birthday and trip in general.

I was really positively surprised by how pretty Oahu is. When we visited during the cruise, we did not stray far out of Honolulu and I did not really rate it at all.

Aulani is definitely special from the cast members who are absolutely amazing to all the activities Aulani offers. Personally I could not imagine ever staying in Waikiki. This is just too much of a tourist trap for us. I would happily stay at one of the other Ko'Olina resorts or even at Turtle Bay up on the North Shore, but Aulani would always be my first choice.

franandaj said:
I thought that I had commented here, but obviously I didn't. That Temple is beautiful, I will add that to my list for when we go there.

I would have to avoid the waterfall too, that's pretty rocky terrain for both Fran and I.

The Dole Plantation sounds like a worthwhile trip! So many fun things that you did on these two days. I like the idea of spending time around the resort, it seems so nice.
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The temple and the surround area may just be the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life and is well worth a visit.

I agree with the waterfall, but Waimea Valley would still be worth a visit. It is all paved and scooter friendly. We came with an agenda and limited time, but I would like to go back and enjoy some of the cultural presentations.

I am still not sure about the Dole Plantation. If I had to do it all over again and had to cut something out, then the Dole Plantation would definitely be for the chop.

It was nice to just have time to enjoy the resort and the surrounding area and if I do get to go back, I will do this again.

Corinna
 
Day 10


After a number of fairly active days, it was time for a fairly lazy and relaxing day around the resort. We got up and ready. We had one of the punnets of fresh pineapple for breakfast and then headed down to the Ulu Cafe for some coffee. The place was positively deserted and it was nice to enjoy the resort while it was so peaceful. We then headed back to the room to drop off our mugs and pick up the cameras before checking in at the DVC preview centre.

We had an appointment to look at one of the grand villas at 8:30 that morning. Even though we had a fairly leisurely start to the morning, we were still there in plenty of time. We were asked to sit in the lounge next door and shortly afterwards; one of the managers came to speak to us. He is originally from the Netherlands and he wanted to check what brought us all the way to Hawaii. He was interested in how we were enjoying our stay and what our plans were for the rest of the trip. This is also when I found out that the DVC exclusive access to the hydrotherapy garden at the spa that had only been introduced during the second half of September had already been discontinued again. I was a little sad about this. We also found out about a member exclusive cocktail that was served in one of the lounges during happy hour.

Shortly afterwards one of the guides came to collect us. I was surprised that it was only the two of us. I have to say, the grand villas are stunning. The grand villa that we visited was on the tenth floor. All grand villas at Aulani have ocean views and are at the end of the buildings. So the views are stunning. We had plenty of time to walk around and enjoy this beautiful space. We took some photos and enjoyed the views and then headed back downstairs. I think the guide was hoping to sell us a few more points, but she was in for a disappointment. We have enough points to do what we want to do and as much as we love Aulani, it is just too far to own there. So we said goodbye to our guide and headed off.



















There were a lot of characters out in quick succession that morning starting with Stitch. I went to see Stitch and then waited for Chip and Dale. I then took a bit of a wander before coming back to see Mickey.

















 
I was pretty sure that I had missed the morning fish feeding. However, I was still going to head for Rainbow Reef. I went up to the room to get changed and grabbed my snorkeling gear and then went to Rainbow Reef. I managed to get in just as they got started with the fish feeding. Graham was already there. We got asked if we wanted to feed the fish. We were up for this and swam over to the ledge. We were soon surrounded by hundreds of our new best friends. Once the fish feeding was over, we continued snorkeling for a bit and then went to warm up in the hot tub. We then headed up to the room to get cleaned up and changed.









At that point I somehow managed to mislay Graham. I don’t know what he got up to, but I headed down to the lobby to take some photos and to browse in the shops. I had been asked to get a Shellie May plush for somebody and decided to check this out. They only had the pillow pals and one dressed version of Shelly Mae and I was not sure if this is what she wanted. So I took a photo and emailed it to her later. It happened to be the wrong one, but I wish I had got one for myself, as she is really cute.











While I was there, I headed over to the other shop. I was glad that I asked Graham to get the new Aulani tote for me for my birthday, but the original Dooney and Bourke Aulani Sketch Tote would not leave me alone. As I decided not to get the spa treatment, I figured that I may as well spend the money that I have budgeted for this on the other bag. I had a look at the bags that they had in stock and checked out the placement. I found one that I really liked and decided to head back to the room to get my card. On the way back, I bumped into Graham and got sidetracked.


We just chilled out until it was time for the afternoon fish feeding at Rainbow Reef where we were again asked to feed the fish. Once the fish feeding was over, we decided to head down to the lagoon.
























 


This time we had our snorkeling gear with us. We swam out and initially we did not see anything but sand. The water was also quite cloudy. Suddenly the water became a lot clearer and there were hundreds of beautiful fish. I am not sure why the water still looks quite cloudy in the photos. We spent a while just floating and enjoying the fish. At some stage when I looked up, I could no longer see Graham. I swam around for a bit and then decided to swim back towards the beach. I then just floated around near the shallows until Graham turned up. We headed back up to the resort rinsed off before heading back to the room to get showered properly.























Once I had my shower, I headed back to the shop to get my bag. The bag that I had fallen in love with earlier was gone, but there was another one that I rather liked and I got that. I took this back to the room and then we headed back out. We wanted to do a DVC members exclusive tour the next day and for that we had to sign up at the Pau Hana Room. I had no clear idea where this was and as time was at the essence the next morning, we decided to check this out. We found this without any issues and on the way we bumped into Mickey so I stopped for a photo.







There was one thing I had really looked forward to at Aulani and this is the Menehune Adventure Trail. This is similar to the Agent P World Showcase Adventure and is free to play. I convinced Graham that this would be a lot of fun. He was not quite convinced. Still, he agreed to they this. We signed out our handset. We were asked if we wanted to do a quest outside or inside the lobby. We opted for outside. The cast member explained how this worked and send us out on our mission.

This is very cleverly done. It is of course aimed at families with children, but we thoroughly enjoyed it as two adults. Some of the clues were actually quite tricky. I learned a lot about Hawaiian culture and some of the legends. There were also some rather neat special effects like rocks coming to life and rearranging themselves or pictures becoming visible on rocks.



 
While we were on our way round, we got stopped by Photopass photographers a few times. We did stop for some more photos. By the Koi pond, Graham gave me and the photographer a bit of a fright as he pretended to try and push me in. We also spotted Mickey out and about with a Photopass photographer and stopped for a photo.
















There are a total of 7 different adventures on the Menehune Adventure Trail. Six of those are outside and one is inside in the lobby. We only did one of the adventures that day and then took the handset back to the Pau Hana Room. It will save your progress so even if you did not finish an adventure; it lets you pick up again where you left off. Once we had dropped off the handset, we headed back to our room to get changed.

We had dinner booked at the Makahiki that evening. We headed down and checked in and were taken to our table straightaway. Our server came to introduce herself and to take our drinks order. Graham had a Big Swell IPA and I had a passion fruit, orange and guava juice. Then we headed for the buffet. Graham went for a salad course first and I had some of the hot starters like onion rings, spring rolls and Tempura. This is how I ended up sampling taro by accident. I have to say I am not a fan. This is way to starchy for me. Graham fancied fish that night and had some Mahi Mahi with all kinds of vegetables. I had a slice of the Barbecue Beef Brisket, a slice of the Hawaiian Salt-crusted prime rib, some vegetables and the island-style fried rice. Apart from the taro, I really enjoyed the meal. Dessert was the only disappointment. The desserts are bite size and I had 3 different once. I could not tell you what I had though. They were nothing special. Graham had some kind of fruit cobbler, which he seemed to like well enough.

Graham suggested that we should take a short walk. I was definitely up for that. We headed down towards the beach and past the JW Marriott. At that end there is a quiet little beach where sometimes monk seals like to hang out. Unfortunately the access to that beach is quite steep and I was only wearing my flip-flops. So I decided to wait for Graham. He was gone for a little while and he did actually spot a monk seal in the distance. When he came back, we were treated to the most spectacular sunset. I have never seen so spectacular colours and I have enjoyed some very pretty sunsets over the years. We watched until the sun had gone down completely. We took another loop around the resort before heading back to the room and getting ready for bed.









 
For a lazy day you sure packed a lot in :rotfl:

The photographs are really good and the sunset pictures are brilliant. It looks so beautiful, do people sit on the beach to watch the sun go down?
 
What a beautiful sunset!!

Sounds like a great day! I like the idea of the trail adventure with all the clues. Reminds me of the Midship Detective Agency on the ship. They also have a Pirate Adventure at the Magic Kingdom that sounds similar. I like these types of games! And it seems that just like Michael with the MDA Graham was not keen at first but then ended up enjoying it!

You new bag looks beautiful! This is a really nice design, even in my opinion as someone who is not a Donney & Burke fan at all. And I think your choice of bag instead of spa made sense. In my opinion the best souvenir is one that has actual use in your daily life!
 
Corinna, I don't get on these boards much anymore (don't like the new format at all!) -- and we've had a tough month with my father's failing health; then his passing April 12th -- but I just wanted to say........ You and Graham are just about the cutest couple ever! :goodvibes I hope our paths cross again one day soon; and this time I hope to meet Graham too! :thumbsup2
 
Wow! You guys did a ton for a "relaxing" day! I love your tote! It's super cute. Those sunset photos are stunning.

Jill in CO
 
I know I've said this many times, but what a fabulous day!!! I love that you spent the day enjoying the resort. And of course I'm just soaking up all your photos.

Fabulous that you spent the money on the new bag since you weren't going to use it for the spa.
 
Mrs Doubtfire said:
For a lazy day you sure packed a lot in :rotfl:

The photographs are really good and the sunset pictures are brilliant. It looks so beautiful, do people sit on the beach to watch the sun go down?
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I am a bit of a restless spirit. I have never seen anybody sitting on the beach at sunset, but there were still plenty of people in the water and people standing on the beach or on the path watching it.

Flossbolna said:
What a beautiful sunset!!

Sounds like a great day! I like the idea of the trail adventure with all the clues. Reminds me of the Midship Detective Agency on the ship. They also have a Pirate Adventure at the Magic Kingdom that sounds similar. I like these types of games! And it seems that just like Michael with the MDA Graham was not keen at first but then ended up enjoying it!

You new bag looks beautiful! This is a really nice design, even in my opinion as someone who is not a Donney & Burke fan at all. And I think your choice of bag instead of spa made sense. In my opinion the best souvenir is one that has actual use in your daily life!
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I think this was the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen.

I have never played the Pirate Adventure, but I love the Agent P World Showcase Adventure and also The Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom. Maybe I should give the Pirate Adventure a go in September.

I love me Disney Dooneys and use the totes as my work bags and this one is one of my favourites.

RachelTori said:
Corinna, I don't get on these boards much anymore (don't like the new format at all!) -- and we've had a tough month with my father's failing health; then his passing April 12th -- but I just wanted to say........ You and Graham are just about the cutest couple ever! :goodvibes I hope our paths cross again one day soon; and this time I hope to meet Graham too! :thumbsup2
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Thanks for checking in. I really hope that we will get to meet again. I am doing a coast to coast solo trip in September/ October, but I will be a at Walt Disney World the first weekend in October and I think you are going at the end of that month.

jedijill said:
Wow! You guys did a ton for a "relaxing" day! I love your tote! It's super cute. Those sunset photos are stunning.

Jill in CO
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The tote is so cute and I really love it.

Pinkocto said:
I know I've said this many times, but what a fabulous day!!! I love that you spent the day enjoying the resort. And of course I'm just soaking up all your photos.

Fabulous that you spent the money on the new bag since you weren't going to use it for the spa.
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I had been warned before the trip that at some point "Island Time" takes over and this was definitely starting to happen by that time.

I think I would have bitterly regretted it if I had not brought home that bag especially as this style was discontinued shortly afterwards.

Corinna
 
The DVC unit is stunning! Lovely views. Thanks for photos. Great shots of you and Graham and the characters! That is a real bonus having that ticket to rainbow reef. I love that you get to feed the fish.

Adore the bag and that plushy was super cute. Next time!

Wow that sunset! What a perfect end to a perfect day :-) thanks for sharing.
 
Paula Sedley-Burke said:
The DVC unit is stunning! Lovely views. Thanks for photos. Great shots of you and Graham and the characters! That is a real bonus having that ticket to rainbow reef. I love that you get to feed the fish.

Adore the bag and that plushy was super cute. Next time!

Wow that sunset! What a perfect end to a perfect day :-) thanks for sharing.
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The grand villa was amazing. It is just a shame that we don't have any people to share this with. The length of stay pass for Rainbow Reef was the best thing we spent money on that trip. We got so much enjoyment out of this and considering how long we were there, it was a real bargain. That bag is one of my favourites in my Disney Dooney collection.

Corinna
 
I meant to say in the character photos I live that when it's a full body shot the character points their one foot / shoe upwards. All expect Stitch because he has no shoes on I presume lol. Stitch likes two feet firmly on the Earth. Strange for an Alien...:crazy2:
 
You'll be at WDW the first weekend in October? I will also! I'll be traveling with a friend but maybe we could get together for a little bit or for a meal?
 
Paula Sedley-Burke said:
I meant to say in the character photos I live that when it's a full body shot the character points their one foot / shoe upwards. All expect Stitch because he has no shoes on I presume lol. Stitch likes two feet firmly on the Earth. Strange for an Alien...:crazy2:
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I have never spotted this. Maybe he is still getting used to gravity and therefore needs to keep both feet firmly on the ground. ;)

Pinkocto said:
You'll be at WDW the first weekend in October? I will also! I'll be traveling with a friend but maybe we could get together for a little bit or for a meal?
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Yes, I will be there very briefly on the way back from my Disneyland trip. It turned out that the most sensible place to change planes on the trip home is Orlando on this occasion and I could not imagine just transiting Orlando especially not with the Food and Wine Festival on as well. At the moment it looks like I am going to arrive late in the evening on October 1st and leave again early evening on October 5th. I would love to see you again.

Corinna
 
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