Aulani for 10 days, Route 1 Cali, Disneyland trip June 2016 - now COMPLETE

scrappydew · Jul 26, 2016

Day 8: Shave ice, Menehune Adventure Trail, and Shopping!

Today is another lazy day at the resort. The time flew by; hard to believe we've been here 8 days already.

One of the things Hawaii is know for is malasadas. Although Leonard's is the preferable place to pick them up, we just didn't get to a truck. Aulani does have them for breakfast at Ulu Cafe, and DH bought them one day for us to try. We had the plain sugar ones, and they were fine. Next time we go to Hawaii, Leonard's is a must-do.

Another thing to try is this:

We opted for a few safe flavors and this is what we got:

It was really good, and DD, DH and I enjoyed it. DS was in the room talking to his girlfriend, I'm sure.

DD and DH tried the Menehune Adventure Trail later in the day. If you have done the Phineas and Ferb Adventure in Disney World, this is basically the same thing. The kids enjoyed the last time they played, which was in 2014-15. This time? Hmmm. I guess the kids are too old. DD did it for a while and got bored. Auntie talks a loooong time and while the effects were neat, they did maybe 1/2 hour then quit. I maybe would like to do it, but nobody asked me :rolleyes1

DH takes DD shopping. Yes, he is a brave man. I hate shopping typically, and shopping with my DD is an exercise in futility sometimes. She has to look at everything but finds nothing. AAGGHH! Of course, she finds LOTS at the Aulani shop, so it's a good thing we packed an extra carry on in our checked bag. That huge Stitch she just bought will fill at least half of it up!

Next: Paddleboarding, turtle kisses, adult beverages!

BCV23 · Jul 27, 2016

I am enjoying your report. Thanks for taking the time to post it.

Luv2trav · Jul 27, 2016

I am really enjoying your report too. I love that you have teenagers. Our children are 15 and 13 and all the trip reports are for younger children. Did you kids find it boring? I know that sometimes comes with teenagers but my biggest concern is finding things for them to do.

scrappydew · Jul 27, 2016

There were teen activities for them to do, but our kids are introverts and flatly refused. I don't know why; they loved the kids clubs when we cruised? Maybe it was less structured? There were activities like fitness, ukelele, lei-making, etc. but DD and DS preferred to hang with us or be in the room with their phones. They liked the paddleboarding, lazy river, slides, etc. They even liked making sand castles with us on the beach one day. If your kids are willing to go off by themselves a little, there will be more options for them to do.

WolfpackFan · Jul 27, 2016

Thanks for sharing.

Luv2trav · Jul 27, 2016

scrappydew said:
There were teen activities for them to do, but our kids are introverts and flatly refused. I don't know why; they loved the kids clubs when we cruised? Maybe it was less structured? There were activities like fitness, ukelele, lei-making, etc. but DD and DS preferred to hang with us or be in the room with their phones. They liked the paddleboarding, lazy river, slides, etc. They even liked making sand castles with us on the beach one day. If your kids are willing to go off by themselves a little, there will be more options for them to do.

My youngest would be adventurous but my oldest much rather just hang out on his phone or ipad. He will do activities with us but he's not one to go make new friends on vacation. LOL.

scrappydew · Jul 27, 2016

Day 9: Paddleboarding, turtle kisses, adult beverages!

Today Dh and the kids do the paddleboards again. The first time, Dh only rented two. I believe the cost was $40 each for an hour. There is someone in the lagoon timing you, and they remind you when it's about time to head in. Our experience was they were generous with the time.

Since it seemed to go so well, DH rented 3 today so they could all go at the same time.

Although they had never done it before the other day, they did really well. The next day after paddleboarding they were a little stiff in places unaccustomed to exercises. The one day I saw people doing yoga on the paddleboards in the lagoon - I can't imagine the skill it takes not to fall off!

The day consisted of the lazy river, hot tubs, pool, etc. DH and I ordered the coconut shrimp at Mama's and thought it was really good. Something different is the sweet chili sauce, very tasty.

Something DH and DD also did were the character meets:

If you would like to see turtles, there is a cove nearby. You'll find excellent directions here:can't find turtle place by paradise cove (edited: now with directions and photos!)

When we were there, there was only one turtle. It didn't seem afraid at all, and actually swam up to me and caressed me with its flipper! I told DH it had "kissed" me. I understand that some turtles have been coming here for years.

It is such a short walk from Aulani, I would encourage everyone to go to this cove. Lots of locals had brought families for the day and set up umbrellas, etc. It was a little rockier than at Aulani, so you might want water shoes.

Later that night we got our pictures taken again on the beach. This picture of my son and daughter is cute:

As usual, my ds is overjoyed at being close to his sister :rotfl2:

Later, DH and I had adult beverages on the deck by AMA AMA and listened to a live band. It was so relaxing watching the sunset and enjoying the evening. DH wound up taking DD across the street later for some chocolate ice cream (none at Aulani!)

Next: laundry, Off the Hook, our last night!

scrappydew · Jul 28, 2016

Day 10: laundry, Off the Hook, our last night!

The time at Aulani flew by. It's hard to believe it's our last day. Today is saved for last visits and last thoughts.

Laundry: Today I did laundry in preparation for our flight out tomorrow. The laundry was located for the Ewa Tower beside the automatic doors that led out by the bridge. You need a room key to enter the little room. I think there were maybe three or four washers? The machines take tokens, which you get by feeding the machine located on the wall. It was $3 for a load to wash, and $3 to dry. They were decently large. A full carry on suitcase of dirty laundry fit comfortably in a load.

Also handy was a chart telling you how long each cycle took. That made it easy, you didn't have to guess when to come back. There were a few chairs and a tv in the room if you wanted to stay.

Today I walked around getting a few last pictures, like this artwork:

Something we enjoyed doing was looking for the hidden animals all around. Some of them were very subtle, some a little more obvious. I'm not sure how many are around, but there are many to try to look for while in the lazy river or while just walking around.

PSA: the stone around the resort can get very hot in the sun. If you are scurrying from one water feature to another, you may not feel it, but if you are waiting in line, it's bad. Poor DD didn't have shoes on to meet stitch and Mickey and Minnie, and she had to hop a lot to keep from burning her feet. I did offer her my shoes, but she was too worried about her look to put them on! :rolleyes1

and here's a fun fact: we saw lots of children and adults wearing all the bands they had collected during their stay. I was a little late to the party, but here's my partial collection:

We spend time in the lazy river, and here is a picture of us:

I loved the lazy river. I could spend all day there. In fact, if we go back, that is a must-do for me!

Our lunch consisted of eating up what groceries we could, and for supper we went to Off the Hook. The night before the kids voted to go to Pizza Corner - for a pizza, garlic knots, drinks, I think it was around $40 for the four of us.

From our room, we could see the Kipuka Courtyard. This area had something going on every night. There was a conference going on that used the lawn, as well as wedding receptions. It was fun to sit on our balcony and listen to live music, or watch the kids have a hula lesson.

We could also watch the workers at Aulani walk to what must have been their parking lot. I wondered if there was a shuttle, but I didn't pay enough attention. The weather was great, only one teensy little shower that lasted maybe 10 minutes the whole time we were there. We did get trade winds which kept things from being too hot. There were some brave little birds on our balcony check it out for crumbs, so I made sure to close the door or screen when I wasn't sitting there. A few mornings, there was a very loud bird singing while I was on the balcony. The sun was coming up, the bird was singing, it just made for a precious memory.

Next: Honolulu Airport Hades, flight to Cali, rental car and driving in Cali traffic!

alohamom · Jul 28, 2016

So now that you have done the Hawaii/Cali combo, would you do it in that order again? We have done it twice but because of logistics it worked out that we did Cali first and then Hawaii. I found I liked the busy part of the vacation in Disneyland first and then being able to relax during the second half but my hubby wants to try it the other way round because of the long flight home. (HNL to Toronto is loooong!)

scrappydew · Jul 28, 2016

I checked with DH and he thought he liked it as we did it. He thought it broke up the time difference coming back, and he didn't mind it (he gets migraines and time changes can trigger one.) I think if we go again, I'd like to try for a straight flight out, but not sure we can get one from our area. The flight then waiting at LAX then another flight just made the day so long, I'd rather get there.

We had some downtime in California, so it didn't feel too busy the whole time we were there. In fact, we spent some time vegging at Downtown Disney. However, I do not want to take a red-eye flight ever again! We were up for basically two whole days, and it took me a week to get over it.

scrappydew · Jul 30, 2016

Day 11 - Honolulu Airport Hades, flight to Cali, rental car and driving in Cali traffic!

Today is the sad day we must leave Aulani. I have fallen in love with this place and Oahu, and 10 days was just too short. There were things on the island we didn't get to do, so I'll have to console myself that that means I have to come back someday. I would love to live here, and would do so without a backwards glance. I have checked out housing prices already and :scared:

. So if I ever win the lottery, a house on Oahu would be my first purchase!

Our flight leaves Honolulu at 1:50 p.m. and we get on a shuttle with a few other families to head to the airport. Thankfully there is no traffic to slow us down, so we arrive two hours ahead of time.

Here is where it gets horrible.

First of all, when you leave Hawaii, you have to get your bag screened for agricultural things. We didn't know this ahead of time, and don't know where to go. We see this HUGE line and hop in. I hold the bags with the kids while he goes to find someone to make sure we are in the right line.

He comes back and says yes, this is the right line.

At some point, an official comes over, grabs half the line and pulls up to another checkpoint. By now, 1/2 hour has gone by.

An employee walking through sees our checked bag and briefly confers with DH. Guess what? We're in the WRONG LINE. We have to go to the agricultural screen, check-in, THEN join the TSA line.

GRRRRR!!!! Hint: the agricultural screening is the big black machine in front of where you check in, and thankfully there was NO LINE for that. By now I'm starting to panic a little.

We get screened, and thankfully there is only like two people ahead of us to check in at Alaska Airlines for our flight to CA. We wind up checking some of our carry ons for free because surprise, surprise, it's a full flight.

We go get in the TSA line that has grown exponentially while we were doing what we should have done in the first place. At some point, we realize the kids have Precheck, so they are free to join a much shorter line, go through security and wait for us on the other side. They get some food and hang out.

Meanwhile, we are waiting in a long, slow line. I start to panic some more. Turns out that to check IDs and boarding passes, there are a grand total of two people. At some point, they put two more on, and the line finally starts to move like it should. Just before we get to the desk, they pull one of the people off!! Now they are down to three to check in all these people. At this point, I think someone needs fired, twice (to quote a Captain_Oblivous post) . We finally make it through and find our gate which is thankfully close to the security checkpoint. We have a grand total of 5 minutes before they start boarding. I would have liked to go to the bathroom, get something to eat but I'm so upset I figure I'll wait till the plane. I get a little funny with anxiety traveling and this is NO help. At least we didn't miss the plane!!

We fly to Oakland, California with no issues and arrive about 10:30 p.m. Now, we have a rental car reserved, but there is a slight issue. Every other night there are there till 12. Except tonight, of course, the website says they close earlier. My DH had called and was told no, they are open till later. I am suspicious that someone is fudging the truth.

Anyhoo, we take a bus to the rental places. There is no one at the counter. Great. We see a sign that says if you have already reserved a vehicle, all you have to go is to the lot and pick one. We follow the signs out to the lot, and there are a few employees smoking in the lot. They confirm, yes, we need to just pick a car, but to hurry, because they are getting ready to lock the gate. Our size was already gone, but we get a bigger size for the same price. We make it out of the gate without getting locked in!

Now we just have to navigate the traffic to Pleasant Hill where our motel is.

Whenever I have read other trip reports they have always been charmingly nonchalant about driving in California traffic. We live in a very rural area. My typical commute to work involves Amish horse and buggies with the occasional farm equipment, not six lanes of people moonlighting for Nascar.

My DH is not thrilled either, but he does an excellent job. Thankfully our google directions appear to be working fine, and while the traffic was busy, it wasn't wall to wall crazy. We did go through a tunnel once, and I think maybe two cars ahead of us were street racing, but their cars were ROARING through that tunnel. Around midnight we make it safely to our hotel, only to find that the parking spaces are marked by type of car: compact, electric, etc. Our car is definitely not that, so we get to park in the back of beyond. We straggle up to our rooms, collapse into our two rooms that DH booked by mistake instead of one (not refundable) and go to sleep.

Next: Meeting my cousin for the very first, redwood trees, Bixby Bridge, McWay Falls, elephants seals, and a mutiny!

alohamom · Jul 30, 2016

scrappydew said:
My typical commute to work involves Amish horse and buggies with the occasional farm equipment, not six lanes of people moonlighting for Nascar.

crystal1313 · Jul 30, 2016

@scrappydew I live in Martinez, the town right next to Pleasant Hill. In fact, the high school and college I went to are in Pleasant hill!! Small world!!! Oh yes, the Caldecott tunnel. Most people freak out in there and drive like a turtle or there are the few who like to fly through there too. My boys like to try to hold their breath in the tunnel. Lol.

I'm sorry everything took so long at the airport. I would have been freaking out too!! We flew Alaska to oak too and loved it. In fact, the food they sold wasn't too bad. We actually liked it. And our cabin crews both ways were fantastic. Hope you were able to eat at some point.

scrappydew · Jul 30, 2016

crystal1313 said:
@scrappydew I live in Martinez, the town right next to Pleasant Hill. In fact, the high school and college I went to are in Pleasant hill!! Small world!!! Oh yes, the Caldecott tunnel. Most people freak out in there and drive like a turtle or there are the few who like to fly through there too. My boys like to try to hold their breath in the tunnel. Lol.

I'm sorry everything took so long at the airport. I would have been freaking out too!! We flew Alaska to oak too and loved it. In fact, the food they sold wasn't too bad. We actually liked it. And our cabin crews both ways were fantastic. Hope you were able to eat at some point.

Thanks for the thought, I did calm down and eat at some point. I do like their snack boxes they sell on the planes now, they are good and filling. I was just so worked up about the flight.

We had a good time in California, I just don't know if I could get used to the traffic! It is so different here. On our travels we would be out in the apparent middle of nowhere and it was still a bustling highway. I actually like going through tunnels (I think it is fun!) but those two cars were there for a different reason than us, I"m thinking!

scrappydew · Jul 31, 2016

Day 12 - Meeting my cousin for the very first, redwood trees, Bixby Bridge, McWay Falls, elephants seals, and a mutiny!

Today I met a cousin and her family for the first time. Long story shorter is that my biological mom was from England, I have gotten in contact with a lovely aunt and uncle in England, their daughter and family now live in California, and they drove two hours to meet us!

We had such a great two hours. I really appreciate getting to meet her and her family. I'm hoping we can have a longer visit sometime!

The time went all too fast, and it's time for us to get on the road to make our nighttime hotel.

Thanks to MarbleBob, I knew that there were redwood trees in the Henry Cowell Park, and then we could hit Highway 1 for a drive down the coast. We were planning on taking two days, then wind up at Anaheim.

Parking at Henry Cowell cost $10, and there are several trails you can take. We took an easy loop where we saw redwoods like this:

These trees do not get as big around as the giant sequoias, but they get extremely tall. This trail had 15 or 16 different spots to stop and ponder life in the forest. Some trees you could see fire damage, other trees were little ones getting their start, etc. There is a train that runs by the forest, the Roaring Camp Railroad. If we would have more time, I would have loved to visit this place also.

Our next stop was the famous Bixby Bridge. Before you hit the real bridge, there was a little bridge that is similar in style, but only a few parking spaces. This is not it! The Bixby Bridge has tons of cars - remember, this means something is up!- and lots of people taking pictures. Almost every car commercial features this bridge from 1932:

There are no fences, so be careful where you stand to take a picture! Traffic was very congested with people trying to pull in and out.

The first part of Highway 1 where we joined it was in town, multi-lane, and not scenic. Here it was gorgeous with views like this:

I was glad I wasn't driving so I could feast my eyes on the scenery! Another place in my research I had discovered we could stop was the McWay Waterfall. The directions were a little vague, but again look for all the cars, you can't miss it, it's right beside the road.

It would be fair to say that I am more into the sights than my family. Here I was the only one to get out of the car. To be fair, parking was a huge issue, but no one else wanted to see it.

The road was up and down, in and out, and DH and DD who get motion sickness were getting very tired of it. DS just isn't into breathtaking views. Keep this in mind.

We press on. At some point we had gotten off the highway and found a McDonald's in a little town. We travel for miles and miles to come to a beach where you can spot elephant seals.

There was an ample parking area for a change, and a fence to keep people from going down on the beach. However, some of them were so close! You could see them flip sand on themselves, it was cute to watch. By now the sun is starting to be low in the sky, it's cooling off, and we still have a long way to go to our hotel in Pismo Beach.

We reach our hotel right after sunset, which is a shame, because DH did want a picture of our spending the night by the ocean. DH and the kids buy some snacks at a gas station nearby, and we settle down for the night.

Now, the mutiny:

I had planned the whole next day to continue down Highway 1 to Dana Point where it ends/begins, then drive up to Anaheim. This day would be even longer than today, and there were only two places I had wanted to stop, knowing our time table. One place was caves by the beach, and another was the wind tunnels, or maybe the Mission at Capistrano. Anyway, there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth over this plan, when we could just drive straight to Anaheim and be there in four hours versus probably 10 hours the scenic route.

Guess which route we went???? Disneyland or scenery????

Spoiler alert: I lost!

Next: Route 154, Walmart, Anaheim!

BayAreaE · Aug 1, 2016

crystal1313 said:
@scrappydew I live in Martinez, the town right next to Pleasant Hill. In fact, the high school and college I went to are in Pleasant hill!! Small world!!! Oh yes, the Caldecott tunnel. Most people freak out in there and drive like a turtle or there are the few who like to fly through there too. My boys like to try to hold their breath in the tunnel. Lol.

I'm sorry everything took so long at the airport. I would have been freaking out too!! We flew Alaska to oak too and loved it. In fact, the food they sold wasn't too bad. We actually liked it. And our cabin crews both ways were fantastic. Hope you were able to eat at some point.

Ironically, called DVC.

scrappydew · Aug 2, 2016

Day 13 - Route 154, Walmart, Anaheim!

This morning we eat at the restaurant at the Spyglass Inn, and because we stayed there we get a few dollars off our breakfast. It was good and filling! We could see the sea from our table, that was neat.

We decide to deviate from my carefully planned itinerary of Route 1 and head straight to Disneyland. Well, relatively straight. Rather than continue on Route 1, we take Route 154 through the San Marcos Pass. I was pleasantly surprised how scenic this was.

The scenery fascinated us, because you have these brown hills with some green trees, but the trees didn't cover the hills like here in Pennsylvania.

It's hard to tell, but I think I was trying to get a picture of vineyards. We passed quite a few on this road.

There were a few overlook spots; this spot detailed the San Marcos pass and how covered wagons would navigate it.

At this spot, there was a hike beside the parking lot, but it was hot enough no one wanted to venture out.

This road also passes Lake Cachuma, but I never was able to get a picture of it, but I can tell you it was a beautiful view.

At some point 154 and 101 go side by side or merge, because we wind up on the coast again and we see this:

I think we took 101 to 5 and followed it to Anaheim. Honestly we followed what the Google Map Lady said. :rotfl2:

Right before we got to our hotel, we stopped at a Walmart and got drinks and snacks; I think it was only one or two exits before ours.

Sometime after lunch we pull into our next home away from home: The Fairfield. However, we had to drive around the block before finding the correct entrance; you need to enter between the McDonald's and Panera. DH got us checked in, then he and DD took the car to drop off at Downtown Disney. I think we just unpacked and vegged. DH bought Pizza Hut pizza that is located on floor 3 of the hotel for supper.

Next: Knotts Berry and chicken dinner!

scrappydew · Aug 3, 2016

Day 14 - Knotts Berry and chicken dinner!

Since you can only buy a 5 day ticket to Disneyland without resorting to exorbitant pricing, we had some extra time in Anaheim. We had decided to try Knotts Berry Farm, which is fairly close by.

To get there, we utilized the ART bus system. We got up early, and did a quick stop at McDonald's for breakfast. Then we walked over the the Disneyland Resort area to catch the bus. There is a kiosk in the greenery on the far side, almost up at the security line. DH bought an all day pass for $5 a person, or $20 for the four of us. We waited a little bit for a bus, line 18. Here is the website for the ART bus system: http://rideart.org/routes-and-schedules/buena-park-line/ It should be noted that the bus does not run between 12 and 4.

We made a few quick stops at some hotels, but were at Knotts Berry ahead of the 10:00 a.m. opening time. Here is where I thought we had made a big mistake.

I guess school was still in session in California, although ours ended May 26th. There were lots of school groups of teenagers lining up, doing what teens do. There were very few families, and I was worried that we would get run over. However, once we got through security and the park opened, the crowds thinned out. We saw a few teens running from ride to ride, but thankfully it wasn't bad at all.

We tackled the Calico Mine first. It reminded me of Big Thunder Mountain, but much tamer. I did enjoy looking at the various scenes, but the brakes were so screechy and loud that it kind of worried DD. DH and DS did this ride next:

There was no way I was doing the Accelerator, and DD wasn't keen either!

Next we did the Iron Reef:

I would have never guessed it is a new ride. It is like Buzz Lightyear in that you are shooting at enemies; however, we missed any backstory to have it make sense. It was fun, though!

We also did the Wheeler Dealer Bumper Cars, and DH, DS, and DD did the Coast Rider.

For lunch, we went out of the park (hand-stamped) and walked just a little down the block to this:

Knotts Berry Farm is synonymous with chicken dinners. They are known for this, and their jams and jellies. We did not have a reservation and had no trouble getting a table.

Sorry, this is the aftermath. I was too hungry beforehand to get a good picture. We had tons of food leftover. This meal was $93.00. Yikes!

We decided to check out the ice show that was playing in their theater:

The ice skaters themselves were terrific. But once again we were puzzled by a storyline. Neither DH nor I really "got" it. There were vendors selling various light up toys in the aisles beforehand.

The Calico Railroad was a fun way to go around the property. We even had a hold up on the train! And just innocently standing by a saloon when a gunfight broke out.

The miscreant was finally caught, marched to the Town Hall for sentencing, then thrown into jail. Thank goodness the town folk are safe!

DH and DD did the Sidewinder; this had the longest wait of all, maybe 45 minutes and made DH sick after. Here he is all happy before:

No picture of him after; you're welcome! :sick:

We finally had to get DD ice cream. We had the same problem as at Aulani. Where is all the chocolate ice cream??? We finally found a stand that sold it, and paid $6.50 for a cone to satisfy her taste buds.

I'm thinking we left the park around 4:00 and had to wait an hour before the ART bus came to pick us up. You can text a number to find out when a bus will arrive, but if the buses aren't running, they won't give you a time.

Some thoughts:
I'm glad we did it, but I would never go back. I can see if you grew up going here, it would have a lot of nostalgia. However, the park just seemed....tired. The Peanuts characters didn't really seem to fit. Now, I love the Great Pumpkin and Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree, and Thanksgiving popcorn as much as anybody. But it just seemed so old. There were characters out, but no one waiting in line, that I saw. The ice show just seemed like the characters were thrown in there.

I liked the Old West section the best, and I did like the live action. But we did all we wanted in a few hours, and the kids were done. They weren't interested in doing anything again. I think we lingered over our ice cream for a good half hour. And we had no problem waiting an hour for the bus; no one even suggested going back to the park for an hour.

The food was really good, but I wouldn't go out of my way to go back.

Anyway, this was our experience. I should also mention DS went to Hershey Park for the first time ever this spring with his class, although we went to Knoebels often when they were little. When I asked how he liked it, he said, "Well, it wasn't Disney!" :eek:

Next: Finally Disneyland and Steakhouse 55 for our anniversary!

MarbleBob · Aug 3, 2016

Joining in! I've skimmed through your report and it looks pretty awesome so far. I don't have time right now, but I plan to read it thoroughly in the next day or two :hippie:

scrappydew · Aug 4, 2016

Day 15 - Finally Disneyland and Steakhouse 55 for our anniversary!

Finally we can go to our happy place - Disney! I will tell you, although we have gone to Disney World in Florida several times, I am in love with Disneyland. Not too big, not too overwhelming, but all the attractions that I love. Plus I like being able to walk between parks and back to the hotel room in a few minutes, versus maybe an hour if you use the bus system. My DH says when we go back, we'll stay at the Grand Californian. We'll see, but it sure would be nice!

We get a bite to eat at the Main Street Bakery for breakfast. The crowds weren't too bad yet this morning, so we were able to get fueled up on sugar and caffeine.

Our first ride was this:

Now, I made a tactical error. We were in the line on the left. I was in the front. Big mistake.

I have heard this line is bumpier, and I believe it. Plus, I had nothing in front of me. Ride chicken that I am, I prefer to have someone's back in front of me to block the view, so to speak. And let's just say this ride was weighted in the front and let it at that, okay? Oh, my gosh, we whipped from side to side. I yelled back to my husband I was riding in the back the next time - if there WAS a next time! When it came time to get out, I was stiff and sore. Although I had more leg room, the front is NOT for me.

Now onto a gentler, kinder ride:

Ahhh, now this is more like it. I love the California version with it being outside. And is it longer? I tried to get some pictures inside, no flash! but they are blurry.

DH and the kids did Hyperspace Mountain. DH loves it - he says there is a lot to look at, not just darkness like the regular version. He tried to entice me, but no thanks! I rode this when I was little, back when I actually sat between my brother's legs and at some point actually got air time! I think I rode it on my honeymoon, and still didn't like it, so, no thanks.

We did my favorite ride of all - Haunted Mansion!

At some point today, we also did Buzz, Indiana Jones, Jungle Cruise, Pirates, and Star Tours. We did take a brief rest in the afternoon.

We ate at Steakhouse 55 today to celebrate our anniversary.

Not the best picture, but here we are, the lovebirds, celebrating 20 years of wedding bliss - or to celebrate 20 years of not killing each other! :joker:

We ate here on our last trip, and we were not disappointed. Delicious! DS got a 24 layer chocolate cake for dessert. Oh, my! I'm different, I like the cheese plate, DH got the creme brulee, and I think DD got ice cream. We had a wonderful server, and a wonderful meal. Love you, Sweetie!

We also see the Paint the Night parade, but our places weren't the best. We really did enjoy it, though, it was just spectacular. Too bad it's going away, it sounds like everyone loves it! To see the fireworks, we had to move per the CMs, but we also enjoyed watching them. Then home to rest after a long day!

Next: Downtown Disney and The Jungle Book Movie!

Aulani for 10 days, Route 1 Cali, Disneyland trip June 2016 - now COMPLETE

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Earning My Ears

l wish I were at Aulani!

l wish I were at Aulani!

DIS Veteran

l wish I were at Aulani!

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