Aulani with my two boys (7 and 11) 8/3 -8/16

[living20057]

After carefully planning for the last 11 months of reading the boards and other sites, my day has finally come. We had an earlier morning flight leaving at 6am, with a layover in Dallas. We arrived at Honolulu airport around 2pm. We picked up the rental car from Thrifty and we were on our way. Thanks to gps, the drive was easy.

We arrived at Aulani, and it was everything I had hoped for. We had a 1 bedroom ocean view, room 655.






I registered the kids at Aunty's Beach House. They have fallen in the love with the place.

We had dinner at Makahiki buffet. It was a nice atmosphere, but sure it was worth a $150.00.

[Tinks "SS"]

OH, sounds lovely. please let me know how much there is to do there for your boys. Mine are 10 and 12 and not sure how much they would enjoy the activities there. But it will be quite a while before we go. the plane tickets are the biggest expense for us.

[living20057]

We had breakfast in the room. We had went to Target the night before. It was very close, about 10 minute drive. They had a lot of other stores in the shopping center. I started the day with the fitness classes. I did Seaside stretch, beach boot camp, and aquatic. In the aquatic class, you swim out to the rocks, and kind of hang in the middle of the lagoon. I personally don't like to hang in water where I can't feel the bottom, so I was very nervous when they said it was about 15 feet deep With my waist float, I did very well :good vibes.

We spent some time at the beach, then the kids went to Aunty's Beach House. There are tons of things for them to do there. They had a nice back yard with games and slides. There is a movie/tv room, craft room, but the only thing I kids seem to do is play on the computer. They have playstation and wii. We come all the way here, and of course they want to do the same things they would if they were home I like the quiet time, I get when I drop them off there

That evening we went to Waikiki. It was around 8pm. It was very busy and crowded. There were some many stores. There was a lot of restaurants to chose from.

We walked around the Marketplace, they have every type of souvenir you would want. They had shirts that said I climbed Diamond Head. I'm the type that likes to souvenir browse, and wait to close to the end of the trip before I make a final purchase. I want the best deal. Every store had almost the same stuff, but some were definitely cheaper.

[JohnPA]

I see you're from Delaware, we're from north of Philly. Did you fly out of PHL? I'm looking for the most inexpensive flights, as well as non-stop. Only non-stop I see are out of Newark, NJ or JFK.

Can't wait to read more. I'm planning our first trip there for Sept, 2013 and I'm listing excursions to take. I'm interested in what you think of the on-site restaurants as most folks haven't thought too much of the food.

[living20057]

We switched rooms today to a Standard Studio View. Having the 1 bedroom was great, and I'm sad to leave. I need to save points, we're going to MNSSHP in October and Vero Beach in Decemberff topic:

One of my concerns with moving was about the food. I had some milk, drinks, and lunchmeat that needed to be refrigerated. I asked the front desk, and they have a place to store refrigerated items

Bell Service came up and took all our bags. I separated refrigerated items and we were off to the beach. I did my fitness classes again. We arrived at the beach around 9am. We got a umbrella and boogie board. It's all for free. They even have sand toys!

We had lunch poolside. I had the panini sandwich with fries, mac n cheese, and chicken strips n fries plus drinks $45.

The kids are begging to go to Aunty's Beach House, so I dropped them off and waited for the room to be ready. By 12:30pm, I got a text with my room number.

We now are in room 755, standard studio view. This is our new view

We are right above the conference center. I saw a lovely wedding reception there.

We went to Chief's Luau at Sea Life Park. I got the tickets off of Living Social. It was a good deal. It was $50 for paradise seating. The regular price is $102. It included two drink tickets. They have Royal seating, and the only difference was they were a table in front of us and they were served there meals. For a $135, I can stand in line myself and get my own plate We arrived around 4:30pm and the show went till close to 9pm. They took your picture with the Chief and a Hula girl for $20. I brought it, as you will see I'm a sucker for pictures

As you will see, my older son doesn't like taking pictures. To prove that he was there, I make him take a few every now and then.They were several activity stands:

• making handbands from coconut tree leaves
  
  
• tatoos
  
• hula dance

The setup reminded me of an outdoor wedding reception. There was about 75-100 people. We were at tables of 8 people.









There was a lot of crowd interaction. The Chief was very funny. His sense of humor, reminded me of George Lopez. He sounded a little like him took. If you would like to get a preview of his show, it does it have the Marriott right next door to Aulani. I think its called Fia Fia Luau. While eating dinner at Longboard's , I could hear the show. It was the same. More about Longboard's to come.

[living20057]

Originally Posted by Tinks "SS"

OH, sounds lovely. please let me know how much there is to do there for your boys. Mine are 10 and 12 and not sure how much they would enjoy the activities there. But it will be quite a while before we go. the plane tickets are the biggest expense for us.

My kids enjoyed Aunty's, the beach, and the pool. They do have a Tween/Teen center - ages 11 and up. They have activities they can do. Depending on your 10 year old, I'm sure he could go to. The center is a lounge place with tvs and computers. They also have a yogurt bar there. On some nights there was a dance party. The watersides are a big hit. If your kids like water activities, they have stand up paddle board and kayaking. The teen center also does fitness workouts.

[living20057]

Originally Posted by JohnPA

I see you're from Delaware, we're from north of Philly. Did you fly out of PHL? I'm looking for the most inexpensive flights, as well as non-stop. Only non-stop I see are out of Newark, NJ or JFK.

Can't wait to read more. I'm planning our first trip there for Sept, 2013 and I'm listing excursions to take. I'm interested in what you think of the on-site restaurants as most folks haven't thought too much of the food.

I flew out of Dulles in VA. I recently moved to Virginia, I need to change my location. I looked at flights from the surrounding areas, VA, Philly, and NJ/NY. I used air miles through British airways, and Dulles had the best times. We stopped in Dallas, which was fine. They had a lot of restaurant options considering how long you fly and the cost of the ticket, you would hope they would give a sandwich for free, but nope. Our airline was American, and I didn't like it. No individual tvs, we were stuck with the tv options they had playing. They only showed two movies.

[oktracy]

Three fitness classes??!!! Oh my. You are putting me to shame! I would like to start my day off with at least one exercise class. Can you tell me which classes were your favorites and why? By the way, glad to hear that your boys like Aunty's. Sorry to hear about the video games. Hopefully they are making friends too.

[living20057]

Originally Posted by oktracy

Three fitness classes??!!! Oh my. You are putting me to shame! I would like to start my day off with at least one exercise class. Can you tell me which classes were your favorites and why? By the way, glad to hear that your boys like Aunty's. Sorry to hear about the video games. Hopefully they are making friends too.

I liked the Beach Boot Camp. It is completely in the sand, which makes it harder. We did lunges, shuffles, pushups, burpies, use of medicine ball, sprints, use of the ladder, use of the bands, and speed drills. I prefer classes, they push me harder. They also bring water.

There is a trail around the hotels along the beach. I think it's 1.5 - 2 miles roundtrip. I ran the trail one morning, it was pretty good. There was a lot of people out walking and running. Some mornings we were out the room by 7am. I would use the fitness room at night. I was very impressed with it. Besides the regular machines you usually find, they have free weights. A section for core: medicine balls, stabilizer balls, boss ball, and bands. You can keep up with your regular workout.

[Jitzy]

Sounds like you are having a great time. You are giving us so much great information! I can't wait to hear more!

[oktracy]

Thanks for the detailed information about the fitness classes. The Beach Boot Camp sounds like a healthy challenge. I will give it a try. I am not a runner, but walking the trail sounds like a go. You can find my husband in the gym. Thanks again and have a wonderful trip. I am looking forward to hearing about the rest of your adventures.

[living20057]

Today was an awesome day. The boys went to Aunty's and I went to the Spa. I made my reservation the day before. I have gotten massages before, and spending $220 for a treatment plus tax and tips, I wasn't sure it would be worth it. Boy was I wrong The spa was incredible. I arrived my 60 minutes prior, and I was given a tour of facilities. Amazing!! I wasn't sure what to expect so, I just wore my swimsuit and a cover up. There were lockers that were quite big. You could fit a small gym bag in there. They have a plush robe, similar to one in the room but better, and a pair of jelly type sandals. I quickly put away my room key and cover up, and I was ready to explore. I tried everything They have a sauna and steam room inside. Outside they have a jacuzzi like tube but it felt like a warm calm bath. They have a section where you can have a private bath outside for an extra $100, umm no I'm okay. They spa was pretty empty. I only saw about 10 people there, and they were all spread out. I felt that I was there alone. It was so peaceful. Next I tried the outdoor showers, they were five or six different types. There differences was how they water came out, it was very warm and soothing. Up next the jacuzzi and the ice cold tub. There was a room inside with the doors open to the garden that you can lay down. They have water, gummy bears, and cupcakes. I think the cupcakes were carrot cake. Very good. There is magazines and you can order food. The menu was different then the other restaurants.

I have tried everything, and I still had 30 minutes left. There are tons of lounges type chairs outside, I took a nap. It was very shaded with pretty trees all around. One of the spa workers, came to let me know my massage was ready. I changed into my robe, and went into the relaxation room. Here they give you a heated pad to put around your neck, there is water and cupcakes. You can lay dow till your massage therapist comes to get you.

On to my treatment, I choose the Kililiki. It was 80 minutes completely under warm water. It was a regular massage table with this water sprayer that sprays you during the whole massage. You can choose your music and body scrub. The massage was very relaxing.

After the massage, you go back to the relaxation room. My massage therapist suggested I go back to the sauna room. I wasn't sure how long you could stay after the massage was over, so I didn't stay too long. They have a place that you can shower and get dressed. Even though I didn't bring a change of clothes, I still used the shower. My skin was very greasy. After your shower, they have a plan to get yourself fixed up. They have thought of everything. There are razors, I took that in the shower with me. Also in the shower, there was shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, and shaving creme. At the refresher table, there is the normal comb, brush, blow dryer, hair gel, lotion, sunscreen lotion, and make up remover. They even had spray off deodorant. I thought the table was really cool. Everything you need to get dressed. I was finally able to pull myself out of the spa. It was a great day

On my way to the Aunty's, I got my picture taken with Donald.

For dinner, we walked across the street from the resort to Just Tacos. It easy literally a 5-10 minute walk. The prices there were good. The kids had nachos and chicken. I had carnitas with alcohol drink the total was about $35.

We went to the Starlit Hui. We did arrive early. The pre-show started at 7:30pm, and we got there at 7pm. There was already a good crowd. By 7:30pm, it was filled. They give you straw mats to sit on. They had several activities going at the back. I enjoyed the show, but it was short. The show was only 30 minutes, and then there was a dance party. It felt like the show could be longer, but other than that we enjoyed it.

[living20057]

We got up early and arrived at Diamond Head around 8am. It was already a crowd there. The climb was pretty easy. My kids loved it. There was a truck in the parking lot that sold shave ice and other foods. We had a hot dog. It was $3.00. They also had cold water.

This is half way up:




more stairs

The view from the top

Next we went to the Dole Plantation. It is a nice drive by the H2. Great views of the mountains and pineapple fields. Its not much to do here, but my kids loved the maze.

I had a bogo coupon from the entertainment book. The train ride was cute, and we skipped the garden. We finished the visit with a dole whip:good vibes

This was $20 or $25. It came with four pictures, magnet, and 8x10 frame


When you exit the parking lot, if you turn right and drive about 10-15 mins your at the North Shore. I rode through Haleiwa, and saw some good stores and the famous shave ice spot.

Once at Aulani, I walked down to Longboard's Bar & Grill, its one of the Marriott's restaurants. I had the kalua pork sandwich. It was really good. They also serve breakfast. I saw the most beautiful sunset during dinner.

There was a luau going on right next to the restaurant. You can get a sneak peek of what to expect. It was the same one from Chief's luau at Sea Life Park.

[parrotheadlois]

The pictures of the stairs - they're at Diamond Head??? Yikes, I better start getting in shape. We're going in March.

Any issues with jet lag?? We don't have our plane reservations yet, but DH wants to fly Hawaiian Air so we'll be flying out of JFK - NY.

I'm totally impressed with your workouts - good for you.

Looking forward to more posts and pictures.

[ABE4DISNEY]

What a great trip! Thanks for sharing all the little details that we Diser's love!