40 is a FANTASY! Chunkeymonkey & Chubbyhubby STAR WARS cruise and POLY Feb 2016 TR Link Added!!

[KathyM2]

Holy updates batman!! Love your mini Hawaii TR...I can't imagine the food! And the scenery there is amazing...one day I will get there!! I was supposed to go about 10 years ago but it never happened. Sigh. And all that Star Wars food looks so awesome! I'm all about the food lol. Seriously Feb will be here before you know it!

 

[Gracefulskinny]

I didn't realize it but I am down to double digits!!!

I've heard rumors about new character meets coming to Innoventions: Baymax and Joy and Sadness from Inside Out. That will be soooooo awesome if that were true.

Ooooo!!!!!

I think this may be kinda cool for dinner. I was thinking of replacing Hollywood Brown Derby with this

Not sure I'd go for that. Hollywood and Vine isn't known for great food and the meal there is VERY expensive. Also from what I have heard you won't be allowed to have characters sign anything.

 

[kastoney]

Yeah for 88 days!!!! With the holidays and your hubby's bday coming up I'm sure time is just gonna fly for you all.

Thanks for all the star wars info. I hadn't seen all the details so it helps my non-Star Wars brain get wrapped around it all. Happy to hear the fireworks will be nightly for both of our upcoming trips. Can't wait to check those out.

I hadn't hear the Illuminations rumors but so hope they are true. While it has nothing to do with Innoventions or future world, anything to help keep my daughters interest in Epcot besides figment ; )

On the cruise, if you've never done it before feeding the stingrays is way cool. Hubby and I did it in Grand Cayman several years ago and it was a wild experience

 

[bcwife76]

Woohoo, getting so close now!!
We moved our Alaskan cruise to a Bahamian cruise so I have a new countdown...and it's 13+ months away It's going to be closer to my 41st birthday lol

Can't wait to hear more about your Hawaiian trip, too!

 

[cinderkelly]

OH my gosh, I'm SO far behind!!

Wow your Hawaii pics sure do bring back some good memories for me. I lived there with my first husband ( Navy) from '88-'92 and we had a blast! He was stationed at Barber's Point Naval Air StAtion, which has since been closed down.

The sea turtle! How amazing! The whole time I lived there I never saw one or a whale, can you believe it? I guess it's much different being there on vacation as opposed to living there and working all the time. I did get to do some temp work in a surfboard shaping shop once, that was fun! Sorry for swimming !

The food pics ....where do I start?! Yum!!! I always loved those ice cream scoops of rice you get with nearly everything! Looks like you guys had a fabulous time! I'd like to get back there someday, it's been 23 years since I've seen the islands

Wow -88 days until cruise time!!! Yea!

 

[bcwife76]

@chunkymonkey look, I've got a new ticker - we're going to Maui now woohoo!! I shall try and eat as much yummy food as I can lol

 

[chunkymonkey]

The beef stew I've actually made before in my crockpot (I found the recipe from Buzzfeed's tasty line), and it is DELICIOUS. But I don't think I can see eating it in Florida...

Oooh yum. Do you have the link to the recipe? I am hoping it will be a little cooler in Feb so I can partake in some beef stew!

I booked Minnie's Seasonal Dine for our stay, so if you do book it, I'd love to hear about it! Our season would be Spring though.

Am trying to see if I can fit this in. Sounds like so much fun! We did enjoy the food during Star Wars weekends, but I'm sure the clever names had something to to do with it. It was otherwise well-prepared but rather boring food like chicken, shrimp, beef, salad...

Wooooo! Congrats!!!

Haha! I'm just gonna have to live vicariously through your TR until we leave for our trip.

This makes me so sad!!!

I know...bawl! Hopefully the beef stew will live up to the hype. But it's just not as fun as a whole hunk of meat. On a bone. With dripping fat. No comparison. LOL

I'm really curious about the new Pixar experience!!!

Me too! I can't believe how many new experiences there are at the parks on this upcoming trip and it's been less than a year since our last trip!

Holy updates batman!! Love your mini Hawaii TR...I can't imagine the food! And the scenery there is amazing...one day I will get there!! I was supposed to go about 10 years ago but it never happened. Sigh. And all that Star Wars food looks so awesome! I'm all about the food lol. Seriously Feb will be here before you know it!

Thank you! You will make it to Hawaii. I thought it was a splurge for DH and I when we went to Maui on our 1st anniversary in 2009. We loved it so much that we wanted to go back to Hawaii almost immediately! I now invest in airline miles and hotel points so we can go and at least get our flight or hotel (or even both) for free. We wouldn't have been able to go the number of times that we did over the past 7 years if I hadn't used miles and points.

I know...I can't believe it's almost Christmas and I feel like I had just finished my May TR. Where has the time gone? I feel like I have so much to do though before our cruise...LOL. I am sooooo looking forward to it though!

Ooooo!!!!!

Not sure I'd go for that. Hollywood and Vine isn't known for great food and the meal there is VERY expensive. Also from what I have heard you won't be allowed to have characters sign anything.

We had a good experience there during SWW but not sure if it was enough to compel me to return, especially when I have so many restaurants on my list. So we'll see.

Yeah for 88 days!!!! With the holidays and your hubby's bday coming up I'm sure time is just gonna fly for you all.

I know! I'm in the midst of planning and of course, DH's brother and family are going to visit a few days during xmas (and stay with us) which is great except there's just a lot more to coordinate now.

Woohoo, getting so close now!!
We moved our Alaskan cruise to a Bahamian cruise so I have a new countdown...and it's 13+ months away It's going to be closer to my 41st birthday lol

Oh awesome!! Yay!

Can't wait to hear more about your Hawaiian trip, too!

Coming up in the next few days![/quote]

Coming up soon! Thanks!

Wow your Hawaii pics sure do bring back some good memories for me. I lived there with my first husband ( Navy) from '88-'92 and we had a blast! He was stationed at Barber's Point Naval Air StAtion, which has since been closed down.

Oh wow that must have been just lovely living in Hawaii. Of course it's different when you live and work in a vacation destination. I wonder if I will feel the same way if I lived there (and I have thought about it!) - I will probably hate the traffic I'd have to deal with every day!

The sea turtle! How amazing! The whole time I lived there I never saw one or a whale, can you believe it? I guess it's much different being there on vacation as opposed to living there and working all the time. I did get to do some temp work in a surfboard shaping shop once, that was fun! Sorry for swimming !

Oh that's awesome you worked in a surf shop! I don't surf by my husband tried it this trip and enjoyed it. SOmetimes on trips we see many turtles and sealife and sometimes we don't. So it all depends.

The food pics ....where do I start?! Yum!!! I always loved those ice cream scoops of rice you get with nearly everything! Looks like you guys had a fabulous time! I'd like to get back there someday, it's been 23 years since I've seen the islands

Wow -88 days until cruise time!!! Yea!

2 scoop rice and mac salad! That usually comes with every meal.I obviously like rice because I'm Chinese but I really love all the food there. You should definitely visit again, even if it's just to relive some of your memories! It's changed a lot though but still has that Hawaiian charm.

@chunkymonkey look, I've got a new ticker - we're going to Maui now woohoo!! I shall try and eat as much yummy food as I can lol

Yay!! That's awesome! Take me with you! I'll be your personal tour guide. LOL!

 

[kadrachb]

Do you have the link to the recipe?

Here is the video:
Disneyland Beef Stew

The recipe written used to be in the comments section, but it isn't there on that video. But the video doesn't necessarily leave anything out.

 

[chunkymonkey]

Here is the video:
Disneyland Beef Stew

The recipe written used to be in the comments section, but it isn't there on that video. But the video doesn't necessarily leave anything out.

Oh cool! Thank you! It looks yummy!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Mini Trip Report: Hawaii November 2015 Part 3

Here's the last part of our trip report to Honolulu, Hawaii! In addition to all the eating and beach going we did, here's some of the other activities that occurred on our trip:

Oahu Photography Tour

I signed up for the sunrise tour which took us, a group of 8, around the east (windward) side of the island to photograph the amazing sunrise. Here are some of my shots (taken on an old Canon DSLR camera with a wide-angle lens).

Here's me on the tour carrying all my gear!

It was a lot of fun and you don't need to know photography to go on the tour, in fact a handful of people were taking pictures on their smartphone the entire time! If you're into photography like I am, then it's really great to see all these beautiful spots and to photograph the sunrise. (They provide you with tripods so you don't need to bring your own).

Koko Head Crater Hike

This is more like a boot camp as opposed to a hike. Someone though an abandoned railroad rack up an old crater (more than 1000 steps) would be a great place to hike up and down. It's pretty much step after step to the top! It's nature's stairmaster! You do get some amazing views though. If you do this hike, try and do it early morning or evening as it gets really hot and bring lots of water as you'll need it! Luckily for us the day was overcast so no blazing sun down our backs. It was still really hot though!

We climbed this: Koko Head Crater!

Look at the climb to the top!

The views are amazing though as you get higher and higher.

We had to take a few breaks, it was hot!

North Shore, Oahu

We love to drive up to the north shore and take in the sights there.
We visited Byodo In Temple, which is featured in some movies and TV shows, like Lost. It's a lovely and serene Buddhist temple on the North east side of the island.

Byodo In Temple

Kahuku Farms

At this north shore farm, we went on a short 30 minute ride through their organic farm. This tour was called the "smoothie" tour because they show you the fruit they grow for their papaya smoothie, and at the end of the tour you get your own smoothie! It was a fun Living With the Land experience, except in a trailer pulled by a tractor instead of a boat!

There's a farm cafe where we started and ended the tour and where we got our smoothie!

The smoothie was sooooo good. It had papaya and coconut in it. Yum! I also highly recommend the grilled veggie pesto pizza which I showed in my last post. So yummy.

Spa at Hyatt Regency Waikiki

We went to the spa on our last day, and got couples massages! I had a couple of Hyatt gift cards burning a hole in my wallet so I had to use them! The spa is really lovely and we had amazing treatments!

Spa waiting room

Women's locker room

I love spas which are fully stocked with amenities!

I like how they gave you makeup wipes in your locker!

I highly recommend a treatment at the Hyatt Regency! Pssst, if you go between the hours of 2-4pm you get a discount on treatments.


Shopping

The Ala Moana Mall is the biggest mall in Hawaii, and it's really lovely. It has all the department stores like Macy's, Nordstrom, Bloomingdales, and some hard to find stores, like Samantha Thavasaa. It's an accessories brand in Asia, and their only US store is in Honolulu. I had to stop there because the brand had done a collaboration with Disney and I wanted to look at the pieces.

I couldn't just look...I walked away with this:

A Little Mermaid tote! I love it to pieces. It's white leather and comes with the little pouch bag with Ariel on it.

The inside is lined with Little Mermaid fabric!

This is the back of the Ariel pouch:

It's a medium-sized tote, I think it'll be fun to use on the cruise! Although I don't really carry a tote bag on the boat since you don't really need to carry much stuff. Maybe as a travel bag.

Well, that about covers our vacation to Honolulu! Hope you all had an amazing thanksgiving! I hosted my family over 3 days and let me tell you...I am stuffed and exhausted. It's gonna happen again over Christmas but with even more family. Gasp....is it February yet?
​

 

[kadrachb]

Your pictures are amazing! Some of them look like they should be in a coffee table book.

Also, I love that Little Mermaid tote. So cute!

 

[Gracefulskinny]

Love the tote!

 

[kastoney]

Wow, gorgeous pictures. Thanks for sharing

 

[Dugette]

Wow, I showed up at the right time! I've fallen behind on the DIS, but it allowed me to read all the Hawaii updates at once!

Love, love, love all of it!

The photos are all just breathtakingly gorgeous and the food and activity reviews were great too. I can't wait to be back there in just over a month!

Also, thanks for the updates/changes post on WDW. I am so out of the loop, so I learned a few things!

 

[bcwife76]

Those sunrise photos are amazing!!

That climb looks.....looooong....and steep lol

That bag....me wants my precious!

 

[disneyguy4life]

Okay... I am all caught up. First, all those food pictures look SOOOOOOOOOOO good. My mouth was watering when I saw them. Your trip looked amazing. I am excited to hear more about Cruise and WDW trip. I never even thought about undercover tourist for discount tickets. I look forward to seeing how all that works out with linking them up. I hope your holidays are going well and you enjoy Star Wars. Just 16 more days!!!

 

[chunkymonkey]

You're pictures are amazing! Some of them look like they should be in a coffee table book.

Also, I love that Little Mermaid tote. So cute!

Thank you so much! I really enjoyed the tour. And the bag was just too awesome to pass up. I may not be able to get to that store for a while so I just needed to get it. LOL.

Love the tote!

Thank you! White leather is not the most practical but I love to just look at it!

Wow, gorgeous pictures. Thanks for sharing

Thank you!!!

Wow, I showed up at the right time! I've fallen behind on the DIS, but it allowed me to read all the Hawaii updates at once!

Love, love, love all of it!

The photos are all just breathtakingly gorgeous and the food and activity reviews were great too. I can't wait to be back there in just over a month!

Also, thanks for the updates/changes post on WDW. I am so out of the loop, so I learned a few things!

Thank you!! So lucky you're gonna be there next month! I just love Hawaii.

Yeah soooo many new updates happening all the time. Did you hear Backlot Express is now serving some of the same items they had at Rebel Hangar? That is really great news as the food was so yummy and now there are more options to eat at DHS which is always a good thing!

Those sunrise photos are amazing!!

That climb looks.....looooong....and steep lol

That bag....me wants my precious!

Thank you!

Yes the climb...it was long and very steep towards the end. I stopped right before the very last 50 steps or so because it goes over a wide crevice and there is a wide gap between the tracks. I did not feel like falling into the depths of the crater, but many people did it.

Haha thanks!

Okay... I am all caught up. First, all those food pictures look SOOOOOOOOOOO good. My mouth was watering when I saw them. Your trip looked amazing. I am excited to hear more about Cruise and WDW trip. I never even thought about undercover tourist for discount tickets. I look forward to seeing how all that works out with linking them up. I hope your holidays are going well and you enjoy Star Wars. Just 16 more days!!!

Thanks! We sure ate well during the trip. I love food, as you can tell. LOL.

Yeah can't believe it's only 79 days until the cruise. It seems like so far away but I know with the holidays and stuff coming up it's going to breeze by so quickly.
I linked the tickets up from Undercover Tourist through my disney experience online and now they are linked to our reservation and magic bands. So cool! Now just to wait for my FP+ window to open up! (I have 26 days left, and no I have not made a plan on what FP+ to pick).

Only 15 days until Star Wars! LOL I am soooo looking forward to it. Enjoy your holidays!

 

[soniam]

Star Wars Dessert party is booking now.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/hollywood-studios/symphony-in-the-stars/

 

[chunkymonkey]

Star Wars Dessert party is booking now.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/hollywood-studios/symphony-in-the-stars/

THANK YOU!! I have booked for 2/29 for now. It looks like the dessert party will happen on weekdays too because 2/29 is a Monday. That is actually good for us because we were planning to be in DHS on Monday morning anyways so I think we can just spend the whole day there and we won't have to park hop. I now have to rearrange my schedule a bit and cancel some ADRs though, but I'm sooo excited I get to see those Jabba the Hut cupcakes again. They were the cutest things.

 

[soniam]

THANK YOU!! I have booked for 2/29 for now. It looks like the dessert party will happen on weekdays too because 2/29 is a Monday. That is actually good for us because we were planning to be in DHS on Monday morning anyways so I think we can just u the whole day there and we won't have to park hop. I now have to rearrange my schedule a bit and cancel some ADRs though, but I'm sooo excited I get to see those Jabba the Hut cupcakes again. They were the cutest things.

It doesn't look like they have Yoda this time. @yulilin3 posted them on the SOTF thread. They have Vader, BB8 (lemon), & Chewie (German chocolate). I'm bummed. Yoda sounded yummy.