Aulani TR - Sharks, Horses, a sub-scooter and Mickey!

[saintstickets]

Tuesday – Sep 4th (Continued)

We were thinking about going aboard the battleship USS Missouri and the submarine USS Bowfin but we have been on those types of ships in the past. We are supposed to be at the dock for the sub-scooter at 2:30 this afternoon and with the traffic the way it has been, we weren’t sure how long it would take us to get to the dock. So, we walked around for a little while longer, visited the gift center, deposited a fair amount of coin, turned our audio headsets back in and then took off on our adventure to find our next destination.

Google maps said it was about 18 miles to the dock in Kapolei and would take about 30 minutes. Sure it would. A little over an hour later, we arrived BUT internet maps, iPhone apps and Garmin would not get me this time! Bwa-ha-ha…we were 45 minutes early because we allowed extra time. Oh crap…what do we do for 45 minutes now? It worked out okay because the dock is adjacent to a shopping center so we grabbed a bite at a fast food restaurant, browsed a few stores, took a motion-sickness pill just in case and just took our time and slowed down a bit.

At 2:30 we walked down to the boat right on time. To refresh everyone’s memory about this excursion, I subscribe to Groupon-Hawaii and a few weeks before our trip, I received an email for a 2-for-1 discount to a Submarine Scooter Tour. These “scooters” are a self-propelled, electric apparatus that requires no diving or scuba experience. You board the 40’ dive boat and you are taken out past the harbor to the open sea to a volcanic formed bowl that is about 10’ deep on the rim and about 25’ deep in the bottom of the bowl. There were 4 certified divers in addition to the boat captain. They lower the scooters into the water and you jump in the water, tread your way to the scooter, take a deep breath and go underwater and up into the dome that is supplied by an oxygen tank on the scooter. Here is a picture of the scooter being lowered into the water.

You sit on the black seat with your head up in the dome on top. The oxygen tank is in the front of the scooter and there are steering handles that fold out to allow you to go in the direction you choose. The scooter will go about 3-4 mph (about the pace of a normal walk). They tie off a bag of fish food on the front of the scooter that attracts fish. The heavy marine battery that provides the propulsion is in the bottom of the scooter which also helps to keep the scooter upright. It is something I had never heard of before and we were looking forward to it. Before you are allowed in the water, you are given instruction on how to mount the scooter and operate it. The scooter ride is about 20 minutes and they have one of the divers taking pictures while you are underwater. Four scooters are in the water at one time and the other boat passengers can snorkel while waiting their turn. There were 5 couples on our boat. You are also given hand signals to respond to the divers to make sure everything is okay. This will come in handy later.

Everything is taken care of and off we go. Here are a few pics before we arrive at the destination...

Captain of the boat

Nice scenery

DW

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[saintstickets]

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Once we arrive at our destination. The divers lower the scooters in the water and wait for the first group to get in the water...

We were not in the first group of four. We had the option to get in the water and snorkel but with my previous experience snorkeling, I was hesitant. There was someone parasailing near us as we awaited our turn.

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[saintstickets]

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The scooter ride lasts 20-25 minutes but one of the persons in the first group came up after about 10 minutes. She said she couldn’t breathe very well. By the time she surfaced and they got her on board, her husband surfaced also to see what was going on with her. He too came on board so now there were two scooters available for DW and I. We jumped in the water and boarded our scooters. It wasn’t long before we were underwater and putt-putting along. I took these pics from my scooter and you can see, the food bag they hang on the front of the scooter works well. At one point I had to shoo away the fish with my hand in order to see!

DW took off like a kid chasing an ice cream truck but I did get one of her coming back towards me

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[saintstickets]

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One of the divers is also taking pictures and here are his of DW

He also took some of the sea turtles that were near the rim of the volcanic made bowl

About this time, I started having problems breathing. We had been told if you get short of breath to take slow deep breaths. I tried this but the more I tried, the more it seemed like I was not getting enough oxygen. DW was off at the other end of the bowl so I couldn’t signal her. One of the divers noticed I had stopped moving in the water and swam over to me. He gave me the hand signal we were shown while on board to ask if I was okay. I signaled back that I was not and needed to surface. He did something to the scooter and in just a few seconds we were on the surface. I ducked out of the scooter and got my head above water to take some deep breaths. We were near the boat so I swam over and climbed back on board. I was a little woozy but it didn’t take too long before I was breathing okay. I was talking to the woman that had surfaced quickly earlier and she told me she had the same feeling of lack of oxygen. The boat captain was there with us to make sure we were okay and after hearing our conversation, he told one of the divers to bring the scooter I used over to the hoist. We apparently had used the same scooter and the oxygen was not flowing sufficiently. He offered to allow us to use another scooter. The woman did not want to and DW had surfaced by that time so I told him no as well. I would have liked to try again but I was down there between 15-20 minutes anyway. DW rode for nearly 30 minutes so we got our money’s worth. All things considered, it was just as much fun as we had anticipated and I would do it again if we get the chance. Having a Groupon coupon to cut the cost in half made it that much better!

 

[silmarg]

Hey Bill!

Better late than never! Always enjoy your TRs and Hawaii is one I may never enjoy as my DW is not a good flyer. Maybe if I break up the flights... via California... but it wont be in the cards for some time.

Thank goodness the Saints won today. Still hopeful for a playoff shot.

Be well and keep posting!

Sil

 

[DrChuck23]

Do you recall what the age and/or weight minimum is for the sea scooters?
On the Aulani website they now have excursion packages where the transport is included. I'm now thinking that paying that premium might be worth avoiding the hassle of driving in rushhour over there!

 

[DrChuck23]

PM sent to Cpt Oblivious regarding possible point rental!

 

[saintstickets]

Hey Bill!

Better late than never! Always enjoy your TRs and Hawaii is one I may never enjoy as my DW is not a good flyer. Maybe if I break up the flights... via California... but it wont be in the cards for some time.

Thank goodness the Saints won today. Still hopeful for a playoff shot.

Be well and keep posting!

Sil

Glad you could get a chance to join in Sil and thanks for the kind words. The flight to Hawaii is long enough for us from Missisippi so you can add several hours from where you live. I think the next time we go we will also break up the trip.

As for the Saints, they won 13 in a row during the regular season in 2009. All they have to do this year is win 12 in a row...easy, right?

Do you recall what the age and/or weight minimum is for the sea scooters?

There was no age limit listed but the height limitations were between 4' and 6'8". The weight limit was 350 lbs.

On the Aulani website they now have excursion packages where the transport is included. I'm now thinking that paying that premium might be worth avoiding the hassle of driving in rushhour over there!

We thought the same thing but we already had a car and the price difference booking direct vs through Disney was considerable. Also, Disney only goes to Kualoa Ranch one day a week and it can be cancelled at the last minute if they do not get a minimum number to sign up.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Great underwater pictures! Looks like a lot of fun, except for the whole not-being-able-to-breathe thing. I can imagine that wasn't a real fun experience.

So I guess the scooter just uses pressure to keep air in the helmet part? I was trying to figure out how that worked exactly.

PM sent to Cpt Oblivious regarding possible point rental!

Thanks!

 

[MEK]

Well, I see you finally started. I just read the scooter story and that sounds frightening. Wow! You guys are brave. I don't think I could go under water like that. I look forward to catching up with your updates and seeing your pics. I only have thumb nail size on my phone.

 

[saintstickets]

Great underwater pictures! Looks like a lot of fun, except for the whole not-being-able-to-breathe thing. I can imagine that wasn't a real fun experience.

So I guess the scooter just uses pressure to keep air in the helmet part? I was trying to figure out how that worked exactly.

Thanks!

I was wondering that myself before we got in the water. The initial air is the same principal of turning a glass upside down and then lowering it into the water. You create an air pocket. The oxygen is pumped in and since it is lighter than the carbon dioxide we exhale, I assume the oxygen forces the CO2 to the bottom of the bubble and eventually out....that is, if there is enough oxygen being pumped into the bubble. It appears in my case, they needed to turn it up a notch!

Well, I see you finally started. I just read the scooter story and that sounds frightening. Wow! You guys are brave. I don't think I could go under water like that. I look forward to catching up with your updates and seeing your pics. I only have thumb nail size on my phone.

Hope you made it back safe and sound from your F&W trip and I can't wait to read your TR. As for the scooter, I would do it again in a heart beat. It was really fun...until the point I couldn't breathe!

 

[saintstickets]

Tuesday - September 4th (Cont)

After we returned to the dock, it was a little after 5:00pm. As we expected, it took over an hour to get back to Aulani in the afternoon rush hour. As I previously mentioned, this trip is to celebrate the 30th anniversary of DW and I. Waiting for us when we returned to the room was this…

That was nice of Mickey and Minnie, don’t you think?

We cleaned up and walked around the grounds at Aulani. Here are a few pics of the resort at night

Wai’anae Tower

Ewa Tower

Ama Ama Restaurant

Small combo playing just outside Ama Ama

Walkway near the beach

Movie time

Wailana Pool & Bar

Kiddie area/Menehune Bridge at night

Waikolohe Stream

Cabanas for rent

Main Waikolohe Pool next to Off the Hook

Off the Hook bar

Continued in next post...

 

[saintstickets]

We decided to eat at Aulani’s Off The Hook. Off The Hook is basically a bar with a few tables under cover and most of them are outside with umbrellas near the main Waikolohe pool. The menu is limited. Here it is

I had the Kobe beef sliders and DW had prawns & Alaskan crab legs. I had a pineapple ginger splash to drink and DW had the sparkling island spiced cooler. The drinks were VERY sweet and the food was okay…good but nothing to rave about. As we quickly began to find out at Aulani, the food is good; we didn’t have a BAD meal anywhere. The prices are comparable to Jiko’s, Bistro de Paris or GF Café but the meals are not as good as those WDW restaurants.

One thing you will find out traveling to Hawaii is that your body is still operating in the time zone where you live. You are ready for bed at an hour earlier than when you normally go to bed at home and you also wake up earlier. We’ve had a full day so we are ready for sleepy time.

 

[eandesmom]

I see quite a bit of ocean with that pool view, lovely lovely lovely!!!!!

It's funny, it's been so long since I've been to Oahu that I can't recall dealing with traffic but I'm sure I must have. It sounds awful! Peal is so incredibly moving, I feel like I am there seeing your update.

Those scooters look like SO much fun, I would try that in a heartbeat but the malfunctioning one scares me a little!

or a lot.

 

[saintstickets]

I see quite a bit of ocean with that pool view, lovely lovely lovely!!!!!

It's funny, it's been so long since I've been to Oahu that I can't recall dealing with traffic but I'm sure I must have. It sounds awful! Peal is so incredibly moving, I feel like I am there seeing your update.

Those scooters look like SO much fun, I would try that in a heartbeat but the malfunctioning one scares me a little!

or a lot.

We were pleasantly surprised to have a decent ocean view without spending the points for it. I think just about anything on the 5th floor or above with a designated pool view would be very good.

The scooters were really fun. My luck is always such that something crazy happens when we are on vacation. This is not the only thing that happens on this trip. Keep reading!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

The resort looks just as beautiful at night. I get the feeling Disney has learned a thing or two about exterior illumination.

 

[podsnel]

It is so beautiful at Aulani at night.....I can't believe the pool bar was open! For us it closed everyday at like 4. We went to get a drink there one night at 4:45 and it was all closed up. I'm starting to wonder if we were at Aulani on an off week- alot of things I had read about before hand I never saw (like a movie at night). Hmmmmm......

 

[saintstickets]

The resort looks just as beautiful at night. I get the feeling Disney has learned a thing or two about exterior illumination.

Disney definately knows how to landscape and illuminate. If I ever get to build my dream house, I want to hire a Disney Imagineer to come help me!

It is so beautiful at Aulani at night.....I can't believe the pool bar was open! For us it closed everyday at like 4. We went to get a drink there one night at 4:45 and it was all closed up. I'm starting to wonder if we were at Aulani on an off week- alot of things I had read about before hand I never saw (like a movie at night). Hmmmmm......

You didn't get to the pool bar?!?! It's where we ended up most nights. You were there before Labor Day so it should have been fully staffed. Hmmmm. I'm looking forward to the Aulani portion of your TR when you return. I wonder what you saw that we missed?!?!?

 

[saintstickets]

Wednesday – Sept 5th

Before I get started on today, one thing I failed to mention are the activities at Aulani. There is quite a bit to do at Aulani, especially for kids. Part of the welcome package are these brochures listing activities and dining options...

 

[saintstickets]

Each day around 5:30pm, the resort releases the daily activities scheduled for the next day. This publication is called the Daily Iwa. Here is a sample of one we picked up…

For you DVC owners, there are also a few perks and discounts available. You can get this list at the DVC show room that is located near check-in…