Mahalo Aulani! Three generation, first-timer Trip Report

[twodogs]

I promised myself, and a few people on this board, that I would write a trip report when we returned. We have been back about 3 weeks now, and I am finally getting settled back into work, life, kids being off school and can take a stab at it. I have never done a TR for any of our WDW or DLR trips, so it probably won't be as elaborate as some by any means. As well, note that my husband gets freaked out if there are pictures of our children online, so the pictures (if I can even get them to post) will be decidedly of the back of someone's head!

This was a first trip to Oahu and Aulani for all in our party. My DH and I went to Maui and Kauai on our honeymoon about 21 years ago, but we had not been on Oahu. This trip was me, DH, DD8, DD10 and my parents (GM and GP, for Grandmother and Grandpa for this report). The trip was important as my father is a retired military combat pilot, and my mother's father (my grandfather) was a WWII veteran. My parents really wanted to see Pearl Harbor but would never plan such a far away trip as Hawaii on their own. We had plans to take the girls to Hawaii but thought we would wait until they were a little older, however, serious illness struck our family last year and reset our timelines a bit. I decided to plan our trip and hope that my parents would join if I did all of the planning. They have joined us on the last two WDW trips as well as our last DLR trip, and they are very fit and active, so I hoped they would go with us to Aulani. They eagerly agreed, and then the planning was underway!

The trip was 8 nights in a 2 bedroom villa, booked with a cash reservation since we are not DVC. We were fortunate to book the 35% off deal that also included at $50/night ($400 total) resort credit. I booked this around Thanksgiving, and the trip started Memorial Day weekend and lasted 8 nights. Of note, the resort credit was just applied to the bill as a one-time $400 credit. It was not parceled out at $50/day, which was good because there were probably some days that we didn't eat anything at the resort.

We flew from Dallas directly to HNL on American Airlines. This would not necessarily be my first choice of airline due to the age of the planes that they use on this route, but it is our only non-stop option from Dallas. I did not want to mess with plane changes or lay overs. The flight was ok, but we had no overhead reading lights that worked in our section (which was the Main Cabin Extra section of Coach, which you typically pay extra for, but we got free due to DH having Platinum status on AA). It was a challenge when everyone in the window sections closed the shades to use their electronics, and I wanted to read a real book. It was too dark, so ended up using our phones for light. Not the best on an 8 hour flight. The kids did remarkably well on the flight. They are seasoned travelers, and they fly often, but I was still concerned about the length of the flight. They did great. AA has started serving a "meal" in coach, which is new on this route just since May. We got a chicken or veggie wrap each way which was complimentary. I had packed sandwiches and a boat load of snacks as well, so we were all set.

I have debated about how to organize this trip report, either by day or just by activity. I am going to try doing it by activity and if it starts to not make sense, I will revise it!!

 

[twodogs]

Trying to figure out how to post my photos. UGH!! Resizing these is a pain.

 

[twodogs]

Here are the girls after we checked in and immediately headed right to the beach! We did stop and get some nice Photopass pictures in the lobby and in the pool area. The girls could not wait one more second to jump in the water!!

 

[twodogs]

Aulani Resort and Spa:

We had booked a dedicated 2 bedroom on a cash reservation, Island/Garden View. When booking this, I put in the request for the Ewa tower, overlooking the lawn for the Starlit Hui, based on recommendations on this board and from the CM when I booked the room. I was hoping we would get a little ocean view out of it, since the rooms on the odd numbered side in this building can see the ocean. When we checked in, the CM was very nice and said very quietly that we had been upgraded. It was pretty chaotic in the lobby, and I thought that I had hallucinated this. I had hoped (as we all probably do) that some pixie dust would come our way, but I was still in shock. She handed me the paperwork to sign, and it said right there "2 bedroom Ocean View Villa". I pointed out that we had only paid for an Island/Garden view, and she smiled and said it was with their compliments! We were going to have to wait about 20 minutes, but who would turn that down!! They gave us the room keys and told us they would call my husband's cell when the room was ready. We left the bags with bell services and explored the lobby and gift shop. In less than 10 minutes, we got the call that our villa was ready. We were assigned villa 1487, which is the last room in the Ewa tower, facing the Starlit Hui lawn, on this floor (come off the elevator, turn left, go all the way down on the left). We had a very nice view of the ocean and could watch the Starlit Hui from our balconies. I would have preferred one long balcony instead of 2 triangular balconies, but again, NO complaints here about this awesome upgrade!! The room was exceedingly quite and very peaceful. We could not hear the Hui or the movie nights with the sliding doors closed. It was heavenly to watch the Hui from there, after we had seen it several nights prior in the proper way on the grass mats.

Our View:

 

[twodogs]

Ok so I am already going out of chronological order, but I forgot to comment on our rental car experience:

Alamo Rental Car:

I booked this through Costco, around the time I booked the resort, so at least 6 months in advance. I rechecked Costco often, as well as www.discounthawaiicarrental.com. Costco always had the lower price for a full sized SUV, which is what we needed with 6 people. The Costco price did drop a few times early on, and I rebooked it, saving several hundred dollars on the rental. After about February, all the price did was increase until they sold out of the full sized SUV prior to our arrival. As many have advised, book early and recheck prices often. We paid $450 all-in for 9 days in a Tahoe, which was not bad to me.

I posted the following on another thread, but I am copying here so it will all be in one place.

I was going to try online check in with Alamo prior to arrival, but I forgot to do it. Based on recommendations here, we headed straight to the kiosks (to the left once you enter the Alamo building) when we got off the rental car shuttle bus (that's another story, as I would be cautious about renting from Alamo again due to having to take a shuttle). No one went for the kiosks except us, so everyone else off of our shuttle went to stand in line. A person actually came over to see if we needed any help, which was nice. I was able to check in, as well as add my father as a second (free, thanks Costco) driver. He needed his driver's license to scan in his information. It took no more than 3 minutes for the entire process. We then took the print out outside (doors opposite the kiosks) and then sat to wait for our full sized SUV. This took about 15 minutes, as they keep them off site somewhere. If we had a standard car or Jeep rented, we could have walked out, picked one out, and left.

One BIG warning: on the day we left, I drove everyone and bags to airport, and dropped off all checked bags and family except my older daughter, at the terminal. We were worried about big security lines (there were none), so I wanted to drop them off to get started. I followed the airport signs for "Rental Car Return" but that led me to the return area for pretty much every other rental car company EXCEPT Alamo. The person there gave me directions to get back to the Alamo place off-site, but they were literally 20 step directions. Needless to say, one wrong turn took us to a very seedy area near some docks. We got turned back the right way eventually (search Google Maps for "Alamo rental car return HONOLULU AIRPORT" not just "Alamo rental car return" to get to the right place). We dropped the car quickly and boarded a bus quickly to head back to the terminal. All in all it was fine because we had baked in extra time for just this type of thing, as we had TSA precheck, for which we were literally the only ones in line (regular line had <5 people in it as well). But I might pay a little more to rent from a company that is onsite at the airport in the future to avoid this entire hassle.

As for parking a full sized SUV, the only place we had trouble was at Aulani!! Over Memorial Day weekend, the garage was very full and there were few places big enough for this giant. Many other vehicles parked there were also large SUVs or Mini Vans, so that made it tight. We were always able to find a place to park, but some nights it took a while. After Monday (Memorial Day), we did not have trouble finding parking at Aulani. Someone here mentioned the exit on the lowest level of the garage that allows you to turn LEFT out of Aulani instead of RIGHT (which is the way you are forced to go if you exit the parking garage on the lobby level, where you usually enter the garage). This saved us much time as we were typically wanting to go left out of the resort to get to our activities.

 

[twodogs]

Cabanas:

Our first full day was Sunday (of Memorial Day weekend). Because I anticipated big crowds due to the holiday weekend, I booked a cabana for this day. I also booked one for Tuesday and the following Saturday (our last full day there). I booked these at about 5 months out, and I requested the Kamaka Grotto area. My options were that or the Menehune Bridge area, which is the play area for young kids. We were not able to chose the cabanas in the Adult pool area since we had kids with us (and they specifically asked about this when I booked). There are 3 cabanas in the Kamaka Grotto, 2 in the Menehune Bridge, and 3 (I think) in the Adult Pool area. The Kamaka landing cabanas have a view of the ocean and a partial view of the pool area. The adult pool cabanas have a view only of the adult pool. When you book a cabana, they can't guarantee the location, it is only a request. The requests are granted in the order that they were booked, and you don't find out your location for the day until the night before. They called us each night before to give us the location. If we were not happy with that, we could have cancelled at that time. We were assigned to Cabana 4 for all three days. This is in Kamaka Grotto, so I was thrilled with this! We were instructed to check in at Rainbow Reef towel station at 9AM, and if we checked in later than 10AM, our reservation would be cancelled. We learned as the week went on, we could actually go ahead and use our cabana as early as 8AM when the pools opened, but there would not be service for food or drinks that early.

There is no special wrist band for the cabanas, so they CMs who are assigned to the cabana just have to remember your faces, I guess (this differs from Typhoon Lagoon at WDW, for example, where you have a special cabana wrist band). I could not see that they were enforcing a party size limit, as there were parties of greater than 6 people in the surrounding cabanas at times. Cabana 4 is the center one of the three in Kamaka Grotto. I might have liked 5 a little better since it was open on one side, but 4 was still pretty darn great. You are very close to the restrooms, as well as to the refill station in Ulu Cafe. The cabana came with towels, bottled water in the mini fridge, a drawer-safe and a changing area in the cabana. They brought a goodie basket each morning containing Maui chips, dried bananas, dried pineapple, and sweet potato chips. These were all delicious. They also bring a fruit platter, which was wonderful, and then a dessert tray (around 4pm or whenever you request it). One evening we needed to take the desserts to go, and they packed it up very nicely for us to take to the room. There are cabana food menus that you can order from, and they can alter those items quite a bit to make it what you would like. If you want the special from Ulu, you will have to go there yourself, however. The servers were very attentive and friendly.

View from Cabana 4, looking towards the ocean:



The inside of Cabana 4:

 

[twodogs]

Cabanas (continued):

As you can see by the photo above, you have 2 soft lounge chairs and a table in the sun, as well as a couch and two more chairs with a coffee table in the shade. There was a ceiling fan that we could control as well as a TV (which we didn't use). There is an ipod docking station, which we also didn't use for fear of disturbing others around us. The drawer you can see is the safe (which fit our Nikon camera with the lens taken off), and the cabinet holds the mini fridge. There wasn't too much room in the fridge for anything other than the included waters, but we did manage to stuff part of a dole whip and part of a shave ice into the freezer compartment at times. Don't want to let those go to waste!!

For us and our party size (6), I felt that the cabanas were worth the high price. We did book them on our "resort" days, when we knew we would use them the entire day, to get the most out of them. If I had small children, the Menehue Bridge cabanas (I think they are numbered 1 and 2) would have been outstanding. The cabanas by the adult pool were not fully booked when we checked on Tuesday (I forgot to look on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend), so those might be available for a last-minute booking at times (if you have no one under 18 in your party). I will say that the chairs in the adult pool area were never full when I walked by, so I am not sure that a cabana is absolutely needed in that area unless the resort is very busy. I think Aulani could put in 10 more cabanas with ocean views and they would all be fully booked. I am not sure why they don't do this, but I guess it is a space issue.

I will say that we saw a very unfortunate encounter between a guest and CM at Rainbow Reef when we went to check in for the cabana on the last Saturday. It was a family of 6, much like ours with 2 kids, 2 parents and 2 grandparents. They had apparently been assigned a cabana in the Menehue Bridge area, and were unhappy with that since their kids were around our kids' ages (~10). The CM stayed extremely calm and explained that the location assignments are done by request and are first-booked, first served. He had apparently request Kamaka, but so had we and two other families before he did, so he was given Menehue (could not do adult pool area since they had kids). He said he didn't care about how they prioritize the location assignments, that he had paid for a cabana 2 months ago and he demanded it to be in the Kamaka area. He acknowledged that he had been called the night before and told of his assignment and location, but he said he would not take no for an answer about relocating to Kamaka. They said that if he had not been happy with the location when called the night before, he could have cancelled at that time. He said he was not cancelling and that they needed to accommodate him in Kamaka. He was using profanity in front of his kids, my kids and every one else around. He wanted us or another family kicked out of Kamaka so he could be located there. I did not engage him at all, and headed to the cabana we were given. About an hour later, they came and changed the sign in front of Cabana 5 from Welcome xxx family to Welcome yyy family, and this guy comes walking up. I am not sure how the CM got the original family to give up their cabana or if they just didn't show for the booking, but we had the joy of these folks next to us for the day. The really funny part was that as soon as they checked in (now it was around 10AM), they all left for breakfast. They didn't return to the cabana until after noon, and they left by 4pm. Not the most full use of the 9AM-6PM time, but it's their money.

The cabanas do have a privacy curtain that can be closed by either party between the cabanas. Other than the above-mentioned day, they were left open by all parties. We were happy that this was the case on Tuesday, when the guy in the cabana next to us proposed right there in the cabana!!! It was really fun to get to see that!!

I did consider the Executive Lanai for this trip, but it was already booked for our days, even at 5-6 months out. I guess because there is just one, and it is a lower price point, it goes faster. In any case, after checking it out, I am glad we did the cabana instead. The cabana offered more privacy if you needed that (for a sleeping baby, for example), and a lot more guaranteed shade (very important for us). The Executive Lanai felt very "out in the open" to me with people walking by it a lot. I am not sure if you get the fruit, desserts etc with the EL.

Fruit plate:


To-go version of the dessert plate:

 

[twodogs]

That's all I can muster tonight, and I'm not even through the second day... I will get going on the rest, with the next installment covering Starlit Hui and a special Mother's Day lei-making class that we took (I think this was only offered in the month of May) called the Lei Po'o ( a lei that goes around your head). It was a blast!!! This was where we first met our favorite Aulani CM Michelle (we would see her often throughout the trip; she was really special in her enthusiasm!)!

 

[jodybird511]

Very much enjoying your TR thus far. Our family (myself, wife, son (7), daughter (13), and my parents) is heading to Aulani right after Xmas. Since our family make-up is similar, I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the report!

 

[twodogs]

I think Aulani is a great place for a multi-generation trip. The kids were entertained throughout the entire trip by their surroundings, and it gave the adults some time to catch up and visit. But it also afforded the kids time to be out in/on the ocean with their grandparents, zip line with them etc, and make some memories. It was nice to have the extra adults to be able to split up if one child wanted to be in the lagoon and one wanted to be up in the pool areas. We also cooked quite a bit in the villa, and the extra adults helped there too. It does make the rental car option expensive (basically our choices were full sized SUV, mini van or two cars (and two parking fees)), but Costco came through with what I felt like was a good deal on the full sized SUV. I put my dad as the extra driver since I suspected (correctly) that he and my mother might want to go to Pearl Harbor for a second day on the trip. They also went to Waimea falls one day by themselves while we and the kids had a resort day. I think you will all have a great time!!

 

[Vernie822]

Hi! I just started reading but I wanted to say thank you for the heads up on Discount Hawaii Car Rental. I had booked through Alamo but I just checked the prices and for our Maui portion of the stay the price was $50 cheaper. I also was able to upgrade our car from a compact to a Jeep for a minimal amount for the Oahu portion.

Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

 

[Tardisblue]

Cabanas (continued):

As you can see by the photo above, you have 2 soft lounge chairs and a table in the sun, as well as a couch and two more chairs with a coffee table in the shade. There was a ceiling fan that we could control as well as a TV (which we didn't use). There is an ipod docking station, which we also didn't use for fear of disturbing others around us. The drawer you can see is the safe (which fit our Nikon camera with the lens taken off), and the cabinet holds the mini fridge. There wasn't too much room in the fridge for anything other than the included waters, but we did manage to stuff part of a dole whip and part of a shave ice into the freezer compartment at times. Don't want to let those go to waste!!

For us and our party size (6), I felt that the cabanas were worth the high price. We did book them on our "resort" days, when we knew we would use them the entire day, to get the most out of them. If I had small children, the Menehue Bridge cabanas (I think they are numbered 1 and 2) would have been outstanding. The cabanas by the adult pool were not fully booked when we checked on Tuesday (I forgot to look on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend), so those might be available for a last-minute booking at times (if you have no one under 18 in your party). I will say that the chairs in the adult pool area were never full when I walked by, so I am not sure that a cabana is absolutely needed in that area unless the resort is very busy. I think Aulani could put in 10 more cabanas with ocean views and they would all be fully booked. I am not sure why they don't do this, but I guess it is a space issue.

I will say that we saw a very unfortunate encounter between a guest and CM at Rainbow Reef when we went to check in for the cabana on the last Saturday. It was a family of 6, much like ours with 2 kids, 2 parents and 2 grandparents. They had apparently been assigned a cabana in the Menehue Bridge area, and were unhappy with that since their kids were around our kids' ages (~10). The CM stayed extremely calm and explained that the location assignments are done by request and are first-booked, first served. He had apparently request Kamaka, but so had we and two other families before he did, so he was given Menehue (could not do adult pool area since they had kids). He said he didn't care about how they prioritize the location assignments, that he had paid for a cabana 2 months ago and he demanded it to be in the Kamaka area. He acknowledged that he had been called the night before and told of his assignment and location, but he said he would not take no for an answer about relocating to Kamaka. They said that if he had not been happy with the location when called the night before, he could have cancelled at that time. He said he was not cancelling and that they needed to accommodate him in Kamaka. He was using profanity in front of his kids, my kids and every one else around. He wanted us or another family kicked out of Kamaka so he could be located there. I did not engage him at all, and headed to the cabana we were given. About an hour later, they came and changed the sign in front of Cabana 5 from Welcome xxx family to Welcome yyy family, and this guy comes walking up. I am not sure how the CM got the original family to give up their cabana or if they just didn't show for the booking, but we had the joy of these folks next to us for the day. The really funny part was that as soon as they checked in (now it was around 10AM), they all left for breakfast. They didn't return to the cabana until after noon, and they left by 4pm. Not the most full use of the 9AM-6PM time, but it's their money.

The cabanas do have a privacy curtain that can be closed by either party between the cabanas. Other than the above-mentioned day, they were left open by all parties. We were happy that this was the case on Tuesday, when the guy in the cabana next to us proposed right there in the cabana!!! It was really fun to get to see that!!

I did consider the Executive Lanai for this trip, but it was already booked for our days, even at 5-6 months out. I guess because there is just one, and it is a lower price point, it goes faster. In any case, after checking it out, I am glad we did the cabana instead. The cabana offered more privacy if you needed that (for a sleeping baby, for example), and a lot more guaranteed shade (very important for us). The Executive Lanai felt very "out in the open" to me with people walking by it a lot. I am not sure if you get the fruit, desserts etc with the EL.

You seemed to be very frugal with booking the car and getting the $50/day resort credit but booked 3 full cabana days (one day is in the ballpark of the amount you paid for the full week of renting the SUV)? I'm not criticizing your choices, just curious on the though process.

 

[crystal1313]

Yay!!! We leave in a week and a half, and are traveling with DS8 and DS6 and my parents as well! Loving your TR and you already answered a question I was going to ask! We rented the premium casabellas and I wasn't sure where to go in the morning, now I know! Rainbow Reef! Thank you! I cannot wait to read more! The cabana looked heavenly =)

 

[twodogs]

You seemed to be very frugal with booking the car and getting the $50/day resort credit but booked 3 full cabana days (one day is in the ballpark of the amount you paid for the full week of renting the SUV)? I'm not criticizing your choices, just curious on the though process.

For us, it was a matter of having a particular budget in mind, and then using it in ways that gave us the most value for our family. The savings we were able to get on the room (view category), resort credit and rental car all allowed us to budget for the cabanas. We are very fair-complected, and we were traveling with my parents (mid 70s), two young kids and my husband who is part British (read: fair, fair skin). We were also traveling for part of our trip over Memorial Day weekend, when crowds were going to be very high. In deciding to spend money on the cabanas, I took all of that into consideration, as we absolutely need shade or my husband can not be in the pool area for more than 20 minutes. This would have been a real downer for Daddy to be up in the room on our resort days. Because this was our first trip, and because of the holiday, I was unsure from the reports here if we would be able to get a shady spot in the chairs or not (it turned out that while it was very busy, we still could find at least one chair with some shade most of the time, albeit at the beach and not the pools most of the time; we did not find 4 chairs in the shade together so we could sit with my parents and visit like we would have wanted to). We had 3 dedicated resort/beach/pools days during our trip, and I wanted everyone to be comfortable and to make the most of those days. My husband also often needs to work when we are on vacation (hate this...) so having power in the cabana made it possible for him to be on his laptop if needed (thankfully he worked mainly in the evenings or very early mornings on this trip). It was wonderful to have a safe to lock up our camera and phones while we were out in the resort.

There is no question that the price was high. I tried to save money elsewhere where we could to make up for it, as enjoying our resort days was a major priority for me and my family. Having a designated spot for my parents to relax while the kids did the pools/beach was wonderful. I elected the Island/Garden view room category to save some money as well, as we would be spending most of our time in the pools/beach and not in the room. Some people prioritize the room view and are wiling to pay extra for that; for me that was not my priority. If the budget were unlimited, I would have enjoyed that head-on ocean view, of course, but we didn't have an unlimited budget! So for us, the cabana made sense, and putting room view and other things down the list helped us accomplish the cabanas and stay in budget. Although others may have other budgetary priorities, I wanted to hopefully give a good description of the cabana offering so people could make an informed choice about spending their vacation dollars on the cabanas (or not).

Thanks for reading my trip report so far, everyone!

 

[twodogs]

Hi! I just started reading but I wanted to say thank you for the heads up on Discount Hawaii Car Rental. I had booked through Alamo but I just checked the prices and for our Maui portion of the stay the price was $50 cheaper. I also was able to upgrade our car from a compact to a Jeep for a minimal amount for the Oahu portion.

Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

So glad you got some savings on your car! I bet the Jeep will be a blast!

 

[twodogs]

Yay!!! We leave in a week and a half, and are traveling with DS8 and DS6 and my parents as well! Loving your TR and you already answered a question I was going to ask! We rented the premium casabellas and I wasn't sure where to go in the morning, now I know! Rainbow Reef! Thank you! I cannot wait to read more! The cabana looked heavenly =)

Can't believe your trip is coming right up!! How long does it feel like we all planned all of this, ha ha! I hope you have a great time!

 

[twodogs]

Free Activities:

On our first full day there, I decided to drop by the Pao Hana room around 9AM to see what activities we might sign up for (had not gotten down to get an Iwa, and didn't figure out (or better stated, remember) that they are posted on the Aulani website until later in the trip here: https://resorts.disney.go.com/aulani-hawaii-resort/about-aulani/daily-activities-schedule/). They had a special Mother's Day activity for the month of May, which was the making of a Lei Po'o or lei that goes around your head. We signed up and planned to go around 5 or 6pm (can't recall), followed by the Starlit Hui. I didn't appreciate how easy this sign-up process was until later in the week when I literally was in line at 7:45 and didn't get the Animation class or the Ukulele class on two different days. We were on the wait list for those other days, but enough people did not no-show, so we didn't get in. On our last full day there, I was determined to do these activities, so I was in line at 7:30 (line opens at 8AM), and was still about 10th in line. We did get both classes that day, though everyone was interested in other things by the time of the Ukulele class, so some lucky family on the waiting list got our spots. On the day we had the sitter, she was very savvy to the Aulani system, and she took the kids down to get in line to sign up for Canoe Racing at 7:30 and they got it. I think it does vary from day to day, but I could not correlate the variation with anything specific. My advice is go early if you really want the activity. And by early, that means 7:30! I did meet many nice people while standing in line!

For me, my favorite activity was the Lei Po'o. We went to the lawn near the convention area, and were given large baskets of purple orchids (just like the ones in the welcome lei you get upon check-in), string and a needle. They showed us how to string the leis and measure them for our head. This is where we first met Michelle, who quickly became our favorite CM. She was very friendly, outgoing and encouraging (and we needed that during the hula class that was also part of this actiivty!!). The Photopass photographer was there and got many great shots of the girls making the Lei Po'o. We then had a hula lesson and learned the Aulani hula that they perform at the Starlit Hui. This was challenging but fun! The best part was that Michelle explained the meaning of the movements that make up the hula and tell the story of Aulani. It made it some much more meaningful for me to watch it later in the stay, since I knew what the movements meant. It also gave our girls a head start on the mini-lesson they give at the Hui and at Aunty's beach house. At the end of the lesson, Minnie Mouse joined us and did the hula and posed for photos! Such a fun, and amazingly free, activity.

We all loved the Animation Class! As I said, it was hard-won to sign up for it, but thankfully it is offered many days during the week so you have a lot of chances. We first did a drawing project in pencil with Michelle, our favorite CM! She taught us to draw Sorcerer Mickey. Then we got to choose our animation cell, either Stitch, Minnie or Mickey. We chose one of each, and two of us did Stitch. Lesson on this was to paint fast!! Time flies when you are having this much fun, and you don't want a half finished cell. They gave us a nice envelope to take it home in, though it needed to dry for about 24 hours due to the thickness of the paint. Very fun!

The girls did the Canoe Racing with the sitter on our Pearl Harbor day, since the sitters can't take the kids in the pools or ocean. This was a free activity and they really enjoyed it. There was a Photopass photographer there as well, both during the decoration/construction process and during the actual race in the ocean. They do go out in the ocean up to waist high for the kids, so be sure to dress accordingly if you are the one racing it! The sitter was very on top of things and took photos all day herself while she was with the girls. She texted them to us throughout the day, which I genuinely appreciated! I think it is one canoe per family, but since I wasn't there, I can't be totally sure on that one. We did manage to bring the canoe home mostly in one piece in our luggage!



The girls also did a paper making and canvas bag-decorating activity, called Hawaiian Craft Series, Kapa Essentials. This was not a free activity, but we wanted them to participate since it was offered on the day with the sitter and would keep the kids from wishing they were in the lagoon!! I think it was around $25/person. They learned how to make paper and then decorated their bags with paint and stamps. They really enjoyed learning the process for making the special paper from the CM.

 

[twodogs]

Starlit Hui:

Based on good advice here, we decided to try to go on the first available night of our trip in case it was cancelled for weather on any later nights (it was not). We went on Sunday night, after our Lei Po'o class. We decided to wear the lei po'o to the Starlit Hui; it looked very Hawaiian! We didn't go down terribly early, maybe about 15 minutes before the show started. We got a mat on the first row of the second section of mats from the stage. It was nice having the open pathway in front of us so there was no one right there blocking the kids' views. The girls rushed to try to do the crafts such as making a flower bowl, making a fish from leaves and one other thing that I can't recall. They enjoyed these crafts a lot, and I wished we would have come a little earlier to allow more time for them. They wanted to come back another night just for the crafts, but we never made it back. The show itself was fun, but very short to me. I have never been to a "real" luau, so I have no basis for comparison, but it seemed short (probably a good idea with the short attention spans of most of the younger guests!). The girls went up for the hula and the other parts of the show where the keiki are called up. It was a lot of fun, and for us much easier than trying to get everyone together and out to an actual luau. We enjoyed the dueling ukulele's the most! Because of our room location, we watched it again another night from our balcony, which was a treat. I did have trouble understanding what Uncle was saying during the show since we were on the 14th floor, so I was glad I had already seen the show up close and understood what was going on despite not hearing the dialog. You do get a different perspective on the show from above, so if you are on that side of the Ewa tower, try to watch it one night!

We could also see the night time movie screen from our balcony, but we didn't ever watch the movie for more than a few minutes from there one night. With the doors closed, I could not hear any noise from the lawn up on the 14th floor.

 

[twodogs]

Monday, which was Memorial Day, was our North Shore and Climbworks day!! The kids (and all of the adults except my mother) had been keenly anticipating going on the unique zip line adventure on the North Shore. It is late, and I don't want to short this great activity, so I will have to post about it tomorrow when I have more time. In a nutshell, do NOT miss this activity, as it was a blast!!!

 

[Tardisblue]

For us, it was a matter of having a particular budget in mind, and then using it in ways that gave us the most value for our family. The savings we were able to get on the room (view category), resort credit and rental car all allowed us to budget for the cabanas. We are very fair-complected, and we were traveling with my parents (mid 70s), two young kids and my husband who is part British (read: fair, fair skin). We were also traveling for part of our trip over Memorial Day weekend, when crowds were going to be very high. In deciding to spend money on the cabanas, I took all of that into consideration, as we absolutely need shade or my husband can not be in the pool area for more than 20 minutes. This would have been a real downer for Daddy to be up in the room on our resort days. Because this was our first trip, and because of the holiday, I was unsure from the reports here if we would be able to get a shady spot in the chairs or not (it turned out that while it was very busy, we still could find at least one chair with some shade most of the time, albeit at the beach and not the pools most of the time; we did not find 4 chairs in the shade together so we could sit with my parents and visit like we would have wanted to). We had 3 dedicated resort/beach/pools days during our trip, and I wanted everyone to be comfortable and to make the most of those days. My husband also often needs to work when we are on vacation (hate this...) so having power in the cabana made it possible for him to be on his laptop if needed (thankfully he worked mainly in the evenings or very early mornings on this trip). It was wonderful to have a safe to lock up our camera and phones while we were out in the resort.

There is no question that the price was high. I tried to save money elsewhere where we could to make up for it, as enjoying our resort days was a major priority for me and my family. Having a designated spot for my parents to relax while the kids did the pools/beach was wonderful. I elected the Island/Garden view room category to save some money as well, as we would be spending most of our time in the pools/beach and not in the room. Some people prioritize the room view and are wiling to pay extra for that; for me that was not my priority. If the budget were unlimited, I would have enjoyed that head-on ocean view, of course, but we didn't have an unlimited budget! So for us, the cabana made sense, and putting room view and other things down the list helped us accomplish the cabanas and stay in budget. Although others may have other budgetary priorities, I wanted to hopefully give a good description of the cabana offering so people could make an informed choice about spending their vacation dollars on the cabanas (or not).

Thanks for reading my trip report so far, everyone!

Fantastic and very logical explanation. Kudos.