Lyn-CA
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 9, 1999
A-LO-HA! Please, kick off your slippahs, sit a spell, and listen to the tale of our trip to paradise. Forgive us Hawaii, for it has been 12 long years since our last visit. Aulani wasn’t around back then and neither was our DS, whom we’ve dubbed “Lucky Kid” or L.K. for short. You see, in his 4 years of life here on this earth thus far, he has been to Disneyworld once, Disneyland seven times (with 3 more booked trips for the 60th celebration), and Aulani once. So yes, he is indeed, one lucky kid.
[I've only been able to complete Lucky Kid Visits the Happiest Place on Earth which you can find in the Disneyland trip reports board. I only got around to Day One of Lucky Kid Visits the World from our trip way back in January 2013 since I've yet to find my copious notes in order to someday complete it. Ha!]
I am the bigger Disney nut of the group as well as the trip planner and organizer. I did extensive research for our sightseeing but more so with the food because we live to eat! You shall see that we covered practically all of the drive ins and shave ice spots in Oahu. And, akin to Hobbits who have second breakfast, we usually have second dessert. You will also see us driving in circles around Oahu to make sure we cover our long list of dining establishments. The locals may laugh at us for seemingly backtracking here and there but the quest for onoliciousness was well worth it. For us, life is too short to pass up on good food.
TRAVEL DAY/ARRIVAL/DAY ONE
Here’s us: Daddy Rob, L.K., and me, Mommy Lyn on the flight over.
I'll spare you the tedious details of my least favorite part of any trip, the long and boring flight and all that comes with it. Suffice it to say, L.K. did pretty well during the flight. We were served “breakfast” consisting of crackers, cheese, and grapes. I started on the POG already but it was airline quality POG so blech!
We must’ve landed at the other terminal because I didn’t see, and therefore wasn’t able to take a picture of the pink Aloha WELCOME TO HAWAII sign on the way down to baggage claim.
We took a very crowded shuttle to Alamo Car Rental. Thankfully, there was no line for the self-service kiosks. L.K. insisted on 'helping' me so the transaction took twice as long. We had our pick between a Jetta and Chrysler 200. We picked a white Chrysler 200 after comparing trunk space and went on our way. I drove to Aulani, anticipating that it would take us around 45 minutes to get there. We lucked out and got there in 20 minutes. This was midday on a Sunday so YMMV (pun intended).
When we arrived, no one offered to help us with our luggage so we left our bags in the trunk and proceeded to check in. My instinct to pick a rental car with a trunk big enough to hold at least 5 bodies paid off. A greeter did meet us and handed out our leis and directed us to the front desk. I wasn’t able to check in online as the system had been down several days prior to our arrival.
To be honest, my first impression upon arrival did not meet my expectations. It was like the WDW veterans who see Disneyland’s castle for the first time. To me anyway, the resort seemed bigger in pictures. No worries though, I grew to love Aulani fairly quickly thanks to the beauty of the resort itself and its cast members.
I reiterated our room requests to the clerk. She assigned us to a room that was ready but it was on the second floor. I asked her to check for one on the highest floor in our category. I explained to her that we had lunch reservations at Ama Ama that we’re trying to get to. She told us to go ahead and have lunch and then come back to the front desk to see if we could get a room on a higher floor.
We proceeded to Ama Ama for lunch. We still had a bit of a wait since it was Mother’s Day. We popped in to Aunty’s Beach House to ask a few questions.
We got a nice corner table at Ama Ama.
L.K. had the kid’s catch of the day, while I enjoyed a chicken salad, and Rob had the pulled pork buns with 3 sauces.
The food and service were very good.
We took the scenic route on the way to our assigned room. We checked out the room and weren’t happy with the view nor the layout. I had requested and was hoping to get a studio where the bed and the sofa were parallel to each other. Off we went to the front desk. This is where it gets ugly. I explained to the CM the type of layout I was looking for. At first, he said flat out there are no such studios. So, I pulled up pictures of them on my phone and showed him. He said these may have been old units that they don’t have these anymore! He further said that these images should not have been posted publicly online. I was at a loss for words. Being that he works in the hotel industry, hasn’t he ever heard of trip advisor, yelp, expedia, hotels.com, oyster.com?
I was getting frustrated so I asked him to check again and he turned to the CM next to him. She looked at the pictures and said that they did have studios with that particular layout. Both of them turned their backs on me and talked in private. The first CM typed a bunch of stuff in his computer and then voila, he found the very one I was looking for on the fifth floor. He then disappeared in the back for such a long time that I wasn’t sure whether he left for his break or what.
At this point, I asked to see a supervisor. I explained to the supervisor everything that has transpired up to that point. She types a bunch of stuff in the computer and then tells me that unfortunately, they are booked solid and would not be able to change our room after all. She said we could come back the next day and see if they can accommodate us then. I asked her what happened to the unit that the previous CM (who was now M.I.A) had offered minutes ago. She said, “oh, that one is being renovated overnight so it's no longer available.” I was flabbergasted! I was starting to feel like I was either in the Twilight Zone or Candid Camera so I called DH over. I asked him to take over and try to resolve the situation because (I had been calm, reasonable, and rational up to this very point and now) I was about to lose it BIG TIME!
L.K. and I went outside so I can calm myself down. We waited on DH for a looong time. Finally, he emerged and said the supervisor placed us in a hotel room with 2 queen beds. She would supply us with a microwave, toaster, plates, bowls, cutlery, etc. so we can still have the trappings of a studio villa. We ended up in room 530.
Looking directly out the balcony, we had a view of palm trees and if we stood on our tippy toes, we could see the ocean.
One of the bellmen, Sam, was so nice. He was the first of many CMs that really evoked the aloha spirit. He brought in the cart with the microwave, toaster, etc. He then brought us bedrails for L.K.’s bed and set it up. He said to ask for him if ever we needed anything else.
By the time we unpacked, L.K. asked if we could have shave ice but Papalua’s was now closed. We went down to Concierge and asked whether there were shave ice places still open. He said to try Two Scoops. We went over to Ulu Café to check their dinner offerings. Nothing appealed to us so we walked over by way of the parking garage to Island Country Market. We grabbed dinner from there. L.K. had grilled cheese, I had fish and rice, and Rob had a sandwich. They did have more of a selection than Ulu Café but the food was nothing to write home about, let alone on a trip report. We ate at one of the tables right outside the door. We went to Two Scoops and found that they only sell shave ice during the day. Thankfully, L.K. settled for a kid-sized scoop of ice cream. Shave ice crisis averted.
Now satiated, we returned to Aulani.
We met our second outstanding CM, Linda in Concierge. She was enamored with L.K. from their earlier encounter and asked him to pick a pin. L.K. selected a Test Track pin which he cherishes to this day because his friend Linda gave it to him. We went up to the room and retired for the night as our California bedtime had finally caught up to us.
It was a great first day in paradise [whispers] despite the earlier front desk fiasco that shall never, ever be mentioned ever again [end whispers]. Oh, and yeah, best Mother's Day ever--hands down, bar none!
[I've only been able to complete Lucky Kid Visits the Happiest Place on Earth which you can find in the Disneyland trip reports board. I only got around to Day One of Lucky Kid Visits the World from our trip way back in January 2013 since I've yet to find my copious notes in order to someday complete it. Ha!]
I am the bigger Disney nut of the group as well as the trip planner and organizer. I did extensive research for our sightseeing but more so with the food because we live to eat! You shall see that we covered practically all of the drive ins and shave ice spots in Oahu. And, akin to Hobbits who have second breakfast, we usually have second dessert. You will also see us driving in circles around Oahu to make sure we cover our long list of dining establishments. The locals may laugh at us for seemingly backtracking here and there but the quest for onoliciousness was well worth it. For us, life is too short to pass up on good food.
TRAVEL DAY/ARRIVAL/DAY ONE
Here’s us: Daddy Rob, L.K., and me, Mommy Lyn on the flight over.
I'll spare you the tedious details of my least favorite part of any trip, the long and boring flight and all that comes with it. Suffice it to say, L.K. did pretty well during the flight. We were served “breakfast” consisting of crackers, cheese, and grapes. I started on the POG already but it was airline quality POG so blech!
We must’ve landed at the other terminal because I didn’t see, and therefore wasn’t able to take a picture of the pink Aloha WELCOME TO HAWAII sign on the way down to baggage claim.
We took a very crowded shuttle to Alamo Car Rental. Thankfully, there was no line for the self-service kiosks. L.K. insisted on 'helping' me so the transaction took twice as long. We had our pick between a Jetta and Chrysler 200. We picked a white Chrysler 200 after comparing trunk space and went on our way. I drove to Aulani, anticipating that it would take us around 45 minutes to get there. We lucked out and got there in 20 minutes. This was midday on a Sunday so YMMV (pun intended).
When we arrived, no one offered to help us with our luggage so we left our bags in the trunk and proceeded to check in. My instinct to pick a rental car with a trunk big enough to hold at least 5 bodies paid off. A greeter did meet us and handed out our leis and directed us to the front desk. I wasn’t able to check in online as the system had been down several days prior to our arrival.
To be honest, my first impression upon arrival did not meet my expectations. It was like the WDW veterans who see Disneyland’s castle for the first time. To me anyway, the resort seemed bigger in pictures. No worries though, I grew to love Aulani fairly quickly thanks to the beauty of the resort itself and its cast members.
I reiterated our room requests to the clerk. She assigned us to a room that was ready but it was on the second floor. I asked her to check for one on the highest floor in our category. I explained to her that we had lunch reservations at Ama Ama that we’re trying to get to. She told us to go ahead and have lunch and then come back to the front desk to see if we could get a room on a higher floor.
We proceeded to Ama Ama for lunch. We still had a bit of a wait since it was Mother’s Day. We popped in to Aunty’s Beach House to ask a few questions.
We got a nice corner table at Ama Ama.
L.K. had the kid’s catch of the day, while I enjoyed a chicken salad, and Rob had the pulled pork buns with 3 sauces.
The food and service were very good.
We took the scenic route on the way to our assigned room. We checked out the room and weren’t happy with the view nor the layout. I had requested and was hoping to get a studio where the bed and the sofa were parallel to each other. Off we went to the front desk. This is where it gets ugly. I explained to the CM the type of layout I was looking for. At first, he said flat out there are no such studios. So, I pulled up pictures of them on my phone and showed him. He said these may have been old units that they don’t have these anymore! He further said that these images should not have been posted publicly online. I was at a loss for words. Being that he works in the hotel industry, hasn’t he ever heard of trip advisor, yelp, expedia, hotels.com, oyster.com?
I was getting frustrated so I asked him to check again and he turned to the CM next to him. She looked at the pictures and said that they did have studios with that particular layout. Both of them turned their backs on me and talked in private. The first CM typed a bunch of stuff in his computer and then voila, he found the very one I was looking for on the fifth floor. He then disappeared in the back for such a long time that I wasn’t sure whether he left for his break or what.
At this point, I asked to see a supervisor. I explained to the supervisor everything that has transpired up to that point. She types a bunch of stuff in the computer and then tells me that unfortunately, they are booked solid and would not be able to change our room after all. She said we could come back the next day and see if they can accommodate us then. I asked her what happened to the unit that the previous CM (who was now M.I.A) had offered minutes ago. She said, “oh, that one is being renovated overnight so it's no longer available.” I was flabbergasted! I was starting to feel like I was either in the Twilight Zone or Candid Camera so I called DH over. I asked him to take over and try to resolve the situation because (I had been calm, reasonable, and rational up to this very point and now) I was about to lose it BIG TIME!
L.K. and I went outside so I can calm myself down. We waited on DH for a looong time. Finally, he emerged and said the supervisor placed us in a hotel room with 2 queen beds. She would supply us with a microwave, toaster, plates, bowls, cutlery, etc. so we can still have the trappings of a studio villa. We ended up in room 530.
Looking directly out the balcony, we had a view of palm trees and if we stood on our tippy toes, we could see the ocean.
One of the bellmen, Sam, was so nice. He was the first of many CMs that really evoked the aloha spirit. He brought in the cart with the microwave, toaster, etc. He then brought us bedrails for L.K.’s bed and set it up. He said to ask for him if ever we needed anything else.
By the time we unpacked, L.K. asked if we could have shave ice but Papalua’s was now closed. We went down to Concierge and asked whether there were shave ice places still open. He said to try Two Scoops. We went over to Ulu Café to check their dinner offerings. Nothing appealed to us so we walked over by way of the parking garage to Island Country Market. We grabbed dinner from there. L.K. had grilled cheese, I had fish and rice, and Rob had a sandwich. They did have more of a selection than Ulu Café but the food was nothing to write home about, let alone on a trip report. We ate at one of the tables right outside the door. We went to Two Scoops and found that they only sell shave ice during the day. Thankfully, L.K. settled for a kid-sized scoop of ice cream. Shave ice crisis averted.
Now satiated, we returned to Aulani.
We met our second outstanding CM, Linda in Concierge. She was enamored with L.K. from their earlier encounter and asked him to pick a pin. L.K. selected a Test Track pin which he cherishes to this day because his friend Linda gave it to him. We went up to the room and retired for the night as our California bedtime had finally caught up to us.
It was a great first day in paradise [whispers] despite the earlier front desk fiasco that shall never, ever be mentioned ever again [end whispers]. Oh, and yeah, best Mother's Day ever--hands down, bar none!
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