Aulani to WDW: The Lurkyloos' Anniversary Vow Renewal: THRILLING CONCLUSION 8/5!

[Captain_Oblivious]

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!!!! ... A winner of the "Laziest Reader" contest...

Hey, wait a minute...

SCORE on the Aulani swag! Gotta love that.

And Philly cheese steaks are like bacon...they make everything better. :

 

[wiigirl]

Awesome pics!!

 

[lurkyloo]

17! Okay frankly I have no idea because I wasn't quite sure if half of them were just rocks! Although I think there may have been a giant lizard in there.

Yeah, I think WDI cheats a little sometimes and just makes things vaguely look like animals. Maybe since we guests are notorious for imagining Hidden Mickeys where there aren't any, they figure it's a similar principle!

Wow - you really outdid yourself with the last two updates! I felt like I was reading a novel and you definitely had me LOL'ing more than once.
I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of your TR. But there's more, right?

I'm so glad I could make you laugh! Yes, there is a whole day left (Dole Plantation + Polynesian Cultural Center), plus Root photos, and then there are three days at Walt Disney World!

:

And Philly cheese steaks are like bacon...they make everything better. :

Yes, but can they also be covered in chocolate?

Awesome pics!!

I'll tell Patrick you said so!

 

[knewton64]

.........I found you.




I thought we had lost you.


no.


wait a minute.



Or is it I just 'misplaced' my "Breakfast @ Tiffanies" big poofy hat lady webpage favorites on my computer??
(not gonna do that again!!)




Gettin' caught up - YOUR TRIP REPORTS R-O-C-K!!:
and yes, lookin forward to many more TR's from ya.
GLAD 2 C U AGAIN.






T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS

 

[KathyRN137]

Two Scoops proved to be something of a disappointment. They only had eight flavors and nothing else: no shakes or sundaes or anything. They did inexplicably offer Philly cheese steaks, though!

This was a LOL for REAL! So funny!


The fishy pix were lovely... I'm snorkel-impaired, myself!


There's even more to come? WOW!


Kathy

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Wow! That was quite a set of updates!! So many great photos.

I'd have to agree, that certainly does look like the bestest Disney lazy river I've ever seen.

Random question - apologies if you already mentioned it - do you have to pay to "rent" the covered lounge chairs on the beach? I'm guessing yes as in some pictures it is just the wood frame and I suppose they wouldn't bring the cushion until you paid your $$. Any idea how much it is?

Super odd the snack bar is only open for dinner. Not like Disney to miss a revenue opportunity...

I think I would have freaked at the head of lettuce bomb while snorkeling too. Definitely not what you'd expect!

Love, love, love all the detail around the resort. Your photos capture it so beautifully.

HOLY COW on all the Aulani gear. So glad you got your robes!

Happy to hear "we" still have a full day in Oahu and some WDW time coming in this TR.

 

[lurkyloo]

Or is it I just 'misplaced' my "Breakfast @ Tiffanies" big poofy hat lady webpage favorites on my computer??

I'm so glad you found me!

This was a LOL for REAL! So funny!


The fishy pix were lovely... I'm snorkel-impaired, myself!


There's even more to come? WOW!


Kathy

Oh yes... I'll prolly be dragging this thing out til our NEXT trip, and we don't even have one planned yet!

Random question - apologies if you already mentioned it - do you have to pay to "rent" the covered lounge chairs on the beach? I'm guessing yes as in some pictures it is just the wood frame and I suppose they wouldn't bring the cushion until you paid your $$. Any idea how much it is?

You know, I'm usually such a detail freak, but I totally blew it on the beach rentals. We didn't even take a photo of the sign with the prices. Heck, we may have been illegally parking our buns on those beach chaises, come to think of it, since it didn't even occur to us that we might have to pay.

Well, that tears it—we gotta go back to Hawaii now so I can get you some prices!!!

 

[knewton64]

now THAT must have been quite an experience!!



Love the pics &
lookin' forward ta hearing more.





Aloha

 

[lurkyloo]

Wow, that is really great character art. Minnie looks downright gorgeous!

 

[eandesmom]

Patrick was SUPER-bummed that the Menehune Bridge was closed during our visit. I’m pretty sure I could get him to agree to an Aulani return trip in a heartbeat if I used it as bait.

It took us days to realize some of the sporadic spray we'd get in spots on the river was...due to the Menehune Bridge! It is a great shortcut from Ewa to the towel pick up as well.

This is where you show your room key to get a wristband and towels. Tip: Grab your towels for Hanauma Bay here the night before if you’re leaving early in the morning

Yes...or that parking lot might be closed by the time you make it there in the am.

The lettuce pretty much vaporized within seconds, and then things calmed down a bit.

I can see where that would be a bit freaky!

Now, frequent readers of my trip reports probably figured this out way before I did, but I realized then that I am not actually very good at relaxing. I’m always, always, ALWAYS thinking ahead to the next activity, which is not just a terrible way to vacation, but also a terrible way to experience life in general. So at that moment I worked very hard to shut my brain down and just enjoy the moment. I concentrated on how lucky I was to be spending a Tuesday morning floating in warm water overlooking a glorious beach and the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean, with not a care in the world.... It was the most serene 45 seconds of my life!

45 seconds can be an achievement, I hear you there!

Like Animal Kingdom’s Tree of Life, the “rockwork” of Aulani’s Waikolohe Valley is carved with hundreds of animals. Because I don’t feel like counting them myself, I am offering a prize that I don’t know what it is yet but will be super-awesome to the reader who can list the most from our photos...

It won't be me. We were just there and too blissed out to even notice them for the first few days

We went back to the room for a quick break before lunch and a trip to the beach below Aulani. There was a surprise waiting for us: Not only had our leis finally shown up, but our bed was covered in Aulani loot!

That is some serious loot you got there!

Before we hit the beach, we went looking for some lunch. Well, I did. Patrick was full of shave ice. I remembered reading in several Aulani trip reports about how great the sweet potato fries were at the One Paddle, Two Paddle quick-service place, so I thought that and maybe one of their mediocre burgers would make a good pool-day lunch.... Except when we got over there, we discovered it doesn’t open til 5pm!

This was absolutely confounding to me. What kind of pool-area snack bar is only open for dinner? That leaves Mama’s Snack Stop—with its boring menu of hot dogs and chicken tenders and NO sweet potato fries—as the only quick-service option for lunch. Oh wait, no, there’s a snack bar down on the beach that also doesn’t serve sweet potato fries...

There is also Off the Hook which has a few different things than Mama's. The menu at Little Ophilii's is different but I agree, we didn't get the hours of One Paddle/Two Paddle either...plus it's pretty darn hidden. We found it very interesting that you can ONLY get your burger well done if you order from Mama's or Off the Hook (or theoretically 1P/2P if they are open), only way to get it to temp is to go to ‘AMA ‘AMA. Something about burgers out int he sun????

But yet you can order a Tuna Sandwhich

Your lunch sounds really good!

When we were there, there was only one path down to the beach. But when construction is finished, there will be two.

There are actually 3 open now, main one over by the infinity jacuzzi, one by the fire pit and one on the very far side of the patio in front of ‘AMA ‘AMA. I believe once the other side of construction is done there will be yet another path but am not sure.

I was not as huge a fan of the real-water experience. I think a lot of it was cuz the sun was REALLY bright and squinty-making, and I was still flailing more than I was snorkeling, and there was hardly anything to see under the water. It didn’t seem worth coughing down gallons of seawater for... Instead, I tried just lounging on our beach chair, but the group next to me was smoking, and the sun was sneaking around the edges of the umbrella I kept hitting my head on, and BOO-HOO-HOOOO! I was stuck in crummy old Hawaii having a lot of first-world problems! (I did tattle on the smokers, though it was hard to find someone to tattle to. I settled for the guys running Aulani’s rental booth, who could not have cared less.)

YUCK on the smoking.

A guitar duo was playing on the ‘Olelo Room’s patio

I am pretty sure these were the guys there last night! I'll have to compare my pics.

Great mega updates!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Ok. Even though this has nothing to do with Disney or Hawaii, I had to share this picture with you. Thanks to the T-Rex cameos...ahem...I mean photobombs in your TR, thought of you and Patrick the minute I saw this pic.

Best. Bridal Party. Picture. EVER!

http://www.uproxx.com/webculture/2013/05/jurassic-park-wedding-photo/

 

[MommyTaraLee]

Ok. Even though this has nothing to do with Disney or Hawaii, I had to share this picture with you. Thanks to the T-Rex cameos...ahem...I mean photobombs in your TR, thought of you and Patrick the minute I saw this pic.

Best. Bridal Party. Picture. EVER!

http://www.uproxx.com/webculture/2013/05/jurassic-park-wedding-photo/

Ha! I was just coming out of lurkdom to post the same thing! I immediately thought of you guys when I saw the pic on my daily perusal of people.com!

 

[librarygeek]

So many gorgeous pictures of Aulani! That lazy river looks fantastic, I would definitely spend a lot of time there. And I can only imagine your fear of the fish when they got that lettuce! I'm usually pretty good with snorkeling, but that would get me a bit jumpy too! Probably cool to see though.

 

[lurkyloo]

There is also Off the Hook which has a few different things than Mama's. The menu at Little Ophilii's is different but I agree, we didn't get the hours of One Paddle/Two Paddle either...plus it's pretty darn hidden. We found it very interesting that you can ONLY get your burger well done if you order from Mama's or Off the Hook (or theoretically 1P/2P if they are open), only way to get it to temp is to go to ‘AMA ‘AMA. Something about burgers out int he sun????

That is... weird. But so Disney. You know, it wasn't til I looked at these photos that I even knew where Off the Hook was! Now I wish I'd checked it out.

There are actually 3 open now, main one over by the infinity jacuzzi, one by the fire pit and one on the very far side of the patio in front of ‘AMA ‘AMA. I believe once the other side of construction is done there will be yet another path but am not sure.!

A-ha! Good to know—thanks!

Ok. Even though this has nothing to do with Disney or Hawaii, I had to share this picture with you. Thanks to the T-Rex cameos...ahem...I mean photobombs in your TR, thought of you and Patrick the minute I saw this pic.

Best. Bridal Party. Picture. EVER!

Wow, that guy really gets around!

Ha! I was just coming out of lurkdom to post the same thing! I immediately thought of you guys when I saw the pic on my daily perusal of people.com!

Welcome out of lurkdom!!!

So many gorgeous pictures of Aulani! That lazy river looks fantastic, I would definitely spend a lot of time there. And I can only imagine your fear of the fish when they got that lettuce! I'm usually pretty good with snorkeling, but that would get me a bit jumpy too! Probably cool to see though.

Yeah, I'm such an animal lover that, usually, the closer I can get to them, the better. I think it was just the combo of the swarm and not being very good at breathing through a snorkel still that made the whole thing so overwhelming!

 

[ampooh]

I don't know how I missed all this until now I don't know but sure have enjoyed my rainy day cathching up

 

[lurkyloo]

Today was our last day in Hawaii, but, thanks to a late redeye, we were able to jam-pack it with plenty more touring for you!

We started the day with packing and a hearty breakfast (for Patrick) of the granola we’d brought, topped with chocolate-covered strawberries sent by our vow renewal planner, Elena! (I probably had a stale piece of that dreadful cake just because it was there.) I discovered the resort’s Celebrations menu on the TV as we were packing and felt compelled to shoot each and every treat for you, even though you can see all the same info on Aulani’s website.

 

[lurkyloo]

Elena had requested that we meet up to say goodbye before we left, so we went down to the lobby. What a sweetie!


So long, favorite conversational grouping...

Farewell, Waikolohe Valley...

Catch ya later, lobby!

Patrick decided to document the lobby murals a bit more thoroughly before we left...



“Oh real funny, Debbie!!!”

“Okay, next time, let’s try not to whizz on the seal...”

“Is that... the sound of one hand clapping?”

“Nice hair, hipsters... (EPIC eyeroll)!”

”KHAAAAAAAAAN!!!”

“Oh yeah, that’s good... A little more to the left!”

“I did my part—can I go now, Grandpa Baby?”

On the advice of our friendly concierge the night before, we decided to check our bags at Aulani and come back to get them before we had to leave for our flight, rather than take them with us as we toured the island. I was also looking forward to using the lounge Aulani provides for guests who’ve checked out but still need amenities like showers and TVs playing Disney Vacation Club infomercials.

We took another loop through the pool area before we left...

I hadn’t seen Donald the entire time we were at Aulani, so I got uncharacteristically excited about spotting him at the PhotoPass spot and made Patrick take lots of pictures.

Oh no... he’s spotted us...

Now WE gotta take a photo too!

 

[lurkyloo]

Oh, yeah! So, this is the level you want to park on at Aulani:

And here’s THE closest parking spot!

We drove out of Ko Olina and up H2 to start our reverse tour of the north shore: lunch, Dole Plantation, pie at Ted’s Bakery and a pass through the Polynesian Cultural Center.

You give me the camera, you get 86 attempts at capturing the cool cloud formations...

Our first stop was Poke Stop, a local two-store chain recommended on Chowhound for specializing in a bazillion different types of poke (cubed ahi tuna sashimi marinated with sea salt, soy sauce, sesame oil, limu seaweed, and chopped chili pepper). They even let you sample them, like an ice cream parlor.... of raw fish!

Hokey Poke

I knew the place wasn’t gonna be The Gilded Truffle, or anything, but it was still a little more grotty than I’d expected. But the people were friendly and the prices were reasonable. We got salmon poke plus avocado wontons and a combination platter with beef short ribs, fried fish, shrimp, potato salad and two scoop rice. It was pretty good but a little weird—the shrimp still had their heads on and were mushy and kinda reminded me of dissecting a crawfish in high school. Blech....

Combo platter (slightly creepy)

Avocado wontons (kinda bland)

Salmon poke (tasty!)

From there we continued on up H2 to the Dole Plantation.

Where to turn for the Dole Plantation...

If you pass this, you’ve gone too far!

The Dole Plantation is definitely a tourist trap, but it’s also pretty well done: bright and clean, with a variety of interesting merchandise and a fun opportunity to see real, live pineapples in their natural habitat. The joint was jumpin’ for a Wednesday morning, but it didn’t feel too crowded inside. We took a peek in the gift shop before heading out in search of the plantation’s one attraction, the Pineapple Express (snicker!).

Aw.... Mr. Pineapple, I wish I’d bought you!

 

[lurkyloo]

Out back are tables where you can enjoy their pineapple-related delicacies.... more on those in a bit (can you guess what the top seller might be?).

There’s always money in the pineapple stand...

Sorry, stoners... it’s just a train...

Dole’s Pineapple Express is slow-moving train ride through the pineapple fields, set to a recently revamped soundtrack of Hawaiian music interspersed with narration. It’s a pleasant diversion and photo opp. I would not worry about buying tickets in advance or wait in a long line for this one. Tours depart continuously throughout the day and last about 20 minutes.

Disembarking passengers get free samples on the way out!

There is of course a pricey souvenir photo spot.

Yeah, they're not gonna be purchasing this shot...

Adequate, I suppose, but I missed the disco figures found on Disney’s safety signs

 

[lurkyloo]

I enjoyed the tour, although it made me miss the quaint, dated pre-show video from Disneyland’s Enchanted Tiki Room—cuz suddenly I was living it! My No. 1 take-away from the tour is that most of the pineapples we eat in the US do not come from Hawaii anymore, but Dole generously maintains these fields so you have something to look at from the train.

Looky! Pineapples in the wild!

OooooOOOoohhhhh! It’s a PINEAPPLE! At first I thought it was a reverse T-Rex footprint...

This is how you make the Pineapple Express a thrill ride!

You could have a lot worse view from a slow-moving train...

Apparently God really did not want man to eat pineapples. In addition to being designed with that tough hide and those pointy leaves, they grow out of pokey bushes that will slash you to ribbons if you’re not wearing enough protective gear. Yikes!

“Yeah, don’t even THINK about it, pal!!!”

Pineapple? Or gaping maw of a JJ Abrams monster...?

I love how signs like this make it seem like all you gotta do is start walking in the direction of the arrow to get to, like, China

As at Disney, we skipped the PhotoPass at the pineapple stand and just used our own camera.


“Oooh, I like when these things have a chewy center...”

Where’s the cautionary sign for THAT?!