mommy2eee
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2009
- Messages
- 59
Disney Aulani Trip Report
April 22-29, 2016
This was a Wish trip for my daughter who has Aplastic Anemia, a rare life threatening illness. My husband, daughter and I were also joined by my mother-in-law who was there to help as my husband has Multiple Sclerosis. I will do a separate report on accessibility of our trip.
Flights
Air Canada from Toronto to Honolulu via a 4 hour layover in Vancouver. Trip is loooong but so worth it! Thank goodness for iPads!
Rental Car
Picked up from Hertz in the airport...just a short walk from the baggage claim. Very frustrated that at our now late 10pm arrival, tons of planes were coming in and only one employee was working.
Aulani
We arrived around 11:30pm and really didn't get the full experience of Aulani greeting. We received our lei's at the front desk.
Room
We stayed in a Deluxe Studio Garden view. It had the Queen bed and the Queen pullout bed (quite comfy!). We were in the Ewa tower 10th floor. Our balcony did have a partial view of the ocean as well as the garden space where they did movies and the Starlit Hui luau! Room was small but hey we were in Hawaii!
Food
We ate in assortment of places. We did get the refillable mugs and used them a lot! Worth the $$$
Loved Ulu Cafe for breakfasts...especially grab 'n go for our early morning trips. Muffins were excellent!!
We ate at Off the Hook a couple of times...poolside menus. Perfect for quick lunches etc. Burgers were tasty.
Off property Food -
Monkey Pod was good. Sat out on the patio and enjoyed the music.
We got lost one day after Pearl Harbor and ended up across the island. Just picked a random diner that was so good.
North Shore - My DD9 had Giovanni's shrimp truck in Haleiwa. I am allergic so I had the Kalbi (Korean short ribs...excellent!!!). My DH tried some Thai flavoured Poke from a truck and loved it too!
We did go to Target, Walmart & ABC for water & snacks. We made use of the mini fridge in the room.
Trips & Tours
On the Sunday we went to Pearl Harbor - I pre booked tickets online 2 months in advance...8am tour. It went perfect and the tour was amazing and humbling.
After we went to the Aloha Swap Meet (across the street) and walked maybe 1/10 of it but got some great deals on a Hawaiian dress for my DD, t-shirts, souvenirs. It was getting hot and we got what we needed.
My DD wanted to take surf lessons and we picked Surf HNL (formerly called Girls Who Surf). Located 20 mins away in Kapolei it was a highlight! It was a private lesson (mandatory) for kids and they did a tandem so DD didn't have to paddle and get tired. She got up on the second try and surfed all the way in! She got up a few more times. I completely recommend this company for surf lessons!! We paid for the extra photo/GoPro package.
Kuaola Ranch - did the Movies & TV show tour (DH and I are fans of Lost which was filmed there). It was spectacular with incredible views!
SeaLife Park - this was part of my DD's Wish to swim with dolphins. She and I were booked into the Royal package with gave us the most amount of water/dolphin time. Although I'm not a big fan of these places, I felt it was big, clean and the Dolphins appeared to be well taken care of. They were quite interactive. The trainer gave my DD some extra private interaction time with the dolphin.
Drive North Shore - brief stop at Dole plantation for some free samples and souvenirs.
Walked around Haleiwa a bit and did the food trucks.
Stopped at "Turtle Beach" where there were 6 huge turtles sunning themselves!! Volunteer had roped them off to keep people back. It was awesome!
My DH also did a snorkelling tour on his own with Ko'Olina Ocean Adventures. Transportation provided, 5 minutes down the road. Awesome crew on the dolphin tour. He loved that they were respectful of the dolphins and did not chase. He got some amazing GoPro footage including of a shark!
Aulani time
Yes we did spend time at Aulani too! Enjoyed the beach and pools! Chair situation was on and off. I got to the point if there was a towel there but no other stuff like shoes, I pulled the towel and claimed the chair.
We enjoyed the story-time with Uncle around the fire. DD would not go to Aunty's. DH and DD did snorkel in Rainbow Reef and quite enjoyed it.
The last night of our trip I booked us into the Paradise Cove Luau located 2 doors down. I booked 4 adult Deluxe packages sitting in the Royal box. I bought a Hawaii Entertainment coupon book and save 25% off. DD had her hair done in Painted sky (lovely up do with flowers). Loved the special attention with the deluxe package...separate entrance, nice seats, table/Bar service, actual real cutlery!
The activities were fun and DD got a kick out of weaving a crown and throwing spears! I enjoyed the lovely mai tai drinks and then the lava drinks (Pina colada with strawberry purée).
The sunset we had there was spectacular and we got some nice family photos.
The food that was served to us was excellent (same as on buffet).
The entertainment was also amazing especially the fire dancing.
Overall it was a fantastic experience...especially since I could drink and we could take a cab or walk back!! Well worth the extra $$
The day we left our flight was not until 10:30pm. We checked out and made use of the day room to shower and relax before heading to the airport.
Overall, we had an amazing trip to Hawaii and thoroughly enjoyed Aulani. The people at Aulani but throughout Hawaii were so friendly! We were so grateful to be gifted this special Wish for my daughter. It was a much need break that our family needed.
Please feel free to ask questions!
April 22-29, 2016
This was a Wish trip for my daughter who has Aplastic Anemia, a rare life threatening illness. My husband, daughter and I were also joined by my mother-in-law who was there to help as my husband has Multiple Sclerosis. I will do a separate report on accessibility of our trip.
Flights
Air Canada from Toronto to Honolulu via a 4 hour layover in Vancouver. Trip is loooong but so worth it! Thank goodness for iPads!
Rental Car
Picked up from Hertz in the airport...just a short walk from the baggage claim. Very frustrated that at our now late 10pm arrival, tons of planes were coming in and only one employee was working.
Aulani
We arrived around 11:30pm and really didn't get the full experience of Aulani greeting. We received our lei's at the front desk.
Room
We stayed in a Deluxe Studio Garden view. It had the Queen bed and the Queen pullout bed (quite comfy!). We were in the Ewa tower 10th floor. Our balcony did have a partial view of the ocean as well as the garden space where they did movies and the Starlit Hui luau! Room was small but hey we were in Hawaii!
Food
We ate in assortment of places. We did get the refillable mugs and used them a lot! Worth the $$$
Loved Ulu Cafe for breakfasts...especially grab 'n go for our early morning trips. Muffins were excellent!!
We ate at Off the Hook a couple of times...poolside menus. Perfect for quick lunches etc. Burgers were tasty.
Off property Food -
Monkey Pod was good. Sat out on the patio and enjoyed the music.
We got lost one day after Pearl Harbor and ended up across the island. Just picked a random diner that was so good.
North Shore - My DD9 had Giovanni's shrimp truck in Haleiwa. I am allergic so I had the Kalbi (Korean short ribs...excellent!!!). My DH tried some Thai flavoured Poke from a truck and loved it too!
We did go to Target, Walmart & ABC for water & snacks. We made use of the mini fridge in the room.
Trips & Tours
On the Sunday we went to Pearl Harbor - I pre booked tickets online 2 months in advance...8am tour. It went perfect and the tour was amazing and humbling.
After we went to the Aloha Swap Meet (across the street) and walked maybe 1/10 of it but got some great deals on a Hawaiian dress for my DD, t-shirts, souvenirs. It was getting hot and we got what we needed.
My DD wanted to take surf lessons and we picked Surf HNL (formerly called Girls Who Surf). Located 20 mins away in Kapolei it was a highlight! It was a private lesson (mandatory) for kids and they did a tandem so DD didn't have to paddle and get tired. She got up on the second try and surfed all the way in! She got up a few more times. I completely recommend this company for surf lessons!! We paid for the extra photo/GoPro package.
Kuaola Ranch - did the Movies & TV show tour (DH and I are fans of Lost which was filmed there). It was spectacular with incredible views!
SeaLife Park - this was part of my DD's Wish to swim with dolphins. She and I were booked into the Royal package with gave us the most amount of water/dolphin time. Although I'm not a big fan of these places, I felt it was big, clean and the Dolphins appeared to be well taken care of. They were quite interactive. The trainer gave my DD some extra private interaction time with the dolphin.
Drive North Shore - brief stop at Dole plantation for some free samples and souvenirs.
Walked around Haleiwa a bit and did the food trucks.
Stopped at "Turtle Beach" where there were 6 huge turtles sunning themselves!! Volunteer had roped them off to keep people back. It was awesome!
My DH also did a snorkelling tour on his own with Ko'Olina Ocean Adventures. Transportation provided, 5 minutes down the road. Awesome crew on the dolphin tour. He loved that they were respectful of the dolphins and did not chase. He got some amazing GoPro footage including of a shark!
Aulani time
Yes we did spend time at Aulani too! Enjoyed the beach and pools! Chair situation was on and off. I got to the point if there was a towel there but no other stuff like shoes, I pulled the towel and claimed the chair.
We enjoyed the story-time with Uncle around the fire. DD would not go to Aunty's. DH and DD did snorkel in Rainbow Reef and quite enjoyed it.
The last night of our trip I booked us into the Paradise Cove Luau located 2 doors down. I booked 4 adult Deluxe packages sitting in the Royal box. I bought a Hawaii Entertainment coupon book and save 25% off. DD had her hair done in Painted sky (lovely up do with flowers). Loved the special attention with the deluxe package...separate entrance, nice seats, table/Bar service, actual real cutlery!
The activities were fun and DD got a kick out of weaving a crown and throwing spears! I enjoyed the lovely mai tai drinks and then the lava drinks (Pina colada with strawberry purée).
The sunset we had there was spectacular and we got some nice family photos.
The food that was served to us was excellent (same as on buffet).
The entertainment was also amazing especially the fire dancing.
Overall it was a fantastic experience...especially since I could drink and we could take a cab or walk back!! Well worth the extra $$
The day we left our flight was not until 10:30pm. We checked out and made use of the day room to shower and relax before heading to the airport.
Overall, we had an amazing trip to Hawaii and thoroughly enjoyed Aulani. The people at Aulani but throughout Hawaii were so friendly! We were so grateful to be gifted this special Wish for my daughter. It was a much need break that our family needed.
Please feel free to ask questions!
