Experience the Aloha! June 2021 Oahu/Aulani TR *COMPLETE* 3/7 Final Aulani Day!

[buzzrelly]

Hello!

I'm enjoying your TR! Love all the pictures! We are heading to Aulani next May and I can't wait. We were supposed to go this past May but when we were making plans, things were so uncertain, we decided to push it. Our date to make our reservation is coming up and I'm guessing we'll end up with an ocean view.. Your view was absolutely gorgeous so I hope we get something similar!

Looking forward to reading more!

 

[khertz]

A nice start to your day. Fun to be able to just wander the grounds and also get a few character meets. It will be so nice when the meets don't have to be distanced - maybe that's changed by now? What a perfect solution to the Wishable dilemma! Then an afternoon at the pool/beach - I can see that a Disney vacation without the parks would be a nice change of pace.

I can't WAIT for character meets to return to normal!! I am in a few Aulani groups on FB and I think they are still distanced right now, which is such a bummer. We did appreciate that the meets were frequent and varied, so we made sure to do a lot of them during our few days there!

What a relief it was that someone wanted to trade Wishables!! It made 2 kids very happy, and we didn't have to keep buying more trying to get the one he wanted.

Hello!

I'm enjoying your TR! Love all the pictures! We are heading to Aulani next May and I can't wait. We were supposed to go this past May but when we were making plans, things were so uncertain, we decided to push it. Our date to make our reservation is coming up and I'm guessing we'll end up with an ocean view.. Your view was absolutely gorgeous so I hope we get something similar!

Looking forward to reading more!

Oh gosh, I know you will LOVE it!! Hopefully by May, things will be even better than they are now. There are so many great views there! We really enjoyed the ocean view.

 

[khertz]

Day 9 Continued: Tuesday June 8th

After lunch and a Wishable exchange, we went down to the activity center and signed up for the Menehune Trail and did that for a little while.

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But we didn’t do it for too long because it was HOT, and the pool looked so inviting! Luckily it will save your progress. So we turned our iPad in and went to the pool.

We had forgotten DD’s puddle jumper upstairs in the room, but they do have different sized life jackets available at the towel stands.

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I had gotten the character meet times while we were in the room earlier, and knew Donald & Goofy would be out meeting, so we went over to do that one for the 3 pm meet. It was nice when the character meets were on the Halawai lawn because it was so easy to pop over there while swimming and then go back over to the pool.

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We told Donald he was #1 and it turned out to be a very funny moment as he really loved hearing that, but Goofy not so much.

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Soon enough we went back up to the room to shower and get changed because that night we were attending the Ka Wa’a Luau! We took a few photos on the balcony before heading down to check in.

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Our confirmation said check in would start at 5:10, but unbeknownst to us, due to the time of year and time of sunset, they had pushed back the start time of the luau which meant check in would not be until 5:40, which meant we had a LONG time to wait. Almost an hour!

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When it was finally time to go in, we stopped first to take our picture with 2 performers from the luau. These were another upcharge and not included in the Photopass, but we definitely didn’t feel the need to have these photos anyway. As we entered, we each got a complimentary drink. The kids got a Moana punch, and DH and I each got a coconut rum drink. Beer was also included, so DH made sure to get one of those.

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[khertz]

Day 9 Continued: Tuesday June 8th

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DD and I had made a trip to the restroom when the leis were distributed, so we missed out on that and had to get ours without any ceremony when we returned to the table.

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Everything was served to us at the table instead of a buffet. First up, we got our appetizer boxes.

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Waipoli Lettuce, Cherry Tomatoes, Papaya Seed Dressing and Croutons, Lomi Lomi Salmon, ‘Ahi Poke, Taro Macaroni Salad, Seasonal & Tropical Fresh Fruit Medley​

The kids got a fruit cup for their appetizer with a big Mickey marshmallow on top. Guess who ate both fruit cups?

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While eating, the show began with lots of dancing and performing. In addition to the large stage up front, they had smaller stages along the walkway and one was right in front of us so we could always see what was going on.

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There wasn’t much delay for the kids between their apps and then their entrees arriving, which was great because they were getting restless.

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Shaka Macaroni and Cheese, Seasonal Stir-Fry Vegetables, Tiki Chicken Tenders with Pineapple BBQ Sauce, Braised Pork Imu Style

Eventually, ours arrived too.

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Steamed Short Grain Rice, Seasonal Stir-Fry Vegetables, Puree Okinawan Potato, Braised Pork Imu Style with Shaved Maui Onions, Oven Roasted Teriyaki Chicken, Grilled Boneless Kalbi Ribs, Hawaiian Local Catch with Crushed Macadamia Nut Sauce ​

The food was overall pretty good, but definitely can tell it had been in the boxes for a little while. I guess it is pretty difficult to keep everything hot & fresh. We were able to get more of the chicken tenders & mac and cheese also by request.

Then came desserts! The kids got a Moana surprise, which was delicious.

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Adults get a trio of desserts.

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Macadamia Nut Brownie, Haupia (Coconut Pudding), Guava Cake​

I like coconut, but that coconut pudding was gross! Our server managed to find us another Moana surprise as well to share, and everyone gave me their brownies because they don’t like macadamia nuts, so this was my plate.

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There was a nice surprise during the show when Mickey & Minnie came out.

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The dancing and singing was fun, of course, but the real highlight was the fire dancers!

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The luau was really great! It’s one of those things that I’m really glad we experienced, but may not be a must do on a possible future visit. I read reviews at the luau over at Paradise Cove next door to Aulani is really good, so that might be one we try next time. But for this first visit, it was a very enjoyable evening with good food and great entertainment!

It was also so nice to not have to worry about the time so much since we could just walk up to our room when it was over at 8:30 pm!

 

[gosalyn_mallard]

Soon enough we went back up to the room to shower and get changed because that night we were attending the Ka Wa’a Luau! We took a few photos on the balcony before heading down to check in.

Your matching outfits are so perfect! Where did you get the dresses?

Everything was served to us at the table instead of a buffet. First up, we got our appetizer boxes.

Those food boxes are so cute. My kids would love them!

 

[2_Eagle_Mom]

I Love your TR! Just found it today and read the entire thread to catch up. We are going to Aulani in May and were wondering about the Luau. It looks like you may have sat in the General Seating area. If you did, do you think the Preferred section is worth the difference in price?

Thanks and looking forward to the rest of the report.

 

[MommyCMickey]

This was great. We’re going next month and I can’t wait! Where did you find the lilo dresses!?!

 

[khertz]

I Love your TR! Just found it today and read the entire thread to catch up. We are going to Aulani in May and were wondering about the Luau. It looks like you may have sat in the General Seating area. If you did, do you think the Preferred section is worth the difference in price?

Thanks and looking forward to the rest of the report.

We did have general seating, and we were happy with our choice not to spend the extra money and enjoyed the experience. We did not feel like we missed out by not being right up front and center. So I guess it would depend on what kind of experience you want to decide if it would be worth the money or not!

This was great. We’re going next month and I can’t wait! Where did you find the lilo dresses!?!

Your matching outfits are so perfect! Where did you get the dresses?

Those food boxes are so cute. My kids would love them!

I got DD's Lilo dress off of Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Hawaiian-Ins...1_3?keywords=lilo+dress&qid=1636313908&sr=8-3

The one for me I found on Mercari which is a site where people sell their own clothes, so I got really lucky because I could not find ANYTHING else in my size or that wasn't crazy expensive. I looked a lots of different websites with "Mommy & Me" styles so we could match, and most of them were coming from China so I didn't have enough time before our trip. The Lilo outfits luckily worked out last minute!

 

[khertz]

I'm just gonna preface the next day by saying we took a LOT of photos, so this day will be a long one to post!! But it was one of the most fun things we did on our entire trip, and I actually pared down the number of photos we took quite a bit but still ended up with so many to post! Hope y'all enjoy it and it's not too much of a slog to get through.

Day 10: Wednesday June 9th

We woke up to another gorgeous day at Aulani outside of our windows!

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But just for today, we would not be enjoying all of the wonderful activities and scenery that Aulani had to offer. We had gotten a lot done during our days in Waikiki, but there was one thing we really wanted to do that just wouldn’t fit in the itinerary no matter how hard I tried. So today, we would be heading over to Kualoa Ranch to experience the Jurassic Adventure Tour! Kualoa Ranch offers a wide variety of tours, many including movie & television filming locations. DH and I had visited there on our previous trip to Oahu on a tour that specialized in filming locations for one of my favorite TV shows ever, Lost. It was incredibly fun as a Lost fan, so I was excited to try out this new experience for the Jurassic Park/World film franchise because it is something our entire family enjoys.

This is the description of the tour given on Kualoa Ranch’s website: Our deluxe 2.5-hour JURASSIC ADVENTURE TOUR will take you to iconic film sites in Kualoa, Hakipu’u and Ka’a’awa Valleys. Buckle up and enjoy this bumpy rainforest trek to visit sets from Jurassic World like the Indominus Rex paddock with its 60 foot walls, the bunkers and authentic dinosaur cages used in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Visit the most famous field of all the Jurassic franchise… where the dinosaurs run through the prairie in Jurassic Park. You’ll be driven in our 16 passenger open-air custom vehicles which will give you the best 360 degree panoramic views! Be sure to binge watch the movies before getting to Kualoa for the best experience of all!

We took just that advice prior to our trip and watched a LOT of movies filmed on the Ranch, including all of the Jurassic movies (of course), Kong Skull Island, Finding Ohana, Jumanji, and even George of the Jungle.

Our tour was scheduled for 10:30 am, and they recommend arriving 45 minutes-1 hour prior to the tour, and we knew it would take a little time to get there, so we got up at 7 and were on the road by 8:30.

We got there in plenty of time, and I was really glad we had booked so far in advance. People were there trying to get same day reservations for any tour, and they had signs out front that said they were entirely booked up for the day. We had some time to check out the gift shop first and get some ideas of what we might want to purchase on the way out.

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They also had some movie memorabilia on display from Finding Ohana and the Jurassic universe.

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Then we went outside to check in for the tour and had some time to look around. They had a small pavilion covered in photos of celebrities that have visited there, musical acts that have performed there, and movies that were filmed there.

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Since we had a little bit of time, DS did some takes for his YouTube channel too.

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The gorgeous valley was looming in the distance!

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The kids enjoyed running from the T-rex.

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Then it was time to meet up with our group and board our tour vehicle! Our tour guide was Haydn, and he was fantastic! The 4 of us were right up front, and the kids were very excited to get going.

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We stopped for a second to check out the tiny island of Mokolii in the distance. Mokolii means “little lizard,” but it is commonly referred to as the Chinaman’s Hat.

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And in the same area was our first Jurassic filming location, the helicopter landing pad location from Jurassic World.

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An actual landing pad was built there for filming, but it had to be removed once filming was complete so that it wouldn’t accidentally be used as an emergency landing location. Also, this was the area where the CGI Jurassic World building was located in the movie.

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As we got back on the tour vehicle, I noticed how cool the license plate was (and the sticker next to it!!).

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We took off and paused to get a photo of the tree where the Indominus Rex removed her tracker and attacked the JW team in the jungle.

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[khertz]

Day 10 Continued: Wednesday June 9th

Our next stop was probably also the coolest...we got to visit the Indominus Rex paddock!! The observation area is still standing, and you are able to go inside. They also had a few of the cages from the auction scenes in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

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The set was huge! These photos give an idea of the size.

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We decided to stay downstairs and explore the cages first because most of the rest of the group had decided to go inside the observation area.

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Then we headed up to the observation deck.

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DH & DS thought it would be a cool location to do a Pokemon opening for DS’s YouTube channel, so they did that and he got a really rare card, so that was pretty exciting for him!

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This was a REALLY fun stop on the tour, and Haydn told us to take as much time to explore as we wanted! Eventually we all made our way back to the jeep and we moved on to the next location.

Next up was a little mini-museum for movie props, which was also the bunker used for Lost filming. A lot of the movies we watched prior to visiting were showcased in here, so that was cool to see.

Right outside was a prop from Finding Ohana.

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This was from Windtalkers, which we didn’t watch before visiting.

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There was a whole room dedicated to Lost memorabilia!

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[gosalyn_mallard]

Wow! Love all the pics. That tour looks like so much fun and a great change of pace in your trip. Did they play the Jurassic Park theme music as they drove you around?

 

[missangelalexis]

I got super behind but I'm back and caught up!

Looks like you all were having so much fun at Aulani! I love the matching outfits from the one night! Do the character meets draw long lines at Aulani?

Kualoa Ranch looks so awesome- definitely on my list!

 

[khertz]

Wow! Love all the pics. That tour looks like so much fun and a great change of pace in your trip. Did they play the Jurassic Park theme music as they drove you around?

Yes he did play the music!! Along with some other fun and appropriate choices. There was one point on a very winding path where he started driving a little fast and played the Indiana Jones theme!

I got super behind but I'm back and caught up!

Looks like you all were having so much fun at Aulani! I love the matching outfits from the one night! Do the character meets draw long lines at Aulani?

Kualoa Ranch looks so awesome- definitely on my list!

With good reason!! I have loved seeing all your wedding pics!
The character meets did not take long at all. We never waited more than a few minutes! It was really nice to be able to pop in and see whoever we wanted without a long line.

 

[khertz]

Day 10 Continued: Wednesday June 9th

One of the Jurassic World jeeps used in the movie was parked out front, and Haydn said we were welcome to get inside and take some photos in it.

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The view was absolutely spectacular from there as well.

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Then it was back in the jeep to get to the next location, which was a good one too!

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It was the location of the Jurassic Valley, where the famous scene from Jurassic Park of the kids and Dr. Grant sheltering from the flock of Gallimimus! I didn’t realize it before this tour, but most of the original Jurassic Park was filmed on Kauai. Definitely something we need to check out next time we travel out to Hawaii!

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We had a LOT of fun at this stop!! Haydn did not hold back on making sure everyone got lots of photos and videos with some fun additions.

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He took a slo-mo video of us running from the T-rex also, which was funny. I suggested DH grab DD and run with her, and it turned out great! But for some reason Flickr will not let me upload it!

After spending some time there, we passed by some filming sites for other productions, like Hurley’s golf course from Lost, and a giant Godzilla footprint, plus the valley used in a lot of movies like Jumanji, Pearl Harbor, and George of the Jungle.

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We paused in front of a bunker used for Jurassic World.


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The last location we stopped at was the area used as the loading platform for the Gyrosphere ride in Jurassic World, which offered a gorgeous view of the valley!

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Haydn had also told us he was going to show us some of his “favorite grass,” and I thought he was kidding, but he was actually serious! It was Mimosa pudica which is a grass that closes its leaves when you stroke it with your finger. We had some of this grass in our backyard growing up, so it wasn’t super special to me, but the kids thought it was neat.

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[khertz]

Day 10 Continued: Wednesday June 9th

After our final stop on the tour, it was time to head back to the Visitors Center and end the tour, but we did pass some movie memorabilia and some wild animals along the way back.

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Once we got back to the Visitors Center, we tipped Haydn for his excellent tour, and then explored some more. The kids got a kick out of the dinosaur head mounted on the wall again.

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DH and DS found another place for him to open Pokémon cards and record a video, so DD and I wandered around and found some animals.

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Then we went to the gift shop before leaving. DS really loved the East Dock sign, so he ended up getting that for his bedroom which has Jurassic World decorations on the walls so it fit in perfectly, and a Jurassic Valley t-shirt. DH and I also picked out t-shirts as souvenirs but DD didn’t see anything she wanted.

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After a REALLY fun-filled morning, it was time to say goodbye to Kualoa Ranch! This will always be a must do for us on trips to Oahu! There are SO many different tours and activities available, I feel like you can have a completely different experience every single time. This was a great tour for us, as we all are big Jurassic Park/World fans and really enjoyed watching all of the movies prior to our trip and then getting to see real locations on our visit.

They do have a café there at the ranch and the food looked good, but it was pretty expensive. There was also a Teddy’s Bigger Burgers nearby, so we ended up heading there instead because we knew we could get the family meal instead. We made it just in time before the rain started and even saw one of the guys who had been on our tour there too! He was a big Jurassic fan and had taken the tour by himself while his family members took a different tour.

We also saw one of the Leonard’s Bakery trucks, and we just couldn’t pass it up without stopping for some hot & fresh malasadas!

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Oh man, the cinnamon sugar goodness!!

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We made the drive back to Ko Olina and decided to go check out some of the shops across the street from Aulani. We went to the ABC store and got a few t-shirts for myself and DH, and even a couple for DD, plus we picked up some souvenirs for my parents and my sister there as well. There was another shop near the ABC called Coco Nene that we looked into, and we immediately fell in love! They have these longboards you can either purchase already made or design your own with letters or different symbols and sayings, they have photo frames, magnets, and signs, all made on wood. DH found one that said Koko Head and I joked he needed to get it because I kept making fun of him talking about how difficult and strenuous the hike was every time he talked about it.

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We ended up getting a map of Oahu that has all kinds of points of interest painted on it, like Aulani, Polynesian Cultural Center, Pearl Harbor, Dole Plantation, Kualoa Ranch, etc. It had a rope on it that it can be hung on the wall, but we also got some little holders for it so that it could be displayed on a shelf too because they weren’t expensive and we weren’t sure how we’d want to display it at home. We have it on the mantle for now, but I think I’ll eventually find a place to hang it.

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We went back to our room to drop off our purchases, and DD ate her malasada. I don’t remember why she was throwing a fit in the car and wouldn’t eat hers, I’m sure she was just tired. But she couldn’t resist the malasada goodness forever.

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Since it was pretty late in the day and we’d had a long one so far, none of us felt like getting changed and going to the pool that evening. Instead we decided to go check out a tablet and finish the Menehune Trail.

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We had a low key night after that in the room with showers, dinner & ice cream, and some TV before bed. DH and I stayed up after the kids went to sleep talking about how much we had liked the stuff available at Coco Nene, and talking about what other kinds of souvenirs we could bring home from there, so we decided we’d have to go back before we left to go home!

 

[gosalyn_mallard]

After a REALLY fun-filled morning, it was time to say goodbye to Kualoa Ranch! This will always be a must do for us on trips to Oahu! There are SO many different tours and activities available, I feel like you can have a completely different experience every single time. This was a great tour for us, as we all are big Jurassic Park/World fans and really enjoyed watching all of the movies prior to our trip and then getting to see real locations on our visit.

You've convinced me! If we ever go to Oahu, we are definitely visiting Kualoa Ranch! Thanks for sharing all the great pictures!

 

[khertz]

You've convinced me! If we ever go to Oahu, we are definitely visiting Kualoa Ranch! Thanks for sharing all the great pictures!

It will be a must do for us from now on! It's been wonderful both times we have been there, and I'm sure we have only just begun to scratch the surface of what they have to offer.

 

[khertz]

YIKES! A whole month with no posts...the holiday season really had us busy, but I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I really need to get this thing moving though, so I'm going to try to get it wrapped up asap.

Day 11: Thursday June 10th

After a fun day away from Aulani at Kualoa Ranch the day before, we had no more plans to leave Aulani for the rest of the trip since we only had 2 days left. Thursday morning, we had a big breakfast in the room, then got dressed in our suits and water shoes to take the path down to the secret beach to see if we could spot any sea turtles.

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Unfortunately we saw NO sea turtles! Just a lot of gorgeous landscapes. And DS did a little snorkeling while DD threw a fit about something...I think about having to wear her water shoes and them getting full of sand but she just was not understanding that it wasn’t safe for her to walk on the rocks in her bare feet.

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After hanging there for a little while and really hoping a sea turtle would swim by, we eventually gave up and headed back towards Aulani. Since we were already full of sand and saltwater, we decided to set up on the beach for a while instead of going to the pools.

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Since it was still early in the day, we had no problem renting some boogie boards this time for the kids to use. They really had a blast with those!

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After a while playing in the sand and the water, we were ready for some snacks! DH went over to get us a popcorn refill, and a Mickey head shave ice.

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[khertz]

Day 11 Continued: Thursday June 10th

After snacking and a little more playing, we decided to head inside for lunch and to rinse all the sand off. While in the room, I remembered to call the character line to find out what characters we could meet that afternoon. First up was Mickey & Donald so as soon as we were done eating we headed down. Instead of the lawn where the luau happens where we had met characters before, this time they were over by the convention spaces. It was much smaller and surrounded by buildings and tall trees, so it made it like a sort of wind tunnel and made for some crazy looking photos!

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One of the activities they had going on was a Scavenger Hunt for World Oceans Day. So in between character sets, we went inside the lobby and worked on that. We had written & photo clues to follow to find different locations all around the resort and took a picture at each one.

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Once we had them all we went back to the activity center for their prize. The kids each got a craft kit and some candy for completing it, and they told us we were only the second family to complete it!

The next character that came out was Olu Mel! How stinkin’ cute is he?!

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[khertz]

Day 11 Continued: Thursday June 10th

One of the locations we ended up passing on our scavenger hunt was the koi pond! Such a gorgeous location in the resort that we hadn’t really noticed before.

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Next up we wanted to go see Minnie & Daisy.

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DH and I just couldn’t get Coco Nene off our mind from our visit the day before! So once we were done with characters for the day, we decided to walk back across the street and get more stuff! We wanted to customize a longboard for ourselves, and also decided that it would be a great souvenir to bring home for my not-yet-born nephew. I had been looking and looking everywhere we went, and the items for baby boys were just not great, even at Aulani. Lots of cute stuff for baby & toddler girls, but not much for boys. It took us FOREVER as we played with lots of different options before finally deciding on our final products and making our purchase.

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We went back to the room to cook some dinner, then DH and DS decided to go back out to the secret beach to hunt for sea turtles (still no luck) and to open some Pokemon cards for his YouTube channel.

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I think we were all a little sad that night going to bed and knowing we only had one day left in Hawaii!