Happy in Hawaii –- Aulani & Oahu with a Toddler ~ Updated 7/20: Final Update and link to new TR!

[schmass]

Wow, what a great view you had during lunch! And it's always nice to get a little adult if the little one is sleeping! How sad that it closed down, though...

 

[cindianne320]

That place looks so relaxing, and I loved the video/music! Sad that it closed down. Did they open something new in it's place?

 

[hokieinpa]

I'm way behind...again. But it looks like you had a great time at the Dole Plantation - finally! It seems like Izzy really enjoyed the train ride. It's amazing what can happen when you stay awake! And those are some massive Dole Whips! I feel you on those souvenir cups. We have several WDW popcorn buckets just sitting on a shelf. I can't make myself get rid of them but they aren't super useful.

How cool to see a turtle coming onto the beach! I bet Izzy loved that!

Great view and yummy looking lunch. A sleeping toddler is just icing on the cake!

 

[Dugette]

Woohoo that is nice!

I was so relieved!

Beautiful spot!!

It was fantastic.

PERFECT lunch!! How nice she stayed asleep the whole time.

Could not have asked for better timing on that nap. (And we have a repeat performance the next night!)

Wow, what a great view you had during lunch! And it's always nice to get a little adult if the little one is sleeping! How sad that it closed down, though...

It was really great and so nice to just enjoy it while Izzy slept. So sad it closed, though - it was at the top of our must-do list for the return trip until we found that out.

That place looks so relaxing, and I loved the video/music! Sad that it closed down. Did they open something new in it's place?

I love watching that video clip - puts me right back there. I know they were going to put in something new, but we were there right after it closed, so nothing as of January. I should check....okay, looks like Roy's Beach House is going in, not sure if it's open yet, though. Roy's has other locations and is popular, so hopefully it's a good place.

I'm way behind...again. But it looks like you had a great time at the Dole Plantation - finally! It seems like Izzy really enjoyed the train ride. It's amazing what can happen when you stay awake! And those are some massive Dole Whips! I feel you on those souvenir cups. We have several WDW popcorn buckets just sitting on a shelf. I can't make myself get rid of them but they aren't super useful.

Glad we got to the Dole Plantation. It's a nice little stop. But, yeah, I'm glad we don't get a lot of souvenir cups/buckets, as I hate to toss them, but they don't serve much of a purpose once home.

How cool to see a turtle coming onto the beach! I bet Izzy loved that!

We all loved it! So cool!

Great view and yummy looking lunch. A sleeping toddler is just icing on the cake!

It was just perfect!

 

[Dugette]

Enjoying the Water

After leaving Turtle Bay, we made the short drive over to scenic Laie Point. Izzy woke up for this, so she was able to wander around and enjoy it with us. This is basically just a little part of the island that juts out into the ocean, providing pretty views of the North Shore:













It’s also known for this rock with the hole in it:







Here’s a map:



After that, we hopped in the car to head back "home". The drive was gorgeous, as the sun was golden over the water :





We stopped into the little surfing town of Haleiwa on the way home, since there were a couple of food items we had wanted to try here. One was the shaved ice that everyone said was a “must do”. However, the well-known Matsumoto's often has long lines and at that moment, neither of us really was feeling the desire for shaved ice. So we decided to skip it (I know, shame on us! But, spoiler alert, we got there on our return trip). The other thing I was interested in trying was a Hula Dog (hot dog with unique toppings, wrapped in taro bread). However, it appeared to just be an abandoned food truck with nobody around, which scared me off, so we skipped that too (it was probably closed for the night, as I think they close early).

Instead, we headed back to Aulani with only a quick stop for gas at Costco on the way.

When we got back to Aulani, Dug stopped to use the restroom, so I got Izzy some milk and a pouch, as she’d skipped lunch and it was nearly 7pm. When we got back up to the room, Dug snacked on some leftover fries and Izzy had a hot dog and banana for dinner. I’m guessing I didn’t eat much? No notes, but given how things went this trip, maybe there wasn’t anything. We did have that extra late lunch, after all.

At that point, Dug was tired and Izzy was absorbed in Frozen on the iPad, so they stayed up in the room while I ran down to try out the hot tub before it closed for the night.

I arrived at the towel/wristband kiosk only 20 minutes before they closed things for the night. The CM reminded me of this, but totally understood when I said it was my chance to try things without a 2-year-old companion.

I started in the cave hot tub (off the infinity pool), as that was the main thing I had in mind for that night. It’s all lit up and pretty after dark:



There were “stars” on the top:



And these cute little pretend-fire candle fountain things:



There were only a few things still open at this time (most areas get closed down early), but one was the adults-only pool:



There was nobody there at all, so I decided to take a quick lap in the pool all by myself:





A little hard to see, but there were these nice waterfall features along the side:



Looking up at Aulani from the pool:



Oh, here’s a better picture of one of the waterfalls:



One last look at my private pool:



After that, I jumped into the infinity pool:



This is looking over the infinity edge at the beach below:



I like all the details:



And then I headed back to the hot tub for the rest of the time left:





I believe I had it to myself and it was lovely. Soon, however, it was time to get out :



Apparently an 8pm close. Boo. This whole trip had gone by too fast and I was sad that we’d have to leave the next night.

On the way back to the room, I took a couple pictures of Aulani’s shave ice stand (didn’t have any of that either):





Elevator selfie on the way back to the room:



When I got back, I took a shower, filled the ice bucket (I’m guessing we used up some more of that kahlua?), gave Izzy a bath, got her to bed, washed up our dishes and such, wrote some trip notes, and posted on the DIS to see if anyone was at Aulani and wanted our leftovers (no takers, but we had a lot of good stuff).

Then I headed to bed, as I was getting up very early the next morning to go hike Diamond Head before the crowds!

Up next: An early morning climb.

 

[cindianne320]

Glad you got some alone time in the pools, but 8 pm seems so early to close things down!

 

[schmass]

Your solo nighttime swim looks sooo nice. Too bad that you didn't get a little more time there.

So sad that the trip is coming to an end!

 

[Imagineer5]

Beautiful afternoon and evening. The pools look gorgeous, how nice to have them all to yourself too. Was it just you going to Diamond Head?

And yeah, 8PM does seem early for the pools to close.

 

[FantasiaMagic]

Loving all these updates! It's sad this TR is almost coming to a close...

This is such a cute picture of Izzy!

Anyway, we all hopped onboard:

How cool! What a nice little train ride!

You know that I can’t resist a deal and we saw a sign for one while we waited. The Dole Whip Floats in the big “sipper cups” were Buy One Get One 50% off. Well, that’s practically free, sign us up. Turns out this was a bad idea, as these things are HUGE! We could and should have just split one and saved that extra 50%. Oh, well, you live you learn. And, speaking of, we asked if they had a kids size for Izzy. Nope. So, we just got her a dish of Dole Whip (didn’t know if she’d like the float and figured she’d want her own dish of ice cream). Well, this was HUGE too. There was more than enough Dole Whip to go around our table.

That's great you all were finally able to have some precious dole whips after all the waiting! But, it sounds like after that trip you were all Dole whipped out for awhile!

Very cool glass, but wow that is huge!

Wow! That turtle is so big I thought it was a roc for a sec!

The Turtle Bay Resort is a large resort on the North Shore that is fairly well known for having had some movies and TV shows filmed on site (like Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which we re-watched before staying in the Turtle Bay resort area on our return trip).

Cool! That's a good movie!

Our lunchtime view:

Wow that is a beautiful view for lunch...

And, yes, that singer was serenading us with lovely Hawaiian melodies and ukulele music.

Sounds so perfect.

We shared this lovely chocolatety drink:

Yum that looks good!

That is so beautiful!

I started in the cave hot tub (off the infinity pool), as that was the main thing I had in mind for that night. It’s all lit up and pretty after dark:

That's great you were able to get some solo time in the hot tub! It looks beautiful in that area at night.

 

[hokieinpa]

Beautiful views and how nice that Izzy was up to enjoy it with you!

The pools and hot tub look amazing. And very cool that it was all yours to enjoy! I think infinity pools are the best thing ever. I bet it's beautiful at sunset!

Excited to read about your hike!

 

[Dugette]

Glad you got some alone time in the pools, but 8 pm seems so early to close things down!

It was really early! We were upset shortly before our trip when we found out that they had just shortened the pool hours for the season - we had no idea what we saw listed on the website was just summer hours.

Your solo nighttime swim looks sooo nice. Too bad that you didn't get a little more time there.

So sad that the trip is coming to an end!

I wish I'd had more time that night, but glad I was at least able to snag 20 minutes in a non-crowded beautiful area. Well, even though this trip is coming to an end, I still have a whole return-to-Hawaii trip to write about! (Gotta wrap this one up soon to get on to that one).

Beautiful afternoon and evening. The pools look gorgeous, how nice to have them all to yourself too. Was it just you going to Diamond Head?

And yeah, 8PM does seem early for the pools to close.

The pools really are gorgeous, especially at night. They did a great job of creating a peaceful and beautiful environment. But, yeah, 8pm was really early - especially because those were the "late" pools. Many other things had already closed and the kids' areas closed at 5pm. I think Lazy River was 6pm. And, yes, just me going to Diamond Head.

Loving all these updates! It's sad this TR is almost coming to a close...

Thanks! Don't worry, I have another 9 night trip still to write about! (January 2016 trip)

This is such a cute picture of Izzy!

Thank you!

How cool! What a nice little train ride!

It was better than we expected. Just a cute and simple thing.

That's great you all were finally able to have some precious dole whips after all the waiting! But, it sounds like after that trip you were all Dole whipped out for awhile!

Yeah, we hit our Dole Whip limit that day for sure!

Very cool glass, but wow that is huge!

It is. And they filled it up pretty good!

Wow! That turtle is so big I thought it was a roc for a sec!

I know, it looked so much like those big rocks unless you saw it move or saw the head.

Cool! That's a good movie!

It is!

Wow that is a beautiful view for lunch...

Loved it!

Sounds so perfect.

It really was.

Yum that looks good!

I love chocolately drinks!

That is so beautiful!

There are so many beautiful views around the island.

That's great you were able to get some solo time in the hot tub! It looks beautiful in that area at night.

It was really beautiful. And I'm so glad I got that chance to enjoy it.

Beautiful views and how nice that Izzy was up to enjoy it with you!

Yes, it was a really nice part of the day. She was well-rested and we were in paradise!

The pools and hot tub look amazing. And very cool that it was all yours to enjoy! I think infinity pools are the best thing ever. I bet it's beautiful at sunset!

It is super beautiful at sunset. All of their pool/water features are really well-done.

Excited to read about your hike!

Coming right up!

 

[Dugette]

Climbing to the Sunrise

I was up and out early this morning. I was hiking Diamond Head and wanted to get an early start on it to avoid crowds and beat the heat. Dug and Izzy were staying back, as neither of them was really up for the climb (Izzy may have been up for it, but bringing a 2-year-old there is not really the safest undertaking). This was also a weekend day, which I’d planned out to avoid the rush hour traffic, as I’d have to drive across the island. I was leaving the room at 5:43am:



Looks pretty dark out there!

The drive was good, nothing really of interest, other than driving through a tunnel as I got close:



Another benefit of arriving early was parking in the main lot, as it gets full later in the day. I was out of the car and approaching the trail at 6:36am:



I brought a small backpack, water bottle, and my phone for the hike.

The hike starts on a sidewalk, but quickly changes into a dirt trail, so not stroller friendly at all (which was another reason I didn’t bring Izzy):



I enjoyed the hike up and the views:



After some switchbacks on the dirt trail, I came to a small staircase:



Then, a big staircase:





There was a tunnel at the top of the stairs, really only wide enough for one, and I got stuck behind an older guy that was pretty worn out from the stairs, so that took a while (he had to stop and take frequent breaks). However, I’d passed a bunch of people earlier on, so I was still moving along pretty good. I was happy to be there before it got crowded. I had heard Japanese tour groups get there REALLY early and, sure enough, there were a lot of them coming down as I went up.

Soon, I came upon a spiral staircase:





Close to the top:







It was shortly after sunrise, which made for very lovely views over the ocean.

In this selfie, you can see the viewing deck at the very top up there:



I think I climbed out to the top area through this bunker:



I remember having to duck.

Another gorgeous view with a lighthouse down there, I believe:



Time to climb some more stairs:



And more breathtaking views:





This picture kind-of cracks me up with the people standing on the “danger keep off” thing:



Taking it all in from every angle:















That very top deck, though great for the view, was plagued by tiny biting bugs of some sort that were landing all over everyone. Strangely, they were not present anywhere else on the hike, just on that very top platform. When I realized I was getting bitten up, I snapped the pics quick and headed down to get away from them:



I stopped a little lower down to take more pictures with no bugs in sight:









I was heading back down at 7:08am. So, about a half an hour from leaving the car to reaching the top. I was pretty happy with that and really enjoyed the climb. I am not the world’s most in-shape person, but I do walk a lot and find that hikes like this invigorate me – even the stairs were fine and I was running up them pretty good. The whole experience was great.

Up next: Making my way back down and a tasty treat!

 

[Imagineer5]

Wow, what a gorgeous climb! Doesn't seem too bad either (30 minutes) and glad you felt invigorated. What views you had too! I can see not wanting to do that with a 2 year old (Aria would be complaining by about minute 10...)

 

[hokieinpa]

Amazing views from both the peak and the lower levels. Those spiral stairs do look intimidating but similar to lighthouses we've climbed. It seems like you picked a great morning and time of day to climb! A great solo morning!

 

[alohamom]

Your selfies are so nice-The morning sun made you absolutely glow! Good for you for getting out there and doing this!

 

[Leshaface]

Oh my, what a mess! I'm assuming the rental car companies know that there is more thank likely going to be sand in their vehicles right??

the long stroller ride put her back to sleep before I reached the building

What a beautiful view!

An even better view with the rainbow!

We had planned to return to Ola on our repeat visit to Hawaii, but were very sad to find out that it had closed down shortly before our visit.

Welp, deleted this place off my list of must do's

Such a cute face!

Gorgeous!

Ah how relaxing. So I understand closing the family pools, but not the adult hot tub. That's the best part to a vacation at night - relaxing in the hot tub at the end of the day!

So looking forward to do this hike!

 

[FantasiaMagic]

I enjoyed the hike up and the views:

That is great you were able to do the hike, and I think it's great you were alone, some solo time on any trip is important!!

Those views are just breathtaking. I am putting that destination on my mental list for when I get to go to Hawaii one day!

 

[schmass]

Wow, that hike looks amazing! Your pictures throughout this TR have had beautiful scenery, but these are really gorgeous!

 

[Dugette]

Wow, what a gorgeous climb! Doesn't seem too bad either (30 minutes) and glad you felt invigorated. What views you had too! I can see not wanting to do that with a 2 year old (Aria would be complaining by about minute 10...)

It was really pretty and a great way to start the day. Sunrise views were a bonus, as I figured I'd miss that (I did miss the actual sunrise moment, but the views remained beautiful for a while). I think Izzy would have been running all around and giving me heart attacks. Wouldn't have seen much scenery while watching her.

Amazing views from both the peak and the lower levels. Those spiral stairs do look intimidating but similar to lighthouses we've climbed. It seems like you picked a great morning and time of day to climb! A great solo morning!

Yeah, the early morning weekend thing worked out well for traffic and crowds and weather. The sunrise views were a nice bonus. Stairs definitely look intimidating, but not too bad if you are expecting that.

Your selfies are so nice-The morning sun made you absolutely glow! Good for you for getting out there and doing this!

Haha, are you sure that glow isn't just sweat? I was so glad to get the chance to do this - I really enjoy this type of thing.

Oh my, what a mess! I'm assuming the rental car companies know that there is more thank likely going to be sand in their vehicles right??

They've got to know. They are probably confused if one comes back without any.

I was so happy she fell back asleep!

What a beautiful view!

An even better view with the rainbow!

It was pretty amazing. Can't get a lot more "Hawaii" than that.

Welp, deleted this place off my list of must do's

I think the new place is open now (Roy's?), so might be worth checking out. Or, based on our last trip, just go to the pool bar down by the beach - we had some nice times there and saw the sunset while sipping Mai Tais.

Such a cute face!

Thanks!

Gorgeous!

It was such a pretty drive!

Ah how relaxing. So I understand closing the family pools, but not the adult hot tub. That's the best part to a vacation at night - relaxing in the hot tub at the end of the day!

I agree. We were really bummed at how early they closed things.

So looking forward to do this hike!

It's a good one. Also, on the second trip, we did the other one I had been looking forward to, as it's stroller friendly. That was the Makapuu Lighthouse Trail - we really enjoyed that one too. Nice ocean views (and we saw whales!).

That is great you were able to do the hike, and I think it's great you were alone, some solo time on any trip is important!!

Totally agree. That solo time is so good just for recharging and not having to worry about anyone else for a bit.

Those views are just breathtaking. I am putting that destination on my mental list for when I get to go to Hawaii one day!

It really is a unique viewpoint. You can see the ocean and the city and it's a historic bunker...pretty cool.

Wow, that hike looks amazing! Your pictures throughout this TR have had beautiful scenery, but these are really gorgeous!

Thanks! There are so many gorgeous sights in Hawaii - it's pretty much surrounding you.

 

[Dugette]

Mmmmm, Butter!

The route down Diamond Head was a different path than the way up (it was kind-of a big loop). We met up with the other path here:



They look a bit intimidated by those stairs! I just needed to turn to the right there – no more stair climbs for me.

Back through the tunnel and down, down, down:





Post-sunrise view over the water was still gorgeous:



And other directions were pretty too:



I made it back down to the sidewalk by 7:30am, so less than 30 minutes going down:



However, that 22 minutes or whatever felt like an eternity. Just about the whole hike down, I was followed by a girl who was on her phone…the whole time. She was telling someone about anything and everything related to her Diamond Head visit. And I really had nothing else to do but listen, like it or not. She’s a local. Went out the night before and didn’t set an alarm. Just woke up early and decided to go to Diamond Head for the sunrise. There were bugs when the sun popped up, but not before, etc. She talked about the bugs a LOT. I’m sure it was neat to see the actual sunrise, but wow was this girl telling the long version of her story. Being the thorough trip reporter that I am, I had to get a selfie with her in the background:



Yep, still talking nonstop. (And, yes, I realize I am probably not one who should mock telling the long version of stories. )

Oh, just found that I took some video during the walk down. Mostly so I could remember that she was talking the whole time, but it also gives you a taste of descending Diamond Head:

(click to watch)

I was so glad to get back to the car:



And there she goes :



And back through the tunnel I went:



I had programmed the GPS to take me to the nearby Diamond Head Market:



I had read somewhere that they had AMAZING blueberry scones that really hit the spot after hiking Diamond Head. I got a couple and ended up eating mine in the car….SOOOO good. It was moist and delicious…and filled with butter:



On the drive back, I made a quick stop at Costco to top off the gas, hoping that would be good enough to make a “full” tank when we returned the rental car that evening. If I remember right, they’d be closed by the time we headed to the airport and we didn’t want to run around trying to find gas late at night.

I was back at Aulani about quarter to 9. Got a lot accomplished for that time of morning!

I stopped at the front desk on my way in. Once again, paid down our account with my stash of gift cards (planned to just use the gift cards themselves for payment for the rest of the day). I also asked for keys to the Luana Lounge. This is the facility that you can use to change and shower on your departure day if you have a late flight out and want to use the pools after 11am room check-out. The keys are one-time use, but they apparently let you have as many as you want. I asked for 4 (would get us each in twice, even if we went separately).

After that, I headed back to the room to get to work on packing up for our departure. I also gave Dug his scone (that I managed to resist eating in the car). He enjoyed it on the balcony, it appears:





You can see all the butter in the middle! Mmmmm.....

Guess I got a shot to show you the luggage storage space under the bed:



Worked great for our suitcases:



Looks like Izzy was having indoor breakfast while Dug enjoyed the balcony:



The character phone line had informed me that Stitch would be out meeting on the Halawai Lawn at 9:30am, so I took Izzy out for a quick reunion with her buddy :



It was a great meet and Izzy was so happy to see Stitch again:







Another signature for her autograph book:



And a brief video clip:

(click to watch)

We stopped at the Stitch statue on our way back. Here’s Izzy playing peek-a-boo:



And then I guess a CM or someone took our picture:



Then back to the elevators and up to our room:



More packing and scrambling ensued. I hate departure days.

I jumped in the shower before we’d have to vacate our room. But Dug made a last-ditch attempt to allow us longer access to our room (and a better opportunity to pack sensibly post-swimming for the flights without repacking our things in the lobby after a day at the pool). He called and asked about late checkout, letting them know it was his one day to use the pools, due to him being out of town and the early closing times. They were sympathetic and actually extended our time in the room until 6pm!!! (And I thought we’d have to be out before our 11am brunch!) What a relief! Not only that, but they gave us free access to a beach casabella so that we could enjoy the water time we did have a bit more. (This was because he had talked to someone pre-trip about our disappointment with the posted pool hours we’d used to plan from their website being shortened without warning prior to our trip. They gave no indication they were “summer hours” and it messed up our planning, which included late-night pool time after sightseeing).

With that great news, we headed down for our Makahiki brunch to see Minnie once more.

Up next: We probably should have just eaten in the room.