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

[Jackiemarie21]

Oh first class looks amazing! Izzy looks so comfortable and content with all her snacks and movies! Defiantly worth the price you paid to upgrade!

 

[Dugette]

Oh first class looks amazing! Izzy looks so comfortable and content with all her snacks and movies! Defiantly worth the price you paid to upgrade!

Your post totally got me thinking there should be a "toddler class" on airplanes - they could have tiny seats, so the airlines would save some money there by cramming them in. But all the tiny seats could have built-in 5-point-harnesses, video screens with endless Disney options (and easy-to-use remotes or touch-screens), and there would be unlimited snack and sippy-cup refill service. I'm not sure if this would be a separate section with only toddlers and flight attendant/nannies to watch them or if there would be accompanying parent seats too. All I know is that I would consider paying extra for something like that! It would be kind-of like a "kids club" for the skies. Man, Disney needs an airline!

But, yeah, we got WAY more than our $3 in "upgrade" cost out of it, for sure! Heck, just in Goldfish alone.

 

[LuvEeyore]

I finally made it over. I need to find a price break on airline tickets. The first class upgrade was great for you. OUr flights got switched one time and I was flying from Roanoke, VA to Orlando with a friends 9 year old daughter (not quite 20 years ago) We ended up going to BWI then Orlando and the only seats from BWI were 1st class. Jacqueline loved getting the first class treatment with breakfast and all the attention. She said she was going to love the trip home when I had to bust her bubble and tell her it was coach class all the way home!!

I know the work of the TSA is important but kids yogurt pouches being a problem?? Give me a break.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Sorry I'm late to the party, but I'm all caught up!

Man, first class looks pretty swanky. I'm not used to seeing airline seats that are actually comfortable. Let alone places that give you warm towels. Then again, I mostly fly Southwest.

 

[Leshaface]

First off thanks for going into detail about your flight and what you and Izzy did the entire time (eating it sounds like! )

I think you posted a link for how you got the car seat attached to the back of the stroller, but I can't find it in my notes or the search. Do you mind sending it again?

SOOOO nice to not have to fold up the stroller. I'd probably pay extra for that option if it was available!

I started looking at the Foogo cups that you had mentioned and I came across a 10 oz thermos (no straw or sippy, just a thermos) that i'm probably going to get. I don't like giving him so much milk at once (usually 4 oz everytime he wants milk) so I may end up getting two of those thermos' for the plane and the parks and bringing his regular sippy cups along to fill those up.

Okay, guess i'll be bringing a print out of the TSA guidelines regarding pouches. I've never once in all 3 Roundtrip flights had an issue with breastmilk, formula or pouches. I would have been annoyed too.

Fruit roll ups on the list!

I'll be brining LOTS of snacks!

 

[Dugette]

I finally made it over. I need to find a price break on airline tickets. The first class upgrade was great for you. OUr flights got switched one time and I was flying from Roanoke, VA to Orlando with a friends 9 year old daughter (not quite 20 years ago) We ended up going to BWI then Orlando and the only seats from BWI were 1st class. Jacqueline loved getting the first class treatment with breakfast and all the attention. She said she was going to love the trip home when I had to bust her bubble and tell her it was coach class all the way home!!

Yes, it's quite a treat to travel in first! I'm glad I spotted that it was only $3 more when I was buying the price-glitch tickets. It was like $68 for coach and $71 for first!

I know the work of the TSA is important but kids yogurt pouches being a problem?? Give me a break.

I know, it seemed so silly. At least he did let them be, I guess.

Sorry I'm late to the party, but I'm all caught up!

Hi! Party is just getting started.

Man, first class looks pretty swanky. I'm not used to seeing airline seats that are actually comfortable. Let alone places that give you warm towels. Then again, I mostly fly Southwest.

I know, so strange, huh? I don't think I've ever flown Southwest, actually. But plenty of Delta coach! Not used to all the elbow room and the attentive service.

First off thanks for going into detail about your flight and what you and Izzy did the entire time (eating it sounds like! )

You're welcome. And, yes, lots of eating. Snacks and movies for most of the way.

I think you posted a link for how you got the car seat attached to the back of the stroller, but I can't find it in my notes or the search. Do you mind sending it again?

Sure, here's a picture:



I use a large carabiner to attach the tether strap on the back of the carseat to the stroller handle. Then I just tuck the bottom of the carseat into the back of the stroller basket If I want it extra secure, I'll attach the latches to the bottom of the stroller, but that's usually not necessary. Let me know if you have any questions after trying it out!

SOOOO nice to not have to fold up the stroller. I'd probably pay extra for that option if it was available!

Yeah, it was nice. We did still take the stuff out of the basket and all, though. But it was an unexpected treat.

I started looking at the Foogo cups that you had mentioned and I came across a 10 oz thermos (no straw or sippy, just a thermos) that i'm probably going to get. I don't like giving him so much milk at once (usually 4 oz everytime he wants milk) so I may end up getting two of those thermos' for the plane and the parks and bringing his regular sippy cups along to fill those up.

That should work. I've done that too, before she was good at drinking from the straw thermos (she was better with her regular sippy). It's really nice to have cold drinks readily available in the parks. And having two is good too, since you can fill one with milk and one with water.

Okay, guess i'll be bringing a print out of the TSA guidelines regarding pouches. I've never once in all 3 Roundtrip flights had an issue with breastmilk, formula or pouches. I would have been annoyed too.

I know, this is the first time it's ever come up in 6 roundtrips.

Fruit roll ups on the list!

Sounds good. The only thing I worried about with it is that she hadn't had one before and was stuffing it into her mouth and I didn't want her to choke. I just kept a good eye on her and reminded her to chew good and it was fine, though.

I'll be brining LOTS of snacks!

Yes, a good variety of things to munch on. I always bring a couple dumdums as an emergency treat. She loves them, but rarely gets them. I actually haven't had to break one out on a flight yet, but I like knowing they are there in a crisis.

 

[Disneymoon09]

Here! Aulani/Hawaii is on my bucket list!

 

[schmass]

I'm here! First class seems like SUCH a nice start to the trip!!

 

[Leshaface]

Thanks for taking a picture for me! I could not figure out how you were attaching it at the top of the car seat since I know there's no holes. Wrote that on my to-do list

I did purchase a box of fruit roll ups so I could try them first (since it has to have been Junior high since i've last had one!) and boy are they chewy! I'll probably share one with him in the next few days to see how he does and put them away until our trip so they'll be like a new treat for him.

Thanks again for the tips and if you have any other suggestions (snacks, packing, etc!) please let me know either through text or the DIS!

 

[Dugette]

Here! Aulani/Hawaii is on my bucket list!

As for the bucket list, yep - this needs to be on it! It was always more of a long-term bucket list thing for us before the airfare glitch happened, but now that we've been we just keep trying to figure out how to get back there in the next few years - such a great place!

I'm here! First class seems like SUCH a nice start to the trip!!

Glad you made it over! It was a really nice start to the trip. I mean, it's still flying with a 2-year-old, but having someone supplying you with a steady stream of snacks and Disney movies certainly helps!

Thanks for taking a picture for me! I could not figure out how you were attaching it at the top of the car seat since I know there's no holes. Wrote that on my to-do list

No problem! I actually had that picture from a previous trip and have used it a few times to explain to people - comes in handy! For what it's worth, since I still rear-face her in the car, I don't actually use the tether strap for anything, so it's still all bound up like it was when I bought the thing. So, I'm not sure if that changes things - mine is just a nice little loop, basically. Also, Lauren told me that she can attach hers without anything at all - the top of the carseat will actually fit right over her parent console on the stroller - so I guess things will vary depending on your exact equipment.

I did purchase a box of fruit roll ups so I could try them first (since it has to have been Junior high since i've last had one!) and boy are they chewy! I'll probably share one with him in the next few days to see how he does and put them away until our trip so they'll be like a new treat for him.

I know, it had been forever since I'd had one too! I agree - they are REALLY chewy - more than I remembered. And I hadn't tested any, since we just had that one, so I discovered that by seeing Izzy stuff wads of it in her mouth on the plane and struggle to chew it. So, make sure he takes small bites and chews it up, since I got all paranoid about her choking (she was fine, though). Or go with something entirely different - this was just what we happened to have on hand. Any candy or treat that he'd be excited about would be good to have. I did like that this kept her occupied for a long time, though - so chewy you can't eat it fast.

Thanks again for the tips and if you have any other suggestions (snacks, packing, etc!) please let me know either through text or the DIS!

No problem! Let me know if you have any other questions. I try to be as detailed as I can in the reports to help with this sort of thing, as I know it's helped me to read other reports. Of course, you're an old pro at traveling with a little one at this point anyway.

 

[Dugette]

We left off with us carrying all of our stuff off the plane at LAX so that we could wait around and then put it all back right where it was. I forgot to mention that, as we waited to get off the plane, the couple behind me and Izzy said that she was really good – but also that they could see it was A LOT of work for me. I guess they noticed my constant catering to her whims. Kind-of a compliment, though, to know that they appreciated the effort I had to expend to make sure my 2-year-old didn’t detract from their First Class flight. Because, though she is a good kid, it doesn’t happen entirely in a vacuum. Anyway, just thought it was worth mentioning, as Izzy’s gotten many compliments on flights, but people don’t usually point out the effort it takes on the parent’s part to have a well-behaved toddler.

So, as we were leaving, we asked the flight attendant if our gate-checked stroller would come out or stay on the plane. She said that it would probably come out and, if it wasn’t there, to wait up by the desk inside and they would bring it up. Okay. Annoying, though.

So, we got up to the desk and hung around waiting for the stroller. After maybe three minutes of being off the plane, I realized that I’d left Izzy’s little fleece jacket in the seat pocket in front of her. I told the gate agent who went down to get it/check with the cleaning crew. I knew I’d left it in the pocket of Seat 2A. Despite having them check and ask the cleaning crew about it multiple times during our layover, it had completely vanished from existence in those 3 minutes. Go figure. I told my dad this story when we got home and he immediately responded with, “They steal things.” My dad is not a paranoid person and, like me, generally thinks the best of people. I’m thinking he’s had a similar experience with that reaction. I hate to accuse people of things, but I have an awfully hard time explaining how a toddler’s jacket could disappear from all existence in the span of a few minutes. I mean, it’s big enough to not be lost/hidden, it’s clearly not a piece of garbage, it was not a security threat, it was clearly linked to a certain seat and could easily be matched back up with a passenger, etc. And we were told that what they were doing during that time was a “security sweep” – but, let’s just say that this jacket was a threat to security and they destroyed it – couldn’t I have just taken it off with us and then brought it back on and caused the same threat? It’s not like we went through security again. Anyway, this just really bothered me. It wasn’t a fancy jacket, thankfully – just a hand-me-down Old Navy fleece, but I wanted to have it on the trip, for chilly evenings or windy/cold sightseeing places – and for when we got home. So, while we stewed about that, we continued to wait for the stroller, which was nowhere to be seen. Nothing had come up from gate check. Time was ticking and I wanted to get Izzy’s diaper changed while we were at LAX, so she and I took off for a restroom while Dug waited for the stroller alongside our pile of stuff.

I think I used the restroom and then we went out to the changing area for Izzy. And discovered that a woman was using it as her personal desk. And she was completely oblivious to us waiting for her to finish whatever paperwork she was doing. Why she thought there was a desk in the restroom, I don’t know (though, in her defense, it was one of those changing areas that is just a countertop vs. a pull-down thing). She never did pay us any attention and I didn’t have the heart to tell her that she was using a germ-infested changing area as a desk, so I just took Izzy out to Dug and asked him to change her in the men’s room while I waited for the stroller to arrive.

They came back and we waited some more. Wasn’t looking like they were going to take off the gate-checked items after all. We just stuck around there anyway, since we’d be able to board again soon. In the meantime, Izzy found a fantastic new chair:





Yay, we can carry her on! Silly girl! She loves to try out any “chair” she can find.

After that, she taught me how to play Ring Around the Rosy. I didn’t know that she knew that game/song, but I guess she learned it at daycare. I caught on pretty quickly to her making me spin around while she chanted, “Rosy! Rosy! Rosy!” and then forced me to “fall down!” Yeah, I was pretty dizzy by the end of that game.

A couple video clips, if you’re bored:





After this, right before boarding, there was a woman with a toddler younger than Izzy who was not paying a ton of attention to where her kid was going. She was on one side of the ropes that made a boarding line and we were on the other. Her kid kept crossing over to play with Izzy (well, sit near and look at Izzy) and the mom didn’t always notice. Once, her kid got stuck in the middle of the boarding line with people trying not to trip over her. And they seemed to be looking at me, since I was the one paying attention to the kid while her mom was distracted, I guess. It was awkward. Luckily, we were able to board at that point, so we got back on the plane.

We went back to our same seats and the first thing I did was check the seat pockets and surrounding areas for the jacket. Nowhere to be found. However, remember that pretzel that I’d put in the seat pocket right before we got off the plane? Yeah, that was still there. I guess pretzels are not trash enough for the cleaning crew and not dangerous enough for the security sweep. Who knew?

At any rate, I got Izzy’s seat attached again and got her buckled into it. They came around asking if we wanted drinks and most people were getting a Mai Tai, so I went along, as did Dug.

His:



Mine:



Izzy enjoyed some milk and randomly plugged her ears:





Yep, that’s still my drink, not hers.

We had some different people in the cabin around us vs. the previous leg of the flight. It seemed that the woman in row 1 and the man in row 3 (we were in 2) were together, but not seated together. So, instead, they were having conversations over our heads, especially early on. Odd. It was annoying, but I just figured that we would be even if Izzy got noisy later on. Plus, I was doing math in my head and realizing that we were paying a whopping $17.50 for this leg of our flight.

Although Izzy was very sleepy by this time, I was thankful that she was silly sleepy instead of cranky sleepy:





There goes my drink’s umbrella…

They came around and took our dinner orders. I got rigatoni. According to the chart I snapped a picture of, it looks like Dug got ribs:



(Front of the plane is at the bottom and Izzy is the X on the right – I didn’t order anything for her since she could share from my plate, if she was awake).

Like I said, Izzy was tired, so by takeoff, this is what I saw:



Yay! Finally! I had visions of a relaxing flight for Mommy floating through my head. I’d start with a nice nap, then have some drinks, maybe even watch a movie or something crazy.

So, we took off and, just like the previous flight, it was not the smooth and safe feeling we are used to. I wrote this in my phone’s notes and passed it to Dug, who agreed: “Why is this plane so d@$# scary?” Thankfully, everything was fine and it turns out that the plane home would be even scarier (but also fine, don’t worry).

A couple pictures as we left LAX to begin our journey over the ocean:





My next note says, “Thank God she can sleep through the insanely loud ad”. I think it was a patting-ourselves-on-the-back ad for Delta and it was at full blast. Yikes!

After that, I decided it was Mommy naptime and closed my eyes. Just briefly, as the flight attendants were starting to bring around the placemats and such for dinner. I asked how long until dinner was served and they said maybe 20 minutes or so. Ugh, so much for naptime. I just tried to rest while I waited, but didn’t fall asleep.

Soon, dinner arrived and mine looked like this (no picture of Dug’s):



It wasn’t very good. The pasta was not particularly warm and had barely any Bolognese sauce. The salad was blah. The bread was decent (not yet pictured). And I had been so excited to see a tiny Ben and Jerry’s, but even that was just okay. I don’t know if it was because I was still somewhat sick or if it was because it was Cookie Dough and, though good, not my favorite flavor…but I even got sick of eating ice cream. This is the “after” of my meal:



Of course, I was still not eating a ton with my stomach being unsettled, but this was just really not enjoyable. I did make a pretty good dent in the ice cream, though.

So, with dinner out of the way, time to nap! Or so I thought. Because Izzy woke up almost immediately after dinner. Yep, she took like a 45 minute nap. And that was it. For the whole long day in an airplane that would keep her up WAY past her normal bedtime of 7-8pm Central (we would land around 6:30pm Hawaii time, which is 10:30pm at home).

I set her up with Toy Story 3 and she was happy:



We still had a long way to go:



As usual, the person in front of me decided to recline their seat:



Pretty much every flight I’ve been on in the last year with Izzy has been like that. I always get the recliner in front of me. Made it really awkward to look at my screen. Not that I really had a need to anyway, since Izzy was up. As a side note, I just asked Dug what he did on this flight and it was: had some drinks and watched Moonlight Kingdom. Sounds nice. Beyond the Mai Tai (because you HAVE to have one on a flight to Hawaii, right?), I was going to wait until Izzy was sleeping to have any drinks. Well, that didn’t happen. I really failed at getting my $17.50’s worth of Bailey’s on this flight, haha.

The snack service continued as before:



I was so happy to see this because I swear we had just over 3 hours left for like an hour, time was dragging so much for me:



Looks like everyone is enjoying their entertainment:





If you’re in Row 1, I guess this is the required foot positioning:



No shoes allowed!

Izzy had another “forbidden” pouch and some milk as Toy Story 3 started again with about 2 hours left to go:



Up next: The last 1.5 hours in the air and we finally arrive!

 

[Jackiemarie21]

What a bummer about the fleece. I don't like to think about the bad in people, but theft is the only logical explanation.

Looks like another pretty successful flight! Although too bad no nap for mommy isn't that the way it always goes? It looks like Izzy is really getting used to that snack service!

 

[AprilRenee]

Oh man! There at the end I was getting antsy FOR you! Ugh!

But I agree with your comment at the beginning about well behaved toddlers. Caden is the same way, he's a good kid, but idk how much of that is a natural tendency to be good and how much is a LOT of mommy being prepared with snacks and toys and iPads etc as well as a lot of training and teaching AND making sure he knows what to expect and what I'm expecting from him before we go into ANY situation.
For example Caden comes with me to lots of meetings cause I teach part time (mostly afternoon/evenings) but mostly I stay at home with him. So meetings happen during the day while I'm at home with him, I don't have day care to drop him off at, so he has to come along. And he's been coming along since he was born.
I get lots of "wow! He's so good! My kid would never have done that!" But the fact is, a) he's been doing it since birth. He doesn't have a choice. And b) I plan like crazy. I schedule meetings to be 15-30 min after nap time should start or happen in the morning when he's happy. I also make sure I have the iPad (and he had been kept away from TV all day so it's a novelty by meeting time), and I have snacks along. Or if the meeting is during nap time I get there 30-45 min early so I can walk around the building and get him to sleep in his stroller so that he'll sleep thru the meeting.

So yes, he's good. But I do a LOT to make sure that happens!

Obviously you hit a sore subject haha

 

[Imagineer5]

LOL I was also getting antsy for you reading through that. With the de-planing and no stroller then the annoying woman using the changing table as a desk (UM GROSS?! I think I would have said something like, you do realize you are getting poop on your work right? or at the very least made it very clear that she needs to move on. Maybe pretended my DD had a giant blowout or something very loudly lol). Anyway... then the 45 minute nap! Argh! So annoying. I'd have swapped with DH then or at least ordered 3 more mai tais!

Dinner really doesn't look very appetizing. I got excited to see the Ben & Jerry's little cup, but cookie dough ice cream isn't my favorite either.

 

[AZMermaid]

That is so funny about the woman using the changing table as a desk! How frustrating about the fleece- I would be annoyed too! I am loving your adventure in first class! You are inspiring me to try to write a trip report when we go!

 

[Leshaface]

That was really nice of the couple to notice how hard you were working at trying to keep Izzy occupied and quiet during the flight.

I would have been so annoyed about the jacket too. Why would someone want a toddler's fleece jacket? I wonder if you could have went through the Lost and Found at LAX for it, in the rare case a worker picked it up to take it to L&F.

Ew, lady doing work at a poopy changing table! So rude.

Do you think because you're in the front of the plane, the turbulance is worse? Maybe that's one perk to flying coach!

Can I just say how nice you are...I would have switched seats with DH on the last leg of the trip, or for at least a portion of the trip so I could take a short nap.

 

[Backstage_Gal]

I always really enjoy your reports, thanks! I took my son to Germany when he was 9 months old by MYSELF, I feel your pain with a little one, LOL.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I always appreciate when people note that the kids were well behaved - even if it is just about how the kids on their own behaved I still chock that up to solid parenting

Bummer about that coat ... I'd like to think someone just made a mistake but also not naive enough to think it isn't possible that someone stole it.

At least you know now that when you can't get they crazy cheap 1st class ticket for Izzy you can just store her in the overhead compartment

Bummer about the food - not that I am expecting amazing food but there is no reason in this day and age to not have decent food provided no matter what class you are in. Your drink looks fun though! Glad Dug had a good flight

Oh well, about to arrive in paradise - just keep saying that to yourself over and over

 

[Dugette]

What a bummer about the fleece. I don't like to think about the bad in people, but theft is the only logical explanation.

Yeah, I hate that. I just can't figure out what else could have happened to it, though. I mean, they checked with the cleaning crew within minutes of us leaving the plane. Someone should have remembered finding it.

Looks like another pretty successful flight! Although too bad no nap for mommy isn't that the way it always goes? It looks like Izzy is really getting used to that snack service!

It is always the way it goes! At least around here, most of the time. The best Mommy got to do is nod off for a minute at a time while Izzy was engrossed in her movie. But that darn Mommy-awareness kept waking me up to check on her too much to really feel like I was getting any rest.

Oh man! There at the end I was getting antsy FOR you! Ugh!

Ha, yeah, we may have been in First Class, but it wasn't necessarily a spa day.

But I agree with your comment at the beginning about well behaved toddlers. Caden is the same way, he's a good kid, but idk how much of that is a natural tendency to be good and how much is a LOT of mommy being prepared with snacks and toys and iPads etc as well as a lot of training and teaching AND making sure he knows what to expect and what I'm expecting from him before we go into ANY situation.
For example Caden comes with me to lots of meetings cause I teach part time (mostly afternoon/evenings) but mostly I stay at home with him. So meetings happen during the day while I'm at home with him, I don't have day care to drop him off at, so he has to come along. And he's been coming along since he was born.
I get lots of "wow! He's so good! My kid would never have done that!" But the fact is, a) he's been doing it since birth. He doesn't have a choice. And b) I plan like crazy. I schedule meetings to be 15-30 min after nap time should start or happen in the morning when he's happy. I also make sure I have the iPad (and he had been kept away from TV all day so it's a novelty by meeting time), and I have snacks along. Or if the meeting is during nap time I get there 30-45 min early so I can walk around the building and get him to sleep in his stroller so that he'll sleep thru the meeting.

So yes, he's good. But I do a LOT to make sure that happens!

Obviously you hit a sore subject haha

I actually have wondered what he did when you were teaching and stuff. And you are totally right about all the behind-the-scenes preparation that needs to be done for a kid to consistently do well in public. There is lot of strategizing and expectation-setting that has to happen before running out the door. And I do feel like Izzy's a naturally good kid, but I also think that the parental preparation brings out that good-kid part of her, just like a poor-parenting moment can bring out the terrible-toddler side.

Also, I was thinking about it after I wrote that update and realized that the last thing those people saw was me keeping Izzy calm during the long wait to pull into our gate. Despite her being a generally good kid, I have no doubt that she would have had a giant meltdown without intervention - I mean, she was exhausted and we were sitting still in a plane, belted in, not flying, and she kept saying, "I want off!" This is one of those times that being prepared and explaining things really helped. I didn't have to do a ton during movie times, but now there was no movie, the plane was really quiet without the engines going, and she was DONE. This is when I had to pull out the mommy-amusement-machine: animal dance parties, dog searches in SkyMall, explaining that another plane was at our gate and had to fly away before we could park, etc. It took all I had to keep her calm during that time. So, I'm sure that was fresh on their minds.

LOL I was also getting antsy for you reading through that. With the de-planing and no stroller then the annoying woman using the changing table as a desk (UM GROSS?! I think I would have said something like, you do realize you are getting poop on your work right? or at the very least made it very clear that she needs to move on. Maybe pretended my DD had a giant blowout or something very loudly lol). Anyway... then the 45 minute nap! Argh! So annoying. I'd have swapped with DH then or at least ordered 3 more mai tais!

Haha, yeah, I probably should have ordered more mai tais! I'd been holding off on the drinks until she was sleeping, since I didn't want to spill them (either her knocking them down or me when I went to get something for her - I knocked those bottled waters down more than once). But I should have had something anyway - I just didn't anticipate such a short nap and I kept thinking she'd go back to sleep when it was her normal bedtime a couple hours into the flight. Nope. And, yeah, that woman in the bathroom. I just didn't know what to say. I mean, I can see that someone who doesn't have a baby might not realize that nice counter in the restroom has a purpose, so I'm sure she would have been mortified if I told her. I just couldn't do it, though - and besides, it gave me a chance to have Dug do the dirty work.

Dinner really doesn't look very appetizing. I got excited to see the Ben & Jerry's little cup, but cookie dough ice cream isn't my favorite either.

Yeah, I like pasta bolognese, but this was just sad. A Lean Cuisine would have been better than that. Blech. At least the cheeseburger earlier had been decent. And that Ben & Jerry's - most of their flavors are full of good things - and I like that - chunky candy and fudge filled ice cream is my friend! But the thing about Cookie Dough is that it's mostly just vanilla ice cream ("plain" as I always considered it). After eating out the chunks, it was just kind-of boring.

That is so funny about the woman using the changing table as a desk! How frustrating about the fleece- I would be annoyed too! I am loving your adventure in first class! You are inspiring me to try to write a trip report when we go!

I know - I wonder if she ever stopped to wonder why there was a desk in the restroom? And, of course, I had that moment of paranoia - like, "maybe it is a desk and there's a changing table around here that I missed" - pretty sure that was it, though.

I was so sad the fleece was gone. And just baffled that it walked away so quickly. I could see this happening if I forgot until 30 minutes later, but it was seriously only a few minutes after getting off the plane - how far could it have gone?

Aw, thanks! You should absolutely write a trip report! It's so fun to re-live the trip and to have all the memories recorded to look back on. Plus, there are not nearly enough Aulani TRs, in my opinion.

That was really nice of the couple to notice how hard you were working at trying to keep Izzy occupied and quiet during the flight.

Yeah, it was nice to be appreciated. A bit embarrassing too, knowing they saw me catering to Izzy's demands, but hey - you do what you gotta do.

I would have been so annoyed about the jacket too. Why would someone want a toddler's fleece jacket? I wonder if you could have went through the Lost and Found at LAX for it, in the rare case a worker picked it up to take it to L&F.

I thought about it being at Lost and Found, but given how quickly the gate agent went in and talked to the people working the plane, I don't know how it could have gotten past her and escaped their memories. And at least I could take comfort in knowing it was an 18-24 month size, so probably didn't have a long life left for Izzy's use anyway.

Ew, lady doing work at a poopy changing table! So rude.

I can't believe she was doing that and I really can't believe she didn't notice me hovering behind her with a toddler for an extended time. With nobody else there. And me talking to Izzy about changing her diaper.

Do you think because you're in the front of the plane, the turbulance is worse? Maybe that's one perk to flying coach!

I kind-of wondered about that. I definitely felt like it was different being in the front vs. the back right at take-off. But I think there was more to it. Maybe it was the plane itself, as we had the same one for both legs. It just didn't feel as smooth and in-control as usual to me. Then again, I still hate flying - most people didn't seem to flinch.

Can I just say how nice you are...I would have switched seats with DH on the last leg of the trip, or for at least a portion of the trip so I could take a short nap.

Ha, yeah, I am too nice sometimes. However, there's also the part of me that was worried that Izzy would freak out if I moved. She loves Daddy too, but she is a big Mommy's Girl at times and I didn't want to set her off. And I didn't know that Dug would be as quick to put out the fires as me. We had actually planned to switch off, but I just never felt comfortable doing it (and he never offered, comfy and oblivious as he was). Thank goodness for the movies, though - they did a lot of the toddler-entertaining for such a long travel day!

I always really enjoy your reports, thanks! I took my son to Germany when he was 9 months old by MYSELF, I feel your pain with a little one, LOL.

Thank you! Wow, Germany with a 9 month old SOLO! That sounds like quite the challenge! No rest for Mommy on that trip, I bet!

I always appreciate when people note that the kids were well behaved - even if it is just about how the kids on their own behaved I still chock that up to solid parenting

Totally agree, all the comments are nice! It's good to know that others are impressed with your kid's behavior.

Bummer about that coat ... I'd like to think someone just made a mistake but also not naive enough to think it isn't possible that someone stole it.

Yeah, just so strange. I was trying to imagine someone mistaking it for a rag and throwing it in the trash, but just can't see that. I mean, it was all brightly colored and stuff - hard to miss. Maybe they hit the First Class cabin after every flight, looking for lost diamonds and $100 bills in the pockets.

At least you know now that when you can't get they crazy cheap 1st class ticket for Izzy you can just store her in the overhead compartment

I know, she fits so well in the bag size checker! I guess she wanted to prove that she is still carry-on sized, for the times she wants to be carried.

Bummer about the food - not that I am expecting amazing food but there is no reason in this day and age to not have decent food provided no matter what class you are in. Your drink looks fun though! Glad Dug had a good flight

Maybe they were hoping people would have had enough drinks to not notice the poor quality meal? Dug said his was okay, though, so maybe I just made the wrong choice. Oh, well, at least I didn't have much of an appetite anyway. And there were plenty of snacks to make up for it (I know I had more Milano cookies and such!)

Oh well, about to arrive in paradise - just keep saying that to yourself over and over

That was pretty much it! I was watching that flight tracker instead of a movie - just watching it inch along closer to paradise.

 

[Dugette]

So, believe it or not, the most trying part of the flight was still to come. Up until now, I’d been able to skate by with being the occasional snack and toy handler while the movie did most of the heavy-lifting. Granted, I could never really relax, since I knew I was on toddler-duty and kept startling myself awake to check on her every time I nodded off, but the majority of that Minnie backpack full of toys and books was going unused.

When we had about an hour and a half left, they announced that we would have to fill out the agricultural forms and they would pass them around. They gave ours to me (one per family) and I asked Dug to fill it out, since – you know – he didn’t have his hands too full. He didn’t seem too happy to be given an assignment – I guess it disrupted his relaxing time. Poor guy.

But, I didn’t care at all about the form, as I had other concerns – namely, I was pretty sure that Izzy was working on a poopy diaper and I was going to have to deal with that. I have mentioned previously that I have lucked out tremendously and never had to change a diaper in an airplane, despite having made 5 roundtrip flights with Izzy before this trip. Certainly, changing her diaper right before boarding helps, but part of that was luck. I had a feeling this long day of flying might change that, though, and I was right. I asked the flight attendant if the First Class restroom had a changing table. She said that she thought so, but she’d go check for me. It did indeed and she folded it down for me before I got up to take Izzy. And thank goodness she did, as I don’t know if I could have figured it out.

So, with Izzy fairly unhappy and a touch smelly, I got her up and carried her forward to the restroom. And just so your imaginations don’t run away with you – this was not a luxurious First Class restroom – it was just like any other, but maybe a bit cleaner/less used? It was the first time I’d seen it, as I had only used the LAX one, despite being semi-sick-to-my-stomach, which thankfully was happy enough with the food to hold onto it. The changing table basically took up half of the small space. It was folded down from the wall on the left of the toilet and went all the way across to the other wall and the back wall behind the toilet. I barely had enough room to turn around and lock the door behind me. But it fit Izzy, so that’s all that really mattered.

So, if you are either eating, planning to eat, or just don’t care about poopy stories, go ahead and skip right by this paragraph. See you there! Okay, for those of you brave and/or foolish enough to stick around: Izzy had been working on this diaper for awhile, so I was expecting to see it fully loaded up. But, no, there was just a tiny little pooplet in there. It was then that I realized she was struggling to get more out. Poor thing – she was really upset and apparently had something impressively large in the works. I felt so bad for her, but I knew we needed to get her feeling better before leaving that room. So, I ended up acting the part of a labor coach. Holding up her legs and chanting, “Push, Push, Push!” So strange. I had this bizarre flash-forward to becoming a grandmother someday. But, you know what? It worked. She responded to the coaching and managed to create a very impressive specimen – the kind that you wouldn’t believe could have come out of such a tiny person if you hadn’t just seen it happen. She was SO much happier after that. I used a ridiculous amount of wipes, got her all diapered back up, and even figured out how to fold the changing table back into the wall before heading back to our seat as nonchalantly as possible. Okay, now that you are thoroughly disgusted, let’s move on…

Welcome back to those of you wise enough to skip the last paragraph!

When we came back from the restroom, Izzy wanted to sit in my seat instead of her carseat. It was First Class, and therefore wider than Coach, so I told her that we could share for a little while. And we both fit side-by-side (just barely and not terribly comfortably).

My notes say, “yum goldfish”, so I’d assume that means we shared some Goldfish crackers. Oh, yeah, I remember – she was really into sharing. So, she would feed me one, then wanted Dug to have one, so I’d have to hand it across the aisle, etc. We did this quite a few times, but she was happy. I think the “yum” was something she yelled out loudly when she first saw the Goldfish.

We also played with a couple Star Wars action figures that Dug’s mom had recently found, saved from his childhood. To Dug’s delight, Izzy had taken an immediate liking to the Han Solo and Darth Vader figures. Since she’d been playing with them a lot at home, I had packed them for the plane. And she was thrilled to see them. She has quite a little imagination. She is always putting on plays with her toys. (On the weekends, we sleep in because we can see on the video monitor that she is happily acting out all sorts of scenes with all the stuffed animals in her crib for hours). So, to the best of my understanding, Han and Darth got married to each other, did a lot of hugging, and they also showed off their gymnastics/dancing skills by repeatedly doing the splits. Who knew that Star Wars was like this?

Izzy had a good time playing and I decided I’d let her stay with me until we were getting close to beginning our descent (the seatbelt sign was off and the flight was smooth at this point). So, at about 30 minutes left, I put her back in her seat with a cookie and Toy Story 3. She was cool with that.

I noticed during this last part of the flight that I was starting to really get the sniffles. I don’t know why. Luckily, it did go away. Just strange, since it hadn’t been an issue at all before that moment.

We were getting into Hawaii around sunset, which made for some pretty views. Here’s a bunch of pictures, as this part of the flight was pretty uneventful:













Gosh, I can hardly see this photo on my screen, but I think Izzy is playing peek-a-boo?



Oh, yeah, there’s the smile:



Almost there!




We finally arrived!! (after a slightly unsettling landing - what was up with that plane?) We got up, checked and double-checked that we had all of our stuff, and got off the plane. I think that I held Izzy’s hand on the jetway, while carrying the carseat in the other hand. And maybe wearing a backpack. I think Dug pack-muled it and carried most of our stuff and the gate-checked stroller. I believe it was this flight that another passenger noticed his heavy load and helped carry some things, which helped a bunch.

We made it up to the gate area and got the stroller out of the bag and all of our stuff assembled. Izzy found a nice window ledge that needed to be sat on:





She was pretty happy to be out of the plane and her carseat.

Once we dragged her away from there (she did not want to leave that ledge), we made our way through the open-air concourse:



It was warm and pleasant and we were so happy to be in Hawaii.

A mural welcomed us to paradise:



We traded off using the restrooms. I thought the signs were cute reminders that we were in Hawaii:



A note on the restrooms, probably especially for the women: if the first one past your gate has a line coming out of it, there is almost assuredly another one just a bit further down the hall with no wait. I took a gamble on that strategy and it paid off! Who needs lines when you can Fast Pass+ a restroom?! Ha.

I could not believe that Izzy was still awake. She was tired, but fine. I mean, it was 10:30pm Central time with minimal napping. I think she is a night owl, like us.

We headed down to the baggage area and retrieved all of our bags (yes, all 5 of them). Originally, I had planned for us to split up and I’d go get our rental car (then come back to pick them up) and Dug would gather our luggage. However, I’d failed to consider that it would be darn near impossible for him to handle all of our carry-on, Izzy in the stroller, and 5 checked bags while walking out to meet me. So, we both gathered things up and managed to get everything out to the curb, where I left Dug and Izzy while I headed across the street to catch an Enterprise shuttle.

I’ll just throw in a car rental tip, in case you didn’t read the PTR: we ended up renting through Costco, as even adding the cost of membership to the rental car price was cheaper than the next cheapest option I could find (discounthawaiicarrental website). Plus, we’d be able to gas up and shop at Costco, which was only 1 exit down from Aulani. Also, be sure to keep checking back as your trip gets closer. We ended up with our cheapest rate just a couple days before the trip, I believe. And it was just over $200 for a Full Size for 9 days. Not too bad.

I was bummed that I saw an Enterprise shuttle just leaving as I started to make my way over to the shuttle pick-up area. It was 7:15pm by then and I wanted to get on our way. Thankfully, I only had to wait two minutes for another shuttle, which picked me up at 7:17pm. Dug sent me a text saying, “First giant cockroach spotted.” Luckily, it was the only one I know about for the whole trip. Yuck.

It was a very quick ride and they dropped me off at Enterprise. I went to the kiosks and just had to wait a moment for one to clear. An Enterprise employee came up and basically did everything for me and I was heading out to the car pick-up area very quickly. It was just starting to rain a bit. Luckily, I had a seat in the covered waiting area. It took a bit to be helped, but I was ahead of the crowd that was starting to fill in behind me. Soon, it was my turn.

The gal who helped me was very nice and friendly. I told her that I was hoping for the biggest trunk possible in our class to accommodate all of our luggage. She told me that she had another recent customer with the same request and that person had compared all of the trunks and determined that the Chevy Malibu was the biggest. She said the Toyota Camry’s was decent, but not as big and said I could compare. I took her up on that and, sure enough, the Camry had a low overhang and would not fit nearly as much luggage as the Malibu. Ironically, my parents had a Malibu when I was a little girl – they are a lot different now!

It was strange to do the visual inspection in the dark and the rain by flashlight. Very hard to actually see if there was any damage to the car. Seemed okay.

She gave me some helpful advice on this particular vehicle before sending me off. The weirdest thing was that the only way to open the trunk was with the button on the key and you had to take the key out of the ignition to press it. There wasn’t an owners manual in the car, so I never was able to verify if that really was the only option. It was kind-of a pain, but I didn’t see any other buttons or anything. And I guess that helps with safety of things in your trunk, as car break-ins are common in Hawaii (thankfully, we never had any issues). Anyway, she also gave me directions to get back to the airport to pick up Dug and Izzy. That airport is SO confusing. The signage and directions and such just make no sense. But I did find them and we successfully fit all of our big bags in the trunk. I think we put the stroller and some smaller items in the backseat and installed Izzy’s carseat.

Yay, time to head out for treats! It was so strange to be driving, knowing that I was on a Hawaiian island! Our plan was to steal a page from Captain Oblivious’ TR and make a stop for Leonard’s Malasadas (Portugese donuts that are known to be delicious) and a stop for groceries on our way to Aulani. Dug had pulled up the directions to the Malasadamobile on his phone, but they wanted him to exit at a different exit than I had in my notes from Mark’s TR (Captain Oblivious). Since I trusted a DIS-er more than Siri, and I was the one driving, we took Mark’s exit – and it was RIGHT! Take that, Siri! (On a side note, I got a lot of laughs out of listening to Siri say Hawaiian street names throughout the trip).

We drove through the shopping mall to get to the Leonard’s truck (could see from the exit). I noticed there was an Old Navy Outlet right there, so we decided that I’d run in and try to find a replacement fleece for Izzy (after snacking, of course). We had a sneaking suspicion that Izzy had fallen asleep and we were right. So, I was elected to go get the treats. Dug took this from the car:



And I took this while walking up:



Notice the Exit 7 sign in the background, by the way – take that one!

I asked the lady working in there for advice on what to get and she didn’t really seem to understand the concept of recommending things, but I eventually ended up with a dozen: 3 plain, 3 cinnamon and sugar, 2 chocolate filled, 2 custard filled, and 2 haupia (coconut) filled. I also got a bottle of Diet Coke for us to share. I brought our steaming hot box back to the car and Dug pried it open to reveal all of this goodness:



Mmmm, which to try first?



I think we started with the non-filled ones and were both just blissfully savoring them. Since they are best fresh, it was only right that we polish off more than one during that time. I know I had a chocolate-filled one because I remember the mess it made. I was smart enough to open my car door and eat it over the ground, since I could see the chocolate starting to seep out the side opposite of where I was biting. However, it managed to spray out straight onto the leg of my jeans (and the ground). Luckily, the Wet Ones I carry around to wipe up Izzy worked well on the chocolate jeans. I hated seeing all that chocolate filling go to waste, though.

After snack, with Izzy still sleeping and our bellies happy, I walked over here to pick out a fleece quickly:



I found a pretty standard purple one and was about to get that when I walked by a table filled with Mickey and Minnie things! And there was a super adorable fleece there on “clearance”. It still wasn’t particularly cheap (by my standards), but only a few dollars more than the purple, so I went for it:



How cute is THAT?! I was rather pleased that we had upgraded Izzy to a much nicer fleece! Super cute and I’m hoping it will still fit her come Spring. You’ll see more of it later in this trip too.

We got back on the road, Izzy still sleeping. Went to the Kapolei exit, which is one exit prior to the Ko Olina resort area. Both Costco and Target were at this exit. Tonight, though, we were just making a very quick Target run for some cold drinks. I think this was when we arrived at Target, 8:40pm or so?



Keep in mind that it felt like 12:40am to us by then. I went into Target while Dug stayed with Izzy:



I grabbed a cart and made my way to the grocery section. I got a gallon of milk (over $5 before my discounts), a case of water, then checked out the other drinks. Targets in Minnesota cannot sell alcohol, so it was quite a novelty to see an aisle full of drinks there. Around 9pm, I texted Dug to see if he wanted anything. He asked for some Kahlua. Then I asked him if he had a preference on pop – 12 packs of Coke and Dr. Pepper products were on “sale” for either 3 for $12 or $6/each. Both were more than we usually pay. He texted back that he didn’t care and Izzy had woken up grumpy and was crying and he was trying to play the Hot Dog Dance (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse) to calm her down. Though it seemed excessive, I ended up grabbing 3, since it was the same price as 2 – one Diet Dr. Pepper, one Diet Barq’s Root Beer, and one Fresca. I wanted to avoid Diet Coke, as we were planning to get a refillable mug and that would be one of the few drinks we’d get with it (I’d actually been hoping Pepsi products would be on sale, so we’d have more variety, but oh well). I did also pick up a 6-pack of bottles of Coke Zero, as it was a good price ($3, I think?) and they would be handy for putting in the stroller parent console (cans splash around too much).

Then I went and found the Kahlua and saw that it was $23 for a bottle. I don’t buy alcohol often, but that seemed like a lot and I wanted to make sure that Dug still wanted it at that price. He kinda freaked out at me over text, as the texting was making the Hot Dog Dance stop and Izzy wasn’t happy about that. So, I just got it and made my way towards the registers. Shortly after, I got a text that he had switched to playing the Frozen soundtrack and Izzy was happy and stopped bawling and he could text without interrupting that and he was sorry that he was so short with me and thanked me for shopping. So that was nice.

On my way to the checkout, I noticed an endcap with air fresheners on clearance. So, that was my spontaneous purchase, as I knew that we’d have a bathroom that went without cleaning for several days (DVC limited cleaning schedule) and who knew what my stomach might be up to. I think it was a wise way to spend $2. The funny thing was that Dug didn’t realize I’d bought it and saw it in the bathroom later and commented how nice it was that they provided a can of Febreze. Haha.

I was again reminded that I was in Hawaii. Not only did Target have a case full of leis at the entrance, but all the team members were wearing Hawaiian shirts vs. the regular red and khaki. And there was definitely a laid-back and friendly attitude. Ah, time to take a breath – we are on vacation. And still at Target.

I finished checking out and quickly wheeled our stuff out to the car, loading it into the little remaining space on the floor of the backseat next to Izzy. Forgot to take into account how full the car would be when picking out drinks! Luckily, it all fit.

We got back on the road and took the next exit to the Ko Olina resort area. We drove past the guard house (where, as far as I can tell, the job of those who work there is to just wave to everyone as they drive past), made it over all the speedbumps…and drove right past Aulani. Being a big ol’ Disney resort and all, you’d think they’d have a lot of signage. Nope. Just some lights on a tree and a single lane road as an entrance. Go figure. I had Dug take some pictures later in the trip so you can see how easy it is to miss the entrance. Do you see it up there?



How about now?



What, those lanterns in a tree aren’t enough for you?

We had to drive down for a bit, then make a U-turn and come back. By the way, that’s also standard practice for when you leave the resort. You need to go left to get to the highway upon exiting. And the only way to do that is to make a right and a U-turn. At a Disney resort. They seriously couldn’t get a left turn? Wow. The only way around this that I found was to go to the very bottom of the parking garage and exit to the side street, which had a stoplight to go left. But by the time you’ve gone around and around the parking ramp to get to the bottom, have you really saved any time? Anyway, enough complaining, because we are about to pull into paradise!!

Up next: We’re finally “Home”!