Hawaii/Aulani/Disneyland Trip Report

[Nalshersmom]

Hello Everyone This was our first trip to Hawaii. We have planned it for about a year and a half, and I have gotten so much information from the boards. Our family is comprised of my husband and 3 kids who are now 9, 11, and 13. We had an amazing time, and I hope others can learn from my adventures/mishaps like I have learned from so many others.


Our schedule

Thursday, May 30- Fly to San Francisco from Alabama
Friday, May 31- Explore San Francisco
Saturday, June 1- Fly to Maui
Sunday, June 2- Maui
Monday, June 3- Maui
Tuesday, June 4- Maui
Wednesday, June 5- Maui
Thursday, June 6- Maui
Friday, June 7- Fly to Kona
Saturday, June 8-the big island
Sunday, June 9- the big island
Monday, June 10-fly to Oahu- check into Aulani
Tuesday, June 11- Aulani
Wednesday, June 12- Aulani
Thursday, June 13- Waikiki
Friday, June 14- Waikiki
Saturday, June 15- Waikiki
Sunday, June 16- North Shore/Turtle Bay Resort
Monday, June 17-North Shore/Turtle Bay Resort
Tuesday, June 18- fly to San Diego
Wednesday, June 19- check into the Grand Californian
Thursday, June 20- Disneyland/ Galaxy's Edge
Friday, June 21- California Adventure
Saturday, June 22- fly back to Alabama

 

[Nalshersmom]

Thursday, May 30
We flew into San Francisco through Delta which I used our airline points for and arrived close to 10 pm. We had rented a car from Alamo through Costco. Our rental experience was very smooth, and our hotel was very close by.

We stayed at Staybridge Suites by the airport. We stayed in a 2 bedroom suites which I used my IHG points for 2 nights. Having the space was very nice. They even had a kitchen, but we did not use it. They also had breakfast included every morning.



Friday, May 31- San Francisco
We slept in slightly and ate the hotel breakfast. It was okay. We have been to San Francisco once 2 years ago, and we missed out on the Seward Street Slides which my husband had really wanted to do so this was our first stop. They were right off a residential road, but they were still really fun.





There were cardboard pieces to use laying around. We used them some, but slid off of them and slid fine. My 9 year old slid the fastest.
My 13 year old and I really wanted to go to the Disney Family Museum, so my husband dropped us off and took the other two kids to the close by Fort Point to explore.



We were able to visit the Griffith Park Merry-Go-Round (Carousal) 2 years ago.


We spent about 2 hours at the museum.
My husband and the kids enjoyed Fort Point.



It was chilly in San Francisco. We only brought one sweatshirt each due to trying to pack light. We were glad we had sweatshirts throughout the trip because we ended up using them on planes, in California, and once in Hawaii.

When we were done, they picked us up, and we headed to the Pier 39 area. Parking was expensive. We split up again for lunch at In and Out Burger and the Boudin Bakery.



The bread bowls were great! We then explored the Fisherman's Wharf area and the Musee Mecanique which we missed last time. Everything was mostly 25-50 cents to play. It was old games which were sometimes really creepy.

 

[Nalshersmom]

San Francisco Continued...





Next, we checked out Pier 39. This was a repeat from our last trip. The sea lions are just so fun to watch!




We even visited the little museum there to learn more about how the sea lions keep coming back and learned how they were mostly all males.



Driving around San Francisco is pretty interesting, and it it truly a unique place with its crazy hills. I would be stressed out if I had to park on those super steep streets, but I guess they get used to it. We soon headed back to out hotel with some fast food which was not memorable to prepare for our flight the next day. My husband also dropped off our rental car. Our hotel had a shuttle to take us to the airport the following day.

 

[WildGinger]

Following! Sounds like an amazing trip!

 

[Nalshersmom]

Saturday, June 1-Fly to Maui

Our flight left at 10am, and we got there super early due to having to me not reserving the hotel tram early enough. They only left on the hour, so we had to take the 7am slot instead of the 8. We were super close to the airport. The leg of our trip was on Hawaii Airlines. We sat in the regular cabin seats, and we used points from their Hawaiian Airlines cards. The cards came with great introductory bonus points which we used, but no real perks that we would use other than that so we have since cancelled them. The flight was about 5.25 hours. At this time, most of the shows and movies cost $ to watch, so we watched the free programming which was mostly ads and Moana and also read. They did have a sandwich meal service included.



I was super hungry, so I ate everything. My husband and oldest daughter did not eat the sandwich.



On this trip I also learned why the cans in Hawaii have ridges in the top. According to Google, cans were also like this in the mainland until 1980, but when they reduced the aluminum and changed the cans, Hawaii never upgraded due to cost.

When we got to the Maui airport we walked to a greeter which I had already paid when I got my plane tickets for our leis. They were fresh leis but it was not as overly special as it was in my grand plans. I would not pay for this again.




We then took a short walk to the car rental companies. There was also a tram, but it was a short packed in ride for all those aboard, so we walked.
We also were faster than those that we got out luggage with at the same time. I would not take the tram unless I was with someone with mobility issues.

The tram is on the right.

We used Costco for all of our rentals because they were the best prices I found. This time our rental was through Budget. The line was longish and slow. It took us about 45 minutes to get our car. We were told the rental area was fairly new.
We had some time to kill before our check in time and knew we were having a kitchen so we stopped at Costco. It was super busy! There were also chickens everywhere. We ended ups seeing wild chickens at all our Hawaiian spots. We found an animal chart at one of the state parks that identified them as jungle fowl We also ate snacks in their food court area which was very similar to the Costco in our area. We got items for breakfast and a few lunches so that we would not have to drive all over the place everyday. We ended up getting small frozen pizzas, milk, granola bars, chips among oth er things. My husband's favorites were the cinnamon rolls and mixed nuts we got. We also got some amazing locally grown strawberries, a pretty good locally grown pineapple, and some apples.




We rented a condo through VRBO at a small complex called Hono Kai. It was an awesome location and great for our family. It was a loft with one real bedroom, 2 full bathrooms, a kitchen, living room, and 2 beds upstairs that were separated but open air. It was directly on the beach and had a small pool. Our lanai also faced the ocean for gorgeous views.








Our condo also had beach toys, dvds, books, and games to use. We loved the beach toys!



We played in the ocean for a while before heading to a local Safeway to pick up coffee, creamer and some food from their deli. We went to bed at 9ish due to the 5 hour difference from our time zone.

 

[alohamom]

Excellent report so far, I am loving all the details!

San Francisco is on my bucket list so thank you for including the stuff you did there, it all looks like stuff my family would love.

Following along...

 

[tlovesdis]

Loving this...following along

 

[Nalshersmom]

Sunday, June 2- Maui/ Haleakala

We all woke up around 8ish am for our first full day in Hawaii. We put on sunscreen and played on our beach in front of our condos for the morning.






We had lunch in our condo and headed up to Haleakala National Park to see the sunset. We were unsure about the drive and did not want to brave the sunrise crowd which requires a reservation. The drive up was not too bad. We brought our sweat shirts and did not find it uncomfortably cold. We watched the sunset from the visitor's center, and it was a highlight of our trip.







I would definitely recommend this. It was truly gorgeous being above the clouds. The drive back down was not bad but long.


By the time we got down, most restaurants were closed, so we drove through Mcdonalds.

 

[Nalshersmom]

Monday, June 3- Maui/ Old Lahaina Luau

We woke up and played on the beach/ small pool some more (after breakfast and coffee.)
I had the best view for coffee!


We were close to the Maui aquarium but did not go because my husband is not a big fan of aquariums. The beach where we were had turtles daily. We did not see any on the beach but many in the water right off shore. You could see their heads poking up and their shells in the waves. We actually had a giant turtle swim right next to us, but we fled due to the waves and fearing its giant shell would hit us. We had lunch in our condo again and prepared for the Old Lahaina Luau. I had read many trip reports on the board and many luau reviews trying to find the best one on the islands, and this is where we decided to go. We got there early, so we explored the small mall across the street.
When it was time, we returned and entered the outdoor area. We were offered an alcoholic drink and given a lei. They said they were out of non alcoholic drinks, but we could get them at the bar after we got our seats. The hostess then led us through a maze to our seats up front on the ground. We were seated very close to the middle but had to go through all of the tables on the side to get out. The hostess was saying a lot of information as she led us down and then asked us if we had any questions. We were disoriented, so we asked her to point us to where we could get drinks. She rudely said that was the first thing I told you. I am happy to say that everyone else there we encountered was incredibly helpful. Next time I would chose a table with chairs, because the ground was hard to get comfortable on. We were able to walk around and look at a few demonstrations they were doing.






The pig was kind of gross looking when they dug it up.

The sunset was gorgeous!



The buffet was pretty good, and I ate too much.



We were able to return to the buffet after everyone had gone once. Later they brought desserts to the tables and coffee. Our waiter was super friendly and more than made up for the unfriendly hostess.



The show was really interesting and high energy.



They brought one dessert for everyone.
We all went home super full and happy with our luau.

 

[heaven2dc]

What an amazing adventure you are starting out on! It's been over 20 years since I've visited San Francisco and have been wanting to visit the Walt Disney Family Museum. Looks so interesting!

You had a great room booked overlooking the ocean! Excited to read more about your trip!

 

[AussieDisneyfans]

Enjoying your trip report - thanks for sharing with us all. I love San Francisco and on our next trip I plan on visiting the Walt Disney Family Museum also.

 

[Nalshersmom]

Tuesday, June 4- Maui/Road to Hana

We woke up and headed to Hana. We stopped by a close Carl Junior's for a breakfast on the way. We took a cooler with ice from our rental and stopped at a Whole Foods on the way to grab some lunch stuff since I had read that you should bring your own food. I also bought the Gypsy Road to Hana app and hooked my phone up to the car's blue tooth. We would have been so confused without this app. It was definitely worth $6.99, and his voice sounded like John from the Carousel of Progress. He narrated all of the stops and his favorites and also told stories. We ended up making about 5 stops on the way. We passed many food trucks on the way, but we had our lunch.



The Road to Hana is in a rain forest area, so their were many rainy spots. We saw many beautiful plants, waterfalls, and swinging vines.











Our favorite stop was Wai'anapanapa State Park. This is where we ate lunch. We loved their black sand beach and blow hole. The water was clear, and the waves were big.





It was a beautiful area!





We did not make it to the end, but turned around at the state park. It was getting late, and the turns were starting to make me car sick. I did not feel super well by the return back, but after after a short break at Twin Falls near the beginning, I felt much better. On the way home, we stopped at Da Kitchen for a to go order.



We got fish and chips, a sampler platter, salads, and a fried spam. It was all pretty good, but nothing was super special.

 

[Nalshersmom]

Wednesday, June 5- Maui/ Surfing Goats

We drove to Mcdonald's for breakfast to go. We ended up eating several times at fast food places due to the familiarity for some of our pickiest crew and because of prices. I did get the traditional breakfast there which included Spam and portuguese sausage.


There was also a craft fair beside the Mcdonald's. I am glad we stopped because we ended up getting a couple of faces that are supposed to bring your home good luck. There was a man there who was making them.



We then went snorkeling at our beach on blow up rafts with our face masks. It was really fun to float and look. We only saw some fish and crabs. We used a Go Pro. We also played in the pool because my kids love all pools.







We then had made reservations at the Surfing Goat Dairy for the evening chore and milking tour. Our guide was not knowledgeable and unorganized. We fed them, milked them some, and tried a few cheeses. We also ordered a sampler to try, but it had some of the ones we tried on the tour. I would not recommend this.








There were surf boards used as decoration because they started (and still do) bartering surf boards for goat cheese.

We then went to Ululani's Hawaiian Shave ice. The line was long, but we really enjoyed it. We also ran into another family from Alabama there. Of course there were also jungle fowl there

 

[ErinF]

Loving your trip report! We may have overlapped our time in Maui with yours? We were there June 9-14, but we stayed in the Kaanapali area and didn’t venture far from there. I’m hoping to start my trip report soon, we just got a new puppy and that’s taking up so much of my time right now! We went to the Ululanis in Lahaina and I agree it was really good!

 

[Nalshersmom]

Wednesday cont...





We also got pizza from a place called Fabiani's Bakery and Pizza on the way home. They were pretty good but small.



Thursday, June 6- last day Maui

We enjoyed the beach/pool and I did laundry. There was a laundry area on every floor of our condo complex, and one was 3 doors down from me which made it super easy. We just tried to enjoy where we were. We also got a to go order from Eskimo Candy on this day. It was good, and I enjoyed their seafood gumbo. My family got cheeseburgers and shrimp scampi which were also good.







We also visited our first of many ABCs store on this island. We found these to have local candies.
We got our last night swims in the pool and walks on beach in. I also had to pack.

 

[Nalshersmom]

Loving your trip report! We may have overlapped our time in Maui with yours? We were there June 9-14, but we stayed in the Kaanapali area and didn’t venture far from there. I’m hoping to start my trip report soon, we just got a new puppy and that’s taking up so much of my time right now! We went to the Ululanis in Lahaina and I agree it was really good!

Thanks! We left Maui on the 7th. I wish we could have gone back to Ululanis I am looking forward to your trip report! Puppies are super time consuming but also super cute

 

[Nalshersmom]

Enjoying your trip report - thanks for sharing with us all. I love San Francisco and on our next trip I plan on visiting the Walt Disney Family Museum also.

My first trip report from 2 years ago also has a section on our 1st visit to San Francisco. It is a unique place to go. The only place I would not repeat was the fortune cookie "factory."

 

[Nalshersmom]

Friday, June 7- flying to Kona

I had one last cup of Maui coffee on our lanai, and we left our condo to gas up at Costco and return our rental car and then walked back to check in at the airport. The ride to Kona was super fast. The flight attendants breezed through the aisles offering juice (PON) and water and then raced through with trash bags before preparing to land.



The rental car process in Kona required a ride in a shuttle. There was a short line that we got in. After waiting about 10 minutes, a worker told us to take a number from a tiny corner of the office. There were no signs. We then took a number and waited some more for it to be called. We had not noticed them calling numbers before, but they were mostly just getting the members in the fast pass line. We rented again from Costco, and it ended up being from Budget. The lady was friendly but tried to scare us into buying their gas tank plan. She told us Costco doesn't open until late and the gas stations were few and far between. Costco gas ended up opening at like 5am, and there were many gas stations. We then drove to our hotel. We stayed at the Royal Kona Resort. It was older and not that cool. The location was very nice. Check in was easy. Our actual room location was an ocean view, but it was not optimal. We were on the 2nd floor and also very close to a bar that played loud music at night. I thought about changing, but we knew we would not be there much, and I did not want to move all of our stuff again.





We ate at a Dairy Queen and a Panda Express this day, both of which we have very close to our house. We are such adventurous eaters



We just explored the streets around our hotel this night and notices they were having a parade the next day. It was going by our hotel, so we made plans to go.


We also tried Donkey Balls which were just okay.



The shores were mostly black rocks in our area, but they were beautiful to look at and try to find the black crabs.



We just thought this slogan was cute.



There were also small parks which we left after seeing the youngish guys doing shady things.


We ordered Domino's for dinner which was just okay.

 

[BigTex71]

This sounds like an epic vacation. I'm following along.

We did the same for Road to Hana - we had the GyPSy guide and ended near the black sand beach (well, we went just a few miles further to Hana Beach Park) then turned around.

The condo in Maui looks like it was in a great location with a nice beach area. We were not so lucky with our condo in Kihei (see my trip report for details on that inconvenience.)

I am looking forward to reading the rest as you get them posted. I know life can get in the way of trip reports (I still have a few days worth to finish on mine.)

 

[dachsie]

Enjoying your report. But I have to ask - that bowl of soup you posted - was that what they called gumbo???? Louisiana native here and that is definitely not gumbo. lol. But it does look like a tasty bisque.

What did you not care for about the Donkey Balls? That is on my list to do. I will be going to the big island and Aulani in Jan. Looking forward to the rest of your Big Island tour