Hijinks & Shenanigans but not much Mayhem@The Dark Side+Disney:Link to DL/Hawaii TR

Dee, slowly catching up after a few days away.

Your pictures are gorgeous...especially the snorkeling ones.

I have to admit you are a much braver woman than me. No way, no how are you getting me in a helicopter. Nope...just never going to happen.

Can't wait to see what is next.

Thank you so much! I love the snorkeling pictures, too. I wish there were more of them. At one point I took 15 minutes of movies when I thought I was taking pictures. It can be difficult to see what is being photographed, or even if the camera is on, when snorkeling. Unless you pick your head up, and then you fog the mask.

:sad2:

That was our first time in a helicopter. I got a little nervous right before lift-off, but this was truly the highlight tour of our trip. "high" light! :lmao:

Well, that's it for the preview pictures. Next up is the actual report. I hope to start that today. Look for the bat signal on FB- my PM box is full and I have really poor deletion skills.

:goodvibes


Dee, no excuses for being behind other than life and work.

All of your pictures are amazing! Is my mind playing tricks on me or did you say that Ben said he saw the baby turtle and you found picture proof? Thus, the baby turtle picture. The palm trees, the beaches, the scenery, gorgeous! The rude parents and their kids, bleh! I don't understand why parents don't make their kids mind anymore. Or why the parents themselves have no manners.

The helicopter tour looks scary! I mean, seriously, Ben is right up against the window. He wasn't scared?

No excuses necessary!

Yes, ma'am, Ben saw a baby turtle and took a picture!


baby turtle!




Everything was so tropical and beautiful! The great thing is that each of the islands offered their own unique vibes and attractions.

No, Ben was not scared at all. Now if you want to talk about scary- some of the helicopter tours you can take are "doors off". You are actually strapped in, but the sides of the copter are open to the air. We commented to the helicopter pilot as we saw one of these land. He just shook his head, but we could read his thoughts.

"That's crazy!"

:rotfl2:


Haha, I guess when you're king, everybody wants to copy you. But "Have a Magical Day"? LAWSUIT!!!!!

It does sound like the big downside of the resort was more guest related. I understand vacation is to "get away", but that's still no excuse for that kind of behaviour.

Is that a walk in closet or an extra bedroom????

The monorail and boats do look nice though.

I have always wanted to do a helicopter tour or just ride in a helicopter in general. That is so cool.

I'm telling you, my jaw dropped when I heard that through the phone!

The Hilton Waikoloa is probably a great resort for folks with young children, like under age 10, but it wasn't quite right for us. I shudder to think if honeymooners accidentally book a stay there!

No kidding! You actually could get a cot, maybe two, in there!

We spent a significant (too much?) time on the monorail and on the boat- crowded. And the second message about keeping clear of the doors was in Japanese, not Spanish!

The helicopter was one of the coolest things we have ever done. Ever.

:cool1:


Your helicopter tour pictures are amazing - views of a lifetime!

Did you walk through the lava tube? I've never seen pictures of a lava tube before, very cool (get it, red hot lava, cool, cracking myself up here.)

Disney does spoil us for other resorts that come close, but not quite. Guess that is why Teena prefers Disney cruises over other cruise lines.

You've managed to get some really nice family photos on this trip. No doubt your sons will always remember this amazing vacation.

Thank you! Yes, the helicopter tour was incredible.

Yes, we walked through the lava tube. Very neat. OK to crack yourself up here, but not THERE. They told us in the tour how much weight was above us, so cracking up was not a welcome idea.

The boys were pretty tolerant about participating in family photos. Danger Dan, our tour guide (BTW- our name for him, not his) offered to take pictures of us at most of the big spots.

:woohoo:


And may I just add... MY TICKER SAYS 11 DAYS!!! Soon I'll be down to the single digits. YAY!! :banana::banana::banana:

Yes, you may add that!

:banana::banana::banana:

I won't be too far behind you!


I can't believe they built a monorail at a Hawaiian resort. :eek: That place is huge.

I love the waterfalls that you can see from the helicopter. Those views must have been amazing.

You look tired.

The Waikoloa is GINORMOUS!!! In one of our original itineraries, we had 4 nights here and none in Maui. I'm so glad we changed that. They don't have a white sand beach right on property, so I think you have to take a shuttle bus. When I am at the beach, I want to be able to access it on my own.

The views from the helicopter were amazing. Mark was upfront with the pilot and had clear expansive views. Nate's seat wasn't the best since he was right in the middle of the copter, no window. I was seated backwards, which made it awkward to see some of the sights. But the pilot did try to spin the helicopter around so we could see things on both sides.

The waterfalls were breathtaking. Unfortunately, it was pouring rain as we went into the valley with all of the waterfalls (including the one from Jurassic Park, I believe), but it was still spectacular!

Yes. I was tired! This was the last day of our 14 day non-stop adventure. It was an 11 hour tour. Which would be followed in just a few hours by our 11 pm red-eye flight on the way home.

I was SO tired I didn't even take pictures of our final meal in between the tour and our departure.

:rotfl:
 
Helicopter tour looks totally amazing-not sure how I'd feel going up in one but think it's something I should probably try at least once in my lifetime :)

Our holidays to Orlando are usually 14/16 days and while I love every minute and never want to leave my other half is always glad to head home by the end. Holidays can be tiring resulting in the need for another holiday :lmao:

Sounds like your hotel could have done with Supernanny to read the riot act to the parents never mind the kids :rolleyes1 Must make sure my daughter doesn't end up there on her honeymoon next year ;)

All in all it sounds and looks like you guys had an awesome trip :goodvibes
 
Helicopter tour looks totally amazing-not sure how I'd feel going up in one but think it's something I should probably try at least once in my lifetime :)

Our holidays to Orlando are usually 14/16 days and while I love every minute and never want to leave my other half is always glad to head home by the end. Holidays can be tiring resulting in the need for another holiday :lmao:

Sounds like your hotel could have done with Supernanny to read the riot act to the parents never mind the kids :rolleyes1 Must make sure my daughter doesn't end up there on her honeymoon next year ;)

All in all it sounds and looks like you guys had an awesome trip :goodvibes

The helicopter tour was incredibly cool! It was worth every penny (and it was a LOT of pennies)

The trip needed to be long, like yours do, because of the distance. We were so busy and the trip was so much longer than we are accustomed to, that the boys found it difficult at times to adjust. But I was really pleased with how well we all go along together in enclosed spaces for such a long time.

Yes!!! We totally needed Jo the Suppernanny to pay a visit.

:rotfl2:
 


Excited to see you started your tr. Can't wait to hear all the details. Have loved seeing the teaser pictures.
 


Your Hawaii pictures are just amazing Dee!

Thank you so much!!!

Hawaii is truly a beautiful, unique place!

:thumbsup2


Excited to see you started your tr. Can't wait to hear all the details. Have loved seeing the teaser pictures.

Thank you!

See you over there!

:goodvibes


Fantastic pics pics can't wait to read all about it.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

Thanks! It is good to finally get started!

:)


Your pictures are gorgeous! What an amazing vacation you had! :thumbsup2

Thank you!!! We really did have a fantastic, memorable trip.

:goodvibes


Great pics Dee! Finally getting over illness and getting caught up and what a way to do it! More please?!?!? :thumbsup2

So sorry you haven't been feeling well!!! Glad to hear you are on the mend.

:woohoo:


That's going to be it over here. I have started my trip report and have the intro and arrival chapters posted:



OK, Surf's Up! It is time to get this party started!

Here is the link to my Disneyland/Hawaii trip report, on the DL trip report subforum


A Tale of Two Trips: Disneyland and Hawaii, July 2014


:beach:

.
 
Dee, What a great preview of all the fun you had at DL and Hawaii! It was completely awesome to meet you and your family! Thanks for making time for me and a little fun together while you were there. :goodvibes

Hawaii is so lovely. That Hilton Waikoloa resort is beautiful. Volcanoes National Park looks like a landscape from a Twilight Zone episode - but so intriguing. Incredible. I'm sure I would feel nervous about a helicopter ride but there would be no better way to take in the views. Thanks for sharing those previews!
 
Dee, What a great preview of all the fun you had at DL and Hawaii! It was completely awesome to meet you and your family! Thanks for making time for me and a little fun together while you were there. :goodvibes

Hawaii is so lovely. That Hilton Waikoloa resort is beautiful. Volcanoes National Park looks like a landscape from a Twilight Zone episode - but so intriguing. Incredible. I'm sure I would feel nervous about a helicopter ride but there would be no better way to take in the views. Thanks for sharing those previews!


We had a great time in Hawaii. Lots of once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

Thanks so much for posting such a nice writeup about our meet. It truly was one of the highlights of our time in Disneyland.

I am going to repost it here, and then probably again when I get to that part in my trip report.

We have been friends for a long time, but it really makes it more special that we had the opportunity to meet.

:hug:


Disneyland DISmeets - July 2014

Before I wrap this thing up I’m excited to share two awesome DISmeets!

The first was with Dee (Natebenma) who is the “hostess” of the YC/BC resort thread in addition to being a prolific TR contributor (who doesn’t love her spot on comic intros for her posts) here on the DISboards. I became familiar with Dee originally through the YC/BC resort thread in 2010 since that was the one of the first WDW resorts that Em and I stayed for our inaugural girls’ trip that year.

When Dee asked for opinions regarding her family’s summer vacation plans in her current TR I was eager to share my thoughts and vote for a West Coast trip that included Hawaii with a side of Disneyland. :thumbsup2 I’m pretty sure that my vote must have counted for something since she booked a trip that included Disneyland not too long after! Yay!! This was my opportunity to finally meet Dee face-to-face!

Our plan was to meet on Sunday July 13th at Disneyland. Exciting stuff to look forward to!

Meeting up at the Partner’s statue in the middle of Disneyland was where I officially made a new friend and met her sweet husband Mark. It was so awesome to actually meet Dee in person. The Nate and Ben part of Natemenma were elsewhere in the park. We didn’t have any plans so we chatted for a while. Anyone that knows me would be shocked I’m sure! Me chatty? It was very thoughtful of Dee to come bearing gifts for not only me but my family. Very generous!

A Partner's Statue Photo Op:
DSCN8475.jpg

We had to have a castle photo!
DSCN8476.jpg

For Em, she had Lisa (mickeystoontown) make an Ariel back sack. Not any back sac, but Em’s favorite Disney character. I was astounded that Dee had paid attention to this little fact when I can’t recall that I’ve shared that little known fact often. Em was thrilled for this perfect gift. Here’s a photo of it getting used during our latest WDW trip.

20140803_110759_resized.jpg
20140803_110806_resized.jpg

For my hubby Michael, she paid attention to the fact that he is a big Packer fan. Giving my hubby Packer duct tape was like giving a cat, catnip. It didn’t take him long to put it to good use. Leave it to him to mail something to Kathy (KatMark) who is a big Bears fan. I don’t think he felt any shame.

A little bundle of trouble is what this ended up being with my trouble-maker husband.
DSCN8491.jpg

DSCN8863.jpg

And finally, I received this really lovely Cinderella’s castle necklace. It had a silhouette of the castle with a river rock accent. It was made by a local artisan in Dee’s area. This was a great gift because…. I sported this little beauty at our Cinderella’s Royal Table dinner last week. This was so perfect for the occasion! Thank you Dee for your kindness and generosity.

DSCN8497.jpg


DSCN4677.jpg

Mark and the boys were cool enough to share their wife/mom for a little while so we went to Toontown and rode Roger Rabbit. That was one time that I didn’t mind a long stand-by wait since it gave us time to talk Disney, kids, and life. (Hey, you almost have DisneyKid4Life there!)

Before saying goodbye, we swapped out taking a final couple photos after meeting up with the guys. I’m not sure why I thought it was a good idea to stand in the photo with her family instead of taking one of their entire family. It’s probably because I thought they needed more photos of me in their family vacation photo album.

DSCN8485.jpg


DSCN8486.jpg

Dee, I’m so very glad that you took the time from your family vacation to spend a little time with me. I’m wicked happy that worked out! :hug:



What a nice write up about our meet.


My family and I had a great time meeting you! And of course we really appreciated the thoughtful gifts you brought.





We enjoyed all of the chocolate and other treats on our various plane rides and I opened the coffee and had some this morning. Chocolate and coffee are two sure ways to our hearts!

Here are a couple pictures of my own and from photopass.






When my family saw this picture (which I believe I requested), they said "It looks like we are auditioning a new mother"

You could do worse, boys!






As you said so eloquently, it was wicked awesome!!!

:grouphug:
 
Awwww, I loved reading about your Dis Meet! I've met so many wonderful people on the Disboards and consider them to be some of my closest triends. Emmysmommy, I'm so happy that Em loved her backsack and that castle necklace is gorgeous!
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top