Just the 19 of Us – Oahu North Shore & Aulani – Jan. 2016 ~ Updated 6/4: Complete & DL TR Link!

The Sun Sets on our First Day at Aulani

Dug and I got changed into nicer clothes for dinner. I soon realized that I hadn’t brought any shoes that would look appropriate with my dress. :headache: I ended up borrowing Dug’s Mickey flip-flops, as those were actually the least objectionable :laughing: (at least at a Disney beach property), but they weren’t very comfortable since they were so big on me. However, I then ran into Kay and Jay in the hallway and asked Kay if she had any shoes to spare – she sure did, so I borrowed a much more suitable pair from her – whew! :thumbsup2

I then headed over to Nana and Papa’s room and knocked on their door to see if they were ready to go down to dinner. And they were thoroughly confused. :eek: Apparently, they’d completely forgotten that I had booked us dinner that night. :sad2: However, they quickly got changed and Dug went down to Ama Ama to get us checked in on time and ask for a sunset-view table for our group of 6 (I'd made the reservation for 7, but they were fine with Izzy skipping out).

While Nana & Papa got ready, I checked out the view from their room, which was considered an Island View category, but it actually had a nice peek of ocean out there :woohoo::



Looking down, they had a decent view of the lawn where the Starlit Hui would be performed later in our stay:



And then looking to the left and right from their balcony:





Not bad. I think they were happy they splurged on an island view and ended up with a peek at the ocean too. :thumbsup2

While they were getting ready, I got a phone call from Aunty’s Beach House. They said that Izzy was ready to go. When I mentioned we were on our way to dinner at Ama Ama (and could stop and get her), they immediately said they would try to redirect her and we should enjoy our dinner. Ok, then. And I didn’t hear from them again. Nice that they try to help out that way. ::yes::

We all headed down to Ama Ama and found that Dug had gotten us a nice table with a view:



I spotted a wedding taking place outside on the terrace:



Looks like a dog watching the sunset over there:



I think it was a stuffed animal, though? :confused3

Dug got up from the table and got some better pictures than I did:









We had a really lovely dinner here. Obviously, the sunset was beautiful, but the food and service and the company and conversation were great too. I was glad that Izzy had stayed at Aunty’s, as this gave us some nice “off-duty” time to just relax and hang out with other adults. This happened at other times during our stay too – having Aunty’s available for Izzy was really a nice perk. :goodvibes

I remembered having had a yummy grilled cheese and tomato soup appetizer previously, so I got that again:



The menu said this was Roasted Kamuela Tomato Soup with a Mini Truffled Brie Cheese and Portuguese Sweet Bread “Sandwich”. Very tasty!

I don’t remember what drinks Dug and I got, but these look good:





Our group got a lovely cheese platter to share:



It appears that I got the Orecchiette ala Checca – Local Currant Tomatoes, Fresh Basil, Arugula, Garlic, Olive Oil, Mozzarella Bocconcini:



I think Dug had a steak with fries:



After dinner, Dug went with Kay and Jay to have a drink at the Olelo Room. I picked up Izzy from Aunty’s and it looks like she and Papa raced back towards our rooms:



Looks like Izzy wasn’t wiped out just yet! :banana:

Shortly after we got back to the room, I realized that I’d intended to run a couple errands this evening. I wanted to stop for gas at Costco and grab a few things we’d need (food, etc.) at Target. I let Dug know and he came up to watch Izzy after finishing his drink. Then I headed for the minivan and took off for Costco, which was basically the next exit over.

This trip was sometime after Costco announced they would take credit cards besides American Express. So, I only brought my Visa. Got to the pump and found out that they still only took AmEx, as there was a lag between the announcement and the implementation. Ugh, bummer! :headache: I can’t remember if I got gas elsewhere or if we had enough to wait awhile? :confused:

At any rate, I headed over to Target, got whatever we needed, and returned to Aulani:



Parked the minivan in a nice open area (the spots are rather small and hard to get a minivan in and out of :crowded:):



I think Dug texted me saying that Izzy was sad that she left her beloved “purple Minnie” in the van, so I brought her inside too:



I remember I was in a great mood while walking inside. The view of Aulani lit up at night was gorgeous and there was just a peaceful feeling knowing we were in Hawaii and had a few more days to enjoy paradise. :cloud9:

Up next: Pool time! :beach:
 
I'm so jealous that you had another trip to Hawaii (and another stay at Aulani!) - what a dream! It should encourage me to sign up for fare alerts - although out of my smaller airport, I'm doubtful I'd get such awesome results! I bet it was great to have a full Hawaiian vacation with your whole family (as well as extended family!).

I'm glad the rental worked so well - the unit looked really nice! I did laugh about Izzy getting you out of your "extra" boat ride - it's too bad she was having a tough moment, but that worked out really well for you guys! I look forward to hearing about your great boat ride coming up...

I can't believe how BIG Izzy is getting! I can't wait to see what she thought of Aulani now that she's bigger. How nice that she was excited about the Kids Club and that you enjoyed a wonderful adults-only evening!

Your meal at Ama Ama looks really tasty - especially the cheese plate and those cocktails! Yum!
 
Your dinner pictures were beautiful. That sunset was something else. And I think it's great that you were able to enjoy it kid-free. Always a plus when you get to stop and appreciate your surroundings without having to keep an eye on a kid. :thumbsup2
 
Your Aulani DVC room looks very nice, just like a studio from WDW!

That;s great Izzy really enjoyed the kid's club.

The pictures of the sunset are absolutely beautiful and your meals sounded delicious!
 


That sunset view is to die for! And what a great place to get married... that couple's got the right idea :cloud9:
 
Good to know about the kids club and that the kids can't get any help in the bathroom. Lola will have just turned 3 a few weeks before we go, but I think she'll have been fully potty trained for about a year by then (fingers crossed!).

That is great that once you told them your dinner plans they said they would keep Izzy there. A kid-free meal is always welcome! And those views looked amazing.

Bummer about Costco!

I was in your neck of the woods over the weekend. We "practiced" for Disney by going to the Mall of America and going on a couple of rides. The kids had a lot of fun there!
 


I'm so jealous that you had another trip to Hawaii (and another stay at Aulani!) - what a dream! It should encourage me to sign up for fare alerts - although out of my smaller airport, I'm doubtful I'd get such awesome results! I bet it was great to have a full Hawaiian vacation with your whole family (as well as extended family!).
I still can't believe we've been to Hawaii twice for an average airfare of around $230/person. :rotfl: So glad we got to do the family trip, though - Dug's parents and sister/BIL all had a fabulous time too. :thumbsup2 (Um, if you are driving to MN to get your hair cut, you could probably set up some fare alerts here and find it worth your time to also drive up for a great fare...:scratchin)

I'm glad the rental worked so well - the unit looked really nice! I did laugh about Izzy getting you out of your "extra" boat ride - it's too bad she was having a tough moment, but that worked out really well for you guys! I look forward to hearing about your great boat ride coming up...
Cannot wait to cover our boat ride - one of my favorite memories! :goodvibes Oh, and yes, we were very happy with the condo we rented. :thumbsup2

I can't believe how BIG Izzy is getting! I can't wait to see what she thought of Aulani now that she's bigger. How nice that she was excited about the Kids Club and that you enjoyed a wonderful adults-only evening!
And to think that this TR is now from over a year ago! :faint: She's even bigger now, but doesn't look terribly different. Kids Club worked out great on this trip! :thumbsup2

Your meal at Ama Ama looks really tasty - especially the cheese plate and those cocktails! Yum!
I'd say those were the highlights. ::yes::

Your dinner pictures were beautiful. That sunset was something else. And I think it's great that you were able to enjoy it kid-free. Always a plus when you get to stop and appreciate your surroundings without having to keep an eye on a kid. :thumbsup2
Exactly! In fact, just tonight, Dug's parents wanted to take Izzy for an overnight (so, she's with them) and then my dad/step-mom called wanting to take us out to dinner, so we met up with them and ate without Izzy. It was so weird to be fully involved with the conversation going on and to find the meal relaxing vs. a lot of work. :rotfl:

Your Aulani DVC room looks very nice, just like a studio from WDW!
Yes, definitely felt familiar and had a lot in common with WDW Studio units. Very nice, though. :thumbsup2

That;s great Izzy really enjoyed the kid's club.
It was so nice that she loved the club. Win/win for us all.

The pictures of the sunset are absolutely beautiful and your meals sounded delicious!
Nothing like a beautiful sunset over the ocean. :cloud9: Meal was great too. We were all in pretty great moods as well.

That sunset view is to die for! And what a great place to get married... that couple's got the right idea :cloud9:
I know, how beautiful of a setting for a wedding! :bride:

Ha! Love it!

Sounds like a great start!
:rotfl: Thanks, I'm easily amused.

Good to know about the kids club and that the kids can't get any help in the bathroom. Lola will have just turned 3 a few weeks before we go, but I think she'll have been fully potty trained for about a year by then (fingers crossed!).
Good luck! Izzy had been potty trained for quite a while before this trip, but I'd just never thought to make her pull everything back up without any assistance, since one of us is always right there. So, just make sure she's comfortable doing that. And not a little diva who wants pieces of toilet paper handed to her. :rolleyes: (Yep, Izzy was used to that too. :laughing:)

That is great that once you told them your dinner plans they said they would keep Izzy there. A kid-free meal is always welcome! And those views looked amazing.
I had heard they were good about that kind of thing, but it still caught me off guard that they insisted we enjoy our dinner and not worry.

Bummer about Costco!
That's what I get for not dragging all my stuff along, I guess. :headache:

I was in your neck of the woods over the weekend. We "practiced" for Disney by going to the Mall of America and going on a couple of rides. The kids had a lot of fun there!
Awesome! If you are ever around and want to meet up there (or wherever), let me know. Izzy loves the rides there too (especially the log chute!)
 
Everybody Into the Pool!

We slept in a bit this morning:



Here's a screen shot from this day. You can see that this vacation was agreeing with my sleep preferences:



WDW trips are NOT like that. :rotfl: (Nor is most of the rest of my life – being a night person with a morning person’s schedule isn’t awesome :sad2:).


I apparently admired or used one of the Aulani robes available in the room:



Then we probably ate something in the room for breakfast and got ready to hit the amazing pool area. Yep, a blur of activity, as usual:



We went to the towel booth and also got our matching wristbands for the day (have to show a room key, then you get these – different color each day):



We started at the kids water play structure, the Menehune Bridge:



Just like last time (14 months prior), Izzy was scared of the Menehune Bridge again. :eek: You can’t see real well, but there is a water wall of sorts here and she is hesitating to pass through it:



But she did brave it this time and made it up to the bridges :cool1::





She was still pretty hesitant, though. However, she soon discovered the waterslides built into the structure:







She LOVED those and said she wanted to go on them “all day long!” More sliding fun:







At some point, Dug took over supervising her and I wandered off to check out the cabanas, as we had one rented the next day, so I wanted to scope them out:



These are Cabanas 3, 4, & 5, which face the infinity pool and have a glimpse of the ocean behind it:



We requested to be in that area, as it seemed like it would entail the least walking to a pool for Papa, who has limited mobility/stamina, due to heart problems. It also was a good option for the view. People with slightly older kids tend to like the cabanas next to the Menehune Bridge, but Izzy was a bit on the young side to be running around that all day while we hung out in a nearby (but not full visibility) cabana, so we chose this area instead of that.

A look at the inside of a cabana:



Pretty sweet! :thumbsup2 You have your own mini-fridge, TV, loungers, snack service, etc. Not bad at all! This was our Christmas gift for Nana, Papa, Kay, Jay, and ourselves (we gave them a little postcard with info about it for their gift a couple weeks prior). Not to spoil anything, but this ended up being a perfect gift for Dug’s family. :goodvibes

I chatted with the Cast Members at Rainbow Reef (the snorkeling area) briefly too. Not to snorkel, but because they handle check-in for the cabanas. We had wanted Cabana #5 (closest to the pools), but we were assigned Cabana #3 (by the wall) instead. However, if there is a no-show after a certain time (10 or 11am? Can’t remember), they allow you to switch cabanas. I was just checking with the CMs to make sure I knew how to do that, as we definitely wanted to try, if we had the opportunity (and, as you can see, this particular day nobody was at a cabana by that time, so I figured it might be the same the next day).

Izzy was still loving those slides when I came back:



We did finally manage to convince Izzy to check out some other parts of the pool area, starting with the splash pad that she had loved last time (Keiki Cove):







Then we got in the infinity pool for a bit. This is the one that has a cave with openings that peek out at the ocean:



And the view from the edge of the pool, looking over the beach:



Looking back towards Aulani and the zero-entry family pool:



Izzy and I watched the end of the waterslide (body slide) for a few minutes, as she enjoyed seeing people plummet in and make a splash. Then we decided to go try out the tube slide, since they had double tubes we could go on together:



You have to carry the tubes up, which is a bit of a workout with a double tube and a toddler on stairs. :faint: But we got up to the top and the line wasn’t very long, so that was good. Here you can see someone loading their double tube into the slide:



And soon it was our turn! We got all loaded up:



You may be able to see there that they had me put my legs out front and then have her sit on/in between them. And then we were off:





Izzy loved it! She is definitely my little thrill-ride buddy! (I loved it too). :hyper:

The end of the slide spits you out into the lazy river:



We went on the slide twice before we had to get out and start heading back to the room to get cleaned up for our afternoon plans. I guess we ran into Nana on the way back in – maybe she and Papa were enjoying the pools that morning too? I can’t remember. :confused3


Anyway, I think this is a photo from back in the room (maybe? Not sure):



Kay and Jay weren’t joining us for our whale watching catamaran ride, so they were off enjoying the pool area this afternoon and taking Photopass pictures (our entire group shared one $99 Photopass CD!) We showered and changed and made sandwiches and packed a bag for our outing. Then I went to get the minivan from the parking ramp while the rest of the group (Dug, Izzy, Nana, and Papa) waited at the main entrance for me to pick them up. Hawaii Nautical does offer a free shuttle from Aulani to port, but we chose to drive because I wanted to make sure that Izzy was safely in a car seat (and I’d driven this before and knew it wasn’t too bad of a drive). We left the room a bit later than planned, but still okay…or so we thought. :rolleyes1

Up next: Will we miss the boat? :boat:
 
A Whale of a Time

So, I went to the parking garage to retrieve our minivan and pick everyone up, a little bit later than we intended to leave. Naturally, that means this is the one time I have a bizarre parking garage delay. :rolleyes: I got to the exit and there was a long line of vehicles and nobody was going anywhere. :drive: I don’t know what exactly was going on, but the vehicle at the exit was apparently having issues getting out of the ramp. They tried and tried and tried and then tried some more. And we were all trapped in line behind them. :headache: Eventually, after who knows how much time went by, we all backed up and let the vehicle move back from the gate while we all finally got out.

While I was trying to get to everyone, they were pretty bored in the lobby. Looks like Dug took some Aulani pictures, though:





Then I pulled around to pick up everyone and they were all frustrated at waiting so long too. :sad2: Thankfully, I knew the way, but we were really going to be pushing it to arrive on time. :scared: In fact, Dug plugged it into his phone and the ETA was 1:34pm…for a 1:30pm departure. So, he gave them a call as we made our way there (as we were hitting every red light, of course :headache:). They said it wasn’t a problem if we were there a little later than the shuttle, but we should make sure to arrive by 1:20pm. Hahaha, what?! :eek: I think that was like a few minutes from then and would have been physically impossible. As it was, I may have driven through some 35 mph zones at 65, hoping Nana and Papa (or the authorities) wouldn’t notice :ssst: (they were stretches that seemed like interstate driving, not residential areas or anything). I probably shouldn’t admit to that, but I was definitely pulling out my old sports car driving skills with the minivan that afternoon. :drive:

We pulled into a parking spot at the dock at 1:29pm, thanks to my driving skills. :thumbsup2 We were all pretty nervous and hoping for the best…and then saw that the shuttle bus had literally JUST dropped off passengers and they were walking down to the boat. We were golden! :cool1: Jumped out of the minivan and joined them (we’d prepaid) and nobody blinked an eye. Whew!!! (We had no other available time to do this cruise on this trip, so it wouldn’t have worked to re-schedule it – we had to get to this one...so glad we did).

Hello, lovely boat:



We all removed our shoes (barefoot cruise) and boarded:



As you can see, they had some snacks out. I think our tickets included two drinks each, but they told us, “Shhhh, we’re just going to do an open bar on this one.” I can’t remember why (maybe low crowds?), but cool with me. :goodvibes They mentioned some special drink they had, so I ordered one of those and they had already run out of champagne and couldn’t make it. :sad1: I got a Pina Colada (and later a Diet Coke) instead. I really didn’t take advantage of the open bar, as I was running around with Izzy and watching whales (and had to drive us all back).

We all headed up on deck and Dug took some video. Unless you just want to watch the ocean go by, you might want to forward it up to about 1:10 to see roughly a minute and a half of whale appearances in the distance:


We actually ended up following this pair of whales for most of the ride. It was pretty amazing and we saw lots of whale tails, but also some impressive jumps. So cool! We didn’t get the world’s best photos, but I’ll share what we have. First, you can see a splash up there:



Izzy and I sat on the net in front for quite a bit of the journey:



Whale over there:





I guess she was checking if there were any whales under the boat :rotfl::



Oooh, cool:





A look at our fellow whale chasers and a crew member:



Enjoying the ocean:



That crew member came over and let Izzy borrow a toy whale they had:



She loved that! Izzy named the whale “Sabatna” and made up a story that she was looking for her baby whale. Cute! :cutie:

Another whale sighting over there:



I love that blue water!!! :cloud9:

Izzy trying to be a big kid at the rail:



Izzy and I made a lap or two around the boat and ran into Nana and Papa towards the back. They were having a good time and Nana was taking tons of photos (I don’t have hers, but I bet she has some good ones.) They enjoyed this catamaran ride much more than the previous one…it was nice and smooth and great sightings.

Another one of the beautiful blue water:



And then the captain decided to let Izzy get in his chair:





We made our way back to the net in front and I guess it was naptime:





Izzy really got a kick out of the whales at first, but I think after a while it got boring for her. Not me, though, I was keeping a pretty good eye out:



She was amusing herself:







Then we looped back for another visit with Nana and Papa. They seemed very relaxed and happy. I think Izzy gave Papa a good tickle. :laughing:

We even spotted Dug taking a break inside:



Towards the end, when we had to leave our whale friends and return, I think we all gathered inside and had some of the snacks before docking.

BUT, don’t worry, I have more pictures from the catamaran ride! :woohoo: Since I was using the water camera and Dug was using his phone, they didn’t all mix together right on the computer, so I still have Dug’s pictures to post and, frankly, they are better than my one-handed-with-kid-on-me shots. :lmao: I’ll put them in the next post.

Continued in next post…
 
Continued from previous post…

I think this is looking back towards the parking lot as we sailed out to sea:



Me in the drink line :drinking1:



On the deck:



Whale time:





Me and Izzy:



Whale sighting:



Dug zoomed in on his best picture :lovestruc:



I can’t tell you how cool it was to see those breaches in person! They were much closer than phone pictures appear. Very, very cool and memorable! pixiedust:

More pics:







Me and Izzy still down there:



More whale:







Dug’s mom taking pictures:



You can see a little blowhole spray:





Back inside at the end:



Goodbye, boat, we had a lovely time :wave2::



This was a really great experience and I would do it again in a heartbeat. :love:

Up next: It’s happy hour at Monkeypod!
 
Wow that whale cruise looks amazing! Glad you all enjoyed it, and of course made it there in time!
 
Loved the pool update. Everything you and Izzy did sounded like so much fun. You can really spend a whole day at the pool area at Aulani, can't you?

Whew, glad you made it to the whale watching cruise in time! That netting looked like a pretty fun place to sit. I've been on my fair share of boats in my life (gotta love growing up a Floridian) but I don't think I've ever seen that before. I think that would be a little more fun than a glass bottom boat, and since you weren't allowed to wear shoes on the boat...no risk of a toddler sticking a foot through the hole and losing a shoe.:rotfl2:
 
Do you know if they have life vest available for the little ones on the boat?
 
I'm so jealous of your whale watching! I wanted to go while we were in Kauai but Kauai does not have any tours that allow kids under 3 and Arthur was only 20 months old!
 
Your boat ride looked amazing!!! What great pictures!

I'm glad you made it in time :scared: (don't all of us speed a little when we're running behind?! :rolleyes1 ). I'm glad the boat ride went so well and that everyone enjoyed it!
 
The pool area looks like so much fun! I didn't think I liked water slides, but just got back from staying at the Beach Club and Rory and I went down the pirate ship slide about 100 times - we had a blast. Glad Izzy had a fun time at the pool!

Your whale watching cruise looks great. Did you mention the name of the company you used (I may have missed it!)? Nice driving skills to get you there on time!
 
What a great first 24 hours at Aulani. The rooms look great although I'm sure that 2 bedroom was pretty awesome! I'm surprised Izzy would still sleep in the PnP! How fun she could use the kids club and wanted to have dinner there (although I'm sure that phone call made you a little worried for a bit - not that she would have been bad at dinner though). DInner looks amazing! That mozzarella looks fresh.

The pool morning and catamaran afternoon just sound perfect!! Definitely need to plan Aulani once Emma is 3 :-D glad Izzy enjoyed the kid's areas at the pool and slides and all that this time, and the raft slide looks like fun too. It is a lot of work carrying a 2 person slide up and dealing with a toddler! I remember that well from May 2015 at Blizzard Beach. Phew!

Odd they'd feature drinks on the catamaran ride then not have the ingredients at the beginning! LOL! Glad it was awesome though and you made it in time.
 
The pool area at Aulani looks amazing! Glad you were all able to enjoy it!
Glad you made your whale watching boat! We did a similar tour in Alaska and loved it!
 

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