Lama pa'ipa'i on the Lanai – an Aulani TR -Aloha and Mahalo Aulani! Link to PTR 11/5

[annmarieda]

I love that you got reservations for the ladies at GFTR. So fun!

Your other ADRs are all at great places...but wow!!! so complicated. I am so sorry.

I will say I am super jealous that even seeing Osborne lights is an option for you...even if it is a complicated one. We will JUST miss it. I mean... I suppose I could shift our dates and arrive early...ending our trip with the race. But I think overall it works better to stay after the race.

 

[eandesmom]

First off Cynthia, I want to say how sorry I am for not posting much lately. School ended today and the last few weeks were CRAZY.
I did read though.

I totally get how those last few weeks are!

Now all those ADRs make my head spin. You are one BRAVE lady to take on the task!
Hope everything you still need to do works out in your favour.

Forgot ..... brilliant idea to do the GF tea for the ladies!

I had planned on doing the tea and then just kind of forgot but it was probably for the best, easier to get things booked and then figure out where and how it fit in. Same thing with Harmony Barbershop although booking that was ridiculously complicated. Still better than waiting in line but UGH. Glad I did it though.

yep all that makes sense to me.


im so lost

all i can say is good luck

We will need luck I am sure! All planning aside we will have to survive the crowds, tranportation and teen boys!

Your enthusiasm is inspiring. I'd seriously be drinking while trying to figure this all out. You are one organized chickie!


I can't believe you had to get up so early yesterday, your day off. Hope you had a great day after.

Well going for a run after it was all done actually did help kind of reset the day, it was a bit of a rough morning to be sure. We had a nice 4th overall and I'm mostly not working today although I have called Disney twice now, first for the tea and then for the barber shop

Debating calling about the Flying Fish ressie but have to find that phone number as it's not through Disney Dining.

Yep, me too. We used a TA for DCL the first time, and I found it frustrating that I couldn't log in and check on things or reserve things until the TA got all the paperwork to me. It was convenient that she booked our flights, and hotel room at the Hyatt and our transport for us. I believe she got all of that for just $200 each above the posted price on the DCL website, so it was an awesome deal - but I haven't seen it that good since.

If we keep our DCL Magic cruise I will likely transfer it over but not until pretty close to the PIF date. There are a few times where a TA truly has saved us $$ or come up with ideas we wouldn't have had on our own but for the most part I can do better myself.

 

[eandesmom]

I love that you got reservations for the ladies at GFTR. So fun!

I am very excited for this one, I loved it with Kendall and Jeff's mom and it will be so nice to do it with my mom and sisters and we will get to see the GF all decorated, without kids! Perfect.

Your other ADRs are all at great places...but wow!!! so complicated. I am so sorry.

I am pretty pleased with the overall lineup. Still need to get a few more tables for my comfort level but overall it's not too bad. I went ahead and booked the barbershop and am glad I did. It was a pita to book (there are only 3 stools!) but the boys will want it and having a reservation versus walk up will avoid meltdowns, frustrations and a lot of lost time.

However, my big worry is I forget to cancel something or reduce something that has a CC hold...

I will say I am super jealous that even seeing Osborne lights is an option for you...even if it is a complicated one. We will JUST miss it. I mean... I suppose I could shift our dates and arrive early...ending our trip with the race. But I think overall it works better to stay after the race.

Well I would think you'd be able to enjoy the parks a lot more if it's after the race for sure. I can't fathom that they are really going to close DHS at 10pm on the 29th and 30th and then 7pm for the rest of our trip. I really really hope that changes or we are going to have to shoehorn the lights in, see them from basically 6-6:30 and then go straight to dinner and pray an hour from the park to dinner works. Which it should at it will be a straight park to resort bus but I don't like feeling rushed. I'd love to know we could go back late one night after dinner and just stroll through them so hopefully the hours will change.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

We will need luck I am sure! All planning aside we will have to survive the crowds, tranportation and teen boys!

well i can help you with that one.

if the TEEN boys become a problem on vacation, just lose them in the CROWDS after you get off the TRANSPORTATION.

 

[annmarieda]

OH! I totally forgot that the GVTR would mean that you would be at GF for the christmas decorations!!! That is sooo cool!!!

And as for the DHS times that they are closing... I was surprised in February by how early every park closed. It seemed like a new thing to me... I mean we had been there in Feb and March before and I didn't remember the 7pm closing times....

 

[eandesmom]

well i can help you with that one.

if the TEEN boys become a problem on vacation, just lose them in the CROWDS after you get off the TRANSPORTATION.

Except said teens would LOVE that Their dream is to be allowed to just roam the parks without us.

And at that time of year, with those crowds, no way Jose.

OH! I totally forgot that the GVTR would mean that you would be at GF for the christmas decorations!!! That is sooo cool!!!

I know! I am so excited.

And as for the DHS times that they are closing... I was surprised in February by how early every park closed. It seemed like a new thing to me... I mean we had been there in Feb and March before and I didn't remember the 7pm closing times....

I remember that from our Feb 2009 trip, it was crazy early which was a big bummer on non EMH nights. They did adjust some like 1-2 weeks before as it was clear the crowds would be high. With it being NYE week it just makes no sense to me at all, I mean they know it will be at capacity all week! Last years hours went later so I am really hoping that changes.

 

[eandesmom]

Having looked in on the fitness center and agreeing we had no intention of using it this trip, we headed up to our room to fill up our refillable mugs with a little something to take down to the pool. YAY for Pool drinks!

Drinks in hand we looked for a spot and decided to go near the fire pit. Which might seem like an odd spot but it’s a pretty neat little alcove between the main pool and the beach where they do the nightly storytelling.









It was also completely deserted, a plus for us. It had a lovely view (albeit a little blocked by all the fabulous fake lava rocks around us), was amazingly absent of pool noise and we lounged, enjoying the sound of the surf and music from Off the Hook which drifted down. We also started inhaling our various trail mixes. Me with the Ahola tropical mix and Jeff with his Costco trail mix. Seriously, that stuff is like crack. SO good. Ok, not that I've ever had crack and that's probably a very un PC expression that I need to change, but wow was it addicting. After about 30 minutes of reading, sipping and snacking we were ready to cool off. Where did we go? Why into the lazy river of course. 2 floats around the river and we decided that we really should go up and make lunch.

Jeff thought it would be fun to pose a bar picture



Very funny dude, now make me some lunch!



If you think that trail mix was addicting, if you ever go to Hawaii, try these chips.


OMG. SO good

We have a different version of Maui Onion chips that you can buy here but these are so much better. And the ones here are quite good!
Lunch with a view





No idea why I felt the need to use the tray, we didn't do that again.
Bellies full after a yummy lunch, we went back down. Where? Why to the lazy river of course! Shocker.

I'd thought we did the double tube slide the night before but according my notes, it was actually now that we did it for the first time. I went flying out of that thing. Not very graceful at all but lots of fun. Another float around the river and we were cooled off and happy so of course, we went a-lounging again! (see a theme here?) This time we headed a little bit to the left of where we'd been at the firepit, there is a whole area full of loungers in front of 'AMA'AMA.

Not quite as much fake lava rock blocking our view. It's not all that close to the pool (not far either) and has a great view of the beach. For an adult only spot it was perfect but wouldn't be as good if you were trying to keep an eye on kids.



Jeff decided that we had been here well over 24 hours and that it was pathetic he hadn't been in the ocean yet.

So off he went, Surf's up Jeff! Go catch a wave!



Me?

I took a nap. I was far too lazy and relaxed to get all salty and sandy. LOL!

And enjoyed the view







Where is Jeff?



Out there somewhere. Nice wife huh, keeping track of him. Nice nap though!

Continued in next post

 

[eandesmom]

Continued from previous

After yet another hour of pure laziness well, it was happy hour! We thought it might be fun to head next door to the JW and see what they might have. Id heard about the Martriott having a good HH. As we started to walk over there there we realized that our Aulani Key Cards wouldn't get us very far and that we might actually need more than a wristband. Real money, ID's and a quick change of clothes later we headed next door. Only to find...NO Happy Hour! There was a pool bar and a lounge up a floor from the pool that was fully inside. No thanks! Apparently my notes were referring to the OTHER Marriott at Ko Olina, which was farther than we felt like walking. Drat. My notes did mention that Monkeypod had a good happy hour and it went until 5:30. With that in mind we decided to walk across the street instead, by way of cutting through the JW. I will say that the pool area was quite nice. Not Aulani nice but certainly lovely enough. Clearly I didn't take any pictures, sorry about that! Lame options in the bar area though and the inside was a little bit of a maze to get out of, lots of high end shops (no thanks) but we finally made it out and across the street and to Monkeypod with&

3 minutes to spare.

They had live music on the patio but no empty tables and in the interest of being able to order before HH ended...we opted for the (last 2 stools!) bar and checked out the menu



Jeffs choice. The Monkeypod Mai Tai.



My choice. The Pod Thai.



Aren't they pretty?



They tasted quite good too!

It is a cool bar, and a happening place!





We could hear the live music although it didn't last long as happy hour was over (at least over after we got our orders in lol!)

All you get is pictures from my bar stool, I didn't make much of an effort to capture the whole place, sorry!



As we sipped our drinks, happy with the happy hour prices, our happy hour appetizer arrived..something new to Jeff.

Truffle Fries!



Can you say YUM?

YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is a great little happy hour menu! Happy with our treats we headed back home to see what kind of sunset we might see.

I see&..

The sun







And a bit old resort in my way!



I'd like to be in one of those penthouses over there for this





And with that it went behind the JW. It was still pretty even if we didn't really get to see it "set".

Up next

A Starlit Hui and back to Monkeypod!

Hui, Hula and Hops

 

[annmarieda]

Love the fact you got a nap in!

Your good as crack comment had me I too should be careful!!! I maybe use that phrase a bit too much. And... like you I have no point of reference....

Love your toes... and I am a bit jealous. My toes do not look so pretty... runnig has taken its tole.

Lunch looks great. A nice relaxing one! Your entire day looks relaxing!!!

 

[micandminforever]

I fill your pain of trying to plan a trip for a group. I planned a trip for 14 last year, that before it ended dropped to 10. I made the ADR's for 14 and then the wonderful cm's worked with me to reduce the number without losing the ADR. I even had a CRT ADR that they had to send me to special services to rebook and refund, but they were able to do it. I found it was easier to drop people than to add people.

We found that after Jan. 1st the crowd dropped, and the morning of Jan 1st the crowd started out slow and did not buildup to afternoon. We have gone the week after Jan. 1st two times and have enjoyed the christmas decorations without the big crowds.

 

[Leshaface]

You guys made excellent use of the lazy river so far! And no ocean for you? I get it. I wouldn't want my freshly pedicured toes to be messed up either

Great that you guys made it just in time for HH. The drinks look so delicious and fancy! Truffle fries...OMGosh! The first time i've ever had them was at a restaurant in San Francisco and they were ridiculously amazing!!!

 

[MEK]

This was all SO on my brain last night (plus mom and I were chatting about it a lot) that as I was saying goodbye to my parents after the 4th of July fireworks last night I wished my dad a Happy New Year

That is SO something I would do! Thanks for the chuckle!

I did crunch a few numbers, looking at TIW versus DDP now that we have some ressies on the books and DDP may actually make more sense for us this trip. We will see but it comes awfully close to a wash on the DDP and it does make life easy and with 2 of our days being blackouts, TIW doesn't pay off as much as it would otherwise. We could get both, FF would probably make TIW break even as that will be OOP and then we'd get the discount on drinks etc the other non blackout nights but...I will get an AP discount at FF so then again, maybe that's enough.

Well, I will have TIW for May so we are set there. And it makes me feels even better that I purchased it because I am not completely sure that Denny and I even broke even for June. But we definitely will with our first ADR for 10 in October. Denny's brother, SIL, and entire family are meeting us at Crystal Palace for breakfast. They are getting the QS dining plan because of the size of variety of their group.

Glad you are chipping away at the old ADRs for NY's. Next you can start working on our May ADRs. Just sayin'!

 

[MEK]

Almost missed the actual update.

Love the toe shot!

Big Swell IPA. Right on!

Sammies on the verandah with that view is definitely a winner.

 

[englishrose47]

Great Update !!Yay for a relaxing time and then Happy hour !!!Know what you mean about getting so into planning you forget what time of the year it really is

 

[rentayenta]

Love this update. The HH drinks and truffle fries look awesome and it looks like a really nice bar.

Great looking lunch too. You're so motivated. My lazy butt would have stayed by the pool and ordered food even after going to the store. I've got to follow your lead.

I'm with MEK, whenever you're ready to work on May's ADRs, I'm good too.

References to crack being addictive are still PC, no worries.

Nice bar shot too. You like the rum eh?

 

[scottny]

Wow that was a lot of work with the ADR’s. Glad you got it worked out.
I booked all my dining online and got a email for all of them.
It looks more formal with the tray. LOL
Those drinks at the monkey place did look good.

 

[CarolynK]

OK, so I am commenting on this TR for the first time, we were away for a couple of weeks. I'm sure you missed me! Anyway, a few comments:

--we went to Aulani over winter break in 2011 and flew Alaska Air for the first time, loved it - kinda reminiscent of the now-defunct but beloved Midwest Air (based out of Milwaukee), I do miss them...
--regarding being "cheap" and carrying your own bags - I think it's perfectly fine in a Disney hotel, especially a DVC hotel (we do it all the time). At a Hyatt in Paris, it's a little bit more unusual, but that didn't stop us from doing it!! I mean, we had 2 rollers and 2 smaller bags for 4 people. Why do I need to tip someone for that?!
--love your view, despite the JW in the way...
--loved the Kapolei Safeway; Safeway is my home store, love those gas rewards!
--never been to a spa, but we've never traveled without kids so maybe someday...
--gresat shot of the "bar" in your room! Gotta have your own stash...Sauvignon Blanc is my fav white! We're partial to New Zealand ones.
--your update of the NYE trip, WOW. You are SO organized. We actually have been to WDW a few times for NYE (and this upcoming one as well) and 12/31 has become a definite "eat in the room" night for us. It's just too crazy for our taste, but I'm sure it will be really festive with a group like yours!

Love your pictures, looking forward to more!

 

[franandaj]

I still use the "crack" comparison even though I have no reference point.

The drinks at the Monkey Bar looked pretty good!

I would have used the trays the whole time. I'm into the whole presentation thing and making us feel special since I rarely do it at home. The only time is breakfast in bed.

The sunset looked great!

 

[eandesmom]

Love the fact you got a nap in!

I am so NOT a napper, really the only time I can actually do it is on a lounger in the sun. Or on a plane, that's about it. It was lovely!!

Your good as crack comment had me I too should be careful!!! I maybe use that phrase a bit too much. And... like you I have no point of reference....

I definitely use it too much and maybe I shouldn't worry about offending real crack addicts when I do it but it did occur to me that it probably really isn't PC.

Love your toes... and I am a bit jealous. My toes do not look so pretty... runnig has taken its tole.

Knock on something but so far I haven't had that issue. I know my sister does as does Jeff. Maybe it's the forefront strike? Or the fact I am running a lot less than you. But...I made it 5.5 miles today so that was pretty cool and it included my hill..and I didn't die! LOL.

Lunch looks great. A nice relaxing one! Your entire day looks relaxing!!!

The entire day was...it continues! Seriously we were absolute BUMS the first 2 days of this trip. That does change...

I fill your pain of trying to plan a trip for a group. I planned a trip for 14 last year, that before it ended dropped to 10. I made the ADR's for 14 and then the wonderful cm's worked with me to reduce the number without losing the ADR. I even had a CRT ADR that they had to send me to special services to rebook and refund, but they were able to do it. I found it was easier to drop people than to add people.

That is my hope, hence all the large group bookings. Worst case is 17 and I figure adding one won't be an issue but more than that will be. Once people actually figure out their dates it may change things too.

We found that after Jan. 1st the crowd dropped, and the morning of Jan 1st the crowd started out slow and did not buildup to afternoon. We have gone the week after Jan. 1st two times and have enjoyed the christmas decorations without the big crowds.

I am really hoping that is the case for our trip as well and tried to time it as late as possible but still get there in time for CP and NYE.

You guys made excellent use of the lazy river so far! And no ocean for you? I get it. I wouldn't want my freshly pedicured toes to be messed up either

LOL! That isn't why I didn't go in the ocean at that moment, I promise I do later and more than once. I was just more interested in the nap and not getting salty. It is pretty funny just how much we were in that lazy river as 2 adults without kids, we absolutely loved it!

Great that you guys made it just in time for HH. The drinks look so delicious and fancy! Truffle fries...OMGosh! The first time i've ever had them was at a restaurant in San Francisco and they were ridiculously amazing!!!

The HH prices were pretty good all things considered. Not cheap but much more palatable and oh, those fries!

That is SO something I would do! Thanks for the chuckle!

Jeff blamed it on the wine I'd had but seriously, I'd been online at 6am booking NYE, chatting about it all night with my mom and then there WERE fireworks. I don't think it was the wine. Although that probably didn't help.

Well, I will have TIW for May so we are set there. And it makes me feels even better that I purchased it because I am not completely sure that Denny and I even broke even for June. But we definitely will with our first ADR for 10 in October. Denny's brother, SIL, and entire family are meeting us at Crystal Palace for breakfast. They are getting the QS dining plan because of the size of variety of their group.

CP alone will save a bundle! It would pencil better for us where we not there over blackout days but it will also come down to whether everyone in our villa is up for it as you can't split it up as you know. We could however just do it for one, or the other, of the split stay bookings so that is an option as well.

Glad you are chipping away at the old ADRs for NY's. Next you can start working on our May ADRs. Just sayin'!

LOL! Happy to do so...in what is that, Nov?

Almost missed the actual update.

Love the toe shot!

Big Swell IPA. Right on!

Sammies on the verandah with that view is definitely a winner.

Gotta have a toe shot! Jeff drank the Big Swell most of the trip, it is darn tasty. As you know I"ve largely given up beer so I didn't have any but did have a couple of sips of other ones he tried while we were out. I will say, and he'd agree that it's even better on tap...which they have at Monkeypod...and at Off the Hook...and O'leo...

 

[englishrose47]

No Toe shots for me !! Not with my ugly feet !!!And this from the Pole dancing Grannie !!!