My No Pre-Trip Planning Spring Break 2017 all Aulani trip

[kdonnel]

We are lucky in that this will be our forth trip to Hawaii. The first involved a good deal of planning and each subsequent trip has resulted in less and less planning. I really hate how much planning you have to do for WDW trips now and it was a pain having to plan for Hawaii. I long for the days when we walked to the resort bus stop and got on the first theme park bus to appear, that would be our park for the day.

This will be our first trip involving just a single island and a single Hawaii hotel.

This is possible our last spring break as a full family. My daughter will be dual enrolled next year and will have two spring breaks that do not align, one for her college classes and one for her high school classes. My kids are getting old and I am getting sad.

Here are our plans:
March 31st - Pack then check in to the Renaissance Concourse Atlanta Airport Hotel and watch the planes take off and land.

April 1st - Board our 8am flight and arrive in HNL at 3:30ish pm. Get the rental car, stop at Lenoards on the way to Aulani. Have a shave ice at Aulani(They are ok but not as good as elsewhere), go to Costco and hope they still have the cheese breakfast pastries made on a ring of Kings Hawaiian rolls, relax.

April 2nd - Eat Malasadas, have a shave ice, explore something if we feel like it, relax.

April 3rd - Eat Malasadas, have a shave ice, explore something if we feel like it, relax. Have a sunset dinner at Ama Ama, the only pre-planned activity.

April 4th - Eat Malasadas, have a shave ice, explore something if we feel like it, relax.

April 5th - Eat Malasadas, have a shave ice, explore something if we feel like it, relax.

April 6th - Eat Malasadas, have a shave ice, explore something if we feel like it, relax.

April 7th - Eat Malasadas, have a shave ice, explore something if we feel like it, relax.

April 8th - Pack, Relax, kill time until our 10:50pm flight home

April 9th - Arrive home extremely tried and grumpy that my wife and I both have work tomorrow and the kids both have school.

Somewhere in there my wife wants to find somewhere really dark and take some night sky pictures. I want to climb Diamond Head as we haven't done that yet. The kids want to go back to Waimea Bay and the North Shore.

 

[alohamom]

@kdonnel best no-pre trip report ever! Sounds like my kind of planning LOL-I am totally jealous.

 

[buffettgirl]

sounds perfect.

If you want to go star gazing and photo graph that, go up towards the Dillingham airfield area. There are a bunch of small beaches up there, but almost no ambient light. Sunset is marginal there (kaena point is in the way) but pretty anyway. If you want sunset sky pictures, wait for a day when it seems hazy - vog - you'll have amazing sky pictures.

 

[kdonnel]

sounds perfect.

If you want to go star gazing and photo graph that, go up towards the Dillingham airfield area. There are a bunch of small beaches up there, but almost no ambient light. Sunset is marginal there (kaena point is in the way) but pretty anyway. If you want sunset sky pictures, wait for a day when it seems hazy - vog - you'll have amazing sky pictures.

That's exactly where we were planning to go! I didn't remember there being a lot of artificial light there. Thanks for the confirmation.

 

[Donalyn]

I echo the frustration with planning a WDW trip these days.

We will be at Aulani for three nights during your time there. It is our first trip and we are splitting between islands, so i've done alot of planning. But your time sounds great!

 

[kdonnel]

I did remember one more item we want to try to do and that is swim in Robin Masters(Magnum PI tv show) turtle pond.

We timed it wrong once before and got to the nearest beach park at high tide. This one will require a bit of planning once there to accomplish. But we can always put it off and use it as an excuse to visit again.

 

[alohamom]

I did remember one more item we want to try to do and that is swim in Robin Masters(Magnum PI tv show) turtle pond.

We timed it wrong once before and got to the nearest beach park at high tide. This one will require a bit of planning once there to accomplish. But we can always put it off and use it as an excuse to visit again.

Hahaha, we did it! We have pics of the kids in front of the gates and then we walked around thru the water to see the ocean side of the estate.

 

[cgattis]

sounds perfect.

If you want to go star gazing and photo graph that, go up towards the Dillingham airfield area. There are a bunch of small beaches up there, but almost no ambient light. Sunset is marginal there (kaena point is in the way) but pretty anyway. If you want sunset sky pictures, wait for a day when it seems hazy - vog - you'll have amazing sky pictures.

Here, @kdonnel let me help with your planning that day...

April xth - Eat Malasadas ON THE BEACH, have a shave ice ON THE BEACH, take night pictures of something if we feel like it, relax.

Hope that doesn't add too much go-go-go to your trip!! I'm building in three days like that, but maybe one day I'll get a whole trip's worth too!

 

[kdonnel]

Well now that I-85 is closed indefinitely, I guess I have to plan how to get to the airport. Glad we are spending the night before our flight at a hotel near the airport. We can take our time getting there tomorrow. We will need our patience.

 

[alohamom]

Well now that I-85 is closed indefinitely, I guess I have to plan how to get to the airport. Glad we are spending the night before our flight at a hotel near the airport. We can take our time getting there tomorrow. We will need our patience.

WHOA-that is awful! You were smart to have the airport hotel but I cannot even begin to imagine the commuter chaos! Safe travels...

 

[cgattis]

Well now that I-85 is closed indefinitely, I guess I have to plan how to get to the airport. Glad we are spending the night before our flight at a hotel near the airport. We can take our time getting there tomorrow. We will need our patience.

Yeah we saw that yesterday; your planning definitely paid off. One sleep to go! Hope you have a great trip!! Alooooooha!!!!!!

 

[kdonnel]

I am lucky in that my regular daily commute is not effected by the collapse.

 

[alohamom]

my understanding is that the fire underneath the elevated roadway caused the collapse but is there any news of what caused the fire?

 

[kdonnel]

my understanding is that the fire underneath the elevated roadway caused the collapse but is there any news of what caused the fire?

I don't think they have determined the cause but the fuel was spools and spools of pvc conduit stored under the road.

 

[DisneyWorldbuff]

Have a great trip! We hiked up Diamond Head. It was an awesome view from the top.

 

[blondietink]

There should be little to no light on the beaches at Yokohama Bay. Usually not a soul in sight, even during the daylight hours and no houses or businesses. Last trip there weren't even any homeless camps!

 

[kdonnel]

Posting from 32,000 feet on our way from Atlanta to Dallas. Using my free hour of Gogo inflight internet via T-Mobile.

I am officially on vacation.

 

[cgattis]

Posting from 32,000 feet on our way from Atlanta to Dallas. Using my free hour of Gogo inflight internet via T-Mobile.

I am officially on vacation.

Have a fantastic trip!!! Come back and give us all the amazing details!

 

[kdonnel]

Arrived almost an hour early. That means no gate available. So close but still trapped on the plane.

AA 5 on the 767-300 was ok but only because we ended up in the mini cabin for main cabin extra. Two rows of 2 3 2 between two bulkheads. Folks in regular economy looked uncomfortable at best.

American did serve a free meal in coach, a box lunch with a ham and cheese wrap, chips, and some brookside chocolate covered fruit. Then later pretzels. Free food in coach is new for American. First class had two meals, served with real plates and metal silverware. Smelled good.

Ours was the new 1 2 1 first class. Didn't look like lay flat seats. They got noise cancellation headphones and a tablet. Everyone else, my family included, got over head monitors every 5 rows.

Still taxiing.

Mmmm. Malasadas soon.

 

[cgattis]

Won't be long now!! Looking forward to the daily malasada report!!