Operation Big Thunder: the Dole Whip Conspiracy COMPLETE

[FreezinRafiki]

Well, we’ve come to the end of another Trip Report.

As I’ve said before, you can visit beaches or cities or mountains or exotic places and get all sorts of unique experiences, but a Disney trip is like a vacation inside imagination itself.

And yet you walked right by "Journey into Imagination". Ironic.

I must also say a special thanks to our Mysterious Benefactor, without whom we’d never have been able to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, experience the magic of that resort, and cross another item off our bucket list. Barry and Bambi, thanks for being amazing friends. And DVC owners. And for having a baby at just the right time. But mostly for being amazing friends.

You are most welcome. Besides, if we would have not helped you out, I never would have learned your secret. And as you saw from your Christmas Card, knowledge in the wrong hands (mine) is a very dangerous thing.

For 2013, we’ve decided to try and conquer one of the harder-to-reach states on the list. Julie and I will be celebrating our 15th anniversary in late June, so we wanted to do something special. So we decided to shoot for the moon. However, travel to the moon is still not what I would call cost effective, so we lowered our sights a bit. In mid-June, we will be heading to…

???

Hawaii!

Oh. Yeah. That's a fine choice too. You know. Whatever.

And we’re taking the kids with us!

Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? I have to go potty. Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?

Secondly, we had been saving frequent-flier miles since we’d been married and now had enough for 3 free round-trip tickets

So it's you, Julie, and....pick your favorite.

I’m willing to drive my Pontiac POS a little longer if we can get to see more islands.

I'm confused as to how you plan to use your POS to see the islands. Does it float? Turn into a hydrofoil? Fire torpedoes? If not, I can hook you up with my guy. We can make that happen.

Thanks!!!!

You're very welcome.

 

[eandesmom]

Oh I love the picture!

I know what you’re thinking now: are we going to Aulani? As of right now, no. Friends of ours at our church are DVC owners and were willing to let us rent their points, but they called at the 7-month window and the 1-bedroom suites were already booked. There may have been some ocean-view suites available, but when I did the math on the cost of renting, it was just too much for our budget. We’re on the waitlist and hoping it works out, but it looks like we’ll probably have to make other plans.

I did look into their hotel rooms and you’ll never believe this, but they only allow 4 in a room. I have thought many times about conveniently forgetting the 3rd child when I make the reservation, but it won’t work here since everyone needs a wristband to use the water play area. I guess we could rent the royal suite at $1,100/night, but substitutes don’t make that much money.

I am surprised that they did 4 person rooms for the hotel, I would have assumed a daybed option, think it's crummy that they didn't. Keeping my fingers crossed on your waitlist.

2 days on the big island, Hawaii: we couldn’t pass up the chance to see Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (and I don’t think my kids would have let me skip it anyway). I dearly hope we get to see an actual lava flow. And I’d also like to see Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park (you pronounce it just as it’s written) and try and get to both a black sand beach and the southernmost point in the U.S.

You can do volcano national, the black sand and southernmost point in a day. It is a LONG day and make sure you have food at your condo when you get back as the dining spots are few and far between and close early. Do you have a place in the Kona area yet? We loved the condo we rented, I can PM you the info if you'd like. Great deal with a AAA discount.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Congrats on even being allowed to pull off a stunt like that one.
It’s all I can do to get a week and 1 day.

Well, I didn't say they'd be super-thrilled about it. But they give us the annual leave, and I am blessed enough that they usually don't give me too much of a hard time when I use it.

My overlords might beg to differ on that assessment.

I can only hope that someday they grow a soul. Life is so much more than turning a profit.

That’s a fabulous list. Actually, it aligns pretty much up to my Hawaii bucket list (you’ll just be get there a whole lot sooner then I will).

I just hope we can pull it off. It's a massive undertaking, that's for sure. No way we could have done it without all of these factors coming together.

Be sure to have them add the beans when you order up the shaved ice.

I've never been much of a fan of beans. Not sure I could stomach having them in my dessert.

I hope so!
It wouldn’t be much of a journey otherwise now would it?

True dat.

I triple dog dare you!

Whoa. You committed a slight breach of etiquette by skipping the Triple Dare and going straight to the Triple Dog Dare.

Wouldn’t have missed it for the world sir!
Thanks for allowing us to travel along.

Allowing you? I wouldn't be here unless you voluntarily came along for the ride! (and these would be much less fun without the company)

 

[shan23877]

This basically is the PTR! I'm not sure how much more I could really say between now and the trip. But if anyone has ideas on places to eat, visit, or get good deals on hotels or rental cars, I'm all ears.

You should check out Pkondz's Hawaii TR. He did tons of research, so they knew all the local places to eat, hike, surf etc. I think you'd find it really helpful.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Bravo Sir. Well done.

If only all TR's could be this entertaining and well written.

Thanks for letting me tag along - and for my 1 point! I will cherish it forever!

Thanks Scott! I appreciate you reading my drivel!

Don't spend all of your points in one place, ok?

I love the pictures of your kids. It's amazing to see how much the grow and change.

I'm stunned at how fast they've grown up. It's hard to even remember them as toddlers anymore.

Hawaii sounds so super fabulous. I hope the planning continues to go and I really hope you waitlist comes through. Hey - you never know.

We at least had to try, right? If we don't get it, it'll give us a reason to go back! (Maybe just Julie and me. Don't tell the kids.)

Take lots and lots and lots of pics. I hope I eventually get there.

Julie got a new camera lens for Christmas (don't worry, it's not a surprise). And a new 32 GB memory card.

for frequent flier miles. That's awesome. And yeah for family in Hawaii,

Every little bit helps!

Did you follow Saintstickets TR from Hawaii? If not, I'll post you a link

I did! He had some great tips in there.

LOOK AT THOSE CHEEKS!!!!!!!
They're all so SQUEEZABLE!!

Do you even remember when they were this tiny?

Still cute!

Wanna know how many days I would have to work to earn $1,100? Yeah....didn't think so.

Sadly, it's about the same as me.

And we need to get that stamp in our National Parks Passport!

I foresee us leaving it in the glove compartment of the van at the airport parking lot.

Well.....we originally were planning on going for our 10th anniversary. And then Scotty happened.

The nerve of that kid!

I dunno. I could be convinced.....with Aulani.

I'm trying...

 

[afwdwfan]

I foresee us leaving it in the glove compartment of the van at the airport parking lot.

Now that you've mentioned it, if that's it goes down, it is 100% your fault.

 

[Mrs. Knowitall]

???

Someday, Barry. Someday. And it might be sooner rather than later if you keep making those Inception Cookies.

Julie got a new camera lens for Christmas (don't worry, it's not a surprise). And a new 32 GB memory card.

Do you even remember when they were this tiny?

A little. I think we were really sleep deprived.

I foresee us leaving it in the glove compartment of the van at the airport parking lot.

You KNOW that's a distinct possibility.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

I'm still here, just a bit of a lurker. It was nice reading your TR - it gave me hope that we can pull off our surprise roadtrip to the World in September.

I'm glad you're still here! Thanks for reading along, and I hope your surprise goes off without a hitch! You'll have to report back on that one.

HOW EXCITING!!!! Hawaii next year. That is absolutely awesome. We went on our honeymoon all those years ago and loved it. We've thought about going back...but the expense with the wedding and grandbabies coming in the future deters us.

I definitely understand that. If Julie wasn't working this year, it wouldn't have happened. Period. Hope you get back there someday.

I thoroughly enjoyed your family trip again...it was awesome.

Thanks Kathy!

I hope you will be passing through Chicago again sometime soon.

Someday! We love Chicago. I can't imagine not going back. Apparently we also have to make our way through there and into Wisconsin for some reason or another.

So sorry to see your trip report end, but I'm excited for you about Hawaii!!! And jealous. We are still planning Hawaii for the end of July, but it will just be Oahu. I would really like to be able to go to the Big Island, but it's just not in the budget since we just paid off our Disney cruise for April.

Disney Cruise...Big Island...Disney Cruise...Big Island. Yeah, that's a tough call, definitely.

I vote for a PTR so that I can sneak some of your planning ideas for Oahu (since your To Do list looks about the same as mine there).

The plans honestly won't get much more detailed...we have this many days and here's what we want to see, so let's tick as many off as we can. I'm sure I'll group things together by locations. Feel free to PM me or bug me for ideas as we go, though!

We are at our 7-month mark for Aulani on Christmas Day and my fingers are crossed that we'll be able to get what we want.

Good luck! I hope you can get what you want. It sounds like they have more availability in the upper-end rooms; we just couldn't pay the freight for that.

Thanks again for keeping us all entertained and I think I speak for everyone when I say that we can't wait for your next report!

I really appreciate that.

I mostly lurk but have enjoyed following your trip reports. They remind me of something my husband would write if he took the time. As for Hawaii, well, I can't wait to read that trip report! Have a wonderful time. Go to the volcano early, we went on our honeymoon and went too late in the day to walk out to the lava flow. Princeville was by far our favorite.

Thanks for reading and for the tips! We'll try and get moving as early as we can. I think starting from East Coast time may help in that regard.

Just a heads-up, whenever I do write the TR, it'll probably be in the DISDads sub-group on the Family boards. Unless we get into Aulani there won't be a Disney portion, so I don't think I can post it here.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

And yet you walked right by "Journey into Imagination". Ironic.

It is, isn't it? We walked by that ride because we were looking for something imaginative instead.

You are most welcome. Besides, if we would have not helped you out, I never would have learned your secret. And as you saw from your Christmas Card, knowledge in the wrong hands (mine) is a very dangerous thing.

If revealing that information results in us getting a stay at AKL, I'll make that deal every time.

???

That was a very, very, very close 2nd on the list. Don't worry, Lambeau Field and the Machine Shed still rank highly on the must-see destinations for us.

Oh. Yeah. That's a fine choice too. You know. Whatever.

It was close. Really close. Hawaii's cheese isn't nearly as good.

Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? I have to go potty. Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?

(turns up volume in headphones)

So it's you, Julie, and....pick your favorite.

How can you say that? They're all my favorites.

Ok, fine. We'll take Dave.

I'm confused as to how you plan to use your POS to see the islands. Does it float? Turn into a hydrofoil? Fire torpedoes? If not, I can hook you up with my guy. We can make that happen.

But will it leak hydraulic fluid? That doesn't go over so well in the ocean.

You're very welcome.

 

[FreezinRafiki]

If revealing that information results in us getting a stay at AKL, I'll make that deal every time.

Hmmmmm.... I wonder what kind of secrets you'll give up for a stay in a Treehouse Villa...

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Oh I love the picture!

Want some more? Here are a few favorites:

I am surprised that they did 4 person rooms for the hotel, I would have assumed a daybed option, think it's crummy that they didn't. Keeping my fingers crossed on your waitlist.

I think so too, but you've all heard me rant enough times on that subject. Hopefully the waitlist will work out. If not, we're still in Hawaii. I won't complain.

You can do volcano national, the black sand and southernmost point in a day. It is a LONG day and make sure you have food at your condo when you get back as the dining spots are few and far between and close early. Do you have a place in the Kona area yet? We loved the condo we rented, I can PM you the info if you'd like. Great deal with a AAA discount.

I did make a reservation in Kona but I can still cancel it if I need to. I'll PM you. And thanks!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

You should check out Pkondz's Hawaii TR. He did tons of research, so they knew all the local places to eat, hike, surf etc. I think you'd find it really helpful.

I hadn't read that one! I'll have to go check it out. Thanks for the tip!

Now that you've mentioned it, if that's it goes down, it is 100% your fault.

No matter whose fault it really is, it'll be my fault anyway.

Someday, Barry. Someday. And it might be sooner rather than later if you keep making those Inception Cookies.

If only we'd known about those before we booked the tickets for Hawaii...

...we'd still go to Hawaii. But the choice would have been tougher.

A little. I think we were really sleep deprived.

I remember when we used to complain about being "tired" before we ever had kids. We were idiots.

You KNOW that's a distinct possibility.

Hmmmmm.... I wonder what kind of secrets you'll give up for a stay in a Treehouse Villa...

Julie's middle name?

 

[FreezinRafiki]

Someday, Barry. Someday. And it might be sooner rather than later if you keep making those Inception Cookies.

There will be a hot, fresh batch waiting for you. And you'll love them. Or maybe you'll just have a vague recollection of enjoying them. But you'll be sure that you did. I think.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

There will be a hot, fresh batch waiting for you. And you'll love them. Or maybe you'll just have a vague recollection of enjoying them. But you'll be sure that you did. I think.

Will we even remember Wisconsin? I guess that depends on how many local beers we sample.

 

[glennbo123]

First, my hearty congratulations to Rob on winning the movie-quote-spotting contest. A significant amount of responsibility goes along with the title, I can assure you. But I know you'll wear the mantle well.

Captain, thank you for such an enjoyable trip report. I loved reading along...such a fun and entertaining report, as always.

Your Hawaii plans sound like they're coming along great. I hope everything works out smoothly. And the moon might be a necessity....it isn't technically a state, but the U.S. flag does fly on it. Just sayin'.

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

I hadn't read that one! I'll have to go check it out. Thanks for the tip!

I hadn’t heard about it either, but from what I’ve read so far…
It’s a great read. I also say thanks for the sharing that tip
(and advise other to start looking into it as well).

No matter whose fault it really is, it'll be my fault anyway.

Is that not the basic definition of Fatherhood?

I remember when we used to complain about being "tired" before we ever had kids.
We were idiots.

First, my hearty congratulations to Rob on winning the movie-quote-spotting contest. A significant amount of responsibility goes along with the title, I can assure you. But I know you'll wear the mantle well.

In spite of my outward appearance, I shall try to run a neat inn.

Oh wait, you weren’t talking about the scripts for the Christmas play…
That was a different conversation I was having.


Now where was I? Oh yah, ahemmm….

And as the pursuee… you’re the dangdist pursuer that I’ve ever been pursued by.
(That’s not quite right either, is it?)

Actually, it just seems that we all have fairly similar taste in films (which may be more of an indictment then a compliment). You actually picked up on some of them a lot faster that I did, but I got to a couple of the updates with a bit of good timing on my side. So I had that going for me, which is nice.

I too am looking forward to The Captain’s next report and another chance to try and catch the lines spoken so boldly by the great characters in American literature (like those uttered by Victor… the Lone Ranger's nephew's horse).

Until then my friends…
stay Disney.


Ta-tah for now!

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

congrats on the trip coming up sounds like fun.

we stayed 2 weeks on maui last year with my sister in law who lives there.

if you want PM me and ill give you a few suggestions on things that locals enjoy...although having locals there helps you as well.

she also does surf lessons one on one, so if you want to dabble in that she could help you out.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

First, my hearty congratulations to Rob on winning the movie-quote-spotting contest. A significant amount of responsibility goes along with the title, I can assure you. But I know you'll wear the mantle well.

It is a lot of hard work, but the fame and fortune that come with it mean more than any added responsibility.

Captain, thank you for such an enjoyable trip report. I loved reading along...such a fun and entertaining report, as always.

Glenn, thanks for reading it. I've enjoyed getting to know you here, and I really appreciate the kind compliments.

Your Hawaii plans sound like they're coming along great. I hope everything works out smoothly. And the moon might be a necessity....it isn't technically a state, but the U.S. flag does fly on it. Just sayin'.

My plan is to wait for the DVC resort there and then rent points from one of you guys.

I hadn’t heard about it either, but from what I’ve read so far…
It’s a great read. I also say thanks for the sharing that tip
(and advise other to start looking into it as well).

From what I've read so far, it's highly entertaining. Although all of the Hawaii TR's have me scared to death about traffic in Honolulu.

Is that not the basic definition of Fatherhood?

Pretty much.

Actually, it just seems that we all have fairly similar taste in films (which may be more of an indictment then a compliment). You actually picked up on some of them a lot faster that I did, but I got to a couple of the updates with a bit of good timing on my side. So I had that going for me, which is nice.

As well as eternal consciousness. Actually, Glenn tells me he doesn't watch many of these movies. He's just fast on Google.

I too am looking forward to The Captain’s next report and another chance to try and catch the lines spoken so boldly by the great characters in American literature (like those uttered by Victor… the Lone Ranger's nephew's horse).

We'll have to see if I do the movie quote thing again. It's hard work trying to think of different quotes to use and then keep track of the points. But even if I don't do the game, I'm sure the quality of the writing will still keep everyone reading long with just as much interest.

congrats on the trip coming up sounds like fun.

we stayed 2 weeks on maui last year with my sister in law who lives there.

if you want PM me and ill give you a few suggestions on things that locals enjoy...although having locals there helps you as well.

she also does surf lessons one on one, so if you want to dabble in that she could help you out.

Thanks Dan! I might take you up on that.

 

[middlepat]

Hey there nemesis.

Haven't posted for a while due to work/life/work/sleep getting in the way.

On the Hawaii front, send me a message and I can give you a few tips on the Road to Hana and Maui. We're heading back again for spring break so I can provide some updated references after April 1st.

Of course I could also provide some additional references on April 1st, but I wouldn't trust those.

I will give 1 tip here, on the Road to Hana there are a couple of "must stops" that will add time to the day. When we did this last year we left Wailea at 7:30 am and got back at 7 pm. One of our favorites was the "parrot guy". He's fairly early in the drive but totally worth the stop. For $20 he takes your camera and poses the birds with you and does a full photo shoot. (see the back of our Christmas card for an example) Also the girls and I swam uder a few waterfalls, walked on the black sand beach and saw the grave of Charles Lindbergh. (yes, that Charles Lindbergh).

 

[KatMark]

Just wanted to stop by and wish you and the family a very Merry Christmas.