San Francisco, Waikiki, Aulani,LA & Disneyland! (Updated 8/20/15 with Aulani & lots of photos!)

[amystevekai&bump]

hi all

This is my first ever trip report - so please be gentle with me!

I have many reasons for starting this report - but mainly it is to thank everyone on these boards who have helped me so much over the past two years to plan this trip

The other primary reason - is because I still don't believe it's actually happening! I am sat on the tiled floor of our bathroom in the Holiday Inn Fishermans wharf, at silly o'clock (2.30am to be precise!), as my stupid head still thinks it's back in the UK, despite having been on the West Coast for almost 36 hours now!

For those of you who don't know me - my DH (Steve), broke his Achilles' tendon three weeks ago playing soccer and up until last Tuesday I wasn't sure that we'd even be able to take this trip - so I'm really struggling to believe that I'm really here! So hopefully this will help!!

Anyway... Enough stalling, here goes my first EVER report!..... (I am going to attempt to add photos but I am not the computer genius in the family - that sadly falls to my two boys, Kai (11) and Lucas (8), but I'm too proud to ask for their help - and besides they are peacefully snoring in the other room!).........

 

[amystevekai&bump]

Day One - Saturday August 8th :

We arrived at Heathrow airport at 8.30am, as I had requested Special Assistance for Steve due to his leg, and they'd said that we'd hopefully be given a couple of the bulkhead seats for extra leg room, so I wanted to get that secured as soon as I could.

Our flight was due to be at 11.50am, so that should have given us plenty of time. I was indeed right, as we were through check-in really quickly, Steve was in a wheelchair (much to his dismay!) and we scored all four bulkhead seats together - great outcome - thank you Virgin Atlantic! What wasn't such great news, was that our flight was delayed until 2.15pm, so we had a nice long wait at the airport to look forward to, before we even started our nice long 11hr flight!


Anyway... The flight itself was uneventful - though it felt more like 20 hours than the 10 & a half it ended up being!. We were all exhausted by the time we reached our hotel, the Holiday Inn Fishermans Wharf, (via the Airport Express shuttle) at 6.45pm. So, we opted for dinner onsite at Dennys and were all fast asleep by 9pm.

 

[alohamom]

Wow-after all that planning it is great to hear Steve was allowed to travel! Hope you have a great time...

 

[amystevekai&bump]

Wow-after all that planning it is great to hear Steve was allowed to travel! Hope you have a great time...

Thank you ever so much

I'm sat here battling with the ipad to try to download some photos, so once I finally figure IT out - hopefully the report will be a bit more interesting!

 

[amystevekai&bump]

Day Two - Sunday August 9th-

So, just like this morning, I was up at 2am - body felt like lead, eyes were sore and bloodshot, but the very little brain I have seemed raring to go, and despite lying there for a further 2 hours, I finally gave in at 4am and got up!

The beauty of being up so early, is that all the rest of the world are still asleep, so our early start meant that we had Fishermans Wharf all to ourselves! It also meant that we were the first people to arrive at a gem of an eating establishment called Hollywood Cafe! I'd read about this place before our trip, and the reports for breakfast made it sound awesome, and they were right!

Having filled up on a delicious breakfast, and having taking a pleasant stroll around a deserted Fishermans Wharf and Ghirardelli Square, we were off to meet our Tour arranged through San Francisco Movie Tours. I had wanted to show our boys some of the sights, but I also knew that neither of them are at an age where too much sightseeing is fun! I'd read a lot about different tours and decided that this 3 hour tour of the city, which revolves around over 60 movie clips and visiting their locations, seemed like it might hold their attention! I was right!! - whilst I realise it won't be enough for many people - a lot of the tour is spent on the bus watching things go past, with only a few photo op stops - for us, with two pre-teen boys, it was perfect!

Below are a few shots from our morning:

The original plan for our afternoon had been to ride on a cable car to unions square, do a little shopping and then a visit to our new favourite US restaurant - The Cheesecake Factory (I know that will seem like a dull choice, to many of you - but remember we are Brits, and we just don't have the sort of chain restaurants that you have in the US, so for us they are a bit of a novelty!)

We did have to deviate from the plan slightly, as I knew that the queue for the cable car would involve too much standing around for Steve, so instead we caught the F-line trolley right outside our hotel - and for $6 return for all four of us, it was a bargain!!

As for the shopping - well aside from popping in to the Disney Store to receive the disappointing news that they no longer sell San Francisco themed merchandise, we weren't really feeling in a shopping type mood - so straight to Macy's and dinner at The Cheesecake Factory it was!!

We were all tired, as the long flight and jet lag were taking its toll - and whilst we knew it was wrong - we were all fast asleep by 7pm - and it felt so right!!

 

[amystevekai&bump]

Day Three - Monday August 10th:

Another early start for me!! - body desperate to stay asleep but the very little brain was raring to go at 2am again!! The boys joined me at 4am, and between us we managed to wake up Dad, being the quiet and dainty little elephants that we are!

We'd decided to take advantage of the early start and get to the Hollywood Cafe for opening at 7am. We'd noticed yesterday that they were queuing to get in by 8am - so if you do decide to try out this wonderful eatery on your next trip to SF, then I suggest getting there as soon after 7am as you can. Once again, it didn't disappoint and has definitely been a highlight of our trip so far.

Today's plan was to spend the morning at the Walt Disney Family Museum, the afternoon at Pier 39 (including a late lunch at Bubba Gumps) and then the Alcatraz night tour. And this is exactly what we did!!

I had heard lots of great things about the WDFM from these boards, and whilst it didn't disappoint, for our family, our two hour visit was enough - the boys were restless and I was worried about Steve standing and walking so long (although bless him, he didn't complain!). I also realised, that despite me saying that I am the ultimate Disney fan - I'm really the ultimate Disney Parks fan! As much as I found the rooms based on Walt's animation and films interesting, easily the best part for me was hearing about disneyland and his plans for Walt Disney World. As others have said many times on here, the end of the tour, leading up to Walt's passing, was very moving and I admit to having a tear in my eye.

As Steve's injury meant we couldn't walk very far, we decided to get a cab back to Fishermans wharf, and we were so glad we picked a lady who was willing, not only to drive by Lombard street, so that the boys could see the 'worlds most crooked street', but she actually drove us down it! We were thrilled! (The cab at the bottom was ours!)

Pier 39 and the whole of the Fishermans wharf area seems to have changed hugely since our last visit 15 years ago! And whilst I think lots of the changes have been for the better, it sure is a LOT more crowded than I remember it being back then! We stopped off in Hard Rock and a few of the shops to purchase sweaters, as I'd deliberately packed light, knowing that the luggage carrying was resting mainly on my (with help from the boys) shoulders. But I'd omitted to bring warm tops for us for the boat trip to alcatraz - so with souvenir sweaters from SF purchased, we headed off to Bubba Gumps!

Now I will say, that the inside of Bubba Gumps in San Francisco is the nicest one we have been to - and the views over the bay are lovely. I will say this, as that's literally the only good thing I can say! During our three hour visit, everything that could go wrong, went wrong! - being forgotten during the waitlist, lucas slipping up on a wet floor and hurting his shoulder (and Steve thankfully not, although almost - slipping up in the exact same spot as we were leaving - so still not resolved!), Steve's chicken being served cold and then the same dish being reheated - after specifically telling our server that we didn't want it reheated when he offered it - but rather a fresh dish! And then no apology for any of it! I admit to asking for the Manager in the end, which was very unBritish of me - as we like to suffer in silence and moan afterwards! - but I figured it was the right thing to do, and they comp'ed us for Steve's meal and dessert - which whilst appreciated, made me a little embarrassed - but at least the views were good!!

Finally to Alcatraz - Steve and I had been here a couple of times before, but seeing as how this was the boys first trip to SF, we knew that they would love this place - especially in the dark - and we were right!! They loved hearing about the escape plans and getting shut in the pitch black solitary cell - We all thoroughly recommend this tour - especially at night, with that beautiful view of the skyline all lit up on your way back to shore! A really great way to end our last night in SF!!

 

[amystevekai&bump]

Day Four - Tuesday August 11th:

After going to sleep at the very late time of 10pm - I didn't actually wake up until 5am this morning! Go me!!

We'd decided to pull ourselves away from the Hollywood Cafe and venture up to breakfast at Lori's Diner at Ghirardelli Square. It's a 50's diner with lovely views out towards the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz, and the food was none too shabby either! We'd definitely recommend the pancakes and Omelette!

We then made a couple of purchases in the shops, including some AMAZING cupcakes from Kara's Cupcakes which I thoroughly enjoyed whilst waiting for our flight to honolulu! We finished our time at Ghirardelli Square, and indeed in San Francisco, with a Ghiradelli hot chocolate overlooking Alcatraz - wonderful!

After a brilliant - ie non eventful - flight to Honolulu, we were met at the airport by Roberts Hawaii. We had planned to rent a car in Oahu, but following Steve's injury, I had cancelled the car and had spent hours pouring over reviews to decide on which companies to use throughout our stay on the island. I'd seen mixed reviews about Roberts, but decided to book with them, as the good reviews seemed to outweigh the bad, and they look to be one of the biggest firms on the island - so felt sure that any issues could be resolved. As it turned out, there were no issues and I'd thoroughly recommend them! We were met directly from the plane with fresh floral leis by 'Aunty', taken to baggage claim and were whisked away to our hotel. We did share with another couple, but we were dropped first, so the whole process was very smooth! Excellent!

I had decided to spend our first four nights on Waikiki Beach, as despite many of my Dis friends telling me that the area is too busy and too commercialised, I must admit that that was what appealed! Being from the UK, we just don't get to see the US chain shops/ restaurants very often, so whilst I can totally see what our friends have said about wanting to get away from it all - for us it's part of the adventure!

I'd opted for the Outrigger at Waikiki Beach, not only as it seemed so central, but mainly because we knew we wanted to try out Dukes for both breakfast and dinner, so having it right there onsite, was a huge bonus. We checked it and found both the hotel and our room to be lovely. We'd only arrived at 6.45pm and I'd booked our Dukes dinner reservation for 7.30pm, so we had a quick freshen up, got changed and went right downstairs.

I'm so glad I made a reservation - we walked straight past those waiting (I heard someone being told that a table for four had an hour plus wait) and we were seated immediately! Wow!! What a wonderful way to start our Hawaiian adventure!! With amazing views of Waikiki lit up and being serenaded by three Hawaiian ladies, as we tucked in to an amazing salad bar and a terrific prime rib! Fabulous!! If you do ever venture to Waikiki - please do go to Dukes, I can't imagine anyone being disappointed!

Our one regret was not being able to fit in a piece of the legendary Hula Pie - we were all very full and the boys were now falling asleep at the table - to be honest I no longer know what time zone our bodies are in!! It was currently 9pm in Hawaii, which was midnight in San Francisco, but I'm sure our legs at least were still 8 hours ahead of that again and back in London!! So off to bed for us!!

 

[alohamom]

Thanks so much for this TR. Our family has been planning to do SanFran for years now - we flown through it a couple of times on the way to Hawaii and been to many other areas of California including Disneyland but I never has been the right time for San Francisco. I am thinking about next summer combined with Disneyland and I am going to save this TR for then-it is simply the perfect mix of activities and places to see that would appeal to our family as well. Even the Cheesecake Factory as we are Canadian and dont have it here either!

 

[amystevekai&bump]

Thanks so much for this TR. Our family has been planning to do SanFran for years now - we flown through it a couple of times on the way to Hawaii and been to many other areas of California including Disneyland but I never has been the right time for San Francisco. I am thinking about next summer combined with Disneyland and I am going to save this TR for then-it is simply the perfect mix of activities and places to see that would appeal to our family as well. Even the Cheesecake Factory as we are Canadian and dont have it here either!

No problem at all

I've now added some more photos to the above San Francisco posts (it's taken me so long to load them all onto photo bucket - but hopefully ive sorted that now, so hopefully the hawaii posts will come through quicker now!)

 

[amystevekai&bump]

Day Five - Wednesday August 12th:

So there I was, in my familiar place - 4am and typing away on the bathroom floor - this time however we were in Waikiki rather than San Francisco!! Jet lag is definitely playing a big part in this trip for me!! Thankfully, I did anticipate this, so had booked us on an early tour of Pearl Harbor this morning (8am - to check in at 7am), and had arranged to catch the Roberts Hawaii Pearl Harbor shuttle to collect us from Duke's statue just down the street at 6.20am!! (The photo below was taken on another evening, but thought I'd include it now, considering I'd mentioned dukes statue!)

Once again, everything went smoothly with the Roberts Hawaii transfers - we were picked up right on time & were the last stop before driving straight to Pearl Harbor & we were there by 7am, ready to collect our tickets. This whole process went very smoothly & we were touring the museums within no time.

I would say that anyone visiting Oahu should try to visit Pearl Harbor. I am so pleased that I took my boys and they were able to see and understand what a dreadful thing happened that day. My eldest, Kai, was particularly moved by it & whilst it was a very somber morning, I'm so glad we made the effort to visit.

It has been particularly hot today, or at least having travelled from the UK & San Francisco where the weather was pleasantly warm, but not hot - it at least feels very hot to us today!! So we decided to change our plans - rather than returning to the hotel, we would ask Roberts to drop us at their nearest drop off location to the Ala Moana shopping mall & we'd get our retail therapy fix instead! Our driver was in fact very accommodating, and let us jump out right outside the mall - ideal!!

After spending a couple of hours at the mall, we then hailed a taxi back to the hotel. It was now 3pm and we thought we'd take a look at the pool. Wow!! It's very tiny and extremely packed!! Whilst I realised it was small when I booked, I hadn't realised just how crowded it would be - every seat was taken & the pool itself was standing room only! So we opted to return to our room for a cool down and chill out, before dinner - we opted for the Yard House at the Beachwalk this evening - I understand this might be another US chain, but we'd never been and it had some great reviews. Well, what can I say - we loved it! We will definitely be tracking down the one in orlando on our trip next year!

 

[amystevekai&bump]

Day six - Thursday August 13th

Today was a very special day in the Davis household, as it was lucas' 8th birthday!! We'd decided to give him his cards/presents at home before we left, so I was worried that today might not feel like his birthday. Pre-trip I'd attempted to look for a birthday cake to be delivered, and had failed miserably, but I had seen a Dis trip report showing an amazing ice cream cake with Mickey and Minnie hula dancers on it, but sadly, without a car, that looked impossible. I eventually found the same figures on eBay and had them shipped over from the U.S., just in time for me to bring them back with me!! I'd still had trouble finding a cake to put them on, but I did track down a Teds bakery chocolate cream pie - so we surprised lucas 'Hawaiian style' when he woke up instead!!

Breakfast this morning was at Dukes, and as a birthday treat they served him hula pie with a candle!! Terrific!!

Lucas had three wishes for his birthday - to have dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, swim in the pool at night and to try out surfing on Waikiki beach - so off to the Aloha Beach Services right next door we went - Waikiki surfing here we come!! Sadly, lucas accidentally knocked into a lady in the water and she shouted at him really bad, so that frightened him - so his lesson didn't go too well, but I was so proud of him for giving it a go - he is actually quite nervous in the water, so was very brave!!

Kai on the other hand totally surprised us!! He loved the surfing - and is very keen to take up the sport in the UK!! Though not sure a rainy afternoon in Cornwall, will quite match up to the Waikiki experience!!

The rest of the day was spent chilling at the resort, before heading off for birthday treat number two - Hard Rock Cafe! A great dinner, followed by a huge birthday brownie and a birthday cheer to lucas from the whole restaurant!! He loved it!!

And feeling like the Fairy Godmother, I had one more birthday wish to grant - so back to the Outrigger pool for that birthday nighttime swim! A great day and hopefully a birthday to remember for Lucas!

 

[amystevekai&bump]

Day seven - Friday August 14th

Today was our last full day at the outrigger and on waikiki beach. I think the stresses of the past few weeks (worrying about whether we'd actually get here due to Steve's injury), were catching up with us, and we decided to just chill at the hotel.

We spent some time by the pool, playing on the beach and the boys and I enjoyed a walk to both ends of Waikiki along the waters edge. I must say, that I do think the outrigger hotel is perfectly situated, and at the nicest part of the beach. Some of the hotels further up, only have railing in front of them and a concrete pathway (due to the rocks beneath) and you'd have to walk to get on the beach. The only other hotels I'd probably consider aside from the outrigger, are the Westin Moana surf rider which is right next door to the outrigger, or possibly the Sheraton Waikiki, which was just along the beach from us, and appeared to have a nicer pool and a slide - which I think my boys would have enjoyed.

We opted for a late lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, which is right next door to the Outrigger, and as usual we had a lovely meal there - definitely one of our favourite places to eat in the US!

So this draws an end to our Waikiki stay, and I must say - having adjusted to the heat and the busyness, we actually loved our stay here and I'd definitely return!! Although, I will add that for us - being from the UK, and having such a long way to travel - I do think a return trip will be based on how much we enjoy Aulani. As, as much as we've loved Waikiki, I'm not sure it's a big enough draw on its own to make us fly 11hours and then a further 5+ hours to get here!

 

[amystevekai&bump]

Day Eight - Saturday August 15th

Today is moving day, and a day that for the last couple of weeks had caused me much stress! Having cancelled our hire car due to Steve's injury, I'd been trying for days to work out ways for us to see some of the island, get to both Kualoa Ranch and Aulani, without bankrupting us in the mean time!!

After much changing around, I finally booked a Custom Island Tour through Carrie, as he was able to provide an 8 hour private tour bus, was happy for me to choose exactly where we went, was happy to wait for us at the Kualoa Ranch whilst we took our movie tour, and was also able to look after our luggage all day and drop us to Aulani at the end of the day. So having rescheduled our Kualoa tour to today, we were all set!

I admit to being slightly nervous, as despite only seeing great reviews of the company, I hadn't seen that many, and compared to the costs of various tours/taxis/transfers I'd looked into, they were so reasonably priced, that I was worried it was too good to be true!!

Before we finally leave the Outrigger, we have one last goodbye meal - breakfast at Dukes! Yum, yum!

Well, what can I say!! Without doubt.. THE BEST TOUR EVER!! ... Honestly, I actually don't ever remember having a better day!! Our guide, Issac, collected us right outside the hotel and chauffeured us to all of the sights on my list - plus some little extras that only a local would know (he showed us the homes of Bette Midler, Jackie Chan and Bill Gates, as well as the boys favourite - Dog the Bounty Hunter!)

As well as the Stars homes, we stopped off at Kailua and Lanikai beaches, on our way to Kualoa ranch. The South East beaches are truly beautiful - I would really encourage you to stop by should you be in oahu.

Kailua:

Lanikai:

The Kualoa ranch setting was gorgeous and whilst the movie tour was worth it for the views, I must say that we had been spoilt by Isaac, and our Kualoa guide was just ok by comparison. We were glad that we saw the jurassic park filming location - our main reason for choosing the tour.

Back with Isaac and we headed for the Byodo in temple - again another must see sight for us, and we weren't disappointed.

It's amazing how contrasting the weather can be on one small island, and our only slight disappointment was our visit to the Pali Lookout - Isaac said that the view is often a lot worse - indeed sometimes you can't see anything - so we were fortunate to be able to see the coast, but visibility meant that the photographs didn't work unfortunately.

From here we headed to the north shore (Isaac stopped off at the Dole Plantation as a little extra treat, so the boys got their dole whips!) and we visited both sunset beach - which was where we had the amazing opportunity to get up close to this gorgeous turtle - and Waimea Bay. This was the end of our tour, and we all said that we definitely need to return to those stunning North shore beaches.

Our tour should have finished at 5.30pm, but due to traffic problems, we were running behind - but Isaac was amazing, and he made sure we saw everything - despite not dropping us off at Aulani until 7pm! I honestly can't say enough good stuff about the Custom a island Tours and Isaac - he truly made our Hawaii trip unforgettably amazing!!

So.... After two and a half years in the planning, plane flights totalling 17 hours, we finally reached THE destination!!.... Disney's Aulani!!!

The lobby is absolutely stunning, and we really haven't spent enough time their yet - hopefully we will rectify this before we leave! Check in went very smoothly, although I frantically hunted to see what room numbers I'd requested, the CM said - don't worry, whatever you put down must have been a good request, as you have a great room!!! So we were all so excited to see it!!

We'd been given top floor - room 1610 - and all I can say is, WOW!! - it truly is terrific!!

As we'd had a long day, we popped down to the Ulu Cafe and grabbed two pizzas (we don't have pizza very often in the US, and we hadn't realised that one would feed us all!! - guess what we had for dinner the next night!!)

And so draws to an end, the very best stay of our vacation so far - and quite possibly the best day of ANY of our vacations so far!!

 

[amystevekai&bump]

Day Nine - Sunday August 16th:

We set an alarm to wake us up today, as we have finally adjusted to Hawaiian time!! Typical - just at the very time that we needed to make it to a 8.15am breakfast reservation at Makahiki!

Check in was quite slow, as you queue for your photo op with the main mouse! But as usual, he was worth the wait!!

Breakfast was good, although for me nothing beats the Crystal palace breakfast at the Magic Kingdom (think breakfast lasagne and puffed french toast!). I must admit to being slightly disappointed at the lack of characters - we had Minnie and goofy - I was especially sad, when a couple of days later I walked past and saw chip n dale in there (my all time favourite characters!).

One high point though, my usually 'too grown up for their own good' boys, agreed to participate in Aunty's celebrations, and with only slight embarrassment joined in for the whole thing! I know that they only did so to make me smile, so it was a lovely moment.

I'm going to try to make this next seven days report as interesting as I can - but I will warn you - we are planning on doing absolutely - NOTHING!! Steve's job is very stressful, and with him breaking his achilles, I also had a dreadful three weeks building up to the trip - so the very fact that we even made it here, still feels so incredible, that we owe it to ourselves to lay back, enjoy it and RELAX!! I will try to post some good photos of the resort for you and will of course mention anything we do that doesn't involve lying in the sun!!

Oh one thing I will mention, as you know I have posted several times over the past year about the casabellas on the Ama Ama decking. I want to say, for this family - the Upper Level Ama Ama Casabellas are perfect!! We put the umbrella and awning down on one set of them and we got sun there all day (occasionally it was shaded by the palm trees, but actually that provided some much needed relief from the sun, so was very welcome) and the other pair, we left the umbrella and awning up and the boys were cool and shaded all day. As for the location - we absolutely loved the peace and quiet and amazing views of the beach. We've had one day (where we couldn't get a rental) sat by the infinity pool - I was up early and got front row with umbrella, but in the quietest spot - and whilst having looked round, I think I got the best poolside location - but still nothing tops the Ama Ama location for us.

Tonight we saw the Starlit Hui. I'd been told to get there at 6.45pm, which we did - although we were still three rows from the front - so if you really must have front row viewing, the I reckon you would want to be there at 6.30pm.


Whilst we enjoyed the show (especially the Ukelele players who were awesome!), it's not something any of us really need to see again - and for the boys it was a little long. We hadn't realised it finished so late, so with very little dining options available to us (I rang room service and the food would be an hour wait), we ended up making cheese sandwiches and eating leftover pizza! No waste here!!

 

[amystevekai&bump]

Day Ten - Monday August 17th:

Today I was up before everyone else, so decided to look at the Daily Iwa (I admit I forgot to look at the first two we received!), and decided to try to book us in for the Animation class and canoe making at the Pau Hana community room. It was a little after 8am and only a small queue, but despite this, the animation class was already fully booked. I also realised that the canoe making clashed with the boys one and only paid activity at Aunty's Beach House, oh well.

As I mentioned before, today (and indeed Thursday) are our only two days of the vacation where we hadn't prebooked the premium seating. Originally, (pre ankle injury!), we'd planned two offsite days driving around the island - and by the time I knew that this wasn't going to happen, all the premium seating was gone. If you are thinking you might want a cabana/Ama Ama casabella for your stay, I'd thoroughly recommend ringing Aulani as early as possible (we booked at about 7 months out if I recall correctly).

I do think we got a great spot by the pool, and I'm pleased to say that we did witness the pool chair policy being carried out by the pool attendants. However, we had been spoilt by the Ama Ama quiet location, and therefore I admit, I do find the pool areas generally too loud and boisterous - I'm now in laid back Hawaiian mode, and ready to really chill out - so for me quiet sunbathing, accompanied by several trips around the lazy river each day, is about as energetic as I plan to get this week!!

I'm so very pleased to report that, Steve was also able to enjoy the lazy river!! We had got him one of those plastic water covers for bathing, and he put this on over his boot - we also made sure to get him a double ring - that way he could sit in one side, with his leg in the other, so the second ring acted like a buffer to protect his leg! Perfect!!

The boys left us for three hours at lunchtime to attend the 'Fish are Friends' premium activity at Aunty's Beach house. Whilst they enjoyed feeding the fish - I'm not sure that there was much value in the activity. Apparently the food that they fed to the fish, (according to my boys), wasn't the food that they had made. The lunch served (burgers, grilled cheese and corn) was cold and the dvd they received at the end of the activity was returned by us, as we are unable to play US DVDs in the UK, and they didn't have another copy for international guests. Your mileage with the activity might well vary - I suspect younger children wouldn't even notice that the fish food they used wasn't the one that they had made, but my older boys pick up on that sort of thing!!

Steve and I enjoyed our uninterrupted pool time and I picked Steve up some pastries from Ulu Cafe and some coconut shrimp for myself from Mamas snack stop - yummy - thoroughly recommend the shrimp!! And the fries are probably the best fries I've had anywhere!! Truly!!

Tonight we had decided to walk over the road, and I had made reservations at Monkeypod to enjoy their happy hour at 5pm.

We really liked the restaurant, although there wasn't a huge amount of choice on the menu. Three of us opted for burgers, which were fine - nothing special, and Kai opted for noodles - again just ok. The main reason for our visit was the dessert!! And my goodness, the strawberry cream pie, was delicious!!

After dinner we stopped by the Island Market and I would say, for anyone visiting - don't rely on this market to do a 'proper' food shop. Yes it was expensive, but there is also very little choice. I think that is probably the one disappointment from this trip - as we haven't got either a car or a larger villa with kitchen (we have an ocean view studio) - there are very little options for food in the evenings. But to be honest, we've put on so much weight in the first week of the trip, hopefully we will counteract that with eating less this week! (Though I might struggle to stay away from those fries!!)

 

[amystevekai&bump]

Day eleven - Tuesday August 18th:

Today we set an alarm, as I wanted to get to the community centre to see if I could get the Animation course for today and we also had an 8.15am reservation at Ama Ama for breakfast.

As I had arrived at the Pau Hana room at 7.45am, I was easily able to book us on to the Animation course! Yeah!!

We arrived promptly for breakfast, but ended up waiting for an extra twenty minutes as we wanted a water View table. We really enjoyed the view, so we were glad that we held out for the right table - the food was fine - it was one of those occasions where it looked amazing, the first couple of mouthfuls were divine and then it was too much of a good thing!! We were all glad we tried it, but don't need to rush back!

Today was our second day and the casabella - heavenly!! Aside from leaving briefly for our hours animation course (which was excellent family time by the way!), we spent all day at the casabella - more coconut shrimp and fries for me! And great burgers, chilli and rice for the guys!! Oh and we also had an unexpected visit from an old friend!!...

Dinner was another pizza from ulu cafe (we learnt our lesson - so only one this time) - I must say that it's probably one of the best pizzas I've had - as I'm not generally a pizza fan! So much for the diet!!

 

[amystevekai&bump]

Day twelve - Wednesday August 19th:

I was awake at 7.30am, and as everyone else was still fast asleep, I decided to pop down to the lobby to get the Daily Iwa (I forgot last night!) and I saw that the canoe making activity was on again today. I got to Pau Hana at 7.40am and was the only one there - the CM (who amazingly remembers my name everyday!!) came out to speak to me and kindly took my reservation there and then, so I was all set!! I don't think I would queue up so early again as I wouldn't want her to think I was trying to take advantage, but it was a much appreciated touch of pixie dust!!

At 9.30am I finally got the rest of the guys up and out of the room, and back to our second home at the Ama Ama casabella we went!! I just love it here!!

We grabbed a breakfast of cinnamon rolls and Malasadas from the Ulu Cafe and ate them at 'our' casabellas. The Malasadas were good - exactly like the hot mini donuts we get in UK (or preferably - at Blizzard Beach!) I know that Leonards Bakery have custard filled ones, so perhaps the Aulani ones aren't particularly authentic - I don't know? But they tasted good!

We had a busy morning resting and relaxing some more, before the boys and I decided to go to the Pau Hana room and rent out the Menehune scavenger hunt iPad game. We enjoyed the first trail we did - it is very similar to the adventures at World Showcase in Epcot -but we decided that the 'effects' would probably be better during the evening, so we are going to try the other trails one evening before we leave.

The boys had been desperate to try the shaved ice - so this was lunch! (Bad mom, I know!). They seemed to enjoy it and it certainly helped to cool them down before our next activity.

The four of us were booked in for the Canoe making activity (again at the community center). I must say, that despite being unimpressed with the expensive 'Fish are Friends' premium activity, both yesterday's Animation Class and today's Canoe making session were excellent - I'd have sooner paid money for both of these, than 'wasted' the money on the other one - but that's life I guess!

We spent the rest of the afternoon, yes, you guessed it! - relaxing! And then it was time to get ready for the DVC member Sundown mingle. I'd been told that the evening session fills up quickly, because compared to the Monday morning event, it serves appetisers and cocktails - rather than coffee and pastries! I'd happened to be walking past the DVC room when the Monday event was about to start, but as the boys were still in bed, I'd asked about the evening one and was signed up there and then - result!

We were so glad we attended - aside from the great appetisers (pulled pork rolls, crab cakes and brownies) & the beverages (beer, wine & POG juice), they really had us 'mingling' and we met some lovely new DVC friends - it was great! And an added bonus - we answered two of the quiz questions correctly & the boys both had a great DVC drinks bottle each!

After the lovely appetisers, we didn't have room for a big meal, so we just walked across the road to the Island Market Store and got some cheese and crackers for the room. Another great day!

 

[amystevekai&bump]

Day thirteen - Thursday August 20th:

So today was our final day without a 'base' at the pool. We had decided we would go to the Beach Rental booth to see if we could hire a beach casabella. We were there for opening at 8am, and had no problem securing one. It cost $42.40 for the day - not bad.

We also took this early start as an opportunity to take some photos of the pool areas before there were people around to make them look 'messy'!

We also had a ride on the tube slide (even Steve in his waterproof sock!) and I managed to get a couple of photos in the empty infinity hot tub - in my opinion the most beautiful area of the Aulani pools.

We had decided to devote today to the beach area, as we hadn't really spent much time down there (I admit - I am not a beach fan!!). So we were lucky to get the last two free boogie boards for the day and we also booked in for an hours rental of a double kayak ($18.84 including DVC discount).

Steve threw caution to the wind, and not only went in the sea, but also had two goes in the kayak! I can literally say that he hasn't missed out on a single thing on the trip - I'd have never have believed it when he first broke his achilles!! I'm so very glad we didn't cancel the trip - it was definitely the right to decision to come!!

We all found it particularly hot today and actually left the beach before 2pm. We were booked in for a ukulele lesson at 4pm, so after showering and changing, we were off out again! This activity proved to be another success (although I think Steve and I enjoyed it far more than the boys!). We've never participated in any family activities on Disney cruises etc before, but this has really opened our eyes this week - the three sessions we've attended at the Pau Hana Room have all been superb, and have been really great for family bonding time.

At 6.15pm we had our dinner reservation at Makahiki. I admit that I hadn't been fussed about going here, but actually we all really enjoyed it and left very very full - in fact I had to loosen my skirt!!

We've rented a free DVC member movie tonight - 'I am number four', which the three boys are all enjoying, whilst I get up to dat with this report! We are still all having an amazing time - just sad that we've only now got two days left here at Aulani - time really flies when you do nothing!!

 

[eeyorefanuk]

Hi Amy

Fab report and so glad your revised plans went so well.

Thank you for all the photos, especially the outrigger and aulani

Xx

 

[amystevekai&bump]

Day fourteen - Friday August 21st:

So today was Ka Maka Landing cabana day!!! I admit I had been a bit unsure as to whether or not we should keep this cabana reservation. Having checked out all of the pool areas, I still much prefer the location of 'our' Ama Ama casabella, and at a cost of $306.27 including DVC discount for a days rental, I wasn't convinced it would be worth the money.

However, my morning at the beach yesterday had resulted in quite nasty sunburn, so the idea of spending today in the shade appealed, and I also knew I'd regret not having tried the cabana once I got home, so taking a long hard swallow, we handed over our room key and charged away!!

We were phoned last night and already knew that we had been allocated cabana no 4, which is the middle of the three cabanas on the ka maka landing (overlooking the infinity pool). We were pleased with this location - Steve didn't want cabana no 3 as it was right next to the vegetation and he seems to get bitten terribly if he is too close to any greenery!!

We checked in just after 9am, and wandered over to ulu cafe for what was now becoming our regular breakfast - Malasadas for Kai & I and cinnamon rolls for Lucas & Steve ($17.80 for the four items). We refilled our mugs there and Steve bought a cafe latte right next door to our cabana at the Wailana coffee bar , which he said was 'really nice'. We then settled down to enjoy another day of relaxation - just in a new location!!

At 11am our cabana host brought us our fruit platter -the boys were very excited and loved tasting some of the more exotic fruits - the plate was devoured within minutes!!

And again at 4pm we were presented with a delicious dessert tray - I admit this was where I got excited! We all thoroughly enjoyed this and it made us feel quite special!

We had no dinner reservations for this evening and we'd exhausted the counter service options in the resort, so we decided to venture across the street and try the Just Tacos restaurant. We'd never been to a Mexican restaurant with the boys, and as none of us were overly hungry, we decided to live life on the edge and give it a go!!

Whilst we all enjoyed dinner, we weren't blown away with the food, but our Server was excellent.

We were all quite full after our main meal, but he told us not to go anywhere after paying the bill, as he had a surprise for us. With that, he brought out a bowl of fried ice-cream to celebrate our first time in a Mexican restaurant! It was such a lovely surprise, and really made our evening!

By 8pm we were back in our Aulani home from home - ready to watch Lucas' dvd of choice, 'The Fantastic Four' - so I'll sign off here, night, night!