Yesterday I was up at the crack of dawn, so I went down and used the workout facilities. There were a few other people who came in, but it wasn't crowded at all. It is nice and clean. This morning I was the only person using it, but that could be because it was only 5:30am.
Yesterday we took a drive to the North Shore to see some surfing. We stopped at a few beaches and admired the view. We made our way to Giovanni's Shrimp Truck for lunch. The kids and I ordered the lemon butter shrimp and dh got the shrimp scampi. They were all good, but I would get the shrimp scampi next time. For $13 you get a pile of shrimp and two scoops of rice. Drinks are extra. We would eat there again for sure! On the way back we stopped at Paalaa Kai Bakery. They were all sold out of malasadas, so the kids settled for puffies(their specialty). They loved them. Dh and I sadly sat and watched as we are both on diets.
When we got back to Aulani, we hit the ocean for some snorkeling(you can buy your own equipment at the Target, Costco, and Sports Authority a few stops down the highway) mainly to get my daughter used to it. We saw a few small fish, but didn't go very far out. We then took them to Rainbow Reef and signed them up for the length of stay pass. A word of warning, Disney age prices are in effect here, too. 10 years old and up will have to pay the adult pass rates. They said that the water was colder than the pool, but I expect that they will use it a couple of times a day. You can use your own mask and snorkel or they will provide one for you.
We spent the rest of the time enjoying the pools and lazy river. We cooked dinner in our room and then visited Aunty's Beach House to check out the facilities. My 11yo and 9yo want to go back today to spend some time. Mainly they are interested in the interactive game tables.
It wouldn't be a Disney trip without some pixie dust, right? We booked this trip three weeks ago on a whim, so I had to piece our reservation together. The first night we were in a 2br, the next 5 in a 1br and the last two in a studio. When we arrived I asked about the chance of us switching out our 2br for a 1br so that we wouldn't have to change rooms the next day. The great cm at the desk was able to do that and even was able to return the extra points, which I never expected. The next morning I decided to log into
dvc member and see if a 1br opened up for the last two nights. Score! We were able to get a standard 1br. The points for the studio plus the points in holding from our room category switch were enough to cover the 1br with one point to spare! We have to switch rooms for the last segment, but a 1br works much better for us.
Today we are going to hang by the pools and get some homework finished. Dd wants to attend the craft class today to make a bracelet and we are looking forward to the Starlit Hui tonight. They also have fire pit storytelling tonight, so if we can stay awake, we might attend that, too.
If you are a pin trader, we have only seen the DVC sales people with lanyards. Mostly they are wearing hidden mickey pins. They have the tiki and Valentine Vinylmations for sale in the gift shop as well as a small selection of pins. They do not have Vinylmation trading.
We are going to be there in August in a studio room, can you tell me if there are laundry options? Is there a certain floor? I think I read about it being a deal for 
