On Sunday morning I got up early, because I needed to do laundry.
While my family slept, I threw the clothes I needed to wash into a couple of our bags and headed down to the first floor. The laundry room was conveniently located near the elevator, which was a good thing, because this was the first of many trips to the laundry room that morning. I will say that the elevators at Aulani are delightful, which made an otherwise monotonous chore much more tolerable that morning. There is always fun music playing: special versions of Disney favorites sung in Hawaiian. Examples of songs I heard were When You Wish Upon a Star, Be Our Guest, and it's a small world, There was a lot of variety, which made it fun to try to name that tune whenever taking a ride during our stay.
Anyway, back to the ups and downs of my morning
I made Trip #2, because I forgot my laundry detergent in the room. After I returned with it, I realized I needed to pair of scissors to open it, so that was Trip #3. Then, when I saw that I had room for more laundry in both washing machines I was using, I couldnt resist going to the room to get some more: Trip #4. I moved the laundry to the dryer on Trip #5. With the laundry set for a while, I made a coffee run to Ulu with my handy refillable mug and afterward went to the lobby and picked up a copy of the Daily Iwa, so I could check on activities and characters for the day. Finally, I was able to collect my clean laundry, fold it, and return to our room (Trip #6). Whew! Relaxing morning in paradise
My family was all ready to start the day by that point, so we went to Aunties for their open house (at least my 7th trip down on the elevator before 8am).
On our way, Sam reported that he got lost in the bathroom after using it at 4:00 in the morning. He says he turned off the light (when finished) and couldn't see anything. It apparently took him a while to figure things out and get back to bed. Silly.
Sam was not interested in spending time at Aunties Beach House (12 is the maximum age for it, and most kids there were much younger), but the twins wanted to check it out. There are two sides to Aunties: Uncles side and Aunties side. When we were looking around at the open house, a couple cast members stood in the doorway of one side, saying that we would not be interested in that side at all, and strongly discouraged our even coming near it, because it was only for little kids. They were firm about this (which seemed a little odd to me), so we didnt spend more than a minute or so peeking into the area. (Benji would have plenty of time for a closer look on another day, as it turned out
More on that later.)
We ate breakfast at Ulu, since we had enjoyed the dinner there the night before. We all had either the breakfast platter or the French toast. Yummy & generous portions.
Sam with his French toast:
My breakfast platter:
I know theres a lot of complaining about the (powdered?) eggs at Disney quick-service restaurants, but I really like their eggs. I may as well go ahead and admit something awful early on in the Aulani portion of our stay: we considered eating at Ama Ama and Makahiki, but did not. I had read some reviews in advance of the trip and found them to be really so-so. The cost of the meals for a family of five was a factor, but also we really felt satisfied with the other options at the resort and nearby. More on other food adventures later
There will be great news and terrible news on that front.
We decided we should go to Target to pick up some essentials: more sunscreen, some food and beverages, a boogie board for Sam, a couple towels, etc. Before leaving, we dropped our twins off at Aunties, because video games apparently rank higher than boring errands.
On our way out, we grabbed a photo of the fun fruity water with the (not-so-very) Hidden Mickeys:
I guess it was worth the trip, but I have to say that it was very hard to be gone for so long (Target is not far away, but it took about an hour and a half). When we returned, we took the elevator up to the room to drop all our stuff off and then got the boys at Aunties. Kevin and Benji reported that they had fun, but they were eager to leave so we could all enjoy some pool time.
Oh, quick note on the Target run: We needed to get towels, because we lost the beach mats we had purchased earlier in the trip. I had brought them to Hanauma Bay, set them down when I got there, and never saw them again. Theyre cheap mats, but I could not bring myself to bother buying new ones. I had meant to keep better track of our lost items in this Trip Report. I have never lost so many things on vacation! It was ridiculous. We have only really begun our list, but by this point in the trip, we had lost: 1) Jeffs drivers license (later found), 2) three beach mats (still lost).
Anyway, back to our story. After we got Kevin and Benji, it was time to change and get into the pool. So, you know what that means! More elevator music.
When we got back outside, we were greeted by more vacationing friends: Mickey and Minnie! It was another amazing coincidence, I guess.
We loved the pools and the lazy river and the amazing theming of the Waikolohe Valley. It was beautiful.
We had a great time swimming and playing in the main pool and then a pool party started, which was fun (and loud). A photopass photographer caught us watching the show in the water:
Later the boys went up with Mickey and friends and they did the hula and some other goofy things:
The boys are on the far left. Benji was the most into it, and Kevin did not want to be up there at all. He and Sam played it pretty cool.
Next time: A volcano erupts on Oahu!
And we try Rainbow Reef and go to a luau.
I think they don't know what they're missing out on! I would love to take my Mum there.
And thanks for the support on the tea. It must be a girl thing! My mom, my sisters, and I just went out for tea last week. Fun, but definitely not for everyone. 
I waited two months for confirmation of our DVC rental request, which I placed at 11 months (so 9 months from departure). It was hard waiting and not knowing for sure if it would come through, but I would be hopeful. You are in line and doing all you can. I hope you get good news soon!
I heard about Delta making a mistake and that some people got crazy low flights to Hawaii. Was that the case for you? And nice deal on the room, too! Well done.
If you have any specific questions, shout them out! I would love to be of any help.
. I loved the details in the room and throughout the resort. It was just perfect, amazing attention to detail, very high quality, and a brilliant blend of Hawaii and Disney. Fun hidden Mickeys in places like the carpet and the quilt on the bed.
)
Darn that youtube video from Aulani with Minnie in it, haha!
Sounds like it's time for bed! At least doing the laundry is better at Disney properties.
