# Spring Break at Aulani, April 10-15, 2016 Trip Report (in progress)



## jtba

Hello! We returned from a 5-night stay in a one-bedroom villa at Aulani last week and I can honestly say it was the most relaxing family trip we've taken so far. Granted I did a lot of research here in the Aulani forum and elsewhere online, but it made the trip even more enjoyable because I knew what to expect in terms of the situation with the beach chairs, Aunty's Beach House, Ama Ama, etc. So here's a huge _*THANK-YOU*_ to all who have offered guidance and tips along the way! 

Topics I'll include:

Alamo Car Rental at HNL and Aulani
Aulani:
Aunty's Beach house pre-registration
lazy river, family infinity pool, lagoon
beach chairs and how easy/hard it was to get them
Meals at Ulu Café, Mama's Snack Stop, Ama Ama, and Lava Shack
Photopass

Beach with sea turtles 10 minutes away (see preview)

Ka'ena Point Beach
Dealing with food allergies
And whatever else comes to mind
So, here goes...

Pre-Trip Preparation (see below)
Tips re. Aunty's Beach House Pre-Registration, Meals, and Day 1, Sunday, April 10, 2016: SFO-HNL, Alamo car rental, Target, Safeway, and Aulani

Some random photos of the bathrooms and kitchen area
Day 2, Monday, April 11: Lazy river, infinity pool, Ulu Café, lagoon, Aunty's Beach House, Stitch's Space Goo, and Monkeypod

Days 3, Tuesday, April 12, Part 1: Lazy river, infinity pool, Ulu Café, Mama's Snack Stop, Dole Whip, Lava Shack, Aunty's Aloha Party
Day 3, Tuesday, April 12, Part 2: Lagoon, character meet-and-greets, Ama Ama dinner, food allergies, Starlit Hui
Day 4, Wednesday, April 13, Part 1: Lazy river, infinity pool, Alama Car Rental @ Aulani, ABC Store, unexploded ordinance (whaaaa?!?), Ka'ena Point Beach
Day 4, Wednesday, April 13, Part 2: Turtle place by Paradise Cove, Roy's, Surf's Up with Chip & Dale at Aunty's Beach House

Day 5, Thursday, April 14, Part 1: Infinity pool, chairs, lazy river, Ulu Café, Mama's Snack Stop, Mickey & Minnie, Stitch
Day 5, Thursday, April 14, Part 2: Turtles!

Day 5, Thursday, April 14, Part 3: Food allergy incident at Ama Ama 

Day 5, Thursday, April 14, Part 4: Sunset photos, scavenger hunt, Photopass photo CD

Day 6: Coming soon...

_*Pre-Trip Preparation*_

We came up with the idea of going to Aulani some time in fall 2015. We are not a Disney family (*gasp*), mostly because we don't let our kids watch a whole lot of TV or play video games, so although they know about some Disney stories they don't know all the characters, and we have yet to take them to Disneyland (we live in northern California).

Having said that, we did take our kids (8 and 4 years old at the time) on a DCL Alaskan cruise in July 2015 (see trip report), and we all enjoyed it immensely. A couple months later DH and I were talking about spring 2016, and he suggested looking into Hawaii because that's a destination we would want to travel to with kids while they're still little--by the time they're teenagers they may be too cool to hang out with us at the beach!  So I looked into Aulani and liked what I saw. Around December we booked the room, and I've been hanging out in this forum ever since!

As is our custom we kept the trip a surprise from the kids (we only told our kids about the cruise while waiting in the hotel room, an hour before we departed for the cruise terminal in Vancouver, haha). This time the trip was to take place over spring break. A friend suggested doing a scavenger hunt for clues around the house, or put stuff in a box for them to open; I chose the latter. The week before the trip, I went to the local AAA office in the hopes of picking up a map of Oahu, but all they had was one for the whole state of Hawaii. I found a leftover graphic of Stitch that I used for a Fish Extender gift magnet from the cruise, glued it over where Aulani is located on the map, put the map in an old shoe box, and added:

a pair of water shoes
sunscreen
a bag of sand (gathered from their shoes during preschool years, you know, dump them out in a corner of the garage before entering the house)
some jelly beans (I always give them munchies on plane rides to ward off pressure during take-off and landing)
a pack of Crazy 8 cards (to keep them entertained during the trip)
a pair of swim goggles




We were to depart on a Sunday. The Friday before, DD5 came home from preschool at lunch, When DS9 came home in the afternoon, I had the two of them open the box, and they figured out we would be going to Hawaii. They were thrilled of course, but DD was also miffed at the same time because "Mommy, the teachers asked the kids to raise their hands if they were going on vacation, and I didn't raise my hand. You should've told me!!! Next time you have to tell me, OK???" Oy vey, can't win either way...

I pretty much spent the whole day Saturday packing. I had started a little bit earlier in the week, but couldn't really get into it. I am very organized in general, you know, I'm the type with a ton of lists in Excel and what not, but I also tend to procrastinate a lot. That last-minute rush seems to drive me, and this was no exception. However, once Saturday arrived there was no putting it off any longer, so I packed all day while DH, DS, and DD hung around the house doing what, I don't know. My mind was focused on getting us ready for the early departure the next day.


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## tralin

I am very interested in your trip report.  I am looking at going in spring break with a then 9 year old myself.   Just starting the research so lots of questions!


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## Iggipolka

Following along. Too funny that two Northern Ca families were at Aulani at the same time!!


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## rnorwo1

Thanks for taking the time to do this, can't wait to read more!


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## crystal1313

Can't wait to read more! I'm in NorCal too East Bay Area! We usually surprise our kids too but decided to tell them about Hawaii since it will be their first time flying. Trying to really talk about it a lot, acceptable behavior on the plane, what to expect on take off and landing. Etc. my kids are similar ages. 8 & 6. Also, I have already made my packing excel sheet. Lol. Glad I'm not alone in that!


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## jtba

Forgot to mention the following planning-related items in my post above:

*Aunty's Beach House*

I had read horror stories of people being up early to be in line so they could register their kids for Aunty's Beach House. Whaaa?!?? That doesn't sound like a vacation to me! Thankfully Aunty's has since started a pre-registration process. *90 days before you arrival, go to their webpage and fill out your information on the registration form. *

As of April 2016, During the pre-registration process you can select up to three out of the four complimentary activities, which your kids can then attend for free. You can see all of them listed on their webpage listed in the previous paragraph. Based on the length of your stay, you will then be assigned a certain number of them. We stayed for five nights and got two; someone else said they stayed for eight nights and got three. It takes anywhere from a few hours to more than a week for them to reply and tell you to which activities you are assigned. I've also read that if the timing doesn't work for you, you can contact them to try to switch them up.

We signed up roughly 75 days in advance, and got the following:

3:00 p.m., Monday: Stitch's Space Goo
12:30 p.m., Tuesday: Aunty's Aloha Party
We also signed DS and DD up for "Surf's Up with Chip and Dale" for 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday night, when DH and I plan to have a quiet dinner at Roy's Restaurant across the street at the Ko Olina Golf Club.

Here is a very informative thread about Aunty's (thank you, @twodogs , for starting this one; it helped me immensely when I was planning our trip). For those curious about the premium activities, here's another one that may be helpful to you; @Iggipolka and i both contributed to the reviews, and it covers both "Surf's Up" and "Fish Are Friends".

*Meals*

DD has been clinically diagnosed to be allergic to gluen, dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, and fish, and since we were going to be at a strange land, we thought we should bring some foods that we knew would be safe for her. This included:

gluten-free sliced bread (frozen, so it went into the check-in luggage)
gluten-free hotdog buns
gluten-free cereal
gluten-free oatmeal
gluten-free pasta

gluten-free pretzels and other snacks
gummy bears, lollipops, and I can't remember what other sweet munchies (which we would bring out if we couldn't get allergen-free desserts for her at Aulani; also handy for take-off and landing)
Vienna sausages (good temporary source of protein on the return flight)
Yes, when we travel our carry-on is always full of safe foods for DD. And a huge bag of medicine too, which includes the usual Tylenol, Advil, Benadryl, Pepto Bismo, burn medicine, Neosporin, Pedialite, thermometer, hydrocortisone, etc. Are you laughing at me?  I know I know, it sounds silly to bring my whole medicine cabinet, but I like to be prepared! Who wants to have to drive around and look for a pharmacy in the middle of the night while on vacation? Anyway, in addition to the usual stuff other families might bring, we also have DD's Epi-Pens, which are with us 24/7.

Our room was going to be a one-bedroom villa, which comes with a full kitchen. We wanted this because of DD's allergies as well as the relative high costs of food at Aulani and Hawaii in general. The kitchen would allow us to cook some meals, but not stress over everything all the time. We were on vacation, after all.

*We also made several dinner reservations (used their online form) at Ama Ama at the 90-day mark.* I had googled and learned that sunset would take place around 6:50, so we had a few dinners scheduled around that time. We also made online reservations via OpenTable at Monkeypod and Roy's based on reading recommendations from here and talking to friends who familiar with the Ko Olina area.

All right, onto the actual trip itself now...

_*Day 1, Sunday, April 10, 2016*_

Our flight via United Airlines was set for 9:05 a.m. out of SFO (San Francisco), which meant we would need to be at the airport by 7:30 at the latest, which means the following timeline:

5:30: get up
6:30: get into garage
6:40: really leave home (because it always takes longer to get out of the house)
7:30: at airport
I don't remember what time I went to bed the night before, but at 4:15 a.m. I woke up to DS coughing in his room. He does this once in a while. Like he'll cough his lungs out for 20-60 (!) minutes, then it goes away and nothing reappears in the morning. I don't know if it's allergies or whatever. But it happens from time to time, ugh. I somehow drifted back to sleep eventually.

At 5:30 my alarm went off, but I was so tired that I lingered in bed until 5:45. I showered first while DH got breakfast ready for DS and DD. Did some last-minute packing, then we finally left the house at 6:50 (hey good thing my time-line above had some built-in procrastination time...). The ride to the airport was pretty smooth, not too many cars.

After we arrived at the airport, DH let the three of us out with all our luggage, then he drove off to leave the car at long-term parking while I checked in our two large suitcases. We had printed out our boarding passes the night before, and also took advantage of Alamo's online check-in as well. More on that later...

Anyway, for whatever reason, at the United self-check-in machine we were only able to get one luggage tag, so we were directed by the airport staff to a group check-in counter, which was a bonus because the regular check-in counter was full of people. I'm not sure why we got to the group counter, but I wasn't gonna argue with the employee!

After we finished checking in, I parked ourselves on some chairs nearby and waited for DH to get there from the parking lot. He showed up at 7:55, but DS and DD were fully occupied by the new activity books they just received that morning that they didn't fuss at all.

We got in line for the TSA security check, which went mostly smoothly except our soy butter in the carry-on luggage got confiscated. What happened was that when our luggage went thru the x-ray scan or whatever it is that the TSA uses, we got pulled off to the side. The agent asked if we had peanut butter, I said well we have soy butter because DD is allergic to peanuts. He explained that's not allowed because people hide stuff in there. Would we like to just give it up or go back out the airport and mail it back to ourselves? Whaaaa??? There's no way I'm gonna go through that line again. We reluctantly bid the soy butter good-bye, then went on our way.

Before we went to the gate, we thought it best to send everyone to the bathroom first. When we came out, we were so sad to learn that our flight had been delayed two hours due to "aircraft maintenance". OK, I'd rather they fix whatever it was they needed to fix over here than finding something wrong between here and Honolulu!

We sat down on four chairs and the kids continued working on their activity books. I had bought them some dot-to-dot things. DD's had 25-30 dots, while DS's had 250 dots. That oughtta keep 'em busy for a while, I thought. I read my magazine while DH walked around to get some exercise. After half an hour or so he sat down and hung out with us. Then after a while he suddenly said, "Uh, I left the cameras and chargers at home, I think." I stared at him and realized the enormity of the situation. This means we had no waterproof camera that we just bought, no regular digital camera, no charges for our phones nor laptop. He was tempted to go home and get it and I'm like, no way will you be able to make it! It was now 9:35, about 90 minutes before departure. He would have to go get our car from long-term parking, drive home, drive back, park it at long-term parking  So we decided we would just buy new chargers from Target in Hawaii, where we were headed anyway to pick up sand toys. As for photos, we would just use my iPhone to take photos. I was sad not to have the waterproof camera we had specifically purchased for this trip, but the iPhone is better than nothing, right?

Half an hour after that we realized we actually had the same chargers in the car. But by then it was too late to go to long-term parking and back again. So we resigned ourselves to our fate, and continued passing the time by reading, chatting with the kids, or whatever.

At 10:15 they announced that the new plane was circling and would land soon, and that once maintenance was done. Half an hour after that they said it would take 20 more minutes. But five minutes after that they started boarding the elderly and those with children under 2. We boarded shortly thereafter, behind two very different couples:

Couple #1: The wife was very angry at her husband: "You were supposed to go to the bathroom and come right back. I don't understand how you ended up with a beer. At 11 in the morning!!! Good thing your daughter cared about you. If you came back at 11:30 we would've been gone!!!!! Did you really have to get a beer at 11 in the morning???????" The husband looked very sheepish.

Couple #2: The elderly husband made a kiss-kiss face to his wife, who smiled tenderly back at him.​
Ah.... I hope DH and I will be Couple #2 years from now. 

After another quick run to the bathroom for the kids, we sat back, and waited for the plane to take off, which eventually happened at 11:57. We passed the time by first eating the lollipops for take-off, then jellybeans, then blackberries, then the sandwiches we packed (good thing I packed double for everyone; we already each ate one back at the airport while waiting).

I also reset my watch back three hours to match Hawaii time. About an hour into the flight, DD finished her 30-page dot-to-dot activity book. Oops. Well, I do have other activity books squared away so that wasn't a huge problem, thank goodness. Somewhere up there DH realized he forgot his swim shirt, so I added that to the Target shopping list. *sigh*

Two hours into the flight we brought out the laptop and let the kids sit together so they could watch "The Lego Movie", which would kill about an hour and a half. I drifted off to sleep, did the head dropping thing many times, and woke up about an hour before landing.

We landed at 1:50 p.m. local time (4:50 back home). "Mommy, I see an Hawaiian Airlines plane outside!"



Walked outside towards baggage claim (which took a long walk to reach), retrieved our stuff, then got on the Alamo bus by the curb right outside. Now, if you are headed to Aulani and are thinking of getting a rental car from the Honolulu Airport, I highly highly recommend getting it from Alamo. Other companies may not require a bus ride, but the process at Alamo is so highly efficient:

Check in online the night before, making sure to use the option to bypass the office and kiosk. Print out confirmation paperwork.
Get on bus.
Ride for 5 minutes.
Get off.
Hand confirmation printout to parking lot attendant.
Pick out car and leave within 5 minutes of arriving at Alamo.
Couldn't be easier than that!!!

At 2:20 we were out of the parking lot. Since we didn't choose to get the GPS, I used Google Maps to navigate. (It wasn't foolproof though, as it somehow led us down a road that had no outlet, but eventually we figured it out.)

We arrived at Target fairly easily. Got the chargers we wanted as well as the sand toys. At 3:25 (why did it take this long??? The drive was maybe 30 minutes; I guess we goofed around in the store looking at different things we didn't need), we headed to Safeway. That was probably another half an hour, during which we picked up bread, the most expensive bananas in the world ($1.19/lb, which shocked me because they're $0.79/lb back home; it's probably because they're imported into Hawaii), other fresh fruit, more munchies, water, and they filled up the entire cart:



At Safeway we had a good laugh with the cashier:

Cashier, to me: "Could you push your wagon forward a bit?"
Me: "Uh, what?"
Cashier (gesturing to the cart): "The wagon. Can you move it forward?"
Me: "Oh oh! Ok."​
Turns out the locals call what I call "shopping carts" wagons! I told the lady, and she laughed and said the Europeans who stop there call them "trolleys". 

At 4:07 we were finally done with Safeway, so we went to get gas first before heading to Aulani. In retrospect since this was such a short drive we should've just done the Prepay option through Alamo and not waste time. Oh well, live and learn.

Hey there's a view of Aulani!!



Very very exciting!!!

At 4:25 we found ourselves outside the hotel. Because of what I learned on the DIS, DH told the valet the car was from Alamo, so the valet took the keys and gave us a receipt, and the bellhop took our luggage, and we received the leis (the kids got menehune necklaces) and mickey water. Walked into the lobby, aaaahhhhh..... We were finally here!!! The CMs greeted us warmly, and the check-in process went very smoothly. The only hiccup was it would take the bellhop 30 minutes to get our all our stuff upstairs due to a backlog of other suitcases waiting. We opted to bring them up ourselves, but instead of the backpacks each of us had, one carry-on, two large wheeled suitcases, we now also had a gazillion grocery bags to deal with. After some back-and-forth with the CM, she suggested that we take up as much as we could and leave some of the grocery in the crate the bellhop had put them in, and they would bring the crate to us as soon as they could. We were grateful for the suggestion, and started lugging all our stuff towards the elevator, which was quite a ways away.

I had booked a one-bedroom villa with island garden view, and had called Aulani a couple months ago to request (as many had suggested here) a room that's on a high floor (to possibly get an ocean view), facing the Waikolohe Valley, in the Ewa Wing (so it's away from the parking structure on the other side). We were very pleased to receive a room in exactly that--on the 16th floor, the top floor, even. First look at our home for the next 5 nights at 4:50 p.m.:



This was the view from the balcony outside our master bedroom:



And the rest of the suite:






We unpacked and settled in. It took a long time because by now it was way past dinner time back home and we were all starved and slightly cranky. We had picked up a roast chicken at Safeway, so I sliced some baguette and blanched some broccoli, and we were eating by 6:25. It was not a fancy dinner by any means, but it hit the spot after a long travel day.

After dinner, the kids took their baths. Lights off for them at 7:45, or 10:45 back home. I was surprised they were still in pretty good spirits, considering they were usually in bed by 8. It did however took them a while to settle in until I gave my empty threat of "no beach tomorrow if you don't sleep right this instant!!!

DH and I stayed up until 9:30 or so, then went to sleep.

And no, we never made it downstairs to check out anything after arrival. We were just too tired. So no pictures to show of the wonderful things that awaited us outside...


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## jtba

I forgot to mention it took us 5 minutes to find the murphy bed in the living room. For some reason I had imagined it to be a vertical fold-down bed, so we walked around looking for a tall cabinet. Turns out the thing was horizontal and under the TV, LOL!!!


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## jtba

Iggipolka said:


> Following along. Too funny that two Northern Ca families were at Aulani at the same time!!



Yes, I've been following along your trip report too and wondered if we ever passed each other while walking to various places! Can't wait to read more in yours!


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## jtba

crystal1313 said:


> Can't wait to read more! I'm in NorCal too East Bay Area! We usually surprise our kids too but decided to tell them about Hawaii since it will be their first time flying. Trying to really talk about it a lot, acceptable behavior on the plane, what to expect on take off and landing. Etc. my kids are similar ages. 8 & 6. Also, I have already made my packing excel sheet. Lol. Glad I'm not alone in that!



What a small world in terms of geography and age of our kids! 

At the airport while waiting we saw that pretty much all the kids around us were on some sort of electronic device, which made me a little sad. But then I thought, how was it any different from my kids' activity books, just in a different form? And then I looked at all the adults and they were ALL engaged on a phone, tablet, or computer, so I just shrugged and chalked it up to the world we live in. :\ This was Silicon Valley, after all, but still, you know, I couldn't help but feel somewhat wistful for the good ol' days (whatever that conjures up). I myself am quite addicted to e-devices also, so I'm trying to put them off for my kids as long as I can.

That's funny you're an Excel fan too!


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## jtba

here are some additional pictures. 

this is the bathroom between the master bedroom and the full bathroom. this one just has the sink, bath tub, and a closet (not shown):



looking into that room from the master bedroom. the partition doors can be closed:



the tub:



looking into the master:

 

here's the full bathroom, with a view of the sink and toilet:

 

i like the seashells in the towels:


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## jtba

some random detail shots of the kitchen area:





and a rice cooker! there were laminated instructions in both english and japanese.



whether you want to hand wash the dishes or use the dishwasher, you're covered:



the washing machine and dryer, complete with powder detergent:



and a very shallow but tall safe. the sunscreen shows you the size:



we were able to store our laptop in there standing up.


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## SplashMom

Love reading your trip report!  We are going in 11 days so your information is very helpful.


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## Mommyof3inVA

Loving your trip report!! Great tips so far!  Can't wait to read more!


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## jtba

_*Aulani Day 2, Monnday, April 11, 2016*_

Normally the time difference between San Francisco and Honolulu is two hours, but due to Daylight Saving Time it was three when we were there. I didn't think there would be any problems, but tthose measly three hours really kicked my butt. I turned off the light at 9:30 p.m. but woke up at 11, 3:30, and 5. Ugh.

I should mention something about the bed in the master bedroom. While it was very large and soft and comfy, it was sooooo *squeaky*!!! Just the slightest movement (like if DD climbed on the bed) makes a sound. Maybe I should've told Mousekeeping, but we didn't, because we didn't want to move the room. Perhaps they could've put some oil on the springs? Anyway, DH was still sound asleep at 5, and I didn't want to wake anyone, so I just lied there very still and IM'ed with a friend via FB. She would be visiting Aulani during the last week of April so we had been very excitingly planning our trip together for the past couple months.

One more thing about the room: Since all was quite, I could hear this woooooooooo sound. I think it was the wind coming through the tiniest crack in the sliding door. If you know musical scales, it sounds like this: C-D-E-F-GGGGGGGGGG-F-E-D-C, C-D-E-F-GGGGGGGGGG-F-E-D-C, C-D-E-F-GGGGGGGGGG-F-E-D-C. The oddest thing ever. During the daytime we couldn't hear it because of the normal sounds in the room, kids talking, etc. But in the still of the night it was very audible. So i'm lying there tapping away on my phone while listening to C-D-E-F-GGGGGGGGGG-F-E-D-C over and over again...

Non-sequitur: There isn't a lot of cabinet space for our stuff. We were on the Disney cruise last year, and there was so much cabinet space that some remained empty for the duration of our 7-night stay. But at the Aulani, other than the 6-drawer chest in the master bedroom, there wasn't too much storage space. Almost all the cupboards in the kitchen had plates, bowls, utensils, etc. in them.

At 6 I couldn't stay in bed any more, so I got out ("squeak squeak squeak", thank you, bed), then I heard little feet. DD came to find me, and pretty soon everyone was up. I took made eggs and ham for everyone on the stove, and served cereal and bread as well. It was a very slow start to the morning because everyone was still tired from the day before. I didn't find the cutting board until Day 3, so I cut everyone on a large plate. 

I sent DH down to the lazy river area at 7:30 so he could secure some chairs for us. He took his Kindle with him and just hung out there by the towel shack. Short one pair of adult hands, it took the rest of us 20 more minutes to get out of the hotel room. We found him near the towel stand, so we went to the CM, showed our room keys to get our wrist bands (you get a different one everyday; it's to to differentiate the Aulani guests from visitors, who may walk around the hotel but not use the pools, chairs, etc.), life vest for DD, and a couple more towels. 

Note: If you have little ones, you'll want to *get those little green life vests as soon as the towel stands open*. They have the tendency to run out, so beware.

Then we basically spent the next couple hours in the lazy river. DD first rode on a two-seater raft with me, but she's on the short side so couldn't quite get her feet in the right position. After that first round, I switched her to a one-seater tube by herself, but while I was adjusting my waterproof camera, she ended up flipping backwards into the water. Good thing I saw her at the last second so I was able to lift her up immediately. Of course after that she didn't want to be on the tube any more! But she was happy to float around in the gentle current of the lazy river, which was pretty much what we did whenever we got in there for the rest of the week. DH and DS alternated between the tubes and floating, and we all had a great time! 



 

After we got tired of the lazy river, we went to the family infinity pool, the official, Hawaiian-sounding name for which I could never remember. . A very light drizzle came down around 9:30 but left us within 5 minutes. Since we were already wet, it didn't matter. 

At 10:15 we went back up to the hotel room for snack. While the others ate, I had a hot shower to warm up. It was sort of a waste of time, to walk all the way up to the hotel just to eat really quickly, so we decided from then on we would carry our snacks with us.

We went down again at 11. Our original plan was to head to the lagoon, but somehow we were all ready for lunch, so we headed to Ulu Café, which was much smaller than I had imagined in my mind. In this picture, that area you see with the chairs and tables is all the space where you can sit down and enjoy your meal:



Very tiny, ain't it?

We ordered the lunch special (can't remember what it was; nothing special even though its name implied otherwise) for the adults; can't remember what the kids had. Took us an hour to eat, after which we first went to the bathroom, then finally were on our way to the lagoon. There were many chairs available. First we sat down in the second row, then some chairs with shade in the first row (closest to the ocean) opened up, so we moved our stuff there. The water was colder compared to the lazy river (warmest) and the pools (warm), so DH, DS, and DD went in first while I stayed behind. I joined them after maybe 20 minutes, took some photos, but couldn't figure out how to use record videos on our brand-new waterproof camera (yeah yeah I could've read the manual but who does that?  ). Here at least are some photos from that initial visit. 

Panaramic view of Aulani from the lagoon (the under-construction Four Seasons is the white building on the left):



Looking south:



Panaramic view of the lagoon:



At 1:30 I noticed B's teeth were chattering. Even though she insisted, "No, no no no, i'm, not not not, co co cold! Re-re-re-really!!!" I managed to get her out of the water to dry her up, then buried her in sand. She was better within a few minutes. She wanted to do the same with me so I helped her dig a big hole, then laid down in it, with a view upwards like this:



Can you spot the airplane in the sky? Aulani must be in the path of the landing route for HNL, because we saw that quite frequently. If you're heading towards Honolulu, you should arrange to sit on the left side of the plane, then you may be able to get a view of the Aulani and the four lagoons right before you land. Of course the wind direction may change which also switches the landing pattern, but that's what we saw everyday when we were there.

I signed the kids up for *"Stitch's Space Goo"* at Aunty's Beach House. The official check-in time was 2:30, so we went back to the hotel room at 2. But it took us a while to clean up and head back down again. By the time we got to Aunty's it was already 2:40. Then I realized I left all our pre-registration paperwork upstairs. *sigh* The CM said it was OK and gave me a clipboard with a form to fill out. After I filled it out, more people showed up so I had to wait for them to finish their business. By 2:53 we still weren't checked in, and the kids didn't even have their magic bands. I couldn't wait any more, so I went back to the counter, then promptly got a lecture about how I need to show up 30 minutes early, blah blah. OK ok, I swear I'll do better next time, but please get my kids into the club already. Finally it was done and I sent them on their way.

Went back upstairs, had some snack, dawdled, then about an hour later DH and I went back downstairs to pick up the kids from Ama Ama. DS and DD came out, each with a little ziplock filled with green space goo. They said they had a great time, and that Stitch came to visit them too. We had them change into their swim gear in one of the bathrooms, then did three more rounds in the lazy river before returning to our room to get ready for our 5:30 dinner at Monkeypod.

Here are two views of the lazy river from near the elevator entrance:



 

*Do not underestimate the time it takes to walk to Monkeypod.* It probably would've taken two adults 10 minutes to go from hotel room to the elevator to the lobby, then down the hill, walk one block, then cross the street. But with two kids it took up even more time than that. By the time we arrived at Monkeypod it was already 5:40. The two-story restaurant was packed--good thing we had a reservation. 

Due to DD's allergies, I had contacted the restaurant in advance. They wrote back and suggested either the chicken wings w/o the tzatziki sauce (which turned out to be pre-marinated so she couldn't have it) or the keiki burger without the bun. With the waitress' help, we chose the latter for DD, the three-cheese pizza for DS, and fish and chips for DH. I can't remember what I had. Overall it was a good meal, though if you don't like flies visiting you and your food, do not sit outside. They weren't around when we first sat down, but mysteriously showed up as soon as the burgers were served. They left the pizza alone though. Go figure.

Sunset was to be at 6:50, so we hurriedly finished our dinner and walked/ran back to the area outside Ama Ama, where we were hoping to take a nice family sunset photo. We barely got there at 6:50, so I quickly got a shot of DS with DD, but as we didn't have a selfie stick we had to wait for people to walk by so we could ask them to take a photo. It didn't work very well. The first person didn't take a very good photo; by the time the second candidate showed up the sun was already down. Oh well. The next day (Tuesday) we would be lining up for the Starlit Hui around that time, and on Wednesday DH and I would be dining on our own at Roy's across the street, leaving us Thursday night as our one last chance. Here's a sunset shot:



We walked to Ama Ama to move our Tuesday dinner reservation from 6:30 to 5 (so that we could attend the Starlit Hui on time), but were told they were full and that we should try again tomorrow.

We went back to the room at 7:10. Everyone showered, then had watermelon to ward off the effects of the Hawaiian sun. We turned the lights out for the kids at 8, but I heard one of them still rolling around in bed at 8:30. 

All in all it was a very fun day at Aulani.


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## Mommyof3inVA

I am glad you mentioned the storage situation--I was curious how that might be in the one bedroom. Is there a closet in addition to the 6 drawers? Where did you store your luggage?! We will be bringing an umbrella stroller-do you recall if there is a space to store that when not in use?


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## jtba

Mommyof3inVA said:


> I am glad you mentioned the storage situation--I was curious how that might be in the one bedroom. Is there a closet in addition to the 6 drawers? Where did you store your luggage?! We will be bringing an umbrella stroller-do you recall if there is a space to store that when not in use?



there are two additional closets to store your stuff: 

there is a very narrow one near the entrance into the master bedroom from the living room. in it we found a combo safe (see picture in my day 1 report above), a pack-n-play (which has a very thin fitted sheet i think; i didn't unfold it to inspect closely), a broom, a high chair. it was pretty full so we only stored our backpacks and hung up the kids' clothes in there.
there is a wider closet in the bathroom with the tub and sink. we only used it to hang up the adults' clothes. it's possible we could've stored our large suitcases in there, but we just left ours on the floor in a corner of the master bedroom. each morning we would lock them up and stack them to give Mousekeeping some room to maneuver around.
your umbrella stroller should fit in the second closet just fine. there are plenty of corners in the whole suite, too, so it can just lean against one.


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## crystal1313

Isn't there space under the bed to store luggage? Or am I mistaken?


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## jtba

crystal1313 said:


> Isn't there space under the bed to store luggage? Or am I mistaken?



there was on the ship! i asked DH why we didn't store 'em under the bed at aulani, and he said he didn't recall that space being very tall, so we just left them out. there was lots of room in the master bedroom so they weren't in the way anyway. we put them in front of the desk in the far corner of the room.


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## jtba

hmm DS is claiming there was room underneath (he lifted up the bedspread on the last morning searching for a tiny piece of lego he misplaced). but he's 9, so it's hard to say how good of a judge he is for stuff like that.


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## jtba

here's our receipt from safeway for those who are planning to buy grocery there and are curious about their prices compared to on the mainland:


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## Mommyof3inVA

Thanks for sharing the Safeway receipt! That was some pricey watermelon  I'm surprised to see that milk is actually priced similarly to the price that I pay.


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## jtba

_*Aulani Day 3, Tueday, April 12, 2016*_

Due to the time difference, instead of the night owl I usually am at home, I went to bed before 10 almost every night at Aulani, esp. the first couple nights. But on the second night DD woke me up at 11:15 p.m. crying about "the noisy fridge" that's about 30 ft from her murphy bed. It really wasn't that noisy, but she's not used to having weird noises I guess, and plus there are no doors separating the kitchen from the living room. I tried to convince her it really wasn't that loud, and it would quiet down, and I can't remember what other stuff I told her at that hour (equivalent of 2 a.m. at home). Finally, out of options, I just left her alone and she eventually fell asleep again. Thank goodness because we really were all exhausted.

I next woke up at 4 a.m. Then 6:15. And I lingered in bed until 6:40, when I couldn't stand keeping still on that squeaky bed any more. Kids were very happy to see the start of the day again, they've been having such a great time. It was the same routine as the day before, cereal, eggs, ham, etc. DH went downstairs at 7:30 again. I implored him to bring a phone this time as he was just going to find a spot "somewhere". He refused because "it's not that big of a place!"

DS, DD, and I went downstairs at 8. The line at Keiki Korner (by the lazy river) was super long, so we went to the one by the infinity pool and got our wrist bands, towels, as well as the very last small, green life vest. The person behind me wanted one too, but was told to seek one back at Keiki Korner or Rainbow Reef, because they have more of those there.

So of course we looked everywhere for DH but couldn't find him. The place isn't that big, he's right, but was he at the main pool, infinity pool, or...? After walking round and round I got frustrated, so we grabbed one seat by the infinity pool (it was probably 8:15 or 8:20 by now; see, there were still chairs to be had, though this was under the old policy, when people would come down and reserve seats at the crack of dawn; as of 4/24/16 they no longer allow people to take up seats unattended before 8 a.m.). We left our stuff on the chair, then went to find D. This time we found him within a few minutes. He had secured two chairs by the main pool. But he walked around some more and found four chairs west of the lagoon behind the beverage shack. Our view was somewhat blocked by the shack, but the ocean was also visible and we were very happy:



(The fence is actually straight; this was a panoramic shot so it looks a little warped.)

We spent the next two hours in the *infinity pool*. DS has had swimming lesson for the past few summers but he still wasn't a very strong swimmers, so DH made him swim back and forth between various points of the pool, work on his breathing technique, etc. As for DD, on the first day she was very hesitant in the water even with the life vest on (she never progressed beyond bubble face at swim school last summer), but after that second morning she was happy to float back and forth on her own, and definitely got more comfortable in the water. She didn't need me to hold on to her all the time, which was a relief.

Eventually we got too cold, so we went to the *hot tub*, but it was too hot for DD and DS so they both refused to get in. So I suggested that we go back to the lazy river, to which they happily agreed. Now, I don't know this for sure, but it _felt_ like the lazy river had the warmest water and easiest to get into in the morning.

We timed the rounds and it was probably 8-9 minutes per round, though this was probably because we were swimming along with the current rather than floating along on the tubes. We did maybe 4-5 rounds before we got hungry and left for lunch.

I first went to *Ulu Café* and ordered double servings of hash potatoes and bacon (which would be perfect and allergen-free for DD), then retrieved three hotdogs for DS, DD, and myself (bunless for DD), and chili and cheese and rice (what a weird combo, but it was on the menu) for DH from *Mama's Snack Stop*. It was nice to enjoy our lunch against that beautiful view above. I sighed a very happy sigh...

DS and DD were signed up for "*Aunty's Aloha Party*" at Aunty's at 12:30, which means they were to report there at 12. At 11:45 DH took DS back up to the room while DD and I went to the *Lava Shack* to get soft-serve *Dole Whip*. This was special because the pineapple flavor one is dairy-free, which means DD could have it safely! She was so happy!!!! In fact she ate it so quickly back at the hotel room that she got brain freeze! I told her to eat more slowly next time, and coaxed her to put the uneaten half in the freezer, then rushed her to change quickly so we could be down at Aunty's w/o getting a lecture this time. I think we made it into the door at 12:01 p.m, whew!

Yay! Adult time!!! DH said he would walk around while I went to the concierge desk. I was mainly there to ask about whether we needed to reserve a taxi to go to the Honolulu Airport on Friday ("no, you don't need to," she said; we were to find out later that it would've been a better idea to reserve one though we weren't really impacted by this decision), retrieve the Daily Iwa so I could find out what activities were available. Then DH met up with me and we spent some time in the gift shop, buying postcards, a Christmas ornament, and a Disney pin. I'm not really a collector, but bought several while on the Disney cruise last summer, so I felt like I should buy one from Aulani too as a keepsake (though wasn't the ornament enough?). Oh well, what the hey.

Next we checked in at *Ama Ama* to see whether we could switch our dinner reservation to 5. Yes! They said, and DD's food allergies were noted in our reservation, so that was taken care of.

Now we had probably less than hour before it was time to get the kids, so we hurried to the *adult pool*, found one chair by the cabanas, parked our stuff on there, then hopped into the pool, where two men were carrying their women on their back and bumping into each other and generally having a great time. They were playing bumper cars, they said, and would we care to join them? I laughed and said no, thank you.  DH and I hung out in a shady corner, but after a while it almost felt weird to not hear kids' raucous voices here. We kinda missed our kids, it was strange!

_To be continued... ("Game of Thrones" is calling, lol)_


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## wfgamble

Love your report! Thank you for the detail and for taking the time to write it


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## heaven2dc

jtba said:


> I had booked a one-bedroom villa with island garden view, and had called Aulani a couple months ago to request (as many had suggested here) a room that's on a high floor (to possibly get an ocean view), facing the Waikolohe Valley, in the Ewa Wing (so it's away from the parking structure on the other side). We were very pleased to receive a room in exactly that--on the 16th floor, the top floor, even. First look at our home for the next 5 nights at 4:50 p.m.:
> 
> View attachment 163795
> 
> This was the view from the balcony outside our master bedroom:
> 
> View attachment 163797



Enjoying your trip report (I'm still reading the first post so can't wait to read more)!  Glad you got most of your requests for your room!  Nice view for an island garden view   If you had been placed in a room facing the Waikolohe Valley, that would have been either a poolside garden view or ocean view room since island garden view rooms do not face the Waikolohe Valley.  The island garden view 1bedroom villas that are over the convention center aren't bad at all either - at least they are higher up so that at least you would have gotten a nice view of the mountains.


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## jtba

heaven2dc said:


> Enjoying your trip report (I'm still reading the first post so can't wait to read more)!  Glad you got most of your requests for your room!  Nice view for an island garden view   If you had been placed in a room facing the Waikolohe Valley, that would have been either a poolside garden view or ocean view room since island garden view rooms do not face the Waikolohe Valley.  The island garden view 1bedroom villas that are over the convention center aren't bad at all either - at least they are higher up so that at least you would have gotten a nice view of the mountains.



ah, thank you for the tip! i was wondering where the waikolohe valley would come in.  we were thrilled with our room so no complaints there!


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## jtba

_*Aulani Day 3, Tueday, April 12, 2016, Part 2* 

(continued)_

At 1:25 we picked up DS and DD, who eagerly showed us the "kupe'e" (bracelet) they made using orchids. They were beautiful, and I was happy to hear they had a good time.

Now it was finally time to get some photos with the *characters*. Unlike the Personal Navigators on the Disney Cruise, the Daily I'Wa does not include the time and location of their appearances. Instead, *you call an extension (x2447) in the morning to find out where and when the characters will be.* On this day we got lucky because the CM at the Lava Shack was kind enough to offer me a slip of paper that had all that information written down, so we just followed it.

*Mickey and Minnie* were supposed to be at the [insert name of that island over the bridge near the lazy river; I had a hard time remembering the Hawaiian names] at 1 p.m. Since it was already 1:20 I figured we wouldn't be able to make it in time, so we settled for Stitch. However, when we got to the island, Mickey and Minnie were still there. Alas, a CM was already at the very back of the line, signaling the end of that particular meet-and-greet, so we decided to stand in the short line that had formed for Stitch.

Within a few minutes Mickey and Minnie said their good-bye and left the scene, giving DS and DD high-five's on their way past us. Then Aunty, who was at Aunty's (duh!) with the kids earlier, showed up with her ukulele:



She began playing as soon as *Stitch* showed up. Onwards with the photos! We lingered a bit afterwards, then caught sight of *Goofy* too. But he wasn't there to take photos, and just stood on one of the bridges over the lazy river waving to the crowd.



Guess what, it was time for snack again, lol! Went back to the hotel room, where the kids had some of that very expensive watermelon as well as some of the leftover Dole Whip. Then we headed back out to the lagoon and hung out there until 4. DD was very happy to swim around with DH and me, while DS mostly hung out on the beach playing with sand.

I also swam all the way out to the *red buoy*. It didn't take very long (maybe 5 or 6 minutes?), and I'm not in the best physical shape either. I must admit, however, that halfway there I started thinking, oh my goodness, what if I have a muscle spasm and sink??? I kept looking back but people got smaller and smaller, and I wondered if anyone would even notice. But thankfully there were three other ladies swimming behind me, so I figured maybe one of them would say something.  Once I got to the big red ball, I touched it, just to signal to myself that I did it, then turned around and swam back. It was a very relaxing swim under that beautiful blue sky. I did start getting a bit tired about 2 minutes before getting to the sand area, so it was perfect.

At 4:15 we were back in the hotel room to shower and get ready for our 5 p.m. dinner reservation at *Ama Ama*. We wanted to eat early partially because it was already 8 p.m. back home, but mostly because we wanted to catch the Starlit Hui that night. I had read here that you want to start lining up at 6:45, and 5 p.m. would allow us to have a leisurely dinner.

Our waitress, Melinda, was great with DD's *food allergies*. She swapped out DD's bread with fresh fruits, suggested that the grilled steak with local vegetable would be safe, and offered dairy-free sorbet (strawberry flavor) for dessert. We were very happy with her, and asked for the manager at the end of the meal to praise her.

The kids' desserts:





Our side of Ama Ama wasn't very "deep"--there are three of four rows of tables width-wise, and I understood why. This was so that everyone could get a good *ocean view.* Our table was in the second row. With the shades down, this is what we saw:



Towards the end of the meal, they raised the shades, so the view was a lot more clear:



Here's another sunset photo from near Ama Ama's entrance:



We left around 6:30, but didn't arrive at *Starlit Hui* until 15 minutes later. I counted there were about 40 people ahead of us as we walked past them, but maybe 10-15 more showed up to be with their families at the front, and hundreds more walked past us to join the line throughout the waiting period.


The chairs you see in the photo are for those with knee problems or other physical issues, btw. Most people got to sit on the mats.

The wind started picking up while we were waiting, so I asked DH to go back to the room to get us some jackets. Thank goodness he did because it got quite chilly, though most people were still in their t-shirts and shorts. Maybe we're just wimps, lol.

The line started moving at 7:10 (yay!!!), but the CMs cut it off right behind us so they could control the flow of traffic. We stood around for 2-3 minutes, waiting for the families in front of us to get seated. We then grabbed a mat and followed a CM to where we would sit. We got the third row from the front, off to the left. Not bad for having ~50 people in front of us. 

Uncle came out at 7:25 to do an intro, then six hula ladies led the kids (and a few adults) in the Aulani Hula. It's interesting to me that all this time I had been pronouncing Aulani "owl-*la*-ni" with an emphasis on the La, but Uncle and other CMs were saying "*Ah*-ooh-la-ni", with the emphasis on the Ah part.

At 7:50 I thought it would be best to take DD to the bathroom one more time, so we hurriedly walked past all the people and went back to Ama Ama, where the closest bathrooms were. Good thing there weren't too many people waiting. We got out of there in 8 minutes, walked by two of the pre-show activities because DD expressed interest (weaving and kupe'e making), then made it back to our seats right before the show started promptly at 8.

The show was great! There was singing, hula dancing, fire dancing, storytelling through dancing, etc.



One of my favorites is the dueling ukuleles. Don't want to spoil it for you so I'll just leave it at that. 

Stitch, Goofy, Chip & Dale, Minnie, and Mickey joined the stage for the final act:



After the dances left at 8:30, the characters stayed for another 15 minutes, dancing with the crowd (they stayed on stage though; I guess they don't want to be mobbed). We left shortly thereafter, then put the kids to bed.

This was the only day when I remembered to pick up the Daily Iwa at night (did it in the morning all the other days), so I went downstairs, got one from the lobby, then went back upstairs, had an apple for snack, and went to bed.

Another fun day at Aulani!


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## crystal1313

Loving all the photos!!  Do you know if the *Starlit Hui* is on the same nights every week? Trying to plan for when we are there.  Thanks!!  Can't wait to read more


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## MarbleBob

You are doing a fantastic job with your trip report!!!  Looking forward to the next installments


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## jtba

crystal1313 said:


> Loving all the photos!!  Do you know if the *Starlit Hui* is on the same nights every week? Trying to plan for when we are there.  Thanks!!  Can't wait to read more



i researched on here before our trip and learned they were _usually_ on Sun, Mon, and Thu, but the week we were there it was Tue and Thu because there was an on-site LPGA tournament event on the lawn that particular Monday (you can see the "tent" in the lower-left corner of this photo, taken from our balcony). i arranged our Ama Ama dinners according to the Sun/Mon/Thu schedule, but after we arrived and learned that the Starlit Hui would be on Tuesday instead I had to scramble and change our Tue dinner reservation time.

my friend who's there right now said she went to the performance last night (Mon).


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## crystal1313

jtba said:


> i researched on here before our trip and learned they were _usually_ on Sun, Mon, and Thu, but the week we were there it was Tue and Thu because there was an on-site LPGA tournament event on the lawn that particular Monday (you can see the "tent" in the lower-left corner of this photo, taken from our balcony). i arranged our Ama Ama dinners according to the Sun/Mon/Thu schedule, but after we arrived and learned that the Starlit Hui would be on Tuesday instead I had to scramble and change our Tue dinner reservation time.
> 
> my friend who's there right now said she went to the performance last night (Mon).



Fantastic!  Thanks!!  We have an early reservation for Ama Ama on Thursday and we arrive on a Monday........hmm!  May try both!!


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## jtba

non sequitur: remember how DH said in the airport upon departure that he left our phone chargers, cables, waterproof and regular digital cameras at home? i forgot to mention that, as we were unpacking our stuff in the hotel room, DH suddenly said, "look, i found them!" he lifted up the ziplock bag that had all of them, woohoo!!! so the cables we bought at Target were not necessary after all. we decided to return them while we had the rental car on day 4, but ended up not going at all. i was able to return the cables for a full refund at the target back home.

here's a discussion of our waterproof camera as i'm too lazy to write it up again.  it's a great camera and we'll certainly take it with us again on our next beach vacation.


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## jtba

crystal1313 said:


> Fantastic!  Thanks!!  We have an early reservation for Ama Ama on Thursday and we arrive on a Monday........hmm!  May try both!!



definitely go on the first day the show is available as i've heard they will cancel it due to inclement weather. do not wait until the last day! 

and it was simple to switch your Ama Ama reservation times. we did t twice during our stay there.


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## crystal1313

Our Ama Ama reservation is at 5 on Thursday....I am thinking we would have enough time to do Starlit Hui too.  Maybe I could have my parents and kids meet us there on the lawn. We will attempt on Monday, but don't know if the kids will be able to handle staying up that late.   Thanks again!!


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## jtba

crystal1313 said:


> Our Ama Ama reservation is at 5 on Thursday....I am thinking we would have enough time to do Starlit Hui too.  Maybe I could have my parents and kids meet us there on the lawn. We will attempt on Monday, but don't know if the kids will be able to handle staying up that late.   Thanks again!!



5 p.m. is definitely plenty. for those first few days i was surprised my kids stayed up and didn't go to bed until 8-9 as they're usually in bed by 8 at home (5 p.m. hawaii time), so your kids might be able to do it too.


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## crystal1313

Good to know!  8pm is our kids bedtime as well!!  I am pretty sure my oldest could stay up, he is a night owl.  =)


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## jtba

_*Aulani Day 4, Wednesday, April 13, 2016*_

Remember I wrote on Day 1 that I woke up to DS coughing in his bedroom a few hours before we got on the plane? Well, it happened again, except this time he *coughed* and *coughed* and *coughed* and coughed around midnight. Since he showed no sign of stopping on his own, I got up and gave him honey to soothe his throat. When that didn't help, I told him to do his deep breathing exercise, you know, breathe iiiiin, breathe oooouuuutttt, vvvvveeeerrryyyyy slooooooowwwwwlllllyyyyy. After 5 minutes of that, he still showed no signs of improvement, so I told him to go out to the balcony because I didn't want him to wake up DD (couldn't tell if she was awake by then, probably, but not sure) or our neighbors. He also sounded slightly croupy (ack!) and I had heard that cold air helps.

One word on neighbors: Although the resort was supposedly at *95% capacity* that week, we didn't hear our neighbors once. _Maybe_ we heard people walking down the hallway one time, but never from next door. Don't know if it was the great soundproofing or there happened to be no one next door. But anyway, it was nice.

Back to my coughing son... On the balcony, he again coughed and coughed and coughed, in fact he coughed so much that he *threw up*. Aaaargh! I tried to soak up as much as I could with the Kleenex we had from the bathroom, and I also threw water to clean up the rest. This was in complete darkness, too. I'll spare you the details. But if you're a parent, you know what I'm talking about, so I'll just leave it at that.  After I don't know how long (I didn't want to look at the clock, too depressing), eventually he stopped, and DH, DS, and I all went back to bed.

At 4:15 I woke up again to *more coughing*, this time from DD!!!! BUT thankfully it was just a few small coughs. I tossed and turned and fell asleep again. At 7 I woke everyone up. This morning we had a very slow start as we were all very tired, so no eggs and ham--it was just cereal and fresh berries this time. 

DH went downstairs at 8 to get a life vest for DD, and we met up with him maybe 10-15 minutes after. This time we secured some chairs towards the back of the *infinity pool*, and this was our view (taken later in the day):



At 8:30 as was our habit we went into the *lazy river* first. Despite much coaxing, DS and DD refused to join me at the *water slides*, so I went down the open, gentler slide by myself. This is the one whose entrance was on the right as you waited on the staircase. I waited with my inner tube and chatted with my neighbors, then went down it. Wasn't too bad, though it was much faster and more twisty than I expected. When I came out at the bottom near the entrance to the lazy river, DH (with our camera), DS, and DD were waiting for me to capture it on video. We did a couple more rounds of lazy river before heading into the *infinity pool*:



Spent about an hour there, then we got out around 10 to have snacks at our chair before going back to our hotel room. Why did we get out so early today? We actually had grandiose plans for the day, because I wanted to go to the *turtle place* at Paradise Cove and this awesome beach called *Ka'ena Point Beach*, which is located at the westernmost point of Oahu. I had read about it here on the disboards (post #611 in this thread). The picture just looked so stunning on that page that we just had to pay a visit. 

Anyway, we went back to the hotel room and I think I made sandwiches for everyone. Then we went downstairs to *Alamo* to pick up our rental car. A fairly easy process, it was. It was right outside the hotel on the right side (with your back to the ocean). There were one party of four adults ahead of us. After they left, we handed the agent our paperwork, then went downstairs into the garage to claim our car. As we waited there, the party ahead of us climbed into a small SUV and drove off. But right before that, DS (or was it DD?) exclaimed, hey, that's our car! Turns out it was the same car we had driven from HNL to Aulani three days ago, and DS/DD recognized the license plate. Funny! 

After we got into our new car, we drove across the street to the *ABC store*, picked up some straw mats (that for some reason Target didn't have) for our beach excursion, plus some Kona coffee for family back home. 

Here are three random photos of their grocery section:



 

 

Pulled out of the parking lot at 12:46. I can't believe it took us that long to get outta the Aulani area to be on our way... We got out of the pool more than 2.5 hrs ago!!!

But first we had to decide if we wanted to go to the turtle lagoon first. We thought, nah, we can always do that on the way back, it was getting close to 1 so we better get on our way to Ka'ena Point. As we drove out of the area along the greens of the Ko O'lina Golf Club, due to the *LPGA tournament* taking place that week, we caught a glimpse of *Michelle Wie*:



Just kidding! No, I don't know if it was Michelle Wie, but she supposedly was there that week playing in the tournament. 

*Ka'ena Point*, according to Google Maps, is 19 miles away from Aulani and would take us 38 minutes to get there. Just follow Hwy 93 all the way up to the northwest point, to the end of the highway. We drove through all these small towns, passing a couple McDonald's, a KFC, and the usual places you see everywhere else. There was some traffic, but nothing horrendous. Just a lot of stop lights, it felt like. The water along the way was blue and turquoise and simply beautiful:



At 1:20 we were still driving, moving at 25 miles an hour, and it felt like we were never going to get there...

Suddenly we drove past *Makaha Beach Park*, which is a name I recognized from that Disboards thread mentioned above, so I knew we must be close. I saw that there was a lifeguard there and a place to wash off, so I made a note to myself that if we couldn't find Ka'ena Beach or if it didn't work out somehow, we could always turn around and come back here.

After a few more minutes we saw this beach in the distance, and based on the location, figured it must be our destination:



The traffic came to a sudden halt. There were probably 7-8 cars in front of us, waiting for something. After waiting in the car for 5-10 minutes I got impatient--what the heck were we waiting for??? We were like this (makes tiniest distance between thumb and index finger) from our beach!!!! I got out of the car and walked ahead. I stopped about two cars up because (don't laugh) because a lady had pushed the door open and her legs were hanging out. She seemed friendly when I looked at her, so I asked her what the deal was. Turns out a crew (of what? I forgot to ask) had found some *unexploded ordinance* up ahead and were disarming it! They were only allowing cars to pass by every 15 minutes. Now I'm thinking of that scene from "The English Patient", where all these tanks were passing by on a bridge above and the poor bomb guy was trying to defuse the bomb below... Anyway, the lady said they had already been waiting for 10 minutes. I sighed and said that we were on our way to Ka'ena Point. The lady (who was apparently a local) said oh, it is well worth the wait, it is beautiful and you should go. I thanked her, then went back to the car. Within a few minutes they re-opened access and we were on our merry way.

Parked our car, used the bathroom (and the Disboards report was correct, there was indeed an outdoor shower too), and we were treated to this  view (panoramic so somewhat warped):

 
Here's another one, looking back south:

 

It really was a stunning beach. The blue water was exactly what I had in mind in terms of a postcard from a Hawaiian beach (no coconut trees in the background though, hmm). I counted no more than five other people on the beach besides my family, plus a few more in the water, and that was it. Very private. There was a manned lifeguard's shack off to the right of the panoramic photo above. 

The waves here were _much_ stronger than the baby ones at Aulani's lagoon, however. Due to the *riptide warnings* posted nearby, we didn't dare let our kids stay by the edge of the water for more than 10 minutes. They were very happy to play with sand anyway--good thing the sand toys we bought from Target didn't go to waste. But anyway, the waves were so strong that even I got swept off my feet several times. 

The weather changed briefly (see the big cloud swooping in from the left in the picture above). There was a very light, gentle drizzle which went away after a few minutes. The sea breeze and the sound of the crashing waves made us that much more aware of the power of nature. 

There was a guy fishing with two fishing poles. I asked him what fish could be had here, but the waves were so loud that I couldn't quite hear his answer, and, since I don't really know fish that well (unless you give me their names in sushi, lol), I figured there was really no point in asking again anyway, so I left the guy alone. While we were there he did catch a fish, maybe less than a foot long. DS, DD, and the one other kid who was there ran to the guy, but he said it was too small to keep. He unhooked the fish and tossed it back into the ocean.

At 3 o'clock we decided to start heading back because we still had high hopes of catching a glimpse of the *sea turtles* at the cove next door to Aulani. We asked a couple who were hanging out nearby to take an obligatory family photo of us (which turned out to be fuzzy once I looked at it more closely in the car, because the lens of my phone was smeared with sunscreen, bah), then we showered and drove off at 3:20.

_To be continued..._


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## alohamom

Thanks so much for persevering and getting to Ka'ena Point! The photos are gorgeous.


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## rnorwo1

I'll have to add this beach to our list... I think we are going to drive up to north shore and then back down the western side, so we could stop then.


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## bcwife76

I'm here, I'm here!!!!

Where to start....well, the resort looks just gorgeous - I love the room you got!! For some reason the little booth in your dining area just tickled me, reminds me of one we had in the house I grew up in and it just seems very 'family mealtime' to me! Your room came well equipped, that's for sure!

The resort seems so much more expansive than I realized. 

Your poor DS and his coughing fit  I hope he didn't have a repeat performance for the rest of the trip. Poor wee boy!

As for your photos, you can't beat a Hawaiian sunset! I'm glad you were able to leave the resort too though - stunning beach!!

Thank you so much about the tip for Alamo re: checking in online. We're renting through Alamo for our Maui trip the end of this month, that will certainly save us some time!By the time we land in Maui it will be almost midnight Vancouver-time so having to get the car and then still drive to our condo....ugh, will be a long night but now I know we won't have to wait in a horrendous car rental line up!

Looking forward to the rest of your trip report!


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## jtba

bcwife76 said:


> I'm here, I'm here!!!!





(DD is in my lap watching me type this reply, and lol'ed when she saw the dancing bananas  )



bcwife76 said:


> Where to start....well, the resort looks just gorgeous - I love the room you got!! For some reason the little booth in your dining area just tickled me, reminds me of one we had in the house I grew up in and it just seems very 'family mealtime' to me! Your room came well equipped, that's for sure!



yes, it was really well stocked with everything. i was very impressed. are all DVC rooms like this, i wonder? (any DVC member reading this, please feel free to chime in!)



bcwife76 said:


> The resort seems so much more expansive than I realized.



it looks big, but really doesn't take that long to walk from one end to the other. maybe 5 minutes?



bcwife76 said:


> Your poor DS and his coughing fit  I hope he didn't have a repeat performance for the rest of the trip. Poor wee boy!



thank you. he does this maybe once every few months, so we're sort of used to it. wonder if he has seasonal allergies? but it really only happens at night, the most inconvenient time... 



bcwife76 said:


> Thank you so much about the tip for Alamo re: checking in online. We're renting through Alamo for our Maui trip the end of this month, that will certainly save us some time!By the time we land in Maui it will be almost midnight Vancouver-time so having to get the car and then still drive to our condo....ugh, will be a long night but now I know we won't have to wait in a horrendous car rental line up!



check online and see if they offer it at the maui airport. it seems like it's in many, but not all. for your sake i definitely hope they have it. 



bcwife76 said:


> Looking forward to the rest of your trip report!



i'll try not to take 8 months to finish it this time, lol!


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## jtba

@bcwife76 here's the list of airports that has the skip-the-counter option: https://www.alamo.com/en_US/car-rental/checkin.html


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## bcwife76

jtba said:


> @bcwife76 here's the list of airports that has the skip-the-counter option: https://www.alamo.com/en_US/car-rental/checkin.html



Haha, I *just* messaged you about Alamo and then saw this - great minds


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## jtba

rnorwo1 said:


> I'll have to add this beach to our list... I think we are going to drive up to north shore and then back down the western side, so we could stop then.



it's definitely worth a visit, but not sure if you can drive from north shore and go west that way. ka'ena point is at the very end of hwy-93, and it doesn't appear to connect with the route 930 that comes in from the north: https://www.google.com/maps/place/K...2!3m1!1s0x7c00f3ac20188fc7:0x2fb0558ec5de72bf


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## rnorwo1

jtba said:


> it's definitely worth a visit, but not sure if you can drive from north shore and go west that way. ka'ena point is at the very end of hwy-93, and it doesn't appear to connect with the route 930 that comes in from the north: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ka‘Ena+Point/@21.4975875,-158.2480892,11z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x7c00f3ac20188fc7:0x2fb0558ec5de72bf


Thanks for the heads up, I'll figure out the routes when I sit down with the maps. We should be able to go on one of our not-planned days, also!


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## disnygirl55

I am enjoying your trip report so much - I appreciate all the detail (like the line for the Starlit Hui and when you got there and when the line began to move). Details like this are so helpful for planning purposes. Thank you, thank you!!


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## jtba

disnygirl55 said:


> I am enjoying your trip report so much - I appreciate all the detail (like the line for the Starlit Hui and when you got there and when the line began to move). Details like this are so helpful for planning purposes. Thank you, thank you!!



lol i always think my TRs are too long-winded and has too many details that nobody other than me cares about, but i am super glad you found the little tidbits useful!


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## bcwife76

Are you ever coming back?  haha, yes I saw your message in the other post so I hopped right on over to light a fire under your butt missy!!


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## Liz N

Can't wait for the rest of your trip report, jtba. Appreciate all the tiny little details you post. Feels like i'm there already 
We're going on Labor day for 2 nights only (sept 5-7) with 1.5yo and 4 yo. Don't think we can leave our 1.5yo at the Aunty's right?


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## jtba

Liz N said:


> Can't wait for the rest of your trip report, jtba. Appreciate all the tiny little details you post. Feels like i'm there already



glad to be of service! many others gave me lots of pointers here before our trip, so i'm just doing what i can to help those who are going after me. 



Liz N said:


> We're going on Labor day for 2 nights only (sept 5-7) with 1.5yo and 4 yo. Don't think we can leave our 1.5yo at the Aunty's right?



i believe that is correct. aunty's is for 3-12 yr olds.


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## crystal1313

Liz N said:


> Can't wait for the rest of your trip report, jtba. Appreciate all the tiny little details you post. Feels like i'm there already
> We're going on Labor day for 2 nights only (sept 5-7) with 1.5yo and 4 yo. Don't think we can leave our 1.5yo at the Aunty's right?



There's babysitting though, if you are comfortable with that.  Here is a link from Aulani:

https://resorts.disney.go.com/aulani-hawaii-resort/rooms-offers/in-room-options/childcare/

Here is the link for the service:

http://www.kamaainakids.com/hotel-and-conventions/sitter-services


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## jtba

_*Day 4, Wednesday, April 13, 2016, Part 2*_

Remember the *ordinance stop* we encountered on our way to Ka'ena Point? Well of course we had to go through that again on our way out, but thankfully it didn't take as long this time. We only had to wait for 3-4 minutes before we went on our merry way again, whew! We drove through all the little towns that we passed through earlier, and noticed there were a ton of people driving in the opposite direction. Guess these are folks who work in other parts of the island? But it was still pretty early, maybe 3:45-ish, so I'm not really sure who these people were or where they were going. The traffic was definitely slow, as there were only two lanes in each direction.

By the time we got near Aulani, it was right before 4 o'clock. Since we didn't need to drop off the kids at Aunty's until 5, I thought I would try to squeeze in the *turtle place by Paradise Cove*. DH dropped us off at the entrance to the parking lot, then drove back to the hotel. He said he would try to meet us somewhere halfway, but we decided it might be too hard, and agreed we should just meet up back at the hotel.

So we entered Paradise Cove, but I had no idea where the turtle place was supposed to be. I mean, I read about it here, it's somewhere "near" Paradise Cove, but where? The parking lot could easily accommodate 300-400 cars. We figured we would walk along the back fence because the turtles must be near the ocean, right? So we went all the way down to the fence, turned left, and started walking back towards Aulani's direction. Big mistake. Because pretty soon we were right up against the new Four Seasons hotel construction fence, with no entrance to the turtle place in sight. There were some private residential houses, and I didn't think we could/should walk across their yard to get to the beach. So after 10 minutes of aimlessly walking around the parking lot, I sighed and started our trek back towards home. By now DS was whiny but DD was a trooper. I told them it was such a great adventure! Wasn't it fun to explore??? lol Anything to distract them and keep them in relatively good spirits.  We're close to getting home, really, see??? The hotel is _right_ there!!!

By the time we got into the lobby it was 4:30. There was supposed to be a *Chip & Dale *meet and greet, but I must've written down the location wrong, because when we got there they were nowhere to be found. But a Youth Counselor happened to be standing around. He asked whether my kids would be at Aunty's tonight, because Chip & Dale would be making an appearance there. We were happy with the answer, and headed back up to the hotel room to shower. 
Because this was the first time DD would stay at Aunty's for a meal (I signed them up for "*Surf's Up with Chip & Dale*", which runs 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. and comes with dinner included), I called them to see whether we need to make any special arrangements. The CM said no, her allergies were already noted down, and the chefs from the kitchen would make sure her items were all allergen-free. I thought, OK, that sounds great, but I'm going to make her a sandwich just in case. So I hurriedly made her a soy butter sandwich, then DH took them down while I primped and got ready for our adults-only dinner.

After I finished primping, I posted  a "Help me please!" message on here to see where the turtles were. DH came back and reported that no homemade food was allowed at Aunty's, which is fine, actually--I wouldn't want other parents sending foods that may have items to whcih DD is allergic. 

Our dinner reservation at *Roy's* was at 5:30. It took us 15 minutes to get there from our room on the 16th floor, but it probably would've been faster had we known to cut through the garage on the right side of the lobby. Instead, we walked out the lobby all the way down to the street, then turned right and walk, somewhat hurriedly, because we were behind schedule by 5-10 minutes (where did the time go???) and we also didn't really know exactly where we were going--just knew it was across the street near the greens.

5:40 p.m., we finally arrived, and were escorted to our table right by the golf course. *happy sigh* As much as I love my children, it really is nice to get away from them and have a quiet dinner with DH, uninterrupted by questions about Star Wars, random animal facts, jokes that aren't funny, etc., lol! Prior to coming to Roy's I had asked a friend who's from Hawaii about the restaurant. She said they were just here a year ago for a family event, and that the *honey short ribs* were really delicious, so I decided that would be my dinner. DH ordered the $51 *prix fixe*, which comes with a three-appetizer sampler (seared ahi and two other items, sorry I can't remember what those were; the presentation was quite pretty but I have no picture to show you, so you'll just have to pay a visit yourself  ), main entrée (DH chose the short ribs too), and dessert (soufflé and ice cream). I also got the sautéed escargot appetizer. The flavoring was very good, but there was so much sauce, almost drowning my escargot! I had to scrape off some of it to really enjoy the dish. 

All this time outside our window we could see *golfers* coming off the course with their caddies to hand in their score card, then step off to the side of the tent to be interviewed:



I asked our waiter whether anyone famous like Michelle Wie had dined there this week. He said he hasn't seen her, but the lady who won the 2014 tournament was indeed there that week. 

Dinner passed by very quickly. We enjoyed our quiet time. Roy's is a pretty family-friendly restaurant. While it's classy and elegant, it wasn't stuffy, and I saw several families dining with their kids nearby, many of whom were also Aulani guests, judging by the wrist bands gathering on their arms.

As we were leaving the restaurant, we heard this tremendous yell by the bar area. I thought to myself, wow, that's a lot of emotion for a *LPGA* game! Turns out the men were watching *Kobe Bryant*'s last game in the NBA, and he had just made a great shot.  

We walked home in a leisurely pace, got a copy of the room charges to date from the front desk, then took a photo of the *Disney Dream* model hanging out in the lobby, since we're DCL fans due to our Alaskan cruise in July 2015:



After checking out our *PhotoPass* photos in the kiosk in the gift shop, we then went to Aunty's and peeked in on the kiddies from the side window. They seemed to be having a good time, so we left them alone. We then just chilled in the room because DH said he was feeling nauseous. 

I went downstairs to pick up the kiddies at 8:20. They each received a decorated *surf board *measuring 14.5' x 6':

 

I'm impressed by the quality and thickness of the wood. It's like a cutting board material and is pretty heavy and substantial. The surf board also comes with a drawstring bag:

 

This is a review of the activity I posted in another thread while I was there:

DS and DD did "surf's up" this evening and they LOVED it! they checked in at 5, had dinner served by the kitchen (choice of grilled chicken, pizza, and i can't recall what else), got to decorate a small wooden surfboard with stickers and what not, hung out with Chip and Dale, and danced with the counselors. when i picked them up they eagerly asked what activity they will get to do tomorrow. alas, they were disappointed to hear i didn't sign them up for any additional activity as it would be our last full day here. they've already done *Stitch's Space Goo* on monday and *Aunty's Aloha Party* on tuesday, and i want the whole family to be together the whole day tomorrow.​
DS said this was his favorite activity out of the three they did; B said she liked all three. 

We gave the kids some snack and water, then they showered and brushed their teeth, and we said good night at 9:30.

Oh boohoohoo... Tomorrow is our *last full day*.... Sob....


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## jtba

bcwife76 said:


> Are you ever coming back?  haha, yes I saw your message in the other post so I hopped right on over to light a fire under your butt missy!!



see i just need to be prodded once in a while...


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## bcwife76

I'm glad you were able to have a lovely dinner with your dh - that was SO close to end of the golf course!!
Now what happened to the turtles I wonder....did you ever find them? Hopefully you find them on your last full day!

That surfboard is very cool, what a neat keepsake for the kids!


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## jtba

bcwife76 said:


> Now what happened to the turtles I wonder....did you ever find them? Hopefully you find them on your last full day!



no spoilers here... lol



bcwife76 said:


> That surfboard is very cool, what a neat keepsake for the kids!



it is indeed! now if i can find a place to display them... they're still hanging out on our ottoman, same place they've been since we've been back... like almost a month now! that's the last thing from aulani that i haven't put away. i keep telling myself it's because i have such fond memories of our time there.


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## alohamom

jtba said:


> uninterrupted by questions about Star Wars, random animal facts, jokes that aren't funny, etc.



LOL-I thought that was just my kids! Toooo funny...


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## MomoMama

Saw the Aulani promotion and came to this board...I'm so happy to find your TR!!

Looks like you had am amazing vacation...except for the squeaky bed, coughing issues, and your husband getting nauseous?  Hope he was okay.

Beautiful beaches and pools, sunset view, and allergy taken care of at the restaurants and the kid club...now that is my dream vacation! 

I do love the details.  You learn something you did not think of...like, I did not know soy butter would be confiscated at the airport!


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## jtba

MomoMama said:


> Saw the Aulani promotion and came to this board...I'm so happy to find your TR!!
> 
> Looks like you had am amazing vacation...except for the squeaky bed, coughing issues, and your husband getting nauseous?  Hope he was okay.
> 
> Beautiful beaches and pools, sunset view, and allergy taken care of at the restaurants and the kid club...now that is my dream vacation!
> 
> I do love the details.  You learn something you did not think of...like, I did not know soy butter would be confiscated at the airport!



hello there! i remember talking to you about FA on DCL a couple months back, so happy you landed here!  

we did have a wonderful time at aulani, and i saw that aulani promo too. but should probably wait a while before we go back again, otherwise DH would not be happy with me, hahaha.

DH probably has some sort of sensory issue related to strong light. whenever he goes indoors and outdoors frequently within a short amount of time, he gets a migraine, so i'm guessing his nausea may be related too. not sure. but yeah, other than the things you listed above.

i should still contact special services regarding our food allergy incident from our last night at ama ama retaurant. it's in my drafts folder, just haven't had time to write it out fully yet. i did fill out their survey and alluded to the incident, but have not heard back from anyone. not sure what they could say, because it was on the waitress to carry out the correct order. don't know what more they could do beyond that, other than sending a "we're sorry to hear this, come back soon" type of letter... :\

and yeah, that soy butter thing totally caught us off guard. DH googled after we got home, and found several links that said people were hiding plastic-wrapped marijuana in peanut butter and who knows what else. lol! i guess, like they say, where there's a will, there's a will. people will do _anything_.


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## MomoMama

jtba said:


> i should still contact special services regarding our food allergy incident from our last night at ama ama retaurant. it's in my drafts folder, just haven't had time to write it out fully yet. i did fill out their survey and alluded to the incident, but have not heard back from anyone. not sure what they could say, because it was on the waitress to carry out the correct order. don't know what more they could do beyond that, other than sending a "we're sorry to hear this, come back soon" type of letter... :\



You mean you went back to Ama Ama on your last night, and this time the experience was not as good as the first one?  Oh, no....sorry to hear this, and I'm hoping the situation as not as bad as I fear.  I will patiently wait for yuor update!


----------



## jtba

MomoMama said:


> You mean you went back to Ama Ama on your last night, and this time the experience was not as good as the first one?  Oh, no....sorry to hear this, and I'm hoping the situation as not as bad as I fear.  I will patiently wait for yuor update!



i forgot i haven't written about the last two days of our trip yet, lol! but yeah, there was an food allergy related incident in Ama Ama the second time we dined. :\ i will post that soon!


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## bcwife76

*tapsfootimpatiently*


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## jtba

bcwife76 said:


> *tapsfootimpatiently*



i live in fear of your butt-kicking, @bcwife76 ! i was all set on starting tonight until i cruised over to the DCL forum and read about that family who got left behind for their EBTA trip because their DCL-booked flight arrived too late this past sunday. i'm on page 2 now and there are 8 pages...


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## jtba

jtba said:


> i live in fear of your butt-kicking, @bcwife76 ! i was all set on starting tonight until i cruised over to the DCL forum and read about that family who got left behind for their EBTA trip because their DCL-booked flight arrived too late this past sunday. i'm on page 2 now and there are 8 pages...



hey i see you were commenting there too! are you done packing for maui?


----------



## bcwife76

jtba said:


> i live in fear of your butt-kicking, @bcwife76 ! i was all set on starting tonight until i cruised over to the DCL forum and read about that family who got left behind for their EBTA trip because their DCL-booked flight arrived too late this past sunday. i'm on page 2 now and there are 8 pages...



Mwahahahahaha 

And yes I've been reading that thread too. They are a cautionary tale (through no fault of their own, really!!) Here's hoping there's a BIG update tomorrow from the Disney Magic with them ON IT!



jtba said:


> hey i see you were commenting there too! are you done packing for maui?



Hey hey, quit distracting me.....you're trying to get me to forget that you haven't updated yet  

And no I haven't done any packing yet......


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## cmph

jtba said:


> lol i always think my TRs are too long-winded and has too many details that nobody other than me cares about, but i am super glad you found the little tidbits useful!


I like tidbits too!!


----------



## jtba

bcwife76 said:


> And yes I've been reading that thread too. They are a cautionary tale (through no fault of their own, really!!) Here's hoping there's a BIG update tomorrow from the Disney Magic with them ON IT!



yay they made it to boston!!! i think they will get on tomorrow. i hope she'll update us when they come back. DCL better treat them to palo every night and bend over backwards to sprinkle pixie dust and then some. sheez.



bcwife76 said:


> Hey hey, quit distracting me.....you're trying to get me to forget that you haven't updated yet
> 
> And no I haven't done any packing yet......



do you leave tomorrow? no, correct? then you still got lots of time to procrastinate.


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## bcwife76

I agree, DCL needs to spread some major pixie dust around. First and foremost would be to reimburse them asap for the nights of the cruise they have missed, but they need to do more than that I think (in my not so humble opinion!)

No we don't fly out til Sunday night....I've got days more of procrastinating ahead of me


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## jtba

_*Aulani Day 5, Thursday, April 14, 2016, Part 1*_

*Saddest day ever* because this would be our last full day at aulani! Wait, let's make that the second saddest ever because tomorrow would be the saddest ever, since we will be leaving. Wait, let's make today third saddest because _the_ saddest day ever was when we got off the disney wonder last year after our 7-night cruise! Ok, you get the point. 

This being our last full day, we got up at 7:15, made cereal for the kids, then made our way downstairs at 8, altogether this time. Found some seats by the *infinity pool* even though the prime, scenic ones were gone (this was before they instituted the new no-reserving-chairs-before-8-a.m.-with-towels policy the week after we left). There were still plenty, I have to say, though they weren't in the shade. These were taken at 8:02 and 8:03 a.m., right by the towel stand:







We did see *CMs folding the towels* left behind on the unmanned chairs, though.

After we put sunscreen on everyone (I know, I know, we should've done it back in the room but in our excitement we forgot), we took a dip in the infinity pool. It was still relatively empty, and I loved how serene it looked:



O' Aulani, this is the image in my mind whenever I think of you now. 

And here's a peek at the ocean from near the hot tub area:



After half an hour of that lovely place, we decided to do a few more rounds of the *lazy river* before the rest of the crowd showed up. Can't remember if I mentioned this above, but *when you wake up in the morning, hit the slides first, then the lazy river, then the pools, then the beach*. Do it in that order and you will be able to avoid most of the crowds.

Here's my wrinkly hand from being in the water for so long :



After the lazy river, we went back to the infinity pool.

DS wasn't a strong swimmer, but because of all those hours spent in the pools the past few days, he actually became more confident and got better at changing his breath while swimming. It was a great accomplishment, and I was very proud of him.  Much credit goes to DH, who worked with him everyday tirelessly!

We basically spent the morning between the lazy river and infinity pool, had snack, then swam some more. At 10:50 I went to *Ulu Café* to get more of those *breakfast potatoes* and *bacon*, plus more *hotdogs* from *Mama's Snack Stop*. We had fun watching the pigeons and other random birds that would come by and eye us, hoping they'd get a morsel. Now, I wonder if anyone else noticed that there weren't any seagulls around Aulani. Why is that??? There were plenty of birds, but *no seagulls*. Very odd. Perhaps they have their own habitat somewhere else? Or maybe they don't exist in Hawaii???

After lunch we swam some more until 12:40. We gave up our seats reluctantly--why? Because it was such a lovely place and I really didn't want to leave! But we had to go because we wanted to get pictures with *Mickey and Minnie* at 1 at the big lawn, and plus we still wanted to check out the *turtles* at Paradise Cove.

The line for Mickey and Minnie was the longest we stood in. Took about 10 (or 15?) minutes. But I was entertained by a lady who was in line behind us with her husband. She was a DVC member, and has seven DVC contracts (I think that's what she said?), was wearing matching Disney shirts with her hubby, both huge Disney fans, obviously. She has also been on Disney cruises before. I struck up a conversation with her because I complimented her on the DCL *water wallet* hanging around her neck.

Need to backtrack a little here (the problem of not writing my TR immediately after getting home is I forgot what I already wrote previously): On our first morning at Aulani, I got a *PhotoPass card* from a photographer standing by the lazy river. But I was already in the water and had no access to any pockets, so I had to hold it in my hand until I got back to the entrance so I could get out and put it in my beach bag. But wait, what if I want another picture later on? I finally ended up doing what people in the movies do: stuffed it down the front of my swimsuit. I know, I know, it did feel slightly unsanitary, but I honestly had nowhere else convenient to put it. Back in the hotel room, I told a DCL friend about this problem and complained that I wished people at Aulani use *lanyards*, because that's where I put my *KTTW card* on the ship. She said, ah, that's why I use a water wallet at Castaway Cay and other beaches! Oh!!! I didn't even know such a thing existed!!! She sent me a picture, which I then happened to see hanging around this DVC lady's neck, so I told her it was awesome, then we started talking.

Anyhow, DVC lady was full of stories, and I was kept entertained while standing in line. Finally it was our turn with Mickey and Minnie. They gave DS and DD super big hugs, took pictures with them, then we got ready to join them, but first M & M had to kiss each other first before they would take another picture with us, LOL!

When we were done, *Stitch* happened to be standing at the opposite end of the lawn, looking sort of lonely by himself with his one single CM, so DS and DD ran over there. Since there was no one else, Stitch did all sorts of poses with them. First he stood behind DD, then bent to the side and waved, then bent to the other side and waved again, then the monster raaaah pose, then this and other. Then we joined too, then it was just DS. We must've spent five minutes there, but since there was no one in line, the photographer directed us on the poses, and we didn't feel rushed at all.

Photos done, we headed upstairs to change (but why? I don't remember. My notes said we were to meet *Donald*, *Chip and Dale*, and *Goofy* at 2 p.m.)

OK this is all I can squeeze out tonight. More next time!


----------



## bcwife76

Oh my gosh, what a picturesque location, I would never want to leave that pool!

7 DVC contracts??? What on earth? lol


----------



## jtba

bcwife76 said:


> 7 DVC contracts??? What on earth? lol



yeah, i _think_ that's what she said. or maybe it was seven DVD homes (or whatever the term is)??? i don't know enough about DVC to know what she was talking about. perhaps i should've paid more attention at the DVC presentation on board last summer!


----------



## jtba

this lady (as well as a few others we met while at the resort) said she couldn't believe how bad the chair situation was, there were no chairs to be had, blah blah blah. but as you can see from the photos above, there _were_ chairs, even at 8 a.m. now, it's true that they weren't in the best shady spots with a view of the ocean, but i really don't understand why they said there were no chairs whatsoever.


----------



## nkereina

Loving your TR and your photos! How was the weather while you were there? Did you experience much rain? Was it windy? Was it warm enough at 8am to swim? I saw you mention getting cold a few times while swimming so just curious if that was mostly in the morning. We'll be there late September and just hoping we don't have to wait around a while for it to warm up!


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## MomoMama

You had Stitch all to yourself!!  Now I am super jealous!!!

Chair situation is what worries me at a busy resort like Aulani, it's good to know there are chairs available even spring break time!


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## crystal1313

Water wallet!?  Do tell!  I am trying to figure out what to do with my room key, credit card, etc while swimming.  And the infinity pool view is AMAZING!!!!!!  Looking forward to reading more!!


----------



## jtba

nkereina said:


> Loving your TR and your photos! How was the weather while you were there? Did you experience much rain? Was it windy? Was it warm enough at 8am to swim? I saw you mention getting cold a few times while swimming so just curious if that was mostly in the morning. We'll be there late September and just hoping we don't have to wait around a while for it to warm up!



not much rain at all! a little light, gentle rain for 5 minutes maybe twice during the entire length of our stay there. nothing drenching if that makes sense.  it was slightly windy on a few occasions but it was a nice warm wind, nothing too bothersome.

so the reason i recommend going to the lazy river first is that the water temperature is the warmest there (as has been pointed out by a few others). then the pools are a little colder, and the ocean is the coldest. we had no problems going into the lazy river first thing in the morning, but the infinity pool takes a little bit of adjustment but nothing horrible. i think you'll be fine.


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## jtba

MomoMama said:


> You had Stitch all to yourself!!  Now I am super jealous!!!
> 
> Chair situation is what worries me at a busy resort like Aulani, it's good to know there are chairs available even spring break time!



yeah, honestly it really wasn't that bad. i was all worried based on what i read here, but *shrug* we didn't have problems. we always managed to find chairs even if we moved our "base" around 10 or 11 by the infinity pool, and 12 or 2 by the beach. now this is before the new chair policy so i don't know if the situation is different now.


----------



## jtba

crystal1313 said:


> Water wallet!?  Do tell!  I am trying to figure out what to do with my room key, credit card, etc while swimming.  And the infinity pool view is AMAZING!!!!!!  Looking forward to reading more!!



i googled real quickly but couldn't find the water wallet from DCL, but if you google it you'll find several options on Amazon. i do like the shape of the DCL version, though i haven't used it myself. 

i luvvvvvvvv that infinity pool... *dreamy look comes into my eyes*


----------



## jtba

crystal1313 said:


> Water wallet!?  Do tell!  I am trying to figure out what to do with my room key, credit card, etc while swimming.  And the infinity pool view is AMAZING!!!!!!  Looking forward to reading more!!



i ended up buying this one on amazon recently. it's see-through; the DCL version appears to be the same shape and size but is all red or white and not see-through.


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## mathgeek

crystal1313 said:


> Water wallet!?  Do tell!  I am trying to figure out what to do with my room key, credit card, etc while swimming.  And the infinity pool view is AMAZING!!!!!!  Looking forward to reading more!!





jtba said:


> i ended up buying this one on amazon recently. it's see-through; the DCL version appears to be the same shape and size but is all red or white and not see-through.


Lol! I have a collection of these from when they used to make them resort specific at WDW.  Plus a DVC one and a couple of DCL and Castaway Cay ones too.  I take one with me on every beach vacation.  You can still get them at WDW, but now they are generic and just say "Walt Disney World Resort" on them.  You can even find them on the Disney Parks shopping app - search for "dry box."


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## bcwife76

Alright now young lady this is just taking WAY to long to complete  let's go, let's go, I want to hear how it all ended!


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## jtba

bcwife76 said:


> Alright now young lady this is just taking WAY to long to complete  let's go, let's go, I want to hear how it all ended!



are ya back from maui? how was it? i wanna read that TR so i can procrastinate some more!!!


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## jtba

and hey, this is already faster than the alaska one from last year, lol!!!


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## happymommy

I'm enjoying your trip report!  We own at the Marriott resort next door to Aulani, and go every other year (from Maryland).

I lived on Oahu for 3 years (and my son was born there).  Just wanted to comment on the lack of seagulls.  Hawaii has no seagulls, fireflies, snakes, or rabies.


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## brandyleeann

This is probably a strange question, but I always wondered about the 1-bedroom with kids...did you have to pull the couch out everynight into a bed and then housekeeping put it back in in the morning?  I love the turn down service on DCL where they do that for you.


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## North of Mouse

happymommy said:


> Hawaii has no seagulls, fireflies, snakes, or rabies.



No snakes?? I'm starting to pack now! I would totally miss our fireflies, though!  Anything there that are as bad as snakes that would take their place with the fear factor??   (for me, anyway)


----------



## happymommy

North of Mouse said:


> No snakes?? I'm starting to pack now! I would totally miss our fireflies, though!  Anything there that are as bad as snakes that would take their place with the fear factor??   (for me, anyway)



Yes, but not normally at resorts.  We had big bug problems in our house - yard roaches that came in under the door every night (had to vacuum daily the dead ones near the door), and geckos in the house (yuck).  Lots of my friends had centipedes too, and they do bite.  There is also a big roof rat problem in Honolulu (you'll see bands on trees, keeps them from climbing up) but also not an issue for tourists!

We had ants even in our room at the Ritz in Maui once, and geckos on the balcony.  I just had them come in and spray for the crazy ants.  But that's pretty much possible any warm climate!

Guam got snakes, and they killed off so many birds.  Planes coming from there are carefully screened to make sure any stowaways aren't onboard.


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## bcwife76

Yes we're back from Maui will be writing a mini TR soon but don't let my procrastination rub off on you


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## jtba

happymommy said:


> I'm enjoying your trip report!  We own at the Marriott resort next door to Aulani, and go every other year (from Maryland).
> 
> I lived on Oahu for 3 years (and my son was born there).  Just wanted to comment on the lack of seagulls.  Hawaii has no seagulls, fireflies, snakes, or rabies.



oh thank you for letting me know! very interesting local fact.


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## jtba

brandyleeann said:


> This is probably a strange question, but I always wondered about the 1-bedroom with kids...did you have to pull the couch out everynight into a bed and then housekeeping put it back in in the morning?  I love the turn down service on DCL where they do that for you.



alas, no turn-down service like on the ships... but it wasn't that hard to do on our own because the murphy bed doesn't come down from the ceiling.


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## jtba

happymommy said:


> Yes, but not normally at resorts.  We had big bug problems in our house - yard roaches that came in under the door every night (had to vacuum daily the dead ones near the door), and geckos in the house (yuck).  Lots of my friends had centipedes too, and they do bite.  There is also a big roof rat problem in Honolulu (you'll see bands on trees, keeps them from climbing up) but also not an issue for tourists!
> 
> We had ants even in our room at the Ritz in Maui once, and geckos on the balcony.  I just had them come in and spray for the crazy ants.  But that's pretty much possible any warm climate!
> 
> Guam got snakes, and they killed off so many birds.  Planes coming from there are carefully screened to make sure any stowaways aren't onboard.



oooh that's cool to get geckos!


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## happymommy

jtba said:


> oooh that's cool to get geckos!



Not when they're on your pillow or climbing on the light above your bed, crawling on your dishes, on the walls and in the closets!  They poop all over, and it can stain.


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## jtba

happymommy said:


> Not when they're on your pillow or climbing on the light above your bed, crawling on your dishes, on the walls and in the closets!  They poop all over, and it can stain.



ah, lol! i hadn't considered that.


----------



## Figee17

Is there a reason to tell the valet that the rental car is from Alamo?  Just curious.  We'll be there at the end of the month and have a rental car from Alamo that we plan on keeping the entire stay.


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## jtba

Figee17 said:


> Is there a reason to tell the valet that the rental car is from Alamo?  Just curious.  We'll be there at the end of the month and have a rental car from Alamo that we plan on keeping the entire stay.



because they will return the car to alamo for you directly. we were done after that trip to the beach and had no more use for it. if you're keeping the car you won't need to do that.


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## Figee17

jtba said:


> because they will return the car to alamo for you directly. we were done after that trip to the beach and had no more use for it. if you're keeping the car you won't need to do that.



Gotcha, thanks!


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## jtba

@sgrap, you were asking about grocery lists in your separate post. you probably saw this receipt from safeway already, but thought i'd show you again. we were at aulani for five nights, and ate all our breakfasts, a couple lunches, and day 1 dinner there, so not quite like your full 7-night stay, plus my two kids are much younger and we had to navigate some food allergy concerns. still, something for you to consider.

have a great time in hawaii next week!


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## sgrap

jtba said:


> View attachment 173228
> 
> @sgrap, you were asking about grocery lists in your separate post. you probably saw this receipt from safeway already, but thought i'd show you again. we were at aulani for five nights, and ate all our breakfasts, a couple lunches, and day 1 dinner there, so not quite like your full 7-night stay, plus my two kids are much younger and we had to navigate some food allergy concerns. still, something for you to consider.
> 
> have a great time in hawaii next week!


Thank you, I had seen it before, but I just copied down this time!    Our youngest will only drink COSTCO Kirkland plain soy milk.  She came home from China at almost 5 years old, and adapted amazingly, but dairy milk is the one thing she just cannot stand.  I've tried other brands of plain soy milk and she hates it.  So I have a feeling we will have to buy a case of Costco soy milk over there.  Thankfully it's relatively inexpensive.  I usually take enough when we go on vacation, but enough for 10 days adds a lot to our luggage!  Thanks again!


----------



## jtba

sgrap said:


> Thank you, I had seen it before, but I just copied down this time!    Our youngest will only drink COSTCO Kirkland plain soy milk.  She came home from China at almost 5 years old, and adapted amazingly, but dairy milk is the one thing she just cannot stand.  I've tried other brands of plain soy milk and she hates it.  So I have a feeling we will have to buy a case of Costco soy milk over there.  Thankfully it's relatively inexpensive.  I usually take enough when we go on vacation, but enough for 10 days adds a lot to our luggage!  Thanks again!



good to know! let me know how costco works out for ya. we didn't go there this time because my young kids don't eat quite enough over 5 nights to justify costco portions yet (DH loves their $1.50 hotdog + drink combo tho, lol), but i know in a few years we'll be making weekly trips there.


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## sgrap

jtba said:


> good to know! let me know how costco works out for ya. we didn't go there this time because my young kids don't eat quite enough over 5 nights to justify costco portions yet (DH loves their $1.50 hotdog + drink combo tho, lol), but i know in a few years we'll be making weekly trips there.


We are Costco regulars around here . . . I'm thinking take n bake pizza, chicken, maybe some meat to BBQ?  I think for 7 nights with 6 people, we should do pretty well on some Costco items.  ;-)  Plus the prices are good enough that if we don't finish everything, I don't feel terrible.  We often do this in Disneyland and then give the extra sodas, etc. to the bell boys to have in their break room when we check out.


----------



## cmph

brandyleeann said:


> This is probably a strange question, but I always wondered about the 1-bedroom with kids...did you have to pull the couch out everynight into a bed and then housekeeping put it back in in the morning?  I love the turn down service on DCL where they do that for you.


Just got back. (   ) No turn-down service, but they will leave the beds out and made if you want so you don't have to open them back up. There is a 5 seat table/booth/stool set-up for eating, 4 chairs on the balcony, and 2 living room chairs... so we didn't really need the bed put back into a couch. Plenty of space, nothing like a cruise ship, so leaving both the murphy bed and couch bed out didn't really affect our ability to get around.


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## jtba

cmph said:


> Just got back. (   )



how was it?


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## cmph

jtba said:


> how was it?


amazing. of course. So tempted to buy into DVC there!!! Best trip ever.


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## jtba

_*Aulani Day 5, Thursday, April 14, 2016*, *Part 2
*_
So 2 p.m. found us in line for *Donald*, *Chip & Dale*, and *Goofy*. The first two were on that island with the bridge, and we met up with Goofy in the shallow end of the  lazy river. By now DH was not really into all the photos, so he was not very excited about. Goofy sensed it, and kinda crossed his arms and made fun of DH, who kinda just waved him off as he wanted to be done with the whole thing ASAP. 

In my notes I wrote that we were done with all three by 2:28, and were on our way to the bathrooms before we go seek out the *turtles* next door at Paradise Cove!

This time, armed with the tips from fellow DISers, it took us only 10 minutes to go to the parking lot and find the opening to the beach. Here are the directions:

1. go to the lobby and walk all the way down the street.
2. with your back to aulani, *turn left* and head towards the traffic light across the street from monkeypod.
3. cross the street towards *four seasons* hotel, heading north.
4. keep walking until you come to the driveway for the *paradise cove* parking lot:



5. turn left onto the parking lot and walk towards the ocean, towards that white sign at the opening:



close-up:



6. walk down that path:



7. and you'll see this:



and this is what we saw:








These turtles were not shy at all. We knew we weren't supposed to get too close to them, so we would stand still or even back up when they came by, but they seriously swam right up to us and had no fear at all. I never understood why. Nobody was feeding them, so it's not like we were giving them anything of use. It felt as if they were as curious about us as we were about them. I learned later that it's been the same two turtles who have been there for the past 15 years. Wow! They probably swam by 5-6 times during the hour we were there, maybe more. Kinda lost count after a while. Another trip report said one time there was a monk seal there too.

At 3:45 we started walking home because we really want to squeeze in more time at the pools, lol! DH and I went separate ways--he took DS to the infinity pool while DD and I went to check out the koi fish in the pond. Then she wanted to try out at the Menehune Bridge. Of course when we actually go there she decided there was too much water after all, and refused to go in. But that's OK, we just went into the lazy river and went for a few more rounds.

Met up with DH and DS back in the hotel room at 4:45 as we had a *dinner reservation at Ama Ama* at 5. DH reported DS said he did not want to go home! Well neither do I, actually. This has been such a relaxing vacation, and I've enjoyed every minute of it so far.

Which leads me to my least favorite part of the trip.


----------



## jtba

_*Aulani Day 5, Thursday, April 14, 2016*, *Part 3
*_
As I mentioned previously, DD was medically diagnosed to have a number of *food allergies*, including *gluten*, *dairy*, *peanuts*, *tree nuts*, and *seafood (fish & shellfish)*. You're probably wondering how I cook for her or dine out on trips. Yes, it's a challenge, but so far we've been able to get by (albeit with a few relatively minor incidents here and there). There are lots of gluten-free options these days, and in general it's not horrendously difficult to avoid foods that doesn't contain her allergens. My deepest fear is actually with cross contact with other people's foods, such as when a cook doesn't wash his pot between making dishes. I don't know how prevalent this really is as I've never worked in a commercial kitchen, but I sometimes have a hard time trusting mom-and-pop type restaurants because of that.

Now, remember, we had a great experience just two nights ago, so I was very relaxed sitting there in the big pavilion room, thinking we were going to have another lovely dinner. It was a different waitress this time, but like the one we had on Tuesday, she was very friendly and warm. We told her about DD's allergies, and we had dined there recently and enjoyed our meal, blah blah blah. We placed our orders, then chatted among ourselves. Our bread arrived first, then we waited and waited and waited for the gluten-free bread the waitress said she would bring for DD. Finally at 5:36 it appeared (our reservation was at 5).

Normally we carry our Benadryl and Epipen with us everywhere. That particular evening I actually left them in the hotel room by mistake (since I didn't bring my purse with me and only had my room key), but ten minutes after sitting down I suddenly remembered I didn't have them and was about to tell myself we probably don't need them because this is Ama Ama / Disney, and they are excellent with food allergies. But then I thought about our experience on the Disney Alaskan cruise last year (when DD also had two reactions in the dining rooms on board), and decided it was better to be safe than sorry, so I asked DH to go back to our hotel room to get it.

Then our main entrées appeared as well. The waitress served DD some steak with mashed potatoes. I asked her, "Are those mashed potatoes dairy-free?" She answered that yes, it was safe because the chef prepared it for DD, then she left. DD happily spooned it into her mouth; she very rarely gets to eat mashed potatoes as they're usually cooked with butter or cream.

A few minutes later, the waitress re-appeared and said, "Oh I'm so sorry, the mashed potatoes were actually meant for your son because it has * dairy*. Your daughter is supposed to have the steak with rice." What?!? Didn't I just ask you whether they were safe and you said yes? If you weren't sure, why did you tell me yes??? I didn't blow up at her, but was furious inside. Is it really _that_ hard to make sure your guests get the correct dish? Seems like a special red cloth pin, or _something_, would've done the trick! I watched DD like a hawk, and sure enough, within a few minutes her lips turned red and a little puffy, and she said her tongue felt weird. *sigh* I quickly gave her the single-dose liquid Benadryl, then waited for her reaction to subside. It pretty much ruined the rest of my meal.   

The manager appeared shortly thereafter, apologized profusely, and said they would bring us a replacement dish and comp it as well. DD got a sorbet dessert so she was happy. But when the bill appeared, her dish was not comped. I was going to ask for the manager, but DH advised against it. His reasoning was that they did replace her meal. I was too angry and tired to fight, so I just let it be. But here's the bill: 



Grrrrrrr.... It's now been almost two months since our return, and I still haven't written to Disney officially about this even though I had every intention to do so when it happened. I did fill out Aulani's guest survey and mentioned the incident, kinda half hoping someone would call me back, but so far, nothing. I had planned to write Special Services (who take care of food allergy issues for guests) a separate email, not so much to ask for anything, but to urge them to _*please train their kitchen and wait staff better*_. So far I have not been able to gather the energy to do this.

I understand it's a one-off situation--they always are, aren't they? I have heard story after story of amazing service at Disney properties from other food allergy families, of how well taken-care of they were by the CMs, etc. I _know_ DD has lots of food allergies, but in this case, all we asked was some simple steak cooked with salt, and a plate that doesn't have butter. The kitchen staff prepared it, but the waitress gave DD the wrong dish. I am still sad thinking about it. Good thing DD did not go into anaphylactic shock from this, but people can and DO develop serious reactions, and many have had to go to emergency rooms when something like this happens to them. What then? Everybody will be sorry, but it will be too late. :\

Ok I'm going to start a separate entry because this particular part is dredging up all the unhappy memories of that meal. 

P.S. @MomoMama here's the incident. :\

EDIT: Guest #2 shows the same food allergies--that was for me, but I do not have any food allergies. The waitress suggested doing that so DD could share my lamb.


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## jtba

_*Aulani Day 5, Thursday, April 14, 2016*, *Part 4*_

Sunset today was to be at 6:51 (hence our early dinner reservation at 5). We paid our bill at Ama Ama, then left at 6:30 to take the kids to the bathroom before heading down to the beach for our *sunset photos*. There were several photographers milling around with small groups of people near them. We managed to find one who was finishing up with one family. It would be our turn next. But hey, this mom and son just cut in right in front of us, hmph! Sheez. I didn't want to be Angry Mom Who Blew Up At Fellow Vacationer, so I just let it be. Oh well. They were done soon anyway, so we got our photos taken at 6:48. No one else lined up behind us, and we were able to take our time with the photographer.

Afterwards we went to Aunty's to return the kids' *magic bands*. Yes, it would've been fun to keep them as a souvenir, but they already had their menehune necklaces, and knowing them, the magic bands would've just been tossed into a corner of the house gathering dust. There's enough junk around the house that I don't need two more! And no, I do not want to pay $12.95 x 2, or whatever the amount it was to keep them. 

At 7 we went to the community room to check out an iPad so we could finally do the *scavenger hunt*. There are several options, but we were on a time crunch because the room would close in an hour and we needed to return the iPad before that. We chose the outdoor options, which took us to 10 (?) different locations, in the garden, around the pools, near the "volcano", etc. It was good to do this after we had been here for a few days and knew most of the locations pictured or via the clues given. Still, it took much longer than I thought, and we never finished it anyway. Some of the banters in the videos were silly and unnecessary. Perhaps Aulani could consider editing them into a shorter version in the future.

At 7:50 p.m. we returned the iPad to the community room, then I sent DH and the kids up the room to watch the *Starlit Hui* from our room while I to check out our *Photopass pictures* on the kiosk in one of the gift shops.

Because this was our first experience with Photopass, I didn't realize you had to have all (or in our case, two) your Photopass cards with you in order to retrieve your photo. I mean, in retrospect that makes sense, right? How duh of me. So I saw the photos from the second card I had been carrying for the past few days, then went up to the room to retrieve the card that I used on the first morning.

Back downstairs, the CM helped me gather all the photos digitally, including the ones that were taken of DD and DS while they were in Aunty's, and there were LOADS of them. I had to go through screen after screen after screen to select the ones with my kids. The total process probably took about 10 minutes. Oh and remember that mom and son who cut in line during our sunset photos above? Someone they appeared in one photo that was assigned to us, lol! I told the CM to please remove them from our batch, which she kindly did. Then I browsed the merchandise while she burned the CD for me. All in all a very easy process.

Up to the hotel room I went again, prepared some fruit for the kids. They were done watching the Starlit Hui by then. Seemed like a great way to enjoy the show, right from the comfort of our balcony. The kids were in bed by 9:20. When I kissed her good night, DD said, "*Can we please stay one more day?*" Oh sweet baby, I would love to! But there are other people who want to use this room too, so it's their turn. But we will be back again, I promise.

DH and I spent some time packing before heading for bed.


----------



## bcwife76

So glad you got to see the turtles in the end!! Magnificent creatures!!

Oh my gosh, I am steaming mad on your behalf at that dinner!!!!  They had all the information and yet they STILL gave her the wrong order!!! Your poor DD!! But bless her, even after all that, to hear at the end of the night she wanted to stay one more day....awwww  That was like my youngest DD - by our 3rd day in Maui, her mantra every day onwards was "we are never leaving, we are living here!" Ha - I wish baby girl!


----------



## jtba

bcwife76 said:


> Oh my gosh, I am steaming mad on your behalf at that dinner!!!!  They had all the information and yet they STILL gave her the wrong order!!!



yeah... it was something totally avoidable, which is why it was so maddening. 



bcwife76 said:


> by our 3rd day in Maui, her mantra every day onwards was "we are never leaving, we are living here!" Ha - I wish baby girl!



"we are never leaving, we are living here!"... i love it!!!


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## alohamom

THANK YOU so much for the pictorial directions to the turtle cove/beach! Awesome (and smart) of you to do that.


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## crystal1313

I am so sorry about your dining experience!  I think you should definitely write to Aulani about what happened to you.  What if it happens again, and this time the child goes into anaphylactic shock?  I would write to as many place as you can to get some attention on this major mistake!  And again, so sorry this happened!

My DS8 is allergic to dogs, where he breaks out in hives and his eyes swell up.  It's gut wrenching watching him suffer through a reaction.  I know his allergy is not as severe as a dietary allergy, I am not trying to compare at all, I just understand how infuriating this was for you.  They put your child at risk.  Not acceptable!

I am glad that you got to see the sea turtles!  I cannot wait to go to that cove!  That might be our adventure on more than one day.  =)


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## cmph

I'm kicking myself that I didn't remember to chat about your daughter to the Ama'Ama staff!! "Vacation brain"? I totally meant to bring it up! You know, that's weird about the bread, too... b/c DH got his like 10, 15min before the rest of us got our regular rolls. I remember thinking that was unusual. You guys have bad luck getting her food quickly with Disney!!

We didn't get around to going to look for the turtles until our last day, and of course they weren't there.  It was a pretty little area anyway, with a nice view up the coast that you don't get from the Aulani beach. We spent the majority of our time there telling DS to get off the rocks, b/c the last thing we needed was a fall or cut right before departure. Oh well, something for next time! That, and actually taking the art and grounds tours (never managed to fit either in), and the outdoor menehune hunt. We did the lobby one, which was fine, but yeah, the kids got a little bored. They loved activating things and hunting, but they didn't care what the characters had to say. And one of the stations spit out a prize for the kids, which is nice, but one prize, two kids... They didn't care to prioritize doing the outdoor one later on.


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## jtba

crystal1313 said:


> I am so sorry about your dining experience!  I think you should definitely write to Aulani about what happened to you.  What if it happens again, and this time the child goes into anaphylactic shock?  I would write to as many place as you can to get some attention on this major mistake!  And again, so sorry this happened!
> 
> My DS8 is allergic to dogs, where he breaks out in hives and his eyes swell up.  It's gut wrenching watching him suffer through a reaction.  I know his allergy is not as severe as a dietary allergy, I am not trying to compare at all, I just understand how infuriating this was for you.  They put your child at risk.  Not acceptable!
> 
> I am glad that you got to see the sea turtles!  I cannot wait to go to that cove!  That might be our adventure on more than one day.  =)



thank you. i'm sorry to hear about your DS... that does not sound like fun at all. DD had the same hives and swollen eye thing twice in preschool this year. we never figured out exactly what it was, but suspect it was probably the teacher-made play dough (which contained wheat flour) that she may have rubbed into her eye somehow. the strange thing is she's played with it many times at school, but only reacted to it twice over the course of three years. so maybe it was something else. dunno.

what do you do when your DS gets a reaction? do you give him benadryl, or just wait it out?

yes, the turtles were really awesome! try not to wait too long to see them. we probably should've gone on day 2, but didn't want to leave the grounds of aulani!


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## jtba

cmph said:


> I'm kicking myself that I didn't remember to chat about your daughter to the Ama'Ama staff!! "Vacation brain"? I totally meant to bring it up! You know, that's weird about the bread, too... b/c DH got his like 10, 15min before the rest of us got our regular rolls. I remember thinking that was unusual. You guys have bad luck getting her food quickly with Disney!!
> 
> We didn't get around to going to look for the turtles until our last day, and of course they weren't there.  It was a pretty little area anyway, with a nice view up the coast that you don't get from the Aulani beach. We spent the majority of our time there telling DS to get off the rocks, b/c the last thing we needed was a fall or cut right before departure. Oh well, something for next time! That, and actually taking the art and grounds tours (never managed to fit either in), and the outdoor menehune hunt. We did the lobby one, which was fine, but yeah, the kids got a little bored. They loved activating things and hunting, but they didn't care what the characters had to say. And one of the stations spit out a prize for the kids, which is nice, but one prize, two kids... They didn't care to prioritize doing the outdoor one later on.



we have indeed not having the greatest of luck in getting her food with disney! which is why it's so much more disappointing. so many food allergy families say they have the best experience at WDW/DL/DCL, and yet look what happened to us... i know part of it is probably due to the sheer number of her food allergies, but... *sigh* 

oh i am so sorry you didn't get to see the turtles! but you know what it means, right? yeah, you said it yourself--just gotta go back again, and soon! 

oh boy. one prize for two kids... i can totally visualize it because i know exactly how my two kids would react!


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## crystal1313

jtba said:


> thank you. i'm sorry to hear about your DS... that does not sound like fun at all. DD had the same hives and swollen eye thing twice in preschool this year. we never figured out exactly what it was, but suspect it was probably the teacher-made play dough (which contained wheat flour) that she may have rubbed into her eye somehow. the strange thing is she's played with it many times at school, but only reacted to it twice over the course of three years. so maybe it was something else. dunno.
> 
> what do you do when your DS gets a reaction? do you give him benadryl, or just wait it out?
> 
> yes, the turtles were really awesome! try not to wait too long to see them. we probably should've gone on day 2, but didn't want to leave the grounds of aulani!



Yes, we give him benadryl and it usually subsides within 20-30 min.  Last time he had a reaction he didn't even touch a dog, but gave my sister in law a hug, and she had been holding her dog earlier in the day. He broke out in hives on his face where he had come in contact with her shirt!  He loves dogs too   He never had a reaction until he was almost 2.  It was very scary as he could not tell me if he could breathe or not and the way he was swollen up, I thought his throat would do the same! He has terrible allergies and takes a prescription chew-able pill nightly, a RX nasal spray, and we bring benadryl just in case they get worse.


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## jtba

crystal1313 said:


> He never had a reaction until he was almost 2.  It was very scary as he could not tell me if he could breathe or not and the way he was swollen up, I thought his throat would do the same! He has terrible allergies and takes a prescription chew-able pill nightly, a RX nasal spray, and we bring benadryl just in case they get worse.



eeek. :| that must've been so scary to watch at such a young age!

let's hope the researchers find some sort of cure (or at least a way to detect allergens better) in our kids' lifetime. right now i cannot imagine how DD would fare going to college and eating dorm food...


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## crystal1313

jtba said:


> eeek. :| that must've been so scary to watch at such a young age!
> 
> let's hope the researchers find some sort of cure (or at least a way to detect allergens better) in our kids' lifetime. right now i cannot imagine how DD would fare going to college and eating dorm food...



It was SO scary!  I was alone as my DH was in Europe for work, and I had an infant and my son who was almost 2!  We had just pet a neighbors dog outside, and came in the house.  I changed my youngest DS diaper, turned around to change oldest DS diaper, and his face was all swollen!  Happened so fast.  Luckily my parents live near by.  I called them in a panic saying I was going to the ER and my dad rushed up to the local pharmacy and got him over the counter allergy meds and rushed to my house.  Within 5 minutes you could see a change, by 25 all gone.  Beyond terrifying.  

I certainly hope they come up with to help their allergies as well.  It would help SO many.  

Looking forward to your next entry! =)


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## jtba

crystal1313 said:


> It was SO scary!  I was alone as my DH was in Europe for work, and I had an infant and my son who was almost 2!  We had just pet a neighbors dog outside, and came in the house.  I changed my youngest DS diaper, turned around to change oldest DS diaper, and his face was all swollen!  Happened so fast.  Luckily my parents live near by.  I called them in a panic saying I was going to the ER and my dad rushed up to the local pharmacy and got him over the counter allergy meds and rushed to my house.  Within 5 minutes you could see a change, by 25 all gone.  Beyond terrifying.
> 
> I certainly hope they come up with to help their allergies as well.  It would help SO many.
> 
> Looking forward to your next entry! =)



i was going to "like" your post but retracted it due to the scary allergic reaction! 

i'll try working on my next entry sooner...


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## happymommy

My son had his first anaphylaxis to milk at 8 months old - it is scary!  Gave him a bit of yogurt.  He swelled up and was vomiting, crying, his ears looked like balloons, hives all over his body.  Thankfully the paramedics on base gave him epinephrine right away, but stupid military docs sent us home!  He should have spent the night in the hospital - instead gave us instructions on benedryl every 4 hours at home for the next 24 hours.  Idiots!  Live and learn.

Sorry to sidetrack your wonderful trip report!


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## jtba

happymommy said:


> My son had his first anaphylaxis to milk at 8 months old - it is scary!  Gave him a bit of yogurt.  He swelled up and was vomiting, crying, his ears looked like balloons, hives all over his body.  Thankfully the paramedics on base gave him epinephrine right away, but stupid military docs sent us home!  He should have spent the night in the hospital - instead gave us instructions on benedryl every 4 hours at home for the next 24 hours.  Idiots!  Live and learn.
> 
> Sorry to sidetrack your wonderful trip report!



not at all, and i can only imagine how scary that must've been (even worse than @crystal1313 's DS at 2 yrs old!). aaarrgh! 

i think this just goes to show that food allergies are more prevalent than most people think. 1 in 13 people has a food allergy, if i recall the stats correctly. that's two in every classroom. i was pretty clueless until my own daughter was diagnosed. 

i'm not saying we need to ban all allergens and all that. far from it. just would like people to be more careful, that is all.


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## happymommy

jtba said:


> not at all, and i can only imagine how scary that must've been (even worse than @crystal1313 's DS at 2 yrs old!). aaarrgh!
> 
> i think this just goes to show that food allergies are more prevalent than most people think. 1 in 13 people has a food allergy, if i recall the stats correctly. that's two in every classroom. i was pretty clueless until my own daughter was diagnosed.
> 
> i'm not saying we need to ban all allergens and all that. far from it. just would like people to be more careful, that is all.



My son was among the first 14 kids in the the milk oral immunotherapy study at Johns Hopkins years ago - I learned a lot about allergies from Dr. Wood there.  He's been seeing him since my son was 2 when we moved to Maryland.  I never expected any special treatment, but once we found how Disney is with allergies, we felt safe travelling there, and that's one reason we've been so many times.  Dr. Wood even is impressed with Disney.


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## cmph

happymommy said:


> My son was among the first 14 kids in the the milk oral immunotherapy study at Johns Hopkins years ago - I learned a lot about allergies from Dr. Wood there.  He's been seeing him since my son was 2 when we moved to Maryland.  I never expected any special treatment, but once we found how Disney is with allergies, we felt safe travelling there, and that's one reason we've been so many times.  Dr. Wood even is impressed with Disney.


DS used to see Dr. Wood!! Small world.  He was diagnosed with milk, egg, and peanut allergies in infancy, before he was even on solids. I won't give his entire medical history, but in brief - the peanut allergy was the only one to stick around post-infancy, and eventually his levels were low enough to do a challenge - and he was declared allergy-free after it (and I'm glad I never have to sit through a scary peanut challenge again!!). DH was diagnosed with celiac disease shortly before then, so at least that was one less food to worry about!


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## happymommy

My son originally had milk, egg, peanut and sesame allergy.  He outgrew peanut and sesame, thankfully!  Challenges sucked.


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## jtba

@happymommy and @cmph , i'm crossing my fingers and toes that DD grows out of some--if not all!--of her allergies like your kids, too!


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## cmph

jtba said:


> @happymommy and @cmph , i'm crossing my fingers and toes that DD grows out of some--if not all!--of her allergies like your kids, too!


It might happen, keep the faith!! DH actually had a peanut allergy that he outgrew too, in his 20s!! We've been together since college, and I remember the puffy lips and hives he got when exposed, and mid-20s-ish, just went away. Of course then celiac came a few years after that, not that it's an allergy, just more food restrictions... it's always something here!


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## MomoMama

I just read our report, so sorry what happened to your DD!!!
It sounds like the waitress did not have enough training regarding food allergy.  I have some waitress experiences, and I never was trained how to deal with food allergies at all the places I worked.  I know if you never dealt with it, you don't get it... I myself lived without any knowledge of food allergies until our own DD was diagnosed with food allergies.  But this is Disney...they advertise they accommodate food allergies.  They should provide better training for both kitchen and wait staff!  I think you should still write to them...just so that they would improve their system and won't make the same mistake again.

I just feel so bad that you have had another bad luck at Disney dining.   Our DD has experienced some bad mishaps at other places, but so far not at Disney... we just came back from mini Disney trip, and again our dining experience was good.  I really hope your next Disney trip will be truly magical!


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## RobynPrincess

I've been enjoying reading your report so much! In fact I seem to have lost a whole morning hehe. That terrible about what happened to your DD though  I definitely think you need to follow it up with Disney xx


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