# Experience the Aloha! June 2021 Oahu/Aulani TR *COMPLETE* 3/7 Final Aulani Day!



## khertz

_*Experience the Aloha!*_
_*June 2021 Oahu/Aulani TR*_

_There’s no place I’d rather be_
_Than on a surfboard out at sea
Lingering in the ocean blue
And if I had one wish come true
I’d surf till the sun sets_
_Beyond the horizon..._​
E como mai, everyone! Some of you may know me from my many WDW, Universal, and even DCL & ABD trip reports, but because this is my very FIRST Aulani TR, you may not know who we are. So let me do a quick introduction to our little family who will be the main characters in this upcoming trip report.




IMG_3493 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​
First up is me, your narrator Khertz! I’m a pediatric & adult hematology/oncology nurse who absolutely loves planning my next trip. I have been a Disney fan since I was a kid, and started visiting the parks when I was about 9 years old. I’ve also been to Disneyland a few times, done one Disney cruise, and one Adventures by Disney trip. Some of my Disney favorites would include Rapunzel, Splash Mountain, Stitch, Mickey Premium Bars, Dole Whips, the Peoplemover, Via Napoli, and character hunting.




IMG_3564 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​
I couldn’t do my TRs without DH, who is our family photographer! He is rarely seen without his DSLR camera, and does a fantastic job documenting our trips in photos to help make these TRs well rounded & complete. He works in the offshore business and luckily for me, loves all things Disney just as much as I do! He is a big fan of Donald Duck, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Dole Whip Floats, Sci-Fi Dine In, and The Enchanted Tiki Room.




Untitled by disneymom1024, on Flickr​
Next up is our 10 year old son DS who has been visiting the Disney parks since he was 1 years old. He just finished 4th grade so he will be transitioning to middle school in the fall. So hard for me to believe! He too loves Disney, but is getting to the stage where he is more into Universal at this time. Sometimes he grumbles when I say “let’s go meet this character” but he turns into a big kid when we actually meet the character! He loves Pluto, Space Mountain, Flight of Passage, churros, and Wilderness Explorers.




Untitled by disneymom1024, on Flickr​
And finally is our 5 year old DD. She started out visiting Disney parks at the very young age of only 11 weeks old! We took a bunch of trips before she can even remember, even one to Disneyland, but we went to WDW last year in February before the pandemic, and it was like a first trip for her, and it was perfectly magical. She fell in love with Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Slinky Dog Dash, Mickey Premium Bars, Fantasmic, Frozen, and Dole Whip.

DH and I went to Hawaii many years ago in 2009 before kids, and we were able to visit for only about 4 ½ days. Granted we did a lot of things in those 4 ½ days, but we definitely did not get much time to relax. The flights were incredibly long, one of them a redeye. When our DCL cruise for January this year was canceled and we thought that Hawaii might actually be in the realm of possibility, we knew we wanted to do it totally differently this time with kids. Ultimately, we decided to split up our flights over two days each way instead of one long flight to get there in one go, and we used up all of our Wyndham and DVC points to be able to stay for a total of 12 nights. 

So let’s just jump right in! I’ll have lots of tips that I will share along the way as we go through our trip. I’ll preface this by saying the first several days are going to be all activities around Oahu since we wanted to save Aulani for the second half of our trip. If you’re only here for the Aulani photos and information, I really do hope you’ll stick with me through the first half of this TR because we did a lot of activities that people staying at Aulani may also want to do AND we had a ton of fun!! Instead of the usual fun titles I do for each entry with something taken from that post, I’ll title them with what activities it includes so that if you’re only interested in checking out a review and photos from certain things, you can find them easily.

Mahalo for joining in!


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## khertz

_...There’s no place I’d rather be_
_Than on the seashore, dry, wet, free
On golden sand is where I lay
And if I only had my way
I’d play till the sun sets_
_Beyond the horizon_

*Sunday May 30th & Monday May 31st*
Pre-Arrival Planning
Day 0-1: Traveling to Oahu

*Tuesday June 1st*
Day 2 Part 1: Dole Plantation
Day 2 Part 2: Surf Lessons & Waikiki Beach

*Wednesday June 2nd*
Day 3 Part 1: Leonard's Bakery, Pearl Harbor & Aloha Stadium Swap Meet
Day 3 Part 2: Makapu'u Lighthouse Trail & Halona Blowhole

*Thursday June 3rd*
Day 4 Part 1: Koko Head Crater, Hukilau Marketplace
Day 4 Part 2: Polynesian Cultural Center Island Villages
Day 4 Part 3: Polynesian Cultural Center Ali'i Luau

*Friday June 4th*
Day 5 Part 1: Diamond Head hike
Day 5 Part 2: Wakiki Beach

*Saturday June 5th*
Day 6 Part 1: North Shore Shark Adventure dive
Day 6 Part 2: Waimea Valley & Falls
Day 6 Part 3: Waimea Falls continued & Matsumoto Shave Ice

*Sunday June 6th*
Day 7 Part 1: Ko'olina & Pizza Corner
Day 7 Part 2: Waianae Tower & Waikolohe Valley

*Monday June 7th*
Day 8: Makahiki Character Breakfast & Waikolohe Valley

*Tuesday June 8th*
Day 9 Part 1: Character Meets & Wishable Hunts
Day 9 Part 2: Menehune Trail & Waikolohe Valley
Day 9 Part 3: Ka Wa'a Luau

*Wednesday June 9th*
Day 10 Part 1: Kualoa Ranch Jurassic Adventure Tour
Day 10 Part 2: Kualoa Ranch Indominus Rex Paddock
Day 10 Part 3: Kualoa Ranch Jurassic Valley
Day 10 Part 4: Kualoa Ranch Visitors Center & Menehune Trail

*Thursday June 10th*
Day 11 Part 1: Secret Beach, Boogie Boards & Snacks
Day 11 Part 2: Character Meets & World Oceans Day Scavenger Hunt
Day 11 Part 3: More Character Meets, More Coco Nene & More Secret Beach!

*Friday June 11th*
Day 12: Final Day at Aulani
​


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## khertz

*Pre-Departure Day*

Getting to Hawaii is not as simple as jumping on a plane right now. I’m not sure how long the Safe Hawaii Travels protocols will be in place, but since the prep for our trip started a couple of days before our departure, I will include a little information about how we got ready for this trip.




safetravels by disneymom1024, on Flickr​
When we went, the rules were that whether or not you were vaccinated, everyone age 5+ needs a negative Covid test within 72 hours of the final leg of travel to avoid a 10 day quarantine upon arrival in Hawaii. (Starting this month, vaccinated individuals can bypass the testing part by uploading their vaccination cards.) DH and I each made a profile on Safe Travels website and we each attached one child to our profiles. Since our flights were split up over 2 days, a Sunday and a Monday, we had to test no sooner than 72 hours before our Monday departure.

Our tests were scheduled at a local Walgreens for Friday afternoon. There are 2 tests at Walgreens that are accepted by the state of Hawaii, the PCR test that takes 24-48 hours to get results, or the Rapid ID Now test that gives results within 24 hours. The Rapid ID Now test is not available at all Walgreens, but luckily it was available for us. There is a 3rd type of test available that is NOT accepted (the antigen test). The top two tests are accepted.




walgreens by disneymom1024, on Flickr​
We did our tests in the drive thru and had results for everyone within an hour! Let me tell you, this was so nerve wracking waiting for those results. My nightmare would have been one of us testing positive without ever even knowing we’d had it! But thankfully, we were all negative and could breathe easy after that and really crank out our packing!! We uploaded our results to our profiles and they were automatically authenticated. 

*TIP*: You'll get 2 PDFs emailed to you, one called a Lab PDF and one called an Easy Read PDF. Make sure you upload the Lab PDF! The Easy Read will not be accepted by the automatic system that scans your upload.

The last step was to do a health questionnaire 24 hours before our last travel day. Once that was done, we received our QR codes (one for each account) that we would need to show at the airport.

The other thing we wanted to prepare for was the total of 4 long travel days with 2 kids. We went to a local discount store that has a huge selection of cheap coloring books & activity books and we STOCKED. UP. DD had so many options that we were actually able to pack half for the way there in her backpack and have the other half in a suitcase to trade out for the way home! DS picked up a Dot to Dot and a Word Search book for himself as well as a couple of coloring/activity books. With this and their tablets loaded with shows, movies, and games, we hoped we were well prepared for our long travel days!


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## khertz

*Day 0-1: *Sunday May 30th & Monday May 31st

Finally, it was time to head to Hawaii! We got on the road for the airport at 7 am on Sunday morning, grabbing some donut holes for breakfast to snack on during the drive. We live about 2 hours away from New Orleans where we were flying out of, and my parents were kind enough to meet us nearby the airport and follow us there so that they could take our car to their house for the time we were gone to avoid paying parking fees for the whole trip.

Since our travel day would take us right through lunch and the flights are not serving more than some simple snacks, we had planned to get Shake Shack at the airport before taking off. However, the line ended up surprising us that early in the morning, and we didn’t have time to get something from there before boarding began. And that’s how we ended up spending $30 on a chicken salad sandwich and two ham & cheese sandwiches to take on with us. But at least between that and the snacks, we wouldn’t starve!

All of our flights were on Southwest, and we have flown them many many times. Typically, family boarding is offered after they let everyone with an A boarding group board, but we have noticed in the past that sometimes they do not offer the family boarding. Luckily for all of our flights both to and from Hawaii, we were able to take advantage of family boarding. For those who aren’t familiar, Southwest does not have assigned seating, so when you check in 24 hours before your flight you are assigned a boarding group (A, B, or C), and a number which designates when you will board the plane. Family boarding when available allows families with children aged 6 or younger can board between groups A and B no matter what their boarding position is. We usually ended up with early B’s anyway, but we decided to take advantage of the family boarding each flight anyway.

Even with family boarding, because so many people ahead of us chose completely empty rows, we ended up far back in the plane each time to be able to find an empty row where we could have 3 of us on one side and the 4th across the aisle. For this first flight, I sat on one side with a kid on each side and DH was across the aisle from us.




Untitled by disneymom1024, on Flickr




Untitled by disneymom1024, on Flickr




Untitled by disneymom1024, on Flickr​
After this day, we planned that DH and I would switch off the next day and he would sit next to the kids, then we’d do the same on the way home. But the kids actually requested to just sit with DH for all flights because “Mom, you just always fall asleep.”  I take a Less Drowsy Dramamine before flights and it doesn’t usually make me tired when I’m up and moving, but when I’m just sitting around, like on a flight, I find it SO HARD to keep my eyes open!

We took off for our first leg of the day at 11:30 am heading to LAX on a 3 hour 45 minute flight. Thankfully, after an uneventful flight, we landed and had time to get to our next gate and even to use the restroom and refill our water bottles. Our last flight of the day was to Oakland, which took off at 2:20. Once we landed we took a short ride in the hotel shuttle to our hotel for the night, Holiday Inn Express Oakland Airport.

The hotel was perfectly average and acceptable. They even had onsite Covid testing with same day results if needed before flying to Hawaii! Nothing too exciting happened that night except that we had an awful experience trying to order food delivery! It took us forever to find a service that could get us Wendy’s nearby, then once we did we got our food and several items were wrong. But we had wanted that one in particular so that we could order dinner for the night, along with some chicken nuggets to keep in our in-room refrigerator overnight and heat up the next morning to bring on the plane for lunch in our Thermos containers since we’d be flying through lunchtime.

We got to bed as early as we could at 8:30 because after all the travel & time changes, we were pretty exhausted and we still had another day of travel to go!

Monday morning, we were up at 6:30 am to get ready to head back to the Oakland airport. The hotel was not serving a continental breakfast, but had grab & go options available. We had filled out forms the night before for each person with our choices and the timeframe we wanted to pick them up, so they were available for us in brown bags in the lobby. We ate in our room while picking up everything we had taken out the night before, then we caught the 8 am shuttle back to Oakland Airport.

Security was no problem, but it was a little bit funny that the kids’ backpacks required extra screening after going through the CT scanner because all of the activity books were so dense they couldn’t tell what it was! The lady doing the extra inspection told DH she was so impressed that they had their bags weighed down with so many books!

After security, we were able to prescreen for Hawaii! That was a very nice perk of flying Southwest, and we were so happy they offered this as not all airlines do. Basically instead of waiting in the sometimes-up-to-2-hours-long screening line upon arrival in Hawaii, we waited about 15 minutes in a line prior to going to our gate where they scanned our QR codes and gave us wristbands to show we had been screened prior to our final departure.

*TIP: *If you're doing prescreening, you'll need to have the address of where you are staying on arrival in addition to your QR code. They also will not accept simply seeing your negative results for the pre-screen, you MUST have your QR code or you'll need to screen upon arrival in Hawaii.

Again we did family boarding and headed to the back of the plane, this time DH sitting with the kids and me across the aisle.




Untitled by disneymom1024, on Flickr




IMG_3454 by disneymom1024, on Flickr




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IMG_3456 by disneymom1024, on Flickr




IMG_3457 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​
A couple of teenage boys whose parents were in the front of the plane ended up sitting with me. After my kids had complained about me sleeping the whole flight, I made sure to warn these boys that I do sleep a lot and to not be afraid to nudge me awake if they needed to get out of our row!

This flight was a little over 4.5 hours, and again the kids were great little travelers! We landed in Honolulu earlier than anticipated at 12:15 Hawaiian time. 




IMG_3467 by disneymom1024, on Flickr




IMG_3470 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​
We collected our luggage, and after the stress of all of the pre-travel testing, the thing we were both the most anxious about was our rental car. We had seen horror stories on Facebook groups of people with paid in advance reservations showing up in Hawaii and being told they had no more cars available and then they were stranded and had to figure out how they were going to get around. But we made it over to the Hertz counter and thankfully had NO issues with this! Soon enough, we were in our car and on our way to Club Wyndham Waikiki Beach Walk.




wm_thumb_1170x780_wyndham-at-waikiki-beach-walk-51fff73c54180 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​
Check in is usually not until 3 pm, but we were even more relieved to find out our room was ready on arrival! If traveling anytime soon, be prepared to show your Safe Travels profile that shows you all have negative results and have been screened, as that will need to be shown upon check-in pretty much everywhere. I was able to pull it up easily and took a screenshot for later use, but DH was frustrated trying to find his because he’d never logged in on his phone, just his laptop, and didn’t know his password off the top of his head. We were on the 11th floor with no view whatsoever, but we had a little surprise waiting for us. Some sparkling cider, chocolates, and balloons. Unbeknownst to me, DH had told them we were celebrating my & DD’s birthdays during our trip (mine is in mid-June, hers is early August)!




Untitled by disneymom1024, on Flickr​
We wasted some time trying to find cheaper overnight parking nearby to avoid paying the $40 per night at the resort for valet, and in the end we had to suck it up and pay because we couldn’t find anything else. The rest of our arrival day was pretty uneventful. We grabbed some food in Beach Walk for dinner, then went to do our grocery shopping. Another tip, head to Target and save yourself the headache of the Waikiki Walmart. They had hardly anything, and many things were out of stock that we had hoped to get for cooking in our room. So we bought a few things there, then had to go to Target to get the rest. We also bought an insulated cooler bag at Target which we used many times. We used it to pack waters and Gatorades for beach days or long excursion days, and also for the day we changed resorts to keep our cold items while moving hotels and between rooms. 

The evening was spent unpacking, showering, organizing, and getting ready for bed. Thankfully we made it until a respectable bedtime for the kids around 8 pm, and DH and I followed shortly behind them.


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## pinkxray

I am so excited you are starting your trip report! We were originally going to Hawaii next June for my 40th but schedule issues has us going Easter/April break 2022. We are doing 3 days in Waikiki before 6 nights at Aulani. I can‘t wait!

My Dd is a bit younger than your son but my Dd is close in age to yours.  DS will be 7 when we go and Dd will celebrate her 5th bday at Aulani. I have read all of your Universal TRs to get some ideas for our trip next month. I am sure I will steal some ideas from this trip report too.

I am jealous you get to sleep on the plane. I haven’t been able to sleep onboard since we had the younger kids. I will have to take motion sickness pills this time so hopefully the kids let me nap a little.


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## Hubie

We've been to the Big Island twice, and found the same thing at the Walmart there. But they do have a large Safeway in Kona. Anyway, we haven't been to Aulani yet. Can't wait to hear what you think about it, and what experiences you all had. We almost booked a trip there for this year, but decided to return to WDW instead. Maybe we'll go in 2022.


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## schmass

Hi, I recognize you from some WDW trip reports!  Thanks for the very detailed information about the Safe Travels process.  We fly to Hawaii on July 13th and I'm stressing about getting our 8 and 5 year olds tested!  Also stressing about the rental car, so glad to hear you had no issues!  Looking forward to reading more.


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## helenk

Great reading so far I can't wait for more.


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## khertz

pinkxray said:


> I am so excited you are starting your trip report! We were originally going to Hawaii next June for my 40th but schedule issues has us going Easter/April break 2022. We are doing 3 days in Waikiki before 6 nights at Aulani. I can‘t wait!
> 
> My Dd is a bit younger than your son but my Dd is close in age to yours.  DS will be 7 when we go and Dd will celebrate her 5th bday at Aulani. I have read all of your Universal TRs to get some ideas for our trip next month. I am sure I will steal some ideas from this trip report too.
> 
> I am jealous you get to sleep on the plane. I haven’t been able to sleep onboard since we had the younger kids. I will have to take motion sickness pills this time so hopefully the kids let me nap a little.



Sounds like it will be a great trip!! We enjoyed all the stuff we did while we were in Waikiki, but I'm so glad we had so many days to enjoy Aulani after that, because we were ready to relax.

I am going to try to include as many tips along the way as I can, because I know how helpful it can be when planning!! Hopefully some if it will be useful to you. 

I am not even sure if I'd get airsick, I've just always taken some Dramamine before flying because I don't want to find out that I am.  The kids were mostly self-sufficient this time, but when they were younger and more needy, it was definitely tough because all I wanted to do was sleep!!




Hubie said:


> We've been to the Big Island twice, and found the same thing at the Walmart there. But they do have a large Safeway in Kona. Anyway, we haven't been to Aulani yet. Can't wait to hear what you think about it, and what experiences you all had. We almost booked a trip there for this year, but decided to return to WDW instead. Maybe we'll go in 2022.



It's definitely worth the trip out there! Hopefully you'll get to go. I'm glad we have been able to experience it at least once. I hope it isn't the last time we make it there, but at least we got to do it. I really didn't think it would be possible anytime soon because the airfare is so expensive. Who knew all we needed was a global pandemic to bring the prices of flights down when they reopened to travelers?? 



schmass said:


> Hi, I recognize you from some WDW trip reports!  Thanks for the very detailed information about the Safe Travels process.  We fly to Hawaii on July 13th and I'm stressing about getting our 8 and 5 year olds tested!  Also stressing about the rental car, so glad to hear you had no issues!  Looking forward to reading more.



I figured it might be a little boring to include for some, but I know how helpful it is to have it all laid out so I figured someone may find it useful enough to include it! I totally understand the stress, I hope it goes as smoothly for you as it did for us! Of course the kids hated the actual testing, but a little ice cream after fixed that.  

Thanks for joining in!!



helenk said:


> Great reading so far I can't wait for more.



Thanks so much for reading!


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## princessbelle2015

Joining in. I  read all of your trip reports so I know I will love this!!


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## rdkeim

I'm one of your regular readers - love your TR's and the wonderful photos.  Although I'm not headed to Hawaii, reading about all the prep was interesting.  Breaking up the flights seems like a great idea!  Especially with kids.  Wondering if Hawaii was more uncrowded than normal?  Guessing some people wouldn't be willing to jump through all the hoops to get there.  Anxious to read more!


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## khertz

princessbelle2015 said:


> Joining in. I  read all of your trip reports so I know I will love this!!



Yay!! Welcome along  I can’t wait to share all the amazing stuff we got to experience!!



rdkeim said:


> I'm one of your regular readers - love your TR's and the wonderful photos.  Although I'm not headed to Hawaii, reading about all the prep was interesting.  Breaking up the flights seems like a great idea!  Especially with kids.  Wondering if Hawaii was more uncrowded than normal?  Guessing some people wouldn't be willing to jump through all the hoops to get there.  Anxious to read more!



Welcome!!

Breaking up the flights worked out really well. The kids were great travelers over 2 days but I think asking them to sit through an 8+ hour flight from the mainland wouldn’t have gone over as well. Plus overnighting in California helped just a little with the time change. 

It was definitely NOT uncrowded! I think with cruise lines docked and international travel not an option, many many many people had the same idea to go to Hawaii. The beaches were hopping and some of the activities we did had sooo many people. The Facebook groups I’m in, people are saying it’s actually even worse now since we have been home. I bet December through March was probably pretty great, but it has definitely picked up since then! I am glad we are planners by nature because it seems from the posts I am seeing, people who are not are running into issues being able to book tours and luaus right now if trying to plan last minute.


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## Verstehen

Following along! I love your TR's so I'm excited to read. Where did you get DD's awesome dress? I get ads for "casual" Disney princess dresses for kids all the time but I'm not sure what brand that is or if you'd recommend it.


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## nascargirl

Loving this report


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## missangelalexis

Yay I am so glad you started this TR! I loved seeing all your pictures and can't wait to hear the details! 

I am definitely going to be using your trip to get some pointers for planning mine! Fingers crossed I will be there in the spring!

Lots of travelling but sounds like everyone made it through unscathed!


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## vamassey1

I'm here and enjoying your report. I love the details and tips. I don't know if we'll ever make it to Hawaii but I can always hope and be prepared.


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## alohamom

This is awesome! Subbed and can't wait for more!


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## tgropp

Following and looking forward to more. My wife and I are taking our two children, their spouses and three grandchildren to Maui and Oahu next February. We are also staying at the Beachwalk Wakiki Beach for four nights and looking forward to your impression of the hotel.


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## khertz

Verstehen said:


> Following along! I love your TR's so I'm excited to read. Where did you get DD's awesome dress? I get ads for "casual" Disney princess dresses for kids all the time but I'm not sure what brand that is or if you'd recommend it.



Welcome!!
I got her Moana dress along with several other princesses & Captain America from aliexpress.com. I have seen those ads on Facebook and while I don’t know the brand name they are a lot cheaper on AliExpress with the caveat that you need to order in plenty of time from when you need the dresses because they ship from China so it takes awhile to get them. I just searched on there (because it can be tough to find what you are looking for!) and the WonderBebe Store has them if you want to start there. They are only $7-8 each mostly instead of $15 on the Facebook ads!




nascargirl said:


> Loving this report



Thanks so much! Glad to have you. 



missangelalexis said:


> Yay I am so glad you started this TR! I loved seeing all your pictures and can't wait to hear the details!
> 
> I am definitely going to be using your trip to get some pointers for planning mine! Fingers crossed I will be there in the spring!
> 
> Lots of travelling but sounds like everyone made it through unscathed!



Great to see you! The pics I was able to post while we were there is just the tip of the iceberg. I am excited to share all our adventures!!

I hope your trip works out! With the way they are loosening restrictions now I’m sure by spring it will be close to normal.

Yes I was so anxious about the travel but the kids did surprisingly well and that makes it so much less stressful for DH and I. It was a pain with all that luggage sometimes but overall it went very well! 



vamassey1 said:


> I'm here and enjoying your report. I love the details and tips. I don't know if we'll ever make it to Hawaii but I can always hope and be prepared.



Hopefully one day! I didn’t think we’d make it there anytime soon if ever with kids, so I’m really thankful this all worked out so well! We all had a great time. Thanks for following!



alohamom said:


> This is awesome! Subbed and can't wait for more!



Thank you for joining! Doing the TR when I get home makes the end of the trip sting just a tiny bit less lol 



tgropp said:


> Following and looking forward to more. My wife and I are taking our two children, their spouses and three grandchildren to Maui and Oahu next February. We are also staying at the Beachwalk Wakiki Beach for four nights and looking forward to your impression of the hotel.



That sounds like a great trip!! The Wyndham was in a great location. This time we had a smaller unit than last time so the kitchen was a little smaller for cooking but otherwise we had everything we needed and it was very comfortable!


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## khertz

*Day 2:* Tuesday June 1st

On our first full day in Hawaii, we were up EARLY. I expected to be dead to the world all night, but I kept waking up all through the night, especially after midnight. Eventually we decided just to get up and make breakfast. We had eggs, bacon, and biscuits in the room.




Untitled by disneymom1024, on Flickr




Untitled by disneymom1024, on Flickr​
In my original plan for the day, we really had nothing scheduled until the afternoon. But as we realized we’d be up and ready to do something, we decided to go over to visit the Dole Pineapple Plantation. This was something we had planned on doing at some point, but I’d had trouble finding a place for it in our itinerary. Since we were up early with nowhere to be until well after lunch, we decided to spend the morning there. We left around 9 am, and got there shortly after it opened at 9:30. It was already pretty busy! Luckily, we were not planning to do any of the ticketed activities like riding the train or doing the garden maze, because the lines were already crazy long.

Instead, we took our time and got some photos out front before going inside and checking out the store.




IMG_0961 by disneymom1024, on Flickr




IMG_0963 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​
We spent some time looking at all the fabulous pineapple merchandise inside. DD absolutely loves pineapples, so she was in heaven and wanted all the things.




Untitled by disneymom1024, on Flickr​
We went outside to see the small gardens where pineapples are growing, because all DD could talk about before heading to Hawaii was how much she wanted to see pink pineapples.




IMG_0966 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​
She even had her own camera with her that my parents gave her, and she snapped SO MANY pictures of the pink pineapples! 




Untitled by disneymom1024, on Flickr




Untitled by disneymom1024, on Flickr




Untitled by disneymom1024, on Flickr​
We thought maybe we’d do the garden tour, so DH went to see about tickets for that. But then we decided against it because we knew we’d be going to other botanical gardens.

We checked out the koi fish, who were going absolutely nuts with all of the people who had bought the fish food and were throwing it in the water.




IMG_0971 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​
There were some painted cutouts to pose with that the kids thought were hilarious.




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We went up to the train station to catch the train coming back in.




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Untitled by disneymom1024, on Flickr​
The last thing we wanted to do before leaving was get a Dole Whip. By the time we got back inside, the line was ENORMOUS for the food location. There are 3 counters, but there was one long line coming out of the entrance so we got into it, assuming that as we got closer you could branch off into one of the 3 counter lines. We had barely shuffled ahead in about 20 minutes, so we knew we were in for a long wait. But then, a woman came by wanting to sneak past us to exit the store, and she was carrying a Dole Whip. DD pointed as she went by and said loudly, “Is that a Dole Whip?” The lady turned around and said, “It is a Dole Whip, and if that’s all you want, the line for counter 1 is around that corner and there’s hardly anyone in it!” Turns out, everyone was just doing like we did and joining the stupid long line for counter 2 instead of using all 3!

So we followed her directions and got in the MUCH shorter line for counter 1. And in almost no time, we had gotten a Dole Whip swirl in a cone, and one in the adorable souvenir pineapple sipper.




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Untitled by disneymom1024, on Flickr




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DD, DH and I shared our two treats. DS doesn’t like pineapple so he just asked us to hurry up and finish because he was tired of sitting there watching us eat.  While eating the one in the souvenir sipper, DH realized there were chunks of frozen pineapple at the bottom. A nice surprise! They were incredibly delicious, but I’m glad we didn’t end up waiting forever for them.

We thought about heading to the nearby Wahiawa Botanical Garden after leaving, but realized we really wouldn’t have enough time to squeeze anything else in with the surf lesson we had planned for DH and DS for that afternoon. So once we finished our treats, we went back inside to see if there was anything we wanted to purchase before leaving. By that time, the line for food and frozen treats was nearly to the front entrance!! It had gotten considerably more busy inside while we had been there looking around the gardens and eating ice cream. The kids ended up deciding they wanted to get a new pressed penny book and getting a Dole pressed penny to start it off.




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Once we were ready to leave, DH and DS stopped outside to record a video of DS opening some Pokémon cards “on location” for his YouTube channel. He had fun recording these in different spots around the island!




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And showing off his new pressed penny book.




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*UP NEXT: *Surf Lessons


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## cgattis

Oh my goodness…..your daughter is adorable with her little camera and your son is totally your mini-me!! Enjoying following along!


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## missangelalexis

Sounds like a fun time at the Dole Plantation! DD is so cute taking her own pictures! And I love that DS wanted to do on location videos for his youtube channel!


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## OKW Lover

khertz said:


> we made it over to the *Hertz* counter and thankfully had NO issues


Nice that you had your own counter Kristi


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## khertz

cgattis said:


> Oh my goodness…..your daughter is adorable with her little camera and your son is totally your mini-me!! Enjoying following along!



Welcome along! 

She has a blast with that camera, filming herself and taking a million photos! lol She doesn't like to carry it for too long though, so I think this was the only day we even ended up taking it anywhere. 




missangelalexis said:


> Sounds like a fun time at the Dole Plantation! DD is so cute taking her own pictures! And I love that DS wanted to do on location videos for his youtube channel!



A lot of people on Facebook groups say the Dole Plantation is a waste of time, but we really enjoyed an easy morning there when we didn't have anything else planned. Yes, it was busy, but we like checking everything out, especially the pineapples of course! 

He had a lot of fun finding different locations to film openings. So many fun & beautiful places to do it!!



OKW Lover said:


> Nice that you had your own counter Kristi



We read so many horror stories from people who got all the way to Hawaii only to find out the car rental they had made in advance was cancelled because of the car shortage. DH was really hoping our last name would give us a little clout so they would make SURE they had a car available for us!   I have no idea if it actually helped or not, but we were so relieved to have a car!!!


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## vamassey1

And now I really want a Dole Whip.


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## amazingact21

I'm here and can't wait to follow along. Hawaii is one of my top destinations once we move back to the states, so I'll be taking notes! 

Ugh, aren't those pre-flight Covid tests so stressful!!! I couldn't sleep the night before we had to take ours, because I was so worried one of us would pop positive. I didn't even pack until I got those results back. (Fortunately for us, though, we were able to take antigen tests.) 


Those pink pineapples were pretty cool, I don't blame your DD for taking a bunch of photos of them. And whew, glad you managed to find a much shorter line for the dole whips. But you couldn't go to the Dole plantation without getting some pineapple! How close to the MK treat did they taste like?


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## khertz

vamassey1 said:


> And now I really want a Dole Whip.



The struggle is REAL!



amazingact21 said:


> I'm here and can't wait to follow along. Hawaii is one of my top destinations once we move back to the states, so I'll be taking notes!
> 
> Ugh, aren't those pre-flight Covid tests so stressful!!! I couldn't sleep the night before we had to take ours, because I was so worried one of us would pop positive. I didn't even pack until I got those results back. (Fortunately for us, though, we were able to take antigen tests.)
> 
> 
> Those pink pineapples were pretty cool, I don't blame your DD for taking a bunch of photos of them. And whew, glad you managed to find a much shorter line for the dole whips. But you couldn't go to the Dole plantation without getting some pineapple! How close to the MK treat did they taste like?



Yay, welcome!!

YES YES YES! I couldn't get really too excited about the trip until I got those negative results. I was a bundle of nerves. We actually went several weeks early and got tested so that if we needed time to file for a medical exemption, we could! We definitely didn't get into full packing mode until we got our negative results. 

I showed her pictures we took of the pink pineapples from when DH and I visited in 2009, and it was ALL she talked about leading up to the trip. She would tell anyone who would listen, "We are going to Hawaii for 2 weeks and we're going to see pink pineapples!" lol The ones at the plantation were the pineapple/vanilla swirl so they tasted JUST like the MK ones! When we got ones later on that were plain pineapple, they were a little more icy and like sherbet instead of soft serve ice cream. The ones at MK might be like that too, but I almost exclusively get the swirl there so I don't really remember what their plain pineapple tastes like. We definitely couldn't leave there without getting one!!


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## khertz

*Day 2 Continued:* Tuesday June 1st

After a fun morning at Dole, we drove back to Wyndham and had some lunch in the room before changing into our bathing suits and putting on sunscreen.

*TIP:* You need reef safe sunscreen to go in the ocean while visiting Hawaii! I did a lot of research on that, and there are some sunscreens that claim to be “reef friendly” but they still have a lot of harmful chemicals in them. The best and safest option is to get a mineral sunscreen, and the main ingredients should only be zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide. Many people (myself included) think that whatever you buy on the island is reef safe, but that is not necessarily true because only 2 chemicals have been banned in Hawaii but there are several others that are still considered harmful. Many mineral sunscreens are super expensive for a very small amount, but we got the Target brand called Up & Up and got a decent amount for only $7 and it only had safe ingredients!

The location that DH and DS needed to meet up with their Surf Instructors from ‘Ohana Surf Project was about a mile away from our resort, so we decided just to walk. On the way, we saw the Duke Paoa Kahanamoku statue, so that was kind of cool.




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There was also a pretty waterfall, and also another statue of a surfer. That’s when we knew we were getting close!




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Untitled by disneymom1024, on Flickr​
We spotted the small yellow bus we had been instructed to look for and got DH and DS checked in for their surf lesson at 2:45. I asked about being able to watch them, but the instructor said they would probably be too far out for us to be able to see anything. So I took DD a little further down the beach until I found a spot that wasn’t too crowded. I realized we had forgotten her Puddle Jumper, so she couldn’t go too far out into the water, but it was a spot where the waves were a bit gentler (as I would realize later in the week when we were somewhere else and the waves were rough!) so she was able to go in far enough to have fun. And she was enjoying playing with her sand toys and writing her name in the sand.




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Meanwhile, DH and DS were having a great time doing their surf lesson! This was the activity they both rated as their favorite of the whole trip, and it was all DS had been asking to do while planning, so I’m really glad we decided to add it. In addition to the 2 hour lesson, we paid a little extra for the photo package, so the instructors took photos and videos that they sent to us later. Because DS is under 12, we had to book the family lesson for them, but there are other options for teens and adults.




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*TIP: *Make sure to sunscreen the backs of your legs if you’re doing a surf lesson! DH did not, and the backs of his legs were burned after this!

DH said that this was well worth the money. The instructors took the time to learn everyone’s names, and to give lots of personalized encouragement (like saying, “Great job with that _____, DS” and not just “good job, buddy”). He went at DS’s pace and let him kind of do whatever he wanted during the lesson. He was not as good at getting himself up to standing on the board, but he liked laying down and letting the wave take him along, so he did that over and over. DH mentioned that there were some safety videos to watch on the bus prior to starting the surf time, and that they had some tubs available to put any belongings you didn’t want to take in the water with you. They also provide rash guard shirts and swim shoes if needed, though DH and DS wore their own. DH mentioned too that if you have a child that is too small to surf on their own, they also offer tandem lessons where the instructor is actually on the board also and he said those kids looked like they were having a blast! 

When I knew their lesson would be coming to an end, DD and I packed up and headed over to the school bus since DH didn’t have his phone and wouldn’t know where DD and I were hanging out. It was close to 5 by the time they finished up, so we were ready to head back to the resort and start working on dinner and settling down for the night.

DH had his GoPro, and took a pic of this really interesting looking tree on the way back. I know, a tree...not that exciting. But it was cool.




GOPR0020 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​
Once back in the room, we cooked fajitas for dinner, and relaxed before getting to bed pretty early. The time change was really kicking our butts, and we’d had a busy day so needless to say, we were down for the night pretty early!


----------



## cgattis

khertz said:


> took a pic of this really interesting looking tree on the way back.


For those following along, I’d you look closely, to the left of this banyan tree is a little circular raised area right there between the beach and sidewalk. This is where they do the free hula shows a couple of nights a week (check for the post-covid schedule—hope it’s Bach). Low-key and free, but high quality performance. Highly recommend if you’re in Waikiki.


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## DKkdNY

khertz said:


> _...There’s no place I’d rather be_
> _Than on the seashore, dry, wet, free
> On golden sand is where I lay
> And if I only had my way
> I’d play till the sun sets_
> _Beyond the horizon_
> 
> *Sunday May 30th & Monday May 31st*
> Pre-Arrival Planning
> Day 0-1: Traveling to Oahu
> 
> *Tuesday June 1st*
> Day 2 Part 1: Dole Plantation
> Day 2 Part 2: Surf Lessons & Waikiki Beach
> 
> *Wednesday June 2nd
> 
> 
> Thursday June 3rd
> 
> Friday June 4th
> 
> Saturday June 5th
> 
> Sunday June 6th
> 
> Monday June 7th
> 
> Tuesday June 8th
> 
> Wednesday June 9th
> 
> Thursday June 10th
> 
> Friday June 11th*
> 
> _*Saturday June 12th-Sunday June 13th*_​


who did you use for the surf lesson what company? Thanks!


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## khertz

cgattis said:


> For those following along, I’d you look closely, to the left of this banyan tree is a little circular raised area right there between the beach and sidewalk. This is where they do the free hula shows a couple of nights a week (check for the post-covid schedule—hope it’s Bach). Low-key and free, but high quality performance. Highly recommend if you’re in Waikiki.


Great info, thanks for sharing!! Both that it's a banyan tree, and also about the hula shows!




DKkdNY said:


> who did you use for the surf lesson what company? Thanks!



'Ohana Surf Project


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## khertz

*Day 3: *Wednesday June 2nd

On our second morning in Hawaii, we were up early yet again unsurprisingly. There was one breakfast we were really eager to try, and we’d heard the line could get a little long so this seemed like the perfect morning to do it. DH went over to line up at Leonard’s Bakery for some malasadas! They are Portuguese donuts of a sort, big balls of fried dough covered in sugar or cinnamon sugar, and you could get also get them filled. 




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DH decided to get a half dozen sugar and a half dozen cinnamon sugar, and one filled with chocolate. All of them were incredibly delicious, but my favorite hands down was the cinnamon sugar ones! They were soo good, I just wanted to keep eating them but had to stop myself so I wouldn't make myself sick. I’m pretty sure DH shared my sentiments. Hands down, this place is a must do.

*TIP: *Go early! Leonard’s is very popular for good reason, and it can be very busy early in the morning. And if you are not near the bakery itself, they also have several food trucks (they call them Malasadamobile!) parked around the island. 

After breakfast, we got dressed and into the car around 8 to drive over to Pearl Harbor for the morning. We had tickets for the boat out to the USS Arizona scheduled for 9:45 and wanted to be sure we had plenty of time so we got over there early.

*TIP: *Check the bag restrictions before going! Anything bigger than a wristlet was not allowed, except for clear bags (like ones you can bring to an NFL game). If you don’t want to leave your too-large bag in your car, they do have a place to store them but it costs money. 

We arrived around 8:45, so that gave us plenty of time to walk around the grounds outside, and to check out the museum before it was time to board the water shuttle over to the memorial.




IMG_1000 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​
Then DS asked for a photo on his own.




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So I’m sure you can guess what happened next…




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After entering, we decided first to walk around the outside sites before visiting the museum. DS thought the huge anchor was pretty cool.




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After walking around outside, we went inside the museum to look around. They have some pretty interesting stuff in there.




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Part of a torpedo




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A nurses uniform




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A pharmacist armband, miniature bible, and ring fragment




IMG_1015 by disneymom1024, on Flickr
A clock stopped at the time of the attack​
This model of the USS Arizona with the memorial on top was really great to be able to show the kids and explain what we were going to be seeing, since I think it was hard for them to imagine from us trying to describe it to them.




IMG_1018 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​
A few minutes before our ticket departure time, we went to check in. Normally there is a short movie of the attack they show before you go get on the boat, but due to Covid they are not showing it in the theater. I think they have it showing on a loop at the front entrance where you’re outside in the open air instead of sitting together in a theater where you can’t all distance. 

The Navy is nothing if not prompt, so right at 9:45 am our boat to the memorial was taking off.




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DS had his camera, and he thought the memorial was so interesting, he was taking a ton of photos.




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We had about 10 minutes out on the memorial before we took the boat back. There was a second small museum showcasing the effects of the Pearl Harbor attack and WWII on Hawaii, so we looked through there after returning. I spotted some of my favorites, Scarlett O'Hara & Rhett Butler.




Untitled by disneymom1024, on Flickr




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We stopped in the gift shop before heading out. DS found a couple of things he wanted, including a Pearl Harbor hat and a USS Arizona pencil sharpener.




Untitled by disneymom1024, on Flickr​
Once we felt we had spent enough time there, we decided to go over to Aloha Stadium to check out the swap meet that happens there on Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. We had packed sandwiches and snacks for a quick lunch, so we had that in the car once we got to the stadium.

It’s a giant flea market in the parking lot of the stadium, and it was something DH and I had done when we visited in 2009. Sometimes you can find some good stuff, but a lot of the booths have the same mass produced items like shoes, Hawaiian print shirts and dresses, jewelry, t-shirts, etc. for very cheap. Last time we had gotten a bunch of t-shirts there, but this time we didn’t really see any that we wanted. And it was SO SO HOT, and once you went in one of those tents there was just no air flow. It was so uncomfortable, the kids were begging to leave. DS did end up finding a carved surfboard that he wanted and was only $8 so we got that, but didn’t have much success finding anything else we wanted.




Untitled by disneymom1024, on Flickr​
At that point, we realized we all needed a break. We had spent most of the morning in the sun, and we were hot and tired. So we went back to Wyndham and spent some time relaxing in the a/c. No one napped, but it was nice just to get out of the heat and rest for a bit before doing anything else for the day.


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## rentayenta

Loving your report! We will be at Aulani in late November.


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## monsterkitty

> *TIP: *Check the bag restrictions before going! Anything bigger than a wristlet was not allowed, except for clear bags (like ones you can bring to an NFL game). If you don’t want to leave your too-large bag in your car, they do have a place to store them but it costs money.



TIP: Do not leave anything in your car anywhere! While at Pearl Harbor, if you can't take it in with you pay for the bag check. Paying for the bag check costs a lot less than having to replace everything that will be stolen if you leave it in the car.

We saw broken car windows and the remnants of broken car windows at every hiking spot and tourist attraction we stopped at in March. Leave nothing, even in the trunk!


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## khertz

rentayenta said:


> Loving your report! We will be at Aulani in late November.



Thanks so much! Hopefully something I post can be helpful for your trip. Is it your first visit to Aulani?




monsterkitty said:


> TIP: Do not leave anything in your car anywhere! While at Pearl Harbor, if you can't take it in with you pay for the bag check. Paying for the bag check costs a lot less than having to replace everything that will be stolen if you leave it in the car.
> 
> We saw broken car windows and the remnants of broken car windows at every hiking spot and tourist attraction we stopped at in March. Leave nothing, even in the trunk!



Good point!


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## khertz

*Day 3 Continue: *Wednesday June 2nd 

After our much needed break and rest back at the resort, we decided we were up for one more thing before calling it a day. A hike seemed to fit the bill, and one of the hikes we had really wanted to do was the Makapu’u Lighthouse Trail. I thought this one would be easily doable for all of us since it is paved the whole way up. We didn’t really have this in our itinerary anywhere going into the trip, just knew it was something we’d like to do when we had time. So we thought that after a rest, this would be a good activity for the afternoon.

The drive over to the trail was along the ocean, and there were a couple of scenic lookouts, so we stopped for a little photo shoot in front of some of the bluest of blue water I have ever seen! I remember stumbling upon this lookout on our 2009 trip, and it was just how I remembered it.




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We enlisted DS to take our photo.




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There was another lookout for the Halona Blowhole, but we decided to catch that one on the way back and continue on to the base of the trail. Without knowing how DD would do and knowing it was paved, we decided to bring the umbrella stroller on this hike. DS volunteered to push first.




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This trail was not very difficult but it was pretty steep. They had some spots to stop and look at the views along the way up, so we did that to take the little break it offered and to enjoy the gorgeous scenery and the nice breeze from the ocean.




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Finally, we could see the lighthouse!




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And then, we made it to the top! The view from the top was absolutely breathtaking! Well worth the sometimes tough route to the top!!!




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Then, it was time to head down. There was a little trail up one of the side of the mountains we had seen on the way up, and DH was really curious about what was up there, so he decided to go up but I thought he was nuts, so he took my picture waiting down at the bottom.




IMG_1134 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​

But, he did get a pretty awesome view.




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Once we got back on the road, we stopped at the Halona Blowhole lookout. It’s very small, but cool to see. The huge waves breaking against the rocks is really pretty too.




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We got back to the resort for the night, and we were all wiped out after such a busy day. DH and I didn’t feel like cooking, so we got Papa John’s delivered for dinner. When DH went out to meet the delivery driver, he got this nighttime shot of Waikiki.




IMG_3525 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​


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## Mathmagicland

khertz said:


> And then, we made it to the top! The view from the top was absolutely breathtaking! Well worth the sometimes tough route to the top!!!


Hi - I’m following along for a trip to Aulani later this year, and appreciate your report!  Quick question here - approx how long did it take you to get to the top?  Trying to plan where it might fit in for us. Thanks!


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## vamassey1

Such beautiful scenic pictures. The blues are gorgeous.


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## khertz

Mathmagicland said:


> Hi - I’m following along for a trip to Aulani later this year, and appreciate your report!  Quick question here - approx how long did it take you to get to the top?  Trying to plan where it might fit in for us. Thanks!



Thanks so much for following!!

I looked back at the time stamps on my photos and it looks like it took us about 40 minutes to get to the top. And that was moving at a kids pace so it could definitely be done quicker with a group of adults. 



vamassey1 said:


> Such beautiful scenic pictures. The blues are gorgeous.



The blue water was unreal!


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## figment52

Exceptional photos as always.  Thanks for taking us along.


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## missangelalexis

The surf lesson for DH & DS sounded really fun! And I'm glad you and DD could spend some time on the beach! Good to know about the sunscreen, I never would have known that.

Glad you all enjoyed going to Pearl Harbor!

Wow that lookout is gorgeous! As are the views from your hike!


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## rentayenta

Fun update! 

This will be my second visit to Aulani and DH's first however he spent time time living in Hawaii and is familiar with the islands. I took a girls' trip in Jan 2020 and came back with COVID.


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## khertz

figment52 said:


> Exceptional photos as always.  Thanks for taking us along.



Thank you so much! I love sharing our adventures, it lets me relive an awesome vacation.



missangelalexis said:


> The surf lesson for DH & DS sounded really fun! And I'm glad you and DD could spend some time on the beach! Good to know about the sunscreen, I never would have known that.
> 
> Glad you all enjoyed going to Pearl Harbor!
> 
> Wow that lookout is gorgeous! As are the views from your hike!



The sunscreen thing was something I researched way too much before we left! lol I stressed about making sure I got the right thing, and ended up spending a lot less than I was anticipating for a more-than-enough amount of sunscreen. Some of them I was reading in articles were like $50-100 a bottle for a tiny amount!! 

That side of the island is absolutely gorgeous! 



rentayenta said:


> Fun update!
> 
> This will be my second visit to Aulani and DH's first however he spent time time living in Hawaii and is familiar with the islands. I took a girls' trip in Jan 2020 and came back with COVID.



OH NO!! What a souvenir!! Hopefully this will be a MUCH better experience than catching Covid!!


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## AussieDisneyfans

Really enjoying your trip report - my daughter and I went in Dec 2019 and fell in love with everything about Hawaii, that we had planned to go back last year.  Well as we all know, that didn't happen and as we are in Australia, it won't be happening any time soon.  I have also enjoyed your previous trip reports.  We did a split stay also, Waikiki first then Aulani.


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## amazingact21

Wow, those are some beautiful shots. I could go to that lookout and stand there all day. I'm sure it's one of those sights that are even prettier in person, too.


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## khertz

AussieDisneyfans said:


> Really enjoying your trip report - my daughter and I went in Dec 2019 and fell in love with everything about Hawaii, that we had planned to go back last year.  Well as we all know, that didn't happen and as we are in Australia, it won't be happening any time soon.  I have also enjoyed your previous trip reports.  We did a split stay also, Waikiki first then Aulani.



Ugh, so sorry your trip had to be put off. It’s so frustrating that so many things are still up in the air. Hopefully you can travel again soon!!



amazingact21 said:


> Wow, those are some beautiful shots. I could go to that lookout and stand there all day. I'm sure it's one of those sights that are even prettier in person, too.



It’s definitely hard to capture the true beauty in photos. We stayed for awhile just looking at the beautiful scenery. It was too windy to be practical, but I’d love to sit out on those rocks with a book or something lol.


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## Inga

We have not been to the aloha market before so planning it for our Feb trip - we’ll go first thing in the morning, and Feb is a relatively cool month so we’re hoping to tolerate it.  I really want to buy a cute hat - not a ball cap - more like a straw fedora….wondering if you saw any cute hats - or were too distracted by the heat to notice!


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## CamDisDay

Really enjoying this and getting excited for an upcoming trip! Can't wait to read what happens next!


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## rdkeim

Loving your TR and beautiful photos!  That blue water - just gorgeous.  Makes me want to go to Hawaii!  I like the way you planned your days.  You had lots of fun activities but didn't fill every minute.  Looking forward to more


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## ariel-and-eric

Hello!  My husband and I live in Louisiana, too (3 hours northwest).  I have read your WDW reports, and I'm loving this one as well.  We hope to go to Aulani soon; your tips and details are much appreciated!


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## khertz

Inga said:


> We have not been to the aloha market before so planning it for our Feb trip - we’ll go first thing in the morning, and Feb is a relatively cool month so we’re hoping to tolerate it.  I really want to buy a cute hat - not a ball cap - more like a straw fedora….wondering if you saw any cute hats - or were too distracted by the heat to notice!



It will definitely be more enjoyable in the cooler months!! They definitely had hats, along with really pretty Hawaiian print dresses I wish I'd had more time to check out for me & DD. 



rdkeim said:


> Loving your TR and beautiful photos!  That blue water - just gorgeous.  Makes me want to go to Hawaii!  I like the way you planned your days.  You had lots of fun activities but didn't fill every minute.  Looking forward to more



The blue of that water was just unreal. It looks like a photograph even in person! We really planned a lot the first several days in Waikiki so that once we got to Aulani we could relax a lot more, which is usually tough for us to do on vacation. lol We like to go go go! So it was wonderful to have the benefit of time this vacation to get in plenty of both.



ariel-and-eric said:


> Hello!  My husband and I live in Louisiana, too (3 hours northwest).  I have read your WDW reports, and I'm loving this one as well.  We hope to go to Aulani soon; your tips and details are much appreciated!



Welcome along!! Thanks for following  DH and I both went to college in Northeast LA, me at ULM and DH at LA Tech. Are you in the Shreveport area?


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## khertz

*Day 4:* Thursday June 3rd

This morning was the only one where we didn’t really have anything planned because the only item on our itinerary was the Polynesian Cultural Center. It was about an hour drive to get there, but it didn’t open until 1 pm so we weren’t in a hurry to get to that side of the island. Since we had some free time, DH decided to hike Koko Head Crater. This was a hike he had seen on YouTube while researching our trip, and it was one he really wanted to try, but I didn’t think it was a good idea for the kids (or myself if I’m being honest). This is the description from alltrails.com:

_Steep, no-shade, climb to the top of Koko Head Crater that includes spectacular panoramic views of the east Honolulu shoreline, Hanauma Bay, and parts of the Big Island. The 1,000+ step walking track consists of abandoned railroad ties that run along the crater's west side to the top of Koko Crater. The military used them previously during World War 2 as part of an incline tram to transport supplies to a lookout post at the summit. Halfway up, there is a "bridge" portion without ground beneath ~50 rail steps, but there is bypassing trail if you're scared._

While it does look incredibly cool with the abandoned railroad ties, it looked way too strenuous for me! And I was worried about the kids with how steep it is, especially once you are coming back down. But DH was up for the challenge, so this seemed like the best day for him to get to try it out. He got up and out early, while the kids and I stayed back and relaxed. 




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We did benefit from his hike though, because he decided to stop for some malasadas at one of the Leonard’s trucks (Malasadamobile!) to bring back for a celebratory breakfast.




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While DH had been gone, I had tried to get online to book tickets for snorkeling at Hanauma Bay for the next day. Apparently, these online tickets are Hawaii’s version of Rise of the Resistance boarding groups! I selected several different times but by the time I input all of my information and went to check out, it would tell me there were no longer enough spots left for that time slot. I tried several different times to no avail. They were gone within 3 minutes! I truly couldn’t believe it. I did wonder whether I should have made an account before trying (even though it said one was not necessary) because maybe I wouldn’t have had to type all of my information in?? I don’t know! 

Once he was back and freshened up, we got on the road to head to Laie for an afternoon and evening at the Polynesian Cultural Center. The island villages open at 1 pm, but there is a dining and shopping area at the entrance called the Hukilau Marketplace, so we thought it would be a good idea to get there in enough time for lunch before the islands opened. We left at 10:45 am and as expected, it took about an hour to get there.




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Our original plan was to eat at the full service restaurant called Pounders. We wanted the kids to have a substantial lunch because we had no idea if they would find much they were willing to eat later that evening at the luau. But once we arrived and walked around, there were quite a few food trucks in the area. We decided to get some burgers and fries from one of them instead so we could get finished a little quicker, and of course save a little money! It was plenty of food. While DH and DS were ordering, I tried to get DD to show off her tropical dress, but she was being prissy and uncooperative.




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Once DS came back to the table, I wanted a picture of him in his dinosaur Hawaiian style shirt, and he was much more cooperative (but a little goofy!).




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So then naturally, DD decided she would just LOVE to let me take a photo!




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We feasted on our lunch, which included some delicious parmesan truffle fries, and then it was time to head into the PCC to start enjoying the island villages!


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## Diasmom

My husband is planning the Koko Crater Hike also.  Did your husband have difficulty finding parking?  The hike looks pretty challenging!


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## ariel-and-eric

khertz said:


> It will definitely be more enjoyable in the cooler months!! They definitely had hats, along with really pretty Hawaiian print dresses I wish I'd had more time to check out for me & DD.
> 
> 
> 
> The blue of that water was just unreal. It looks like a photograph even in person! We really planned a lot the first several days in Waikiki so that once we got to Aulani we could relax a lot more, which is usually tough for us to do on vacation. lol We like to go go go! So it was wonderful to have the benefit of time this vacation to get in plenty of both.
> 
> 
> 
> Welcome along!! Thanks for following  DH and I both went to college in Northeast LA, me at ULM and DH at LA Tech. Are you in the Shreveport area?


Thank you!  We live in Alexandria.  I went to college at NSU in Natchitoches, and my husband is from Long Island, NY.


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## DDuck4Life

Diasmom said:


> My husband is planning the Koko Crater Hike also.  Did your husband have difficulty finding parking?  The hike looks pretty challenging!



Parking is super easy. The hike entrance is right behind a baseball field at a local park. so there is plenty of free parking for the park that you can use and just follow the crowd of people walking past the baseball field up to the hike. Just like most things the earlier you get there the less people and closer spot you will get to park.  Those few extra feet you gain with each spot makes a difference after the hike heading back to your car.


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## amazingact21

That views from the top of that hike look spectacular! But....climbing that many stairs to be able to enjoy it...not sure it's worth that.   Although, I guess if I'm willing to walk up a million spiraling, narrow stairs to get a look at the tops of ancient castles, what's some stairs on a mountain? 
My friend was actually stationed in Hawaii for a long time, and she told me her husband convinced her to do that hike. She said she only got about a fourth of the way up before her husband reached the top, and she almost gave up because it was so steep.


I can't wait to hear about your experience at the cultural center and the luau! I saw the pics you posted and they looked amazing.

Ahhhh, daughters. Gotta love when they get in one of those moods. Evie's only about 2 months younger than D. so I can sympathize with all the emotions being thrown your way. 
For what is' worth, the dress does look really cute!


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## EmilyS92003

Was there any pin reading at aulani? We leave tomorrow and need to know if we should bring pins or not…..


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## khertz

EmilyS92003 said:


> Was there any pin reading at aulani? We leave tomorrow and need to know if we should bring pins or not…..



we didn’t do it but I do remember they offered it for a limited time in the afternoons.


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## khertz

amazingact21 said:


> That views from the top of that hike look spectacular! But....climbing that many stairs to be able to enjoy it...not sure it's worth that.   Although, I guess if I'm willing to walk up a million spiraling, narrow stairs to get a look at the tops of ancient castles, what's some stairs on a mountain?
> My friend was actually stationed in Hawaii for a long time, and she told me her husband convinced her to do that hike. She said she only got about a fourth of the way up before her husband reached the top, and she almost gave up because it was so steep.
> 
> 
> I can't wait to hear about your experience at the cultural center and the luau! I saw the pics you posted and they looked amazing.
> 
> Ahhhh, daughters. Gotta love when they get in one of those moods. Evie's only about 2 months younger than D. so I can sympathize with all the emotions being thrown your way.
> For what is' worth, the dress does look really cute!



Right?! I was not disappointed to miss out on this one    Way too strenuous for me!! DH said the locals were climbing it like it was nothing!

DD has me legitimately terrified for the teenager years. She is already so high maintenance!!!


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## khertz

*Day 4 Continued: *Thursday June 4th

When I left off, we were heading into the Polynesian Cultural Center to explore the island villages. The best way I can describe this if you’ve never been before is that it is like the World Showcase of Polynesian islands. There are 6 in total: Hawaii, Tonga, Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti, and Aotearoa (New Zealand, which is much easier to remember how to spell, so I’ll be referring to it as that from now on!). Each village offers cultural presentations throughout the afternoon, and hands on activities or demonstrations. It is very cool to see all of the ways the different islands are the same and how they differ from each other. 




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We walked to Samoa first, but it as we walked up they were just finishing their first cultural presentation of the afternoon, so we went over to the next island which was New Zealand where one was about to start. They were mindful of capacity limits at this particular one since it was inside, but we luckily were able to get in just before they stopped letting in more people.

The presentation started off with music and chanting.




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Then we learned about poi! Unlike the dish that is eaten in Hawaii of the same name, poi here is the Maori word for ball on a cord. They sing and swing the balls in a very rhythmic dance that was pretty cool to see.




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They also showed us a game that helps teach hand-eye coordination where you basically throw sticks at each other and try to catch them. I’m sure that’s really fun to play with your siblings when you’re little…




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The presentation ended with the coolest part, and probably what everyone is interested to see there...Haka! The Maori war dance was very cool to see in person!




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The kids weren’t interested in the hands-on activities there (not even the stick throwing!), so we decided to double back and catch the next presentation scheduled in Samoa since we had missed the first one. Our host for this one was named Kap, and he was hilarious! He blended the culture and traditions of Samoa with some great jokes and cool tricks, like opening a coconut with a rock, and starting a small fire.




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Then we moved out onto the grass where they demonstrated how they climb trees quickly and barefoot!




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Next we went over to the island village of Fiji.




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Here we saw more traditional dancing, and they explained how courting and marriage proposals happen.




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One of the hands on activities DS really wanted to do was the spear throwing in Tonga. Since we had some time before the next presentation there, we waited a few minutes before it was our turn to try it out.




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We each got a practice throw first before we took our real shots and tried to get the target.




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It was harder than it looked! But it was fun, and then we went over to get a spot for what ended up being probably our favorite presentation. We learned some dance moves, got to see them drum, and even got some good laughs when they brought a few volunteers from the audience up to try out the drums. It was very entertaining!




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We only had time for one more presentation before we’d have to start making our way over to check in for the luau. It was between Hawaii and Tahiti, and when I told DH the 4 pm presentation in Tahiti was a traditional wedding ceremony, he just groaned. Lol So we went to Hawaii instead.




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This one was also pretty funny, as the host did tease us all a bit about how most of us pronounce “ukulele” (YOU-ka-lay-lee instead of ooh-koo-leh-leh) and they showed us the old and new styles of hula dancing, and even taught us some of the moves.




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There was also a traditional hut home we could peek in before leaving the area.




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## khertz

*Day 4 Continued: *Thursday June 4th

Then we headed over to the Ali’i Luau where we were greeted with fresh orchid leis. The greeter had the kids present each other with their leis, then DH and I.




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DH and I did this same luau in 2009, and I seem to remember we paid extra for strawberry smoothies in a hollowed out pineapple. There are no alcoholic beverages since this whole center is sponsored by Brigham-Young University in Hawaii. This time, the smoothie in a pineapple was included but it was pina colada flavored.




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DD had been asking and asking when we were getting a drink in a pineapple, so she was SUPER excited about these coming right to the table as we sat down!




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Unfortunately, she was not nearly so excited once she tasted it.




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Before the show started, we wanted a picture of the kids in front of the stage. DS was being so silly!




IMG_1297 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​Soon, the show started and it was time to eat! This luau was a buffet, and they had us going up just a few tables at a time. We also had disposable gloves to wear when serving ourselves with more available if you went back up to the buffet for more.




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After a little bit of hula dancing, we got to see them take the pig out of the underground oven that would be carved up for us to have as part of the meal too.




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DD was really funny when she was watching the dancers. She asked me if I thought they were handsome, and I said yes. Then she said, “More handsome than daddy?” When I said no, she replied, “Well since I don’t have a true love...I kinda think I want to marry them.” 

The kids ate more than I expected, but certainly not a ton. But the food was really good, especially the pork! DH and I each made a couple of trips to the buffet, and got an assortment of the desserts they had available. The kids were excited to eat purple bread.




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But probably the highlight for everyone was purple ice cream! They had soft serve that was ube flavored (made with a purple yam but tastes like a very sweet vanilla) and mango, or a swirl of both. We all tried the Ube and it was really good, plus it just looked cool!




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I think DD ate her weight in fruit during dinner and again as more dessert after her ice cream.




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Once we finished our meal and the luau was over, we went over to take some photos of the waterfalls at the stage area and offered to take a photo of a couple, who took a family photo of us in return.




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We had a little time to head back to the Hukilau Marketplace before we needed to get in line for the nighttime show, Ha: Breath of Life.




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We walked around a little bit and used the restrooms before getting in line for the Pacific Theater. We had bought the lower level of the two options for entrance, the luau, and the nighttime show, so our seats were a little off center from the stage, but we were right down in front!




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Photos are not allowed at the nighttime show, so we don’t have any from the actual performance. Words cannot accurately convey how amazing this show is! It weaves the story of the main character Ha from childhood through all of the major milestones of his life, and each one is presented through the lens of the traditions of each of the villages represented at the PCC. It was so beautiful and well done, I just never wanted it to end! It even held the kids’ attention really well. This show was honestly worth the price of what we paid for the entire day on its own. 

It made for a late evening, since we weren’t back in the car on our way back to Waikiki until 9:15. The kids were very tired, and the drive was rough as it was pouring rain the whole time, so we got back very late. But it was absolutely worth it! This was probably my favorite day of the entire trip, and I would highly recommend doing the full day experience with the luau and nighttime show. The only thing I was disappointed in was that it doesn’t open earlier in the day, because we didn’t have time to experience Tahiti due to the limited time before the luau. I would have loved another hour or two! This one gets an A++ from me!!


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## missangelalexis

Sounds like a great time at the Polynesian Cultural Center! The meal looks wonderful! I'm glad the nighttime show was amazing too!

LOL had to laugh at DD wanting to marry one of the dancers!


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## rdkeim

What a great day!  I think I would have passed on the hike too.  Nice he brought back some treats.  The cultural center sounds like it's very well done.  Wish you could share pictures of the nighttime show.  I'll take your word that it was awesome!


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## khertz

missangelalexis said:


> Sounds like a great time at the Polynesian Cultural Center! The meal looks wonderful! I'm glad the nighttime show was amazing too!
> 
> LOL had to laugh at DD wanting to marry one of the dancers!



This was my favorite thing we did all week! It was so cool to experience all of the islands and the nighttime show was absolutely incredible. I'm so glad we were able to have this as part of our itinerary. I know people who have been trying to book more last minute have been missing out on luaus and such because they are all sold out.

She cracks me up with the crazy stuff she comes up with!



rdkeim said:


> What a great day!  I think I would have passed on the hike too.  Nice he brought back some treats.  The cultural center sounds like it's very well done.  Wish you could share pictures of the nighttime show.  I'll take your word that it was awesome!



DH even said, we were better off passing on the hike. He had a tough enough time, it definitely wasn't for the rest of us! 

It really really was. I doubt even photos would do it justice! I'd pay the price we did for the whole day all over again even if it was JUST for Ha! It was so beautiful and well done.


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## khertz

*Day 5:* Friday June 4th

Since we had gotten to bed so late the night before after the Polynesian Cultural Center, we didn’t set any alarms for today. We were up around 7 and made some cinnamon rolls for breakfast, then decided to tackle the Diamond Head trail hike. This was something else we knew we wanted to do but didn’t necessarily know when we would get to do it. Since Hanauma Bay tickets hadn’t worked out, we’d decided this would be the best morning to do it.

We arrived at 8:45 am and the small parking lot at the base of the hike was already full. But there was a line over to the side they let us wait in for a space to come available. There were a few cars ahead of us, and after only about 15 minutes we were able to park. You can park further away and walk in, but I’m really glad we didn’t do that and add all that unnecessary walking.

While DH went to buy our tickets, I sat to the side with the kids, and DD started throwing a fit over something inconsequential. I only mention this at all to explain the reasoning behind this gem of a photo.




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DD soon got over her bad mood, and I have to say I had really expected that one or both kids would be a total whiny mess during this hike, but spoiler alert: They did AMAZING! I swore DH would be carrying one of them by the end, but they had endless energy for this, and were actually hollering for ME to keep up!




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These stairs nearly killed me, but the kids ran right on up.




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Finally we made it up to the top, and were rewarded with this gorgeous view of Waikiki!




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Our car is one of the tiny dots down there in the center of the crater!




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The longer we stayed up there at the top, the more crowded it got. So after DS did a quick Pokemon opening for his YouTube channel, we decided it was time to start heading down. DH took more photos on his nice camera on the way down.




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Unfortunately, on the way down I lost my footing and scraped the heck out of my knee on one of the jagged rocks on the path. It can be very uneven, so another *TIP:* Wear a great pair of shoes with grip! I think I just stepped right on the rock on the wrong spot to where my tennis shoe couldn’t grab it and I just kept sliding forward. The sore on my leg made for a pretty uncomfortable rest of the trip as it didn’t mix well with saltwater! But I was glad if someone had to get hurt, it wasn’t one of the kids.

By the time we got to the bottom, DD was asking for a happier picture of her with the sign. And she was proud of herself for accomplishing the hike!




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At the base of the hike, there are several food trucks with lots of items including pineapple treats! I felt like after injuring myself, I deserved one!! 




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After enjoying our pineapple twist, we looked through the small gift shop kiosk and DH got a t-shirt while DD picked out a Hello Kitty “I Hiked Diamond Head” keychain and DS picked up a pin.

We headed back to the resort at that point and had some lunch and relaxed. There wasn’t too much else we felt like we needed to do, so we decided we would spend our last real afternoon in Waikiki at the beach since we’d be spending the next day, our last full day before moving to Aulani, on the North Shore.


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## missangelalexis

The views from the top look incredible! This is something on my list, though I am scared it might be too challenging for me  I’m glad the kids did well, Im sorry about your scrape though!


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## cgattis

missangelalexis said:


> The views from the top look incredible! This is something on my list, though I am scared it might be too challenging for me  I’m glad the kids did well, Im sorry about your scrape though!


Unless you have any real disability or previous injury/damage to say a knee, you should be ok. Just wear good shoes and take plenty of water, then just take your time.


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## happybaker

cgattis said:


> Unless you have any real disability or previous injury/damage to say a knee, you should be ok. Just wear good shoes and take plenty of water, then just take your time.



How do you think a senior with a knee replacement would do?  My dad has interest in doing this but has some concerns.


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## cgattis

happybaker said:


> How do you think a senior with a knee replacement would do?  My dad has interest in doing this but has some concerns.


I saw people of all shapes and ages up there. I guess in his case, I’d just ask how active he is. If he could keep up with you at Disney, I think it’s no problem for him. If he takes 2 hours just to grocery shop, maybe not. And it’s not treacherous, just a lot of uneven ground and incline. So if he has trouble/pain, he could always turn back—the “down” isn’t any worse than the “up.” They won’t have to airlift him off with a helicopter LOL The views are so unique, looking down into the crater. And the pillboxes are so cool. Hope he can do it.


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## happybaker

@cgattis thanks for the info. My dad's pretty active so we'll give it shot this go round. Last time we were there we passed on Diamond Head because he still had his old, crappy knees. We did manage to get him to snorkel and go on an outrigger with us.


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## khertz

missangelalexis said:


> The views from the top look incredible! This is something on my list, though I am scared it might be too challenging for me  I’m glad the kids did well, Im sorry about your scrape though!



I really think you would be fine! I only struggled with the stairs at the end. One person I was passing as I went up and he was coming down was like, "You can do it, you're ALMOST there!"   I guess it was pretty obvious the stairs were tough for me. But if I could make it, you certainly can!


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## khertz

*Day 5 Continued:* Friday June 4th 

After a nice hike in the morning to the peak of Diamond Head, and a break in the room, we were ready to spend the afternoon at the beach. On our past trip, DH and I spent NO time at the beach because we are just not "lay on the beach" kind of vacationers, even when in a place like Hawaii. However, with kids, the beach was a must. Since Waikiki Beach was in walking distance of our resort, so we changed and started walking. There was a beach access path with a bunch of surfboards stored there that I thought looked really cool!




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We found a spot but it was much more crowded and the waves were quite a bit rougher than where we had been when DH and DS were doing their surf lesson. But the kids had an absolute blast in the water and in the sand.




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We had to practically drag them off the beach to get back for dinner and showers because they were having so much fun! But with a very early morning ahead of us to get to the North Shore, we knew we couldn’t stay out too late. And as we cleaned up, I remembered why I dislike the beach so much...there was sand EVERY. WHERE. We cooked jambalaya for dinner, and spent the evening packing up everything we’d need for the next day so that everything was ready to go and all we had to do in the morning was get dressed and eat a quick breakfast.


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## khertz

*Day 6:* Saturday June 5th

Never before have I willingly woken up at 5 am on a Saturday, and yet here we were on vacation doing just that! We had our alarms set EARLY because we were heading up to the North Shore and we had a date with SHARKS! The last time we were in Hawaii, we had done a catamaran tour to go snorkeling, and I ended up sick as a dog from motion sickness and did not enjoy the experience at all. So this time, I had prepared by taking a less drowsy Dramamine like I do when visiting Disney or Universal parks and hoping to enjoy myself more this time. 

We had organized everything we’d need for the day the night before so that we could get every moment of sleep possible, and all we had to do was dress, brush teeth, and force down some breakfast before we got in the car and headed up towards Haleiwa. Our first adventure of the day was a shark cage dive with North Shore Shark Adventures. We needed to be there by 6:30 am to check in for our 7 am tour. After checking in, I took DD to use the restroom before getting on the boat, and was *SHOCKED *to walk in and find that neither of the 2 stalls had doors!!!! That was a bit disconcerting. There was one handicapped stall with a longer wall separating it from the other stall, so we went to use that one and took turns being lookout for each other. We had arrived in our swimsuits already, but I was NOT looking forward to changing out of our wet suits and back into clothes in there!!

After that not so pleasant surprise, we were on the boat by 7 am and heading out about 3 miles to where the cage was. Our captain told us that if they spotted anything interesting along the way, we could stop so everyone could stand up to see and take pictures.




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After a few minutes, they stopped so we could see some spinner dolphins! They were coming right up next to the boat, and there were so many of them!




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After letting us enjoy watching the dolphins for a few minutes, we continued on our way out to the dive cage. They split us into 2 smaller groups of 6, and our family plus a couple would be going second. While the first group got ready with their snorkels, we were checking out all the Galapagos sharks swimming right up to the boat.




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As we were leaning over watching the sharks swim around...suddenly I didn’t feel so hot. Like, REALLY not so hot! They called our group to the back of the boat to get ready to go out, and I ended up losing my breakfast over the side of the boat while DH and the kids took these.




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You can really see in these photos how WHITE their faces are from the reef safe sunscreen. That stuff just didn’t rub in at all! 

I managed to stumble over and get my snorkel on when it was time for us to climb into the cage. DD had been apprehensive about doing this, but agreed to go in and give it a try. Oh man, BIG mistake. So suffice to say, no one but DS had a great time doing this. He was diving all around checking out the sharks. But DH and I were taking turns holding on to a freaking out DD who refused to put her face in the water for even a second to see the sharks. I was trying not to get sick again because then it would be floating all around in the water around us. The rolling of the waves and the saltiness of the water getting in my mouth made me feel 1000x worse, and the 3 of us just wanted them to bring us back to the boat ASAP. I did manage to put my face in a few times to see the sharks, and it was actually incredibly cool to see them close up! But I definitely didn’t enjoy this as much as I could have. Same for DH. He got to check them out a few times when DD would let me hold her, but she wanted her daddy to be holding on to her. Unfortunately, no underwater photos (we should have let DS hold on to the camera!) but DH got a little bit of video on the GoPro and I’m hoping he will put a lot of our video footage together in a vacation video.

It was a long ride back, but I managed not to get sick again as we made our way back to shore. I have seldom been happier than I was to step off that boat! But then DD and I had to go change in that awful bathroom, but thankfully we managed not to get walked in on.

We still had more planned for our North Shore day, and as we left the Haleiwa harbor, we hoped the rest of the day would be a little more enjoyable than our shark adventure morning had been.


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## pinkxray

The dis keeps crashing and erasing my comments so I’ll keep this short. 
Love the pics and you guys are getting a lot done!


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## SomeImaginationHuh

All caught up and really enjoying your trip pics!


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## DisneyMountainWoman

loving your trip so far!


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## rdkeim

Sorry for the bad shark experience - I could feel your pain!  Did you kiss the ground?  Hope your nausea got better and the rest of your day was fun!


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## missangelalexis

Sounds like a fun beach day! 

Omg so funny I was going to comment how ghostly DD looks with that sunscreen on!

I am sooo sorry you got sick on the boat  Sounds like it wasn't the best excursion, but at least 1 person enjoyed it!


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## khertz

pinkxray said:


> The dis keeps crashing and erasing my comments so I’ll keep this short.
> Love the pics and you guys are getting a lot done!



Thanks so much!!



SomeImaginationHuh said:


> All caught up and really enjoying your trip pics!



Thank you!



DisneyMountainWoman said:


> loving your trip so far!



Thank you!



rdkeim said:


> Sorry for the bad shark experience - I could feel your pain!  Did you kiss the ground?  Hope your nausea got better and the rest of your day was fun!



Ugh, YES, I have never been so excited to see the ground as I was in that moment stepping off that boat!!! Thankfully it was limited to the boat ride and the rest of the day was MUCH more enjoyable!




missangelalexis said:


> Sounds like a fun beach day!
> 
> Omg so funny I was going to comment how ghostly DD looks with that sunscreen on!
> 
> I am sooo sorry you got sick on the boat  Sounds like it wasn't the best excursion, but at least 1 person enjoyed it!



That reef safe sunscreen was THE WORST! It never rubbed in, and it was even impossible to scrub off! I'd be in the shower just scrubbing my legs raw and you could still see the white film on it!

Yeah, definitely a miss for us overall, but I'm glad we tried it. It was a pretty cool experience aside from the seasickness.


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## khertz

So sorry that I have been MIA...a LOT has been going on!! My sister had her first baby on 8/25, evacuated for Hurricane Ida on 8/28 and they are now living with us because their house is STILL without power! It's been rough lately, for sure. But I do want to get this TR finished up so I can start sharing our Universal trip that we took at the end of the kids' summer break!

*Day 6 Continued: *Saturday June 5th

I had looked at several things to do on the North Shore, but the one I really wanted to do was Waimea Falls. It was plenty early enough that we could make it over there fairly close to their opening time, so that’s where we decided to go next. Waimea Valley is a large botanical garden that ends with a waterfall that you can actually swim in. In my research, it sounded like it would be an easy hike for all of us, and we were interested in seeing the waterfall. On our previous trip, DH and I had hiked to Manoa Falls and it was a pretty easy and nice hike, but up until our trip that trail had been closed, so we figured this was a good alternative and something new. It was a bit pricey at $20 for adults and $12 for kids. However, at the time they were offering free admission for healthcare workers and first responders, so I got in for free just for bringing my badge for work that shows I am an RN. I’m not sure how long that will be available, but it made it a more affordable option for us to do. 

Once we got inside, there were several little creeks and waterways around. The kids and DH had worn their water shoes so the kids were all too eager to check it out.




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There is a large main pathway up to the waterfall, and there are little paths that branch off. We decided to stick to the main walkway on the way there and save the paths for the way back down.




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Eventually, we made it up to the waterfall!

*TIP: *There are changing rooms available, and free life vests for those who want to enter the water! 




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Since the three of them had their water shoes on, they decided to wade in for a little while. I was ok missing out on this. The kids were bummed that we hadn’t brought their bathing suits so they could fully go in, but it just seemed too impractical and too much of a hassle to change in and out of wet bathing suits again after the shark dive that morning. They were ok with just getting to put their feet in for a little while though.




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After about 15 minutes in the water, they came out so we could start heading back down. There was a bridge we had crossed over with a nice view of the waterfall on the way there, so we stopped on the way back for some more photos with the waterfall in the background.




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## khertz

*Day 6 Continued: *Saturday June 6th

One of the things we passed was a small elevated clearing, so we went to check it out. There was an employee up there who came over to teach us some of the traditional games they had set up there. They were different but similar setups where 2 people stand on opposite ends and try to get an object through an obstacle. One was with sticks, and the other was a round piece of wood.




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The kids, especially DD, were hesitant to try them out at first. But once we got going, they actually found it to be a lot of fun! One not so fun part for me was that I was still dealing with the injury to my knee from the slip on Diamond Head, and then DS rolled one of those pieces of wood right into my shin! 




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DD had gotten a hold of the camera, and it cracks me up the photos she was taking.




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A super close up of some leaves she liked! Lol And I took a photo of her taking the photo because I thought it was so funny.




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She also really likes taking selfies!





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There was a pathway with replicas of some different types of buildings.




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They had these scoopers to pour water on the leaves to show how the water beads up and rolls off. That was pretty cool!




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By now we had made it back to the beginning of the trail, and it was well past our usual lunchtime. They had a food location there at the Valley, so DH went to check out the options & prices while DD and I went to the restroom. There was a surprise visitor walking around!




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One of the famous places to eat on the North Shore is Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck, and that had been our original plan for lunch. But by now, we knew the wait would probably be very long as it was peak lunchtime. One of the other places I had put on our list was Teddy’s Bigger Burgers. It looked like a fast casual place to eat that we would probably enjoy, and it had a few different locations around Oahu. After pulling up the menu and comparing it to the options at Waimea, it looked like we could get more for our money at Teddy’s, so we left Waimea and headed there instead.




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It took a little while to find a place to park on the street, but eventually we found something that was within walking distance of Teddy’s. Once there, they had a sign at the counter for a family box that included 2 burgers, 2 children’s entrees, 2 large fries, and 4 drinks for $30, which seemed perfect for us! We devoured that food, we were all so hungry by then! 

After lunch, we still managed to find some room for shave ice! It was only a couple of minutes down the street to get to Matsumoto Shave Ice, which had a long line outside. But there was some Hawaiian dancing and singing going on in the little courtyard area, and they move very efficiently inside so it moved quickly.




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Seeing people come out with their shave ice, we knew we didn’t each need one. We decided on one rainbow (strawberry, lemon, and pineapple), and one watermelon to share. 




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They also give you straws for once it starts to melt. DD couldn’t wait to have hers with the straw!





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There are lots of shops in Haleiwa to check out, so we looked through several hoping to find something to bring back for my nephew who is due in September, but there was a real lack of good things to get for an infant unfortunately. We shopped until about 3:30 and finally that early wake up was starting to get to us. We were TIRED. I had a couple of beaches I had wanted to check out on the North Shore, one that is famous for sea turtle sightings and one that was the main beach for the survivors on one of my favorite TV shows of all time, Lost. But really by then, the effort of driving around, trying to find parking, and dealing with sand didn’t sound appealing, so we started back to Waikiki.

It was also our last night in Waikiki at the Wyndham resort, so we had to spend the evening packing. We had leftover pizza for dinner while washing clothes and packing and reorganizing for our move the next day over to Aulani!


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## alohamom

We LOVE Teddys Bigger Burgers and because there are quite a few locations on Oahu we usually make a stop in Kailua before we hit the beach there.


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## rdkeim

What a beautiful hike!  The waterfall was a real bonus at the end.  You got so many great pictures.  On to Aulani!


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## khertz

alohamom said:


> We LOVE Teddys Bigger Burgers and because there are quite a few locations on Oahu we usually make a stop in Kailua before we hit the beach there.



It won't be the last time Teddy's shows up in this TR! We really enjoyed it, and the price was just great for what we could get to feed us all! It was nice that they were in several locations.



rdkeim said:


> What a beautiful hike!  The waterfall was a real bonus at the end.  You got so many great pictures.  On to Aulani!



It definitely was beautiful, and very easy to walk which was nice. The waterfall was great, especially since the one DH and I had hiked to on our previous trip before kids was closed and we really wanted to see a waterfall with the kids.


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## khertz

*Day 7:* Sunday June 6th

We had reached the halfway point of our trip! Sunday was moving day. We were checking out of the Club Wyndham Waikiki Beach Walk and heading over to Ko Olina to check in at Aulani! 

First order of business was breakfast. We made a big one to use up some of the cold items we had left so we didn’t need to pack and transport them. That meant we had a lot of eggs, bacon, and some biscuits. After packing up our last minute items, we brought our big luggage down to bell services to hold while we went to 9 am Mass at Sacred Heart Church.




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The priest was very nice, and on the way out he was greeting all of his parishioners by name, so he knew we were travelers and stopped us to ask where we were from and chat with us a little. 

We went back to Wyndham to collect the rest of our bags and then we were hitting the road to Ko Olina. Soon enough, we could see Aulani out in the distance!




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We were all bouncing with excitement as we drove up and were told Welcome Home! 




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It didn’t take too long to get checked in. We did need to show our Safe Travels information that we had been screened and were exempt from quarantine during the check in process. The CM who checked us in gave us some Welcome buttons. Unfortunately, our room wasn’t ready upon arrival, but we were able to leave our bags with bell services and had immediate access to the amenities. We took a little time to walk around and explore the resort. I think all of us were feeling like it was a bit of a surreal experience to actually be at Aulani!




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One of the things the kids had been looking forward to the most was looking for the Menehune! If you’re not familiar with them, this is how the Aulani website describes them:

_As legend has it, the Menehune (men-neh-HOO-nay) are shy, mischievous people of the Hawaiian Islands._

_They are said to be gifted—possibly magical—craftspeople who are capable of mighty feats of construction overnight. If you come across a work-in-progress bridge or canoe at Aulani Resort, chances are the Menehune are responsible._

_While not immediately obvious, evidence of the Menehune is represented by carvings hidden throughout Aulani Resort—many in places where they're likely to be discovered by children first. They are in the landscaping, in the lobby, under tables, tucked in the corners of buildings and nestled under rocks all over the Resort._

We saw a few just while walking around the lobby and common areas.




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We of course took a peek around the store to see what kind of goodies we’d like to acquire over the week. And DD modeled her Aloha button.




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Since it was lunchtime, we headed across the street to have lunch at Pizza Corner. We ordered a whole pizza to share because it was cheaper than getting everyone a slice. While we were waiting for our pizza to be ready, the owner came around to welcome us, and brought us some cinnamon twists to enjoy after our meal! He was very nice and spent some time talking with us and telling us about visiting the beach near Paradise Cove to see the sea turtles early in the day. 




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While we waited for the pizza, the kids made up a game with parmesan cheese packets and battled until lunch was served.  




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The pizza was huge and plenty for the 4 of us!





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After lunch, we went back to Aulani and grabbed the bag we had packed with everything we needed for the pool from bell services and used the restroom near the pool area to change. Once we were all changed and had started putting sunscreen on, we got the text that our room was ready (it was about 1:30), so we pivoted our plan for the afternoon. Instead of going to the pool, we got the rest of our bags and decided to go check out the room and unpack. We were in room 1512 of the Waianae tower with an ocean view.


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## khertz

*Day 7 Continued:* Sunday June 6th

I took some quick cell phone photos of the room because I knew the kids would tear into it quickly.

Upon entering, the kitchen was to the right.




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Part of the split bathroom was to the left with the shower, a sink, and a toilet.




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There was a second bathroom with a tub and another sink attached to the master bedroom.




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We had 2 balconies, one in the master bedroom and one in the living room.




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The view was absolutely beautiful!




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While I unpacked and organized, DH made a trip to Target to replenish our grocery items and get more sunscreen. 

*TIP:* Bring your own reusable grocery bags if you have them! I forgot to mention this when we went to Wal-Mart earlier in the trip. We have SO many at home but didn’t even think to bring them with us on vacation, and there are no plastic grocery bags in Hawaii. We ended up purchasing one at Wal-Mart and managed to fit enough stuff in it that we only needed the one. But then DH forgot to bring it with him to Target, so that’s how we ended up with yet another one!   

Once he returned and we put all of the groceries away, we were ready to head down to the pool! It was pretty crowded, but there was a family leaving from some chairs near the Menehune Bridge children’s play area, so we didn’t have to walk around and look for any.

The kids went straight to Menehune Bridge, giving DH and I a little bit of time to relax.




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I ended up relaxing in the chairs and reading the book I had brought with me, _The Woman in Cabin 10_, while DH and the kids hit the water slides a couple of times, and the lazy river. There are 2 slides, one body slide that ends in the main pool, and a tube slide that ends in the lazy river.




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We didn’t hang by the beach that afternoon, but we did go down just to take a peek.




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The beach at Aulani is a small lagoon, one of 3 in the Ko Olina area, so the water is very calm without any big waves like we experienced in Waikiki. 

After an hour or so at the pool, we headed back up to the room to settle in for the night. Once we had showered, we cooked some dinner and then we relaxed in the living room and watched _Lego Masters_, one of our favorite shows. It was so exciting to go to sleep at Aulani and know we had several more days to enjoy there!


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## rdkeim

Looks like heaven on Earth!  Both the pool and the beach look so inviting.  I like that the beach is a calm lagoon.  Your room looks great and what a view!


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## Isabelle12345

WoW aulani looks amazing!
We have become DVC members during the pandemic and have yet to use a single line point (being from Canada travel is a lot more complex these days!) but seeing how amazing Aulani looks makes me really excited for a future vacation!
Looking forward to reading more!


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## pinkxray

That view is amazing! I had planned on trying to request something similar

You have hit many of the places I have on my to do lists. It is nice to see such detailed reports from someone with kids.

How did you like the location of your hotel in Waikiki? We are booked for a few days at Embassy Suites which looks pretty close to where you were. It is free since I have Hilton points. Was it a quick walk to get to the beach in front of the Royal Hawaiian?


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## gosalyn_mallard

Your trip report is so fun to read!  Aulani looks like it was definitely worth the wait!  Your room and view are gorgeous!


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## khertz

rdkeim said:


> Looks like heaven on Earth!  Both the pool and the beach look so inviting.  I like that the beach is a calm lagoon.  Your room looks great and what a view!



It FELT like Heaven on Earth!! We are not usually the "relax on vacation" types, so this was a really nice change of pace for us after such a fun & busy week in Waikiki. After the adequate accommodations at the Wyndham resort, we were really blown away by both the view and the room at Aulani. It was absolutely gorgeous there, inside & out!



Isabelle12345 said:


> WoW aulani looks amazing!
> We have become DVC members during the pandemic and have yet to use a single line point (being from Canada travel is a lot more complex these days!) but seeing how amazing Aulani looks makes me really excited for a future vacation!
> Looking forward to reading more!



How exciting!! What home resort do you have? We have loved having access to DVC resorts, it has totally changed the Disney travel experience for us. I hope we get to stay at them all at some point! Really never thought when we bought in that Aulani would be a possibility, so I am incredibly thankful this all worked out for us. And hopefully it does for you too!! Hope you get to travel again soon. I am so ready for things to get back to normal!!!



pinkxray said:


> That view is amazing! I had planned on trying to request something similar
> 
> You have hit many of the places I have on my to do lists. It is nice to see such detailed reports from someone with kids.
> 
> How did you like the location of your hotel in Waikiki? We are booked for a few days at Embassy Suites which looks pretty close to where you were. It is free since I have Hilton points. Was it a quick walk to get to the beach in front of the Royal Hawaiian?



It was incredible! I don't know that we would do an ocean view again, but it was amazing to do once and for our first visit. If there are future visits for us, we might use less points per night to stay longer in another room type. 

It was a VERY quick walk to the beach!! And we had easy access to a lot of shops & restaurants within walking distance. Aside from the North Shore and the Kualoa Ranch/PCC areas of Oahu, it was also very close to a lot of the activities we wanted to do for the week, so that made it easy to get a lot of our sightseeing done before going to Aulani.



gosalyn_mallard said:


> Your trip report is so fun to read!  Aulani looks like it was definitely worth the wait!  Your room and view are gorgeous!



Thanks so much! It was absolutely 100% worth the wait to get there. Aulani was an incredible experience all on its own!


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## khertz

*Day 8:* Monday June 7th

On our first morning waking up at Aulani, we slept in a bit and took our time getting out of bed. But we did have a reservation for breakfast that morning, so we did eventually need to start getting dressed and ready to go. It was so incredible to wake up to this beautiful view out our windows!




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DD got this dress before our first Disney Cruise, and it was still pretty big back when we got it. It still fit for this trip, but just barely!




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Our Makahiki character breakfast reservation was for 8:45 am, so we left our room around 8:30 to walk down to the restaurant.




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We were able to check in right away, and then we were directed to go out to the patio to meet Mickey & Minnie!




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This photo is NOT included in the Photopass service; during the meal someone came around to show us our photo and gave us the opportunity to purchase prints or a digital version separately from the Photopass. However, unlike the luau photo later in the trip, they allowed us to take photos with our own cameras (obviously), so that was a good enough replacement for us and meant we didn’t have to miss out on photos with Mickey & Minnie.

After taking this photo, we were led inside and over to take distanced photos with Goofy & Pluto. These photos were included with the Photopass. Masks were required for the photo since it was indoors.




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To start our meal, we got our drinks, a basket of pastries to share, and we each got a plate of fruit.




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DD absolutely LOVES fruit, so she loved having her own plate. And since DS does not like fruit, she was even more excited to get to eat his too!




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While we were eating, there was a singer playing the ukulele and singing all kinds of fun songs, including the entirety of “I Lava You.”




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DH ordered the _Cinnamon Bun French Toast: pastry cream, honey pecans, blueberry compote, warm Vermont maple syrup_




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I got the _Belgian Style Waffle: fresh berries, country cream, warm Vermont maple syrup_




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Both kids ordered the _Mickey and Minnie Waffle: Belgian Mickey and red velvet Minnie waffle with maple syrup_




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DH and I were pretty stuffed from our own meals, but not enough to skip trying that red velvet Minnie waffle. It was SO GOOD!

DD ate a little bit of her waffles, then went back to the fruit.




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Breakfast was expensive and we missed having the characters come around to the tables, but overall I’m glad we did this during our trip! I would have felt like we were missing out on an experience if we had missed it. As for food, it was very good and very plentiful, so we were absolutely stuffed walking out of there.

We spotted some more Menehune as we left the restaurant.




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We stopped by the DVC desk to see what they member gift was, and got a print from the movie _Luca_.




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Before getting on with our day, we had to make a run to Target for a couple of items we had forgotten to get the day before. But once that was done, we changed into our bathing suits and spent the rest of the day in the water! We were down at the pool for about an hour and a half, letting the kids play at Menehune Bridge, going down the water slides, and swimming in the pool.




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While we were down there, we ended up getting the refillable popcorn bucket to use for the rest of the trip. It was $8 for the bucket, and $2 per refill. The refills were generous because instead of taking your bucket and refilling it, due to Covid restrictions they were giving you a big bag of popcorn to dump in your bucket. But the bag held more popcorn than the bucket so it was a lot of popcorn! We used the heck out of that during our trip! Later on, we were told we could get free refills as DVC members, but as with other things, it was hit or miss whether you needed to show a blue card to get it. Sometimes they gave us the free refills just for having the DVC pool wristband (we only have the white card). 

We went up to the room in the afternoon for lunch and a break from the sun. Then around 3:20 pm we went back down but decided to check out the beach this time. I am not a big fan of sand and saltwater, so while the kids played and buried themselves in the sand, I read my book and listened to podcasts and watched them play.




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They swam and ran around on the beach until 5:30 when we dragged them back up to the room to clean up and have dinner. We made tacos in the room, and had a lazy evening until we went to bed around 9:30. 

What should have been a nice restful night was rudely interrupted at 11:30 pm when the fire alarm in our room started going off! It took a second for our brains to clear enough to figure out what was happening, but we grabbed the kids and hurried out of the room and down endless flights of stairs to the ground floor, a little scared and wondering what was going on. We really never found out for sure, but overheard some people saying they think a kid pulled the alarm as a prank. I was beyond annoyed. We got all the way down to the pool area (that is 15 flights, y’all), and the alarm was cleared. Of course the elevators didn’t come back on right away, soooooo… there we were at midnight hiking back up 15 flights of stairs with 2 tired kids!!! Definitely *NOT *how I wanted to spend our night, but at least it was nothing serious!


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## Isabelle12345

What a view to wake up to in the morning!!!
Your daughter is precious in that moana dress 




khertz said:


> How exciting!! What home resort do you have? We have loved having access to DVC resorts, it has totally changed the Disney travel experience for us. I hope we get to stay at them all at some point! Really never thought when we bought in that Aulani would be a possibility, so I am incredibly thankful this all worked out for us. And hopefully it does for you too!! Hope you get to travel again soon. I am so ready for things to get back to normal!!!


We are owners at the poly… hopefully we will get to go within the next 6 months! (We have two tentative points planned…)
We are also white card members 

Aulani looks really amazing
Can’t wait to read more!


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## rdkeim

What a nice way to start the day - that lovely view and a character breakfast.  Then plenty of time to relax by the water.  What a great day!  Sorry for the rude awakening - yikes.  I would have been annoyed too.  I bet that wasn't a fun trip back up 15 flights    Hope it was an isolated incident.


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## carone0318

Enjoying your trip report.  I am in full planning mode (May 2022, I can make reservations on October 19th - the 7 month window) and your report has been enjoyable!


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## CaptainAmerica

Isabelle12345 said:


> WoW aulani looks amazing!
> We have become DVC members during the pandemic and have yet to use a single line point (being from Canada travel is a lot more complex these days!) but seeing how amazing Aulani looks makes me really excited for a future vacation!
> Looking forward to reading more!


It's incredible.  And bonus... once you stay there you'll be cured of any temptation to use your points at the Polynesian ever again.


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## CaptainAmerica

khertz said:


> Sometimes they gave us the free refills just for having the DVC pool wristband (we only have the white card).


I think TECHNICALLY you're not supposed to get the special wristbands, either.  (I'm white card but have only stayed at Aulani on cash.)


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## khertz

Isabelle12345 said:


> What a view to wake up to in the morning!!!
> Your daughter is precious in that moana dress
> 
> We are owners at the poly… hopefully we will get to go within the next 6 months! (We have two tentative points planned…)
> We are also white card members
> 
> Aulani looks really amazing
> Can’t wait to read more!



She got a lot of attention that morning in her Moana dress! I'm so glad it still fit for this trip.

Hopefully you get to go on your trips! I think it will be 2023 before we are able to go back.  We do have a night at OKW booked for before our cruise, but I'm still not totally sold on the pandemic experience on DCL considering how expensive it is...



rdkeim said:


> What a nice way to start the day - that lovely view and a character breakfast.  Then plenty of time to relax by the water.  What a great day!  Sorry for the rude awakening - yikes.  I would have been annoyed too.  I bet that wasn't a fun trip back up 15 flights    Hope it was an isolated incident.



It was a great day, for sure!! The fire alarm sucked, and climbing those stairs...  Thankfully that didn't happen again on our stay!



carone0318 said:


> Enjoying your trip report.  I am in full planning mode (May 2022, I can make reservations on October 19th - the 7 month window) and your report has been enjoyable!



So awesome!! Just a few more days to book! Hope you get what you want!! 



CaptainAmerica said:


> I think TECHNICALLY you're not supposed to get the special wristbands, either.  (I'm white card but have only stayed at Aulani on cash.)



You're probably right. It was pretty inconsistent with blue vs white card for many things there!


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## khertz

*Day 9:* Tuesday June 8th

After our unintentional lack of sleep the night before, we all slept in a bit the next morning. We made some cinnamon rolls for breakfast, then got dressed and decided to head out to see some characters! Along the way, we stopped in the shop because the kids really wanted some Wishables. The one they were hoping to get was the rainbow Mickey shave ice, and we were able to feel the packages and got it right on the first try.




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Today, the character meets were scheduled on the Halawai Lawn, so that was our next stop. I don’t know if I remembered to check the character meet schedule on the phone this morning, so I’m pretty sure this first character meet was a surprise.




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​It was Stitch & Angel!




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We got the Photopass photos from this one, but Stitch was in so many shadows you can barely see him there behind us!




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After that meet, we decided just to walk around the grounds a little bit. We found more menehune hiding around outside.




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And we found where Aunty’s Beach House was located. We were pretty disappointed that this didn’t reopen before our trip, because I think the kids would have enjoyed it a lot. If we ever get back, I think it probably wouldn’t be until the kids have outgrown it, if not both of them then definitely DS.




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We made our way back to the lawn for the next character meet at 10:30, and this time it was Chip & Dale.




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​We went back up to the shop after that because we were about ready to head back to the room, and there were a few things I wanted. We picked up a Christmas ornament, a magnet, and I picked up an Aulani t-shirt for myself. In the meantime, DS had decided he wanted the Mickey ear Spam Musubi Wishable, so we had to feel some more packages. We found one we thought was right, but since both had Mickey ears, we ended up with a second rainbow shave ice, so he was disappointed. We went up to the room after for lunch, trying to console DS and let him know we would try again to get him the musubi one. Then DH and I had a great idea...there are several Aulani FB groups, so I decided to post it in there to see if anyone had the musubi that they wanted to trade. I thought it was probably a long shot, but within 10 minutes of posting in 2 different groups, I had someone who wanted to trade! Her nephew had gotten the musubi one but really wanted the shave ice.

After a quick lunch in the room, we changed into swimsuits for the afternoon. Since DH and DS were done quicker, we made arrangements to meet up for the trade and they went down to the lobby to do that while DD and I finished getting ready. It worked out so perfect, and now both kids had the Wishable they wanted without having to keep buying more!


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## rdkeim

A nice start to your day.  Fun to be able to just wander the grounds and also get a few character meets.  It will be so nice when the meets don't have to be distanced - maybe that's changed by now?  What a perfect solution to the Wishable dilemma!  Then an afternoon at the pool/beach - I can see that a Disney vacation without the parks would be a nice change of pace.


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## buzzrelly

Hello!

I'm enjoying your TR! Love all the pictures! We are heading to Aulani next May and I can't wait. We were supposed to go this past May but when we were making plans, things were so uncertain, we decided to push it. Our date to make our reservation is coming up and I'm guessing we'll end up with an ocean view.. Your view was absolutely gorgeous so I hope we get something similar!

Looking forward to reading more!


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## khertz

rdkeim said:


> A nice start to your day.  Fun to be able to just wander the grounds and also get a few character meets.  It will be so nice when the meets don't have to be distanced - maybe that's changed by now?  What a perfect solution to the Wishable dilemma!  Then an afternoon at the pool/beach - I can see that a Disney vacation without the parks would be a nice change of pace.



I can't WAIT for character meets to return to normal!! I am in a few Aulani groups on FB and I think they are still distanced right now, which is such a bummer. We did appreciate that the meets were frequent and varied, so we made sure to do a lot of them during our few days there!

What a relief it was that someone wanted to trade Wishables!! It made 2 kids very happy, and we didn't have to keep buying more trying to get the one he wanted.




buzzrelly said:


> Hello!
> 
> I'm enjoying your TR! Love all the pictures! We are heading to Aulani next May and I can't wait. We were supposed to go this past May but when we were making plans, things were so uncertain, we decided to push it. Our date to make our reservation is coming up and I'm guessing we'll end up with an ocean view.. Your view was absolutely gorgeous so I hope we get something similar!
> 
> Looking forward to reading more!



Oh gosh, I know you will LOVE it!! Hopefully by May, things will be even better than they are now. There are so many great views there! We really enjoyed the ocean view.


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## khertz

*Day 9 Continued:* Tuesday June 8th 

After lunch and a Wishable exchange, we went down to the activity center and signed up for the Menehune Trail and did that for a little while. 




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But we didn’t do it for too long because it was HOT, and the pool looked so inviting! Luckily it will save your progress. So we turned our iPad in and went to the pool.

We had forgotten DD’s puddle jumper upstairs in the room, but they do have different sized life jackets available at the towel stands.




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I had gotten the character meet times while we were in the room earlier, and knew Donald & Goofy would be out meeting, so we went over to do that one for the 3 pm meet. It was nice when the character meets were on the Halawai lawn because it was so easy to pop over there while swimming and then go back over to the pool.




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We told Donald he was #1 and it turned out to be a very funny moment as he really loved hearing that, but Goofy not so much.




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Soon enough we went back up to the room to shower and get changed because that night we were attending the Ka Wa’a Luau! We took a few photos on the balcony before heading down to check in.




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Our confirmation said check in would start at 5:10, but unbeknownst to us, due to the time of year and time of sunset, they had pushed back the start time of the luau which meant check in would not be until 5:40, which meant we had a LONG time to wait. Almost an hour!




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When it was finally time to go in, we stopped first to take our picture with 2 performers from the luau. These were another upcharge and not included in the Photopass, but we definitely didn’t feel the need to have these photos anyway. As we entered, we each got a complimentary drink. The kids got a Moana punch, and DH and I each got a coconut rum drink. Beer was also included, so DH made sure to get one of those.




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## khertz

*Day 9 Continued:* Tuesday June 8th 




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DD and I had made a trip to the restroom when the leis were distributed, so we missed out on that and had to get ours without any ceremony when we returned to the table.




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Everything was served to us at the table instead of a buffet. First up, we got our appetizer boxes.




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_Waipoli Lettuce, Cherry Tomatoes, Papaya Seed Dressing and Croutons, Lomi Lomi Salmon, ‘Ahi Poke, Taro Macaroni Salad, Seasonal & Tropical Fresh Fruit Medley_​
The kids got a fruit cup for their appetizer with a big Mickey marshmallow on top. Guess who ate both fruit cups?




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While eating, the show began with lots of dancing and performing. In addition to the large stage up front, they had smaller stages along the walkway and one was right in front of us so we could always see what was going on.




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There wasn’t much delay for the kids between their apps and then their entrees arriving, which was great because they were getting restless.




IMG_1544 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​_Shaka Macaroni and Cheese, Seasonal Stir-Fry Vegetables, Tiki Chicken Tenders with Pineapple BBQ Sauce, Braised Pork Imu Style _

Eventually, ours arrived too.




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_Steamed Short Grain Rice, Seasonal Stir-Fry Vegetables, Puree Okinawan Potato, Braised Pork Imu Style with Shaved Maui Onions, Oven Roasted Teriyaki Chicken, Grilled Boneless Kalbi Ribs, Hawaiian Local Catch with Crushed Macadamia Nut Sauce _​
The food was overall pretty good, but definitely can tell it had been in the boxes for a little while. I guess it is pretty difficult to keep everything hot & fresh. We were able to get more of the chicken tenders & mac and cheese also by request. 

Then came desserts! The kids got a Moana surprise, which was delicious.




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Adults get a trio of desserts.




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_Macadamia Nut Brownie, Haupia (Coconut Pudding), Guava Cake_​
I like coconut, but that coconut pudding was gross! Our server managed to find us another Moana surprise as well to share, and everyone gave me their brownies because they don’t like macadamia nuts, so this was my plate.




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There was a nice surprise during the show when Mickey & Minnie came out.




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The dancing and singing was fun, of course, but the real highlight was the fire dancers!




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The luau was really great! It’s one of those things that I’m really glad we experienced, but may not be a must do on a possible future visit. I read reviews at the luau over at Paradise Cove next door to Aulani is really good, so that might be one we try next time. But for this first visit, it was a very enjoyable evening with good food and great entertainment!

It was also so nice to not have to worry about the time so much since we could just walk up to our room when it was over at 8:30 pm!


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## gosalyn_mallard

khertz said:


> Soon enough we went back up to the room to shower and get changed because that night we were attending the Ka Wa’a Luau! We took a few photos on the balcony before heading down to check in.



Your matching outfits are so perfect!  Where did you get the dresses?



khertz said:


> Everything was served to us at the table instead of a buffet. First up, we got our appetizer boxes.



Those food boxes are so cute.  My kids would love them!


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## 2_Eagle_Mom

I Love your TR! Just found it today and read the entire thread to catch up. We are going to Aulani in May and were wondering about the Luau. It looks like you may have sat in the General Seating area. If you did, do you think the Preferred section is worth the difference in price?

Thanks and looking forward to the rest of the report.


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## MommyCMickey

This was great. We’re going next month and I can’t wait! Where did you find the lilo dresses!?!


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## khertz

2_Eagle_Mom said:


> I Love your TR! Just found it today and read the entire thread to catch up. We are going to Aulani in May and were wondering about the Luau. It looks like you may have sat in the General Seating area. If you did, do you think the Preferred section is worth the difference in price?
> 
> Thanks and looking forward to the rest of the report.



We did have general seating, and we were happy with our choice not to spend the extra money and enjoyed the experience. We did not feel like we missed out by not being right up front and center. So I guess it would depend on what kind of experience you want to decide if it would be worth the money or not!



MommyCMickey said:


> This was great. We’re going next month and I can’t wait! Where did you find the lilo dresses!?!





gosalyn_mallard said:


> Your matching outfits are so perfect!  Where did you get the dresses?
> 
> Those food boxes are so cute.  My kids would love them!



I got DD's Lilo dress off of Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Hawaiian-Ins...1_3?keywords=lilo+dress&qid=1636313908&sr=8-3

The one for me I found on Mercari which is a site where people sell their own clothes, so I got really lucky because I could not find ANYTHING else in my size or that wasn't crazy expensive. I looked a lots of different websites with "Mommy & Me" styles so we could match, and most of them were coming from China so I didn't have enough time before our trip. The Lilo outfits luckily worked out last minute!


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## khertz

I'm just gonna preface the next day by saying we took a LOT of photos, so this day will be a long one to post!! But it was one of the most fun things we did on our entire trip, and I actually pared down the number of photos we took quite a bit but still ended up with so many to post! Hope y'all enjoy it and it's not too much of a slog to get through.  

*Day 10:* Wednesday June 9th

We woke up to another gorgeous day at Aulani outside of our windows! 




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But just for today, we would not be enjoying all of the wonderful activities and scenery that Aulani had to offer. We had gotten a lot done during our days in Waikiki, but there was one thing we really wanted to do that just wouldn’t fit in the itinerary no matter how hard I tried. So today, we would be heading over to Kualoa Ranch to experience the Jurassic Adventure Tour! Kualoa Ranch offers a wide variety of tours, many including movie & television filming locations. DH and I had visited there on our previous trip to Oahu on a tour that specialized in filming locations for one of my favorite TV shows ever, Lost. It was incredibly fun as a Lost fan, so I was excited to try out this new experience for the Jurassic Park/World film franchise because it is something our entire family enjoys. 

This is the description of the tour given on Kualoa Ranch’s website: _Our deluxe 2.5-hour JURASSIC ADVENTURE TOUR will take you to iconic film sites in  Kualoa, Hakipu’u and Ka’a’awa Valleys. Buckle up and enjoy this bumpy rainforest trek to visit sets from Jurassic World like the Indominus Rex paddock with its 60 foot walls, the bunkers and authentic dinosaur cages used in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.  Visit the most famous field of all the Jurassic franchise… where the dinosaurs run through the prairie in Jurassic Park. You’ll be driven in our 16 passenger open-air custom vehicles which will give you the best 360 degree panoramic views! Be sure to binge watch the movies before getting to Kualoa for the best experience of all!_

We took just that advice prior to our trip and watched a LOT of movies filmed on the Ranch, including all of the Jurassic movies (of course), Kong Skull Island, Finding Ohana, Jumanji, and even George of the Jungle. 

Our tour was scheduled for 10:30 am, and they recommend arriving 45 minutes-1 hour prior to the tour, and we knew it would take a little time to get there, so we got up at 7 and were on the road by 8:30.

We got there in plenty of time, and I was really glad we had booked so far in advance. People were there trying to get same day reservations for any tour, and they had signs out front that said they were entirely booked up for the day. We had some time to check out the gift shop first and get some ideas of what we might want to purchase on the way out. 




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They also had some movie memorabilia on display from Finding Ohana and the Jurassic universe.




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Then we went outside to check in for the tour and had some time to look around. They had a small pavilion covered in photos of celebrities that have visited there, musical acts that have performed there, and movies that were filmed there.




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Since we had a little bit of time, DS did some takes for his YouTube channel too.




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The gorgeous valley was looming in the distance!




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The kids enjoyed running from the T-rex.




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Then it was time to meet up with our group and board our tour vehicle! Our tour guide was Haydn, and he was fantastic! The 4 of us were right up front, and the kids were very excited to get going.




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We stopped for a second to check out the tiny island of Mokolii in the distance. Mokolii means “little lizard,” but it is commonly referred to as the Chinaman’s Hat.




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And in the same area was our first Jurassic filming location, the helicopter landing pad location from Jurassic World. 




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An actual landing pad was built there for filming, but it had to be removed once filming was complete so that it wouldn’t accidentally be used as an emergency landing location. Also, this was the area where the CGI Jurassic World building was located in the movie.




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As we got back on the tour vehicle, I noticed how cool the license plate was (and the sticker next to it!!).




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We took off and paused to get a photo of the tree where the Indominus Rex removed her tracker and attacked the JW team in the jungle.




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## khertz

*Day 10 Continued: *Wednesday June 9th

Our next stop was probably also the coolest...we got to visit the Indominus Rex paddock!! The observation area is still standing, and you are able to go inside. They also had a few of the cages from the auction scenes in Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.




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The set was huge! These photos give an idea of the size.




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We decided to stay downstairs and explore the cages first because most of the rest of the group had decided to go inside the observation area.




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Then we headed up to the observation deck.




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DH & DS thought it would be a cool location to do a Pokemon opening for DS’s YouTube channel, so they did that and he got a really rare card, so that was pretty exciting for him!




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This was a REALLY fun stop on the tour, and Haydn told us to take as much time to explore as we wanted! Eventually we all made our way back to the jeep and we moved on to the next location. 

Next up was a little mini-museum for movie props, which was also the bunker used for Lost filming. A lot of the movies we watched prior to visiting were showcased in here, so that was cool to see.

Right outside was a prop from Finding Ohana.




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This was from Windtalkers, which we didn’t watch before visiting.




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There was a whole room dedicated to Lost memorabilia!




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## gosalyn_mallard

Wow! Love all the pics.  That tour looks like so much fun and a great change of pace in your trip. Did they play the Jurassic Park theme music as they drove you around?


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## missangelalexis

I got super behind but I'm back and caught up! 

Looks like you all were having so much fun at Aulani! I love the matching outfits from the one night! Do the character meets draw long lines at Aulani?

Kualoa Ranch looks so awesome- definitely on my list!


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## khertz

gosalyn_mallard said:


> Wow! Love all the pics.  That tour looks like so much fun and a great change of pace in your trip. Did they play the Jurassic Park theme music as they drove you around?


Yes he did play the music!! Along with some other fun and appropriate choices. There was one point on a very winding path where he started driving a little fast and played the Indiana Jones theme!



missangelalexis said:


> I got super behind but I'm back and caught up!
> 
> Looks like you all were having so much fun at Aulani! I love the matching outfits from the one night! Do the character meets draw long lines at Aulani?
> 
> Kualoa Ranch looks so awesome- definitely on my list!



With good reason!! I have loved seeing all your wedding pics!
The character meets did not take long at all. We never waited more than a few minutes! It was really nice to be able to pop in and see whoever we wanted without a long line.


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## khertz

*Day 10 Continued: *Wednesday June 9th 

One of the Jurassic World jeeps used in the movie was parked out front, and Haydn said we were welcome to get inside and take some photos in it.




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The view was absolutely spectacular from there as well.




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Then it was back in the jeep to get to the next location, which was a good one too!




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It was the location of the Jurassic Valley, where the famous scene from Jurassic Park of the kids and Dr. Grant sheltering from the flock of Gallimimus! I didn’t realize it before this tour, but most of the original Jurassic Park was filmed on Kauai. Definitely something we need to check out next time we travel out to Hawaii!




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We had a LOT of fun at this stop!! Haydn did not hold back on making sure everyone got lots of photos and videos with some fun additions. 




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He took a slo-mo video of us running from the T-rex also, which was funny. I suggested DH grab DD and run with her, and it turned out great! But for some reason Flickr will not let me upload it! 

After spending some time there, we passed by some filming sites for other productions, like Hurley’s golf course from Lost, and a giant Godzilla footprint, plus the valley used in a lot of movies like Jumanji, Pearl Harbor, and George of the Jungle.




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We paused in front of a bunker used for Jurassic World.




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The last location we stopped at was the area used as the loading platform for the Gyrosphere ride in Jurassic World, which offered a gorgeous view of the valley!




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Haydn had also told us he was going to show us some of his “favorite grass,” and I thought he was kidding, but he was actually serious!  It was _Mimosa pudica _which is a grass that closes its leaves when you stroke it with your finger. We had some of this grass in our backyard growing up, so it wasn’t super special to me, but the kids thought it was neat.




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## khertz

*Day 10 Continued:* Wednesday June 9th

After our final stop on the tour, it was time to head back to the Visitors Center and end the tour, but we did pass some movie memorabilia and some wild animals along the way back.




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Once we got back to the Visitors Center, we tipped Haydn for his excellent tour, and then explored some more. The kids got a kick out of the dinosaur head mounted on the wall again.




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DH and DS found another place for him to open Pokémon cards and record a video, so DD and I wandered around and found some animals.




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Then we went to the gift shop before leaving. DS really loved the East Dock sign, so he ended up getting that for his bedroom which has Jurassic World decorations on the walls so it fit in perfectly, and a Jurassic Valley t-shirt. DH and I also picked out t-shirts as souvenirs but DD didn’t see anything she wanted. 




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After a REALLY fun-filled morning, it was time to say goodbye to Kualoa Ranch! This will always be a must do for us on trips to Oahu! There are SO many different tours and activities available, I feel like you can have a completely different experience every single time. This was a great tour for us, as we all are big Jurassic Park/World fans and really enjoyed watching all of the movies prior to our trip and then getting to see real locations on our visit. 

They do have a café there at the ranch and the food looked good, but it was pretty expensive. There was also a Teddy’s Bigger Burgers nearby, so we ended up heading there instead because we knew we could get the family meal instead. We made it just in time before the rain started and even saw one of the guys who had been on our tour there too! He was a big Jurassic fan and had taken the tour by himself while his family members took a different tour. 

We also saw one of the Leonard’s Bakery trucks, and we just couldn’t pass it up without stopping for some hot & fresh malasadas!




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Oh man, the cinnamon sugar goodness!!




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We made the drive back to Ko Olina and decided to go check out some of the shops across the street from Aulani. We went to the ABC store and got a few t-shirts for myself and DH, and even a couple for DD, plus we picked up some souvenirs for my parents and my sister there as well. There was another shop near the ABC called Coco Nene that we looked into, and we immediately fell in love! They have these longboards you can either purchase already made or design your own with letters or different symbols and sayings, they have photo frames, magnets, and signs, all made on wood. DH found one that said Koko Head and I joked he needed to get it because I kept making fun of him talking about how difficult and strenuous the hike was every time he talked about it.




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We ended up getting a map of Oahu that has all kinds of points of interest painted on it, like Aulani, Polynesian Cultural Center, Pearl Harbor, Dole Plantation, Kualoa Ranch, etc. It had a rope on it that it can be hung on the wall, but we also got some little holders for it so that it could be displayed on a shelf too because they weren’t expensive and we weren’t sure how we’d want to display it at home. We have it on the mantle for now, but I think I’ll eventually find a place to hang it.




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We went back to our room to drop off our purchases, and DD ate her malasada. I don’t remember why she was throwing a fit in the car and wouldn’t eat hers, I’m sure she was just tired. But she couldn’t resist the malasada goodness forever.




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Since it was pretty late in the day and we’d had a long one so far, none of us felt like getting changed and going to the pool that evening. Instead we decided to go check out a tablet and finish the Menehune Trail.




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We had a low key night after that in the room with showers, dinner & ice cream, and some TV before bed. DH and I stayed up after the kids went to sleep talking about how much we had liked the stuff available at Coco Nene, and talking about what other kinds of souvenirs we could bring home from there, so we decided we’d have to go back before we left to go home!


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## gosalyn_mallard

khertz said:


> After a REALLY fun-filled morning, it was time to say goodbye to Kualoa Ranch! This will always be a must do for us on trips to Oahu! There are SO many different tours and activities available, I feel like you can have a completely different experience every single time. This was a great tour for us, as we all are big Jurassic Park/World fans and really enjoyed watching all of the movies prior to our trip and then getting to see real locations on our visit.



You've convinced me!  If we ever go to Oahu, we are definitely visiting Kualoa Ranch!  Thanks for sharing all the great pictures!


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## khertz

gosalyn_mallard said:


> You've convinced me!  If we ever go to Oahu, we are definitely visiting Kualoa Ranch!  Thanks for sharing all the great pictures!



It will be a must do for us from now on! It's been wonderful both times we have been there, and I'm sure we have only just begun to scratch the surface of what they have to offer.


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## khertz

YIKES! A whole month with no posts...the holiday season really had us busy, but I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. I really need to get this thing moving though, so I'm going to try to get it wrapped up asap.

*Day 11:* Thursday June 10th

After a fun day away from Aulani at Kualoa Ranch the day before, we had no more plans to leave Aulani for the rest of the trip since we only had 2 days left. Thursday morning, we had a big breakfast in the room, then got dressed in our suits and water shoes to take the path down to the secret beach to see if we could spot any sea turtles.




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Unfortunately we saw NO sea turtles! Just a lot of gorgeous landscapes. And DS did a little snorkeling while DD threw a fit about something...I think about having to wear her water shoes and them getting full of sand but she just was not understanding that it wasn’t safe for her to walk on the rocks in her bare feet.




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After hanging there for a little while and really hoping a sea turtle would swim by, we eventually gave up and headed back towards Aulani. Since we were already full of sand and saltwater, we decided to set up on the beach for a while instead of going to the pools. 




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Since it was still early in the day, we had no problem renting some boogie boards this time for the kids to use. They really had a blast with those!




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After a while playing in the sand and the water, we were ready for some snacks! DH went over to get us a popcorn refill, and a Mickey head shave ice.




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## khertz

*Day 11 Continued: *Thursday June 10th

After snacking and a little more playing, we decided to head inside for lunch and to rinse all the sand off. While in the room, I remembered to call the character line to find out what characters we could meet that afternoon. First up was Mickey & Donald so as soon as we were done eating we headed down. Instead of the lawn where the luau happens where we had met characters before, this time they were over by the convention spaces. It was much smaller and surrounded by buildings and tall trees, so it made it like a sort of wind tunnel and made for some crazy looking photos!




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One of the activities they had going on was a Scavenger Hunt for World Oceans Day. So in between character sets, we went inside the lobby and worked on that. We had written & photo clues to follow to find different locations all around the resort and took a picture at each one. 




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Once we had them all we went back to the activity center for their prize. The kids each got a craft kit and some candy for completing it, and they told us we were only the second family to complete it!

The next character that came out was Olu Mel! How stinkin’ cute is he?!




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## khertz

*Day 11 Continued: *Thursday June 10th

One of the locations we ended up passing on our scavenger hunt was the koi pond! Such a gorgeous location in the resort that we hadn’t really noticed before.




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Next up we wanted to go see Minnie & Daisy.




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DH and I just couldn’t get Coco Nene off our mind from our visit the day before! So once we were done with characters for the day, we decided to walk back across the street and get more stuff! We wanted to customize a longboard for ourselves, and also decided that it would be a great souvenir to bring home for my not-yet-born nephew. I had been looking and looking everywhere we went, and the items for baby boys were just not great, even at Aulani. Lots of cute stuff for baby & toddler girls, but not much for boys. It took us FOREVER as we played with lots of different options before finally deciding on our final products and making our purchase.




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We went back to the room to cook some dinner, then DH and DS decided to go back out to the secret beach to hunt for sea turtles (still no luck) and to open some Pokemon cards for his YouTube channel.




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I think we were all a little sad that night going to bed and knowing we only had one day left in Hawaii!


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## gosalyn_mallard

Beautiful pictures!  Were the underwater pictures taken with a go pro?  The clear water is stunning.

That scavenger hunt looks fun.  That's cool they have free stuff like that to do around the resort.


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## khertz

gosalyn_mallard said:


> Beautiful pictures!  Were the underwater pictures taken with a go pro?  The clear water is stunning.
> 
> That scavenger hunt looks fun.  That's cool they have free stuff like that to do around the resort.



I think that was just our underwater camera, we mostly used the Go Pro in the pool but both took some nice underwater photos! 

I know we probably didn't get the "full" Aulani resort experience in regards to onsite activities, but I was still pleased that they offered anything at all in the current times. The scavenger hunt was really fun, and took us all around the resort!


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## buzzrelly

I'm sorry I haven't commented in a while but I just caught up again!

That ranch tour looks awesome and I'm definitely going to look into it for our trip in May. I've always loved Jurassic Park, and remember the feeling of awe when that field appeared on the big screen.

I love your little souvenirs from that shop. We'll definitely have to check that out too. Is that in the little shopping area across the street? I've been watching The Tim Tracker this week and he was just at Aulani and it seems like a cute little area to shop and eat.


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## khertz

buzzrelly said:


> I'm sorry I haven't commented in a while but I just caught up again!
> 
> That ranch tour looks awesome and I'm definitely going to look into it for our trip in May. I've always loved Jurassic Park, and remember the feeling of awe when that field appeared on the big screen.
> 
> I love your little souvenirs from that shop. We'll definitely have to check that out too. Is that in the little shopping area across the street? I've been watching The Tim Tracker this week and he was just at Aulani and it seems like a cute little area to shop and eat.



No worries, I have been a terrible DISer myself lately!! 

The tour is REALLY great for fans of the Jurassic franchise! It was so great getting to explore the beautiful ranch, too. There is just so much to do there, I think it could feel brand new every time if you book something different!

Yes, that was right across the street from Aulani! There were quite a few little shops over there along with some restaurants. That was my favorite place that we shopped the whole two weeks! I wanted so many things!! lol


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## khertz

*Day 12:* Friday June 11th

For our last day at Aulani, we started out with some cinnamon rolls for breakfast in the room. While they were in the oven, the kids were enjoying some time on the balcony.




Untitled by disneymom1024, on Flickr​
Once we had our swimsuits on, we headed down to the area around Menehune Bridge and grabbed a couple of chairs to be our home base for the morning. We ended up first over at the infinity pool because we really hadn’t been in that one yet at all. Such a pretty view!




P6110760 by disneymom1024, on Flickr
Maui’s Hook on the ground




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The infinity pool was also nice because it had some benches along the water and a cave looking area that was really pretty.




P6110773 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​
We did the tube slide and made a loop around the lazy river, got some popcorn to snack on, then decided to go do the body slide. DH went first and the CM asked him what was his favorite flower and then what was his favorite brand, but DH didn’t really get why she was asking so he kind of just kept laughing and saying he didn’t really have one. So when DS went next, she asked him his favorite TV character, and he said “Cricket Green,” and she said, “Yell that when you go down the slide!” He did and thought that was hilarious, so then DD was all excited to see what her question was going to be. Her question was favorite TV show, and so she went down the slide yelling “Big City Greens!” Mine was favorite Disney character, so I yelled Rapunzel on the way down. Once we got to the bottom and explained to DH why she was asking weird questions, he was like, “Why did I get asked favorite FLOWER?!” lmao

Instead of going up to the room for lunch, we decided to get some food down by the pool. While DH went to get us some chicken tenders meals to share (the portions were HUGE), the kids played in Menehune Bridge.




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We had the character schedule for the afternoon, and since they were meeting on the luau lawn for today, it was a lot closer to the pool area. We ran over to meet Mickey & Minnie first.




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The last two I really wanted to meet was Duffy & Olu Mel. Even though we had seen Olu Mel alone the day before, we hadn’t had a chance to see Duffy yet! So we stayed for their set too.




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We went up to the room for a break after that character meet to get out of the sun for a little while.




IMG_3811 by disneymom1024, on Flickr​
After this, I legit just stopped taking notes!  I had been so diligent for so many days, but this was apparently where I just quit altogether so I’ll have to just go by the photos. We really didn’t have much left to the trip anyway. While we were taking a break, we did some laundry and packing while the kids played. 

We went back to the pool for a couple of hours later in the afternoon, and just as we were ready to go back up for the night, we saw a Photopass photographer down by the bridge. We had always tried to catch them when we were dressed in clothes, but never seemed to see them. DH suggested getting photos, and I was hesitant because we were in our wet swimsuits, but he ended up convincing me that it was what this vacation was all about...family time, and relaxing by the pools at Aulani. I’m so glad we took them. Even at the end of such a long trip, we were just so incredibly happy to be there together!




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Those photos really marked the end of our trip. We got the kids to bed early so we could be well rested for our travel days coming up. In the morning, the kids had a few minutes on the balcony before we had to leave.




Untitled by disneymom1024, on Flickr




Untitled by disneymom1024, on Flickr




Untitled by disneymom1024, on Flickr




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And then it was time to head home!




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Our flights home were largely uneventful. But the time changes were really tough! We pretty much made the reverse trip by flying Honolulu to Oakland where we stayed at the same hotel for the night that we had on the way to Hawaii. The next day was our long travel day with a stop in Denver before ending in New Orleans. The kids were TROOPERS! They really traveled even better than I could have hoped! We were really prepared with lots of stuff for them to do, which helped. Even if they didn't touch a lot of it, we knew we had plenty in case we needed it. We had gone back and forth over whether we should split the travel up over 2 days or just suck it up and do a long haul flight to get it over with. Ultimately I think splitting it up was the best choice for us. It gave the kids enough changes of scenery with airports and layovers to stretch and move around. 

Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me through this looooooong TR! I really didn't think it would take me so long to get it done. lol And now I have gotten myself 2 whole trips behind as we have since spent a week in Universal for DD's birthday in August, and we just got off of the Disney Fantasy after a week in the Eastern Caribbean this past weekend! Hopefully I can soon get those going to share our wonderful memories with you all! I'll be sure to post here when I do.


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## buzzrelly

khertz said:


> Once we got to the bottom and explained to DH why she was asking weird questions, he was like, “Why did I get asked favorite FLOWER?!” lmao



 

That's hilarious! I'm sure my husband would have been the same way! Ask him his favorite beer maybe! 




khertz said:


> We went back to the pool for a couple of hours later in the afternoon, and just as we were ready to go back up for the night, we saw a Photopass photographer down by the bridge. We had always tried to catch them when we were dressed in clothes, but never seemed to see them. DH suggested getting photos, and I was hesitant because we were in our wet swimsuits, but he ended up convincing me that it was what this vacation was all about...family time, and relaxing by the pools at Aulani. I’m so glad we took them. Even at the end of such a long trip, we were just so incredibly happy to be there together!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 152185852 by disneymom1024, on Flickr
> 
> 
> 
> ​



And it shows! Great photos and great memories!




khertz said:


> Those photos really marked the end of our trip. We got the kids to bed early so we could be well rested for our travel days coming up. In the morning, the kids had a few minutes on the balcony before we had to leave.
> 
> 
> 
> ​



Aw, always such a sad day 




khertz said:


> we just got off of the Disney Fantasy after a week in the Eastern Caribbean this past weekend!



How exciting! We went on the Fantasy in 2019 and it was my favorite of all the four cruises we've been on!


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## dalmatian7

Thanks for your detailed report.  I hope to go to Hawaii in the next few years and this gives me lots of ideas. These kinds of trip reports mean a lot to us lurkers who use your detailed research for our own trips.  ☺ You aren't by chance planning a trip to the CA National Parks anytime soon?    I have been searching the CA trip reports working on a fall trip (maybe).


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## khertz

buzzrelly said:


> That's hilarious! I'm sure my husband would have been the same way! Ask him his favorite beer maybe!



Right?! Ask a more "Dad friendly" question!! It made for a funny moment though, and we still tease him about it!



buzzrelly said:


> And it shows! Great photos and great memories!



Thank you! 



buzzrelly said:


> How exciting! We went on the Fantasy in 2019 and it was my favorite of all the four cruises we've been on!



We did the Fantasy in 2019 as well, and it was our first family cruise. We absolutely loved it!! We loved it again this time of course, but now we are looking at maybe doing a different ship and destination next time since we have done both Eastern & Western Caribbean now. The post-DCL Blues seem so much worse than any other!



dalmatian7 said:


> Thanks for your detailed report.  I hope to go to Hawaii in the next few years and this gives me lots of ideas. These kinds of trip reports mean a lot to us lurkers who use your detailed research for our own trips.  ☺ You aren't by chance planning a trip to the CA National Parks anytime soon?    I have been searching the CA trip reports working on a fall trip (maybe).



You're so welcome! Love being able to help people out!! 

I am not, but if I do I'll let you know.


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## cptmemo

Loved reading all about your trip.  We're not going until October but I have a list of things to do, thanks for lots of ideas


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## khertz

Better late than never, I have finally started posting our August Universal Orlando trip! And soon I'll have our DCL trip going up as well. I'm taking on 2 at once which is probably NOT a good idea!! lol But I am really going to try to stay on top of them! If you'd like to check it out, the link below will take you there!

“Well, It’s Really Just 2 Meanies Who Show Up Every Now & Then
...And Try To Kill You”
​


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## khertz

If you'd like to check out our Disney Cruise Line TR, here is the link!

Living the Verandah Life! A Feb/March 2022 DCL TR​


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