KateP85
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2015
The path by the beach is still closed. Thanks for the link to the other thread, we found the path around the other way this morning.
Live trip report June 27th to July 3rd
- Thread starter KateP85
- Start date
The path by the beach is still closed. Thanks for the link to the other thread, we found the path around the other way this morning.
KateP85
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2015
Wednesday June 29th part 2:
The boys conveniently woke up at the same time around 3pm, and we spent a little while in the room watching Jake and the Neverland Pirates while DH used the washer/dryer in the 2-bedroom to do some laundry. I bought WAY too many clothes on this trip - whatever you think you might need, cut it in half, then add an extra bathing suit and you'll be grand!
About 4pm we started to get ready for dinner, because when you have a 3-year old and a baby, it easily takes an hour to get everyone dressed and out the door! This evening we had dinner at Ama Ama at 5.30pm.
Miraculously all 16 of us managed to be at the restaurant on time! They put us at a long table all the way in the right hand side of the restaurant, out in the open but under sun umbrellas. It was the perfect location; we were off to the side so we wouldn't bother people with all the kids, and we still had a great view of the water. However they put one other 2-person table right in front of us, and I felt pretty sorry for the people being seated there. Our kids were all well-behaved, they sat at the table and didn't run around or anything, but a party of 16 is still going to be loud! Two different couples took one look at us and asked to be reseated!
The meal took 2 hours, but the server did a great job with us all. He accommodated 2 different allergies, the kids asking for substitutions on their meals (and Harrison flat out asking for things that weren't even on the menu...) and was very patient. The food was just OK to be honest. I got the Caesar salad, which was very good, and the Hawaiian catch of the day. I forget what the name of the fish was, but it was kind of dry, and I didn't think it had much flavor. DH raved about his steak though, so perhaps I just chose the wrong thing. Harrison ate all of his steak, mashed potatoes, and broccolini as well. Grayson was a trooper and slept through the whole thing!
After dinner, Grayson woke up hungry and after feeding him, he was ready for bed. Despite signs saying the pool area closes at 8pm, it's been open until 10pm every night we've been here. I put Grayson down in the pack and play, and DH took Harrison down to the pool. I totally meant to wait up for them, but I must have fallen asleep around 8.30pm and didn't even hear them come in.
I woke up this morning (Thursday 30th) at 6am in an absolute panic because Grayson hadn't woken during the night and he's never slept through the night. I shot out of bed, ran over to the pack and play - in the dark - tripped over a pair of flip flops and slammed my foot into the TV cabinet. Oh my goodness, I seriously thought I'd broken it! I was yelping in pain, DH woke up all confused, Harrison woke up asking what was going on, and of course, Grayson was just fine. So that was how our day started. I will update later!
The boys conveniently woke up at the same time around 3pm, and we spent a little while in the room watching Jake and the Neverland Pirates while DH used the washer/dryer in the 2-bedroom to do some laundry. I bought WAY too many clothes on this trip - whatever you think you might need, cut it in half, then add an extra bathing suit and you'll be grand!
About 4pm we started to get ready for dinner, because when you have a 3-year old and a baby, it easily takes an hour to get everyone dressed and out the door! This evening we had dinner at Ama Ama at 5.30pm.
Miraculously all 16 of us managed to be at the restaurant on time! They put us at a long table all the way in the right hand side of the restaurant, out in the open but under sun umbrellas. It was the perfect location; we were off to the side so we wouldn't bother people with all the kids, and we still had a great view of the water. However they put one other 2-person table right in front of us, and I felt pretty sorry for the people being seated there. Our kids were all well-behaved, they sat at the table and didn't run around or anything, but a party of 16 is still going to be loud! Two different couples took one look at us and asked to be reseated!
The meal took 2 hours, but the server did a great job with us all. He accommodated 2 different allergies, the kids asking for substitutions on their meals (and Harrison flat out asking for things that weren't even on the menu...) and was very patient. The food was just OK to be honest. I got the Caesar salad, which was very good, and the Hawaiian catch of the day. I forget what the name of the fish was, but it was kind of dry, and I didn't think it had much flavor. DH raved about his steak though, so perhaps I just chose the wrong thing. Harrison ate all of his steak, mashed potatoes, and broccolini as well. Grayson was a trooper and slept through the whole thing!
After dinner, Grayson woke up hungry and after feeding him, he was ready for bed. Despite signs saying the pool area closes at 8pm, it's been open until 10pm every night we've been here. I put Grayson down in the pack and play, and DH took Harrison down to the pool. I totally meant to wait up for them, but I must have fallen asleep around 8.30pm and didn't even hear them come in.
I woke up this morning (Thursday 30th) at 6am in an absolute panic because Grayson hadn't woken during the night and he's never slept through the night. I shot out of bed, ran over to the pack and play - in the dark - tripped over a pair of flip flops and slammed my foot into the TV cabinet. Oh my goodness, I seriously thought I'd broken it! I was yelping in pain, DH woke up all confused, Harrison woke up asking what was going on, and of course, Grayson was just fine. So that was how our day started. I will update later!
crystal1313
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2012
Loving following along! So sorry about your toe, but SO exciting that he slept through the night! I remember waking up in a panic when both my boys slept through the night for the first time! =)
KateP85
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2015
Thursday June 30th part 1:
As if nearly breaking my foot wasn't a good enough start to the day, Harrison got out of bed to go to the bathroom and tripped on one of his cars, falling into the table and banging his head. If only someone had told him to put them away the night before...oh wait a second!
By 7.30am we were all showered, dressed and hungry. We decided to walk across the street to the shopping center to check out Island Vintage Coffee. It turns out this place is VERY popular, the line was out the door. DH took Grayson to grab a seat while I took Harrison inside with me to order. As well as coffee, they do other drinks and a few food options. They also sell 100% Kona coffee, flavored salts and sugars, chocolate covered coffee beans and chocolate covered macadamia nuts. I made a mental note to come back to pick some of those up another day!
I ordered a frozen coconut mocha, Harrison had a lemonade and a bagel, and DH and I split a ham, egg and cheese croissant. The food was really good, and my drink was amazing. I'm pretty sure we'll go back tomorrow, I would definitely suggest checking it out.
After breakfast we walked back to the hotel and bumped into Stitch on our way up to the room, so of course we had to stop for a photo. Harrison told Stitch he needed to work on having good manners, otherwise "people will think you're rude and unpleasant." I'm sure Stitch will be working on that...
It took 25 minutes to find one pool chair in the shade today, so we've beaten yesterday's record! I saw so many people complaining about the lack of chairs, but I'm not sure what can be done. Although some chairs are obviously being held, most chairs really looked like they were being used. It just seems like there aren't enough of them. Anyway, we found one chair and some shade for Grayson, then DH and I took it in turns to 'watch Grayson' (really browsing Facebook since Grayson was fast asleep!) while the other one played with Harrison. We must have spent nearly 2 hours in the different pools, on the lazy river, by the splash pad, etc. Harrison was finally exhausted by 11.30am - as were we! - and agreed to come and sit down to have lunch. We ordered from a pool server; DH had a lava flow (a pina colada/strawberry daiquiri hybrid that is fabulous) and onion rings, I had a mango mojito and a side of fruit, and Harrison had yet another round of chicken tenders with fruit. Just as we were finishing lunch, Grayson started to stir, so we headed up to the room so I could feed him and Harrison could take a nap.
I went out on the balcony to feed Grayson and when I came back in, both DH and Harrison were fast asleep on the bed together. I decided to take Grayson for a walk, not really having a destination in mind, and we ended up around the back of the 'Ewa Tower on a big grassy lawn area.
Look who was out there!
Grayson met Mickey at the character breakfast the other day, but this was the first time he really got to see him properly. He LOVED him! Minnie was there too and they fussed over him for ages, it was adorable! If you need to know where the characters are and when, call extension 2447 from your room phone from 8am.
After leaving his new friends, Grayson and I headed up to the gift shop. Before we came away, I set a budget for souvenirs for this trip. Well, that budget went completely out the window within the first 30 seconds of being in that store! So many lovely things! I really wanted to get us all Aulani shirts, but I couldn't settle in a design I liked, and I knew DH and Harrison would want to choose their own. I also liked the look of the photo albums and desperately wanted a Christmas ornament, but for today settled for getting a mug and a photo frame. I'll take a picture of all my goodies once my haul is complete on Sunday!
Next up, an afternoon poolside and dinner at Ulu Cafe, plus a movie on the lawn.
As if nearly breaking my foot wasn't a good enough start to the day, Harrison got out of bed to go to the bathroom and tripped on one of his cars, falling into the table and banging his head. If only someone had told him to put them away the night before...oh wait a second!
By 7.30am we were all showered, dressed and hungry. We decided to walk across the street to the shopping center to check out Island Vintage Coffee. It turns out this place is VERY popular, the line was out the door. DH took Grayson to grab a seat while I took Harrison inside with me to order. As well as coffee, they do other drinks and a few food options. They also sell 100% Kona coffee, flavored salts and sugars, chocolate covered coffee beans and chocolate covered macadamia nuts. I made a mental note to come back to pick some of those up another day!
I ordered a frozen coconut mocha, Harrison had a lemonade and a bagel, and DH and I split a ham, egg and cheese croissant. The food was really good, and my drink was amazing. I'm pretty sure we'll go back tomorrow, I would definitely suggest checking it out.
After breakfast we walked back to the hotel and bumped into Stitch on our way up to the room, so of course we had to stop for a photo. Harrison told Stitch he needed to work on having good manners, otherwise "people will think you're rude and unpleasant." I'm sure Stitch will be working on that...
It took 25 minutes to find one pool chair in the shade today, so we've beaten yesterday's record! I saw so many people complaining about the lack of chairs, but I'm not sure what can be done. Although some chairs are obviously being held, most chairs really looked like they were being used. It just seems like there aren't enough of them. Anyway, we found one chair and some shade for Grayson, then DH and I took it in turns to 'watch Grayson' (really browsing Facebook since Grayson was fast asleep!) while the other one played with Harrison. We must have spent nearly 2 hours in the different pools, on the lazy river, by the splash pad, etc. Harrison was finally exhausted by 11.30am - as were we! - and agreed to come and sit down to have lunch. We ordered from a pool server; DH had a lava flow (a pina colada/strawberry daiquiri hybrid that is fabulous) and onion rings, I had a mango mojito and a side of fruit, and Harrison had yet another round of chicken tenders with fruit. Just as we were finishing lunch, Grayson started to stir, so we headed up to the room so I could feed him and Harrison could take a nap.
I went out on the balcony to feed Grayson and when I came back in, both DH and Harrison were fast asleep on the bed together. I decided to take Grayson for a walk, not really having a destination in mind, and we ended up around the back of the 'Ewa Tower on a big grassy lawn area.
Look who was out there!
Grayson met Mickey at the character breakfast the other day, but this was the first time he really got to see him properly. He LOVED him! Minnie was there too and they fussed over him for ages, it was adorable! If you need to know where the characters are and when, call extension 2447 from your room phone from 8am.
After leaving his new friends, Grayson and I headed up to the gift shop. Before we came away, I set a budget for souvenirs for this trip. Well, that budget went completely out the window within the first 30 seconds of being in that store! So many lovely things! I really wanted to get us all Aulani shirts, but I couldn't settle in a design I liked, and I knew DH and Harrison would want to choose their own. I also liked the look of the photo albums and desperately wanted a Christmas ornament, but for today settled for getting a mug and a photo frame. I'll take a picture of all my goodies once my haul is complete on Sunday!
Next up, an afternoon poolside and dinner at Ulu Cafe, plus a movie on the lawn.
dopeygirl76
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2007
Thank you for taking the time to do this!! We arrive for our first trip to Aulani (and Hawaii!!!!) in 13 days!!! I am loving reading!!!!!
crystal1313
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2012
Island Vintage coffee sounds amazing! Did you happen to notice if they have any iced tea? Thanks for the heads up!
LOVE the photo of Grayson with Mickey and Minnie. Baby smiles are the best!! And Harrison sounds wise beyond his years, I cracked up when I read what he said to stitch!
I also cannot wait to see what goodies you get! My youngest DS declared last night that if there was a cute stuffed animal, he was going to buy it! LOL. The kid certainly does not need another stuffed animal
Reading about your chair experiences, I am glad we splurged and rented the casabellas for 4 of our days. It was money I didn't really want to spend, but not having to worry about finding chairs or shade makes it worth it I think. And mmm, lava flow!
@dopeygirl76 , we will be there in 11 days! Maybe we will see each other around!!
LOVE the photo of Grayson with Mickey and Minnie. Baby smiles are the best!! And Harrison sounds wise beyond his years, I cracked up when I read what he said to stitch!
I also cannot wait to see what goodies you get! My youngest DS declared last night that if there was a cute stuffed animal, he was going to buy it! LOL. The kid certainly does not need another stuffed animal
Reading about your chair experiences, I am glad we splurged and rented the casabellas for 4 of our days. It was money I didn't really want to spend, but not having to worry about finding chairs or shade makes it worth it I think. And mmm, lava flow!
@dopeygirl76 , we will be there in 11 days! Maybe we will see each other around!!
KateP85
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2015
Island Vintage coffee sounds amazing! Did you happen to notice if they have any iced tea? Thanks for the heads up!
LOVE the photo of Grayson with Mickey and Minnie. Baby smiles are the best!! And Harrison sounds wise beyond his years, I cracked up when I read what he said to stitch!
I also cannot wait to see what goodies you get! My youngest DS declared last night that if there was a cute stuffed animal, he was going to buy it! LOL. The kid certainly does not need another stuffed animal
Reading about your chair experiences, I am glad we splurged and rented the casabellas for 4 of our days. It was money I didn't really want to spend, but not having to worry about finding chairs or shade makes it worth it I think. And mmm, lava flow!
@dopeygirl76 , we will be there in 11 days! Maybe we will see each other around!!
They do indeed have varieties of iced tea and smoothies.
We had tried to reserve a cabana for several of the days we were here, but they were all booked. Next time we will definitely be looking into the casabellas.
KateP85
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2015
Thursday June 30th part 2:
Once Harrison woke up, it was back down to the pool. We managed to find a couple of chairs right in front of the kids area, and we were able to park Grayson's stroller in the shade. Harrison spent over an hour going up the steps, across the bridge, down the slide, yelling "ta-da!" Literally over and over for an hour! Grayson snoozed on and off, DH read a book, it was very relaxing.
Eventually Harrison wore himself out and asked for a snack. I'd seen a sign at the Lava Shack saying that the soft serve ice cream had been moved to Ulu Cafe, and I wanted to fill my refillable cup too, so he and I set off. I got myself a lemonade, and Harrison and I split a pineapple soft serve - it was so good! When I'm at Magic Kingdom I rarely bother with a Dole whip, there are other snacks I prefer. But sitting overlooking the ocean in Hawaii, this truly hit the spot.
We went back up to the room after our snack to do some laundry and relax for a while. DH was going out for dinner with his brother, his cousin and their wives at a steak place in Honolulu, but I didn't want to leave Grayson that long so I stayed back. Before he left, he ran down to Ulu Cafe to get us some dinner. Harrison really branched out and had - wait for it - the chicken tenders with rice and steamed veggies. I had the Island Margharira flatbread, and he and I split a Darth Vader chocolate cupcake. Harrison ate almost all of his food, although I was gifted with his unwanted cauliflower and green beans. The flatbread was OK, nothing special, and the cupcake was delicious.
DH left at 6.30pm to drive into Honolulu, and my MIL text to see if Harrison wanted to walk over to the ice cream shop with her, FIL, and his cousins. Of course he did! So I was left in peace for a while with just Grayson for company. I gave him a bath, put him in his pajamas, and put him to bed at 7pm, giving me a whole 30 minutes to myself to shower and read the first 2 chapters of Me Before You. It was heavenly!
Harrison arrived back raving about his vanilla ice cream with sprinkles, and was content to get ready for bed. He and I sat outside on the balcony to read his bedtime stories to we wouldn't wake Grayson, and it was lovrky to sit out there in the warmth and watch the sun go down. Once his last story was finished, Harrison turned to me and said, "this place is really special, huh mommy?" Yes it is baby
Once Harrison woke up, it was back down to the pool. We managed to find a couple of chairs right in front of the kids area, and we were able to park Grayson's stroller in the shade. Harrison spent over an hour going up the steps, across the bridge, down the slide, yelling "ta-da!" Literally over and over for an hour! Grayson snoozed on and off, DH read a book, it was very relaxing.
Eventually Harrison wore himself out and asked for a snack. I'd seen a sign at the Lava Shack saying that the soft serve ice cream had been moved to Ulu Cafe, and I wanted to fill my refillable cup too, so he and I set off. I got myself a lemonade, and Harrison and I split a pineapple soft serve - it was so good! When I'm at Magic Kingdom I rarely bother with a Dole whip, there are other snacks I prefer. But sitting overlooking the ocean in Hawaii, this truly hit the spot.
We went back up to the room after our snack to do some laundry and relax for a while. DH was going out for dinner with his brother, his cousin and their wives at a steak place in Honolulu, but I didn't want to leave Grayson that long so I stayed back. Before he left, he ran down to Ulu Cafe to get us some dinner. Harrison really branched out and had - wait for it - the chicken tenders with rice and steamed veggies. I had the Island Margharira flatbread, and he and I split a Darth Vader chocolate cupcake. Harrison ate almost all of his food, although I was gifted with his unwanted cauliflower and green beans. The flatbread was OK, nothing special, and the cupcake was delicious.
DH left at 6.30pm to drive into Honolulu, and my MIL text to see if Harrison wanted to walk over to the ice cream shop with her, FIL, and his cousins. Of course he did! So I was left in peace for a while with just Grayson for company. I gave him a bath, put him in his pajamas, and put him to bed at 7pm, giving me a whole 30 minutes to myself to shower and read the first 2 chapters of Me Before You. It was heavenly!
Harrison arrived back raving about his vanilla ice cream with sprinkles, and was content to get ready for bed. He and I sat outside on the balcony to read his bedtime stories to we wouldn't wake Grayson, and it was lovrky to sit out there in the warmth and watch the sun go down. Once his last story was finished, Harrison turned to me and said, "this place is really special, huh mommy?" Yes it is baby
i'm the one who posted that thread with directions. we were there in april, and finding our way blocked by the construction at the four seasons. we went to the paradise cove parking lot, but turned the wrong way so couldn't find the entrance to the turtle beach. came back to the hotel and sent out that frantic request for help. someone was nice enough to write out the directions, which we then followed and were successful. so i took photos for everyone who came later, hoping that will make it easier for folks. glad you guys were able to go there!
Saamh
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2013
Thanks for checking! Glad you found the workaround!
alohamom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2003
and thanks to jtba for posting all those great pictures and direction a while ago, now we will all be able to find it!
KateP85
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2015
Oh thank you so much, they were perfect! I'm a day behind on my 'live' report but today we went over to Paradise Cove and found turtles and seals, it was amazing!
KateP85
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2015
Friday July 1st:
(How is it July already??? This year is going too fast!)
Grayson's sleeping through the night seems to have been a one-time thing, he's back to waking once or twice a night again. Lucky me. At least this morning the boys slept until 7am - it's sad what constitutes a lie-in when you have little ones!
We were up and dressed by 7.30am, packed up all our pool stuff and headed down to find breakfast. We stopped in at Ulu Cafe to get coffee in my refillable mug, and decided to just get breakfast from there. They had some great muffins: I had a pineapple macadamia nut muffin and DH had the rocky road chocolate muffin. Both were really good. Harrison got a kids breakfast with fruit, strawberry yogurt, and a bran muffin. I've never seen a kid eat a bran muffin, I'm not sure why they include those with seemingly every kids breakfast option. Anyway, Harrison begged to feed his muffin to the birds and did not like me telling him he wasn't allowed to feed them. I tried explaining why he wasn't allowed to feed them, that it interfered with their natural diet and made them dependent on humans, etc, when the man at the next table started feeding his leftover muffin to a little group of sparrows! Thanks, total stranger, for not at all helping my cause!
After breakfast it was about 8am and since we were there so early, we managed to get chairs! Two of them! In the shade! A miracle had occurred! We put our stuff down and took it in turns to get wristbands and towels. I saw a lot of kids with wristbands all up their arms, they must have been collecting them since the start of their trip, but Harrison hated them. He hates wearing a Magic Band too, it's weird.
We were by the pool for about 3 hours. Harrison played in the splash pad, on the kids bridge, spent 20 minutes jumping into the infinity pool over and over, he was having such a wonderful time.
Grayson was having a nice time too:
We finally convinced Harrison to leave around 11am and we stopped again at Ulu Cafe to get lunch to bring up to the room. Harrison is going to get a real shock when we go home and he can't have chicken tenders for lunch every day!
By 12pm, both boys were asleep. DH had some work to do, so I decided to go down to the spa to see if I could get a manicure. They were able to fit me in so I spent a blissful 45 minutes in silence having my nails done. Oh it was delightful! The spa was tranquil and quiet, I wish I'd thought to have another treatment done there. Something to add to list for next time! Being a Disney spa of course it was a little pricey - I don't remember the exact amount but I think it was about $70 including the service charge. But my nails looked pretty!
I headed back up to the room where the boys were awake. I fed Grayson and we headed back downstairs, this time to the beach. It was then I noticed that Grayson had a little sunburn on his legs. I felt awful, even though he didn't seem to mind. His pediatrician told me no sunscreen until he turns 6 months old but really, it's impossible to keep him in the shade all the time and his baby skin burns so easily. I think from now on I'll just put a tiny amount on his legs to keep them from burning if they do get in the sun.
Harrison had a lovely time digging in the sand - the rental shack on the beach has big bags of sand toys you can rent for free - and timidly playing in the sea. He doesn't like the big waves, and insists on yelling at the waves when they come too close, but he's getting braver this trip. We stripped Grayson down to a diaper and lay him on a sun lounger in the shade. He was content.
About 4pm we headed up to the room to get ready for dinner. We would be eating at Makahiki again, but this time it wasn't a character meal, just a regular buffet.
The food was pretty good; not as good as breakfast, but I think better quality than you would get at the typical buffet at WDW (Chef Mickeys, I'm looking at you!) There was sushi, sashimi, poke, salads, fresh fruit, a prime rib carving station, pork, chicken, fish, pasta, veggies, and some really good desserts. I ate my weight in sashimi and fruit, and Harrison branched out from his chicken strips to get prime rib and teriyaki chicken. He also devoured the chocolate chip cookies. I loved the pineapple cobbler with vanilla bean sauce, and the chocolate mousse cups. All in all, not bad at all.
Tonight was our last night to see the Starlit Hui, so after dinner, we headed up to the room to get ready. I fed Grayson and we put both kids in their pajamas, then put Grayson in his car seat and headed down stairs. We arrived on the lawn around 7.45pm and found a place to sit on the lawn. Harrison desperately wanted to go and dance the hula up on the stage with the other kids so I took him up and he joined in. I have no idea what he was doing but it was not the hula. A sort of jumping butt wiggle with some Spider-Man web action thrown in. The kids around him gave him quite a wide berth but he had fun!
The show started at 8pm with some professional hula dancing, and moved on to include fire dancers and kites. I'd love to give you a more detailed review, but it was hard to concentrate between Grayson complaining about not being in bed and Harrison asking why he couldn't go up and dance on stage some more. After about 20 minutes we decided we were done! I would love to see the show again, something else to add for next time (considering how much I didn't particularly want to come here, we're already planning to come back in 2-3 years!)
We went upstairs and put the boys to bed, then went and sat out on the balcony with a bottle of wine. We are in room 965, which overlooks the parking garage and the mountains. I know everyone seems to want an ocean view, but I love love love the mountain view. It's amazing to watch the weather up high, which looks cloudy and wet, change to clear and sunny down at sea level, and it's very peaceful.
Up tomorrow, we finally find our sea turtles!
(How is it July already??? This year is going too fast!)
Grayson's sleeping through the night seems to have been a one-time thing, he's back to waking once or twice a night again. Lucky me. At least this morning the boys slept until 7am - it's sad what constitutes a lie-in when you have little ones!
We were up and dressed by 7.30am, packed up all our pool stuff and headed down to find breakfast. We stopped in at Ulu Cafe to get coffee in my refillable mug, and decided to just get breakfast from there. They had some great muffins: I had a pineapple macadamia nut muffin and DH had the rocky road chocolate muffin. Both were really good. Harrison got a kids breakfast with fruit, strawberry yogurt, and a bran muffin. I've never seen a kid eat a bran muffin, I'm not sure why they include those with seemingly every kids breakfast option. Anyway, Harrison begged to feed his muffin to the birds and did not like me telling him he wasn't allowed to feed them. I tried explaining why he wasn't allowed to feed them, that it interfered with their natural diet and made them dependent on humans, etc, when the man at the next table started feeding his leftover muffin to a little group of sparrows! Thanks, total stranger, for not at all helping my cause!
After breakfast it was about 8am and since we were there so early, we managed to get chairs! Two of them! In the shade! A miracle had occurred! We put our stuff down and took it in turns to get wristbands and towels. I saw a lot of kids with wristbands all up their arms, they must have been collecting them since the start of their trip, but Harrison hated them. He hates wearing a Magic Band too, it's weird.
We were by the pool for about 3 hours. Harrison played in the splash pad, on the kids bridge, spent 20 minutes jumping into the infinity pool over and over, he was having such a wonderful time.
Grayson was having a nice time too:
We finally convinced Harrison to leave around 11am and we stopped again at Ulu Cafe to get lunch to bring up to the room. Harrison is going to get a real shock when we go home and he can't have chicken tenders for lunch every day!
By 12pm, both boys were asleep. DH had some work to do, so I decided to go down to the spa to see if I could get a manicure. They were able to fit me in so I spent a blissful 45 minutes in silence having my nails done. Oh it was delightful! The spa was tranquil and quiet, I wish I'd thought to have another treatment done there. Something to add to list for next time! Being a Disney spa of course it was a little pricey - I don't remember the exact amount but I think it was about $70 including the service charge. But my nails looked pretty!
I headed back up to the room where the boys were awake. I fed Grayson and we headed back downstairs, this time to the beach. It was then I noticed that Grayson had a little sunburn on his legs. I felt awful, even though he didn't seem to mind. His pediatrician told me no sunscreen until he turns 6 months old but really, it's impossible to keep him in the shade all the time and his baby skin burns so easily. I think from now on I'll just put a tiny amount on his legs to keep them from burning if they do get in the sun.
Harrison had a lovely time digging in the sand - the rental shack on the beach has big bags of sand toys you can rent for free - and timidly playing in the sea. He doesn't like the big waves, and insists on yelling at the waves when they come too close, but he's getting braver this trip. We stripped Grayson down to a diaper and lay him on a sun lounger in the shade. He was content.
About 4pm we headed up to the room to get ready for dinner. We would be eating at Makahiki again, but this time it wasn't a character meal, just a regular buffet.
The food was pretty good; not as good as breakfast, but I think better quality than you would get at the typical buffet at WDW (Chef Mickeys, I'm looking at you!) There was sushi, sashimi, poke, salads, fresh fruit, a prime rib carving station, pork, chicken, fish, pasta, veggies, and some really good desserts. I ate my weight in sashimi and fruit, and Harrison branched out from his chicken strips to get prime rib and teriyaki chicken. He also devoured the chocolate chip cookies. I loved the pineapple cobbler with vanilla bean sauce, and the chocolate mousse cups. All in all, not bad at all.
Tonight was our last night to see the Starlit Hui, so after dinner, we headed up to the room to get ready. I fed Grayson and we put both kids in their pajamas, then put Grayson in his car seat and headed down stairs. We arrived on the lawn around 7.45pm and found a place to sit on the lawn. Harrison desperately wanted to go and dance the hula up on the stage with the other kids so I took him up and he joined in. I have no idea what he was doing but it was not the hula. A sort of jumping butt wiggle with some Spider-Man web action thrown in. The kids around him gave him quite a wide berth but he had fun!
The show started at 8pm with some professional hula dancing, and moved on to include fire dancers and kites. I'd love to give you a more detailed review, but it was hard to concentrate between Grayson complaining about not being in bed and Harrison asking why he couldn't go up and dance on stage some more. After about 20 minutes we decided we were done! I would love to see the show again, something else to add for next time (considering how much I didn't particularly want to come here, we're already planning to come back in 2-3 years!)
We went upstairs and put the boys to bed, then went and sat out on the balcony with a bottle of wine. We are in room 965, which overlooks the parking garage and the mountains. I know everyone seems to want an ocean view, but I love love love the mountain view. It's amazing to watch the weather up high, which looks cloudy and wet, change to clear and sunny down at sea level, and it's very peaceful.
Up tomorrow, we finally find our sea turtles!
KateP85
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2015
Saturday July 2nd:
Our last day at Aulani
started bright and early, with us determined to make the most of the day. The other day I'd seen the entrance to the path down to the beach at Paradise Cove, and today I wanted to actually make it into the beach.
The photos provided by @jtba on this thread where perfect, follow those and you can't go wrong. Once in the Paradise Cove parking lot, look for the white sign and the sandy path next to it. If you have a stroller, as we did, the path might be a bit hard going, but not impossible. We had better luck dragging the stroller through the sand than trying to push it.
The beach is beautiful! There were about 10 other people on the beach, and a few snorkeling in the water. The ones in the water were looking for turtles but not seeing any. DH climbed up on to the rocks to get a better look and suddenly called out to Harrison and I - there was a seal just hanging out on the rocks!
There was actually a sign that we hadn't noticed right by the rocks warning that there were seals in the area. The sign said this guy was a Hawaiian monk seal, only to be found around the Hawaiian islands, with less than 1200 left in the wild. We gave the seal a wide birth after that so we didn't disturb him.
Not seeing any turtles and starting to get hungry, we headed back towards the hotel, stopping at Island Vintage Coffee again for frozen coffee drinks for DH and I, a smoothie for Harrison, and a couple of bagel sandwiches to share.
DH and Harrison changed into their bathing suits and headed down for a few laps on the lazy river while I stayed in the room with Grayson. He's managed to pick up a cold from somewhere, either one of his cousins or maybe on the plane, and feels pretty sorry for himself. He's all stuffed up and keeps coughing and sneezing, it's no fun. So I stayed in the room with him so he'd be out of the heat for a bit, and he was content to sit with me on the bed and be cuddled.
After about an hour, DH called me. His parents, my SIL and my niece all wanted to check out Paradise Cove too after DH told them about it, and Harrison wanted to show them the seal. Grayson was due for a nap so I put him back in his stroller and we all walked over together.
The tide had come in and the beach was about half the size, plus there were about 50 people there now. Unfortunately the seal was gone, but we hit the jackpot and there were 3 huge green sea turtles in the water! They were just swimming around in the shallows, they didn't seem bothered by the people at all. Everyone was very good about giving them space and not getting too close, but they would swim right up to people and almost follow them around. DH loves turtles and was so happy he'd seen them. Harrison was pretty underwhelmed, but I don't think he really knew what he was looking at since they didn't get too close. Grayson slept through the whole thing!
As we were walking back to Aulani, DH's brother called to ask if he wanted to play a round of golf. Harrison was getting tired and I wanted to get Grayson back in the cool of the room for a while, so I took the boys back to the room while DH went golfing.
Harrison was in a finickity mood and couldn't decide what he wanted. First he was tired, then he was hungry, then he wanted to watch TV, and Grayson was grumpy because Harrison woke him up before he was ready to wake up. I was regretting telling DH to go play golf! Finally I ordered room service, put the TV on (Oliver and Company was in the Disney Channel, one of my favorite Disney movies!) and put Grayson in the pack and play where he thankfully went back to sleep.
The food arrived 30 minutes later. I had ordered a kids chicken tenders with fries and a chocolate cake for Harrison (the cake was for me!) and a kids spaghetti and meatballs with veggie crudites and fruit for myself. $46!!! I was glad DH wasn't there to see that bill!
I set Harrison up on the sofa with the chicken and made a start on my spaghetti. Five minutes later I notice Harrison is being quiet, and I look over to see Harrison fast asleep with half a chicken tender clutched in his hand! $46 well spent
About 3pm DH came back from golf. Grayson had just woken up but Harrison was still out. I had wanted to walk around to the next lagoon over to see what it was like, so after feeding Grayson I left the boys with DH and took a walk. As you're looking at the ocean from Aulani, I turned left along the beach path. I passed a wedding chapel, and then the path goes towards the ocean before turning back on itself where the next lagoon ends. The next lagoon only had a handful of sun umbrellas, no sun loungers, and looked like there were more locals than tourists. It was really busy, and had a very different feel to the lagoon in front of Aulani. I wonder what the area was like before Disney moved in, and how the locals feel about it. I get the impression that with Aulani, and the new Four Seasons, tourism is on the rise in the area, and I'm curious as to whether locals are happy about that or not.
On the walk back to Aulani I took this picture:
We had planned to go to Monkeypod for dinner, but in the end, we wanted to spend all of our last evening at the resort. We decided to change back into bathing suits and head back down to the pool. It was about 5.30pm and the kids areas were closed, but the other pools and the lazy river were open. We took it in turns to sit with Grayson while the other one went in the water with Harrison. Finally about 6.30pm we decided to call it a night. My MIL had made food up in her room, so while I changed the boys into pajamas, DH went and got us plates of food to bring back to our room. I put Grayson to bed, then we sat out on the balcony eating BBQ chicken, mashed potatoes, grilled corn and hot rolls. It was wonderful. Then DH offered to put Harrison to bed so I could do 2 things still on my to-do list.
The first was to take a picture of the beach at sunset. I was a little late, but I still like these photos:
The other thing I wanted to do was stop at the gift shop. I wanted a shirt for myself and Harrison, and I wanted to see the photo pass photos we'd had taken around the resort.
I knew which shirt I wanted for Harrison, but I was really torn on what to get for myself. I find it very easy to spend money on my kids but I really struggle to spend money on myself, I always feel guilty! In the end I found a cute blue shirt I liked, and it wasn't too pricey. I debated getting a onesie for Grayson but he's growing so fast, he'd only wear it a few times. At 3-months he's also in 9-month clothes because he's so chunky, and they didn't have his size so that settled that. Then I went to browse the photo pass pictures. There were some good photos, especially of Harrison, but not enough that I wanted the CD for $99. In the end I got 3 of the 4x6 prints (you get 2 of each of the 3 photos) and an 8x10 print. I think if you were there for a week and really took advantage of the photographers, the CD might be worth it, but we took so many photos ourselves, that was enough.
After making my purchases, I headed back up to the room to shower and pack. Trying to pack in a room with 2 sleeping kids was a challenge and I ended up just putting most of it off until the morning. Then we got an early night. Tomorrow would be our last morning at Aulani, and then we'd be off on a plane to Kona for a week!
I won't do a trip report for Kona, but I'll throw in some photos in case anyone wants to know what it's like. I'll also take a photo of my purchases from Aulani and recap my highlights and tips for those visiting soon.
Our last day at Aulani
started bright and early, with us determined to make the most of the day. The other day I'd seen the entrance to the path down to the beach at Paradise Cove, and today I wanted to actually make it into the beach. The photos provided by @jtba on this thread where perfect, follow those and you can't go wrong. Once in the Paradise Cove parking lot, look for the white sign and the sandy path next to it. If you have a stroller, as we did, the path might be a bit hard going, but not impossible. We had better luck dragging the stroller through the sand than trying to push it.
The beach is beautiful! There were about 10 other people on the beach, and a few snorkeling in the water. The ones in the water were looking for turtles but not seeing any. DH climbed up on to the rocks to get a better look and suddenly called out to Harrison and I - there was a seal just hanging out on the rocks!
There was actually a sign that we hadn't noticed right by the rocks warning that there were seals in the area. The sign said this guy was a Hawaiian monk seal, only to be found around the Hawaiian islands, with less than 1200 left in the wild. We gave the seal a wide birth after that so we didn't disturb him.
Not seeing any turtles and starting to get hungry, we headed back towards the hotel, stopping at Island Vintage Coffee again for frozen coffee drinks for DH and I, a smoothie for Harrison, and a couple of bagel sandwiches to share.
DH and Harrison changed into their bathing suits and headed down for a few laps on the lazy river while I stayed in the room with Grayson. He's managed to pick up a cold from somewhere, either one of his cousins or maybe on the plane, and feels pretty sorry for himself. He's all stuffed up and keeps coughing and sneezing, it's no fun. So I stayed in the room with him so he'd be out of the heat for a bit, and he was content to sit with me on the bed and be cuddled.
After about an hour, DH called me. His parents, my SIL and my niece all wanted to check out Paradise Cove too after DH told them about it, and Harrison wanted to show them the seal. Grayson was due for a nap so I put him back in his stroller and we all walked over together.
The tide had come in and the beach was about half the size, plus there were about 50 people there now. Unfortunately the seal was gone, but we hit the jackpot and there were 3 huge green sea turtles in the water! They were just swimming around in the shallows, they didn't seem bothered by the people at all. Everyone was very good about giving them space and not getting too close, but they would swim right up to people and almost follow them around. DH loves turtles and was so happy he'd seen them. Harrison was pretty underwhelmed, but I don't think he really knew what he was looking at since they didn't get too close. Grayson slept through the whole thing!
As we were walking back to Aulani, DH's brother called to ask if he wanted to play a round of golf. Harrison was getting tired and I wanted to get Grayson back in the cool of the room for a while, so I took the boys back to the room while DH went golfing.
Harrison was in a finickity mood and couldn't decide what he wanted. First he was tired, then he was hungry, then he wanted to watch TV, and Grayson was grumpy because Harrison woke him up before he was ready to wake up. I was regretting telling DH to go play golf! Finally I ordered room service, put the TV on (Oliver and Company was in the Disney Channel, one of my favorite Disney movies!) and put Grayson in the pack and play where he thankfully went back to sleep.
The food arrived 30 minutes later. I had ordered a kids chicken tenders with fries and a chocolate cake for Harrison (the cake was for me!) and a kids spaghetti and meatballs with veggie crudites and fruit for myself. $46!!! I was glad DH wasn't there to see that bill!
I set Harrison up on the sofa with the chicken and made a start on my spaghetti. Five minutes later I notice Harrison is being quiet, and I look over to see Harrison fast asleep with half a chicken tender clutched in his hand! $46 well spent
About 3pm DH came back from golf. Grayson had just woken up but Harrison was still out. I had wanted to walk around to the next lagoon over to see what it was like, so after feeding Grayson I left the boys with DH and took a walk. As you're looking at the ocean from Aulani, I turned left along the beach path. I passed a wedding chapel, and then the path goes towards the ocean before turning back on itself where the next lagoon ends. The next lagoon only had a handful of sun umbrellas, no sun loungers, and looked like there were more locals than tourists. It was really busy, and had a very different feel to the lagoon in front of Aulani. I wonder what the area was like before Disney moved in, and how the locals feel about it. I get the impression that with Aulani, and the new Four Seasons, tourism is on the rise in the area, and I'm curious as to whether locals are happy about that or not.
On the walk back to Aulani I took this picture:
We had planned to go to Monkeypod for dinner, but in the end, we wanted to spend all of our last evening at the resort. We decided to change back into bathing suits and head back down to the pool. It was about 5.30pm and the kids areas were closed, but the other pools and the lazy river were open. We took it in turns to sit with Grayson while the other one went in the water with Harrison. Finally about 6.30pm we decided to call it a night. My MIL had made food up in her room, so while I changed the boys into pajamas, DH went and got us plates of food to bring back to our room. I put Grayson to bed, then we sat out on the balcony eating BBQ chicken, mashed potatoes, grilled corn and hot rolls. It was wonderful. Then DH offered to put Harrison to bed so I could do 2 things still on my to-do list.
The first was to take a picture of the beach at sunset. I was a little late, but I still like these photos:
The other thing I wanted to do was stop at the gift shop. I wanted a shirt for myself and Harrison, and I wanted to see the photo pass photos we'd had taken around the resort.
I knew which shirt I wanted for Harrison, but I was really torn on what to get for myself. I find it very easy to spend money on my kids but I really struggle to spend money on myself, I always feel guilty! In the end I found a cute blue shirt I liked, and it wasn't too pricey. I debated getting a onesie for Grayson but he's growing so fast, he'd only wear it a few times. At 3-months he's also in 9-month clothes because he's so chunky, and they didn't have his size so that settled that. Then I went to browse the photo pass pictures. There were some good photos, especially of Harrison, but not enough that I wanted the CD for $99. In the end I got 3 of the 4x6 prints (you get 2 of each of the 3 photos) and an 8x10 print. I think if you were there for a week and really took advantage of the photographers, the CD might be worth it, but we took so many photos ourselves, that was enough.
After making my purchases, I headed back up to the room to shower and pack. Trying to pack in a room with 2 sleeping kids was a challenge and I ended up just putting most of it off until the morning. Then we got an early night. Tomorrow would be our last morning at Aulani, and then we'd be off on a plane to Kona for a week!
I won't do a trip report for Kona, but I'll throw in some photos in case anyone wants to know what it's like. I'll also take a photo of my purchases from Aulani and recap my highlights and tips for those visiting soon.
heaven2dc
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 26, 2003
Love that you got to see the seal on the rocks! And got to see the sea turtles later - my son & his then fiance went to Maui a couple of years ago and brought back some amazing videos snorkeling alongside the sea turtles. Your time at the spa sounds heavenly 
Glad both you and your husband had some adult time to yourselves which is sometimes hard to fit in esp on vacation. Your pics on the beach are so pretty! Love that time of night at any beach....so relaxing. I would love to hear about your trip to Kona but will enjoy seeing some pics in your recap!
Glad both you and your husband had some adult time to yourselves which is sometimes hard to fit in esp on vacation. Your pics on the beach are so pretty! Love that time of night at any beach....so relaxing. I would love to hear about your trip to Kona but will enjoy seeing some pics in your recap!
crystal1313
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2012
I am the same way about spending money on myself! I will gladly shop for the kids but have a difficult time doing anything for myself. Loving all your adventures. Thank you for sharing!! DH just had a quick question, and I thought I would ask you.....is there an ice maker in the fridge in the rooms? If not, is there an ice machine we can use? Thanks!!
KateP85
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2015
In the studio you just get a mini fridge so no ice maker, but the 1-bedrooms and bigger you get a full size fridge/freezer with an ice maker. Each floor has an ice machine in a room by the elevators if needed.
KateP85
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2015
Love that you got to see the seal on the rocks! And got to see the sea turtles later - my son & his then fiance went to Maui a couple of years ago and brought back some amazing videos snorkeling alongside the sea turtles. Your time at the spa sounds heavenly
We're in Kona now and it's gorgeous, but a very different landscape to Oahu. There's no lush greenery, just black rock everywhere. The flight from Honolulu to Kona was also terrifying, but that might have been the tiny little prop plane we flew in on!
heaven2dc
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 26, 2003
We have never visited Hawaii before so it's very interesting how unique each island is. That flight would scare me alone just from flying on those little prop planes
Enjoy your stay in Kona!Share this page
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