Just Maui'd -- Maui/Aulani Trip Report

[heaven2dc]

What an amazing meal at Napa Rose! Everything you both chose sound delicious - I'm not much of an adventurer when it comes to food but these were perfect choices

 

[TeeterTots]

i was drooling reading through the courses! Some how it reminds me of Cali grill too?

 

[Vernie822]

i was drooling reading through the courses! Some how it reminds me of Cali grill too?

I've never been to Cali Grill, but I have seen lots of trip reports and it did remind me of the things I've seen!

 

[NittanyKK]

Your meal looks fantastic in pictures, although I am sadly not adventurous with my food choices so I probably would've tried none of that. So glad you enjoyed it though!

Can I ask what company you used for the car service to Disneyland? We booked something then realized the company has horrible reviews and at times doesn't pick up their passengers so obviously canceling that! We considered just getting an Uber but I would prefer to have something booked if possible and we would like to do something private.

Excited to read about your Disneyland trip!

 

[Vernie822]

Your meal looks fantastic in pictures, although I am sadly not adventurous with my food choices so I probably would've tried none of that. So glad you enjoyed it though!

Can I ask what company you used for the car service to Disneyland? We booked something then realized the company has horrible reviews and at times doesn't pick up their passengers so obviously canceling that! We considered just getting an Uber but I would prefer to have something booked if possible and we would like to do something private.

Excited to read about your Disneyland trip!

Yeah! We used Execucar. Highly recommend, one of our drivers was quiet and the other was so friendly and chatty!! Your trip is coming up so quickly!!

 

[Vernie822]

What an amazing meal at Napa Rose! Everything you both chose sound delicious - I'm not much of an adventurer when it comes to food but these were perfect choices

Everything was great! The chef actually chose everything, so I was nervous because you just never know, especially when you don't eat places like that often.. but it was all soooo delicious!!

 

[kastoney]

Wow!!!! What an amazing meal. And for $100/person that seems like a downright bargain to me. Absoutely everything you all ate looks delicious. Especially that duck and the squash blossoms. We grow zucchini in our garden just so we can eat the blossoms We ate at Napa Rose on our honeymoon too, though that was 9 year ago. We just ate at the bar and not the chefs table but I still remember it as what was likely our best Disney meal ever. The food was amazing (I remember eating rabbit for the first time) and the bartender charged us a $20 tasting fee for what had to be well over $150 worth of wine. Glad to see they kept it up.

 

[Vernie822]

DISNEYLAND!

The next day was our first day in the parks! We started our morning with a stop at McDonald's for a quick breakfast and some coffee. It was weird to be 'offsite' at a Disney park. We got a pretty good deal at the Fairfield Inn Anaheim (Marriott) so we stayed there. It did the job, but it was no Aulani! There were lots of stops within walking distance, it was probably only a 10 minute walk into the park.

I love the Halloween decor in the parks!!

I was immediately excited and enamored with the "free range" characters. It was amazing to me! The whole crew was out in their Halloween outfits, which I thought was adorable.

We really had no plan for touring that day. With some park days at WDW we plan quite a bit, but we did wing it here, save for a few dining reservations.

I was pretty excited to see the castle! Although.. don't hate.. I was pretty underwhelmed at its size!

Our first stop that morning was.. the Matterhorn!

It was a cool ride, I really liked it. It wasn't too jerky.

We walked right on Matterhorn Bobsleds and right onto Small World.. I loved the Small World ride here.

After that, we decided to do a lot of the dark rides in the Fantasyland area: Alice (maybe a 20 minute wait), Mr Toad's Wild Ride, Snow White, and Pinocchio. We headed over to Big Thunder (with a less than 10 minute wait), rode Pirates, and pulled a Fastpass for Splash, our favorite.

Love Mr Toad's!

Had to get back into the swing of things with paper fastpasses. It wasn't very busy that morning, so we could walk on most things, but I think Splash was a 40 min wait.

I loved the Critter Country part of the park. Really cute. We rode Pooh and decided to check out the candy shop nearby, I was committed to finding a peanut butter square, but no luck that morning!

There were so many cute treats for Halloween.

We were pretty hungry and had about an hour and a half before our lunch reservation at 1 PM, so we decided to stop for a drink and a snack. We somehow ended up at Bengal Barbecue which is over near Tarzan's Tree House.

Some protein was exactly what we needed to tide us over. I thought the Outback Vegetable Skewer sounded delicious, and Justin went with the Banyan Beef Skewer.

My skewer had zucchini, yellow squash, mushrooms, onion and peppers! The seasoning was so delicious and made the veggies slightly spicy, and it was the perfect snack to hold us.

Next, we climbed through Tarzan's Treehouse, went back to Splash for our FP, and pulled another for Haunted Mansion to use after lunch.

Next, a delicious Cafe Orleans lunch!





​

 

[Lauren1027]

Loving your trip report so far! We're heading out to Aulani and Disneyland on our honeymoon next month so this is all great for planning purposes (which I also have not had much time to do because of the wedding). Our itineraries are pretty similar though and I may now have to add Roy's to our list of places to try for dinner!

 

[Vernie822]

Loving your trip report so far! We're heading out to Aulani and Disneyland on our honeymoon next month so this is all great for planning purposes (which I also have not had much time to do because of the wedding). Our itineraries are pretty similar though and I may now have to add Roy's to our list of places to try for dinner!

Hey there!! That is so exciting, congratulations!! I really did not plan nearly as much as I usually do. Honestly it was reading trip reports and seeing pictures (and some TripAdvisor/Yelp lurking for off-site places) that helped me have an idea of what we wanted to do!! Any questions let me know and I'll definitely have to read your PTR!

 

[Vernie822]

DISNEYLAND - Part 2

It was time for lunch at Cafe Orleans! This was the first ADR I decided on. I have seen so many pictures of the famous Monte Cristo and Pommes Frites... I knew we had to go!!

It was a busy day and there were plenty of people waiting outside with no ADR. Thankfully we had made one. The restaurant was really cool. Themed really well! We had been deciding between here and Blue Bayou. The prices (and some negative reviews) deterred me away from BB and towards Cafe Orleans. Plus I couldn't get those pommes frites out of my head.

Pommes Frites: Traditional French Fried Potatoes tossed with Parmesan, Garlic, and Parsley served with Cajun Spice Remoulade $7.00

The Cajun Remoulade is the orange-y one, our server asked if we wanted any other dipping sauces and my husband requested ranch and ketchup. These fries were everything I'd dreamed of and more. Any type of garlic parmesan / truffle parmesan french fry is a friend of mine. These were hot and crispy and there were plenty of them!

Would ya just look at em?

My husband decided he wanted to try the Gumbo. He loooves any type of thick soup/stew such as gumbo, chili, etc.

New Orleans Gumbo: a rich, flavorful Stew with Chicken, Andouille sausage and Tasso ham, served with Cajun-style Rice. Cup $7.00; Bowl $10.00

We shared a cup and it was DELICIOUS! There was so much meat in it. I think I remember it being a touch spicy but nothing unbearable.

We decided for our entree to share the Monte Cristo.

Monte Cristo Sandwich - Sliced Turkey, Ham, and Swiss fried in a light batter and served with Berry Puree dusted with Powdered Sugar. $19.00

I also kind of wanted to try the three-cheese Monte Cristo, with Swiss, Mozzarella, and DOUBLE CREME BRIE... I LOVE BRIE. But Justin wanted the ham/turkey and I knew there's no way we needed both.

The batter reminded me of a funnel cake. There were 2 pieces for each of us and let me tell you this was MORE than enough food. We were quite hungry and I didn't even finish my half. I didn't know if I'd like the sweet sandwich idea but I really did. I used the berry puree for dipping and it made it even better (I'm pretty sure Justin used ketchup LOL). It was definitely a heavy sandwich and had I chosen the three cheese one, I probably wouldn't have felt well afterwards!

There was no way, no how that we were getting Beignets as a follow up. I stuck it in my mind for later that the quick service place in New Orleans Square sold beignets. The service at Cafe Orleans was so friendly. They took our DVC cards for a 10% discount which was really nice! I remember our bill being really reasonable here. This was definitely a fantastic meal, and it was nice to sit down during the day!

We saw this gal later on.. So cool!

And we had our FP for Haunted Mansion.

I could not, COULD NOT get over the HM decor and the huge giant house. It had a Nightmare Before Christmas layover. Everything was beautiful and we loved the alternate ride!

I'm not sure what exactly we did, but I know we rode Buzz (so much better, the guns are in much better shape here) and Nemo. Nemo was really cute, I think it was previously 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. If you're claustrophobic, you may not like this one. It was a weird feeling, but there was enough breathing room that it didn't bother us.

I really wanted to watch the parade, so we headed back that way!

We waited for the parade to start, somewhere near Jolly Holiday Bakery. My husband went in to get a pop and returned with that and a surprise for me.. a cherry icee!

I drank Cherry Icees to de-stress in the weeks leading up to the wedding (when wine wasn't an option!) I think they were sold near the hot dog place.

The Soundsational Parade was really cute! Though, not nearly as good as Festival of Fantasy (my favorite parade).

Perhaps my experience was soured by the family in front of us. Mom, dad, grandpa and grandma all didn't notice their 2 year old's poopy diaper for the entire hour that we stood behind them! And Grandma held up her iPad, but that's okay.

After the parade, I wanted to walk through the bakery to see what they had to offer!

The usual offerings, some cool cupcakes, sandwiches, soups and I think salads!

It was then time for Jungle Cruise! We waited for a little, but not too long. We had pulled a FP for Indiana Jones before the parade, so we were able to get on that pretty quickly too.

Indy had a pretty long wait all day compared to other rides.

Indy was an awesome ride! Probably one of my favorites of the day. I didn't get sick on it, which is surprising because it reminded me of Dinosaur. The ride itself was just so cool and I'm so glad we were able to go on it.

It was now pretty much 6 PM, and we were getting hungry for dinner. We had booked our trip pretty far in advance, so when we found out that California Adventure was closing at 5 pm for a cast member event, I was glad we had picked this day for Disneyland. But... Disneyland started to get PACKED!! We decided to head off in search of some food.

I had scoured menus for months. Justin saw that New Orleans Square had a quick service place with soup and gumbo in bread bowls. I had remembered the same about Harbour Galley. I think he had also seen something he liked at the Hungry Bear, which wasn't too far from Harbour Galley.

Much to my sadness, HARBOUR GALLEY WAS CLOSED. At 6 pm. With CA also closed. Bummer.

So we headed toward Hungry Bear... also closed!! I'm not sure why they were closed so early, I think the park was open until 8 or 9. Maybe even later, given that CA was closed.

The line for Haunted Mansion was now massive.

We walked back towards New Orleans Square only to see that the QS lines there were crazy long at the Royal Street Veranda. At that point, we decided to head to Downtown Disney to see what we could do there. I knew it would probably also be crowded, but Disneyland was just crazy! We both decided that we had seen everything we wanted to see, so we had no problem leaving the crowds for a meal.​

 

[Vernie822]

We easily agreed on Naples for dinner. We absolutely love the pizza at Via Napoli in WDW, and since this is a sister restaurant, we figured we couldn't go wrong. The line was long to check in, but they seated us right away. The restaurant had a ton of seating.

We decided to start with panzerotti.

Panzerotti - fried pizza dough filled with fresh mozzarella, artisan ricotta and Parmesan, marinara sauce; three for $9, five for $13.00

These were about what I'd expected, but so delicious! We just got 3 to share and they were definitely a good choice. Cheesy, dough-y goodness.

Since it was dinner time, they also gave us some bread with oil. #Carbs

We decided to share a large pizza. Justin went with his favorite, pepperoni, and I went with quattro formaggi for my half.

Fun fact: At WDW, the Quattro Formaggi pizza (which I LOVE) is a white pizza with mozzarella, parmesan, fontina, and provolone. At DLR, Naples' Quattro Formaggi pizza has fresh mozzarella, fontina, provolone, parmesan, tomato and basil. I was a leeeeeetle surprised when my quattro formaggi (that I blurted out after not reading the description and just seeing the name) had red sauce on it. Eh, who cares, it was still DELICIOUS nonetheless. (For the record, I think the tomato-less quattro formaggi has the slight edge here).

This pizza never disappoints me! The atmosphere at Naples was similar to Via Napoli. Decor was a little different, but the service was WAY better, and of course, a top notch pizza!

Look at all that cheeeeeeese.

Justin was thrilled with his pepperoni!!

We walked around Downtown Disney a bit. I decided since I couldn't find the peanut butter square at Marcelline's the night before, or at Pooh's Corner, I'd get something different.

Back to Marcelline's Confectionary I went tonight, and much to my surprise.. they had the peanut butter sandwiches!!

The Peanut Butter sandwich is on the left in the middle. A chocolate covered s'more was to the right. YES, A CHOCOLATE COVERED S'MORE. Had I not been nearly sick of eating after 2 weeks (I gained close to 10 lbs on the honeymoon HAHA), I probably would've purchased both. Instead, I got a Mickey Krispy drizzled with chocolate, peanut butter, and pretzels. Might have been peanuts on there too, I can't remember.

This was my peanut butter sandwich!

It was literally what I think was a graham cracker, topped with a bunch of peanut butter with a Reeses-like consistency. All enrobed in CHOCOLATE.

It was really, really good. But also really rich. This lasted me a week before I could finish it.

And the krispy treat... a delicious combo.

Again I ate his ear and he also went into the suitcase, only to be found a week later lol. It was still just as good.

And so, that completes our Disneyland park day! The next day, we'll be at California Adventure for some FROZEN fun & finally trying that soup in a bread bowl! ​

 

[Vernie822]

Wow!!!! What an amazing meal. And for $100/person that seems like a downright bargain to me. Absoutely everything you all ate looks delicious. Especially that duck and the squash blossoms. We grow zucchini in our garden just so we can eat the blossoms We ate at Napa Rose on our honeymoon too, though that was 9 year ago. We just ate at the bar and not the chefs table but I still remember it as what was likely our best Disney meal ever. The food was amazing (I remember eating rabbit for the first time) and the bartender charged us a $20 tasting fee for what had to be well over $150 worth of wine. Glad to see they kept it up.

I thought the price was SO reasonable for all of the delicious and well prepared food we received. I swear we've probably paid relatively more for worse food. Even the lounge food looked delicious! I even thought the $50ish they charged for the wine was reasonable. They weren't full glasses but it was definitely quite the mix and it all paired really well!

 

[kastoney]

First I love how easily you have started using "my husband"!!!! I still can't get used to it some days and we're 9 years in ; )

Looks like a great afternoon/evening in Disneyland. It's always amazes me how similar DL and WDW are, yet there are differences in rides like Buzz that are the "same."

That looks like a great cajun lunch you all had. I haven't had a monte cristo since I was a teenager and they served them at Bennigans at the mall by our house. I'm guessing you may have missed the Bennigans heyday, but at least the monte cristo lives on.

I had no idea there was Via Napoli 2.0 in Disneyland. Glad to see that unlike the rides, this one largely conveyed the same ; )

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Ashley you know how to dress that's for sure! Very Hawaiian / tropical

 

[Vernie822]

First I love how easily you have started using "my husband"!!!! I still can't get used to it some days and we're 9 years in ; )

Looks like a great afternoon/evening in Disneyland. It's always amazes me how similar DL and WDW are, yet there are differences in rides like Buzz that are the "same."

That looks like a great cajun lunch you all had. I haven't had a monte cristo since I was a teenager and they served them at Bennigans at the mall by our house. I'm guessing you may have missed the Bennigans heyday, but at least the monte cristo lives on.

I had no idea there was Via Napoli 2.0 in Disneyland. Glad to see that unlike the rides, this one largely conveyed the same ; )

Haha, it has become easier but I still slip up a lot! I thought the same about Disneyland, I'm not in a huge hurry to go back (just something about Epcot and WDW that I love so much) but we did love it!! The Cajun meal was definitely delicious, surprisingly inexpensive too which is always a bonus, and yes I did miss the Bennigans heyday hahaha.

Couldn't pass up the pizza at VN 2.0!!

Ashley you know how to dress that's for sure! Very Hawaiian / tropical

You have no clue how much that means to me because I feel as if I have minimal style in my every day life LOL! Thank you, maybe I need to move to Hawaii

 

[Neverland_Girl]

Oh my gosh that garlic shrimp at Giovanni's! I still dream about it.

That gumbo at cafe orleans looks so good. I need to get to Disneyland, but part of me is afraid I'll be disappointed.

Where did you live in PA? We live in Erie, about 2 hours north of Pittsburgh.

Loved you review of Aulani! Can't wait to read the rest of your review of Disneyland.

 

[Vernie822]

Oh my gosh that garlic shrimp at Giovanni's! I still dream about it.

That gumbo at cafe orleans looks so good. I need to get to Disneyland, but part of me is afraid I'll be disappointed.

Where did you live in PA? We live in Erie, about 2 hours north of Pittsburgh.

Loved you review of Aulani! Can't wait to read the rest of your review of Disneyland.

I am still dreaming of that dang shrimp.. soooooo good!! I wanted so badly to finish it but I couldn't!!

I was slightly disappointed in DLR, I really hate to say that! I think it's because I grew up going to WDW and I really love all of the resorts and Epcot. I'm big on the Disney bubble, that's for sure.

WE USED TO LIVE IN ERIE! OMG! We lived right off of I-79 in Millcreek across from LECOM! I grew up in Pittsburgh and we lived in Erie for 4 years. Just moved to Charlotte in October!! That's so funny, I have never met anyone from that area on the boards before!

 

[Neverland_Girl]

WE USED TO LIVE IN ERIE! OMG! We lived right off of I-79 in Millcreek across from LECOM! I grew up in Pittsburgh and we lived in Erie for 4 years. Just moved to Charlotte in October!! That's so funny, I have never met anyone from that area on the boards before!

I know a lot of people from Pittsburgh vacation at the lake so that's why I asked, but that's so funny that you used to live here. "It's a small world!" I envy you for getting away from the cold and snow. We just had the first snowfall on Saturday after it was 70 on Friday.

 

[Vernie822]

I know a lot of people from Pittsburgh vacation at the lake so that's why I asked, but that's so funny that you used to live here. "It's a small world!" I envy you for getting away from the cold and snow. We just had the first snowfall on Saturday after it was 70 on Friday.

Yes!! Once we moved there, I found that a lot of people came up for weekends and vacations. It was nice living by the lake but the city itself just wasn' for us. We're so glad we moved, but we do miss PA!