Aulani Spring Break/ Easter Trip

[buzzrelly]

DD17 came out of the room looking like she rolled out of bed and asked how long it would take. I said 20 minutes. She was shocked after months of me telling her she needed a dress for the photo shoot that it was an actual photo shoot. She thought it was one picture and we were done. The girl who spends an hour on her hair and makeup before going to the pool had no make up now

The pictures came out beautiful, despite the weather and DD's lack of makeup. Someday you'll look back on the pics and laugh about that

Yes, we were always able to get an umbrella at the beach. If we went mid day we were usually 3rd row or so to get one but a few times we went later in the day and most people had moved on so we got front row. I burn easily so I was always looking for an umbrella. The beach we always got one. The pool was tougher to find one later in the day but we could always find a chair. You probably aren’t heading to the play area but that was the toughest spot to get an umbrella since most people are on their chairs watching their kids and there aren’t many chairs.
There are a two rows of chairs turned facing the beach next to the pool and those went quick.

Thank you for all that info. I don't need front row, but I do like an umbrella.

I work in a hospital and it is tough to get the weeks I actually want with kids to travel. I had to beg and plead with my coworkers not to take April break this year. I asked my boss 18 months in advance.

I should have known from your username! I work in a hospital too but I've been there almost 20 years and as you know, seniority is everything in nursing. I pretty much get the weeks I ask for as long as I ask in advance. Being a DVC member kind of forces us into planning way in advance anyway, so it usually works out.

I can’t plan around hospital time off, elementary school calendar, college break and whatever job she has at the moment. I am planning a trip to WDW in Nov. and DD17 said she was coming. As though she can miss a week of college and her job will let her have the week after Thanksgiving off.

Sounds familiar. It's impossible! My DD is finishing up her freshman year at college and when my DH and I were planning on going in October for the 50th she insisted she could come for a few days. Of course that never happened. They think they can do everything.

 

[NAB]

What a beautiful family. You do look young for 40! The first family picture you posted I was trying to figure out who was the mother.

Love reading trip reports. We were suppose to be there 3 weeks before the DLC cruise back to Vancouver in 2020 of course that cancelled. Was scheduled to be on the Hawaiian DLC cruise there and back but we cancelled it too not knowing the restrictions and all the hoops to get through being Canadian.

I will get there some day!

 

[pinkxray]

I should have known from your username! I work in a hospital too but I've been there almost 20 years and as you know, seniority is everything in nursing. I pretty much get the weeks I ask for as long as I ask in advance. Being a DVC member kind of forces us into planning way in advance anyway, so it usually works out.

Sounds familiar. It's impossible! My DD is finishing up her freshman year at college and when my DH and I were planning on going in October for the 50th she insisted she could come for a few days. Of course that never happened. They think they can do everything.

I am a mammo/X-ray tech. I am probably close to the middle in seniority for plain X-ray but out of the 5 mammo techs in my hospital I have been there 12 years. The other 4 have been there over 40! I had to beg them all not to take this April week. They are all due to retire within a year so I’ll be moving up in seniority.

What a beautiful family. You do look young for 40! The first family picture you posted I was trying to figure out who was the mother.

Love reading trip reports. We were suppose to be there 3 weeks before the DLC cruise back to Vancouver in 2020 of course that cancelled. Was scheduled to be on the Hawaiian DLC cruise there and back but we cancelled it too not knowing the restrictions and all the hoops to get through being Canadian.

I will get there some day!

Thank you!

We had two cruises canceled too. The little kids have never been on a cruise so we had an awesome 5 night double dip scheduled Nov. 2020. That was rescheduled to Nov. 2021. At that point we decided to just cancel and Aulani seemed like a suitable replacement. At this point I don’t even know if we will get the kids on a DCL cruise. DS will age out of the kids club and that’s why I wanted to get them to try it while small.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

We headed to the beach and it was just so beautiful. You see the pictures of Hawaii, Aulani and the lagoons and it looks pretty but it is just so beautiful in person. The water was crystal clear and clean, like being in a pool. Since it was close to lunch, DD17 had finally come down.







We decided to take a break for lunch and get out of the sun for a bit. DD4 was anxious to get to the gift shop since she had a $50 gift card to spend for her birthday from family. Dh and DD17 hung out in the room while I took the little kids to the store.
We picked up a Gelatoni for my cat loving, Disney loving sister.


DD4 was looking for clothes for her Duffy that she has had since she was a baby. They didn’t have any outfits for anyone besides Stella. She settled on the Duffy and friends headband. She also got a small Duffy.
Ds picked out a giant lollipop since he is too cool for Disney toys.

Since it was the week of Easter they had a stand across from the gift shop with items to make an Easter basket or buy a pre made one. I had hopped to sneak down and get DD a Stella Lou for Easter but she insisted on using her bday money for one.
While we made the purchase the register froze. The nice cast member told the kids the background story for each of Duffy‘s friends. They then proceeded to ask her where each one was from again and she kindly answered there questions over and over. Wait, the bunny is from Japan. No, china. I thought the cat was China. No italy. I was very happy when the purchase went through and very thankful the poor CM was so patient.







We went back for lunch in the room. The kids are stuff in the room. I had seen a salad place on Uber eats called Aloha Salads before our trip. I tried twice to place an order for a couple salads to have in the next few days but they cancelled my order saying the store was unable to accommodate at this time.

Dd17 and I went to Ulu Cafe.Guessing she had chicken nuggets and I had an açaí bowl.


On the walk back to the room we saw Shelli Mae and Minnie Mouse. Shelli Mae was adorable! I was hoping DD would see her at another time since we still had a week left but we never saw her again. She must have been out on days we were offsite.


We stopped in the community center to sign us up for Make your own Mickey ears two days later. I signed up all 3 kids. DS picked out the flowers to make one for me. He isn’t the biggest Disney or Mickey ear fan but he is a fan of hot glue guns and activities.


They had little bags full of Easter eggs and Easter activities they handed out.


(we open them the next day I think)

Once DD woke up she asked to take a picture with her to friends to send to her aunt that wanted the cat plush.

DD4 LOVES Duffy. She sleeps with him every night and has since she was old enough to have a toy to sleep with. She likes his friends but since we have been home the headband and Stella haven’t been touched. Along with the Shellie Mae in her closet that I bought her two years ago. She is just all about Duffy.

We had sunset pictures at 630 so we hung out until then since I didn’t want anyone getting dirty or too messed up.

Your DS was so sweet to make you a set of ears (also let’s be real I know way to many young children who love anything involving hot glue guns so much so my aunt found kits a few years back for a younger cousin of mine-where were those when we were kids?)

Loving this trip report!

 

[pinkxray]

Saturday April 16

Today was our first real offsite day. We were headed to Pearl Harbor(minus DD17 who preferred to sleep)
I scheduled us on the 1st boat to the USS Arizona memorial which was 8am. I logged on exactly 56 days in advance at whatever the website said to make sure we got tickets.
The site stated to be there an hour early so we planned to leave around 6:30. The kids must have been up early because by 530 they were dressed and ready to go. To kill some time I let them open the Easter eggs from the community center.






The kids really enjoyed opening the eggs. There were tons of stickers and trinkets. The bag also had some coloring pages, crayons, and 2 crafts which I think were pipe cleaners bunnies and maybe bunny ears. We ended up having so much stuff all over the table after Easter that we never got around to the rest.

After a quick stop at the front desk to check out/check in we were on our way. Well, almost. Dh came down with a giant bag with his drone. After I told him, again, that you shouldn’t be leaving anything valuable in the car and there was no where to fly his drone today he brought it back to the room.

The kids waited patiently.



We arrived at Pearl Harbor right before 7. Dh and I just brought our phones, Id and money in our pockets so we had no bags. We walked right in at 702 we were in. As soon as we got in DD proclaimed she was thirsty. Too thirsty to go on They had a water fountain near the bathroom so I told DH to just take a sip. He thought that was gross so he headed into the little snack store. For some reason he had no cash and there was a $6 min to use a card. Now, we had two bottles of water to carry around. DD take a teeny tiny sip and DH was stuck holding the water the rest of the time.
While in the store, DS asked for chips which DH said no. We just ate breakfast and it was 7am. DS had a mini meltdown and it took awhile for him to stop being in a bad mood.




We checked out the museum part and it was kind of tough with the kids to enjoy it. Usually DS would have enjoyed all of it but he was too busy being mad about no chips.
We headed over to watch the movie so the kids could get an idea of the story of Pearl Harbor. We had talked about it over breakfast and stressed to them they better be good and quiet today while at Pearl Harbor.
We checked in at 745. At 8am they play the national anthem which was really cool to see in that setting. Dh spent 4 years in the Marines and it was cute that he showed the kids how to face the flag and stand up tall with their feet together.
Soon we headed out to the memorial. Thankfully the kids were good and quiet. I was happy when the boat returned to take us back because I could tell they were itching to get off.





After getting back we weren’t sure what to do. I would have preferred to see the USS Missouri and I know DS would love it. But it was rainy and the website said parts of the Missouri were still closed. We decided to check out the USS Bowfin instead.

On the way over the rain stopped and the rainbow came out


The kids really enjoyed it and it was pretty quick. It was so tight. I don’t know how people can go on something like that and go under water!











After finishing we checked out the shops and DS picked up almost lego set.


There was a food cooking somewhere and it smelled great so we were getting hungry. The food truck we saw was closed so we decided to leave. We skipped our planned stop at the Aloha stadium swap meet due to the on/off rain. Dh agreed to head to Anna Millers to eat. I had heard it mentioned on a Dis Podcast and it sounded great.

 

[DizKids2]

Happy Birthday and glad you recovered! Appreciate this report and looking forward to hearing from you for many reasons - one of them is that recently we determined we now have to stay in Waikiki two nights before Aulani and the Embassy Suites is what I’ve settled on after much debate. Let me know what you think about the hotel and location please.

I don't want to hijack the trip report, but we just stayed at Embassy Suites Waikiki and Embassy Suites Kapolei after and before our Aulani stay and wanted to answer. If you are set on staying in Waikiki, I think Embassy Suites is a good choice, unless you are looking to get an ocean front room and wake up to the sound of the ocean. It was nice to have breakfast and drinks at the hotel for our family of 5 and was a quick walk to the beach. There are a number of things within walking distance and it saved our family a lot of $ over any of the hotels right on the beach.
If you are looking for a place to have as a place to lay your head while you explore the rest of the Island, I highly recommend the Kapolei location. The hotel was newer, cleaner and felt less crowded. It was self park (with a charge) and way easier to get in and out of then the Waikiki location. The major downside is that there is not a beach within walking distance, you are in the suburbs.

 

[pinkxray]

There was a Leonard’s truck right before we reached Anna Millers. We decided to stop and grab a few. We got 4 regular and 2 cinnamon.


Once they were cooled enough to tear apart the kids and I tried one.

Um…. we didn’t really understand the hype. Sure they were good but nothing I’d rush back for. I liked the glazers we had at Teds bakery a few days later better






Once we got to Anna Millers there was about a half hour wait. It was packed with locals which seemed like a good sign!


It was about 10:30am but way past lunch time in our east coast minds.
Dh and Dd opted for breakfast while DS and I went for lunch.


I got the patty melt and fries. It was delicious. I don’t eat cards much and try to limit fried foods at home but relaxed about it while on vacation. Yum, carbs! So good!


Dh got eggs,bacon,and pancakes. He also got a side of spam because he has never had it. (He now knows he doesn’t like it)


DS went for the chicken nuggets and fries which he devoured. He stated they tasted just like McDonalds.


DD went with pancakes. She loved them.

We ended up only trying pancakes a few times this trip but this were by far our favorite. Nice and fluffy with a strong vanilla flavor. Yum! Dh has seen a few things on the lunch side he wanted to try and we hoped to back it back here but it never happened. We will definitely go back if we make it back to Oahu.

I picked up two slices of pie to go. They don’t look too great after travel.
We got chocolate cream pie and strawberry Haupia.
The kids ended up eating the chocolate and the strawberry got lost In the fridge for a few days. I will make sure to leave room for pie next time instead of bring it back.



We headed back to Aulani to relax for a bit. We were just in time to make the Moana meet.
(this was 2 days before the restrictions relaxed so still distanced)





DS is at the fun age where he likes to announce the characters aren’t real, just actors or people in costumes. He had a bunch of questions for Moana, probably to get her to slip up
I quickly hurried him along and she was great with the questions.
She was probably very happy when we left

After meeting with Moana we headed to the beach for a bit.





I picked up a Moana sundae at the little beach shack. It was pineapple and watermelon swirl over fresh pineapple. The kids and I split it and we all enjoyed it. I thought the watermelon was kind of gross but DS loved it. I had hoped to get another at some point but never got around to it. Too much stuff to try.
DD17 did join us at the beach and she enjoyed a vanilla dole whip from Ulu cafe instead.

Tonight was date night! Dh and I had a 515pm reservation for Makihiki. No kids. (No way am I paying for 3 kids to eat chicken nuggets.) We had thought about going to Four Seasons or the Marriott down the way but since it was our first trip we centered more on Aulani offerings.

Dh and I are pretty boring and got the same meal.

Salad and the New York Strip.





Dh does not like desserts so before the meal I asked him just ordered something I didn’t so I could have two.

The salad was incredibly boring. Lettuce and dressing with minimal cheese and exactly 4 croutons. Dh was nice enough to let me have his croutons.

The steak was fine. I feel like a lot of mine was fat and went in the trash.

The desserts were delicious. I ate the brownie and ice cream that night and loved every bite. I took the cheesecake back to the room and ate it on Easter. Both were great. (The same desserts are also available at Olelo room. I had it on our list to go there and try the third dessert but never made it there)

After dinner we burned off some calories by walking across the street to the shops. DD17 desperately needed a rash guard as she wasn’t great about applying sunscreen and burned pretty easily. We found a nice one at the island market.

Once we got back we happy to see the kids hadn’t had any issues. I asked DD17 what she wanted to have for dinner that night and she responded ramen.(I don’t buy it at home so she rarely eats it in our house) Yes, the .28 cent per pack ramen. I brought a 6 pack before our trip and the kids happily ate there ramen for dinner and had chocolate Cream pie for dessert.

Today had been a great day! Dh and I agreed we wouldn’t go back to Makihiki in the future. It was $65 per person before tax/tip which was the same for our meal at Anna Millers for 4 people. I don’t mind paying that much but would like a salad to have a little taste and be able to eat more of my steak than what went to waste. We will probably go to Olelo room for apps and desserts next time.

 

[pinkxray]

Your DS was so sweet to make you a set of ears (also let’s be real I know way to many young children who love anything involving hot glue guns so much so my aunt found kits a few years back for a younger cousin of mine-where were those when we were kids?)

Loving this trip report!

DS certainly has his sweet moments! He seemed to enjoy making the ears but he wouldn’t be caught dead wearing light up Mickey ears.
He was all about the glue gun! I was relieved when we finished. I was afraid he’d get it on him.

 

[alohamom]

Thank you so much for the pictures of Anna Millers.

 

[DizKids2]

Thanks for the information on Makihiki. We were at Aulani about the same time you were and ended up canceling that reservation after doing Roy's and Ruth's Chris instead. I was sad we didn't get to try it, but after your review I am not sure I will book it in the future either!

 

[pinkxray]

Sunday April 17 -Easter

Today was Easter. I had no idea how Easter would be at Aulani because there aren’t too many reports or vlogs about. I decided to make this a resort day which ended up working out great for us.

I had packed small Easter baskets for the kids. It was just their favorite candies, some books and a small Lego set DD has been asking for. I gave DD17 a small gift card to go with her basket so don’t feel bad her basket is smaller than the others.

I woke up at some ridiculous hour to make sure I woke up before the kids to leave their treats from the Easter bunny. I also hide eggs with candy and kinder eggs around the room.


The little kids were up early and immediately dove into there stuff.




The pictures of the kids already done with the Easter egg hunt were taken at 4:02am


Todays plans were Makihiki breakfast at 7am and cabana time 9-6.
The kids spent time watching cartoons while I watched Aulani wake up from the balcony.







Once is was light out DD and headed out for a quick walk.
I was hoping to do a nice stroll but as soon as we got a picture somewhere DD said “Ok, let’s go”






DS didn’t object to bunny ears.


We headed down for our 7am breakfast. (This was the last day of distanced character meets. If they had announced it early we probably would have moved this to later in the week but it was nice to do something special on Easter.)





Cute display while waiting








The waiter come quickly and took our drink order.
For some reason the little kids went with hot chocolate.



Our pastries and fruit came quickly.




Dh went with the loco moco with a scrambled egg on top. I thought it was a strange choice for him but he ate it and said “Mmmm…..this taste just like when I was in the Marines.” Whatever that means.


The kids went with waffles.


We had asked our waiter if we could have a side of eggs because we all like to have some eggs with breakfast. He said sure, how many? For whatever reason, Dh and I both thought how many eggs? 4 sounded good to share. Oops, he meant how many sides. So we also got 4 sides which was way too many!



DD17 and I both got the pancakes. I got chicken sausage and she got bacon.



She just ate regular syrup and I used the sauce.

Everyone was happy and left full. The little kids didn’t really eat their waffles but loaded up on other stuff so they were good.

It was approaching 8am and I wanted to get over to sign DS up for ukulele lessons. I left Dh to pay the bill which I always hate doing. He isn’t a fan of Disney and doesn’t put anything into planning or paying for anything related to our Disney trips. I’m always afraid he will have a heart attack when he gets a bill. I gave him one of gift cards I saved for the trip and headed out.

When I got to sign up about 7:50 there was a loooonnnnnggg line to sign up for activities.
Thankfully it moved quickly and we were able to sign Dh and DS for ukulele lessons
Many people were there to see what special activities were for Easter. It was the same that they were all week. They had the bag of crafts/eggs we already had. They also had Easter eggs hidden around the resort for a scavenger hunt. You got the map and they gave you a small bag of candy with it. Once you turned it in they gave you something.(this was my overhearing. It sounded like it might be the same candy he gave out in the beginning? Not sure)
Here is one egg

We didn’t do the scavenger hunt and never got around to the menehune trail either

Upstairs Dh and the kids were getting ready. I got upstairs and was quickly ready to go. I was hoping to be downstairs around 8:30 to check in for our cabana. Dh was moving like molasses. It was almost 9 by the time I just took the little kids and told him to meet us downstairs. There was a very long line at rainbow reef hut where we had to check in. I heard two people ask about cabana rentals and they were all full with a few people on the waitlist. Glad I booked long in advance. If you don’t check into your cabana by ten they will give it to someone on the waitlist.

I had gotten a call the night before if I had a preference and asked to have cabana 3-5 near the ka maka grotto. We didn’t want to be near the old adults only pool and the cabanas near the kids area have a lousy few. Even having kids who used that area I didn’t want to be stuck watching kids on there all day.

 

[tankin]

As an old Army guy ... I can't imagine “Mmmm…..this taste just like when I was in the Marines.” as a compliment

 

[pinkxray]

We ended up with cabana 4. Dh joined us shortly after we checked in.





After dropping our stuff off, the kids voted for the play area since they haven’t been there yet.






They were having a blast. I think they could have stayed there all day.
We hade to head over to make our own Mickey ears so they dried off and we headed over for 10:30.
DD17 joined us from whatever she was doing in the room.




We had 45 to finish but I think we finished in like 20? I didn’t love how mine turned out since the flowers were right against my head and got smushed when wearing it. DD17s turned out pretty and she did wear hers around a few times.

When we got back to the cabana there were some snacks waiting for us. We ate those while
watching cartoons on the tv. (Dh had been at the beach while we were gone to snorkel)
DD17 checked out the cabana and decided it was an acceptable accommodation for her afternoon and went to change into her bathing suit.

While hanging out waiting for DH our fruit platter got dropped off.


We had a little time before we wanted to have lunch so we headed back to the play area.


Once everyone was together we ordered lunch in the cabana. I know I went with a spinach artichoke flatbread.

In real life pizza and artichoke chip aren’t really on my quest to be healthier so it jumped out at me. It was fine. No idea what anyone else had. Probably chicken nuggets. I think DD4 asked for a peanut butter and jelly so I asked DD17 to make her one while upstairs and bring it down instead Of paying $9 for one.

After lunch we lounged around for about an hour before heading to the lazy river.





At this point it was around 1:30. The kids were a bit tired so we lounged around some more in the cabana which was sooo nice. This is where we would normally head upstairs and once upstairs it would take us forever to leave the room again. This was the best part of the cabana for me.
We spent another hour or so at the kid play area.
The kids swam in the pool near the cabana.


I could tell DH was ready to go back upstairs so we called for our dessert plate.

The kids only liked the chocolate chip cookie bars. I ate a chocolate cake/brownie bar thing. Sadly the strawberries and red cookies got shoved to the back of the fridge and were never seen again until going in the trash the last day.

We left the cabana around 430. DD17 decided to stay until we had to be out of there at 6. I had hoped to soak up every second and stay until 6 but I didnt make it.

Back in the room after nice long showers and baths we had a quick dinner of leftovers or quick stuff in the room.

DD joined me in watched the pretty sky on the balcony.

 

[woody64]

Thank you for the great report and pictures. We go in July and can't wait!

 

[pinkxray]

Thank you so much for the pictures of Anna Millers.

Glad I could share. Im happy we tried it.

Thanks for the information on Makihiki. We were at Aulani about the same time you were and ended up canceling that reservation after doing Roy's and Ruth's Chris instead. I was sad we didn't get to try it, but after your review I am not sure I will book it in the future either!

I’m sure people have better meals than us. It wasn’t bad, just not worth what we paid. Really hoping Ama AMA opens next time or we will try something else.

As an old Army guy ... I can't imagine “Mmmm…..this taste just like when I was in the Marines.” as a compliment

. Strange comment for sure.

Thank you for the great report and pictures. We go in July and can't wait!

Yay for a trip in July! Have a great time.

 

[pinkxray]

Monday

Today was an offsite site day. More importantly, it was DD’s fifth bday!

Plans for today included the Kualoa Ranch 2hr utv tour, some beach time and exploring the windward side of Oahu.

I was up early and headed down to check out/check on again. Number 4/5. The front desk had no one there so the three CMs were very nice. I mentioned that I was so early rechecking in since we were leaving most of the day to go to Kualoa Ranch. Two of the three mentioned going to Waiahole Poi factory. One girl highly recommended the Sweet lady for dessert.

Great! I mentioned it to the family. I said I would really, really prefer not to each at the ranch if possible for lunch. If we could either try to make it to Waiahole Poi or Buzz’s steakhouse near the beach that would be great!( guess where we have lunch)

We had a 9am time for our tour. I had seen reports of horrible traffic and to leave 1 1/2-2 hours early. So we were going to leave at 7.

I wanted to try the Aulani special coffee so took a few early morning pictures while waiting for the coffee stand to open at 6.




Once 6am hit, I grabbed the Aulani special coffee and a cookie for DD.


Back in the room the kids were up and eating breakfast. We were on the road right before 7am. The was beautiful and thankfully we had no traffic. We pulled into Kualoa around 7:45. They was plenty to see though. We loaded up on sunscreen and checked in to get our tour tickets. We still had plenty of time before checking in a half hour before our tour.


We also checked out the store. Dh and I both got t-shirts while DD5 picked out a stuffed Dino and DS picked out a dino hand puppet.

At 8:30 we checked and got our helmets and signed the waivers. I had no desire to drive so DH was going to do it all.


About 15 minutes before there is a quick safety video. Speed limit 15, don’t follow too close,etc. I nudged DH since everything they said not to do was exactly what he had in his mind to do

 

[pinkxray]

We headed out on the two hour tour. It went by very quick. We made three stops along the way and switched who was in which seat each time so everyone got to be in the front. Our tour guides were great! Friendly, funny and full of Kualoa knowledge.


While DS and DD5 were in the front they were having a blast. As DH hit every bump and puddle they put their hands in the air and DD proclaimed it the best day ever!!

Afterwards we headed to the restroom to wipe the dirt from our faces. Our guide said thankfully it was not too dusty today but we were still pretty dirty.

The kids were hungry so I grabbed everyone a bag of chips from the food shop. Once Dh came out of the restroom he asked why we weren’t just eating there. Of course, then the kids were starving and had to eat that second. We were headed to the park right down the street afterwards so it would be awhile before we got to get another option so we had lunch at the ranch.
I had the teriyaki beef while everyone else had chicken tenders.

(lol, who know by reading this report you could see every available chicken tender on Oahu)

Afterwards we headed down the street to Kualoa beach park. Dh wanted an opportunity to fly his drone.


We spent about an hour there. Dh was able to fly his drone around while the kids ran around. It seemed like a nice place to have lunch. Maybe next time we’ll remember to bring it there.

Next, we headed to Kailua Beach Park. It took awhile to find somewhere to park. Once we got a spot we headed to the restrooms to change. Not the nicest. It seemed kind of dirty and the whole thing had about an inch of water in it. Which with toilet, dirty floors, flip flips and an inch of water grossed me out. It was tough to change, help DD and hold bags since there were no hooks. We live along the coast in CT and I spend a lot of time over the summer jogging along the coast in our town. Our bathroom facilities are using immaculate so this was a change. However, Long Island sound water is nice to look at but I don’t go in so I’ll still take Hawaii any day.




We spent a few hours at the beach. The weather was constantly changing. One minute sunny, then cloudy, then rain, then sun. When the sun disappeared and the rain came it was a little uncomfortable to be there since it was also so windy. DD5 was freezing as she says and needed to be bundled up for a few minutes before the sun came back out.

Around 230 we decided to wrap it up. We ended up having the kids change in the minivan. I never got wet so didn’t bother. I had hoped to head to Byodo-in temple and then have lunch around there but the kids were over it so we headed back.

Dh wanted something simple for dinner so we headed to the island market across from Aulani to grab food. Dh got a wrap, I got some garlic shrimp and you guessed it the kids had chicken nuggets.


Originally I had hoped to get a bday cake delivered for DD but they didnt have that option available yet at Aulani. I didn’t want to deal with picking something up so I told DD she could pick out a treat. She wanted a Moana cupcake.
We picked up the two cupcakes available at Ulu cafe to share


After dessert we all just relaxed in the room. This might have been the night DD17 took a bath and housekeeping walked in on her. DH and I were watching tv in the bedroom and the little kids were watching tv in the living room. DD17 was taking a bath. Since you can’t lock the room with just the tub and someone might need the bathroom part she wasn’t able to lock the door. We all knew she was in there so it should be no issue.
At some point we heard a door, but there are a million doors in a one bedroom. I figured one of the little kids was using the bathroom. Anyway housekeeping came in, went through the bathroom and into the tub room where DD was like “ hey, I’m in here!!“ I don’t know if they knocked and we didn’t hear it (probably) but they came in and passed the little kids watching tv and just proceeded into the bathroom. After DD shrieked they ran out so not sure why they didn’t call out when coming in since obviously we weren’t with the kids in the living room.

Besides the housekeeping incident, it was a great day. Kualoa Ranch was awesome. We really hope to do a movie tour next time to stop at all the movie sites along the way. Dh also wants to try zip lining there next trip. I’d like to try some local food along the coast and get to the temple.

The kids loved the utv ride and hearing DD say best day ever while flying over a bump was a perfect way to spend her bday. We never even made it to the pool to get our band for the day.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

We headed out on the two hour tour. It went by very quick. We made three stops along the way and switched who was in which seat each time so everyone got to be in the front. Our tour guides were great! Friendly, funny and full of Kualoa knowledge.


While DS and DD5 were in the front they were having a blast. As DH hit every bump and puddle they put their hands in the air and DD proclaimed it the best day ever!!

Afterwards we headed to the restroom to wipe the dirt from our faces. Our guide said thankfully it was not too dusty today but we were still pretty dirty.

The kids were hungry so I grabbed everyone a bag of chips from the food shop. Once Dh came out of the restroom he asked why we weren’t just eating there. Of course, then the kids were starving and had to eat that second. We were headed to the park right down the street afterwards so it would be awhile before we got to get another option so we had lunch at the ranch.
I had the teriyaki beef while everyone else had chicken tenders.

(lol, who know by reading this report you could see every available chicken tender on Oahu)

Afterwards we headed down the street to Kualoa beach park. Dh wanted an opportunity to fly his drone.


We spent about an hour there. Dh was able to fly his drone around while the kids ran around. It seemed like a nice place to have lunch. Maybe next time we’ll remember to bring it there.

Next, we headed to Kailua Beach Park. It took awhile to find somewhere to park. Once we got a spot we headed to the restrooms to change. Not the nicest. It seemed kind of dirty and the whole thing had about an inch of water in it. Which with toilet, dirty floors, flip flips and an inch of water grossed me out. It was tough to change, help DD and hold bags since there were no hooks. We live along the coast in CT and I spend a lot of time over the summer jogging along the coast in our town. Our bathroom facilities are using immaculate so this was a change. However, Long Island sound water is nice to look at but I don’t go in so I’ll still take Hawaii any day.




We spent a few hours at the beach. The weather was constantly changing. One minute sunny, then cloudy, then rain, then sun. When the sun disappeared and the rain came it was a little uncomfortable to be there since it was also so windy. DD5 was freezing as she says and needed to be bundled up for a few minutes before the sun came back out.

Around 230 we decided to wrap it up. We ended up having the kids change in the minivan. I never got wet so didn’t bother. I had hoped to head to Byodo-in temple and then have lunch around there but the kids were over it so we headed back.

Dh wanted something simple for dinner so we headed to the island market across from Aulani to grab food. Dh got a wrap, I got some garlic shrimp and you guessed it the kids had chicken nuggets.


Originally I had hoped to get a bday cake delivered for DD but they didnt have that option available yet at Aulani. I didn’t want to deal with picking something up so I told DD she could pick out a treat. She wanted a Moana cupcake.
We picked up the two cupcakes available at Ulu cafe to share


After dessert we all just relaxed in the room. This might have been the night DD17 took a bath and housekeeping walked in on her. DH and I were watching tv in the bedroom and the little kids were watching tv in the living room. DD17 was taking a bath. Since you can’t lock the room with just the tub and someone might need the bathroom part she wasn’t able to lock the door. We all knew she was in there so it should be no issue.
At some point we heard a door, but there are a million doors in a one bedroom. I figured one of the little kids was using the bathroom. Anyway housekeeping came in, went through the bathroom and into the tub room where DD was like “ hey, I’m in here!!“ I don’t know if they knocked and we didn’t hear it (probably) but they came in and passed the little kids watching tv and just proceeded into the bathroom. After DD shrieked they ran out so not sure why they didn’t call out when coming in since obviously we weren’t with the kids in the living room.

Besides the housekeeping incident, it was a great day. Kualoa Ranch was awesome. We really hope to do a movie tour next time to stop at all the movie sites along the way. Dh also wants to try zip lining there next trip. I’d like to try some local food along the coast and get to the temple.

The kids loved the utv ride and hearing DD say best day ever while flying over a bump was a perfect way to spend her bday. We never even made it to the pool to get our band for the day.

Live shot of me showing this TR to my wife.

 

[FrannyFrogs]

I'm really enjoying your trip report! The chicken tender tour of Oahu!

We are headed to Aulani (first trip to HI) in early July, and we have a lot of the same plans as you, so I'm loving all your detailed reviews and pictures. Since my kids are DD16 and DD14, I'm very interested in the DD17 report!

We're doing the ATV tour at Kualoa Ranch, too. Did you feel like afterwards you would have been too dirty to be comfortable visiting the Byodo-In temple and a restaurant? I have the tour booked early afternoon on a Saturday, and wondering if I should plan on driving straight back to Aulani after...

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Did you feel like afterwards you would have been too dirty to be comfortable visiting the Byodo-In temple and a restaurant?

I'm not OP but we just did the same tour in January and without a doubt, yes. We were absolutely filthy.

However, that side of the island aren't fancy sit-down restaurants. It's a place to get roadside chicken and other takeout type meals. Wash your hands and you can eat roadside chicken no matter how dirty your face is.