@bcwife76 here's the list of airports that has the skip-the-counter option: https://www.alamo.com/en_US/car-rental/checkin.html
Spring Break at Aulani, April 10-15, 2016 Trip Report (in progress)
- Thread starter jtba
- Start date
bcwife76
DisneyMomma
- Joined
- Dec 10, 2014
it's definitely worth a visit, but not sure if you can drive from north shore and go west that way. ka'ena point is at the very end of hwy-93, and it doesn't appear to connect with the route 930 that comes in from the north: https://www.google.com/maps/place/K...2!3m1!1s0x7c00f3ac20188fc7:0x2fb0558ec5de72bf
Thanks for the heads up, I'll figure out the routes when I sit down with the maps. We should be able to go on one of our not-planned days, also!
disnygirl55
Forever Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2006
I am enjoying your trip report so much - I appreciate all the detail (like the line for the Starlit Hui and when you got there and when the line began to move). Details like this are so helpful for planning purposes. Thank you, thank you!!
lol i always think my TRs are too long-winded and has too many details that nobody other than me cares about, but i am super glad you found the little tidbits useful!
Can't wait for the rest of your trip report, jtba. Appreciate all the tiny little details you post. Feels like i'm there already 
We're going on Labor day for 2 nights only (sept 5-7) with 1.5yo and 4 yo. Don't think we can leave our 1.5yo at the Aunty's right?
We're going on Labor day for 2 nights only (sept 5-7) with 1.5yo and 4 yo. Don't think we can leave our 1.5yo at the Aunty's right?
Can't wait for the rest of your trip report, jtba. Appreciate all the tiny little details you post. Feels like i'm there already
glad to be of service! many others gave me lots of pointers here before our trip, so i'm just doing what i can to help those who are going after me.
i believe that is correct. aunty's is for 3-12 yr olds.
crystal1313
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2012
Can't wait for the rest of your trip report, jtba. Appreciate all the tiny little details you post. Feels like i'm there already
We're going on Labor day for 2 nights only (sept 5-7) with 1.5yo and 4 yo. Don't think we can leave our 1.5yo at the Aunty's right?
There's babysitting though, if you are comfortable with that. Here is a link from Aulani:
https://resorts.disney.go.com/aulani-hawaii-resort/rooms-offers/in-room-options/childcare/
Here is the link for the service:
http://www.kamaainakids.com/hotel-and-conventions/sitter-services
Day 4, Wednesday, April 13, 2016, Part 2
Remember the ordinance stop we encountered on our way to Ka'ena Point? Well of course we had to go through that again on our way out, but thankfully it didn't take as long this time. We only had to wait for 3-4 minutes before we went on our merry way again, whew! We drove through all the little towns that we passed through earlier, and noticed there were a ton of people driving in the opposite direction. Guess these are folks who work in other parts of the island? But it was still pretty early, maybe 3:45-ish, so I'm not really sure who these people were or where they were going. The traffic was definitely slow, as there were only two lanes in each direction.
By the time we got near Aulani, it was right before 4 o'clock. Since we didn't need to drop off the kids at Aunty's until 5, I thought I would try to squeeze in the turtle place by Paradise Cove. DH dropped us off at the entrance to the parking lot, then drove back to the hotel. He said he would try to meet us somewhere halfway, but we decided it might be too hard, and agreed we should just meet up back at the hotel.
So we entered Paradise Cove, but I had no idea where the turtle place was supposed to be. I mean, I read about it here, it's somewhere "near" Paradise Cove, but where? The parking lot could easily accommodate 300-400 cars. We figured we would walk along the back fence because the turtles must be near the ocean, right? So we went all the way down to the fence, turned left, and started walking back towards Aulani's direction. Big mistake. Because pretty soon we were right up against the new Four Seasons hotel construction fence, with no entrance to the turtle place in sight. There were some private residential houses, and I didn't think we could/should walk across their yard to get to the beach. So after 10 minutes of aimlessly walking around the parking lot, I sighed and started our trek back towards home. By now DS was whiny but DD was a trooper. I told them it was such a great adventure! Wasn't it fun to explore??? lol Anything to distract them and keep them in relatively good spirits.
We're close to getting home, really, see??? The hotel is right there!!!
By the time we got into the lobby it was 4:30. There was supposed to be a Chip & Dale meet and greet, but I must've written down the location wrong, because when we got there they were nowhere to be found. But a Youth Counselor happened to be standing around. He asked whether my kids would be at Aunty's tonight, because Chip & Dale would be making an appearance there. We were happy with the answer, and headed back up to the hotel room to shower.
Because this was the first time DD would stay at Aunty's for a meal (I signed them up for "Surf's Up with Chip & Dale", which runs 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. and comes with dinner included), I called them to see whether we need to make any special arrangements. The CM said no, her allergies were already noted down, and the chefs from the kitchen would make sure her items were all allergen-free. I thought, OK, that sounds great, but I'm going to make her a sandwich just in case. So I hurriedly made her a soy butter sandwich, then DH took them down while I primped and got ready for our adults-only dinner.
After I finished primping, I posted a "Help me please!" message on here to see where the turtles were. DH came back and reported that no homemade food was allowed at Aunty's, which is fine, actually--I wouldn't want other parents sending foods that may have items to whcih DD is allergic.
Our dinner reservation at Roy's was at 5:30. It took us 15 minutes to get there from our room on the 16th floor, but it probably would've been faster had we known to cut through the garage on the right side of the lobby. Instead, we walked out the lobby all the way down to the street, then turned right and walk, somewhat hurriedly, because we were behind schedule by 5-10 minutes (where did the time go???) and we also didn't really know exactly where we were going--just knew it was across the street near the greens.
5:40 p.m., we finally arrived, and were escorted to our table right by the golf course. *happy sigh* As much as I love my children, it really is nice to get away from them and have a quiet dinner with DH, uninterrupted by questions about Star Wars, random animal facts, jokes that aren't funny, etc., lol! Prior to coming to Roy's I had asked a friend who's from Hawaii about the restaurant. She said they were just here a year ago for a family event, and that the honey short ribs were really delicious, so I decided that would be my dinner. DH ordered the $51 prix fixe, which comes with a three-appetizer sampler (seared ahi and two other items, sorry I can't remember what those were; the presentation was quite pretty but I have no picture to show you, so you'll just have to pay a visit yourself ), main entrée (DH chose the short ribs too), and dessert (soufflé and ice cream). I also got the sautéed escargot appetizer. The flavoring was very good, but there was so much sauce, almost drowning my escargot! I had to scrape off some of it to really enjoy the dish.
All this time outside our window we could see golfers coming off the course with their caddies to hand in their score card, then step off to the side of the tent to be interviewed:
I asked our waiter whether anyone famous like Michelle Wie had dined there this week. He said he hasn't seen her, but the lady who won the 2014 tournament was indeed there that week.
Dinner passed by very quickly. We enjoyed our quiet time. Roy's is a pretty family-friendly restaurant. While it's classy and elegant, it wasn't stuffy, and I saw several families dining with their kids nearby, many of whom were also Aulani guests, judging by the wrist bands gathering on their arms.
As we were leaving the restaurant, we heard this tremendous yell by the bar area. I thought to myself, wow, that's a lot of emotion for a LPGA game! Turns out the men were watching Kobe Bryant's last game in the NBA, and he had just made a great shot.
We walked home in a leisurely pace, got a copy of the room charges to date from the front desk, then took a photo of the Disney Dream model hanging out in the lobby, since we're DCL fans due to our Alaskan cruise in July 2015:
After checking out our PhotoPass photos in the kiosk in the gift shop, we then went to Aunty's and peeked in on the kiddies from the side window. They seemed to be having a good time, so we left them alone. We then just chilled in the room because DH said he was feeling nauseous.
I went downstairs to pick up the kiddies at 8:20. They each received a decorated surf board measuring 14.5' x 6':
I'm impressed by the quality and thickness of the wood. It's like a cutting board material and is pretty heavy and substantial. The surf board also comes with a drawstring bag:
This is a review of the activity I posted in another thread while I was there:
DS said this was his favorite activity out of the three they did; B said she liked all three.
We gave the kids some snack and water, then they showered and brushed their teeth, and we said good night at 9:30.
Oh boohoohoo... Tomorrow is our last full day.... Sob....
Remember the ordinance stop we encountered on our way to Ka'ena Point? Well of course we had to go through that again on our way out, but thankfully it didn't take as long this time. We only had to wait for 3-4 minutes before we went on our merry way again, whew! We drove through all the little towns that we passed through earlier, and noticed there were a ton of people driving in the opposite direction. Guess these are folks who work in other parts of the island? But it was still pretty early, maybe 3:45-ish, so I'm not really sure who these people were or where they were going. The traffic was definitely slow, as there were only two lanes in each direction.
By the time we got near Aulani, it was right before 4 o'clock. Since we didn't need to drop off the kids at Aunty's until 5, I thought I would try to squeeze in the turtle place by Paradise Cove. DH dropped us off at the entrance to the parking lot, then drove back to the hotel. He said he would try to meet us somewhere halfway, but we decided it might be too hard, and agreed we should just meet up back at the hotel.
So we entered Paradise Cove, but I had no idea where the turtle place was supposed to be. I mean, I read about it here, it's somewhere "near" Paradise Cove, but where? The parking lot could easily accommodate 300-400 cars. We figured we would walk along the back fence because the turtles must be near the ocean, right? So we went all the way down to the fence, turned left, and started walking back towards Aulani's direction. Big mistake. Because pretty soon we were right up against the new Four Seasons hotel construction fence, with no entrance to the turtle place in sight. There were some private residential houses, and I didn't think we could/should walk across their yard to get to the beach. So after 10 minutes of aimlessly walking around the parking lot, I sighed and started our trek back towards home. By now DS was whiny but DD was a trooper. I told them it was such a great adventure! Wasn't it fun to explore??? lol Anything to distract them and keep them in relatively good spirits.
We're close to getting home, really, see??? The hotel is right there!!!By the time we got into the lobby it was 4:30. There was supposed to be a Chip & Dale meet and greet, but I must've written down the location wrong, because when we got there they were nowhere to be found. But a Youth Counselor happened to be standing around. He asked whether my kids would be at Aunty's tonight, because Chip & Dale would be making an appearance there. We were happy with the answer, and headed back up to the hotel room to shower.
Because this was the first time DD would stay at Aunty's for a meal (I signed them up for "Surf's Up with Chip & Dale", which runs 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. and comes with dinner included), I called them to see whether we need to make any special arrangements. The CM said no, her allergies were already noted down, and the chefs from the kitchen would make sure her items were all allergen-free. I thought, OK, that sounds great, but I'm going to make her a sandwich just in case. So I hurriedly made her a soy butter sandwich, then DH took them down while I primped and got ready for our adults-only dinner.
After I finished primping, I posted a "Help me please!" message on here to see where the turtles were. DH came back and reported that no homemade food was allowed at Aunty's, which is fine, actually--I wouldn't want other parents sending foods that may have items to whcih DD is allergic.
Our dinner reservation at Roy's was at 5:30. It took us 15 minutes to get there from our room on the 16th floor, but it probably would've been faster had we known to cut through the garage on the right side of the lobby. Instead, we walked out the lobby all the way down to the street, then turned right and walk, somewhat hurriedly, because we were behind schedule by 5-10 minutes (where did the time go???) and we also didn't really know exactly where we were going--just knew it was across the street near the greens.
5:40 p.m., we finally arrived, and were escorted to our table right by the golf course. *happy sigh* As much as I love my children, it really is nice to get away from them and have a quiet dinner with DH, uninterrupted by questions about Star Wars, random animal facts, jokes that aren't funny, etc., lol! Prior to coming to Roy's I had asked a friend who's from Hawaii about the restaurant. She said they were just here a year ago for a family event, and that the honey short ribs were really delicious, so I decided that would be my dinner. DH ordered the $51 prix fixe, which comes with a three-appetizer sampler (seared ahi and two other items, sorry I can't remember what those were; the presentation was quite pretty but I have no picture to show you, so you'll just have to pay a visit yourself
), main entrée (DH chose the short ribs too), and dessert (soufflé and ice cream). I also got the sautéed escargot appetizer. The flavoring was very good, but there was so much sauce, almost drowning my escargot! I had to scrape off some of it to really enjoy the dish. All this time outside our window we could see golfers coming off the course with their caddies to hand in their score card, then step off to the side of the tent to be interviewed:
I asked our waiter whether anyone famous like Michelle Wie had dined there this week. He said he hasn't seen her, but the lady who won the 2014 tournament was indeed there that week.
Dinner passed by very quickly. We enjoyed our quiet time. Roy's is a pretty family-friendly restaurant. While it's classy and elegant, it wasn't stuffy, and I saw several families dining with their kids nearby, many of whom were also Aulani guests, judging by the wrist bands gathering on their arms.
As we were leaving the restaurant, we heard this tremendous yell by the bar area. I thought to myself, wow, that's a lot of emotion for a LPGA game! Turns out the men were watching Kobe Bryant's last game in the NBA, and he had just made a great shot.
We walked home in a leisurely pace, got a copy of the room charges to date from the front desk, then took a photo of the Disney Dream model hanging out in the lobby, since we're DCL fans due to our Alaskan cruise in July 2015:
After checking out our PhotoPass photos in the kiosk in the gift shop, we then went to Aunty's and peeked in on the kiddies from the side window. They seemed to be having a good time, so we left them alone. We then just chilled in the room because DH said he was feeling nauseous.
I went downstairs to pick up the kiddies at 8:20. They each received a decorated surf board measuring 14.5' x 6':
I'm impressed by the quality and thickness of the wood. It's like a cutting board material and is pretty heavy and substantial. The surf board also comes with a drawstring bag:
This is a review of the activity I posted in another thread while I was there:
DS and DD did "surf's up" this evening and they LOVED it! they checked in at 5, had dinner served by the kitchen (choice of grilled chicken, pizza, and i can't recall what else), got to decorate a small wooden surfboard with stickers and what not, hung out with Chip and Dale, and danced with the counselors. when i picked them up they eagerly asked what activity they will get to do tomorrow. alas, they were disappointed to hear i didn't sign them up for any additional activity as it would be our last full day here. they've already done Stitch's Space Goo on monday and Aunty's Aloha Party on tuesday, and i want the whole family to be together the whole day tomorrow.
DS said this was his favorite activity out of the three they did; B said she liked all three.
We gave the kids some snack and water, then they showered and brushed their teeth, and we said good night at 9:30.
Oh boohoohoo... Tomorrow is our last full day.... Sob....
Are you ever coming back?haha, yes I saw your message in the other post so I hopped right on over to light a fire under your butt missy!!
see i just need to be prodded once in a while...
bcwife76
DisneyMomma
- Joined
- Dec 10, 2014
I'm glad you were able to have a lovely dinner with your dh - that was SO close to end of the golf course!!
Now what happened to the turtles I wonder....did you ever find them? Hopefully you find them on your last full day!
That surfboard is very cool, what a neat keepsake for the kids!
Now what happened to the turtles I wonder....did you ever find them? Hopefully you find them on your last full day!
That surfboard is very cool, what a neat keepsake for the kids!
no spoilers here... lol
it is indeed! now if i can find a place to display them... they're still hanging out on our ottoman, same place they've been since we've been back... like almost a month now! that's the last thing from aulani that i haven't put away. i keep telling myself it's because i have such fond memories of our time there.
alohamom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2003
MomoMama
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2013
Saw the Aulani promotion and came to this board...I'm so happy to find your TR!!
Looks like you had am amazing vacation...except for the squeaky bed, coughing issues, and your husband getting nauseous? Hope he was okay.
Beautiful beaches and pools, sunset view, and allergy taken care of at the restaurants and the kid club...now that is my dream vacation!
I do love the details. You learn something you did not think of...like, I did not know soy butter would be confiscated at the airport!
Looks like you had am amazing vacation...except for the squeaky bed, coughing issues, and your husband getting nauseous? Hope he was okay.
Beautiful beaches and pools, sunset view, and allergy taken care of at the restaurants and the kid club...now that is my dream vacation!
I do love the details. You learn something you did not think of...like, I did not know soy butter would be confiscated at the airport!
Saw the Aulani promotion and came to this board...I'm so happy to find your TR!!
Looks like you had am amazing vacation...except for the squeaky bed, coughing issues, and your husband getting nauseous? Hope he was okay.
Beautiful beaches and pools, sunset view, and allergy taken care of at the restaurants and the kid club...now that is my dream vacation!
I do love the details. You learn something you did not think of...like, I did not know soy butter would be confiscated at the airport!
hello there! i remember talking to you about FA on DCL a couple months back, so happy you landed here!
we did have a wonderful time at aulani, and i saw that aulani promo too. but should probably wait a while before we go back again, otherwise DH would not be happy with me, hahaha.
DH probably has some sort of sensory issue related to strong light. whenever he goes indoors and outdoors frequently within a short amount of time, he gets a migraine, so i'm guessing his nausea may be related too. not sure. but yeah, other than the things you listed above.
i should still contact special services regarding our food allergy incident from our last night at ama ama retaurant. it's in my drafts folder, just haven't had time to write it out fully yet. i did fill out their survey and alluded to the incident, but have not heard back from anyone. not sure what they could say, because it was on the waitress to carry out the correct order. don't know what more they could do beyond that, other than sending a "we're sorry to hear this, come back soon" type of letter... :\
and yeah, that soy butter thing totally caught us off guard. DH googled after we got home, and found several links that said people were hiding plastic-wrapped marijuana in peanut butter and who knows what else. lol! i guess, like they say, where there's a will, there's a will. people will do anything.
MomoMama
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2013
You mean you went back to Ama Ama on your last night, and this time the experience was not as good as the first one? Oh, no....sorry to hear this, and I'm hoping the situation as not as bad as I fear. I will patiently wait for yuor update!
i forgot i haven't written about the last two days of our trip yet, lol! but yeah, there was an food allergy related incident in Ama Ama the second time we dined. :\ i will post that soon!
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