Lama pa'ipa'i on the Lanai – an Aulani TR -Aloha and Mahalo Aulani! Link to PTR 11/5

[eandesmom]

Very sad day indeed.

the next one is MORE sad...actual departure day!

At least you gave us a peek inside the conference center.

and...it's still a conference center!

Looked like a tasty sandwich!

It was!

To fondly remember all of the Kona options?

maybe, or perhaps in case I thought a reader might want to see?

Not too shabby at all.

That is such a cool hike. I like the pictures of Jeff in the tunnel, it looks like he's going through at warp speed!

Shutter speed...kind of fun actually how those turned out!

It was a cool little hike, we liked it a lot.

This must have been a walk in the park after Koko Head.

Yes...and no. My right quad wasn't thrilled going down!

I think you did pretty well with the pictures. Glad you squeezed it in! Like you said, it's worth it just for the view!

I'd have liked to soak that part up a little more but still glad we did all we did at the resort first.

And others, where you get together and suddenly remember why you went so long without trying to see them?

Ah yes, THOSE.

One of the best sentences in the English language: "It's not just you."

Misery loves comfort, and empathy!

for DIS meets!

major thumbs up

Looks like an action packed day! I'm glad that you were able to spend some time with your cousins. As much as you did and saw while you were there, the description of that afternoon and just catching up sounds very relaxing and fun.

Other than the frantic dash up and down Diamond Head, it was pretty low key. Full, but very mellow and nice. It was a great day!

That looks like a great hike up Diamond Head. Great views from the top!

It is a lovely little hike, I highly recommend it. Major bang for the buck and time invested.

Have really enjoyed reading your TR. Love your Chicago mug too!

Thank you! I love my Chicago mug too....broke it in on Sunday! Perfect size and feel in the hand...can't ask for much more out of a coffee mug. It will be a major player in the rotation.

 

[KatMark]

Thank you! I love my Chicago mug too....broke it in on Sunday! Perfect size and feel in the hand...can't ask for much more out of a coffee mug. It will be a major player in the rotation.

I have to admit when I read this quickly I thought it said you "broke" your new mug on Sunday. I was going to run out and get you a new one.

 

[Pinkocto]

I have to admit when I read this quickly I thought it said you "broke" your new mug on Sunday. I was going to run out and get you a new one.

I read the same thing!

 

[Leshaface]

Just got caught up!

Yellow roses are fabulous! My DM used them for her wedding and would get yellow roses from my dad every anniversary. Since his passing, we leave yellow roses at his grave every year. They bring so much meaning to us

Love the pictures of you two in your swim gear! You guys look nice and tanned

The view from Diamond Head looks amazing. So gorgeous. And glad that you had time for a family visit! That's always a plus.

Mmm, how did the mango taste?! I absolutely love Mango.

 

[eandesmom]

I have to admit when I read this quickly I thought it said you "broke" your new mug on Sunday. I was going to run out and get you a new one.

GAH! I did think of that when I wrote it but then spaced on editing it somehow. Nope, it is so adorable, I love it! I was more worried about getting it home safely.

I read the same thing!

It's safe, I promise! I didn't even think I can kill it in the dishwasher, it does actually saw dishwasher and microwave safe!

Just got caught up!

Yellow roses are fabulous! My DM used them for her wedding and would get yellow roses from my dad every anniversary. Since his passing, we leave yellow roses at his grave every year. They bring so much meaning to us

They are my favorite. On the rare occasion I get flowers for valentines, I get yellow roses

Love the pictures of you two in your swim gear! You guys look nice and tanned

Thanks!

The view from Diamond Head looks amazing. So gorgeous. And glad that you had time for a family visit! That's always a plus.

Mmm, how did the mango taste?! I absolutely love Mango.

It was a great afternoon. I will have a mango update in the next installment!

 

[eandesmom]

The last day.

Don't you hate that?

I do!

What do you do on your last day in paradise?

Well now THAT’s a silly question!















Really, what did you think I meant?

Seriously, it was a lovely morning!





One thing I am not sure I mentioned in the last update was that we had gotten a call in the morning that Evan was sick. It never fails, when we are gone longer than a couple of nights, my kids who NEVER get sick....do. Sigh. Makes me wonder. Anyway, so far no news was good news.

We discussed the fact that we really should go snorkeling now, and take advantage of the calm water and early morning fish but...weren't terribly motivated to move. Instead we decided to have breakfast.


I made a custom parfait with my Greek yogurt, granola from home, remainder of the strawberries, bananas and mango. Add some POG, coffee and a Hawaiian sweet rool and YUM!

Check out that mango!



Jeff’s version had oatmeal instead



That mango was so insanely good I can't even begin to describe it. Thank you Houston! (that's my cousins DH’s name lol). After breakfast we had to face the facts. It was time to do dishes, pack, and go settle our bill. We also made sandwiches so we’d be set for lunch. Icky work done we took our stuff down to bell services and checked out. We also made a swing by the Luana Lounge to check it out for later (and put our "later" stuff in a locker). As we excited, we spotted some friends. Chip and Dale!

Apparently I was excited to see them



Or my sunglasses were about to fall off the back of my head (that happens often)

Aww



He hates it, can't you tell?









It looked so perfect out we decided that we HAD to give snorkeling another go, it was calling our name!







I don’t know if it was the time of day, the clarity of the water, the fact that it was our last day but OH was the snorkel karma god with us. Absolutely STUNNING fish and tons of them. Tip. Listen to Lisa Marie on day 1 at Aulani, stay to the right, near the outer rocks and WOW WOW WOW.
Just amazing. We spent a long time out there. How long, I honestly don’t know. Drifting and floating with fish, one tends to lose track of time!

I mean really look at this, how could you not!



Continued in next post

 

[eandesmom]

Continued from previous

We decided it was time to come up for air, and return our gear. That much less to stash under chairs while we hit the tube slide!

Note to self. Ok note to guys&if you put your KTTW card (or whatever cards you might be carrying) in a Velcro pocket on the tube slide&it may just go flying out. And be gone. It was on our second round on the tube slide when it happened and Im not even sure how Jeff realized that the pocket had opened. But it had. In a panic (it had his ID, KTTW and Debit card, rest was locked up I think). Why he didnt lock all of it up I am not sure&but he didnt.
Helpful tip. There are lovely CMs stationed at the bases of the slides. They are a wonderful resource when something like this happens.

His idea?

Wait for a kid to come down who has goggles and ask them to dive down and look.

I admit.

We were skeptical.

Literally the next person down was a little boy, maybe 8, who had goggles on!

We asked him to help.

He didn't answer.

He just dove.

And came up holding all of Jeffs cards!

The sigh of relief was probably heard across the pool deck. No one wanted to contemplate the nightmare of trying to get home without ID!

We were so relieved we decided to celebrate with a pool drink. We contemplated buying a small bottle of something and making drinks with soda in our refillable mugs but the reality was&neither of us really wanted soda.

So we headed to the pool bar.

And saw another friend on the way!









I opted to try a Cucumber lychee (with a request to de-sweeten it a bit) after the CM sold me on how refreshing it would be.



And Jeff, a Big Swell IPA on draft



Drinks taken care of, loungers secured, it was time for lunch.

But....

What had we done with our lunch?

 

[annmarieda]

Trying to slowly get caught up on on my threads that I neglected this last month.. (I seriously don't know how you do it with all your travel.)

I loved your little mini TR "Almost live from Waikiki"

I admire you. While I was perfectly comfortable being solo in WDW, I am not sure how I would do on my own in Hawaii.

I envy you that you ran in Hawaii though... must have been amazing! I too would have probably stopped for pictures.

Holy cow this does look busy!!!

I think the flower makes it look even more appetizing. How strange is that? Sure looks yummy!

 

[Pinkocto]

Hooray for the card rescuer!

There's nothing like fresh delicious mango that's for sure.

Love the last pictures from the lanai. I can't wait to see it for myself. It won't be soon but I'm so looking forward to it.

Great pictures with the characters. Jeff looks pretty happy

Bonus that you found some good snorkeling the last day.

How late was your flight?

I'm sorry Evan was sick, hopefully nothing too serious?

 

[emmysmommy]

Hey there Cynthia! That hike up Diamond Head sure had a great pay off with the view. I knew it had a view of the downtown area but it was cool to see the view from the top.

That was great that you had some family time for a get together while on vacation. You and your cousins are all tall and thin, definitely a family resemblance.

Loved the Kathy meet up and she absolutely knows you so well with that mug! And I'm glad that you broke it in and not simply broke it. That was a funny comment!

What great character photos - especially Chip and Dale. I love those varmits!

Your last day sounds like it is packed with some great activities. Unfortunately, I'm sure there's a plane waiting for you before too long.

 

[annmarieda]

"Catching a wave with Crush"

I am absolutely in awe of the pictures you had! I think watching the video must have been worth it to be in that beautiful place. And to swim with a turtle??? Just heavenly, I imagine. However, I can also imagine how hungry you were! I think I would be ready to eat everything in site. As I get caught up more... I can't wait to read where you went to satisfy that hunger.

 

[teekathepony]

I could snorkel forever and ever, I absolutely love it! So relaxing. Perfect thing to do on your last day. I had a little chuckle at the cms suggestion to wait for a kid with goggles but it's hard to argue with the results! Great idea, glad all was not lost.
LOVE the character pics! So cute!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[dizneeat]

More Cynthia torture! I just love all the photos, thank you for posting them.

Your breakfast looked delish, I would have loved it! And then going snorkelling that's the way to spend the last day. Love that you did the slides again and how lucky is Jeff that the boy found his cards right away.

Oh, and YES, I love that you got a nice drink!

 

[KatMark]

I hate last days. They are the worse days ever.

But I see that you made good use of yours with your coffee mug and your coffee and your absolutely stunning view.

Jeff does not at all look like he wants to see Chip and Dale. But those pictures and the ones with Goofy later turned out great.

for great snorkeling on your last monring. And for tube slide rides...well, minus losing all of your ID. Glad that 8 year old little boy was able to save the day.

Your drinks look yummy!

Uh oh...where did the lunch go?

 

[glennbo123]

Hey, I'm caught up (although I may have skimmed a teensy bit). Your cousins look like a fun group, it was great that you could catch up. Yes, those velcro pockets don't work on water slides and the like -- the same thing happened to me at the wave pool at TL, but I never got the card back. Fortunately, it was just my room key. Maroomkey!

 

[rentayenta]

Love the characters photos! So cute.


Thank goodness that kid could retrieve Jeff's cards. I hate that feeling. It's the same as thinking I've lost my phone.

 

[Leshaface]

That mango has me drooling It looks so delicious in your pictures!

If that kid would have been of age, I would have bought him a drink for saving the day!

And I love the character pictures.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

The last day.

Don't you hate that?

I do!

What do you do on your last day in paradise?

Distract yourself with something fun so you don't have to think about going home!

Love that view over the resort grounds.

As we excited, we spotted some friends. Chip and Dale!

Apparently I was excited to see them

Who wouldn't be?

He hates it, can't you tell?

Oh. Never mind.

I don’t know if it was the time of day, the clarity of the water, the fact that it was our last day but OH was the snorkel karma god with us. Absolutely STUNNING fish and tons of them. Tip. Listen to Lisa Marie on day 1 at Aulani, stay to the right, near the outer rocks and WOW WOW WOW.
Just amazing.

Sounds awesome!

Note to self. Ok note to guys&if you put your KTTW card (or whatever cards you might be carrying) in a Velcro pocket on the tube slide&it may just go flying out. And be gone. It was on our second round on the tube slide when it happened and Im not even sure how Jeff realized that the pocket had opened. But it had.

His idea?

Wait for a kid to come down who has goggles and ask them to dive down and look.

I admit.

We were skeptical.

Literally the next person down was a little boy, maybe 8, who had goggles on!

We asked him to help.

He didn't answer.

He just dove.

And came up holding all of Jeffs cards!

I'm guessing this has happened once or twice!

 

[CarolynK]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=49898793#post49898793

Note to self. Ok note to guys&if you put your KTTW card (or whatever cards you might be carrying) in a Velcro pocket on the tube slide&it may just go flying out. And be gone. It was on our second round on the tube slide when it happened and Im not even sure how Jeff realized that the pocket had opened. But it had. In a panic (it had his ID, KTTW and Debit card, rest was locked up I think). Why he didnt lock all of it up I am not sure&but he didnt.
Helpful tip. There are lovely CMs stationed at the bases of the slides. They are a wonderful resource when something like this happens.

His idea?

Wait for a kid to come down who has goggles and ask them to dive down and look.

I admit.

We were skeptical.

Literally the next person down was a little boy, maybe 8, who had goggles on!

We asked him to help.

He didn't answer.

He just dove.

And came up holding all of Jeffs cards!

The sigh of relief was probably heard across the pool deck. No one wanted to contemplate the nightmare of trying to get home without ID!

Wow, that was lucky!! My DH had this happen a few years ago at Typhoon Lagoon, on one of the slides, with his driver's license. We asked a CM for help, she jumped in with my son's goggles on but couldn't find it. FYI, TSA will let you through airport security without ID, it just takes longer

The funny part of this story (it wasn't funny at the time!) is about six months later - right after Typhoon Lagoon had been closed for their annual cleaning - we got his DL in the mail from WDW! Sweet of them, right? I think I still have it as a souvenir!

 

[annmarieda]

We have a plan that is well, mostly final! As of right now I think I only have ONE extra ADR and ONE extra other reservation. Compared to where we were, that's nothing! I do have one extra person on most of my reservations as I really am hoping my brother gets his act together to send my nephew (though I have a suspicion he is hoping my parents just buy the plane ticket but I am not going there!). I've offered what I can (room, food and a 5 day hopper) and the rest is out of my hands. My sister and BIL bought their tickets on Tuesday and after some feedback on plans, made a few adjustments.

Here is where we stand.

THE BFP (Big Fat Plan)
Assumes most/all breakfast and lunches are in villa or are counter service purchases.

Sunday 12/29 - Check in, Magic Kingdom / Epcot
-6:11-6:14 Most of the group lands (2 different flights but similar landing time) and take DME or other shuttle (for the Swan people) to resort. Check in.
-7:45 AM Breakfast, Captain's Grille
-11:30 AM -12:30 boys booked for Haircuts at the Harmony Barber Shop
-5:05 PM Dinner, Rose & Crown. 2 people booked for the Candlelight Processional Package, 5:15 PM Dinner, 8 people booked for regular dining. Reservations noted as "linked" so hopefully can be seated together or nearby.
-8:15 PM Candlelight Processional for those attending
-10:30 PM Illuminations Fireworks at Epcot if still awake, walk back to resort.[/LIST]

Right now I have 3 haircut reservations for the boys

11:30 Eric and his cousin Kolby
12:00 My nephew Quin
12:30 Evan and the nephew in question, Isaac.

Quin, is going through a "I'm not cutting my hair" phase at the moment. I plan to call and switch names so Evan is at noon and then if Isaac can't make it, cancel the last one so it's just the 3 boys and we are done by 12:30. Going to hold off for a bit on that one in hopes Izzy is conming.

I do need to call back and check on the "linking" of the 2 dinner reservations. When I went to rebook the CP package, they couldn't drop it to 3 people from 6, but could drop to 2 (Dad was on the fence anyway). But it fully rebooked with a new confirmation number and I have a feeling the "link" may have been lost. Going to CP will be just my mom and I and I'm pretty darn excited about the way it turned out, this way I get my own solo mom time.

Monday 12/30 - Hollywood Studios / Magic Kingdom
-11:30 Sister and BIL land, catch shuttle or other to the Swan
-6:20 PM Dinner, 'Ohana
-Watch Fireworks from the beach at the Polynesian. Will be the NYE show. Extra magic hours at Magic Kingdom till 2am

On this one they couldn't drop my reservation down from 13. We are likely to only be 11, 12 if my nephew comes. I figured the risk of them charging for the missing person (or 2) was a better alternative than losing the reservation but the thing is silly. Still, I don't expect us to get charged.

Tuesday 12/31 - Animal Kingdom? / Epcot.
Will probably want to get into Epcot early and stay there. How early I am not sure.

-8:00 PM, Dinner, Biergarten Restaurant -
-Midnight  NYE Fireworks at Epcot, walk back to resort unless people are nuts and then DHS is open until 2am. At that hour and crowd level though I have a feeling just getting to DHS could take a long time

Wednesday 1/1  Recover / Hollywood Studios
-AM. BIL and possibly Dad, Jeff, will likely be watching Bowl games. Depending on timing and who it is, we all might be. ESPN will be ugly but it's an option. Close to the trip we will know more. Planned teams for us are the Huskies and the Ducks. We've got 2 and 1 in the crowd respectively.
-2:15 PM Girls only Tea, Garden View Tea Room
-6:00 PM Watch the Osborne lights turn on at Hollywood studios, take bus to Fort Wilderness
-8:00 PM Dinner, Trail's End Restaurant - The Campsites at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort, Check out the decorated campsites at the Fort after dinner. My sister Kerri and my BIL will have a date night here and skip this meal.

Thursday 1/2  Universal Islands of Adventure (Harry Potter)
-Breakfast or lunch at Three Broomsticks (walk in)
-Dinner at Margaritaville.

If the Ducks are playing this day instead we will lose my BIL for part of the day somewhere on Citywalk to watch the game.[/LIST] I still have to figure out transportation and tickets for this but think we have a general plan and will purchase next month.

Friday 1/3  Possible waterpark (weather dependent)
This was requested by my BIL which I thought was cool. He is the newbie of the group, not at all sure about any of this so if we can make it happen for him that would be cool and the boys would love it. I don't plan to add WP+M to tickets until we see what the weather does, it would be added on there.

-8:00 PM Adult Only Dinner, Todd English's bluezoo
-Kids have dinner in villa

Saturday 1/4 - Possible Universal
-Check out of Boardwalk and move to Treehouse Villas
-Jeff picks up rental car, may be sent on a grocery run
-If we also want to do Universal, this is the day. Not the full group. Likely my sister and I and the boys only.
-Dinner in villa

Sunday 1/5 Downtown Disney
-Jeff may fly this day
-11:00 AM, Brunch, Raglan Road Irish Pub and Restaurant -
-3:00 PM. Half of group leaves (sisters, BIL and nephews)
-6:25 or 6:40 (2 ressies, depends on size of group) Dinner, Be our Guest
-Possible Wishes and/or EWP from TOWL

This is my sole remaining extra ressie (and a CC hold to boot) day. I've got one for 4 and one for 7. We will either be 4 or 6. I think we are 6 but have to confirm.

Monday 1/6  possible pool hop or whatever the Es want to do.
-Jeff may fly this day, my parents leave this day
-12:20 PM Lunch Les Chefs. This is a surprise for Eric if Jeff is out flying but could get cancelled if Jeff flies on Sunday only. Would like to do something as a surprise for Evan too so thinking about that. He'd like to do the Trek but I think that's outside of my budget for this trip.
-7:30 PM Dinner, Olivias.

Tuesday 1/5  Epcot, and whatever people want (given time windows)
-Check out, bags to DME/Bell Services
-Return rental car to Swan
-11:30 AM, Lunch, Via Napoli
-2:30 PM DME to airport
-5:30 PP Fly home. WAH!

So other than the haircuts, the extra BoG ressie and the Harry Potter/Universal details I think all that is left to do (besides the usual shopping and then packing) is to make our grocery list.

And possibly spa appointments! I am considering booking a couples massage at Mandara as a Xmas gift for Jeff and I for the 30th.

Thoughts, input, any of this sound like a bad plan or idea? What am I missing?

Current thoughts on MDE/Magicbands and FP+ are to NOT mention it at all to my family! No clue what will happen with the swan at this point and my PAP is an issue for sure. Assuming it is offered to us, I will order the magic bands so we have them as an option but not link any media. At least that's my current thinking. As it evolves over the next couple of months, we will see.

In other trip news,

Marching on Disneyland Trip
I hope to send over my room request for the GCV trip today. We have a parent meeting on it tonight. I am hoping to find out when the performances will actually be. Right now I have Eric and I booked starting on the Saturday. It would be my STRONG preference to go down on Sunday (Easter) instead if the timing of performances works. I do know they will not be performing on Sat. Currently the performances are supposed to be Sun/Mon. If the timing worked, in theory, Eric and I could go to sunrise service (on the beach) here, and then head down and still get there pretty early. It probably won't work but I'd like that a lot both from a points perspective and an Easter one. If not, we will figure out somewhere to go Easter Morning down there. If the performance is after 5pm I can probably pull it off, there is an 11:45 flight that gets into John Wayne at 2:25 so that would be more than enough buffer. If it is after 1pm we still could do a Sunday morning flight (7am into Long Beach at 9:40) and make it (and save the points) but I am not sure how we'd fit church in which seems wrong on Easter. Annoyingly there are no 9:30-10:30 am flights into Long Beach or John Wayne and with sunrise service at 6am, we really can't do a flight earlier than 9 and make it. There is an 8:30 am one but we'd have to leave the service early at 6:30 to be safe (and the way security has been lately and boarding early, shutting the gates early, seems like you need to be at the airport 2 hours early, not 1!) and that would be frustrating. However, I wouldn't expect traffic or security to be bad at that hour on Easter Sunday. Theoretically we could get there 1.5 hours early IF my traffic assumptions are correct and we left right at 6:30. It can be a 20-30 minute drive. It can be an hour. It's risky.

There is a 9 and a 10:25 into LAX but UGH. LAX. Still, if the performance is after 3 I might consider it but probably only really worth it for the 9am one. What I'd gain in arrival time on the 10:25 I'd lost in transport getting to DL so would just go with the 11:15 into John Wayne.

Brenda, Jenny, Allison...am I missing anything here? Enough buffer depending on performance times?

My guess/gut though is 2 things.

1. They will not have performance times yet
2. They may well be targeting the marching part for Easter Sunday. While I want to see both performances, that one is more important.

Sigh.

I can hope that some parents bring this up though as I can't imagine I am the only one with the concern.

Girls F&G Trip
Saturday I will be booking the first 3 nights of our girls trip when our 7m window opens.

That is indeed a BFP. I am so impress that you can get it to be as organized as you do.

I do hope that Easter works out for you though... That seems to be a challenge in and of itself. I bet you will have it nailed though once that performance schedule is released.

AND on the girls trip!!!