Last Day in Paradise
Friday, January 19, 2019
Obviously, the main thing today was our flight home, but that wasn’t until 4:30 p.m. I won’t lie, this time went by more quickly than I hoped, but isn’t that always the case when a vacation is winding down?
From the beginning, we decided lunch at Ama Ama would be a good way to end our time at Aulani. I figured we would leave Aulani around 1:30 p.m., and checkout at Aulani is 11:00 a.m. I had made a reservation for lunch at noon, which worked out well.
Brad and I hit the pool and beach for several hours while Pam and Dave finished packing and enjoyed the balcony. We repeatedly missed the lava shack, which is a small shop in the pool area. It seemed it was closed, crowded or we were running late when we’d tried to visit previously. But we were walking by when it opened on our last morning so we took a quick lap through. Brad and I found leather Aulani key chains that can be personalized. So, we ordered these and they said they would be ready in 30 minutes or so.
Yeah, Brad and I were those people who wore all of the pool bands while we were there... Unfortunately, we missed a couple days early on, but here are the rest (plus some other pics from our last day):
We did a quick trip through the gift shop and then went to the elevators, but were greeted by a cast member who redirected us to the service elevator area. Apparently, four of the six elevators for our tower were not working. They were using the two working ones for everyone coming down from the guestroom floors and using the service elevators for everyone going up from the lobby level and first floor. A security guard was staffing the elevator and told us that they believed it was a computer issue and the service company was on the way. Fortunately, no one was stuck in the non-working elevators, they just were not responding. It’s disappointing to have issues, but they can, and do, happen everywhere, and in my opinion, Disney handled this one well. The cast members were pleasant and had a system in place. Brad works in hotels, and I’ve been in hotel service elevators several times before, and we were both shocked at how clean and well maintained the service elevators and corridors were. Truly, it looked like they had been installed the day before.
When we got back to the room, we started to explain to Pam what happened with the elevators, but she interjected saying they experienced the same thing. We asked where they had gone since we thought they were staying in the room. She reluctantly admitted she *needed* to take another pass through the gift shop. And she was glad she did because someone showed her an Alex and Ani bracelet she had not previously seen. And, of course she had to have that. Clearly my advice for them to use our DVC discount on purchases wasn’t always heeded… Once she saw our bag from the gift store she felt less guilty acknowledging her return trip! Brad and I decided to get DVC Tervis cups we were previously undecided on purchasing. I now know where Brad gets some of his shopping habits!
Now it was time for Brad and I to shower and pack. Aulani has the Luana room that you may use on your checkout day (or on check-in day if your room isn’t ready), but we decided we were happier using our room even if it meant a little less time at the pools/beach. Once everything was ready we called bell services to store our bags while we had lunch. Since we were ready to go when the cast member arrived, and the elevators were still down, he had us ride down the service elevator with him.
We took a leisurely stroll through the lobby and sat out on the lobby terrace for a while until we decided to make our way to Ama Ama. I detoured through the pool area to pick up the key chains that were being engraved and met up with the others in the Ama Ama lobby. We were seated immediately after I checked us in. We were seated in a different room than we had been previously. We were again in the row of tables closest to the water. We enjoyed another amazing view and delicious meal.
Views from the restaurant:
Ama Ama lunch (clockwise from top right): roasted chicken salad sandwich combo with Ewa corn and potato chowder and side salad; steak and blue cheese ciabatta with chips; roasted chicken salad sandwich combo with Ewa corn and potato chowder and fries; warm Honokaa honey mochi cake with Azuki gelato; lobster roll on Portuguese sweet bread with fries.
After lunch we wandered back to the lobby. I stopped at the desk to get final copies of our folios – I’m guessing I have a 80% success rate with getting them via email so I often grab a printed copy. Also, I wanted to confirm they had the charges correctly applied since we had two credit cards on file; which they did.
I gave our claim tag to baggage services while I retrieved the car. When I got to the valet area they were happy to see we had more than enough room for our luggage. They said we’d be amazed how many times people have a ton of luggage and pull up a car that has no chance of fitting everything.
I’ll admit that there were several bittersweet moments in our last hours at Aulani. It was a wonderful home for the ten nights we were there, and I started to notice some of the things I'd miss. For example, the last time we were in the lagoon, pools and hot tub, when we left our room with the awesome view and when pulling away from the lobby the last time.
We were soon pulling away from Aulani. Traffic was light and we made it to the airport in good time. I had a plan (pretend to be surprised!)… I would drop the other three off, and the luggage, at the United check-in area and then I’d go get gas, return the car and meet up with them.
Making several trips to Orlando in the winter, Brad and I have gotten pretty good at changing from Florida weather (shorts and polos) to Chicago weather (jeans and long sleeve shirts/sweaters) attire in the men’s restroom at Orlando airport. For whatever reason, this bothered Pam and she wanted us to change in the car. Granted it was a somewhat spacious SUV, I still find it awkward to change in a car. Nonetheless, trying to please his mom, Brad acquiesced. So the new plan was to leave Pam and Dave with the luggage, and Brad and I would fill the car with gas, change clothes, return the car and then meet Pam and Dave. When we arrived at the airport to unload, it was pretty empty. I rented three of the luggage carts. I cringe spending that much money on something we’d only be using a short time, but I’ve learned sometimes it’s best to just budget the money and move on; trying to manage that much luggage otherwise would have been a mess.
After the drop off was complete, Brad and I went to the gas station. However, finding a place to park the car while changing clothes was a bit more challenging. We eventually found a side street and got our clothes changed before heading to the car rental. We agreed our original plan of using the airport restroom was better! When we found Pam and Dave at the United check-in, Dave was pacing. We didn’t know why, but Brad could easily tell something was up. Something I didn’t learn in my research is that there is an additional screening step at the Honolulu airport. Luggage that is being checked must be scanned before you go to your airline counter. As I recall it is agricultural screening. In the end it was a very quick, easy process. However, Dave thought we were running late and he started taking the luggage over to be scanned while Brad and I were packing the clothes we changed out of.
After this scanning was complete, we went to the airline counter and checked our bags. Next was security screening, which again since we had TSA precheck was pretty quick and easy. Pam did remove her Pandora bracelets this time since they set off the metal detector in Chicago.
We next started our walk to the gate. When we arrived in Honolulu we took a bus to baggage claim; either there isn’t a bus to the gates, or we didn’t see it. So it was a bit of a trek along the covered but open-air walkway. Yes, Hawaii weather is beautiful; but I would have enjoyed this walk more if it was in an air-conditioned hallway! We made it to the gate, with a few stops for bathrooms and gift shops.
Once we got to the gate we found seats and waited for boarding to begin. Probably five minutes before boarding was scheduled to begin we went to the designated area for our boarding group.
United has been known to change aircraft or have technical glitches with seat assignments. On account of this, I frequently logged in to ensure our seat assignments were correct for both our outbound and return flights. Three weeks or so before our trip I noticed that Brad didn’t have a seat assignment for our return flight, yet his previously selected seat was showing as unavailable. I called United and was told that while Brad does have a confirmed first-class seat, his seat could not be confirmed at this time. After some discussion, I was transferred to a supervisor and eventually Brad was moved back to his original seat.
A few days later, when I checked again, Dave had been moved to a seat on the opposite side of the plane. So the calls to United were repeated and I again was transferred to a supervisor who ultimately moved Dave back and added notes requesting our group not be moved. However, the whole situation was giving me an odd vibe so I checked again that afternoon. And Dave was again moved! I called United and was transferred to a supervisor and then a higher-level supervisor. My instinct was telling me that they were moving us for another passenger, but I couldn’t confirm this. Ultimately, I was told that Dave’s original seat was removed from availability for operational purposes, which I did not believe at all but I was essentially out of options. If it was going to happen, it was better on the return flight than the outbound flight.
On account of this, we discussed different seating options, and decided Dave would take his newly assigned seat, Pam would take my seat so she and Brad would be next to each other and I would take Pam’s seat next to our mystery traveler. After they took care of the pre-board passengers they invited Global Services passengers, of which there was one. I looked at Brad and said that gentleman would be my neighbor. Sure enough, when we boarded, the Global Services passenger was next to me.
I’m well aware this is a first-world problem, and that we were all fortunate to take this trip, let alone be in first class, but this experience left me with a very poor view of United. I understand airlines often make accommodations for their loyal customers. However, I was the first person who reserved first-class seats on our flights and consciously selected seats based on our preferences. I can understand United confirming a class of service for certain level passengers, but to accommodate specific seating preference by relocating other passengers seems excessive. And, the way United handled this without ever contacting me directly, and outright lying saying it was an operational issue, are examples demonstrating United Airlines integrity and credibility, or lack thereof.
Sorry for the rant, but it is something that clearly frustrated and disappointed me. Maybe now that I’ve vented, I’ll be able to ‘Let it go’ (insert Idina Manzel singing here).
Views from our flight - complete with rainbows and Diamond Head:
It was an uneventful trip to Chicago. The flight was smooth, the service was very attentive and the meals and drinks were good. I think we all slept a bit, but also utilized the inflight entertainment to pass the time. After landing at a nearly empty O’Hare we found restrooms, baggage claim and our car service.
Sadly, our trip was officially over. Trust me, the Chicago weather was a rude reminder of this!
Okay… the day-by day report is over. But there are still a few posts to come on things that didn’t fit under specific days and overall thoughts and experiences.