"I Just Wanna Feel Some Sunshine" - Aulani May 2024 - Updated 5/23 & 5/24 Jurassic Adventure Tour

[Dis_Yoda]

Welcome! I’ve been mostly away from the boards as life gets in the way. My last report was Food & Wine Festival 2022 but I’ve been to Disney World a couple times since then along with a 10-day trip to Tuscany and Umbria last summer. We’ve also moved again because of my job this time and my husband was able to transfer within his company. We’re currently in the process of building a house that should be finished about a month after this trip ends. I will be happy to be out of our rental so the dogs can have a proper yard again!

Dis_Yoda – a 38-year-old Aerospace Engineer
Mr. Dis_Yoda – a 40-year-old Retail Manager


Dis_Yoda & Mr Dis_Yoda at Springtime Surprise 2024

We’re still food & wine loving DINKs and crazy dog people. We currently have three dogs, two Rhodesian Ridgebacks and a Saluki. They keep us busy as Gantu, my male RR, trains in agility. Qi’ra, my female RR, is enjoying her show retirement as the couch princess. Gideon, my saluki, is turning out to be an amazing show dog whose career is just starting. He’s currently the fastest Saluki for 2024 in FCATs - not sure he’ll keep that ranking all year but for now I’m taking that brag! Hopefully you’ll get to see him on TV this year for the AKC Championship in December or Westminster in 2025.


Gideon

When we were discussing our vacation plans for 2024, we landed on Aulani for a few reasons. We didn’t want an expensive “big” trip this year. Having DVC meant no additional hotel costs but still would feel like a nice vacation. Looking at our available points and debating on views versus room types, we decided to go with a 1-Bedroom Island View. I get a nice discount for Avis through work along with being a preferred member which I remembered saved us a lot of time 8 years ago when we went! My husband is also no longer vegetarian so he can enjoy different tastes this time around as well!

Our goals are to balance relaxation and exploration this time around. We did many of the major attractions our first visit 8 years ago so we’re trying to get some of the things we missed last time. Plans are may or may not change while we are there but here is what we have planned for now!

Initial Plans

May 11th
Leave Houston ~9:30AM
Arrive Honolulu ~ 1:30PM
Get Rental Car
Head to Costco/Target for supplies
Light Dinner at ‘Olelo Room

May 12th
Jurassic Adventure Tour @ Kualoa Ranch
Byodo Temple
Dinner at NOE Italian @ Four Seasons

May 13th
Fly to Hilo
Rent Convertible
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Liluokalani Park
Rainbow Falls & Boiling Pots
Fly to Oahu

May 14th
Resort Day
80 Minute Massage at Laniwai Spa
Dinner at Restaurant Kuni

May 15th
Visit Aviation Museum & Bowfin
Lunch at Beer Lab
Dinner at The Lei Stand
Stargazing Activity (Adults Only)

May 16th
Shark Cage Dive North Shore
Rum Tasting at Ko Hana
Dinner at Orchids @ Halekulani

May 17th
No Plans/Resort Day
Dinner at UMI by Vikram Garg

May 18th
Brunch at Dean & Deluca
Leave Honolulu​

 

[ClaraOswald]

Looks like a great plan. I hope to make it to Aulani someday. It looks amazing! Can't wait to hear all about it.

 

[franandaj]

Hello! I'm in!

Glad to see you back on the boards! I read your last TR when Mr. Dis_Yoda was a vegetarian and he ate a lot of Caesar salads (which if made properly aren't vegetarian ) on your trip!

You'll be leaving just as I'm getting back! Have a great trip and smooth travels!

 

[jedijill]

@franandaj sent me a bat signal to join in so we can plan our Aulani trip!

Your dogs are gorgeous!

Jill in CO

 

[TeamRiley]

Sounds like a good trip. Report back on the shark dive.

 

[buteraa]

Nice! I've missed your trip reports.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Looks like a great plan. I hope to make it to Aulani someday. It looks amazing! Can't wait to hear all about it.

I hope you make it there too one day! It's a nice piece of paradise!

Hello! I'm in!

Glad to see you back on the boards! I read your last TR when Mr. Dis_Yoda was a vegetarian and he ate a lot of Caesar salads (which if made properly aren't vegetarian ) on your trip!

You'll be leaving just as I'm getting back! Have a great trip and smooth travels!

Yeah - Mr. Dis_Yoda's vegetarian adventure just made me nod my head and go meh. At least it's long in the past now! I do need to see if that vegetarian place we went to on the North Shore still exists as I still crave that salad dressing 8 years later plus that will be refreshing post shark cage diving and pre-rum drinking.

I've been enjoying your stories on Facebook! Looks like you are having a great trip as well.

@franandaj sent me a bat signal to join in so we can plan our Aulani trip!

Your dogs are gorgeous!

Jill in CO

Oh, when are you two planning on going?

Sounds like a good trip. Report back on the shark dive.

Thanks! Will do! That is the one thing I'm doing my co-workers all tell me I'm crazy to do. They are mostly Galapagos sharks or Sandbar Sharks from what I've researched so I'm not worried. My watertight cell phone case arrives today as the last of things I need to pack for the trip so hopefully I can get some photos from the water.

Nice! I've missed your trip reports.

Welcome! I'm glad I have something exciting to share again.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Following along. Have always wanted to go to Hawaii, and love to read the dog stuff too!

 

[jedijill]

Oh, when are you two planning on going?

We are going for a few days before the Honolulu to Vancouver cruise in February.

Jill in CO

 

[Mom2m&k]

So excited to see you back and writing another report!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Following along. Have always wanted to go to Hawaii, and love to read the dog stuff too!

Welcome! I will totally have some dog stuff sprinkled in. Gideon has a show this weekend in Shreveport and then we have Saluki Nationals the first week of June.

We are going for a few days before the Honolulu to Vancouver cruise in February.

Jill in CO

Nice! I've always wanted to do a relocation cruise but too many places and not enough time. You two will definitely enjoy Aulani!

So excited to see you back and writing another report!

Thanks! Hopefully I will have another report this year too as I do have a DCL cruise planned for October. I haven't even started planning that out yet.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Day 1 - Arrival

On Friday May 10th, I dropped the Ridgebacks off at the kennel after work and we finalized the last bit of packing before heading to bed at a reasonable hour. We were up by 5:30AM to drive to the other side of Houston as we were flying out of George Bush International this time. That airport made me glad we’re usually flying out of Hobby but a nonstop flight makes it worth it!





I wisely took a photo of where we parked, something I should have done later in the trip as well and we checked our suitcase and went into the long TSA line where we got sniffed by a GSP. I was hungry so we headed to breakfast at Wendy’s as it was the first thing we found open. An iced coffee and a honey butter chicken biscuit were the safe choices of the morning.



Afterwards, we headed towards the gate and waited until boarding. We had picked towards the back of the plane as they had 2 seats alone so no one had to sit next to a stranger and we got settled in for the 8-hour flight. This 777 had the clips for you to attach your iPad or cell phone to the seat in front of you so I was able to watch my downloaded movies as I wanted.



Once we were at a cruising altitude, breakfast was served. A rock-hard cold croissant, unripe fruit and a Greek yogurt. I was uh, glad, I had food prior to the flight. Oh well! I guess I should be happy we even got served anything for economy. Otherwise, the flight was very unmarkable.





We landed on time and headed to Avis Preferred where we had gotten upgraded to a Chrysler 300 from the Camry. As we were getting settled at the car, I got notice that our room was ready early and noted we got a 2nd floor room in Ewa tower. This location ended up being great as we could avoid taking elevators almost the entire trip as it was just 1 flight up to the lobby or 1 down to the pool/beach. I made a mistake and forgot to set up the GPS myself before I was leaving so I told my husband to get the GPS set for Costco. He ended up picking the one in Waikiki instead of Kapolei and trying to get him to change it wasn’t happening. We loaded up on some drinks and snacks for the week before driving to Ko’Olina.



We had an uneventful check in and decided to get settled in our 1 Bedroom Island View for the week before we headed out for the evening.







​

 

[Dis_Yoda]

‘Olelo Room

Once we were unpacked and settled into the room, we knew we needed to get out of the room if we didn’t want to just crash into bed early. Neither of us were functional enough to travel anywhere for dinner thanks to the long travel day and time adjustments so we headed downstairs to go to the ‘Olelo room. It was still before 5PM but a line was forming for opening. My husband and I had a good laugh at the lady behind us having an absolute fit when they weren’t immediately opening at 5PM and thus having to wait in line longer. It’s vacation? If you were in such a hurry – Ulu Café exists for a quicker option.

Eventually, we were given an option of outside or at the bar. We decided to enjoy the bar seats and avoid the cranky people behind us.

The poor bartender was alone this evening as his coworker had called out but he was doing well keeping up with the orders and the to-go line. We made our first drink selections while we decided on our food. I went with a refreshing Lychee Cocktail while my husband went with the Mai Tai. Both of which were a nice way to start our vacation off right!


Lychee En Voyage – Kai Lychee Vodka, Giffard Lichi-Li Liquor, Lychee Nectar, Lemon Juice


Tropical Mai Tai - Old Lahaina Silver Rum, Orange Curaçao, Orgeat, Citrus Juices Topped with a
Whaler’s Dark Rum Float

For food, my husband went with a standby of edamame. It was freshly steamed with just the right amount of salt and he had also ordered sliders.


Edamame

I went with sushi for my meal. The miso glaze on the hamachi was a nice contrast of flavors. I thought the Mickey Shaped Wasabi was really cute on my spicy tuna roll plate.


Torched Hamachi – Pacific Yellowtail, Garlic-Miso Glaze, Flamed


Spicy Tuna Avocado Roll

The bartender apparently had missed my husband ordering the sliders and thought we had ordered another roll of sushi instead. We got that corrected as it hadn’t been served by the time I was done with my sushi and we ordered another round of drinks as we waited on his food. My gin cocktail was refreshing while my husband went with a sparkling wine cocktail. I didn’t even get a sip of it to try.


Hotel & Hu’uanu – Fid Street Hawaiian Gin, Yuzu, Calpico, Topped with Soda



Mango Tunnel Tree – Mango Puree, Mango Syrup, Pineapple Juice, Filled with Simonet

Once the sliders were served, my husband was thrilled.


Bacon Cheeseburger Sliders

We settled our bill and headed back upstairs. We were asleep by 8PM and were hopeful we wouldn’t wake up at like 2AM.​

 

[MinnieFan4ever]

Can’t wait to hear more. I just booked a trip yesterday for July

 

[jedijill]

That bathtub looks amazing! Your dinner (minus the sushi! LOL) looked great. Good option for a first dinner minus the cranky pants in line!

Jill in CO

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Can’t wait to hear more. I just booked a trip yesterday for July

Oh you will have so much fun! Hopefully your weather ends up better than ours did but a rainy day in Hawaii is still better than

That bathtub looks amazing! Your dinner (minus the sushi! LOL) looked great. Good option for a first dinner minus the cranky pants in line!

Jill in CO

Yes! We've missed having a nice soaking tub in our rental here in Texas so we took full advantage of it while we were at Aulani. At least once we move in a little over a month - we'll have a nice clean soaking tub again!

Its always interesting to watch the reason why people are cranky while on vacation especially over minor things. I noticed things aren't as prompt in general there as they can be in other places but its supposed to be relaxing right?

 

[Dis_Yoda]

First Morning

Well, we weren’t up by 2AM but we were up by 3:30AM. Not too bad for the first day of vacation with a 5-hour time difference! I ended up watching Chopped on Food Network after attempts of falling back asleep weren’t fruitful and there aren’t exactly a lot of options on tv at that time of day. My husband got up to go for a long run around 4:30AM. Eventually I got antsy too and decided to take a nice walk around the lagoon, but first I had to say hello to Stitch.


Stitch



Aulani Views



Rainbow Reef

It was a nice walk and eventually I headed back and stopped by the Rainbow Reef before we got ready to head to Kualoa Ranch for our Jurassic Adventure Tour. During the drive over, I discovered I forgot to pack my sunglasses for the trip. Luckily, like any great tourist attraction, Kualoa Ranch has a gift shop so $20 later, I had a cheap pair to get me through the week. We checked in for our tour and got moved up to the 8:40AM one from the 9:00AM we had originally scheduled and proceeded to look at the horses and one of the museums on sight.









We also decided to get eaten by a Dinosaur as one does in Jurassic World.


​

 

[Dis_Yoda]

Jurassic Adventure Tour - Part 1

At 8:40, we were loaded onto our open-air vehicle with 6 other guests. It had just started lightly raining as we headed to our first stop at the Battery Cooper Bunker. Well actually, the first stop was because some of the Kualoa Ranch Cattles stopped our journey but eventually an ATV guide came by to help us out.






This stop is the same as the cheaper Movie Set Tour. Battery Cooper was a WW2 Bunker that has turned into a museum for some war exhibits and for all the movie activities that occur at Kualoa & is also used in movies as needed. They had exhibits showing a listing of the tv shows and movies that had been produced there along with sets up for King Kong, Jumanji, Lost, and Jurassic World.

















After about 15 minutes here, we loaded back onto the vehicle and headed to our next stop in Ka’a’awa Valley. The rain was getting harder so we were hoping we may get to see some waterfalls along the mountain as the morning went on.

​

 

[franandaj]

This 777 had the clips for you to attach your iPad or cell phone to the seat in front of you so I was able to watch my downloaded movies as I wanted.

I saw those for the first time on my trip back from Dallas to LAX while returning from Europe. Wished I'd had the forethought to download some stuff onto my tablet, even if it isn't an iPad.

Once we were at a cruising altitude, breakfast was served. A rock-hard cold croissant, unripe fruit and a Greek yogurt.

Sounds delicious.

We had an uneventful check in and decided to get settled in our 1 Bedroom Island View for the week before we headed out for the evening.

Nice to see such a great tub in the one bedroom! Only about a month and half until I can make our reservations for February!

We made our first drink selections while we decided on our food. I went with a refreshing Lychee Cocktail while my husband went with the Mai Tai. Both of which were a nice way to start our vacation off right!

That sounds pretty tasty! Both!

I thought the Mickey Shaped Wasabi was really cute on my spicy tuna roll plate.

That is super cute!

Once the sliders were served, my husband was thrilled.

Those look delicious!

We were asleep by 8PM and were hopeful we wouldn’t wake up at like 2AM.

Yeah, I know that feeling.

Yes! We've missed having a nice soaking tub in our rental here in Texas so we took full advantage of it while we were at Aulani. At least once we move in a little over a month - we'll have a nice clean soaking tub again!

I'm glad you're moving into a place where you can enjoy a nice bath! I can't live without my tub!

I noticed things aren't as prompt in general there as they can be in other places but its supposed to be relaxing right?

Yeah, they call it "island time". You just need to get used to it.

Well, we weren’t up by 2AM but we were up by 3:30AM. Not too bad for the first day of vacation with a 5-hour time difference!

Not too bad. At least you got an early start on the day!

They had exhibits showing a listing of the tv shows and movies that had been produced there along with sets up for King Kong, Jumanji, Lost, and Jurassic World.

Hey! And I've even seen quite a few of those TV shows and movies!

 

[Dis_Yoda]

I saw those for the first time on my trip back from Dallas to LAX while returning from Europe. Wished I'd had the forethought to download some stuff onto my tablet, even if it isn't an iPad.

I had almost forgotten to do so until my friend mentioned it in our group chat the day before. I'm so glad I did!

I'm glad you're moving into a place where you can enjoy a nice bath! I can't live without my tub!

Yes! This rental house that we're in wasn't exactly a first choice but got thrust upon us with all the drama of moving to Houston especially when we needed to get a 2nd rental house after our first one had been broken into multiple times/squatted in. My husband and I have both missed being able to soak in a tub but we knew this whole situation was going to be temporary. I'm ready to be fully settled again!

Yeah, they call it "island time". You just need to get used to it.

Exactly!

Not too bad. At least you got an early start on the day!

We definitely did. Plus we were going to be up early the next morning as well so it helped not making that rougher.

Hey! And I've even seen quite a few of those TV shows and movies!

Me too! After our first visit, when watching certain movies, we've been like - hey! We were there!