disneyfaninaz
It takes faith, trust & pixie dust!
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2007
Aloha and to my newest trip report!
Well, the laundry is not completely done yet, but the swim suits have finally dried out! We just returned Wednesday night from a week long stay in Oahu.
Cast of Characters:
Me : 50-something, Disney lover, trip planner and Band Mom.
DH : 50-something, loving, Semi-retired, Disney enduring husband!
DD : 16 year old uber Disney Parks and DCL fan, marching band member, world traveler.
Background:
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away – well, way back in 2007, my DH wanted to plan a trip to Hawaii for the summer of 2008. We started doing research, but got side tracked when our neighbors booked a 2008 Spring Break Cruise to the Western Caribbean with the Disney Cruise Line. Well, long story short, we ended up going on that DCL cruise instead of Hawaii; I battled and beat breast cancer; and we took 4 more DCL cruises over the next 9 years. Needless to say, we never quite got back to planning for Hawaii.
That being said, back in March of 2016, DCL came out with their summer of 2017 cruises. Our cruise buddies (neighbors) were interested in the 9 night Alaska Cruise which included Icy Strait and Hubbard Glacier. Two places we hadn’t been to on our last Alaskan cruise and it was later in July closer to bear season. We went to Alaska in 2014 but it was the end of May and way too early for bears. I told everybody that our DD would most likely have band camp that week, but since school started a week later, maybe band camp would move too. DH said he wanted to book it anyway. This was going to be our first Gold Castaway cruise so I was up at O’dark 30 calling Florida to make my reservation on opening day.
Well, as the summer came, DD went to band camp and I asked the band director when the band camp was going to be for next year, since they book the camp a year ahead. Unfortunately, her camp would be the same week as the cruise. As this is her senior year and last band camp, she did not want to miss camp, so we eventually cancelled the cruise and said Adios to Alaska and Aloha to Oahu and Aulani instead.
Plans:
When:
We planned this trip after school ended in May and before our DD goes to Europe with the Ambassador of Music program in June.
Where:
We spent a week on Oahu. We decided not to jump islands this trip. Hopefully, we can go back and see more of Hawaii in the future. Our original plan was to spend 4 nights in Waikiki and 3 nights at Aulani. Fortunately, I was able to take advantage of a 25% off deal if we stayed 4 nights at Aulani. Since the 4th night was essentially free, we dropped a night at Waikiki saving some money! So we now have 3 nights in Waikiki and 4 nights at Aulani. We booked a standard ocean view 2 queen room. In addition, to the 25% off, we also received a free character breakfast and $50 resort credit for each night.
What:
The one thing that DH wanted to do most was to visit Pearl Harbor, the USS Arizona & USS Missouri and all places entailed with the attack on Pearl Harbor. No problem. I am more a scenery person and wanted to see the beauty of the island and take lots of pictures. DD wanted to swim underneath a waterfall.
Fortunately, we were able to find tours with Discover Hawaii Tours that covered all of our wants. We are taking an island circle tour the first full day on the island and an all-day Pearl Harbor tour on the second. The tour will pick us up in front of our hotel in Waikiki so no other transportation is required. I was also able to take advantage of holiday sales and saved 20% on the tour price.
We also plan to wander around Waikiki and visit the Bishop Museum.
How:
We decided not to rent a car. I found great flat rates with Charley’s Taxi to get from the airport to Waikiki, Waikiki to Aulani and from Aulani back to the airport
Fortunately, Hawaiian Airlines offers a non-stop flight from Phoenix to Honolulu.
Next: The day has finally arrived.
Well, the laundry is not completely done yet, but the swim suits have finally dried out! We just returned Wednesday night from a week long stay in Oahu.
Cast of Characters:
Me : 50-something, Disney lover, trip planner and Band Mom.
DH : 50-something, loving, Semi-retired, Disney enduring husband!
DD : 16 year old uber Disney Parks and DCL fan, marching band member, world traveler.
Background:
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away – well, way back in 2007, my DH wanted to plan a trip to Hawaii for the summer of 2008. We started doing research, but got side tracked when our neighbors booked a 2008 Spring Break Cruise to the Western Caribbean with the Disney Cruise Line. Well, long story short, we ended up going on that DCL cruise instead of Hawaii; I battled and beat breast cancer; and we took 4 more DCL cruises over the next 9 years. Needless to say, we never quite got back to planning for Hawaii.
That being said, back in March of 2016, DCL came out with their summer of 2017 cruises. Our cruise buddies (neighbors) were interested in the 9 night Alaska Cruise which included Icy Strait and Hubbard Glacier. Two places we hadn’t been to on our last Alaskan cruise and it was later in July closer to bear season. We went to Alaska in 2014 but it was the end of May and way too early for bears. I told everybody that our DD would most likely have band camp that week, but since school started a week later, maybe band camp would move too. DH said he wanted to book it anyway. This was going to be our first Gold Castaway cruise so I was up at O’dark 30 calling Florida to make my reservation on opening day.
Well, as the summer came, DD went to band camp and I asked the band director when the band camp was going to be for next year, since they book the camp a year ahead. Unfortunately, her camp would be the same week as the cruise. As this is her senior year and last band camp, she did not want to miss camp, so we eventually cancelled the cruise and said Adios to Alaska and Aloha to Oahu and Aulani instead.
Plans:
When:
We planned this trip after school ended in May and before our DD goes to Europe with the Ambassador of Music program in June.
Where:
We spent a week on Oahu. We decided not to jump islands this trip. Hopefully, we can go back and see more of Hawaii in the future. Our original plan was to spend 4 nights in Waikiki and 3 nights at Aulani. Fortunately, I was able to take advantage of a 25% off deal if we stayed 4 nights at Aulani. Since the 4th night was essentially free, we dropped a night at Waikiki saving some money! So we now have 3 nights in Waikiki and 4 nights at Aulani. We booked a standard ocean view 2 queen room. In addition, to the 25% off, we also received a free character breakfast and $50 resort credit for each night.
What:
The one thing that DH wanted to do most was to visit Pearl Harbor, the USS Arizona & USS Missouri and all places entailed with the attack on Pearl Harbor. No problem. I am more a scenery person and wanted to see the beauty of the island and take lots of pictures. DD wanted to swim underneath a waterfall.
Fortunately, we were able to find tours with Discover Hawaii Tours that covered all of our wants. We are taking an island circle tour the first full day on the island and an all-day Pearl Harbor tour on the second. The tour will pick us up in front of our hotel in Waikiki so no other transportation is required. I was also able to take advantage of holiday sales and saved 20% on the tour price.
We also plan to wander around Waikiki and visit the Bishop Museum.
How:
We decided not to rent a car. I found great flat rates with Charley’s Taxi to get from the airport to Waikiki, Waikiki to Aulani and from Aulani back to the airport
Fortunately, Hawaiian Airlines offers a non-stop flight from Phoenix to Honolulu.
Next: The day has finally arrived.