dvccamper 32 Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 Okay, it's official. You have totally made me want to go there. I better start saving my points and my money! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dblr....Rennie 224 Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 Okay, it's official. You have totally made me want to go there. I better start saving my points and my money! X2, worse tho if my wife sees the pictures. Thanks for posting!!!!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
twiceblessed....nacole 433 Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 Oh man... your pictures are beautiful, the resort is beautiful, Hawaii is BEAUTIFUL. I'm ready for another trip back!! Glad that y 'all had a great time :) ps. love the Mickey lamp in your room :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Momof6....aka Marty 769 Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 Loving the pictures! Can't wait to read more. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 I've made the mistake of sharing this with INC. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AC in A2......Aaron 693 Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 The place looks absolutely beautiful Duane.Great pictures!How long of a drive was Pearl Harbor from Aulani? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beckers 1,136 Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 X2, worse tho if my wife sees the pictures. Thanks for posting!!!!!!I think I know who I'm texting today Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Seals 111 Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 Wow -- sooooooooo beautiful. I've never been to Hawaii but if I did (commence dreaming), that's where I would stay. I don't think I could tear myself away to leave. How long did you cry? Also enjoyed your tour of SF. I went there once a long time ago (before Full House so those were just regular houses) and I'd like to go back again. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jjbescher 17 Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 I have my airline flights booked for to go to Aulani in April. However, need to wait to book starting in September. I had to get the flights because I was able to use airline miles to book First Class tickets for the 3 of us. Would have cost me over $10,000 if I paid out of pocket. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799 Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 Love the pictures! Beautiful! The bathroom details are amazing. What were food prices like? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lklasing 16 Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 Oh my gosh - I am loving your report! We went to Aulani last summer and absolutely loved it, and this report is bringing back such wonderful memories. Question - is the Ulu place in the newly expanded area near the pool? I don't remember that at all and I certainly thought we covered every square inch of Aulani. It looks like a great addition though, as grab and go just didn't exist to my memory while we were there. Can't wait for more! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Duane 152 Posted July 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 Made it to the country of Miami okay, and all settled in for the evening, might as well get some more of this TR pushed further along... Duane, you didn't need my camera at Aulani. Your pictures are gorgeous! Looking forward to more. When our kids were little we loved going to the Minnie's Menehune breakfast at the Poly. I never knew what a menehune was until this morning. I was watching "Full House." The family was in Hawaii, and Stephanie was talking about menehunes. And I sign on here and see your picture of the Menehune Bridge! Gwen, I don't need your camera, I need you, your camera and your skills to really make this place look more amazing... As for the Menehune, I had never heard of them in any other conversation other than associated with Aulani. Like I mentioned earlier, Disney really wanted to focus on Hawaiian culture with this resort, and that they did. Kind of like the hidden Mickey's around the WDW and DL, the Menehune are the spotlight here. Now don't get me wrong, there are still quite a number of hidden Mickey's around, but the Menehune are everywhere. I captured some of them in pictures hidden all over the place. They will come out in a bit. If anyone is interested in the Menehune, you can read about them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menehune Okay, it's official. You have totally made me want to go there. I better start saving my points and my money! Do it! You won't be disappointed! We don't own a lot of points compared to some. We only have 160 points, so we had to bank, borrow, and even had to purchase a couple of one time use points to fill in the gap. The flights across the big pond, if you don't have some sort of frequent flyer points, can be expensive. But if there is a way that you can make it to the west coast like we did, it lessened the blow some. It was about $300 to $400 cheaper to fly from the west coast than the east. The majority of my FF points are on SW and their FF program is about the easiest one out there to use. I had some United points, but with the games they play with certain dates and the number of seats available, I didn't have enough with them. X2, worse tho if my wife sees the pictures. Thanks for posting!!!!!! Oh go on and show her... there's no harm. Oh man... your pictures are beautiful, the resort is beautiful, Hawaii is BEAUTIFUL. I'm ready for another trip back!! Glad that y 'all had a great time :) ps. love the Mickey lamp in your room :) When we first landed and I got out on the highway, I wasn't too sure about Hawaii. In my mind, I had already placed it in the category of "been there, done that, don't really need to do it again". However, the more time I spent there, the better I liked it. I would definitely go back now in a heartbeat. Now if they would hurry up and build that bridge, I could drive the motorhome! I too liked that lamp.... I was thinking that the resort would be heavily themed with Disney stuff, however it wasn't. The characters were there, but only in scheduled places. They had a character breakfast in the buffet restaurant each morning and Mickey and Minnie usually posed for pics just outside each day, but other than that, it was not over done by any means. Loving the pictures! Can't wait to read more. I still have a bunch more... I hope I'm not boring anyone to sleep... We still have sharks, Pearl Harbor, and the North Shore to cover. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Duane 152 Posted July 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 I've made the mistake of sharing this with INC. There is no time like the present to go ahead and buy a few points.... Go ahead and swallow that "best kept secret"! Its not that bad... We'll help you through it. The place looks absolutely beautiful Duane.Great pictures!How long of a drive was Pearl Harbor from Aulani? Thanks Aaron. The drive to Pearl was about a 20 minute drive in good traffic. If you are driving from Aulani to Pearl, you are going in the correct direction with traffic. If you were coming from Honolulu or Waikiki, you could be stuck in standstill traffic. I think I know who I'm texting today I dare you! I don't think you will do it!! Wow -- sooooooooo beautiful. I've never been to Hawaii but if I did (commence dreaming), that's where I would stay. I don't think I could tear myself away to leave. How long did you cry? Also enjoyed your tour of SF. I went there once a long time ago (before Full House so those were just regular houses) and I'd like to go back again. Looking back on it now, I think we worked this trip out the right way for us... The SFO stop allowed us to ease into the time change while allowing us to bum around a neat city to visit.... Emphasis on the word "visit". I would not want to live in San Fran. Claudine and I were missing it the next the first morning after we got home... I have my airline flights booked for to go to Aulani in April. However, need to wait to book starting in September. I had to get the flights because I was able to use airline miles to book First Class tickets for the 3 of us. Would have cost me over $10,000 if I paid out of pocket. Are you flying from the east coast? If so 1st Class is the way to go...That is a long flight from the east and I knew Claudine would be more batty than she already is now... It was only 5 1/2 hours from SF to Hawaii, so I purchased Economy Plus seating just to have more leg room on the United flights. Love the pictures! Beautiful! The bathroom details are amazing. What were food prices like? Bathrooms are a biggie for us whenever we "hotel" travel. I loved the shower in our bathroom. We could have bathed a small tribe in that thing. If you mean food prices at the resort restaurants, they are on par with the restaurants on property back in Florida or California, however, you have to add some $ to that cost due to the fact that anything not manufactured or grown on the island has to be flown or shipped in. There was a Super Target, a Safeway, and another local supermarket less than a 10 minute drive from the resort. So we stocked up on breakfast and snack stuff, as well as some sodas and waters to use in the room. We only ate 1 breakfast in the sit down restaurant, and picked up some grab and go items while we were there. We never hit the buffet. All DVC's have grills onsite that you can use, and we had planned to grill out something one night, but it never really happened. Oh my gosh - I am loving your report! We went to Aulani last summer and absolutely loved it, and this report is bringing back such wonderful memories. Question - is the Ulu place in the newly expanded area near the pool? I don't remember that at all and I certainly thought we covered every square inch of Aulani. It looks like a great addition though, as grab and go just didn't exist to my memory while we were there. Can't wait for more! Ulu Ulu, is located on the hotel side out near the adult pool and near the grotto hot tub. I knew there was some construction of some new pool areas, but not sure really where they were before. Now that I know you have already been there, I am looking to you to keep me honest on any facts or details that I post.... It's been about 2 years since I was last wrong about anything, and I feel my time is up. I could be wrong about something at anytime now... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
disney4dan 68 Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 I am going to have to start putting some $$ away for a trip like this some day. Those photos are so nice! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Katman1356...Jason 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Duane 152 Posted July 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 Okay, let's move along... I have a few more pics from around Aulani. In another one of my many lives, I used to be a property manager with a large corporate real estate firm, so whenever I go anywhere, I give the facility a "once over". I notice how many light fixtures are burned out, how well the elevator operates, what condition the carpeting and flooring is in.... you get the picture. Once I walked into Aulani, I was blown away on how well this place is kept up and the materials that were used to build it. Absolutely everything is top notch here and those little Disney details are everywhere. Instead of typing, I will let the pictures do the talking... This is a stairwell from the lobby level down to the ground level where all of the pools, waterslides, and lazy rivers are I don't know if TCD is reading along or not, and know his love of light fixtures, I took these for him... This is the main entrance in the lobby. They keep these doors open all the time, and if I could do a 180 degree turn, the entire wall behind me is open, so there is a constant breeze that blows through all the time. When you walk through the door and turn to the right, this is the front desk This is the view from the "DVC" end of the hallway looking toward the lobby. Just beyond the folks standing in my picture, the entry door is to their right, and the Waikolohe Valley is to their left. This is the area where you get that awesome breeze This is the mural that is all the way at the end of the hall in the picture above This is the mural on the other end leading into the DVC side of the resort Another cool light fixture in the main hallway This is one of the art pieces that hangs in the elevator lobby on our floor. They have artwork depicting Hawaiian life like this all over the place. Back when I responded to Gwen's last post about the Menehune or "the little people of Hawaii", these guys are hidden everywhere... I think there is actually an activity where they give you some sort of check list and send you off to find as many of these things as you can. I wish I would have taken more pictures when I found them But this one is up on the ceiling of one of the elevators This one, was hanging in the corners of a ceiling on one of the buildings somewhere Here are the grills that can be used by the hotel and DVC guests. You go to the community hall and check out the grill tools... These are 2 of my girlfriends from Aunty's Beach House. This is the kid's area. It is similar to those on the DCL ships. You can deposit Junior there in the morning and check them in and out anytime during the day. From what I have read, this place is extremely popular and often reaches capacity early in the day. There was usually a line every morning for those waiting for it to open. It reminded me of Black Friday at the Target or Walmart. Like I mentioned earlier, Aulani is not over run with Disney stuff... Its there, but not in your face constantly. Just outside of the buffet restaurant Makahiki, each morning Mickey and or Minnie would be out for photo ops. If you wanted to find out where the characters would be during the day, all one would have to do is to pick up the phone and dial "CHIP" and a recording would give you the low down on the locations. As you can see this Japanese family is getting the pictures on with Mickey... I think the Japanese are one of the main target audiences for this DVC property... Also, each evening there would be some group playing live Hawaiian music each night on that wooden structure or stage behind Mickey and family. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Duane 152 Posted July 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 Before I call it a night, how about some food pictures?! We didn't utilize all of the eating joints on property while we were there. One, because I am cheap (to a certain extent), and two, we either grabbed something on one of our many travels around the island, we ate something in the room, or we just were not hungry at the moment. One morning, I think I mentioned this earlier, but after Claudine and I went for a walk, we passed Ama Ama and stopped to read the menu posted outside of the restaurant. Just as we were scanning the offerings, Claudine spotted the Chocolate Dipped French Toast Stuffed with Bananas and Peanut Butter, Drizzled with Chocolate Sauce. That's all it took. We went up to the room, got the girls up and headed back down to chow down. Here is the French Toast Notice Claudine has the knife firmly in hand ready to pounce if need be.... She got them to put the peanut butter and chocolate sauce on the side. There is regular syrup in that large ramekin. Like all good dad's and husband's, we have to play the role of clean up crew when we eat out.... All of you guys know where I'm coming from on this... Anyway, Ash and Claudine both ordered this little sweet tooth's dream. I was afraid that once they got it, that it would be too sweet and I would have to eat it. So taking one for the team, I remained in the middle of the road and ordered the good ole American staple.... scrambled eggs, bacon and potatoes. I have to report, that I didn't have to sacrifice anything and they both enjoyed their french toast immensely. I did get a taste. Jessie, is not too much of a breakfast person, so she ordered the bread basket that contained a (should I even mention it?) 2 cinnamon rolls, 2 apple croissants, 2 blueberry muffins, and some other pasty I can't remember. I think Ash ordered a side of bacon as well. Here is one of the grab and go items that I picked up for myself when we sat out by the pool on day... Bet you can't guess what I was doing while enjoying my snack Okay, since we were talking about food, stick a fork in me, because I'm done for the evening! Good Night All! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DaveInTN 3,247 Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 Does the Menehune on the elevator have a camera for a belly button? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799 Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 Yes, I was curious about restaurant prices. My time in Hawaii was a very long time ago, but I still remember some things. That French toast looks yummy! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547 Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 More great photos! Aulani looks amazing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jjbescher 17 Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 Are you flying from the east coast? If so 1st Class is the way to go...That is a long flight from the east and I knew Claudine would be more batty than she already is now... It was only 5 1/2 hours from SF to Hawaii, so I purchased Economy Plus seating just to have more leg room on the United flights. Yes, we are flying from RDU. We are taking US Air for the continental US flights, then American for the Flights to Hawaii and Back. We have a Daughter that will be 5. This should hopefully give us enough room. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jjbescher 17 Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 Here are the grills that can be used by the hotel and DVC guests. You go to the community hall and check out the grill tools... Thank you so much for posting about the grills and that you can check out the grill tools. I plan on doing some grilling out on these. We are most likely going to be getting a studio. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Duane 152 Posted July 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2014 I have a few minutes before my IT guys come in, so I will see how far I can go this morning... Does the Menehune on the elevator have a camera for a belly button? He doesn't, but it does look like he could "sprout" one at any time. Yes, I was curious about restaurant prices. My time in Hawaii was a very long time ago, but I still remember some things. That French toast looks yummy! Typical Disney prices with a "Hawaiian upcharge" More great photos! Aulani looks amazing. And there are still more to come... I just hate its taking me this long to get through them. Yes, we are flying from RDU. We are taking US Air for the continental US flights, then American for the Flights to Hawaii and Back. We have a Daughter that will be 5. This should hopefully give us enough room. Kind of sounds like what we did. Are you stopping for any length of time on the west coast? I think that worked well for us. It gave us time for our body clocks to adjust somewhat and we were not wiped out when we got to Hawaii. Thank you so much for posting about the grills and that you can check out the grill tools. I plan on doing some grilling out on these. We are most likely going to be getting a studio. There are actually 3 grills there, I only showed 2 of them. Before you go, let me know, because I can tell you of a better grocery store to visit other than the Target or Safeway. We found out that most folks arrive on the weekends and do their "resort shopping" then.When we went to the Target on Monday, the shelves looked like a hurricane had swept through there. The Safeway, didn't look much better. The store to visit is Foodland. It looks to be a newer store and its sort of off the beaten path, so it caters to more of the local crowd. If I were to explain it in our terms, it is a cross between Harris Teeter and Food Lion. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Duane 152 Posted July 27, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2014 SHARKS! "I don't think we will need a bigger boat" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gciFoEbOA8 Unlike 'ole Roy, We did not need a bigger boat... During our trip planning stage, we each got the opportunity to choose one thing or excursion that we would like to do. Jessie (my "adopted" 2nd daughter) chose swimming with the sharks. I neglected to tell her that swim with them everyday at my job, but that is another story... So anyway, we researched and found a provider that would supply that very experience. That is "Sweet Romina" standing beside our trusty Jeep. She passed on this experience as she can get car sick just riding along in a car. Now if she is driving, she does fine... Anyway, the experience goes out from North Shore town of Haleiwa. Basically they load you on a boat, which in our case, there were 8 of us, then take you about 20 minutes offshore and drop an aluminum cage in the water. And for the next hour to 2 hours, have a turn in the water, in the cage, with snorkels on, and swim with the sharks. We are on our way out to the dive point. You can see the cage hanging on the rear of the boat Here is Ash just as well were pulling away from the dock We have reached our dive point and they are getting ready to splash the cage Once the cage is in the water, they pull it along side the boat and tie it off After the cage is set, the word gets out and look who shows up! Need a better look? Believe it or not, but these underwater shots were taken with Jessie's iPhone. She has a LifeProof case which allows the phone to be used as an underwater camera. Here is proof that we were actually there... I was taking the picture. There were 5 of us in the cage for the first group, and they let us stay in for about 20-30 minutes, so we got to spend plenty of time with Bruce and his other 2 buddies. The 3 sharks that we swam with were Galapagos sharks and each of them were about 8-10 feet long. They were not aggressive in any way, and none of us felt threatened or afraid at any point in time. After we had our turn, the other 3 in our group took theirs. Those boys were a little bit "larger" than our group and required a bit more real estate in the cage. While we were "topside", Bruce popped up to say farewell to us Anyway, that was our first "excursion", and I have to say that it was a lot of fun. For the ones planning to head to Hawaii in the near future, here is the website of the company that we used. They were very informative and made the trip very enjoyable. http://hawaiisharkencounters.com/ Here is where we went out from. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mouseketab.....Carol 1,261 Posted July 27, 2014 Report Share Posted July 27, 2014 That looks cool :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
disney4dan 68 Posted July 27, 2014 Report Share Posted July 27, 2014 Just look at that scenery! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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