Overdue Trip Report - Christmas in Paradise!

[Canadian Harmony]

We spent Christmas at Aulani for our 'welcome home' trip and I finally have a few minutes to post a quick report.

We are a family of 4 from just north of Victoria, BC (think Seattle, go slightly north-west, and we're a the southern tip of the large island there). We just bought our DVC in February and were lucky enough to get some pixie dust to spend December 23-29 at Aulani. We had attended a luau there in 2019 and I have been scheming ever since to purchase there!

Hubby and I are Canadian Navy veterans (he's still serving, I'm the vet) and between us we've been to Oahu over a dozen times. This is our kids' second trip, so we didn't do much sight-seeing. Only Pali, the aquarium and zoo, and the east side for some malasadas.

We left from Nanaimo on a COLD morning...

.

Then had a drink at YVR.



And made it to Aulani after walking 10 minutes to Budget and getting our rental. I booked the rental through Costco back in March and the price was locked in before the rates climbed astronomically. It was still expensive, but we got a car, and it wasn't as pricey as it could have been. It was dark when we managed to check in.


But the halls were decked with decorations, and it was so nice and warm!



The fam headed to 'Ewa tower and I went to park the car - at the opposite end of the resort. On my way back, I stopped to take a photo overlooking the back of the resort. 'Ewa is on the left.



Our room was on the 12th floor. Our balcony had two sitting areas - one off our bedroom and one off the living room.



Our view was garden-island with a glimpse of water to our right, city straight ahead. It got the sunrise each day and was just lovely.



Kitchen was nice and we were going to Target the next day to stock up.


A 1 bedroom suits us just fine. The kids had the fold-out sofa and the trundle bed.



We were hungry, so headed down for a bite at Ula. Sushi snd edemame, and sliders and of course... drinks!



I have reached my 10 photo limit and will continue in the next post.

 

[Canadian Harmony]

All the drinks were yummy. The light in the back kept changing colour and made for an interesting lighting effect. There was a live act and they were really talented.

We stayed a little bit but then our fatigue caught up. We were 3 hours behind where we usually were, so though it was 9pm, it felt like midnight for us, so we headed back to the room for a good sleep.

The next morning began with a lovely sunrise.




We had breakfast with Mickey at Makahiki. First, we got to see Mickey and Pluto (they loved my "Goin' through life like... hei hei" tee shirt. Then we met the chefs. So good to see C&D having fun and being silly.







Hubby had the Loco Moco, I had pancakes, DD1 had the Cinnamon Buns and DD2 had the Belgian waffles.
DEEEEEELISH!




Before going to the car to hit Target for food and things we forgot, we explored the grounds.

In the next post.

 

[Canadian Harmony]

During breakfast, we had paid for the Photopass and I completely forgot to go pick up the hard copies (I scrapbook so...). I din't remember until sometime in January and by then it was too late. So, if you pay for the hard copies of your photos, set a reminder to pick them up. I also set a reminder to see if any sunset photos were available but just never got the time to check. That is a definite for next time!

We loved the Christmas decorations everywhere.




And this handy map was right outside of the door going toward the pool and river area.






Turns out Stitch and Angel were meeting on the lawn (across from where the Luau is). We waited in line for them and as they passed, DD2 told Stitch how much she loved his hat. He appreciated that!



In these meets, the characters were behind rope (or flowers) and we could intereact with them. Then a cast member would take our photo as photo pass photographers weren't there for this particular meet.



We found out there was a special guest meeting at the fancy restaurant (which was closed when we were there), so we headed over there and as the 'real' Santa left, we met Santa Goofy!



This photopass photographer made the background look like a postcard, it's so beautiful!

We ordered a sweet box from an online vendor, and she also provided regular charcuterie too, so we ordered one of those for nibbles. There was SO MUCH food, we barely finished it, after 5 days of grazing from it!



Day 2 ended with us eating our traditional Christmas Eve dinner - home made toritiere, which this time I made with Pilsbury puff crust and it wasn't too bad!



Day 3 in the next post.

 

[mort1331]

Great to see..thanks
Did you have the flight from Van that lands around 9pm island time?? We have that and was wondering how busy check in was.
Look forward to your updates.

 

[Canadian Harmony]

Day 3 started wit ha lovely sunrise.



Merry CHRISTMAS!! We had NOTHING planned for the day. I couldn't find our stockings before we left home, but I managed to smuggle some chocolates from home in our luggage and the family was happy to have those.

DD2 and I headed down to the pools and beach and found two lifeguards making faces.



We hung out for the morning and swam in the ocean, then lucked out for a table at Off the Hook for a bite. Hubby and DD1 joined us after they came back from the beach but we had dinner reservations across the island so didn't want to eat too much.



I love hats and had to buy this delightfully colourful sun hat.


We went back to the room and hung out until time to head out for our dinner. We ate at an Italian diner called Formaggio. The food was amazing, and we were still so full from our late lunch, that we had the food boxed up. It was even better the next day!!





Boxing Day in the next post.

 

[Canadian Harmony]

Great to see..thanks
Did you have the flight from Van that lands around 9pm island time?? We have that and was wondering how busy check in was.
Look forward to your updates.

I believe it landed earlier - around 7 i think. We were in Aulani and asleep by 9:30-10pm local time, so I'm sure it was an earlier flight. Check in was quick and easy, mostly because I did the majority of it online through the app.

 

[Canadian Harmony]

Boxing Day sunrise was stunning.



I wanted to catch some on the beach, so I headed down there and even though it was better for sunsets, it was still a lovely morning.







The umbrellas are first-come and the cabanas behind (the one with the hood) hold 2 and are available on a first-come basis at 8am. You rent for the entire day for $80.



The family came down for a quick dip before we headed off to the Polo Club for a horse back ride along the beach. it was an hour and half ride in deep sand. I've been riding since a kid, and both my kids have had lessons. Hubby only rides because we do.



This is Belle.



This is Rosie.



This was our view while riding.


And I found out Polo Ponies don't know how to backup because they don't need to.



more in the next post.

 

[Canadian Harmony]

I love how the surfboard was made into a swing.



We returned to the room and ate left overs before falling asleep again.

The 27th gave us another stunning start.


We headed to the aquarium, which we didn't get to last time, and then the zoo (they're very close to each other). We had to buy our tickets to the aquarium before we left, so we arrived right at open, which allowed us to find a close parking spot. It's located at the far east end of Waikiki beach and had a surprising amount of exhibits, without being too overwhelming.

Found Nemo though!

On the way to the zoo (down the block and across the street), we found a statue of a surfer.



The zoo doesn't sell tickets in advance, so we stood in a quick line (compared to an Indiana Jones line) and we were quite surprised at how large the zoo was. It holds a lot of different animals and we really enjoyed seeing them - until it got so hot we just had to leave.

I took the fam up to the Pali lookout. It was raining there (only in Hawaii can you get sun, rain, wind, rain, mist, sun, and mist in a 20 mile radius in a 20 minute time-span!)

Pali is lovely, even in the rain. It will cost you $7 to park so consider grabbing a picnic to eat while you're there so you're not spending $7 for a 10 minute visit.






I wanted to try Malasadas - Portuguese donuts - and the parking lot at Leaonard's in Waikiki was packed, so we headed to their truck on the east side in Hawaii Kai at the end of the Kalaniana'ole Highway.


They are HUGE! Bigger than the regular donuts we're used to. My suggestion - buy only 1 for every 2 people, and the filled ones are so yummy. Bug again - HUGE - easily shared between two people.

Day 5 in the next post.

 

[Canadian Harmony]

December 28th.

Today was the pool day. DD2 and I went down early and grabbed some chairs. We headed to the poolside restaurant for breakfast at Wailana and the coffee shop shack there (neeeeeed coffee!). DD2 and hubby joined us a while later and we just hung out beside the pool for the morning. We loved the infinity pool. We had to tell some rude tween boy to stop trying to drown his sister. She kept telling him to stop but he wouldn't. Finally I said, "Hey, she said she didn't want you do that anymore. So stop doing that to her." He gave me a rude look but he stopped at least. Still a nice pool though.



I grabbed some goodies for the kids when they took off upstairs again.




On our way back, I wandered around and took photos of the pool area.



In the 'Olelo Room you can learn Hawaiian words. I stopped in to bring up some lunch to the room and really enjoyed the vibe.



I grabbed a drink and waited in the alcove where there are more carvings and a visual dictionary.


After lunch delivery, hubby and I headed back down and hit Rainbow Reef. We had plans to go in every day, but the kids didn't want to so they were kind enough to reimburse me for their non-use (I'd paid on the 24th for the duration of stay), and hubby and I got to see some fish. It looks small but once you're in and snorkelling, it's larger than you think.




We went back to the room and tried to eat all the food before we had to leave the next morning. We packed and took scads of photos of our room and bathroom (with thoughts of renovations in the future). Realizing we had lots of money left on gift cards, we (Hubby and I) ran around spending all the money. I got my DVC wallet and we picked up a lot of souvenirs for friends back home. We made it to the spa and I fell in love with the Mailie plumeria-scented items. The Lava Shack has swimsuits (got one), flip flops (got two), leather bracelets (got two), and everything you need to hit the water.

We made our way back with our loot and managed to pack the suitcases successfully. We ate a lot, but still had food and drink left over.

Last day in the next post.

 

[Canadian Harmony]

Last day.

We left a bunch of drinks and food in the ice-room on the 12th floor, hoping someone could use it. We checked out and grabbed the car to load it up. I had a bit of a freak out when I couldn't find the car keys right away, but once I calmed down we were loaded up and headed out.



We had a lot of time to kill, so we went to Ala Moana mall and went into Hot Topic and Lunch Box for shopping, and then ate at Buffalo Wild Wings (yummy!) before heading out for a drive back down the Kalaniana'ole Highway. We found a public beach/picnic area and snacked on some stuff and drank some stuff, but still couldn't finish it all. I gave what we couldn't finish (packaged food) to a family who were picnicking there.




We arrived at the airport about 5 hours before we needed to and returned the car. We waited for two hours and then asked an Air Canada agent if we could check in early because we had reservations at the Ko Olina lounge between 7 and 9pm. They were kind enough to allow us this, and we checked our bags and headed down to the international garden where the Lounge is. Right at 7 we were admitted and we hung out until 9 when they closed.

You can make a reservation online, and at the time we had to present our vaccination status (they took our Federal Canadian status as proof) and fill out their Covid questionnaire prior to entry. While we were there, they denied a group entry because someone didn't have their vaccination. Only two other groups came for a visit, and it's a large space. They don't have meals but popcorn, candy bars, drinks and souvenirs to purchase.




We had a nice snooze on the way home (red-eye flight) and made our way easily through YVR to the Nanaimo airport. No one was tagged for a test, so we headed to the new gate with about 30 minutes to spare. We were all hungry, and Tim's fit the bill while we waited. We arrived to a LOT of snow and it was another hour before the truck was dug out enough for us to drive home.



All in all, we had a wonderful trip and though the kids want to go to Disneyland for their November break, i'm sure we'll be back to Aulani soon.

Hope you enjoyed this little slice of paradise.

 

[kmedina]

Looks like you had a nice trip. The contrast between the weather on vacation and what you returned to was stark.

 

[mort1331]

Great report and pics,,,thanks

 

[wishiwasindisneyjen]

Wonderful report, thank you for sharing. Your sunrise pictures are beautiful.