DVC2004
06-22-2012, 02:03 PM
So we arrived in Honolulu in the evening on a Tuesday, and though it was dark (after 9 pm) the weather was warm and beautiful. We picked up our car and headed straight to Aulani. It was about a 20 minutes drive from the airport, west. It is located in Ko Olina, which is a gorgeous and much more secluded area that Waikiki Beach/Honolulu. We spotted the towers from the road. Check in was a breeze and everyone was so friendly. We were greated with fresh flower leis (ladies) and I think they are called Koa Nut leis (for the guys). Everyone gets this upon check in. Important to note because my husband, against my advice, spent $130 on an airport lei greeting only to get the same ones free. Well whatever, we had twice the leis. We were celebrating my husbands birthday (the next day) and they also wished him a happy birthday and gave him a birthday button which said happy birthday in Hawaiian.
It was almost 11 pm when we arrived at our roon. We had 1 BR villa. We were on the first floor. At first I was not thrilled. I thought, this big tall place and we are on the ground floor? But it was acutally very nice, private and next the spa. So, it was quiet and smelled good! Also we had 2 separated patios, one off the living room and one off our bedroom. You could just walk right out on the path if you wanted. We also had the lit tiki torch right outside.
The room was spacious, very beautiful. DVC as usual does not disappoint. At the last minute a relative joined us, so they used the pull out bed which comes out of the entertainment armoire. It was comfy she said. The boys shared the sofa bed which they are used to and no complaints.
We pretty much unpacked and hit the hay. the next morning my husband and I let eveyrone sleep and we took off to look for a grocery store. There is a small one across the street from the property but we drove off and probably 10 minutes away found a Safeway. We stockd up on soda, milk, beer and wine, snacks, cereal and a few frozen items in case the kids got the late night munchies. Prices were not as bad as people say. Yes it does cost more but that is how it is. Everything has to be shipped over. We also noted the abundance of fast food and picked up some cheapie Taco Bell for lunch which suited all of us fine.
When we got back, we hit the beach. The pool area is expansive and really very nice. There is a lazy river and a snorkeling area. The snorkeling costs extra. There are little windows so people can watch from the side the fish and the underwater view. There were two slides and one produced constant screams from riders so I imagine it was pretty good. You do need to get wristband each day to hang out on the pool deck. There are plenty of large plush towels and plenty of seats. They said not to leave your stuff because they would check and move it if you weren't there for over an hour but I really didn't see any of that. Most of the time, at least one of us stayed in a chair anyway.
The beach- gorgeous. A Cresecent shaped lagoon. No waves to speak of because of rocks formations so very calm. No lifeguard on duty but the water was smooth. Life jackets are available too. There were tons of chairs and we were told there was no charge for chair or umbrella on the beach if you had the resort wristband. I believe there was a charge for the upgraded, hooded loungers with the extra padding. There are also free boogie boards to use (no waves though!), and you can rent a kayak or a paddle surf board. My oldest and husband did try this and they said it was fun. They both fell off at first but quickly learned how to stay balanced and paddled around the lagoon. They also saw a sea turtle at the outer edge, we were told his name was Lucky and he is a regular visitor.
Sort of a funny story, this was later in the week, but Jason Earles from Disney channel was there along with several other stars (I didn't recognize the names) and they started filming a commercial or promo right on the beach. Right next to my younger son who was scultping the sand. They also moved into the lagoon and took several takes filming a promo. They were on surfboard and the assistants got in the water behind them and held the boards steady. My oldest happened to be paddle boarding at the time and paddled into the shot from behind. Whoops! I think he knew what he was doing and did it on purpose. The director promptly waived him off. ;) So much for being the next Disney channel super star heart throb.
Jason Earles is 35 by the way. Same age as me. My kids could not get over it. He looks super young!
More to come...
It was almost 11 pm when we arrived at our roon. We had 1 BR villa. We were on the first floor. At first I was not thrilled. I thought, this big tall place and we are on the ground floor? But it was acutally very nice, private and next the spa. So, it was quiet and smelled good! Also we had 2 separated patios, one off the living room and one off our bedroom. You could just walk right out on the path if you wanted. We also had the lit tiki torch right outside.
The room was spacious, very beautiful. DVC as usual does not disappoint. At the last minute a relative joined us, so they used the pull out bed which comes out of the entertainment armoire. It was comfy she said. The boys shared the sofa bed which they are used to and no complaints.
We pretty much unpacked and hit the hay. the next morning my husband and I let eveyrone sleep and we took off to look for a grocery store. There is a small one across the street from the property but we drove off and probably 10 minutes away found a Safeway. We stockd up on soda, milk, beer and wine, snacks, cereal and a few frozen items in case the kids got the late night munchies. Prices were not as bad as people say. Yes it does cost more but that is how it is. Everything has to be shipped over. We also noted the abundance of fast food and picked up some cheapie Taco Bell for lunch which suited all of us fine.
When we got back, we hit the beach. The pool area is expansive and really very nice. There is a lazy river and a snorkeling area. The snorkeling costs extra. There are little windows so people can watch from the side the fish and the underwater view. There were two slides and one produced constant screams from riders so I imagine it was pretty good. You do need to get wristband each day to hang out on the pool deck. There are plenty of large plush towels and plenty of seats. They said not to leave your stuff because they would check and move it if you weren't there for over an hour but I really didn't see any of that. Most of the time, at least one of us stayed in a chair anyway.
The beach- gorgeous. A Cresecent shaped lagoon. No waves to speak of because of rocks formations so very calm. No lifeguard on duty but the water was smooth. Life jackets are available too. There were tons of chairs and we were told there was no charge for chair or umbrella on the beach if you had the resort wristband. I believe there was a charge for the upgraded, hooded loungers with the extra padding. There are also free boogie boards to use (no waves though!), and you can rent a kayak or a paddle surf board. My oldest and husband did try this and they said it was fun. They both fell off at first but quickly learned how to stay balanced and paddled around the lagoon. They also saw a sea turtle at the outer edge, we were told his name was Lucky and he is a regular visitor.
Sort of a funny story, this was later in the week, but Jason Earles from Disney channel was there along with several other stars (I didn't recognize the names) and they started filming a commercial or promo right on the beach. Right next to my younger son who was scultping the sand. They also moved into the lagoon and took several takes filming a promo. They were on surfboard and the assistants got in the water behind them and held the boards steady. My oldest happened to be paddle boarding at the time and paddled into the shot from behind. Whoops! I think he knew what he was doing and did it on purpose. The director promptly waived him off. ;) So much for being the next Disney channel super star heart throb.
Jason Earles is 35 by the way. Same age as me. My kids could not get over it. He looks super young!
More to come...