Honeymooning in Hawaii: Aulani & Beyond

[topsy]

An Introduction

Welcome to my honeymoon trip report! This report will document the three main stops of our honeymoon including; Disneyland - California, The Big Island – Hawaii and Oahu – Hawaii. I’ve decided to place this in the DVC trip reports as it includes a stay at Aulani (which by the way is out of this world!).

First, a little background. I’m Kirsty. As you may have seen from my previous (and only) trip report, I am a long time visitor to WDW and started visiting the parks when I was four (I'm now 27!). I used to work at Epcot as a server in the UK pavilion and am pretty much addicted to Disney! I’ve visited Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland and had a few adventures with DCL but have never made it to the motherland aka Disneyland, Anaheim.

My DH (he's 31) on the other hand comes from a farming family and has not grown up with Disney at all. He has visited WDW once (when I worked out there) and is not particularly bothered by anything Disney. Ironically, it was he who suggested we visit Disneyland on our way to Hawaii, to try and break the journey up a bit. He won lots of new husband points for that!

Here we are at Disneyland (this trip):


My DH and I were married in the UK on Saturday 14th March. We had a wonderful day surrounded by friends and family and travelled to a family member’s house near Heathrow on the Sunday evening ready to begin our adventures bright and early on Monday 16th.

Our wedding day:


There are a few things which led us to picking Hawaii as our honeymoon destination. DH has one thing on his bucket list – to see whales in the wild. As we were getting married in spring, due to DH’s work schedule, I thought Hawaii would be a great opportunity for him to see those whales. I’d always wanted to go to Hawaii, even more so since Disney opened their Aulani resort, but I always thought it was a far off dream. And I had never been to Disneyland and desperately wanted to experience it for myself before we settle down and have a family.

We crunched some numbers and eventually thought sod it; we’re only going on honeymoon once! So our grand plan was made and included:

3 nights at Disneyland

1 night in Kona (Big Island)

5 nights in Hilo (Big Island)

5 nights at Aulani – we saved the best until last!

We have a great CM friend who got us a discounted room at the Disneyland Hotel. I knew we could get much cheaper rooms at neighbour hotels but I don’t expect to be returning to Disneyland in the future so I wanted to stay on site and soak it all in.

For Aulani, I booked through David’s Vacation Rentals at a much cheaper price than if I had booked directly. Those rooms are expensive; I don’t know how people do it without DVC points! We also experienced some wonderful pixie dust when it came to our room allocation at Aulani, despite the booking being via DVC (I’d heard there are no upgrades when staying on points). But there will be more on that later.

In planning our trip, I read and re-read two trip reports in particular. Captain Oblivous’ wonderful report and Lurky Loo’s vow renewal report. Thank you to both for many wonderful suggestions and pieces of advice (mainly relating to food!). I hope neither mind but I have added their links below.

http://www.disboards.com/threads/and-then-scotty-happened-a-hawaiian-adventure-chapter-32-added-5-23-the-end.3140126/

http://www.disboards.com/threads/aulani-to-wdw-the-lurkyloos-anniversary-vow-renewal-thrilling-conclusion-8-5.3068356/

As mentioned above, I have included every aspect of our honeymoon in this report but the Aulani specific posts will be at the end so please be prepared to wait for the good stuff. I thought some of the Disneyland/Hawaii posts might be of interest for others who may be considering a multi-destination vacation like we did.

Now, let’s get on with the good stuff…but first a beauty shot to keep you hooked...!

 

[alohamom]

Congratulations on your wedding and you certainly have got me hooked-Disneyland! Aulani! Kona/Hilo! Whales! You two sure did it right! Cant wait to read more...

 

[topsy]

Monday 16th March

We were flying to LAX from London Heathrow with Virgin Atlantic at 10.55am. As I couldn’t afford to pay for first class tickets, I upgraded us to Premium Economy and also purchased their “Guest List” experience. This basically gives you all the first class perks without actually having a first class seat on the plane. So we had a chauffeur driven car which took us directly to Virgin’s private wing at Heathrow with a private check-in and security channel. It was a wonderful splurge and made us feel so relaxed and taken care of.

We arrived at the Virgin wing a little after 7.15am. Our bags were taken straight out of the car, tagged as first class and loaded onto the belt – without us having to lift a finger. They have a clever system where the car you arrive in has to stop at a security barrier before entering and take a picture of the registration of the vehicle. From that they know who is in the car and what your reservation number is. They then use this information to print out your boarding cards. The whole check-in process took about 5 minutes and then we were going through a private security channel, followed by a quick walk to the club house where we settled in for a few hours.





We had about 2.5 hours in the Clubhouse but it went by so quickly as we were so relaxed and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast followed by watching planes take off from their rooftop terrace. It was soon time to board. Our seats were great, really comfortable and spacious although a little old (I hear Virgin has updated several of their planes but this one was still due the upgrade). Our flight went by reasonably quickly, as quickly as an 11 hour flight can!

We arrived at LAX a little early, at about 3.15pm, our trip through security was smooth and pretty quick. The agent congratulated us when we said we were on our honeymoon. We picked up our bags with no hassle and made it out to the front of terminal 2. We walked across the road to the shuttle pick up and as luck would have it, we saw a Disneyland Resort Express bus parked there so we hopped on! I had pre-booked the bus ticket online before we arrived and had originally thought we would catch a later bus but our journey from the plane to the curb was so quick we managed to catch an earlier one. The traffic was awful (as is expected for LA) and I think we made it to the Disneyland Hotel in about 1.5 hours, arriving around 5.30pm, an hour earlier than we had planned.

Check-in at the hotel was brilliant; the CM’s were so friendly and helpful. We didn’t receive a room upgrade; we had already booked a Deluxe View room with a great CM discount via a friend. They had however seen it was our honeymoon on the reservation and had a couple of special envelopes for us. One contained a lovely signed black and white photo of Mickey & Minnie in front of the castle (which we are going to frame and hang in our guest bedroom) and the other had a certificate naming us the E-Ticket family of the day! They also included an invitation up to the E-Ticket Club Lounge that evening to watch the fireworks and enjoy some champagne. We were thrilled!



We made it up to our room and I was excited to the see firework lighting above the bed (it’s the little things to us Disney addicts), DH not so much! Our room was in the Adventure tower on the 11th floor and was right next to the elevator (to the left as you step out). We could vaguely hear the elevator noise at moments during our stay but not enough to annoy us or keep us awake. It was a huge room with a very long corridor into it. We had a king size bed (heavenly!) and a wonderful view of the pools and other towers.

















We were both so tired from the long day of travelling but didn’t want to go to sleep until a sensible bedtime. We had 3 day hopper tickets as they were included in our special rate but we only had two full days at the parks, plus this first evening. So we decided to take advantage and go exploring. We freshened up, changed into more comfortable clothes, put on our Just Married badges and went off in search of the Disneyland Park. It was reasonably busy but not crazy, I had forgotten about spring break happening whilst we were there. We walked up Main Street looking in the shop windows before heading to Adventureland. There was one ride on the top of my list, as they don’t have it in WDW, Indiana Jones. The ride was down when we got there so we just kept wandering around and rode the haunted Mansion, lots of fun and pretty similar to the WDW version, although the ride loading seemed to take an age compared to WDW. We grabbed a drink at one of the carts and had a look through the shops in New Orleans Square. We then headed back to Indiana Jones and waited I think 40 minutes or so to ride. We both really enjoyed this ride although thought it was a little short, possibly because we liked it so much and wanted to keep going!

Where's the castle...?



Oh wait, there it is!!!



Around 8.00pm we decided we should head back to the room and head up to the lounge. They had suggested we be there no later than 8.30pm to snag one of the tables by the window. I’m inclined to say we had something to eat in the park before coming back to the hotel but I can’t remember anything significant. No, I’m wrong. We got back to the hotel and had burgers at Tangaroa Terrace. I loved the sweet potato fries here. One difference I did notice at DL compared to WDW is most quick service meals are served with chips not fries. Call me crazy but I am not a fan of chips and actually prefer warm fries with my burgers and sandwiches.



Anyway, we made it up to the lounge a little late, probably around 8.45pm but it wasn’t busy. Again, we were congratulated by the CM’s and led to a small table front and centre. However after this, the service kind of ceased. We helped ourselves to the desserts which were set up but couldn’t find anyone to ask for wine/champagne. We knew they didn’t keep it out as you have be 21 to drink it but every time we went up to find someone there was nobody to be found. The server did appear later on but was spending so much time with another family, whom he had clearly gotten to know during their visit, that we couldn’t get his attention. So we just had soft drinks instead. Unfortunately, as we sat waiting for the fireworks at 9.30pm, my jet lag was catching up with me. I was literally sitting at the table falling asleep. You know when you suddenly jerk yourself awake because your head has rolled too heavily? I was doing that! I managed to keep it together until they dimmed the lights for the fireworks, only for a radio message to the CM five minutes later to tell them the fireworks had been cancelled!





It was such a shame. What was a lovely honeymoon gesture from the CM’s turned out to be a bit of a waste of time and I could have been asleep in bed! Oh well, we had a lovely view and enjoyed the desserts. We crawled into bed at around 10.00pm after unpacking and preparing our things for the morning. We only had two days here so wanted to take advantage of the magic mornings/extra magic hours (I still don’t completely understand the difference!).

Next up: - A full day at Disneyland and being full after two bites of my lunch!

 

[Alexsandra]

Hi there, so excited I found this thread. We are going to Hawaii for our vow renewal with the two kids and I was wondering if I should stop at Disneyland on the way. Like you we would do 3 nights in L.A. and then fly to Hawaii. Thanks for sharing, can't wait to hear more.

 

[topsy]

Hi Alexsandra,

I have become very slack since starting this thread! I am writing my updates as quickly as I can and hope to get a couple posted this week so keep an eye out.

There's lots of pictures to come too

 

[Alexsandra]

Hi Alexsandra,

I have become very slack since starting this thread! I am writing my updates as quickly as I can and hope to get a couple posted this week so keep an eye out.

There's lots of pictures to come too

No problem, take your time. It isn't always easy finding the time to write up these reports. Can't wait to see more.

 

[Chellymouse]

congratulations on your nuptials! Can't wait to read the rest of your trip! We are 98 days from our DL/Aulani trip for our 15th wedding anniversary!

 

[ProudMommyof2]

Looks like a great start! Can not wait to hear the rest.

 

[topsy]

Hi Everyone,

I have FINALLY written the second instalment and am onto the third. I am loading this at work so will add some more pictures once I get home.

But for now...enjoy!


Tuesday 17th March - Disneyland

This morning we woke up reasonably early and planned to get to the main gates of Disneyland prior to park opening. As we only had two full days in the parks, we wanted to make sure we used every moment we could! We made it out of the hotel and through DTD in about 10 minutes and joined the other park guests at the gates. The sun was rising as we walked and everything looked so beautiful in the low light.



The lines were surprisingly short and full of green clothing. It took me a while to realise that it was St. Patrick’s Day, hence all the green t-shirts and clovers I could see! We waited for quite a while at the gates whilst they chose the “family of the day” to help open the park. Finally the cast members began the countdown and soon the whole crowd joined in. Even DH who isn’t a huge Disney fan seemed to be enjoying the atmosphere and joined in the count down!

I had read up on how to make the most of extra magic hours/magic morning (whatever it’s called) and knew I wanted to go straight to Fantasyland so we could tick all of those rides of the list. The crowds didn’t push and we had a lovely leisurely stroll up Main Street. Although I felt like there was something missing at the end of the street. Oh yes, the castle! As pretty as the original castle is, particularly in the soft morning light, I definitely prefer the WDW version. It is just so much grander and really draws you in. We stopped for the obligatory photo pass pictures in front of the castle and were offered a few shouts of “Congratulations” as people saw our just married badges.







Then we were off through the castle to Fantasyland. We rode some of the classics, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Pinocchio’s Daring Journey, Snow White’s Scary Adventure and It’s A Small World. We were the first boat on IASW and had one to ourselves as nobody else had made it to this part of the park yet. I had wanted to ride Storybook Canal but the line became really long and Casey Junior but this was not yet open. By the time we had ridden the four rides and had a bit of stroll around Fantasyland it was regular park opening time. So we decided to head over to Space Mountain to pick up a fast pass. Unfortunately, it was closed. They were telling people to check back later as they were experiencing technical issues. While in the area, we decided to ride Star Tours which had a very short line. This was fun and they showed a scenario which I hadn’t seen before. After Star Tours we rode Buzz Lightyear which was also pretty much a walk-on.





We hadn’t had any breakfast at this point so decided to go to the quick service place which overlooks the Nemo Subs. The food offering here was much better than I was expecting. DH had the American Breakfast with bacon, eggs, potatoes and something I can’t remember. I had the French toast and my favourite American tipple….chocolate milk! Both were delicious and just what we needed to refuel. Whilst sitting there in the sunshine watching the Nemo Subs we realised the line was getting much longer so we quickly finished up and went to get in line. This was probably the longest line we waited in and unfortunately due to the nature of the loading process, I don’t think you’d ever see a short line for this? We enjoyed the subs, I think it would be great with young kids.



Now because I have been useless and taken so long to write this report, I am a little hazy as to what we did next! I think we went over to Indiana Jones to pick up a fast pass before heading over to Big Thunder Mountain. We were lucky as BTMRR only had a small line due to the park just having opened so we waited about 20 minutes to ride. I loved this version of the ride; it’s great that they are all different in each of the parks. I still think my all-time favourite version is at Disneyland Paris (unfortunately though there’s not a lot else I love at DLP!). After BTMRR we wandered around Fronteirland, stopping by the Fantasmic fast pass distribution on the way. I had decided early on that if we could see Fantasmic it would be great but if we couldn’t, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. The show I wanted to see most was World of Colour as I have never seen anything like this at WDW. The fastpasses had all gone at this time so we decided we would just wing it and catch the show later from the side-lines if we felt like it. But more on that later!

We had a lunch reservation at Café Orleans for 1.30pm but still had some time to kill. So we took the opportunity to wander down Main Street to look in the shops and just take in the general atmosphere. I also really wanted to pick up the Starbucks “You are Here” mug for Disneyland. Whilst at Starbucks we decided it would be a great idea to get a Frappucino as it was so hot outside and we thought it would be refreshing. This turned out to be a mistake a little later on…

Finally it was nearly time for our reservation so we walked back over to New Orleans Square and poked our noses into the gorgeous little shops there. I have a Pandora charm bracelet and collect charms for every significant event e.g. holidays, moving into our first house, our wedding etc. so I picked up a simple Disneyland charm to remind me of this trip. I saw a really cute Cinderella themed bracelet which I knew my friend would love!

We headed to Café Orleans for our lunch reservaiion a little early but they were able to seat us within a few minutes. They asked if we had a preference of where we sat and I made the mistake of not requesting to sit outside. It was really hot outside and we just wanted to sit down so they led us to a table inside which was right in front of the service station and to be honest not the most “honeymoony” of tables! It was really busy and we were kind of forgotten about. Being British we didn’t want to make a fuss or ask to move! I had booked this place with just two dishes in mind….the Monte Cristo and Parmesan/Garlic Fries. We had an order each because DH has various food intolerances and can’t eat cheese so he had his own garlic fries but no parmesan and a ham and turkey fried sandwich. When our food came out we realised why people share these dishes! They were HUGE. And because of having to have separate portions, we each had a full basket of fries! But my goodness were they heavenly and that sauce….amazing! I would go back just for those fries.





Now, remember earlier I said we had a Starbucks and it turned out to be a huge mistake? Well we were both so full, we barely ate a thing! I actually felt really unsettled, I think because my tummy was full and I was trying to eat quite a heavy sandwich. I so regret this now and wish we could have had the proper experience and enjoyment of this meal. DH managed to eat one quarter of his sandwich (they cut it into four pieces – so he ate one!) but I only managed a measly three bites, about half of a quarter piece. We did however eat all of our fries. Feeling full and missing our waitress (who we’d seen once and had no refills), another waitress came over with refills and a plate with two Mickey beignets, whipped cream and sprinkles for our honeymoon. It was lovely and the only freebie we received for being on honeymoon throughout the trip. We were just so full we couldn’t even touch it! We asked her for a take-out box and had them as an evening snack back at the hotel. I wish now we had also taken the sandwiches back too but we left them. Oh and the nice lady who brought over our beignets? It turns out our first server’s shift had ended and we’d been switched without being told.

After lunch we decided to ride Pirates of the Caribbean which was awesome. SO much better than the WDW version. Why on earth did they not build the drops into the WDW version?? I think we rode this a couple more times at some point. We went back to Indiana Jones for our FastPass. Another great ride, but it is always over too soon! At some point we went on the Jungle Cruise which is always fun and there was barely a line (unusual at WDW for it to be so quiet!), DH loved the dry humour. We also keep checking in at Space Mountain to see if it was running yet but the ride remained down most of the day.





As we felt so full and were tired from the time difference we decided to head back to the hotel for a nap/swim with plans to head back to the park in the late afternoon/early evening. On the way out we went to Space Mountain and it was finally running so we grabbed a FastPass for later as the line was huge.

Once back at the hotel we relaxed for a little while before suiting up and heading to the pool. Unfortunately when we got there, they had just closed the main pool for cleaning after a little “accident”. We picked a lounger and headed over to the slightly smaller pool by the slide. The water was so much colder than we were expecting, it didn’t appear that they heated these pools?! We didn’t last long in the water; instead we napped for an hour on the loungers before going back to the room to shower and change.

We made it back to the park around 5pm, we’d ridden the monorail from DTD which was fun, although we definitely prefer the air conditioned WDW version! We went straight to Space Mountain with our FastPass and once in the line, it broke down again. They turned everyone away after about 20 minutes of hoping it would be fixed quickly. I think it was at this point that we went to ride POTC and Indiana Jones again.

Eventually it was nearing time for Fantasmic. It was getting a little colder but nothing compared to how cold it was at home so we stayed out in our shorts! We didn’t have a FastPass for a viewing area but we heard a cast member telling someone to loiter near the right side of the viewing areas as they may open it up if there was space. Sure enough, right before the show they opened a roped area and we were lucky enough to be standing right by it so we got to the front railing with nobody in front of us. We still had to wait about 30 minutes for the show to begin. This is where WDW is much better set up for Fantasmic. I am not a fan of standing waiting for things and I was becoming a little tired and restless, I don’t know how kids do it! We have a tradition at WDW of getting a hot fudge Sunday and taking into the amphitheatre to eat before the show.



Anyway, the show was great, obviously very similar but the dragon at DLR was SO much better than the WDW one and I loved the Peter Pan/Captain Hook fight on the pirate ship. We did get quite wet as the spray blew our way but it was worth it.

After the show we walked over to Space Mountain and finally got to ride it! I have to be honest, thinking back now I can’t really remember this ride which makes me think it can’t have been that good! I love the WDW version, hurtling along fearing that my head is going to be sliced off by a track above me at any given moment! I am sure I loved the DLR version, I definitely liked the fact that we could sit next to each other and share the experience. I remember DH telling me he loved it and it was one of his favourites (along with Indiana Jones). By the time we’d ridden it was almost time for Toontown to close and I knew I wanted to ride Roger Rabbit’s Toontown Spin as it’s not something you can find at WDW. We waited about 25 minutes to ride and it was good. I wouldn’t ride again as it made my tummy flip but I am glad I had the opportunity.

By this point we were both flagging and jet lag was catching up with us. We made our way to Tomorrowland and decided to take the monorail back to DTD as the station was quite close to the hotel and we didn’t want to walk. Whilst waiting on the platform the fireworks began and we had a great view. Once back at the room we prepared our things for the morning as we had another early start and we crawled into bed, sad that we only had one more day to experience this wonderful place.

Something to note now that I am looking back on our trip. We actually did far fewer rides than I thought we had done. Some of the rides I really wanted to do were down for refurbishment such as the Matterhorn and Splash Mountain. We had agreed from the beginning to try and do the things which are unique to DLR or reported to be better than WDW. Our time was very short and I would definitely have preferred to stay for another day or two, mainly to enjoy going at a slower pace and being able to explore the hotels, DTD, the many restaurants on site and the general atmosphere. I would also love to one day do a tour of the parks. I think four days would be perfect for a future visit…maybe I’ll remind DH of that for one of our anniversaries!

Up next: Disney’s California Adventure!

 

[TeresaNJ]

Great report! I've never been to Disneyland, so it's nice to read other's experiences about it! Oh, and congratulations!

 

[Chellymouse]

Great TR so far. We have 4 days planned at DLR before we move on to Aulani

 

[topsy]

Wednesday 18th March

I was so excited waking up this morning….we were going to see Cars Land! Well, Disney’s California Adventure to be more precise. We were up again for the morning magic hour and were out of the door by 6.15am. For some reason our pace was much quicker this morning, I think because we were going to experience something so unique, WDW doesn’t have a park like this one, so I was extra keen to get there and start the day.



Once again, we arrive before the gates opened at 7.00am and joined a short line. Once the gates opened we realised we had chosen poorly (imagine the knight from Indiana Jones saying this!). We got stuck behind a family of about seven who had no clue how to use their tickets, and then they had to take each child through at a time. Needless to say we didn’t get through in quite the speed we were hoping for! We skipped everything we passed as we made a beeline for Cars Land. We were heading for Radiator Springs and joined the line by Flo’s V8 Café. This may sound like a long line but they hadn’t actually opened it at the front yet so we weren’t too far back. I think we waited in line for about 25-30 minutes. Very reasonable when you consider the almost two hour wait we saw later in the day!

















What can I tell you about this ride that hasn’t already been said? Probably nothing new. I have to agree with anyone who has previously said….this ride is AWESOME! I truly hope that this ride comes to WDW soon, it is great for all ages, the attention to detail is immense and it has just the right balance of smooth ride vs. exiting thrill ride. It is similar to Test Track in terms of ride operation but it really puts Test Track to shame (especially since TT has had that awful overlay). The queue line is well themed and interesting although I don’t think I would find it quite so interesting if in it for two hours! Ride loading was smooth and well managed and it’s great that you can see so much of the ride as a spectator out in the park.

It was only about 7.40am when we finished the ride ad the line was definitely much bigger then. We knew we wanted to go and get a Fast Pass as soon as the park opened and decided to kill the time by getting some breakfast. We ate at Flo’s and it was so cute, a proper diner experience. The cashier lady we approached was great fun and we chatted about how we were on honeymoon. She was telling DH that he needed to pay for breakfast to keep me sweet and he should always pay for the lady. I can’t argue with that! DH had the classic American breakfast with bacon, eggs and potatoes. I had brioche French toast with salted caramel and bananas. Both were very tasty, in fact we ended up sharing.







After breakfast we found a Photopass photographer who gave us a brilliant photo shoot! He took us all around Cars Land and made us pose in all sorts of crazy places.





Following our private shoot, we walked by Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree which had a very short line. This was really fun! I think children would love it. We took a short video to try and capture how much you are flung around, I’ll try to find this later.





After this ride, we started to see hordes of people entering Cars Land and realised the main gates must have opened for regular park opening time. We went straight back towards the Radiator Springs FP area and saw the line going all the way back to beyond Carthay Circle. We decided not to line up at this point as we didn’t need an early FP as we’d just ridden it, we’d go back a little later once the initial rush had subsided. Instead we went on through A Bug’s Land to Tower of Terror. ToT is my favourite ride at WDW but DH hates it! I remember the first time I took him on it and didn’t really tell him what to expect. When we got off he was shaking and pale, he then decided to tell me that he didn’t like dark enclosed spaces or stomach churning drops!



I’ve ridden the DLP version of ToT and understood this version to be the same. I like them both for different reasons. The WDW one is much better themed, is longer and I like the fact that it moves forward. The DL version takes me more by surprise so I found it more thrilling.

After ToT we walked around the Hollywood Land area (not a lot of interest here) and back to the main entrance area, Buena Vista Street. We decided to go and get a FP for World of Colour tonight, the machines are located by Grizzly River Run which I was also desperate to go on so we headed that way. Unfortunately GRR was closed for maintenance so that’s another new experience I didn’t have. It seems my list of reasons to return to DL is getting longer, such a shame….! We picked up a yellow FP and had a walk around the Wilderness Explorer area by GRR. This area is cut but I think more geared up for children who can complete various challenges.

Soon we found ourselves walking over to the Paradise Pier area. I found this park to be very disconcerting as I know my way around all other Disney parks, except this one. Even Disneyland which is similar to WDW’s Magic Kingdom but different, it has the same general layout and is easy to navigate. I am not a fan of the layout of California Adventure I’m afraid. I also think it’s a bit of an oddball park but fun nonetheless.



We stopped to take some photos of Mickey’s Fun Wheel and California Screaming before getting an FP for CS and having a bathroom break. We joined the line for Toy Story Midway Mania as I think it said it was a 45 minute wait. It seemed like we waited much longer but I think that was because most of the line is outside and it was particularly hot and bright so it felt harder to wait. We met some lovely guys in line who I suspect may have been off-duty CM’s. One of them saw my Just Married pin and asked why DH wasn’t wearing his. I told them he was a Disney hater and I was trying to convert him but had to take baby steps! We had a good laugh and carried on in the line. It turns out this was not to be the last of us seeing them. We kept being opposite them at every turn in the line and later bumped into them in line for some other rides. Isn’t it funny how you can go your whole trip without seeing the same people twice and then in one day you see the same people several times in one day!

DH really liked TSMM. I don’t think he has ever been on it at WDW so it was something new for him. I have never been good at getting points on this ride and although this may be sacrilege to say on a Disney forum, I really hate the whole pull cord set-upon the guns! I just find it so difficult to keep up momentum. I had read up on how to score points on this ride and thought I was doing really well until I saw DH’s score and he was way ahead of me.

After TSMM we went back for our FP at California Screaming. I really liked this ride too. I am usually more of a themed ride person rather than straight roller coasters but this one was great. It was smoother than I thought and I loved the fast launch. DH loved it too. We carried on around the pier area and although we really wanted to do the Fun Wheel, the line was about an hour. I suppose they are limited to how quickly they can get people loaded and unloaded. We never did get back to this ride. From here, we went on to Goofy’s Sky School, where we met our new friends in line again. We were also behind a really disruptive family of what looked like either a very young mum or big sister with three younger kids who were climbing all over the railings and up the wall. They were loud, knocking each other’s hats off, barging into people etc. and the “grown up” they were with was just laughing along with them. I have a real pet hate about impolite behaviour in ride queues. This ride was fun, very similar to Animal Kingdom’s roller coaster in Dinoland. Be prepared to get thrown about!

Soon after this we decided it was time for some lunch. We headed over to the Pacific Wharf area and did the walk through at Boudin Bakery. It was interesting to see how the bread is made, and how much they get through every day. We had a quick wander around the area trying to decide on what to eat and finally settled on the Boudin sourdough bread bowls filled with soup. I had the baked potato soup in my bowl and DH had a sandwich with ham and turkey. It was so delicious! We grabbed a seat outside in the general seating area; the tables are pretty close together so I can imagine it being difficult to get in and out of seats in the middle if you have a stroller or wheelchair etc.



After lunch we both felt like having something sweet so we stopped at Ghirardelli for a treat! I hate an amazing salted caramel fudge sundae and DH ordered the cable car. When it came out, he hadn’t realised quite how much ice cream or cream would be in his bowl! He did a brilliant job of finishing it off though, with a little help from me as I stole some of his cream to top mine off. I should point out that this was probably the start of my holiday weight gain….I managed to put on several pounds during this trip (having lost a load of weight before the wedding) but it was definitely worth it!

With our tummies full we walked the long way round the park, heading through A Bug’s Land to ToT ( we didn’t ride it again, it’s probably not the best one to go on after eating Ghirardelli sundaes!). We kind or mooched around the area between the Aladdin theatre and Monsters Inc. ride. We were kind of done with the park, we’d ridden everything we wanted to (other than the rides which were under refurbishment i.e. GRR) and were feeling a little drained. Not wanting to leave just yet, we got in line for Monster’s Inc. I had great hopes for this ride, I’m not sure why, I must have heard some good things about it. I have to admit, I was underwhelmed. It lacked excitement and variation; it is basically just a steady ride through of scenes. I think it would be excellent as a more interactive ride, a bit more like the Men in Black ride at Universal Orlando. I realise it’s primarily a children’s ride so perhaps it would have been more fun for a family. I’ve always thought that Disney could make a great ride with Monster’s Inc, particularly with the whole door scene towards the end. They could make it into a brilliant roller coaster style ride.

Anyway, after Monster’s Inc., we spent some time looking at the Frozen shop nearby. I realised that there was an Aladdin musical show starting really soon so I asked DH if he’d want to see it. He and I go to musicals together at home but he’s not huge on Disney so I didn’t know whether it would be of interest to him. I told him I had heard it was good and funny and he agreed to go and watch. We were so full we didn’t want to do anything too strenuous so this was the perfect opportunity to sit down in the cool!





When we got to the theatre queue line they had just opened up the line for the top balcony. They have three separate lines, one for the stalls (seats on the bottom at the front), one for the middle balcony and one for the top balcony (really high up!). they seem to fill them in that order which makes sense as the actors don’t want the section immediately in front of them to be empty! We only waited about five minutes before they started to walk us all in by group. As we were in the highest balcony, we had to walk up a load of steps outside. They do pre-warn you and ask that you stay behind the cast members and not rush. Once inside the building, it looks really steep from the top and you have to walk back down to the front rows of that section. If you are not a heights person, I would suggest getting there earlier to snag a seat in the lower levels.

We sat right in the front row and had a great view. Although high up, we could see the whole stage and the magic carpet moment was excellent as they were flying right in front of us! The Genie was brilliant in this show, very funny and had many jokes relating to current affairs (mainly of the celebrity type). I’m the kind of person who likes looking into the behind the scenes aspects of things so I was fascinated with watching the preparation of the mid-air magic carpet scenes and the actors/stunt doubles getting on and off the carpet in the roof space.

The show lasted for about an hour I think, although I’m sure someone can clarify exactly how long it is! Once finished, we were ready to leave the park but not before popping into Starbucks so I could grab the “You Are Here” mugs for the California Adventure park. My good friends who live in Florida and work at WDW had asked me to grab them a set and in return they are picking up the WDW versions for me! We also grabbed some pastries for breakfast the next morning as we were due to be leaving for the airport very early.

I realised that we hadn’t had a photo in front of the station at Disneyland the day before so we quickly went through the gates and had one taken. As tempting as it was to go on in and do some more rides, we were tired and wanted to relax before coming back later for World of Colour.

At around 7pm we decided to head back to California Adventure for some food and I also had to swap one of the mugs I bought earlier as it had a tiny hairline fracture. The lady serving me at Starbucks seemed to think I was a bit nuts at wanting to swap when it was such a tiny mark but I figure if you’re buying something which you can’t exchange once you get home, you need to make sure it is perfect.

I took DH back to Carsland as I was desperate to try some of the offerings from the Cozy Cone. He had a coffee and we shared a cone of churro bites with chocolate sauce and a cone of pretzel bites with cheese dip (which DH can’t eat so all the more for me!). Both were awesome, I only wish we had been there longer so we could have eaten them again! Time seemed to slip away from us here and before long we realised it was just after 8.00pm. So we hot footed it over to WoC to the yellow viewing area (having grabbed a FP earlier in the day). Once we got there we were a little let down by the CMs. None seemed to be overly helpful. They wouldn’t clearly explain where we should stand and said the yellow area was full, which is odd because surely they only give out a limited number of tickets so there should be enough space for anyone who gets a ticket?! We saw a space at the back of an area which gave an ok-ish view. That is until the show started and all the children were stuck up on their parents shoulders and I couldn’t see a thing! Bear in mind I am only just 5’2. My advice here….get there early!

People rave about this show and I so desperately wanted to see it and love it but the viewing experience really didn’t help. What I could see looked amazing but I really couldn’t see very much. It had also started to drizzle with rain which was making us feel a bit cold. I have since watched a few videos on YouTube of WoC and can see why people love it so much so definitely prioritise getting there early over picking up food like we did if you want a great view.

After the show we walked back towards the front entrance along with everyone else and had a gentle stroll back to the room. We took in the atmosphere of DTD as this would be the last time we saw it for many years (that’s providing I can convince DH to go back sometime in the future!). We strolled around the hotel grounds and enjoyed the sights, sounds and smells of the pool area and check-in area. Once back at the room we prepped our things for our early departure the next morning and went to bed in the gorgeous room. I played the fireworks on the headboard as we drifted off to sleep.

Up next...we fly to Hawaii!

 

[Chellymouse]

Love your pics! We are booking the dinner/show for WOC. Thanks for the tip to get there early!

 

[topsy]

Oh no, my last post seems to have had a bit of a technical issue!

Can anyone tell me how to delete it so I can re-post with the proper photos?

I am not yet used to this new(ish) look of the website and can't find how to do it!

 

[topsy]

Thanks Chellymouse, glad you are enjoying the report!

 

[mrp4352]

I'm enjoying reading along!

 

[topsy]

Hey everyone!

I really am bad at posting trip reports, I'm sorry for making you all wait between posts (for months at a time!). We are building our own home and are so busy. We also don't have any regular internet so I am trying to upload pictures and notes a little at a time.

Anyway, here's a short video of our ride on Mater's Junkyard Jamboree to tide you over!

 

[topsy]

Thursday 19th March

The day had quickly dawned upon us and I did not want to leave. The fact that we still had an amazing Hawaii trip ahead of us made it easier to leave but I still found it very hard. We woke up at 5.15am to catch the first bus back to the airport at 6.00am. We grudgingly got ready and took our bags down to the bus stop just outside the main entrance. Whilst waiting for the bus we ate the pastries we had bought from Starbucks the day before. I do love their cream cheese Danish pastries, yum.

The bus journey was uneventful; it probably took about an hour to get to the airport. We were dropped at the Hawaiian Airlines check-in area and had no problems checking in with their self-serve computer screens. One thing to mention here – I had signed up to Hawaiian’s loyalty scheme when booking our flights which is free to join. It meant we received a discount when paying for our bags on the inter-island flights. Unfortunately they don’t offer a discount to members for flights to and from the mainland.

We passed through security quickly and easily, although it still amazes me how oblivious so many people are in this part of the airport. They seem to wait until they are right at the front to start sorting through bags and the things they need to get out (laptops, liquids etc.) always seem to be right at the bottom. The terminal we were in (T2 I think) was really underwhelming. They were refurbishing pretty much the whole departure area and as such had very few eating options. We wanted to buy some food for the flight, mainly because of DH’s intolerances and not knowing what they would serve. We chose the only option available, a newsstand type set up with sandwiches and salads. This place was expensive! I am used to London prices but these surpassed even those. We paid $14.00 for a salad…..A SALAD in a plastic box! That’s about £10.00. I think we paid nearly $50 for a salad, sandwich, 2 bags of crisps and one soft drink.

We settled in at the gate area which was pretty full already and used the airport Wi-Fi to post pictures and catch up on what our doggy was up to. We have a 2 year old Springer Spaniel/Labrador cross who was home boarding with a professional dog walker/trainer. She has a Facebook page and posts daily photos of the dogs she is looking after. We had great fun looking at them every day – he had a whale of a time with her and was exhausted when we got home.



Anyway, I digress….

We were soon called to board and were able to get on first as we had purchased the extra comfort seats. The cost to upgrade to these seats was minimal, only about $75 for us both I think? These seats are part of the first class cabin at the front (separated by a see through curtain during the flight) and are separate from the general economy cabin which means it is quieter and feels roomier as a result. You get extra legroom, a free TV package (with limited movie options – don’t expect the new releases) and dedicated service. For anyone interested in Hawaiian’s extra comfort, here’s the link: http://www.hawaiianairlines.com/services/pages/extra-comfort.aspx

The flight was good, it felt really short. I think I watched Argo and a few episodes of Glee. We were served spaghetti bolognese with a small salad and crackers. They had some delicious chocolate coated macadamia nuts on the tray. I so wish we had bought some of those to bring home but we never did. We were flying in to Honolulu where we then had a connecting flight to Kona on the Big Island. I knew that there was a possibility of flying over Aulani on the way in to Honolulu and that our best chance to see the resort was on the left of the plane so I had booked our seats accordingly. My luck was in as we came in to land and right there to the left of us was Aulani! It was so exciting and I managed to get a really good shot. It was such a tease to know that we wouldn’t be going straight there; we had another island to explore first.









We had a short turn-around of about an hour until our flight to Kona. Luckily the airport was easy to navigate. We were told when we landed that there was an airport shuttle we could take to the other terminal or we could walk. We chose to walk as the walkways were covered but outside and in the lovely warm Hawaiian air. It only took us about 15 minutes to get to our next gate and they began boarding shortly after we arrived.

The flight was about 45 minutes long, which gave them just enough time to go up and down the aisle handing delicious POG juice (that stuff is good!). On the descent into Kona, I was watching out of the window and thought I saw a splash below us in the ocean. I happened to catch the eye of the lady sitting behind me and as soon as I saw her smile I knew what we had both seen….”that was a whale right?” I asked her. She confirmed that yes, it was a humpback breaching!

The Kona airport is possibly the sweetest airport I’ve ever seen, I wish I’d taken a picture. It is tiny and is all out in the open air. The baggage claim was covered but situated amongst pretty plants and flowers. People were waiting with leis to greet the guests they were picking up; we were definitely in Hawaii now! The luggage came quickly (which it should do in such a small place!) and we soon made our way to the curb right outside where we waited for a Dollar rental car van.

We had our first experience of laid back Hawaiians – the driver was so friendly and chilled out. He was also very relaxed in his driving style! The rental car pick up is only a few minutes away, you could probably walk there but I wouldn’t recommend it. We quickly picked up our car, a beat up old Ford Focus with lots of scratches (which I documented) and began the short drive into Kona. It took us about 30 minutes and there was quite a lot of traffic on the road. Although it’s a wide road, it was only a single lane for most of the journey so traffic backed up. We were in no rush as we had no real plans for the evening.

We were staying at the Kona Seaside Hotel, recommended by the Lonely Planet guide books I had read. It also had reasonable reviews on Trip Advisor. The hotel looked pretty tired and dated but overall was ok for a one night stay. It was clean and I felt safe there. They offered parking at $5 per night and gave coupons for free breakfast at a restaurant a few doors down (which was great). The a/c was really noisy and didn’t seem to work overly well. I did notice that a/c wasn’t used as much in Hawaii as I was used to in places like Florida. I think the locals were just used to the heat and enjoy the outdoor lifestyle so much they don’t mind it as much as we do!

We dropped our bags in the room, got changed and freshened up before driving to WalMart a few minutes away. We wanted to pick up some snacks and candy as well as bottles of water to take out with us each day. I found the best mini Three Musketeers candies. They were a special Easter edition and tasted like marshmallow. I ate an entire pack in a few days and really wish I had bought more to bring home! Once back at the hotel we took our shopping up to the room and went off for a walk around the main street; Alii Drive. We walked up and down and watched some locals swimming, sailing and paddling in Outriggers. We looked at the menus for the restaurants along the waterfront and found they were all pretty similar, we ended up picking the one on the corner closest to our hotel. I think it was called Kona Beach Steakhouse? We sat up on the top floor which was open air and looked out across the water. The place was pretty empty but we were early, it must have been around 6.30pm.











We really enjoyed eating here, the service was pretty slow but in a laid back way, not because it was poor. Our server was friendly and helpful in making suggestions. We ordered some Mai Tai’s and enjoyed watching people go about their business. There was a hula show across the street in one of the resorts which we could see. The food was great, although there was so much choice on the menu, it was hard to choose. I had pulled pork with Kona coffee BBQ sauce and DH had a burger with pineapple. We finished it off with a slice of cream pie made with Oreo cookie and coffee ice cream. It was delicious, a great recommendation from our server.













We stayed a little while to watch the sunset before heading back to the hotel to bed.

 

[Chellymouse]

awesome! We are finally in the teens! can't wait for the next installment

 

[topsy]

Friday 20th March

We woke up at a reasonable time of about 9.00am and went off to breakfast which is free to hotel guests and served at Splasher’s Grill a few doors down from the hotel. As a hotel guest you are given three options to choose from along with your choice of soft drink; all American breakfast, macadamia nut & banana pancake stack or a healthy option of Granola and something else which I cannot remember. I was clearly turned off by the fact that it was a healthy option; I didn’t make a note of what it was! The service was friendly and portions huge! I’d read mixed reviews on Trip Advisor about the breakfast offerings but can honestly say we were more than happy with what we got.





After breakfast we walked around the immediate beach area and dipped our feet in the water. We walked around a sacred site on the waterfront and enjoyed watching some tiny, brightly coloured birds picking at fallen fruit. After a while of soaking in the laid back vibe we popped into one of the shops to buy DH a cap to wear out on our excursion later that day.





















We had booked on Dan McSweeney’s whale watching & conservation tour and needed to be at the Honokohau Marina by 10.45am. We had been instructed to allow 45 minutes for the drive from Kona to the Marina but it only took us 15 so we were really early! We parked up and looked around at the boats. It was scorching hot at this point and I am very fair skinned so I was taking great care in the sun. Soon we walked down to the boat (following the instructions given on their website) and checked in for the tour. There were about 20-30 of us in total I think on the boat. There is a seating area up on the top deck for 12 adults which we had originally wanted to sit in but it filled up before we got on the boat. In hindsight, sitting on the bottom level gave us much greater flexibility throughout the trip. We were free to move about and go up to the front more easily. Not to mention the fact that I probably would have burnt if sitting on the top desk as there was no shade.









Unfortunately during this tour we didn’t see any breaches or really impressive activity but we did see a variety of whales; from mothers and calves to a mother, calf and escort whale. We saw several dives and tail flukes and enjoyed the ride as a whole.

















The best part came when DH and I went out to the front of the boat, which Captain Dan had stopped as he’d seen a mother and calf go under and was expecting them to come up right near us. We were all keeping a watch on the water, waiting for them to surface as it was sure to be the closest many of us would get to a humpback whale. I was at the very front, leaning against the rail looking down into the water when I said to DH I could see something in the water. It took us a few minutes to realise but the whales were right under the boat playing around! The photos aren’t very clear but if you look carefully, you can see the whites of the whale’s bellies and fins as they swam around beneath us. They came up for air shortly after and showed off their impressive blowholes!



Look for the shadow in the water here…