Our time at the townhouse went by quickly and soon it was time to pack up, eat a fantastic breakfast at Ted’s Bakery, go thrifting, and check into Aulani. All of us found something we felt lucky to find. We thought about going to the Dole Plantation like my mother had when she was young but it looked liked such a tourist trap that we were happy to drive past and see the pineapple fields from our car.
Staying at Aulani for two nights was a dream come true and the perfect amount of time for us this trip. We got Mickey shaped shaved ice (cheaper and yummier than the ice back home), enjoyed all the water features, and felt very posh.
Hubby and I watched the sunset from an adults only hot tub and it was beyond gorgeous. The weather was perfect to watch Inside Out 2 on the lawn. I was so impressed with their visual and audio set up and am convinced that watching a movie outdoors in Hawaii is the best ever.
Day 2 began with a wonderful Eggs n Things breakfast across the street and snorkeling in the Rainbow Reef. We called it luxury snorkeling because it was so easy to see so many fish!
Next, we had an outrigger canoe experience booked but when the waves got choppy further out from Aulani’s lagoon and the captain decided to cancel all the tours for the rest of the day. We were fine, though, getting a refund and hanging out at the beach instead.
We had some time before our sunset beach photos so Natalie and I went around getting character autographs on the wooden ornament I had ordered from Etsy and put in her Christmas stocking. The meet and greets were great (so close together in the shade) and we experienced some pixie dust. One of the DVC cast members, Dee, liked what Natalie was collecting autographs on and saw we had some empty space. While Natalie went around the lazy river one time, Dee got us all the rest of the signatures from the break room. We were delighted!
At home I had done research on how to get sunset beach photos. A private photographer for half a hour would have been over $700. One day of photos at Aulani was only $25 and fast and easy to download thanks to the Disneyland app! After photos, we went across the street to eat dinner at the Cantina and enjoyed great food and service there. Our time on Oahu would soon be coming to an end but our family was already so happy we came to Hawaii.
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