Hello friends, I hope you are well! Today I am sharing a recap of our Disneymoon! We got back a few weeks ago from Disneyland in California and Aulani resort in Hawaii! I’ll be sharing the plans we had for each day as well as what we actually did, and will definitely be sharing more in the future! Okay, without further ado let’s jump in!
Wednesday November 7th, 2018
The Plans: fly to LAX and get a shuttle to our hotel, Check in, and run to Disneyland! Lunch at Cafe Orleans, dinner at Carthay Circle, and watch Paint the Night!
What we actually did:
- Flew to LA (landed at 10:30am)
- Got our shuttle (pre-booked through Get Away Today where we also booked our hotel, we used Karmel Shuttle) it was SUPER fast and easy
- arrived at our hotel and pre-checked in (we were there too early to actually check in)
- basically ran to Disneyland and were in the park by noon!
- lunch at Cafe Orleans
- rode Indiana Jones, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, The Incredicoaster, and Haunted Mansion Holiday
- dinner at Carthay Circle for the Paint the Night dining package
Thursday November 8th, 2018.
The Plans: Magic Morning at Disneyland, dinner at Blue Bayou, get MaxPass and Fastpasses for Fantasmic!
What we actually did:
- Magic Morning at Disneyland
- conquered the Mountains (rode Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad twice!)
- got MaxPass and did SO MANY THINGS. I totally recommend getting it if you can and will be sharing a post all about it soon!
- saw Frozen the Musical
- did SO many rides! (Pirates, Indiana, Guardians, ALL Cars Land rides, and so many more!)
- dinner at Blue Bayou
- stood for an hour waiting for Fantasmic…. for it to be cancelled because of high winds 🙁
Friday November 9th, 2018
The Plans: Hop between Disneyland and Disney California Adventure, and finish up what we hadn’t done. See Mickey and The Magical Map and Believe! In Holiday Magic (fireworks). Breakfast at Carnation Cafe.
What we actually did:
- rope dropped Disney California Adventure
- got MaxPass again
- rode the Pixal Pal Around swinging cars (never again)
- walked around DCA, then park hopped to Disneyland (we didn’t actually go back to “say goodbye”) 🙁
- breakfast at Carnation Cafe, I got Mickey waffles!
- rode It’s a Small World Holiday
- saw Mickey and The Magical Map
- relaxed in Frontierland
- got an amazing Pluto popcorn bucket
- had a late lunch at Hungry Bear
- finished anything else we wanted to do
- ended up leaving the park early, not knowing if we could stay awake for the fireworks/ if they would even go on because of high winds again
- said goodbye to Disneyland 🙁
- walked around Downtown Disney and grabbed pizza to take back to our hotel and packed up to fly to Hawaii in the morning!
Saturday November 10th, 2018.
The Plans: Fly to Hawaii, pick up rental car, stop at Target, arrive at resort, dinner at ‘Ama ‘Ama, DVC character meet & greet
What we actually did:
- got our shuttle to the airport at 6:15am from our hotel (again this was all pre-booked and super easy!)
- flew to Honolulu Airport on Oahu
- picked up our rental car from Thrifty (which was actually offsite- I would recommend picking a rental car company that is on site and would do that next time!)
- started the drive to Aulani (about 30-45 mins) and stopped at a Target about 15 mins away from the resort to get snack for our room
- arrived at Aulani right around 4pm for check in!
- parking tip: (ours was free because we are DVC members) go to the lower floors instead of going higher in the parking structure, there were consistently spots open on P2!
- checked into out room, got ready for dinner!
- Dinner at ‘Ama ‘Ama right during sunset, honestly one of the best meals of my life!
- explored the resort a little before heading to bed!
Sunday November 11th, 2018
The Plans: Explore Aulani! Pink Pillbox hike, dinner across the street
What we actually did:
- breakfast at Ulu Cafe (the quick service)
- relaxed on the beach
- I attempted to paddleboard (key word attempted)
- went in the lazy river and on one of the slides
- lunch at Off The Hook (pool bar)
- relaxed at the resort
- dinner at Monkeypod across the street (GET THE PIE!!)
Monday November 12th, 2018
The Plans: Drive up to the North Shore making stops along the way, get Shave Ice from Matsumoto’s, shrimp from Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck, horseback riding, get pizza from across the street
What we actually did:
- drove up to the North Shore after breakfast at Makahiki (way overpriced Character breakfast buffet)
- stopped at Laei point, Sunset Beach Park, and in Haliewa
- walked the Waimea Valley
- stumbled upon a surfing competition!
- shave ice from Matsumoto’s
- grabbed some chips for a snack at a convenience store
- horseback riding on the beach (highlight of the trip!)
- drove back to Aulani, got a pizza from Ulu cafe (not a bad deal)
Tuesday November 13th, 2018.
The Plans: Hike Diamond Head, Manoa Valley, Koko Crater, Lanai Lookout, Halona Blowhole lookout, Nukuanu pali lookout, dinner across the street
What we actually did:
- grabbed breakfast from Ulu cafe and hit the road to get to Diamond Head early
- got stuck in traffic for about an hour!
- Hiked Diamond Head crater
- drove into Waikiki and parked at the Ala Moana Centre mall (free parking)
- walked to Waikiki Beach and back (wouldn’t recommend parking where we did because it was a long walk, especially after hiking!)
- stopped at Leonard’s Bakery for Malasadas (tip: these are like full size donuts, so don’t buy 18 for 2 people)
- headed back to Aulani, and relaxed by the pool for the rest of the day! My feet were done after Diamond Head, so we didn’t do the other hike we planned.
- Dinner at Monkeypod across the street
Wednesday November 14th, 2018.
The Plans: Helicoper Tour of Oahu, Explore Waikiki and Pearl Harbour
What we actually did:
- helicopter tour that left from Ko Olina, so it was a 2 min drive from Aulani!
- spent the rest of the day relaxing at the resort
- dinner at Makahiki buffet
Thursday November 15th, 2018.
The Plans: Tour Koaloa Ranch with Adventures by Disney
What we actually did:
Our tour was actually cancelled because not enough people had signed up, and we found our around lunch the day before. Because it was the day before, when we tried to book something directly with Koaloa ranch, everything was booked up. It was a bummer because it was the one thing I really wanted to do, but luckily they let us know that the horseback riding was being replaced with ATV-ing, so we booked horseback riding separately. Lesson learned!
So, we had another resort day and spent time relaxing at the adults only pool! Since we would be getting a refund for the most expensive tour we had booked, we ending uo making another reservation for ‘Ama ‘Ama for dinner! And for breakfast we went to Island Vintage Coffee across the street, and I got an açai bowl that was delicious! I’m sad we didn’t go there earlier in the trip because we definitely would have gone back!
Friday November 16th, 2018.
The Plans: Go to Laniwai Spa and relax at the resort
What we actually did:
- had breakfast at ‘Ama ‘Ama
- packed up our room and checked our bags with Bell Services
- headed to the Laniwai spa around 10am to enjoy the hydrotherapy showers before our massages at 11!
- relaxed at the spa for a few hours
- had lunch at Ulu Cafe, and relaxed by the beach for a few hours before we had to head to the airport
- said goodbye to one of the nicest hotels I’ve ever stayed in, Aulani!
Saturday November 17th
Fly home 🙁
If you’d like to hear more about our trip, check out the video below!
Have you guys checked out my YouTube channel lately? Disneymoon Vlogs have started!
Thank you so much for joining me today!
sounds like you had such a great time! isn’t Oahu wonderful? 🙂 did you actually get 18 malasadas??
We had a great time! We hope to go back soon, we loved it! Hahah yes we did.. that’s what happens when Ethan has to make a decision quickly! :p