Trip Report A little bit of Disney and a lot of luaus!

Hello all!
We're back from our "Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa" stay, and I'm finally able to get this trip report started!
(And fyi the closest I came to a spa was getting a water bubble foot bath at the kids splash area!)

Our party of 6 and a 1/2 consisted of myself Cindy, husband Gary, son Seth, daughter Aleisha (and the half), SIL Julio and our 20 month old granddaughter Una. (You may remember her as crazy girl from our Oct. 2021 WDW trip report.) Nothing has changed there!

Same cast of characters except in a different location!

We left home 9/24/22 and returned 10/5/22.
On Saturday the 24th we flew from Pittsburgh to Sacramento via Dallas. (That is a big airport)!

Before we left I bought myself a new (larger) suitcase for the trip. Someone may or may not have packed one and a half suitcases full of kid crap treasures and needed more space! When I retired my partners bought me the smaller version of this and I love it so much (and it's held up for 4 years of Disney adventures) so it made sense to buy the matching larger one! I'm glad they still offer the same pattern.

We packed up all of said stuff and headed to the airport. Our flight was at a reasonable 1:30pm so we didn't have to kill ourselves to get there.
I put this photo in to remind myself to never do this again. I wanted to save $3/day and so I parked in the economy lot. @riverside will be able to tell you how silly this decision was. There are no shuttles and it was a full on 20 minute walk with my annoying hip back to the terminal. You see that strip of brown there past my car? That is the highway surrounding the airport! But hey, I saved $3/day!

We got through security no problem that time of day and got on the monorail type thing that takes you from the land to air side.
And ps, I'm with every other human on the planet that is sick of mask wearing but Gary's oncologist has asked him to keep wearing them indoors as much as possible due to his immunocompromised state with ongoing chemo and so we do.
I tell everyone it's not going to be his cancer or covid that takes him out, it's going to be me.
See post of family fracas that occurs in a few days.

We had time to grab an early lunch so we shared Chick-fil-A nuggets, waffle fries and some Auntie Anne's nuggets.
He's happy, honestly! He doesn't earn those Grumpy shirts for nuthin!

And then on to what started out as one of the most controversial subjects of this trip.
As his illness progresses and he gets more tired (and grumpy) I try to figure out how to make things less stressful and easier for him.
Flying has become something he detests. So I proposed for the first time in our life that we try to fly first/business class and see if it is any easier for him. If you hate it or feel it is not worth it, never again I tell him.
(Remember I'm the person too cheap to park closer, I don't throw money away either).
Oh boy did the grumping and complaining begin. That's too expensive, I don't want to do that and on and on. I finally wore him down and he acquiesced.
So, how do you think it went?

Give you a little hint, that's actually a smile behind that mask as he sits in his nice wide soft seat!

Do I get to do a wifely eyeball roll yet?!
Hope you'll stay tuned for more of our adventures!

 

[MickeyCB]

Mahalo for sharing with us! What a wonderful report!

Thank you very much! And I will say it was so cool constantly hearing the CM's at Aulani saying Mahalo all of the time!

 

[MickeyCB]

I was thinking the same thing while I was reading this - an hour alone in a TSA line while someone else handles the crazy toddler is like a vacation!

I enjoyed reading along with your trip, and congrats in advance on the new grandbaby!

Yeah silly me, I didn't catch on till about 45 minutes into the torture!
Thanks for following and I'll of course post pics in the chick chatting/guy gabbing thread when the newest Disney goer arrives!
And have a great trip, I look forward to reading about yours!

 

[amjt660]

Loved every insight, post , pic and royal rumble that took place on this trip

Thanks for taking the time (we know how much effort it takes to do a TR) to share with us


Max

 

[MickeyCB]

Loved every insight, post , pic and royal rumble that took place on this trip

Thanks for taking the time (we know how much effort it takes to do a TR) to share with us


Max

Awww thanks Max!
Love the "royal rumble"!!
And I'm really enjoying your family affair style report. I can't even get anyone in my family to read mine much less contribute.
(But that also make me feel free to write what I want about them!) Mwahahahah!

 

[BuckyMom]

Thank you so much. Love the family trip reports. Una is quite the dollie.

 

[MickeyCB]

Thank you so much. Love the family trip reports. Una is quite the dollie.

Thank you very much for following along! And she is cute, if I do say so as a totally smitten gamma!

 

[TheMouseFan]

Thanks for sharing with us! It is refreshing to hear about other families having meltdowns and arguments during their trips! Makes me remember that it isn't just us!! Una is adorable and I can't wait to hear about the new arrival when it happens!

 

[Loco_driver]

Thanks for sharing! We’re going to make it out to Aulani one of these days. We toyed with adding it to the end of our DLR trip but just couldn’t quite fit it into the budget!

 

[LeighM]

Really enjoyed your trip report! Una is too adorable.

 

[Back!Elbow!Shoulders!]

Thanks so much for sharing!

Una cracks me up! Toddler laying on the ground stories are always better when it isn’t your toddler.

It was a long trip for all of us but I am glad we got to spend this time with the family. Gary gets crabby when I try to get us to go to Sac, he says Una doesn't recognize him or want to hug, etc.
But last night Aleisha txtd and asked if I would like to face time. Sure I said. The phone rings through, Una looks at me and says, "where's poppop?!" I'm apparently chopped liver! Little bum!

It must be tough being long distance grand parents. If it’s any consolation until very recently lil BES was pretty reserved around my parents who live close by so maybe it’s not all the distance but some just age stuff too.

 

[fractal]

That mongoose ( I was going to guess ferret) obviously works for Disney's Pest Control Department. Love the Steelers-esque spirit jersey! Enjoyed all the tropical photos of the island, resort and family!
Loved the little Una stories and reactions and the family drama.

Aloha and Thanks for a great report @MickeyCB !

 

[Wicked Sisters]

Absolutely loved this report. The beach photos were wonderful and like I said before Una is adorable. Looking forward to seeing a pic of the future new arrival. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

 

[MickeyCB]

Thanks for sharing with us! It is refreshing to hear about other families having meltdowns and arguments during their trips! Makes me remember that it isn't just us!! Una is adorable and I can't wait to hear about the new arrival when it happens!

Thanks for following along!
And yeah, I get embarrassed and frustrated by it all, but don't really know how to, as they say, bring the temperature down. I'm too volatile myself!
I remember a thread on a blog, don't know if it was here or another, but it was hilarious as people posted about their respective family show downs at Disney. One lady described how her 2 young boys started fighting/rolling around, on the stage at HS where they do the light saber routine with Darth Vader.

 

[MickeyCB]

Thanks for sharing! We’re going to make it out to Aulani one of these days. We toyed with adding it to the end of our DLR trip but just couldn’t quite fit it into the budget!

Thanks for following along! And I think using DVC points was an excellent choice for us. It was outrageous what the cash price to stay there would have been.

 

[MickeyCB]

Really enjoyed your trip report! Una is too adorable.

Thanks for reading! And we find her to be a combo of sweet and ornery!

 

[MickeyCB]

Thanks so much for sharing!

Una cracks me up! Toddler laying on the ground stories are always better when it isn’t your toddler.



It must be tough being long distance grand parents. If it’s any consolation until very recently lil BES was pretty reserved around my parents who live close by so maybe it’s not all the distance but some just age stuff too.

It was basically hilarious.
And as a parent and now grandparent who tried/tries to keep kids in line and not let them grow up to be monsters, I've learned there are just sometimes you have to ignore the crowd stares knowing you are doing your best.

I remember back in the day when Aleisha was about 2ish and we were leaving the Montgomery mall in Philly. It's 10 degrees out and she throws a hiss fit on the floor in Penny's when she refused to put her coat on. I just sat on the base of a mannequin ignoring the glares of passerby's. She was too big to wrestle with and so I just waited it out.

She finally seems to recognize us now which is nice. It will be really great to get a hug or something sometime!

 

[MickeyCB]

That mongoose ( I was going to guess ferret) obviously works for Disney's Pest Control Department. Love the Steelers-esque spirit jersey! Enjoyed all the tropical photos of the island, resort and family!
Loved the little Una stories and reactions and the family drama.

Aloha and Thanks for a great report @MickeyCB !

Thanks @fractal!
I've heard that is their equivalent of squirrels? Don't know.
Nothing will ever compare with the mental picture I have of your mom barreling through the Everest line!

 

[MickeyCB]

Absolutely loved this report. The beach photos were wonderful and like I said before Una is adorable. Looking forward to seeing a pic of the future new arrival. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

Thank you very much and I'll post pics when she arrives.
Happy Thanksgiving to you too!

 

[Swissmiss]

It was basically hilarious.
And as a parent and now grandparent who tried/tries to keep kids in line and not let them grow up to be monsters, I've learned there are just sometimes you have to ignore the crowd stares knowing you are doing your best.

I remember back in the day when Aleisha was about 2ish and we were leaving the Montgomery mall in Philly. It's 10 degrees out and she throws a hiss fit on the floor in Penny's when she refused to put her coat on. I just sat on the base of a mannequin ignoring the glares of passerby's. She was too big to wrestle with and so I just waited it out.

Too funny - this story brings back memories. My own did something similar at the neighborhood grocery store at about the same age. And being the neighborhood grocery store it means you know all the employees and they know you. It had been pouring rain and my daughter had on rain boots which she proceeded to take off as soon as we got inside. She refused to put them back on and was having quite a hissy fit that I was prepared to wait out for a long as it took; suddenly a young boy (probably older than 5 but younger than 8) comes up and says - while picking up the boots and slipping them on her feet - little girl, you need to put your boots back on or your mommy will get mad. And with that, the hissy fit was over.

 

[Songbird76]

Too funny - this story brings back memories. My own did something similar at the neighborhood grocery store at about the same age. And being the neighborhood grocery store it means you know all the employees and they know you. It had been pouring rain and my daughter had on rain boots which she proceeded to take off as soon as we got inside. She refused to put them back on and was having quite a hissy fit that I was prepared to wait out for a long as it took; suddenly a young boy (probably older than 5 but younger than 8) comes up and says - while picking up the boots and slipping them on her feet - little girl, you need to put your boots back on or your mommy will get mad. And with that, the hissy fit was over.

I have too many of these stories to count. A has autism and there were sooooo many meltdowns. I literally had to pick him up while he was kicking and screaming to get to swimming lessons because he kept telling me I was going the wrong way. I could SEE the swimming pool, but we had to cross a street diagonally and he wanted me to cross the other side first. That's how we did it the first time. After that meltdown, every time we approached that intersection, he'd tear up and ask if we could PLEASE cross this one side first.
I also spent 45 minutes waiting to cross a street when he was 4 because he refused to look both ways. We always made the kids look and tell us when it was safe so we knew they would know how to check. He was mad at me that I said we couldn't stay to play any longer at the playground, so when we got to the crossing, he just sat there and screamed and wouldn't look, so we couldn't cross the street. 45 minutes until I finally called my husband and had him talk to A because I just couldn't deal anymore. A little boy came up and asked if he was ok, and I was like "Yes, he's fine. He's just mad." and the little boy looked confused and walked away. I got really used to people watching us. Meltdowns were a several times a day, daily occurrance for us.