So many people, after a cruise, go right to the airport and fly home. That is often us, as we have to get back home for work, the pups, life in general. But this trip, we planned two nights at Disneys' Aulani Resort. If you recall, I blogged about our trip to Aulani as a 'second honeymoon' when we spent nine glorious nights there June of 2024!!! This time, I 'rented' points from a friend since we were not sure if they would have availability at the seven month window for us to book with our DVC (Disney Vacation Club) points. Renting points is a LOT cheaper than paying cash (which we did for our last trip!!!). But no matter how you can get to Aulani, it is a resort everyone should experience at some point in their life!
Our room was not ready since we had arrived probably before 10am directly from the cruise terminal. But, we checked in and got our 'keys' and went to enjoy the pool area and then grab some lunch. Since we had some time, we took a short 'tour' around the resort, pointing out different hidden gems you might never notice. During our tour, we got a text our room was ready and it was only 1pm (our friends were envious, lol). We had a studio garden/pool view room this trip to save money. We had a beautiful view though and since we were only here two nights, we didn't need the big one bedroom villa with a full kitchen. We got settled into our room and when it was dinner time, we walked across the street to the Mexican restaurant that we had eaten at during our last trip there. They had a 'salsa' flight that was so good (no photos, sorry).
The next day, we woke and enjoyed some time by the pools, the lazy river and lunch poolside and then it was time for Mixology with a few of our cruise friends. We had such a good time at the mixology when we were there before, we decided to book it again. This is a DVC members activity so I invited our friends to join us. It was so nice to get to spend some more time with them.
We finished out our last evening at Aulani with dinner at the 808 Craft House, right across the street. There is a small shopping center directly across from Aulani and we have had the pleasure of eating at a few of the places there. Dinner was delicious. Dale wore his Eagles hat and found a large Eagles following again (this happens whenever we are in Hawaii, lol). Found out the Craft House opens early on Sunday since the are open for game time on the East coast. The next morning was time to check out of our amazing 'home' away from home and make the very long trek back to the east coast.
We were fortunate enough to have once again booked Delta One for our flight so we knew we had the luxury of the lay down seats for our flight home. We also had access to the Delta lounge at the Honolulu airport. This time, we actually found the beautiful garden within the Honolulu airport. It was so pretty and peaceful. We took a short stroll around there before heading to our gate.
After a short delay, we were soon on our flight to JFK (we found it so easy to fly into JFK, rent a car and drive home, much more affordable than flights to Philly, without having to stop for a layover somewhere).
We made our trip home without any issues and were welcomed with our pups who miss us terribly while we are away. Another wonderful trip with amazing memories made. So thankful for the time Dale and I get to spend together making these memories. Up next, we are cruising through the Panama Canal!!!!
