Disney’s Aulani: Our Trip to Paradise

Disney’s Aulani Resort & Spa
If you follow New Orleans Mom on Instagram, you may have seen that I was in Hawaii. I did the Takeover Tuesday and posted all kinds of fun activities we did and my experience at the Disney Aulani Resort on Oahu.

We flew out super early with a small layover in Dallas. The flight from Dallas to Honolulu is about 8 hours. Thankfully we were in business class and had seats that laid down. It really helped make the flight bearable.

Once we arrived, we were greeted with leis and started the entry process at the airport. At the time of our trip, Hawaii has you log onto a specific website and upload your flight information and your COVID test results. The test results had to be no more than 72 hours before the flight. We can’t just get tested anywhere, there are certain places Hawaii accepts, so we had to make sure we went to one of the offerings. Once you get your results, you upload them to the website, and it generates a QR code for you. This is what we had to show at the airport before we were allowed to leave. It was a smooth process for us.

Jet lag is real y’all. There is a 5-hour difference from home time to Hawaii time, so that took a hot minute to get used to. The first day we just checked in, hung out in the lazy river, and tried to stay up till 8pm.

We were in the pool, a lot. The sun is gnarly there. I feel like I was putting sunscreen on every 30 minutes, I had my big ole hat to protect my face (say no to wrinkles!) and lounged in the chairs around the main area. My son met a few other kids that he played with, so this gave mom the chance to relax and drink pina coladas in a frozen pineapple.

Next, we went to the luau offered at the resort. The only day we had rain was the day of the luau. So, it was postponed for a little bit, but the show went on. It was great, they provided bento boxes of food instead of the traditional buffet, pretty drinks, and wonderful entertainment.

Pearl Harbor was on my list as I had not been in years and it had been updated since the last time I visited. There are no words to express the feeling you get when you are standing on top of the Arizona. There is still oil seeping from the ship, 1941, still seeping oil. You can see the sheen on the water, it is unreal. We said a little prayer and threw our leis in the water for those fallen. My son’s lei formed into a heart shape as it floated away, which gave me some serious goosebumps.

The next few days included a visit to the Dole Plantation, where I got my Dole Whip. My mom loves to do the pearl picking in the shell, not sure if a lot of people know about that. Well, my mom picked hers and had twin black pearls. I picked mine and had twin pink pearls, I turned them into precious earrings. Should have bought a lottery ticket as getting double pearls is rare, let alone both of us getting them.

The last day came too fast and I did not want to come home. Paradise suits me. The resort was so nice, the hospitality was amazing, and it wasn’t Disney in your face but still present. Can’t wait to go back!

Aloha!

Jeanne DeLasalle
Jeanne is a single mom to a wonderful son who loves nothing more than her family, friends, and her Saints. Born and raised in New Orleans, she enjoys everything this city has to offer. In her spare time you can catch her napping or binge watching movies on her couch. On Sunday's in the fall, she is in the Superdome and goes into a state of depression when football season is over.

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