Disney World 2021

Hello Travel!  Hello Disney!

A year after a COVID forced trip postponement, we finally made it to Disney World!

Per tradition, we visited the week after Thanksgiving.  I find this is one of the best times of year to visit.  The crowds are in the lull between Thanksgiving and Christmas, the festivities are in full swing, and the weather is perfect.  As an added bonus, my parents (aka Grandma and Papa) were able to join us.

Trip itinerary:

Day 1 - 5: Art of Animation

Day 6 - 10: Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House

Travel Days: 1 & 10 (Sat & Mon)

Magic Kingdom - 2 days, Epcot - 2 days, Animal Kingdom - 1 day, Hollywood Studios - 1 day, Pool/Resort - 2 1/2 days

Art of Animation

We started the trip at Art of Animation resort and used, the now ended, Disney Magic Express to get there.  This was our second stay at this resort, but to help with the high hotel cost of a longer stay, I booked a 'standard' Little Mermaid room vs. one of the family suites we'd stayed in before (about $150/night difference).  Much to my great surprise, Disney gifted us with a little magic and gave us a free upgrade to a Cars suite!  What a great way to start the trip.  Unfortunately this left my parents on one side of the resort, and us the other.  A little more magic, and they were able to secure a suite upgrade at a significantly reduced rate.  Score!  Thank you to the staff at A of A for these wonderful surprises.  

(Side note: A while back I realized that longer trips at Disney mean more $ spent on hotels, which make those high end hotel stays very expensive.  By splitting the trip, I still get to stay at a fancy hotel for half the trip, while balancing that price point with a moderate hotel the first half.  Disney also makes this super easy by transferring your luggage for you.  A simple am drop off, visit the park, return to your new hotel at night, and poof, bags are already there.  Just make sure you get on the correct bus that night!)

Back to the story... Unfortunately the sweet suite surprise mentioned above (see what I did there), was negatively balanced by the experiences we had using the new skyliner to get from the resort to both Hollywood Studios and Epcot.  The skyliner was installed a few years back and takes the place of the buses to these two parks from Art of Animation, Pop Century, Rivera, and Caribbean Beach.  If you're staying at CB you're probably fine, as that's the central hub for all gondola lines, meaning each park is only one 5 minute ride away.  However, if you're staying at A of A or Pop C, you're sharing the skyliner with hundreds of guests, causing a massive line backup each morning and you have to disembark at CB and reload to your desired park.  This means double the lines.  Somehow this wasn't an issue at night, but each morning we used the skyliner the line was awful.  Between the 'normal' line and the handicapped line, the system was clearly overwhelmed and that was on a 'moderate' week.  I can't imagine how awful this is during peak season.  So much so that I'm now having to write A of A off my resort list.  I'd rather go back to Port Orleans than deal with that skyliner mess ever again. 

Day 1

The first day and half we stayed at the resort, went swimming, and did a bit of Disney Springs shopping with T-Rex for dinner.  I also made an awesome realization on day 2 that if I got an Apple Airtag for my mom, who doesn't have a phone, she could roam the parks at her will while the 5 of us rode rides and we could pretty easily find her when we got done.  (Note the words "pretty easily" cause a woman in a scooter can move faster than an Airtag can update). Thanks to $9 Apple same day courier service, I was able to obtain one and it gave her so much more freedom throughout the trip.

Day 3 - 1st Park Day

Our first park day was that Monday at Magic Kingdom.  We went for the Genie+ perk ($15/pp/day) for 5 of us, and my mom had the disability pass for her.  (Note the disability pass included all of us, but only when she could ride, which at Magic Kingdom, was about 1/4 of the rides... turns out MK is very much not handicapped accessible).  I would describe the crowd levels as 'full' but not packed the week after Thanksgiving, so we were able to get on all the rides we wanted with the Genie+ app without ever really waiting in line.  

Genie +

Side note for a short Genie+ explanation (note Genie+ is NOT Genie planning, which is a different thing).  This is basically a paid Fastpass that isn't preplanned multiple days out.  There is a great blog set here and here and here and here that describe what you need to know about Genie+.  It's a bit confusing but after the first morning, I got the hang of it.  

A few points.  First, purchase this at 6:45am the day of; as your first reservation can be done at 7am and really, it takes about 2 minutes to buy thanks to Disney owning your bank account.  Pull down on the app right at 7am to refresh and make your first selection.  Note that Genie+ does not cover certain rides at some parks (Space Mountain, 7 Dwarfs Mine Train, Rise of Resistance and a few others)  These are noted by LL meaning Lightening Lane meaning 'give us more money'.  So don't waste time trying to get these right yet. Purchase these after you've made your first Genie+ selection if you're so inclined.  Both go on sale at 7am, but it's better to first get your Genie+ selection then go get your paid LL if you're gonna do that.  Only exception here is the virtual que for Ratatouille, do this right at 7am otherwise you'll have to try again at 1pm. 

After your first ride selection you can make a second Genie+ ride selection either (1) after you've passed the second check in (aka old fastpass) entrance on your current selection or (2) 120 minutes has passed since you made a selection - starting 2 hours after park opening.  This is much easier with examples.  For this, assume the park opens at 8am.  

Example 1 - You made your first selection at 7am for Peter Pan and the return window was for 8:30am - 9:30am.  If you are prompt, and check in at Peter Pan right at 8:30am, you pass the second "check in" at 8:32 am, you can immediately make another Genie+ selection.

Example 2 - You made your first selection at 7am for Peter Pan and the return window was for 3:30pm - 4:30pm.  Given the park opens at 8am, you can make your next Genie + selection at 10am (having then two active ride reservations at once - this is called 'stacking').  Presuming, you forgot and made your second selection at 10:37am, your subsequent selection could be at 12:37am or after you've fully clicked onto either of your two active reservations.  

Basically just remember this.  Either 2 hours after last ride reservation is booked (not checked in) or after you've fully checked in to a ride a Genie+ ride, you should be going in to make another reservation.  Most rides have two 'check in' points to prevent line jumpers.

Magic Kingdom Con't

Back to our day.  We arrived at the park around 8:15am for rope drop at 8:30.  It was one of those days that the park opened 30 minutes early to those staying at a Disney Resort, so we were able to scan in and get in line for rope drop at Tomorrow Land.  A few short minutes later and we were in line for Space Mountain with only about 20 folks in front of us.  Given Space Mountain isn't on Genie+ (and I didn't want to pay $7/pp for LL ticket) it made sense to go here first.  Jesse (6) was pretty nervous but after the first ride he was hooked.  While we were on the ride, my parents were at guest services getting the disability pass.  Note, the pass isn't for those with minor mobility issues, it's truly for those who can't walk at all or have other disabilities making regular line que's impossible.  We met up with them and continued our day, mostly making use of the Genie + as described above.  In addition to having a packed day of rides, we also saw a few mini parades (2-3 floats), and an appearance by Stitch!  Stitch was one of the only characters we saw the whole trip which was quite amazing considering he's Jesse's favorite.  How lucky!  Jesse was beside himself with excitement.  While at the park we also used mobile ordering for all lunch orders, which made it much more pleasant.  

That night for dinner we ate at Jungle Skipper Canteen.  After many many trips to Disney, I'd never eaten here, and I gotta say, I've been missing out.  The dinner was really good and the beer and wine selection was also very good.  We had such a good time at dinner we opted to relax and give up seeing the fireworks and castle show to enjoy our dinner a bit longer.

Of note, we bought the popcorn bucket here and carried it the rest of the trip.  $2 refills can't be beat and make a quick, cheap snack.

Hollywood Studios

Day 3 was spent at Hollywood Studios.  It was our only day at this park so we got here right around opening to hit up the rides we wanted.  Given it's generally a much smaller park, we basically did everything we wanted in a single day with time to spare.  Again, I got Genie+ for 5 of us and used some of the advanced methods described by the blogs above to ensure we got tickets for Slinky Dog Dash.  It's a pretty fun ride, but nothing I'd stand in line for hours for.  (Also probably explains why we didn't do 7 Dwarf's Mine Train at all on this trip).  

Given my husband is a Star Wars fan, we spent considerable time in Star Wars land.  As much as I'm not into the movies, the land is really well done.  We didn't eat here, but next time I'll try hard to get reservations.  We also got to see Chewbacca and ride Millenium Falcon and Rise of the Resistance.  Honestly, both were fun, but unless you're really into roll play, I was much more enthralled with Ratatouille in Epcot.  We did manage to get mom on Rise of the Resistance but it came with a high level

of drama and unplanned excitement.  It involved a lot of maneuvering, me jumping across the seats to help, and mom almost landing on the floor instead of in the car.  For a relatively new ride it's completely unacceptable that Disney made this one so difficult for any handicapped person to use.  Come on Disney.  I'm so proud of my mom for riding, but she won't be doing that again.  PS - that thing on Max's shoulder is called a porg; he named his Hickey.  It talks and is magnetically attached (with a pretty weak magnet).  He got it at the creature stall.  Things we didn't do: $100 custom remote controlled droid (make reservations) and $212 custom built light saber (which somehow used to only cost like $45).

The highlight ride for Max was Tower of Terror, which he rode several times, and Jesse loved Millenium Falcon which he did twice with Jeremy and Papa.  I think the best ride in Toy Story Land is actually the Toy Story ride which is a series simulated 3D games each lasting 30-45 seconds.  

That evening we stayed for the illuminated show on the Chinese Theatre, but it wasn't much to write home about, which is generally what I'd remembered from 3 years ago. 

Point to note - getting to Hollywood Studios from A of A involved the gondola, long lines, and huge headache.  See above for why I won't be staying here again.

Epcot

I woke early to make sure I was on the app and ready for the Ratatouille virtual que right at 7am.  I pulled down hard on the app to refresh the screen and quickly clicked the button to join the que.  We got group 32.  I had no idea what that meant until later in the morning when the app told me that my estimated arrival time was 12:50pm.  This changed throughout the day and I just kept watching it.  Once your group is 'called' you have an hour to get over to the ride in France (FYI, you are NOT notified via text, so better keep checking the app).  Also, heads up, it's not in Italy, which for some reason I thought it was.  BTW - this is an amazing ride and I almost paid for a LL to do it a second time.  (You can only ride via LL $$ or virtual que) It's on my top 5 attractions throughout all of Disney World. Between the immersive nature, the larger than life scenes and the technology, I was blown away.  The cars themselves are very impressive, between the way they move and the feeling that you are floating on frictionless surface.  It was one of two times during this trip when I questioned my career choices.  After I'm done with medical, I may need to go work as an Imagineer.  

Given we were going to Epcot twice, which was largely driven by my ability to only reserve Le Cellier for dinner the last day of our trip, we opted not to get Genie +.  The only ride we didn't get to do was Test Track and it wasn't worth the $15/pp for me.  

Our first day at Epcot we bought the kids Olaf's Scavenger Hunt which involved them finding small Olaf statues throughout each country and collecting a prize at the end.  For $10/pp it kept them entertained and I would have done it even without the prize.  Unfortunately, the prize they were told about was a lanyard, but the stores were sold out and they only got this small silly pouch thing.  Which basically meant that mom (aka, me) had to get them lanyards so they weren't so disappointed.  This of course then lead to purchase of a few pins throughout the trip.  At least they are now hanging from their wall that they can see every day.

Dinners at Epcot were at Tutto Italia and Le Cellier.  Note, dining reservations can be made at 4am EST 60 days before your trip.  Also, you can check throughout your trip using the Disney dining app and you'll probably get lucky to find something, though it may not be your first choice.

Animal Kingdom 

When planning this trip, I only planned a single day at Animal Kingdom park.  In retrospect, I really

forgot how much I like this park.  I think it's grown on me over the years.  I'm not sure there's enough for 2 full days, but we definitely had a great time and I could see 1 1/2 days.  We didn't get the Genie+ perk for this park either, but that's likely cause Mom could ride most of the rides and so we used her disability (DAS) pass.  The only ride we really had to wait for was Everest (she couldn't ride) and at most it was 25 minutes.  

Some of my favorites are the Kilimanjaro Safaris (best in the am or later evening), Expedition Everest, Lion King show at Harambe Theater, Pandora Flight of Passage, and Dinosaur.  The Lion King show is outstanding and was the second time this trip that I thought to myself that I may have to quit my job to become an Imagineer.  What a great job to bring joy to millions of people.  I highly recommend making time for this show.  This was also our first time on Pandora Flight of Passage and more props are due to Mom who managed to embrace this ride and see it through.  The ride 'car' is more of a seat you mount bike style that locks you in with a very tight back rest.  It was another difficult one for her to mount, and the ride has a significant motion component.  I had more trouble than I thought I would with the 3D image, but the family seemed to really enjoy it.  I personally enjoyed it, but preferred Soarin' at Epcot.  Something about my eyes being able to focus on the image.  

For lunch we did mobile ordering and ate at Satu'li Canteen.  Wow.  I was blown away how delicious this food was.  Highly recommend this place for lunch or dinner.  Between the 6 of us we had the chicken, beef, and shrimp and they were all very well done.  Jeremy had the tofu salad and he loved it.

Also, if you're here with little kids, or just need a break, check out the Bone Yard in dinosaur land.  

Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House

After several days at Art of Animation (A of A) we headed over to Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House.  In one word, this place is GORGEOUS, especially at Christmas.  The lobby is simply stunning, pictures don't do it justice.  Like a multi tier wood lodge, it's cosy and warm with a giant Christmas tree in the center.  We spent several nights sitting on the couches with a night cap and having lovely conversation.  Thought we didn't splurge on the safari view (after all a 'normal' room was already expensive), the rooms were huge and spacious and it turns out we had a partial view of the safari anyway.  We also had a view of the pool/hot tub area and flamingos.  The pool itself is a nice size with a single slide that's fun enough to entertain young ones but really doesn't hold a candle to the beach club slide.  I'm told at Kidani Village the pool has two slides, but, after visiting that side, we realize the lobby area is much smaller and it's more villa/timeshare.  

The first night we arrived we got there just in time to use the night vision goggle setup to view the savanna.  We only happen to see one animal but it was a cool experience.  We also took advantage of the hot tub, of course.

Given the need for some relaxing time after 5 long park days, we spent the whole next day at the resort. 

We got up for breakfast at Boma, which was so delicious that I was able to score a second breakfast reservation for the next day.  This tops my best breakfast buffet list and is a must-do if you're in the area.  The rest of the day we hung at the pool, played at the arcade, became cartoons (see aside) and checked out some of the activities in the kids club.  For dinner we cleaned up and walked over to Kidani Village for dinner at Sanna.  This restaurant features African cooking with Indian flavors and was a nice change from traditional Disney fare.  Though it's good, I wouldn't go out of my way to eat here.  Boma, yes.  Ah, I'm still thinking of that brunch.

Very Merry After Hours Christmas "Party"

Aside from the park and resort days, we opted to splurge for the Very Merry Christmas Hours while the grandparents headed back to the resort for the night.  This is similar, yet different, from the Very Merry Christmas Party of earlier years.  First, it starts at 8pm (with 7pm entry) and not at 7pm (with a 4pm entry).  Basically this means that you get 5 hours for what you used to get 6+ for.  The park essentially closed at 8pm to all who didn't have a Christmas Hours wristband (including rides and stores).  Given the party is more ride focused than in previous years (which was more entertainment focused) it was probably good that my parents didn't make the splurge.

First, the parade.  The nighttime Christmas parade was a bit shorter this year, but this time had some new floats and came with the addition of immersive smells.  As each float came by you could smell the theme of that float.  For example, Clarabell's cooking float smelled like chocolate chip cookies, and one float smelled like peppermint, another like pine.  This was a nice touch that made it magical.  In fact, the first time we saw the parade from a side view walking from one attraction to the next.  I was impressed enough that we took time out of rides to watch it again but from a premium viewing spot at midnight. 

Throughout the night they had free ice cream, popcorn, soda and water.  They also had cookie and hot chocolate stands.  All of which was met with great excitement from two little boys until they realized there was only so much they could reasonably consume without getting sick.  

The big highlight of the night is that the attendance is greatly limited and given the tickets cost a small fortune, the lines for the rides are basically non-existent.  First, we hit up Space Mountain three times in a row, maybe more, and Astro Orbiter, which at 9pm was getting quite chilly.  Coming off the ride we found ourselves in the middle of a Stitch dance party complete with snow and a really fun DJ!  I could have spent hours here just listening to the music and dancing the night away.  Jesse and Max were in their element.

After some ice cream and dancing we made our way over to Magic Carpets, multiple trips down Big Thunder Railroad, Splash Mountain (where mom took the brunt of the water spray) and other Disney classics.  We watched the fireworks from the ride on Splash Mountain which was pretty cool.  I managed to hang on to my phone and not loose it on the Big Thunder Railroad this year. 

As the night came to a close, we finished up on people mover.  In my opinion this is a highly underrated ride; something about the calming movement and views of the park make it a classic.  We ended at 1am carrying two sleeping boys and watching the Christmas stage show at Cinderella's castle.  A few more cookies on the way out and we made it home around 2:15am.  

Back soon?

Each time I visit Disney I learn something new and find magic I hadn't experienced before.  I found spending two extra days at the resorts was the perfect balance to the craziness of the parks and having enough relax time that you don't feel you have to 'do it all' in one day.  I learned that Disney Springs (once named Downtown Disney) is now a bustle of high end shops packed together so tightly you can barely walk. I found a new favorite hotel in Animal Kingdom Jambo House and three new restaurants to add on my go-to list: Boma, Jungle Skipper Canteen, and Satu'li Canteen.  

I'm so glad we were able to get away after a long year of work and quarantine and very grateful that my parents were able to join us.

Until next time... 

Merry Christmas.  

Maui - Spring Break 2021

Aloha!

After 1 year of lockdown we’ve started to see some sense of normalcy. That includes travel again and living on the west coast means Hawaii is a short 5 hour flight away. Seriously, why did it take us 5 years to do this.

We opted to start spring break early and jetted off to Maui for an extended vacation. 5 days at the Westin in Lahaina and 5 days in Kihei at an AirBNB across from Kamole Beach II.

Hawaii Logistics

Nothing says paradise like landing at an open air airport bathed in sunshine and palm trees. Before leaving Oakland we had to take care of a few logistics. First, covid test. We opted for CityHealth by the Oakland airport. Most was paid by insurance but we got a “Hawaii stamp” for $20 extra. Not fully sure but I think that got us the results on an official Hawaii travel document which made upload and detection by ‘the system’ easier. We made an appointment about 3 weeks ahead of time and went almost exactly 72 hrs before our flight. (Note it’s 72 hrs before final travel leg, so if you aren’t taking a direct flight make sure you check all the rules on the travel Hawaii website. Also check here for other official testing sites). Turns out our tests came back within about 18 hours. The safe travels Hawaii site requires every adult to create an account, add your trip details, upload your negative covid tests (also print and carry), and then 24 hrs before takeoff fill out a health questionnaire. At that point you’ll get a QR code and you definitely want to have this on your phone and printed. I added the kids to my account. Once at the airport, Southwest had a preclear station which allowed us to show our docs and get a clearance wristband. This in turn let us skip the long clearance line once we landed. Which was pretty awesome.

On the way out of the airport we did a few quick stops at Target, Walmart and Costco. When we went Costco only had big adult size boogie boards, and it turned out target only had sand toys, so we had to do the Walmart stop for boogie boards. Fortunately they are all close so total it was only like 45 minutes. I would opt for Walmart first as they had whole rows for boogie boards, snorkel gear, and sand stuff. We brought with us tubes, snorkel gear for all, and a few sand toys and at the store bought a few more sand buckets and body boards. Also we had rash guards for the kids but I wound up getting another long sleeve for each of them as they wore those most. The sun is really intense here so we wound up using SPF 50 vs 25 (our normal).

Westin Maui & Kannapali

Our first half of the trip was spent at the Westin. Lahaina and Kannapali is a great area and the Westin is right next door to Whalers Village and a short walk down the beach to black rock. Overall the resort is very nice and incredibly pricy (you even have to pay to get beach chairs or umbrellas). As resorts go, Cancun is a much better value if you have kids. Now that doesn’t mean we didn’t have a great time, it just means we spent a lot of $$ to do so. I also spent a few early mornings getting up at 5:45 to reserve pool chairs (towels and stuff set on the chair to claim it). They say they will clear your stuff if you leave it for more than 1 hour but I never saw them do that and people stay at their spots for nearly the full day. The days we didn’t get up to reserve pool chairs we just played on the beach first then grabbed a small grass patch by the pool until something opened up. No big deal.

We spent 4 full days here, plus half the first day, lying by the beach, playing in the pool, snorkeling at black rock, and digging in the sand. Max took to the ocean like a fish and enjoyed the waves and playing on the boogie board. He took a few rough tumbles the first few days that resulted in a few tears, but he soon picked it up. I took a few rough spills myself and one bad butt burner. Thank goodness for rash guard shirts. All along the beach there are different spots from the calmest waves to surf-able ones if you’re so inclined. I did want to get Max surf lessons but he was having enough fun on the body boards we didn’t do that. At this point Jesse refused to get in the ocean and even the minimal snorkeling he did at black rock was a 20 minute coax to get him in. The kids used the full face snorkel masks which I got on Amazon before arriving and I brought our own life jackets too.

While we spent time at the beach in front of the hotel, we also drove down to Wahikuli Wayside Park one morning. The surf here was really calm and it was nice to get away from the resort crowd for a few hours in the morning. We also snorkeled here which was pretty good (go in by the rocks on the left side) and we even saw our first turtle! Jesse wanted nothing to do with snorkeling this day, but Max, Jeremy and I saw it. Also, when snorkeling, carry your fins into the water before putting them on. Take them off before fully getting out. Walking in fins is impossible.

Back at the Westin, the pools at the resort were really nice. This is where every afternoon was spent. They have two kids slides and two big pools, one of which had a cave grotto, and one other adult pool. The hot tub was closed due to Covid. The grotto was this cool cave area with bubbles and a popular hangout spot with our kids. We used the body boards, tubes, and diving sticks in the pool. We were also gifted a small football but I should have thought to bring one. Max made a few friends throughout the week at the pool and when waiting for dinner and people were pretty safe and respectful with masks and distancing. He even told some kids he could only play if they put on masks, which they did!

At the resort, dining options were limited due to Covid which made everything dining a bit challenging. Unfortunately I didn’t make any reservations before we left. I should have done that at the Hula Grill and other places in Whalers. The food at the beach/pool side restaurant at the resort was really good so we did that one night and practically each day for lunch by the pool. Did I mention the delicious Mai Tai’s? The ahi nachos and fish tacos were also delicious. We also wound up doing takeout at Hula Grill, the burger is soooo good, and did wait 2 hrs one night for dinner at Lahaina Grill, which honestly wasn’t really worth it. For breakfast we did the resort once, good but very $$, and Island Coffee in Whalers Village a few times. A few tips, Island Coffee is really good but you have to be there at 6:35 for a 7am opening, less you’ll wait for like an hour plus. Or go much later at like 9:30/10. They have a great Island Latte and these Açaí bowls that people freak out about. I mean they are good, but it’s basically a smoothie bowl with fruit and granola. Hopefully as Covid cases reduce more dining options will open. It was a real struggle to find options and especially dinner without a reservation. Fortunately most of that frustration melted away with the incredibly delicious Mai Tai’s, beautiful grounds, nice pool, white sand beach, and the roll of the ocean.

Whale Watching

While on this side of the island we also did a whale watching tour. We went with Makai tours but also considered Ultimate Whale Watching. Both are smaller boats so you are close to the water and they have a max of 24, which was limited to 12 during COVID. Unfortunately it was nearly the end of whale watching season so we didn’t see much. A few backs, 2-3 tails, and some playing. Jesse loved the fast boat, Max like it but eventually took a nap. At the very end we did see a baby whale breach several times which was really cool, but it was far away and the area was already ‘crowded’ with two other boats. I wish our driver would have taken us closer but he said our time was up and he didn’t want to get close to the other boats. I personally think they could have spared the 5 minutes to take us over which would have made the experience really special. I could just imagine what that would have been like for the folks on those closer boats. I liked our guides but that they wouldn’t give us 5 minutes at the end to see the breaching closer makes me not want to use them again. However, I would do a small boat again for sure and would try the Ultimate Whale Watching company next time. (Also, for reference, this company also does private tours that are nearly similar in price). Also going before April, more in the winter season, would definitely increase your chances. Not really their fault we didn’t see much. A few other facts, there is no parasailing on Maui during whale season and the slip that is a few down from Makai is a fishing carter that does small group kids fishing. They were completely booked when we found out and I wish I caught their name, but it’s around slip 13-15(?) and I would definitely do this for the kids next time.

After whale watching we walked around downtown Lahaina and ate lunch at Down The Hatch near the Paia Fish Market. It was so good. (We did get to eat at Paia Fish Market in Kihei which was also tasty). Back at the resort we swam for a bit before calling it a night.

Luau

While at the Westin we also did the luau one night for dinner. This is the same one Jeremy and I did nearly 10 years ago. The kids seemed to mostly enjoy it and loved the fire part. Tables are assigned based on when you book, so considering I booked 3 weeks out we had decent seats.

A final note about the resort, each morning at 9am the wildlife guy lets the kids feed the koi fish and flamingos. The flamingos will actually eat right out of your hand! Max and Jesse loved this and did it several times. Also they will let you hold the parrots each afternoon during non-Covid times.

Oh yea, about those koi ponds. Yea, during family picture night, Jesse fell in one! This was really a lesson learned experience for him. I knew he wasn’t going to drown, it wasn’t too deep, and I saw it coming. Sometimes they just have to learn on their own.

Nakalele Blowhole & West Maui

On the 5th day it was time to leave the Westin. Overall it was a good stay but I would do 3 full days here instead of 4, especially if you are moving to another part of the island. I liked the resort but the lack of people and easier dining in Kihei couldn’t be beat. In fact, I could easily do 6 days in Kihei!

This day we drove around the west side of the island before making our way down to Kihei. We stopped to snorkel at Kapalua Bay for about and hour (coral, fish, and a turtle!) and then stopped by the Nakalele blowhole. Kapalua Bay was good for snorkeling plus they had a restroom and shower, which was nice.  For the blowhole, I would recommend parking at MM 38 and hiking in from here. We did that almost 10 years ago. It was already 3:30 so we stopped at 38.5 and hiked down (shorter) but then wound up doing half the hike backward anyway. This area isn’t just about the blowhole, though that is amazingly cool, even at low tide, but the hiking and rocks around the area are so unique. This is because they’ve been blasted with ocean spray for years. The area gets the nickname ‘Acid Warzone’ and you can easily tell why. They kids thought it was so cool. The rest of the drive around the island was so beautifully stunning.

Kihei

We ended in Kihei and checked into our AirBNB. We stayed at Kihei Kai Nani rentals and even thought it was across from Kamole Beach II we wound up walking the short distance to Kamole Beach I each day. It was a little bigger and
just beautiful. Though we did do sunset at II and honestly never made it down to Kamole III which is more rocky but bigger waves for ‘advanced’ body boarding, nor did we make it to Turtle Town Maui for snorkeling. More on all that later. Our place was Building 9 number 174. It was in the back of the complex but the walk turned out to be just fine. The place itself was... interesting. It claims to sleep 4 but that’s gotta be only two adults and two kids. The kids slept on the big couch which wasn’t a pull out bed, but more of a double wide couch like my parents had in the 80’s. I couldn’t see any adult being happy to sleep on it. One of the issues with airBNB that you have to be careful of. And once we got past a few issues (door not locking, practically no silverware, one extra pillow) we settled in and it was a fine place to call home for 5 nights. I was happy it had a washer/dryer in the unit. The pool at the complex wasn’t a Westin resort but was nice enough for late afternoon swims after the beach and we were glad to have it.

We spent 3 full days in Kihei at Kamole Beach I. We choose this beach to start because it was the calmest and
biggest, but found we loved it so much we came here each day. The snorkeling was pretty good along the left side with lots of coral, sea creatures, fish, and even a turtle. Clearly this is the turtles home because he made the rounds on the beach every day, several times a day. We got very used to seeing him and “swimming” with him. The sand here is amazingly soft and the water is crystal clear and decently warm. A rash guard top helps keep warm but not necessary. The first day here I had to practically drag Jesse into the water. I got him out beyond the break, and... he loved it! For the next three days I could barely keep him out of the ocean! We packed snack lunches most days and spent the morning though early afternoon laying in the sun, building sand castles, snorkeling, and playing in the ocean. We had body boards and tubes too and brought a beach blanket from home along with two towels, though the condo had an umbrella we used and some towels, I was glad to have our own. Plug here for those sand cloud towels. For $55 I was skeptical but for some reason finally bought one. So glad I did. This thing really is awesome.  The sand literally falls off it.

The last day at the beach got pretty windy early and stayed that way much of the day so we didn’t stay as long but it was so peaceful, empty, and still lovely. The last day, that windy one I just mentioned, we rented a stand up paddle board from a shop just down the way. Well, maybe should have thought of that on day one or two instead. Ha. It was $35 for the day. We wound up walking it down the beach and boarding back down because it was impossible to paddle up wind. The kids came out with us and rode on the front. Note that most days got windy around 2-3pm not this early.

While in Kihei we ate at Paia Fish Market, Coconuts Fish Cafe (omg the coconut shrimp and fish tacos), Maui fish and chips (lunch, yum), Miso Phat Sushi (so fresh) and Ami Ami. We also ate at Maui brewing company which was really not good. For breakfast we cooked in the condo but I also made a daily walk to one of the local pastry places like the Maui Bread Company or the Cinnamon Roll Place. Yum! Also check out the gelato by the Maui Bread Company and
the shaved ice stand just down the way. Can’t miss it.

Also while we were in Kihei it was Easter, so of course I had to have some kind of easter basket for the kids.  I took these foldable drawer organizers and used those (though I likely could have grabbed baskets at Target).  I also brought along eggs for an egg hunt at the condo and even snagged an awesome Maui hook keychain for each earlier on the trip.  Though they loved the candy, of course, the books were the big hit of the baskets this year.

Road to Hana

Pipiwai Trail & Pools of Ohe'o

Our second day in Kihei we did the Road to Hana. We opted to go backward because I really wanted to do the Pools of Ohe’o (seven sacred pools) and Pipiwai Trail both at Haleakala National Park Kipahulu entrance. The pools themselves you can’t swim in partly due to Covid and also because it’s the wet season which means flash flooding. The waters were raging! The Pipiwai trail was really cool. We made it to the bamboo forest (~1 mile up, 2 miles round trip) then turned back. The whole thing is 4 miles around trip but the kids weren’t into it and I didn’t want to fight it. Seriously this trail is really cool... and muddy. I bought some ‘water’ keens for myself and the kids which are a bit different than the Newport Keens ones and they dry pretty quick. On the trail were also some mango trees and Max had himself a fresh snack which was so delicious. Can’t get any fresher than off the tree!

Hana Lava Tube

After the hike we continued around to Hana where we grabbed a bite to eat from a food truck and then hit up the Hana Lava tube. $12.50/pp cash only. While Jeremy and I have done this before, it was new for the kids. They loved it and thought it was so cool.

Waterfalls

Rounding out the drive we stopped by a few water falls but didn’t do any more hikes. It was already approaching 4 when we left the lava tube. I had hopes of doing twin falls which I haven’t seen yet, but time was too short. It was already going to be a late night. We checked out some like the Upper Waikani Falls (aka Three Bears) and Upper Hanawi Falls and Makapipi Falls which is super cool cause you view it from the top. Check out the Maui guide book and this link for waterfalls to see and hike along the way. There’s likely also an app too. There’s so much to see it’s impossible all in one day, even a 12 hour day. Next time we will definitely do Twin Falls (mile marker 2 so easy to do if you don't want to do the whole road), the bamboo forest, Ching’s pond, black sand beach, and a repeat of some past hikes.

Sunset

As we close out the trip I’m so happy we came. It wasn’t nearly as difficult as I imagined and the time away with the kids on a true vacation was much needed after a year of home school, home working, and seeing each other 24/7.  We finished the trip watching sunset on Kamole Beach II in a very similar way to how we ended our Hawaii trip nearly 9 1/2 years ago. 

The Next Trip

Somehow 10 days in beautiful sunny Maui just didn’t seem enough. Alas, the real world calls. We will be back soon!

Next trip I’d do 3 full days at a resort, more for the kids than me, and 6 full days in Kihei.  I'd also go whale watching again, a hike in the Iao valley, hike the Twin Falls on the road to Hana and try to see sunrise or sunset on Haleakala. Not to mention checking out Kamole Beach III and Turtle Town Maui and beaches down that way. Ahh, so much to do, so little time.

Some things to remember if you’re coming. Bring or plan to buy sand toys, body boards, snorkel gear, beach towels, beach blanket, beach umbrella, beach bags, medium weight sweatshirt (nights are cool and breezy), pants or leggings, long dresses, soft cooler, beach bottles for water, underwater camera and a pool ball/football. If you go up Haleakala bring warm clothes like a puffy and gloves. It’s cold! For sunrise you must reserve 7 days in advance and I’m pretty sure people have bots to snatch up the tickets cause I tired each day and it was impossible. I bet sunset would be just as beautiful or book with a tour company. Last time we did sunrise and Ike riding down which was amazing. Not really an option with the kids but as adults it was super fun.

Mahalo for reading!  

Check out my blog from 2011 to see what our honeymoon trip was like. 

Also check out these links for snorkeling here and here.