Day Five- Makahiki Buffet and Family Time

Read about Day Four.

One thing I love about Disney World vacations is planning them.  For me, spending time working out the best parks for the best days, deciding where we will eat, making touring plans and securing FastPass+ reservations allows me to start enjoying the vacation long before it begins.  Plus, Disney World vacations aren't cheap, and the planning helps me feel like I'm doing my part to get the most bang for our Disney buck.  

Our time at Aulani was different.  There isn't much to plan.  I made 2 dining reservations, the character breakfast and an adults only dinner for our anniversary.  That's all.  The rest was just fly by the seat of our swimsuits.  It turns out, that's a really great way to vacation.  Now, it helps that we have been to Hawaii before and we stayed at Waikiki first, so our time at Aulani was not shared with the wonders of the island as a whole.  I'm glad we took this approach and I would do it this way again.

Our second day began bright and early, actually what's the word for earlier than even the sun?  Because that's the time the Schneiders like to rise.  In fact, I was at the quick service for coffee before the coffee was ready!

Disney closes its pools at night, when the lifeguards aren't on duty. They also take this time to clean them. Every morning while I was on the coffee run, I saw cast members in wet suits in the pools cleaning them.

Day 2 was the day of our character breakfast buffet, Makahiki- The Bounty of the Islands.  Makahiki is also open for dinner, but at dinner the characters only visit on select nights.  Since we are morning people and tend to fade as the sun goes down, I always opt for character breakfasts.  Makahiki is just like character meals at WDW, except the food is better, Mickey, Minnie and Goofy are in their Hawaiian hang out wear, and Aunty visits to entertain the kids.

Isn't that the most amazing backdrop for meeting Mickey?

This picture, those dimples, that boy's smile. This is the moment.

'Ohana means family!

If you are a frequent reader of my blog, you are well aware that my photography skills are lacking.  And when it comes to this buffet, I made a major mistake.  The food at the buffet was delicious, the best we've ever had at a Disney breakfast buffet.  There was amazing variety, and the Asian influence (like fried rice!) was a real crowd pleaser at our table.  And I took 1, terrible picture of all the food.  Oh man.  I need to do some serious work on my food photography!

Banana dolphin, eating a goldfish, and a red velvet Mickey Mouse waffle. Both were good and worthy of a better photo!

While we were eating, the characters were making the rounds.  Up first, Goofy!

We didn't get a good picture, because Goofy's dance party was starting.

My brave girl was the first on the floor.

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After Goofy's dance party, Minnie took to the floor to lead the kids in a conga line.

Like all character meals, Makahiki is not for those who like a quiet meal.

For Minnie, the whole family stands up.

It was a great breakfast and I would definitely recommend it!  In fact, if you ever find yourself in Hawaii, but not staying at Aulani, you can still book a meal here at Makahiki and enjoy all the festivities and character interactions.  

A word about our outfits.  Yes, I made the shirts.  In case you can't tell, they say "aloha" but the O in aloha is a mickey head with a palm tree on it.  I was pretty proud of them, but they didn't photograph well.  Anne's shirt was way too big, so I made it into a dress, which she loved.  Anne and I are wearing Mickey ears with hibiscus flowers.  These are available to purchase at Aulani for $29.95.  Of course I think that is a ridiculous amount to pay, so I made these prior to our arrival.  Both pairs cost me $10 in supplies and the $50 I saved bought a few poolside drinks!

After breakfast the kids wanted one thing, and one thing only.  KID'S CLUB!!!!  The club doesn't open until 9:30, so we went and got in line.  While we were waiting, some of the American Idol contestants walked by.  They were going into a restaurant for sit down interviews.  

Recognize anyone?

​With the kids occupied, it was time to relax by the pool and read a book!

L-I-V-I-N

One thing I often read in online reviews about resorts is that there are no beach or pool chairs available, and pre-trip that is something I read about Aulani.  We never found that to be true.  On this day, we got perfect, front row poolside chairs at 10am.  If you came down at 1pm, you would not have gotten these chairs, but there were plenty of others.  Yes, people put towels on chairs and then disappeared, but there were always chairs. I guess we were there in January and it might be different in July, but that was my experience.

Poolside service? Yes, please! Rob usually finds a new drink on each vacation and that becomes his drink of the trip. For Aulani, it was the Hanalei By The Bay. It was basically a gin and tonic with Elderflower liquor.

I'm drinking a big ole cup of cucumber water, which they serve by the pool. So good.

After a few hours relaxing, I started to miss the kids.  So we dragged them from Aunty's Beach House and made them swim in the pool for awhile.  It's a good thing we did, because a special guest came by for some antics.

See Anne? She's about to get a face full of water from Goofy's foot, and she loved it!

After a poolside lunch, it was time for some shave ice, which we ate in the shade of the snorkeling aquarium, Rainbow Reef.   

And no, we didn't get the cool ones with the Mickey ears that you see in all the commercials for Aulani.  Why?  Because they are made of ice, which melts in the hot sun.  Every single kid we saw get the Mickey ears was soon crying because the ears fell off.  

Then we took a trip down the lazy river.

A rare hidden Mickey!

Before our quick service dinner, I snagged a picture from the adult's only hot tub.  And that was the end of Day Five!

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