Happy Tuesday, friends!
I’m going to try to squeeze a lot into this little space right now before I dash back to my desk to work on my client vacations. Today, due to our Spring Break travels AND a broken podcast studio (we’re trying hard to fix it!!!), Erika and I are sharing another Best of Besties on our podcast! We are re-sharing S2 EP2 BREAKING DOWN TRAVEL. This is where we dish on traveling together as families, with just the couples, with our kids, with our extended families and more. This episode has been one of your favorites this season and since I’m going to give you a little peek into Aulani today, I thought the timing couldn’t be better. You can listen to today’s episode HERE or on your favorite podcast platform (Spotify, Apple, etc.)
So, there’s that.
There’s also this…I’m going to share just a few pics of our travel day from Dallas to Aulani including pics of the two bedroom villa where our family spent Spring Break. I thought there was enough here to warrant its own post, so that’s what you’ll see below.
Of course, a disclaimer (I always feel compelled to do this!), here at Mix and Match Travel Agency, we LOVE TO TRAVEL! Yes! We think as travel professionals it’s imperative to get out with our own families and travel too. How else can we provide our clients with the BEST service and help if we aren’t actually doing it too? Also, we want to put our money where our mouth is. We all pay for our own trips. So many people are under the impression that we travel free and for us, that’s not how we do things. This Spring Break, four of us who work here and our families all set out to destinations specific to our clients to bring back the best information we could to create even better trips…and we all paid the exact same amount our clients pay. Now, did we get the commission from the sales? Yes, but our pricing, final payments, deposits, rates, promos, any specials or discounts are exactly the same as our clients. I just like to point that out there because I want you to know upfront, we’re only going places we think our families and yours would like to go. We think that’s one of big differences between our agency and others (especially right now during the everchanging COVID protocols). As a reminder, we would love to help you with your next vacation too. If you’re interested in traveling to Hawaii, a cruise, an international destination or Walt Disney World, we would love to help. Unfortunately, we do not offer our services to places like New York City, Yellowstone, Nantucket, etc.
Now, on to the fun stuff like…we woke up bright and early on Saturday morning and…right at the last minute our flight was cancelled. AGH!!!!! Where was my travel agent to help me and my crazy family?! Oh that’s right…it was me. Sigh.
At the very very last minute, our flight was cancelled while we were standing at the gate about ready to board. I’m going to go ahead and call it a miracle that my family is loud/large and not too fond of sitting in the middle of a bunch of people, so when they came on to announce that our flight just happened to cancelled, we had scooted down about three gates (where there was more room since no flight was at that gate) and it just so happened to be right next to the American Airlines desk where they just told an entire gate of people to run to. Oh thank heavens were just accidentally were sitting there because we jumped up, got in line (we were the second family) and they found six seats for us on a flight leaving in 30 minutes (we just needed to now run to that gate).
Remember Home Alone and Home Alone 2?
That’s how I felt.
When it was all said and done, we made it on that flight (woohoo!) not sitting together, but at least we were on there.
Eight-ish hours later, we landed in Honolulu…
…this is the only pic I have…but we were ready to go.
Well.
Except some of our luggage got placed on another flight.
Boo.
No big deal, it’s travel day, and we’re in Honolulu! We were thrilled to be there.
We had our car service lined up to take us from the airport right to Aulani.
Now, if you’ll remember from March 2020…
…we visited Aulani with the Slaughters for their character breakfast and…
…luau while we stayed just next door at the Marriott before our 7-night Hawaiian cruise. (You can read all about that BIG vacation where we spent 10 days touring four different islands HERE!). My family loved the Ko Olina area there so much that we knew then that as soon as we could, we wanted to get back and visit Aulani, so…fast forward two years almost to the day and here we are.
We arrived at our hotel right around 2:00ish, checked in and headed up to our villa for the next 8 days. As soon as we got off the elevator, we were blown away by…
…the views!!! Holy cow, Aulani! You are even more gorgeous than we remembered!
After a long day of flying, I did what any normal mom/blogger/travel agency owner does…I asked my family to please wait in the hall for three minutes while I snapped a few pics of our 2 bedroom villa before they trashed it with their stuff/dirty laundry/wet towels/sandy swimsuits/mess 😉 .
Here are a few quick pics…
This place had more than enough room for my fam. It had two bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, an extra closet, two balconies and full eat in kitchen with family room…
There was a little market right inside Aulani where you could purchase food to stock your kitchen and another larger market right across the street.
We had two nice balconies with amazing views…
These pics are in no way edited, it was simply that gorgeous
After we unloaded our stuff, we hurried down to…
…grab a bite to eat. Was it lunch? A snack? I’m not sure, but Andrew and I shared these ahi tuna nachos and they were INCREDIBLE! This little restaurant in Aulani is located right next to the pool and beach. Gorgeous view and delicious food. No reservations required!
We were so happy to be there!!
We had dinner reservations there at Aulani later that evening at 7:30, so we spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the resort and settling in.
One of the reasons we knew Aulani would be a great fit for our family were all of the gluten-free options and precautions they take at their restaurants. We were tired, hungry and oh so happy.
So many more things to post in the days ahead! I know SO MANY of you have questions that hopefully, I’ll answer in one of these posts. So stay tuned!
Around 10:00 PM all of our luggage showed up 🙂 . Thank you so much, American Airlines! I know I’ll probably say this in every single post to come, but this was TRULY one of our very favorite vacations. It was just the perfect storm of fabulous that the Shull family really loved. I just think in my old age, this will be one of the trips I look back on and remember the most.
Finally, for my travel outfit (which almost became my ‘wear every day in Hawaii because I didn’t have any other luggage’ outfit), see below…
DRESS//JACKET//NECKLACE//BRACELET STACK
Mahalo! xx
Elspeth says
I can’t wait to read more about your trip! You views look incredible!
http://www.elspethsdaybyday.com
Lauren says
Oh my gosh I can’t wait for the rest of these posts. We’ve been talking about taking the kids to Aulani for a couple years now and I think it’s time to start seriously planning! There’s no such thing as too many pictures or too much detail as you write the rest of your Aulani posts– the more info, the better!
Also, we have a Marriott vacation club time share so I’d be curious your comparison of Aulani to Ko’Olina Beach Club!
Mindy Tierney says
Your room looks HUGE and amazing. All I am seeing is big time $$$ for a room that size with all those features! Was it more cost effective that two adjoining rooms? Pictures look amazing. My daughter graduates high school next year (2023) and would love to take her there for a special graduation trip.
Paul W says
I just joined DVC and plan to visit Aulani next year. Nothing so luxurious as this 2 bedroom villa, not enough points for that, but the rest looks amazing!! It will be my first ever trip to Hawaii!!
Erika Slaughter says
Yay for vacation pictures! I can’t wait to see them all!
Melissa Terry says
We are headed to Aulani in July after a 2 year delay and we are SO excited! I can’t wait to see the rest of your recaps!
Laura M says
How do you split the kids between the 2 rooms- so any kids sleep in your room?
Mix and Match Mama says
They slept two and two on the full beds in the second room.
Susan Jeffries says
We were blessed to be able to take our daughter to Aulani a few years ago and it was one of our favorite trips ever! Its simply gorgeous! We loved Pearl Harbor, the pineapple plantation, and days spent at the resort. Our favorite day was when we rented a jeep and drove up the North Shore. We found a quiet beach where we snorkled along side of giant sea turtles. Simply amazing!! I will be enjoying your recaps!
Sabrina says
We are heading to Maui in July. Any advice for the long plane ride and jet lag for the kids (ages16, 11, 6).
Mix and Match Mama says
My tip is to always stay on the current time without napping. If you land and it’s time to go to sleep, go to sleep. If you land and it’s early morning, stay awake. Set alarms and get up at a normal time (don’t sleep super late). Stay on the current time!
M says
If you’re going to Maui, don’t miss the ferry to Lanai. It’s worth a day away from Maui. They have amazing restaurants at the Four Seasons, a public beach area, an art gallery, restaurants in the tiny downtown, etc.
Mix and Match Mama says
We love Lanai!!! I always tell people it’s a hidden gem.
Kristen says
We loved Aulani when we visited. We did two other hotels that trip to also experience Waikiki and North Shore. Our fav family trip ever!
Bailey Hill says
Can’t wait to read all about this trip! 🙂
Leslie S says
Do you have ideas of things to keep 3-5 graders busy on an airplane for that long? I’ve got one who can’t read on airplane/car bc motion sickness so this is a struggle.
We are getting the Hawaii bug and looking to book a trip next year.
Mix and Match Mama says
I would say that when we’re on long flights, the key is survival. All of my parenting “nos” go right out the window. I let my kids watch iPads, eat as much candy as they want, play with sticker books, markers, playdoh, small dolls…I let them have soft drinks…seriously, it’s survival of the fittest, so I think you’re allowed to toss your “norms” out the window and just let them have fun.
Kelly Webb says
Aulani is truly magical with added doses of Aloha to make it over the top. One thing we loved when we were there years ago was the family meal option in the room. It came in high end cast iron pots ready to serve so it really felt like a homemade meal. Not sure if that’s still an option, but it was such a nice experience with littles ones after a day in the sun.
Darcy says
You can feel how fabulous the trip was in this post. 🙂
Katie Dowle says
We are heading to Aulani in July for the first time. We didn’t use your agency as we are coming from New Zealand 🙂
Do you need dinner reservations every night or are their places to eat with out reservations? How do you make sure you get reservations – I am worried we will get there and have no where to eat! I wish we had specialist Disney travel agents in New Zealand.
Mix and Match Mama says
We had reservations for dinner every night, but if you don’t, I think you’ll be able to make it work. I do think that when you check-in though, you should try to make some if you can.
Joanne says
Those sure are some incredible views!
Laura says
What a wonderful vacation! Looks so fun and relaxing. Can you give a price point for a week there with 5 people? I think my family would love it!!! ?
Thank you!
Mix and Match Mama says
Email me, Laura! I’d love to help! Pricing varies depending on so many factors, but I can certainly grab that info from you and get you a quote. mixandmatchtravelagency@yahoo.com
Gerry Voland says
This trip sounds wonderful. I have a question. My husband and I have taken 2 trips in the last year and both times American Airlines did not assign us seats together. When I inquired why, I was told by the flight attendant that we didn’t pay extra to choose our seats! Is this normal?
Mix and Match Mama says
Where did you buy your AA flights? If you buy your flights directly from them (and not an outside source), you should always get to select your own seats.
Gerry Voland says
Thanks, we bought through AAA. Now we know.
Bethany says
Love the pics! This is random- but would you have a fit bit watch recommendation for my almost 10 year old son? I know you posted about kid watches years ago but I see Madeley has on some sort of watch and didn’t know if you had a fun suggestion. Thanks!?
Mix and Match Mama says
Mades is wearing Ashby’s old Garmin Jr. It’s perfect for that age!!
Alison says
Ohhhh… I can’t wait to read all about your trip! It looks magical! I would love to travel here one day with my little family!
Meredith says
Shay! You showed your cute travel outfit, but what shoes did you wear!?
Mix and Match Mama says
They are my favorite wedges…and probably six or seven years old. I love them!
Angela says
Could you please share where you got K’s bathing suits? Love them!
Mix and Match Mama says
They’re all Athleta! (Not Athleta Girl, but like the women’s sized Athleta)
Kelsi says
Hi Shay! How strict was the indoor mask mandate while in Hawaii? Thanks in advance!
Mix and Match Mama says
Masks were required indoors everywhere unless sitting down at a restaurant and/or actively eating and drinking. I do know that a lot of things are changing this Friday regarding Hawaii’s COVID policies.