FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX: Luau

Tuesday, 2 October 2018

Luau

Today was a typical Albany day. After ringing the character hotline right on 8am, the family decided that the only character we wanted to have a photo with today was Moana. 15 minutes prior to photo time we started the line to be first to greet Moana! She was gorgeous! It was then time to go snorkelling at Rainbow Reef. Snorkelling is a paid extra but Nana and Grandpa had gifted an experience for Jonah for his birthday. We were wise to be there first thing and they had the lagoon all to themselves for about 10 minutes before it filled up! With photographers covering all possible angles and taking stills as well as videos, I could say with confidence that footage for the event was well covered! The water was much colder in the fish pool. Jonah wished that he had some of Grandpa's blubber.

Malcolm was smart to hide his biceps with Moana around!

Guests had to shower each time before entering the snorkelling pool

The first ones in the pool!

All that pool to themselves...

The side-on camera and video crew

They were fortunate enough to be given the fish feeder!

'Ama 'ama came highly recommended and was our lunch venue for today. A 10% DVC discount didn't go astray! Between us we ordered the Poke bowl, catch of the day (opah or moonfish at $28), lobster sandwich, as well as the honey mochi cake and the pineapple cheesecake for dessert. The food was of good quality, well prepared and delicious! An expansive ocean view was an added bonus.

Our view

10% off. Let's drink up!

Poke bowl. LOVE the Mickey chopsticks

Lobster sandwich

Fish of the day

Honey mochi cake. AMAZING!

Post lunch, nana and Grandpa earnt their keep by attending a DVC presentation. The $250 giftcard was handy towards our meals at Aulani. Somehow they managed to get an $50 extra. I'm still not quite sure how this happened!

It took us three days to find the perfect beach chair location which met the following criteria:

Out of traffic but not too far away
Views of the ocean but close to the pool
Shade all day
Easily obtainable
Within the service zone of "Off the Hook"
And not too far from below (see second photo)

We FINALLY found it! But it shall have to remain our secret I'm afraid!

Poolside toilets. Well themed!

Our evening activity was the Fia Fia Luau at the Marriott. It was rated as the number one luau and it didn't disappoint! Holo Ka'a is complimentary shuttle between the Ko Olina resorts. We caught the shuttle right at the entrance of Aulani to the Marriott. We bought general tickets but there were options to purchase premium and VIP tickets. To be honest, we didn't think the difference was worth paying. There were only 2 rows of tables, so the view from the general tables was quite good as well. The main difference was that the general tables got to the buffet last.

There were fun pre-show entertainment and activities with a beautiful sunset in the background. The food at the buffet was plentiful and delicious with a good offering and variety of local food as well as options for the less adventurous. As soon as the sun set, the show began. And it was wonderful!! We chose to stroll back along the beach front back to Aulani instead of taking the shuttle. The easy 15 minute walk was a good way to help digest the mountains of food consumed!