Sara & Ryan's Wishes PJ & TR ~ 8/17/10 WP/GF/Marina ~ 1/22 Thank you!

[TinkLoverSam]

Thanks for the review on V&A were are going there the last day of our trip!!! We're afraid that it will have to become standard for us as well..but who knows!

I think it may have become standard to us... best experience of my life!

 

[pezaddict231]

We went to V&As the night of our wedding and the food was SPECTACULAR! I thought they only escorted you to the bathroom from the Chef's Table I was in my wedding gown and just before they seated us they seated a couple celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary, she was in an evening gown and it didn't seem out of place at all to me, though I didn't see that much of the main dining room.

Aww, what an amazing wedding dinner that must have been! I totally agree the food is better than anything you could possibly imagine, we were completely blown away. I'm not sure if it was standard practice but maybe it was because I asked where the bathroom was? It did make me feel very fancy though. I have always seen people going in there in evening gowns and thought that was what you were supposed to wear. We decided that instead of bringing a jacket for DH and a dress for me we were going to just cancel the reservation. When I spoke to the CL CM he said I really just needed a nice sundress and they had jackets for the guys. So I guess either goes.

 

[TinkLoverSam]

Aww, what an amazing wedding dinner that must have been! I totally agree the food is better than anything you could possibly imagine, we were completely blown away. I'm not sure if it was standard practice but maybe it was because I asked where the bathroom was? It did make me feel very fancy though. I have always seen people going in there in evening gowns and thought that was what you were supposed to wear. We decided that instead of bringing a jacket for DH and a dress for me we were going to just cancel the reservation. When I spoke to the CL CM he said I really just needed a nice sundress and they had jackets for the guys. So I guess either goes.

They even add courses to the Chef's Table and it still didn't feel like too much food until the second dessert course... yeah second dessert course.

 

[Chilly]

Great day 1 of your honeymoon, I think we'll try V&A one year, maybe I'll surprise DH with it on our 5 year anniversary!

 

[pezaddict231]

They even add courses to the Chef's Table and it still didn't feel like too much food until the second dessert course... yeah second dessert course.

Oh wow, we'll definitely have to do that one day. OMG, that must have been so delicious, but I definitely don't know if I could have eaten two desserts, but I would do my best to try.

Great day 1 of your honeymoon, I think we'll try V&A one year, maybe I'll surprise DH with it on our 5 year anniversary!

Thanks! Definitely do it, it really was an amazing experience!

 

[pezaddict231]

Lol, well it's been a while, but I did make a goal to complete my TR and we're almost there. I don't think I will do a full Honeymoon TR but I'll definitely post some highlights and reviews from Hawaii for the brides that are planning their Hawaiian honeymoons .

Okay here goes: Day 6: Animal Kingdom

It was Thursday and our AK day. We had plans to go to Donald's Safari breakfast which is my favorite. We met up with my MOH and her husband pretty much right after park opening, but we had no problem getting FP's for Everest and we even rode Stand-by. My MOH is not really into rollercoasters but she survived .

After that we walked over to Dinosaur and rode that. Surprisingly she really liked that one. We even bought the photo although I think we all look a little more confused than scared.

After that it was pretty much time for brunch. I love doing a later brunch at this park, since I feel like eating a huge breakfast and then riding Everest would not be the best combo.

We met up with DMIL and Grandma, and also DSIL and DBIL. The last time I went here Donald walked around the restaurant and I liked that better. Since there were so many of us, I thought it might be nice for us all to have a copy of the pics, so I bought the pictures. But I do think it would be nice for Disney to just include them since they must throw them away anyway.

The food was awesome and we all had a great time taking pics with the characters. DH had been kind enough to pick up FPs for the Safari so we were able to all go on that together afterwards.

We saw a lot of animals. Supposedly the cheetah was visible but I couldn't see him. It was a hot day and the elephants were playing in the water which was really cute.

Afterwards we rode Everest again and then went to see the tigers which is one of my favorite things to do at AK. Three were sleeping, they remind me of my kitties.

but this guy needed to cool off, so he went for a dip!

After that we split up, it was so hot so DH and I decided to get a snack and go back to the pool. My MOH and her DH decided to get their swimsuits and join us. And DSIL and DBIL were going to hang out at the park a bit before our ADR at Ohana that night.

On our way out DH and I got some pretzels, and there was this squirrel that was really scaring us, he looked like he was going to attack us, so we moved to a different bench.

Back at the GF it was of course snack time, so I probably had a cookie or two and then that leftover cake was looking pretty tasty...

but it was not tasty , it had a fruit filing and bavarian cream so I'm pretty sure it wasn't good anymore, we never thought to refrigerate it. Oh well, I didn't really need to eat more cake.

We hung out at the pool for a bit and got ready to head over to Ohana. We'd never been to Ohana before and I was a little nervous since the reviews seem to be all over the map. We waited for a little while and ordered some drinks. Then they brought us over to our table and gave us some pineapple bread. Wow that was good! Then they brought out the salad and I don't even like salad but the dressing was delicious! I even found a recipe and made the dressing at home once since we got back.

We all really liked the food. It was all very good. My favorite were the noodles. They just had such a subtle flavor. The little show they had was really cute for the kids. I didn't find it to be unbearably loud or anything. It did seem that there were trays of dirty dishes left around and it was somewhat disorganized in there, but that didn't bother me too much.

Unfortunately our server was terrible. Now, we are not picky people. He was really downright rude. I almost want to write a letter to Disney. After bringing us drinks he basically disappeared and everyone's drinks were empty the whole time. We had to ask at least twice for any refills and most people were ordering alcohol, so it's not like he wouldn't be making money on it. Then DBIL asked about a vegetarian option. He's not a vegetarian but all the meat everyday had been bothering his stomach so he had asked for something else. So the one time our server came back to check on us, he noticed DBIL had a piece of chicken on his plate. He hadn't even eaten it and wasn't planning to, they had just put it on his plate and basically our server interrogated him on why he had meat on his plate. And it wasn't a curiousity thing, he really tried to make it seem like we were criminals or something.

DSIL accidentally knocked over her wine glass and it broke and he made it seem like a huge imposition to bring us more napkins so that we could clean it up. He didn't even offer to help clean it up and so we had wet napkins and broken glass on the table for the rest of the night. When we asked for more napkins he even rolled his eyes at us.

I have gone to other restaurants at Disney and spilled water and our servers always rush over with other napkins and offer to help clean it up. I clean it up myself, since I spilled it, but they are always nice and take the wet napkins away.

The best part of the meal was of course the bread pudding. Oh my, this was fantastic! I wish I didn't have to share! I may try to make this at home one day too.

So now I think I understand some of the reviews. We found the food to be awesome! And I would really like to go back, but the service was possibly the worst I have ever had in my life. So I don't know, maybe one day we will go back, but probably not for a while... in writing this I realize I am still pretty angry about it.

After dinner we went and hung out in our room for a while. It was so nice after that to come back to the welcoming CM's at the GF. We only had one more full day left at Disney, I couldn't believe our trip was coming to an end!

 

[Stephie77]

I am glad you are finishing your TR. Looks like you had a great time at AK. That really sucks that you had that experience at Ohanas. Usually the servers are nice and the food is very good, especially their breakfast. Can't wait to read the rest.

 

[pezaddict231]

Lol, yeah I'm too close to the end not to finish it now, but I think if I put it off too much longer it'll never get done. It's crazy how busy life gets after the wedding!

We had a great day there. Donald's breakfast is my favorite! Oh I'll definitely give the breakfast a shot. It looks really fun with Lilo and Stitch. I thought it was so weird, this guy was so un-Disney, we normally have really nice servers everywhere and I think because it's Disney when someone isn't as nice it's even worse. The food was really so good though, I've tried to find out how to make those noodles but no luck yet.

 

[Stephie77]

Tell me about it! IT took me forever to finish mine also. I was thinking of trying to do a TR for my anniversary trip but we will see because it always seems to get busy after Disney!

The breakfast is a lot of fun. The Lilikoi Juice is amazing. I think it's the best breakfast buffet in Disney and you don't have to get up. They bring it to your table and if you ask for more, they bring more. Those noodles are so good. If you find a recipe, let me know. We did not make a reservation for dinner this time, just breakfast but we are staying at the Poly so maybe one night towards the end we can sneak in. I totally agree with that. You just expect everyone to be nice, you are shocked when you meet a CM or waiter/waitress who is nasty. I would be mad also if I dealt with that.

 

[pezaddict231]

Looks like I may even be able to finish this today. Our two little kittens are at the vet (they're fine, just getting "fixed") and our older cat Max is really missing them. He has been walking around the house meowing for them and he gets really upset if he doesn't see me so there goes running any errands or wrapping presents. It is really sweet though.

Day 7: MK and Fireworks Cruise

It was our last full day at Disney. This day always makes me a little sad since I know our trip is coming to an end and our flight was pretty early the next day.

I was really excited about MK though because it's our favorite park and the first time my MOH was going ever. I know, I can't believe she's never been to Disney world, but she and her DH loved it and even booked bounceback before checking out! They are going back in Feb and I am so jealous!

I can't really remember the exact order of stuff we did. I think DH may have gotten us FPs for Space Mountain and we went to Fantasyland and went on Peter Pan, where we ran into my Uncle and his family! It was really fun seeing them and we also rode Winnie the Pooh with them.

My MOH in front of the new little mermaid attraction. Ariel is her favorite.

Then we went with my uncle and cousin and rode Splash with them. It was really fun. After that, they had to get back, so we said goodbye and got our BTMRR fastpasses and headed back to Future world to ride Buzz.

Of course DH beat me again on Buzz.

Had to stop off for a Castle pic

After BTMRR it was time for a snack. My absolute favorite! Sadly I did not have one in Hawaii

Then we went and used our Space FP's, lol, not the most flattering pic

It was my first time riding since the rehab and it did seem faster than before, but I'm not really sure what the other changes were. In the line area there were little games now, but we were using FP so we couldn't play.

This day was probably the hottest day yet, it was lunch time and the heat was pretty much unbearable. DH and I decided to head back to our hotel for lunch and order some tasty room service burgers.

On the way out we saw my family coming in. It would have been fun to hang out with them but they had already eaten and I knew I wouldn't last much longer in the parks. I get really cranky in the heat.

We had a nice afternoon rest and then my MOH & her hubby picked us up for dinner at the Yachtsman. The food was really good, but DH wasn't feeling so well that night. I really love the Yacht Club and wished we had stayed there for a few days too, oh well, maybe next time.

Since I had IPO make all our reservations we were finally able to snag an Illuminations cruise! DSIL and DBIL met us at the dock. They say the boat can cold 10-12 people but there were 6 of us and it was just about perfect. I think you'd be really cramped with more people.

the dock is so pretty at sunset.

the boat ride was really nice, the boat drives around the lake and the captain tells you about the hotels and parks and stuff.

You then park right under a bridge by the International Gateway. The view is great, and it was a really cool way to see the show. Here are some of my pics, which I think came out pretty good. I used the fireworks setting on my camera.

There were snacks on the boat, but we didn't have many, so the Captain encouraged us to take a few with us, and they definitely came in handy on the plane the next day.

We all went back to the GF for a while. It made me a little sad to see people checking in when I knew we'd be checking out the next day. We'd really had such a great time at Disney. After everyone left we finished up our packing and went to bed.

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

I'm jealous you got to see the tiger in the water....I always have wanted to see one in there!

I'm sorry to hear your wedding cake didn't taste good when you went back for a snack. We found ours wasn't the greatest either...and we didn't have any fruit filling.

I'm glad the fireworks cruise went well! Will you be posting any Hawaii pics?

 

[pezaddict231]

Tell me about it! IT took me forever to finish mine also. I was thinking of trying to do a TR for my anniversary trip but we will see because it always seems to get busy after Disney!

The breakfast is a lot of fun. The Lilikoi Juice is amazing. I think it's the best breakfast buffet in Disney and you don't have to get up. They bring it to your table and if you ask for more, they bring more. Those noodles are so good. If you find a recipe, let me know. We did not make a reservation for dinner this time, just breakfast but we are staying at the Poly so maybe one night towards the end we can sneak in. I totally agree with that. You just expect everyone to be nice, you are shocked when you meet a CM or waiter/waitress who is nasty. I would be mad also if I dealt with that.

Lol, yeah I always have big plans for TR and DR too, but life does always seem to get really busy after the trip. Maybe do a highlights TR? I definitely want to see your pics from your DHS shoot!

We were supposed to go, but cancelled because it was the day after the wedding, so next trip we definitely will do that one. Oh I love that type of juice, I've had it in Hawaii, so tasty. I definitely will, so far no luck on the recipe front. I found one, but it wasn't the right thing, even though it said Ohana noodles. . It's so true, I mean, it's the happiest place on earth, it's kind of your job to be nice .

I'm jealous you got to see the tiger in the water....I always have wanted to see one in there!

I'm sorry to hear your wedding cake didn't taste good when you went back for a snack. We found ours wasn't the greatest either...and we didn't have any fruit filling.

I'm glad the fireworks cruise went well! Will you be posting any Hawaii pics?

I had never seen them in the water before either. I think it was just so hot that day that he needed a swim .

Yeah, I think it probably should have been kept cold. Aww, sorry yours wasn't so great either. I guess it's just an excuse to have a replica made the next time you're in Disney.

It was really awesome, I'm glad we were able to do it and I think it was more fun with a few people.

I'll definitely post some pics and kind of a highlights of our trip type thing.

 

[pezaddict231]

Since the flight to Hawaii is so long, 10 hours from Orlando, we couldn't stay too late in Disney and still get to Hawaii at a reasonable time. We had a 10 am flight, so we didn't have to get up super early, and my Dad was driving us to the airport since we had to leave some of our luggage with my parents to bring home. So luckily we didn't have the 3 hour window that we would have with Magical Express.

We were sad to leave Disney and our awesome room at the GF. We had some food from the lounge, for old times sake. We really had such an amazing stay here and I hope we are lucky enough to stay in RPC again.

The drive to the airport was uneventful, and we got through security fine. Now when I booked the flights, I thought it would be nice to take a slightly later flight. The 10 am stopped in Dallas around noon and then from there to Oahu and we'd get in around 5 pm. There was an earlier flight that left at 7 or 8 and then stopped in LA. In my silly mind I thought, perfect, 12 pm will be just in time for us to get some lunch since they don't serve food on planes anymore and we don't have to get up super early...

But what I didn't consider, is that if you stop 2 hours into a 10 hour flight, that still leaves 8 more hours . So I would recommend doing the flight that was 5 and 5 instead.

The first half was fine, landed in Dallas on time. It's a nice airport and we got something to eat. They had some tasty looking bbq but with an 8 hour flight ahead of us, and I'm always nervous about my stomach on planes, I opted for a boring turkey sandwich. DH had some McDonald's.

Before we knew it, it was time to board the plane. The nice thing about most flights to Hawaii is the plane is really large, and they have rows of 2 along the windows. We really don't like sitting with strangers, and DH likes aisles, and I like windows, so it's perfect .

About an hour into our flight, the Captain comes on and says that the more astute passengers will notice that we've turned around and are headed back to Dallas. Apparently one of the generators on the plane was out. There are three and they can fly with two, but they can't cross the pacific with just 2, so we had to turn around. Now I kind of wonder why we couldn't maybe stop somewhere a little closer, like CA or something, but I guess it's because their hub was in Dallas.

Now DH hates to fly. Another reason he really likes Disney, short flight . And he starts getting agitated and says if they fix the plane, he doesn't care, he's not going on this plane . Which I do understand to an extent, but I figure if they fix it, it's probably even more likely to be working correctly, since they couldn't just say it was okay if it's not, right?

As we're about the land, the pilot comes on again and mentions how we're a little fuel heavy, so as part of protocol, there have to be fire trucks around when we land and they will examine the plane. Not really so great for DH's nerves, but luckily everything was fine, although the landing was a lot bumpier than normal. It was kind of scary to see the fire trucks and to realize it was really in case the plane goes on fire...but I put that out of my mind.

I will say the pilot was very nice and once the plane landed walked down the aisles to make sure everyone was doing okay. I think they really did handle things as best they could and keep us pretty informed the whole time.

In the end, the couldn't fix the plane, and they would put us on a new plane, but that didn't get in for another hour and a half. They did give us some vouchers for food so we got some subway sandwiches and then just waited it out in the airport.

The rest of the flight was uneventful, but we didn't get to Hawaii until after 10 pm, so much for dinner plans, and it kind of stunk to have the day wasted, But we were really tired anyway.

We went to the rental car desk and picked up our car. We had bought a gps for the trip since renting one for two weeks would have cost the same anyway and then we drove to the hotel.

The GPS was really helpful, but sometimes it can be wrong. It was hard to find our hotel or figure out where we should park. It kept saying our hotel was on the right, when it was the left. We eventually found it and checked in. The room was really nice, it was like having our own little apartment. And luckily there was a Washer / Dryer, because I was unpacking I discovered that the toothpaste exploded all over our stuff . So DH learned to always put things like that in a ziplock bag . It wasn't too bad really but just not something I wanted to deal with.

Up next - I won't do a day by day, since that will prob get pretty boring. There was a lot of relaxing and esp the first few days, when we were really jet lagged, a lot of falling asleep by 6 pm. Dh was like, I just want to go out to dinner, but we couldn't make ourselves stay awake. I kind of wish we did the Big Island first, since there wasn't much to do there at night anyway and Oahu second. Oh well, we can always go back one day.

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

OMG, the plane thing is so scary! I am pretty okay with flying, but if I saw firetrucks waiting one the runway, I think I would give myself a heart attack!

That is too bad you were so late getting to Hawaii! I am really excited to hear about your time there and see all your pics

 

[pezaddict231]

We were in Oahu from Sat - Friday, but with our plane misshap, really Sunday - Friday and I wish we had more time. We really liked Oahu and would definitely go back one day. I know a lot of people say it's "too commercial", but honestly, Disney is our favorite place, we like commercial. It's like a big city, but clean and beautiful, with tons of palm trees. Here are some pics around Waikiki

city streets

Royal Hawaiian hotel

Grounds of Royal Hawaiian

Waikiki Beach and Diamondhead

I'll do this more as a highlights / tips with some pictures in between. So here goes:

1) Stay in Waikiki, it doesn't matter where in Waikiki, and there are lots of different hotels for all budgets. But this is where the action is, it's where the restaurants / stores / beach is, and you'll want to be close to that.

My parent's were kind enough to let us use their timeshare for our honeymoon, so we stayed at the Wyndham Waikiki Beachwalk. It was in a great location, and the unit itself was beautiful and well maintained. They are pretty new anyway. The washer/dryer also came in handy. We loved being able to just walk outside and be steps away from tons of restaurants and shops.

Here are some pictures of the hotel.

kitchen, we did make breakfast one day and possibly pasta one night. Groceries were super expensive in Oahu, so it was not much of a cost savings. I think next time we wouldn't bother cooking at all.

dining area / living room

bedroom

The bathroom had a jetted tub and also a full sized shower which was great. I still had a few bath bombs left from basin, so I really enjoyed being able to take a bath now and then .

2) Rent a car. Yes, you can walk to tons of places in Waikiki, but there are also lots of places worth seeing that you can't walk to. And the best beaches are not on Waikiki. You do generally have to pay for parking, but even still we thought it was worth it. Use Priceline Negotiator, we were able to save a ton of money this way, and it was kind of fun too! You get a car from a major rental agency (I think we had Hertz) and we even returned the car a little late and did not get charged a ton extra or anything. Highly recommended. But here's the main reason you want to rent a car. I could go to Oahu and spend every single day here.

3) Explore other beaches. Waikiki beach may be very popular, and we did go one day so that we could at least see what the fuss was about. But really, I was disappointed, I had heard it was narrow, but it was really narrow and packed! I don't really like to be on top of other people and I felt like you barely had any room to yourself. I also felt like it was a little unsafe in the water with the surfers / swimmers / paddleboarders / boats, etc. And for comparison:

Waikiki Beach:

and Lanikai Beach (also in picture above). About a 20 minute drive away. We used the GPS to find a Lanikai beachwear store since you can't find the beach itself and then followed the directions in Frommers to get there.

4) Wear Sunblock! The sun is extremely strong but with the breeze it often doesn't feel that hot out. It's warm, but it's not like you're sweating a ton like Disney in August, lol. So it's really easy to forget to put on sunblock, but you will regret it. We got sunburned a lot, basically if you even miss a spot, it will get burnt and be really uncomfortable for a few days . I find the liquid sunblock works better than the spray.

5) Excursions - There is tons to do in Hawaii and lots of different companies hoping you'll pick them. Since we wanted to relax and had already spent more than enough money on the wedding, we didn't do much in the way of excursions. We did a private surf lesson on Oahu and a Manta Ray Snorkel and daytime snorkeling trip in Kona. The good thing is, with a car you may be able to tour some areas by yourself. We were able to drive to the Volcano on the Big Island instead of doing a tour. So my advice would be to pick the things that appeal most to you and don't worry about not "seeing it all". Also think about what it really includes and if you want to do that. There were some waterfall tours that were essentially hiking tours. I knew that it wasn't really our thing and at $200 a person it wasn't worth it to me to see a waterfall up close. Tripadvisor was a great resource for picking excursions, it was nice to be able to read reviews to figure out if we really wanted to do something or not.

So on Oahu, we did a private surf lesson. What appealed to me about this company was they took you to a more isolated beach that was good for beginning surfers since the waves were mild. I really liked how they focused so much on safety. So we booked our lesson through Hawaiian Fire Surf School and they were great. They picked us up close to our hotel and provided all the equipment we needed. They brought us to Nimitz beach, which was really nice and not crowded at all.

The staff was great, really friendly and focused on everyone being able to surf. I had a lot of trouble paddling all the way out since the board was so big and my arms barely hung down the sides, so they would pull me out. They also give lessons to kids. There was one kid in our class who must have been 5 years old, he was surfing tandem with an instructor. They also had someone taking pictures and at $40 for the CD, it was actually pretty reasonably priced, so we got that too.

We did discover, that we are not surfers, I told DH he should have to return all his surf brand shirts. It was definitely a fun experience and I have so much respect now for people that are surfers because it is hard and tiring! We would totally recommend Hawaiian Fire Surf School though.

6) Eat as many pancakes as you can! Hawaii is seriously land of the most delicious pancakes . See what I mean?

Which brings us to, our favorite Hawaiian Food finds on Oahu.... up next

 

[pezaddict231]

Foods of Oahu

The good thing about jetlag was that we were waking up super early. And everything opens pretty early since I think they kind of count on that.

1) Our favorite breakfast place was Hula Grill in the Outrigger Hotel, there are lots of Outriggers, it's the one on Waikiki beach where Duke's is.

The restaurant is located upstairs and is open air with views of Waikiki beach and diamondhead. Since it's open air there were some birds looking for crumbs, but it was just unusual and not a nuisance.

the view:

I imagine the food is sort of what Kona is like, since I haven't been for breakfast. DH would get the breakfast platter with eggs and I always had pancakes.

and the pineapple and coconut pancakes, my favorite! I also did enjoy the banana and macademia nut, but these ones were my favorite.

And I'd wash it down with fresh pineapple juice, really amazing. The pineapple was so good in Hawaii and the pineapple juice was even better.

2) Malasadas. Now I'd heard about Leonard's on tripadvisor and wasn't really sure what all the fuss was about. I figured they'd be like zeppoli's or beignets, but I did have to find out what people were going crazy over, so we made sure to stop there one day.

Oh my, these were fantastic. They were delicious and warm. My favorites were the custard filled one. DH liked the sugar and cinnamon ones. I totally understand the lines out the door. We even stopped back another day and got a few more....I kind of wish I had some right now!

3) Shave Ice. We asked our waiter at Hula Grill where to get the best shaved ice and he said he actually preferred Waikola Shave Ice to Matsumoto's and the plus side was it was much closer to where we were.

Waikola ice is supposed to be finer, and it was, the consistency was like fresh snow. They had a bunch of different flavors, but we both had Rainbow. This was another place where the line is down the street, but they were really good but I did not like the Mochi balls, luckily those were just on the bottom. We both agreed that we liked Malasadas better though.

4) Hawaiian Plate Lunch. I definitely wanted to try a Hawaiian Plate lunch and a great place for that is The Rainbow Drive Inn. It's the type of place locals go and the food was good and inexpensive.

DH actually really enjoyed his, he got roast pork.

I liked mine, but I liked his a little better. It was good and filling, and the rice and macaroni salad was not as weird a combo as I would have thought.

5) Duke's. You can't go to Waikiki and not go to Duke's. We went for lunch one day and the food was really good. We just had burgers but the view is great, it's located right below Hula Grill. I loved the tiki feel to it.

6) The Yardhouse. Casual but with great food. There are a ton of beers on tap. You can get insanely large beers like this.

bar area

awesome spinach dip

my chicken dish, it was super tasty

We went for lunch and dinner but liked it better at lunch since it was less crowded. The menu was the same for both meals.

7) Hy's Steakhouse. Dh was dying to go to a Steakhouse, so we picked this one since it wasn't somewhere we could go back home. The food was really good and the service was very good. They actually made the caesar salad tableside, the dressing and everything!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are also lots of familiar places in Waikiki, there's a Cheesecake Factory, California Pizza Kitchen, PF Changs, etc, so pretty easy to find something for everyone. I would recommend making reservations or trying to call ahead that day since it gets really crowded out at night. There are also lots of places to get a quick meal, like subway or there's a food court nearby. Which is why I wouldn't really bother cooking too much in Waikiki.

The only place we didn't like was Cheeseburger in Paradise. The burgers were not that good and there was no American or Cheddar Cheese , so I would go somewhere else. The burgers we had at Duke's were much better.

And with all the restaurants around, you may even spot a celebrity chef, we happened to see Iron Chef Morimoto on the streets of Waikiki. We were able to snap a pic when he stopped to take a picture with this girl.

 

[ChocoKat]

OOoooh your pics are making me sooo hungryyyy.
I am sorry about the plane miss-hap your poor DH!
Those beignets look so good, and so does all the other food!

And how lucky! I would love to meet Morimoto, he is my all-time favorite iron chef

 

[Boardwalk_bride]

Wow, Hawaii looks amazing!! I really need to go there!

The beaches look so amazing, and the food (especially those pineapple coconut pancakes) looks so good! Thanks for making such a great effort to provide tips. I am definitely going to save your TR to my travel folder for a future Hawaii reference!

 

[shippedtosea]

WOW! Behind again. I'm sorry your server was so mean at Ohana's! that sucks. at least you still enjoyed the food. the fireworks cruise sounds great! we really want to do that sometime.

I can't believe what happened with the plane! My DH would have freaked out as well. So I don't blame yours! I'm glad you got to Hawaii safe in the end.

Hawaii looks amazing! I really really want to go...and your pictures make me want to more! I'm glad you guys had such a great time at both places!

 

[pixiegirl]

Your Hawaii pictures are fantastic. DF and I would plan to go to Hawaii for the honeymoon as well. We would be staying at my mom's timeshare which I believe is the same one you stayed at. So thankful for the tips. What islands did you go to? Was it hard to go from island to the other? We would like to go to Kauai and Oahu. Can't wait to see more!!