Posts in Category: Hawaii
Aulani
Perhaps I should go back to the beginning, and talk about how I got started on this whole kick.
My wife and I took a trip to Hawaii with a group of friends, and we stayed at Aulani on the island of Oahu. This is Disney’s resort and spa, and boy is it spectacular! The architecture, landscaping and interior design are breathtaking.
Disney decided from the beginning to make this resort a ‘Hawaiian’ place. Therefore, if it was to be Hawaiian, then the Hawaiians get to say what is Hawaiian. So they brought Hawaiian people on board the project to give their input and also their artistry. At the end of the project, Aulani became one of the largest collections of contemporary Hawaiian art in the world. The immersion into all this ‘Hawaiian-ness’ really affected us.
The other thing about Aulani is the cast members. They are mostly Hawaiian, and so they have the friendliness which Hawaiians are known for, plus the Disney style of hospitality; making these people feel like family or Ohana. Seriously.. it’s not a gimmick..
The background music throughout the resort was fabulous as well. Disney hired Hawaiian musicians to create themes for the hotel. You can download the album on Amazon Music Here. They also created various covers of Disney music , except in the Hawaiian language. You can also download that on Amazon Music.
If you get a chance to visit , even for a day and not spend the money for a hotel room.. I highly recommend it.
(Note: My links to Amazon are affiliate links and I may earn something from any purchases made.)
Aloha!
So I went to Hawaii last year… I imagine that’s the way it begins for many people. I came back from my vacation with a deep, relaxed feeling of Aloha and began researching and looking at all things Hawaii related. I also thought about things which influenced me in my youth.
One such aspect was a love of Disneyland. Thus, a sub category of that love began to fan out from Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, and learning what the impetus of that attraction was. In the United States in the 1950’s and 1960’s, the tiki craze was in full swing and I guess Walt wanted in on that.
The next step in my journey involved visiting the recently built Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar at the Disneyland Hotel. What an amazing place! I was sucked in. And hey, if I bought certain drinks they came with collectible tiki mugs!
So then I had to understand what all this was about tiki mugs. Which brought me online to places like TikiCentral.com and ooga-mooga.com. The spiral ever deepening at this point as I explored the many subjects and boards on the web sites.