This week, we travel around the world to visit each castle at Disney Parks and then we visit the only spa created by Disney, LaniWai at Aulani on O’ahu. Did you realize that Sleeping Beauty has more Disney castles than Cinderella? Or that LaniWai has the only hydrotherapy garden on O’ahu? Well, we cover all of that and the latest Disney news on this week’s episode.
Listen to us on your favorite podcast platform or at these links:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/supercalifragilistic-awesome-disney-podcast/id1519529786
IHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-supercalifragilistic-aweso-68324055/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7aEKXzO7tTCqZfnvJnzAPC
For show notes, transcript, and more details from this episode, please visit: https://scfadp.com/podcast-season-3/disney-news-1-24-disney-castles-around-the-world-and-the-laniwai-spa-at-disneys-aulani-resort/
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All music for this episode is available through a creative commons license. The background music for the News segment was created by Kevin Macleod: Fuzzball Parade by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5044-fuzzball-parade
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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Show Notes:
- Disneyland Paris delays it’s reopening by 2 months (April 2) as France continues to tighten COVID measures
- The Festival of the Lion King to return this summer… modified for physical distancing… no date set yet.
- Theater of the stars (Beauty and the Beast) serving as overflow dining.
- Rise of the Resistance 1PM boarding group has been stayionig open for much longer – even as long as an hour or more.
- The Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail at AK is being modofied to allow for a month-long maintenance and refurbishment of the Aviary
- Harambe Market now opened most days each week at AK
- The Lunching Pad to Close on Weekdays beginning Feb 1.
- The Hall of Presidents has closed in order to add President Joe Biden’s animatronic to the attraction.
- Rivers Of America is being refilled as refurbishment comes to an end at MK.
- The barriers have been removed from the France expansion at Epcot, and the bathrooms in that area have opened.
- Ratatouille could not be far off.
- Mouse Gear is coming right along
- The Poly Monorail Station is completely gone.
- Source: https://blogmickey.com/2021/01/monorail-station-demolished-at-disneys-polynesian-village-resort/
- The main tower at Disney’s Contemporary could be getting an overhaul of the rooms. Speculation is an Incredibles mid-century modern vibe
- Disney Leaders Bob Iger and Bob Chapek forgo bonuses but still rake in millions
- The Muppet Show is coming to Disney+ on Feb. 19!!!
Disney Castle Segment Source: https://www.insider.com/cool-things-about-all-the-different-disney-castles-photos#disneyland-unveiled-sleeping-beauty-castle-before-the-animated-movie-was-even-released-1Backstage
Laniwai Spa at Disney’s Aulani Resort Source: https://www.disneyaulani.com/spa-fitness/spa-therapies/
Transcript:
Chris 0:01
You’re listening to supercalifragilistic awesome Disney podcast. Each week, we’re going to talk about three things. In Main Street USA, we’ll talk about the latest Disney news. In Tomorrowland, we talk about things we’re looking forward to. And World Showcase is dedicated to our favorite Disney adventures. So let’s get this show on the road. Por Favor Mantengase Alejado De Las Puertas.
Hey, welcome to the show. Our podcast family We are so happy to have you here. My name is Chris and I’m Kelli. And Kelli. Okay, I know I said like every week that these are my favorite ears, but these are Aulani ears.
Kelli 0:25
These are Aulani ears. I think it’s you know, it just shows you can have pretty ears without a bow.
Chris 0:27
You really can. I love those.
Kelli 0:27
Lovely hibisci flowers, or hibiscus, hibiscuses. I don’t know what you call them but they’re they’re beautiful ears and they do not have a bow and I feel extremely Hawaiian tonight.
Chris 0:31
and that’s always a good thing. Always a good thing. Yes. If you ever get the chance to get out to Aulani take that opportunity, man cuz it is glorious. Yes. Hey, so every week we talk about where we saw downloads from because we love you all for downloading our show, and for some reason listening to what we’ve got to say. So Warrington, Missouri, about an hour west of St. Louis. Okay. Yeah. So thank you to those of you in Warrenton, Missouri napolean, North Dakota.
Kelli 0:44
Ooh, that sounds fun.
Chris 0:45
I know it. I counted every house in Napoleon North Dakota.
Is it really tiny? Ooohhh, they’ve got a complex.
Kelli 1:58
A complex. I’m so sorry, North Dakota. We’re not making fun of you. We are so happy that you’re listening to us.
Chris 2:02
I just had to, I couldn’t resist. I’m so sorry. Southeast of Bismarck. The capital. Literally is a little tiny little town. But it was adorable. Knoxville, Tennessee. Oh, the volunteers balls in Rabat Morocco, the capital of Morocco. Right on the Atlantic Ocean, the west coast of Africa.
Kelli 2:24
Now that’s fun. Yeah.
Chris 2:26
That’s pretty cool. That is awesome. So hey, anybody that downloads We love you. We are so grateful for you and anybody that listens if you add us on any social media. Spread the love for us. We’ll send you a sticker. Absolutely. We’d love to. We’d love to send you a sticker. Hey, quick reminder, you got seven days to get your entries in for the awesome awesome awesome Pixar prize pack.
Kelli 2:52
Yes, so in honor of the movie Soul, we’ve got the woody loungefly bag the little green man popcorn bucket, Pixar ball ears and loungefly ears. Yes, Pixar loungefly ears and then two park exclusive Soul items. So it’s an awesome pack. Awesome prize pack. We
Chris 3:17
are so excited. We’ve got like 200 contestants already over 1500 almost 1600 entries. Get your entries in there. Hey, the easiest way to get entries by the way is by joining our subscribing to our channel on YouTube supercalifragilistic awesome Disney podcast you get 10 entries when you join there
Kelli 3:34
and I shared a little stat today on instagram. 83% of our YouTube watchers are not subscribers. Oh my gosh, that is ridiculous people those are easy entry Subscribe, Subscribe, Subscribe for that. So
Chris 3:47
go make that happen. And you got seven days and then we are raffling this thing, man. It’s gonna be late. We’re just dropping. So go get that done. And we’re going on to Main Street here. Let’s
Kelli 4:01
do it.
Chris 4:03
Okay, so lots of news items. I don’t know if we’ll get to everything here. So, Disney leaders Bob Iger, who’s Chairman of the Board and the former CEO and Bob Chapek, who’s the current CEO. These guys aren’t hurting for money, but they did release their salary information for the past year. They made millions but they they did forego all bonuses for the year which for someone like practically doubles, the millions that they make. Right, right. So they made like 14 and 20 million apiece. Okay. But without the bonuses, they would have made double that. Okay. And the whole idea is we’re not taking bonuses, because we know it’s been such a craptastic year for everybody and we’ve had to lay off a bunch of people and so on and so forth. Right again, nobody’s crying for these guys. But it was a nice, nice gesture and you know, anytime they’re open kimono like that. I’m for it. The This is a ridiculous news item but I love this. This was awesome for me. The Muppet Show is coming. I saw that original 18th right February the 19th.
Kelli 5:12
Oh, February the 19th. I saw that they’re all like
Chris 5:14
individual boxes wouldn’t know these are this is the show is coming to Disney plus,
Kelli 5:19
also it’s the the original original, the original, right?
Chris 5:23
This is the original show the original five year run that I grew up on. I cannot wait.
Kelli 5:30
Is this the point where I tell you I never saw it.
Chris 5:33
That doesn’t surprise me though. Well, then you’re gonna have a great time with me after February.
Kelli 5:38
I didn’t come on the broadcast stations we didn’t get on
Chris 5:42
CBS. Okay, yeah, it was honestly ran on CBS for five years.
Kelli 5:46
That’s interesting. Well, I don’t know why we didn’t watch it. Maybe it came on same time as Dallas.
Chris 5:52
Maybe, maybe I washed it at my grandma’s house in Disneyland Paris has delayed its opening by two months. Now to April they had they had closed it after New Year right for COVID. But they’ve delayed it now because they’re having spikes in France.
Kelli 6:12
Come on France, we really want to come see you this year.
Chris 6:15
I really need them to bring it home.
Kelli 6:16
I really do. France. I need for y’all to pull it together. Everybody get vaccinated. Everybody pull it together.
Chris 6:22
Why don’t you? festival of The Lion King in a modified version of the show is going to return this summer at Animal Kingdom. There modifying the show specifically for physical distancing. So they can the things that allow them to physical distance they will put into the show the actor or the actors, performers, performers, okay.
Yeah. Theater of the stars, where the Beauty and the Beast show used to be is actually serving as overflow dining area now, which is at least they’re using that space for something. I mean, I think his show will eventually come back. They’re not in the theater part. But like the the promenade at the top of the
Kelli 7:02
Oh, okay. I say I was like, why would you want to go sit in?
Chris 7:05
No, not in the theater. Okay, in the theater. So Rise of the resistance, I guess now has a 1pm boarding time instead of a 2pm. And they’re saying now that like the the boarding time is actually taking a lot longer than like, just 60 seconds, right? When we were trying to get in there. Like when you walk right through, right? Well, when you try to do it on the virtual queue, right? It ends like it says it’s full in less than 60 seconds. So many people were trying to do it. Well, now it’s taking like an hour before it turns off. Because of a they think it’s because a the holiday crush of people is not there. Right now. Okay. We’re past the holiday season, right? And they’ve got the Plexiglas barriers on the ride so they can actually get more people on the ride at one time. Okay, so they’re able to accommodate more people.
Kelli 8:01
So how would the app be taking an hour though?
Chris 8:04
No, no, it’s not taking an hour. It’s It’s It’s open for at least an hour. You don’t have to get right in there on see now. That’s good.
Kelli 8:13
Okay, sorry. I misunderstood that. Yes. I thought you said the app was running slow. No, no, they’re saying it’s open for a while. Yeah, get in there. Okay.
Chris 8:20
That’s great. Yeah, it was like at least an hour in the last few weeks. Yeah, great. The gorilla falls exploration trail Animal Kingdom has been modified to be shorter because they’re doing some maintenance to the bird aviary. Harumbe Bay market and animal kingdom is now open every day. Lunching pad at Magic Kingdom is closing midweek.
Kelli 8:47
Lunching pad is open for like two hours on random days.
Chris 8:50
And they’ve got that jalapeno.
Kelli 8:52
I wanted that jalapeno cheese stuff pretzels. And we walked all the way the other side of the park for that thing and lunching pad was closed.
Chris 9:01
I’m going to try not to show too much giddiness here, but Hall of Presidents has closed for refurbishment.
Kelli 9:09
If we both laugh after you say that I don’t think that it counts.
Chris 9:14
Yeah, it just means that they have confirmed that they’re no they’re gonna they’re putting Joe in there. Joe. Joe Biden is getting added to the Hall of Presidents. Okay. Good for Joe. The rivers of America where the steamboat is they’re refilling it back up. They finished the refurbishment on rails and stuff in there. The barriers for Ratatouille have come down. Yeah. And the bathroom they’ve added a bathroom to France has opened. So, bathrooms right now that’s the cleanest bathroom. Yes. Those are the places to go new bathrooms. Yeah. Mouse gear is gonna look awesome when they’re done with it, but it is coming right along. Okay, they’re doing some really cool stuff in there. Right? Cool. The monorail station at the Polynesian totes gone. I mean, I’m sure I’m hopeful that it’s gonna come back. Right. They had disassembled that thing entirely. There’s just wide open skies. The monorail goes right through there. Wow. And the main tower at Disney’s contemporary not Bay Lake tower where DVC is but the main tower is their speculations that they’re about to overhaul the rooms there. Yes. So there there’s going to be closed from like April to September permits were all put in. Okay. Not a lot of details, but the prevailing theory seems to be that it’s going to take on and Incredibles mid century modern sort of kids for the rooms. Okay. So yeah, for that be fun. Yeah. So that’s an easy one domain take any take. Okay. Mickey has pre selected a question here. So you ready Mickey? What you got for us? Ready? All right, this or that? Magic Kingdom carrier area resorts or Epcot area resorts. Contemporary Magic Kingdom is contemporary Polynesian Grand Floridian Wilderness Lodge. Okay. And fort wilderness. Okay. Epcot. Epcot is boardwalk Beach Club, Yacht Club, or dolphin swan. Oh, I know. I know.
Kelli 11:22
Oh, that’s so hard. I’m gonna go Epcot. Okay. I’m really because of proximity. So I do love boardwalk. It’s easily in my top two favorite resorts. I also love Yacht Club. Yeah, right. So both of those along with Beach Club, you can walk to the back entrance of Epcot, which is my absolute favorite thing to be able to do. So I’m going to go proximity. Epcot area resorts.
Chris 11:50
Yeah. It is a really hard choice because Polly is our home. But I think I’m gonna go Epcot resorts to I love being able to stay in a balcony room at the boardwalk that overlooks Crescent lake and go over there and see the lights on the boardwalk in the lights of the yacht club and all that and then like you said, walking to the back entrance at Epcot. Yeah. It’s such a hard decision. a hard decision. I think.
Kelli 12:20
I’m gonna go just location, location, location.
Chris 12:23
Yeah. Which people are like we talking about Polynesian. Across from the park is location but
Kelli 12:29
and it is. And it is. It’s our home resort. But I can’t walk over to France and get a croissant at 9pm we’re staying at the
Chris 12:37
poly. That’s it. That’s the thing right when we had dinner from Morocco and walked it back to our hotel and sat on the balcony with as shwarma there
Kelli 12:47
have been also a number of times we’ve come back to our Epcot area resort when we could park hop, and we would just hop right on over that back entrance and go into Krantz and get a snack.
Chris 12:57
Yep. Yeah, absolutely. You got skyliner right there too.
Kelli 13:01
Yeah, yeah. location.
Chris 13:02
Yeah, I’m going Epcot area resorts and it almost breaks my heart, but it’s what I that’s what I love. Me too. All right, so Okay, I’m ready for tomorrow. And I’m super excited about this. Oh,
Kelli 13:14
yeah, absolutely.
Chris 13:16
Okay. I am world traveling this week. I love this subject. I want to see all of the castles of all the Disney parks.
Kelli 13:29
Oh, I’m gonna love this. Yeah,
Chris 13:31
yeah. So what I did was I found a really cool article on insider.com that listed things that maybe people don’t know about the various Disney castles. Okay, right. So um, I did I got some for the one I’ve been to, but I’ve only been I’ve only seen one of the Disney castles in person. Okay, right. So but I put those at the end just in case we had time. A couple So, Sleeping Beauty castle in California. The Castle of magic dreams in Hong Kong. Cinderella’s castle in Tokyo. Sleeping Beauty castle in Paris. La Chateau de la belle Oba Domo. Wow, and the enchanted storybook castle in Shanghai Disneyland. Okay. Okay. So, a couple of facts about all the castles. All Disney castles are situated north south, you know, I know to allow for better photo lighting. And mainly it prevents tricky silhouette inducing sunrises and sunsets. I mean, totally, bro. Seems like such a simple thing. But you got to think about that before you’re at it.
Kelli 14:45
I mean, they made that decision before social media. Right, right. That wasn’t about we already taken pictures of our castles so that it was for their own photos. Yep,
Chris 14:54
that’s totally right. Yeah, I
Kelli 14:56
mean, I guess people took photos before so
Chris 14:58
they did but But yes, the turrets and towers, nearly all are topped in blue of some kind. Because Walt just liked it. He thought it made because of the way it sort of blended in with skylines and or the color of the sky. A lot of times it made it look taller. So he just liked it and they kept doing it.
Kelli 15:18
It’s a very regal color.
Chris 15:21
it is. Okay, so Sleeping Beauty castle was obviously the first one in California, right? It’s 77 feet tall. It’s it’s not imposing at all whatsoever. Walt lovingly referred to this as a weenie. Yeah, I’m gonna run through this really quick, but any so he would come home from work. Okay. And he would go to the kitchen to see what was being made for dinner. Okay. And he would often just, you know, pick up a snack. This reminds me of my granddad, who would go into the refrigerator and pull out a hot dog weenie just a cold hot dog weenie. Gosh, and the minute he grabbed that hot dog when he their dog would start would follow him around anywhere he could lead he could take that dog anywhere. He wanted that dog to go as long as he had a hot dog when he in his hand. And so the wainy is what he used to describe the things that they put in a park that are larger than life. They’re just draw people in that direction. So almost every land has a weenie of some kind for the law, but the main weenie and all the parks is the castle that is draws everything they still use that terminology today. Disney.
Kelli 16:35
Oh, that’s so horrible. Well, we could call it a magnet a magnet. You could we could call it an
Chris 16:41
miriah that doesn’t have a cute story like waltz does their drawbridge in front of Cinderella Sleeping Beauty castle in California actually works, but they’ve only used it twice once on opening day. And then once when they read dedicated new Fantasyland in the 80s 1983. And the moat that goes around Sleeping Beauty castle is known as the Lake of the swans.
Kelli 17:03
Yeah, okay,
Chris 17:04
so All right, moving on to Hong Kong Disneyland, the castle of magical dreams. This one was intentionally built to take advantage of a nearby nature reserve, which gives it a beautiful mountainous backdrop.
Kelli 17:21
Who’s supposed to live in this castle?
Chris 17:23
Well, Originally, it was an exact replica of Sleeping Beauty castle. Okay. Right in California. Okay, which also gives you the distinction of being the only castle that’s been completely rebuilt in 2016 they, they totally they started overhauling the castle. It looks totally different in technically they finished it last year. And it is awesome looking. It’s totally different now it looks like something that’d be fits Hong Kong Disneyland and now it honors 13 different princesses and heroes. Okay. Yep. And it’s it’s definitely no longer a replica of sleeping beauty. Yes. Okay, good. Good. This thing looks really cool. You should read replicas The Castle of magical dreams. Okay. Cinderella’s castle in Tokyo. This is almost identically a replica of the Cinderella’s castle in Florida. Okay. One big difference is that the one in Florida the portico there you walk through that it’s got a mosaic of Disney’s version of Cinderella, a bunch of them. The Tokyo version includes a much more detailed full walk through attraction that tells the story the whole story of simple that’s fun. Yeah. And they’re actually to walk through castles at Tokyo Disneyland there’s there’s Cinderella Castle but then they’re beasts castle, right is a much better Yes. Through and ride experience and
Kelli 18:59
what we have we have just a time we got
Chris 19:01
a little castle on top of a mountain and we have a restaurant. We like it. Alright, so a sleeping beauty castle in Disneyland Paris. My Chateau de la well oh blah, blah blah.
Kelli 19:15
What did they do Belle’s castle become?
Chris 19:19
You know good question. So this one has a dragon in it. This is my favorite castle to look at in pictures by the way. It looks very storybook and so
Kelli 19:29
then it doesn’t look like the Disneyland. Oh,
Chris 19:31
this one looks very different. Very different. There’s a dragon living below this version of the Cavs Sleeping Beauty castle is the largest animatronic at this park. It stretches 80 feet long and weighs 5500 pounds. And so you’re walking through and you get to a cave. And there’s this dragon that lives under the sea. That’s really cool. That’s the beautiful stained glass windows here took months to create in this castle took months to create their parts. Have a walk through attraction that tells the story of sleeping beauty. They were crafted by Peter Chapman, who also helps to restore the windows in notre DOM. And Westminster as oh geez Yeah, this this dude knows what he’s doing get an amateur. Yeah. Imagineers modeled this castle after storybook versions of castles fan and those found in movies. They thought it would be redundant to create a castle that looked like all the castles that are so easily visited in Europe, there are castles all over Europe, right? So they had to come up with something that was truly different than what people might be able to just to drive and go see. So that’s why this castle looks the way it does. And this is my favorite. It’s built into like a hillside. It looks really cool. Yeah, that’s cool. The Enchanted storybook castle and Disney and Shanghai Disneyland. This is the largest by far now it’s not the largest in height. It really only stands a few feet taller than the one in Florida. Okay, it’s 190 feet tall. But it is massive in terms of total scope and width and girth and all this kind of stuff and you can walk around it. It’s like a it’s like a town inside of the park. Okay. It includes multiple levels for guests to explore, and they and it honors all Disney Princesses versus being devoted to one princess story. Okay, all right. There’s a ride underneath this castle called voyage to the crystal grotto and it features characters like Aladdin and Milan and Belew.
There is there’s a golden penny of flower Penny flower on top of the highest spire. Now this is not the official flower of China, but unofficially it is what many people in China informally recognize as the flower of China. Okay, so there’s a golden one on top of the tallest spire.
Kelli 21:53
So do the other castles also have restaurants inside them? No, but
Chris 21:57
this one does.
Kelli 21:58
Okay,
Chris 21:58
this one does
Kelli 22:00
not have restaurants. But this one is big. Right in a restaurant and multiple levels. Okay, exactly.
Chris 22:06
A full service restaurant on the upper floors called the Royal banquet hall. This one genius idea is also built into an amphitheater. Right, so around the outside of one side of the castle is this huge natural amphitheater, so that people get really great views of the stage. And the fireworks every night. Yes, that’s right. looked amazing when I saw great idea. So that’s a that’s a tour of all the castles of Disneyland parks around the world.
Kelli 22:37
Okay, so then now that you’ve looked you’ve seen pictures of all of them and you know, their amenities. Which one is your favorite?
Chris 22:44
Still? The one in Paris, I think is the one in Paris. Yeah.
Kelli 22:48
And is that the one you’re you’re like, most excited to see. Yeah,
Chris 22:51
I think so.
Kelli 22:52
La. Yeah. Yeah, I was it. They had the dragon. That one. Okay. Yeah, I’d be excited to see that. But I liked the idea of one with a bryden
Chris 23:02
grotto. Right. And Shane. Yeah, I think that’s the one in Shanghai. Yeah. Shanghai. Deezer. I’d like to see it just because it’s big.
Yeah, they watch the fireworks from their amphitheater. Cool, good time.
Kelli 23:14
I’m for that. 100%. Yep. Yep. Well done, honey.
Chris 23:17
So, world showcase
Kelli 23:19
world showcase. Okay. I know you’re so worried about today, I’m going to take everyone on a journey, okay, to the Lani Wai Spa in Aulani. Okay, so first of all, I will say Aulani has been a phased reopening. So if you’re planning a trip for this summer, this is a must do. Okay, spas open, but it’s phased reopenings. But this is a must do. All right. I’m gonna walk you through the entire spa experience. Oh, boy. And frankly, this is just where my head is that I need this desperately. They also do pedicures manicures things that you normally see available at a spa. But the massage area is where it’s at. So first of all, I just want to say this is a day. It’s a day. If you have kids, reserve them a spot at the kids house, aunties, whatever her name was, and plan to meet back up maybe after dinner. They’ll give them snacks. They’re not gonna let the kids go hungry. They’ll give them a snack or what have you in front of the TV. They’ll never know they missed a meal. But I’m just saying reserve them a spot there. Get to the spot as early as you can that day and pick up the children as late as possible. Yes, you will not regret this decision. That’s true. You will not regret this decision.
Chris 24:38
She’s right.
Kelli 24:39
Do not, I repeat, do not think that you will rush in and out of this spa. Yeah. If you do that you are missing the entire point of this experience. That’s true, the entire point. Okay. So I’m going to read you the descriptions out of their brochure. Okay, close your eyes and experience Wonder harmony and peace. This is the magic of Lani Wai. A unique resort spa that specializes in catering to your every need. The first ever spa created by Disney, Lani Wai is home to Oahu’s only outdoor hydrotherapy garden Kula Wai, which boasts of a tranquil lighting and healing waters features, serene spaces are plentiful. Yeah. And more importantly, teens have their own location. When you come to Lani Wai, you will find a serene mystical aura that is sure to soothe and rejuvenate your mind, body and spirit.
Chris 25:40
I want to go now.
Kelli 25:41
Okay. So everyone, if you’re driving, don’t do this. But if you’re not driving, close your eyes. You walk in. Now they recommend that you get there. 60 minutes to six, zero minutes prior to your treatment so that you can enjoy enjoy the spa first. You could definitely go take a hot shower, you could sit in the sauna, there’s plenty of things you can do in the spa. Again, don’t rush this. Don’t rush it, after you’re checked in an attendant offers you a basket with some rocks that have words on them. Do you remember this? You select a rock and follow the attendant into a round room with a shallow pool of water that’s surrounded by hardwood floors and soft lighting. Somehow it feels like you’re in the woods at twilight, I can’t quite explain that. There’s a glass crystal hanging from the ceiling that looks like a huge water drop. water slowly drips from that large crystal into the shallow pool. Creating perfect ripples. The attendant asks you to think about your word and then let it go placing it into the pool with the other rocks. Now when the attendant did this, we went through this whole little thing. I remember thinking, Okay, this is different. Okay, I hadn’t taken seriously, this is a big deal. Yes. Then you’re led into the locker rooms in the waiting areas. If you’re early enough against sauna hot shower, you end up in the waiting room that again feels like you’re outdoors, like the ceiling tiles are big leaves if I remember correctly. There’s sort of half curtains in between each of the waiting lounge chairs. It does not totally partition them off. But you feel it’s so spacious. It feels it feels secluded, very secluded, very spacious. Okay, there’s plenty of greenery, curtains, snacks, water, hot tea, you can fall asleep in here in seconds. I mean, I’m a good napper. And you put me in this chair, and I’m about to fall asleep thinking about it. Your therapist comes in to get you for your treatment. They have traditional massages, they have herbal body remedies, facials, treatments, specifically for men and treatments, treatments for couples and families. Here’s what I will note. If you bring family members for a treatment, you’re in a different zone. Okay, you’re not in this area. So I don’t want anybody to think about there could be kids in here waiting for a treatment with their parent know, those people are kept separate. Those people those people are separate. Okay, I want to be very clear. This is a serene place with no children. Okay, so I’m going to go through some of the signature treatments just to give you an idea of how different this spa is. And now remember, this is the first ever spa created by Disney, the spa the grand flo and the spa. Saratoga Springs are both lovely. I’ve been to both and I had fantastic experiences. They were not created by Disney. Right? Okay, so this is a level of experience. So they have the signature Lomi which I believe is what I had. This is a traditional Hawaiian massage passed down from generation to generation by healing elders indulge in a gentle rhythmic massage, incorporating Lomi Lomi sticks and warm river stones to release tension, pain and fatigue. All the while replenishing the mind body and spirit with positive energy, increased circulation and muscle tone. I think I had the Lomi Lomi they also have that in what they call the Lilyno, which is fine rain. So you can have the Lomi Lomi in the privacy of their rainwater suite.
They also have the I’m gonna pronounce this Kili Kili which is a fine gentle rain, and you enjoy a full body exfoliation of your choosing followed by a Lomi Lomi a soothing Hawaiian massage applied under streaming jets of warm water, leaving you delightfully refreshed and reenergize finished with a signature body butter designed to not only nourish the skin, but to leave it feeling smooth, hydrated and invigorated. need to go tomorrow The next one is the ye ye. And this is that means prosperity associated with freshwater. So you begin in a signature body cocoon with your choice of purifying volcanic clay, detoxifying seaweed or moisturizing honey. And then you relish in a wai wai lomi lomi massage under gentle rainwater. I know. Okay, so after you finished your treatment, you’re directed back to the waiting area where you again have open access to all of the services there as well as the hydrotherapy garden. On your way out to the hydrotherapy garden, you’re going to pass the puluh bar. Now this is where you have the opportunity to mix your own scrub using fragrances sugar or sea salt oils and herbs with the help of an attendant Okay, so you tell them what you would like what kind of smells you like, they help you mix it and then they recommend that you use it in the hydrotherapy garden, but you could definitely take it back to your room and use it share. Okay, so now you’re in the hydrotherapy garden which frankly, I’m going to tell you is over the top, it is over the top. This is called the kulu wai. Okay, now you are outside here. There is so much greenery. You will never believe that you’re on a resort with slides and children screaming. That’s one thing I’ll say about Aulani, it’s loud. And the kids are screaming, it feels like 24 seven. Yeah. And it’s because they’re having fun. I’m not talking about whaling, I’m talking about screaming, but it is loud and you don’t really realize how loud it is until you get into the spa area and suddenly it’s silent, silent. So here you are outside, you’re outside. It’s so quiet, you would never believe you’re at the same resort right? This area is considered rainwater therapy. All of the water is at different temperatures. There are stones laid out in pads leading from each rainwater station to incorporate reflexology on your feet as you move through the garden. So like some of the rain jets fall from the top, some come from the back or the side. Some are strong jets or soft jet Some are cool water Some are warm water. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I loved this area.
Chris 32:18
It was really really cool
Kelli 32:19
In the Kulu Wai, there are five different vitality baths and then several of those rain shower areas so they have a creamy white bath. an uplifting yellow bath, a red hibiscus and ginger bath, a green bath and a bath with essential oils. Okay, now I will say those are all different temperatures or different smells and different water textures. Yes, fascinating. Mind blowing. But one of them is freakin cold.
Chris 32:48
It was, I couldn’t get in it. Yeah, it’s freezing.
Kelli 32:50
I didn’t even try.
Chris 32:52
I couldn’t get past my knees. Rather, I couldn’t go any further than that.
Kelli 32:55
But it’s amazing.
Chris 32:56
It’s incredible This place is, I’ve never been anywhere like it.
Kelli 33:01
So after you’ve stayed as long as humanly possible, you sadly decide to leave. When you go back up front to check out the cashier asks you what your word was when you came in. If you remember it, they give you a little a little gift to go. Yeah, that’s right with baths. If not, they give you like a generic one. bath salts and like a scrub. Yeah, you can use in your room. I’m gonna say this was our best day when we were at Aulani.
Chris 33:27
It’s one of our best days we’ve ever had. Yeah, not just while we were at aulani this was the most over the top relaxing day I’ve ever experienced.
Kelli 33:37
It’s the best spa I’ve ever been to. I’ve been to a lot of spas. I’ve been to multiple spas in Hawaii.
Chris 33:43
That bath garden is hydrotherapy. Our garden is just it’s over the top it was was the best day.
Kelli 33:52
Putting this together made me want to take a nap. And have you rub my feet.
Chris 34:01
There’s a little bit of insight into us. so that’s it for this week. We hope you enjoyed this week’s show. If you did you know what to do run out to your podcast service of choice rate our show leave us a review and we’ll watch all the other people come listen to the show.
Kelli 34:23
Yes, please subscribe people subscribe. And if you’re looking for more things Disney visit SCFadp.com. That’s SCFadp.com. S for super, C for cali, F for fragilistic, A for awesome, D for Disney, P for podcast. This week. We’re gonna have another bonus episode review and this is from Les chefs de France. Coming to YouTube near you.
Chris 34:45
looking for the on the lookout go subscribe. I try keep an eye out for that we enjoyed our time in the French pavilion having dinner at that signature restaurant. Go check it out. Watch for everything we put out on the socials. It’s at SCFADP On Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and supercalifragilistic awesome Disney podcast on YouTube. Yes, love to see you there. We would love to hear from you with that. We hope to see you real soon.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
