Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa combines two of the most popular destination weddings on one beach — Hawai’i and Disney are the perfect marriage for a perfect wedding. No, they didn’t pay me to say that.

Don’t worry, there are plenty of family activities at Disney’s Hawaiian paradise to make everybody happy. They didn’t pay me to say that either.

This post is part of UpTake’s Wordless Wednesday Series. If you would like to see your photo featured here please contact us via the link in the sidebar using subject line: WW.

Photo:  Whit Honea

If you ask Linus Van Pelt he will tell you that the Great Pumpkin is a fan of the quaint and sincere pumpkin patch. He may be right, sincerity is nice, but so too the big and grand. Enter Disneyland. They are fans of pumpkins of unusual size. Also, rodents.

That’s right, I just combined Disney, Peanuts and the Princess Bride into three sentences. Impressive, isn’t it?

This post is part of UpTake’s Friday Family Series. If you would like to see your family vacation photo here please submit it via the contact link in the sidebar, subject line: Family Photo.

Photo:  Whit Honea

One of the cool things, if you’re into cool things, about living in Los Angeles is all of the Hollywood fun. Take the premiere of Real Steel that my family and I attended at Universal City Walk (adjacent to the Universal Studios theme park). My kids got to meet a bunch of their favorite Disney channel stars, my wife got to drool on Hugh Jackman, and I ate all the popcorn I could eat (which is way too much). Of course, their favorite part was meeting all of the robots from the film, and I can’t say that I blame them.

If you’re a fan of pop culture and entertainment it’s pretty easy to find out when and where movie premieres are being held. I can’t promise you a ticket, but I can darn near guarantee that you’ll see a celebrity. The kids will love it.

This post is part of UpTake’s Friday Family Series. If you would like to see your family vacation photo here please submit it via the contact link in the sidebar, subject line: Family Photo.

Photo: Whit Honea

You may have noticed how beautiful and romantic Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa in Ko Olina, Hawai’i (O’ahu) is. It’s hard to miss. However, just because Disney has taken the best of Hawai’i and sprinkled it with pixie dust, doesn’t mean that it’s all walks on the beach and drinks with umbrellas (not that there is anything wrong with that). There’s plenty of fun for the kids, too!

In addition to the natural wonders of Hawai’i and the popular tourist sites of the island, the resort offers an array of family fun. Most of it is wet.

There are two water slides, a lazy river, snorkeling (in a mouse-made reef), and a water play area.  There are also indoor places to play, relax and hang out — some of which are no parents allowed! Well, I suppose they’re allowed, but they don’t have to be there, which is nice.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with many of the Aulani cast members and Walt Disney Imagineers that created the resort, and they shared some interesting facts and stories about the area. Videos below. Read More »