When you wish upon a star...

...makes no difference who you are, as long as you can afford to stay at a Disney resort.  We can't, but luckily we have friends who were happy to open their bathroom window and help us climb in.  The Holland family arrived on the islands on Monday and have yet to step beyond the walls of the fairy castle.

It's easy to see why; the world inside Aulani Disney Resort and Spa is a little different.  You get a magic plastic card which means that you never need to spend money (Hannah tells me we'll have to deal with this later - yeah, whatever), you have a wristband so you can float endlessly around the lazy river on a rubber ring, lots of nicely dressed people say "aloha" to you all the time, and they have an infestation of giant rodents.

Yesterday we wandered about in a daze, travellers at the shores of a wondrous new world, then today things stepped up a notch when we enjoyed the "character breakfast".  Yes, we got to meet the biggest rodent of them all.  That's like meeting the President, and involved only slightly fewer security guards and handlers.  Younger members of the party wondered why a six-foot mouse with a fixed smile was paying them so much attention but they soon overcame their fear when introduced to the all-you-can-eat buffet.

After that there was swimming, and some more food, and then cocktails, and then some more food.  It might be hard to keep this up for another couple of days but I'm man enough to give it a try, especially if I get to meet a Disney princess.  That said, the opulence and wonder simply made me appreciate why we were actually there: to make our dreams of meeting up with loved ones come true.  And seeing Mickey Mouse.  And the all-you-can-eat buffet.

Ah yes, the weather took a turn for the worse, but where's the best place to be when it's wet?

Down on the (artificial, Disney-made) beach.

You're meant to search the rock pools, Pete, not sit in them.

Hannah carelessly loses a contact lens.

Look!  It's Mickey Mouse!  And us!!

And the buffet.

Everyone's a member of the Disney family.

Pete is charmed by a lady.

Greta is suspicious that a dog might attempt to steal her food.

Breakfast barely digested, it's back to the pool.

Beauty and the Beasts.

James reacts strongly when Frankie refuses to get out of the pool.

Hannah and Gen make a princess-worthy appearance at the bottom of the waterslide.

That's enough fun and games, time for the first Lava Flow of the hols.

Hawaiian picture book.

Back to the beach.  If you look at the sand under a microscope, each grain bears the face of Walt Disney.

Feeding the cast.

Frankie, future au pair for us, gets some practice.

Three princesses and a prince.