Almost cheaper to go to Aulani or DL. Anyone done it or thought about it?

With the way flight prices are right now and with how low the Canadian dollar is -- a vacation to either Aulani or staying off-site at DL (from Eastern Canada) is almost as much as doing an on-site WDW holiday. It's making us seriously consider switching venues. We've done WDW before. Love it. Tempted by the "free dining" promo for Canadians in late August. But if we wait until early-mid-September to take our holidays we could get some of the discounts at the other locations, which make them almost comparable to WDW. But is it worth it? Anyone been and made the switch? Does all the extras add up quickly? Can you really take a "week long" holiday at just DL or just hanging around on the beach a Aulani?

Insights appreciated. Though the base costs -- flight and accommodation (and DL admission if we did Cali) are comparable when/if you start adding in other things (e.g. food, activities outside of Disney, car rentals, transportation from airport etc.), the price could steadily make it go up to get outside the realm of consideration.

But with how expensive doing ANYTHING is right now it's hard to pick the absolute best route -- beyond staying home! And leaving anything beyond a stay-cation for another year.

I can't imagine it would be cheaper. The biggest difference is the airfare. East Coast to Oahu you will be looking at about $1000 pp or more. Even with the crappy discount I can still fly from Buff for less than $300 CDN for the most part. DL tickets are comparable and onsite at DL will cost you the same as a WDW deluxe. Difference is at DL you can stay within walking distance at a Hilton, Hyatt, Hojo etc.

We used our DVC at Aulani but I think even a most basic room will set you back about $250-$300 (USD) you can get All Star with the fall promo for like $79 a night.

Aulani you really need a rental car, at WDW you don't. And yes we had no problem filling 10 days at Aulani and 6 at DL and could have even done more.

Aulani has some pretty good discounts right now. Our WDW vacation right now for the period we're looking at is coming it at about $3600. With the Aulani discount without even playing with flight alternatives or points just yet we're seeing prices at $4000. For just $400 more ... it might be worth it to go somewhere we haven't been before. But either way ... very expensive vacation do either place. Looking like a better option might be a stay-cation this year.

$4000 before airfare or with? If there's just 2 of you I can see $4k for room and flights.

With airfare -- and just the airfare through the Aulani site. Not digging to find our own cheaper deals or using points yet. And it's three people for dates in late-September.

But Aulani doesn't include food and I've heard the restaurant prices there are ridiculous and tha there aren't a ton of options nearby without a car. So then there's the car rental too if/when we want it. And the round-trip transport from the airport either way. And if there's any activities that aren't included on site or there's anything we want to go and do off-site. Basically, I know all the extras would add up pretty quickly and suddenly the "comparable" price would skyrocket to outside our realm of consideration for this year.

It is totally do-able! We have done Hawaii on the cheap many times, including Aulani for the first time last August and I am based in Toronto.
Check out the Aulani threads over on the DVC forums, there are sooo many inexpensive options for eating there including off property restaurants right across the street and many, many options a short drive away, things like Subway and KFC all the way to high end dining. You can rent a car for approx 150 week (obviously not during christmas/easter) thru www.discountcarrentalhawaii.com or costco.com/.ca which makes the whole island accessible. Flights right now are insanely cheap thru Toronto.

You can rent points thru Davids or other rental options which make the rooms about 1700 USD for an 8 night stay
https://www.dvcrequest.com/cost-calculator.asp
Or what many people do it make it a little more affordable is stay a few nights at Aulani and then stay a couple nights in Waikiki but Waikiki is a very different environment, full of hustle and bustle, partying and homeless folks. There is some great shopping and wonderful restaurants but not the lush tropical Hawaii that other parts of the island are.

If you can get to Toronto, you can get to Honolulu for approx 550-750 CANADIAN per person ie-you can get flights for $615/CND/pp on United for 8 nights - (check it out on ITA Matrix)

Toronto (YYZ) to Honolulu (HNL) — Fri, Sep 18


Toronto (YYZ) to Newark (EWR) — Fri, Sep 18
United 3498
Dep: 6:10 am
Arr: 7:36 am
1h 26m
Embraer RJ-170
Economy (N)

OPERATED BY SHUTTLE AMERICA DBA UNITED EXPRESS
Layover in EWR
1h 39m

Newark (EWR) to Honolulu (HNL) — Fri, Sep 18
United 15
Dep: 9:15 am
Arr: 2:03 pm
10h 48m
Boeing 767
Economy (N)

Honolulu (HNL) to Toronto (YYZ) — Sat, Sep 26


Honolulu (HNL) to Chicago (ORD) — Sat, Sep 26
United 218
Dep: 3:50 pm
Arr: 5:06 am
8h 16m
Boeing 777
Economy (N)

Layover in ORD
Sun, Sep 27
3h 39m

Chicago (ORD) to Toronto (YYZ) — Sun, Sep 27
United 4318
Dep: 8:45 am
Arr: 11:19 am
1h 34m
Embraer ERJ-135/145
Economy (N)

OPERATED BY EXPRESSJET AIRLINES DBA UNITED EXPRESS

Cost per passenger (including taxes & fees)
CA$615.86
Total cost for 1 passenger
CA$615.86


You can rent points thru Davids or other rental options which make the rooms about 1700 USD
https://www.dvcrequest.com/cost-calculator.asp

So a family of four can easily go for approx 5000 and a couple can go for 3500 Canadian. Airfare is the killer usually but over the last year or so it has been great out of Toronto.
I am not sure how this compares to Florida WDW but I would bet the prices are close to staying onsite. I know the last time we went to WDW was 2013 and even with staying off site it was pricey because of the tickets.


I have been to Hawaii many time, including all the our islands and I will say it is worth going at least once.
Aulani is incredible too, it was waaay better than I expected!

I live on the West Coast in BC so I have actually only been to DL as well as going to Aulani last year. For us, it was cheaper and less travel time. It was also easier to plan. Still hoping to go to Florida hopefully next year but it will be a bigger trip for us.

I know what you mean. I compared costs of 8 days at Disneyland with budgeted transportation, Universal Hollywood ticket and park tickets staying at the off-site Hilton with flight was 50 dollars cheaper then flying to Orlando, no transportation costs and staying onsite at Pop. Only reason I didn't switch was because my parents want to go to California next fall to Disneyland and LA in general and it would mean I can split the costs and stay onsite.

I just spent 2 weeks in Oahu/Maui. We actually tried using a friends DVC to book Aulani but ended up going the airbnb route instead.

We also got our cc bill back and yes, Hawaii is expensive. Maybe $50USD for lunch and $100 for dinner every time we ate out. But since we did have a kitchen (and a BBQ in Maui), we made use of it.

To each their own though.

And fwiw, I booked my minivan via Costco.

We've been to KO OLINA 3 times in the last couple of years and just love it there.We've been to Aulani everytime,but never stayed there and couldn't justify it unless there was a major deal going on.We stay across the grass field fromAulani at the BEACH VILLAS resort.Prices vary from condo to condo and view,but yopu can get a 2 bedroom condo with all top end appliances and ensuite baths from 300 per night.Each condo usually has a free parking spot as well.The condos are individually owned and very spacey,1200sq ft or more.There's also 3 bedroom units.If interested check out vrbo.com ko olina.Flights from Ottawa are usually from 550 -750.We always use United as it's the quickest.Either ott-wash-Honolulu or bquicker yet Ott Chicago-Honolulu.It's great but don't expect it to be Disneyland or Disneyworld;it isn't.

badiggio said:

It's great but don't expect it to be Disneyland or Disneyworld;it isn't.

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Very god point! Aulani really just has hints of Disney and Hawaii is a very different vacation than WDW of DL, but then again so are most places!

We are DVC members and stayed at Aulani for 10 days in March. It was not too bad price wise (room covered by DVC points, minivan rental was prepaid, we did a bit of cooking in the villa). The dollar was a bit better exchange wise then, but in terms of touring we only paid for Pearl Harbor and did mostly beach days with only food to pay for.

In term of air fare we had enough points to cover two tickets, only had to pay one out of pocket for about $990...but even if we paid cash for all three that was about the same it cost us to fly to BC last summer!

The biggest thing in terms of cost savings is you're not buying park tickets like at DW so that is saving you a ton of cash!

Don't forget to factor in the $35/day parking at Aulani for your rental car if you're not renting DVC points. And don't even bother trying to rent a car at Aulani....$$$$$$$

This was all really helpful information, thank you all.

What were people's experiences with staying off-site at DL? I've heard it's very easy because of the proximity to the park. Is highway driving in the area easy if you wanted to do a few days in LA or San Diego before or after Disney? I've heard awful things about driving in LA. Is San Diego any easier?

A HI vacation sounds really appealing to me -- especially if the price is right. How was the driving there? Is it very far to get to some of the tourist sites? We'd be interested in doing some water and nature activities and possibly the Polynesian Cultural Center and the ranch in the mountains where they shot the movies and TV shows. Might want to do a luau too.

Zombie said:

This was all really helpful information, thank you all.

What were people's experiences with staying off-site at DL? I've heard it's very easy because of the proximity to the park. Is highway driving in the area easy if you wanted to do a few days in LA or San Diego before or after Disney? I've heard awful things about driving in LA. Is San Diego any easier?

A HI vacation sounds really appealing to me -- especially if the price is right. How was the driving there? Is it very far to get to some of the tourist sites? We'd be interested in doing some water and nature activities and possibly the Polynesian Cultural Center and the ranch in the mountains where they shot the movies and TV shows. Might want to do a luau too.

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In Hawaii, it really depends on which island you go to.
- Haven't been to the Big Island, so no insights there.

- Oahu is the most populated island, and the H series highways can be brutal during rush hour. If you stay at Aulani be aware that you are at the opposite end of the island from the PCC, and are probably looking at a 60-90 minute drive to get there. That said, most hotels and resorts are likely to have transport to and from, so it's worth looking into. We did the Luau at PCC - actually pretty good, in terms of food and entertainment. No alcohol though, as the whole place is run by Brigham Young University. Waikiki Beach is really, really nice. North Shore has a completely different vibe from Honolulu - more laid back, and while not as picturesque as Waikiki, the beaches are also enjoyable.

- Maui I liked the best of three islands I've been to. They've got some touristy areas yet they don't feel TOO touristy. If you're a Top Chef fan Sheldon Simeon (TC Seattle) has a restaurant in he Wailea Marriott - it's good! Road to Hana and the volcano are fun day trips. Didn't bike down the volcano (too pricey) but looks like a lot of fun. I would recommend using vrbo or airbnb here as the hotels and resorts are pricey and Kihei (which doesn't really have hotels) feels more central to everything.

- Kauai I went to on my honeymoon 10 years ago and it was easily the most laid back island I visited. Still, there are interesting things there like helicopter rides and boats to the remote side of the island. Realistically it's probably not he place I'd go to with the kids unless they just want to go to the beach every day.

Meanwhile, I haven't been to SoCal in a couple of years but I remember San Diego traffic as not terrible. We stayed a bit north of the city and rarely had a problem going down. I do recommend the zoo though - well worth visiting. There is a AAA discount if you don't get the SoCal CityPass, btw.

We also stayed in the OC (San Clemente) that year as my brother was getting married and getting to DL was a breeze since we (2 adults, 2 kids) could take the HOV which has a DL exit. So I'd imagine that offsite close to DL would be even simpler. But because of our location we never actually made it into LA proper - we flew in and out of San Diego which was a slight mistake on my part since we flew out the day after Comic-Con, so tons of people there. Then again, my parents were supposed to fly out of LAX and (surprise, surprise) they got delayed.

I've been to the Ranch .They shot Jurassic park there now when I watch that movie it's a whole different experience.You can walk to the Paradise Cove luau right by Aulani if you wish;we did from Beach Villas.The last time I was there ,I brought my Garmin gps,and didn't have any trouble whatsoever,getting anywhere.As for traffic,it's usually people going to work and coming home from work.As for Honolulu and Waikiki beach,it was a must the first time,but since,imo,it's nothing special and too crowded.

Zombie said:

This was all really helpful information, thank you all.

What were people's experiences with staying off-site at DL? I've heard it's very easy because of the proximity to the park. Is highway driving in the area easy if you wanted to do a few days in LA or San Diego before or after Disney? I've heard awful things about driving in LA. Is San Diego any easier?

A HI vacation sounds really appealing to me -- especially if the price is right. How was the driving there? Is it very far to get to some of the tourist sites? We'd be interested in doing some water and nature activities and possibly the Polynesian Cultural Center and the ranch in the mountains where they shot the movies and TV shows. Might want to do a luau too.

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We went to both DL and a cruise to HI in the spring. We got a good hotel rate near DL from Mousesavers and didn't really spend much money while there. Too old to collect souvenirs, I guess. Because we had to go during the spring break season, we found it was very crowded, terribly hot, and not very enjoyable. If we were to visit DL again, we would try for offseason and stay onsite, or rent a car. We took the Amtrak train to San Diego, which was approx. a 1 1/2-2 hour ride, some of which was along the coast.

There are lots of great offsite hotels at DL within short walking distance. Our family much prefers DL to WDW. The transportation time is just so short and saves so much time. The parks are fantastic with everything right there. It's a great vacation! Weather bounces all over the place in Anaheim, so it is tough to know what you are going to get. We've been at many different times of year and fall and spring were both very enjoyable. August was a bit hot and you really had to plan your day. However, being able to just walk back to the hotel for a quick break, makes it manageable.

We have stayed off site for all of our Disneyland trips and in various locations around Anaheim. The driving is super easy but the highways do get very congested. Our best experience was at Ayres Inn. it is a local chain that includes a very nice buffet breakfast and parking. That is the big one with Anaheim, make sure your hotel includes parking. There is a Hojos just across from the park that is very popular for young families because it has an awesome water play area, like a mini water park for little kids (like 12 and under). There are a bunch of new hotel popping up as well, a new Spring Hill suites by Marriott, a new Hyatt Place
and a new Courtyard by Marriott with water slides
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/snadt-courtyard-anaheim-theme-park-entrance/
which will hopefully add some competition and bring prices down a bit.