Aulani at 7mo mark in early to mid July or buy a small AUL contract?!

[suebeelin]

Looking for advice. I currently am an owner of 400pts/yr, and will have appx 975pts (banking and borrowing) for aulani in July 2018. We insist on having our usual DW trip this upcoming Dec 2017 (but only using 200ish points this time).

I am worried about AUL at the 7mo mark. We want to stay 7 nights, would prefer not to move (and if we do, only once), and need two rooms, a one 2bd plus a studio for a week (7 nights).

We are fine if we can get ANY studio and ANY 2bd.

However, if there are NO studios left, and must get an ocean 1bd plus ocean 2bd, we will be short 50pts. I do not want to cancel my DW trip in Dec 2017, and we are already shortening it to 5 nights instead of our usual 7-14 nights.

Am I over stressing?

I'm actually considering a 100pt AUL resale context in the low 80s, or if I can get it in the mid 70s, just for this trip. That way I can get a hotel room or std studio. We have the cash but I would prefer not to lay it out like this if it's likely unnecessary.

Thought?!?!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Just get a transfer before buying if it comes down to that. Do you have any flexibility in the dates? If so then I wouldn't worry. Otherwise I think that mid to late June is the really tough time and that it eases up a bit again after that. Hopefully someone with better references will come along to share.

 

[Anal Annie]

I might be wrong but I "think" that studios may be the harder villa to book (I'm sure someone more familiar with Aulani will chime in). I've never booked more than 1 room at a time so I don't know how that process varies from only booking 1 room. So if you can only do one at a time I would grab the harder to get studio first if any view is an option (OV more likely than a lesser point value studio). Then I'd book the 2-bedroom if those are easier to get. Of course you know you have to be online & all ready to hit submit right at 8:00. Maybe you could even have 2 computers side by side ready to go? I remember stressing out trying to book an IV studio which are one of the first units to go.

I personally wouldn't buy another contract to book this...if it's that important I would drop more time off the Dec. trip or maybe plan it at a lower point cost resort to allow for the extra points (don't forget about buying a few 1-time use points - maybe you could figure that in). Good luck!!

 

[suebeelin]

Just get a transfer before buying if it comes down to that. Do you have any flexibility in the dates? If so then I wouldn't worry. Otherwise I think that mid to late June is the really tough time and that it eases up a bit again after that. Hopefully someone with better references will come along to share.

No flexibility in dates bc my older sibling is neurotic and insists it must happen first two weeks of July or she's not going to my parents 50th wedding anniversary. Something to do with her soon to be senior and sophomore's tennis schedule? The other three siblings, myself included, are a wee bit annoyed.

 

[CaliAdventurer]

What about renting your points out and then renting the dates from an aulani owner or does that lose more $? If you know an aulani owner personally who will trade points, that could work.

 

[abdgeek]

Being an Aulani owner, I wouldn't recommend just buying a resale contract for this trip unless you plan on staying at Aulani every couple of years. Aulani has become very popular and as an owner, you would want to take advantage of the 11 month booking window. You would also want to ensure that however many points you purchased allowed you to stay in the type of accommodation you needed during peak times(worst case scenario). That being said, the decision is yours. The last time I stayed at Aulani was over July 4th a few years ago and the resort was packed(trouble getting pool chairs if you weren't down by 8 am, etc--but the fireworks were awesome!). After the holiday things calmed down a little. I always stay in studios and typically OV is what I have to book 11 months out. If you call MS, they should be able to tell you how many of each type room & view there is so that you know how to plan. You may also want to check DVC RCI to see what properties in Waikiki may be available for your dates(they won't be for long). I know you want Aulani, but you may be able to maximize your points by doing less days at Aulani with a week in Waikiki. If you haven't already, use the resort availability tool when it gets closer to see what types of rooms are available. Even though you can't book then, at least you'll have an idea if what you want to do is possible.

 

[suebeelin]

Being an Aulani owner, I wouldn't recommend just buying a resale contract for this trip unless you plan on staying at Aulani every couple of years. Aulani has become very popular and as an owner, you would want to take advantage of the 11 month booking window. You would also want to ensure that however many points you purchased allowed you to stay in the type of accommodation you needed during peak times(worst case scenario). That being said, the decision is yours. The last time I stayed at Aulani was over July 4th a few years ago and the resort was packed(trouble getting pool chairs if you weren't down by 8 am, etc--but the fireworks were awesome!). After the holiday things calmed down a little. I always stay in studios and typically OV is what I have to book 11 months out. If you call MS, they should be able to tell you how many of each type room & view there is so that you know how to plan. You may also want to check DVC RCI to see what properties in Waikiki may be available for your dates(they won't be for long). I know you want Aulani, but you may be able to maximize your points by doing less days at Aulani with a week in Waikiki. If you haven't already, use the resort availability tool when it gets closer to see what types of rooms are available. Even though you can't book then, at least you'll have an idea if what you want to do is possible.

Ok, thx... that means I should plan on a 1bd + 2bd?

 

[abdgeek]

Ok, thx... that means I should plan on a 1bd + 2bd?

I would prepare for that and hope that you could get the studio & 2bd. Once it gets to August 2017, you can check the DVC resort availability tool weekly to see what rooms are still available for the dates you want in July 2018. That will help you plan better. You can always waitlist what you want at 7 months, but if you see that the rooms aren't there, you may want to work on Plan B. You will definitely need to be on the computer at exactly 8:00am EST on the date that is 7 months from your arrival to ensure your best chance of getting what's left.

 

[drusba]

What do you mean by early to mid July? If July 6 or before you could have issues at 7 months out for anything. For July 7 to July 31, 2017 all room sizes in ocean view were open at 7 months out. Also, poolside gardens and island garden 2BRs were often open and often you could find studios in one or the other of those. Standard view was usually gone.

 

[suebeelin]

What do you mean by early to mid July? If July 6 or before you could have issues at 7 months out for anything. For July 7 to July 31, 2017 all room sizes in ocean view were open at 7 months out. Also, poolside gardens and island garden 2BRs were often open and often you could find studios in one or the other of those. Standard view was usually gone.

A member of our party of 5 families insists the trip fall btwj July 1-15. Perhaps we can do the week after July 4 week....