Aulani: Not sure I will visit

[pinnocchiosdad]

In the begining like many of you, I was excited at the possibility of taking a trip to Hawaii and staying at Aulani. After some thoughts to myself, I no longer feel a desire to stay at Aulani. When I think of a Hawaiian vacation, I think of seeing several of the islands. I do not think I want to stay at just one resort (Aulani). I would like to travel and see as much of the Hawaiian Islands as I can during my one day to be taken trip. I don't want to be tied down to just one resort. Not even sure what there is to see at The DVC location. If I want to sit at the beach for a week I will not travel all the way from NY to Hawaii. Just my thoughts.

 

[DVCconvert]

Well then, you'd better call Jim Lewis so he can call the whole thing off.

 

[sesame_123]

I agree with the OP. Hawaii is a dream destination of mine but I probably won't make it there more than once or twice so I want to see it all while I'm there. I would possible stay at Aulani for a few days and then island hop for the rest of the vacation. (remember I said dream)

I also agree that to just do beach activities, I don't want to pack up my family (2 small children) and fly for 3 hours to L.A. and then another 8 (or whatever it is) when we can get to the Caribbean in about 3 hours flying.

I'm not saying that this will not be a popular destination for many so Jim Lewis can keep right on building it. (a not helpful post IMHO)

I, like the OP would most likely not use it (much). I also will most likely not use HHI but they built that anyway.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I agree, OP. We've been to the islands several times and have driven past the Aulani site. It is NOT our favorite part of Oahu in the first place, and in the second place, we only use Oahu to get used to the time change coming and going. The REAL part of a Hawaiian trip comes on Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii (Big Island). OUR favorite is the Big Island with Kauai a close second and Maui not far behind. There is so much to do in the islands, and with the long flight from the midwest, we don't even consider a trip of less duration than 2 weeks, and actually prefer 3 weeks.

 

[HarrietSLP]

We have been to Hawaii several times and stayed only at one island per trip. Our first trip was to Maui, then Oahu, Kauai, and the Big Island. We only stayed on Oahu one week which I felt was sufficient. We did Pearl Harbor, Hanauma Bay for snorkeling, Polynesian Cultural Center, North Shore and the shrimp trucks, hiked Diamond Head, etc. We spent at least 10 days on Maui and the Big Island. Of all the islands, Kauai remains my favorite because of the Na Pali Coast, Polihale Beach, and just that laid back Hawaiian feeling. Best luau though was on Maui.

We are going to Aulani in November and most likely will stay at the resort the majority of the time to enjoy what it has to offers. We'll probably go to
Waikiki to stroll and see how the waves are on the North Shore.

All the islands are beautiful and if you can only go for a once in a lifetime trip then don't spend all your time at Aulani. In fact, Aulani is on a side of the island that I don't particularly like other than the Ko Olina resort area.

If you really want a taste of the real Hawaii take the road to Hana on
Maui, watch the sun rise at Haleakala, do the Trilogy snorkel trip from Maui to Lani, do a plane or helicopter tour of Maui which goes to the Big Island so you can see an erupting volcano, take a boat ride along the Na Pali Coast, etc. etc. Also see my favorite beaches Makena ( Big Beach on Maui) and Polihale Beach on Kauai. Rent a car and see as much the islands as your time and budget allows.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Isn't the nice thing about DVC that you don't have to stay at one place for a week?

Oahu is an island worth visiting - especially if you've never been- and on all the islands you're best off getting out anyway.

 

[FreeTime]

Having only been to Maui as a teenager and the rest of my family having never been, we likely would only stay a night or 2 at DVC as well. Actually, my plan when we finally make it, is just to do a cruise around the islands so I won't have to unpack every day.

 

[ILuvCrush]

I totally get what the OP is saying..... if I was only going to hang out on the beach, I'd be going to the Caribbean too (I'm from PA).

My intention for our 1st Aulani trip (loosely being planned for 2013) is 3 days at Aulani (to adjust to the time change and see Pearl Harbor)... then a 10 day inter-island cruise... then another 5 days or so at Aulani, to explore Oahu and to have some relaxing beach time after all the running around of the cruise!

We have never been to Hawaii, and really want to get a taste of the different islands. A cruise seems like a great intro to at least see the highlights. Being able to add an additional week to the trip via DVC at Aulani really makes a long trip much more cost effective.... and builds in some time to actually relax!

 

[aan1701]

I am with the OP as well. I lost all interest in going when I saw two things, first off we like to travel in Sep. Do to basically trade two nights at our home resort if AKL (each night we can get for as little as 9 points a night) for one (18 points per night at the same time of year) at Aulani was a big turn off. Second thing was having to pay money at check out. Part of the reason we have DVC is so we don't gave to fork over cash for our rooms. Talk about another huge turn off. Anyway thank goodness I got a room on DCL's Hawai'i cruise. Just the way I have always wanted to go anyway.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Isn't the nice thing about DVC that you don't have to stay at one place for a week?

Oahu is an island worth visiting - especially if you've never been- and on all the islands you're best off getting out anyway.

While that's true, I would NEVER spend an entire vacation or more than a few days at Aulani. For one thing, while there is a lot to see on Oahu, the Ko'Olina area is not convenient to any of it. As I said earlier, that long flight makes me not want a "short" trip to the islands. We did 8 nights our first Hawaii trip, and it was way too short. Now we plan on anything from 16-21 days to make it worthwhile.

Oh, and those point values at Aulani...OUCH!

 

[DenLo]

We have plans for a combo Aulani and NCL cruise in 2012. But understand what the OP is saying about traveling around the islands. But I don't see how that excludes Aulani. I would think it would be perfect to travel to the Hawaii, Maui and Kauai and then return to Oahu and stay at Aulani, do some sightseeing in Oahu and then relax a few more days at Aulani before going home. Or you could combine one other island with a stay Aulani.

 

[Geezer]

Second thing was having to pay money at check out. Part of the reason we have DVC is so we don't gave to fork over cash for our rooms. Talk about another huge turn off. Anyway thank goodness I got a room on DCL's Hawai'i cruise. Just the way I have always wanted to go anyway.

But no matter where you stay in Hawaii, Timeshare, hotel, or rental unit, you will have to pay that same tax, so DVC and Disney are not to blame for the state tax there.

 

[wildernessDad]

You could use Aulani as the first and last resort, staying 1 or 2 days each time, but tour the other islands in between.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Our only trip to Hawaii was on a 1 week cruise on a now defunt cruise line with a 3-4 night stay on each side of the cruise. If I were to go to Hawaii again, Aulani would definitely be on my list of places to stay.

 

[adminjedi]

In the begining like many of you, I was excited at the possibility of taking a trip to Hawaii and staying at Aulani. After some thoughts to myself, I no longer feel a desire to stay at Aulani. When I think of a Hawaiian vacation, I think of seeing several of the islands. I do not think I want to stay at just one resort (Aulani). I would like to travel and see as much of the Hawaiian Islands as I can during my one day to be taken trip. I don't want to be tied down to just one resort. Not even sure what there is to see at The DVC location. If I want to sit at the beach for a week I will not travel all the way from NY to Hawaii. Just my thoughts.

I don't think I understand your logic. You can see as much of the islands as you wish, but you need to stay somewhere on each island...unless you take the NCL cruise. We are choosing to stay at Aulani at Ko Olina, that doesn't mean we won't visit other areas of Oahu or even visit other islands.

We have stayed ocean front on Kuai, Maui and Oahu. We have stayed ocean front in the caribbean as well. Each island, regardless of ocean, has a unique feel and different sights to see. But once you see those sights, you are left with a beach and sun vacation. For us it eventually comes down to a time of relaxation, a time of doing nothing and just enjoying the weather, the breeze and the waves. We have decided that while on Oahu, we want to enjoy those things immersed in the Disney style and quality.

We are thrilled that we only have a 5 hour direct flight to Hawaii instead of a day and a half flight to the caribbean! And, no bugs or snakes!!!

 

[disneynutz]

I'm sure that Aulani will be a wonderful resort. I don't think that sales will be as brisk as Disney would like, but they seem to have the ability to sell ice to Eskimos.

Disney continues to experiment with DVC locations away from WDW with mixed results. From what I am told VGC was a disappointment to the higher ups and D. C. and New York are on hold for now with New York is looking for DCL to give it a green light.

It's hard for our family to justify a DVC purchase anywhere but WDW especially when the activities and choices are 10 time greater that anywhere else. If I am going to spend thousands of dollars, I am looking for the best possible location with the most to offer.

Bill

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

While that's true, I would NEVER spend an entire vacation or more than a few days at Aulani. For one thing, while there is a lot to see on Oahu, the Ko'Olina area is not convenient to any of it. As I said earlier, that long flight makes me not want a "short" trip to the islands. We did 8 nights our first Hawaii trip, and it was way too short. Now we plan on anything from 16-21 days to make it worthwhile.

Oh, and those point values at Aulani...OUCH!

I'm afraid I have yet to take too long of a trip to Hawaii!

 

[jmatias]

We live on Oahu and we have stayed at the Marriot Koolina for a week.....done this several times.

Can totally see our family staying a week at Aulani. Love that DVC gives us options.

 

[bmalonef45]

As a DVC member that doesn't own or plan to by points at Aulani I'm happy to see this thread. See we plan on spending our spring break there next year. So hopefully there are more of you out there thinking this way so there will be rooms available in our 7 month window. We'll wait to visit before we judge since it will be our first vacation to Hawaii. We're all super excited.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

I was reading through this thread and saw adminjedi's ticker. I think I would like adminjedi's family to adopt me!

What do most people do when they travel to Hawaii - island hop or stay on one island for 7 to 14 days? We are going to Maui this summer and will stay for 12 days (5 days at a hotel, 7 days at the Westin timeshare). We have several activities planned (snorkel trip, luau, road to hana, Haleakala), but want several relaxing beach days as well. We don't have the time or the money to island hop. I would like to visit other islands some day, but will probably always only do one island per 7 to 14 day vacation because I want to explore everything each island has to offer and relax.