Aulani tour incentive?

[JFox]

When we had our DVC tour at WDW we were offered fastpasses. Is there anything offered when taking the Aulani tour? We are going to be in Oahu in May for 2 weeks and will be visting the resort a couple of days. Our home is the Poly but we have always been interested in Aulani.

 

[Wacat]

Last month they were offering $100 resort credit for doing a tour.

 

[JFox]

Last month they were offering $100 resort credit for doing a tour.

Is that towards a contract purchase or use at the resort?

 

[Wacat]

Came off the resort bill, credited at check out on your statement of charges. They do offer $500 resort credit for becoming a member as well but that is in place of a $500 credit with a purchase of 125 points.

 

[JFox]

Came off the resort bill, credited at check out on your statement of charges. They do offer $500 resort credit for becoming a member as well but that is in place of a $500 credit with a purchase of 125 points.

Boo. No good for us. We aren't staying at Aulani but just coming in to spend the day at the resort. All my DVC points are already booked for 2018.

 

[bcwife76]

Boo. No good for us. We aren't staying at Aulani but just coming in to spend the day at the resort. All my DVC points are already booked for 2018.

We did the tour last month and were not staying at Aulani (we were in Waikiki); we received a $100 disney gift card (good to use at any disney resort, not just Aulani). We used it for our lunch (after we bought our contract ) and will save the rest to slap down on our onboard account for our next cruise.

 

[JFox]

We did the tour last month and were not staying at Aulani (we were in Waikiki); we received a $100 disney gift card (good to use at any disney resort, not just Aulani). We used it for our lunch (after we bought our contract ) and will save the rest to slap down on our onboard account for our next cruise.

Do you mind sharing your UY and points for Aulani? When do you plan to visit Aulani? Did you plan to buy before your tour or decide on the tour? I'm going to take a tour while there.

 

[bcwife76]

Do you mind sharing your UY and points for Aulani? When do you plan to visit Aulani? Did you plan to buy before your tour or decide on the tour? I'm going to take a tour while there.

-Our UY is September
-we bought 50 points just to get our foot in the door (this was 10 days before the 75 point minimum came into affect)
-we next plan to visit Aulani in November 2019 (we are using our points this year at AKL) and will borrow from the following year I suspect. For now 50 points will do but I'm assuming in a few years we will want to add on. We currently hold a 5 year contract with UVC (Now/Dreams/Secrets all inclusive resorts) and will not upgrade that contract now in favour of adding more points to our DVC membership.
-no, when we took the tour we had no intention of buying DVC but honestly the numbers made sense (for our situation) as we have been taking a lot of Disney vacations in the past couple of years; vacations in general as our financial situation has changed drastically over the past 2 + years.

 

[Wacat]

We were at Aulani and bought at almost the exact same time to also get our “foot in the door”. We ended up switching to Copper Creek at the last minute since we live on Oahu and I don’t see a need to have an 11 month booking window for a three day weekend. When we move away in 3-4 years, we may add on Aulani points in order to make plan a reservation further in advance. They were confused about why we weren’t buying into Aulani since we are locals, but it didn’t make sense for us at the time when we thought about it.

 

[JFox]

When we bought we considered Aulani but went with the Poly instead. I would like to add a second contract for Aulani with just enough points to spend 1-2 weeks a year.

 

[JFox]

We were at Aulani and bought at almost the exact same time to also get our “foot in the door”. We ended up switching to Copper Creek at the last minute since we live on Oahu and I don’t see a need to have an 11 month booking window for a three day weekend. When we move away in 3-4 years, we may add on Aulani points in order to make plan a reservation further in advance. They were confused about why we weren’t buying into Aulani since we are locals, but it didn’t make sense for us at the time when we thought about it.

Do you mind if i ask you some questions for our upcoming trip in May? Local advice?

 

[Wacat]

Feel free to ask me. Hope I can help.

 

[JFox]

Feel free to ask me. Hope I can help.

I wasn't planning on renting a car. Most of our excursions offer transportation. Is the bus system reliable? Is B-Cycle available?

Can you offer a suggestion for a cruise? Something that offers a mid trip swim in the ocean.

Is Paradise Cove really the best Luau?

Are all beaches public? Can we really just pull off the road and go swimming anywhere we want? I'm thinking we are going to need to be beach ready all the time.

We don't want to look like tourists. What do locals wear?

 

[Wacat]

I wasn't planning on renting a car. Most of our excursions offer transportation. Is the bus system reliable? Is B-Cycle available?

Can you offer a suggestion for a cruise? Something that offers a mid trip swim in the ocean.

Is Paradise Cove really the best Luau?

Are all beaches public? Can we really just pull off the road and go swimming anywhere we want? I'm thinking we are going to need to be beach ready all the time.

We don't want to look like tourists. What do locals wear?

I would rent a car. Aulani is a long way from town. Trying to take the bus would take up a huge chunk of your day. You might be able to do uber. There are not many taxis out in Ko Olina, either. There are bike shares in Waikiki, but not near Aulani. Even if you did have bike, there is nowhere to bike to. Ko Olina is a resort area that isn't connected to other parts of the island except by the highway.

I would do paradise cove for the Luau because it is so close. I have been to the polynesian cultural center and was disappointed in the food and the Luau, although the night show afterwards was good. I have a coworker who just went to paradise cove and said it was a lot better than the polynesian cultural center. He raved about it, actually.

All beaches are public and you can swim wherever you want to. Just be careful where you park on the side of the road. I would personally avoid anything on the west side of the island, north of Aulani, because the area has higher crime and people are less friendly to "haoles" there. Cars frequently get broken into. Some of the nicest beaches are on the east side of the island, especially Kailua beach, Waimanalo beach, and Sherwoods beach on the weekends.

Locals wear slippers aka flip-flops almost everywhere. If locals are going to the beach you will find them in boards shorts and long sleeve rash guards. At a fancier location they may be in khaki shorts and an aloha shirt. At the store it would be a t shirt and jeans.

 

[JFox]

Today I found Discount Hawaii Car Rental. Their prices are competitive. I may use them for a few days.

https://www.discounthawaiicarrental.com