Disney Hawaii (Ko Olina) Photo Update 4/7/09

[dallastxcpa]

Thank you for posting the great pictures. We are hoping for a Hawaii vacation in 2013.

 

[vladimir10]

Spectacular!!!!

Thanks for the pictures.

Is there any rumours on if this will be like the other DVC sites, with it being a home place to buy points from or not?

 

[wildernessDad]

Makes me itch for an add on!

 

[rbuzzotta]

Thanks for the update. DD will be a freshman at Hawaii Pacific University in the fall, graduating (if all goes well) in 2013. When is the resort suppose to be ready for us to come visit??

 

[Anal Annie]

Beautiful! I'm with the PP - wonder how tough of a 7 month reservation it will be? What's "peak" time in Hawaii? I would love to take my family here on our points someday!

Hummmm....January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December!

I'm not sure if there's really an "off" season there or not....if I were to guess I'd say maybe October only because that is sort of a cusp month. It's not freezing cold yet on the mainland so people aren't craving that warm weather yet like they do in spring & there are no big holidays in Oct. when people tend to travel. Hawaii is of course popular for honeymoons 12 months a year. For families over holidays and summer...Couples w/o kids the rest of the time... There is a Japanese holiday I believe in the spring which increases their presence on Oahu. I have been in late April / early May, July, September and October and haven't noticed much difference in tourists or how full the flights are. Somebody who lives there will have to weigh in on that one.

We usually go to Hawaii every 5 years and last went in 2006 so the expected opening of this resort is right on track with our schedule (if it will open by summer 2011). If it doesn't open in the summer we'll have to adjust our schedule and go to 6 years on this one. We are also hoping it will be available at 7 months for a few nights. I'm wondering more about how point intensive it will be now that they've released the charts for GCV and BLT. I'm afraid it will take SO many points! Since we always split our stays between islands we will probably use Ko'Olina for the weekdays then hop to Maui and book something thru Costco over there since the RCI properties on Maui are not up to par.

These pictures do make me anxious to go again tho!!

 

[Disneypirate85]

Looks good, so glad to see them working the site....Thanks for posting..Shawn

 

[dvc_john]

What's "peak" time in Hawaii?

This probably doesn't mean much, but:

For Marriott Ko Olina timeshare, the entire year is 'Platinum' season (the highest).

For HGVC (Hilton) timeshares on Oahu, most of the year is 'Platinum' season (the highest). But 4 weeks beginning with the 2nd week of May, and 6 weeks beginning early September are Gold season.

 

[snackyx]

Marriott's Ko Olina has a 50 week Platinum Season--the only weeks this does not include are Christmas and New Years. If you want to stay those weeks you have to buy in at a higher rate.

 

[lah3hh]

This makes my heart so happy to see DVC building a resort for all of us to enjoy!!!!! I can not wait to go and will definitely be purchasing another add on to include this as one of my home resorts.

Thank you for sharing your pictures and for anyone else going in the future....keep the pictures coming....LOVE THEM.

 

[dvcbnd]

Thanks for posting your photos!
We've been wanting to get back to Hawaii since our honeymoon 20 yrs ago. We were there in October and the weather was absolutely gorgeous!! We truly fell in love with Hawaii and have always dreamed of going back.
Seeing this new DVC resort progress is true motivation to plan another trip. Oh, how I would love to call this DVC resort "home".
Hopefully, the addonitis bug won't hit me again.....

 

[Golden Rose]

Thanks so much for posting the pictures! I've been to Hawaii many times, but never to the Ko'Olina area. It looks very nice, even if it isn't too far from a less than desirable neighborhood area, which was one of our few concerns about it.

We used to go every couple of years, but with a recently turned four year old, we actually haven't been in five years. (I think that may be a record for me.) We keep thinking that we don't really want to take a child younger than five or six to Hawaii, simply because the plane ride from Houston is brutal. On the other hand, we love Hawaii, and miss it, so we will probably go ahead and buy some points once the DVC property becomes available. We're likely to want to go all our lives, and children are only too young to bring along for a few years

 

[OurDogCisco]

Thanks so much for posting the pictures! I've been to Hawaii many times, but never to the Ko'Olina area. It looks very nice, even if it isn't too far from a less than desirable neighborhood area, which was one of our few concerns about it.

I disagree... Ko'Olina is in a very desirable area. The exit from the freeway has you driving though what I almost consider a Gated Community. The homes are very nice. If there is an undesirable area nearby we didn't see it. We did go in eat where the local eat and shopped at the local Safeway there and I didn't see anything bad. We even ventured out to the local Walmart. They even built a new shopping mall near Ko'Olina with a Costco, Target and bunch of other retail stores. This definitely a nice place to be.

We'll be there in November at the Marriott Ko'Olina so, I'll be able to update the photos.

 

[vicki_c]

Hummmm....January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December!

Good point! but thanks for the other insights too!

And thanks to dvc_john and snackyx as well!

It will be interesting to see the point charts when they eventually come out anyway - our sad 160 points probably will buy 3 nights or less!

 

[OurDogCisco]

Here's a travel demand index for Hawaii from Interval International. It would give you a good idea of when there is the most availability. I'm not sure if DVC follows the same pattern but they might.

 

[dvc_john]

If there is an undesirable area nearby we didn't see it.

I'm guessing that that poster was referring to the area after the Ko'Olina turnoff if you keep going up the coast a bit. And I have to agree with the poster on that point.

 

[OurDogCisco]

I'm guessing that that poster was referring to the area after the Ko'Olina turnoff if you keep going up the coast a bit. And I have to agree with the poster on that point.

Ko'Olina is so far removed from that area. Besides that area gets more a bum rap than it is worth. There are even worst areas in Waikiki area that I wouldn't walk through at night. Like any big city area there are going to bad spots and good spots but if you truely believe that there is less crime in the Waikiki area you are gravely mistakened. It is probably worst there than that neighborhood next to Ko'Olina. I still disagree with you all...

 

[dvc_john]

Don't get me wrong! I love the Ko'Olina area and have absolutely no problem with it! I've stayed at the JW next to the DVC site, and have visited the Marriott timeshare. I've also gone to the Paradise Cove luau there. And I'm not comparing the area north of Ko'Olina to Waikiki in terms of crime, or desirability, or anything else. I'm just saying that the 'tent city' areas north of Ko'Olina are a depressing area to drive through while on vacation, and I won't do it again.

 

[snackyx]

Cisco is correct--the small town about 3 miles from Ko Olina, Barber's Point, has a Safeway, a new Target and a nice suburban retail area (restaurants, theatres, etc.). If you do not make the Ko Olina exit and continue north you head into a local/non-resort area of the island. There is a "tent city" on the shoreline, but there are "tent cities" sprouting up all over the U.S.--at least this is a tent city with a million dollar view. We ate at a local Mexican restaurant (Tacos & More) in this area suggested by our scuba diving captain and never felt uncomfortable in the least. It's no resort, but its just local Hawaii. I agree that there are many areas around downtown Honolulu/Waikiki that would be more suspect that north of Ko Olina. Once you take the Ko olina exit you do enter into a gated area that it totally developed in all the best sense. Look at the last photo I posted and you get a feel for the panorama of the area--I will take this over Honolulu any day.

 

[vicki_c]

Here's a travel demand index for Hawaii from Interval International. It would give you a good idea of when there is the most availability. I'm not sure if DVC follows the same pattern but they might.

Thanks- I'm going to keep a copy of that for my future reference!

 

[Jakedog]

Where are the ships going to come in at?