Does Disney regret Aulani?

[tjkraz]

However, having said that, I was just there last week, and I was surprised at how many NON-DVC pool wristbands I saw - probably about 60-70% of people by my estimation - considering how many villas there are compared to hotel rooms, which I think suggests that there are tons of rentals going on.

Not surprising at all since the DVC points are not "sold out."

The 2024 budget is based upon 330 DVC vacation homes. So they've got at least 151 undeclared DVC units at this point, plus 351 hotel rooms. That means cash guests are staying in over 60% of the 832 villas + hotel rooms.

 

[CastAStone]

Not surprising at all since the DVC points are not "sold out."

The 2024 budget is based upon 330 DVC vacation homes. So they've got at least 151 undeclared DVC units at this point, plus 351 hotel rooms. That means cash guests are staying in over 60% of the 832 villas + hotel rooms.

Plus resale peons like me aren’t supposed to get the sparkly bands.

 

[MagicDVC]

Plus resale peons like me aren’t supposed to get the sparkly bands.

You’re not missing much. I request to get the non-member bands. They are way more comfy and don’t scratch my arm. If I want to use the discounts, I’ll just show my phone.

 

[J-Dog]

You’re not missing much. I request to get the non-member bands. They are way more comfy and don’t scratch my arm. If I want to use the discounts, I’ll just show my phone.

But the sparkly ones look so much fancier...

 

[DVCSunDevil]

Plus resale peons like me aren’t supposed to get the sparkly bands.

Why not? We are resale members and have no problem buying the bands that are said to be for direct owners only. We just buy them. We have never been declined.

 

[J-Dog]

Why not? We are resale members and have no problem buying the bands that are said to be for direct owners only. We just buy them. We have never been declined.

Wait. What?

How do you buy pool wrist bands? You just walk up to the kiosk and show your room key/magic band and pick them up, right? And even if you could pay for an "upgrade" to a sparkly band, why would you? It doesn't really gain you anything.

 

[Sandisw]

Why not? We are resale members and have no problem buying the bands that are said to be for direct owners only. We just buy them. We have never been declined.

They are talking about pool wristbands at AUL not DVC magic bands.

 

[SL6827]

They are talking about pool wristbands at AUL not DVC magic bands.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

They are talking about pool wristbands at AUL not DVC magic bands.

Ahhh, thank you. That makes much more sense. lol.

 

[DonMacGregor]

But the sparkly ones look so much fancier...

And they get you free popcorn refills...

 

[Paul Stupin]

We were just there last week as a family. It was packed. The one thing I noticed is that there were a ton of DVC guides and sales people at the report. Seemed like 10 folks manning the desk and another 2 at the two model home stations. Probably around 14 to 15 DVC sales folks each day. They were certainly selling Aulani but also VDH, OKW deals, etc. I'd be curious the amount of sales volume they do at the Aulani location. Perhaps Disneyland has that many working in the resorts on any one given day but isn't visible. Just seemed like a lot of staff for the one resort.

And the Aulani reps seemed to be plenty busy all day long with guests inquiring about DVC.

We’re here now. There are a lot of guests here, but the Olello Room was a walk in last night, and Makahiki seemed kind of deserted. Good for availability! In any event, the resort, grounds and beach are all beautiful!

We did get a call about attending the “member celebration” tomorrow night. Warning for those considering the invite: hardly a big surprise, but when we attended it was a barely disguised sales pitch.

 

[DanCali]

We did get a call about attending the “member celebration” tomorrow night. Warning for those considering the invite: hardly a big surprise, but when we attended it was a barely disguised sales pitch.

We’re checking in tomorrow so maybe we’ll see you there if we make it on time.

We have an ocean view room but I suspect we’ll be a bit disappointed with the view no matter how good it is. We’re leaving this view at the Marriott…

 

[Paul Stupin]

We’re checking in tomorrow so maybe we’ll see you there if we make it on time.

We have an ocean view room but I suspect we’ll be a bit disappointed with the view no matter how good it is. We’re leaving this view at the Marriott…



View attachment 867029

Killer view! Of course Aulani’s are different, but you might be pleasantly surprised.

 

[DonMacGregor]

We have an ocean view room but I suspect we’ll be a bit disappointed with the view no matter how good it is. We’re leaving this view at the Marriott…

It might not be as good, but here’s our ocean view room from a couple of months ago:

 

[Disluv19]

I mean, that's a ridiculously broad question. We all have regrets.

I don't think it's fair to declare whether or not Disney regrets the entire Aulani project. In hindsight, maybe they regret the timing, or the location, or the size, or the budget, or the amenities, or 100 other things. But at the time, what they did made sense. And even though the DVC points have sold slower than projected, it has left them with more cash rooms to rent for a profit. Even if some of those rooms sit empty and others are discounted.

DVC apparently doesn't regret it enough to offer the points at fire sale prices.

I believe cash reservations sale out the resort as I can never find great dates

 

[DanCali]

It might not be as good, but here’s our ocean view room from a couple of months ago:

Looks like we got something very similar

 

[jkh36619]

It's my understanding that Aulani owners are mostly booking at WDW which could(is) cause(ing) availability issues at WDW resorts. That could be a regret. For WDW DVC owners anyway. I have no proof. Just what I have heard in the past.

 

[J-Dog]

It's my understanding that Aulani owners are mostly booking at WDW which could(is) cause(ing) availability issues at WDW resorts. That could be a regret. For WDW DVC owners anyway. I have no proof. Just what I have heard in the past.

Even if that was the case, I'm not sure that Disney would care. DVC owners might care, but that is not necessarily hurting Disney's bottom line so it probably doesn't matter to them.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

IMO, from what I’ve researched, Oahu is not the island of choice by many.

Though I’ve never been to Hawaii, so what do I know?

 

[J-Dog]

IMO, from what I’ve researched, Oahu is not the island of choice by many.

Though I’ve never been to Hawaii, so what do I know?

https://www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/media/12878/april-2024-visitor-statistics-press-release.pdf

In summary, 60% of tourists visited Oahu, with the other 40% percent spread across all the other islands. In other words, Oahu is the most visited island, by far. So, I doubt Disney is regretting their choice of island to put Aulani on.