DVC Points Context: 150 point contract at Polynesian. Have 474 total points to use (including banked/borrowed--we banked Oct UY 2024, and plan on borrowing Oct UY 2026, plus the expected purchase of 24 OTU points).
Our Group: Family of 4 (kids will be 2.5 & 4) + my in-laws (kid's grandparents in their early 70s). The grandparents are only coming along for the trip in May.
Current Plan:
- 4 nights at Poly (March 2026) - Studio (100 points)
- 6 nights at Aulani (May 2026) - 2BR Pool/Garden View (374 points) - We assume a Standard view won't be available
Main Questions:
- How many nights would you recommend at Aulani if we plan to stay at the resort the entire time? (Except for one Pearl Harbor day for just me and FIL). We are not the type to explore the island.
- Is there enough to do at Aulani to keep us entertained for that amount of time? My wife strongly prefers resort relaxation vacations over exploring the local area. If it's not walkable from the resort, we probably aren't interested in doing it with our young kids and in-laws in tow.
Alternative Plan I'm Considering:
Let's say we agree that 6 nights at Aulani might be too much for a resort-only stay. I've come up with an alternative plan that includes
Disneyland on the front end while also giving us an extra night at Poly in March:
- 5 nights at Poly (March 2026) - Studio (125 points)
- 3 nights at Disneyland Hotel (May 2026) - 2 connecting studios (96 points)
- 4 nights at Aulani (May 2026) - 2BR Pool/Garden View (248 points)
- This would use 469 points and give us an extra night at Poly!
Which option would you choose? We're concerned 4 nights at Aulani might be "too short" after the long flight to Hawaii, but who knows, maybe it's just right for us since we really just want to enjoy the resort and everything it has to offer. Not to mention, if we're flying to Hawaii from California (and not Chicago like we originally planned) then that does considerably cut down on the flight time. And starting with Disneyland before Hawaii might make it feel like a more complete vacation where we are fine just relaxing at Aulani after two hectic park days.
Thank you for your advice!
EDIT: I get there is a lot of discourse around "why fly all the way here just to sit at the resort pool? You can do that for much cheaper in closer locations". Before those comments roll in,
- This trip is for our 5th anniversary. We honeymooned in Maui and we did so much around the islands. We're aware of what there is to do around the islands but this won't be one of those trips. Maybe another time when the kids are older.
- This is a combination of us wanting to go back to relive our honeymoon, while also including our kids and their grandparents.
- We understand the kids and grandparents won't be able to "keep up" with mom and dad and want to keep things as simple and low-speed as possible.
- Could we do all this at a beach property in Florida? Yeah, sure, but it won't be DVC (I have little interest in Vero Beach). This is kind of a situation of "we have the DVC points + we want to go back to Hawaii = let's go to Aulani". We are not deadset on staying at Aulani (in the sense that, if we don't do it now, we never will) but this is probably the only time my in-laws will come with before they decide to swear off all travel whatsoever, especially one with as lengthy of travel conditions. My in-laws tried to plan their 40th wedding anniversary in Hawaii and felt discouraged due to how confusing the flight and hotel situation was--even with my help, they kept saying how nice it would be if I came with and was their personal guide haha. This is kind of our "treat" to give them that vacation they always wanted, and knock off a bucket list item for my father in law (Pearl Harbor). However, I suppose I could in the right situation be convinced to forego the Aulani trip if there was just some too good to avoid trip I could squeeze out with my points instead, but again, I've looked into Vero Beach and just overall feel "meh".
