How to make Aulani affordable?

[bcwife76]

Thanks for the info Deirdres! I think we have actually shelved the idea of going to Aulani (next year anyway) in favour of staying in our friends condo on Maui for longer instead.

 

[jkquinn]

Thanks everyone for all your tips and advice! I think what we'll most likely end up doing is renting our friends' condo in Maui and then if we really still want to do Aulani, we'll add on 2 or 3 days at the end and fly to Oahu to stay there before flying home.

sooooo lucky!!

 

[Thometake]

Thanks everyone for all your tips and advice! I think what we'll most likely end up doing is renting our friends' condo in Maui and then if we really still want to do Aulani, we'll add on 2 or 3 days at the end and fly to Oahu to stay there before flying home.

If you haven't yet finished planning, you should definitely set aside time and budget for a few days at Aulani - it is a wonderful experience for the whole family! Especially if you are Disney-lovers.

Three years ago, we did Aulani for a big family gathering to celebrate our anniversary (I am a DVC member and have lots of family on the islands, so it was the best solution) plus a few days for quiet "couple time" on Maui. Everyone from the mainland and all the locals enjoyed the Aulani experience.

Besides all the usual stuff on Maui, I highly recommend taking the Maui Gold pineapple tour - you get to visit a working pineapple farm and factory (the only one still in Hawaii) and taste fresh cut, ripe pineapple (as much as you care to eat)! We also loved the Surfing Goat dairy farm - fun for kids to see all the goats wandering around and climbing over surfboards, and their treats were tasty (goat milk ice cream was delicious - who knew!). If you want to splurge on a meal, suggest enjoying a sunset dinner at Mama's Fish House - pricey, but wonderful food in a lovely secluded beach location.

Have a great time!!
Aloha

 

[bcwife76]

If you haven't yet finished planning, you should definitely set aside time and budget for a few days at Aulani - it is a wonderful experience for the whole family! Especially if you are Disney-lovers.

Three years ago, we did Aulani for a big family gathering to celebrate our anniversary (I am a DVC member and have lots of family on the islands, so it was the best solution) plus a few days for quiet "couple time" on Maui. Everyone from the mainland and all the locals enjoyed the Aulani experience.

Besides all the usual stuff on Maui, I highly recommend taking the Maui Gold pineapple tour - you get to visit a working pineapple farm and factory (the only one still in Hawaii) and taste fresh cut, ripe pineapple (as much as you care to eat)! We also loved the Surfing Goat dairy farm - fun for kids to see all the goats wandering around and climbing over surfboards, and their treats were tasty (goat milk ice cream was delicious - who knew!). If you want to splurge on a meal, suggest enjoying a sunset dinner at Mama's Fish House - pricey, but wonderful food in a lovely secluded beach location.

Have a great time!!
Aloha

Thanks for the tips! Our Maui dates are set in stone (we leave in 3 weeks) so no time for Aulani this trip unfortunately. We definitely want to do a pineapple tour so we'll make sure to do Maui Gold, thank you!

 

[Thometake]

Thanks for the tips! Our Maui dates are set in stone (we leave in 3 weeks) so no time for Aulani this trip unfortunately. We definitely want to do a pineapple tour so we'll make sure to do Maui Gold, thank you!

 

[AdamEfimoff]

I have always considered Aulani a high end resort.

I'm dying to go to the Aulani resort but the prices are just so.....scary!!! =0 Looking on expedia and other such travel sites, oh....my.....goodness. Both my husband and I turn 40 in 2016 (ugh, just next year!) so we'd like to take a 'bigger' trip and I'd really like to try for Aulani, but I'm just not sure we can stretch our budget that far once you factor in airfare from Vancouver as well. So how could we make Aulani more affordable? Renting dvc points? Which I know nothing about!! but can obviously read up on since there is an entire board on disboards dedicated to dvc. Any other tips?

 

[starvenger]

Besides all the usual stuff on Maui, I highly recommend taking the Maui Gold pineapple tour - you get to visit a working pineapple farm and factory (the only one still in Hawaii) and taste fresh cut, ripe pineapple (as much as you care to eat)! We also loved the Surfing Goat dairy farm - fun for kids to see all the goats wandering around and climbing over surfboards, and their treats were tasty (goat milk ice cream was delicious - who knew!). If you want to splurge on a meal, suggest enjoying a sunset dinner at Mama's Fish House - pricey, but wonderful food in a lovely secluded beach location.

Have a great time!!
Aloha

I would second Mama's - yes it is expensive but it *is* good eats.

Would also recommend Migrant at the Wailea Beach Marriott. It's run by former Top Cheftestant Simeon and is a pretty good Hawaiian/Asian mix of foods. I'd say to go during happy hour - less crowded and you'll avoid the people coming in for the Luau.

Which part of Maui are you staying in, btw? We were in Kihei last year - really nice area, and relatively central to everything.

 

[bcwife76]

@starvenger we are staying in West Maui in Honokowai, not far from Lahaina. My last trip to Maui (over 20+ years ago) we also stayed in Kihei.

 

[starvenger]

We drove by that area. It's a relatively new development I think, nice views. The only thing I didn't like was that it is a pretty long drive if you're going to Hana or Haleakala (or Costco/Walmart/Target). There's a Times Supermarket in the area, so you can get food there if you're going to cook in the condo.

If you're going to do some drives on your own, I'd recommend getting a tour app. I got the Gypsy Guide (http://gypsyguide.com/destinations/maui/) and it was actually pretty informative... for my wife and I. Kids, not so much. Runs off your smartphone GPS and doesn't use data, so I thought it was worth the investment.