Is Anyone Else SO Excited About Aulani?

[lilpooh108]

So....we just closed escrow on resale, points loaded into system today, made reservations immediately and I find myself shopping resale listings already

Then I remind myself--no add on yet, no add on yet, gotta wait for Aulani, gotta wait for Aulani . . . does anyone else feel this way?

 

[adminjedi]

My thoughts exactly!

 

[Tink6666]

We have never done an add on, but Hawaii could get me to do one! Don't think we will get in there without owning there.

 

[JackandSally79]

Yes!! I can't wait for it to open. Also I can't wait to see the point chart.

 

[BigEeyore]

I absolutely want to stay there someday, but can't see us buying in there because 1) it is just too far a trip for us to make on an annual basis, and 2) I fear the MF's and points per night are going to be sky high!
But it looks like it is going to be gorgeous!

 

[Malaguti Ball Clan]

There is no Disney World in Hawaii. When sales start people will buy, then I will I have to compete with them for disney world resorts...sigh....

 

[nolanboys]

Looks beautiful, but afraid to see the point chart.Would love to try it, but will not buy there. Airfare is way to high to make that an option on a regular basis. Plus, I'd miss the mouse!

 

[ChiSoxKeith]

Can't wait for it!!! My guide already knows to call as soon as they start selling. Will probably by a small add on there, maybe a hundred points and just go there every third year.

 

[Anal Annie]

Hawaii is our most favorite destination EVER but not so much on Oahu (we prefer Maui for the bulk of our nights). We definitely want to go and to try it for a few days to check it out first but I am really hoping it's large enough to get in at the 7 month window since Oahu is usually just a stop-over island for us. I also fear both the buy-in cost and the point charts will border exhortation. With the added cost of flights + the time to go from the east coast we can only go about once every 5 years. Buying in, even with banking & borrowing would still leave us with 2 years of points inbetween trips that we'd need to use somewhere else... NOT that that would be a problem or anything!

Since we usually go every 5 years we'd be "due" to go again in 2011...but with the opening not scheduled until sometime in the fall we opted to do a DCL Med cruise / Europe for 2011 and postpone our usual trip to Hawaii by one year until summer 2012. That way we can get some feedback first to see if we want to try a whole week there or just 4 or 5 nights before we start island hopping.

As much as we LOVE Hawaii there are other vacations / destinations we want to do as well (WDW, Europe, Mexico, the Caribbean & cruises) which is why we decided on going to Hawaii every 5 years. We need the "off years" for these other trips. Just not enough vaca time & money to do 2 or 3 "MAJOR" trips every year. Have to spread the love... But we'll definitely try it out when we DO go.

 

[wdrl]

I absolutely want to stay there someday, but can't see us buying in there because 1) it is just too far a trip for us to make on an annual basis, and 2) I fear the MF's and points per night are going to be sky high!

You are probably right that Aulani's points-per-night will be sky high, even higher than VGC or BLT.

However, I'm wondering whether Aulani's MFs will be sky high. I suspect, but don't know for a fact, that the cost of doing business in Hawaii is higher than doing business in California or Florida. For example, will insurance costs be that much higher in Hawaii than in California's earthquake zones or Florida's tornado zones?

One big factor that may keep Aulani's MFs within reason may be its size. With 481 DVC villas, it will be the third largest DVC resort. By comparison, BLT has only 291 villas. It also has about 5,733,530 points allotted to it, or an average of 19,702 points per villa. I suspect Aulani will be allotted more points per villa than BLT. But even if it has the same average point allotment as BLT, Aulani with have about 9.5 million points. Thus, Aulani's operating costs should be spread over a huge number of points. As we have seen with other DVC resorts, larger resorts seem to have lower MFs.

 

[bookwormde]

I really do not expect Hawaii to to much more than BLT, even at that it will be 1 billion dollars worth of points. The hawaii market is flooded with timeshares that you can buy for $1 so yes disney has a premium it is not that big without an attached park.

bookwormde

 

[disneynutz]

A nice place to visit, but we don't want to own there.

Bill

 

[lilpooh108]

Hawaii is our most favorite destination EVER but not so much on Oahu (we prefer Maui for the bulk of our nights). We definitely want to go and to try it for a few days to check it out first but I am really hoping it's large enough to get in at the 7 month window since Oahu is usually just a stop-over island for us. I also fear both the buy-in cost and the point charts will border exhortation. With the added cost of flights + the time to go from the east coast we can only go about once every 5 years. Buying in, even with banking & borrowing would still leave us with 2 years of points inbetween trips that we'd need to use somewhere else... NOT that that would be a problem or anything!

Since we usually go every 5 years we'd be "due" to go again in 2011...but with the opening not scheduled until sometime in the fall we opted to do a DCL Med cruise / Europe for 2011 and postpone our usual trip to Hawaii by one year until summer 2012. That way we can get some feedback first to see if we want to try a whole week there or just 4 or 5 nights before we start island hopping.

As much as we LOVE Hawaii there are other vacations / destinations we want to do as well (WDW, Europe, Mexico, the Caribbean & cruises) which is why we decided on going to Hawaii every 5 years. We need the "off years" for these other trips. Just not enough vaca time & money to do 2 or 3 "MAJOR" trips every year. Have to spread the love... But we'll definitely try it out when we DO go.

I live in CA so Oahu is also a "stopover" for us...but I really really hate Waikiki so I'm so excited that now we'll have a: (1) reason; and (2) place to stopover at when visiting our *favorite* islands. Ko'Olina side isn't that great, but I think they're finally starting to build out the resorts there so that its "self-contained" (i.e., you don't have to leave to eat/play/do beach stuff).

It's nice to see the other opinion by other posters---but since we're not on the east coast, Aulani was the tipping point for us in the debate of whether to join DVC.

I also agree w/others on the point per night for the resort--probably will be sky high!

Also agree that MFs may not be that high, since there will be so many points to spread out the costs. Can't Wait for more info!!!!

 

[ilovepooh]

Looks beautiful! I don't think we'll be able to go there very often though. I'm afraid to even look at the point chart when it becomes available. The airfare alone would kill us! Maybe once every 5-10 years we might be able to go there. Again, it looks amazing!

 

[Dean]

IMO, anything worth staying at added to the system is a good thing whether I personally use or want it or not. I think the overwhelming sentiment on this board has been those that want to stay there once or occasionally but not own there. I expects the points chart to be in line with the demand and cost of the area and somewhat similar to BLT. It will likely be mostly or only Magic season or above.

 

[WDWLVR]

Can't wait for it!!! My guide already knows to call as soon as they start selling. Will probably by a small add on there, maybe a hundred points and just go there every third year.

That's our plan as well.

 

[adminjedi]

I think it is funny that east coasters think hawaii is too far to travel to regularly. We travel several times a year to WDW and the caribbean from the west coast....and bring along our 5 kids!

 

[DVC Mike]

The various artist renderings, construction photos, as well as a virtual flyover of the resort are all available at:


http://resorts.disney.go.com/aulani-hawaii-resort/gallery

 

[Anal Annie]

I think it is funny that east coasters think hawaii is too far to travel to regularly. We travel several times a year to WDW and the caribbean from the west coast....and bring along our 5 kids!

West coast from the east coast is approx. 5 hrs. (or so). Hawaii is approx. double that + layover time. I have never found a direct flight from Maryland / Virginia. Heading west it is about 10 hrs. from Chicago non-stop + the 90 min. or so to get to Chicago. I try not to go thru Chicago though. I prefer to transfer in either Dallas (if flying AA) or Salt Lake City (if using Delta). Heading east, Delta has a non-stop to Atlanta from Maui. I like that one OK...but then we still have to get back to DC. THE absolute best (shortest) flight durations for this trip is about 12.5 hours and that is with careful planning. It would not be uncommon for someone to spend 14 hours going each way if they weren't careful what they book. That is not just something that most people opt to do "regularly". It is also cost prohibitive for many. You must count yourselves blessed and fortunate to not find the cost for yourselves + 5 kids a financial nightmare to do "regularly". Personally, that kind of airfare expense is the main reason not to go more often, even more than the time factor.

 

[ChiSoxKeith]

Yeah, the layover is going to be a problem - but here's my sneaky plan.....

I'm going to book a 2 night stay in LA (hopefully at VGC) and do a quick stop in Disneyland on either the way out or the way home from Aulani. That way we fly from Chicago to LAX - enjoy some mouse time, then fly out to Hawaii for a week or so. Then jump the long flight back or vice versa.

Heck, maybe I'll just make it 2 nights on the way out and 2 on the way back.



Hey, I can dream, can't i?

K