OhToodles!
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- May 2, 2023
- Messages
- 20
Hi all!
Just back from an October dvc oceanview studio stay at Aulani with dh and ds (4yo). We had an amazing time and feel like we were able to indulge in the things that mattered to us while keeping overall costs down. There were a few budget-wins for us on this trip that I will elaborate on below:
1) DVC point rental
2) Electric vehicle rental
3) Grocery runs/take-out and communal bbq usage
4) Refillable Aulani mugs*
1) The biggest cost savings by far was renting disney vacation club points through DVC Rental company as the studio cost a fraction of the hotel room rack rate. In addition it came with lots of budget friendly perks like free parking. We could not believe that we would have had to pay an additional 45 USD per night to self-park our rental car if we had not been staying in a dvc room. It still boggles my mind.
Another perk that I had greatly underestimated prior to arriving at Aulani were the 4 complimentary laundry tokens that we received each day: 1 for a wash load, 1 for detergent, 1 for a dryer sheet, 1 for a dryer load. There were a few things I did not anticipate about this:
If that wasn't enough, the location of the charging stations at Aulani are some of the closest to the elevator and therefore amounted to a privileged parking spot and there was never a shortage of EV spots. There was a bit of a learning curve because we are not Tesla drivers but it was not a stressful experience. Pro tip: we had reserved our vehicle in advance but the evening before we picked it up we checked online and saw that the same vehicle was advertised at about 250 USD cheaper than when we had booked. So we cancelled and re-booked at the lower price!
3) I could also have labelled this item as "Ability to avoid sit-down restaurants". I will preface this by reiterating that we were on this trip with a 4 year old who is a great eater and can do restaurants in short visits, with lots of toys and parental engagement but that even at home we tend to prefer take-out or made-at-home meals simply because it is genuinely more enjoyable for us. I would add as well that thanks to the amazing oceanview that we got by doing a bit of research here on the disboards and putting in a room request through DVC Rental we had a better view eating on our balcony than we would have had at any of the nearby restaurants. An additional perk of staying in the dvc studio was that we were provided with unlimited disposable plates and cutlery, had a microwave, and a kitchen sink all of which we used regularly. So in combination with the astronomical prices on the 2 or 3 occasions that we did sit down at a restaurant, all these factors tipped us toward a preference for eating on our balcony or pool/beachside.
We did an initial grocery run to the local Foodland. It was great for yummy marinated grillables and unique poke bowls but for general groceries we would just go to Walmart or Costco next time because their selection wasn't quite what we were looking for. The rest of our food came primarily from the ABC store across the street which had some basic groceries like Cheerios, yogurt, milk, fruit, as well as great ready-to-go meals, sandwiches, salads, kebabs, etc. We also purchased select items from Ulu cafe at Aulani because we found that their chicken caesar salad and pizza's were very good value and the odd sandwich or fish and chips we bought from the to-go/counter service restaurants were huge enough quantities to share.
Another item that I underestimated prior to arrival was how much of a cultural experience would be going on at those communal bbqs! Near the kids' club there are several first come first served bbqs and I would not have guessed how popular these bbqs are (there was a line-up by 5:30pm). My DH was primarily the one doing the grilling and he met people from all around the world and very much enjoyed exchanging bbq tips and techniques with people from a variety of cultures. I am not sure we could have survived on microwaved or cold meals alone so the communal bbq was an important part of our ability to avoid restaurants. Pro tip: bbq utensils like tongs and spatulas were provided to DH at the Pau Hana/rec center room and he was told he could return them dirty - so he did!
4) The last item on refillable mugs has an asterisk on it because while we found great value in the stainless steel mugs (40 USD) for myself and DH, DS definitely did not get a lot of use out of his. This is no fault of the mug program itself but more that it just isn't geared toward littles like him. He physically handles his smaller water-bottle better for drinks and just doesn't really consume enough to justify the expense of even the cheaper plastic cup option (30 USD). With that said, for coffee drinkers like us adults it was a deal in comparison to the cost per cup at Off the Hook. We weren't big fans of the in-room coffee and the Keurig of course only delivers small amounts at a time. So I made it part of my early morning routine to have a little stroll around the quiet grounds, fill up DH and I's mugs, and bring it back for breakfast at sunrise on the balcony. Plus - I am still using the mug to keep the dream alive now that we are back home.
Hopefully some of these tips can help others the way other posters helped us with the planning of our amazing Aulani trip!
Just back from an October dvc oceanview studio stay at Aulani with dh and ds (4yo). We had an amazing time and feel like we were able to indulge in the things that mattered to us while keeping overall costs down. There were a few budget-wins for us on this trip that I will elaborate on below:
1) DVC point rental
2) Electric vehicle rental
3) Grocery runs/take-out and communal bbq usage
4) Refillable Aulani mugs*
1) The biggest cost savings by far was renting disney vacation club points through DVC Rental company as the studio cost a fraction of the hotel room rack rate. In addition it came with lots of budget friendly perks like free parking. We could not believe that we would have had to pay an additional 45 USD per night to self-park our rental car if we had not been staying in a dvc room. It still boggles my mind.
Another perk that I had greatly underestimated prior to arriving at Aulani were the 4 complimentary laundry tokens that we received each day: 1 for a wash load, 1 for detergent, 1 for a dryer sheet, 1 for a dryer load. There were a few things I did not anticipate about this:
- The price of each token for non-dvc guests was 5 USD.
- We ended up doing laundry at least every other day due to how frequently we went in the ocean and played at the beaches. Needless to say this would have added up quickly over a 10 night stay!
- How much I absolutely loved coming home with suitcases full of clean clothes rather than heaps of sandy laundry to do upon returning home.
If that wasn't enough, the location of the charging stations at Aulani are some of the closest to the elevator and therefore amounted to a privileged parking spot and there was never a shortage of EV spots. There was a bit of a learning curve because we are not Tesla drivers but it was not a stressful experience. Pro tip: we had reserved our vehicle in advance but the evening before we picked it up we checked online and saw that the same vehicle was advertised at about 250 USD cheaper than when we had booked. So we cancelled and re-booked at the lower price!
3) I could also have labelled this item as "Ability to avoid sit-down restaurants". I will preface this by reiterating that we were on this trip with a 4 year old who is a great eater and can do restaurants in short visits, with lots of toys and parental engagement but that even at home we tend to prefer take-out or made-at-home meals simply because it is genuinely more enjoyable for us. I would add as well that thanks to the amazing oceanview that we got by doing a bit of research here on the disboards and putting in a room request through DVC Rental we had a better view eating on our balcony than we would have had at any of the nearby restaurants. An additional perk of staying in the dvc studio was that we were provided with unlimited disposable plates and cutlery, had a microwave, and a kitchen sink all of which we used regularly. So in combination with the astronomical prices on the 2 or 3 occasions that we did sit down at a restaurant, all these factors tipped us toward a preference for eating on our balcony or pool/beachside.
We did an initial grocery run to the local Foodland. It was great for yummy marinated grillables and unique poke bowls but for general groceries we would just go to Walmart or Costco next time because their selection wasn't quite what we were looking for. The rest of our food came primarily from the ABC store across the street which had some basic groceries like Cheerios, yogurt, milk, fruit, as well as great ready-to-go meals, sandwiches, salads, kebabs, etc. We also purchased select items from Ulu cafe at Aulani because we found that their chicken caesar salad and pizza's were very good value and the odd sandwich or fish and chips we bought from the to-go/counter service restaurants were huge enough quantities to share.
Another item that I underestimated prior to arrival was how much of a cultural experience would be going on at those communal bbqs! Near the kids' club there are several first come first served bbqs and I would not have guessed how popular these bbqs are (there was a line-up by 5:30pm). My DH was primarily the one doing the grilling and he met people from all around the world and very much enjoyed exchanging bbq tips and techniques with people from a variety of cultures. I am not sure we could have survived on microwaved or cold meals alone so the communal bbq was an important part of our ability to avoid restaurants. Pro tip: bbq utensils like tongs and spatulas were provided to DH at the Pau Hana/rec center room and he was told he could return them dirty - so he did!
4) The last item on refillable mugs has an asterisk on it because while we found great value in the stainless steel mugs (40 USD) for myself and DH, DS definitely did not get a lot of use out of his. This is no fault of the mug program itself but more that it just isn't geared toward littles like him. He physically handles his smaller water-bottle better for drinks and just doesn't really consume enough to justify the expense of even the cheaper plastic cup option (30 USD). With that said, for coffee drinkers like us adults it was a deal in comparison to the cost per cup at Off the Hook. We weren't big fans of the in-room coffee and the Keurig of course only delivers small amounts at a time. So I made it part of my early morning routine to have a little stroll around the quiet grounds, fill up DH and I's mugs, and bring it back for breakfast at sunrise on the balcony. Plus - I am still using the mug to keep the dream alive now that we are back home.
Hopefully some of these tips can help others the way other posters helped us with the planning of our amazing Aulani trip!
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