Just bought Aulani!!

[Inkmahm]

Well, Disney has already told us when they think they are going to be busiest, based upon the points chart that has been published.

Premiere Season (most points) is last two weeks in April, first week in May, Thanksgiving week and Christmas week.

Magic Season (second highest point total) is essentially the end of June, all of July, and all of August. If travel to Oahu was dead in that time of year, then it wouldn't be Magic Season.

Disney is predicting the slow season will essentially be January, February, and all of September (when we'll be going).

Sounds good to me! Hawaii in the dead of winter would be my first choice once I am retired. I'd probably go in March if we go before that point. I still don't ever see a trip there for me in the summer months. It is beautiful in the Midwest in the summer so I have no desire to go to Hawaii then.

 

[tjkraz]

Minor point: I was told that DVD can sell no more than 50 of 52 weeks as fixed week increments at Aulani. I don't know what two weeks DVD will not market. I'm guessing this limitation is similar to the fact that DVD cannot sell more than 98% of the points at DVC resorts.

That's true--they should be selling only 50 weeks per unit leaving the other two for maintenance.

However, all 52 weeks should be available for purchase as maintenance windows will vary by unit. For example, one unit may go unsold on Weeks 25 and 50, while another unit would be unavailable during Weeks 5 and 30. Since guests arrive one-after-the-other in a fixed week system, these will be the only real opportunities for carpet replacement, new paint, tile work, etc.

When sales begin, Guides will be armed with calendars showing the dates of each of the 52 weeks going about 10 years into the future.

 

[tfc3rid]

Methinks with a Fixed Week system, thus meaning less overall DVC member availability, it would seem that attempting a reservation at the 7 month window will be close to impossible...

I'll be on the Magic next week in the Baltic and attend the presentation... I'd love to buy in but I don't have the cash on hand right now (just got married) and was going to see ifthe 7 month window might afford some accomodations... Not sure if the 7 month will do it...

 

[tjkraz]

Methinks with a Fixed Week system, thus meaning less overall DVC member availability, it would seem that attempting a reservation at the 7 month window will be close to impossible...

I'll be on the Magic next week in the Baltic and attend the presentation... I'd love to buy in but I don't have the cash on hand right now (just got married) and was going to see ifthe 7 month window might afford some accomodations... Not sure if the 7 month will do it...

If you want the comfort of being able to book one of the cheaper views (which are in short supply) or picking your exact dates 11 months out, then buying is the way to go.

But if you are flexible in your dates and booking category, I don't think it will be all that difficult to get at 7 months.

There will still be 300 units in the points plan. That's a little bigger than BLT...50% more than BCV...2.5x the size of VWL...3x the size of Vero...just a little smaller than Kidani Village. Oh and it's about 6x the number of villas at the Grand Californian.

History has shown that DVC points owners do not consistently fill their resorts before the 7 month window. There is (almost) always availability for non-owners at BLT, BCV, AKV, etc. The degree to which Aulani owners book their Home may be different, but I still would not expect to see consistent 100% occupancy more than 7 months out. Some owners will choose to go elsewhere, some will not be ready to book that far out, some will bank their points, etc.

You may not consistently get Standard View accommodations during peak periods at 7 months, but flexibility in terms of dates and view will still yield success more often than not.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Well, for those buyers who want a fixed week at Aulani , then its the "right" option for them. Until we read Aulani's Declaration of Condominium, we won't know exactly how DVD will administer the fixed week portion of Aulani's membership base. As with many things, the devil is in the details.

I now think this is a wise statement. Well.. actually I always knew it was a wise statement, but now I see the light..

The week thing no longer bothers me after reading the details. It will cut down on availability, but I think of it as DVC just built a resort with 300 rooms instead of 460 (or whatever the numbers are).

I think the week owners are getting hosed by paying more and getting less, but that's their choice.

PS- I still don't like Lewis.

MG

 

[tjkraz]

I think the week owners are getting hosed by paying more and getting less, but that's their choice.

I'm with you there. A fool and his money, eh?

Perhaps DVC is banking on the "we just had an amazing week in Hawaii and want to repeat it every year" effect.

I did some research and tried to get a sense of whether this could be aimed at Asian tourists who may have different vacation styles, but really couldn't find anything. I did stumble across articles suggesting that the Japanese (in particular) were being encouraged to take more vacation time because they have a tendency to not use their paid time off. Maybe having a place for recurring annual vacations is appealing to that market.

 

[Mr_Potts]

I now think this is a wise statement. Well.. actually I always knew it was a wise statement, but now I see the light..

The week thing no longer bothers me after reading the details. It will cut down on availability, but I think of it as DVC just built a resort with 300 rooms instead of 460 (or whatever the numbers are).

I think the week owners are getting hosed by paying more and getting less, but that's their choice.

PS- I still don't like Lewis.

MG

Do you mean you don't blame Devee See?

 

[LouisianaDisneyFan]

Edited to start a new thread. Sorry!

 

[DenLo]

I think the week owners are getting hosed by paying more and getting less, but that's their choice.
MG

I'm with you there. A fool and his money, eh?

One of the reasons we bought into the DVC was the flexibility of staying at the various DVC resorts at different times of year. I am positive that if we had to buy a fixed week timeshare we wouldn't.

Of course, for years now I've been saying, why take a Disney Cruise, it costs so much more than a regular cruise line, we can get twice as many days on a regular cruise. And now I find I'm starting to investigate more and more about taking a Disney cruise. Even my DH is interested. Do you think that means we're hooked on Disney or just fools and their money?

 

[tjkraz]

Of course, for years now I've been saying, why take a Disney Cruise, it costs so much more than a regular cruise line, we can get twice as many days on a regular cruise. And now I find I'm starting to investigate more and more about taking a Disney cruise. Even my DH is interested. Do you think that means we're hooked on Disney or just fools and their money?

I think your situation is a bit different, though. Disney cruises may cost more but they are certainly a different animal than Carnival or Norweigan.

In this case, a buyer is effectively paying 10% more to get THE SAME PRODUCT. The only benefit to the fixed week would seem to be the avoidance of a single booking call per year. Even if I were inclined to visit during the same dates annually, I'll keep my 10% and make that one 11-month telephone call.

Different strokes, I guess.

 

[DenLo]

Hubby and I were just talking about the opening last night and it occurred to me... will it really be that difficult to get a reservation for Aulani during the early months of opening? And, would we really want to go then anyway? Phase I (which is the back of the resort from what I've read) is all that will be open for our 30th anniversary, which means that Phase I and Phase II will still be under construction. That means we would have a pretty awful view... construction equipment and workers... plus construction noise and areas that are not yet accessible.

Did other DVC projects open in stage... and did the construction activity interfere significantly with your enjoyment? Since the primary feature of Aulani is the beach environment, it seems like a visit during the early phase opening could be problematic.

Ideas/feedback on this, please.

My DH and I were talking about this phased construction as well. I understand that it would be easier to construct that way. But in Hawaii the ocean view is pretty important and it sounds like that option is further down the road for reservations.

I know that Kidani Village was opened in segments. I remember walking around the necklace and the hallway just suddenly ended. You could see from the window that were balconies and villas further on for couple of beads, but no access. It didn't really affect Kidani that much because the blocked off rooms were just the same types of rooms (and views), just further from the lobby. I believe that the Pembe savanna was also delayed so the villas on that side may not have opened as early as the Sunset savanna villas.

I could see if you were more excited about just being one of the first to stay at Aulani that it might be worth booking for your 30th anniversary. But it sounds like having a romantic 30th anniversary is more what you had in mind. Maybe staying at WDW and a dinner at Victoria and Alberts would be better. Or even a cruise. Hope you have a wonderful anniversary and find the perfect vacation!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I thought that meant you had to purchase 250 to be a founding member... Oops! I just need to give our guide a call.

In case you haven't spoken to your guide the information that is in the invite to the July 1-7th Aulani event at DL indicates that the first 800 members who add on 160 points or more will be Founding Members and have their names etched in one of four Pohakus.

 

[LouisianaDisneyFan]

Thanks Kat.

Denlo, thanks for your feedback too. I had moved my question to a new thread before your response appeared (you were probably still typing!) because I thought it might get more discussion that way. I think we've pretty much decided to do a small add-on now rather than stretching to become founding members. I am truly wishing we hadn't been required to do the 160 (as opposed to the 100 points we wanted) at BLT now. They lowered that bar for buy-in a few weeks after we signed. *sigh*

 

[SoCalDCLfan]

Congratulations or should I say Ho'omaika'i, to SoCalDCLfan, ChiSoxKeith, and 2disneydads for their Founding Member purchases at Aulani.

Are any or all of you going to add Aulani to your signature soon? Here's the link to the Tag Fairy's cute little signature boxes. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1861494&highlight=blt+pig

Thanks for the link! I was hoping there'd be a signature box

 

[lilpooh108]

Methinks with a Fixed Week system, thus meaning less overall DVC member availability, it would seem that attempting a reservation at the 7 month window will be close to impossible...

I'll be on the Magic next week in the Baltic and attend the presentation... I'd love to buy in but I don't have the cash on hand right now (just got married) and was going to see ifthe 7 month window might afford some accomodations... Not sure if the 7 month will do it...

Would you mind reporting back on the cruise incentives? I'm curious to see if the offer is alot better...we're attending the July 2 event and going on a cruise this December...dunno if I should wait

 

[DenLo]

Thanks for the link! I was hoping there'd be a signature box

Your signature is lookin' good SoCalDCLfan! There is just something magical about those Fairy Tag signatures. (Even if I don't like the Bacon, I mean Pig.)

 

[tfc3rid]

Would you mind reporting back on the cruise incentives? I'm curious to see if the offer is alot better...we're attending the July 2 event and going on a cruise this December...dunno if I should wait

Will do!

 

[tjkraz]

More info:

Turns out DVC IS allowing these Guaranteed-week owners to opt out and use the applicable number of points for other DVC destinations and trades. So buyers truly are paying a 10% premium just for the ability to avoid those annual booking calls.

Also, DVC is saying that they will sell UP TO 35% but NO MORE than 35% of the points for any given day as Guaranteed week contracts. So demand may dictate the maximum 35% in sales for popular weeks, while other weeks they will sell far less in Guaranteed contracts. That leaves more rooms available to traditional points members.

There will always be a minimum of 65% of villas (all types) available to points members, but it could be more than that for certain dates.

 

[Anal Annie]

Really? Summer will be high season for Hawaii? That seems odd to me. I'd go to Hawaii in winter so Jan/Feb/March. Summer would be the least likely time of year for me to go to Hawaii.

Summer is always our "primary" vacation time regardless of WHERE we go. We do not pull our DS out of school for more than about 1-2 days for vacations so with DS is in school that leave summer as our primary time to vacation. We tend to NOT travel on those pricey holiday weeks when school is out & when a lot of people go. Airfare is cost prohibitive and resorts & theme parks over crowded.

The climate in Hawaii is pretty even throughout the summer - not bad at all. Last time we went we went in July. If anything I think Jan-March can be on the cooler side and I like it TROPICAL!!!

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Wow! While I am not concerned about getting into Aulani, I am now concerned what these additional fixed weeks points will add to the demand at WDW. Thanks for reporting.

More info:

Turns out DVC IS allowing these Guaranteed-week owners to opt out and use the applicable number of points for other DVC destinations and trades. So buyers truly are paying a 10% premium just for the ability to avoid those annual booking calls.

Also, DVC is saying that they will sell UP TO 35% but NO MORE than 35% of the points for any given day as Guaranteed week contracts. So demand may dictate the maximum 35% in sales for popular weeks, while other weeks they will sell far less in Guaranteed contracts. That leaves more rooms available to traditional points members.

There will always be a minimum of 65% of villas (all types) available to points members, but it could be more than that for certain dates.