ROFR Thread July to Sept 2022 *PLEASE SEE FIRST POST FOR INSTRUCTIONS & FORMATTING TOOL*

[Ginamarie]

I missed this one. Was it on a site that can be shared here?
I am debating on buying BLT resale or waiting for Poly 2. If I saw a small BLT contract for $140 I would definitely give it a shot.

Maybe someone at dvc falls asleep while throwing darts at ROFR and I get lucky.

Fidelity (I know I’m allowed to mention them!)

 

[keirabella2012]

I’m planning my first Aulani trip in 2023 or 24. How many days would you suggest? Hoping to stop at Disneyland to break up the long flight if VGC or even VDH is possible.

We've been to Hawaii twice. Our second trip we spent 12 nights. 7 on Maui and 5 at Aulani. That was a perfect amount of time. We are planning for next summer and I'd like to do 5 at Aulani and 5 on the Big Island with at least 2 days and Disneyland on our way there.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

We've been to Hawaii twice. Our second trip we spent 12 nights. 7 on Maui and 5 at Aulani. That was a perfect amount of time. We are planning for next summer and I'd like to do 5 at Aulani and 5 on the Big Island with at least 2 days and Disneyland on our way there.

Do you do Oahu "stuff" besides Aulani, or do you park it in a lounge chair and chill?

 

[Ginamarie]

12 nights at Aulani! That’s insane!

It may sound like a lot BUT- we live on the east coast and won’t be flying to Hawaii often. This is our first time.
DVC is the most affordable way for us to stay because we already own the points. I have four kids (always need two hotel rooms or a suite) and we are bringing most of our family, so 14 people. While I would like to explore other islands, there is a lot to do on Oahu and we want to spend time at the resort too, and buying that many hotel rooms on Maui or the Big Island would blow my budget. Using our points eats up the bulk of our hotel costs (transient tax will still need to get paid), and means we got to splurge on food, rental car and tours.

I’m planning my first Aulani trip in 2023 or 24. How many days would you suggest? Hoping to stop at Disneyland to break up the long flight if VGC or even VDH is possible.

We looked into splitting the flights but it would have added too many extra expenses and we decided to concentrate our budget in Hawaii. Coming from the east coast, I always knew we needed 10+ nights to make the flight seem worthwhile, and I didn’t want to leave Hawaii thinking there’s so much more I need to do on Oahu! We did a week in Rome/Amalfi coast in April and boy do I need to go back there again.

This is a very unpopular opinion but I mean it sincerely. The flight isn't that bad at all. Most people are used to flying on narrow-body jets with a 3-3 seating configuration. But the direct flights from the East Coast are on wide body 2-4-2 jets, which are so much more comfortable, especially if you pay a bit extra for Premium Economy or Extra Comfort or whatever they call it. I'd rather fly 11 hours from Boston to Honolulu on a big plane than 6 hours from Boston to Los Angeles on a small plane.

My recent long-haul trips:
- Hawaii, kids 5 and 2, wife 8 months pregnant
- Hawaii, kids 7, 4, and 1, with masks
- Vancouver, kids 7, 4, and 2, with masks

I found the Hawaii flights to be infinitely more pleasant.

Thank you for this!! We did a long flight to/from Italy in the spring and I didn’t think it was awful (also on a larger plane) but we didn’t have the younger kids along (just me and the 16 year old). We leave in the morning, so I’ll be back with results soon.

 

[DonMacGregor]

It may sound like a lot BUT- we live on the east coast and won’t be flying to Hawaii often. This is our first time.
DVC is the most affordable way for us to stay because we already own the points. I have four kids (always need two hotel rooms or a suite) and we are bringing most of our family, so 14 people. While I would like to explore other islands, there is a lot to do on Oahu and we want to spend time at the resort too, and buying that many hotel rooms on Maui or the Big Island would blow my budget. Using our points eats up the bulk of our hotel costs (transient tax will still need to get paid), and means we got to splurge on food, rental car and tours.

We looked into splitting the flights but it would have added too many extra expenses and we decided to concentrate our budget in Hawaii. Coming from the east coast, I always knew we needed 10+ nights to make the flight seem worthwhile, and I didn’t want to leave Hawaii thinking there’s so much more I need to do on Oahu! We did a week in Rome/Amalfi coast in April and boy do I need to go back there again.

Thank you for this!! We did a long flight to/from Italy in the spring and I didn’t think it was awful (also on a larger plane) but we didn’t have the younger kids along (just me and the 16 year old). We leave in the morning, so I’ll be back with results soon.

We're in So Cal and it's only 5-1/2 hours and around $650 bucks round trip ($350 if you can stomach Southworst). 4-day weekends are not entirely out of the comfort zone.

I'll go ahead and see myself out now...

 

[DisneyKim41]

We're in So Cal and it's only 5-1/2 hours and around $650 bucks round trip ($350 if you can stomach Southworst). 4-day weekends are not entirely out of the comfort zone.

I'll go ahead and see myself out now...

Southwest in general or sw to Hawaii?

 

[CaptainAmerica]

We're in So Cal and it's only 5-1/2 hours and around $650 bucks round trip ($350 if you can stomach Southworst). 4-day weekends are not entirely out of the comfort zone.

I'll go ahead and see myself out now...

Weird because Southwest and JetBlue are by far my favorite services for the three hour flights between New England and Florida.

 

[pianomanzano]

Weird because Southwest and JetBlue are by far my favorite services for the three hour flights between New England and Florida.

Same for me, re:southwest. I’m mad that they reduced the nonstops to MCO from PHL to once a week. They would do that after I earned enough for a companion pass!

 

[DonMacGregor]

Weird because Southwest and JetBlue are by far my favorite services for the three hour flights between New England and Florida.

I'll do Southwest local (like LAX to SFO, PHX or SAC), say maybe 2 hours or less. Anything longer than that, and that seat pitch and limited service starts to wear. I used to use them exclusively for business flights in and around California (same day return) due to their robust schedule (at one point they had a flight back from the Bay Area and Vegas to Orange County every hour, all day), but they've cut back so much on routes and frequency that they aren't such a great benefit.

I have to fly to Miami next week on business, and my round trip on Delta in Comfort+ is $1,058, First Class was $1,600 when I booked a few days ago, but I should be able to upgrade due to status. For giggles, I checked Southwest, and the same itinerary came to $1,296, and the shortest trip duration is 8:25 out, and 9:15 back in. No thanks.

 

[Paul Stupin]

We're in So Cal and it's only 5-1/2 hours and around $650 bucks round trip ($350 if you can stomach Southworst). 4-day weekends are not entirely out of the comfort zone.

I'll go ahead and see myself out now...

I’m with you! We’re in SoCal as well, and we love the fact that we can get on a 7 am Hawaiian Airlines flight and be on the ground in Honolulu by 10. Throwing in some time to pick up a rental car, we can be at Aulani by 11:30.

 

[DonMacGregor]

Southwest in general or sw to Hawaii?

I have probably flown them 300 times in the past. Was A-List Preferred with a companion pass for probably 8 or 9 years. They've cut back on routes and flights so much, and raised their fares to the point that they don't hold a candle to Delta on anything outside of my local area (California, Arizona, Nevada). I actually have almost 100,000 points sitting there, and I'll probably use them to buy tickets for family or friends. In all honesty, if I had a hankering to run off to Oahu for a weekend on a whim, I'd man-up and use the points, but I wouldn't pay to sit in one of their 737's with that tiny seat pitch for 5 hours if it was on my dime.

 

[NVDISFamily]

So far the best non-stop option from Las Vegas to Orlando seems to be Spirit...... Wasn't able to do it on the last trip due to such short notice but I'll try and get the Big Front seats for the family for the next trip. Spirit plus the big seat isn't complete dog chow......

 

[TraJon]

With all the extra charging lately with the airlines, we started using a shipping company to do our luggage which opened up some cheap flights! And what a joy that our luggage arrives before we do and makes traveling way easier. It’s also cheaper. We ship two under 50 pound suitcases.

 

[DonMacGregor]

I’m with you! We’re in SoCal as well, and we love the fact that we can get on a 7 am Hawaiian Airlines flight and be on the ground in Honolulu by 10. Throwing in some time to pick up a rental car, we can be at Aulani by 11:30.

HA1 baby!

 

[CaptainAmerica]

HA1 baby!

HA89 rise up.

 

[HIRyeDVC]

I’ve come to despise air travel. I long for the days of packing up the van and road tripping to Disney. #islandlife

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I’ve come to despise air travel. I long for the days of packing up the van and road tripping to Disney. #islandlife

My mom always tries to convince me that I should fly less and road trip more. Then I spend 30 minutes in the car with my kids and I'm ready to take a nighttime stroll down the middle of the interstate.

 

[HIRyeDVC]

My mom always tries to convince me that I should fly less and road trip more. Then I spend 30 minutes in the car with my kids and I'm ready to take a nighttime stroll down the middle of the interstate.

This is true. My kids can barely make it from Honolulu to the North Shore without asking when will we get there

 

[DonMacGregor]

This is true. My kids can barely make it from Honolulu to the North Shore without asking when will we get there

Who doesn't enjoy the vibrant metropolis that is Wahiawa?

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Who doesn't enjoy the vibrant metropolis that is Wahiawa?

I'm personally a big fan of "getting stuck behind rush hour traffic at the army base."