Two hurricanes threaten Hawaii

[Disney-Kim]

We are at Aulani right now and are supposed to fly home on Friday. I spoke with our airline this morning, and they said it is very likely there will not be any flights on Friday. They couldn't get us out early and could possibly get us out Saturday but cannot get us back to Kansas City until Tuesday! They will partner with other airlines if conditions get really bad, so we are waiting it out. As for Aulani, they have our room available for Friday night for the low price of $1410. We have nine people, so we have to have a 2 bedroom. 3 studios was even more money. They are also saying that if conditions get bad, they may make accommodations. We will find out.

I will say that schools are already cancelled and the locals say no one is to be outside on Friday. Hoping the storm weakens big time or turns!

Susan

stay safe. We were in Hurricane Floyd at WDW, which was the first time WDW EVER closed (1999) and they took good care of us. keep us posted

 

[disneypoor]

Did you call Member Services to see if they can get you a better price? How about using points?

Hi! I called Member Services this morning. They weren't able to help us. They told me to work directly with the hotel and to call them back if they couldn't help us out. We don't have any points left, so that is an issue. However, after calling the front desk at Aulani, I was reassured that we will not be asked to leave due to the conditions and should just enjoy our new vacation home.

Susan

 

[blondietink]

I will say that the management and staff are the nicest and most gracious people we have ever had contact with at any resort we have ever stayed at . I believe they would do anything possible to accommodate you.

 

[disneypoor]

We returned to our room tonight and had a letter from the front desk concerning tomorrow's weather. I'm sure they will take care of everyone if the situation gets rough. Praying it weakens tonight!

 

[lovetotraveltx]

We returned to our room tonight and had a letter from the front desk concerning tomorrow's weather. I'm sure they will take care of everyone if the situation gets rough. Praying it weakens tonight!

I'm here with disney poor we are seconding the prayers it dissipates and everyone can get in and out

 

[jerseygal]

Disneypoor and Luvtotravel....
HOPE that the storm lessens and HOPE that everyone can leave and arrive eventually SAFELY!!!!

 

[jerseygal]

Disneypoor and Luvtotravel....
HOPE that the storm lessens and HOPE that everyone can leave and arrive eventually SAFELY!!!!

HOPE that your situation got resolved FINALLY!
GOOD LUCK with the storm too!

 

[compshu]

So far no weather. The first storm has weakened to a Tropical Storm and has stalled on the Big Island.

 

[jerseygal]

GREAT NEWS!

Checked the United Nonstop from Honolulu to Newark which we took back in May..UA14 which departs 8:10 last night...Looks like it is in route and ON TIME!
HOPE that this is a GREAT SIGN for Hawaii!!!!
Hopefully the area "dodged a bullet"!

 

[disneynutz]

We're in the middle of a split stay right now and I need to vent a bit about Member Services.

We arrived at Aulani on 8/2 for the first three nights of our Hawaii vacation. We then hopped over to Molokai for a planned three night stay. With the approaching storm we decided to cut the Molokai portion short and see if we could get into Aulani a night earlier than planned. The forecast for Molokai calls for flash flooding which could potentially wash out the one road that could get us from our rental to the airport... possibly stranding us for days.

We called the resort last night at about 10PM Hawaii time, and they said there were plenty of rooms available, so we went to bed planning to call MS in the morning when we woke up.

This morning, I called MS and got the royal run around! I was put on hold for a long time, then the representative got back on the line and asked about the fact that we had previously had the night wait listed, then confirmed and then cancelled... all true, but the wait list and reservation all happened in February and the cancellation happened about 12 weeks ago... as I'm sure most people can understand an island vacation can be about flexibility and finding what works... the great thing about DVC is the ease with which you can take advantage of that flexibility without any costs.

After another long hold, the rep got back on and said that there were NO rooms available at all... not for points, not for cash. I was frustrated and asked why he had needed an explanation about the previous wait list, reservation and cancellation... he said that his manager had wanted "their whole story"!

I was upset that the previous gyrations had had any impact on our situation at all... the manager smelling a fish that there was some gaming of the system going on.

I hung up, called the Aulani cash booking line and after explaining the situation, was again put on hold and this time told that cash reservations were available... for $470 for a studio for the night.

Knowing that there was a way around the block on new reservations, I decided to call the front desk and speak to guest services. A third time I explained our situation... calmly and clearly, and this time, the guest services manager worked some Disney magic and within a half hour we got a call back directly from the resort that we were confirmed for a 1-bedroom in our same category for the extra night... we won't even need to change rooms.

Overall, I feel like I just got stuck with an uncaring manager in Member Services who is too removed from the scramble on an island destination when a hurricane is coming. I understand that there are lots of things going on, but feel like MS met us with suspicion and a lackadaisical attitude rather than trying to help out people who have been members in good standing for 20 years. We were told that they had contacted the resort directly and that there was nothing they could do to help us.

The folks in the resort were gracious and quick to help.

I've never had a less satisfying interaction with MS, but ultimately I'd say to be polite and be tenacious if you need help with something special at DVC... be prepared to explain yourself multiple times if necessary and keep your cool.

Now we can relax and not worry about getting stranded on Molokai with no where to stay... and hey, there may be a hurricane coming, but we'll be at Aulani for 5 more nights!

Ted

Please forward your post to DVC member satisfaction.
dvcmembersatisfactionteam@disneyvacationclub.com

Bill

 

[Anal Annie]

We are at LAX about to board the 10 am Hawaiian Airlines flight....due to land at HNL at 11:40 at HNL! Expecting a bumpy ride! Aloha!

 

[jekjones1558]

We are at LAX about to board the 10 am Hawaiian Airlines flight....due to land at HNL at 11:40 at HNL! Expecting a bumpy ride! Aloha!

Thanks for posting, Annie. Earlier this morning I did a search here on the boards to see if you had posted anything about staying in CA or heading for HI. Good luck! I hope that this star-crossed trip has some good times awaiting you at Aulani!

 

[lovetotraveltx]

We are at LAX about to board the 10 am Hawaiian Airlines flight....due to land at HNL at 11:40 at HNL! Expecting a bumpy ride! Aloha!

So happy! Maybe we'll see you later!

 

[jerseygal]

GREAT news that the airlines are obviously flying in and out of Honolulu!

Happy to hear Annie that you were able to depart from California!

Continued SAFETY AND FUN to everyone traveling to or at Aulani today and in the next few days!

 

[lovetotraveltx]

GREAT news that the airlines are obviously flying in and out of Honolulu!

Happy to hear Annie that you were able to depart from California!

Continued SAFETY AND FUN to everyone traveling to or at Aulani today and in the next few days!

Unfortunately no fun as everything is closed and cancelled. But, we are safe and therefore blessed! Hoping we have safe travels tomorrow! One long flight back home and 3 of us inter island and, praying rain/storm doesn't follow us to the next island!

 

[icydog]

Please forward your post to DVC member satisfaction.
dvcmembersatisfactionteam@disneyvacationclub.com

Bill

There is a phone number somewhere for the manager of customer satisfaction. If someone has it please PM the poster. This was horrendously callous and uncaring in a life threathening situation. Just very, very, poor!!!

Poster is TEDHOWE

 

[jerseygal]

Unfortunately no fun as everything is closed and cancelled. But, we are safe and therefore blessed! Hoping we have safe travels tomorrow! One long flight back home and 3 of us inter island and, praying rain/storm doesn't follow us to the next island!

Love to travel....
CONTINUED positive thoughts for a safe trip out I guess today!
Hope BOTH flights leave as you have planned!
KEEP SAFE!

 

[jerseygal]

We are at LAX about to board the 10 am Hawaiian Airlines flight....due to land at HNL at 11:40 at HNL! Expecting a bumpy ride! Aloha!

Annie...HOPE that you were able to depart safely to Aulani!
Continued thoughts for SAFETY!

 

[lovetotraveltx]

Love to travel....
CONTINUED positive thoughts for a safe trip out I guess today!
Hope BOTH flights leave as you have planned!
KEEP SAFE!

Thank you! We fly tonight! Annie is safely here! We will meet today!

 

[wdrl]

Thank you! We fly tonight! Annie is safely here! We will meet today!

Glad to hear that things are beginning to return to normal at Aulani.

Have a safe trip home. I don't know if you are returning to Texas, but be aware that the heat index in much of Texas is over 100F. Are you sure you don't want to stay in Hawaii?