West Coast DVC Owners: WDW or Aulani More?

[HBDad]

For those on the west coast, do you visit WDW or Aulani more? Why one or the other?

 

[bumbershoot]

I've never even been to Hawaii, and personally I think if I did visit there I wouldn't hit a Disney resort. Aulani was never even a consideration when buying.

 

[KPeterso]

Aulani and Hawaii do not interest me. I know people who go to HI every year, but I honestly can say it has never crossed my mind to head to HI or Aulani. I know a ton of people who have been to Aulani and they all say it is wonderful.

 

[sndral]

I visit WDW more than Hawaii. When I do head west I prefer to stay on Kauai or Maui. Some day I may stay a couple of days at Aulani since I hear it’s a lovely resort - but Oahu isn’t my favorite island.

 

[bwvBound]

San Diego here; DVC owners since 2004 at WDW (SSR). We visit WDW far more often than Aulani.
Reasons:

1. Much of our travel to both WDW and the HI islands is business related. WDW is a major conference center; events held at the Dolphin/Swan facilities are literally the reason we purchased DVC. Historically, we'd tack a couple days of "vacation" on either end of business travel to both WDW and/or HI ... but none of the HI add-on days were at Aulani as we simply add a couple nights at the same hotel as used for business in either Waikiki or Kailua.
   
   
2. Aulani is, for me, a specific destination. When we visit, we stay within the Ko Olina grounds and walk, swim, relax. As such, Aulani is good for about 3 or 4 days ... and then I'm ready to leave. We don't use Aulani as a launching point for exploring Oahu. (Prior to Aulani, we'd do similarly with the even-more-remote Makaha Golf Resort.)
   
   
3. I generally found cheaper airfare SAN<>MCO than SAN<>HNL. I could count on roundtrip air, SAN<>MCO, for ~$240 pp for more than a decade of travel. If both "airfare deal" and "last minute DVC reservation" lined up, we'd fly to WDW for a weekend visit.
   
   
4. At WDW, I didn't need a car. There was plenty to do and see with the large WDW campus and on-site transportation options. I love using the boats at WDW! There is always something to do! (Granted, we haven't been back since losing Magical Express. I guess we now need a car ... and that might change our perception of the travel?)
   
   
5. At Aulani ... the pools are "the big draw" and sometimes they are "too crowded" for my taste. (Again, Aulani is good for 3 days and I'm done.)
   
   
6. We enjoy other (non-DVC) timeshare on the Big Island, Kauai and Maui.
   
   
7. Post-Covid: HI has too many rules for travelers. My husband has been once and it was a major chore for him ... I'm just gonna sit it out for now.

Post-Covid, things are still cloudy for me. While our history has been spontaneous, globe-trotting, opportunistic travel ...
I find myself reluctant to board an airplane. (I contracted a very nasty case of Covid on my last flight ... a long haul returning from Dubai in Dec 2019 before "Covid" was a known thing. I'm twice-shy at this point.)

So, for now, I'm really happy to return to the Grand Cal over and over and over.

 

[bwvBound]

Oh, one more thing! My DVC Use Year was selected around our WDW travel. When we purchased, In 2004, there were no West Coast options. While the UY is great for WDW it does NOT work well for either CA or HI. So ... I'll often use other timeshare for the Pacific coastal travels. (Make sense?)

 

[HBDad]

Aulani is, for me, a specific destination. When we visit, we stay within the Ko Olina grounds and walk, swim, relax. As such, Aulani is good for about 3 or 4 days ... and then I'm ready to leave. We don't use Aulani as a launching point for exploring Oahu. (Prior to Aulani, we'd do similarly with the even-more-remote Makaha Golf Resort.)

Where do you like to stay as a launching area for Oahu?

I generally found cheaper airfare SAN<>MCO than SAN<>HNL. I could count on roundtrip air, SAN<>MCO, for ~$240 pp for more than a decade of travel. If both "airfare deal" and "last minute DVC reservation" lined up, we'd fly to WDW for a weekend visit.

LAX is the same too. Consistently better deals throughout the year for MCO. Hawaii pricing has improved over the past year.. probably due to reduced demand from the Covid-19 requirements. We had to cancel a trip the last day since someone in our party tested positive.

 

[PattiPB]

I visit WDW between 3 and 5 times a year. Aulani once every other year. Wouldn't maintain either of those patterns if it weren't for DVC. Absolutely LOVE my DVC life!!!

DVC and discounted AP make it much cheaper for me to go to WDW than drive the four hours to DL.

 

[Bluegoat]

Visit WDW annually. Will eventually visit Aulani, but Hawaii has never been high on our list. Honestly, we would most likely go to Vero before Aulani because we could combine it with a WDW trip and extend our vacation by a few days.

 

[Ashlotte]

Oregonian here.... We are just in the process of buying Aulani, but have been to Aulani before. Our intention is to go to Aulani 2x for every 1x at WDW. We will only have enough points to use DVC every other year. We like WDW, but we like the intimacy of Disneyland better, and after going to Disneyland so many times, it feels like "home" to us. Last time we went to WDW (several years ago), we all agreed that it was fun, but Disneyland was so much more convenient and many of the rides are better. So, for our family, the preference is Aulani, then DLR, then WDW.

Edited to add: We are buying DVC solely because we want to stay at Aulani. We have successfully used our other timeshare at Anaheim and in WDW for the past fifteen years, so we didn't "need" DVC for those stays. I am looking forward to trying some of the other WDW resorts as a DVC member someday, but we have had good luck trading into DVC with our other timeshare so far, and really just wanted Aulani, since we were locked out of it without DVC.

 

[TeamRiley]

We definitely prefer Aulani over WDW, but we go to DisneyLand more than both Aulani and WDW combined. I agree with Ashlotte that Disneyland is better than WDW and since we have been DVC owners at VGC for years it makes our stays there that much better. There is no Disney Vacation more relaxing and hassle free than staying at VGC. So, with that out of the way, due to our DisneyLand situation, we have no huge draw to go to WDW - but we do still go sometimes. Aulani is an awesome carefree tropical vacation where we can just chill, relax, and do nothing. If we didn't have the DL opportunities that we do, Aulani vs WDW would probably be a toss up.

 

[jviking]

California vote for Aulani also. Especially if you are on the west coast
Oahu weather > Orlando weather
DL > WDW (for west coast)
Food in Oahu > Food in Orlando

 

[bwvBound]

Where do you like to stay as a launching area for Oahu?

Tricky question ... as we no longer "tour" Oahu. Our former employer had an office on Oahu and we visited frequently. Now'a'days, our trips to Oahu are to catch up with friends from that period of life. Thus, we generally stay at the Hilton Hawaiian Village (Waikiki) or with friends in Pearl or Kailua.

Frankly, for "touring" -- I think Waikiki is awesome. Mostly "central" except for the long drive around the island to the North Shore. We enjoy with "walkability" to dining, aquarium, churches, .... sight of Diamond Head ... and reasonable drive for Pearl Harbor, beginner snorkeling locations, Aloha Stadium Swap Meet, etc.

Just skimmed your "DVC Every 3rd year" thread. FWIW, we own/use Worldmark the Club for most of our western states adventures, including HI. Very affordable ... lots of locations ... good quality ("nice Chevy" not BMW?) ... dependably clean ... highly functional timeshare. Works really well for us!

Your other thread also touched on the idea of inflation. My comment on this: I'm really glad we purchased DVC when we did (2004). We are very much enjoying the "fruit" of that decision in this new phase of our lives (recently retired but not by our choice). We've been staying at Disney's Grand Cal in either 1BR or Studio units as often as I can snag reservations (using up all our points!!). Looking at the cash prices for similar stays is a shock. There is no way we could/would (now) book these same stays as cash reservations. We are quite thankful for our long-held DVC points!

Best wishes on your research, deliberations, decisions, etc.

 

[Ashlotte]

Tricky question ... as we no longer "tour" Oahu. Our former employer had an office on Oahu and we visited frequently. Now'a'days, our trips to Oahu are to catch up with friends from that period of life. Thus, we generally stay at the Hilton Hawaiian Village (Waikiki) or with friends in Pearl or Kailua.

Frankly, for "touring" -- I think Waikiki is awesome. Mostly "central" except for the long drive around the island to the North Shore. We enjoy with "walkability" to dining, aquarium, churches, .... sight of Diamond Head ... and reasonable drive for Pearl Harbor, beginner snorkeling locations, Aloha Stadium Swap Meet, etc.

Just skimmed your "DVC Every 3rd year" thread. FWIW, we own/use Worldmark the Club for most of our western states adventures, including HI. Very affordable ... lots of locations ... good quality ("nice Chevy" not BMW?) ... dependably clean ... highly functional timeshare. Works really well for us!

Your other thread also touched on the idea of inflation. My comment on this: I'm really glad we purchased DVC when we did (2004). We are very much enjoying the "fruit" of that decision in this new phase of our lives (recently retired but not by our choice). We've been staying at Disney's Grand Cal in either 1BR or Studio units as often as I can snag reservations (using up all our points!!). Looking at the cash prices for similar stays is a shock. There is no way we could/would (now) book these same stays as cash reservations. We are quite thankful for our long-held DVC points!

Best wishes on your research, deliberations, decisions, etc.

I'm also a Worldmark owner, and highly recommend WM for West Coast people. We've had it for fifteen years and the kids have grown up going to WM resorts. Lots of space and lots of drivable places to visit. The last two years in particular I have been especially happy to have WM, and a chance to vacation without getting on a plane during the pandemic. It's a great value, as long as you buy it resale.

 

[HIRyeDVC]

I live on Oahu, and Aulani is a sporadic staycation for us for 1-2 nights, 2-3 times a year. WDW is a two-week trip every other year. DLR and Aaheim is 7-10 days, twice a year. Don't ask me about how much we spend on airfare. My main advice is buy where you want to stay and buy as many points as you can reasonably afford!

 

[limace]

Oregonian here, but neither really. We love hawaii and have been there much more frequently than WDW, but much prefer Maui to Oahu. We go to WDW every 2-10 years; DL is every other year for us.

 

[J-Dog]

We are from Washington. Own at RIV and go to WDW yearly. Never been to Hawaii but plan on making a point to plan a trip to Aulani in the next year or two, assuming that Covid restrictions haven't returned.

Personally have zero interest in ever going to DLR, because it's in California...

 

[SteveAZee]

I have thought often about visiting a DVC resort that doesn't have a Disney Park attached and simply haven't been that interested. I like WDW more than Disneyland Resort for a few reasons, so I prefer using my points there. If I go to Hawaii, I like to stay in Maui at a small coastal place rather than a large resort (I like walking from room to the water without needing an elevator).

 

[asunutgirl]

We bought into DVC specifically to stay at Aulani. We love Hawaii and are scuba divers so it was an obvious choice for us. We had previously owned another Hawaii timeshare that we inherited from my inlaws. It was in Honolulu and honestly terrible. We dumped it for DVC in 2012. We bought enough points to travel every other year and have plenty of points to use at most of the WDW resorts. We find it fairly easy to book at WDW at 7 months. We are DLR people and only go to WDW every 5-6 years at most. Owning at WDW doesn't make sense for us.

We have a small VGC contract and are in escrow on another one to add to our point total there. We moved out of CA almost three years ago and find that we needed more points there now that we live out of state.

The moral of the story is that everyone's DVC needs are different. Buy where you want to stay.

 

[LilyJC]

We live in SoCal and are very local to DLR. We own several contracts between VGC and WDW resorts, but our entire family prefers Aulani. Now that SWA has direct flights out of Long Beach, an Aulani trip is way cheaper/more convenient for us than WDW. Genie + and individual lightning lanes are a real turn off for us.

We are Magic Key holders currently and had APs at DLR for years before COVID. We’d go at least once a week and were avid Maxpass users. At this point no one in the fam even wants to go to DLR - they’ve certainly lost a ton of our money we used to spend weekly on top of our passes. Our WDW trips are way different as well thanks to the money grabbing at every opportunity that Disney has put in place.

Anyhow, back to Aulani! We’ll happily start using all our points there (and/or sell some) if we decide to completely give up on DLR/WDW. My in-laws own a condo on Maui so we’ve spent a lot of time there, but we overall prefer Oahu. We’re an active family and love the hiking, cliff jumping, shave ice, and diverse opportunities on Oahu. Truthfully though, I could literally spend all day in the lazy river with occasional trips down either of the two slides. I’m a total homebody, but for some reason Aulani is the only place I never am ready to leave.