What would you do? Cruise or Aulani?

[Iggipolka]

We are trying to decide between two fantastic vacation options & I'm curious as to what others would pick. We are 2 adults and a 3 year old (4 by Sept) and a baby, currently 4 months. Baby will be 8 months in March & 14 months in Sept.

1. Sept 2013, 4 night Member cruise on the Dream with one day at WDW before cruise and 5 days after cruise

2. 7 nights Ina 1 bedroom Ocean view at Aluani?

 

[Donna M]

I would look into the cost of airfare. Also, what is the flight time for each destination, isn't FL twice as far a HI for you? Travelling with two young kids is not going to be easy.

I'd go with HI. Your kids are so young they aren't going to have as memorable an experience at WDW as they could in another few years. HI would be a relaxing vacation - less packing up and travelling.

Have a great time wherever you end up.

 

[bwvBound]

I'd also vote HI given the logistics of travel. I'd be especially against a split-stay itinerary of flying > 1 day WDW > 4 night cruise > 5 nights WDW > flying. Too much packing/unpacking for my tastes!

 

[Pixieflip]

I've done the beach and a Disney Cruise and WDW with my four kids all at various ages.

Hawaii is fabulous, but will always be there. I'd take my four teenagers there.

I vote for the Cruise and WDW. The four year old is at that magical age of believing in EVERYTHING at WDW! Meeting Mickey, or Buzz or Belle and the Beast, oh! So special. You cannot go back and recreate the innocence and wonder when they're older. It's a very special age and definitely old enough remember the trip, especially if you keep the memories alive with photos. The baby will have a BLAST at WDW!!! There are a ton of rides and shows they'd both love. And the Disney Cruise, anyone of any age will enjoy that. The servers will know the kids' preferences for drinks and everything by the second meal and you won't even cut their food the whole time, they'll truly pamper you. Plus plenty of character interactions available on the ship, and I'm sure an opportunity for a beach, too.

Sounds like a lot of fun either way. Happy planning.

 

[runmommyrun]

Either would be great and it will completely depend upon your family's travel preferences. But having just taken my kids (7,8) on a cruise this year, I'd vote for Aulani. For full disclosure, I say this without having set foot on Aulani yet! We used our points to pay for the cruise, so it was a TON of points. While I am still so glad we went and had fun, I don't expect to return again any time soon. We love the Disney resorts so much more than the cruises. And with young kids, the resorts (particularly beach resorts) are relaxing and entertaining.... beach, pool, activities, etc... Yes, you can get all of that on a cruise, but I found it to be a bit much for us. We've visited Vero Beach twice and have loved it. We anticipate Aulani being like Vero Beach, but with so much more.

Again, depends upon your travel preferences. But I will say we are SO excited to try Aulani in 2013. If it is anything like any other Disney resort where we've stayed, I know we will have a great trip. Happy travels!

 

[Iggipolka]

We booked a 2 bd, oceanview at Aulani for April 2013 for 7 days! Woohoo! The flight to Hawaii from California is the same length as flying to Florida, so that wasn't an issue. Thankfully, we fly often and are blessed with kids that are good travelers.

The points are 490 for a week in Hawaii or 663 for 4 day cruise in a family verandah. That is what made the decision for us.

Can't wait!

 

[dsneygirl]

I think you will love Aulani. My son was 5 (almost 6) and our baby was 7 months. It was probably the best trip we have ever been on. There are lots of chances to meet characters and get the Disney "magic" my son also loved the kids club (which is included).

 

[bmalonef45]

I think you made the best choice and I'm jealous of your flight times to Hawaii. We live in the middle of the US so we have to add another 4 hours to get there. There was no wrong answer to your question though as both are amazing. We were in Aulani last March and can't wait to go back. We're currently anxiously awaiting our June cruise on the Fantasy. After hearing what happened to the Fantasy during hurricane Sandy I'd think twice before booking during hurricane season but the chances of that happening again are probably slim. I've probably jinxed our trip for an uncommon early hurricane now.

I would also suggest not using points to book a cruise if you can help it. At $10 a point you can rent the 600+ points and get over $6,000 from them and then pay cash for the cruise with money left over. I've personally never rented that many points but I have done a smaller amount and it worked out really well.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Iggipolka]

That is a great idea to rent the points! Thanks.

 

[dianeschlicht]

That's a toss up with little ones, but I'm going to say the cruise might have more things of interest to them while Aulani might be better for the adults while the kids enjoy Aunties House.

 

[Miz Diz]

Unless you can find daycare in Hawaii, there will be some excursions you can't do, like snorkeling and other water activities. Of course, if you don't plan on a lot of excursions, that won't matter to you.

I like the cruise with my kids because we can have time with the kids and time without them. We've been to Hawaii without kids. With small kids, we would have missed out on activities we wanted to do.

 

[Anal Annie]

Having been to Hawaii 4x (just not to Aulani YET) and having done 4 cruises (1 for 3-nights, 1 4-night and 2 for 7-nights) I think you made the best decision. We made the horrible mistake of cruising once with points. We love the DCL cruises but we only got 4 nights for the same amount of points we could've used for 21 nights at WDW. Sad mis-use of points that we won't do again. Plus, the shorter cruises are way too short. Whenever you get around to doing a DCL don't go for the short ones and pay with cash not points. You'll just wish you had a full week if you go for less time. I think ya done good!!

 

[taaren]

With a baby, I'd recommend Aulani over a cruise. There's a lot of stuff I love to do on a cruise with my DH and without my DS6, so taking him cruising for the first time when he was 4 was perfect, he loved the kids club. Aulani really felt like a better place for the infant-toting set. They have a nursery on the ship but its pretty limited in the amount of hours you can book. There's not a lot at Aulani I would want to do that you couldn't do with a baby (one of you can hang with the baby while the other goes on the pool slides with the older child, then switch, etc). Hawaii isn't exactly a night-life hotspot, especially the Ko'olina side of the island.

Long way of saying, good choice! When your youngest is potty-trained, take a cruise and you'll enjoy it more (and rent some points out to pay cash for the cruise to get the best deal, if you're comfortable with that!).

Oh, and if its available ... pool view at Aulani is awesome, and saves a few points. Some of the ocean view villas are spectacular, others not so much. Kind of a gamble.

 

[kerickson]

I also think you made the best decision. We've cruised on DCL twice (kids 4, 6) and been to Aulani once (kids 6,8) (trips to DL and WDW too). I'm looking forward to a cruise in the future where our kids are a bit older. I felt kind of trapped in the small room with small kids who needed naps or early bed times. I would have rather been on the sunny deck or enjoying the nightlife (DCL is so fun!)

Aulani/Hawaii is a bit more laid back, and especially with a 2BR, relaxing in your room/on your balcony will still be wonderful! We had an Island View, with Ocean View you will be able to enjoy the balcony even more! Be sure to do the Menahune trail, even just for a few adventures. It's such a neat addition to the resort. Our kids were a bit old for the water play area, but it looked really fun for a 4yr old!

 

[Dean]

We are trying to decide between two fantastic vacation options & I'm curious as to what others would pick. We are 2 adults and a 3 year old (4 by Sept) and a baby, currently 4 months. Baby will be 8 months in March & 14 months in Sept.

1. Sept 2013, 4 night Member cruise on the Dream with one day at WDW before cruise and 5 days after cruise

2. 7 nights Ina 1 bedroom Ocean view at Aluani?

Likely HI, esp looking at air and if you're planning to use points for these.

 

[Iggipolka]

Thanks everyone. We've cruised when my older daughter was 15 months & again when she was just over 2 years old. We had a great time both trips, although I do agree that I was disappointed to miss out on many activities, or just getting to spend some time relaxing with a beverage by the adult pool.

However, my favorite memories are of her excitedly crawling from one end of the ship to the other at 15 months and playing in the ocean at age 2.
The long dinners....not so much fun.

I'm very Much looking forward to our Hawaii trip and think that both kids and both parents will have a good time.