Aulani Owners Thread - ALOHA!

[jhugge]

Just read this on my DIS Facebook page..... No milk in your room now.....

Defect found in Disney's guest room refrigerators

by Leah Zanolla
Jul 10, 2013

Disney hotels will not have refrigerators in their guest rooms for a few months. A possible defect was found in the refrigerators used at Walt Disney World, Disneyland and Aulani, so they have been removed or disconnected. Guests will receive a letter in their rooms explaining the problem, but the fridges will only be removed from unoccupied rooms or when current guests check out.

This does not affect Disney Vacation Club rooms, Fort Wilderness cabins, the Family Suites at Art of Animation and All-Star Music and the suites at the Disneyland Hotel. These rooms all have larger refrigerators.

There will be a limited number of fridges available for guests with medical necessities, but these are not guaranteed.

It is expected to take up to four months to get all the refrigerators replaced.

We checked in at Aulani on 7/14 and have a fridge. We are in a studio, so not sure if this only affects larger refrigerators.

 

[Anal Annie]

Just read this on my DIS Facebook page..... No milk in your room now.....

Defect found in Disney's guest room refrigerators

by Leah Zanolla
Jul 10, 2013

Disney hotels will not have refrigerators in their guest rooms for a few months. A possible defect was found in the refrigerators used at Walt Disney World, Disneyland and Aulani, so they have been removed or disconnected. Guests will receive a letter in their rooms explaining the problem, but the fridges will only be removed from unoccupied rooms or when current guests check out.

This does not affect Disney Vacation Club rooms, Fort Wilderness cabins, the Family Suites at Art of Animation and All-Star Music and the suites at the Disneyland Hotel. These rooms all have larger refrigerators.

There will be a limited number of fridges available for guests with medical necessities, but these are not guaranteed.

It is expected to take up to four months to get all the refrigerators replaced.

I believe the DVC studio units have a different type of refrigerator that fit under the counter in the kitchenettes. This problem does not affect DVC units.

 

[TagsMissy]

Just booked the first half of my first Aulani vacation as an owner (we've been before with our BLT points) WOOHOO!! @7 mos I'll add on more nights with my BLT points as I don't want to borrow from 2015 and I have BLT banked points to use.

I snagged a 1BR standard view and I can't decided if I want to upgrade to a pool or ocean view for the last half of the trip. I know we need to move rooms but by staying in a standard the first half of the trip we're able to extend our trip longer and I'm all for that! We'll use the first half of the trip to do more off site sight seeing etc and lounge at the resort more at the end of the trip.

We stayed in an island view studio our last trip for 10 days so I'm leaning toward pool view but part of me wants to really splurge for ocean. First world problems, right?

 

[lawboy2001]

Just booked the first half of my first Aulani vacation as an owner (we've been before with our BLT points) WOOHOO!! @7 mos I'll add on more nights with my BLT points as I don't want to borrow from 2015 and I have BLT banked points to use.

I snagged a 1BR standard view and I can't decided if I want to upgrade to a pool or ocean view for the last half of the trip. I know we need to move rooms but by staying in a standard the first half of the trip we're able to extend our trip longer and I'm all for that! We'll use the first half of the trip to do more off site sight seeing etc and lounge at the resort more at the end of the trip.

We stayed in an island view studio our last trip for 10 days so I'm leaning toward pool view but part of me wants to really splurge for ocean. First world problems, right?

Exactly - first world problems!! Love it. I'm waiting on a BLT contract right now, and am already planning my next - an AUL. In deciding how many points to aim for, I need to keep in mind that I can always top up my reservation using some BLT points, as you have done. Thanks for the tip!

 

[TagsMissy]

Exactly - first world problems!! Love it. I'm waiting on a BLT contract right now, and am already planning my next - an AUL. In deciding how many points to aim for, I need to keep in mind that I can always top up my reservation using some BLT points, as you have done. Thanks for the tip!

We just went with 100 pts, can always add on if need be. Since we won't do Hawaii every year we figured we'd start there.

We've decided we're going to visit 2 islands so I'll be releasing my Standard 1BR and booking a pool view for a week then we'll head off to the Big Island for about a week before heading home. We really want to spend some time at the Volcano National Park.

 

[DenLo]

My family and I will have a staycation the weekend of October 11. We are so excited!

Sounds great. I really love the number of locals that do staycations at Aulani. It makes me feel like the resort must be really extra special if it meets with the Hawaiians approval.

 

[bnk1120]

Aulani owners...you have certainly purchased something special!! I am a VWL owner on my first trip to Hawaii and I am in love with Aulani! What an amazing resort! Everything is beautiful and I am amazed by all the details. Just cannot imagine all the work that went into the planning/design/construction! So happy to be a DVC owner and able to experience this!

 

[Sir William]

Aulani owners...you have certainly purchased something special!! I am a VWL owner on my first trip to Hawaii and I am in love with Aulani! What an amazing resort! Everything is beautiful and I am amazed by all the details. Just cannot imagine all the work that went into the planning/design/construction! So happy to be a DVC owner and able to experience this!

We joined DVC in mid-2010 (SSR) and visited Oahu on a non-DVC trip about a year later. We drove out to see the Aulani site, still very much under construction, and were able to tour the facility. We were completely overwhelmed and it wasn't even finished yet! Last year we were on a DCL cruise and bought some Aulani points, and were fortunate enough to make our first stay this April. Absolutely NO REGRETS! Except that we're on the East Coast and it's a long, long trip to Hawaii.

 

[bnk1120]

We joined DVC in mid-2010 (SSR) and visited Oahu on a non-DVC trip about a year later. We drove out to see the Aulani site, still very much under construction, and were able to tour the facility. We were completely overwhelmed and it wasn't even finished yet! Last year we were on a DCL cruise and bought some Aulani points, and were fortunate enough to make our first stay this April. Absolutely NO REGRETS! Except that we're on the East Coast and it's a long, long trip to Hawaii.

It's easy to see why you fell in love! I too am on the east coast, so I get the long trip!

 

[disneyfm4]

We just returned from our first trip to Aulani. Absolutely awesome!!!! We have no regrets about buying there and are actually considering adding points so we can make the trip every year!

A couple of things learned (rookie mistakes as we are new to DVC?):
- Didn't need the rental car - for this trip, we rarely left the resort property. Maybe we will explore more on future trips, but the rental car was wasted money this time around.
- Didn't really need to bring food - assuming food in Hawaii was expensive, we planned out a menu for the week and brought most of the non-perishable things we would need. Although food was more expensive, it wasn't extremely more expensive, especially at the Target right up the road from the resort. Next time we might bring a few things, but probably not as much as we did this time.
- Pack a small bag with swimsuits for when we arrive. - our flight landed in Hawaii at 12 and we were at Aulani by 2:30. Rooms were not ready until 4. We shed have packed a bag with our swimsuits so we could change and hit the pool while waiting for the room to be ready.

Our room was fantastic! Have never stayed in a room with kitchen, washer/dryer, etc. With two kids, I don't know how we could go bak to a regular room again! We booked a one bedroom villa with an ocean view and got Room 1458 in the Ewa Tower. Will post pictures as soon as I figure out how!

 

[nemofans]

We are splitting our Hawaii stay: Big Island/Aulani

We want to stay near Volcano National Park while on the Big Island as that will be our main focus. Was wondering if anyone has recommendations/experiences for where to stay?

 

[amym2]

We are splitting our Hawaii stay: Big Island/Aulani

We want to stay near Volcano National Park while on the Big Island as that will be our main focus. Was wondering if anyone has recommendations/experiences for where to stay?

Check out volcanovillagelodge.com. We stayed in one of the beautiful "lodges" at this B&B and loved it!

 

[ACDSNY]

We are splitting our Hawaii stay: Big Island/Aulani

We want to stay near Volcano National Park while on the Big Island as that will be our main focus. Was wondering if anyone has recommendations/experiences for where to stay?

We stayed at Crater Rim Cabin last May.

 

[dreamlinda]

We are splitting our Hawaii stay: Big Island/Aulani

We want to stay near Volcano National Park while on the Big Island as that will be our main focus. Was wondering if anyone has recommendations/experiences for where to stay?

DH and I stayed here and LOVED IT!!

http://www.kilauealodge.com/

 

[Leilanie94]

Sounds great. I really love the number of locals that do staycations at Aulani. It makes me feel like the resort must be really extra special if it meets with the Hawaiians approval.

Hi DenLo:
Some of our local family and friends think we are weird for purchasing DVC at Disney Aulani. My family *loves* Disney! I would prefer to spend $ and my time at Disney Aulani Resort than at Waikiki hotels. I agree Aulani does have a special and "magical" feeling. And I'm a local Hawaii resident.

 

[DenLo]

Hi DenLo:
Some of our local family and friends think we are weird for purchasing DVC at Disney Aulani. My family *loves* Disney! I would prefer to spend $ and my time at Disney Aulani Resort than at Waikiki hotels. I agree Aulani does have a special and "magical" feeling. And I'm a local Hawaii resident.

I so agree with you there. I think Aulani is a step above all of the eastern DVC resorts. Haven't been to VGC yet, will know more in 20 days. The CMs at Aulani are the friendliest and the service is superb. It is definitely a magical place.

I cannot wait to see the new pool! It sounds like it will be opening this month.

 

[luv2boys]

Any advice on airline tickets? They are outrageous? Any tips for lower fares?

 

[jerseygal]

United is a joke!

I have been "watching" a United nonstop fare from Newark to Honolulu for 3 months now...Has been "holding steady" at $715 literally for 3 months.
Didn't want to purchase the airline before securing the reservation!

I was OUTRAGED when the fare went up to $1,115, $300 per person diff; family of 4 that would be $1,200 more! What upsets me more is that I literally memorized the seat configuration in anticipation of booking. It is not that the plane was beginning to be full, when airlines typically raise rates. It was quite the opposite in that not one seat was purchased when the fare went up from $715 to $1,015....

Anyway, very early Sunday morning when I played around with different dates, a fare of $752 came up. There was no fare even close to it the entire summer, as most days were something like minimum $902 per person roundtrip
or in most cases 1,015 or even higher! RIDICULOUS! I even called customer service for United to complain!

The problem was though that the $752 was a different date of my island view 2 br dedicated reservation. When I searched on that date, the island view was taken, even in 2 BR lockoff, and the only 2 BR available was a 2 BR
lockoff in a pool view. Wound up costing me extra points, but at that point, I was too happy to take the $752! SHAME ON UNITED! THERE FARES TO HONOLULU ARE RIDICULOUS! At those prices, they will not be filling their planes this summer from Newark to Honolulu!

I will "waitlist" an island view and see what happens!
Really infuriates me as the summer fares are 7-8 months in advance and for travelers that "plan" vacations, United should be offering fares like $715, rather than $902 or $1,015 or even higher! $715 per person roundtrip is expensive enough!!!!!!!!

Good luck to those trying to secure flights on United this summer!

 

[Disney Dreams]

United is a joke!

I have been "watching" a United nonstop fare from Newark to Honolulu for 3 months now...Has been "holding steady" at $715 literally for 3 months.
Didn't want to purchase the airline before securing the reservation!

I was OUTRAGED when the fare went up to $1,115, $300 per person diff; family of 4 that would be $1,200 more! What upsets me more is that I literally memorized the seat configuration in anticipation of booking. It is not that the plane was beginning to be full, when airlines typically raise rates. It was quite the opposite in that not one seat was purchased when the fare went up from $715 to $1,015....

Anyway, very early Sunday morning when I played around with different dates, a fare of $752 came up. There was no fare even close to it the entire summer, as most days were something like minimum $902 per person roundtrip
or in most cases 1,015 or even higher! RIDICULOUS! I even called customer service for United to complain!

The problem was though that the $752 was a different date of my island view 2 br dedicated reservation. When I searched on that date, the island view was taken, even in 2 BR lockoff, and the only 2 BR available was a 2 BR
lockoff in a pool view. Wound up costing me extra points, but at that point, I was too happy to take the $752! SHAME ON UNITED! THERE FARES TO HONOLULU ARE RIDICULOUS! At those prices, they will not be filling their planes this summer from Newark to Honolulu!

I will "waitlist" an island view and see what happens!
Really infuriates me as the summer fares are 7-8 months in advance and for travelers that "plan" vacations, United should be offering fares like $715, rather than $902 or $1,015 or even higher! $715 per person roundtrip is expensive enough!!!!!!!!

Good luck to those trying to secure flights on United this summer!

Did you try other airlines?

The thing with airline prices is they can change anytime. We actually booked our flight in to HI for a day prior to our DVC reservation because we were able to get frequent flyer seats on that day, but not the next. We then wait listed the extra night and with a bit of luck, got it 6 days prior to arrival.

Flights can be frustrating.

- Dreams

 

[lawboy2001]

United is a joke!

I have been "watching" a United nonstop fare from Newark to Honolulu for 3 months now...Has been "holding steady" at $715 literally for 3 months.
Didn't want to purchase the airline before securing the reservation!

I was OUTRAGED when the fare went up to $1,115, !

That is ridiculous...although I've found the worst time to book is around 5-6 months out, because the airlines know they can fleece the people who plan in advance and really WANT to go on their vacation. (People like you!) Christmas fares are like this too - book during the summer, and you will get royally ripped off. I find booking 2-3 months out is best.