Aulani Owners Thread - ALOHA!

[jerseygal]

Even traveling to WDW from Newark, I am NEVER SUCCESSFUL booking 2-3 months in advance! Advance planning ALWAYS pays off for past trips like
Aruba, Nassau, DCL cruises, Florida, and California.

Only Newark-Honolulu has been PROBLEMATIC!

Good luck to those trying to secure summer fares from Newark to Honolulu!

 

[disneypoor]

We booked our flights to Honolulu as soon as our dates were released. They have stayed the exact same since day 1, but they were high to start with. We paid a little under $1100 per person. At that time, other airlines had flights for about $950. We had companion fares and miles though, so we went with the $1100 flights because it ended up being a lot less out of our pockets in the end. I check Kansas City to HNL almost daily cause I'm a little obsessed with it (lol), and I haven't seen anything under $900 since our flights were released months ago. Air is CRAZY right now!!!!! Hope your WL comes through!

Susan

 

[jerseygal]

Anyone have knowledge of the views from these 2 BR Aulani L/O Poolview?

I am WL for island view and hoping that it comes through. I wanted to save on points, but due to very high airline prices, I "jumped" on the Poolview because it was available and coincided with the lowest price airline price on United...

According to the info provided on Aulani views, it appears that the 5th floor is the highest for poolview 2 BR L/O??
Does anyone know why the Island Views are HIGHER FLOORS than the Poolview Category which uses more points?

Thanks as always for info!

Originally wanted standard...Went from no standard availability to accepting greater use of points on Island View, now even greater use of points on Poolview...

Oh well, JUST CANNOT WAIT FOR OUR AULANI TRIP, SUMMER, 2014!!!

 

[TifffanyD]

I think the higher floors above the pool view are ocean view. And I think the rooms that do not face the pool ocean are lower floors = standard and higher floors = island.

 

[Soccerluvinmama]

Does Alaska fly out of where you live? We have the Alaska Airlines Bank of America Visa. I hate BofA, but I earn miles in the card and receive a $99 companion ticket each year. So, when we travel to Aulani from Seattle we fly Alaska. I pay for one ticket, get another on miles and the third on companion pass. We save a ton of money on our flights that way!!!

 

[jerseygal]

We are booked on United at $758...Lowest fare from Newark to Honolulu all summer! Should have been $715, $43 per person increase...Cost us an extra $172...Unfortunately, others will be paying ALOT higher fare than that!

Hopefully, for others, United will come to their senses and lower prices or risk flying lower than capacity planes this summer!

 

[JessLCH]

We are booked on United at $758...Lowest fare from Newark to Honolulu all summer! Should have been $715, $43 per person increase...Cost us an extra $172...Unfortunately, others will be paying ALOT higher fare than that!

Hopefully, for others, United will come to their senses and lower prices or risk flying lower than capacity planes this summer!

Alaska flies our of Newark if you connect in Seattle. Very reasonable business class fares.

 

[Leilanie94]

Woohoo! I just booked our stay-cation for next year....
we will be there in October 2014.

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

Thanks for the picture!! We rented a car for our stay, from Avis we paid $275 for our 6 days / 5 nights. Earlier in this post I believe someone listed some info on taxi fares (and maybe a car service also). We were really happy with our decision to get a car at the airport, since we have spent time on the north and east shore before we knew we would be taking at least 2 day trips plus trips to Costco/Safeway. As a DVC member as long as you are booking with points parking is free, and is very convenient and easy.

I know this is an old post, so please bear with me... I tried the search feature, but came up empty handed.
What I'd like to know is the parking fee for guests renting points who are not owners. I read on another thread that it's $35/day. If that's true, it's more than the cost to rent the car!
We definitely want to see other parts of the island, so if the parking is that prohibitive, I'll have to start looking elsewhere before I invest a lot more time into planning at Aulani.
TIA!

 

[LD500]

We rented points and didn't need to pay for self parking.

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

Thank you, LD500!
I wonder why someone would say it's $35/day?
That almost made me reconsider Aulani!

 

[jerseygal]

For DVC owners self parking is free.... Thus, those renting points get the same parking privileges of an owner.

Aulani only charges self parking for those hotel guests who book directy through Aulani Resort!

 

[gretchenohar@hotmail]

Thank you, jerseygal. I'm so glad to know this.
Kinda seems bass-ackwards tho, doesn't it?
Those paying top dollar also pay thru the nose for parking!!
But I'm not complaining...

 

[jerseygal]

All these amenities are usually quite expensive at most top rated resorts...Any non-DVC resort that we've stayed in charges even for self parking...

Guess that is unfortunate for those paying for hotel rooms there, but for those of us who are DVC owners and staying on points, SELF PARKING IS FREE, THANKFULLY!

CANNOT WAIT FOR OUR MAY AULANI TRIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[wdrl]

Guess that is unfortunate for those paying for hotel rooms there, but for those of us who are DVC owners and staying on points, SELF PARKING IS FREE, THANKFULLY!

Yes, DVC members or renters staying on points do not pay the daily $35 parking fee. However, its "free" because DVC members who own at Aulani pay for the maintenance and upkeep of the parking garage as part of our yearly maintenance fees.

 

[DisneyBride'03]

We have an upcoming stay at Aulani, our first, so a quick ?

Wondering if Mickey and his friends sign autograph books? I'm assuming they do just want to confirm, thanks

 

[Sir William]

We have an upcoming stay at Aulani, our first, so a quick ?

Wondering if Mickey and his friends sign autograph books? I'm assuming they do just want to confirm, thanks

They do. Our room overlooked the spots where the characters posed for photos and signed autographs, and I enjoyed watching all the interaction.

 

[abthomas]

Have a trip planned for June 2014. 6 nights. Wondering when is best time to purchase airfare. ( from east coast). Planning on flying to Maui first for 5 nights then Aulani then home. Any advice? Thanks!

 

[DisneyBride'03]

Have a trip planned for June 2014. 6 nights. Wondering when is best time to purchase airfare. ( from east coast). Planning on flying to Maui first for 5 nights then Aulani then home. Any advice? Thanks!

Now we are going mid Feb, we purchased flights in mid Sept, check Kayak...and look I to Yapta.com also

 

[DisneyBride'03]

They do. Our room overlooked the spots where the characters posed for photos and signed autographs, and I enjoyed watching all the interaction.

Thanks