Any Aulani DVC Members?

[Riburn3]

My wife and I recently went on a cruise on the Disney Magic where they had some killer deals (comparatively) on Aulani, so we pulled the trigger and made the plunge. For those curious, they offered $5500 off the purchase price at 200 points, and a 500 on board credit which could also be rolled into the total point discount, so we got basically $6000 off their current retail price. The contract takes effect in March 2019, but they also threw in 200 extra points credited immediately to the account as well without requiring to pay current year dues. I guess they must of had a large sell off recently or something since their offerings in Florida were not nearly as substantial.

I’m just curious how hard it has been to book rooms here. I see several DVC members in threads have stayed here and obviously have to book 7 months or less. We probably would get either studio villas or 1 bedroom depending on party size. Also, have you found becoming a member here to be worth it?

We go to Hawaii every 9-18 months and I had been curious about this resort when I was looking seriously a couple of years ago but resale’s were slim and DVC wasn’t really offering it (Polynesian was the big offering at the time). I had also stayed 2 nights in Aulani a couple of years ago which even with a discounted rate was $1500 for a 1 bedroom, so thought it would be one of the quickest returns on our investment.

Would love to hear from other Aulani members or DVC members that go regularly.

 

[nickys]

Out of interest, those extra points they credited you with will be 2018 use year points. No dues to pay on them but if the contract starts in March 2019, how will you be able to use them? If your contract doesn’t start until next year, you won’t be able to bank them, so they’ll expire.

Unless I’m missing something....... Do you mean your use year is March and they’ve waived the MFs on the current points?

 

[Riburn3]

I asked basically the exact same question as you since it all sounded pretty sketchy since I had read a lot about DVC over the last year and never really heard of anything similar direct.

I can bank these points, and I am not responsible for any dues this year. When I got back from the cruise I logged into my account after they sent me the welcome email and there were the points and they have already been banked. I reread my contract just to make sure I don’t pay dues, and my first statement will be Dec 2019 (pay annually).

The DVC guy said it’s a very rare perk they offer, and he said he’s only seen it a couple of times since he joined the DVC sales team in 2003. When I went to a DVC cocktail hour on the cruise, other members told me cruises are where they make the best offers.

 

[nickys]

OK. So that’s what I thought. If you can log in now, your contract is up and running.

It was the phrase “the contract takes effect from March 2019” that confused me. Your contract is already started, they’ve just waived the MFs for you.

 

[Riburn3]

Makes sense. Thanks.

When he started he said my first year points would be March 2019, when he was just causally going over everything and didn’t realize I had done a lot of homework. It makes me wonder how many people they hook into this without having a clue what they’ve done since even after I told them I knew all about it they treated me like a child when explaining it to me.

When he realized I knew more than I had let on and that I was serious (and a cash buyer), the deals and discount information started flowing. My main concern was if I could bank the points immediately and if I would pay dues on them this year.

 

[correcaminos]

It's not uncommon to waive or pro-rate MF for the first year of ownership. Buying this time of year you'd only have Sept-Dec to pay and that might have been a tiny perk to toss out.

As for booking, tell us more about your Disney trips. When do you travel? Studios are increasingly the hardest to book at 7 months. SSR, OKW, then AKL are the last to book. 1 bedrooms are much easier to get as a whole. I book often at 7 months but we do 1-2 bedrooms which are easier than studios.

 

[Riburn3]

I typically like to travel in off peak times for the parks such as late winter and spring (after the spring break/Easter period). For Hawaii we go basically anytime except the summer. One bedrooms are usually our accommodation of choice. My only child is just 3 so at least for now we are flexible until she starts school in a few years. Once she starts school, her spring break is the 1st week of March (West Texas is weird), so even then it’s not really peak.

Outside of Aulani, I could see us using points more at Grand Californian since it’s a much closer trip for us versus Florida. My sister just relocated to Daytona Beach so I would imagine we will use it to justify more trips to WDW, but with a small kid we find Disneyland to be way more convenient since the resorts are on site and not spread out. Just glancing it seems to be a rough place to book on shortner notice.


TBH though, we wanted Aulani as our first choice because we loved the resort, love Hawai’i, but it’s hard to justify the cost. A one bedroom Villa costs nearly $7k for a week with offseason discounts. A few trips and we have recouped our investment.

 

[correcaminos]

I typically like to travel in off peak times for the parks such as late winter and spring (after the spring break/Easter period). For Hawaii we go basically anytime except the summer. One bedrooms are usually our accommodation of choice. My only child is just 3 so at least for now we are flexible until she starts school in a few years. Once she starts school, her spring break is the 1st week of March (West Texas is weird), so even then it’s not really peak.

Outside of Aulani, I could see us using points more at Grand Californian since it’s a much closer trip for us versus Florida. My sister just relocated to Daytona Beach so I would imagine we will use it to justify more trips to WDW, but with a small kid we find Disneyland to be way more convenient since the resorts are on site and not spread out. Just glancing it seems to be a rough place to book on shortner notice.


TBH though, we wanted Aulani as our first choice because we loved the resort, love Hawai’i, but it’s hard to justify the cost. A one bedroom Villa costs nearly $7k for a week with offseason discounts. A few trips and we have recouped our investment.

The 7 month booking mark isn't something that will be unique to you as an Aulani owner. Vero and HHI also have the same WDW booking issue as you will. Plus anyone who doesn't like their home resort.

Late winter and spring (excluding Easter/Passover weeks) are usually pretty easy to book at WDW. Our spring break is the 2nd week of March so I'm used to that time of year. TBH summer isn't hard for booking as well. 7 month at Disney is tough in the fall and around the end of December.

VGC is a whole other ball game though. It's tiny and not many rooms are available. Wanting a 1 bedroom will be a bonus for you. It's really more luck of the draw with that one, and you would need to be on at 8am on the dot to get what you want.

I think you picked the right resort for your needs. I really do

 

[polynesiangirl]

We own at Aulani! We do go to WDW a lot, too, but we're generally really flexible on which resort we stay at, and Orlando is a cheap and fast flight for us, so we're also easily able to do short trips, which makes it less of a big deal to me if it's a challenge to get certain resorts for long periods of time (I generally prefer shorter WDW trips, too.)

We've been going to Hawaii about once a year for the last several years, and so owning at Aulani just made sense for us, especially when I really thought about how much money I was dropping to stay there every time.

I knew Aulani was gonna get me in trouble from the first 5 minutes I set foot on that property. I love it there so much.