7 month availability

[StitchesGr8Fan]

We are thinking about going next summer (no set date but sometime between mid June and mid August). We only have enough points for a studio for a week. Will we have a problem with availability at 7 months?

Also, we want to do a few days at Disneyland (not on points). Would 5 days at Aulani be enough so that we can do 3 days at DL? Or do we really need 7 days at Aulani to experience the resort and a few things in the island. (We will have a 6 year old and a 3 year old).

 

[Twohsieh]

Hello,
If it is your first time at Aulani, I would definitely stay there as long as you can. I feel that five days is too short to experience the resort, as well as the beautiful island. The resort is very nice and I’m sure your children will love the resort and they want to go to the pool every single free moment they have.

My family of five have been to Aulani four times (11/2011, 6/2012, 7/2015 and 6/2018) which we have stayed in a 1 BR OV room, but on last year’s trip, we stayed in a 2BR IV because we took my parents with us. I had a hard time getting our 2 BR IV for the dates that I wanted, so we had to go to Oahu first, then head to Maui.

On our previous three bookings at the 7 month mark, I had no issues booking the dates that I wanted. I think the studios and lower view rooms go first, so make sure you have alternative plans if your requests are not available.

Good luck reserving your studio room.

 

[Fred M]

Summer is really popular at Aulani. Do you have enough points for any studio regardless of view or is it only a studio on the island side? If it’s any studio then you might get one, but probably it will come with an ocean view and the points to match. If it’s only island view, then I would expect a studio to be a problem.

I think 5 days is enough at Aulani, but not enough to explore Oahu. Also the flight to Honolulu from California is about 5-5.5 hours, the same length as the flight from California to Orlando. So the better question is whether for you and your family a 5+ hour flight is worth only 5 days or do you need 7 days?

 

[nkereina]

We are thinking about going next summer (no set date but sometime between mid June and mid August). We only have enough points for a studio for a week. Will we have a problem with availability at 7 months?

As PPs have said, summer is the busiest time at Aulani, so you'll need flexibility on your dates and view. If you jump at 7 months out from June and then re-adjust from there as needed, you should be able to secure something.

Also, we want to do a few days at Disneyland (not on points). Would 5 days at Aulani be enough so that we can do 3 days at DL? Or do we really need 7 days at Aulani to experience the resort and a few things in the island. (We will have a 6 year old and a 3 year old).

Where are you traveling from? It took us a solid 2-3 days to adjust to the 6 hour time difference coming from the East Coast. We were zombies by 7-8pm and wide awake by 4-5am. As noted in other threads, Hawaii and Aulani in particular are very quiet with not much going on in the evenings, so we didn't miss much, but our energy levels did suffer from the jetlag. I would say 7 days would be our minimal time just because of this.

Have you been to Hawaii before? I do think you could experience the whole resort and a few things on the island in 5 days but you'd be pressed for time. You'd have to choose maybe 2 main things you want to do on Oahu if you want enough time to enjoy the amenities of the resort, so you won't experience much of Hawaii. If seeing Oahu is most important, I might choose to stay elsewhere to be in a more central location conducive to this.

Have you been to DL before? We were there in May and had 4 park days. We agreed that 3 was plenty, 2 was sufficient. Especially if you have park hoppers. Another option could be 6 days at Aulani and 2 at DL.