Planned refurbishment Aug 19 - Dec 17

[Boardwalkin]

I just received the below email from Aulani and thought I should share.

To help you better plan your visit, we want to let you know that your stay falls within a planned refurbishment period. From time to time, certain maintenance is required to keep our amenities and offerings updated and in line with Disney standards. As part of these efforts, the Waikolohe Stream lazy river, Waikolohe Stream whirlpool spa, Menehune Bridge and Tubestone Curl water slide will be unavailable during your stay. We invite you to make a splash at any of the other fun water features that will be available, including Waikolohe Pool, Volcanic Vertical water slide, Waikolohe Pool whirlpool spa, Rainbow Reef, ‘Alohi Point whirlpool spa, Keiki Cove splash zone, and Ka Maka Pool & Grotto overlooking the Ko Olina Beach. In addition, Wailana Adult Pool will be available for guests and DVC Members of all ages to enjoy during this time.

While we work our magic, it is possible that you may see or hear construction work, but rest assured noise should not be heard between dusk and 9 a.m. Please know your comfort and enjoyment are our top priorities.

To further your enjoyment during this refurbishment, all Guests and DVC Members staying at the Aulani Resort between Aug. 19, 2019 and Dec. 17, 2019 will receive a resort credit of $50 per room, per night for every night of your stay. This credit will be applied automatically to your folio upon check in, and can be used toward any offering at Aulani Resort including dining, merchandise, a visit to Laniwai Spa, an island excursion, and more

 

[bcwife76]

It's a lot of stuff to be closed all at once. I'm glad we are not planning a return visit until March 2020. Though the $50 credit per day is a nice offering.

 

[cgattis]

Ugh. Sorry to hear that. On our very first Disney trip, I wanted to stay at the Poly....and the volcano pool turned out to be closed. Now, turned out we never had time to do the pool anyway (rookie mistake of not enough relaxation time), but we’ve never been able to stay there since, and never done that pool. It’s on my bucket list!!

There is plenty to do in Hawaii, and I hope you plan to do lots of stuff around the island other than the resort. Unless you’ve been multiple times and have planned this as a mostly Aulani trip! In that case, I guess I’d be pretty hacked. In general, I get very annoyed at WDW for announcements like this of things to be taken away way after the time that reservations generally need to be made. I’ve been burned on that a few times.

Hope it works out to your satisfaction. Aulani isn’t exactly a budget trip. We did thoroughly enjoy it, so I hope you’ll be able to also!

 

[Hoorayforcookies!]

We got the same email for our planned November trip. Been to Oahu a couple of times but never Aulani so was planning to enjoy the resort for a few days with the kids. Now I think I’ll stay somewhere else on this trip. We’ll go back someday and that’s too many amenities to miss out on for the price you have to pay to stay there. Oh well, next time I guess...

 

[wuzzles]

Having gone twice including staying there once during phase 2 of initial construction I would strongly suggest either moving up your stay, postponing your trip or staying elsewhere. You have to keep in mind that not only are areas going to be closed, but that will put more traffic into the already crowded areas that are staying open. $50 credit a night seems really insufficient - particularly for people who made reservations before the announcement. I seem to recall previous construction specials being 25-33% off.

 

[Seltzer76]

We were planning an Aug trip, DVC booking window opens on Friday. We will need to borrow points from next year to do this trip. With two kids Age 11/9 we planned to do mostly pool, beach and resort activities. Still worth it?

 

[AussieNSW]

We were planning an Aug trip, DVC booking window opens on Friday. We will need to borrow points from next year to do this trip. With two kids Age 11/9 we planned to do mostly pool, beach and resort activities. Still worth it?

I am really interested if it will still be worth it. We have been to Hawaii before and have been to the islands. We are planning spending most of our time at the resort. We will have a young child with us as well. It was a birthday trip for my daughter she will be turning 21. We are from Australia and the drinking age is 18 so going to bars ect was not going to really be part of our trip. She is a huge Disney fan like me.

 

[wuzzles]

Here is a link to a map of the pools. https://www.disneyaulani.com/map/

The original poster received an email with the closures specific to their dates.
Below are the closure details from the release posted to News & Updates sidebar on the main page which cover the full dates of the refurbishment ...
Perhaps someone with some photoshop skills can post a picture of the map with the effected areas circled but it is not an insignificant amount of the pool area. I wish I could say I couldn't imagine those poor souls who show up in the time period of Oct 2nd to Oct 11th when the closures overlap and more pool area is closed than open, but I have experienced that during a previous trip. For the expense of Aulani I would shift the dates or the location of my trip to avoid the closures.

~~~

August 19th – October 11th

• Waikolohe Stream lazy river, Waikolohe Stream whirlpool spa, Menehune Bridge and Tubestone Curl water slide, and Kawele Korner I (pool towel distribution) will be unavailable.
• One Paddle, Two Paddle (refillable drink station) will be closed during construction hours (weekdays, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.)
• KA WA’A Luau will alter the start time to 6 p.m.

October 2nd – December 17th

• Waikolohe Pool, Waikolohe Pool whirlpool spa, Volcanic Vertical water slide, ‘Alohi Point whirlpool spa, Rainbow Reef, and Lava Shack and Mama’s Snack Stop will be unavailable.
• Pāpālua Shave Ice will be temporarily relocated.
• Off the Hook and ‘AMA’AMA restaurant will alter service hours to open at 5 p.m.
• Makahiki Restaurant will offer a table service lunch option.
• One Paddle, Two Paddle (refillable drink station) will be closed during construction hours (weekdays, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• KA WA’A Luau will alter the start time to 6 p.m.

Aulani notes that guest may see or hear construction work but should not expect noise between dusk and 9 a.m. throughout the course of the project.

~~~

 

[Seltzer76]

Boo, we are going to cancel our trip planned for August 18 - 24th. Maybe in 2020...

 

[MikeRx]

I'm puzzled by the dates posted above by Wuzzles, The DIS news and other groups as the Aulani website says:
Phase 1 August 19-October 11th
Phase 2 August 14-December 17th

Copied directly from the Aulani Website:
August 19 to October 11
Open

• Aulani Resort Beach at Ko Olina Lagoon—the white-sand beach featuring an abundance of fun-in-the sun activities
• Ka Maka Grotto—the infinity pool with sweeping ocean views
• Ka Maka Grotto Whirlpool Spa
• Keiki Cove Splash Zone—the kids’ delightful interactive splash zone
• Wailana Pool—will include Guests of all ages during pool refurbishment
• Waikolohe Pool—the 8,200 square feet, zero entry pool
• Volcanic Vertical Waterslide—the Waikolohe Pool’s tunnel body slide
• Aulani Pool Parties—the parties with games, dances, music and Disney Character appearances at Waikolohe Pool
• Rainbow Reef—the 3,800-square-foot, saltwater private snorkeling lagoon
• Waikolohe Pool Whirlpool Spa
• Both ‘Alohi Point Whirlpool Spas

Closed

• Waikolohe Stream
• Tubestone Curl Waterslide
• Menehune Bridge
• Waikolohe Stream Whirlpool Spa

October 14 to December 17
Open

• Aulani Resort Beach at Ko Olina Lagoon—the award-winning, white-sand beach featuring an abundance of fun-in-the sun activities
• Ka Maka Grotto—the infinity pool with sweeping ocean views
• Ka Maka Grotto Whirlpool Spa
• Keiki Cove Splash Zone—the kids’ delightful interactive splash zone
• Wailana Pool—will include Guests of all ages during pool refurbishment
• Waikolohe Stream—the lazy river
• Tubestone Curl Waterslide—the Waikolohe Stream’s tunnel waterslide
• Menehune Bridge—the kids’ interactive area with 2 slides and a play structure
• Waikolohe Pool Whirlpool Spa

Closed

• Waikolohe Pool
• Volcanic Vertical Waterslide
• Aulani Pool Parties
• Rainbow Reef
• Waikolohe Pool Whirlpool Spa
• Both ‘Alohi Point Whirlpool Spas

This is specifically for the pool areas and does not mention the other services or food/beverage locations. We'd planned the 5th-11th due to Fall Break so these overlap dates are critical for us to understand. Half a closure would be manageable as we've been before, but a full closure of the entire heart of the resort is a different matter.

Mike

 

[MissDaisyofTexas]

When I saw this news, the first thing I thought was perhaps Aulani is going to change the surface around the pools since it's so slippery.

 

[AZMermaid]

We were planning on October 5-12 during fall break. We will be switching our dates to Winter Break. It’s gonna cost more.... points and flights, but it’s too expensive a trip to have the pools closed, especially since we are in the overlap.

 

[Aon]

Bummer. I was just about to book for the end of August, but now I won’t. It would be our first stay at Aulani and we were really looking forward to using all the water features.

 

[AZMermaid]

I agree with MikeRX. The dates on the site don’t match the ones listed here. If there is not an overlap, we might keep our dates, since we’d be in phase 1. I’m still more inclined to switch, but if there’s not an overlap, I’ll think about it some more.

 

[MikeRx]

I agree with MikeRX. The dates on the site don’t match the ones listed here. If there is not an overlap, we might keep our dates, since we’d be in phase 1. I’m still more inclined to switch, but if there’s not an overlap, I’ll think about it some more.

We are in AZ too and this is our situation as well as Fall Break is the best time to go for us. I mapped out the pool closure based on official website posting and we've agreed that we can deal with Phase 1, but not an overlap. I wish someone on the DIS and other sites would comment on where they found October 2nd as the start date for Phase 2. Rescheduling would be a nightmare as we've used miles for 3 of the 4 of us to get to Oahu (I've not purchased my cash ticket yet). If you use miles you need to book 11 months before the trip or the seats aren't available...I can have them re-instated if needed, but really would like to go back to the Aulani this year.

Fingers crossed that we can still make this work and we may see you there October 5th -11th.

Mike

 

[wuzzles]

I'm puzzled by the dates posted above by Wuzzles, The DIS news and other groups as the Aulani website says:
Phase 1 August 19-October 11th
Phase 2 August 14-December 17th

This is the article I copied & pasted from. Hope that helps.

https://www.wdwinfo.com/aulani/major-aulani-resort-pool-refurbishment-to-take-place-later-this-year/


Edited to add - And rereading once actually awake I realize you weren't actually questioning where I got my info, but I don't think there is a delete button. Ah well.

 

[AZMermaid]

We switched our dates to late July after much debate between that or sailing the Fantasy in October. It was 84 more points for a lower view category which is hard to stomach. But, if we didn’t do Aulani this year, we couldn’t see going in the next three at which point my kids will likely be over Aunty’s.