We flew from Buffalo in September 2016 for our honeymoon. Our dates were non-negotiable and we knew we'd be staying at Aulani, even if we couldn't book with points. So we booked our flights in November, just a few weeks after they were released, because we were in the midst of wedding planning and wanted everything done. As it turned out, our flight prices only increased after that so it worked out well and I would do it the same way again. However, you should wait if there's a chance your dates need to change depending on DVC availability.
We flew Delta from Buffalo to Atlanta to Honolulu. It was an Airbus 330 plane with a 2-4-2 seat configuration. They did have Comfort+ seats available, but it was cost prohibitive for us so we flew standard coach. We couldn't have been happier with it. Having the row of 2 seats allowed us to be comfortable in our own row. The flight included free hot meals and alcohol for ALL fare classes. Every seat had its own TV with tons of free movies, music, TV shows and games. We would definitely choose this flight again in regular coach. All the Comfort+ seats gained was a seat more towards the front of the plane with a few extra inches of leg room.
We booked through a
travel agent with the exception of the Aulani points. The flight price was the same whether we did a packaged deal or booked on its own. I don't think there are big swings in price differences. A package would allow you to make a deposit with a big final payment at the end so everything is paid in advance, but cancellations or changes would be trickier. Booking a la carte gives you more flexibility, but some things may need full pre-payment. It just depends.
We also stayed 3 nights in Waikiki and 6 nights at Aulani, with island hopping in between. We took a taxi to our Waikiki hotel, and when we came back to stay at Aulani, we got our rental car then. The car was not needed in Waikiki because we opted to do organized tours for Pearl Harbor and Diamond Head, and we also were able to avoid traffic and parking fees/hassles in Waikiki. I definitely recommend doing both Pearl Harbor and Diamond Head during Waikiki because neither are far and they are both best done early in the morning. You'll be up quite early adjusting to the time difference the first few days, so this worked out well for us. We enjoyed the organized tour to Diamond Head because we were dropped off at the very start of the trail, which was good because parking can be a challenge there and you may have to walk a ways before even getting to the start. Took us about two hours to do the whole thing so we had the whole afternoon free. But, we were sweaty messes in workout clothes so we needed to go back to our room to shower and change before doing anything else. With Pearl Harbor, the tour facilitated getting our Arizona tour tickets for us so we didn't have to worry about that. A day would be more than enough time for Pearl Harbor.
