WDW Lovers View Of Aulani

[Paul Stupin]

Hm, interesting. I wonder if that feeling comes from a second visit, where you start to get that same "welcome home" vibe you get when you land in Orlando. Or maybe six months from now you'll wake up with an itch to go back.

I definitely felt "it" the first time I went to Hawaii, but Disney Cruise Line is one that took a little while to get its hooks into me. But once I was in, I was all in.

Maybe I'm too easily impressed, but I got it the first time when we were taking the offramp into Ko Olina and saw all that beautiful bougainvillea growing over the retaining walls.

 

[jimmymc]

Hm, interesting. I wonder if that feeling comes from a second visit, where you start to get that same "welcome home" vibe you get when you land in Orlando. Or maybe six months from now you'll wake up with an itch to go back.

I definitely felt "it" the first time I went to Hawaii, but Disney Cruise Line is one that took a little while to get its hooks into me. But once I was in, I was all in.

It didn't hit me until I woke up the next day in Oahu. Between having a very long travel day and not picking up the car until after sunset, the first night I just grabbed some quick food and went to bed. When I walked outside the next morning is when I felt the excitement.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Maybe I'm too easily impressed, but I got it the first time when we were taking the offramp into Ko Olina and saw all that beautiful bougainvillea growing over the retaining walls.

I had just done an 11 hour flight with a 5 year old, 2 year old, and 8 months pregnant wife my first time so I was closer to a violent outburst than peace and relaxation haha.

 

[Lilsia]

I guess I don't see the comparison between WDW and a Hawaiian vacation. I see Oahu as the destination, not the hotel where I am staying. No one compares WDW to the Hilton so why do so with Aulani? Other then the fact that they are owned by the same parent company, they are nothing alike.

 

[DVacationer]

Hm, interesting. I wonder if that feeling comes from a second visit, where you start to get that same "welcome home" vibe you get when you land in Orlando. Or maybe six months from now you'll wake up with an itch to go back.

I definitely felt "it" the first time I went to Hawaii, but Disney Cruise Line is one that took a little while to get its hooks into me. But once I was in, I was all in.

I’ve been thinking about this very thing the past few days. I think the answer is yes. If I went back, the welcome home feeling would get me. It'll have that sentimental value. On a very basic level of thought though, the fact that I have to rent a car, drive around the island, and basically do a bit of work to get the most out of the trip makes it less attractive to me as a vacation versus when I go to Disneyworld and let Disney do all the work of taking me around to fully experience the vacation (monorail, boatrides, bus, skyliner). It makes a huge difference in my perception of taking a vacation. The Magical Express decision is still an atrocity to me though.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I’ve been thinking about this very thing the past few days. I think the answer is yes. If I went back, the welcome home feeling would get me. It'll have that sentimental value. On a very basic level of thought though, the fact that I have to rent a car, drive around the island, and basically do a bit of work to get the most out of the trip makes it less attractive to me as a vacation versus when I go to Disneyworld and let Disney do all the work of taking me around to fully experience the vacation (monorail, boatrides, bus, skyliner). It makes a huge difference in my perception of taking a vacation.

I try to encourage new visitors to Aulani to not think about it like an "Aulani vacation" and instead to think of it like a "Hawaii vacation where you just happen to be staying at Aulani." I enjoy driving around the island and exploring on my own, so I don't think of it like a negative whatsoever, but it's certainly different.

The Magical Express decision is still an atrocity to me though.

The worst decision they've made, in my opinion. Horrible, horrible decision. We can debate Extra Magic Hours, Genie+, price increases, etc. all day long, but Magical Express is unforgivable.

 

[DVacationer]

I guess I don't see the comparison between WDW and a Hawaiian vacation. I see Oahu as the destination, not the hotel where I am staying. No one compares WDW to the Hilton so why do so with Aulani? Other then the fact that they are owned by the same parent company, they are nothing alike.

There is a few reasons I compare them.
- For someone who loves going to WDW for EVERY vacation (“You’re going to Disneyworld again?!” “Yes, are you eating dinner again??”) would I feel like I missed out substituting 1 WDW vacation to try Hawaii? because for many people, we cant afford both. Money is finite. So is getting time off work. I was lucky because of the DVC points I saved when the parks closed to still go to both this year. So going forward, if I had to choose in a certain year, Hawaii or WDW, I needed to know for sure. I found out that I wouldn't trade a WDW trip to go to Hawaii and I think alot of people on these boards are in a similar situation. WDW again or a new place?
- I compare every vacation I go to with a WDW vacation because its the gold standard for me. To my detriment though because nothing comes close. I just don't post about that here.
-I’ll re-iterate though, everyone should experience Hawaii at some point and Aulani was the perfect place to stay. But I’d do everything in my power to ADD it to my vacation option in a given year and not substitute a WDW vacation for it.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

There is a few reasons I compare them.
- For someone who loves going to WDW for EVERY vacation (“You’re going to Disneyworld again?!” “Yes, are you eating dinner again??”) would I feel like I missed out substituting 1 WDW vacation to try Hawaii? because for many people, we cant afford both. Money is finite. So is getting time off work. I was lucky because of the DVC points I saved when the parks closed to still go to both this year. So going forward, if I had to choose in a certain year, Hawaii or WDW, I needed to know for sure. I found out that I wouldn't trade a WDW trip to go to Hawaii and I think alot of people on these boards are in a similar situation. WDW again or a new place?
- I compare every vacation I go to with a WDW vacation because its the gold standard for me. To my detriment though because nothing comes close. I just don't post about that here.
-I’ll re-iterate though, everyone should experience Hawaii at some point and Aulani was the perfect place to stay. But I’d do everything in my power to ADD it to my vacation option in a given year and not substitute a WDW vacation for it.

I don't think many of us, even DVC members and hardcore fans, go to WDW exclusively for every vacation.

 

[DVacationer]

I try to encourage new visitors to Aulani to not think about it like an "Aulani vacation" and instead to think of it like a "Hawaii vacation where you just happen to be staying at Aulani." I enjoy driving around the island and exploring on my own, so I don't think of it like a negative whatsoever, but it's certainly different.


The worst decision they've made, in my opinion. Horrible, horrible decision. We can debate Extra Magic Hours, Genie+, price increases, etc. all day long, but Magical Express is unforgivable.

Oh no dont get me wrong. The highlights of my trip was absolutely driving around exploring the island. But the fact that I had to do the driving and pick up the car, and get gas, and drop it off etc does influence my view of a vacation. These are everyday things I must do when I’m not on vacation. If my thought of this trip was Aulani centric, getting a car and driving wouldn't be part of my thoughts. I’d just stay there. Because I went to WDW before, I know how convinient it feels on a vacation to not have to do deal with self transportation. Its HUGE for me.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Oh no dont get me wrong. The highlights of my trip was absolutely driving around exploring the island. But the fact that I had to do the driving and pick up the car, and get gas, and drop it off etc does influence my view of a vacation. These are everyday things I must do when I’m not on vacation. If my thought of this trip was Aulani centric, getting a car and driving wouldn't be part of my thoughts. I’d just stay there. Because I went to WDW before, I know how convinient it feels on a vacation to not have to do deal with self transportation. Its HUGE for me.

I guess I just don't hate driving nearly as much as you do. Even when I stay at WDW, I drive most places. It's much simpler to let Disney drive, but it also takes much longer to get anywhere.

 

[DVacationer]

I don't think many of us, even DVC members and hardcore fans, go to WDW exclusively for every vacation.

Then hi I’m Dvacationer and I’m a WDWaholic . I take other little weekend getaways but ever since 2012, my long 2 week annual vacations have been at WDW. And I LOVE it.

 

[Lilsia]

I try to encourage new visitors to Aulani to not think about it like an "Aulani vacation" and instead to think of it like a "Hawaii vacation where you just happen to be staying at Aulani." I enjoy driving around the island and exploring on my own, so I don't think of it like a negative whatsoever, but it's certainly different.


The worst decision they've made, in my opinion. Horrible, horrible decision. We can debate Extra Magic Hours, Genie+, price increases, etc. all day long, but Magical Express is unforgivable.

I agree with you on this and always tell others the same thing. People are doing themselves a disservice thinking of it as a trip to a hotel instead of a trip to Oahu(Hawaii). Nobody has that mentality for any other hotel chain other then Aulani. Even those hotel that are comparable in amenities. Nobody every says when asked "where are you going on vacation", that they are going to the Marriott, they say that they are going to Hawaii. But many say "Aulani" when talking about their trip when staying there. I wonder why that is.

 

[Lilsia]

There is a few reasons I compare them.
- For someone who loves going to WDW for EVERY vacation (“You’re going to Disneyworld again?!” “Yes, are you eating dinner again??”) would I feel like I missed out substituting 1 WDW vacation to try Hawaii? because for many people, we cant afford both. Money is finite. So is getting time off work. I was lucky because of the DVC points I saved when the parks closed to still go to both this year. So going forward, if I had to choose in a certain year, Hawaii or WDW, I needed to know for sure. I found out that I wouldn't trade a WDW trip to go to Hawaii and I think alot of people on these boards are in a similar situation. WDW again or a new place?
- I compare every vacation I go to with a WDW vacation because its the gold standard for me. To my detriment though because nothing comes close. I just don't post about that here.
-I’ll re-iterate though, everyone should experience Hawaii at some point and Aulani was the perfect place to stay. But I’d do everything in my power to ADD it to my vacation option in a given year and not substitute a WDW vacation for it.

I love WDW, but I also go to other places. I know that you are saying that you compare everything to WDW, but I don't that the majority of people do that, even those of us who have been going for decades and love the place. Why would you? WDW is a unique situation and there is no point in trying to compare other places on the planet with WDW. That is like saying that you love going to Paris and are now going to compare every other place in the world to Paris. You are setting yourself up for disappointment and unrealistic expectations. Every place is unique and should be judged on their own merits, IMO.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I agree with you on this and always tell others the same thing. People are doing themselves a disservice thinking of it as a trip to a hotel instead of a trip to Oahu(Hawaii). Nobody has that mentality for any other hotel chain other then Aulani. Even those hotel that are comparable in amenities. Nobody every says when asked "where are you going on vacation", that they are going to the Marriott, they say that they are going to Hawaii. But many say "Aulani" when talking about their trip when staying there. I wonder why that is.

And they don't do it with Walt Disney World, which is interesting. We're comparing Aulani to Walt Disney World rather than Aulani to Animal Kingdom Lodge, or all of Oahu to Walt Disney World.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Aulani is heaven on earth with a Disney twist.

 

[maxbuffmelvin]

I love Aulani, but the unique feeling/excitement kicks in later at the Ko Olina offramp as opposed to WDW, which I feel when I arrive at the MCO terminal. On DL trips, the feeling kicks in even later than Aulani. It's when I arrive at the GC lobby. The delay in my special feeling is because Highway H1 between Honolulu Aiport and Ko Olina is not scenic and has too many chain stores. Plus, I'm tired from the East Coast flight.

As much as I love WDW, my preference for WDW trips is during the Spring, Halloween, and Christmas seasons. WDW is unbearable during the summer because of the heat and constant thunderstorms. Aulani is the perfect summer trip for us.

 

[Dizney73]

I agree with your opinions on 80% AKL/20% Poly, Waikiki, rental car, and Aulani Poke. I prefer Foodland grocery delivery over getting groceries across the street or at the gift shop.

What a great idea! Which Foodland location do you use to deliver to Aulani?

 

[CaptainAmerica]

As much as I love WDW, my preference for WDW trips is during the Spring, Halloween, and Christmas seasons. WDW is unbearable during the summer because of the heat and constant thunderstorms. Aulani is the perfect summer trip for us.

I always miss "normal Disney" when I'm there between September and December. I like Main Street to look like Main Street, not pumpkins and Christmas trees.

 

[maxbuffmelvin]

What a great idea! Which Foodland location do you use to deliver to Aulani?

Kapolei

 

[maxbuffmelvin]

I always miss "normal Disney" when I'm there between September and December. I like Main Street to look like Main Street, not pumpkins and Christmas trees.

This is why I make multiple small WDW trips in a year rather than one long trip. WDW does Halloween and Christmas seasons wonderfully, so they're must-do, but I also love normal WDW, so I go in the Spring. On Main St, I love Christmas music, but at the same time, I love traditional Main Street music.