JM735
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2015
The Background….
Welcome to my/our first trip report! My partner, Brad, and I frequently get to Disney World, have gone on two Disney cruises together, been to Disneyland a few times and are DVC owners. So, when we decided we wanted to go to Hawaii, of course Aulani was the obvious choice. We asked his parents if they wanted to join us, and they agreed. So, the planning began over a year ago for what we considered a once in lifetime/one and done trip.
We debated several different options for travel and lodging – a stop in California, island hopping, resort hopping, etc. For flights we agreed while it may feel long, the direct flight from Chicago to Honolulu would be best. For lodging, we ruled out island hoping pretty quickly and decided we’d all be happier not changing resorts on Oahu. So, we went for bust and decided to get a two-bedroom, ocean-view room for our ten-night stay. There was definitely some point banking, borrowing and one-time-use involved!
Based on work schedules and DVC point seasons, we decided on January. And escaping January weather in the Midwest was fine for all of us! It then became a waiting game for the seven-month window to open so we could make our resort reservation. This gave us plenty of time to start researching what we wanted to do and when. I fully admit this forum became my go-to for most planning; there is so much useful information available here. So now I’m trying to pay things back (or forward) a little bit with this trip report.
About this time is when my planning spreadsheet was born. I’m a planner. And I love data. It can be a bad combination for what many consider a vacation but it works for me. There were tabs for the schedule, menu planning for in-room meals, grocery lists, restaurants, confirmation numbers, budget, packing, etc. Lots of information but it helped keep us organized.
We all agreed that we wanted to see Oahu, but we also wanted this to feel like a vacation and spend time relaxing and enjoying Aulani. Experiencing local restaurants was important to us, so we planned to eat out a lot, with the exception of most breakfasts and a couple dinners, which we planned to have in the room. Every time we’d watch another Dreams Unlimited video or see a different restaurant mentioned online it would be added to the list. Then we started prioritizing and fitting them into a plan. Our dining budget had several increases during the planning.
That’s probably enough background. Up next… Travel to paradise.
Welcome to my/our first trip report! My partner, Brad, and I frequently get to Disney World, have gone on two Disney cruises together, been to Disneyland a few times and are DVC owners. So, when we decided we wanted to go to Hawaii, of course Aulani was the obvious choice. We asked his parents if they wanted to join us, and they agreed. So, the planning began over a year ago for what we considered a once in lifetime/one and done trip.
We debated several different options for travel and lodging – a stop in California, island hopping, resort hopping, etc. For flights we agreed while it may feel long, the direct flight from Chicago to Honolulu would be best. For lodging, we ruled out island hoping pretty quickly and decided we’d all be happier not changing resorts on Oahu. So, we went for bust and decided to get a two-bedroom, ocean-view room for our ten-night stay. There was definitely some point banking, borrowing and one-time-use involved!
Based on work schedules and DVC point seasons, we decided on January. And escaping January weather in the Midwest was fine for all of us! It then became a waiting game for the seven-month window to open so we could make our resort reservation. This gave us plenty of time to start researching what we wanted to do and when. I fully admit this forum became my go-to for most planning; there is so much useful information available here. So now I’m trying to pay things back (or forward) a little bit with this trip report.
About this time is when my planning spreadsheet was born. I’m a planner. And I love data. It can be a bad combination for what many consider a vacation but it works for me. There were tabs for the schedule, menu planning for in-room meals, grocery lists, restaurants, confirmation numbers, budget, packing, etc. Lots of information but it helped keep us organized.
We all agreed that we wanted to see Oahu, but we also wanted this to feel like a vacation and spend time relaxing and enjoying Aulani. Experiencing local restaurants was important to us, so we planned to eat out a lot, with the exception of most breakfasts and a couple dinners, which we planned to have in the room. Every time we’d watch another Dreams Unlimited video or see a different restaurant mentioned online it would be added to the list. Then we started prioritizing and fitting them into a plan. Our dining budget had several increases during the planning.
That’s probably enough background. Up next… Travel to paradise.