Are you DVC or cash?I am going to jump in here and say I don't have any advice, but I'm really struggling with this decision as well on views. With our family of six, flying from mainland is a huge cost for us, so at the price we could afford 7 nights in the ocean-view 1 bedroom, we could stay about 10 nights in a garden-view 1 bedroom. I'm struggling to justify the flight cost for just 1 week.
I wonder especially since my little kids are so busy/active, the oceanview may not be as important, as they will want to go down to the beach all the time anyway I'm sure and we'll see the ocean there obviously. Does anyone think we'll regret this decision to go with garden view and stay longer? We have never been to Hawai'i.
There are no "completely obstructed by palm trees" views that are categorized as Ocean View. The 6th floor is the lowest Ocean View.There’s a good reason why ocean view rooms are the most available at Aulani. They cost a lot of points and it’s the most they have in their inventory. Views can be a huge hit or miss at Aulani. A high floor rooms have amazing views of the lagoon but some have views completely obstructed by palm trees. What’s more important for me is which tower you’re in. Views from the Ewa tower is better in the early morning if you are a morning balcony coffee drinker as the Makai tower will put you in right in the sun from early morning. Ewa side also faces the sunset. I would definitely opt out for the 2BR. They are HUGE!
There are a few on the 7th floor and below, not completely but definitely obstructed not worth paying all those points forThere are no "completely obstructed by palm trees" views that are categorized as Ocean View.
Are you DVC or cash?
A one bedroom villa is going to be extremely tight for a party of 6, regardless of view. I'd look into two studios or two standard hotel rooms.
I personally don't think you need 10 nights in Hawaii unless you were going to do island-hopping. On our last trip we did 7 nights in Oahu and felt like one more night would have been perfect, so our next trip will be 8.
There’s a good reason why ocean view rooms are the most available at Aulani. They cost a lot of points and it’s the most they have in their inventory. Views can be a huge hit or miss at Aulani. A high floor rooms have amazing views of the lagoon but some have views completely obstructed by palm trees. What’s more important for me is which tower you’re in. Views from the Ewa tower is better in the early morning if you are a morning balcony coffee drinker as the Makai tower will put you in right in the sun from early morning. Ewa side also faces the sunset. I would definitely opt out for the 2BR. They are HUGE!
My family gets extremely bored with *entire* resort days, so I'd personally recommend one or two resort days, and six or seven activity-in-the-morning-and-resort-in-the-afternoon days. Keep in mind that the time change is a huge adjustment for kids in particular, so you're going to be waking up EARLY, especially in the beginning of the trip. You'll probably be able to "rope drop" a dawn hike without even trying.Cash this time, we may try renting DVC pts in the future, but for this trip we need the flexibility of refund/changing dates this time.
Our kids are all little (one infant, one toddler, two kids 5-6 yrs) so from the vlogs I've seen the 1 bedroom would be fine for us. Would 8-9 full days be crazy for just staying on Oahu? We hoped for the 8 full days to be two resort days, four excursion days (rental car for these days), and end with two resort days. Or something like that. Shaving off an excursion and at least one resort day if we splurged on an Oceanview.
I assume you mean Island Garden, not Poolside Garden? Poolside Garden is a crummy value IMO, and if you're going to pay for that you might as well just go Ocean. Check this thread out, it's the Aulani View Bible.Do you have any tips on a tower/side of the resort, for a garden view 1 bedroom? We'd like to be higher up probably.
Definitely EWA side, rooms facing the luau garden for a free show!Do you have any tips on a tower/side of the resort, for a garden view 1 bedroom? We'd like to be higher up probably.
My family gets extremely bored with *entire* resort days, so I'd personally recommend one or two resort days, and six or seven activity-in-the-morning-and-resort-in-the-afternoon days. Keep in mind that the time change is a huge adjustment for kids in particular, so you're going to be waking up EARLY, especially in the beginning of the trip. You'll probably be able to "rope drop" a dawn hike without even trying.
I assume you mean Island Garden, not Poolside Garden? Poolside Garden is a crummy value IMO, and if you're going to pay for that you might as well just go Ocean. Check this thread out, it's the Aulani View Bible.
Aulani Villas & Views -- Updated 03/21/2017 | The DIS Disney Discussion Forums - DISboards.com
Definitely EWA side, rooms facing the luau garden for a free show!
Off the top of my head, usually at least 3 or 4 things in the evenings. Live music in the Olelo Room, which is the outdoor "bar" but 100% kid friendly. The Pua Hana room is their activity center and offers different activities, both paid and free. I think the paid activities tend to be fairly priced. Then there's Uncle, who is a campfire storyteller. The Menehune adventure trail is an app-based scavenger hunt that unlocks different "magical" happenings around the resort. It's different at night and in the day time so it's worth doing at least twice. Then a lot of nights, there's a second musical act somewhere around the lagoon in addition to whoever's in the Olelo Room that night.Thanks for the tip about resort days. I like the split day idea of afternoon in the resort! Are there any entertainment in the evenings at Aulani, like live music, dancing, shows? Or just the paid luau?
Off the top of my head, usually at least 3 or 4 things in the evenings. Live music in the Olelo Room, which is the outdoor "bar" but 100% kid friendly. The Pua Hana room is their activity center and offers different activities, both paid and free. I think the paid activities tend to be fairly priced. Then there's Uncle, who is a campfire storyteller. The Menehune adventure trail is an app-based scavenger hunt that unlocks different "magical" happenings around the resort. It's different at night and in the day time so it's worth doing at least twice. Then a lot of nights, there's a second musical act somewhere around the lagoon in addition to whoever's in the Olelo Room that night.
You could also walk across the street to Monkey Pod restaurant. Usually has live musicWow that's great, sounds like alot of fun. Thank you!
Really good happy hour specials too.You could also walk across the street to Monkey Pod restaurant. Usually has live music
You could also walk across the street to Monkey Pod restaurant. Usually has live music