Even though I am not an official DVC member, I consider myself to be. How's that you ask? My parents have been DVC members since 2003, and most of my trips up until now have been using their DVC points! Only 3 of the last 13 resort rooms were paid out of pocket. I am a huge WDW fan. Since my DS was 3(he is now 12), he has been to WDW 14 times. My Dh is not so much a Disney fan, but is a huge Florida freshwater fishing fan. Because of my love for Disney and his love for fishing, we recently bought a vacation home in Florida! So even though I won't be staying on Disney property as much, I will get to go to WDW a lot more!
A little back story as to how we got to Aulani. About 2 years ago, my parents said they wanted to use their DVC points so that they could take my family and my sister's family to Aulani. This meant myself, DH,DS, DSis and DBIL. Unfortunately my nephew and his girlfriend would not be able to make this journey with us. You ask how could my parents take one grandchild and not another? My nephew is 18 years older than my son(so he is an adult), and he was not able to afford the airfare to Hawaii. We have never all been together on vacation as adults! I was thrilled for the opportunity to go to Hawaii, and started to research the cheapest way to get there. Now DH does not like to fly, and was not looking forward to 12 hours in the air! I basically gave him no choice, he was going to have to suck up the 12 hour flight!
We all agreed that the first week in August would work for everyone. At the 7 month mark, my Dad made ressies for 3 studios for Aug. 3-10. When I started looking for airfare, I got the best deal using our Amex points going Aug. 2-9, and my parents and sis got the best deal Aug. 3-12. So luckily my Dad was able to change the dates on the 3 rooms with no problem. My family did have to switch rooms after the 1st night.
So once the ressies were made, we decided that we did not have to spend every waking moment together while in Hawaii. We decided that we would do Pearl Harbor and a Luau together, and the rest of the time was on our own.
Itinerary
Fri. Aug 2- fly from Philadelphia to Phoenix, Phoenix to Honolulu and check in at Aulani
Sat. Aug. 3- food shopping, Aulani beach day, Monkeypod for dinner
Sun. Aug. 4- Fishing on the Boom Boom
Mon. Aug 5- Hawaiian Fire Surf lessons, beach and pool fun
Tue. Aug. 6- Pearl Harbor tour booked through Aulani, Paradise Cove Luau
Wed. Aug. 7-Relaxing at Aulani
Thur. Aug. 8- Kayaking in Halewai, Waimea Falls, Tita's Shrimp and Date night with DH
Fri Aug. 9- Mahalo, Aulani, flight from Honolulu to Phoenix, Phoenix to Philly
As you can see, we decided this would be a relaxing vacation, we did not try to keep our days filled form morning to night. We really wanted to enjoy the resort and see a few things that Oahu had to offer.
A little back story as to how we got to Aulani. About 2 years ago, my parents said they wanted to use their DVC points so that they could take my family and my sister's family to Aulani. This meant myself, DH,DS, DSis and DBIL. Unfortunately my nephew and his girlfriend would not be able to make this journey with us. You ask how could my parents take one grandchild and not another? My nephew is 18 years older than my son(so he is an adult), and he was not able to afford the airfare to Hawaii. We have never all been together on vacation as adults! I was thrilled for the opportunity to go to Hawaii, and started to research the cheapest way to get there. Now DH does not like to fly, and was not looking forward to 12 hours in the air! I basically gave him no choice, he was going to have to suck up the 12 hour flight!
We all agreed that the first week in August would work for everyone. At the 7 month mark, my Dad made ressies for 3 studios for Aug. 3-10. When I started looking for airfare, I got the best deal using our Amex points going Aug. 2-9, and my parents and sis got the best deal Aug. 3-12. So luckily my Dad was able to change the dates on the 3 rooms with no problem. My family did have to switch rooms after the 1st night.
So once the ressies were made, we decided that we did not have to spend every waking moment together while in Hawaii. We decided that we would do Pearl Harbor and a Luau together, and the rest of the time was on our own.
Itinerary
Fri. Aug 2- fly from Philadelphia to Phoenix, Phoenix to Honolulu and check in at Aulani
Sat. Aug. 3- food shopping, Aulani beach day, Monkeypod for dinner
Sun. Aug. 4- Fishing on the Boom Boom
Mon. Aug 5- Hawaiian Fire Surf lessons, beach and pool fun
Tue. Aug. 6- Pearl Harbor tour booked through Aulani, Paradise Cove Luau
Wed. Aug. 7-Relaxing at Aulani
Thur. Aug. 8- Kayaking in Halewai, Waimea Falls, Tita's Shrimp and Date night with DH
Fri Aug. 9- Mahalo, Aulani, flight from Honolulu to Phoenix, Phoenix to Philly
As you can see, we decided this would be a relaxing vacation, we did not try to keep our days filled form morning to night. We really wanted to enjoy the resort and see a few things that Oahu had to offer.