Is Aulani really this good?

I have 2 Old Key West DVC contracts and a new Aulani contract. We’ll alternate going to WDW for 2 years and Aulani 1 year. If we ever get tired if that 3 year cycle, there are lots of options available for us.

By the way, I bought Aulani resale for $85/pt this past spring. We’ll stay in a 2-BR Ocean View Villa for 9 nights in late May/early June that would be over $20,000 rack rate.

I love my DVC!
 
Folks have mentioned it here but it is worth emphasizing: you can easily sell your unused points annually for well over 2X their annual maintenance cost.

With that straight cash in hand you need not worry if the RCI exchange rate is suboptimal; you can travel anywhere. Such point transfers are a max of once per year though.

I “sold” my points that cost me $6 per point annually for $15 per point in two hours. More patient owners achieve $17-18 if renting out, etc.

TLDR: Because of their demand, you’re not “locked in” to Disney properties necessarily just bc you bought DVC and pay vacation money toward dues.
 
Folks have mentioned it here but it is worth emphasizing: you can easily sell your unused points annually for well over 2X their annual maintenance cost.

With that straight cash in hand you need not worry if the RCI exchange rate is suboptimal; you can travel anywhere. Such point transfers are a max of once per year though.

I “sold” my points that cost me $6 per point annually for $15 per point in two hours. More patient owners achieve $17-18 if renting out, etc.

TLDR: Because of their demand, you’re not “locked in” to Disney properties necessarily just bc you bought DVC and pay vacation money toward dues.

I did not realize the return on renting out DVC points was so large. That totally changed my opinion of DVC, thank you for the insight
 
I will buy a small number of resales subsided DVC points. Not easy to get but possible only if I have the patience. I saw few past contracts were offered at fidelity real estate. It should 40% cheaper than buying direct from Disney. I will bank or borrow points every other years. Hence, it allows me to visit this magnificent resort every 2 years. So I don’t have to tight myself to only Aulani. Once awhile, I will use my DVC points for WDW or DL resorts. I will also rent out my points to dvcrequest.com if I decided to travel to other non DVC destinations. The rental should be doubles than the annual due of my DVC. By so doing, I don’t see there is any risk and my investment should be paid off after 4-5 trips. Of course, I am comparing my annual due vs booking directly from Disney.
 


I did not realize the return on renting out DVC points was so large. That totally changed my opinion of DVC, thank you for the insight

But also be warned that the price you rent your points out for is income (if you're in the U.S.) and you can generally deduct the maintenance fees, subject to certain rules. So don't forgot to save some of the money for income taxes! I know a lot of people don't, but they should.
 
Our family travels to Oahu at least once a year, most years we try to visit twice a year. This is travelling from Australia so close to 10hrs each way. We’ve done this since 2012 - combined with trips before kids, my husband and I have been on Oahu 26/27 times and we still love it every single trip.

We aren’t DVC and wouldn’t ever buy into a timeshare only because it would lock us into that chain in our opinion. We love Ko Olina and normally stay there each trip but we equally adore Waikiki and spend the same amount of time there each trip - which would rule DVC out of any equation.

Only you would know whether the love of Aulani would equal the cost of DVC plus airfares from wherever you are based for every visit.

I’ve never been this jealous of someone in my entire life 😂
 
I just spent one week at Aulani and I am constantly about to push the offer button on some Aulani DVC points. I really, really enjoyed my stay and fell in love with this place. Our kids 5 and 6 loved the kids club, we all agreed the pools were the nicest we have ever been in and this was during the renovations so we didn't even get to do the lazy river. That infinity pool and hot tub with the simulated star lights! Wow.

What I worry about though is that maybe I just have not travelled enough. Maybe I need to diversify my traveling and sow my seeds before putting down roots (timeshare roots at least). I would love to hear others opinions. Do you believe Aulani to be as special as I currently feel it is? Is it possible there are there many more amazing places with that same kind of magic or as unthinkable as it currently is, better resorts?
If you considering buying Disney Alani resort points try to see about buying contracts that has subsidize dues I think it’s About $1.70 cheaper per point maintenance fees
 


Your kids are the perfect age for Aulani. When our kids were younger we were going twice a year from the time it first opened. Now that our kids have aged out of Aunty's Beach House, we haven't been back in a few years. Suggest renting others points for a few trips. We have never owned at Aulani but used our other DVC points or rented someone else's Aulani points for stays. It's a great resort. We are finally going back again next year to see how the my now teens like it.

One thing to keep in mind is the free perks are starting to go away. They used to have a really good Luau show for free several times a night (called Starlit Hui), they have now added dinner and charge a ton for nearly the same show. Morning exercise classes used to be free. I understand they charge for those now. It won't be much longer before they start charging for Aunty's Beach House and other experiences that are now inclusive.
 
If you are going to invest in a timeshare, do one that you can book thru RCI. Then you can choose wherever you want to go. But I will say this, I wish I had not gotten a timeshare now. You cant get rid of them if you don't want them anymore.
You can use your DVC points to book RCI. We do it all the time as we have pretty much had it with Disney World and their ridiculous ticket prices.
 
But also be warned that the price you rent your points out for is income (if you're in the U.S.) and you can generally deduct the maintenance fees, subject to certain rules. So don't forgot to save some of the money for income taxes! I know a lot of people don't, but they should.
I had NO idea. we lost 56 points last year because we couldn't use them. renting points... I will certainly look into that ! Thanks for great info!
 
So I am a Canadian owner of DVC points.I think that the main advantage is the flexibility. You can use the points to stay at any Disney property, you can use the points through RCI to travel to non-Disney resorts. We are heading to Aulani next month, and honestly with the use of the points for our Aulani stay we would not normally be able to afford such a trip, and stay at a resort of this quality. Anyone can take a thousand dollar trip to the Caribbean, I don't think you can compare the treatment to that of Disney resorts.
 
Since you’re asking advice you clearly think want to know what others think. I think if it’s easy for you to get to Hawaii you should do it. Just don’t plan on using your dvc points in California because you can’t get in.

I bought in at Aulani but if I had to redo I would still buy in just at Grand Californian through resale.
 
Well I have decided to conduct more research and will be spending one week at Aulani over the March break. My wife is a teacher which means traveling during the busy seasons. I want to see what kind of experience it is being there when the resort is at full capacity.
 
I just spent one week at Aulani and I am constantly about to push the offer button on some Aulani DVC points. I really, really enjoyed my stay and fell in love with this place. Our kids 5 and 6 loved the kids club, we all agreed the pools were the nicest we have ever been in and this was during the renovations so we didn't even get to do the lazy river. That infinity pool and hot tub with the simulated star lights! Wow.

What I worry about though is that maybe I just have not travelled enough. Maybe I need to diversify my traveling and sow my seeds before putting down roots (timeshare roots at least). I would love to hear others opinions. Do you believe Aulani to be as special as I currently feel it is? Is it possible there are there many more amazing places with that same kind of magic or as unthinkable as it currently is, better resorts?
Aulani & Why You Need To Visit
 
Diversify and travel more don’t lock yourself down with DVC if you like it you can go again on your terms and without maintenance fees.
 

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