Is this too risky?

[3kidz4dis]

We are non Aulani owners and am feeling the pressure in waiting 7 months out. The airfare (Hawaiian Air) the desirable seats are being taken and I really should reserve the neighboring island arrangements as they are getting booked. We have 2 options for travel time with is the 06/26 or 6/22 depending on airfare prices (from east coast so it is substantial) so it is a busy time of year. We will take an ocean view 2 bedroom as it seems to have more availability. We NEED to use the points as they expire so staying somewhere else as a back up is really not an option. Should we just book the airfare and the neighboring island now or is that just too risky that the trade won't happen? We are willing to take island or pool but according to the availability thread someone posted, it looks less likely.

The second part of my question is for those of you who took a non stop from the east coast. We would like to stay a night in Waikiki and Turtle Bay. What should we do first? I know we are up early due to our internal clocks but how should we schedule? Waikiki first, Turtle Bay or Aulani (5-6 nights) We also could just continue on to Kauai for the first part of the vacation although it seems like we need to be busy to get on Hawaii time and the nights seem sleepy and I know we will be up early those first few days. Do you all just take it easy that first day or should we get up early and go? Staying in Waikiki is expensive so we would like to enjoy the benefits of walking around at night and take in the sites while we are there. I don't want to be a family full of zombies trying to get through it. We have a total of 12 nights in Oahu and Kauai.
And a third question...in deciding which location to go first, should the time of day (we will be arriving at 3:00 pm) be a considering on Aulani check in time? Is there a day of the week better? It sounds like a bit of a zoo on the day of arrival. Is there one day of the week better than an other when you are talking summer. Thanks you!

 

[purpliequeen]

Hi! My family booked a Feb stay at less than 7 months out. We found out that we had points we had banked into this use year that will expire and so we jumped at the opportunity. We are also staying in a 2-bedroom ocean view villa. There was LOTS of availability when we called a month ago (August) - which would have made it 6 months out. Don't quote me on this, but I think the smaller villas (such as studios) with the standard or garden views go first. Two-bedroom ocean views last to sell out. Kind of like at AKL - the savanna views tend to be the last room type to sell out. I think it's because the points are so high and a lot of people either don't want to use their points on views or don't have enough.

We're intending to take advantage of the jet lag and do things early the first few days while we're still on Eastern time zones. Diamond Head hike, Hanauma Bay, etc. all sound like you want to get their first thing in the morning so we figured we might as well hit the ground running. But perhaps we'll feel differently when we're there...

We will be flying in from the East Coast as well and we get in around 3pm. I think this is a great time to arrive since, from reading this forum, depending on whether or not you get a rental car at the airport, it sounds like it'll take 1.5 - 2 hours to get to Aulani (directly from the Airport).Thus, the 3pm arrival is probably fine because it'll hopefully allow for the villa to be ready upon arrival. (Although we'll still have bathing suits handy should we have to wait.) I also intend to check-in online if that option is available to expedite the check-in process at the Hotel. It may be a zoo upon arrival, but I'm not too worried about that. I'm just expecting it to be like every DVC check-in - but hopefully the wait won't be as insane because people won't be trying to link their Disney park tickets to their magic bands! I feel like the magic bands really increased the wait when they were first introduced.

 

[nkereina]

I can't speak to the airfare question. We booked about 10 months out, so we didn't run into those issues. I would think 2BR ocean view villas would have the greatest availability at that time, but I can't opine on whether you should wait or not. If it were me in your shoes, since staying at Aulani is non-negotiable due to your expiring points, I would book the airfare after securing your Aulani room in case you need to be flexible with dates. Even if it means paying slightly more in airfare for the flight you want, it could still be less than any change fees/fare increases that may be imposed if you needed to change your flights after booking them.

The second part of my question is for those of you who took a non stop from the east coast. We would like to stay a night in Waikiki and Turtle Bay. What should we do first? I know we are up early due to our internal clocks but how should we schedule? Waikiki first, Turtle Bay or Aulani (5-6 nights) We also could just continue on to Kauai for the first part of the vacation although it seems like we need to be busy to get on Hawaii time and the nights seem sleepy and I know we will be up early those first few days. Do you all just take it easy that first day or should we get up early and go? Staying in Waikiki is expensive so we would like to enjoy the benefits of walking around at night and take in the sites while we are there. I don't want to be a family full of zombies trying to get through it. We have a total of 12 nights in Oahu and Kauai.

We flew nonstop from Atlanta to Honolulu and stayed in Waikiki first. We were glad we did because we were wide awake by 4-5am each morning, and found there was some semblance of life and activity out on the street in Waikiki even at that time of day. We found several restaurants were open for breakfast or coffee. I think Waikiki is used to the early risers adjusting to the time difference from the east coast. I know that Aulani is dead that time of morning, and I would expect Turtle Bay to be as well.

We chose to book-end our trip with our Oahu stays (Waikiki in beginning, Aulani at end) so we could fly roundtrip out of Honolulu. It was cheaper for us to do it this way from the east coast rather than book a flight to another island on the way in, because most (all?) of those flights for us required a layover in Honolulu. And frankly, after arriving in Honolulu, I could not have imagined waiting through a layover and another 30-50 minute flight to another island. I was just anxious to be there!

We did not want to take it easy the first day - we wanted to maximize our time. Even though we were up early, we didn't feel any other effects, and I would say by day 3, we were up at "normal" times and slept fine.

And a third question...in deciding which location to go first, should the time of day (we will be arriving at 3:00 pm) be a considering on Aulani check in time? Is there a day of the week better? It sounds like a bit of a zoo on the day of arrival.

Weekends will be the easiest commute to Aulani because you'll be contending with less traffic. We arrived at Aulani around 4:30pm on a Saturday. We had done online check-in, so someone was already there helping us as we stepped out of the car. No wait at all. Otherwise, I would guess Fridays could be a busy check-in day with locals coming to stay for the weekend. Just a guess though, no experience with that.

 

[3kidz4dis]

thanks all!
nkereina when you did Waikiki first, what did you all do with your luggage? If we just stay the first night in Waikiki and then the second night elsewhere, it does seem like a hassle with all the luggage and doing things the next day. (and expensive for less than a 24 hour stay) Now that I think about it, it seems like a huge hassle for just one night.

 

[nkereina]

thanks all!
nkereina when you did Waikiki first, what did you all do with your luggage? If we just stay the first night in Waikiki and then the second night elsewhere, it does seem like a hassle with all the luggage and doing things the next day. (and expensive for less than a 24 hour stay) Now that I think about it, it seems like a huge hassle for just one night.

We spent 3 nights in Waikiki and then flew from there to Maui for a few days, then Kauai, then came back to Oahu to finish at Aulani. So we had a room in Waikiki during the times we were doing activities and sightseeing.

You can leave your luggage on your check-out day stored with bell services at your Waikiki hotel. They'll hold it as long as you want. But, you'd have to swing by to pick it up before heading to your next hotel. Whether that woud be easy enough to do would depend on the day's activities.

Are you considering doing one night in Waikiki, one night at Turtle Bay, and then 5-6 nights at Aulani? Personally, I would skip Turtle Bay and just spend time during one of your Aulani days in the North Shore. Its an easy drive. In Waikiki, you can easily do Diamond Head, Pearl Harbor and Hanuama Bay from there so either 2 nights there or adding a night to Aulani would be better, IMO.

 

[3kidz4dis]

Yes, that is what we were planning on. We have points for 5 nights Aulani with a standard view (ish) 2 bedroom or 5 nights ocean view 2 bedroom. We were thinking 1 night Waikiki and 1 turtle bay. Since we have 5 people, it is very pricey to get even 1 night in Waikiki but 2 nights seems perhaps like a better option. We then move on to Kauai.

 

[kyton]

Oahu is small - don’t split your days between 3 places. Just do Waikiki and Ko Olina. Waikiki has so many choices that there should be something to suit most budgets. Have a look at condos rather then hotels if you need more space or widen your search to down near the outer ends of Waikiki - The Prince or New Otani are sort of the extreme ends of Waikiki but again, it’s a very compact area. You can walk from one end to the other in under 30mins.

If you can fly into one place, ie Kauai then travel back to Oahu before flying home (or vice versa) you will cut down on dead time at airports. Even inter island travel still wastes 2-3hrs once you allow for travel, checking in etc.

You can drive to the North Shore easily from Aulani so visit Turtle from there (the beach is publicly owned so you can still go there). Pearl Harbor is in the middle of both Aulani and Waikiki so you can choose which side to travel from. As Nikereina said Diamond Head and Haunama Bay are both closer to Waikiki.

Weekends are always more busy at Aulani due to Hawaiians visiting for short stays other then that I don’t think that check in at Aulani is any worse then what I have experienced at Disneyland hotels.