Aloha, Friends!
In 1991, Walt Disney World announced a new concept in how to spend your Disney vacations with Disney Vacation Club, a vacation ownership that takes takes the classic time-share basis and gives it a Disney twist. Early plans called for numerous locations outside of the Disney theme parks, including Newport Beach, New York City, Hilton Head Island, and Vero Beach.
Whereas only two of those resorts made it off the drawing board, Disney Vacation Club teamed up with D23 on July 18 to give the Official Disney Fan Community a first look at its newest location: Au’lani (pronounced OW-lani) in Ko Olina, Oahu, Hawaii. The word “lani” means “heavenly” in Hawaiian lingo however the name “Aulani” means “King’s messenger”.
After being treated to a screening of the 1937 Mickey Mouse cartoon, Hawaiian Holiday, D23 staff member, Jeffrey Epstein, quickly assured members that no hard sell techniques would be part of this evening. Disney Vacation Club staff would be on hand to answer any questions guests had on the Au’lani resort but this was not going to be your average time share info session.
After a short film featuring Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde (Captain EO, Adventurers Club, Disney’s Animal Kingdom), D23 members were treated to an evening of finger foods, dancing, and some old friends. Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and Pluto came to the party, all decked in their fashions of the island.
A scale model and loads of concept art sprinkled the hallways of the second floor level of the Convention Center at Disney’s Contemporary Resort.
One side of the ballroom had a stage all decked out with palm trees and surfboards, while the other side had an open dance floor, DJ booth, two small buffet tables, and some drink stations.
The stage set up will host several DVC “tours” of the new Au’lani resort in order to lure new and existing DVC members to purchase into this resort throughout these next few weeks. Disney Annual Pass holders can sign up for their exclusive event Sunday, July 25, at 9am.
Any regular Disney guest holds Disney to provide excellent storytelling through totally immersive environments and this new resort in Hawaii will prove to be no exception. One thing that Joe Rohde stated in the video that as storytellers, Disney looked at the land, people, and culture of their surroundings in order to give resort guests a truly authentic island experience.
The resort will be composed of Disney Vacation Club villas, as well as standard and deluxe resort rooms, similar to the ones found in most Disney resorts. In addition, great beaches and surf as well as food offerings will be involved but the video also teased of some surprises that yet to be announced. Speculation includes a water park and perhaps a theme park-style show, a la, Country Bear Jamboree but nothing has been announced yet and those might just end up falling under the category of wishful thinking of a die hard fan.
D23 also treated its members to a photo history of the Walt Disney Company’s use of the Hawaiian Islands as its inspiration through various projects. From Walt Disney’s various family vacations to Hawaii to Annette Funicello’s Pineapple Princess to the television phenomenon Lost numerous animated and live-action productions use the Aloha state as a backdrop to tell its story.
In 2002, Walt Disney Feature Animation released Lilo and Stitch, a film predominantly produced in the Florida facility, and depicts what happens when a mischievous space alien crash lands into a dysfunctional, Elvis Presley-loving family living in Hawaii. The lovable blue alien remained absent throughout the night, something tells me he will be hanging loose and hanging ten when the resort opens next year.
The resort is scheduled to open in August 2011 and room rates and point values have already been assigned and posted by Disney. On hand DVC staff told inquiring guests that the point system is a little different here than it is at the other DVC resorts.
Here, members will actually purchase points in quantities that will equal a one week’s stay, from a Sunday check-in to a Sunday check-out. So guests will purchase that week, which will comprise of the number of points required. Like the other resorts, the amount of points required for each type of accommodation and time of year vary.
So, for instance, if a member wants to be able to say Mele Kalikimaka in December and stay in an ocean view, one-bedroom villa during Christmas, that member would be locked in for that week for the next fifty years. This resort, however, does have the same flexibility that Disney Vacation Club offers and the member can actually forgo that week and use his allotted points elsewhere within Disney Vacation Club or its Members Getaways program.
For the past few years, Disney CEO Bob Iger has been very open in his enthusiasm for more regional-based Disney experiences outside the theme parks. This resort can serve as a great litmus test on how well the Disney name plays in an area outside of the parks that has already proven to be a hit with travelers and their families.
Also, now that Mickey and Co. will have a presence this will finally give Disney fans an excuse to head across the Pacific for a more low-key, calming vacation that they might have been willing to take. And for the casual Disney visitor, Hawaii holds the standard as a premium once-in-a-lifetime vacation and with the name recognition and reputation of Disney, it could be their only choice to book.
However, as the Disney Vacation Club Ownerships have always sold at a quick rate in all its Walt Disney World-based resorts, and the two outside the parks on the East Coast has sold out, it’s smallest resort, located at Disney’s Grand Californian Resort and Spa in California, has not sold out. This definitely will be a resort that many Disney fans and DVC owners will want to check out but it will be interesting to see how many will want to buy into a fifty year commitment to a location that still remains very challenging to travel to due to scarcity in airline tickets and a high price tag with fares.
If you are in the Walt Disney World area in these upcoming weeks definitely schedule a time to speak with DVC representatives to have the opportunity to check out the plans for Disney’s newest venture.
Signage has popped up throughout the resort as well, namely at Disney’s Polynesian Resort. This keeps the buzz rolling and gives the DVC staff more reasons to be excited. In addition, this comes after an already thrilling year of Vacation Club growth with the additions of Kidani Village at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge Resort and Bay Lake Towers at Disney’s Contemporary Resort.
My family and I just returned from an awesome Disney cruise to the Mediterranean. While onboard we attended a Disney Vacation Club presentation that showed many Aulani photos and described its many amenities. We also had a chance to see Disney’s newest ship, The Dream, up close and personal.
However,l I was very disappointed to learn that as of last week (8/20) vacation Club members cannot use their points to book a cruise.I was more disappointed to see that that the Vacation Club presentation conveniently failed to mention that fact.
Upon my return home, I called the DVC booking number and was merely told that there were no cruises available on points until October 2011.
When questioned, the DVC manager I spoke to had no legitimate reason and admitted that members were not advised of this new position.
So, clearly, those new members that purchased their points on the boat thinking they could book another awesome cruise were misled.
More importantly, I’m so disgusted with the way members are being treated I’m thinking of selling my 1650 points and Aulani will remain just a dream for me.
Since I was not able to attend, it was great getting all the info from your blog. Thanks.
Hi John…Thanks for the info. I attended this same event at Grand Cal while I was on vacation. I’ve already purchased 200 points at Aulani and am eagerly awaiting being able to use them. I was confused by something you wrote in your blog. To my knowledge(and from what my DVC rep said), I can bank and borrow my Aulani points just as I would my Grand Cal points. The only difference is that I only have Aulani Home Resort priority(11 month booking window) for 200 points for each calendar year. So if I want to stay in a studio that takes 206 points, I would need to use my current year points and borrow my Aulani points from another year to be able to book the reservation. If I want to get a 1 bedroom, I would have to save up 3 years worth of points(bank one year, use the current year and borrow against the next year) to have enough points(406 I think depending on the time of year). I can travel whenever I want. If I need to use a combination of my Aulani and Grand Cal points to make a reservation, I need to wait until the 7 month booking window. I think where the confusion may come in is that the representatives(and I know my rep discussed this with me) are probably advising people to look at the time of year they think they want to visit and buy their points based on that info since you only have Home Resort priority for that number of points. Another thing for people to remember when adding on Aulani points is that the points don’t start until 2011. I think February or June are the earliest use years. That means that even if you buy them now, they don’t drop into your account until next use year. I was looking forward to having an extra 200 points to use for 2010(like I did the other times that I added points to my contract) and that didn’t happen. One good thing is that you don’t pay dues for Aulani until the resort opens, so that lessens the blow of having to make monthly payments on your contract now even though the resort isn’t open. We were also told at the event that there will be a price increase for Aulani points in a couple of months(I don’t remember if it was August or November), so get your points now if you’re interested.
Great report! Love the photo of you guys at the end.
Awesome John.. Can’t wait to see if there will be ample opportunity for non DVC members to enjoy this resort too..Maybe this is where they should resurrect Adventurers Club!! Great cameo Stitch!