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Post by tomandrobin on Apr 2, 2024 12:41:41 GMT -5
We have stayed at every WDW resort. We have only stayed at Boulder Ridge, Old Key West, Copper Creek and Poly villas once each. The new Cabins are really going to be pushing me hard stay on a trip.....Everything about them grates me. And the cabins do meet the 1-bedroom requirement. I am hoping to snag a room at the Poly Tower for early December.
The only DVC resorts we are missing is Aulani, Hilton Head and Disneyland Hotel. When we book our next Hawaii trip, I will be able to cross two more off the list.
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Post by helenabear on Apr 2, 2024 13:00:03 GMT -5
The cabins are a hard no for me. Not as a family trip. No washer/dryer and the layout with bathrooms and beds is a big fat no. My very first trip to WDW was at the campground. I don't need to go back.
That's why we said we're not extending this to the cabins. The tower obviously is a huge yes for me and still pondering points.
With travel issues I have Aulani is not on our list, probably never was. Spouse grew up as an Army brat and living in Hawaii made that a one and done for him. He'll never go back. I'm okay with it as I cannot travel there anyway.
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Post by BWV Dreamin on Apr 2, 2024 13:18:33 GMT -5
helenabear I just got back from a Hawai’i cruise. Visited Honolulu. It’s just a big city with lots of graffiti and homeless people. The beauty lies outside the city. We did not have but one day to try and see the city, then it was Pearl Harbor tour day. I’m sure the North Shore area is great. We did not have time to see much more. But we are one and done with Oahu. Loved Kona. Didn’t get to see Maui due to the fire. Kauai was never on our itinerary. This was a bucket list trip, we won’t be back. I can understand why your husband doesn’t want to go back to Oahu.
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Post by brp on Apr 2, 2024 13:39:40 GMT -5
helenabear I just got back from a Hawai’i cruise. Visited Honolulu. It’s just a big city with lots of graffiti and homeless people. I had thought that as well until we stayed there for two weeks. No doubt that there is a lot of beauty elsewhere on Oahu, but there is a lot to offer within the city limits of Honolulu, even if not the heart of downtown. I'm not surprised that the time allowed by a cruise was not sufficient for finding it as it requires some exploration and a car. But there are botanical gardens, nature hikes, waterfalls, a nice zoo and aquarium. Sure, there are homeless people, and many never get an opportunity to see beyond that.
Cheers.
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Post by helenabear on Apr 2, 2024 13:43:39 GMT -5
helenabear I just got back from a Hawai’i cruise. Visited Honolulu. It’s just a big city with lots of graffiti and homeless people. The beauty lies outside the city. We did not have but one day to try and see the city, then it was Pearl Harbor tour day. I’m sure the North Shore area is great. We did not have time to see much more. But we are one and done with Oahu. Loved Kona. Didn’t get to see Maui due to the fire. Kauai was never on our itinerary. This was a bucket list trip, we won’t be back. I can understand why your husband doesn’t want to go back to Oahu. I'm not going to argue with him either. Since I cannot handle the trip anyway no way I'd push. He obviously saw a lot of Hawaii but it was such a negative that he never wants to go back. Fine by me. Other places in the world we can visit that I can handle better anyway. Probably doesn't help that he had such horrible healthcare while there, but again, there are other places out there. I'm cool with it. I just know unless my body improves (ha ha ha) and I get someone to go with me, I likely won't see Aulani in person. Even CA is hard for me right now. |
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Post by fuzzylogic on Apr 2, 2024 15:29:16 GMT -5
Lots of different opinions in this thread... Personally, I don't see staying at OKW. I've thought maybe we should for completeness and all, but there's always somewhere else I'd rather stay. Nor in the DVC resorts where the villas are in the back section far from amenities like BRV or BCV. SSR has no draw for me, other than the Treehouse Villas which we've stayed in a few times -- that's a unique experience! I find we go where we love: Poly, Contemporary, BLT, Boardwalk, Riviera, Wilderness, Treehouse, Port Orleans, Caribbean, Animal. Not a fan of the more upscale places like GF or YC. BC is fun hotel-side. Probly won't return to AoA, or go to Pop / All-Star / Coronado. Maybe AoA... it was good but not great. I'm not sure good warrants a return tho since when we want extra space we'll use DVC. The Galactic Starcruiser, unfortunately falls under one-and-done, tho not by choice.  Disneyland side, I've done all 3... and if I went back I'd stay in the Grand or DLH. Don't see taking advantage of Paradise Pier even rethemed to Pixar. GC is obviously close to the parks, and DLH is close to the tiki bar and monorail so they'll win every time. |
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Post by johnb on Apr 2, 2024 17:28:31 GMT -5
helenabear I just got back from a Hawai’i cruise. Visited Honolulu. It’s just a big city with lots of graffiti and homeless people. I had thought that as well until we stayed there for two weeks. No doubt that there is a lot of beauty elsewhere on Oahu, but there is a lot to offer within the city limits of Honolulu, even if not the heart of downtown. I'm not surprised that the time allowed by a cruise was not sufficient for finding it as it requires some exploration and a car. But there are botanical gardens, nature hikes, waterfalls, a nice zoo and aquarium. Sure, there are homeless people, and many never get an opportunity to see beyond that.
Cheers.
I'm doing Aulani planning and I see plenty to see/do in Honolulu/Oahu, to the point that we don't have enough time to do it all. Ukulele factory tour--cut. Chocolate plantation tour--cut. Chinatown historical tour--cut. Waterfall hike--cut. Homeless and graffiti? They are in every major city in the US, maybe the world. I've been to every big city on the east coast and a few central and west coast. Perhaps because Honolulu is a tropical vacation destination, there's some idyllic perception that the realities of life shouldn't exist or be visible?? Back to DVC--I once thought about staying at every DVC resort, but we bought at BWV because we love the location, so with each stay at a different resort, I'd be thinking, "We should be at BWV." A combination BWV/Vero vacation and I'm good. |
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Post by Adelard of Bath on Apr 2, 2024 18:41:43 GMT -5
Non-DVC, we've also stayed at Riverside, All Star Sports, and Coronado, and there are things about all of those that I enjoyed and wouldn't be opposed to going back. I really liked wandering around at Riverside and Coronado, and I really liked the big food courts at Riverside and All Star. I suppose I would not like the room size, though, after becoming accustomed to my one-bedroom villas.
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Post by BWV Dreamin on Apr 2, 2024 18:53:30 GMT -5
I had thought that as well until we stayed there for two weeks. No doubt that there is a lot of beauty elsewhere on Oahu, but there is a lot to offer within the city limits of Honolulu, even if not the heart of downtown. I'm not surprised that the time allowed by a cruise was not sufficient for finding it as it requires some exploration and a car. But there are botanical gardens, nature hikes, waterfalls, a nice zoo and aquarium. Sure, there are homeless people, and many never get an opportunity to see beyond that. Cheers. I'm doing Aulani planning and I see plenty to see/do in Honolulu/Oahu, to the point that we don't have enough time to do it all. Ukulele factory tour--cut. Chocolate plantation tour--cut. Chinatown historical tour--cut. Waterfall hike--cut. Homeless and graffiti? They are in every major city in the US, maybe the world. I've been to every big city on the east coast and a few central and west coast. Perhaps because Honolulu is a tropical vacation destination, there's some idyllic perception that the realities of life shouldn't exist or be visible?? Back to DVC--I once thought about staying at every DVC resort, but we bought at BWV because we love the location, so with each stay at a different resort, I'd be thinking, "We should be at BWV." A combination BWV/Vero vacation and I'm good. This was a city tour we took. The homeless are noticeably everywhere not just in certain districts. That is not what I expect to see. It is rather sad for such a huge travel destination the city could not be cleaned up a bit. Now there are by far very beautiful places on Oahu. As you state, they must be seen by car. And out of the city. Aulani is not in Honolulu. It is very different. Pristine, kept up beaches and hotel areas. But that is it. I wouldn’t plan on anymore than 3-4 days there, you will get bored. |
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Post by brp on Apr 2, 2024 19:00:42 GMT -5
Aulani is not in Honolulu. It is very different. Pristine, kept up beaches and hotel areas. But that is it. I wouldn’t plan on anymore than 3-4 days there, you will get bored. On this we agree. We went out to Aulani and, honestly, a few hours was enough. Other than the resorts, there is nothing to do there. It is certainly a very pretty resort and pristine, as you say. Really felt more sterile and isolated. For folks that like hanging at the resort a lot, this place would be great. Large with much to offer. For those that like to be more active and get around, not so much.
Aulani was a none and done for us just from visiting the area.
But, of course, YMMV.
Cheers.
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Post by baymaxfan on Apr 3, 2024 4:11:01 GMT -5
We love Aulani for 3-5 days. Hang out at the resort for one day and spend the others going places. Aulani is much quieter and easier to park/navigate than Waikiki. Also, it’s nice to have Costco nearby and Kapolei has a fair amount of good food.
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Post by a1000monkeys on Apr 3, 2024 11:37:42 GMT -5
Not sure I have an absolute one and done. I have stayed at VGC, Aulani, BWV, GF, Saratoga and AK (both Kidani and Jambo). Riviera holds no appeal for me, primarily for its location.
My favorite is VGC, great room layouts, small-ish resort, great amenities, and awesome lobby and most importantly, I can walk to everything.
At WDW, I always lean towards BWV, specifically for its location and I can walk to Epcot and HS. Walkability is a paramount consideration. I liked being able to walk/boat to Disney Springs from Saratoga. I love the theming of AK and lobby in Jambo, I just wish it had a walking path to AK.
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Post by a1000monkeys on Apr 3, 2024 11:40:08 GMT -5
We love Aulani for 3-5 days. Hang out at the resort for one day and spend the others going places. Aulani is much quieter and easier to park/navigate than Waikiki. Also, it’s nice to have Costco nearby and Kapolei has a fair amount of good food. Ditto, I then like to spend a few days in Waikiki where we can walk to a plethora of great restaurants. I love the Hawaiian food selection at Costco in Kapolei. Other than a night at Roy's, we usually just eat in our room at Aulani with food we picked up at Costco. |
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Post by eandjmom on Apr 3, 2024 13:14:16 GMT -5
We just got back from spring break in CA. One and done for us is the new Disneyland Hotel DVC. At least the studio. While the building is gorgeous (DH couldn't stop raving about the mid century feel) and the theming is cute in the rooms, there are some really odd design choices for the studio. The bench in the corner makes no sense. And if you need to use the long counter as a desk, the only option for seating is a backless stool. I'd love to try Grand Californian someday instead. I really should do a trip report as this was the first time the kids and DH had ever been to CA and we had a couple crazy things happen to us. Our flight was massively delayed and eventually rerouted from SNA to LAX. The front loader washing machine in the laundry room malfunctioned and locked our wash in the washer for over 3 hours while cast members tried to get in touch with the service company for the laundry room. Maybe a I will later, just for posterity's sake but right now I'm still in recovery mode |
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Post by nrspepe on Apr 4, 2024 13:32:56 GMT -5
We really liked the layout of the Disneyland DVC studios. Multiple places to sit and the long counter came in handy for various uses. We have a 2bed in early June…can’t wait.
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Disneyland side, I've done all 3... and if I went back I'd stay in the Grand or DLH. Don't see taking advantage of Paradise Pier even rethemed to Pixar. GC is obviously close to the parks, and DLH is close to the tiki bar and monorail so they'll win every time.
