Pre-Trip Introduction
We are a family of 5 (plus my sister-in-law) that are huge Disney Fans. We are from a small town in Alabama. Me(Dad), Wife, 18yo daughter(almost HS graduate), 16yo son,14yo daughter and many times the sister-in-law on our Disney trips. We were yearly WDW visitors until COVID hit. Post COVID, we have been to WDW once and DL once. We have also been on the Wonder, Dream and Fantasy. So naturally, Aulani has always been on the radar. Being DVC members, we were able to use some points at DL, but were ready for a big trip.
My son and I went on a trip last year during the whole United Airlines melt down. We went to El Salvador and had flight issues going down. On the way back, we made it to Houston when we encountered another problem. United was begging people to take a flight the next day in order for crew to make it to Birmingham. They started by asking for volunteers. Then $100, $500, $1000. After still no bites, we offered to step off for $5000 each (go big or go home, right?). They accepted and 8 people were given $5000 in United credit. So my son and I walked away with $10,000 in United credit.
So the dreaming and planning began. My 18yo will be graduating high school in May and we have DVC points and "free" airfare. Why not take a family of 5 to Aulani for 8 nights and pre-celebrate my daughter's graduation? At first it seemed like everything would need to line up perfectly in order for that to work. I started looking for dates after graduation, but was too slow each day to snag a 2BR at Aulani. Every morning that I tried, they were gone. And before you ask, no I was not dedicated enough to get up super early to look. . I was going between United and DVC looking at cheapest days to fly and available days for 2 BR. So we settled for April 7th-April 15th. It worked out so well, that we were able to fly Economy Plus to Aulani and First Class home for just under $800 out of pocket. To say I was excited was an understatement!
This is my first trip report, please be patient.....Also if you have questions, I would love to help with any that I can.
Stay tuned for Day 1!!!!
We are a family of 5 (plus my sister-in-law) that are huge Disney Fans. We are from a small town in Alabama. Me(Dad), Wife, 18yo daughter(almost HS graduate), 16yo son,14yo daughter and many times the sister-in-law on our Disney trips. We were yearly WDW visitors until COVID hit. Post COVID, we have been to WDW once and DL once. We have also been on the Wonder, Dream and Fantasy. So naturally, Aulani has always been on the radar. Being DVC members, we were able to use some points at DL, but were ready for a big trip.
My son and I went on a trip last year during the whole United Airlines melt down. We went to El Salvador and had flight issues going down. On the way back, we made it to Houston when we encountered another problem. United was begging people to take a flight the next day in order for crew to make it to Birmingham. They started by asking for volunteers. Then $100, $500, $1000. After still no bites, we offered to step off for $5000 each (go big or go home, right?). They accepted and 8 people were given $5000 in United credit. So my son and I walked away with $10,000 in United credit.
So the dreaming and planning began. My 18yo will be graduating high school in May and we have DVC points and "free" airfare. Why not take a family of 5 to Aulani for 8 nights and pre-celebrate my daughter's graduation? At first it seemed like everything would need to line up perfectly in order for that to work. I started looking for dates after graduation, but was too slow each day to snag a 2BR at Aulani. Every morning that I tried, they were gone. And before you ask, no I was not dedicated enough to get up super early to look. . I was going between United and DVC looking at cheapest days to fly and available days for 2 BR. So we settled for April 7th-April 15th. It worked out so well, that we were able to fly Economy Plus to Aulani and First Class home for just under $800 out of pocket. To say I was excited was an understatement!
This is my first trip report, please be patient.....Also if you have questions, I would love to help with any that I can.
Stay tuned for Day 1!!!!