Aulani a Good Wedding Gift?

brrabit

Earning My Ears
DVC Silver
Joined
Jul 16, 2009
My close DN is getting married in August and I was thinking of giving him and his lovely DW to be a trip to Aulani. At least the room and board. Their choice of dates sometime in the future. But they would have to get the flight and any other incidentals. Is this a reasonable gift? I feel like I would be imposing costs on them, but I don't have the flight $s or would pay for those too. And is there enough for a young couple to do around Aulani in case they didn't want to spend too much going to other locations on the islands? Just exploring this idea at this point.
 
Are they reasonably well off financially? If you'd view them likely being able to go on such vacations on their own then I think it is very generous of you to give them what I'd imagine would have to be 5 or more days. But this will cost them 2 grand on their own so need to feel confident they will be able to do that.
 
Is there another family member who might be willing to pitch in $$ or maybe who has a bunch of frequent flyer miles they could give for the airfare?
 
I think its a nice gesture and its a wedding gift I would certainly love. Are they big Disney people? It's probably not a place I would pick for a couple without kids. I realize that there are people without kids who go there and even honeymoon there, but I would think more newlywed couples than not would prefer a different resort.

Also, where will they be flying from? The food is so expensive. Just the food and flights for a week stay there could be $4,000, easily.
 


I think it is a great idea... BUT to your point, getting there is a cost... maybe offer up points if your a DVC person, and suggest Aulani, but let them decide where to go...

But if they are NOT Disney nuts, it may not be the best choice.. night life is limited, if they are, well, they would love it... we went there last trip with three couples, and had a great time.. ( no kids ) we are going back in about 6 weeks ( three couples again) and this time with a grandbaby, so we are looking forward to a totally different experience.
 
I think its a nice gesture and its a wedding gift I would certainly love. Are they big Disney people? It's probably not a place I would pick for a couple without kids. I realize that there are people without kids who go there and even honeymoon there, but I would think more newlywed couples than not would prefer a different resort.

Also, where will they be flying from? The food is so expensive. Just the food and flights for a week stay there could be $4,000, easily.
I can't imagine anyone not loving Aulani. We were there with our then 18 and 24 year olds sons and we all loved it. I personally don't think that it screams Disney at all. A beautiful and generous gift!
 


My close DN is getting married in August and I was thinking of giving him and his lovely DW to be a trip to Aulani. At least the room and board. Their choice of dates sometime in the future. But they would have to get the flight and any other incidentals. Is this a reasonable gift? I feel like I would be imposing costs on them, but I don't have the flight $s or would pay for those too. And is there enough for a young couple to do around Aulani in case they didn't want to spend too much going to other locations on the islands? Just exploring this idea at this point.
What a beautiful and generous gift! :thumbsup2Such an amazing resort, anyone would love it!::yes::
 
I think the gesture is lovely, but I think there are logistics to Aulani that do not exist with other Disney destinations. We gave my nieces their Disney trip as a wedding gift. They had been planning a trip with us, so we paid for all of their expenses other than airfare and personal spending.

For your circumstance, in terms of what to do, I think for a honeymoon less is more, so that part should be bonus IMO. I have never had the good fortune to visit Hawaii, but have been told that this vacation is wasted on honeymoons. LOL! , but the time it takes to get there as well as the cost of the airfare may be problematic.

Personally, I would offer the trip as a gift, and detail what that offer includes. If you have points that you are using, I would offer them at another DVC destination where they cover the stay, and then let your niece decide.

In my case, my nieces had reached out to us to plan a DIsney trip with them, so offering it as a wedding gift was easy. We knew they wanted to go, and we knew we were going to pay for all of it. They did not know this, we had to surprise them with the balance paid off or they would have not accepted it. What we did need to do was prepare them for the cost of OOP expenses. Beverages, gratuities, etc all seem to escalate once you are trapped in a Disney resort, and I imagine Aulani is no different.

When you present them with your gift, I suggest you have a budget of what is included, but also what the basic stay will cost them, from airfare, to food and tips, and travel while there. So if board is included, what does that mean? Breakfast or every meal? Will that include gratuities, or should they budget for them? What is included in an Aulani stay and what it would cost to venture out?

FWIW I think the offer is lovely, and whether or not your niece can afford the air, I bet this offer will be a welcomed and treasured gift.
 
is there enough for a young couple to do around Aulani in case they didn't want to spend too much going to other locations on the islands?

IMO, no. Aulani is in a secluded planned tourist area called Ko Olina. There are a couple basic restaurants in walking distance, and nothing else. And those restaurants are at tourist prices as well. They'd really need a rental car to do any sightseeing, or pay the exorbitant costs for Aulani tours which wouldn't offer the same flexibility.

I agree that its a really nice gesture, but would only suggest it if they are Disney fans and Hawaii is a dream trip for them, and you know they can afford the incidentals that go along with it.
 
I haven't been to Aulani but my experience may relate. We got married on the beach of the former Maui DVC hotel, Kapalua Bay. We stayed 12 days using DVC points and were still shocked at how expensive everything was! Especially food. Meals at the hotel were very, very expensive. Going out to dinner outside of the hotel was equally expensive. There were no inexpensive places to eat nearby or anywhere that we saw except maybe one McDonalds (yuck). Like everyone else said, it's a lovely gesture you have in mind but the incidentals will be in the thousands.
 
Thank you to everyone and your replies! I've been so busy lately, I only now had a chance to read them all... and i also found out I dont get notified by email when I get replies to a post! For some reason I thought I used to get those. Anyway, there are some very good points to consider. They are both young, just starting out, and definitely can't afford a couple thousand $s in incidentals even with the resort stay gifted to them. They are both big Disney fans. They live in Colorado, so any travel to a Disney resort will be a flight somewhere. I was also looking into the concierge and world collections by DVC and finding something closer and less propietary on the dining and other expenses... but I have never used either of these before. I just lo e the Disney Resorts! I just wish the dining was less expensive!
 
Personally I wouldn't want it as honeymoon gift. The crowds and kids wouldn't be my first choice for that type of vacation. But sounds like I am the exception . . .
 
I am from Colorado as well. I find it convenient to fly to Disneyland due to short travel time and many flight times available and the tickets aren't very expensive. They wouldn't need to rent a car. You could get them air, park tickets, airport transfer, and a 4 night stay at the Disneyland hotel for about $3500. Maybe throw in a Fantasmic dining package for Blue Bayou as well ($150 for two people) and then let them handle the rest of the food. The nice thing about this is that taking a 4 night trip is a lot easier for many people who don't have as much flexibility with travel due to work schedules and it wouldn't put the pressure on them to use a week of paid vacation to use up their gift from you at Aulani or wherever. Also, them covering food for a few days of travel at Disneyland would be a lot more manageable than in Hawaii as there are many less expensive options available to them within walking distance at Disneyland.

Also, perhaps you could get other relatives to pitch in and pay for the dining packages...Blue Bayou, a character breakfast, Disney gift cards to be used in the parks, etc.
 
I’m not sure what the “trade” value is for DVC, but there are some gorgeous ski resorts right in Colorado and Utah....when I read up on DVC a few years ago, I remember seeing several in places that I would’ve liked to visit.
 
I am planning on going to Aulani for my Honeymoon. I see nothing wrong with a couple spending their honeymoon there. I'm not going to meet characters or ride slides. I am going to enjoy the beauty of the resort, beach, and Hawaii.. with that Disney magical feel to it. I don't see Aulani has being a "family" only resort. Disney is for everyone regardless of AGE.. so what would make Aulani any different. In fact, I think Aulani is more geared towards adults than children IMO. I've been pricing out flights every week. We are booking all one-way flights. I found it to be cheaper to go this route. Also we are coming from the mid-west and stopping in Disneyland for 5 days before going to Hawaii. So that may break down our airfare some. I made a point to fly on non-busy days, like Wednesday and Monday. I believe that in total our flights as of today if I booked them would be around $1500 total for the both of us. (that's flying Delta the whole time) Also, after reading many posts and doing lots of internet searches, there are many places in walking distance you can go eat, and not have to spend lots of money at the hotel. There is also the fact that you can take a Lyft to target or Costco and buy some items you can store in your room. I've only booked a king-size ocean view room, so we wont have a kitchen, but there are small things you can buy for breakfast and snacks, to save some money. We are also planning on going in February, with the Winter discount of 30% off our stay promo. (which the CM told me comes out around June-August). So there are many ways to save and make a trip, I would otherwise never be able to afford, be the trip of a lifetime. I would love someone to gift me a trip or help towards the trip. I bet they would LOVE it! Best Wishes!!
 
We went for our 30th anniversary and met a few couples on their honeymoons.
If they are into disney, it would be quite the wedding gift!
 
I would think that using the points to give them a trip to either Disneyland or a DisneyWorld might be better. It doesn’t have to be a honeymoon trip. Maybe they could use it later after they are married.
Denver to Orlando flights are not that expensive with a flexible schedule and advanced planning (that is where we fly from mostly). They could either fly or drive from Denver to Ca.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!






Top