Major "Enhancements" to Aulani! There goes the Neighborhood!!

[DVCQUEEN]

From the Member website:

Resort Enhancements: Fall 2012 Through Mid-2013

Since the opening of Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa in August 2011, Guests have enjoyed outstanding amenities and accommodations at this oceanfront Resort. And soon, ways to enhance vacation experiences will be created.

With this in mind, if you visit between mid-September, 2012 and mid-2013, you may notice some of our work in progress as the Resort is expanded. Rest assured, you can still enjoy a fun-filled vacation at Aulani during this period.

Explore all the updates planned at Aulani:


Waikolohe Valley Pool Area
Waikolohe Valley will soon delight Guests with more water features and dining options.

During the pool area expansion, much of Waikolohe Valley will remain open—including Waikolohe Pool, the lazy river, slides, whirlpool spas, Rainbow Reef and Menehune Bridge. However, Makai Preserve will close permanently this fall; Wailana Pool (the quiet pool) and Wailana Bar will close for an extended period.

Starlit Hui
To accommodate more Guests, Starlit Hui will move to a larger venue. Be aware that Starlit Hui will close for approximately one month as it transitions to its new location.

Makahiki – The Bounty of the Islands
To provide shaded outdoor seating and accommodate additional Guests in inclement weather, an overhead trellis with retractable awnings will be added to the outdoor dining area at Makahiki.

While enhancements are underway at Makahiki, restaurant operations will continue with interior seating only. As a result, the Disney Character Breakfast—Aunty's Breakfast Celebration at the Makahiki—will be extended to 6 days a week! This experience will be available Tuesday through Sunday, and Resort Guests will enjoy priority for advance reservations.

Exterior Decorative Beams
Finishing touches are being put on the building exteriors—including work on the decorative beam joints. While this work is in progress, you may notice some scaffolding and covered walkways at Aulani.

Watch Disney Files Magazine for updates about these new Aulani offerings as more details materialize in the months ahead!

Mahalo (thank you). Your patience is greatly appreciated during this enhancement period.

As that cat in Puss n Boots says "oooooooooohhhh"

[lovindisney]

Wow! So soon.

[cardaway]

As great as the Waikolohe Valley currently is, there is definately some room for imrovement when it comes to the food selection and the slow current in the lazy river. Hopefully both will be addressed.

I can imagine the Hui shows have become extremely overcrowded. Sadly it seems they may be losing something to gain an a new show location. Not sure if them closing the Wailana Pool and Makai Preserve has anything to do with the need for more space. But taking out those elements would create a lot of space.

[PecosBill]

So soon? Why? And how are they paying for this?

[Goofygrl]

Originally Posted by PecosBill

So soon? Why? And how are they paying for this?

IMO DVC had gotten into under estimating (or maybe just ignoring) many of the common areas for resorts. They also are very inexperienced at building resorts outside of the theme park realms and from many reports the pool areas were running out of chairs and there weren't enough dining options at the resort. Factor in that the resort rooms aren't even fully open and they seem to have come to the conclusion they were going to have to improve in these areas or resources would become very strained.

This would be coming from Disney, not from any dues.

[PlasWinder]

Originally Posted by Goofygrl

IMO DVC had gotten into under estimating (or maybe just ignoring) many of the common areas for resorts. They also are very inexperienced at building resorts outside of the theme park realms and from many reports the pool areas were running out of chairs and there weren't enough dining options at the resort. Factor in that the resort rooms aren't even fully open and they seem to have come to the conclusion they were going to have to improve in these areas or resources would become very strained.

You can't build a timeshare in Hawaii the same way you'd build one at Walt Disney World. At WDW, you can assume a certain percentage will venture into the parks for food and activities while Aulani doesn't provide nearly the "outside the resort" distractions. (I hope they have a means for renting a car while onsite or nearby for once that fact settles in.)

[DVCQUEEN]

I think this is the other shoe dropping with Aulani-gate. Just like BLT required major enhancements after build out, now Aulani. DVD cheaped out on the build in favor of "enhancements" later, at the members expense.

Owners will have to pay dues during and after major construction. One place I would not tolerate scaffolding and extensive amenity closures is on my once in a lifetime trip to Hawaii.

I empathize with those that have trips scheduled during this time

[PlasWinder]

Originally Posted by DVCQUEEN

I think this is the other shoe dropping with Aulani-gate. Just like BLT required major enhancements after build out, now Aulani. DVD cheaped out on the build in favor of "enhancements" later, at the members expense.

Owners will have to pay dues during and after major construction. One place I would not tolerate scaffolding and extensive amenity closures is on my once in a lifetime trip to Hawaii.

I empathize with those that have trips scheduled during this time

The only "major enhancement" I was aware of at BLT was the moving of the sink. (And fixing the door locks, but that's hardly major.) What did I not hear about???

[DVCQUEEN]

Originally Posted by PlasWinder

The only "major enhancement" I was aware of at BLT was the moving of the sink. (And fixing the door locks, but that's hardly major.) What did I not hear about???

The skyway needed to be reinforced, it was swaying in the wind, and was not rated to hold the number or people that were using it at one time, especially during fireworks when they would stop.
Glass panels were added and the walkway was resurfaced.

Not "Major" but lots of little things add up.......

The fountain tiles rusted within a year and required replacing/resurfacing

And the bathroom fixtures rusted and needed to be replaced.

Jogging track was added. I watched the progress from my lake view balcony.

There were some others, like the AC but not sure if that was fixed yet.

[lghaus]

During the week DW and I was there with DD and her spouse, we spent more time off site then on site. The food really is limited and we ended up going across the street for food as often as we ate on property. But we also spent more time at the pool than we normally do.

Driving around the island with the top down on the rental was really the best thing to do while on there. (But dont think that we did not like it, we will go back someday soon.)