"Honestly, sometimes it feels good to get out of the bubble."

[Maistre Gracey]

Okay, to expanded a bit on my now famous quote...

It is certainly partially about seeing the other options Orlando has to offer, but there is another component.
At least for me, after numerous trips confined to the bubble, it feels good to get out and just visit a restaurant or rude person at a gas station, where everything is not manicured.
I’m not sure how to explain it other than the whole manufactured Disney stuff gets old.

Flame away....

 

[Rob Huff]

Same for us , we used to travel outside WDW before COVID . So when we are there , we like being in the bubble .

I feel like this is a good way to gauge if you've been going to WDW too often. If you no longer want to be in the bubble, you've made too many trips!

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I feel like this is a good way to gauge if you've been going to WDW too often. If you no longer want to be in the bubble, you've made too many trips!

Exactly. In other words, the whole bubble thing can get old after a spell.

 

[Matty B13]

Interesting. I will definitely consider that. Is Aulani not that nice?

I've researched going to Hawaii, but have never been, and from what I've read while Aulani is a very nice resort, a lot of people prefer other parts of Hawaii. I think some people find the area that Aulani is in, is to commercial and prefer to visit other parts of all the Islands which is what I was referencing when talking about "nicer". The big difference is the price of Aulani compared to a lot of the other resorts on the Islands. If you do a search on Disboards about Hawaii you will easily find references to other timeshares and areas to visit, but I'm sure Aulani would be great for a "first" trip to Hawaii. That way you could see the Island and get some ideas for a return trip. I'm hoping my family can make it to Aulani in a few more years, and hope to do a split stay between Aulani and another resort for maybe a 2 week trip. Since we are in Western Mass, the flight out to Hawaii is either a 2 day or one long day affair. Might include a stop at DL on they way out as well.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

Aulani is beautiful and celebrates Hawaiian culture in ways no other resort I’ve seen does. Other resorts in Hawaii generally look like resorts on islands and beaches all over the world. Aulani is more expensive than many in Hawaii but is equally as nice. (Compare cash prices for Aulani with prices at the Marriott Ko Olina right down the street.)

Thank you for sharing! The resort looks gorgeous, but we obviously haven't been there yet. We are looking forward to it, for sure! Just curious, but does Aulani have a Disney theme to it? It really doesn't matter either way since the trip will be more about Hawai'i than anything else, but I am just curios since it is a DVC property.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

Okay, to expanded a bit on my now famous quote...

It is certainly partially about seeing the other options Orlando has to offer, but there is another component.
At least for me, after numerous trips confined to the bubble, it feels good to get out and just visit a restaurant or rude person at a gas station, where everything is not manicured.
I’m not sure how to explain it other than the whole manufactured Disney stuff gets old.

Flame away....

LOL! Not sure you will get flamed for that...that is how you feel. I could somewhat see that if I was in the "bubble" for an extended period of time, like 2 weeks or more. But a week of "manicured" and "manufactured Disney stuff" is exactly why I don't want to leave the bubble during a one week vacation to WDW. I love the immersion that the WDW bubble provides. I know I will be encountering rude people soon enough...like when I walk into MCO for my departing flight back home.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

I've researched going to Hawaii, but have never been, and from what I've read while Aulani is a very nice resort, a lot of people prefer other parts of Hawaii. I think some people find the area that Aulani is in, is to commercial and prefer to visit other parts of all the Islands which is what I was referencing when talking about "nicer". The big difference is the price of Aulani compared to a lot of the other resorts on the Islands. If you do a search on Disboards about Hawaii you will easily find references to other timeshares and areas to visit, but I'm sure Aulani would be great for a "first" trip to Hawaii. That way you could see the Island and get some ideas for a return trip. I'm hoping my family can make it to Aulani in a few more years, and hope to do a split stay between Aulani and another resort for maybe a 2 week trip. Since we are in Western Mass, the flight out to Hawaii is either a 2 day or one long day affair. Might include a stop at DL on they way out as well.

Aha, got it. That makes sense. My wife and I have both been to Hawai'i before we met (I grew up on the west coast and actually have been there twice). I guess the "Aulani vs. other Hawai'i resorts" thing is a "six or one half dozen" thing. My wife does all the research and has come to the conclusion that Aulani would be a really fantastic option. And to be honest, Hawai'i wasn't in the discussion as a destination until we closed on our DVC contract. Since it is such a nice resort, I'm not sure the hassle of renting points and then using that money to book another resort makes sense. Unless we really wanted to do another island, like Maui or something. The main goal of the trip is to get out daughters to Hawai'i, so Aulani is probably the perfect setting.

Thank you for all your feedback! Stay warm in western MA...we moved to the Albany NY area from Boston about 15 years ago so we know all about Northeast winters

 

[CarolynFH]

Thank you for sharing! The resort looks gorgeous, but we obviously haven't been there yet. We are looking forward to it, for sure! Just curious, but does Aulani have a Disney theme to it? It really doesn't matter either way since the trip will be more about Hawai'i than anything else, but I am just curios since it is a DVC property.

There are Disney touches - Stitch, for instance - but they’re like the Disney touches are at VGF, BWV, and the other WDW deluxe resorts. It’s not Disney like the All Stars are Disney!

If we have enough points next time, I’ll book Aulani, but so far our visits to Hawaii have been on my dad’s dime/in his timeshares, so we stayed at the Marriott and walked down to visit and eat at Aulani!

 

[DVCSunDevil]

There are Disney touches - Stitch, for instance - but they’re like the Disney touches are at VGF, BWV, and the other WDW deluxe resorts. It’s not Disney like the All Stars are Disney!

If we have enough points next time, I’ll book Aulani, but so far our visits to Hawaii have been on my dad’s dime/in his timeshares, so we stayed at the Marriott and walked down to visit and eat at Aulani!

Thank you...good to know!

 

[limace]

We are more DL and Hawaii folks, living on the West Coast. We are planning a WDW trip for May, and if it happens (school and COVID depending), we are doing a split. Last trip we started with two nights at Universal's Hard Rock hotel and we looooved it-hotel is gorgeous, walk is as close as the Grand Californian to the parks, and I like the Express Pass much more than FP+-my family haaaaaaates being held to a rigid schedule, which is another reason DL is a better fit for us than WDW in a typical year. So, this year we are mixing it up. We have AKV booked with our points in the middle of our trip; I had planned to rent points for the rest of the week but have now decided to start at Bonnet Creek. It's on Disney property, we can have two bedrooms (we'll have five people), and with the removal of most perks right now it just doesn't matter as much to be at a Disney resort-and the price is incredible compared. Reviews sound like the rooms are at least as nice as most DVC. Then we are ending with three nights back at HRH-we agreed last time that we wanted to end at Universal since it's just a more relaxing time than DIsney.

Re Hawaii, we are very interested in Aulani and I'm sure we'll stay there for a few days one one of our trips. Oahu, in general, would probably be a one and done for me if it wasn't for Aulani. We spent a week there during our honeymoon (and my husband sailed there from Seattle once and lived there for a few months) and it's lovely with some amazing things to see. It's just that the other islands are also lovely, and in my opinion more relaxing and less expensive. We are really happy staying in a condo for two weeks in a small resort with a nice pool, cooking almost all of our meals at home, and laying on the beach, kayaking, snorkeling, surfing every day-Hawaii isn't a vacation for lots of activities and structure for us.

If we had unlimited money, we'd do both-I'd love to spend a week or so at a Disney park every year, but we also love to travel, especially internationally. We had planned a trip to Spain last year and are hoping we can make that happen soon-our two youngest are in Spanish immersion and we'd really like to get them somewhere Spanish speaking every year or two.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

We are more DL and Hawaii folks, living on the West Coast. We are planning a WDW trip for May, and if it happens (school and COVID depending), we are doing a split. Last trip we started with two nights at Universal's Hard Rock hotel and we looooved it-hotel is gorgeous, walk is as close as the Grand Californian to the parks, and I like the Express Pass much more than FP+-my family haaaaaaates being held to a rigid schedule, which is another reason DL is a better fit for us than WDW in a typical year. So, this year we are mixing it up. We have AKV booked with our points in the middle of our trip; I had planned to rent points for the rest of the week but have now decided to start at Bonnet Creek. It's on Disney property, we can have two bedrooms (we'll have five people), and with the removal of most perks right now it just doesn't matter as much to be at a Disney resort-and the price is incredible compared. Reviews sound like the rooms are at least as nice as most DVC. Then we are ending with three nights back at HRH-we agreed last time that we wanted to end at Universal since it's just a more relaxing time than DIsney.

Re Hawaii, we are very interested in Aulani and I'm sure we'll stay there for a few days one one of our trips. Oahu, in general, would probably be a one and done for me if it wasn't for Aulani. We spent a week there during our honeymoon (and my husband sailed there from Seattle once and lived there for a few months) and it's lovely with some amazing things to see. It's just that the other islands are also lovely, and in my opinion more relaxing and less expensive. We are really happy staying in a condo for two weeks in a small resort with a nice pool, cooking almost all of our meals at home, and laying on the beach, kayaking, snorkeling, surfing every day-Hawaii isn't a vacation for lots of activities and structure for us.

If we had unlimited money, we'd do both-I'd love to spend a week or so at a Disney park every year, but we also love to travel, especially internationally. We had planned a trip to Spain last year and are hoping we can make that happen soon-our two youngest are in Spanish immersion and we'd really like to get them somewhere Spanish speaking every year or two.

Definitely get to Spain if you can. I won a trip to Marrakech through my job, so my wife and I did 5 days in Seville on the front end of the trip to Marrakech. I mean, if you’re going to be over there you might as well take advantage...right?!?! Seville was amazing. I would definitely go back there again.

 

[limace]

Definitely get to Spain if you can. I won a trip to Marrakech through my job, so my wife and I did 5 days in Seville on the front end of the trip to Marrakech. I mean, if you’re going to be over there you might as well take advantage...right?!?! Seville was amazing. I would definitely go back there again.

That’s awesome. My husband went to Marrakech a few years ago for work and I so regret not going with!

 

[CarolynFH]

have now decided to start at Bonnet Creek. It's on Disney property, we can have two bedrooms (we'll have five people), and with the removal of most perks right now it just doesn't matter as much to be at a Disney resort-and the price is incredible compared. Reviews sound like the rooms are at least as nice as most DVC.

The Bonnet Creek rooms are just as nice as, if not nicer than, the DVC rooms - and are much larger, too. This thread might be of interest - https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-we-loooooove-bonnet-creek-thread-part-4.3366139/

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I had planned to rent points for the rest of the week but have now decided to start at Bonnet Creek. It's on Disney property, we can have two bedrooms (we'll have five people), and with the removal of most perks right now it just doesn't matter as much to be at a Disney resort-and the price is incredible compared. Reviews sound like the rooms are at least as nice as most DVC.

Just a small pet peeve of mine....
Bonnet Creek is not on Disney property, albeit you must enter Disney property to get to it.

 

[ILoveMyDVC]

Okay, to expanded a bit on my now famous quote...

It is certainly partially about seeing the other options Orlando has to offer, but there is another component.
At least for me, after numerous trips confined to the bubble, it feels good to get out and just visit a restaurant or rude person at a gas station, where everything is not manicured.
I’m not sure how to explain it other than the whole manufactured Disney stuff gets old.

Flame away....

and the food is almost always better and defintely less expensive

 

[keishashadow]

Exactly. In other words, the whole bubble thing can get old after a spell.

IMO going offsite for a bit during a trip actually enhances the disney vibe via the contrast, like adding lemon peel to a sweet dish lol

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

There are Disney touches - Stitch, for instance - but they’re like the Disney touches are at VGF, BWV, and the other WDW deluxe resorts. It’s not Disney like the All Stars are Disney!

If we have enough points next time, I’ll book Aulani, but so far our visits to Hawaii have been on my dad’s dime/in his timeshares, so we stayed at the Marriott and walked down to visit and eat at Aulani!

How is the Marriott?

 

[CarolynFH]

How is the Marriott?

It's beautiful, like Marriott timeshares in general. Huge pool, cabanas for rent on the beach, nice restaurants, big balcony (can't remember whether dining size or not). I can't compare the size of the villas to Aulani's because I haven't seen Aulani's, but in general Marriott villas are larger than the equivalent DVC villas. We had a 2-bedroom, and my dad had a king size bed and an ensuite bathroom in the secondary bedroom, as did we in the master. His bath was a little smaller than ours. Check out the photos - https://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-rooms/hnlko-marriotts-ko-olina-beach-club/. I wouldn't mind staying there again; in fact we had booked three nights there for last June (combined with a week at one of our Big Island TSs) which of course was canceled.

 

[RyanDisneyDad]

Were starting to break the Disney bubble. My wife is still very much in love with Disney life. I go along because I am not much of a traveler and Florida isn't much different then home.

We've discovered we are OKW and SS 1br people. We get a car and love the convince of parking right outside our room as well.

We spent 5 weeks in WDW while our province was in lockdown. Our kids are definitely less excited about the rides. We love pool days more now. As a surprise we took the kids to Aquatica on our last warm day. Kids were super pumped to try new rides.

A year ago we had UO and WDW APs. We actually loved the suites at cabana Bay. You get so much more bang for your buck at Universal.

We were planning a DL Paris even started learning French but then covid.

I see our WDW trips drastically changing in the future.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Were starting to break the Disney bubble. My wife is still very much in love with Disney life. I go along because I am not much of a traveler and Florida isn't much different then home.

We've discovered we are OKW and SS 1br people. We get a car and love the convince of parking right outside our room as well.

We spent 5 weeks in WDW while our province was in lockdown. Our kids are definitely less excited about the rides. We love pool days more now. As a surprise we took the kids to Aquatica on our last warm day. Kids were super pumped to try new rides.

A year ago we had UO and WDW APs. We actually loved the suites at cabana Bay. You get so much more bang for your buck at Universal.

We were planning a DL Paris even started learning French but then covid.

I see our WDW trips drastically changing in the future.

I may be out of touch here, but you say Florida is not much difference than your “province”??

Curious where you are from.