What is going on with Aulani?

[Presley Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Presley]

Anyone know what is up with Aulani? I know they have had sales on hold for at least a month now. Did DVC blow it with some Hawaii law(s)? What is going to happen to all the people who already bought there?

[Hobbitess Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hobbitess]

Everything seems to be speculation (unless there's been an announcement I missed), but I believe it's pretty well established that it is about DVCs non-compliance with some Hawaiian law. Odds are this won't have much impact on people who've already bought (the most upset people I've run across were mad because they thought they'd bought at Aulani but ended up with a contract at AKL -- which I think Disney cancelled on request), although there's speculation that they'd have the option of cancelling the contract because DVC wasn't in full compliance with the law.

The people buying in are not the ones out of compliance with the law so there's no reason to penalize them, is the logic there. Which makes sense to me. Not that laws are always logical. But it seems the likely outcome.

[Presley Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Presley]

I have my answer today. The annual dues were set so low that the resort would go belly up. Good grief. I am so glad they caught it before it went too far.

Those who already bought will not have to pay the newly adjusted rates, which have yet to be announced.

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

The issue is with promised m. fees for Aulani...

I have my answer today. The annual dues were set so low that the resort would go belly up. Good grief. I am so glad they caught it before it went too far.

Those who already bought will not have to pay the newly adjusted rates, which have yet to be announced.

As I understand it, the issue with the sales line stoppage deals with the miscalculation of the promised 2011 maintenance fees and not any other type of regulatory mishap. Disney now has to refile paperwork with the state because the proposed budgets originally submitted were not correct.

Evidently, it is this issue that resulted in the termination of DVC President Jim Lewis. A press release was just sent out naming Claire Bilby as his replacement, but giving her a title of Senior Vice President?

(Amazing how every move by the Mouse is analyzed by DVC owners.. Some are upset that only having a VP in charge demeans the club, others state it is an example of sexism.. I personally believe it probably keeps them from having to bump her up to Jim's pay grade. Her expertise seems to be the Asian market, so when the mouse moves past Aulani she may become expendable.)

Once the new paperwork has been reviewed and filed by the state, sales will begin again with the proper m. fees being advertised.

Disney's condo docs limit dues increases each year- so in the future there will be two sets of "Aulani fees" (similar to the subsidized fees on some Hilton Head contracts).

I think the biggest issue is simply embarrassment for the mouse- especially if this is not resolved prior to the grand opening in a few weeks.

[Hobbitess Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hobbitess]

Interesting. So all the speculation I ran across was completely off base. That never happened before.

Some are upset that only having a VP in charge demeans the club,

Seriously? That's excellent.

So does this mean that people who buy Aulani now will be paying even higher MFs than they would have if it'd been calculated correctly from the git go, to make up the difference? I wonder what impact that'll have on resales of the ones with higher MFs in years to come. For that matter, I wonder what percentage has already been sold.

If the contracts limit dues increases, why do I keep hearing that Bay Lake Towers MFs are being kept artificially low and will be much higher once it sells out?

[rikkis_playpen Diamond Club Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close rikkis_playpen]

I believe DVC has the right to increase fees by 15% each year, but I'm going off memory and haven't referred back to the condo docs so I could be wrong.

I don't really expect Bay Lake to increase any more than other resorts.. Don't forget that Bay Lake requires more points to reserve. For example a 2br at Boardwalk villas ranges from 269 to 470 points for a full week. Convert that to dollars based on m. fees and the range is approx $1450 to $2,500. in fees for each 2br week.

A 2br villa at Bay Lake ranges from 273 to 616 for a week. Covert that to dollar cost based on m. fees and you get a range of approx $1,050 to $2,350 per 2br week. Not really that much difference. Since it is a new resort, maintenance should be minimal at first to allow for reserve funding to grow as needed.

Subsidized m. fees are common in the industry for developers to generate initial sales- but DVC has always had a history of reasonable fee increases. I have the totals listed for each resort year by year at this link, and it's been a while since I've looked at the pamphlet but I don't remember any huge jumps.

[Hobbitess Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Hobbitess]

Non-subsidized Aulani dues are 33% more. Ouch!

Disney Hawaiian resort: Error leads to 33% fee increase for time shares at Disney's Aulani resort in Hawaii - OrlandoSentinel.com

[calgal Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close calgal]

Has anyone visited there?

If I am staying at Marriott Ko'olina, can I go over there and walk around? I assume the pools are off limits to non-guests, but the restaurants are likely open to the public.

[frank808 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close frank808]

If I am staying at Marriott Ko'olina, can I go over there and walk around? I assume the pools are off limits to non-guests, but the restaurants are likely open to the public.

Yes you can walk over though it is a pretty decent walk from MKO. You can eat or get a drink at Aulani. But the pool and activities are limited to guests.