Monday, February 14, 2011

Aulani - Getting Closer


Have you got your reservations for Aulani yet? No? Phase one opens August 29th, 2011 so you better hurry if you’re going to be there for the Grand Opening.


IF—


You are like me and it will be a while before you can save up enough to visit Aulani let me update you on what is going on. Like you I have to get my information from the web as I don’t have an “in” with anyone on site. The closest I have to having a friend on site is reading Werner Weiss, Curator of Yesterland.com. He visited the construction site in January and has posted some wonderful pictures of the construction and of the on-site model rooms. Yesterland.com has done a wonderful series on Aulani and has some great pictures of the progress. Check out Yesterland.com latest pictorial on Aulani here.





For a Disney Vacation Club member there is a familiarity in the layout as it appears similar to other DVC properties. The themeing is totally Hawaiian with a touch of “mouse”. The artwork and décor is representative of Hawaiian culture. Imaginers have added their touches with Hidden Mickeys and some unique furniture. One such piece the stand for the TV in the DVC Villa living rooms, as the bottom hides a bed for a child.



The other site with lots of information, but not a lot of construction pictures, is Disney’s official Aulani resort site - http://www.disneyaulani.com/. If you haven’t seen Aulani’s web site recently, take another look. In the photo gallery there are new videos of Aulani including one of the creation on the beach of a sandsculpture of Mickey on a surfboard with construction in the background. See the video here.




There are some great 360 deg pictures of the DVC villas under the Accommodations section. Take a few minutes to examine the rooms. Disney says the resort has all you would expect in a luxury resort with what they describe as “Magical Room Details”: (Visit the DVC Villas here.)

"Aulani offers all of the standard room amenities you would expect from a world-class hotel. The real magic of the Disney Vacation Club villas is in the details:

Kapa cloth artwork appears subtly in the tone-on-tone, ivory jacquard weave of the duvet covers.
Atop the task table, a carved table lamp depicts Mickey Mouse on vacation in Hawai`i. Flanked by a surfboard and a ukelele, Mickey wears brightly colored shoes and a traditional lei.
Distinctive kapa patterns form the carved wooden frame of bathroom mirrors and bedroom side tables.
The large, wooden carved armoire features an intricate fish pattern depicting many of the indigenous fish of Hawai`i.
Dining area lighting fixtures are inspired by Hawaiian calabash bowls.
Master bathrooms feature wall sconces that resemble the claw-shaped pandanus sails, which powered Hawaiian outrigger canoes.
Other bathroom wall sconces resemble traditional Hawaiian fish traps. "



This is much what Walt Disney would have described as “plusing" it. That is the something extra that makes something ordinary magical. I think the extra Disney “touches” will make this a resort guests will want to return to again and again.

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