Six months. That is how long The Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa and Aulani, Disney Vacation Club Villas in Ko Olino, Hawaii, have been closed. Mixed messages and changing restrictions on both state and local levels have plagued both resorts’ reopening plans. We thought it was about time we dig into when we might see these Disney Vacation Club Resorts open their doors.
Aulani, Disney Vacation Club Villas in Ko Olino, Hawaii
For several months, Hawaii has been back and forth, discussing how tourism and business on the islands can reopen while keeping health and safety a top priority. The most recent development in this saga occurred on September 16th when Governor David Ige announced that the state would begin to allow travel to resume starting October 15th. It’s not quite that simple, however…
Those choosing to travel to Hawaii will need to comply with pre-travel testing or quarantine mandates. Essentially, this means that a negative COVID-19 test must be provided that was conducted no earlier than 72 hours before arrival on the island. Don’t get your test results back in time? You can still choose to travel but will need to quarantine until the test results are provided. The state has provided the colorful chart seen below to help explain the pre-travel testing process.
Disney has remained relatively quiet throughout this process, with no official statement on when Aulani may reopen. Reservations have currently been canceled for Aulani resort bookings through October 17th, 2020. However, Disney Vacation Club reservations are still being canceled in a rolling week by week manner, as we have seen throughout the pandemic.
The Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa
Much of the same can be said when it comes to Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa. Back in June, we got a brief glimmer of hope with the announcement that Disneyland Resort would reopen on July 17th. However, this was quickly deemed premature and indefinitely delayed due to the State of California’s lack of theme park reopening guidelines.
Hotel guest reservations for Disney’s Grand Californian are currently being canceled through October 3rd.
Earlier this week, Disneyland Resort President Ken Potrock expressed his disappointment and frustration at the State of California’s continued lack of guidelines that would allow the resort to reopen. The City of Anaheim joined in this sentiment, pushing urging the state to allow these parks and resorts to reopen. Although California Governor Gavin Newsom stated Wednesday that an announcement on theme park guidelines would be coming very soon, none have been issued as of this time.
Recently, a DVC owner reached out to Disney Vacation Club’s Senior Vice President and General Manager, Terri Schultz, regarding the extended Aulani and Grand Californian closure and shared her reply:
“Unfortunately we have not set the reopening date for either the Villas at the Grand Californian or Aulani yet, however we are diligent working on it. Oahu, Hawaii still has a stay at home order in place until 9/24 and we are unclear as to whether that will be extended. In California we are diligently working with State and Local health officials to ensure they are comfortable with our health protocols. Rest assured we are all very anxious to get these resorts reopened as soon as we can.”
We would love to hear your thoughts about when you think we may see Disney’s Aulani or Grand Californian Resorts reopen. Please share with us in the comments below, and stay tuned to DVC Fan, the DVC Fan Facebook Group, and The DIS for more information as it becomes available!
