Absolutely agree. The high reviews on tripadvisor or FT or elsewhere tend to be from bloggers paid with a free vacation when the resort opened, or people who seem to like to have the 'real world' Disnified and history and culture subsequently rewritten, or even Disney cast members (I'm not referring to PainCorp on this thread, who gave an unbiased review).

Having seen and knowing the site very well from even before ground breaking, I was skeptical that Disney could make the project a success. The legal issues even before the resort opened foreshadowed the future challenges of this development, and even led to changes with other development plans.

I actually think that it's really sad that there is what I consider to be a blot of Aulani on that part of Oahu.

If someone like OP does want to experience Aulani, I would recommend a day visit, or a very short stay, and then use the time and money to experience other parts of Oahu or Hawaii.

Somewhat on topic, for anyone not familiar with some of Aulani's woes (including having to rebuild/retrofit much of the resort shortly after opening), this makes interesting reading. It was quite a shakeup at the time, not just because DVC President Jim Lewis was fired, but because a 'respected' timeshare seller could make such a serious financial error whether in an effort to drive sales, or for other reasons. http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/...ub-time-shares