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What to Expect at Ko Olina in the Future

Werner Weiss

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I think that Marriott Ko Olina Beach Club owners (and potential owners and exchangers in future) might be interested in two articles that I wrote for my website:

Disney Goes Hawaiian, Part 1: What to Expect from Disney at Ko Olina

On October 3, 2007, Disney announced plans build an 800-unit resort on a prime 21-acre oceanfront site at Ko Olina, with the opening scheduled for 2011.​

Disney Goes Hawaiian, Part 2: What not to Expect from Disney at Ko Olina

After two big announcements from Disney in 2007, the Internet was abuzz with the conclusion that Disney Cruise Line was likely to base a cruise ship at Ko Olina beginning in 2011 or 2012.​
 

pharmgirl

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thanks for the links

is there any construction stating on the project?
 

Werner Weiss

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There's no construction yet. Groundbreaking was planned for 2008, but they're running out of time. The planned completion date is 2011.

I'd like to think that the economy will be much better in 2011, and that starting construction now would be smart. It would allow Disney to find good contractors who are hungry for work.

I'm not sure how the current economic crisis will change the timing. Unless Disney can finance their whole Ko Olina project internally, Disney would need to deal with the current credit crunch.
 

Bill4728

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Werner,

What a great article! Nice Job!
 

dioxide45

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I'd like to think that the economy will be much better in 2011, and that starting construction now would be smart. It would allow Disney to find good contractors who are hungry for work.

Even if they could get a contractor, they may not be able to get hold of the cash needed. Even if they had credit lined up, it may no longer be available. There may be more trouble ahead for this resort, just as has been reported about the Marriott property at KoOlina.
 

jmatias

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Enjoyed your articles, Werner.

I am one kamaaina that is eagerly awaiting the Disney resort at Koolina.

Aloha,
Jen
 

Werner Weiss

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Even if they could get a contractor, they may not be able to get hold of the cash needed. Even if they had credit lined up, it may no longer be available. There may be more trouble ahead for this resort, just as has been reported about the Marriott property at KoOlina.
I agree.

That's why I wrote, "Unless Disney can finance their whole Ko Olina project internally, Disney would need to deal with the current credit crunch."

I think the project will be delayed, but I have no idea for how long. Ideally for Disney, they'll be ready to begin sales when the economy is looking much better.
 
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jerseyfinn

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Werner, some very nice articles.

I think that Marriott would welcome Disney's presence in Hawaii as they bring a good cache along with them and this can only help enhance the immediate area. Of course it takes big bucks ( and some behind the scenes politicing ) to get something like this off the ground. The unfortunate thing for both Disney and Marriott is the rancid economy and drying up of financing for these sort of projects. But like anything in life, timing is everything, and at the moment, the time ain't right. The good news is that big companies can most usually weather out bad times and it comes down to how slowly/quickly this economic maelstorm abates.

Actually your articles raise an interesting point regarding cruise lines which are fiercely competitive and have huge start up costs in those expensive ships alonog with some razor thin profit lines. In this economy, I'd expect the (fuel-cost sensitive ) cruise lines to fare far worse than traditional hotelilers or integrated destination companies such as the travel side of Disney which dabbles in timeshare while making their money from theme parks and associated accomodations and Marriott which works from the accomodation and timeshare side of the game. I'd guess that the fixed costs of the former are less controllable than what Marriott and Disney deal with. These are some very interesting times in terms of discretionary travel decisions/choices. I think that Marriott and Disney are better positioned to weather out the storm than the cruise companies who can dock their ship but do little else.

Once again, nice articles which are thought provoking.

Barry
 

MikeM132

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we were at Ko'Olina late May and management told us of the announcement from Disney but were VERY careful not to over-commit. There have been several such announcements in the past that never materialized.
 

dioxide45

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we were at Ko'Olina late May and management told us of the announcement from Disney but were VERY careful not to over-commit. There have been several such announcements in the past that never materialized.

One of these announcments by Disney was a DVC where Marriotts Newport Coast sits right now.
 

m61376

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Interesting articles, esp. the cruise discussion. We were passengers on the "Shame" of Aloha during its inaugural season in 2004 and I can tell you first hand that the issues brought up were not exaggerated. From what I understand it has not improved substantially.

It is very unfortunate that another line won't try to make a go of it there, because theoretically it is an amazing way to see multiple islands on one trip, and a one week stay at Ko'Olina or any of the other resorts and a one week cruise would truly be an ideal vacation.

Our family had a wonderful time despite the cruise; as a way to see Hawaii it is great but as a cruise vacation it is terrible.
 
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