The pool seating situation is not for the weak!

[ehrawn]

I always wonder why pools at Aulani and other resorts (or cruise ships) don't offer more lockers to store your towels/shoes/phones/etc for those who don't really want a chair, but are down at the pool. It seems like such a simple solution.

That is a fantastic solution!

 

[KBinCO]

That is a fantastic solution!

yup. like i said, my main reason for wanting a chair is just as a place to dump my stuff.

 

[cgattis]

yup. like i said, my main reason for wanting a chair is just as a place to dump my stuff.

Same for us most of the time. And it's not that I even mind my stuff being on the ground, I just hate making the pool area look like a local Rec pool with junk piled up everywhere. I know some folks get pretty peeved when they dress for dinner on a cruise and others show up in shorts and Tshirts; I imagine when people pay to stay at Aulani, they want it to look nice.

 

[glencoe]

We have reserved the executive lanai for our first full day there. Since we are two families together we are splitting the cost. While the pool chair situation can be crazy, we've found the beach is great, never a problem getting a chair there!

Crazy question, I have been at the dvc website and where do you reserve the cabana's, make reservations etc at Aulani? What am I missing-going this July

 

[PetePanMan]

Jeez, it sucks the adult pool is so lame

We love the quiet pool - there are some excellent quiet spots

 

[PetePanMan]

Most frustrating is that, at the same time, at least 25% of the chairs will be unoccupied. This isn't Disney's fault; it is ours as greedy guests.

Agree that "we" are a big part of problem. There is lots of frantic hoarding to get as many chairs as possible before others can get them which fuels even more frantic hoarding. Often more lounges are saved than the size of party to get more elbow room and more room for all of our stuff. Occupancy at any point in time is often very low (particularly for larger parties)as kids go off swimming, others go back to room for lunch etc. and then a member of party goes down to move towels etc. around a bit so CM's don't clear out their stuff. Some CM's try to enforce their system but they often seem reluctant given this tends to result in complaints / conflict (have seen a number of times). Clearly there is not enough room for chairs by pool so they have loaded up beach area as alternative. Seems like there has to be better way but I have no idea what it is. Even though chair situation sucks, I still LOVE Aulani!

 

[northshoremama]

Crazy question, I have been at the dvc website and where do you reserve the cabana's, make reservations etc at Aulani? What am I missing-going this July

you call the hotel to make the cabana reservation. i think there is a separate number, but i don't have that off the top of my head. you can call the main number and tell them you want to make a cabana ressie and they will transfer you accordingly.

 

[northshoremama]

we were there for a couple of nights at the end of last month. luckily DH is an early riser so he got us pool side chairs. on the first day, he was out there by 7:30 and there were already a bunch of folks out there reserving chairs as well. we found a good spot for our family of 10. we got 5 chairs since we knew my mom and sister would be lounging at the pool all day and the other 3 chairs were for the other 8 family members to share. They would use the chairs when they came out of the water for a snack, lunch, or an afternoon nap.

DH did the same thing for us the next morning, lucky for us!

now i did witness a castmember fold up the towels on a couple of chairs. we timed it...it was over an hour (not more than 90 mins), but no one ever came back, and the castmember came by and took the towels away. on the same day, the same castmember folded up towels on a few chairs again...same thing, no one came by in over an hour and the castmember collected the personal items and brought them to the towel stand.

while sitting at our pool chairs on the first day, DH said he was talking with a guest who experienced this. sounded like the guest had his towel folded up by a castmember. what the guest did NOT do was unfold the towel when he got back to his chair. the guest said he came back to his chair for a bit....then went to the bathroom, came back and boom! all his stuff were gone. he had to collect them at the towel stand. lesson here...if you come back to your chair with a folded towel on the back, undo it! mess it up...let the castmember know that you have been back to your chair!

if you don't have an early riser in your family, yes, it may be a bit difficult to find chairs at the pool a few hours after the pools opens. i can't say anything about the beach side chairs cause we always start off at the pool. when we went to the beach, we would just sit on the sand near the water, but it did look like most if not all the chairs were taken by either people or towels!

DD10 and I are planning to head back there at the end of june. i was able to secure an island garden view studio for just a night. looking forward to making the most our of our 2day/1night stay!

 

[happymommy]

I like the way they do it at the Marriott Ko Olina (we own there and go at least every other year). They come by, and if your stuff is on a chair without you, they put a big sticker with the time they came by on it. If after an hour, it's still there, they remove your things and it goes to the towel shack. That way, they have proof how long it was sitting there.

Still, at the Marriott, we rarely have problems finding a chair in the afternoon. It's much less crowded to me (I've walked around Aulani, and I can see how many more chairs are so close together).

I don't think it's necessary to go down and hold multiple chairs. We only need one or two for the four of us. I like to read in the shade and let the kids swim, so they don't need a chair for much time!

 

[chefconti]

Is this the adult pool?

 

[keaster]

Is this the adult pool?

No that is the Ka Maka Grotto pool which is for everyone. The Wailana pool is adult only and is on the spa side of the resort.

 

[keaster]

Crazy question, I have been at the dvc website and where do you reserve the cabana's, make reservations etc at Aulani? What am I missing-going this July

This is the resort number! (808) 674-6200

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Would you say September is low season? We are planning our first trip here then

I visited Oahu this past September from the 12th-21st...it wasn't busy at least what I could see. We weren't staying at Aulani but I wanted to visit there and each lunch so we made an ADR a day or two in advance. Walking around it didn't really seem busy based on the main pool area and the lagoon areas.

 

[alohamom]

I found a couple of times this past August that all it took was a friendly request to a cast member and they will help you find someplace to put your things or even a spot to sit to eat or drink.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I watched chair patrol go through several times yesterday and mark chairs by folding towels and putting them over the top. They really do monitor. That's rough for people doing an activity that takes more than an hour, i.e. catamaran trip, snorkling, stand up paddle board.

I feel you on the whole chair struggle because it happens at other places too. Though in all honesty if you are actually doing an activity versus hanging around the pool or in the case of Aulani the lagoon areas you really have no need to place your stuff there. You are doing it out of convenience for sure but if you are going out on a catamaran trip why would you honestly need to leave your stuff on a pool side/lagoon side chair versus your room?

 

[NUHuskies#1]

Hi, this a picture of the Infinity Pool. the adult pool is to the right and back of this pool. The chair situation is as bad as everyone claims. We stayed at Aulani for four days last summer and easily found chairs at the adults pool. Only problem, our 12 yo couldn't stay with us or even eat his lunch on one of our chairs! The space is closely monitored and the rules were made clear to us by the staff. We made the best of it and he checked in with us throughout the day. We won't go back to Aulani. I think part of the problem is that the Aulani pool area is the main attraction and that's where everyone wants to be.
Those of us who travel to WDW regularly are used to plenty of pool chairs at the resorts. There is much to do in WDW and most folks are at the parks during the day leaving an abundance of available chairs. Unfortunately, this isn't the case at Aulani.

 

[heaven2dc]

This is the resort number! (808) 674-6200

The number to call to book cabanas is 808-674-6900 (Vacation Planners). You can call the resort number and they will transfer you as well.

 

[Pintail]

I like the way they do it at the Marriott Ko Olina (we own there and go at least every other year). They come by, and if your stuff is on a chair without you, they put a big sticker with the time they came by on it. If after an hour, it's still there, they remove your things and it goes to the towel shack. That way, they have proof how long it was sitting there.

Still, at the Marriott, we rarely have problems finding a chair in the afternoon. It's much less crowded to me (I've walked around Aulani, and I can see how many more chairs are so close together).

I don't think it's necessary to go down and hold multiple chairs. We only need one or two for the four of us. I like to read in the shade and let the kids swim, so they don't need a chair for much time!

I agree, we stayed at both Marriott Ko Olina and Aulani. The Aulani chair issue was a problem our entire stay.

I like how open Marriott Ko Olina was, definitely more open and relaxing, and the had a better handle on the chair issue.

I did love the lazy river at Aulani though.

 

[Ljbadfan]

We are here now. The have signs out if you reserve chairs before 8am they will remove your stuff from the chairs.

 

[peachypie]

Would you say September is low season? We are planning our first trip here then

I am in Hawaii frequently due to work and September through the second week of December is definitely the least crowded.