Dinner at Ama Ama - What Would You Do and how long is dinner?

[disnygirl55]

Hi all!

We will be at Aulani during the last week of March. On the night we are dining at AMA AMA, sunset is at 6:19. We have a dinner reservation for 6:00.

I thought I should try to change our time to 5:30, so we can enjoy the sunset more. However, those times are all reserved.

I can reserve at 5:00, which would probably get us a better seat anyway, but will we be holding up progress if we stay at our table until 6:30ish? I don't want to be hurried out of there, but I really have no concept of how long it takes to dine at AMA AMA. I'm going to go ahead and reserve the 5:00 now, but I want to hold onto the 6:00 time until I hear some feedback from my DIS friends!

 

[alldiz]

I would keep the 6 and get there early. I'm sure they can seat you a little early.
Kerri

 

[nkereina]

How many people? If you have a larger party, I'd say a 5pm reservation would still have you there for sunset without feeling like you're holding up a table. Even if you're a smaller group or two people, if you show up right at 5pm and order apps, entrees, dessert, drinks, etc. then I'd bet your timing would still be good. The 6pm reservation would make me feel like I'm in a rush to quick sit down and get settled.

As a side note, if sunset is at 6:19, does that mean the sun will fully be set at 6:19 or is that the time the sun starts going down? lol... not sure I've ever thought about that but might be something to consider too!

 

[disnygirl55]

As a side note, if sunset is at 6:19, does that mean the sun will fully be set at 6:19 or is that the time the sun starts going down? lol... not sure I've ever thought about that but might be something to consider too!

That's exactly what made me question my decision about 6:00. Someone posted in another thread that it was extremely dark at the posted sunset time. I don't mind eating after dark, but if the point is to be seated in Ama Ama in order to watch the sun go down, it seems kind of pointless if we could choose another time. Also, if they are filling up with people already arriving at 5:00 and 5:30, I don't imagine that our choices for tables will be too swell, and we'd be back from the ocean anyway.

We will probably have drinks at least, so I'm starting to feel that 5:00 is a better choice. Even if we get tired of sitting there waiting for the sun to set, I suppose we can always get up and go outside and give our table to someone else.

 

[nkereina]

@disnygirl55 I agree, I'd also go with 5:00 in that case. We had the first seating at breakfast one morning and had a beautiful table in the front row closest to the ocean. You'd have a better shot at that if you arrive when they open for dinner I'd think. Have fun!

 

[kdonnel]

Sunset is the time the sun goes below the horizon.

 

[disnygirl55]

I decided to go with the 5 pm. There are only 3 of us, but if we're going for an upscale dining experience (I know Ama Ama is hit or miss on that count, but I'm hoping we'll be lucky and it will be delightful), we should plan to take our time and savor our dinner and drinks, and hopefully save room for dessert! We are planning an early breakfast there a day before, but this is our only scheduled dinner there, so I'm hopeful we can sit Oceanside by having the first seating. Thanks for chiming in, everyone!

 

[alohamom]

I decided to go with the 5 pm. There are only 3 of us, but if we're going for an upscale dining experience (I know Ama Ama is hit or miss on that count, but I'm hoping we'll be lucky and it will be delightful), we should plan to take our time and savor our dinner and drinks, and hopefully save room for dessert! We are planning an early breakfast there a day before, but this is our only scheduled dinner there, so I'm hopeful we can sit Oceanside by having the first seating. Thanks for chiming in, everyone!

I think you made the right choice. If you remember and dont mind doing so, would you please come back to this post and let us know how it worked out? Just curious for future planning-thanks!

 

[disnygirl55]

I think you made the right choice. If you remember and dont mind doing so, would you please come back to this post and let us know how it worked out? Just curious for future planning-thanks!

I'll sure try and remember. I'm also planning on writing a trip report (although I really have to work on finishing my WDW trip report from a couple of years ago!) - so keep an eye out for that. I'll start a pre-trip report hopefully soon and list all my plans.

 

[crystal1313]

I believe our reservation was at 5 in July and we got to stay well past sunset. Our server was excellent and told us we could have the table all night if we wanted. We really took our time and enjoyed all the courses and our drinks. It was an excellent. Can't wait to hear about your trip!! =)

 

[disnygirl55]

I believe our reservation was at 5 in July and we got to stay well past sunset. Our server was excellent and told us we could have the table all night if we wanted. We really took our time and enjoyed all the courses and our drinks. It was an excellent. Can't wait to hear about your trip!! =)

You just absolutely set my mind at ease. Thank you so much! I look forward to telling everyone about our trip, and I'm going to re-read yours in the next couple of weeks to remind myself of any last minute things I want to plan. I really enjoyed reading your report!

 

[crystal1313]

@disnygirl55 feel free to pm if you have any questions! So excited for you!!