Non-Dining "stuff" that needs to be reserved prior to arrival?

[J-Dog]

Hi all,

I initially apologize, because I know I could find this answer if I conglomerated a whole bunch of your previous posts together. But I was hoping for some kind of easy reference to activities, that are specifically at Aulani, that need to be reserved at 30 days out to have a viable chance of being able to do said activity?

Food is generally my top priority, so I have those under control, but I'm not grasping the concepts of all the other activities very well, based on their demand and their need to have a reservation or not. For example it seems like there are some things that are available to do daily in the little flyer that you get daily as a guest, there, but then there are things at Aunty's that are impossible to participate in without an advanced reservation. And some things I just have no clue - like story-time at night, stargazing, ukulele lessons, etc,

Any help, such as a list, or even a link to something that spells it out better than the Aulani website, would be very helpful. Thanks so much!!!

 

[WAstateDVCDaddy]

there are really only three things at Aulani that you need to make advanced reservations for - dining, Auntie’s, and cabanas/casabellas/loungers.

Most everything else can be booked closer to your arrival time. Other things you will want to reserve a little in advance are spa treatments, activities like stargazing, lei making, and other family activities. When we were last there (in August) my wife’s lei making class had 2 people in it. . I hear the stargazing sessions do fill up sometime, but often people don’t show up.

 

[J-Dog]

there are really only three things at Aulani that you need to make advanced reservations for - dining, Auntie’s, and cabanas/casabellas/loungers.

Most everything else can be booked closer to your arrival time. Other things you will want to reserve a little in advance are spa treatments, activities like stargazing, lei making, and other family activities. When we were last there (in August) my wife’s lei making class had 2 people in it. . I hear the stargazing sessions do fill up sometime, but often people don’t show up.

Good to hear. I have dining, the spa, and the cabanas already covered, so maybe I won't worry about it too much.

Thanks very much!

 

[MsChristy12]

Ukulele class! It's very popular, it's free and it's only offered certain days of the week so they are usually at full capacity the week of. If you're interested, book it at least 2 weeks in advance just to make sure you have it. That class is very fun! Highly recommended.

 

[J-Dog]

Ukulele class! It's very popular, it's free and it's only offered certain days of the week so they are usually at full capacity the week of. If you're interested, book it at least 2 weeks in advance just to make sure you have it. That class is very fun! Highly recommended.

Thanks!

Question, though - we aren't going until May, but looking ahead at April just for the fun of it, every Ukulele lesson slot is booked. Is that normal that it is very hard to book, or is it just unusually busy? (I'm just not convinced that it's worth getting up at 3am PDT just to get a spot in the class).

Thanks again.

 

[MsChristy12]

Thanks!

Question, though - we aren't going until May, but looking ahead at April just for the fun of it, every Ukulele lesson slot is booked. Is that normal that it is very hard to book, or is it just unusually busy? (I'm just not convinced that it's worth getting up at 3am PDT just to get a spot in the class).

Thanks again.

It's Spring break so it's crazy busy at Aulani. We were there at the beginning of December and it wasn't as busy and I was even able to switch days within 2-3 weeks. But when I checked November around Thanksgiving...oof yeah every one of them was full. So yes it's just timing how busy the resort is and because it's free, people just book it even though they aren't sure if they will make it. I definitely wouldn't get up extra early just to book that (I didn't even do that for Makahiki breakfast! lol), but just to be on the safe side, check availability right on 30 days.

 

[Van@Disney]

you need to go to the community room as soon as it opens in the morning to sign up for any activity you want to participate in.

 

[J-Dog]

It's Spring break so it's crazy busy at Aulani. We were there at the beginning of December and it wasn't as busy and I was even able to switch days within 2-3 weeks. But when I checked November around Thanksgiving...oof yeah every one of them was full. So yes it's just timing how busy the resort is and because it's free, people just book it even though they aren't sure if they will make it. I definitely wouldn't get up extra early just to book that (I didn't even do that for Makahiki breakfast! lol), but just to be on the safe side, check availability right on 30 days.

Thanks very much. It didn't even occur to me that it's now Spring Break - that makes perfect sense. I will check at 30 days.

 

[Sepidpooy]

Can we reserve a casabella in advance? How should we do that?

Also if we missed to book the character breakfast, is there anyway to get in without an advanced reservation?

 

[gatechfan99]

As far as cabanas, I'll update what I got when I called today for anyone who's planning.

Called at 90 days (mid-July trip), around 6 AM Hawaii time, was able to book anything available for our whole 6 night stay.

Cabanas were not available until Sunday, Day 5 of trip. Also available on Monday.

Executive Lanai and Lower Veranda AMA AMA were not available at all. Upper Veranda not available until Sunday but did not help us because it only seats 4 and we are party of 5.

So yes, if you're going in summer, definitely call early in AM at 90 days before your trip and even then, may not be available until several days into your trip.

 

[MomOTwins]

As far as cabanas, I'll update what I got when I called today for anyone who's planning.

Called at 90 days (mid-July trip), around 6 AM Hawaii time, was able to book anything available for our whole 6 night stay.

Cabanas were not available until Sunday, Day 5 of trip. Also available on Monday.

Executive Lanai and Lower Veranda AMA AMA were not available at all. Upper Veranda not available until Sunday but did not help us because it only seats 4 and we are party of 5.

So yes, if you're going in summer, definitely call early in AM at 90 days before your trip and even then, may not be available until several days into your trip.

That's similar to our experience. I called at 90 days for our mid-July trip at around 2am hawaii time (did not feel like waking up early enough to do a call right at midnight, so that might have provided more options). Executive lanai was not available at all for our week, but we were able to get lower verandah on day 4 of our trip and Cabana was an option on days 5, 6 or 7 of the trip (we only booked one day though). Did not ask about upper veranda since we are also a party of 5.

 

[Tanya Tink]

What time do reservations open up for dining 30 days prior and activities two weeks prior?

 

[WAstateDVCDaddy]

What time do reservations open up for dining 30 days prior and activities two weeks prior?

Activities are 30 days prior I believe. It was for the animation sessions - and they were filled up at 2 1/2 weeks before our trip.