We just returned from 8 nights at Aulani. As a committed supporter of the idea chairs should not be saved if you are not actually at the pool, I was interested to see how Aulani's new policy worked. Unfortunately, I fear Aulani wants us all to join the ranks of chair savers. 
The staff was good about notifying us of the policy. Almost every day the staff issuing wrist bands made sure we knew the policy. The policy was that chairs would be monitored. If pool staff felt chairs were not being used then the towel on the chair is tucked in on the back of the chair. If the towel is not untucked after an hour then the items on the chair will be taken to the location where wrist bands are issued and the chair is open to use. Sounds reasonable, until you see it in action.
Here are my observations:
1. The policy does not stop folks from going to the pool or the beach early and saving chairs. On July 4th, an admittedly busy day, by 8:30 am you could not find a chair without stuff on it. However, there were very few people in the chairs at that hour and certainly not enough around the pool to fill them. It was similar everyday.
2. The staff is inconsistent about identifying chairs which are not being used. One day we watched a set of chairs sit for four hours without the towel ever being tucked into the back of the chairs by staff. These chairs were only visited once by one person for less than five minutes in the first hour that I watched them.
3. Even when towels are tucked in on the back of a chair the staff is inconsistent in removing items after an hour. I never did see anything removed although I heard it happened once. I did see many chairs with towels tucked in sit for far more than an hour with no action by the staff.
4. You can save a chair all day and not use it as long as you visit for a moment and make sure the towel gets pulled out.
My take:
As long as this policy remains in place I will abandon my principles and become a chair saver.
1. Go to the pool early, like 7:00 am, and save your chairs. Then leave
2. Come back at 8:00 when the staff goes to work and check that the towel has not been tucked in. Advanced tip: Greet the pool staff in your area so they know who you are. Then leave.
3. Send someone to check every hour that you are not at the pool to make sure the towel has not been tucked. If so, untuck the towel, if not sit for a moment then leave. Don't forget to say hi to the staff watching your area! Remember once a towel is tucked you have 1 hour to untuck it, realistically it will likely be more than an hour before it is tucked so you could stretch your visits to more than an hour depending on your risk tolerance.
4. Repeat step three as often as needed. Advanced tip #2 Take a selfie when you visit your chair to time stamp your visit to the chair.
It is with great sadness that I declare my allegiance to the dark side, but it is the only way to make sure my family has chairs at the Aulani pool.
Good luck out there on the pool deck. I will continue to hope that Disney can imangineer a solution in the near future that favors people who are actually at the pool or the beach.
The staff was good about notifying us of the policy. Almost every day the staff issuing wrist bands made sure we knew the policy. The policy was that chairs would be monitored. If pool staff felt chairs were not being used then the towel on the chair is tucked in on the back of the chair. If the towel is not untucked after an hour then the items on the chair will be taken to the location where wrist bands are issued and the chair is open to use. Sounds reasonable, until you see it in action.
Here are my observations:
1. The policy does not stop folks from going to the pool or the beach early and saving chairs. On July 4th, an admittedly busy day, by 8:30 am you could not find a chair without stuff on it. However, there were very few people in the chairs at that hour and certainly not enough around the pool to fill them. It was similar everyday.
2. The staff is inconsistent about identifying chairs which are not being used. One day we watched a set of chairs sit for four hours without the towel ever being tucked into the back of the chairs by staff. These chairs were only visited once by one person for less than five minutes in the first hour that I watched them.
3. Even when towels are tucked in on the back of a chair the staff is inconsistent in removing items after an hour. I never did see anything removed although I heard it happened once. I did see many chairs with towels tucked in sit for far more than an hour with no action by the staff.
4. You can save a chair all day and not use it as long as you visit for a moment and make sure the towel gets pulled out.
My take:
As long as this policy remains in place I will abandon my principles and become a chair saver.
1. Go to the pool early, like 7:00 am, and save your chairs. Then leave
2. Come back at 8:00 when the staff goes to work and check that the towel has not been tucked in. Advanced tip: Greet the pool staff in your area so they know who you are. Then leave.
3. Send someone to check every hour that you are not at the pool to make sure the towel has not been tucked. If so, untuck the towel, if not sit for a moment then leave. Don't forget to say hi to the staff watching your area! Remember once a towel is tucked you have 1 hour to untuck it, realistically it will likely be more than an hour before it is tucked so you could stretch your visits to more than an hour depending on your risk tolerance.
4. Repeat step three as often as needed. Advanced tip #2 Take a selfie when you visit your chair to time stamp your visit to the chair.
It is with great sadness that I declare my allegiance to the dark side, but it is the only way to make sure my family has chairs at the Aulani pool.
Good luck out there on the pool deck. I will continue to hope that Disney can imangineer a solution in the near future that favors people who are actually at the pool or the beach.
