Aulani Preparation [For the chronic planner that just can't seem to let it go!]

[Strikan]

I swore to myself that I would not prepare for our Aulani trip next year the same way i do for a WDW trip. You know, booking things 180 days out and all that stuff.

Having said that, we plan to be there in July and I see a lot of threads where folks turn up and find they cannot get their kids into Aunty's activities or get reservations and other things booked. So, I am calling on the combined wisdom of this great board for a realistic idea of when I should book the following:

1. Aunty's Beach House - Is the general registration, including the complimentary activities like the Space Goo thing etc, all at 90 days out? How does that work exactly?

2. Aunty's Beach House Premium Activities - Is the booking window for things like the Surf's Up activity also at 90 days out?

3. Cabanas - We want to book a cabana for one of the days when we plan to just hang at the resort, what is the booking window for that?

4. Dinner Reservations - We want to plan a nice dinner at Ama'Ama one night. When can you book this?

5. Character Meals - When should you try to book the breakfast or dinner character meals?

6. Aulani Luau - When can you book this?

7. Spa - Again, we want to plan a Spa afternoon. Any guidance on when we should call to book specific things?

8. Anything Else - is there anything else that might have a lead time attached to it that i should think about before we arrive?

I know I am probably over-thinking this. However, after going to WDW many times, I suppose you will never be able to pull the planning part of me away even if I am not going to WDW.

Any advice would be awesome.

 

[nkereina]

We booked a casabella for 3 days, dining reservations including character meals, and spa appointments about 4 months in advance. Had no trouble getting the times we wanted for each. Not sure when the exact booking window opens, but you could try calling now for the cabana and they will tell you when it opens if it's not there yet. IMO, out of the things on your list, that's the most difficult one to secure.

Only other things we wanted to book early was Pearl Harbor - we did an organized tour, but if you want to go on your own, I believe you need to do that 2 months in advance online if you can. Also, we booked our Kualoa Ranch tour a few months in advance. The tour we wanted had limited capacity and we really preferred the morning tour over the afternoon one.

 

[heaven2dc]

1. Aunty's Beach House registration - no sooner than 90 days prior to arrival but at least 2 days prior. When you pre-register your kids, you'll be asked to select up to 3 complimentary experiences and will receive an email from the Kids Club advising dates/times of those experiences. Remember to show up at least 30 mins before activity starts.
2. Premium activities - 90 days prior
3. Cabanas - can be booked anytime as long as you have a reservation booked at Aulani
4 and 5. Character meals and Ama Ama restaurant reservations can be booked 180 days in advance. Highly recommend following that guideline to guarantee a reservation
6. 60 days prior to date you want to book.
7. Call Lani'Wai Spa 808-674-6300
8. If you want to book any excursions, I recommend booking them at least a month in advance. You can book those online on Aulani's website.

If you can't get a reservation for Makahiki or Ama Ama, it's possible to do a walk up but not guaranteed. The restaurants are very popular to those who live on the island and visitors to the area. Enjoy your trip!

 

[Strikan]

Awesome - many thanks.