Aulani reopening date

[DRussell83]

We have reservations for the first week of December. We will go unless the lazy river is closed. Lol

That's what I am thinking too - hope they announce what will be open/closed prior to November 1st.

 

[FinnFogg]

We are booked for the week after Xmas (on points), incl direct flights which were an amazing deal (and refundable). Would love to go, but right now we would be subject to a 14day quarantine upon return to Canada. That would be a deal breaker for us. Hopefully that will change. I plan on waiting until the last minute to pull the trigger on cancelling.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

I want to be a responsible traveler and take all necessary precautions. Our 2020 trip has been postponed 4 times now. I’m hopeful that we can do this safely.

My husband and I love to venture out and explore and really only use Aulani as home base. The last trip was just so so. The crowds were huge and we were disappointed at the behavior of some guests. I have to admit I’m over the moon with the idea of reduced capacity.

What do you think will be closed or scaled back? I would assume Aunty’s and the Spa will be closed. The craft room is tiny. Maybe reservations for activities? I can see one of the restaurants could stay closed. We would only plan to eat outside or off property at some of our usual places.

I would love to hear other’s thoughts. 25% capacity?

 

[BlueRibbon]

The crowds were huge and we were disappointed at the behavior of some guests.

Oh, please do spill the tea!!

 

[Tiggerette]

What do you think will be closed or scaled back? I would assume Aunty’s and the Spa will be closed. The craft room is tiny. Maybe reservations for activities? I can see one of the restaurants could stay closed. We would only plan to eat outside or off property at some of our usual places.

I would love to hear other’s thoughts. 25% capacity?

I'm curious about capacity as well. If the number of guests exceed the capacity of the dining areas (overwhelm physical distancing limits and/or meal preparation) then guests need to seek other dining options. Will those be as available? These are the critical questions I have when thinking about my ressie. Also, I really do love lazy rivers....

 

[Paul Stupin]

I'm curious about capacity as well. If the number of guests exceed the capacity of the dining areas (overwhelm physical distancing limits and/or meal preparation) then guests need to seek other dining options. Will those be as available? These are the critical questions I have when thinking about my ressie. Also, I really do love lazy rivers....

I’m sure they could also expand the seating of some outdoor dining areas. I think they’ll go to great lengths to make sure the reopening goes well.

 

[oohykitten]

Oh, please do spill the tea!!

Cant speak to their experience. Our last trip at Thanksgiving 2018 wasn't ideal. Cast members were using empty rooms for their own recreation. Staff taking sodas from the gift shop and running in bathing suits to a room on the top floor. My husbands shirt was stolen at the pool, not his wallet or phone. It was from a surf competition locally in Northern California. We left not wanting to go back for a while. With points its just a very cheap way to stay in Hawaii. I will say DO NOT go during the locals Oct break. WOW WOW. I am not kidding when I say it was bad. Another guest said their friends work there and give wrist bands away. Two kids were jumping off the rocks into the pool over guests heads.

 

[gskywalker]

We officially decided last night. We cancelled our booking for January. Will use our points at wdw instead. Too many things could go wrong, be closed, etc for a once in a lifetime trip. We will go 5 years from now for our 25th anniversary instead of this year for our 20th. By then the kids will be older and we could go for 2 weeks instead of 5 days as well.

 

[Paul Stupin]

Cant speak to their experience. Our last trip at Thanksgiving 2018 wasn't ideal. Cast members were using empty rooms for their own recreation. Staff taking sodas from the gift shop and running in bathing suits to a room on the top floor. My husbands shirt was stolen at the pool, not his wallet or phone. It was from a surf competition locally in Northern California. We left not wanting to go back for a while. With points its just a very cheap way to stay in Hawaii. I will say DO NOT go during the locals Oct break. WOW WOW. I am not kidding when I say it was bad. Another guest said their friends work there and give wrist bands away. Two kids were jumping off the rocks into the pool over guests heads.

Our experience last October couldn’t have been more different. Well run, great staff, absolutely beautiful hotel. All this chaos you describe was nonexistent.

 

[Dan1]

We are scheduled for the first week of January but we think we are going to cancel. Too much could go wrong. This likely is a once in a lifetime trip for us and we want to be able to experience everything. We figure we will put it off from our 20th anniversary to our 25th. We won't be selling our DVC membership so we will still have points to use then. Instead we want to go to WDW for Christmas to use up our January Expiring points but can only have it make sense if they start selling annual passes again.

We just did the opposite. Marathon weekend runs cancelled, Florida Governor opening up most things and prohibiting any fines for. It wearing a face mask, capacity at the parks being increased, long lines for rides before park capacity increase, not all restaurants open and those that are have reduced menus. We went earlier this month to WDW and had a fab time with very short lines for rides in the parks,felt very safe..... it was a very relaxed vaca but not sure we’d be able to duplicate that in January now.

Lying on the White sand beaches in the South Pacific drinking fruity drinks sounds like what the doctor ordered after Christmas and New Years Eve.

We were able to get great Southwest return trip for us two for only 45,000 miles combined which also helped.

 

[Paul Stupin]

We’re booked for early Jan for the exact same reason. We also went to WDW late summer, and had a great time. The Disney reopening protocols actually made for a great trip, as they no doubt will at Aulani as well. The reduced capacity should make navigating the resort even better.
So many folks are convincing themselves not to go, but if it makes for a less populated experience, I’m all for it!

 

[aoconnor]

I was supposed to go in October but that was cancelled. Now debating if I should try for mid-November . First time there and no kids, my only real concern is that the lazy river would be closed... first world problems of course. But I may not make it out there again for years to come.

Since the water parks are still closed at WDW I feel like it may be closed. Can't guarantee social distancing with the floats in the river and some people going faster/slower than others.

 

[corgi_monster]

I want to be a responsible traveler and take all necessary precautions. Our 2020 trip has been postponed 4 times now. I’m hopeful that we can do this safely.

My husband and I love to venture out and explore and really only use Aulani as home base. The last trip was just so so. The crowds were huge and we were disappointed at the behavior of some guests. I have to admit I’m over the moon with the idea of reduced capacity.

What do you think will be closed or scaled back? I would assume Aunty’s and the Spa will be closed. The craft room is tiny. Maybe reservations for activities? I can see one of the restaurants could stay closed. We would only plan to eat outside or off property at some of our usual places.

I would love to hear other’s thoughts. 25% capacity?

In addition to the spa and Aunty's I think the luau is at risk for closing. I'm not sure if it's considered an attraction or dining. If it's an attraction it will definitely be closed. If it's considered dining then individual table must be socially distanced and only 5 people from the same household can sit at the same table.

Photography classes, pool parties, storytelling, organized beach activities, etc. would be limited to groups of five so I would understand if Disney chose not to host most activities.

Character greetings are a no-go.

Snorkeling in the reef seems a little sketchy, no matter how well they sanitize equipment.

Here's a link to the city's guidelines on what/how businesses can open. We are currently in tier 1. https://www.oneoahu.org/reopening-strategy

Given the current inter-island quarantine and travel restrictions to/from Asia, I think 25% capacity is realistic, perhaps a little optimistic. Weekends might be crowded with locals taking staycations, but the weekdays will probably be lovely.

 

[CodyBoy]

Just wondering, IF it's 25% capacity then I suppose they might have to possibly cancel some people. Does it tell you anywhere what the allowed capacity for hotels is?

 

[marshac]

My wife talked to someone at the desk last week - more information is coming in the next few weeks, and it sounds like the employees are learning what's coming essentially at the same speed we are, but they did mention that the resort amenities which would ordinarily be open to non-guests such as character dining may be closed to people not staying at Aulani in order to meet possible capacity requirements. Good news IMO that they're considering steps like this to maximize the experience for the guests within the requirements of the re-opening phases.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

We have been fortunate to visit Aulani multiple times. Hawaii is the same flight distance for us as Florida. I would not recommend going soon if this is a once in a lifetime trip. We go to a Oahu once or twice a year. We would be comfortable with poke from Foodland everyday. It will be a slow recovery: no tours, luaus, etc.

 

[gskywalker]

We just did the opposite. Marathon weekend runs cancelled, Florida Governor opening up most things and prohibiting any fines for. It wearing a face mask, capacity at the parks being increased, long lines for rides before park capacity increase, not all restaurants open and those that are have reduced menus. We went earlier this month to WDW and had a fab time with very short lines for rides in the parks,felt very safe..... it was a very relaxed vaca but not sure we’d be able to duplicate that in January now.

Lying on the White sand beaches in the South Pacific drinking fruity drinks sounds like what the doctor ordered after Christmas and New Years Eve.

We were able to get great Southwest return trip for us two for only 45,000 miles combined which also helped.

We are Canadian so there are a lot more obstacles to getting into Hawaii than Florida. My concern would be that I get a test done and then the results get delayed for some reason. We get there and something we really want to do is closed, like Pearl Harbor. If it was for a beach vacation I would much rather go to Cuba where the numbers are lower, beaches are better and the rum is fantastic. We(well really its my wife) want to go to Hawaii for the experiences which we figure will be limited compared to going later.