I think it was like this in August when we went.When did Aulani shorten their Auntie’s beach house offerings? The last free session is now at 12:00pm and there is no longer an afternoon premium session. The afternoon sessions were still offered when we went last summer.
In August 2025 I am pretty sure I remember it only being morning /early after noon around 12. I do know thats all we booked.I might be remembering wrong and completely making this up, but I seem to remember them saying something about reducing hours this past spring - maybe May-ish.
Don't know why - probably budget cuts, since lack of utilization didn't seem to be the issue.
ETA: @VGCgroupie - did you go August 2025, and they still had afternoon sessions? If so, then I'm wrong, but for some reason, I remember the announcement this spring...
Oh, okay. That lines up then.In August 2025 I am pretty sure I remember it only being morning /early after noon around 12. I do know thats all we booked.
I just went in August and it was substantially more packed with people and families than the previous August. Not everything fits this narrative.Must be due to the lack of international tourists and political influence from outside of Aulani. Less tourists = less families = less children to watch over. I’m sure much of the international audience made a last minute substitution to foreign Disney resorts or even no Disney at all.
I second this. I have been visiting annually in mid-to-late August every year since the COVID-19 reopenings in 2021, and this trip was the most crowded I have seen. Also, I've noticed a significant uptick in Japanese guests, especially this year, and they might've outnumbered local or mainland American tourists. The character breakfast was hard to get a reservation for, and all the lines for characters were very long compared to years past.I just went in August and it was substantially more packed with people and families than the previous August. Not everything fits this narrative.
Aulani is sold out pretty much always. Their business model is to sell as much as they can full price, then offer increasingly steep discounts to kamaaina, local military, etc., until every bed is sold.this trip was the most crowded I have seen.
I totally agree with you, but I also agree that there are definitely times that "feel" less/more crowded. I wonder why that is? Coincidence? Big events on other parts of the island at different times drawing people away?Aulani is sold out pretty much always. Their business model is to sell as much as they can full price, then offer increasingly steep discounts to kamaaina, local military, etc., until every bed is sold.
Outside of COVID or when there are rooms taken out of inventory for refurbishment, there is no "less crowded" or "more crowded" at Aulani. I agree that it can certainly feel that way sometimes, but occupancy is extremely consistent and the perceived changes in crowd levels are more based on whether guests are spending more or less time at the resort versus elsewhere on the island rather than more or fewer guests in total.
I don't have any data but I would expect turnover days to feel more crowded, not less. A family checking in and a family checking out both have full access to the resort amenities even though they only "occupy" a single room between them. Plus, neither family has access to the room while housekeeping is turning it over so both families are forced into the resort common areas.I totally agree with you, but I also agree that there are definitely times that "feel" less/more crowded. I wonder why that is? Coincidence? Big events on other parts of the island at different times drawing people away?
I think that there are some "actual" lesser-occupied times, but usually has more to do with days, like Sundays and Mondays, in which there is more room turnover, and the lower occupancy is hours-long, not days or weeks-long.