Favorite "Beat the Crowds" advice for Aulani?

[EpcotNerd]

Other than "wake up at 4am to get a good pool chair", what are your other tips on how to be ahead of crowded pockets of the day?

For example...
-Avoiding lines at check-in/check-out?
-What are the "off times" to eat lunch/dinner? I wasn't sure if this is different than normal places because everyone's body clocks are off?
-Avoiding lines for towels/bracelets?
-Other crowded points?

Thansk!

 

[jodybird511]

In terms of avoiding lines for towels/bracelets, my biggest tip is to remember that there are multiple stations (3, I think????), so if there is a line at one, don't just jump in it--there may be no one waiting at another. People tend to stop at the first one they see.

Regarding pool chairs, my best piece of advice is, if it fits your budget and your trip is still a ways out (they book early), for days you know will be pool/resort days, reserve a cabana or the executive lanai--this guarantees your seating for the entire day, not to mention some extra perks, like a fruit tray, etc.

Oh, and one other thing--don't wait to do your on-resort shopping until nighttime. Once the pools close, there isn't a lot left to do at the resort, so the shops tend to be much more crowded between 8pm and close. Much better to shop during the day.

 

[vacay77]

We are here right now and we haven’t really experienced long lines with the exception of check-in. We’ve walked right up for towels, we’ve been seated right away at the restaurant, and we really haven’t had to wait a long time for elevators. Finding a chair by the pool has been difficult but we haven’t had any problems finding lounge chairs by the beach. For check-in, we arrived at around 5:30 pm and while the line was long, it did move quickly.

 

[vacay77]

I should also add - we have found the pools and the beach to be less crowded in the late afternoon.

 

[irishgolf]

Here now, chairs on beach easy to get. Multiple chairs around pools (they are all tied together, so they can’t be moved ), for larger families more difficult.

 

[Daisy7425]

We were there in January 2020 and didn't find it to be crowded. We did have to get to the pool early in the morning to get chairs in a location that we wanted but food lines were short, towel lines had only one or two parties in front of us and moved quickly, no wait for snorkeling, no wait at check in (about 8pm), no wait in the store to check out, no wait for elevators. The line to get a photo with Mickey had about three people in front of us (before the character meal). We made dinner reservations, but didn't wait for a table or wait long for food.

 

[Lilsia]

We are also here now. We have only been going out to the beach, and not the pool, and have no issues getting chairs any time of the day. We checked in on a Friday at around 11:30ish and there was no line. We also eat at off times so we avoid any crowds.

 

[TeamRiley]

We just got back. There are always enough chairs on the beach. The only time we went about 10 minutes early to get chairs by the pools was on Friday and Saturday morning. The weekend steps up some in usage I guess.

We typically went to the pools in the morning, gave up our chairs when we left for lunch, then found more when we went back about 2. Never an issue except on the weekend, and then there are still always plenty at the beach.

Once covid restrictions lighten up, they will add more chairs and the problem will go away.

Personally I think most of the problem is there is always a bunch of overbearing Karens that make a frantic land grab for chairs and then never use them, or only use half of what they grab. A family with 3 kids does not need 5 chairs all day long when they are only at the pool for 4 hours in two 2 hour stints.

If you want to have a chair where you are next to the pool so you can watch you kids closely, you may need to get up earlier. The weekend may be worth and extra 10 minutes as well. If everybody just used what they needed, and gave them up when they left, there would be plenty to spare.

One more thing. If you do try to go early to reserve chairs, you have to stay in them until 8. If you just go, leave your stuff, and go back to your room, (yes Karens, I am talking to you) they are free game. The hosts will take your stuff.

 

[vacay77]

Just thought of another tip. If there are activities you want to participate in, you need to sign up well in advance. We are having a great time here but I am frustrated that there is no information as to where and when to sign up for activities. For example, my son wanted to participate in feeding the fish at Rainbow Reef. The app just says the times that are available. Anyway, we showed up at the time listed on the app, and all the slots were filled for the day already. So I guess it needs to be booked first thing that morning. We also weren’t able to sign up for the paint by light activity because the next available date is the date we check out. So if there’s an activity you really want to do, try to sign up for it the first day you arrive.

 

[jimmymc]

People tend to eat early, so between 7 and 8 for breakfast, 11 to 12 for lunch, and right around 6 for dinner.

The resort gets much more crowded on weekends and holidays from locals, either getting rooms or just using the spa/eating.

Chairs at the pool will open up after lunch. The beach is usually empty in the morning.

The towel station by the beach is usually the shortest line.

 

[EpcotNerd]

People tend to eat early, so between 7 and 8 for breakfast, 11 to 12 for lunch, and right around 6 for dinner.

The resort gets much more crowded on weekends and holidays from locals, either getting rooms or just using the spa/eating.

Chairs at the pool will open up after lunch. The beach is usually empty in the morning.

The towel station by the beach is usually the shortest line.

Thanks so much, the meal times scoop is very helpful!

 

[PinMan]

Good info , how busy has the lazy river and slides been ? Is the adult pool still there ?and how busy is that ?

 

[LilyJC]

Good info , how busy has the lazy river and slides been ? Is the adult pool still there ?and how busy is that ?

Very busy the past couple of days. In the afternoon there has been a line for tubes at the lazy river. CMs are being super watchful though and kicked multiple kids out of the lazy river/slide lines for not having wristbands. They’re also checking for a room key before heading into the parking garage. Oh, no adult pool currently. It’ll be interesting to see if things calm down after the long weekend…

 

[vacay77]

Good info , how busy has the lazy river and slides been ? Is the adult pool still there ?and how busy is that ?

The adult pool is no longer just for adults - kids can go into that pool now. Not sure if they'll change it back to an adult only pool soon. We found the lazy river and slides to be less crowded first thing in the morning, around 8-8:30 am. So that's when we would do the slides.

 

[vacay77]

Near the end of our trip, it definitely started to get more crowded. I think we timed our trip just right - they were starting to lift restrictions - no masks required for the character pictures, but we also didn't encounter the summer crowds. I noticed the crowds of people later in the evening, after the luau was over. That's when I saw the lines to the elevators get long, etc. So maybe avoid the elevators and dining etc around the time (it was about 7:30 pm-ish). We would usually eat at 5 pm-ish so we usually didn't encounter the crowds. For breakfast, we just went to a grocery store and bought food like muffins, bagels, etc.

 

[PinMan]

Nice , we’re going in February, looking forward to it .