Online Dining Reservations Questions

[gregf71]

Two questions please...

1. Today I was reviewing the dining reservation process for Ama Ama and Makahiki on the Aulani website for our late June visit. I selected 30 days out, so late May, and every single combination of restaurant, time, and our party size (3) came up with no availability whatsoever. That just seemed odd, but not impossible. Has anyone noticed issues with online dining reservations recently or could they all have been booked up already?
2. I know that the dining reservation window effectively opens at midnight Aulani time 30 days out. If I get up at that time and the site isn't showing availability, it says to call Guest Services for possible assistance. Will they really have staff answering and assisting with dining reservations at that time of night (their time) or do I need to wait until a certain time later that morning to call?

Thanks!

 

[ksromack]

Try searching for 4. The latest you can book out as of 1130 pm cst is Sunday May 28. I found an Ama Ama for 5:30pm and several Makahiki breastfast and dinner availability.

 

[gregf71]

Try searching for 4. The latest you can book out as of 1130 pm cst is Sunday May 28. I found an Ama Ama for 5:30pm and several Makahiki breastfast and dinner availability.

You know, I did think of that too when I was trying this late morning and still got nothing. I will give it a try again and see what happens now.

 

[gregf71]

Try searching for 4. The latest you can book out as of 1130 pm cst is Sunday May 28. I found an Ama Ama for 5:30pm and several Makahiki breastfast and dinner availability.

Nope, just tried and still getting nothing for Makahiki at all on the morning of May 28th for a party of 4. Hmmm....I am trying on my mobile phone. I wonder if the behavior might be different on my laptop.

 

[gregf71]

Try searching for 4. The latest you can book out as of 1130 pm cst is Sunday May 28. I found an Ama Ama for 5:30pm and several Makahiki breakfast and dinner availability.

Nope, still seeing no availability for May 28th when I tried on my laptop. I even cleared my cache in Chrome, but no change. I then tried Firefox, but same situation. I tried every morning hour offered for Makahiki breakfast on that date, for a group of 3 and 4, still no times offered. Something is screwy and I have three weeks to figure it out. If I can't, then back to my second question above...could I call Guest Services at midnight Hawaii time to set them up over the phone or must I wait until a certain time later that morning?

 

[gregf71]

Yeah, something must be wrong with their site. I am seeing available times for the next 15 days only, but no dates beyond that. I am getting times for both Makahiki and Ama Ama from today through May 12th only. Any date I choose from May 13th through May 28th, which are selectable in the 30 day window, is returning no times for me.

 

[gregf71]

Well, this is interesting. Since I am typing this at 10:30pm Pacific Time here in Southern California, I decided to give Aulani a call given that they are 3 hours behind us. The wonderful person I spoke to confirmed what I am seeing.

If this is documented anywhere on their site, then I didn't see it.

She told me that dining reservations can only be made up to 14 days in advance if you do not have a resort reservation for the date(s) in question. If you have a resort reservation for the date you are trying to get a dining reservation for, then that increases to 30 days in advance. You need to be logged into the Aulani site and have your room reservation retrieved and linked (which I already do).

She added that if I do choose to get up super early my time to try to book a dining reservation at 12am their time and run into any problems that I can indeed call them for assistance at any time. I don't need to wait until a later time that morning. So, that is cool. Figuring that when we are there in late June, the resort may be pretty crowded, so I want to make the effort to at least try to get the dining reservations we would like.

Cheers!

 

[ksromack]

Well, this is interesting. Since I am typing this at 10:30pm Pacific Time here in Southern California, I decided to give Aulani a call given that they are 3 hours behind us. The wonderful person I spoke to confirmed what I am seeing.

If this is documented anywhere on their site, then I didn't see it.

She told me that dining reservations can only be made up to 15 days in advance if you do not have a resort reservation for the date(s) in question. If you have a resort reservation for the date you are trying to get a dining reservation for, then that increases to 30 days in advance. You need to be logged into the Aulani site and have your room reservation retrieved and linked (which I already do).

She added that if I do choose to get up super early my time to try to book a dining reservation at 12am their time and run into any problems that I can indeed call them for assistance at any time. I don't need to wait until a later time that morning. So, that is cool. Figuring that when we are there in late June, the resort may be pretty crowded, so I want to make the effort to at least try to get the dining reservations we would like.

Cheers!

The site is glitchy. I swear I made reservations for character breakfast on May 27th. I did it a minute after 0500 my time which would have been midnight Hawaii time. Got a confirmation number and everything…..but I didn’t write down the number and now I don’t see how to retrieve the confirmation. We will be staying at Aulani. Color me confused!

 

[gregf71]

The site is glitchy. I swear I made reservations for character breakfast on May 27th. I did it a minute after 0500 my time which would have been midnight Hawaii time. Got a confirmation number and everything…..but I didn’t write down the number and now I don’t see how to retrieve the confirmation. We will be staying at Aulani. Color me confused!

You weren't sent a confirmation email shortly after making that reservation? When I made Aulani dining reservations for our eventually canceled trip in 2020, I received email confirmations for every dining reservation I made. I still have them in my mailbox from back then. They don't still do that?

Can I assume that you have an Aulani resort reservation on or around May 27th? And that's why you were able to make that dining reservation for that day already?

 

[ksromack]

We will be staying at Aulani during the reservation time, yes. My Yahoo mailbox is being wonky. I made another reservation for the following morning but prefer my original date. Hopefully my original date is there.

 

[Seltzer76]

Thanks for posting this - was just about to post a similar question. I have a reservation starting June 27th and have done the same planning...trying to see if there's anything to book 30 days from now just to practice. I've tried this at various points over the past week - and there's nothing I guess I'll just call up at some point. I thought Aulani was supposed to be relaxing!

 

[Irondraco]

I booked right when the window opened at midnight (6am ET) and was able to get AMA'AMA & the character breakfast no problem. I checked back an hour later and AMA'AMA was full so recommend if you can to get up early to lock-in dining reservations.

 

[gregf71]

I booked right when the window opened at midnight (6am ET) and was able to get AMA'AMA & the characted breakfast no problem. I checked back an hour later and AMA'AMA was full so recommend if you can to get up early to lock-in dining reservations.

I wish that my Hawaiian midnight time was 6am ET. It will be 3am PT for me! Thanks for the affirmation and advice!

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

I wish that my Hawaiian midnight time was 6am ET. It will be 3am PT for me! Thanks for the affirmation and advice!

I feel like in California it’s brutal both ways— 3AM for WDW and somehow also 3AM for Aulani.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

So for my check in date of 6/28, a calculator tells me the 30 days prior is 5/29. And I am central time, so I need to be ready at 5am that day correct? I don't know why time zones make me so confused.

 

[Irondraco]

So for my check in date of 6/28, a calculator tells me the 30 days prior is 5/29. And I am central time, so I need to be ready at 5am that day correct? I don't know why time zones make me so confused.

Correct. I got up at midnight (6am ET) a couple days in a row to lock down AMA'AMA & Character Breakfast. They fill up quick so recommended being up a couple min before midnight hawaii time and you'll have no problem getting the time you want. We check-in at Aulani in 2 weeks!

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Correct. I got up at midnight (6am ET) a couple days in a row to lock down AMA'AMA & Character Breakfast. They fill up quick so recommended being up a couple min before midnight hawaii time and you'll have no problem getting the time you want. We check-in at Aulani in 2 weeks!

Does this mean you have to book each day separately at the 30 day mark instead of being able to book them all 30 days from checkin like WDW?

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Does this mean you have to book each day separately at the 30 day mark instead of being able to book them all 30 days from checkin like WDW?

That’s what it sounds like. What a bummer!

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

That’s what it sounds like. What a bummer!

It’s 3AM for me, so a huge bummer!

 

[Irondraco]

Does this mean you have to book each day separately at the 30 day mark instead of being able to book them all 30 days from checkin like WDW?

Yes, you cannot book all at once. It's frustrating cause it means you'll have to wake up early everyday for a bit depending on how long your stay is at Aulani.