The sun lounger dash.....

[kdonnel]

And I thought it was competitive at Aulani

 

[nkereina]

LOL! Sheesh! That is the worst part of any resort stay or cruise for me - having to get up at the crack of dawn to get a good chair. This is why I try to reserve something where available - so I can sleep in, have a leisurely breakfast, and make my way down some time mid-morning. Without something reserved in advance, that would be impossible to do at Aulani unless you literally don't care where your chair is, but we always have a preference since we're spending the whole day at it.

 

[AquaDame]

This makes me feel a little better to hear you say that... we don't really care where our chair is, but I would still like A chair and to not have to stress about that on vacation...!

 

[nkereina]

This makes me feel a little better to hear you say that... we don't really care where our chair is, but I would still like A chair and to not have to stress about that on vacation...!

When are you going? We were there in September which is a slower time of year, but there were always ample chairs available on the beach any time of day. Most days, there were also a decent amount of chairs on the deck in front of Ama Ama. The deck in front of Ama Ama is closer to the pool, so we chose to park there on days we wanted to go back and forth to the pool. It doesn't have a line of sight to the pool, so its not a great location for people trying to keep an eye on kids or for people spending most of the time in the pool, since you can't check on any belongings you leave at your chair. This is probably why these chairs aren't very popular.

That said, I will caution that I don't know what the current protocols are with social distancing so I can't speak to how chair availability looks now.

 

[jodybird511]

And I will say that we have definitely been there during busier times of year (btwn Xmas and NY and in June), and there were days where there weren't ANY chairs....so I agree with @nkereina that it's completely worth the cost for us to reserve either a cabana or the exec lanai to guarantee seating and not have to worry about it.

 

[AquaDame]

When are you going? We were there in September which is a slower time of year, but there were always ample chairs available on the beach any time of day. Most days, there were also a decent amount of chairs on the deck in front of Ama Ama. The deck in front of Ama Ama is closer to the pool, so we chose to park there on days we wanted to go back and forth to the pool. It doesn't have a line of sight to the pool, so its not a great location for people trying to keep an eye on kids or for people spending most of the time in the pool, since you can't check on any belongings you leave at your chair. This is probably why these chairs aren't very popular.

That said, I will caution that I don't know what the current protocols are with social distancing so I can't speak to how chair availability looks now.

We're heading over in early October; no kids to speak of but if we can't leave our stuff unattended then we'd just leave it in the room (is theft a real concern..?)

 

[nkereina]

We're heading over in early October; no kids to speak of but if we can't leave our stuff unattended then we'd just leave it in the room (is theft a real concern..?)

I don't think theft is a big concern, but I wouldn't leave anything of value unattended. I used a KYSS bag when we were there - it as a built-in small chain that you can link to a fixture like an umbrella or chair, and then the zippers lock together with a combination lock. Just provides a little extra security so you feel comfortable going to the pool for a bit with your bag at your chair.

 

[kdonnel]

We're heading over in early October; no kids to speak of but if we can't leave our stuff unattended then we'd just leave it in the room (is theft a real concern..?)

We have always just left our stuff on beach chairs.

If you are really concerned you could always buy something like this
https://www.amazon.com/LOCTOTE-Anti...ocphy=9011040&hvtargid=pla-569562562202&psc=1
and lock it to one of the beach chairs. It would be really obvious if someone was trying to break apart a chair to steal your stuff.

They would move onto an easier target.

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

Wow... hopefully it is not this bad finding a chair with the prices we pay. I had a bad exp in Disneyland hotel where after my run I could not find any chair and saw a fight break out over chairs and they brought over security. I ended up laying down on the a towel on the concrete... not a very happy movement thinking about the money I paid for the hotel and how tried I was after my run. I am a big believer in hotels making seating enough for your whole hotel can sit.

 

[JC1984]

People stress out when it supposed to be a vacation. Should be playing this song anytime they open the pool at places like this...

 

[jodybird511]

Wow... hopefully it is not this bad finding a chair with the prices we pay. I had a bad exp in Disneyland hotel where after my run I could not find any chair and saw a fight break out over chairs and they brought over security. I ended up laying down on the a towel on the concrete... not a very happy movement thinking about the money I paid for the hotel and how tried I was after my run. I am a big believer in hotels making seating enough for your whole hotel can sit.

There are MANY threads on the chair situation at Aulani, but the short info is that pool chairs are an issue. If you search, you can find a lot more info, but basically, when Aulani was designed/planned, Disney did not anticipate that it would be used as a destination in and of itself. Rather, they thought that people would use it as more of a home base. Because the resort is seen by many AS the destination (as opposed to Oahu in general), they stay there all day for many days of their trips. As such, the number of pool chairs is insufficient. And I can tell you that the chairs they have (during the beforetimes anyway) is just about as many as they can have, based on space on the pool deck--they are pretty jammed in there. AND Aulani is a huge resort, so....do the math. Sigh. I would recommend that if you plan to spend full days at the resort doing pools/slides/beach, you either plan to get down to the pool early OR you reserve either a cabana or the executive lanai--these do book early, so you'll want to call as far in advance as you can.

 

[JC1984]

There are MANY threads on the chair situation at Aulani, but the short info is that pool chairs are an issue. If you search, you can find a lot more info, but basically, when Aulani was designed/planned, Disney did not anticipate that it would be used as a destination in and of itself. Rather, they thought that people would use it as more of a home base. Because the resort is seen by many AS the destination (as opposed to Oahu in general), they stay there all day for many days of their trips. As such, the number of pool chairs is insufficient. And I can tell you that the chairs they have (during the beforetimes anyway) is just about as many as they can have, based on space on the pool deck--they are pretty jammed in there. AND Aulani is a huge resort, so....do the math. Sigh. I would recommend that if you plan to spend full days at the resort doing pools/slides/beach, you either plan to get down to the pool early OR you reserve either a cabana or the executive lanai--these do book early, so you'll want to call as far in advance as you can.

At $450 a day for a cabana I will take my chances sitting on the ground for the days I am at the resort.

 

[Alexander]

I’ve never understood why people would want to spend the day on a crowded pool deck like that. We avoid the pool on sea days during cruises. Wall to wall people isn’t my idea of relaxing.

 

[Alexander]

I don't think theft is a big concern, but I wouldn't leave anything of value unattended. I used a KYSS bag when we were there - it as a built-in small chain that you can link to a fixture like an umbrella or chair, and then the zippers lock together with a combination lock. Just provides a little extra security so you feel comfortable going to the pool for a bit with your bag at your chair.

Love my KYSS bag!