Pool chair availability after breakfast buffet

94bruin

DIS Veteran
Joined
May 28, 2009
I made reservations for breakfast at 7:45am. How long does breakfast usually last and what would the chair situation be after we're done? Location isn't as big of a deal as is getting shade. Is there much natural shade or does shade come in the form of the limited number of umbrellas? I'm debating moving the breakfast to a different day so I can try to get chairs early (this would be for our first full resort day.)

I know that cabanas are an option, but I'm wish there were loungers under the cabana vs in front of the cabana. Sometimes we like to nap in our chairs, but not under the hot sun!
 
character breakfast lasts for probably about an hour maybe 90 min...depends on how much/fast you eat, and if you want to see all the characters/do multiple activities with aunty. if its ama ama probably a bit under an hour...maybe a little over depends on how much of a rush you’re in.

during early morning the shade is mostly provided by the hotel itself...mid day its only the umbrellas. if you want the beach spots, there are casabellas (cheaper than cabanas) that are nicer chairs under a big umbrella. I think 1 casabella is 2 chairs under an umbrella...
 
I think it depends on the time of year and how crowded the resort is. This week has been great as far as chairs go, the two weeks prior was much busier I hear and much more difficult to find seats. (From staff here). It was Spring Break for many West Coast and Hawai’i schools. This week even at 8:15-8:30 plenty of chairs are available. I told some CM hear how great the chair situation is compared to our previous 2 stays. Between removing things at 8 and not having the lines at Aunty’s has probably changed peoples habits.
 
I agree that it depends on the time of year. We were there late September and had a great selection of chairs at 8:30am which remained most of the day. We sat on the deck in front of Ama Ama which had several umbrellas that could provide shade. We didn't bother searching for chairs closest to the pools - they were harder to come by. I'll also add that Aulani had a lot of umbrellas around, so I don't think it would be too hard to find shade. I'll also add that the beach chairs also seem to have availability more often than pool chairs, and there are umbrellas about every 2 chairs on the beach. It's a relatively quick walk to the pool from there as well.
 


It's the first week of June, so I'm going to expect that the resort will be very busy. I called and there are no cabanas left. :( Of course, now that they aren't available, I want one!

If I rent a beach casabella for the day, do I have to worry about the 1 hour limit on being away?
 
I had 7:45 Makahiki reservations on Saturday and quickly found two lounge chairs by the grotto pool afterward. They were not under an umbrella, but there were free chairs closer to the beach with umbrellas then also.
 
If I rent a beach casabella for the day, do I have to worry about the 1 hour limit on being away?

No, they are yours for the day and you can come and go as you please. They are rented day of only and I got one around 8am for DH and I. Out of the 10 or so casabellas on the beach, there was only 1 other one rented that day. We honestly felt like it was a waste of money because the servers were few and far between, and in the afternoon as the sun dropped, the shade of the casabella no longer protected us and was in our face. I had to sit up in the chair and drape a towel over my legs to keep out of the sun. In addition to that, there were rows of empty beach chairs directly in front of us that we could have easily sat in at any point during the day for free! I don't recall the beach chairs being policed in the way the pool chairs were, possibly because there were empty ones all the time.
 


Have you considered the executive lanai? We LOVE it--in fact, prefer it to cabanas. I know that it's booked for 2 of the days that first week in June, b/c we have it, :earboy2: but wouldn't hurt to check!
 
I'll try again, but it was not offered to me when I called. I'm looking for the 3rd and 7th of June.
 
Repeating what I posted in another thread (that you quoted and responded to in that thread by saying, “I think I am just resigning myself to being in the sun for my resort stay in June! I hate having to camp out early for loungers. Esp since we have a kitchen, I was imagining leisurely breakfasts before heading down. Why can't resorts ever figure out the lounger issue is beyond me!”), in order to secure loungers under umbrellas, I was down on the pool deck with a cup of coffee from the Ulu Cafe and a book in my hand at around 6:30 every day.

The majority of poolside loungers with umbrellas appeared to be gone around 7 and virtually all were taken by 7:30.

That being said, this was the week leading up to Easter, so the resort was quite busy - it may be easier to secure umbrellas slightly later in the morning at a less busy time of year.
 
In addition to the executive lanai, the upper veranda and lower veranda may be options as well depending on how many people you have. We didn't care for them because they were on the far edge of the resort, away from restrooms, and a little walk to the main pool. But they were reserved and yours for the day and they were mostly shaded. I would reserve them again only if I were traveling during a busy time and didn't want to wake up early for chairs.
 
Have you considered the executive lanai? We LOVE it--in fact, prefer it to cabanas. I know that it's booked for 2 of the days that first week in June, b/c we have it, :earboy2: but wouldn't hurt to check!

Can you give me a little bit more info on the executive lanai? Location...is is shaded all day...what is included... thanks!!
 
Can you give me a little bit more info on the executive lanai? Location...is is shaded all day...what is included... thanks!!

We rented the lanai for a day on our last trip, and LOVED it. We were travelling with another family and it was great to have a "home base" for your stuff. Here's what's included from the website:

2 casabellas, 2 lounge chaises, 1 table, 2 chairs, 2 umbrellas, a locking cabinet, a fruit platter, towels and 8 bottles of water. All this can be yours for $325 for a full day.

It is situated facing the beach in front of Ama Ama not far from the story telling fire pit. There is a set of steps next to it going from the beach to the pool area so there is quite a bit of foot traffic going back and forth and lots of people taking a peek to see if it's a space they can grab lol.

The deck itself is in the sun about mid day on so the deck itself gets hot on the feet, but with the casabellas and umbrellas you can stay in the shade. If you are a DVC member you get a 10 percent discount.
 
We had no trouble finding chairs (with shade) at the pool or the beach at any time during our one week stay this month.

HOWEVER - we only needed one chair. We are a group of three but with two parents and one child there was literally zero need for three chairs. At all times at least one of us was in the water or otherwise occupied with our DS. So we only took up one chair, even if more than one was available.
 
We rented the lanai for a day on our last trip, and LOVED it. We were travelling with another family and it was great to have a "home base" for your stuff. Here's what's included from the website:

2 casabellas, 2 lounge chaises, 1 table, 2 chairs, 2 umbrellas, a locking cabinet, a fruit platter, towels and 8 bottles of water. All this can be yours for $325 for a full day.

It is situated facing the beach in front of Ama Ama not far from the story telling fire pit. There is a set of steps next to it going from the beach to the pool area so there is quite a bit of foot traffic going back and forth and lots of people taking a peek to see if it's a space they can grab lol.

The deck itself is in the sun about mid day on so the deck itself gets hot on the feet, but with the casabellas and umbrellas you can stay in the shade. If you are a DVC member you get a 10 percent discount.

Yep, agree with all that keaster reported. We did both a cabana and the executive lanai last time we were there, and we MUCH preferred the EL. In fact, we will be arriving in 7 days, and we have the EL booked twice during our stay. We loved the view of the beach from the EL and the open feeling. I don't feel like the extra cost for a cabana is worth it--in fact, I'm surprised the EL isn't the more expensive of the two. As keaster said, the deck can get hot on feet in the afternoon, but there are rugs.
 
We were there 6/14/17 - 6/19/17 and only had a problem finding two chairs after 0830 on Father's Day (6/18/17). Eventually after walking around a bit (10 or so mins) we grabbed two chairs by waikolohe pool area that overlooks the cove. Overall, there was really no trouble finding a chair or two. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Enjoy your buffet! Vacationing in Hawai'i and especially at Aulani should not be stressful. Aloha :)
 
We were there 6/14/17 - 6/19/17 and only had a problem finding two chairs after 0830 on Father's Day (6/18/17). Eventually after walking around a bit (10 or so mins) we grabbed two chairs by waikolohe pool area that overlooks the cove. Overall, there was really no trouble finding a chair or two. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Enjoy your buffet! Vacationing in Hawai'i and especially at Aulani should not be stressful. Aloha :)
-- Also forgot to mention that the area by waikolohe pool has numerous chairs which are under umbrellas; thus there will be shade!
 

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