Clarification: Booking Aulani Cabanas/Casabellas

[J-Dog]

Sorry, just wanted to clarify - Cabanas and Casabellas (and the Spa) are bookable starting 90 days from the first day of your reservation, correct?

What time do they open-up, exactly? Midnight Hawaii-time? (i.e. 3am PST)?

Thanks.

 

[Van@Disney]

They don’t do daylight savings. So it may not be three hours depending on when you book. Check timeanddate.com

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Is it actually midnight though? I was under the impression that it’s a division that isn’t open 24/7–you can’t do it online.

 

[J-Dog]

Is it actually midnight though? I was under the impression that it’s a division that isn’t open 24/7–you can’t do it online.

Yeah, that's what I'm trying to find out. I know you have to call, but I'm not sure when to call.

 

[Poppins2010]

I hope you get what you want. I called on the first day possible - very early in the morning, only to find out that one party had reserved the cassabella that we were hoping for. They had reserved it for the entire week. My guess is that they wanted to keep their options open, and they will probably cancel one or more days. Kind of frustrating though.
First world problems ... after all. I"ll be in Hawaii!

 

[J-Dog]

I hope you get what you want. I called on the first day possible - very early in the morning, only to find out that one party had reserved the cassabella that we were hoping for. They had reserved it for the entire week. My guess is that they wanted to keep their options open, and they will probably cancel one or more days. Kind of frustrating though.
First world problems ... after all. I"ll be in Hawaii!

Were others available that you took instead? Or you only wanted a specific one?

We have never been to Aulani before, so I wouldn't even have a clue as to reserving a specific one. I just want any one that might be available.

 

[Poppins2010]

We are going without kids this time, so we wanted one of the two that are by Ama Ama .(Folks with kids usually want the ones by the pools - these are a little farther away) Both were already spoken for for the whole week. I didn't get one. We'll just take our chances, and see if one opens up. If not, that's ok too.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

We are going without kids this time, so we wanted one of the two that are by Ama Ama .(Folks with kids usually want the ones by the pools - these are a little farther away) Both were already spoken for for the whole week. I didn't get one. We'll just take our chances, and see if one opens up. If not, that's ok too.

Did they let you waitlist?

I don’t remember seeing any casabellas by the pools.

 

[J-Dog]

So, to clarify for anyone interested, these do become available at midnight Hawaii Time, 90 days prior to the first day of your booking.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

So you can book them for the whole trip 90 days out? And is it bookable online now?

 

[J-Dog]

So you can book them for the whole trip 90 days out? And is it bookable online now?

Yes, for the whole trip. But no, you still have to call.

I called at about 5am Pacific time on February 5th and booked cabanas for May 10th and 12th.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Yes, for the whole trip. But no, you still have to call.

I called at about 5am Pacific time on February 5th and booked cabanas for May 10th and 12th.

I’m concerned that if we go for less than a week we’re going to get shut out by longer trip-takers.

 

[J-Dog]

I’m concerned that if we go for less than a week we’re going to get shut out by longer trip-takers.

I had initially planned to try for May 5th, which wouold have been our first day, but we eventually decided against it, so I didn't even ask if it was available. So sorry, I have no idea what the actual availability is early-on in a booking, but for us for the days that we chose, all the cabana locations were available.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

I had initially planned to try for May 5th, which wouold have been our first day, but we eventually decided against it, so I didn't even ask if it was available. So sorry, I have no idea what the actual availability is early-on in a booking, but for us for the days that we chose, all the cabana locations were available.

Thanks for letting me know. No need to apologize either. I actually think your strategy is smart— the first few days of jet lag make it easy to get up and camp out by 7… for us it gets to be more of a chore as the week goes on.

 

[J-Dog]

Thanks for letting me know. No need to apologize either. I actually think your strategy is smart— the first few days of jet lag make it easy to get up and camp out by 7… for us it gets to be more of a chore as the week goes on.

Yeah. We have 3 resort days coming up out of 9 total days - I figure we will be doing a lot of resort "stuff" on the first day, and then get progressively lazier as the week goes on, hence the cabanas

 

[AstroBlasters]

Yeah. We have 3 resort days coming up out of 9 total days - I figure we will be doing a lot of resort "stuff" on the first day, and then get progressively lazier as the week goes on, hence the cabanas

Our airlines changed our flight time to arrive 4 hours earlier (11am HT)… if that holds I might want to book one on arrival day…. That sets an expensive precedence though….

 

[J-Dog]

Our airlines changed our flight time to arrive 4 hours earlier (11am HT)… if that holds I might want to book one on arrival day…. That sets an expensive precedence though….

Although the cabanas/casabellas aren't cheap, it comes down to an acceptable ratio of cost vs. the perceived amount of physiological stress of finding a chair early and/or being irritated with other people for chair-hogging. And my ideal amount of physiologic stress on vacation is zero.