Golden Week?

[J-Dog]

Sorry, this may be a stupid/often-repeated question.

We are arriving to Oahu on May 5th, 2024, which is the last day of Golden Week. I have heard opinions all over the spectrum about the impact that Golden Week has on Hawaii, from "you won't even notice" to "it's probably the busiest week of the year".

My two-part question, I guess, is: how busy does Golden Week really get on Oahu in the post-Covid era? And what effect does that have as far as residual "busy-ness" for the week immediately after Golden Week?

Thanks for any help.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

I am completely unqualified to answer your question regarding Aulani, but in case no one else chimes with better info, I can tell you that I traveled to Japan the week after Golden Week and experienced low crowds everywhere I went. Everyone was done with traveling at that point and back to work.

 

[J-Dog]

I am completely unqualified to answer your question regarding Aulani, but in case no one else chimes with better info, I can tell you that I traveled to Japan the week after Golden Week and experienced low crowds everywhere I went. Everyone was done with traveling at that point and back to work.

Thanks very much. That does help and I would guess that it would correlate with Hawaii as well.

 

[longboard55]

I am a Waikiki regular, Golden week is big, Japan visitors have been way down the last few years but are increasing this year. Also the Japanese stock market is having its best year in a long time. They tend to stay in Waikiki and not as much as the other Islands. They are often in big groups where they are getting good hotel deals, so I doubt many would be at Aulani. Other than higher hotel prices I have never had an issue with the Japanese tours because they tend to do different things. They will fill up the Paradise Cove Luau, but you won't find many at the Aulani or Chief luau. They go on the dinner cruises, which are not recommended but you will not find many on the Na Hoku sunset cruises. If you go to Waikiki check out the Moana Hotel Lobby for all the pretty Japanese Bridal photo shoots.

 

[J-Dog]

I am a Waikiki regular, Golden week is big, Japan visitors have been way down the last few years but are increasing this year. Also the Japanese stock market is having its best year in a long time. They tend to stay in Waikiki and not as much as the other Islands. They are often in big groups where they are getting good hotel deals, so I doubt many would be at Aulani. Other than higher hotel prices I have never had an issue with the Japanese tours because they tend to do different things. They will fill up the Paradise Cove Luau, but you won't find many at the Aulani or Chief luau. They go on the dinner cruises, which are not recommended but you will not find many on the Na Hoku sunset cruises. If you go to Waikiki check out the Moana Hotel Lobby for all the pretty Japanese Bridal photo shoots.

Thanks so much for the expert advice. We will actually be staying in Waikiki on May 5th, which I think is the last night of Golden week, then moving to Aulani for the next week. It sounds like there my be some busy-ness, but not crazy. We're WDW regulars, so busy is not a problem - I was just hoping it wasn't planning to be insane as some people have alluded to. Thanks again.

 

[TikiThunderPirates]

I ended up in Aulani once during an unexpected (to me) school holiday period and Aulani was packed. I could see the differences in how crowded it was compared to a previous trip during a non-school holiday. Areas around the pools were full and it was challenging to get a lounge chair, but overall it was just a feeling of "more people" around than anything else. During the peak parts of the day you had to hunt/wait for tubes for the lazy river and slides as well. Lines at the quick service were slightly longer but not crazy busy. The spa was booked but they still had appointments. Dining at places like Monkey Pod and the Oleo room were actually less busy than the previous trip.

Aulani seems to be a place that can handle crowds relively well, especially if you don't want a lounge chair