Go Oahu card at Pearl Harbor

[Collmal]

We are visiting Aulani in June, and want to use the Go Oahu to visit Pearl Harbor. The card website says you do not need a reservation, but that does not seem right. I don't want to get there and not be able to visit. Do I need to call and make reservations first?

 

[cgattis]

I'm not sure what the card covers, but there are both free and paid portions of Pearl Harbor. You can make reservations for both, but there are also walk/-ups for the free part (not sure about the paid parts). You can see everything they offer on the recreation dot gov website.

 

[buffettgirl]

The Go Card doesn't actually cover the Arizona. Admission to pearl harbor itself is always free, and never requires a reservation. The go card will cover some of the paid attractions, like the missouri or the submarine and may also cover an audio rental, but you'd have to check your card for details. These should be spelled out on the card. None of those things requires reservations.

The arizona itself is also free but you can obtain a ticket online in advance for a small service charge or you can walk up and try to get a ticket.

So if your intent is to only see the arizona memorial, it is totally free to do that.

 

[cmph]

When we bought/used it last year, the all-inclusive Go Oahu card (not the kind where you pick/pay for your activities in advance) covered the Bowfin, the Missouri, and the air/space museum. I know we had a headset at the Bowfin, but I think that is always included in Bowfin admission. You definitely do not need reservations for any of these things. We just walked up, showed the Go Oahu print-outs, and got our tix.

The Arizona, as mentioned above, is a whole other thing, which is free but needs a timed ticket. Go Oahu can't help you with that part. You'll need to reserve them just as everyone else. I think you can get the headset with the Go Oahu card, but I'm not sure that's something anyone really needs. We didn't feel like we were missing anything without it. We actually did the Arizona on a separate day, which is weird, I know, but we were maximizing the Go Oahu card and keeping the kids from flipping out over a long day of historical stuff. We booked a catamaran with the Go Oahu card for the day we did the Missouri/Bowfin. We did the Arizona on the day we went to the swap meet, which was nearby, and neither required the Go Oahu card. If we didn't have the kids with us, we'd have done all the Pearl Harbor stuff in one day and skipped the swap meet (which was for souvenir acquisition for them anyway). It was just a bit much for my kids to cram all of PH into one day (they were 7 and just barely 11 at the time). We skipped the air/space museum as it was.

 

[Collmal]

Thank you so much for the information! We want to do the Missouri, the narrated Arizona tour, and the Bowfin. Basically, what option three would be from the recreation.gov site. These are all listed as included on the card. Since I know these are in high demand, it seemed improbable that I would not need a reservation.

 

[cmph]

Thank you so much for the information! We want to do the Missouri, the narrated Arizona tour, and the Bowfin. Basically, what option three would be from the recreation.gov site. These are all listed as included on the card. Since I know these are in high demand, it seemed improbable that I would not need a reservation.

There are space limitations for the ferry that takes you to the Arizona, so that's why you need a ticket for that. The Missouri is HUGE. You really don't understand how big until you see it. I can't see why they would ever need to impose timed tickets for it. I guess maybe the Bowfin could get crowded and they might make you wait as people clear out? But it's a pretty steady movement of people with the accompanying headsets that pretty much guide you along, so no one is lingering. FYI - we did the Bowfin in the morning first b/c it's right there, then headed over to the Missouri (they have a shuttle to get you there). We decided to wait for lunch until we got to the Missouri, and that was a huge mistake. Time it so you eat by the Bowfin. The Missouri basically has a food truck plus a snack stand, and a pretty small eating tent. The Bowfin eating area was far nicer. Also, the food truck line at the Missouri took me like 20min to get through, even though it was on the early side, barely 11:30, if that, standing in the full sun the entire time. Probably the most frustrating part of the entire day!

 

[CT15]

There are space limitations for the ferry that takes you to the Arizona, so that's why you need a ticket for that. The Missouri is HUGE. You really don't understand how big until you see it. I can't see why they would ever need to impose timed tickets for it. I guess maybe the Bowfin could get crowded and they might make you wait as people clear out? But it's a pretty steady movement of people with the accompanying headsets that pretty much guide you along, so no one is lingering. FYI - we did the Bowfin in the morning first b/c it's right there, then headed over to the Missouri (they have a shuttle to get you there). We decided to wait for lunch until we got to the Missouri, and that was a huge mistake. Time it so you eat by the Bowfin. The Missouri basically has a food truck plus a snack stand, and a pretty small eating tent. The Bowfin eating area was far nicer. Also, the food truck line at the Missouri took me like 20min to get through, even though it was on the early side, barely 11:30, if that, standing in the full sun the entire time. Probably the most frustrating part of the entire day!

I am thinking of getting the gocard, but want to book Pearl harbor on line- and wondering how that would work. Has anyone done that? Can you use the gocard for on line bookings?

 

[cmph]

I am thinking of getting the gocard, but want to book Pearl harbor on line- and wondering how that would work. Has anyone done that? Can you use the gocard for on line bookings?

Do you mean for the Arizona timed entry via the national parks site? That is separate from the other paid Pearl Harbor attractions that are included in the Go Oahu card. We just handed over our Go Oahu card on-site to gain entry for the Missouri and Bowfin, though, didn't try to book a tour of any sort in advance.

But to answer your question for anything else that needs to be pre-booked (Kualoa Ranch tours, etc) - I called for all those things, and told them I was using the Go Oahu card. Some times they asked for the card number, so you had to have purchased the Go Oahu card in advance. Some times they didn't, but they needed to know you were using it b/c some times it could only be used for particular days/times.

 

[MSUmom]

My understanding is the Go Oahu card will pay for audio tour at Arizona.

 

[glencoe]

Trying not to hijack here, but how hard is it to get the arizona tickets by walk up? I was sick for a bit and missed my window and they sold as fast as a BOG ressie disappears!!
Being travel hockey veterans early mornings are no problem....how early would you recommend to get in line for those walk-ups? I heard it opens at 7am....we were thinking 5:30am (kids are 14-21 so they can deal with a wait if needed!) Oh...this is for July 22nd!!!

Thanks!!

 

[cmph]

Trying not to hijack here, but how hard is it to get the arizona tickets by walk up? I was sick for a bit and missed my window and they sold as fast as a BOG ressie disappears!!
Being travel hockey veterans early mornings are no problem....how early would you recommend to get in line for those walk-ups? I heard it opens at 7am....we were thinking 5:30am (kids are 14-21 so they can deal with a wait if needed!) Oh...this is for July 22nd!!!

Thanks!!

I'm not sure, since we were able to book a time in advance. But I'm positive I have read something about same-day tix here in a different thread (unrelated to Go Oahu cards), if you do a search for it.

 

[buffettgirl]

You can almost always get walk up tickets - later in the day. They save some aside all day.