Disneyland or Hawaii? What would you do??

[chickyann]

Wow, that's an awesome problem to have

I travelled to Hawaii, Oahu to be exact, when my girls were 5 & 3 & we had a fantastic time.
Hawaii is beautiful, with lots to see & do, it's a great place to take little kids + still have a relaxing time

 

[minniecarousel]

Def Hawaii (& this opinion is coming from a bonafide Disney-aholic!)

 

[DonaldTDuck]

I would go to Disneyland.

However, I am not a sun/beach person, so Hawaii holds little interest for me. Also, I adore Disneyland & California, so I may not be objective enough!

Sitting on the beach bores me to tears, so I vote for DL.

There is so much more to Hawaii than the beach. I've been twice, and the second time I spent less than an hour in the water. I've climbed Diamond Head, been to Pearl Harbor, ridden the Yellow Submarine, walked part of the rim of a volcano, gone on a whale search in November, walked the Trail of Desolation left by a lava flow, and many other non-beach things. I got to visit Punch Bowl before they closed it to the public because of vandals. We saw a double rainbow on the Big Island and visited the offices used as Hawaii 5-0's station. We even stumbled into a mob wedding at the governor's mansion and got escorted by 2 large insistant men. I vote Hawaii.

 

[Heather1101]

I live in Hawaii (O'ahu) and I vote Disneyland...lol. Having lived here twice, once w/ small children, and now with kids that are 13 and almost 8, I think Hawaii is much more fun and relaxing for everyone with kids that are older.

However, it is doable with young children if you still want to brave the expense it takes to vacation over here. There are very safe beaches to go to for young children. Waikiki has an area that is great for kids and Ko'Olina (where they are building the Disney Hotel) has 4 lagoons that are like bathtubs. For other child-type entertainment, we also have Sea Life Park, which is like a very miniature Sea World, and a water park, the zoo, the aquarium, Bishop museum.

 

[avalon451]

We even stumbled into a mob wedding at the governor's mansion and got escorted by 2 large insistant men. I vote Hawaii.

Wow! Excitement, thrills and danger as well as relaxing beaches! Now, that's a story to tell your grandchildren some day! "Yessirree, we were lucky to escape with our kneecaps intact..."

 

[Kailua's Belle]

I'll put a vote in for Hawaii too. Since I live here, I don't have to make the choice, but Hawaii is a great place for kids! If you don't want the hustle and bustle of Waikiki, you could stay in a bed and breakfast in on the windward side of Oahu... home of two of the most beautiful beaches in the world.


It will be great to go back to Disney after a break, and then your kids will probably have reached new height milestones and it will be a whole new world of rides!!

 

[quest4dl]

Hawaii. Especially with a 2.5 yo. At this age I think it is harder for them to wait in line and also with their imaginations really starting to take off, they tend to scare easily and it's hard to predict what might set that off (giant characters, dark rides, loud noises). I think your kids ages are perfect for a beach-type vacation. While I love Disney (duh), I really enjoy going to other places too. If I had the time and money I would do both but that's not possible for us so we only do Disney every couple of years. Kids get so much out of being exposed to all sorts of cultures and places (sorry, I really don't think Epcot fits the bill here ).

 

[Rapunsel]

Look at my ticker....

We went to Hawaii last year and my kids were almost 3 and 6. It is the vacation that they talk about all the time. We take the grandparents with us and they can do what ever they want. We swim in the pool go for walks, go to the beach. The favorite days were beach days. This year we are going for 8 days..

We are also fortunate enough to have AP's to DL. So Hawaii is our family vacation. Like others said no lines to wait in, they can sleep late and enjoy the beach.. DL will always be there bt a little one seeing a fish for the first time is incredible. We are teaching the 3 yr old how to use a mask and snorkel so she can go out with us this year..

Have a friend who took 2.5 yr old triplets to Hawaii last year.. they all loved it..

 

[ACDSNY]

I'll vote for Hawaii, but you might want to check airfare first. Over the last few weeks I've watched the prices go up $300 per person to fly to Kauai. Boy do I miss Aloha Airlines.

I'm trying to figure out how to squeeze in a two day DL trip in Oct before we go to Kauai, I just need the money tree to start growing & producing. Oh wait I forgot, my DH planted Giant Pumpkins not a money tree.

 

[davidsprincess]

Never been to Hawaii, but the rest of my family has. They are going back to Hawaii later this year and guess where we are going?

 

[DoomBugger]

Hawaii, especially since you have been to DL several times the last few years. Every vacation can't be about going to a Disney destination.

Hawaii is amazing, so much to see and do.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

We can't afford a trip to both DLR & Hawaii. In the last 4 years we have been to DLR 3 times. We have a 5 yr old and 2.5 year old and these seem like such special ages for enjoying Disneyland. However, Hawaii would be a wonderful vacation too. What would you do? Try something knew or stick with the ulitmate "Happiest Place on Earth"?

Hawaii!!!! What island are you thinking of going to? If you go to Oahu, rent a car and check out the North Shore, also, Kailua and Lanikai Beaches are nice. (You can go swimming w/ the turtles - literally!) Take an Atlantis Submarine tour and see one of the beautiful artificial reefs off the shore of Waikiki and its inhabitants, take a sunset dinner cruise and check out the beautiful unobstructed view of the sunset w/ Waikiki as the backdrop on Atlantis Navatek dinner Cruise. Go whale watching if you're going late December through April. Hike Diamond Head, book a tour through Shangri-La Doris Duke's estate, check out Bishop Museum, Go to Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, go to the water park, or beaches at Ihilani where Disney is building a new hotel...There's a lot to do in Hawaii and especially on Oahu. Wakiki and Ala Moana Beaches are beaches w/ sand, as is Ihilani, North Shore (i.e. Sunset Beach), Kailua and Lanikai. Oh yeah, the beaches at Ihilani have those huge nets that keep out fish, sharks, etc. All this and I didn't even mention the insane shopping at Ala Moana, Waikele Premium outlets, any of the shopping and activities in Wakiki (like the Honolulu Zoo & Sunset on the Beach). Check out the Top 100 things to do in Hawaii on Oahu at Tripadvisor.com Lots to do! http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g60982-Activities-Honolulu_Oahu_Hawaii.html

 

[mt mommy]

My kids are 6 and 4. We went to DL and WDW in 2006 and 2007. Last October we took them to Maui. THEY LOVED IT!!

To my dismay I asked them what was more fun, Hawaii or Disney? They said Hawaii. You can't beat playing on the beach every day and swimming with sea turtles.

Don't get me wrong I am a Disney freak, but change is good too!!

 

[PrincessSitka]

I have gone to disneyland for the last 4 yrs with the kids and the crowed are getting worse. We also had to chose for our next trip disneyland, or Hawaii and we are going to go to Hawaii. I don't like the crowds at Disney any more.

 

[Vacation Dad]

Hawaii!

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I would vote for Hawaii for too. If you hadn't been to DL recently, I might say there, but since you have, I think the change would be nice. We went for almost 2 weeks when my oldest was 1.5yrs old and we LOVED it. I would love to go back. We recently spent 8 days in Playa Del Carmen (Mexico) and my girls can't stop talking about it. They'd never say no to a trip to DL, but I think they enjoyed the beach vacations more.

Maybe it's where I live, but I find it much easier to get to DL than to Hawaii, so I'd do Hawaii now and plan a DL trip for next year.

 

[samkj]

I would love to do Hawaii!! However with a severely diabled child, we tend to stick with Disney since I know she can do everything there. We will probably take a trip to Hawaii when the kids are a bit older/teens and bring my parents along to help.

 

[Finding Gigi]

I just cancelled our WDW trip to go to Oahu. I love both places but haven't been to Oahu in a while.

 

[kirstie101]

Hawaii. They're two totally different types of vacations so its hard to compare the two. But I do know that if I had to chose it would be Hawaii hands down. Think of the great pics you can tale of the kids playing on the beach and in the sand in some cute hawaiian print clothes! We haven't taken DD yet but I hope we get to in the next year or two. Hawaii for me is definitely more of a relaxing vacation then Disneyland is.

 

[Misskitty3]

You all make great points! DH & I are TOTAL Disney adicts. It is sooo bad!! However, I would really love to take the kids to Hawaii and actually have a vacation were I didn't have to stand on my feet almost 100% of the time.

I think we will go for the Hawaii trip.....