Feeling a bit overwelmed!

[ays114]

Help! We (4adults, 2 young adults, and 4 children (ages 7-12) are heading to Aulani in June. And overwelmed with all the activities and tours. Should we do self-guided tours, private tours? We are deifnately renting a car. Don't understand what we should see at Pearl Harbor or the admission process (Iread somewhere $1 will save your time). Did anyone every use Gyspy Guided tour? Any information would be appreciated. Anyone willing to share an itinerary that worked for them?

 

[moredisneyplease]

i'm going to keep a close eye on this post because we'll be there in 6 weeks with our two little ones and I, too, feel a bit overwhelmed by all that there is to do! I guess I just have to go back sooner rather than later, right?

 

[backyardponder]

I'd head to the library and pick up a couple different Hawaii tour books.

 

[Texas Disney Fan]

We are going in June as well. We have been planning for the last couple of months. I think the biggest thing to remember just as with WDW is that can not do it all in one trip. I think you will need to think about what type of things are you the most interested in. I remember googling things to do in Oahu to help me narrow down what we want to do. We have a few tours book but have decided to do Pearl Harbor on our own. I used the link in the site below to reserve our time. We are buying the passport to Pearl Harbor to be able to do all of the attractions. I not sure yet if will do all or just a couple.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2879088

I am sure by the end our time ther we will have wished we would have done some other items but hey that will just give us all the more reason to go back one day. Also remember it is a vacation and you are suppose to have fun. Good luck with your planning and your trip.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

<snip>Also remember it is a vacation and you are suppose to have fund. <endsnip>

Freudian slip?

 

[Texas Disney Fan]

Freudian slip?

LOL. Yea it doesn't help that I work in government.

 

[mdsd8700]

We are going in June as well. There are 4 of us in our family, pretty much adult age as our kids are 15 and 18. We generally are not guided tour people and prefer to do things on our own. There are times we have done guided tours but not doing any on this trip. We are only going for a week and as another posted said I just did some research and then went from there on what we as a family like to do. Some of the highlights are parasailing, swimming with sea turtles (DD 15 is dying to do this), snorkeling at Hanama Bay, Diamond Head and Pearl Harbor. For Pearl Harbor I got tickets on line when the link was provided by someone else in another thread on this board. They are through the government and just became available this way a few months ago. We are doing other things as well with some down time at the pool too although we prefer to "go" more than relax. If you read some of the prior threads on Aulani you will find some great tips and ideas on things to do and places to eat!

Enjoy your trip!!

 

[taaren]

There's a lot to see and do, both at the resort and around the island. Oahu Revealed is a book that a lot of people like. I'd recommend alternating between resort days and non-resort days if you have a week so you can get some relaxing beach/pool/resort time in.

If you're not into military history, then the Arizona (a sunken submarine) memorial at Pearl Harbor will be a waste of time for you. Head to the Polynesian Cultural Center instead, it'll give you a more Hawaiian experience. Haunama Bay has been mentioned, and it is one of the best snorkeling experiences you'll find (though for obvious reasons I'm partial to Molokini and Kapalua on my own island).

Things I'd highly recommend: try some shave ice, the stuff at the resort is good but Waiola's is better and there's also some on the North Shore I've heard good things about. One evening hop across the street from Aulani to have dessert at Roy's, get the souffle (the food's good too, but pricey). The Fireman surf lessons have been highly recommended, and though I've lived in the islands for over 20 years and never stepped foot on a surfboard (I prefer kayaking), every tourist I've met that has tried it seems to have a blast. I've also seen several comments that the Marriott next door to Aulani has a great happy hour.

Since you don't have to be back at the resort at a specific time and you have a rental car, booking excursions on your own or creating your own rather than through Disney is going to be much more affordable and not much more hassle.

I lived on Oahu in the mid-90's and only hop over occasionally, but I do know a few things about it if you want to PM me any questions.

 

[ays114]

Thank you for your advice and Taaren I know I will have questions so I will PM you.

 

[pmaurer74]

I went to Hawaii 9 years ago and stayed in Oahu, Kauai and Maui but not the big island! The Polynesian Cultural Center is really good on Oahu and if You go to Maui the Old Lahaina Luau is good and the aquarium center. If you rent a car there is the road to Hana which is an interesting trip if you are into adventure and taking trails to water falls and such. Have fun! We hope to go when the kids are older.

 

[mouseaider]

We are planning our trip as well and we'll be there in 29 days. Here's what we plan to do.

Day one, arrive at 2:00 PM, pick up rental car and head to Aulani. If we are late arriving we'll have dinner in Honolulu first to let traffic die down, and then go get groceries for our room. If not, we will drive to the resort and check in first.

We'll enjoy exploring the resort and drinks with some DIS-friends, maybe, if she remembers. .... right Missy?

Day two, tour Pearl Harbor, have lunch at Margaritaville at the Beachcomber and then back to the resort for pool/beach time.

Day three, hang around Aulani and relax and enjoy until our luau reservations at Paradise Cove.

Day four, climb Diamond Head and maybe snorkel at Hanama Bay.

Day five, relax at Aulani or go on a Whale watch, if they are still doing this. It's a little late I'm afraid, but we'll see.

Day six, no plans yet, maybe we'll drive to North Shore to find Giovanni's shrimp truck.

Day seven, Dole Plantation Tour.

Day eight, check out and drive to the airport for our 4:35 PM flight.

We are planning a very relaxed trip as you can see. We always take the attitude that what we can't do this trip, we'll do the next.

Good luck with your planning.