HHI Trip - Disney Activities

[Jimbo]

I thought I'd post the activities that we took part in on our trip. If you've never been to HHI, hopefully this will give you can idea as to what there is to do there. Our group consisted of DW and me, our DD and SiL, plus our two granddaughters, one 9 and one that turned 6 during the trip. This post will be on-property activities.

Campfire (free). They had this three times: Sunday (our arrival day), Wednesday and Friday, and we went to all three. Campfire is silly songs and play-acting around a campfire, with S'mores at the end. It was led by a loud, wild CM on the first night and everybody had a fun time. The other two nights the CMs were more subdued and the campfires were less fun.

Goyataku ($10). This is where you paint a fish and press it onto a T-shirt. You're combining kids, squeeze bottles of paint and a dead fish. What's not to like? A lot of fun and a bargain, too.

Kids Night Out ($20). From what I understand from the kids, they got pizza, and then had to play detective to find their dessert somewhere on property. They had a great time, and we got an adults night out.

Backyard BBQ ($20 adults, $9 kids). DW, DD and GD6 did this, and didn't like it much. They thought it was disorganized, the food was bad and overpriced. We had planned to go to the Shrimp Boil later in the week and cancelled because they were let down by the BBQ.

Fireworks (free). Only 10 minutes, but a good show that we watched from our balcony.

Pool Games (free). This was a fun thing held at the Beach House pool. There were two teams of about 20 people playing screwy games. It was hosted by the loud CM from campfire, and he really got things rolling. Fun for the whole family.

A Private Affair ($150 for two). It was DD and SiL's 10th anniversary on Wednesday, and we treated them to this. They thought it was the coolest thing they'd ever done; DD said she felt like Trista on the Bachelorette.

Butterfly House ($10). You're given a wooden butterly house and get to paint it. As before, kids + paint is a sure thing.

Hairwraps ($44). This is the same thing done at WDW resorts. They only have it two days, so you have to make reservations. The $44 was for the two girls, and GD9 has fairly long hair. It still seems expensive to me, but DW thinks it was worth it.

Bikes ($40). DW and I rented bikes for ourselves and the kids one morning, before it got too hot. It was $10pp for four hours. Originally DW had a bike with a little bike attached to the back for GD6. Neither one of them felt too steady on it, though, so we got GD6 her own bike. We rode under the highway to the beach, rode on the beach and through Palmetto Dunes. It was very nice.

We spent 2.5 days on the beach, and loved it. It's a great beach, with waves just big enough to be fun without scaring the kids. The water was 85 degrees.

And we spent quite a bit of time at the main pool, which was right next to our room. It's a pretty ordinary pool, but we had fun.

Next, I'll post the off property things we did.

 

[disneycrazed139]

Thanks for that information. I was really wondering what to expect at HHI. Sounds like a lot of fun.

 

[lat]

Thanks for the detailed write-up.

I love to real HH report. A friend just came back after visiting Hilton Head and told us how beautiful it was. He even signed paperwork while there impulsely to buy a Marriott timeshare. He could not stop telling us how nice HH is.

We can't wait for our trip for next August. DH is already asking if we can change our October trip to WDW to HHI

Not for October, we are staying at GF and doing MNSSH, got LTT ressie already for that night. I still love going to WDW too much, but it would be a nice change for next year.

Thanks again.

 

[cgcw]

Glad you had a great time.

I wonder if the length of stay bike rental would have been a "better deal" for you. It would have been $50 for the 2 bikes and an additional $10 each for the other two. For $70, you could have had all 4 bikes for the entire duration of your trip. Just something for others to think about.

One of these days, we'll do a private affair. Sounds wonderful!

 

[TeensMom]

Great post. We have done many of the activities you mentioned. We did enjoy the barbeque AND the shrimp boil but I'm sure those can vary.

One additional activity my kids loved was fishing and crabbing (things we don't do at home). They rented the poles from Disney for very little (don't remember) and occasionally bought bait - again for not much. I was surprised at how these two city kids could spend hours down on that dock (and get along together).

 

[WDWNewbie]

Wow--thanks for the great post on the activities at HH!

I had come to these boards to read about HH a few months ago when we first booked our October trip (thanks again Colleen for all the great info you gave me back then if you are reading this) , and just came back now to read more.

Does anyone know if they offer the same level of activities after Labor Day? Do you recall the menu of the BBQ? Thanks!!

We'll be there early October.

Edited to ask: Is there a tennis court on site?

 

[Disneyaholic]

The frequency of the activities goes down after Labor Day. Basically the same types of activites, but just less often.

I don't think they do the BBQ after Labor Day, either. They coincide it with the Shelter Cove fireworks and those end at the end of summer. I think the Lowcountry Shrimp Boil continues, however.

Don't worry -- there's plenty to do, both at the resort, and elsewhere, even in October!!!

No, there is no tennis court on site. I'm sure that the front desk could direct you to a tennis facility that you can use, however...

 

[TerriBelle]

We did a lot of those activities during our trip in July. My family did enjoy the BBQ. Following the BBQ they have a party at the pool where they open the slide for night sliding. The kids really enjoyed this!

We also enjoyed the dolphin trip!