Kualoa Ranch - Good place to check out?

[GT Mom]

We are going to Aulani this coming February. We have 3 kids, 15, 12 and 10. They are all active kids. I was thinking about taking them to check out Kualoa Ranch because of all the good reviews. However, my kids are not old enough for the ATV tour and can't do the zipline tour. I am not sure if they will get bored with the horseback, movie, jungle and other tours. Does anyone with older kids have good experience with any of the tours at Kualoa Ranch? Thanks.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

My family and I went to Oahu with my 17yr old niece's dance school and they performed in several locations.
The ages of the people that went ranged from 5-80.
We went to the Kualoa Ranch and had a blast.
We learned about the history of the area and how to propetly pick a coconut and watched them rub sticks to start a fire. It was quite a bit of a repeat from the Chief's luau that we had gone to a few nights prior since its run by the same people but it was still rather fun.

We then went to the Secret Island and had a blast playing volley ball, swimming, kayaking, eating lunch...

I'd say its fun for all ages and I'd recommend it.

Although the most memorable things from that day was standing in the pouring rain waiting for our bus only to realize that it was actually a party bus and the kids asked to have the lights and music turned on so my parents who are 73 and 69 were there jamming out to I Love Cheap Thrills by Rihanna and Sean Paul lol.

 

[cgattis]

Although the most memorable things from that day was standing in the pouring rain waiting for our bus only to realize that it was actually a party bus and the kids asked to have the lights and music turned on so my parents who are 73 and 69 were there jamming out to I Love Cheap Thrills by Rihanna and Sean Paul lol.

LOL!!!!!!

(And where the heck did the ROFL emoji go???)

 

[cgattis]

@GT Mom, I think we've decided against Kualoa for those same reasons The 4-person ATVs that the under-16s can ride are just Mules, which my kids ride around looking at their own cows at home, so probably not that exciting. I'm sure it would still be beautiful, but sitting on a bus tour probably isn't what we'll want to do. If I run across any other cool similar activities that younger teens can do, I'll come back and post.

 

[GT Mom]

@GT Mom, I think we've decided against Kualoa for those same reasons The 4-person ATVs that the under-16s can ride are just Mules, which my kids ride around looking at their own cows at home, so probably not that exciting. I'm sure it would still be beautiful, but sitting on a bus tour probably isn't what we'll want to do. If I run across any other cool similar activities that younger teens can do, I'll come back and post.

Thank you. We will probably check out some snorkeling excursions and surf lessons.

 

[nkereina]

We really enjoyed Kualoa Ranch but we're two adults and did the premier movie tour. We knew the movies and TV shows and could appreciate seeing the sights. I would imagine kids would get bored on either movie tour since it's just seeing locations that really don't resemble what you saw in the film. I will say though, that if you have any major Jurassic World fans, the premier movie tour took us in the indominous rex pen and observation deck which was pretty cool. It was identical to the movie.

As for the jungle tour, the premier movie tour incorporates part of the jungle tour. That part was a touch boring. The only cool thing was that they were filming Jumanji 2 so we got to see that in action, and we knew the Rock and Kevin Hart were on site somewhere. No guarantees with something like that though.

 

[mrswillson]

Kualoa Ranch is a wonderful place to visit and a must-see for your first time on island! I did the bus tour with all of my fellow employees at work, and it was extremely fun and informative as they will tell you not only all about the movies that were filmed on location, but will also teach you much of the heritage and culture of the island. They have multiple ways to take your tour (bus, ATV, horseback) and you will receive the same information and follow the same trail regardless, so you'll just need to decide which would be best for you and your children.

I've heard Secret Beach is great too, and it has some beautiful views of the Koolaus and should be quieter than the regular public beaches.

 

[MissDaisyofTexas]

We loved Kualoa Ranch! That side of Oahu is absolutely gorgeous! Here are some photos from our trip: http://savingforadream.blogspot.com/2015/03/hawaii-trip-report-part-9-kualoa-ranch.html

 

[nkereina]

Just to add, you could do a tour like Secrets Beach or the Jungle Tour at Kualoa in the morning and then spend the afternoon in Kailua. The beach in Kailua was amazing and it's a quaint little town with some cute restaurants. We also stopped at the Byodo-In Temple for photo ops. We filled a whole day in the areas near the Ranch.

 

[hilarys]

I second the recommendation for Kailua beach - it is gorgeous and nice to get out and play on beach that is different from Aulani's lagoons. My family loves Kualoa ranch. We have toured it twice but in a different way. DH and I and now my DD are big LOST fans. KOS Tours is an independent company but they are authorized by the Ranch to do Hummer tours through the ranch that focus on locations used for Lost and now Hawaii 5-0. They also point out other major movie filming spots. We have done this twice and the kids have loved it both times even when they were younger and had not yet watched the shows. The hummer makes plenty of stops to get out and take pictures and both the guides that we have had were super fans of the shows which made for fun conversations. One was an actor who had been an extra/small roles in many different things filmed at the ranch. I highly recommend them for fans as a great way to see this beautiful location. The kids love the time they have spent at the ranch and love seeing commercials and movie previews for things filmed there - they immediately recognize it. Both times that we have been there it has been in active use for movie production.