Only hawaii trip would you do it or wait

[Dallas_Lady]

I wouldn't wait.

I learned my lesson on waiting to do things by watching my parents. Both died at young ages having waited to do so many things that never got done.

If 2020 has taught us anything it is that you should live life while you can.

This is exactly my thinking as well. If this year taught me anything it's to NOT wait cause you never know what could happen.

 

[ChanaC]

I would wait. Do we all want to go on vacation right now? Yes. But is it necessary? No, it's not.

I like to live by the safety first rule. The safest thing for all of us to do right now is to stay home and go out as little as possible.

Plus, if I was only going once, I would want to go when everything was open and accessible.

 

[Twohsieh]

If your main reason to go on this vacation is to mainly explore Oahu, then you an your family should definitely go. The island of Oahu is small but there are so many places to go visit, eat and participate in activities such as lagoon snorkeling, hiking and admiring sea turtles along the beach. The weather is always nice and the fresh fish (poke) is the best. And don't get me started on the shave ice-it's so yummy.

Also, if you don't mind not having most of the amenities (luau, Aunty's Beach House, arts, crafts and other activities in the Pau Hana Room, outdoor movie nights and fireside story telling) offered at Aulani, then you and your family should definitely stay at Aulani. The resort is beautiful and the lazy river and slide pool are fun for the kids. My kids are older than you girls, so I don't think it would matter to me if these activities weren't offered but everyone has their own preferences.

As a reference, my family has stayed at Aulani about five times and my friend's family has been there twice before their last visit. I gifted some of my Aulani points to my friend's family to stay at Aulani in December 2020. Since she had been there before the pandemic, she has a frame of reference of what she had experienced previously. Although her two kids (ages 9 and 14) enjoyed the pools and ambiance of the resort, they missed all of the other activities that Aulani usually offers. Her younger one had a meet and greet with Mickey and she had to stand about 10 feet away from Mickey- he was on standing on the luau stage. while she was standing on the lawn. I guess this is how the new character meet is done. Her younger child was still excited to see Mickey, so it all worked out well.

If you do go, enjoy your time with the family.

 

[KGmomoftwins]

The other benefits of going to Diamond Head early in the day are that the trail is not as crowded, which makes it a little easier to pull over and take a break, and also parking may be easier to come by. When arriving later, parking can be challenging and you could end up walking quite a ways before you even reach the base of the actual trail.

OP - everyone has their opinion of Diamond Head. We did it, glad we did, but not something we'd do again and not what I would call a must do. Beautiful views for sure and relatively easy in terms of mountain hikes, but I would still say everyone should be moderately fit/active and able-bodied. Not sure how 9 year olds would fare. I'd also suggest everyone wear the appropriate activewear and sneakers, and be prepared to return to your hotel after for showers. We could not have done anything other than maybe swimming afterwards because we needed showers.

In our 2020 plans I had left Diamond head out because I read the actual hike is kind of boring and I thought the girls a tad to young. I think we are going to do the majority of our hikes on the big island although I'd like to do moana falls. Still on the fence as to going or not. I think the best course is waiting to see how the next 2 months play out and then booking. I'm pretty sure as a result of DCL announcement yesterday our Alaska cruise is going to be cancelled in August allowing us to makeup this trip from 2020.

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

I've been pretty cautious through all this. When numbers were down in August, I went with friends to Colorado for a mini bachelor party - all outdoor activities and only 6 guys who were very careful through it all. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a few anxiety attacks leading up to and after the trip.

Right now, I'm not traveling. Numbers are too high. What i will say is that come Spring and Summer, if numbers are back down to what they were last summer (or even better now with a vaccine) I will be traveling.

Am I still worried? yes. But what's the endgame here? How many times are we going to keep pushing the goal posts back and waiting to do what we want? If you can carefully travel, then travel. If you feel comfortable, then do it. Life is full of so many coulda-woulda-shoulda's and time waits for no one. Time doesn't care that there's a pandemic or that we're staying home. It continues to pass us by.

 

[KGmomoftwins]

I've been pretty cautious through all this. When numbers were down in August, I went with friends to Colorado for a mini bachelor party - all outdoor activities and only 6 guys who were very careful through it all. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a few anxiety attacks leading up to and after the trip.

Right now, I'm not traveling. Numbers are too high. What i will say is that come Spring and Summer, if numbers are back down to what they were last summer (or even better now with a vaccine) I will be traveling.

Am I still worried? yes. But what's the endgame here? How many times are we going to keep pushing the goal posts back and waiting to do what we want? If you can carefully travel, then travel. If you feel comfortable, then do it. Life is full of so many coulda-woulda-shoulda's and time waits for no one. Time doesn't care that there's a pandemic or that we're staying home. It continues to pass us by.

YES to everything you said! You have echoed my thinking. Right now my family is hunkered down numbers are high and we are doing nothing seeing no one. I need something for this summer and I think (and hope) we will see a drastic decline starting in May. Hopefully you can travel too.

 

[CamColt]

I feel for you as I'm in a similar situation. I wanted to go to Hawaii for our honeymoon but we didn't. I've looked at it occasionally over the years, it never happened. I thought for sure our 20th anniversary, but then I realized that year our son was graduating so we wanted to do a family trip that year(Hawaii would be just me and DH). So around 18 years of marriage I swore, come hell or high water we were going to Hawaii for our 25th...no matter what! That would have been July 2020 and everything was planned, booked and paid for, cruise, Aulani, flights, excursions, etc...trip of a lifetime!

Well everything is currently rescheduled for this July and I'm just not feeling it. Even if the cruise does go (a big if), it's not going to be normal. Aulani is not sounding normal so far from what I've heard (I was so excited for the Luau, VIP seating, and character breakfast), The direct flight is not currently going and who knows if they will bring that back (the direct flight was a huge plus for me), I just can't get excited.

So now that I've rambled this much, I will say I am VERY close to pulling the plug on this July and moving it to 2022. Like you, this is going to be a once in a lifetime trip and I just don't see it being what it should be in 6 months. While I understand the "don't wait, you never know" point of view, and I certainly agree with that, I just had such high hopes for this trip and I don't see it meeting my expectations at this point.

I've appreciated reading all these responses too. They have been helpful.

 

[Cheburashka]

Hello! Looking for a little advice. We were supposed to do our big Hawaii trip August 2020 and well no need to elaborate on that. Our family was one of the lucky ones the only money I lost was a Airbnb service fee for our big Island stay. Our airline money was all returned and everything else was cancelled so very lucky. This summer we are supposed to do a DCL Alaska cruise hard to believe booked in February of 2020 using a place holder that expires this August and well I’ve lost all hope that this is going to happen and well my family desperately needs a vacation and I feel as if I’m losing out on valuable time with my little girls. My question is would you do your families ONLY trip to Hawaii the last 2 weeks in August this year? I would keep the same plan I had as last year 4 nights first on the big Island (might bump it to 5) and 7 nights on Oahu staying the entire time at Aulani. Our girls will be turning 9 in August and I’m a little worried about such a long flight (east coast) with masks on although the girls and I wear them everyday for 7 hours to go to school. Would you plan to do this big of a trip given all the extras of testing before and we would also need to test when we returned, and with Aulani amenities being limited. Or just do another trip on your bucket list that was not so involved? I really want to do our cruise but I don’t think it’s going to happen and I don’t want to waste another summer of their childhood. Hawaii or something else…. Side not if we don’t do Hawaii this year we probably won’t get there for another 4 years.

No, I wouldn't drag my kids through all of that testing and deal with the chance that if someone is positive, the trip gets cancelled at the last minute.

Maybe try Disney's Vero Beach or Hilton Head?

 

[ngl]

For whatever it is worth, we have friends with a 8 & 6 year old who not only went to HI for Tgiving week 2020 (from FL) but then decided to go back from Cmas 2020! None have had COVID yet, not essential workers so not vaccinated and kids wore the masks the whole time w out issue. We did think it was crazy to fly all that way 2x in a matter of 3 weeks but they had such a great time kids begged to go back! Like everyone said, this is such a personal decision because everyone's idea of what a vacation is is very different. I saw the list of the limited experiences at Aulani and having been there 2x with our kids that probably would make me wait but, again, we have other places we want to see so that factors in to it too! There is no right/wrong answer to this. I always tell people go with your gut. Good luck!

 

[tidefan]

I'd go in a heartbeat, if you had your vaccinations by then. You mentioned that you were planning on August, which is still at least 6 months away. If you said, would you go tomorrow for a once in a blue moon trip, I'd say probably not. But 6 months is a huge difference, especially considering the vaccination schedule. I would assume most adults at least will be vaccinated by that time. Also, if there is a seasonality to this virus (which, I think evidence over the past 2-3 months suggests that there might be), August should be lower as well.

I also suspect that most in Hawaii, especially the most vulnerable populations, will be vaccinated by that time as well so I would expect that many more things would be open then versus what is open today.

Now, I do think that who would probably be the candidates to go now are those that have been there a few times and mainly just enjoy the resort and getting out around Oahu, especially if they have been vaccinated, which, I think I saw today that something like more than 4.2 million people have had their second shots, so this population is increasing and will every day.

 

[Janrantoo2]

Personally, I'd wait. Why can't you do a short, inexpensive trip this year & postpone this big trip to 2022 or 23? Disney Aulani is an awesome resort but too expensive to go when amenities are limited.
Also, I would split my stay on Oahu with a few days in Waikiki to do island excursions then end your stay at Aulani. Why spend so much money to just sleep there. You're spending $650-1200 per night @ Aulani. You can get a nice hotel & rent a car to see the rest of the island & save so much $$. Parking your rental car at Aulani is also more expensive than the rental itself. In 2017, we took 1 day to see Northshore ( Dole, Haleiwa, Matsumoto's shaved ice, Clark Little's gallery, Waimea Bay, Pipeline, Sunset). After showers & dinner everything was closed but the adult hot tub. Lazy River closes @ 6 & rest of the pool areas @ 8. Aulani does not have WDW hours.

 

[KGmomoftwins]

Personally, I'd wait. Why can't you do a short, inexpensive trip this year & postpone this big trip to 2022 or 23? Disney Aulani is an awesome resort but too expensive to go when amenities are limited.
Also, I would split my stay on Oahu with a few days in Waikiki to do island excursions then end your stay at Aulani. Why spend so much money to just sleep there. You're spending $650-1200 per night @ Aulani. You can get a nice hotel & rent a car to see the rest of the island & save so much $$. Parking your rental car at Aulani is also more expensive than the rental itself. In 2017, we took 1 day to see Northshore ( Dole, Haleiwa, Matsumoto's shaved ice, Clark Little's gallery, Waimea Bay, Pipeline, Sunset). After showers & dinner everything was closed but the adult hot tub. Lazy River closes @ 6 & rest of the pool areas @ 8. Aulani does not have WDW hours.

DH has no desire to stay in Waikiki plus if we do go we will be staying on the big island first and have found more that two hotel switches during a trip to be a bit much with kids. We have looked into doing some smaller trips but trouble is everything is already booked for the summer. We are good with the early evenings when we've done WDW we either stay at the Poly or GF and are back to the hotel by 7 to relax and watch the fireworks.

 

[KGmomoftwins]

I feel for you as I'm in a similar situation. I wanted to go to Hawaii for our honeymoon but we didn't. I've looked at it occasionally over the years, it never happened. I thought for sure our 20th anniversary, but then I realized that year our son was graduating so we wanted to do a family trip that year(Hawaii would be just me and DH). So around 18 years of marriage I swore, come hell or high water we were going to Hawaii for our 25th...no matter what! That would have been July 2020 and everything was planned, booked and paid for, cruise, Aulani, flights, excursions, etc...trip of a lifetime!

Well everything is currently rescheduled for this July and I'm just not feeling it. Even if the cruise does go (a big if), it's not going to be normal. Aulani is not sounding normal so far from what I've heard (I was so excited for the Luau, VIP seating, and character breakfast), The direct flight is not currently going and who knows if they will bring that back (the direct flight was a huge plus for me), I just can't get excited.

So now that I've rambled this much, I will say I am VERY close to pulling the plug on this July and moving it to 2022. Like you, this is going to be a once in a lifetime trip and I just don't see it being what it should be in 6 months. While I understand the "don't wait, you never know" point of view, and I certainly agree with that, I just had such high hopes for this trip and I don't see it meeting my expectations at this point.

I've appreciated reading all these responses too. They have been helpful.

Always nice to hear you're not alone! I'm holding off booking anything and honestly hoping in the next month the world turns around. Someone wrote after you that summer is 6 months away and who knows by then maybe more things will be open..... I do agree we had the character breakfast and the Aulani Luau booked for last summer and I would be sad without them. As for 2022 I cannot wait for the August 2022 cruises to be released so I can move my August 2021 Alaska. Maybe I can convince DH to travel all summer 2022

 

[margot31]

The other benefits of going to Diamond Head early in the day are that the trail is not as crowded, which makes it a little easier to pull over and take a break, and also parking may be easier to come by. When arriving later, parking can be challenging and you could end up walking quite a ways before you even reach the base of the actual trail.

OP - everyone has their opinion of Diamond Head. We did it, glad we did, but not something we'd do again and not what I would call a must do. Beautiful views for sure and relatively easy in terms of mountain hikes, but I would still say everyone should be moderately fit/active and able-bodied. Not sure how 9 year olds would fare. I'd also suggest everyone wear the appropriate activewear and sneakers, and be prepared to return to your hotel after for showers. We could not have done anything other than maybe swimming afterwards because we needed showers.

When we did diamond head my kids were 3 and 5. They did great. Actually one part my kids kept going and I was struggling. But I also have a condition that had gotten triggered and I am in fairly good health. I run and all but something triggered and I had one of my skeletal/muscular spasm which can make it hard for me to breath.

 

[nkereina]

When we did diamond head my kids were 3 and 5. They did great. Actually one part my kids kept going and I was struggling. But I also have a condition that had gotten triggered and I am in fairly good health. I run and all but something triggered and I had one of my skeletal/muscular spasm which can make it hard for me to breath.

Every kid is different. Only the OP knows how her 9 year olds would do, so I was just mentioning it as a point of consideration. My 9 year old niece and 7 year old nephew would hate a hike in the hot sun. I don't doubt kids have the stamina for it, but whether they would tolerate or enjoy it is a different question.

 

[margot31]

Every kid is different. Only the OP knows how her 9 year olds would do, so I was just mentioning it as a point of consideration. My 9 year old niece and 7 year old nephew would hate a hike in the hot sun. I don't doubt kids have the stamina for it, but whether they would tolerate or enjoy it is a different question.

I am not disagreeing with you. I was simply saying that a 9 year old if you know that child can do it. My now 4 year old has days where she is lets go for a hike and others where she is going NO.

 

[jimmymc]

I would highly recommend Hawaii right now, but not Aulani, especially if it's your only trip.

The islands as a whole are mostly open and way less crowded than normal. I visited in November and it was an amazing trip. I chose not to stay at Aulani because the spa and a lot of other activities are still closed. The beaches, hiking, and other restaurants around Oahu were great, but IMO Aulani wasn't worth the price at the time.