What to do in Hawaii.

[andrews_dad]

Get the guidebooks for everything you could ever want to know. Here is one of the whole set: Hawaii The Big Island Revealed; The Ultimate Guidebook

 

[Crystal824]

I really enjoyed the Polynesian Cultural Center. This is an activity that you can spend all day doing. I thought it was sort of like a Polynesian World Showcase. We really enjoyed it. At the end, there is a luau and night show.

I would also definitely do a luau. We almost did a swim with dolphins, but it was very expensive much more so than in the Caribbean so we decided against it.

Pearl Harbor, I would do own my own. It is free and handicapped accessible. There are a couple of other attractions at Pearl Harbor that you have to pay to access, but it is up to you if you want to do that. My DH and I really enjoyed just riding around the islands and visiting various beaches.

While we liked Oahu, we loved Maui. I haven't been to any of the other islands to compare.

 

[sherry7]

Which island?

I didn't read the whole thread, so perhaps some of these have been suggested already. A helicoptor tour is a must. We did our in Kauai with Blue Hawaiian Helicoptor Tours. We saw where Jurrasic Park was filmed, and the scenery was breath taking.

The Polynesian Cultural Center is nice, and there's a luau at night.

Any of the Zodiac boat tours are great...not sure how that would work with your daughter in a wheelchair though.

 

[rparmfamily]

When are you headed to Oahu? If you could send me a PM I would like to ask you some other questions since I live here.

 

[wvjules]

Which island?

I didn't read the whole thread, so perhaps some of these have been suggested already. A helicoptor tour is a must. We did our in Kauai with Blue Hawaiian Helicoptor Tours. We saw where Jurrasic Park was filmed, and the scenery was breath taking.
The Polynesian Cultural Center is nice, and there's a luau at night.

Any of the Zodiac boat tours are great...not sure how that would work with your daughter in a wheelchair though.

Hey wait a mintue...I saw where Jurrasic Park was filmed and I was on Ohau!

We didn't go to the Polynesian Cultural Center for a luau. We went to Germaine's. Next time we will try the PCC.

OP, also check out the Dole Plantation.

DBF and I did the dolphin swim and LOVED LOVED LOVED it. It was pricey but if MAW is picking up the tab for an activity that is one I would choose. I can honestly say it was the highlight of my trip! (As well as Pearl Harbor.)

I know there are several catamarin tours. Check into them as well. I'm sure some of them have to be handicapped accessible.

Rainbow falls is nice too and if I remember correctly it was one of the waterfalls that we went to that was wheelchair accessible.

We are planning on going back in December 2010. I was there for work last July but this time it will be all leisure.

 

[cndij]

If you're definitely going to Oahu (my least favorite by the way), for your husband and daughter that want to surf, I highly recommend Hawaiian Fire for surf lessons. All of the instructors are off duty fire rescue personnel, my husband and teenage neice took lessons and absolutely loved it. We bought the CD from them of all the pictures they took.

My other 2 nieces did the dolphin encounter on the Big Island. They do make them wear life jackets and the water is not very deep. They must have some acomodations for handicapps or surely it wouldn't be offered by Make a Wish. I agree that you could easily do Pearl Harbor on your own, so use something else for your wishes like the helicopter tour etc.

 

[daughtersrus]

We got the dates for our trip!

We're leaving in the morning on the 21st of July and getting there right around 3:00 HI time. We leave for home on the 27th in the afternoon and we'll be landing around 6:00am local time on the 28th. DD will probably sleep on the plane but then she'll be wide awake and we'll be tired. We have to switch planes both ways. On the way there, we'll have about 1 1/2 in San Francisco and on the way back about 1 hour in LA.

Does anyone know where they will keep DD's wheelchair during the flight? It's not one that easily folds. You have to take the seat and back off first.
Will we be able to take DD's liquid medication on the plane? It needs to be refrigerated so do we bring a cooler with ice to keep it cold for the 12 hours that we'll be traveling? Will we be able to check her car seat with our luggage? We've never traveled with her by plane so all of things are starting to run through my head.

We don't have any other details but now that we have a date, we're all getting excited!

 

[Earstou]

Can you request hotels, or do you take what they provide?
We stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa Village on the Big Island and it was beautiful! It's pricey but so much fun. They have 62 acres, a salt-water lagoon, wildlife displays and beautiful artwork and sculptures all around. It's fun just to walk around and look at everything. They also have canal boats and a tram (like a ground-level monorail) to help get around the resort.
They have a Dolphin Quest location here. Even if you don't participate, you can still watch the dolphins.

Here's a photo tour: http://www.hiltonwaikoloavillage.com/photo_gallery/photo_gallery.cfm?LinkToGo=resort

 

[DLW8]

When we went in 1996 for our honeymoon, we also bought the Entertainment Club Book which saved us a good amount of money. We had booked a sunset dinner cruise and then got the book and rebooked with buy one get one free.

Have a great trip!

 

[daughtersrus]

Can you request hotels, or do you take what they provide?
We stayed at the Hilton Waikoloa Village on the Big Island and it was beautiful! It's pricey but so much fun. They have 62 acres, a salt-water lagoon, wildlife displays and beautiful artwork and sculptures all around. It's fun just to walk around and look at everything. They also have canal boats and a tram (like a ground-level monorail) to help get around the resort.
They have a Dolphin Quest location here. Even if you don't participate, you can still watch the dolphins.

Here's a photo tour: http://www.hiltonwaikoloavillage.com/photo_gallery/photo_gallery.cfm?LinkToGo=resort

We're staying on Oahu. I'm pretty sure that we won't get to choose where we will stay. I know that MAW relies a lot on donations of airline miles and hotel points. There's also a resort (Turtle Bay, I think) that does a certain number of wishes each year.

They did suggest a swim with the dolphins for DD but I think that we're going to choose something else instead. DD has tubes in her ears so she would need to wear her swim plugs in the water. She also has hearing loss so without her hearing aids in, she won't be able to hear much at all. I'm also not sure how they would handle her as she is not able to sit or stand on her own.

We have requested a luau. We'll go to Pearl Harbor on our own as it's pretty inexpensive. MAW did say that they may just give us extra money on the debit card and allow us to choose what to do when we get there.

The family would like to snorkel but again, DD will need to be held. DH said that he would love to do that with her if they allow it.

I'm still worried how we're going to get her bath chair and car seat there. I'm hoping that they will allow us to check them but her wheelchair will need to be on the plane with us as we'll need it to get around the terminal and to the other plane.

I went to the store this morning and picked up a few things to put in her Easter basket.

When we went in 1996 for our honeymoon, we also bought the Entertainment Club Book which saved us a good amount of money. We had booked a sunset dinner cruise and then got the book and rebooked with buy one get one free.

Have a great trip!

I'm going to look online and see if I can get more details.