Help! Questions about Oahu itinerary- kids, shark cage, more

My wife and I and two daughters (age 9 and 5) will be on Oahu June 25-30, and like another person on here I%26#39;m suffering from information overload. I%26#39;m already stressed about our flight from Baltimore (on USAirways/America West, which just had a thread detailing how frustrating they are to deal with) because my 5-year-old is as hyper as they come and I have %26#39;volunteered%26#39; to sit with her. Anyway, some questions:

1) Pearl Harbor w/a hyper 5-year-old. I%26#39;m not concerned about our group; we%26#39;ll be fine. But I%26#39;m worried about other patrons. I would imagine this is a pretty somber experience and I%26#39;m concerned if our group is a little too active it would take away from others%26#39; reflection. Have any of you traveled with little kids here or irritated by others that have :) ?

2) Polynesian Cultural Center. The actual Center looks like fun for the kids, but what about the nightly show? Is this something that will hold their attention, i.e. is it aimed at families or is it more of a %26#39;theater%26#39; experience for adults?

3) Shark cage diving. i really want to do the shark cage thing but I have an embarrassing admission- I can%26#39;t snorkel! I tried in the Caribbean and no matter how many times I tell my nose not to inhale water I always do! I can breathe through my nose fine without getting my mouth involved, but for some reason my sinus cavities won%26#39;t extend the courtesy in the other direction. Anyway, has anyone done the shark cage thing who could tell me if you have to snorkel for the entire time you%26#39;re in the cage or can you come up for air while you%26#39;re in there every now and then?

4) Cheap eats. Can anybody put in a good word for Zippy%26#39;s or Jackie%26#39;s Kitchen? Also, anyplace in Chinatown have good dim sum?

Any responses on any of the above are appreciated! Something tells me I%26#39;m stressing too much about my relaxing vacation, though...

Help! Questions about Oahu itinerary- kids, shark cage, more

RE: snorkeling - I did the Shark cage diving thing in February ( loved it BTW ! ).....you can always just hold your breath, which is what I ended up doing most of the time even tho%26#39; I didn%26#39;t really have a problem with the snorkel.

So i%26#39;d say, if you%26#39;re fit/can your breath for a long time....go for it!

I just have to add my 2 cents on '; hyper '; kids.....all I can recommend is doing what I did a few years ago when my youngest would get disruptive - put my hand over his mouth, pick him up, and the (*%26amp;^)(*%26amp; outta there before bothering anyone. Obviously I don%26#39;t believe in the '; speak softly to your child '; theory.

T

Help! Questions about Oahu itinerary- kids, shark cage, more

I can help you with a couple of your questions.

I think PCC gets far too much credit. I didn%26#39;t think they were very good. I am also pretty sure I am in the minority here. I have a hard time believing too many kids would enjoy it. It was heavy on the educational and very light on the entertainment value.

As for the shark dive, what a wonderful experience. I did the shark dive in the morning and the PCC during the rest of the day. I used Hawaii Shark Encounters. http://www.hawaiisharkencounters.com/ My girlfriend and I thought this was the highlight of our vacation. You will be floating on the surface the entire time (surrounded by the cage) so you can raise your head up above the water at any time. There is no roof on the cage. Don%26#39;t worry about the sharks. They are only interested in the bits of fish being thrown to them. In less than a minute, you will be so fascinated by the sharks that it won%26#39;t even occur to you that they have teeth.

For the plane ride try dramamine it may help all concerned as it is already a long flight as far as the Memorial goes if you have to wait inline very long it could be a problem. One could hold you place in line while the other occupies the younger one I think once in the theatre and than on the launch to the Memorial itself that maybe interesting for awhile anyway.

The show at PCC is family oriented as is much of Hawaii and there is plenty of action to keep most peoples interest.

If you try searching here you will find several inexpensive places to eat Zippy%26#39;s, L%26amp;L BBQ, Ala Moana foodcourt are popular and many places in Waikiki for plate lunches.

If you are interested in reading some threads about why you might want to rethink doing the ';shark encounter';, go to the oahu forum and type ';shark encounter'; or ';shark feed'; in the search box. There is evidence linking the feeding and baiting of sharks to recent shark attacks on Oahu. Shark encounters are illegal in Hawaii so the tours take you out past the official state line in order to do them. They are frowned upon by many in the community. If interested, read about it. If not, pay your money and go. You make the call.

gimmeshelter123,

You and your family will LOVE the shark encounter. You don%26#39;t have to be good at snorkeling to do this. You don%26#39;t even have to be a good swimmer. You%26#39;re inside a cage and you just stay there all the time so you don%26#39;t really have to ';swim and snorkel';.

The night show at the PCC is really good. The people that do the performing are students from BYU-Hawaii and those kids do a great job. I think your kids will enjoy the show because of the lively Polynesian music and a few ';fire shows';.

For cheap eats, the locals like to eat the lunch plates. A lot of food for a few bucks. L%26amp;L Restaurant is a good one. We have them here at the mainland too.

5 year old kids will be OK at USS Arizona Memorial.

Polynesian Cultural Center is great for kids %26amp; is the best Polynesian entertainment in Hawaii.

This thread has a Chinatown site:

tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g29222-i37-k647862…

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