http://youtu.be/HDxBGnPRD6A
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WOW! This place is full of activities for ALL AND ANY AGES! I recommend this place to anyone and everyone!! But let's back up a bit and start the story of our experience here!
So Friday-Saturday I worked grave shift again from 7pm-7am. Then stopped at home for a change of clothes and a light breakfast, only to head out again. We took the 8 bus to the Ala Moana Center (which is a major transfer point), got off, and got on the 55 bus towards Kaneohe/North Shore. That was the worst part...the bus ride. Long, lots of stops, and very uncomfortable (at least for someone who is trying to sleep because they just worked grave shift). They do have shuttle options that would have been more comfortable, no stops, and a little pricier, but since Brad and I have city bus passes that's what we opted for. For someone without a bus pass, it's $2.50 one way (just ask for a transfer ticket if you plan on transferring buses).
The Polynesian Cultural Center doesn't open until noon, and we got there around 10am. So we decided to walk to the Laie Mormon Temple. We kinda walked through the park to the back because that's where all the workers pointed us to. And yes, we are mormon! So this was really cool for us. (It has always been my favorite temple since I was a kid, so I finally got to see it in person!) There's a visitors center there for someone learning about the church, and lots of good picture spots!
Then we passed back through the BYU Hawaii campus, which out does BYU Idaho by far! So beautiful! (Plus it's nice to be able to walk around in flip flops! At BYU Idaho, that's not allowed for students).
So after that, we came back to the back of the park and tried to get through the gate we came out of originally to get to the temple...and they stopped us thinking we were trying to break into the park or something. We hadn't bought tickets yet so they were skeptical. We explained we were pointed this way earlier and we were going back in to get tickets, so they let us in. So honestly, we could have just walked in the park, basically breaking in, but we are good citizens and bought tickets.
TICKETS/PRICING.
This has been our most expensive activity in Hawaii so far, but it's TOTALLY worth it. We bought the tickets that included a full day at the Polynesian Cultural Center (necessary in my opinion), the island buffet dinner, and the HA Breath of Life Show (also necessary haha). Luckily, Brad has a co worker that hooked us up with a really good discount, but if you were to get our same package, it's about $150 for 2 adults. This package I would definitely recommend, as well as getting adding on a Luau. We didn't do that part, but I hear it was amazing. The package we got also includes a FREE tram tour to the temple, which we didn't know about so we wasted like an hour of walking that morning when we could have gone later. Oh well! We didn't get a tour guide, and I still believe it's not worth it. You can find your own way around just fine. It's just more expense to have someone else show you around and make you feel more special lol.
They give you a schedule of the shows on all the Islands so you basically get to pick where you go. Our favorite Islands were Samoa and Tonga, so be sure to visit their shows!! We got to all of them except Hawaii (ironically). We also saw the canoe pageant, which was amazing! Get there about 10-20 minutes early for a good seat by the water.
We also saw the Hawaiian Journey IMAX movie, which was surprisingly good! Spoiler: you get "3D effects" because the seats move and you get misted with light water! And we walked around the cool little shops, rode the short but fun canoe ride, and took some awesome pics/video.
We ate at the Island buffet which had really good food, and they direct you to your seats and give you top notch service! The workers are sooo helpful! What I didn't know before, was that about 75% of the workers are Mormon, and go to BYU Hawaii! That was way cool!
And last but not least, we saw the "HA Breath of Life" Show! They don't let you take pictures or video for good reason. They want to keep it special and unique! And oh my gosh, it's amazing! Fire Dancers, Hula Dancers, an awesome storyline, action; it is the BEST show I have ever seen!
Anyways we snuck out a couple minutes prior to the end because we didn't know if the city bus would wait, but we were still plenty early. THEN the bus ride home was the same, if not worse than the way there. They had the AC on full blast, which is good for some people, but for some reason I was FREEZING! Tried to sleep uncomfortably again, but that didn't really work. Very bumpy and loud...so I would recommend taking the shuttle or just..getting enough sleep beforehand lol.
But still, I would do it all over again for that experience!! It was phenomenal!
See the video here: http://youtu.be/HDxBGnPRD6A
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(P.S there's a bonus video coming out this week as well!)
ALOHA!
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