Welcome Home, Bradford! Thanks so much for visiting planDisney. How exciting that you'll be taking a trip to where the sky meets the sea in just a few short weeks. I'm delighted to help incorporate some American history into your tropical travels!
Our family visited
Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa for our very first stay as
Disney Vacation Club Members. We had such an incredible vacation, and undoubtedly one of the highlights for me was visiting Pearl Harbor. My grandfather was stationed in Hawaii during World War II, and this was something that I did not want to miss. It is a site rich in history that commemorates the sacrifice made by many American sailors, and I found it quite moving.
Bradford, you can actually book
excursions through Aulani to visit Pearl Harbor that include admission to this site, which is operated by the US National Park Service. That was the route we took for our tour, and it made for a very seamless experience--we boarded a bus at the resort that morning that took us directly to Pearl Harbor, and the tour included timed admission to the USS
Arizona Memorial.
If you choose to travel to Pearl Harbor independently, tickets and reservations are not required to walk the ground or visit the museums, the visitor center, or the Pearl Harbor National Memorial. You can rent cars for single-day use at Aulani's
rental car counter, or book private transportation independently via several providers listed on the Aulani transportation website.
Regardless of what you decide to do, I hope that it works out for you to tour Pearl Harbor on your August travels. Thanks again for visiting planDisney, and please don't hesitate to
reach out directly if I can assist with any other questions before your Hawaiian adventures begin.
Aloha!
Susan