Oahu w/ a 5 yr. old son....activity ideas please!
 

Please help. We're going to Oahu next week and this is what we've tentatively planned with our very energetic courageous 5 yr. old son:

Beach!
Atlantis Sub
Hawaiian Railway ride (Sundays...Ewa Station)
Snorkeling at Hanauma
Diamond Head Hike
Manoa Falls Hike
Luau

Any other musts? Or have you done any of the above and wouldn't recommend?

Mahalo!

If you at Waikiki, they rent out various floats and paddle boats that look pretty fun.

There is a zoo you can walk to from the Waikiki beach area. I believe it is the Honolulu zoo. We took our daughter there when she was a baby.

At that age he would love the maze at Dole pineapple plantation. Then aftewards treat him to a tasty dole whip cone. Also, if you head there, finish off a circle island driving tour...going by Haleiwa & the North Shore, then along the windward coast past Chinaman's Hat, to the Blow Hole area and back to Waikiki (there are lots of beautiful spots along that drive, these are just a few). In the North Shore there is a beach off the beaten path known as a hangout spot for sea turtles. We got a pic with our kids standing a few yards away from a huge sea turtle that was lounging in the sun :)

My then 10 yr. old had a great time in the Dole Maze with his dad. I had fun in the gift shop, and feel all liked the pineapple smoothies.
The Beach at Waikiki is great for kids. Ditto on the zoo. Sea Life Park is fun:
http://www.hawaiiweb.com/html/sea_life_park.html
They also have a dolphin cove there.

Here is their direct website:
http://www.sealifeparkhawaii.com/

Children's Discovery Center. Kind of like playing house, only in a village. Post office, doctor's office, grocery store, theater, puppet theater, firetruck, etc. Also interactive things from around the world.

Bishop Museum. Used to be kind of boring for kids. They recently opened a volcano house where kids can create volcanoes & tidal waves. Now kids love Bishop Museum.

Waikiki Aquarium. Fairly small, but inexpensive & lots of fish, coral unique to Hawaii.

Honolulu Zoo. Nice zoo, inexpensive.

Forget the Hawaiian Railway ride. Long way to drive for something not too impressive.

Byodo-In Temple. Scenic, huge gong, carp (koi) pond, black swans, peacocks.

Polynesian Cultural Center

Dole Pineapple. Pineapple gardens, carp pond. Don't bother with their railroad tour. Maze is OK.

DFS Galleria. Has a walk-through aquarium (free).

Sea Life Park. Like a much smaller version of a Sea World. Skip it if you've been to a Sea World.

Hawaiian Adventures Water Park. Good water park, but no different that any other water park in the country.

Chinatown.

The beach that ggrtist is referring to with the sea turtles is Laniakea Beach. Half way between Haleiwa and Waimea Bay. Also called Lani's Beach and is the one many refer to as Turtle Beach.

Lots of other info:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34696831