Pearl Harbor
 

We are leaving for Hawaii next week. I was wondering what time we should get to the line for the USS Arizona. I just read a report that said at 6:45 am there was already a long line. Yikes. Any recent experiences? We plan on going this Thursday or Friday (if day of the week makes a difference.)
Maholo!! (I am already in the spirit!)

Unless you arrive very early in the morning you will encounter a wait but it's not as bad as it sounds.

Upon arrival at the Visitors Center you will be issued an admission ticket (takes less than 5 minutes)with a pre-set time for you to come back for the actual "tour" of the Memorial. About ten minutes before the appointed time an announcment will be made asking all ticket holders for that particular time to line up at the entrance to the theater. At the appointed time you'll be ushered into the theater for the 23 minute video presentation. Afterwards you'll be ferried to the Memorial where you'll spend about 10 to 12 minutes before being ferried back to the reception area. Once you have your admission tickets it is not necessary for you to wait around the Visitor's Center for your "tour time. If you arrive back at the theater entrance about 10 to 15 minutes before your scheduled time you will be just fine.

Between the time you get your tickets and your scheduled Memorial Tour time you can tour a Nuclear Submarine, the Battleship Missouri and the new Aviation Exhibit (we didn't stop there).

Last fall we arrived at the Visitors Center around 10:30AM and got tickets for around 12 noon. We spent the time between our arrival and our tour of the Memorial by visiting the above ships. They were quite interesting and a good way to pass the time rather than just sitting and waiting by the theater.

Some days are better then others.
We arrived at 08.45 and got tickets for the 11.00 movie and shuttle...
Remember you cannot bring any bags in, not even the one of your camera.

Can you bring camera not in a bag?

In late March of this year, we arrived around 8am. We waited in line for nearly and hour to get our tickets, and then the tickets were for 2hr 45 minutes later. So yes, go early! We were kicking ourselves for not arriving earlier. Regardless if you have a wait or not, the other ships in the area there are fantastic to visit as well. We used our time to get lunch and do the USS Bowfin.

BTW, yes you can bring your camera, just not a bag for it. There is a bag storage area right by the Bowfin and I think the locker fee is about $5.

I would suggest looking at a tour. Our tour picked us up at the hotel, dropped us off, and we went right in (in front of all those people waiting in line). Yes, definitely take your camera, just no camera bag......

Debi, I think it must depend on the tour group in terms of just walking in without waiting in line, as nearly all of the people in front of us in line (at 6:45am--I think it might have been my trip report that the OP just read) were tour groups and they had to wait their turn, too.

MiamiBeachMomma, most of the time I spent waiting in line was waiting for the memorial to open at 7:30. They opened promptly and the line moved on steadily. we got group number 2, so we just stayed there looking at the gift shop and the museum until our time--maybe 20 minutes?.

Thanks for all your help. We will try to be get there as early as possible.

What would be a good way to spend the rest of the day if the morning is spent here??

The ones on the tours do not get to the front of the line. They stand in line for tickets just like everyone else.

Tip: If you drive, drop someone off near the end of the line for tickets. If everyone goes to park the car, several tour buses can arrive & empty out making the line much longer.

Lots of info:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34812564

Can you carry a bag in the visitor's center, and only check it right before your scheduled ferry time? Or do you have to check it as soon as you arrive?

We went in September'07...We landed around lunchtime and went straight to Pearl Harbour...No lineups as all the tour buses were gone..We waited 1/2 hour. Waited longer to get our rental car.

That can happen that you go later and avoid the earlier rush, but more often they run out of tickets around lunchtime and you won't get in at all!

They won't let you near any of the buildings with any kind of bag. I had my husband stand in line for Arizona tickets while I walked next door to the Bowfin museum where the bag check is. It's a short walk, so one member of your party can wait in line while the rest deposit their bags. (Or vice versa.)

After seeing the Arizona Memorial, DEFINATELY....take a guided tour of the U.S.S. Missouri. There's a reason it's moored in Pearl Harbor, and it's history is told so much better by a real live person. It will take longer than an unguided tour, but we found it very worthwhile for the few extra bucks.

Helpful ideas. Thanks to you all.

We just returned last week, and our experience was a huge line early at Pearl Harbor. Then, the lines disappeared completely by mid morning.

Perhaps 2 factors are in play: Hawaii is currently seeing a 30% reduction in tourism (it's in all the papers). Plus, everyone is told to go early, and that creates an unnecessary rush.

I'd say go when you'd like and just do the Missouri/Bowfin to fill-in whatever time you need.

Reading this for my own upcoming information, but like many attractions I'm always amused by the "unspoken" concept that to avoid a line of 30 - 45 minutes wait, go an hour before it opens and then you'll >only< have to wait an hour for them to open plus the wait time. I've never quite figured out why it is advantageous to add even more time to the wait by waiting forever for the place to open?

"I've never quite figured out why it is advantageous to add even more time to the wait by waiting forever for the place to open?"

If you get there at 7am, you wait until 7:30 until the ticket line actually opens. You might get on the 1st tour at 7:45, the 2nd tour at 8:00, or the 3rd tour at 8:15. So your total wait before your tour starts is 45 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes.

If you get there at 8:30, you still might have to wait a half an hour to get tickets. Then you might have to wait 2-3 hours before your tour starts. Your total wait for your tour to start may be 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 hours.

If you get there at 11am, you might be able to walk right in to get tickets. And you might be able to get on a tour right away. You are just as likely to not be able to get tickets at all for the day or have to wait 3 hours for your tour.

Is it advantageous to get there before 7am? Yes.

By the way, while the new visitors center is being built, the tickets for the USS Arizona tour is temporarily near the Bowfin/Missouri ticket office.

"We just returned last week, and our experience was a huge line early at Pearl Harbor. Then, the lines disappeared completely by mid morning.

Perhaps 2 factors are in play: Hawaii is currently seeing a 30% reduction in tourism (it's in all the papers)."

The line disappeared for one of two reasons. There could have been less visitors on that particular day or tickets for the day may have already been given out.

A person on a different forum was there last week at 11am. Tickets were already given out for the day so they had to return the next day.

Oahu has not seen a 30% drop in visitors. More like 5-10%. A 5-10% drop in visitors in the summer, still means there are more visitors in the summer months than there was in other months before the slowdown.

More about a long line waiting to get tickets:

The line can really be long. But, there are 4 tours per hour and 150 people on each tour. That's 600 people per hour. So the line moves relatively fast.

Don't let what appears to be a long line scare you away.

OK, dusty, thanks for the clarification. I've been reading a number of Pearl Harbor posts about many people arriving throughout the day, and have only noted one or two mentioning being sold out, while many arrived throughout the day with no problem and no waiting in line to get their tickets. Of course, waiting for your tour seems to be the norm, but I don't consider that an issue since there is plenty to DO during that time, that seemed more worthwhile that standing in a stationary line waiting for the booth to open.

But if the tickets are frequently filled early in the day, then you make a lot of sense.

I was sort of comparing this to The Vatican in Rome, where I've frequently heard people say they arrive two hours before the place opens so that they won't have to wait in line an hour later on. That one really always threw me.