Disney's True-Life Hawaii Adventureland

Visitors to About.com's Theme Parks site often ask me for info about theme parks located on Hawaii--and seem incredulous when I tell them that there aren't any. It's true. One of the world's most famous travel destinations does not have even one roller coaster. (Although there is a marine life park and a water park on the islands.) Hold on to your tropical fruit hats, park fans, because Disney just announced that it will be opening a resort on Oahu. Hawaii still won't have a theme park, however, because the Disney resort will be a standalone hotel complex. Earlier this year, the company announced that it was considering the development of new hotels away from its core theme parks. The 800-room hotel complex, to be built on a 21-acre site on the western side of the island, will offer ocean views. Tentative plans call for a 2011 opening. Press reports have indicated that the Hawaii project would be Disney's first hotel resort not connected to its theme parks. But, through its Disney Vacation Club, the company has been operating resorts in Hilton Head, South Carolina and Vero Beach, Florida, for a number of years.

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