My kids have both always been super-intrigued just by the whole plane experience--so getting to the airport, checking in, going through security and racing around at the gate are really fun for them. We don't break out the "stash" until well into the plane ride. We have never done 8 hours on a plane (four is our max) but we frequently do a 9 hour car ride with our two kids (4 and 1). On a plane, sometimes an ounce of prevention is worth a lot. We walk the aisles when we can, before the kids get cranky. We take our time and wait in line for bathrooms, if for no other reason than it's a new perspective. If you're flying at night, we've had great luck keeping kids up late and then they sleep on the plane--we did a lot of redeyes when we lived in Seattle and flew into the Cities, and while we were exhausted, we just dumped the kids w/ grandma and grandpa and took a short nap--and the good flight was definitely worth it. My son really likes books, and new things are always a go. We have actually hoarded the surprises from kids' meals to dole out on car rides. My 1 yo won't watch movies, but we bought him the Veggie Tales Silly Songs DVD for Christmas, and it bought us almost 1 90 minutes in the car one stormy night this Christmas! He also is really soothed by CDs in the car. We doled out M and M's to him as well...like 1 M & M every...5? minutes when he was cranky. Yep, it's totally catering to him when he's whiny, but geez, we were whiny too, and we understood the necessity of a 9 hour drive. A small pack of M and M's lasted us all the way home and back--almost 20 hours of driving. We also eat in the car and use stops for exercise. Make sure you bring things that are fun and easy to eat, slowly. Apple slices, raisins, dried fruit that takes a while to gum (I'm thinking mangoes)...things like that. Oh, and my 15 mo just discovered suckers (thanks, big brother!) and man, it takes him like an hour to eat one! So yeah, it's awful food, but it takes a while for him to eat and really occupies him because he's so intrigued. When my first and I were road tripping alone through the midwest, I bought a bunch of smallish, cheapish toys for him to have in the car...and when I could tell a fuss was coming on, I handed him a new toy--we don't have a close by dollar store, but I've heard that can be wonderful. Tape! Tape is great for kids. And post it notes. Hm, I think those are all my tricks! My kids really love traveling and my oldest, who flew a lot more in his baby-hood, really misses flying--so it doesn't have to be an awful experience! Have fun in Hawaii.