For those reviewers who enjoyed your visit here - I'm glad for you. I wouldn't know, as I paid for something I ultimately was denied the opportunity to enjoy. I wouldn't be posting a review like this if I'd just "changed my mind", but when management doesn't make any attempt whatsoever to resolve the situation, I feel compelled to warn others of what they're signing up for. I work hard to provide objective reviews and I feel that people deserve a warning about who they are supporting when they visit this place.
I am a fairly big guy and I am perfectly aware that zip lines have to have weight limits. That's essential and just common sense. But I specifically chose Umauma Falls because they advertised a weight limit that I fall under by more than 10%. I weighed myself before taking off for Hawaii and was underneath the limit by a good 20-25 pounds. Was told when I arrived at Umauma that I'm 2 pounds over the weight limit - in other words even if it had been accurate, still less than a 1% difference, which on every scale I've seen elsewhere is within the margin of error. Having been denied the opportunity to participate, I went down to Hilo to weigh again at multiple different pharmacies/drug stores - and as expected, they all read 20-25 pounds underneath the limit. I can only conclude that this means Umauma deliberately sets their scales up by 10% as a CYA instead of advertising their real limits, as that would result in fewer sales.
As other reviewers here have mentioned, people seem to have a good time here assuming that things go 100% according to plan. If they go any other way - don't look for any kind of customer service here, as you won't find any. No refunds considered, not even a partial one, unless cancelled due to weather / staff not available / medical emergency. I have some back issues and can't "go on the ATV instead" - if I'd wanted the ATV I'd have purchased that instead. And it's hard to believe they are hurting for money - ($209 x 18 riders / about 1.5 hours riding time) = over $600 an hour, per staff member, for a team of 4 to manage a group of 16-18 riders. Yes I know overhead's involved and there are additional office staff - but my point is that this place isn't hurting for funding.
I've come to the big island of Hawaii many times before and never have I experienced such casual disregard for "sharing aloha" as the sign on the way out of Umauma so clearly reminds visitors. Certainly this experience destroyed any sense of aloha I had been feeling ahead of visiting, not to mention a big chunk of a time that's hard to schedule and expensive to travel for. Any desire I once felt to continue supporting small Hawaii businesses, either through patronage or donations, has officially evaporated after essentially being robbed like this. If management chooses to respond to this ad - simply citing policies again won't change anything. Only a refund might provide value of any kind, as it's too late for me to reschedule elsewhere. I don't have time to use that refund for any other activities, so that this part of my vacation has been permanently ruined. Anyone else reading this should be careful before wasting their hard-earned vacation time on a place that simply treats you as a number on a page.