Originally the story for 50 First Dates was set in Seattle. It was Sandler's idea to move the story to Hawaii. "Once Adam talked about moving the story to Hawaii," recounts Ewing "it just seemed like the very best possible place to do it for many different reasons. You don't see many movies shot there, so it was a great experience to film in a different locale. And it is such a spectacularly beautiful place for a romantic comedy."
The movie shot for six weeks in Hawaii, but the other six weeks were shot in and around Los Angeles. Like a huge circus coming into town one night and leaving at dusk the following day, the 50 First Dates production roamed Los Angeles County filming at the Cabrillo Beach Bath House, the American Cetacean Society, the Brigantine Boatworks in San Pedro, the Ocean Trails Golf Course in Rancho Palos Verdes and Leo Carillo State Beach in Malibu, as well as the Unocal Building in downtown Los Angeles.
In all, 50 First Dates filmed at more than a dozen locations on Oahu, beginning with Marlin's house in Waikane and ending on Henry's boat in Heeia Kea Harbor in Kaneohe. In between, the company criss-crossed the island for six weeks filming at such remote locations as the Kualoa Ranch in Kaaawa Valley, on dirt roads in Wahiawa and Waialua, the pineapple fields of the Dole Food Company, at Makapuu Lighthouse, at Sandy Beach - where only the bravest mount their boogie boards, on the Dillingham Ranch and on the beach made famous in From Here to Eternity. Other locations included Honolulu's Hawaii Film Studios and Island Seaplane Airport and, perhaps most importantly, Henry's workplace, the Sea Life Park in Waimanalo.
Although the scenes in Henry's office were filmed on stage in Los Angeles, most of the exteriors were shot at Sea Life Park. Situated on Oahu's east shore overlooking the Pacific, Sea Life Park is known not only as a refuge for sea mammals who have been injured but as a facility to educate the public on the importance of marine ecology. Among the areas used in scenes for the movie were the Sea Lion Pool and the Dolphin Cove, where the playful dolphins showed off for the cameras.
Upon returning from Hawaii, the company flew to Napa Valley for scenes in the Walrus Cove and Shark Tunnel at the Six Flags Marine World in Vallejo, California, and then to Whittier, Alaska, for a final day of filming at sea in Prince William Sound.
There were three major sets built on stages at the Culver Studios and at Sony Studios. The first was the interior of the Hukilau Café, the interior of the Whitmore house and the interior of Henry's office. Comments producer Giarraputo, "We were lucky enough to be able to work with a lot of wonderful people, many of whom we had worked with before. It makes it easier when you know the team and can speak in shorthand."
Production designer Alan Au, who had collaborated with Segal and Happy Madison on Anger Management, returned to oversee the design and construction of the interior sets. "The biggest challenge for the art department," he relates, "was that we were filming exterior scenes at actual Hawaiian locations and needed to match the buildings on stage in Los Angeles.
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