The episode was written by Paul Corrigan & Brad Walsh and directed by series co-creator Steven Levitan.

In the episode, Jay's plans to do nothing but relax on vacation are interrupted by an unwelcome reality check that leads him to working out instead of having fun.

Continuing from the previous episode, the Pritchett family arrives in Hawaii and stay at the Four Seasons Resort Maui.

Phil takes Claire to an adults-only pool, abandoning their kids with Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) and Cameron (Eric Stonestreet).

Later, Mitchell and Cameron accidentally leave Lily in the elevator and they lose her but Gloria (Sofía Vergara) finds her and brings her back to them.

Jay (Ed O'Neill) is eager to relax and eat fatty foods, though a call from his brother reminds him that his father had died at 63 due to his poor health.

Jay is inspired to take better care of himself, prompting him to spend the vacation working out and being more active, annoying Gloria who had just wished to relax.

The episode, "Hawaii" was written by Paul Corrigan & Brad Walsh and directed by series co-creator, Steven Levitan.

[2] In its original American broadcast, "Hawaii" was viewed by 10.335 million viewers with a 4.3 rating/11% share in the 18-49 demographic making it the highest-rated episode of the season.

[4] The show also beat American Idol for the first time in the Men 18-35 demographic and became the top rated scripted program for the 11th consecutive week and became the second-most viewed episode of the season after "Pilot".

[10] Matt Richental from TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4.8/5 and remarked that "There was true sentiment at the heart of Phil and Claire's vow renewal, as Modern Family manages to deliver both laughs and emotion on a weekly basis"[11] BuddyTV gave the episode a positive review writing "although the family may have been on vacation, it's clear the writers were hard at work--creating one of the season's best half-hours.