Forums Closed
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As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
Best wishes for a wonderful and magical new year!
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Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
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06-23-2006, 08:58 AM
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#1
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The Original BagMan
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Shalimar, FL
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 22,002
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Aloha Kana and Pila – Part 2 Completed...
[b] PART 2, Diamond Head Crater…
Well, a new day dawns on the little island of O’ahu…
Game plan for the day is to climb Diamond Head Crater and visit the family at the Honolulu Zoo [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rofl2.gif[/img]
I’m up around 5AM, I don’t know why I adjust to the various time zones so fast, and I review photos and burn more DVD’s…
We’re out of the house by 8AM, a quick stop by BK for an egg and cheese biscuit plus orange juice and we’re off to Diamond Head…
But first, the history lesson [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/eek.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/roflmao.gif[/img]
Diamond Head’s Hawaiian name is Le’ahi, and was probably created around 300,000 years ago. The southernmost section is the highest, probably due to the wind blowing the ash in this direction. Wind and rain have further eroded the rim. The crater (middle) covers about 350 acres, it is wider than it is high… Diamond Head is one the most recognized landmarks in Hawaii, visible from almost anywhere on the southern part of the Island of O’ahu…
The military history starts in the early 1900’s. In 1904 the federal government purchased Diamond Head and designated it for military use. Gun emplacements, tunnels, and observation stations were build/dug. At one point, Diamond Head had 5 artillery batteries on it, as well as a fire control station, command room, and much more.
More information on Diamond Head Crater can by found in this brochure
http://www.state.hi.us/dlnr/dsp/broc...mondHeadSM.pdf
The trail to the top of Diamond Head starts in the parking lot/crater floor. Elevation here is about 200’. As you will see, the trail starts out as a concrete path. The concrete ends and the dirt trail continues…
The trail does a number of switch/cut backs to kind of level things out some while you climb up to the top… There are multiple rest areas on the trail. There will be a photo of Jan and I standing on a concrete ledge, this is where the old cable/winch system was set up to the crater floor for hoisting supplies. After this point, you get to 74 concrete steps that put you into the first tunnel which is about 225’ long and is now lighted, though dimly. It used to be black and a flashlight was necessary to see where you were walking [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/eek.gif[/img] The second stairway consists of 99 steps and brings you to the lowest level of the old fire control station. You then go up a spiral metal staircase (which replaced the old ladder for hiker safety in the 70’s) to the top bunker where you can crawl out onto the walkway to the top of the crater. There are observation decks there and you have a magnificent view of the southern part of the island of O’ahu. The uppermost level of the fire control station has an elevation of about 761’…
Enough history/facts, on with the show [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
The sign tells you that no bicycles or mopeds are allowed beyond this point and that the park closes and the gates are locked at 6PM, and they really do that!!!
I found this amusing, it’s the “First Amendment Permit Area.” Due to the number of animal and environmental protesters, they have their own designated area to protest, so that they don’t interfere with the park visitors but still can exercise their first amendment right to free speech [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rofl2.gif[/img]
That’s where we’re going [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
NEXT: More of the hike… |
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06-23-2006, 09:06 AM
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#2
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Community Rank: Navigator 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Davidsonville, MD
Posts: 6,563
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Re: Aloha Kana and Pila – Part 2 Updated 6/23
I didn't recall seeing the First Amendment sign. That must be new after 2002, but we didn't see anyone protesting either.
I have to say that was a long hike, but the view was breathtaking and worth every grumble. We did encounter a few bugs at the top though, and we quickly got out of the observation area.
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06-23-2006, 09:13 AM
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#3
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Wannabe Snowbird
Join Date: May 2002
Concierge Level: 7
Posts: 34,137
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Re: Aloha Kana and Pila – Part 2 Updated 6/23
[img]/ubb/images/graemlins/roflmao.gif[/img] I definitely remember the pitch black tunnel! We had no flashlight and I was kinda freaked about bats or spiders or some dark tunnel-loving monsters, and, oh yeah, maybe falling. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/ukid.gif[/img]
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06-23-2006, 09:48 AM
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#4
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Community Rank: Explorer 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: second star to the right
Posts: 13,308
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Re: Aloha Kana and Pila – Part 2 Updated 6/23
Wonder how often that sign in stolen?? [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rofl2.gif[/img]
More report please!
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06-23-2006, 10:32 AM
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#5
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Facebook Addict
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Philadelphia
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 39,682
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Re: Aloha Kana and Pila – Part 2 Updated 6/23
Good start!
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06-23-2006, 10:52 AM
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#6
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Tinkerbell's Aunt
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: McHenry IL
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 13,254
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Re: Aloha Kana and Pila – Part 2 Updated 6/23
Bill - The hike sounds really [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] and I'm not a hiker! I can't wait to see the photos.
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06-23-2006, 12:16 PM
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#7
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RED SOX NATION!!
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 136,854
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Re: Aloha Kana and Pila – Part 2 Updated 6/23
Great start Bill [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img] I'm sure the hike was worth it [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img]
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06-23-2006, 12:40 PM
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#8
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Community Rank: Legend 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Newtown Square, PA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 23,859
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Re: Aloha Kana and Pila – Part 2 Updated 6/23
Great update, Bill! I can't wait to hear about your hike!
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06-23-2006, 12:45 PM
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#9
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Community Rank: Legend Extraordinaire 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Ohio Football Hall Of Fame
Posts: 42,304
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Re: Aloha Kana and Pila – Part 2 Updated 6/23
Great update B ill!! I remember the trek up Diamond Head vey well and it was very dark in places and it took us quite a while!! Great pictures!!
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06-23-2006, 01:23 PM
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#10
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Illinois
Concierge Level: 1
Posts: 9,564
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Re: Aloha Kana and Pila – Part 2 Updated 6/23
Hey, you can't leave us in mid-hike!!! We want more!
Thanks Bill (and Jan) for the great photos!
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06-23-2006, 03:13 PM
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#11
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The Original BagMan
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Shalimar, FL
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 22,002
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Re: Aloha Kana and Pila – Part 2 Updated 6/23
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06-23-2006, 03:23 PM
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#12
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Community Rank: Legend
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Newtown Square, PA
Concierge Level: 6
Posts: 23,859
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Re: Aloha Kana and Pila – Part 2 Updated 6/23
Wow! Those are breathtaking...........well, except for you know which one! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
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06-23-2006, 03:47 PM
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#13
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Ottawa, Ontario
Posts: 13,817
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Re: Aloha Kana and Pila – Part 2 Updated 6/23
AMAZING! You're pictures are absolutely breathtaking!
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06-23-2006, 04:14 PM
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#14
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Community Rank: Explorer
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: second star to the right
Posts: 13,308
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Re: Aloha Kana and Pila – Part 2 Updated 6/23
[ QUOTE ]
Wow! Those are breathtaking...........well, except for you know which one! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah, I didn't know they had wilderbeast in Hawaii [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]
Loving your trip report! Keep it coming!
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06-23-2006, 07:45 PM
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#15
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RED SOX NATION!!
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Connecticut
Concierge Level: 9
Posts: 136,854
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Re: Aloha Kana and Pila – Part 2 Updated 6/23
Great pictures Bill [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img]
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