Halloween, Hawaii and holiday celebrations - the Hawaii section part 2 THIS SECTION COMPLETED 2/3 - Page 25 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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!
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Friday 8 November – part two: what do you mean we’ve got no insurance?
We quickly found the car rental area and got our shuttle bus over to Avis. I have to say this Avis did not impress us at all. When we turned up at the preferred service area, they had no record of us and told us that we needed to go inside. Ok, fair enough… When we got there, the woman kept asking if we were preferred. we are and it’s been recognised already in Orlando, Honolulu and Big Island, but not here.
First she tried to tell us it was because we didn’t have an American address. I don’t think so. Then she asked if we had rented six times this year. When I added it up (Germany, Italy, Northern Ireland, Orlando, Honolulu and Big Island), the answer was yes. In the end, she put it down to the fact that the credit card we had booked with had expired at the end of October. That might be it.
Then she told us we had no insurance. I don’t think so. Thankfully I had my paperwork with me and was able to prove I had, and with Avis no less. The attitude here was not great, but at least we were given a free upgrade, which was something…
This was the first thing we saw when we drove off – and Kauai is known for its chickens. Don’t ask me why!
We set off for Waimea Canyon State Park, which was the one place I really wanted to see here. It was about an hour and a half’s drive, but as soon as we set off, we immediately had beautiful scenery everywhere. We could see why they call this the garden island, as it’s certainly green and lush. Within a few miles, we agreed that it had been well worthwhile coming here. It was just lovely.
We stopped at a lookout, so I could get some better photos of the scenery.
Soon we were coming into Waimea, which seemed like a nice town and apparently has a lot of history to it. It was here in 1778 that the crewmen of Captain Cook’s third Pacific voyage became the first Europeans to set foot on Hawaiian soil.
We passed through and were soon starting to climb towards the state park. Before we got there, we came to an overlook, so we stopped to take some photos and then carried on.
The island of Ni’ihau – known as the forbidden island. It’s privately owned and is only open to those who are invited there
Unlike the national parks, the beautiful scenery started well before we got to the state park sign, which surprised me. I guess they’re not as good as the National Parks Service at marking their territory, as it were…
What a hassle with Avis! The island is lush and beautiful. I know the answer to "why is Kauai known for its chickens?" I read a book years ago about non-native species and how they have affected the ecology of different areas. Chickens were originally brought to many of the Hawaiian islands by the Polynesian settlers, who transported them by canoe for the eggs and meat. Over the years many escaped and multiplied. On most of the islands the sugar cane plantation owners imported mongoose to keep down the rat population. The plantation owners on Kauai wisely refused to allow the mongoose. Rats are nocturnal, the mongoose is not, so the mongoose population ate the chickens during the daytime and didn't bother the rats. All wild birds are protected in Hawaii, so the chickens roaming free continue to thrive on Kauai. I love these little factoids!
What a hassle with Avis! The island is lush and beautiful. I know the answer to "why is Kauai known for its chickens?" I read a book years ago about non-native species and how they have affected the ecology of different areas. Chickens were originally brought to many of the Hawaiian islands by the Polynesian settlers, who transported them by canoe for the eggs and meat. Over the years many escaped and multiplied. On most of the islands the sugar cane plantation owners imported mongoose to keep down the rat population. The plantation owners on Kauai wisely refused to allow the mongoose. Rats are nocturnal, the mongoose is not, so the mongoose population ate the chickens during the daytime and didn't bother the rats. All wild birds are protected in Hawaii, so the chickens roaming free continue to thrive on Kauai. I love these little factoids!
Oh cool - I was hoping someone would know the answer about the chickens!
Fascinating chicken info, Laurie!
Weird about the Avis snafu. No other place gave you grief except here. Odd, indeed.
I must admit, I knew nothing of Captain Cook. Now I understand his namesake being at the Polynesian!
Excellent photos thus far, can't wait to see more!
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Pixie Dust
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When we turned up at the preferred service area, they had no record of us and told us that we needed to go inside. Ok, fair enough… When we got there, the woman kept asking if we were preferred. 
Deb
I know I'll get there eventually, but I'm wanting to leave 
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