WAHIAWA, HI - Dole Plantation has recaptured the record for the world's largest maze from the Guinness Book of World Records. The Pineapple Garden Maze, which first debuted in 1998 and once held the world record in 2001, completed an expansion last year in order to earn back the title.

"The maze is one of our most popular attractions at Dole Plantation for both young and old," General Manager Mike Moon said in a news release. "We've been planning this attempt for a while, but the process is quite involved and we wanted to be sure we had everything in order before we contacted Guinness."

An expanded version of the existing Pineapple Garden Maze debuted in July 2007 adding 36,800 square feet and 4,710 linear feet, according to the news release. The expanded maze now occupies an area of more than two acres or 137,194 square feet with a path length of 13,001 linear feet. It is made of 14,000 Hawai'i plants including hibiscus, heliconia, croton, panax and pineapple. The center of the maze is in the shape of a huge pineapple, which is made up of croton and has a crown of agapanthus.

Dole Plantation brought in witnesses to verify the accuracy of the measurements and documentation. In the official procedures from the Guinness organization, these witnesses had to be of good standing in the community and provide a letter of support in awarding the world record, the news release said.

City Councilman Donovan Dela Cruz and Helemano Elementary Principal Dennis Kato wrote those letters of support based on personally observing paths being measured and crosschecking the accompanying documentation to find measurements in agreement.

The Guinness Book of World Records application materials were sent in April and Dole Plantation received the good news on July 18.

The former Guinness World Record belonged to the Peace Maze in Northern Ireland, which currently measures in at 118,403 square feet with 10,322 linear feet.