Canals, diamonds and red lights – an Amsterdam getaway COMPLETED - Page 9 - 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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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I don't think you'll see any skaters on those canals. they look the the river I drove over today, not quite frozen. French fries without salt just doesn't sound right. Can't wait to see and read more.
Liz
It just screams Amsterdam for me, I don't know why, considering I've never been! Yeah, the ice in that part of the river isn't quite thick enough for skating! Poor swans.
I personally think any shot with bicycles in screams Amsterdam!
Thursday 9 February – part four: football, Royal weddings and horse rescues!
We had to put our backpacks in lockers and chose to put our coats in as well. Having been mugged for all my change in McDonalds I had none left, so had to go and change a note at the front desk, but at least you get your money back when you leave.
We headed upstairs to Amsterdam DNA, which is their new exhibition and is very funky. It tells the story of Amsterdam in two huge chambers, from its founding in the 13th century all the way up to the present day. We learnt a lot of fascinating things, like how Amsterdam’s place at the centre of world trade failed when the French took over and stopped all trade with any of their enemies.
I had to get a photo of this portrait – can’t think why... As a huge Olympics fan, I was fascinated to see the changes in Olympics, since Amsterdam last hosted it. These shots were of the “street” that you walk through to sample the museum...
There was also a fascinating exhibit about how they used to rescue horses from the canals which Mark demonstrated...
... and a very sad display about tram route 8, which used to run through the Jewish neighbourhood. It was used to transport Jews to the death camps in the Second World War and, as a result, they took the line out of service after the War and have pledged to never run a line 8 in the city again.
Then we headed into the permanent exhibitions, which meandered their way through the building on three different floors. Although, for the most part, we followed its story logically, there was a whole chunk missed out from the 16th to the 18th century, as that was under rehab.
There were some really interesting things again, some that come to mind:
Princess Marianne and her beautiful portrait...
... some stunning portraits, all of which they were happy for us to photograph (at least if they weren’t, they didn’t say anything!
Notice the positioning of the hand in this shot!
.... the fun bit about their football team, Ajax and their “golden years”
... the radio set hidden up a set of stairs, showcasing how the free press continued during occupation in World War Two
... the fascinating story of how they built an entire estate of housing in the 1960s, but it was a disaster and, after a cargo plane flew into it in the early 1990s, they took the decision to demolish it. It lasted less than three decades!
...the royal wedding outfits from the Royal wedding in 2002 – and they even have the table where the Royal couple signed their names. Apparently that must be going soon, as the details said that from February 2012, it will be the actual table people use at the town hall when they get married, which is neat.
One of my favourites was the armour outside...
.... and another were these amazing ivory treasures, which the Dutch used to do a roaring export trade in. Of course, not now, as it’s illegal.
All in all, we really enjoyed the museum and it had the added benefits of being nice and warm, so it was a great escape from the outside, and best of all, the restrooms here were free to use!
Tanya
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What an amazing museum!
And might I just say that your pictures are stunning! How are you liking your new camera, anyway?
We're making very good friends! I wasn't so sure about it when I first got it, having just said goodbye to an old friend that I'd been with for six years but we're getting to know each other much better now. I'm very impressed by how quickly it turns on and is able to take photos, that's a big improvement and it seems to take very good photos without flash, so it's all good so far!
First, I don't think I would even attempt to skate on that ice since it didn't seem all that frozen in spots. Second, the museum was fascinating and I love all the details you captured.
First, I don't think I would even attempt to skate on that ice since it didn't seem all that frozen in spots. Second, the museum was fascinating and I love all the details you captured.
I know - I wouldn't try it either, they're braver than me!
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I had none left, so had to go and change a note at the front desk, but at least you get your money back when you leave. 
My normal everyday computer routine!
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