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 The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk.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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It is unusual...but you never know, it may be the most popular name of 2017. In 2000, we told our family we were naming our son "Aidan." Pretty much unheard of at that time (except for Aidan Quinn--- where I got the name). Their mouths dropped. They tried everything to talk us out of it. My father told me it was too ethnic. Both my husband's mother and my mother said they were only going to call him by his initials...A.J. Well, now my poor son can't go anywhere without hearing at least 10 other mothers yelling for their Aidans (all younger than him). My younger son's class has 4 Aidans. You never know...today's odd name could be tomorrow's most popular lol. Had I known how popular it would become, I would never had chosen it. At least he doesn't have any other Aidans in his class...it didn't catch on for another year or so.
I agree though--that name really is different lol.
When we told people we were naming our son Aidan, everyone thought we were saying Abram.
My MIL's response was "Well, we hated my nephew Brian's name too, when we first heard it (in the 1940's), but then we got used to it. " Really? Who says that? Plus, I could understand her not having heard Aidan before, but Brian?
That being said, people do name their kids stupid things, but that's life. You get over it, or change your name when you're older. As for the teasing, I find that because their are so many names nowadays (as opposed to the standard 8 names used in whichever ethnic neighborhood you lived in 50 years ago), that kids don't give it too much thought. Most of the comments I hear come from adults.
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Just a note of caution to those posting: Please remember that there are all types of people here on the Boards. Be careful about stating names you 'hate', they may belong to someone else or the loved one of someone else reading. There is no need to hurt others.
It is unusual...but you never know, it may be the most popular name of 2017. In 2000, we told our family we were naming our son "Aidan." Pretty much unheard of at that time (except for Aidan Quinn--- where I got the name). Their mouths dropped. They tried everything to talk us out of it. My father told me it was too ethnic. Both my husband's mother and my mother said they were only going to call him by his initials...A.J. Well, now my poor son can't go anywhere without hearing at least 10 other mothers yelling for their Aidans (all younger than him). My younger son's class has 4 Aidans. You never know...today's odd name could be tomorrow's most popular lol. Had I known how popular it would become, I would never had chosen it. At least he doesn't have any other Aidans in his class...it didn't catch on for another year or so.
I agree though--that name really is different lol.
I like the name Aidan, but as far as the popularity of it goes - you can thank Sex and the City for that one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by guerns17
Wow..please tell her what a Dinkle is...it is not the best name. I just keep thinking dinky winky! I have two boys in my class this year. They are twins named Andy and Andrew...I thought this had to be a mistake but sure enough...two different kids.
A friend of mine has twin boys - Cole and Colby.
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[QUOTE=Ashli;4034980]I like the name Aidan, but as far as the popularity of it goes - you can thank Sex and the City for that one.
Oh..I'm well aware. That character popped on a few weeks after my son was born. I knew it wouldn't be a good thing. I really wanted something different.
I grew up with a very very unusual name and am so grateful for it.
My name helped me stand out amongst the crowd when it mattered like job applications, contests, scholarship applications, ect.
I had plenty of taunting but if someone wants to taunt they will. Your name does not have to be unusual for that. Think of words that rhyme with some common names and you'll see if a kid wants to mean it's not hard.
That said......naming your kid a word that is used as a taunt to begin with is asking for trouble!!
A few years ago, a co-worker (male) and wife had their first child - a girl. She is in the 5-7yo range now. They were in agreement, and both decided to name their daughter "Ea" . Yup - 2 letters - both vowels. How does one pronounce this you ask? Why with a Long E and a short a.
Now that you have practiced that...you may have gotten to the little rhyme that other co-workers were saying once the birth/name were announced and it starts like this: "Old McDonald had a farm...". Personally, I thought the name was odd, but to each their own, while odd it is not offensive. I was rather suprised, however, by how many co-workers were making fun of this baby's name during the few days the dad was off work.
The Guide of this forum asked people to be considerate of the feelings of others. "Not allowed," did not enter into what she said. I'm not sure why it would be burdensome to think of the feelings of others. It's not about "fear" of offending someone, it's about empathy, and thoughtfulness.
I know it's not everyone's favorite attraction, but a particular song has been running around in my head since 1964, and I still enjoy the attraction, the song, and especially the message,
Quote:
There's so much that we share that it's time we're aware
It's a small world after all
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I have to hope that Joanne's friend is using this "name" as a deflection -- that's what they're telling everyone so that they don't get any "Oh?" responses to the real name.
My Sister-in-law insisted that their baby was going to be Beowolf if it was a boy. My mother was beside herself with worry. Turns out they had a girl -- and the real boy name of choice was a Cooper Newkirk, after a pair of grandparents on either side.
I know of someone who named their son, Oberion and was going to call him Obi. My first thought was " and how many times will he have to put up with being nicknamed Obi-wan from Star Wars?" I won't even go into what his middle name is, just say it might not fit the 14 space limit for mailing labels.
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Words and meanings change. Remember the name Gaye? It was used for girls name and it was also a form of joyfullness at one time. Even Dick was a popular name and show Dick Van Dyke show, but again, that has a different meaning too.
I would wonder what that name meant to her. What was her reasoning? Is there any way to find out because that would be facinating to learn. I think generally people put alot of thought into naming their children.
Naturally, word meanings and slang usages change; no parent can anticipate that giving what is a perfectly acceptable name to a child will be embarrassing later because of changed understandings. The name Gay is a good example of that. That's a different issue as I see it.
I think it is legitimate to question the kindness and wisdom of naming your child something that you know has nasty associations such as Dinkle. A name like Aquanet or Cottonelle is silly but not as inappropriate as Shi Thead or Dinkle.
Perhaps the OP's friend isn't aware of the sexual associations with the name. If she's a close friend, I think I'd have a heart-to-heart with her about the name. It's possible she isn't aware of its slang meanings. It's a fairly common surname among Germans, and she may have chosen it to honor a relative or friend of the family. Or perhaps it's a "decoy" name as was suggested above. In any case, it wouldn't hurt to express your concern about that being her son's first name if you're good friends.
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My mind went straight to the Friends episode with Joey singing "All you want is a dinkle". I'm on my phone and can't link but there is a YouTube video for it. You may want to show that to your friend as it pretty much spells out all the jokes this name will get.
Unusual names are okay, but I agree you need to think about your child as an adult applying for jobs or running a company. There is no way even as an adult anyone is going to take someone named "Dinkle" seriously. They would have to go by initials or change their name.
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