We exited Crystal Palace and headed back down Mainstreet. Jay realized he hadn't gotten the "week long" stroller rental and he wanted to fix it before we got started.
While he was doing that we waited on the bench with Roy and Minnie!! I love that bench.
It was nice and sunny and not terribly hot yet. The park was still empty-ish and we were enjoying the calm before the storm!
And wouldn't you know it...our first Pixie Dust of the day...Pinocchio and Gepetto walked right up to us! Teddy was THRILLED. They played with the kids and Pinocchio was giving high fives to Teddy. It was a good way to start the day!
After the kids had gotten their signatures, Sally came over to me and said
"MissCammie...Pinocchio tells fibs. And I don't even think he's very sorry. And THAT is why Teddy likes him so much!"
Pinocchio IS very reminiscent of Teddy...he's "got a bit o' the devil in him" as my grandma loves to say. Sally isn't a big fan of Rule breakers as y'all know and she doesn't forgive very easily either! She was polite though. And we were glad to start the day with no lines and characters all to ourselves.
Just after we had finished I spotted a character over by the firehouse! I grabbed both of the kids by the hand and we scurried over to him. This was NOT a character one sees all that often and I wanted to get to him before the mobs arrived...for the kids sake...of course...
*ahem*
the kids had no clue who this was...Teddy wanted to know which movie had a MOOSE in it?!
The man behind me wanted to know if I knew who that was. I wasn't really sure either...I said I thought it was "Clarabelle Cow"...which turned out to be WRONG. The character heard me and gave me a very disapproving stance! He pointed to his signature on the book he was signing...it said
HORACE HORSECOLLAR!!!
whoops...sorry Horace. Clarabelle wears a dress and heels now that I think about it...
*ahem*
Insults aside, Horace graciously signed the kids books. A photopass person had arrived and Horace pulled me into the picture and put my arm through his. I think he forgave me!
Here he is with the kids
I was stoked! Lady Tremaine and the Step sisters and NOW Horace Horsecollar!! Now all I needed was Hyacinth Hippo and I'd be signature set for life!!!
Jay pulled up with the Kid Transporter just as we were finishing up. Horace gave me a big noisy smooch before we left. Sally looked at Jay and said "Don't be mad daddy...he's just a horse..."
thanks Sally!
We actually saw Clarabelle not too far from us, but by that time the line was a year long and we had some major rides to tackle!
Teddy had been hankering to ride Splash Mountain since he saw it on a Disney special on the Travel Channel. He was so excited for this ride and he wanted to ride it RIGHT NOW!!
Sally was not so sure...surprise surprise. She had not seen that special. She knew it had water...and she knew that Mountains of any kind have an up and a DOWN. So she was worried about the down. Jay and I didn't talk about it much. We had already told the kids that we would never take them on something they couldn't handle and we were not going to spend the vacation ""watching". We were going to do every ride everybody was tall enough to ride and that was that. If you didn't like it after the first time, you didn't have to ride it again. But there had to be a FIRST TIME. We've found with Sally that when the option to "back out" is taken away, she worries less.
As we headed over to the entrance I distracted Sally so she wouldn't see the big drop. I didn't want her to go into a fear coma. Y'know...cuz that wouldn't be very fun.
The line was non existent. We ran through the queue and hopped into a log. Sally of course, was GLUED to Jay's side. They were in the front...

(I am SO wicked)...Teddy and I were right behind them. I got out my poncho, just in case...b/c I really HATE to be wet. Hate it. And I was wearing a denim skirt...and wet denim is just the WORST. So I had the poncho out and ready for the big drop.
which was WAY too late to be ready as it turned out.
Just as the ride was starting, we were floating placidly along in front of the big drop and we were in just the right spot for the biggest, WETTEST soaking splash I have ever received...ever...aside from in the shower. I mean, WET. Jay and Sally got it a bit worse than Teddy and I did...but we were all soaked to the skin. My inner Donald was going off like mad and I was about to let him out into the public arena with some very unDisney like language...but Teddy let out that baby belly laugh full force.
"MissCammie!!!! I am SOPPED!"
Sopped is a Teddy word. He was absolutely BEAMING. This was his idea of a blast!!
I asked Sally if she was having fun. She looked over her shoulder at me and said
"I'm NOT in my bathing suit MissCammie. My underpants are WET! We should have changed into our bathing suits. You should not be WET in your clothes. Why isn't there a SIGN telling us to have our bathing suits on?!"
Poor Sally. Rule breaking abound.
I told her I wasn't very happy either. And I wasn't. I was ticked off that I hadn't just put my poncho on when the ride started. I had succumbed to my husband's mocking and reminders that we never got more than a few drips on this ride before...
He was laughing himself silly over his sopped-ness...over everyone's. So i reached over the seat and gave him a little thump...for love.
*ahem*
The rest of the ride was fun...other than the uncomfortable feeling of wet denim...we have the Disney Parks soundtrack at home and play it for the kids all the time, so they were singing along as we went. The big drop went better than I had thought it would for Sally. She clung to her daddy and closed her eyes. Teddy hung on to me and screamlaughed all the way down!
We didn't notice a splash at the end...b/c we were already wet.
QUACK!
Teddy wanted to get on the ride again immediately. Sally did NOT. She threw daggers with her eyes at the men running the ride. Oh they were in the DOG HOUSE with Sally. She was not going to be riding this ride again. EVER. Nor would her children...or grandchildren...or anyone else she could tell her tale of deception and soaking too.
She handled it well all things considered.
She had ridden a ride at Sesame Place once, that was a fraction of the speed and height of Splash Mountain. Such was her hysteria that her mother was never able to get her to go back to the park again. Of course everyone petted her and comforted her and brought her tokens of sorrow for "making" her go on such a terrible, life altering ride...which only made the dramatics worse. She refused to go on anything else the rest of the day and pretty much ruined the outing for everyone.
Yeah...We don't put up with that. Because it's silly. It's a ride. If you didn't like it, don't go on it again. It didn't hurt you. You were not broken or bleeding. You felt scared. And it's okay to feel scared. We don't have to write off the whole park. Life isn't like that honey and I'm not doing you any good to indulge any ideas that make you think otherwise...PERIOD.
we'd had a very big talk with both kids about the privilege of coming to Disneyworld and the kind of behavior that would reflect that privilege. Hysterics over a ride would not be on the list of acceptable behaviors.
know what i mean..
We looked for our picture on the way out. My inner Donald gave a quack with every squelchy step I took...in my pricey Privo sandals...which I was convinced were now ruined...quack quack quack. (inner tantrums are fine...as long as you are smiling...and not throwing things at your husband who keeps winking at you in an infuriating way...)
I turned up my smile meter to quiet Donald down some. Teddy was chattering away about how much FUN that was. I suddenly remembered that my heavy concealing the black eye make up job probably got washed off and I took out my compact to see if I couldn't fix it. A passing CM laughed at my "vanity" and told me I looked fine!

He noticed my anniversary button and said "Congratulations". Teddy started telling the man about the super fun ride we were on and how we all got SOPPED! The CM chatted with him a bit and asked us where we were from. As he was turning to go, I took out my camera and told Jay and the kids to get together for a "wet" picture. The CM turned back around and said he would take the picture for us.
It turned out to be a nice picture...sopped though we were. As I took the camera back from the CM, I thanked him. He then took out a bundle and handed us four FASTPASSES that were good ALL DAY for ANY RIDE!!!
AWESOME!!!
Jay took the fastpasses and started planning. We could use these again for Splash Mountain right now or...
"No THANK YOU" Sally said rather forcefully.
...we could do Thunder Mountain Rail Road...
Sally did NOT like the sound of another "mountain", but as she is a rule follower she said nothing. But I could feel the resistance coming off of her in waves, so I hugged her. Sometimes a hug helps.
After much chitty chatting, we decided to get a fastpass for Thunder Mountain, use our Mega Fastpasses for later in the day and Head over to Tom Sawyers Island in the meantime.
Now I don't know if y'all know the secret of Tom Sawyer's Island. Then again, if you Dis much at all, then you KNOW about the Paintbrushes. I knew about the Paintbrushes and I had a plan. We went over to the line and waited for the first boat of the day to arrive. I told Sally I had to tell her something and it was important and a SECRET. Her eyes got big and she followed me over to a more private location.
"Sally, this is important. There are paintbrushes hidden on Tom Sawyer Island. There aren't very many. If you find one, you get something. Usually a fastpass for your whole family. Only people who are good at finding things usually get them. If you don't find one, it's not a big deal, but I thought you'd want to know about this."
"MissCammie, I am an EAGLE EYE!!! I can find ANYTHING!! MIssCammie I KNOW I can find a Paintbrush. I KNOW I can."
"I know it Sally. I know you can find one. But you can't TELL anybody else. You can't talk about it on the boat. It's a SECRET."
Sally nodded solemnly at me. She had her game face on. We were going to find us a paintbrush!!!
"Let's not tell Daddy and Teddy either! Let's make it a surprise for the Girl's Team!!!"
We walked back over to Jay and Teddy. Jay gave me a look that said "What's up?" I gave him a look back that said "You'll see". Sally gave us both a look that said "GAME ON".
Just behind us a family with two very LONG LEGGED girls arrived. The girls had a bordering-on-TOO-MUCH amount of glitter/confetti in their hair. Big FAT pieces of glitter/confetti that looked more like plastic disks suitable for jewelry making...like someone poured glue on their hair and then dunked them into a pile from the glitter/confetti "irregular" bin. Know what I mean?
They were whispering frantically to each other. Sally and I both heard them say "we're going to find ALL of the paintbrushes".
Sally raised an eyebrow that clearly said "In your over glittered, bordering on TACKY dreams!"
Sally was ready. She was primed. NOTHING was going to get in her way. Super Sally had arrived, her competitive juices were flowing. She had the Eye of the Tiger.
*cue corresponding song*
Here come the boats!!!
We were second in line, so we had our choice of the best place to stand. Sally said to me quietly,
"We have to stand near the exit so we can get off the boat FAST!"
Sally is a thinker!
The ride over was nice enough. Teddy pointed out the "stretched out white birds!!!
and the GIGANTIC BOAT!!!
Sally was deep in thought!
Sparkle girls were standing directly behind us. They were going over their game plan. They were going to "split up" and gather every paint brush they found.
Now I do not agree with this. Sally didn't either. I didn't even have to tell her that once she found one paintbrush, that would be it. She's competitive but she's got good manners and an innate sense of fair play.
She's a good girl that way.
unlike the over sparkled squash everyone else's fun girls.
The CampbellScots have good manners!
Once we hit the dock on the other side, Sally started bouncing in her
crocs. She was so ready. She threw a look over her shoulder that said "I'm gonna run". I nodded at her and said with a wink "We'll follow your lead kiddo!"
The rope dropped and Sally was OFF. She had one thing in mind. That paintbrush. Jay looked at me and said "What is she DOING?"
"Never you mind Daddy. The girls team has a plan!"
Teddy was oblivious and held Jay's hand and we followed after Sally. She is a smart girl and started with the perimeter of the island. She ran along a path and down towards the fence.
We heard a shout from above from one of the Sparkle sisters..."I FOUND ONE!" and then another shout "I FOUND ONE TOO!!" Dang those Sparkle sisters. I was going to have to brawl with someone if they did indeed find all the paintbrushes.
Sally never wavered, she never let those girls throw her for a second. She ran around towards the snack bar and the porch set up with tables. I was planning how I was going to wrestle one of the paintbrushes away from the Sparkle sisters when I heard Sally shout,
"MISSCAMMIE!!! I GOT ONE!!!!! I FOUND IT!!!!"
And then I cried.

Like I'm doing now. She was so excited. She was so proud of herself. She felt powerful and strong. That is a rare feeling in these rocky times. It was such a small thing really, but it was such a moment of triumph for Sally. She had control of her destiny at that moment. Nothing was going to stop her. Not long legged girls with too much glitter in their hair, not doubts that tried to creep into her head and tell her she couldn't do anything, that nothing ever worked out.
This did work out. She did do it. On her own. She had the spirit of a warrior in that moment. I hoped that feeling would curl up in her heart and come out to protect her when she felt small and at the mercy of the world around her.
She came running over to us, holding the paint brush high. Jay scooped her up and twirled her around. Teddy was jumping up and down, no idea why he was so excited, but he was going to join in with gusto!
We do our best to celebrate those moments as big as we can. It makes us feel good!
Jay put her down and Sally was about to tell us something when the Sparkle Sisters came running into view. They pushed rather rudely and aggressively past a man and his small daughter. Each girl had a paint brush in hand. They were obviously still looking. One of the girls actually rolled her snotty little eyes at my Sally and her paint brush.
Then Sally said rather casually and rather loudly..."I thought I saw another paintbrush over that way" and pointed. The Sparkle girls took off...no finesse...no sportsmanship...just plain old GREED.
I looked down at Sally and she gave me a sly smile.
"MissCammie, I didn't REALLY see a paintbrush over there...it's over there" and she indicated with a turn of her head. Sure enough there was another one not far from us.
"I wanted that little girl to find it". The man and his small daughter, who had been nearly knocked over by the Sparkle sisters,were hunting around. The girl was tiny and wearing glasses. She was walking slowly and cautiously, holding her daddy's hand. We could see that she had braces on both legs. It made me want to find those obnoxious girls and knock their rude heads together.
The little girl was singsonging "Paintbrush Paintbrush" over and over. Sally walked over to the man and pointed in the direction of the paint brush. Then she stood sentry. Hands on hips, ready to do battle. She wasn't going to let anyone get by her. The man smiled and thanked Sally and then took his daughter in that direction. The little girl squealed with pleasure when she spotted the paint brush. She held it high and her daddy told her what a good job she had done. Sally walked over to her and put her hand out for a high five. The little girl was so cute. Her eyes got big and she smiled and tried to give Sally a high five. After missing twice, Sally helped her make contact.
Of course I was crying as I watched. Sally is so like her daddy. She has a very special way with children who have special needs. She is very patient and kind and protective of these kids. I was so dang proud of her I could barely breathe.
The father of the little girl came over and thanked Jay and told him how much he appreciated Sally's help. He told us that his daughter had been told by her older cousin, whom she idolized, about the paintbrushes and it was pretty much all she'd talked about for weeks. Finding a paintbrush. They had explained to her that perhaps they wouldn't be able to find one but that they'd try...and GET THIS...they had almost gotten one when who do you think snatched it out from under them? Yep...The Sparkle Sisters. AFTER they'd already found one no less. The dad said he didn't want to fight with people over such things, but he was a little disappointed that when he'd asked the girls if his daughter could have one of the paintbrushes, they'd given him a snotty look and took off.
good GRIEF!! MANNERS. KINDNESS. DISNEY...helloooo? WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?!
Anyhow, we'd found our paintbrush, we'd seen justice served yet again...and it wasn't even 11 oclock yet!!!
Now that we'd claimed our prize, we could relax and explore. We ran up paths and down paths, climbed into treeforts and tramped over bridges. We went into caves and saw...JEWELS...as Teddy said!
We saw a barn and when Teddy looked inside he said
"Look MissCammie!! It's a horse's BEHIND!!!" I REALLY had to bite my tongue to keep myself from making the comments that were zinging around my brain!!
here it is...the horse's behind...and not a sparkle to be had...oddly enough...
*ahem*
After about 20 minutes I was HOT and pert near parched to DEATH. Sally had to powder her nose and we happened to be right near a potty. So we went in and did the "ew gross it's so dirty in here, wipe down the toilet seat with antibacterial wipes and STILL hover over the potty for fear of the plague..." thing. Then Teddy had to go...and he is luckily still at an age where he will go with me into women's bathrooms and not know the difference. When we finally all trooped out of the impossibly tiny bathroom there stood my husband with an ice cold Diet Coke.
We were ready to leave the island not too long after that. Sally was holding tightly to her paint brush. She wouldn't put it down for a second. Which made it difficult for her to get things out of her bag...it was kind of funny to watch her!
While we waited for the boat, I called the boarding place where my darling puppy was staying to check on him. Yes I am a crazy Dog mommy. I was assured by the girl on the phone that he was fine. I really hate leaving him. A lot. I thanked the girl and she said "Talk to you tomorrow..."

yup! Called every single day.
The boat arrived and we hopped on. Sally proudly held up her paintbrush. The boat driver told her to follow him after we got back to the dock. He announced this to everyone else on the boat. The Sparkle Sisters were among them, along with the little girl that Sally had helped.
We got to the dock and Sally was ready. She knew those girls were going to push and be rude. So she angeled herself so that she stood in front of the girls and gave the little girl room to walk out. Which is what happened. Sally didn't budge until her little friend had gotten off the boat. Then we followed the boat driver over to a little roped off area. Everyone got a fast pass for all the people in their "group" for Thunder Mountain. When the Sparkle sisters handed over their brushes, the driver said "Sorry, one paintbrush per family". They were very huffy about it and made snotty comments about that not being fair. Which really annoyed the dad of Sally's little friend. So he spoke up.
"What isn't fair is two able bodied girls running around grabbing something out from under the hands of a disabled little girl. You two really need to do an attitude check."
Sally chimed in with "Yeah...CHEATERS".
Some of the people standing around applauded!
The girls responded with a bratty "WHATEVER, this is STUPID" and stalked off. I was just grossed out by the entire experience with the Sparkle Sisters. These girls were wearing expensive clothing, Tiffany bracelets and what looked like real diamond studs in their ears. They are obviously well cared for and over indulged. Yet they were not satisfied. They had to have more more more...even if it was just a ratty old paintbrush from a Disney attraction. They didn't seem to have any compassion in their hearts. They had absolutely no shame. Just a sense of entitlement and a chip on their shoulders a mile wide. It is this kind of child I am terrified of raising. Sally and Teddy are way over indulged in much of their lives. But we are doing our best to foster the natural sweetness in their hearts before it is spoiled right out of them. (Seriously, they are the only grandkids in a very large Italian family. The kids opened presents for FIVE HOURS last Christmas at their mom's. I'm not kidding..five hours...then they asked if they could stop. I think anyone could be spoiled in an environment like that!)
But at the moment, they are kind. They are good. They want to share the wealth.
It had been a good morning! Even if I WAS still wet!
QUACK!
Up Next: Hungry hungry hippos!!!