The Twelve Days of Swinter: From Castaway 'Key' to a Partridge in a Palm Tree!

[Woth2982]

Thanks for the nice words about my baby girl. I think her freckles are pretty cute too. I just wish that other kids could appreciate children for who they are and not judge them on what they 'think' is ideal. She has been picked on for her freckles before and it makes me so mad. We told her they were angel kisses to try to make her feel better. But the latest thing is that some kid keeps telling her she has big ears. What's a parent supposed to say to something like that? I just don't know why some children have to be so mean! None of us are perfect, especially in appearance, so why is there always one who thinks they have the right to point out the flaws of others! My DD is such a wonderful person on the inside, sweet, compassionate, always thinking of how others feel, yet that is completely overlooked by some and it makes me so angry! I just wonder if this sort of thing is starting already, what the heck will it be like when she is older!

Gosh, I am so sorry I just unloaded all that on you... can you tell it's been a rough day?

Hate to be a butter inner, but I am so sorry your DD is being picked on. As the victim of bullying in the 7th grade I know how it is. I switched to a private school, and most of the kids had been together since pre-K. I was a VERY late bloomer, in the 7th grade I was 4'8" and about 70 lbs. I also have a port wine stain on my left hand (mind you not ONCE did a kid preschool through 6th grade EVER make a peep about it), and I had no enamel on my teeth due to a childhood illness, I was a physical mess in the 7th grade. I was CONSTANTLY harassed by the kids in the class, I was made fun of for being short, having yellowish teeth, I was told I was anorexic and had to eat my hand because my parents didn't feed me (red birthmark), it was a nightmare, and at the time I didn't see it, but looking back the kids who were the meanest had to have had the lowest self esteem on the planet. I never got how making someone else feel bad about their physical features makes someone feel better about them self, but maybe by pointing out (loudly) someone else's flaws it keeps others from focusing on theirs. I pride myself in NEVER telling the girl who said I was anorexic she could afford to lose a few pounds, after I got my braces off the first thing my parents did was fix my teeth with bonding, I grew literally a foot, and would kill to be too thin right now. Hopefully your DD has a strong enough sense of self to know that these mean kids have other issues they need to work out. I still get mad thinking about it, but I know I am a better person for it in the long run. Now I have unloaded on you lol. Hope it helps.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

not at all rinky, you can vent with me any ole time!!
I hope your girl isn't or ever will be picked on to the point
of bullying...its a crazy wrold out there. I had freckles also
as a kid and I was picked on!!....by the way our first ride
with chloe(grandaughter) in 2010 was the magic carpets.
Gotta love our disney world!!! See ya real soon!...I'll just enjoy my popcorn while waiting!!!

I wouldn't call it bullying yet, just extreme rudeness. I also had freckles when I was little but I don't remember anyone pointing them out. I just wish people would teach their kids to be kind. It's a pretty simple thing.

I think the magic carpets are a great first ride! You now have me curious and I want to go back and see what our first ride was b/c I can't remember!

Hate to be a butter inner, but I am so sorry your DD is being picked on. As the victim of bullying in the 7th grade I know how it is. I switched to a private school, and most of the kids had been together since pre-K. I was a VERY late bloomer, in the 7th grade I was 4'8" and about 70 lbs. I also have a port wine stain on my left hand (mind you not ONCE did a kid preschool through 6th grade EVER make a peep about it), and I had no enamel on my teeth due to a childhood illness, I was a physical mess in the 7th grade. I was CONSTANTLY harassed by the kids in the class, I was made fun of for being short, having yellowish teeth, I was told I was anorexic and had to eat my hand because my parents didn't feed me (red birthmark), it was a nightmare, and at the time I didn't see it, but looking back the kids who were the meanest had to have had the lowest self esteem on the planet. I never got how making someone else feel bad about their physical features makes someone feel better about them self, but maybe by pointing out (loudly) someone else's flaws it keeps others from focusing on theirs. I pride myself in NEVER telling the girl who said I was anorexic she could afford to lose a few pounds, after I got my braces off the first thing my parents did was fix my teeth with bonding, I grew literally a foot, and would kill to be too thin right now. Hopefully your DD has a strong enough sense of self to know that these mean kids have other issues they need to work out. I still get mad thinking about it, but I know I am a better person for it in the long run. Now I have unloaded on you lol. Hope it helps.

I hate to hear that. I just don't know why some kids have to be so mean. I can't imagine feeling better about myself by making someone else miserable. I was picked on too by a girl in my neighborhood when I was young. We lived in an old, sinlge wide trailer which was not high class, but it was clean and got the job done until my mom could afford to buy a house. But the man who owned the trailer park had a daughter and they lived in a nice brick house across the street with an inground pool, etc, etc. Well she was certain that those material things made her better than me and she dogged me every day of my life while we lived there. She called me every name in the book... trailer trash, ghetto girl, a redneck dog... you name it. She was so hate filled and I was an easy target I guess since I was younger. Well, needless to say that had an affect on me and I have drilled it into my DD that she is to accept EVERYONE just as they are and she does. She makes her mama proud. But it is hard for her to understand why others don't show her the same respect. And there just isn't an answer for that. At least the kids that have been so mean to her are not at school. She actually does go to a private school, but we've never had a single problem there. I just wish this whole bullying problem that is so bad now would be taken seriously by parents. It is so easy to teach your kids to be kind. Just takes a tiny bit of effort, but I guess that is too much for some people. But in the end, you seemed to turn out fine and I did ok too so hopefully my DD will find a way to triumph as well. And if not, mama bear will take matters into her own hands!

 

[MEK]

I have that crazy mug. Love it. I had no idea they also had them at MK. I especially love that mug because of the surprise Mickey head at the bottom of it!

I heard that if you clap your hands really loudly when you get near the tarantula - it MOVES and JUMPS at you! Yikes! But I am totally trying it this summer when I am there with my nephews!

You got some really great pictures. I have to admit that I never take very many pics in that area of the park, but you gave me some great picture ideas for this summer!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

I have that crazy mug. Love it. I had no idea they also had them at MK. I especially love that mug because of the surprise Mickey head at the bottom of it!

I heard that if you clap your hands really loudly when you get near the tarantula - it MOVES and JUMPS at you! Yikes! But I am totally trying it this summer when I am there with my nephews!

You got some really great pictures. I have to admit that I never take very many pics in that area of the park, but you gave me some great picture ideas for this summer!

I think everyone has that mug except me! I'm going to have to rectify that in October and stop being so cheap! I don't think I even noticed the Mickey head in the bottom!

I am totally going to test the tarantula next time, but I am pretty sure I will scream like a little girl if it jumps at me!

We actually went back to that same gift shop again later in the trip b/c DD wanted to buy a scarf she saw there and I took even MORE pictures and got a little silly. We had a good time there! I rarely slow down and take in the little things, but I learned that I need to do that more often.

 

[petals]

Love the updates. I think if i'd seen that spider on jungle cruise I wouldn't have stayed there very long real or not lol!!!

Re your daughter getting bullied I think she's pretty as a princess freckles, ears and all and she should just ignore all of those that are making fun of her. They're probably only jealous of how pretty she is

 

[Mndisneygirl]

I know you were just teasing Rinky! All in good fun!


I will just say I agree with you on the whole kids need to be taught to be kind to each other. Jeez.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Love the updates. I think if i'd seen that spider on jungle cruise I wouldn't have stayed there very long real or not lol!!!

Re your daughter getting bullied I think she's pretty as a princess freckles, ears and all and she should just ignore all of those that are making fun of her. They're probably only jealous of how pretty she is

I hate spiders too! I think spiders and snakes are the two most vile things on the planet! I know they serve a purpose, but I want them to do it FAR away from me!

Thanks so much for the nice words about my DD. I hate I unloaded on ya'll like that. That's not normally how I am, but that has gotten me riled up lately so I guess it just bubbled up and out! I know all the things those kids say are ridiculous, but I also know that my DD can't see it that way and I hate for her to be hurt. Life! Gotta take the good with the bad!

I know you were just teasing Rinky! All in good fun!


I will just say I agree with you on the whole kids need to be taught to be kind to each other. Jeez.

Yeah, you'd think that was just common sense for parents, but apparently not. But then again, I learned as a teacher that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. A lot of times when the kid has a rotten attitude, the parent(s) do too. They're learning it from somewhere!

 

[petals]

I hate spiders too! I think spiders and snakes are the two most vile things on the planet! I know they serve a purpose, but I want them to do it FAR away from me!

I totally agree. If there's a spider in my room I won't go in there and if I see one anywhere in the house i'm like MAMMY GET RID OF IT and i'm 26 I hate crawlies in general. There was a cockroach in our hotel room in 2010 one night when we got home and Momma had to get rid of it but I didn't sleep all that night because i couldn't figure out how it got in and I kept getting up checking behind things to see if there was anymore of them

Thanks so much for the nice words about my DD. I hate I unloaded on ya'll like that. That's not normally how I am, but that has gotten me riled up lately so I guess it just bubbled up and out! I know all the things those kids say are ridiculous, but I also know that my DD can't see it that way and I hate for her to be hurt. Life! Gotta take the good with the bad!

No worries and vent away. It's terrible the way kids bully each other like that.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Ok… we have now worked our way through Adventureland and made it to the frontier. It had been two years since we were at Disney and BTMRR was calling our names!

This sight greeted us as we entered Frontierland.

As much as I love riding through that mountain, the drop is just too much for this ride chicken. I tried to talk DH and DD into riding it without me, but they didn’t want to. I always feel bad about that because I know I ruin it for them.

I was expecting to have to get fast passes for BTMRR since it was late in the afternoon, but we were pleasantly surprised to see that the standby line was only 20 minutes. But even better was that once we walked through the queue, it was actually walk-on! LOVE THAT!

Here comes our train now…

I think DD prefers to ride with her daddy because her mother screams like an idiot the entire time!

Unlike on Splash Mountain, I actually enjoy the heart pounding anticipation on the uphill climb because I know there isn’t a drop on the other side!

We waved to the people on the train and they waved back…

Then we crested the hill and it was game on!! And I was too busy screaming to get many more pictures.

They really are screams of joy though!

As always, it was an awesome ride! I love it because it’s exciting without being too intense and scary.

Continued in next post

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

We wanted to ride again, but we were pretty hungry at that point. If you think waaaaay back, several updates ago, you will remember that our last meal had been at 6:30 a.m. that morning on the Dream! And I only ate two or three bites of my breakfast, so I was famished! However, my stomach still wasn’t feeling fabulous after the night I had, so I knew I didn’t want much. We also had a dinner ADR after park closing so we wanted to go light.

We decided to leave Frontierland and look for some nourishment around Liberty Square. I snapped all kinds of random pictures as we walked along.

Tom Sawyer Island…

Braver souls than I…

I’ve never heard a thing about this restaurant? Is it even open?

DD spotted a frozen treats stand and decided she wanted one of these.

She loves those things!

Liberty Tree Tavern…

The thought of turkey and dressing on a gorgeous fall day was mighty tempting.

More fall touches…

Continued in next post

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

And our Sunday afternoon stroll ended here at our counter service of choice…

We love this place and eat here on every trip!

The building has some really neat details and as a history lover I enjoy seeing it all…

Yep, all of that stuff is attached to that one building!

The menu…

And this is DH’s favorite thing to order, fish and chips with slaw and an apple tart. We all shared this one plate to save room for dinner.

We easily found a table and settled in for a nice relaxing ‘snack’, or so we thought. A very large group of people came in shortly after us and filled up three of the tables adjoining ours. There were lots of teenagers in their group and several adults. Well I kept noticing some of the teenage boys snickering. I had no idea what they kept laughing at and really didn’t care, that is until one of the ADULT males at their table made a loud, unmistakable noise from his nether region, if you get my drift! That of ‘course caused all of the younger boys to erupt in laughter, and this went on back and forth in a virtual competition the entire time they were there! Thankfully, since we were sharing one plate, our food was gone quickly, and so were we! How rude and common to do something like that in a public eatery! SO, SO GROSS!

We gladly ditched our tray and hit the road. There was no wait for The Haunted Mansion so we made a bee line for it.

I was hoping to see the new queue but they had it closed off.

DD is not crazy about the stretching room, but she is always brave and does it anyway. Then she tells us all during the ride how she isn’t scared and how none of it’s real. I think she is trying to convince herself more than us!

I can never get good pictures on the dark rides!

At the very end of the ride, they used to have a ghost sitting in the seat with you, but this time they had one that chopped off our heads! It was really funny and we liked that change a lot!

When we came out, there was a PP person there by the doom buggy, so we stopped for some pictures. I was excited because we had never gotten this photo before.

Now look scared….

I didn’t say look like dorks! I said look scared!

And that was the end of Frontierland and Liberty Square for that day. Considering that we never got to MK until 3:00, I think we got a lot done and had a great day. It was only 5:30 when we headed into Fantasyland, so in two and a half hours, we did everything we wanted to in 3 lands and stopped to eat. Not bad! And we still had another hour and a half before the park closed!

Up next: A whirl around Fantasyland and a gondola ride to Hawaii!

 

[Woth2982]

I hate to hear that. I just don't know why some kids have to be so mean. I can't imagine feeling better about myself by making someone else miserable. I was picked on too by a girl in my neighborhood when I was young. We lived in an old, sinlge wide trailer which was not high class, but it was clean and got the job done until my mom could afford to buy a house. But the man who owned the trailer park had a daughter and they lived in a nice brick house across the street with an inground pool, etc, etc. Well she was certain that those material things made her better than me and she dogged me every day of my life while we lived there. She called me every name in the book... trailer trash, ghetto girl, a redneck dog... you name it. She was so hate filled and I was an easy target I guess since I was younger. Well, needless to say that had an affect on me and I have drilled it into my DD that she is to accept EVERYONE just as they are and she does. She makes her mama proud. But it is hard for her to understand why others don't show her the same respect. And there just isn't an answer for that. At least the kids that have been so mean to her are not at school. She actually does go to a private school, but we've never had a single problem there. I just wish this whole bullying problem that is so bad now would be taken seriously by parents. It is so easy to teach your kids to be kind. Just takes a tiny bit of effort, but I guess that is too much for some people. But in the end, you seemed to turn out fine and I did ok too so hopefully my DD will find a way to triumph as well. And if not, mama bear will take matters into her own hands!

My mom would always tell me they must have something really bad in their lives to make them want to hurt someone else. Hind sight is always 20/20, at the time I was miserable, but as I got older I grew to appreciate the experience. I have a fabulous life now, with amazing friends, and am very happy. I feel a lot of bully stems from parents who don't teach their kids proper manners (but what do I know I am childless). I hate your DD is being picked on, but at least it is not constant and she seems to know it is wrong. You should be proud of her! Truly a believer in what doesn't kill us makes us stronger.

 

[Woth2982]

I am in awe of how much you got accomplished! BTMR is one of our favorite rides too. I love to go on it at night. My mom is not a big ride person either, but she loves it as well. We did a girls only trip in 08 and my mom went on every single ride, she was shocked at how much she loved Mission Space (intense) and RnRC, my sister and I love all rides and she didn't want to be left out. However if the opportunity to go with another non-rider friend ever presented itself again she would probably sit out lol.

 

[jenseib]

I love the photopass shot. I have always wanted one there, but have yet to see a photographer.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I just love BTMRR!! I am so bummed that it will be closed in May. Thanks for sharing your ride with us!! The last couple of times we have done BTMRR the wait time has said 20 minutes when in-fact there is no wait at all. I just love that!

You really got a lot done that afternoon. I am so impressed, especially after the night you had the night before. I think I would have been in the bed for about 24 hours after an incident like that.

We've never been to CHH. We need to check it out sometime. Hopefully we won't fun into the dining neighbors you had.

I love the HM photopass shots! We've never seen a photopass photographer there. DS10 would love to get that picture done there!!


Looking forward to hearing about your evening.

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Wow, you did get a lot done for arriving so late Rinky! Love that! You were there in October, right? How was the weather? That is really when I would love to go next.

How disgusting are some people in public? Doing that inside CHH? Nasty.

Your dd does not have big ears. Some kids are so mean and I have dealt with it myself. God gave her the ears she has so they are perfect.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Holy cats! You really got all that done in less than 3 hours? I can only hope that works like that when we go in the fall! That's awesome!
And you didn't even have to FP BTMRR! (Yes, FP is now a verb!). Maybe they think it will take 20 minutes to walk through the queue?

What will you do next??? Hit about 5 more rides in an hour?

I just had a conversation today with people at work about how so many people now are mean and rude. There is definitely a growing trend, and my theory is that is all your upbringing or lack thereof and no self-respect. It appears that people belittle others to make themselves feel better about themselves. Of course, I work in the courts, and we see a lot of the bad behaviors - that's what gets them in our doors....

 

[marDgreen88]

I've come to learn that party days are a GREAT day to get stuff done at MK! Yall did good, for sure!

Ugh... I can't believe how some people act in public. I've noticed more and more that so many people are unaware of the fact that there are OTHER people around who may be affected by what they're doing. It's ridiculous!

 

[partyof2]

Rinky I am a bit of a ride chicken too. I hate Splash, I can't even enjoy the ride through the mountain because of the impending sense of doom!

Thunder Mountain is my absolutely favourite though.

P.S. I am so sorry to hear that your DD has been getting teased. Karma will get the mean girls back in the future, it always does. It's so sad though than when we're little we want to be the same as everyone else and it's only once we're older we realise that it's our differences that make us special.

 

[sharonW]

Not notified againbut I checked and saw your update and I'm still enjoying every minute of it!! Love the Haunted Mansion, my second favorite
disney attraction. Keep em comin, rink!!!

ps: I hate splash, cannot stand that steep drop
thunder mt ok but it does throw ya around quite a bit!