TCD's Kickin' Off Summer 2011 @ The Fort Trip Report

Just what we need around here.

Another trip report!

But, this is a TCD trip report.

From the Fort.

And, finally, it is being posted in the same month in which the trip occurred.

I am almost caught up.

Almost.

This is the TCD Kickin' Off Summer 2011 Trip Report.

We camped at the Fort from Friday June 10 through Sunday June 12.

Just two nights.

It was supposed to be longer.

But things happened.

So we made the best of it.

June 10th was the last day for us to use our Florida Resident's Season Passes before they were blacked out for the Summer.

So we planned accordingly.

We left home at 6:15.

That's a.m.

Originally, it was my plan to check-in at the Fort, and if my site was ready ditch the trailer there and then head to a park for rope drop. Or, if my site wasn't ready, I would leave everything in the Fort parking lot and hop a bus.

But, that isn't what we did.

It was a poorly kept secret this year that Hollywood Studios was letting guests in at 8 am on Star Wars Weekend days, even though everything official says that the park would not open until 9. This was a great deal. And it was true. We had confirmed this on an earlier scouting mission. So, instead of heading to the Fort first, I headed to Hollywood Studios. With my big old Excursion, pulling the pop-up behind. We got there just a little before 8. I didn't have my parking pass since I hadn't checked in yet. I think I have heard in this situation that you can pay to park, and then get the money refunded after you check in. But, I didn't want to do that. I thought maybe I could talk my way into the parking lot without paying. After all, I had a reservation confirmation. But, the guy in the parking kiosk didn't look very friendly. Or smart. So I went with plan B. I still had the parking pass from our March visit in the car. I put that up on the dash. And drove slowly past the kiosk. The fellow took a quick look and gave me a wave. Technically I cheated. But, no harm, no foul, I was checking in to the Fort later, and I was entitled to park for free. Do not try this at home.

Have you ever seen the RV parking area at Hollywood Studios?

Neither have I.

I don't think they have one.

As I pulled in, I got waved way up to the front.

Near where the Taxi's park.

That's as close as you can get.

The castmember then told me to pull up to the end of the first row, and park across as many spaces as I needed to take.

That was sweet.

For me.

Not for other folks who might have wanted to park in the first row.

But that's where they told me to park.

We hit the gates at just a little after 8.

And they were open.

The girls headed to Toy Story, and I headed to Star Tours and got Fastpasses. The return time was around 9 am. Sweet.

I then met the girls at Toy Story, and we rode stand by.

The park was already getting crowded by then, and it was almost 9 by the time we got done.

I was eligible to get more Fastpasses in just a few minutes, so I sent the girls on to Tower or Terror, and hung out there at Toy Story until I could get my Fastpasses. Then I met up with the girls, and we did Rockin' Rollercoaster. We rode that twice, and then headed over to Star Tours to use our Fastpasses. By then, the wait was over an hour! But not for us.

We hung around HS long enough for me to get RNR Fastpasses, and then we headed to the Fort.

We pulled up at about noon.

This was much better than our last visit.

There was one person ahead of me checking in.

And then it was our turn.

We were assigned to Site 1512.

We had that exact site last year for this same weekend.

Awesome!

Great loop!

Great site!

As soon as I got backed in, I sent the girls on to get lunch. They were going to head over to the Contemporary or Polynesian, and maybe hit the MK, too while I got us set up.

And that's what we did.

As soon as I got set up, I broke out the camera and went to look for something new.

I headed to the cabin pool first.

I thought maybe it was about time for it to open.

It turns out I was right.

The construction fences were down.

And there was water in the pool.

But, they were still working on it.

See?:

Extra points if you notice the "s" on the end of Meadow.

Here's the new and improved pool with water in it!:

Apparently, the tile setter got a deal on lettered tiles, as they went a bit overboard with the depth markers:

I guess we need to know how deep it is at the drain. And at the wall?

As you can see, there is no more deep end.

Boo!

You can see that the equipment room was prepped for painting:

And the restroom/laundry building was, in fact, being painted at that very moment:

I think that's all we need to see of the cabin pool for now.

I headed over to the 2000 loop for a look see.

The lovely "creek" that babbles between the 2000 and 2100 loops ain't lookin' too hot of late:

What do you think, Frank, (I know you're reading) any fish in there?

If you pay attention, you will remember how I posted a rare photo from the 100 loop in my Spring Break trip report.

It was a photo of Judy's site.

With no Judy.

Well, believe it or not, it was empty again!:

In fact, a lot of 100 was empty on Friday afternoon.

They had been doing some work on it.

Just on a few sites, though.

Like this work on site 126:

They just widened the entrance to the site a bit.

One other item of interest I saw on my initial tour was this site on the 1300 loop with a bunch of extra picnic tables:

I never made it back there to see the party. If there was a party. And I think there was.

We did bounce over to the MK for a bit that afternoon. We picked up a couple of Fastpasses to use later that night. It was EMH at the MK that night, and it would be open until 3 am!

We then hopped a boat back to the Fort for our traditional first night meal- the Giddyap and Go from Trail's End.

Then it was back to Hollywood Studios.

We were going to use our Fastpasses.

And, we wanted to see Hyperspace Hoopla.

What is Hyperspace Hoopla, you ask?

Well, you will find out in my next post!

TCD