It's The End of the World as We Know It-The TCD Gang's Last Fort Trip (BC)

[The Troll 67]

 

 

You know what fascinates me?

 

Tattoos.

 

Do you ever wonder what people are thinking when they choose to permanently mark their body with a tattoo.

 

I do.

 

Take this guy in front of us:

 

 

That's one of the mice from Cinderella, right? Gus, isn't it?

 

Why in the world would a grown man pay money to have that tattooed on to the back of his arm?

 

Seriously.

 

Why?

 

 

 

Amen! Honestly, I don't mean to offend anyone here on this board, but this is just such a bizarre fad to me. It's almost like a mass hysteria. If the tattoo were temporary -- if you could wear it for as long as you like and then easily remove it -- I could easily understand it. But it's permanent. It's going to be on your body when you're laid to rest in your casket. It's like wearing a really, really loud outfit from the 80s every single day for the rest of your life. Surely, folks must realize the tattoos will eventually go out of style, yes?

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

Amen! Honestly, I don't mean to offend anyone here on this board, but this is just such a bizarre fad to me. It's almost like a mass hysteria. If the tattoo were temporary -- if you could wear it for as long as you like and then easily remove it -- I could easily understand it. But it's permanent. It's going to be on your body when you're laid to rest in your casket. It's like wearing a really, really loud outfit from the 80s every single day for the rest of your life. Surely, folks must realize the tattoos will eventually go out of style, yes?

 

While I will never have one I dont know if it can be called a fad. They have been around for hundreds if not thousands of years and for some cultures they are a way of life. 

[Santa ... Shannon 160]

I agree, too. Every time we go to Florida we end up spending at least one evening at The Villages, because my parents live nearby and for them this equates to "big night on the town"! The old folks flock to the town square and dance and drink and covort. They cruise in their pimped golf carts and generally have a good time listening to 50's-60's pop music. Anyway, every time we go I wonder what that place will look like in 25 years with wrinkled tramp-stamps as far as the eye can see and septuagenarians gyrating to Ice, Ice, Baby! Ugh! I hope I die young...

[magnoliafig 51]

Amen! Honestly, I don't mean to offend anyone here on this board, but this is just such a bizarre fad to me. It's almost like a mass hysteria. If the tattoo were temporary -- if you could wear it for as long as you like and then easily remove it -- I could easily understand it. But it's permanent. It's going to be on your body when you're laid to rest in your casket. It's like wearing a really, really loud outfit from the 80s every single day for the rest of your life. Surely, folks must realize the tattoos will eventually go out of style, yes?

I am beginning to agree. I want to remove the one people can see. I'll live with the rest.

[Lou... 3,118]

I hope I die young...

 

I hate to tell you Shannon, but unless you either dye your beard white or have a time machine, that ship has sailed.

[Ok Grumpy AKA Cindy~~ 9]

I know I am mostly a lurker and don't post often, but I just wanted to say that I too miss Stef's witty posts and

all the cute pictures of Mason.

Everyone here seems very caring and nice, people whom I would actually someday wish to meet, and

Stef and Trevor are at the top of the list.

I hope she comes back, I would love to read her TR.

Me Too! 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

There's some funny stuff going on with the multi-quote function. Hopefully, this will work:

 

REALLLLYYYY trying not to take any of this personally, but...
 
 
1) You'd be surprised what I make
2) You may think I look ridiculous, others insist I look spectacular, especially in my $3000 suit
3) My look is carefully considered and crafted through substantial effort and expense for the purpose of bringing joy to others, yours on the other hand seems to be the happenstance result of hammock lolling, blowing wind and rather occasional encounters with water and barbers.
 
So there! Mr. Man! (not a Christmas-movie quote)

 
Whoa!
 
Retract those claws, Clause.
 
My disdain for fake Santas was not directed at you.  It's those sweaty creeps with the yellowish stringy beards and the t-shirts with fur and Santa hats in the summer that I object to.
 
"hammock lolling, blowing wind and rather occasional encounters with water and barbers."
 
Very good!
 
I have to say, the truth hurts.
 
I am what I am.
 
 

I'm on it guys...  We will starting casting on Monday !
 
 ]

 
Wow!
 
Err.  I mean to say, for the record, that as the father of three daughters, brother of four sisters, and husband of a wife for 25+ years, I object to this blatant objectification of women.
 
Holy Smokes!
 
 

Caught up - WHEW!
 
Loved your dawn pics and glad that we at least got to run into you and the twins.  At that point we were lucky to be standing - partly from being tired, but mostly because it felt like my feet were going to just explode if I stood on them much longer.

 
You all were holding up pretty well.  I can't imagine how bad your feet must have been hurting.
 

 
 
 
 

I'm thinking TCD got a lot of cole in his stocking when he was a young buckaroo. That is the only legitimate reason for his anti-Santa.]I'm thinking TCD got a lot of cole in his stocking when he was a young buckaroo. That is the only legitimate reason for his anti-Santa.

 
I am not anti-Santa.  I am anti-creepy fake Santa.  There is a big difference.

 

I know I am mostly a lurker and don't post often, but I just wanted to say that I too miss Stef's witty posts and all the cute pictures of Mason.
Everyone here seems very caring and nice, people whom I would actually someday wish to meet, and Stef and Trevor are at the top of the list.
I hope she comes back, I would love to read her TR.

Thanks for posting!

Hopefully, Stef will read the comments people are making and return.
 

Stef was one of the first fiends we ever met. And she is wonderful. Bubbly, full of fire and one of the friendliest persons in the world!I even have recipes in my recipe book that are Stef's.
I miss her on the board too!

Agreed.

It is a big loss not to have Stef posting.
 

Seriously! We hire a Santa to come to our house for pictures too. We split it with other families and make it a brunch. So much better than the mall!

I can see where this would be fun, at the appropriate time of year and when the fake Santa is invited.

I have no problem with that.

 

Good to see you back ShanMan/Santa. Hope to see you at the Fort again soon!

Agreed!

It is great to have Shannon back.

And it's good to see a post from you, too, Gary.
 

Honestly, I don't mean to offend anyone here on this board, but this is just such a bizarre fad to me. It's almost like a mass hysteria. If the tattoo were temporary -- if you could wear it for as long as you like and then easily remove it -- I could easily understand it. But it's permanent. It's going to be on your body when you're laid to rest in your casket. It's like wearing a really, really loud outfit from the 80s every single day for the rest of your life. Surely, folks must realize the tattoos will eventually go out of style, yes?

I agree, too. Every time we go to Florida we end up spending at least one evening at The Villages, because my parents live nearby and for them this equates to ]I agree, too. Every time we go to Florida we end up spending at least one evening at The Villages, because my parents live nearby and for them this equates to "big night on the town"! The old folks flock to the town square and dance and drink and covort. They cruise in their pimped golf carts and generally have a good time listening to 50's-60's pop music. Anyway, every time we go I wonder what that place will look like in 25 years with wrinkled tramp-stamps as far as the eye can see and septuagenarians gyrating to Ice, Ice, Baby! Ugh! I hope I die young...

Funny stuff, and good to see the Troll and Santa getting along.

And just so we're all clear, I do not have a problem with tattoos. My comment was that I find it fascinating what tattoos people choose. Like the young man with the Cinderella mouse. Why would he want that permanently inked on his arm?

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I hate to tell you Shannon, but unless you either dye your beard white or have a time machine, that ship has sailed.

 

LOL!

 

Another up arrow for the SBD.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Time for an update!

 

We left off with Saturday night, which ended earlier than usual, as we were pretty much wiped out from having stayed up all night on Friday night.

 

So, you would think that we would sleep in on Sunday morning, right?

 

Wrong!

 

That is not how we roll!

 

There was something else that we needed to see.

 

It was Star Wars Weekends at Hollywood Studios.

 

We had just been there on Saturday night to see the Hyperspace Hoopla, but the park was too packed for us to do anything else.

 

So, that meant we needed to go back.

 

And the only way to deal with these types of crowds is rope drop.

 

Which explains why I was up taking this photo at 6:27 am:

 

 

Why so early?

 

Hollywood Studios was scheduled to open at 8 am.

 

But it is a not well kept secret that during the Star Wars Weekends, the turnstiles open a half hour, and sometimes more, before the posted opening time.

 

For the past few years, there has not been a rope drop.  They just open the turnstiles, and off you go.  That has been the case for regular park openings for the last year or so too.  They used to have a rope stretched across Hollywood Boulevard, and keep guests corralled there until the actual park opening time.  But, that led to a pretty intense stampede to the Toy Story ride, so they stopped with the rope over a year ago.  Instead, they have what is called a soft opening, and let guests in slowly through the turnstiles with no rope or opening show.

 

So, we wanted to get up, get ready, and head to Hollywood Studios at 7.  We would drive ourselves.  No way would we trust trying to get to a rope drop to the Disney buses.

 

It seemed that we were the only guests up at this ungodly hour.

 

And that is just how I like it.

 

As an added bonus, it was a beautiful morning.  The official TCD weather station said that it was 62 degrees out.  That is remarkable for May 26th.

 

I think the 100 loop comfort station is the most attractive comfort station in the whole campground.  If you can call a comfort station attractive, that is:

 

 

 

This comfort station has a few unique features.  Like the barrels that are used to enclose the phones, and the landscaping.

 

You know what was funny?  Just 24 hours before this, we were just getting ready to go to bed after being up all night.  Now here we were up again, but this time instead of just getting back from a park, we were heading out.

 

But, trust me, it was worth it.

 

You'll see.

 

Just as it had been yesterday morning, the moon was getting ready to set:

 

 

Dang it!  You can't see the moon.  But I could.  And it was cool to see it shining over the 100 loop.

 

This big crepe myrtle outside of the 100 loop comfort station will soon explode with blooms, and flower all summer long:

 

 

You see what I mean about the 100 loop comfort station?  Tell me where there is one that is more attractive:

 

 

I tried again to take a photo of the moon.  Fail:

 

 

But I got it this time!

 

You can see the moon in the center of the photo, just above the tree line.  It looks pretty lame in this photo, but it was cool in person.  You had to be there:

 

 

A look at site 123 from the comfort station:

 

 

I chilled at the back of the site while the girls got ready.

 

The TCD hammock at dawn:

 

 

The trail was quiet at this hour.  I wish the music was playing, as I surely would have been able to hear it, but they turn it off at some point at night, and then crank it back up again around noon:

 

 

Trail's End doesn't open until 7:30 am, so I had to break out the official TCD coffee maker this morning.  Which is actually a good thing.  That old thing makes way better coffee than the NesCafe they serve at Trail's End.  Which reminds me, where is this Barney's coffee that they supposedly are going to be serving at the beverage stations?:

 

 

The girls did a great job getting ready, and we were able to head out a little before 7.

 

There was no traffic this morning, and we made it to DHS, and were parked and sitting on the tram when I took this photo at 7:09 am.  We normally would not bother with the tram at this time of day, but the CM on the back announced that they would be pulling out immediately, so we figured why not ride.  The people pushing strollers either did not speak the English, or thought they could beat the tram:

 

 

Remember these people, we will see them again:

 

 

We zipped through bag check, and got to see all the folks who had lined up over night for the celebrity meet and greet Fastpasses:

 

 

You see those people at the front of the line?:

 

 

 

What time do you think they lined up to be at the front?

 

I wondered too.

 

So, I asked the two nerds gentlemen at the front of the line.

 

They got in line at 11:30 pm the night before.  And spent the night there in line.  To meet some obscure has-been actor.  I forgot to ask them which of Cinderella's mice they had tattooed on their arms.

 

The rest of the celebrity Fastpass line:

 

 

If you want to get one of these Fastpasses, you have to pick one of the four celebrities who will be having meet and greets that day:

 

 

If you want to do some people watching, this line would be a great place to do it.  I did a double take as I was standing there and the guy in the granny wig caught my eye.  I thought DaveInTn had paid a surprise visit to WDW.  But, on closer examination, I saw that this was an actual granny:

 

 

What the heck was that granny doing there?  She was near the front of the line, so that meant she had spent the night there in that line.  What the Fort?

 

They have a couple of turnstiles cordoned off for the guests coming out of the Fastpass lines.  The guests who get those Fastpasses get a wristband, and they then charge over to those turnstiles.  This Valley Girl about got stomped to death when she ventured past the cord and called to her group to come over and join her:

 

 

We were in line by 7:15, and watched as a good sized crowd grew at all of the turnstiles:

 

 

Make sure you don't miss Twin #1's photobomb there in the bottom left of that last photo.

 

We have our RFID annual passes now, so we got to use the fancy scanners.  I still don't like them, but they are way, way faster than the old turnstiles, and we got in way faster than all of those folks you saw in that last photo.

 

In years past, there was a little pre-show that happened before they opened the turnstiles where Storm Troopers would come out and talk to the crowd from atop the line.  This year, there were no Storm Troopers. They just started letting people in at 7:30.

 

I was surprised when we were stopped by a rope stretched across Hollywood Boulevard.  Here we are at 7:32 am:

 

 

This was something new. 

 

In the recent past, they did not stop guests here.  They just opened the park, and off we went.

 

This was like an old school rope drop.

 

We could tell that the guests in front of us didn't understand this.

 

When the CM's told us to fill in all available space, we weaved our way to the front.

 

Remember those people with the strollers we saw from the tram?

 

Here they are-behind us.  Check out how they dressed their kids.  Those don't look like very practical outfits for a hot day in the park:

 

 

Just after I snapped that photo, I heard a commotion coming from the area of the hat.

 

Two Storm Troopers were coming down the street on giant self-propelled transporters:

 

 

They were bantering back and forth about this assignment they had been given to check out this area.  One of them took out his laser gun and shot something that he saw move up on the gift shop roof:

 

 

I had not heard anything about this opening show, and it was not something that had been done in the past.  Somehow, by luck, I got a photo of the laser blast:

 

 

In that photo, it looks like it was just a flare gun, but in person, it really did look like a laser.  There was a small pyrotechnic device on the roof of the gift shop which made a small explosion.  It was a pretty cool thing to see, and a total surprise to everyone standing there.  I had not heard of this from any of the reports from the previous week.  The previous week was the first week, and they may not have taken the time to do this little show.  So we may have been the first guests to see it.

 

The Storm Troopers continued to approach us, and then came to a stop right in front of the rope:

 

 

 

They stopped there, and then went through a pretty funny dialog where they spoke to each other, and made comments about the guests being held back by the "force-field."  They were specifically joking about how that little rope holding all those people back was so powerful:

 

 

That pyrotechnic effect that went off on the gift shop roof was still smoking while the Storm Troopers did their routine:

 

 

As this went on, we realized that our hunch that this would be a rope drop was right.

 

This was going to conclude with a good old actual rope drop!

 

And there was going to be a stampede!

 

We excel at stampeding!  I thought those days were gone for good.

 

We all kind of maneuvered in to position.

 

It was great, because everyone else seemed to be clueless about what was about to happen.

 

We have to stop here, because that was 30 photos.

 

But, next up:

 

STAMPEDE!!!!

 

TCD

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Cool opening show!  Who doesn't love some good Stormtrooper banter?

 

As much as that granny does look like me, I was not at Disney that weekend. 

 

Looking forward to the stampede.  You went straight to Lights, Motors, Action, right??

[ftwildernessguy 778]

I am really late getting on board, and am just catching up, but I just wanted to say how disappointed I am in the twins. They are going to college and can't stay up all night? Lightweights.

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Looking forward to the stampede.....as long as I don't have to do it.

 

I think you should have ran to the training academy and signed up to be a Padawan.

 

You could have told them you are really only 10 but were turned into a grown-up by a coin operated Zoltar machine while on the Boardwalk last night.

 

It would be fun to see TCD with the other kids on stage fighting Vader or Darth Maul.

 

I love the Mike Wazowski lamp.

 

Will this be a multiple update day?

[momof3kids-Yvonne 596]

Ready for the stampede!

[alexwyattmommy 181]

Stampede!!  It is not a Disney trip without at least one stampede.

What a great shot of the shot.  That was cool.  I think I want you to send me a high resolution copy that photo please.

Good for you for not giving up on the moon photo.

If my KTTW has the RFID thingy, can I use your special non turn style turn style too?

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

Loving the trip report. 

 

I must have missed something, but as someone who was lucky enough to meet Stef in person, I truly hope all is well with her and miss her. She's the best! 

[caveat lector 181]

TCD TR.....the next best thing to being there.

Who else is fast enough with a camera to actually capture a storm trooper lazer shot. The math boggles the mind.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Stampede!!!!

[CoachClough 12]

Awesome photobomb.

 

I guess I took the 100 loop comfort station for granted on our last visit.  Now I know better.

[ftwildernessguy 778]

I can't believe that you got a close up of the freaky Mickey in that show but not of the slave outfit Princess Leia

[LONE-STAR 370]

Cool opening show!  Who doesn't love some good Stormtrooper banter?

  

 

Looking forward to the stampede.  You went straight to Lights, Motors, Action, right??

Well of coarse he did that is just a must not do.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

We've done the stampede once at HS, about 2 years ago before they stopped doing the regular rope drop.

 

It was fun... and exhausting... and lonely.  DH isn't a stampeder.  His job was to get himself in line at TSM while I joined the stampede for FPs - divide and conquer.  It was a successful mission but we never could have navigated the crowd together.  Those people are crazy! 

[ftwildernessguy 778]

Back in the day, at MK it was called the Space Mountain Marathon, when SM was considered the thrill ride at WDW.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

I still remember our first family trip in 1979 and waiting 2.5 hours with my dad for Space Mountain.  I don't remember the ride actually, just the line.

[ftwildernessguy 778]

Know what's really sad? I graduated from college in 1979.

[Beckers 1,136]

Know what's really sad? I graduated from college in 1979.

Should I really make you sad and mention I wasn't born yet?