A Shining New Era is Tiptoeing Nearer for the TCD Gang

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

At this point, wouldn't it be cheaper for you to just become a long term resident at the Fort and live in your pop up? 

 

I would if I could.

 

The shining new era continues to impress me.

And provide me with free entertainment.

It's appreciated.

Tell the twins I said it is okay to ask dad to come help them with something at least once a week.

 

I am glad that they needed help with something last week.

 

This week, I haven't had a reason to head that way.

 

But next week is another story.

 

I did get to spend the day with Twin #2 yesterday.  She came home Tuesday night, and we spent yesterday apartment hunting in Tallahassee.  Boo!

 

I've been enjoying the new era.

And I think back to how you said you bought your pop up when the girls were little. Time flies I'm sure!

 

I'm glad to hear that you're reading along.

 

You are correct, the TCD camper was purchased when the twins were just 4 1/2 years old.  And, we still enjoy it every chance we get.

 

Yes, time flies. This new era, in particular, is flying by much faster than I would like it to.  All I can do is enjoy it as much as possible while it lasts.

 

TCD

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Love the costumes! The dude with Jessica is Roger Rabbit. He has ears. 

 

Is POFQ replacing the GAG? 

 

I remember you saying that you bought the PUP when the girls were young, but that's pretty cool to think about. Good times! 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Love the costumes! The dude with Jessica is Roger Rabbit. He has ears. 

 

Is POFQ replacing the GAG? 

 

I remember you saying that you bought the PUP when the girls were young, but that's pretty cool to think about. Good times! 

 

I though about Roger Rabbit, but did he have pants like that?  

 

There has been debate in the TCD gang about whether the fried chicken at POFQ is better than the fried chicken at Trail's End. They are definitely different.  The POFQ chicken is much more like home made, and, therefore, a little greasier.  Also, there is a better selection of sides at POFQ.  GAG is still #1 in my book, but some of the TCD girls disagree.

 

I need to dig out my photos from our first trip to the Fort in our then new camper.  That was in November 1999.  This year will be our 15th anniversary with the pop-up.  Hard to believe.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I already mentioned that I was summoned back to WDW last week.

 

And I also mentioned that I got to visit a place that most of you will never get a chance to.

 

Here's what happened.  On Wednesday afternoon, I get a call from Twin #2.  She was at the Castmember store where they sell old stuff from the hotels and such, and discovered that they had just received a shipment of furniture which looked like it had come from the Wilderness Lodge.  She said she was sure that is where it was from, and told me about some of the pieces.  Also, they had a bunch of stuff that looked like it came out of the Caribbean Beach Resort which she thought could work as furniture for her apartment at college.  This stuff goes fast, and she has a tiny car, so she asked if I could come over and get some of it for her.   The store was about to close, and she didn't think anyone would come in to buy the stuff that afternoon, so we agreed to meet there for rope drop on Thursday morning. 

 

That's right- rope drop at the CM store!

 

Which means I would need to meet her there at 8:30 am.

 

To get from where we live to there requires a drive through Tampa. Which can be really awful in the morning.  After about 6:30, through about 8:30, it's crazy. 

 

So, I decided to leave super early.  Like 5:30-ish.  That would allow me to avoid the mess in Tampa.

 

But, It also meant I'd be at WDW too early.

 

What to do?

 

Did anyone guess a Trail's End breakfast sandwich?

 

From the secret menu?

 

Well if you guessed that, you're right.  That was part of the plan.

 

I got up early, hit the road, and zipped right through Tampa.  Which is a good thing.  There was a terrible wreck which I apparently just missed, which closed westbound I-4 off for over an hour beginning at around 7 am: http://www.myfoxorlando.com/story/26871553/vehicle-lodged-under-semi-wb-i-4-shut-down-near-thonotosassa-rd

 

             A serious crash involving a Publix tractor trailer and a pick-up truck closed a portion of westbound I-4 for over an hour Thursday morning.  

It happened shortly before 7 a.m. near Thonotosassa Road, when the driver of a 1994 Toyota pick-up truck lost control, spun into the semi-truck's lane and wound up underneath its trailer.

The semi was still moving, causing the pick-up to flip onto the driver's side. It then became lodged under the semi, and was dragged along the roadway until they both finally came to a stop.

 

If I hadn't left early, I would have been stuck in that mess.

 

Instead, I was pulling in to the Fort parking lot at around 7:15.

 

I parked and hopped a bus down to the Settlement.

 

I arrived at the Trail's End check-out counter at just past 7:30, and was waited on by a very nice young lady.

 

The posted menu hasn't changed:

 

 

Not all of the items were on display, but this is what they were displaying:

 

 

I had not been waited on by this CM before, so I told her that the last time I was here, I was able to order a breakfast sandwich, and I helpfully told her that there was a button for that on the cash register right there.  She said yes, the button was there, but just this week she had been told not to take anymore orders for the breakfast sandwiches.  I asked if she was sure.  She said she was.  The manager told her that they would not offer those any longer.

 

Bummer.

 

All that effort on my part, and I didn't get my breakfast sandwich.

 

So, I had to order off of the menu like a regular slob.

 

I was a little concerned about time, so I didn't order the Bounty Breakfast, I wanted to get something out of the case and be done with it.

 

I ordered a blueberry muffin.

 

Not the end of the world.  I like blueberry muffins. 

 

I got my muffin, and I chose my table on the side porch. This was my view:

 

 

I opened my bag to retrieve my muffin.

 

And, I got a nice surprise.

 

I got two muffins!:

 

 

I checked my receipt to make sure I hadn't paid for two muffins.  Nope, just one:

 

 

What was this?

 

A magical moment?

 

I don't think it was.  The muffins were kind of small.  I think everybody gets two.

 

But, maybe I'm special.

 

I enjoyed my muffins as much as I could under the circumstances.

 

I am going to try for a breakfast sandwich again on my next visit.  I'm not ready to give up on it yet.

 

Since I had to go and meet up with Twin #2, I couldn't dawdle this morning.  I ate my muffins, and got on the way.

 

Here I am walking back to the bus.  There's the good old petting zoo in the early morning light:

 

 

And a look back at good old Pioneer Hall. It looks like all of the recent construction there is done:

 

 

We made it back to the Outpost.

 

The rising sun was really illuminating the Four Seasons towers behind the trail ride stable, so I snapped a photo.  The sun washed out the photo, so you can't see the awful sight that I did:

 

 

Then, I headed to the Castmember Store.

 

It's backstage.

 

But, it's OK for me to drive back there.

 

I was surprised that both girls showed up to meet me. Poor Twin #1 had worked until 3 am the night before.  But, she wanted in on the furniture action, so she came with Twin #2.

 

We headed on in.

 

And Twin #2 showed me what she was talking about.

 

She was definitely right.  There was stuff there from Wilderness Lodge. 

 

I didn't take as many photos as I normally would have. There's nothing in the store that says photos aren't allowed, and I've seen others take photos in there, but I didn't want to make a scene, so I just took a few.

 

You see those chairs that look like they're made out of logs that these folks are sitting in?:

 

 

Look at this photo I found on-line showing the Villas of Wilderness Lodge lobby area:

 

 

You see those chairs?

 

Those are the ones they were selling here today.

 

And that table was for sale too.

 

The chairs were $30 a piece. Which is expensive, but probably a very good price.

 

Also, do you see those green bedside tables there in the right corner of that photo?  Those were for sale too.  Those were $10 a piece.

 

Check these chairs out:

 

 

I recognized them.  Those used to be in the Villas of Wilderness Lodge lobby right outside of the Sturdy Branches health club.  That's real leather on the cushions. Those were $60 a piece.

 

You can see that the fabric on the chairs that go with the game table is a fraying, but it wouldn't take much to upholster these:

 

 

There was a huge collection of furniture to the side of the area we just looked at.  They had a bunch of bench seats and chairs stacked over here:

 

 

If you look to the back right of that last photo, you can see a rack with a bunch of wooden shelves on it.

 

Over here, they had a big cart with wooden wagon wheels on it.  I think this must have been a display table in some retail location.  This was priced at $75:

 

 

You can see a bunch more of those green bedside tables in that last photo, along with a surprised CM who was shopping in his CM costume.

 

Does that green furniture look familiar to anyone?

 

How about now? :

 

 

What we had here was the old furniture that had come out of the newly refurbished rooms at the Disney Caribbean Beach Resort.

 

Those chairs are solid wood and very sturdy.  That round table is all wood as well.  They were selling the chairs for $10 a piece.  The round tables were only $7.  The bedside tables were $10.  The benches were $10, and the wooden shelves that go above the benches were $7.  They also had oval mirrors which came out of the Caribbean Beach rooms for sale.  Those were $10 as well.  Twin #2 picked out a bunch of stuff, and Twin #1 got a couple of things too.

 

One item that I didn't get a photo of was a small wooden coffee table that I think also came out of the Wilderness Lodge.  It looks like this:

 

 

That table was really nice, and seemed to be all wood.  It was $10 too, so I told Twin #2 she ought to get it, even though she likes lighter colored wood.  I said we could always stain it or paint it a different color.

 

When I loaded that coffee table into my truck, I noticed this label on the bottom of it:

 

 

I have since Googled that company, and found that it makes really nice, and really expensive furniture.

 

That photo I posted is a replica of a Stickley table that someone is trying to sell for $500.

 

Twin #2 paid $10 for it.

 

All together, a truckload of used WDW furniture set the girls back $72. 

 

And Twin #2 is well on her way to furnishing her new apartment when she gets back to school.

 

How do you like that?

 

We only spent about a half hour in the store.

 

And, the girls didn't have to go to work until later in the afternoon.

 

We were right near the MK.

 

So we went for a little while.

 

Coming up- some photos from an unplanned morning in the MK.

 

TCD

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

I think the little boy with the umbrella being pushed by Gipetto was Jiminy Cricket. And Roger Rabbit definitely wore pants like that. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv6dWhBlsoM

[Family of Bears 98]

That furniture shopping is awesome. How fun!!! Love the "lodgey" kind of stuff. That coffee table is a great find!

And that Jessica Rabbit costume, we won't show that to mrofbears. Hes had a little crush on Ms. Rabbit since he was a kid. Now that I think about it, that may be a good halloween costume idea for me one day.

[lklasing 16]

Oh my gosh - I got so behind that it's embarrassing. But I think I got caught up now!

Love the MNSSHP party pics! We have only been to that one time and it was years ago. I'd love to go back.

I know this was pages ago, but I was really intrigued by the Hovertrax thing that Kelly suggested may be what the Segway fairy girls are on. I found this. TCD is right that it would be awful to fall off of one of those things, but I bet Kelly may be right. It would be fun to ride on in the parade if I could get skilled enough without breaking limbs in the process.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu2RH_nsVE0

Very cool trip to the CM store! One day I'll shop there...

Finally, anyone else think that one of these oranges looks like Annoying Orange?

 

Not all of the items were on display, but this is what they were displaying:

 

Still loving this report!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Dude....Stickley furniture was (is?) made near Syracuse NY and is considered primo stuff.  When I was growing up the rich folk in my parts furnished their homes with Stickley.  My parents furnished our farmhouse with a comparable furniture line called "Handmedown". 

 

I didn't know Disney had furnished the Lodge with their stuff.  Very nice....and very nice that the twins got some! 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I think the little boy with the umbrella being pushed by Gipetto was Jiminy Cricket. And Roger Rabbit definitely wore pants like that. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vv6dWhBlsoM

Jiminy Cricket!  I think you're right.  Good job.

 

And, geez, I think I need to start keeping a list of all the stuff I don't know.  I don't know obscure Nintendo game characters, and I don't know Roger Rabbit's wardrobe.

 

You are right- those pants on that guy with Jessica Rabbit definitely are Roger Rabbit pants.

 

That furniture shopping is awesome. How fun!!! Love the "lodgey" kind of stuff. That coffee table is a great find!

And that Jessica Rabbit costume, we won't show that to mrofbears. Hes had a little crush on Ms. Rabbit since he was a kid. Now that I think about it, that may be a good halloween costume idea for me one day.

 

I really like the log furniture too.  But, it definitely would not fit in with our home décor.

 

I can't wait to see you and Mr. OfBears in your Roger Rabbit getups.

 

Oh my gosh - I got so behind that it's embarrassing. But I think I got caught up now!

Love the MNSSHP party pics! We have only been to that one time and it was years ago. I'd love to go back.

I know this was pages ago, but I was really intrigued by the Hovertrax thing that Kelly suggested may be what the Segway fairy girls are on. I found this. TCD is right that it would be awful to fall off of one of those things, but I bet Kelly may be right. It would be fun to ride on in the parade if I could get skilled enough without breaking limbs in the process.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fu2RH_nsVE0

Very cool trip to the CM store! One day I'll shop there...

Finally, anyone else think that one of these oranges looks like Annoying Orange?

 

Still loving this report!

 

No worries, Leslie. This is a TR is a bit long, so it's not hard to fall behind.

 

Thanks for the video. That gadget is amazing.  The people riding around on it seem to have no issue with balance.  It doesn't seem possible to me.

 

I totally missed the face on the orange.  In fact, I went back to my original photo to make sure you hadn't photoshopped it on a copy.  That is strange.  And, I hereby award you a gold star for your observation skills.

 

I hope all is going well with your oldest daughter off at college. 

 

 

Dude....Stickley furniture was (is?) made near Syracuse NY and is considered primo stuff.  When I was growing up the rich folk in my parts furnished their homes with Stickley.  My parents furnished our farmhouse with a comparable furniture line called "Handmedown". 

 

I didn't know Disney had furnished the Lodge with their stuff.  Very nice....and very nice that the twins got some! 

 

I have told the twins to be on the lookout for any more of that stuff.  I could tell when I picked up the table that it was well made, but I had no idea it was something special. The painting and/or restaining has been cancelled, by the way.

 

LOL @ Handmedown.  It's a small world.  That's the same brand I used in my first apartment.

 

TCD

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

Jiminy Cricket!  I think you're right.  Good job.

 

And, geez, I think I need to start keeping a list of all the stuff I don't know.  I don't know obscure Nintendo game characters, and I don't know Roger Rabbit's wardrobe.

 

You are right- those pants on that guy with Jessica Rabbit definitely are Roger Rabbit pants.

 

 

I really like the log furniture too.  But, it definitely would not fit in with our home décor.

 

I can't wait to see you and Mr. OfBears in your Roger Rabbit getups.

 

 

No worries, Leslie. This is a TR is a bit long, so it's not hard to fall behind.

 

Thanks for the video. That gadget is amazing.  The people riding around on it seem to have no issue with balance.  It doesn't seem possible to me.

 

I totally missed the face on the orange.  In fact, I went back to my original photo to make sure you hadn't photoshopped it on a copy.  That is strange.  And, I hereby award you a gold star for your observation skills.

 

I hope all is going well with your oldest daughter off at college. 

 

 

 

I have told the twins to be on the lookout for any more of that stuff.  I could tell when I picked up the table that it was well made, but I had no idea it was something special. The painting and/or restaining has been cancelled, by the way.

 

LOL @ Handmedown.  It's a small world.  That's the same brand I used in my first apartment.

 

TCD

 

I still have a two pieces from the Handmedown line. a pair of very nice end tables. 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I still have a two pieces from the Handmedown line. a pair of very nice end tables. 

 

That's nice.

 

When my grandparents passed away, my sisters all divvied up their furniture and knick-knacks.  I said I didn't want anything.  Now, I wish I had picked a piece or two.  It would be nice to have something to remember them by.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Continuing on . . .

 

If we keep up this pace, I may actually catch up to real time.

 

But, I'll probably get back to WDW before that happens.

 

At least I hope that I will.

 

We left off on the morning of Thursday, October 23.  We had completed a successful visit to the CM store, and now were going to spend the rest of the morning in the MK. 

 

Going to the MK was not really a total surprise.  We had discussed it the night before, and I had checked on MDE to see if I could book some FP+'s. 

 

Typically, days that have MNSSHP's scheduled for that evening are not busy days at the MK.  Since the MK will close early, most guests choose to visit other parks on those days.

 

I was surprised that with just a bit of effort, I was able to line up two Mine Train FP+'s for that morning.  The FP+ system is not a total failure-especially when it's not busy.

 

Twin #2 was also able to use an old MB from one of  the resort stays we had over the summer to book us FP+ reservations at BOG for lunch. But, she was only able to get a reservation for 1:30. That probably would be too late for us, but we agreed we could check there in person, and hopefully just enter via the stand-by line.

 

We got to the MK a little before 10.  I wanted to continue my FP+ hack research, so I went to a kiosk with some of my prior MB's from other family members.

 

They have definitely cut back on the staffing of the kiosks, and I was able to use one on my own for a while. I scanned three of my extra MB's and was able to book the following FP+ reservations:

 

 

At one point, I even was offered Mine Train FP+ times, but they disappeared before I finalized my request.  With a bit of playing around, I'll bet I could have found those too.  I was trying to see what big rides I could book.  As you can see, I was able to book two of the mountains for the afternoon, and probably could have booked the third one too.  I also probably could have booked some of the faster loading rides like Haunted Mansion and Buzz for earlier return times.  So, this hack could be really useful for a family visiting the MK in the morning.  The strategy would be to book your real FP+'s for the morning, and then use the hacks for the afternoon.  That could give each of you six of more FP+'s a day.  Which is pretty sweet.  While it lasts.

 

While I was doing my research, the girls went in to the Main Street Bakery for one of the coffee drinks they sell in there.  I decided to pass, and waited outside for them.  A Fall Trolley Show was going on, and I enjoyed that.  It was a clear, cool fall morning in Florida- perfect weather. 

 

The show isn't much, but it's nice.  They have the trolley decorated for fall:

 

 

And lots of dancing and lip synching:

 

 

Look at that blue sky!:

 

 

It's amazing that guests tried to walk right in to the area where the dancing and singing was going on, so there were CM's on hand to stop that:

 

 

The "big finish" before they loaded up and moved down the street:

 

 

I think this is one of the two Clydesdales who live at the Fort.  The poor horse doesn't look very happy about all of this:

 

 

I thought they would all load up and be on their way, but there was one more song from the stopped trolley before they finally moved on:

 

 

 

 

 

The back of the trolley advertises the MNSSHP:

 

 

When there's a horse on Main Street, there's always one of these CM's around:

 

 

How do you like that screening they have on the construction fences?  I don't like it.  And, I'm surprised that this project is still far from finished.  I thought they'd have it done before the holidays. But, it doesn't look like that's happening.

 

It doesn't look good:

 

 

The trolley stopped again just past the Bakery, and the girls and I watched the show again.

 

Then we made tracks to the Mine Train, and the girls scored the front row:

 

 

From the train, we could see that there was a line of guests on the bridge to BOG, but it didn't look too crazy over there.  It was right around 10:40 am when I snapped this photo:

 

 

Since we were in the front car, I got another photo of the witch.  And, I think I now have enough:

 

 

We headed right over to BOG after that.  And, we found the same line of CM's blocking the standby line that we found the last time we tried this.  It was just past 9:40 am, and they had closed the standby line, and would not tell us if or when it would reopen. They also had no FP+ cards to hand out.  Phooey.  Hey, there's some girls Disneybounding as Gaston, Belle and another character.  I'm not sure who the third girl was supposed to be-some character with a big messenger bag:

 

 

In addition to the Mine Train FP+'s, I was able to snag some Space Mountain ones, and they were good now, so we went.

 

I had a new idea for the ride photo, so I had my phone out. And, since I had my phone out,  I took a selfie in the blue tunnel, which came out kind of cool:

 

 

Here's the ride photo- I think I did a great job.  The girls had to reluctantly admit that it was kind of funny:

 

 

After Space, we sat down at the benches outside by the Coke stand, and revaluated our plans.  We didn't want to wait for our 1:30 BOG FP+.  We wanted to eat lunch soon, and then the girls needed to get back to their apartments to get ready for work.  So, the new plan was that we would try one more time for the standby line at BOG.  If that failed, we would hit a monorail resort quick serve for lunch.

 

While we made our plans, I noticed a couple of neat signs on the props outside the Coke stand:

 

 

 

We then headed back to BOG, and found the same nonsense going on.  Only guests with FP+ were being allowed in, and there were no return cards being issued.

 

I still don't understand what they're doing there.

 

But, we left.

 

We headed to the resort monorail.

 

While waiting for our train, I noticed something over by the Grand Floridian:

 

 

They have a couple of those cell towers like we now have at the Fort. They blend in so well that you don't even notice them.  So, these will look really nice as you drive into the Fort:

 

 

When we got to the Contemporary, we had a brief wait, so I took the opportunity to take two photos there:

 

 

Some time very soon, there's going to be a really big Christmas wreath hanging here:

 

 

There's the ugly abomination sticking out above the tree line:

 

 

Speaking of ugly abominations, I decided that today was the day that I needed to take a closer look at the Polynesian DVC bungalows they've been building over there in the Seven Seas Lagoon:

 

 

 

Earlier in this report, I posted some photos from the ferry, and pointed out how close the MK ferries travel to those new bungalows.  Here's a ferry now:

 

 

What I had not yet seen was how things look from the Polynesian beach.

 

If you haven't already figured it out, we're heading to Captain Cook's.

 

And after that, we will visit the Polynesian Resort beach.  Or what's left of it, I should say.

 

TCD

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Nice work on the furniture. And now they have a bit of Disney history. 

 

I'm interested to see what remains of the Poly beach. It became my second favorite Disney resort after staying there. I have a feeling I'm not going to like the changes as much. 

[DaveInTN 3,247]

 

While I was doing my research, the girls went in to the Main Street Bakery for one of the coffee drinks they sell in there.  I decided to pass 

 

That's a first. 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Nice work on the furniture. And now they have a bit of Disney history. 

 

I'm interested to see what remains of the Poly beach. It became my second favorite Disney resort after staying there. I have a feeling I'm not going to like the changes as much. 

 

Spoiler alert- you are not going to like my photos showing what is left of the beach.  I can't believe what they did.  Greedy idiots.

 

That's a first. 

 

Touché.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Since these photos are Halloween related, I'm going to post them now before they go out of style.

 

Twin #1 has really enjoyed the Halloween atmosphere at the Magic Kingdom.

 

She tried to get assigned a shift in the Club Villain venue for one of the Halloween parties, and last week, she finally got to work one.

 

This is a meet and greet opportunity where guests get to dance with various villains. The CM's just keep and eye on things.

 

Here's Twin #1 with some of her coworkers:

 

 

Here, she is posing in front of some of the artwork inside the venue:

 

 

Twin #2 has also been able to pull the occasional "Treat Shift":

 

 

Now here's something cool . . .

 

Last week, they had a special party for all of the CM's who work in Liberty Square and Adventureland. They had it in Club Villain on a non-party night. There was a CM costume contest.  Twin #1 and one of her coworkers went as Aladdin and Mexican Genie:

 

 

The Mexican Genie thing was a nod to the announcement made on the Magic Carpet ride where the Genie gives a safety announcement in Spanish.  Twin #1 and her friend brought speech bubbles with the text of the safety spiel printed on:

 

 

That certificate they're holding says they came in first place!

 

Victory Lap:

 

 

Another photo of Twin #1 getting ready for another MNSSHP shift:

 

 

The twins are working hard . . .

 

. . . and they're playing hard.

 

They love the shining new era!

 

TCD

[Memphis 105]

That is so cool. 

[lklasing 16]

 

I totally missed the face on the orange.  In fact, I went back to my original photo to make sure you hadn't photoshopped it on a copy.  That is strange.  And, I hereby award you a gold star for your observation skills.

 

I hope all is going well with your oldest daughter off at college. 

 

 

Yay!  A gold star!!   :stars-shower-smiley: (It doesn't take much to make me happy.)

 

Danielle is doing great in college.  I'm so relieved!  She got worried about going so far away but once she got there, she decided she really loves it there.  Thanks!

 

I'm still jealous of your girls every time I see them loving the CP so much! 

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

When we went in for our BOG lunch reservation, they were blocking the entrance for FP only, (this was about 12:40) when we came out about 1:30, they were no longer blocking the entrance.

[lklasing 16]

So, since I missed some parts of this TR, I must have missed this - but when did Wonder Woman become a thing again?  I kept seeing TCD's references to Wonder Woman and saw some of the pictures, but then I got this in a text last night from my girl out west:

 

 

And I saw some others, including grown women, on Facebook last night.

 

I really must have missed the memo on Wonder Woman's resurgence in popularity.      If it hadn't been for this TR, I wouldn't have known at all!  Guess I know where I need to get my news from here on out - FF.net TRs!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

That is so cool. 

 

I forgot to mention that Twin #1 won two movie tickets, with popcorn and a drink for the AMC at Dowtown Disney.  I believe she and Twin #2 will be seeing the midnight showing of Big Hero Six on Thursday.

 

Yay!  A gold star!!   :stars-shower-smiley: (It doesn't take much to make me happy.)

 

Danielle is doing great in college.  I'm so relieved!  She got worried about going so far away but once she got there, she decided she really loves it there.  Thanks!

 

I'm still jealous of your girls every time I see them loving the CP so much! 

 

I am jealous of the fun they get to have.  But, they work way harder than I thought they would have to.  Especially for Twin #1, the schedule is grueling.

 

They are really going to enjoy going back to school, where all they have to do is stay up late and sleep all day go to class.

 

 

When we went in for our BOG lunch reservation, they were blocking the entrance for FP only, (this was about 12:40) when we came out about 1:30, they were no longer blocking the entrance.

 

OK-so it looks like if you go super early (before 10:30) or super late (after 1:30), you can do standby.  That may change on a day to day basis. None of the CM's on duty the two times we got turned away said when or if the standby line would reopen.

 

So, since I missed some parts of this TR, I must have missed this - but when did Wonder Woman become a thing again?  I kept seeing TCD's references to Wonder Woman and saw some of the pictures, but then I got this in a text last night from my girl out west:

 

 

And I saw some others, including grown women, on Facebook last night.

 

I really must have missed the memo on Wonder Woman's resurgence in popularity.      If it hadn't been for this TR, I wouldn't have known at all!  Guess I know where I need to get my news from here on out - FF.net TRs!

 

Wow.

 

I am still really confused.

 

Wonder Woman must be a thing again.  And we apparently all missed the announcement.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Time to move along.

 

We left off with photos from my October 23 day trip.  We were on our way to eat lunch at Captain Cook's at the Polynesian.  And we have arrived:

 

 

The time stamp from my camera says that photo was taken at 11:58. So, it's lunch time.  But, to order our food, we had to wait our turn until all the people you see between us and that podium studied the menu and placed their orders.

 

They used to have three touchscreens here to take orders.  Those are gone now.  Instead we have one podium and one human.  Did the Fort send one of their managers over here to assist with the remodel?

 

Luckily for us, the group ahead of us was no where near ready to order so they told us we could go ahead. 

 

That would have been good, except this lady had some kind of special dietary needs and asked to speak to the chef:

 

 

The CM who was supposed to be taking orders yelled in the back for the chef, and things came to a grinding halt.

 

This all seemed worse at the time than it really was.

 

Our receipt shows our order was placed at 12:01.  So three minutes after we arrived.  We also got a 20% CM discount:

 

 

I had the grilled ham and cheese.  The cheese was brie, and there was some kind of walnut and cranberry spread on it.  It was good:

 

 

Twin #1 had a chicken sandwich, but my photo of it came out blurry.  I believe the bun was like one of those King's Hawaiian Rolls. It was good.

 

Twin #2 had the pork nachos.  We had these here before, but they have changed the recipe. That sauce you see on there is some kind of spicy mayo.  The twins say they have had a sauce like that with sushi.  I am not familiar with it.  It's spicy.  Twin #2 liked the new recipe:

 

 

You may have heard that there's a lot of construction going on at the Polynesian.  The entire center part of the lobby is walled off with two story tall walls.  They are removing the waterfall and plants in there.

 

Outside, the whole pool area is walled off as soon as you step out of the Captain Cook's doors:

 

 

I believe that you can still get to the boat dock going that way.

 

We went this way, as I wanted to see if we could still get to the beach:

 

 

Look at this- you can see the old framework of the volcano pool, which they are in the process of removing:

 

 

That yellow spot you see in the center of this photo is a worker's safety vest:

 

 

I noticed that we might be able to see over the construction walls around the pool by walking up the exterior steps to the buildings around the pool.  We could, but there wasn't much to see:

 

 

Here's another attempt at taking a peek over the wall from another building:

 

 

You can't see it to well in that photo, but there are workers on the old volcano.  Here's a zoom on that last photo- you can see a guy standing there toward the right.  He was pushing debris down a chute:

 

 

The whole area around the old beach bar, and the beach itself between the pool and the Seven Seas Lagoon is fenced in:

 

 

There was an open gate back here.  At least it was open until this guy saw me taking pictures.  There really wasn't anything interesting to see there. Just the torn up mess of the former pool:

 

 

There is a section of the beach that is still open between the construction walls around the pool and the construction wall around the new DVC bungalows:

 

 

You can still see the castle from this part of the beach:

 

 

But I would say the view from more than half the beach area is now blocked by those bungalows:

 

 

The bungalows were crawling with workers:

 

 

 

 

They have shared walkways out to the buildings.  Each one has a front porch, and then they are staggered so each one should have a great view of the MK as well as sunsets from the back porch:

 

 

There really isn't very much space in between each unit. I would say they're closer together than the Fort Wilderness Cabins, and definitely closer together than the freestanding DVC villas they have at the Disney Vero Beach Resort:

 

 

People on the beach really don't have a view in the small spaces left between the bungalows:

 

 

This is a look at the closest bungalow to the Polynesian lobby.  Look at that nasty weedy lake water:

 

 

Whoever built the walkway didn't do such a good job.  Look at how uneven the boards are.  I wonder if this is just a temporary one they're using for construction?:

 

 

The final walkways will certainly need guard rails.

 

Here we are at the edge of the construction wall.  If I really wanted in to the fenced in area, I just had to get my feet a little wet:

 

 

There was another open gate over here.  You can see that there is still a small hill of dirt where the Sunset Point used to be.  Maybe they're going to have a raised area there just high enough to allow a view over the roofs of the bungalows:

 

 

You can also see a large paved area back there.  They will need this for golf carts to bring guests and their luggage out here:

 

 

Here's a closer look at the new paved area:

 

 

And one more peek through the gate before that fellow in the orange t-shirt shuts it:

 

 

So, that's quite a project.

 

There is no more view for the regular Polynesian guests from half the beach.  But those rich folks in the bungalows are going to have a sweet view.

 

I don't know when this is all supposed to be done, but they clearly have a long way to go, and will be working through the holidays.  I thought they'd be further along on the pool, but apparently, they are taking their sweet time.

 

Next up, a few more Polynesian photos and a visit to the new Dole Whip stand.

 

TCD

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I liked the idea of the bungalows before they started building them, but I don't think I like how they are turning out. 

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Yep, that's pretty much what I figured. The Poly view from the beach is basically gone. I hope that trend doesn't spread.... 

 

I love Twin 1's party costume. Cool that they threw them a party as well. 

[fladogfan aka Gretchen 259]

Wow miss reading for a few days and it takes a while to catch up.  But I'm up to date now. 

It's too bad about the Poly beach, I loved their beach for fireworks viewing.

And the lobby area with plants and waterfall was special to the Poly.

 

 

Real haggis is not that bad. What I had tasted like sausage and resembled a hash. The Royal Air Force brought some to us when we lived in Iceland.

I had real haggis in Inverness, Scotland on a vacation with my DH in 2002.

It had a very liver flavor to it.  Fortunately I like liver.  Dh refused to even try a taste. 

Haggis could be like coleslaw or potato salad, every cook has a little different method/recipe.

Some taste better than others.

 

Great score on the furniture!  Good going girls.  Good Daddy to help with transportation.