A Shining New Era is Tiptoeing Nearer for the TCD Gang

[lklasing 16]

Good updates!  You had me at Staypuff Marshmellow Man.   :rofl3:

 

Love that AoA has underwater music at the pool.  When my girls were much younger, before we discovered the Fort, we stayed at the Poly several times.  Jodi loved the underwater music.  She located the speaker and spent hours underwater at that pool, located right in front of the speaker, just coming up only as much as needed to stay alive.

 

Looking forward to more!

 

PS to Michael - You are right that your girl will grow up before you know it.  Everyone always says it, but make sure to really relish every moment you have while she's little.  She will grow up in the blink of an eye.

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

Pix of AoA are cool. We've got to stay there.

Did they run the double/articulated buses to the MK?

I remember all that rain. And lightening. Glad y'all got to ride SDMT.

It was so nice meeting you and the twins. I loved hearing about Paris.

Yensidcamper (Eric) and his family are so nice.

The only thing that could have made our visit better is if we had met on TE porch and were sitting in a rocker.

Let me just say that I was talking to our own cranky bus driver about this meeting and was telling him how impressed with TCD's girls and Yensidcamper (Eric) boys I was. They were polite, courteous, and well mannered. And you know the last thing they wanted to do at Disney was stand around and listen to 3 old guys talking.

Lou, told me that was another common thread that Fiends have. Great kids!

Happy belated B-Day to the twins.

Dinner looked awesome.

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

Next time you are at a fancy meal with your daughters that only serves French and belgian beer, ask the waiter for a PBR.

Nice work getting your daughters to see A&E despite the bus issue.

Good job working in the fiend meeting as well.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

A transportation problem during a TCD trip??  What is this world coming to?

 

Sucks about the rain and Mine Train being down.  Made up for it with a Fiend meet and greet.

 

I knew it was going to be BOG for dinner.  Score.  That seafood/pastry dish looks deee-lish!

 

I am still surprised at that bus experience.  But, it was bound to happen.  We have had so many trips where we had no problems at all.

 

Twin #1 had that seafood pastry thing the first time we ate at BOG, and I only got a little bite of it.  I have been wanting one to eat myself ever since. It finally happened.  I'm not sure what I will try the next time we go for dinner.  You know I'm always going to have the braised pork at lunch.

 

A quick search online is giving me an air date of July 26

 

Thanks. I guess I could have done that. I think this will be worth watching.  I'm sure it will be replayed 100 times.  Maybe a thousand.

 

Your walk did look long. That one reason I didn't like POP when we stayed there back in 05 was all the walking.(wow I can't believe it's been that long)

And yes it's time for my girl to start school. Not sure how I feel about that but it's part of life. I look at how much your girls have grown from the first time I read one of your reports at the other place around 7 years ago. So I know time flys and she will be asking for the keys to my truck before long. I can already hear her reasoning "Dad you have a company truck so your truck just sits all day let me take it to school and it will be home before you". Not looking foward to that conversation.

 

There's a lot of walking at all the value resorts.  Unless you pay extra for a preferred room.

 

You'll be ready for that conversation when the time comes.  Don't worry about that.  Enjoy your little girl while she's still little.

 

Good updates!  You had me at Staypuff Marshmellow Man.   :rofl3:

 

Love that AoA has underwater music at the pool.  When my girls were much younger, before we discovered the Fort, we stayed at the Poly several times.  Jodi loved the underwater music.  She located the speaker and spent hours underwater at that pool, located right in front of the speaker, just coming up only as much as needed to stay alive.

 

Looking forward to more!

 

PS to Michael - You are right that your girl will grow up before you know it.  Everyone always says it, but make sure to really relish every moment you have while she's little.  She will grow up in the blink of an eye.

 

Hey, good for you- you're not just looking at the pictures like everyone else. There's an occasional witty comment that the skimmers will miss.

 

I didn't know they Poly had underwater speakers. I thought it was a first for AOA.  I think it's cool, but as you point out, it takes a lot of effort to be underwater long enough to enjoy it.

 

I agree 100% with your comment to Michael- I wish I had a nickel for every time someone told me to enjoy the kids, don't blink, etc.  But, they were right!  It really does go fast.  And it accelerates at the end, as I'm sure you've noticed.

 

Pix of AoA are cool. We've got to stay there.

Did they run the double/articulated buses to the MK?

I remember all that rain. And lightening. Glad y'all got to ride SDMT.

It was so nice meeting you and the twins. I loved hearing about Paris.

Yensidcamper (Eric) and his family are so nice.

The only thing that could have made our visit better is if we had met on TE porch and were sitting in a rocker.

Let me just say that I was talking to our own cranky bus driver about this meeting and was telling him how impressed with TCD's girls and Yensidcamper (Eric) boys I was. They were polite, courteous, and well mannered. And you know the last thing they wanted to do at Disney was stand around and listen to 3 old guys talking.

Lou, told me that was another common thread that Fiends have. Great kids!

Happy belated B-Day to the twins.

Dinner looked awesome.

 

I never saw an articulated bus running this trip.  We could have used one when I was standing in the rain.

 

Thank you for the kind words about the girls.  Of course, I have to say the same thing about your wife and daughter.

 

I agree with you that it's remarkable what a great group of kids the Fiends have raised.  How is that possible?  I think it's because Fiend parents take their kids camping.  As we all know, there is no better way to create quality family time.  And that quality family time makes all the difference.

 

Next time you are at a fancy meal with your daughters that only serves French and belgian beer, ask the waiter for a PBR.

Nice work getting your daughters to see A&E despite the bus issue.

Good job working in the fiend meeting as well.

 

That PBR idea is a genius idea.  They would sell a ton if they put it on the menu.

 

Our MK evening did work out pretty well, despite the bad bus trip to get us there.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

So, the title of this TR refers to the beginning of a new era for the TCD gang.

 

So far, we haven't seen much evidence of that new era.

 

That's because we've been tiptoeing towards it.  On this particular visit, though, we made a couple of actual steps.

 

One new thing that I enjoyed on this trip was the CM discount that Twin #2 scored on the AOA room.  Yes, we were in the boondocks, but I only paid  $70 for the room.

 

The next thing was that Twin #2 informed me that there were some dining offers put out to CM's for discounts above the normal CM discount, and one of the offers was for breakfast at Trail's End.

 

We knew that Twin #2 had to go to work on Monday afternoon, and Twin #1 and I needed to head back home.  So, on Sunday night, we agreed that we would head over to the Fort for breakfast.

 

The plan was for us to leave around 10-ish, do the girls wanted to sleep in a bit.

 

I slept in a bit myself.  I got up a little after 7:30, got a shower, and then headed out for the hike to the main building for coffee. They don't provide coffee makers in the Mermaid rooms.

 

So, here we are on the 4th floor of one of the mermaid buildings, overlooking the parking lot at just a bit past sunrise:

 

 

You can see the top of one of the giant bowling pins that they have on display outside of the 50's rooms at Pop Century there in that last photo. 

 

I walked down to the end of the building to see what else I could see from up here.  I saw this:

 

 

Those buildings are part of the Bonnet Creek resort, which is not a Disney property. 

 

Down this hallway, you can see one of the Lion King buildings from AOA:

 

 

It was a pleasant morning, not too hot or muggy, and I enjoyed my hike to the food court.  I got some coffee, and took a seat in the outside seating area:

 

 

It was a Monday morning, but it was busy around here.  People were coming and going the whole time I sat:

 

 

As I sat there, I got on the MDE app to see if I could make an ADR for breakfast at Trail's End.  I was able to, which probably meant I didn't need an ADR, but I booked it anyway.  For 10:30.

 

I hung out for a bit more, and then headed back to the room to get the girls up and going.

 

They got up, got ready, packed, and we were out of there.

 

We drove to the Fort.  When I pulled up to the guard shack, the guard asked me if I was checking in.  For once, I didn't have to thing of anything creative to say- I told her we were here for breakfast at Trail's End.  She asked if I had an ADR, and I said I did.  She then asked to scan my MagicBand with her handheld scanner.  After she scanned my MB, she welcomed me by name, and confirmed that I had an ADR for 3 at 10:30.  I didn't know the scanners could do all that.  But, they can.

 

The overflow lot was pretty empty, and there was a Settlement Purple bus sitting there for us when we arrived.  Perfect.  Here we go:

 

 

And, here we are:

 

 

I'm doing pretty good with visiting the Fort, even though we haven't camped there since March. There's my farm over there:

 

 

In here's the paradise they plan to pave to put in a parking lot:

 

 

It was a beautiful Fort morning:

 

 

Hey, there are guys up on the roof working- Pioneer Hall is still getting some TLC:

 

 

I think that the exterior has been painted recently.  Something about it looks different to me:

 

 

There were also a couple of guys working near the take out doors:

 

 

It didn't seem real busy around there to me, so I hoped we might get seated earlier than 10:30.  We checked in, and at first I was optimistic that we would get in early, since it didn't look busy inside, but, there were quite a few folks waiting on the porch.  Hey look- there's still a checkerboard here:

 

 

Every single rocker on the porch was occupied, and the picnic table area was fenced off:

 

 

I swear, every time we come here, there's another high-to table out here:

 

 

And, there are definitely fewer rocking chairs.  Not cool.

 

Since the porch was so crowded, we headed over to the picnic tables over where the ring carver stand used to be.  At least we could look at the porch:

 

 

They started to call guests in, so some rocking chairs did open up soon, and we relocated back to the porch.  That gave me a good view of this:

 

 

At first I didn't think much of this, but then I realized that the last vertical post down there was missing- look closer:

 

 

I didn't know they were replacing the columns too.  Wow.

 

From our rocking chairs, we had a good view of where the River Country wagon is supposed to be:

 

 

And the playground:

 

 

The crepe myrtles near the porch still had no blooms.  Remember, this was June 9th.  I wonder if they do now?:

 

 

After I zoomed in and drew on that other photo showing the missing post, I realized I had this photo which shows it much better:

 

 

At this point, we were the last guests sitting on the porch waiting to be seated.  The twins thought that there were walk-up guests who had arrived after us who had already been seated.  They asked me to go check,  So I did.  The host said he was just about to buzz us. Likely story.

 

At least we got our table.  It is dark inside, and it was bright outside.  I never realized how much of the outside you can see sitting inside Trail's End:

 

 

It was a bit past 10:30 before we got seated, and they stop seating at 11, so we hurried up to the buffet. As I feared, things looked pretty picked over:

 

 

Here's a really sad sight- just bacon scraps were left:

 

 

Dang it.

 

I was dreaming about a big pile of bacon ever since we talked about coming here the night before.

 

As I stood there, a CM behind the counter said that more bacon was on the way.  He didn't say when, though, so I figured I would fix a plate and come back.  I like sausage too.  But sausage isn't bacon.

 

I've never tried one of the egg benedict things they make with pulled pork here, so I had to get one of those:

 

 

And, then I was going to get a couple of sausages, but look what I saw:

 

 

Oh man.

 

What a beautiful sight.

 

A whole pan full of bacon.

 

I dove in.

 

It was good.

 

You know what else was good?

 

These:

 

 

No, they're not quite as good as Main Street Bakery Cinnamon Rolls, but they're a thousand percent better than Gaston's.

 

So we ate.

 

And we ate some more.

 

I ended up loving it.

 

And then came the best part:

 

 

What a deal.

 

Still expensive and more than what I would typically spend on breakfast, but at 40% off, I didn't feel ripped off.

 

I believe this deal is good for CM's all summer.

 

I'm definitely going back.

 

After breakfast, we rolled ourselves out.

 

Twin #2 wanted to go back to her apartment and get ready for work.

 

Twin #1 said let's hit the MK.

 

So we did.

 

We're headed back there next.

 

I am liking this shiny new era.

 

And we're not even all the way into it yet.

 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Thinking back on all your TRs, I don't remember you ever eating inside at Trail's End.  That BACON looked great!  How did you like the eggs benedict?

 

Wish we could get 40% off our meals -- I'd eat out at WDW a lot more.  But I'm not complaining about the 20% with our TIW card.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Does scanning bands mean less freeloaders? Somehow, I doubt it. 

 

40% off? Nice!!!!!!! I think Trails End is the only place in Disney that serves REAL BACON, not the precooked stuff. Even CRT has the precooked. 

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Whoops. 

[superloopers 2]

You had me at bacon!

[LONE-STAR 370]

Food looks good.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

We've never had breakfast at Trails End.  Dinner, but not breakfast.  Those cinnamon rolls always look tasty.  

 

It's interesting how they automatically added an 18% gratuity.  I get that all the time as our party is larger than 6, but you were 3 people.  Does it have anything to do with the CM discount?  Or does Disney always add tip now?  I'm happy to pay it, but I do get ticked at a buffet when they don't quickly refill your beverages....and they're not getting your food.  What exactly do they do to earn an 18% tip in that case?  It's just a way for Disney to pass along their labor costs to us saps.  

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

Any discount program incurs an automatic tip, CM discount, TIW discount, (maybe Passholders discount too).

 

Apparently, many folks were not tipping on the undiscounted price of the meal, but on the discounted price, so servers were losing.

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

We've never had breakfast at Trails End.  Dinner, but not breakfast.  Those cinnamon rolls always look tasty.  

 

It's interesting how they automatically added an 18% gratuity.  I get that all the time as our party is larger than 6, but you were 3 people.  Does it have anything to do with the CM discount?  Or does Disney always add tip now?  I'm happy to pay it, but I do get ticked at a buffet when they don't quickly refill your beverages....and they're not getting your food.  What exactly do they do to earn an 18% tip in that case?  It's just a way for Disney to pass along their labor costs to us saps.  

At the breakfast I had  at TE, the server definitely earned his tip.  He brought me cup after cup of hot tea which was all i really wanted.  He even came running after me when i left to say he hoped I would feel better soon.  :heartsmiley:

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

Cinnamon rolls and bacon at the Fort.

It doesn't get much better than that.

GAG and beer or HDDR with beer is about the only thing that comes to mind that could rival that.

The shining new era seems like it's going to be a good era........unlike the steroid era.

I'll take the TCD gang over Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, and Roger Clemens any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Put the wagons back where they belong!!!

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

What if some Fiends teamed up and put the wagon back? Wouldn't that be helping Disney? 

[Lou... 3,118]

What a deal. Still expensive and more than what I would typically spend on breakfast, but at 40% off, I didn't feel ripped off.

I believe this deal is good for CM's all summer.

 

It is a good deal, but every year they've cut back.

Up until recently, CMs were also able to get 40% off dinner at select locations throughout the year with some block-out dates. It's been reduced to 20%.

 

Apparently, many folks were not tipping on the undiscounted price of the meal, but on the discounted price, so servers were losing.

 

Probably true.

It's been that way for CMs for as long as I can remember.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

What if some Fiends teamed up and put the wagon back? Wouldn't that be helping Disney? 

 

I'd be in for that mission.  It would be like the time we freed Melvin.  And the time we blew up the EWP.  

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Thinking back on all your TRs, I don't remember you ever eating inside at Trail's End.  That BACON looked great!  How did you like the eggs benedict?

 

Wish we could get 40% off our meals -- I'd eat out at WDW a lot more.  But I'm not complaining about the 20% with our TIW card.

 

I can count on one hand the times that we have eaten inside Trail's End.  It's too expensive for me.  Did you see the regular price on the breakfast buffet?  I could buy groceries for the whole weekend for that price, and we would eat better.  For dinner, even with a 40% discount, I still don't think we will go.  At least not as long as the GAG is $25.  That has more food than my family can eat.  Why would I want to pay for the buffet?

 

I liked the regular eggs benedict, but I didn't care for the pulled pork version.  I like pulled pork.  Actually, I love it.  But not for breakfast.

 

Yeah, that 40% is a game changer for me.  That's a definite big part of the shining new era.

 

Does scanning bands mean less freeloaders? Somehow, I doubt it. 

 

40% off? Nice!!!!!!! I think Trails End is the only place in Disney that serves REAL BACON, not the precooked stuff. Even CRT has the precooked. 

 

Nope, the scanning won't stop the freeloaders. They can still get in just by flashing a photo ID.

 

I didn't realize that about the bacon.  I'm going to have to go back now so I can properly appreciate it.

 

 

You had me at bacon!

 

I can't emphasize how happy I was when I saw that gigantic pan full.

 

Food looks good.

 

It is good.  I've heard it said that TE is one of the best breakfast buffets on property.  I'm no expert on that subject, but I don't know what else anyone could have wanted.

 

We've never had breakfast at Trails End.  Dinner, but not breakfast.  Those cinnamon rolls always look tasty.  

 

It's interesting how they automatically added an 18% gratuity.  I get that all the time as our party is larger than 6, but you were 3 people.  Does it have anything to do with the CM discount?  Or does Disney always add tip now?  I'm happy to pay it, but I do get ticked at a buffet when they don't quickly refill your beverages....and they're not getting your food.  What exactly do they do to earn an 18% tip in that case?  It's just a way for Disney to pass along their labor costs to us saps.  

 

I recommend the breakfast, but it would cost a small fortune for your gang.  Probably not worth it.  Maybe if you and INC could sneak away one morning?

 

I didn't know about the added tip, or that it would be calculated pre-discount, but I didn't mind.  Our server was Donnell, whom I believe is a longtime TE CM.  I think the other one is Ken.  I can see why they've stuck around here so long- it's easy money for them.  Donnell did a fine job. He kept our drinks full, and cleared the plates when we were finished,  It's not too hard to give good service at a buffet, but as you noted, there are always servers who find a way.

 

Any discount program incurs an automatic tip, CM discount, TIW discount, (maybe Passholders discount too).

 

Apparently, many folks were not tipping on the undiscounted price of the meal, but on the discounted price, so servers were losing.

 

I didn't know they added 18% with the TIW card.  I don't think they do with the passholder discount.  I don't remember them adding the 18% when we went to Biergarten earlier this year.

 

At the breakfast I had  at TE, the server definitely earned his tip.  He brought me cup after cup of hot tea which was all i really wanted.  He even came running after me when i left to say he hoped I would feel better soon.  :heartsmiley:

 

Wow.   That's exceptional.  I didn't see anyone giving that level of service when we were there.  They did fine, but nobody seemed to be moving too fast or going overboard.

 

Cinnamon rolls and bacon at the Fort.

It doesn't get much better than that.

GAG and beer or HDDR with beer is about the only thing that comes to mind that could rival that.

The shining new era seems like it's going to be a good era........unlike the steroid era.

I'll take the TCD gang over Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, and Roger Clemens any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Put the wagons back where they belong!!!

 

Funny stuff, there Aaron.

 

Yeah, this new era is going to be a good one.

 

Did I ever tell the story of how we saw Barry Bonds and his entourage one time when we were at the breakfast buffet at the Beach Club?

 

What if some Fiends teamed up and put the wagon back? Wouldn't that be helping Disney? 

 

Somebody needs to fix the ripped roof first- that's why it's sitting back there in the first place.

 

It is a good deal, but every year they've cut back.

Up until recently, CMs were also able to get 40% off dinner at select locations throughout the year with some block-out dates. It's been reduced to 20%.

 

 

 

 

I thought there were still some places where CM's can get 40% at dinner.

 

Also, Twin #2 said there is no CM discount at Be Our Guest in the MK.  I hope she is right about that, because we didn't ask for it there.

 

The 40% off at breakfast and lunch is only for certain restaurants.  The normal 20% discount applies at the rest.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I'd be in for that mission.  It would be like the time we freed Melvin.  And the time we blew up the EWP.  

 

What?

 

Did I miss a mission?

 

Speaking of missions, that reminds me of some things that we previously planned.  We may need to discuss this before your next visit to the Fort.

 

TCD

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

TCD is responding to comments!

 

That means an update is hopefully on the way!

 

Best part of Monday is TCD updating his TR. :D

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

Never heard the Barry Bonds story.....I am sure it somehow starts and ends with him being a DB but go ahead and tell it anyway.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

TCD is responding to comments!

 

That means an update is hopefully on the way!

 

Best part of Monday is TCD updating his TR. :D

 

You are correct.

 

More photos have been loaded, and more TR is being written.  An update is on the way.

 

Never heard the Barry Bonds story.....I am sure it somehow starts and ends with him being a DB but go ahead and tell it anyway.

 

There really isn't much to tell.

 

One August, we decided to stay in the Yacht and Beach Club because we loved the pools there.  We went to breakfast one morning at the character breakfast they used to have there.  A huge area of the restaurant was reserved for a big party.  When they showed up it was Barry Bonds and his entourage.  I couldn't figure out who all the people were, and how they were related to him.  It seemed like there were too many moms and young kids to match up with the men present.  There must have been 30 people all together in that party.  I wonder what kind of bill old Barry had at the end of this trip. This was a while back, and people still actually liked Barry then.  My only complaint was that the characters and attendants spent way more time with that party than they did with us regular customers.  My kids were more impressed seeing Goofy than Barry.

 

TCD

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

I would have been more impressed seeing Goofy also. Your kids have good heads on their shoulders.

Thanks for the story.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

My kids were more impressed seeing Goofy than Barry.

 

TCD

 

What's the difference? 

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

What's the difference?

Barry is a DB idiot that cheated and stained America's pastime.

Did I mention he's a DB?