Really Old Trip Report

[FortWildernessLoopy 8]

...from August 2011 But thought I'd go ahead and put it here as a way of introduction and also as a warning of how not to tent camp at the fort :gaah:

 

The Pre-trip report for August 19-21st at Fort Wilderness

So I have had a dream since I was 2 years old to live at Disney World. Ok, I think the dream was to own it and lord over it as a princess but that may just be semantics. Disney is my happy place and more specifically, Fort Wilderness. I found my first love there...well, loves actually....make that chipmunks. I couldn't wait to head to the Meadow and sing-a-long, watching cartoons and hanging out with my family. The giggling while attempting to paddle a canoe with 39 other people for the Marshmallow Marsh. Heading over to play in the arcade in the Contemporary's basement (which used to be HUGE btw). Taking the boat over to the Polynesian to use their awesome pool because we were allowed since the Fort didn't have a pool. And the sheer joy of riding my bike around paradise. The feeling never went away even during the difficult teen years when my parents were so incredibly stupid.

Well, now I'm 38 and I have a little family of my own which you will meet in a minute. The last few years have been rough. I had to have major surgery last fall and my DH is a restaurant general manager which means in the last two years, he's been laid off twice. This has been the longest, he's been out of work since December. It had gotten pretty depressing but we still managed a few trips to the world both camping and with the help of some CM's, trips into the parks (I was a CM awhile ago for DCL and still have friends there). We also have done a lot of downsizing this year to "make it work". We purchased our teenie, little home which shall be henceforth known as our 'beach shack' with cash, we have no credit cards, and we eats lots and lots of ramen. The only problem with this sort of lifestyle choice is we also never get to have any fun. It can get to be very depressing. It's not always living, sometimes it's just existing and we thought, we'd better do something for ourselves. Usually what that means is doing something for my birthday. Since it's the same as Uncle Walt, December 5th, we try to go to the world or something similar because that's always a value season. My Dh decided for my 40th (2012) we'd book a DCL vacation for a week!! I was stoked and so was he, but the more we did the math, the less sense it made. I decided to be a grown-up and say no.. But don't forget, this is Disney and here comes our happy ending...

The wonderful people at Disney thought "Hey, I bet more people would purchase Florida resident annual passes if we allowed them to stretch the payments over a whole year!".

YAY!!!!! We could do that!! After the down payment, for the cost of a latte a day we could make a tiny family feel the magic for a whole year, not just one week! So with my bonus check, at 6:00am on August 12, 2011 (from now on known as "Happy Time"), I purchased an AP for the DH and a SP for me. I waited a WHOLE HOUR before I booked our campsite, which contrary to my DH's constant reassurance DID in fact almost kill me. So our "surprise" trip to the Fort is no longer a surprise....mainly because without any warning I start to giggle, clap my hands and do the happy dance. While my husband finds this cute, the people at Wal-Mart may have thought I was a bit looney...got to the front of the line though.

Let me introduce you to my lil family and the cast of characters:

Me, FortWildernessLoopy, your narrator for this little journey. as you can see in this pic, I have needed a WC the last several times we have gone. VERY long story short, I had an, unbeknownst to me, 2lb tumor removed last fall and this will be my first attempt to go to the parks since the surgery. I am really trying to avoid the WC if at all possible(contrary to some people's opinion, you don't get to the front of the line you have to spend a day at everyone's butt level, getting cut off, and trying to correct your DH's driving skills). Having said that, I am trying to find one of those seat canes since I can't walk very far without having to stop to rest. I can do this

 

DH (32), Epcot_Pete. Incredible husband and the only man who can tolerate me for longer than 15 minutes at a time (it's been documented). He has the patience of....I'm reminded here of a quote from Ruthless People "Ghandi would have strangled her by now"..yep, that about sums it up. Did I mention he's also kind, loving and for some odd reason whenever I'm around, kind of quiet?

 

Liberty Mow, born on 9/11/2001. She is my little angel and has been my tiny therapist for almost 10 years now (shocking that my cat would have to have an adult ticket, huh?). Until we complete our camper, she will be staying with her great-grandma, my Nana.

Our tent and norman the gnome...he's over on the corner of the tent. until we finish start our camper  this is our home away from home. We still go camping with my folks to the fort and we still go to the campfire sing-a-long . The tent is massive. It's a 14x12 and sleeps 7 people...it's for the two of us. I really wanted to go camping and I didn't have a camper, so I bought what I thought would be the perfect tent because it was on sale...as a surprise. Here's the thing, I grew up with several different kinds of campers: pick-up slide-in, small trailer, super long trailer, small motorhome,and a behemoth motorhome with two slides...not so much for the tents down here because of the heat. My DH is from Colorado and is an Eagle Scout...he grew up with sleeping on rocks in the winter in a mummy bag. You can kinda see what happened when I brought the tent home. But, we still have her after 6 years so it couldn't have been all that bad.

**Side note here, on our first camping trip in the tent, in Colorado, after a snow storm, in April, in the mountains, I brought the cat....Oh good lord even I can see where this is going but I couldn't then. I'll tell you anyway, our little bundle of joy who travels with us everywhere chose that night to start making noises like a kitten with a broken leg who was all covered in butter and waiting to be eaten. We had coyotes all over us. I still have a small hole in the screen where one tried to get in. On the plus side, I learned that animal-loving, meek lil ole me can take out a coyote with a swift kick while simultaneously shoving said cat to the bottom of a sleeping bag and running for a car while my husband chases 3 more down the trail.

See?!? This is why I like my wilderness in Fort form...with electricity, water, comfort stations and roaming armadillos..the way god intended.

 

I got my bonus check so instead of just packing sandwiches, we're going to try to eat at the parks a few times. However, I still pack my own trail mix, rice crispy treats, and water bottles with the little kool-aid packets and breakfast is always at camp.The current plan is as follows:

Friday: get off work at 4:30 pm and hop into car that is already packed up and ready to go. I telecommute so I can already be dressed and ready to go to the parks. We should arrive at the Fort around 5:30 or so depending on traffic over from the beach. We'll set up camp and take the boat over to guest services at MK for our APs. **Now is a good time to mention that while I like to plan ahead and make lists, I hate itineraries. I rarely make any ADRs because I don't like the pressure of needing to be somewhere at a certain time. We're planning on playing all night at the MK into the EMH!

Saturday: I'm bringing the crock-pot and debating whether to make pancakes, or have breakfast ready when we wake up...I'm leaning toward crock-pot breakfast casserole actually. I'm not sure whether I will have some kind of dinner going in the crockpot for our return...maybe a stew of some kind. I'm packing the cooler, but in this weather, the ice won't stay frozen for long so left-overs are not an option. I think I can keep stuff cold into Saturday morning, but not so much after that. Anyway, We're driving over to DHS for the early EMH so my DH can ride Star tours and maybe we'll do Rockin roller-coaster then spend the rest of the day at Epcot. we'll play it by ear, but right now we intend to spend most of the day doing all the pavilions in WS since my DH has never done that before (seen the corny movies and walked around the shops). I'm not one who really cares for watching Illuminations every time, so we may do futureworld during that...usually stuff is walk on at that point.

Sunday: Break camp and check out early (I don't like to try and set-up or break camp in the heat of the afternoon and it will be plenty hot around 11). Drive over to AK in the morning for EE and whatever until around noon. I mentioned I hate making ADRs and I do, but I went ahead and made one for Whispering Canyon for lunch because my DH really wanted to try it and it gives us a time to head toward MK. After lunch, we'll park at TaT, head over to the MK and have fun until 8 or so. I don't want to stay out too late since I have to work early the next morning. *sigh* I don't even like typing about the end. Of course, we can do it all again the next weekend!!! Except maybe the camping part, that could get expensive lol.

You are more than welcome to join along on my little PTR and later trip report.

[FortWildernessLoopy 8]

BTW, I didn't do a trip report for last year's birthday trip since we just hung out around the resorts, but you're more than welcome to look at the slideshow http://youtu.be/LVGFCZ-Awog (warning: Christmas music may get stuck in head). We did go canoing which is a blast and I recommend to anyone and everyone! I wasn't quite 2 months post surgery, but I could do it and we had so much fun for only $11!!

 

**Wow...so 33 hours after I booked our trip, we've already had a change of plans.

Another extra long story short, but my grandmother (the aforementioned Nana) spent all her Social Security money this month so we're buying her groceries. Which means we're back to our original plan of snacking around the world with no main meals in the parks. Cancelling the ADR to Whispering Canyon as we speak

[FortWildernessLoopy 8]

I mentioned in yesterday's post that I am trying to do without a WC. Well, I was very busy running around yesterday, and the same pains i got post surgery were in evidence. As hard as this is to admit, I cannot walk around the world. Luckily, my HSA will cover the purchase of a rollator which I intend to purchase this week before we go. I'm trying to look at the positives:

1. I will be above butt level for most of the day
2. I can sit whenever/wherever I like
3. I can walk at my own pace and have something to lean on when needed
4. I won't have to carry my purse or bag around
5. I've heard tell some may have cup holders
6. ....and maybe some tinsel for the handlebars?

For those of you not familiar with a rollator, it's a wheeled walker with handbrakes and usually an area where you can sit if needed. This will help at WDW in the lines especially when standing is not an option. I'm also checking my medications to see why I can take to help but I'm afraid all I have will either A, make me sleepy or B, get me stoned. Neither is what I would like for my magical weekend of awesomeness.

Here's a few pics of rollators:


I'm thinking of  trying to add some kind of sparkles. My DH is thrilled

[FortWildernessLoopy 8]

Woo Hoo!!1 2 days to go and i am doing my happy dance

So on Monday I purchased my rollator. I was trying to find a rental since I could not afford to buy one, when it turns out, my HSA covers the purchase!! So I found one in stock at Walgreens and I was going to buy it, when my doctor recommended a place in town with mobility equipment. I was thrilled. I walked into their "showroom" and spotted my rollator out of all of them in about 2 seconds. it was just what I was looking for. I got it home and found out the model name is "The Grand Magic"...is that kismet, or what?

I've taken her around the block a few times and I think it's exactly what I need. My hands started to hurt a bit, but I may have been white knuckling it there for awhile, so I need to remind myself to relax and just lean when I need to.

I'm spending the evening figuring out how to pack everything that normally goes into the backpack, in the underseat pouch. This is hilarious. I keep saying perfectly rational statements like, "Honey, I think if the sandwiches are on the left we can stack the water bottles next to them since the carabiners aren't big enough to go around the bar" and he just keeps nodding and saying "Uh-Huh". Humph...I know when I'm being humored.

I cannot wait! I feel like a little kid. Just like you're supposed to feel when you're headed to Disney. I'm going to take a thousand pictures and i don't care that I can go back whenever i want, this weekend is our first mini break since December and I intend to enjoy myself!

Oooo...another (possibly) good thing happened today! We have at work something called VTO (if you work in a call center you already know what that is). It's Voluntary Time Off. I'm putting in for it on Friday so if we're slow enough, I can either have the whole day off or leave early! Of course I'd prefer the whole day off, then we can leave here around 7am or so and spend the entire morning in the parks, take a break at lunch to set up camp and swim, and then finish out the day at MK. Keep your fingers crossed!

[FortWildernessLoopy 8]

8/19-8/21...The good, the Bad and the Soggy...also very inexpensive

 

Hello everyone

The facts:
Location: Fort Wilderness, Loop 2000
Tickets: 1 Annual Pass, 1 Seasonal Pass
 

 Before I begin, I am begging you, if you are not a WDW or camping veteran, YOU MUST JUST TAKE THIS FOR WHAT IT IS...one couple's experiences.  Also, I will show you how to do Disney with less than $20. it can be done and if you include the resort stay, it can be done on less than $150 (not including tickets).

 

Friday, 8/19/2011:

I had to work from 8 -4:30 while my DH packed up the car. We live in Cape Canaveral, but we are staying with my grandmother (who lives down the coast about 45 minutes) for the week which is where we are leaving from. I had made rice crispy treats the night before as well as popping up a bunch of popcorn, so we were snack ready. I was lucky and got off an hour early, so it was going to be a bit hotter putting up the tent, but an extra hour at MK, so we were thrilled. We kissed our little baby kitty good-bye and headed out.

I didn't get a pic of the WDW sign when we drove in because I was driving...and also the camera I packed was in the trunk. I had checked in online and I figured I need to go into the lobby to check in since I didn't have a camper. We parked and headed in to the lobby only to find out our paperwork was outside. They quickly retrieved our KTTW cards and paperwork then we were off. Here's where strategy doesn't always pay off. I knew we would be checking in around 5pm and I really wanted the 1500 loop. I also wanted to be near the comfort station and bus stop, but after years of working in hotels, I know that the more requests you make, the harder it is for the front desk to prioritize your requests. How do they know what you want more? So my only request was the 1500 loop...which they weren't able to accommodate. Ah well, a request is just that, a request, so I was fine with it. Of course we were also midway in the 2000 loop and I had to get my walker over a mulch path to get to the bus stop and walk a bit to get to the comfort station...but it was still at Fort Wilderness, so I was happy.

We set up the tent...OK, DH set up the tent, but I supervised and even lifted a pole:

I made each of us a PB & banana sandwich, packed 4 rice crispy treats , our water bottles with individual kool-aid packets and a baggie of popcorn and we were ready to go!

[FortWildernessLoopy 8]

I mentioned I use a walker. Underneath the "seat" portion of the rollator is a canvas basket. It's about the size of a re-useable grocery bag and half as tall. I packed one of the reuseable bags with the following:
2 PB& banana sandwiches
4 rice crispy treats
1 baggie popcorn
2 water bottles
1 baggie individual koolaid/tea packets
1 camera
4 batteries
2 SD cards
small wristlet with debit card, id's, insurance card, and certificates for APs
snack baggie with clean pennies and quarters (for pressed pennies)
2 tiny handheld fans
asthma inhaler
1 small bottle exedrin
and 2 glow necklaces.

It sounds like a lot, but it fit just fine and I wanted to put everything in a bag so I could pull it out for security or anytime I needed to fold up my walker. We left the site and caught the bus right away down to the settlement. From there, we walked down to the dock to catch the next boat to MK. At this time, a smaller resort boat docked and told the people waiting for it that due to lightning in the area, they are shutting down the smaller boats (the larger, enclosed MK boat would still be running). We headed over to the MK, disembarked and headed over to will-call to exchange our certificates for annual passes. It was just about 8pm at this time. Did a quick happy dance, and took a few quick pics:

As you can probably tell, it started to rain....this will be the general theme of the weekend. We decided since we were all sweaty from setting up camp, we'd forget about the pochos and just get wet. I have been DYING to go on Space Mountain for 6 months so we headed right over to Tommorowland. Contrary to WDW line app, there were no FPs available and the wait was 60 minutes so we said forget it, we'll do it during EMH. Instead we went to the Peoplemover. I had to leave my walker at the bottom, but since it's just one big walking sidewalk, it wasn't too big of a deal. After that, we hit the CoP just as the sky opened up and started to really rain. By the time we left CoP, the rain had pretty much stopped. There was nothing more in Tommorowland that we wanted to see so it was off to Frontierland.

About the time we got to the bridge to the castle from Cosmic Rays, the Electrical parade started. We doubled back and went through Fantasyland. Another on going theme is my need to give a small public address...ready?!? Here goes: "IF YOU SEE A PERSON USING A WALKER, USE YOUR COMMON SENSE TO TELL YOU THEY ARE NOT GOING TO WALK FAST". There. everyone got that? Because there apparently are entire roaming hoards of idiots who choose to get right behind me thinking I am there to plow the way or something...even getting irritated with me for walking slowly. Most paths are more than 2 people wide, so go around me...sheesh.

We went through Fantasyland glancing at some of the wait times. I wanted to hit Small World, but DH isn't a fan and didn't want it stuck in his head all night. As luck would have it, when we got to Liberty Square there was only a 15 minute line for Haunted Mansion. We got straight through to the stretching room! After we left the stretching room, a CM took us to the WC accessible area (really just the exit). We waited there for about 5 minutes until we were led onto the ride by another CM who placed my walker near where we exit the doombuggy. All I can say about HM is WOW. The enhancements look wonderful!!

When we left, the intention was to go over to Splash Mountain, but the parade was just going through so as we moved toward Frontierland, I got boxed in trying to get to the WC ramp. I'm a bit claustrophobic so I was trying not to have a panic attack. I finally got turned around and we waited for the crowds to start moving again before we figured there was NO WAY we were getting onto Splash Mountain in under an hour and a half, so we crossed over to Adventureland. I love me some POTC, so off we went. There was almost no line at all! I think it mentioned maybe 5 minutes. We got all the way down to the loading area without stopping, and we were poised for the next boat, when they announced the ride was experiencing technical difficulties and it would be a short wait...which turned into about 15 minutes before they stated it was down and to leave by the way we arrived. No big deal, but we could hear Wishes had already started. As we were leaving they gave us universal FPs that can be used for any ride in MK up to 8/31 (we didn't use them yet, but we'll be back next week).

When we left, we were going to go to Splash mountain to see if we could get on quickly, but we stopped off next to...not sure of the name of it but it was where they used to have the McDonalds French Fries cart. We had a little feast of PB & banana sandwiches and sweet tea. The line for Splash was about 45 mintes and we decided it was worth it, so into the line we went. Just before the stairs, the CM directed me to the WC access which is a decent hike away from the stairs and come out by the exit. We waited several minutes for another person needing assistance, and then we headed to the exit. We waited a few more boats and then were loaded on. I wanted the back if possible and thankfully, the other riders wanted the front. It was AWESOME! After we got off, I stopped off at the press a penny and got the one with Brer Rabbit on it. We walked out, looked over at the line and realized there was no one in it! I asked one of the CMs if the ride was still open and she let us know just to show our KTTW cards and we could hop back on! We did and back on we went! It took me a bit longer because i had to use the WC entrance, but it was totally worth it!! This time of course, My DH got his way and we rode in the front...or rather "the wettest seats on the planet". It was fun, but I still hadn't completely dried from the earlier rain.

We then traveled back over to Tomorrowland to see what the wait was like on Space Mountain. The wait was still 60 minutes, but I figured since I was exhausted, we could use the time in line for me to sit on my walker and relax...plus I had heard about the line enhancements which looked like fun! I went to get in line and a CM pulled me aside and said I couldn't use the stand-by line since there are stairs. He sent me over to the FP line. The CM at the FP was kind of being difficult. He asked if we had FPs which I told him we did not since 1. we arrived at 8pm and they were no longer being offered and 2. I didn't have a choice and I'd be more than happy to wait the 60 minutes but not willing to attempt a long walk and stairs without my walker. He looked at me as if I were making it up. He signed a pass and sent me up the line. For whoever did the enhancements without making it W/c accessible, me thinks this wasn't the best way of handling it, I still had to try to power walk the entire line since it's not very wide and there were people with legit FP's behind me, raring to go. I would have let them all pass me, but I couldn't get the walker over far enough. By the time we got through the queue, I was ready to cry from the pain. I sat on my walker and waited for a CM to fetch me. Needless to say, the CM's in the front were much kinder to me than the guy at the entrance. Here's where it gets funny. I rode in the front seat and I was SCARED OUT OF MY MIND!. That's right, in the years since 'i have ridden it, I have forgotton I was scared of it and didn't like it that much.. It's when I was confessing this little tidbit to my DH, that he admitted to me he didn't really enjoy SM either and was only going on it for me.

From here we walked (very, very slowly) to Peter Pan's flight. I think my DH was doing just great and I didn't want to spoil the fun by telling him how badly I was really hurting. There was a short line, 10 minutes and again when I went to get in line, a CM pulled me aside and mentioned to go over to the WC accessible entrance. I waited there for a few minutes and a CM brought myself and another family in and we waited while the FP holders were loaded. When we entered, I knew I was in trouble since I could hardly move. I love this ride and while I had a blast, all I could think about was that I'd have to get off in a minute. My DH was wonderful (as always) and helped me get up and off. He had a little difficulty finding a break in the crowd to grab my walker, and once he did we exited and I went about 3 feet and sat down.
I couldn't do it anymore. I was beat. I was exhausted from the walking and my body was hurting. all I could think was I never should have tried this, I should have gotten the wheelchair. I wanted to go lay down.

My DH is the world's greatest husband and i don't tell him nearly enough. Upon my telling him I couldn't take another step, he took the brakes off my walker, and used it as a wheelchair to push me all the way to the boats. We loaded up, and a few minutes later arrived back at FW. Of course, we now had to get from the marina to the bus back to the campsite. No worries, we figured we'd let everyone else go running for the bus and we'd go at a very slow pace and just be the first in line for the next bus. Well, we had just made it by the Trading Post when another boat was starting to arrive. My DH sat me down again and basically trotted all the way to the bus stop. The bus was still there (much to my chagrin as the driver had probably been watching us for awhile) and the driver was standing waiting for us.

Let me place a quick aside here to tell you that I find most teenagers to be lacking in good manners and generally snide. It isn't just this generation, more teenagers in general. I was therefore amazed when we got on the bus which was standing room only and I was perfectly happy to stand for the short trip to camp, when two teenage girls stood and offered their seats to my DH and I. No parents around at all, no beseeching looks from me or prodding from anyone. They happily stood up and volunteered their seats. BTW, I was not going to ask to sit, but 'i noticed other, adult, passengers averting their eyes as if to avoid my glance, lol. To those girls' parents, I want to say thank you for raising two wonderful young ladies that are kind to strangers for no reason at all. I need to put my prejudice away. I sat in one seat but my DH refused and asked one of the girls to sit back down ....something about a gentleman not sitting while a lady is forced to stand.

Arrival at the tent to follow...

[FortWildernessLoopy 8]

We got off the bus at our loop and had a short trek back to our site. We entered the ode side only to find the air mattress was soaked as well as the pillows. We couldn't see where the rain had come in. It was right about 1am and I was in no mood or position to try to figure it out. My DH was starting to get upset and I was getting snippy...we were like two kids who needed a nap because we were over tired. My DH went to cool off (literally) in a cold shower and I tried to organized and get things ready for the morning. We had no way of drying the bed/pillows so I just laid a dry sheet on the wet bed and figured we could put our feet on the wettest side. Did i mention that when I laid down I discovered a leak in the mattress? We had a patch kit but only one small lamp and no way of finding the hole at that time. I didn't care. i just wanted to get a little sleep. We'd been up since 6am and we were exhausted. DH returned and we set in for a restless evening.

Saturday, 8/20/2011

By about 7am we had probably gotten a few hours sleep and there was no use in trying any longer. I rolled on to the ground, grabbed my toiletries and a change of clothes, and headed to the showers myself. When I returned, the hubby was up and we both gave our apologies for the previous night's temper issues. Our original intention was to go to DHS first thing for Star Tours, then spend the rest of the day at epcot. We scratched the morning at DHS and instead tried to reorganize the tent. Only the one side had gotten wet, so we put everything into tubs, folded up the mattress, and put some items in the car. In the tent, I left the folded up mattress and pillows (still damp) on the "dry" side of the tent and the tote with our clothes on the wet side. The cooler we put in the dead center with the crockpot on top. We also just had one powerstrip for a lamp, the fan and the crockpot.

Neither one of us was all that hungry so we skipped breakfast. I made/packed two more PB&banana sandwiches, rice crispy treats, and popcorn for our day at Epcot. Into the crockpot went a pound of raw ground beef, crumbled and a can of mannwich sauce. I put it on low and knew dinner was done. I figured by the time we returned, we'd be ready for dinner and too tired to make anything.

This time, we were driving over instead of taking Disney transportation. While I'm all about the boats, ferry and monorail, I am not a big fan of the buses. This way, I could park in the Accessible area and leave whenever we wanted to without having to wait for a bus then transfer to yet another bus. We packed up the car and away we went.

__________________

[FortWildernessLoopy 8]

We're there! We parked up in the accessible area and started our walk to the front. When we got to the sidewalk, i had to sit for a minute....this isn't boding well. Maybe after I walk for a bit, I'll warm up the muscles and I won't be hurting anymore. We stop at the entrance for our obligatory shots of Spaceship Earth:

Which we walked over to ride because the line was a walk-on. As another growing theme, A CM came and told me where to find the magical WC accessible line. Trying to hide a sigh, I headed off to find it.

*Let me interject that the reason I did not get a GAC is because when I enquired at the ticket booth where the guest services was located (the day before at MK) for a GAC, I was told when you have a visible disability with a mobility aid, a GAC wouldn't be necessary since the CM's could assist and most ride queues are WC accessible. I got the mobilty map at MK and promptly forgot to refer to it whereas at Epcot, I couldn't find one. No biggie. Spaceship Earth was a great way to start off our day.

We wanted to hit the land for our Soarin' FPs and to ride my favorite ride at Epcot, Living with the Land. It took me a bit to get over there, but DH was very patient and let me set the pace. we also watched the Jamitors' performance en route. The land Pavilion is gorgeous but there is a heck of a hill going in and a bit of a ramp inside. The elevator queue is usually fairly short, but it seems a little short-sighted to put only one standard elevator in the entire pavilion. We went down and got our FPs to return at 1:09 and off we went to the "Living with the Land" ride. I am 100% positive that when I have had to use a WC that I used the standard queue which is why I didn't look at the map and was astonished to be redirected by a CM at the entrance to the line to a different queue. *sigh*, the thing is, the regular queue is just fine. Even if last time it was just a fluke that I got through the stand-by line, it still shows it's an accessible line. Whatever, we went through the other line and waited our turn. The CM's were all lovely and the sigh was internal, it's not their fault. As always this ride is one of the highlights of our trip.

After the ride, we had some time to kill, so we headed up and out to the Journey into the Imagination ride. It was a very fast queue, less than 5 minutes and I was able to use the standard queue. i love this ride , too and it was a lot of fun.

From here we set out to hit the Cool Spot and then the Universe of Energy. I was pretty thirsty so I took about 6 shots of the China soda . We made it over to the UoE just before the pre-show started. I know it's not everyone's favorite, but I really like it and it's a nice little ride to boot. When we left, I don't think either of us was super hungry, but we needed something to keep us going. We stopped off at the electric Umbrella and sat at a table outside. Before anyone gets upset, there were at least 20 empty tables (no one wants to sit outside in this weather). We had our sammies, rice crispy treats and some koolaid/tea.

cont'd next post...

__________________

[FortWildernessLoopy 8]

So after we filled up on our yummy lunch, we decided we had time for another ride before our time for Soarin' FP. We went over to the Living Seas Pavilion and did the ride. This was another quick line that was tough for me because everyone was going very fast and I just can't. We boarded our clam and I spent much of the next hour with "the song that i shall not name unless it gets stuck again" stuck in my head.

Afterwards, we realized we were right on time for Soarin', so over we headed. Even with the FP there was a short wait of about 10 minutes which I was able to sit on my walker and relax. I have a slight confession to make here. The very first time we did Soarin', I fell in love with it! Couldn't wait to do it again! The last time we went was pre-surgery, and I had to use a WC to get around and it took me a bit to get loaded on, etc. I have no idea what happened last time or why I chose that time to look down, but I suddenly realized how high up I was. Now, I am not that tall, I'm 5'10" but I am all leg. What that translates to is my having only my butt on the seat in Soarin' and no leg. It lends itself to feeling a bit unstable and precarious. Theoretically, I know I'm safe, but I just couldn't shake being frightened, even after closing my eyes and reminding myself that small children do this safely a hundred times a day.'s favorite ride at Epcot so I wouldn't tell him I was scared. I did OK this time, not great, but much better than last time!

After Soarin', we were going to start with the itinerary set for the day... World Showcase! My DH has done Epcot quite a bit (even worked there for a bit) but he's never "done" WS. He's never wandered through the pavilions or done any of the Circle Visions. Today was the day. But first, my wonderful hubby saw how hot I was and volunteered to go grab me a frozen coke from Club Cool. I didn't even know they had anything like that! This was only our second purchase of the trip (the first was the pressed penny) for $3.93 including tax. OMG, talk about perfect timing and YUMMY! *sigh*, hit the spot. OK, so now we're ready for the World!

First stop, Canada. We wandered through the garden and back to the show area to wait. We were able to find a bench with no problem and I just sat on my walker. We were 15 minutes early for the show, but sitting in the A/C felt lovely and we took turns aiming the handheld fans at each other. This is the first time I have seen the show in 20 years and my DH has never seen it. It was really cute and worth the little wait. We exited out by the Kidcot area where DH got his first passport stamp. It was a Duffy the Disney Bear with Canada underneath...hhmmmm...not sure how I feel about that, lol. By this time, the skies had turned a bit ominous. Here's a few pics I took in the garden:

 

Two minutes after the last photo was taken, the sky opened up. I believe I mentioned I CAN'T WALK VERY FAST. My DH could, of course, have run and gotten under cover, but he wouldn't leave me ((snuggle)). I was alternately pushing my walker and pulling my shirt down over my butt since I was wearing white shorts and absolutely NO ONE on this planet needs to see my big bubble butt in clear shorts. If you remember from my PTR, we planned on snacking a bit around the world and the UK was going to be a scotch egg from the pub. Yeah, right. Because the sky opened up just moments from our arrival, we had to stand out on the street and couldn't get near the door. we walked over to the tea shop so I could pause and get our ponchos out. if I tried to do it there on the path, everything underneath the seat would have gotten soaked. Despite the rain, we weren't actually soaked all the way through yet. I had a dry washcloth we used to dry our faces off, put on our ponchos, rearranged the bag and started to head out. we changed up the game plan and decided since there was nothing to do at the moment in the UK (everything was packed full of people), we'd walk on relatively empty streets all the way to America, and work our way back to the UK. We were hoping by then, the rain would have stopped and we could grab a scotch egg.

Now I'm a Floridian and I have no problem with rain. I see no reason to run in the rain since you're just going to get more wet and may slip and fall to boot. This was a special kind of rain. This rain was coming down in buckets. I was blind becuase I didn't think to Rain-X my glasses and I think we were near France when my husband darted under a tree and said he needed to pee. As far as I was concerned, he could've just peed his shorts for all the difference it would have made dampness-wise, but Mr. Picky wanted a bathroom. He pulled out the map and saw a RR just over in Morrocco, about 3 seconds before the map dissintegrated from being wet. He managed to get into the restroom but I couldn't get through the people using the vestibule as a shelter, so I found a low wall and sat there in the rain feeling sorry for myself. I figured everyone needs an Eyore moment and nothing had been going right, so that was my minor meltdown moment. DH came out and joined me, we continued our soggy march to America.

Upon arrival, There were probably 20 people standing in the front Portico area. Hhmmm...not good. Maybe they're closed? I tried to squeegee off my glasses enough to find a CM and cast a glance to my side to make sure I hadn't grabbed someone else's husband in all the confusion. The CM's at America were terrific! Some of the nicest and most helpful I've encountered! the CM at the door told us the museum was open and the Voices of Liberty would be going on in (I think) 15 minutes. The CM right inside the door offered to wipe of my seat for me. I was a bit scared until I remembered my walker has a bench seat. She even gave me the towel to use for the rest of the day at the other attractions! We removed our drenched ponchos, found a seat for my DH and we tried to re-group while we waited for the VoL to come out. A CM asked if we were there just for the VoL or if we were going to stay for the show. We really love the show so she directed us to an elevator to await the show and watch the VoL from upstairs. As always, the VoL were AMAZING!

My DH stated that during the theater show he glanced over at me, and I looked miserable and beat. Maybe he was right. I was feeling a bit exhausted and very disappointed with myself for not being able to keep up and do more. I told my DH that we either needed to leave the theater first, or last because I didn't feel like being pushed or shoved through the crowd. DH decided first. After the point in the song where I start crying, we exited out and went down the ramp.

The rain had slowed down to a sprinkle and I figured maybe we could head back to the site, change into our suits, and take a swim. Before we headed out, I wanted to hit the Karamel Kuche for something caramel-y. The line was out the door. All right, forget it. We're leaving before I start to cry. We went over to the boat and grabbed the next boat to Mexico. On the way out, we took one more ride on Spaceship Earth and promised Epcot we would see her tomorrow to pick back up where we left off.

cont'd next post...

[FortWildernessLoopy 8]

We got back to the site at 4:30-ish. I unloaded my bag and my DH unloaded the walker and we went to make sure everything stayed dry this time. You could smell the Mannwich from the car...YUMMY!! Hubby went in first......and didn't say anything. Honey? Everything Ok in there? Then I heard the spalshing. I looked in the tent and saw my DH up to his ankles in water, along with a power strip, a lamp, a fan, and a crockpot all plugged into it. He reached into the water and plucked the power strip up on top of the cooler. I guess he figured if the first foot in the water didn't kill him, he was fine. I didn't say a word. I joined him in the tent and tried to assess the damage...triage if you will. The crockpot and Manwich was fine, check. We had already put the coffee maker and griddle into the car, check. All our clothes and computer were in a tote and dry, check. I pulled the rest of the cords out of the water, unplugged everything else and started handing it to my DH to put on the picnic table to "dry". Of course the picnic table was wet too, but not as bad as the tent. I asked my DH to sit in a chair and I would make us sandwiches and we could talk about what to do in a minute. I am very pleased to report the sandwiches hit the spot! It was wonderful coming back to a nice hot lunch without having to prepare it!

After our dinner, my DH went out and tried to adjust the poles and see where the rain was coming in from. It is important to note that we passed several sites where people had lost their awnings and some possesions were strewn about. I'm guessing there much have been some good winds to go with the rains. We then removed everything from the tent and tried to sweep out all the water. We got most of it, but our only towel we brought was super saturated and we had no way of getting the rest of the water out.

DH suggested we change into our suits and take a swim to relax since we needed to have some fun and step back for a minute. We changed out of our VERY wet clothes into our swim suits (don't think we didn't catch the irony) and walked to the bus stop to go to the Swimmin' Hole instead of the Meadow Pool...we figured it would be less crowded since there's no slide, etc. Well, that was like taking a bath together. Didn't really cool us off too much and my DH was prune-y when he got in the pool and turned into a raisin while we were in it. At this point,we had pretty much been wet every single moment since 8pm the night before. As I previously mentioned, we only had the one towel, so we drip dried on the way back to camp (we stood on the bus so no one would have to sit in a wet seat after us).

I was out of ideas and so was my DH for how to salvage the night. Everything we thought of doing for fun was overshadowed by what we were going to have to endure that night. We had a soggy air mattress that would not stay inflated, a wet tent and the power strip had blown so we only had one plug to either use the fan, the lamp or the pump to inflate the mattress. The alarm clock also did not survive the flood. DH had put almost everything in the car when we removed them from the tent so they'd stay dry.

Trying his hardest to make me smile, my DH suggested we get into some dry clothes and go over to Roarin' Forks for a S'more cupcake and a coke. That made me smile and I said sure. I think we both knew that walking wasn't going to do me much good and as much as I love the campfire sing-a-long and movie, I wasn't in my happy place at the moment and didn't want to have negative thoughts somewhere that is so magical and means so much to me. This would be our third and final purchase of the trip, 2 S'mores cupcakes, a coke and a powerade came to $14.13.

For those of you keeping track, that means our incidental charges came to a whopping $18.57. Including the campsite for two nights, the total was less than $125.00 out of pocket for the weekend. I don't think everyone should do it this way, but if you have Disney tickets and not a lot of spare change, it can solve a lot of your expenditure issues and still stay on property.

We headed back to the lobby to sit around the fireplace. Neither of us wanted to be the first to throw in the towel and I think we actually both said "Let's go home" at the the same time. If we didn't have the AP's it may have been different, but we knew we can go back next weekend and do what we weren't able to do this weekend.either of us could figure out what to do with the wet tent issue and only $20 in our bank account. We don't have CC's and I don't get paid until Friday so purchasing another tent wasn't an option.

So, awesome things to come out of this trip:

• The crockpot is a brilliant idea!
• We got to play at WDW for a whole weekend!
• We got Soarin Fast Passes!
• My marriage can survive armaggedon!
• We're hoping to jumpstart our camper build!
• We can do WDW on the cheap without feeling cheated!
• We can go back for a do-over whenever we want!
• I was reminded what a truly wonderful, patient, loving husband I have and I love him more every single day!

[CitaPita...Carmen 59]

This is why I like my wilderness in Fort form...with electricity, water, comfort stations and roaming armadillos..the way god intended.

 

 

I think I'm going to need this sentiment on a t-shirt.  :thumbsup3:

[Judy in Texas 150]

What a great trip report! Thanks for posting it. :)

[Beckers 1,136]

That's a lot of rain! Yikes! I would have thrown in the towel (well maybe not since you only had one?) but yikes.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I would not have been happy returning to a wet bed that late.  

 

There is a man in our church with one of those rollators.  I never knew to call it that!  

[BigTom 76]

May be an old trip report to you, but it is new to us.

[momof3kids-Yvonne 595]

Thanks for taking the time to share this report with us.

[FortWildernessLoopy 8]

If i do a pre-trip report this year, it's going to look much the same, lol.  This year though, we have the Florida Resident Weekday Seasonal Passes and we'll just deal with paying for parking.  We will probably need to wait until September before we go just because my Grandmother's Alzheimer's is at the point that we can't leave even for an afternoon so while my folks are gone, we'll be staying there until mid September.

[caveat lector 181]

Great TR and I'm glad you didn't run in to any Fort Wilderness coyotes. :)

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Great TR.  Thanks for sharing!

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

That was an awesome trip report!

 

May I suggest until you get your teardrop built, get a large roll of 6 mil plastic, cut a sheet for a groundcloth under your tent, then another sheet to go INSIDE your tent. It sounds like you flooded from the bottom.

 

Also, unless you are already on those sites, there are two GREAT teardrop sites.

 

Teardrops and Tiny Travel Trailers - lots of advice on building and teardrops.net - some building, but mostly group teardrop camping trips.

 

I really wanted to build my own teardrop, but decided I just couldn't, and ended up with a T@B clamshell :) Plus, we also found out, my DH could not physically get in and out of a regular teardrop.

[FortWildernessLoopy 8]

That was an awesome trip report!

 

May I suggest until you get your teardrop built, get a large roll of 6 mil plastic, cut a sheet for a groundcloth under your tent, then another sheet to go INSIDE your tent. It sounds like you flooded from the bottom.

 

Also, unless you are already on those sites, there are two GREAT teardrop sites.

 

Teardrops and Tiny Travel Trailers - lots of advice on building and teardrops.net - some building, but mostly group teardrop camping trips.

 

I really wanted to build my own teardrop, but decided I just couldn't, and ended up with a T@B clamshell :) Plus, we also found out, my DH could not physically get in and out of a regular teardrop.

We are definitely on the TT&TD site.  Unfortunately, our build just keeps getting pushed back because there always seems to be something more pressing that requires funds.  I vacillate between the teardrop and a gypsy vardo.  I'm leaning toward the vardo but not sure how it would handle highway speeds.  The only real cost with either is the trailer which is only a few hundred, but still when it comes to buying it, there's always something that takes priority.  Oh well, i really can't complain because we have been overly blessed in so many areas that it seems petty to complain about it.  I always have the dream though and w will make it a reality soon :D.

[ajcjmom 8]

Great trip report!

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

We are definitely on the TT&TD site. Unfortunately, our build just keeps getting pushed back because there always seems to be something more pressing that requires funds. I vacillate between the teardrop and a gypsy vardo. I'm leaning toward the vardo but not sure how it would handle highway speeds. The only real cost with either is the trailer which is only a few hundred, but still when it comes to buying it, there's always something that takes priority. Oh well, i really can't complain because we have been overly blessed in so many areas that it seems petty to complain about it. I always have the dream though and w will make it a reality soon :D.

I was at a teardrop gathering where someone made a tiny camper look a lot like a gypsy wagon.