Nothing Fancy-Just a Good Old 4th of July at the Fort TCD TR

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Long live bonus features!

 

Yes!

 

I have to take more trips to create bonus features, so I agree.

 

Oh, you should have told evil Luke Bryan bus protector guy that he was keeping you from having the magical experience you expected.

 

That's true.  I'm not even sure who that guy was- he wasn't in a Disney vehicle.  The big bad Security guys don't start working that early.

 

I can't believe they cleaned up the party so fast. They need to come to my house!

I wonder if Luke slept there. I guess we'll never know.

If Frozen summer hadn't come along, we would have been at AK with him.

Yay for bonus features!

 

I wouldn't expect that Luke needed to sleep in his tour bus, but you're right- that's something that we will probably never know.

 

I wonder why Luke went to AK?  Did you hear him talking during the concert and mentioning how he hadn't brought his family to Disney World before?  AK wouldn't be the first place I'd bring my family if they had never been.

 

My guess is that Luke slept somewhere fancier but maybe the band slept on the bus.

 

But we will never know.

 

Looking forward to bonus features!

 

My guess is that it was the bus driver who slept on the bus.  I'll bet the band flew home right after the concert.

 

I wouldn't say that we will never know.  One day, I may run into Luke and I'll ask him.

 

Maximus was with us on the trip!  He stayed in the trailer most of the time.  He does not like the heat!  We were very blessed to be at the Fort for 15 nights.  I only wish we lived closer.  Our five year old loves Disney and we sure have a great time watching her.  I know that our second daughter will love it just as much.  From reading your trip reports I know that you have made a lot of special memories with your girls at Disney.

 

Oh, too bad, I would have liked to meet Maximus.  My sister has and English Bulldog, and I love them.

 

Keep making those memories with your daughters.  My oldest was 4 when we first camped at the Fort.

 

What an EXCITING night at the Fort!!! Thanks for sharing all of the action with us and of course thanks for the great photos!!

 

All ready for some bonus features!

 

Heidi

 

Thanks for reading and posting.  I will get working on those bonus features!

 

That did get cleaned up fast

 

It sure did.  It's amazing what can be done when price is no object.

 

Awesome report, as always! And can't wait for the bonus features! :)

 

Thanks.  I won't keep you waiting long for the bonus content.

 

What a great TR!  As always, I don't want yours to end.

 

I hate for my trips to end.  And I hate for my trip reports to end.

 

But, the full shining new era for the TCD gang is about to begin this weekend, which will involve yet another trip to WDW.  So, there's going to be either another TCD TR, or more bonus content coming.

 

That's great that you got to meet and spike so many fiends. Thanks for another great TR.

 

True.  I got to meet a lot of Fiends for the first time this trip.

 

Plus, I got to see a bunch I had already met.

 

It made a great trip even greater.

 

TCD

[Beckers 1,136]

Maybe he did stay on his bus so he wasn't bothered by people at a resort? You figure word was already out that he was at WDW and if people found out he had a room somewhere maybe they would end up stalking his resort?

I agree, AK wouldn't be my choice. We are only doing 1 day when we come down in Nov and it's going to be MK. If for some reason I would add a day, it still wouldn't be AK.

Excited to hear about the bonus material.

I do hope you we will get to see you in November TCD!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Here we go- Bonus Content!

 

We made a one day trip to WDW on Saturday, July 19.

 

The pretense for this trip is that Twin #1 had to come home for an orthodontist appointment on Friday afternoon.  So, she spent the night, and we decided to head over and visit with Twin #2.

 

Since we skipped our planned visit to Hollywood Studios on the 5th to hang around the Fort, we wanted to go and see the new Frozen stuff that they had just added for the summer.

 

Twin #2 had to work in the afternoon, but the plan was that she would meet us at DHS, and we would see the parade, the sing-a-long,  and maybe even do some ice skating.

 

I booked us FP+'s for Toy Story, TOT, and Star Tours, and we headed over on Saturday morning.

 

First stop was Toy Story.

 

But, first we admired the new Guardians of the Galaxy poster outside:

 

 

The members of the TCD gang are all fans of the TV show Parks and Recreation, and actor Chris Pratt, there on the left is one of the stars of that show.  We had seen commercials advertising this movie by then, and we said we ought to go and see it.

 

We have since seen the movie, and it was very good.  Actually, I thought it was great.

 

We have also seem Maleficent, and it is also a good movie:

 

 

We got stuck in the final scene of the Toy Story ride for a few minutes.  This happened to us once before, and we got gypped out of seeing our scores.  Which kind of takes the fun out of the ride:

 

 

But, we did get our scores this time.  Twin #1 beat me.  As per usual:

 

 

Twin #1's score was a little lower than usual, and she just missed getting the high score for the hour:

 

 

After Toy Story, we headed over to the Streets of America, and picked up tickets for a reserved seat for the first sing-a-long show.  Guests apparently don't know about these, because it wasn't crowded there, and we had our pick of any of the shows:

 

 

We took a break in the Writer's Stop, and then headed over to find a spot for the parade.  The CM we picked up the tickets from for the sing-a-long confirmed that the Frozen parade route is longer than the Star Wars motorcade route, and continues past the stage all the way to Star Tours.  She told us that it is very uncrowded along the second leg of the parade, and that we would have no problems finding a place to watch the parade.  So, we waited until it was almost 11 to head that way.  When we got past Star Tours, they had a rope stretched across, and were holding everyone back.  There was a big crowd of people there, and we were all standing in the direct sun.  This wouldn't work.

 

We headed over to where the Speeder Bike is on display, and took the path next to it, which brought us out down the street a bit.  We were allowed to cross the street there, and found a great spot right in the shade.  We could see the stage a bit from here- it's in the back center of this photo:

 

 

That photo was taken at 11:04, and the parade had not reached us yet.  But, it had reached the stage, and they stopped there to do a little show.  We couldn't see or hear the show from where we were, so that was a bit of a fail.

 

This is a look down the parade route in the other direction.  You can see that crowd of people at the rope by Star Tours there on the right. That is a much worse place to watch the parade than where we were:

 

 

We could hear that little show wrapping up- it was only a couple of minutes long- and the parade was then going to head our way.

 

CM's walked ahead to make sure the route was clear:

 

 

Hey-do you see that guy in the blue shirt?

 

Do you recognize him?

 

We did.

 

I pointed him out in a previous trip report, when he was standing across from us at a Star Wars parade.  That's him leaning against the palm tree:

 

 

I said then that we recognized him as a CM whom we had seen in the American Idol show. He also performed in one of the special Comedy Warehouse Holiday Shows they have at DHS during the Christmas season.

 

We have a theory that he was the CM who portrayed Chewbacca in the now defunct Hyperspace Hoopla show at DHS.  His friends there at the parade had stuffed Wookies with them, and this guy seems to be Wookie height.

 

By the way, remember this guy- we are going to be seeing him again soon in another update to this report.

 

The Frozen parade begins with these beautifully costumed "ice" skaters:

 

 

Wow, what nice costumes.

 

And, where did they dig up performers who knew how to skate like this for the parade?

 

Uh- have you ever seen the Magic Kingdom Christmas Parade?  If you have, then the Frozen parade may evoke a strong feeling of deja vu.  Here's a MK Christmas parade photo from the TCD archives:

 

 

OK, so they repurposed some costumes for this parade.  Nothing wrong with that.

 

Hey, look, its those Big Deal Frozen sisters in a sleigh being pulled by a real, live horse!  Wow! :

 

 

 

Cool! (pun intended)

 

But, wait- look at these photos from the TCD archives:

 

 

 

Same costumes.

 

I think it's even the same lady driving the sleigh!

 

So, what?

 

Is this all just ripped off from the Christmas parade?

 

Not so fast!

 

Look at this poop bucket on wheels:

 

 

And compare it to the one from the Christmas parade:

 

 

The Frozen one is totally different.  Good job, Imagineers!

 

Oh, and the Frozen parade has flag twirlers.  The Christmas parade doesn't:

 

 

Now here's something really odd.

 

The next thing to come down the street was this float, which had no characters on it at all.  Just an empty house rolling down the street.  Isn't that odd?:

 

 

 

From the TCD archives:

 

 

So what's the deal with the empty house?

 

Couldn't they have stuck Olaf or Sven on that or something?

 

Who wants to see and empty house?

 

Then there were more ice skaters:

 

 

But this time, they were joined by guys on skis. Finally, something totally new!:

 

 

Uh, no:

 

 

Then came some ice cutters- they're different:

 

 

There's nothing like that in the Christmas parade.  But, have you ever seen the gravediggers in the Halloween parade?

 

There was one more float in the Frozen parade.

 

This one featured Kristoff, and included Frozen Oaken's Trading Post:

 

 

 

But, even that was deja vu all over again.  We last saw that float occupied by a pair of chipmunks:

 

 

Kristoff was the big finish.

 

The parade is kind of short:

 

 

So, basically they pulled a bunch of stuff from the Christmas parade out of moth balls and made it in to a Frozen parade.

 

But, you know what?

 

It worked.

 

They actually did a good job with this.

 

My only problem with it is the empty float.  That is confusing.

 

Otherwise, it's a nice little parade.

 

And, it gives the Anna and Elsa nuts a chance to see them.

 

By the way, Twin #2 was MIA at this point.  She missed the parade.  We had about an hour until the sing-a-long.  She was going to try to make it by then.

 

TCD

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Love the comparison to your archives! I knew most was re-purposed, but I didn't know what. I still think it worked.  

 

I will forever remember this TCD quote, "My sister has an English Bulldog, and I love them." You love Bulldogs? I never would have guessed that! 

 

PS- I wonder if they'll use the Frozen route for the Star Wars parade in the future. Why wouldn't they? Is there a good reason to make it so short? 

[DaveInTN 3,247]

 

We took a break in the Writer's Stop, and then headed over to find a spot for the parade. 

 

That's it?? 

 

You took a break in the Writer's Stop?  You're going to leave it at that? 

 

Did you not enjoy a certain treat while taking that break? 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Maybe he did stay on his bus so he wasn't bothered by people at a resort? You figure word was already out that he was at WDW and if people found out he had a room somewhere maybe they would end up stalking his resort?

That's a good point. But, how would anyone know what resort he went to? They could have put him in the Castle Suite (and maybe they did) and nobody would know.

 

I agree, AK wouldn't be my choice. We are only doing 1 day when we come down in Nov and it's going to be MK. If for some reason I would add a day, it still wouldn't be AK.

I have to figure that they gave him one of those VIP guides, and that he went to other parks. You can cover a lot of ground when you don't have to wait in lines.

 

I do hope you we will get to see you in November TCD!

Are we talking like Yoda now?

OK.

See we shall about meeting up in November. Far away that is. Plans I have not yet made for then.

 

 

Love the comparison to your archives! I knew most was re-purposed, but I didn't know what. I still think it worked.

 

I liked seeing how they repurposed things. And, I agree that it worked. But, I think it means the Frozen parade will need to stop or at least be changed when November rolls around and the MK Christmas parties start.

 

I will forever remember this TCD quote, "My sister has an English Bulldog, and I love them." You love Bulldogs? I never would have guessed that! 

Yes, I love Bulldogs.

See, I am on the right side of the rivalry. Up until recently, that last game in October was just another easy win. Not a big deal at all. And, I expect that it will return to that. So, enjoy your short-lived time in the sun. Go Gata.

My sister's dog allegedly is a descendent of a Uga (I am not sure what Roman numeral). I am not sure if that claim is true, as I think it's a common claim in the bulldog world.

 

PS- I wonder if they'll use the Frozen route for the Star Wars parade in the future. Why wouldn't they? Is there a good reason to make it so short? 

Good question. The Star Wars parade is actually a motorcade. When they used to do the ESPN weekends, they would do the same thing and stop at the stage. For the Star Wars and ESPN Weekends, they have everyone exit the cars and come up on the stage to be introduced. Maybe they don't want to mess with everyone having to get back in the cars to proceed. Maybe it's something they will consider changing- the Frozen way makes it a lot easier to get a spot to see the parade.

 

 

That's it?? 

 

You took a break in the Writer's Stop?  You're going to leave it at that? 

 

Did you not enjoy a certain treat while taking that break?

Of course I did.

I don't know why I don't have photos.

When I made my purchase, the CM noticed that I has a passholder slider on my MB, and said I was eligible for a 10% discount since the Writer's Stop is classified as a merchandise location and not a restaurant. Saved me $.39! My lucky day!

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Great bonus content!

[Northerngirl--Lori 5]

Yay, I love bonus material at the end of you trip reports. I always hate to see them come to and end.

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

I will be the naysayer here.

That Frozen parade SMB.

They can't do better than that?

For shame.

[Seals 111]

Even though I know nothing about Marvel characters and knew nothing about the movie I went to see Guardians of the Galaxy over the weekend with my 13 yr old twins just because.  I liked the movie a lot more than I thought I would. I'm also a big Parks and Recreation fan and was glad to see Chris Pratt in it.  I told my boys it reminded me of the original Star Wars movies (which I saw when they first came out). I think they rolled their eyes.  Later I saw a review that said "best Star Wars movie since 1980."  

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Great bonus content!

 

Thanks.  And there's still more to come!

 

Yay, I love bonus material at the end of you trip reports. I always hate to see them come to and end.

 

Well, this one isn't quite done, do don't get sad yet.

 

And, by the time this one ends, maybe there will be a new one starting.

 

I will be the naysayer here.

That Frozen parade SMB.

They can't do better than that?

For shame.

 

I think the parade is fine.  Especially for anyone who's never seen the Christmas parade.  It actually was better than I expected it to be.

 

Even though I know nothing about Marvel characters and knew nothing about the movie I went to see Guardians of the Galaxy over the weekend with my 13 yr old twins just because.  I liked the movie a lot more than I thought I would. I'm also a big Parks and Recreation fan and was glad to see Chris Pratt in it.  I told my boys it reminded me of the original Star Wars movies (which I saw when they first came out). I think they rolled their eyes.  Later I saw a review that said "best Star Wars movie since 1980."  

 

I was the same. I never heard of Guardians of the Galaxy before (apparently it's a comic book series), and saw "Andy" in the commercial with a talking raccoon and was intrigued.  It's funny you mention Star Wars- both Twin #1 and I had the same comment- it was a lot like the old Star Wars movies- but way less serious and more fun.  There were several times that I laughed out loud during the movie, and I don't usually do that.

 

TCD

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

Now I really want to go see Guardians of the Galaxy.  Most of my family went last week, but I stayed home with the 7yo (she is too young for the language used).  Hope I get to see it soon!

 

Great bonus material!

[Heidi-meetsTCD@TSM 5]

I will be the naysayer here.

That Frozen parade SMB.

They can't do better than that?

For shame.

I agree with you Aaron!! The parade seemed pretty weak.......maybe you had to be there?  It doesn't look like anything I would want to wait too long for to watch........like a couple minutes would probably be too long to wait!!! LOL!!

 

TCD, I hope twin #2 makes it for the sing along.  I also hope you do the ice skating as I would like to see photos of that! I mentioned the ice skating to my boys over the weekend and they were trying to imagine it. They are both hockey players and have never seen a patch of ice they didn't like!! Depending on your review we may have to check it out when we are at WDW next week.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Now I really want to go see Guardians of the Galaxy.  Most of my family went last week, but I stayed home with the 7yo (she is too young for the language used).  Hope I get to see it soon!

 

Great bonus material!

 

Yup, there are some unnecessary curse words in that movie.  Some pretty big ones.  Why studios feel they need to do that is beyond me.  The movie would have been just fine without them.

 

 

I agree with you Aaron!! The parade seemed pretty weak.......maybe you had to be there?  It doesn't look like anything I would want to wait too long for to watch........like a couple minutes would probably be too long to wait!!! LOL!!

 

TCD, I hope twin #2 makes it for the sing along.  I also hope you do the ice skating as I would like to see photos of that! I mentioned the ice skating to my boys over the weekend and they were trying to imagine it. They are both hockey players and have never seen a patch of ice they didn't like!! Depending on your review we may have to check it out when we are at WDW next week.

 

I do agree that parade is not waiting a long time to see.  We got our spot at a bit past 11 and waited only a couple of minutes for it.  It got the job done.  Anyone who wanted to see the ice princesses and Kristoff got to, and then it moved on.  Perfectly fine by me.

 

Your questions about the sing-a-long and ice skating will be answered in the next update, which I will be getting to this morning (I hope). 

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

The bonus features ended with Twin #1 and me in DHS watching the new Frozen parade.

 

After the parade passed, we followed it right to Star Tours, where it was time for our FP+ return time. That's some expert planning right there.

 

Appropriately enough, we visited Hoth on this journey, but neither of us were the Rebel Spy.  We are losing our touch.

 

Then, it was time to cross the park to hit Tower of Terror.  We were in text contact with Twin #2, and she was getting off to a slow start this morning.

 

As we crossed Hollywood Blvd,, I got a shot looking down the street to show how they have put up construction walls around that gift shop there on the left:

 

 

That gift shop is going to be closed down until December.

 

I wonder what it's going to be when it reopens?

 

I sure hope it's another Starbucks.  Then I won't have to go to MK or Epcot to get Frappuccino^TM Blended Beverages and Fizzio^TM Handcrafted Sodas.  Not to mention those almost-fresh Spinach and Feta Breakfast wraps.  No more of those gut bomb breakfast sandwiches with the two sausages for me!

 

Oh happy day!

 

All hail the Satanic Mermaid!

 

Wait.

 

Sorry.

 

I knew I never should have looked in that mermaid's evil eyes.

 

I must be strong.

 

I shall continue with the boycott.

 

It clearly is working.

 

Well, let's move on.

 

We headed down toward TOT.  There was a CM running around like crazy with a stuffed bird.

 

You heard me right.

 

He's over there standing on the bench:

 

 

Take a closer look:

 

 

We have never seen this act before.

 

A bit further down, we saw a CM sitting on a bench.  This is the lady we met at one of the SWW parades this year-she carries around a small accordion, and tries to charm men with it:

 

 

I steered clear of her too.

 

Then we cashed in our final FP+ on TOT.

 

I thought I'd be funny and hold up my Olaf on a stick for the photo.  I'll bet no one has thought of that before:

 

 

It was now 12:05, and we had used three FP+'s each in DHS.  That means we could now get a 4th!  Hooray!  And, there are FP+ kiosks right where the old TOT FP machines used to be.

 

Let's see what great 4th FP+ experience we could schedule:

 

 

What?

 

No Toy Story?

 

No Rock N Rollercoaster?

 

No TOT?

 

Heck, there's not even room on the sign for those.

 

Nope, all we could use that 4th FP+ for would be for one of the attractions listed here on the sign.

 

Gee, thanks, Disney.

 

How magical.

 

Before the FP+ mess, you could walk-on to any of those attractions and shows no problem.  As a matter of fact, you still can.  There are always seats available in American Idol.  Always. 

 

Remember, this is just after noon.

 

Like, as soon as most people would be able to use their three FP+'s and try for a 4th.

 

So, the 4th FP+ is a big fat scam at DHS.

 

Don't waste your time.

 

None of this was a big deal to us, because we weren't planning to stick around DHS in the afternoon anyway. 

 

But still.

 

So, now it's past noon, and we are supposed to be going to the sing-a-long at 12:30.  There was a return time printed on the tickets we picked up this morning, and the CM's were very clear that if we did not return by then, our places would no longer be held, and they would be admitting people from the stand-by line.  We still had time.  But not much.  And Twin #2 was still en route.

 

We decided to go to the theater and wait there.

 

On the way, we crossed in front of the BAH.

 

And ended up behind these two guys with huge hats covered with pins:

 

 

 

Very interesting.

 

WWPRD?

 

That's What Would Paul Revere Do?

 

I wonder how heavy those hats are?

 

BTW, this is not a thing.

 

This is the first and only time I've ever seen this.

 

So please don't get any ideas.

 

You Chowds are requested to please leave your huge Tricorn Hats at home.

 

Wear them all you want up where you come from, but don't be bringing them down here.

 

Thank you.

 

Hey- remember that tall African-American CM I pointed out earlier?

 

Look who was here in front of the BAH talking to an animated Olaf on the screen:

 

 

 

That guy gets around.

 

We got to the theater 5 minutes before it would be too late for us to go in.

 

Still no Twin #2.

 

But, she texted to let us know that she was in the parking lot, and about to enter the park.

 

No way would she make it here in 5 minutes.

 

I called her.

 

I asked her what she wanted us to do.

 

We could skip the show and meet up with her and do something else.

 

Or go in, and meet her right after.

 

She said we should go in.

 

So we did.

 

With no time to spare.

 

We were the last guests with tickets to be admitted before the standby guests.

 

We walked into the theater to find it packed.

 

Totally packed.

 

Even the bleachers in the way back.

 

But, a CM far on the other side was waving to us.

 

There were two seats left in the center section, about 5 rows back.

 

Like right behind the VIP seats where the people who paid $60 for the premium package were sitting.

 

It is good to be TCD.

 

A few minutes after we sat, the show started.  I don't think many, if any, standby people got in.

 

Here's our view:

 

 

I enjoyed this show way more than I expected I would.

 

I've only seen Frozen once.

 

I don't know the songs.

 

Except that one.

 

Anna and Elsa are only on stage together for the last few minutes of the show.  The show is mainly the narrators.  We recognized the female narrator as a CM whom we had seen in the Comedy Warehouse Holiday Special this year.  She is great.  And, there was a lot of ad-libbing going on.  Eventually, though, the story builds to where the Frozen sisters came out:

 

 

And then Elsa sang That Song:

 

 

And then she cast a spell:

 

 

Which resulted in us being bombarded by soap bubbles snow:

 

 

They had confetti snow up on the stage too:

 

 

I enjoyed that show very much.

 

So much so that I have since seen it again. The second time around, there were different CM's narrating, and they were nowhere near as good as these two that we saw in this show.  But, it was still a nice way to spend 20-30 minutes on a hot summer afternoon.

 

We met up with Twin #2 right after the show.

 

The girls wanted to go to the new ice skating/snow area next to Toy Story.

 

It was hot out.

 

I said lead the way.

 

And here we are:

 

 

 

I snapped those photos as we waited in line.

 

Yes, we had to wait in about a 10 minute line just to get in the building.

 

And, then when we got in, there was still more line.

 

But, they had elaborate props inside to keep us captivated while waiting:

 

 

 

It was 90+ degrees outside, and sub-70 inside.  I would happily look at those kerosene lanterns all day.

 

The line actually moved quickly once we got to the inside part, and then we were in.

 

This all was set-up in a Soundstage that I didn't even know was here. The last time I was in here, it was when they had the Who Wants to be a Millionaire show.  I thought all that space was used for the Toy Story ride.  But, it turns out this huge space has been sitting here unused all this time. They used it as a gift shop location for this year's Star Wars Weekends, and now they have converted it to a big gift shop and play area.

 

We inquired about the ice-skating.  Today, they had groups going out at the bottom of each hour for 30 minutes.  Then the ice would be resurfaced, and there would be a skating demonstration in-between.  The 1:30 group was already out on the ice, but they had space for the 2:30 group, so the girls signed up for that.  Just the girls.  Not me.  I can ice skate. But, I haven't in a long time.  And, I'm fine with that.

 

That gave us time to grab a snack. They have food right in there.  We got some Mickey head soft pretzels and some cokes, and found a bench where we could sit and watch the skaters.  We only got to see about 5 minutes before they cleared the ice.

 

Then out came the Zamboni.   It was a little one-but look- even it is themed:

 

 

The Zamboni driver did his thing. As you can see, the rink was a good size, and it is real ice.

 

Then we got to see the skating demonstration.  I didn't even know this was going on:

 

 

They did a great job with that. The skaters acted too.  The first skate they did was to the Frozen song about "He's a bit of a fixer upper," with the guy acting like he couldn't skate, and the girl helping him. They skated to two or three songs, including That Song.  You can not get away from That Song at WDW.

 

After the demonstration, the skaters chatted with guests, and stayed out on the ice as the next group came out:

 

 

There is a mall near us that has a skating rink in the middle of it.  It's been there for a long time.  It's fun to sit and watch people ice skate.  But, what you see there is nothing like what you see here.  That place in my local mall gives skating lessons, and most of the people on the ice have taken lessons or know how to skate.  Not here.

 

This was a real delight.  The overwhelming majority of the people out there on the ice had not the first clue how to ice skate.  It still amazes me that no one died.  People were falling and crashing in to each other, and most of them grabbed the walls and held on for dear life.

 

This kid here was one of my favorites.  No matter how hard he tried, he could not ever get his feet to point in the same direction at the same time. His dad was there trying to help him, but the instant the kid moved, he was about to fall.  The kid ended up doing a lot of involuntary splits:

 

 

The twins have taken lessons at the mall, and can skate.  Not very well, but they don't need to grab the walls:

 

 

The skating costs $10 for a half hour.  That includes the skates and helmet.  When I first heard the price, I thought it was steep, and that the 30 minutes was too short. But, the twins thought that it was just right. They only stayed out there for about 20 minutes, and that was fine.  By the time 3:00 rolled around, there were not many of the 2:30 group left on the ice.

 

There were kids (and adults) out on the ice who did know how to skate, and it looked like they had fun too. 

 

I recommend the skating for everyone.

 

And the added bonus is that it's like a refrigerator in that room.  So nice on a hot day.

 

Next to the skating area, they have a little play area full of "snow."  I think the "snow" is the scrapings from the Zamboni machine supplemented with crushed ice.  What it is doesn't matter; people loved it:

 

 

 

Those of you reading along who survived this year's polar vortex probably think those people are crazy to be playing in that ice.

 

But, on a 90+ degree day, I was ready to jump in there and make some snow angels.

 

We all played in the snow for a minute on the way out:

 

 

And we also popped in the gift shop. The twins had already been in here on the night it opened.  It was less crazy now, but they had all the registers open, and they were raking it in:

 

 

Somehow, it was after 3 now, and Twin #2 already had to leave us to get ready for work.  She needed to go to the costuming place to pick up her costume for tonight.  Twin #1 and I planned to visit her at work later.

 

For now, though, we all headed out.

 

There was a dance party going on near the BAH, and a guy with a washcloth on his head:

 

 

Go ahead and laugh if you want, but I'd rather have the washcloth on my head than that Tricorn hat full of pins.

 

Next up, Twin #1 and I bounce to the MK to ride the Mine Train.  And, a not-so-funny thing happens there.

 

TCD

[lklasing 16]

Great update!  Lots to comment on!

 

I've never seen that CM with the bird, but I do love the street performers at HS.  It's my favorite park to just kill a little time in, thanks to those guys.

 

I totally agree that the 4th FP+ is a scam.  Even when I went right at park opening at HS to try to run the FP+ hack with extra MBs, all the rides that you actually need a FP for were either all sold out or the return times were for late that evening.  Just not workable for us at all.

 

My dad would totally wear one of those Paul Revere hats with all the pins if he had one.  Not that I would approve, but he would be all over that.

 

Do they make everyone wear the helmets for ice skating?  I'm guessing so since it looked like everyone had one on.  I really wish we had time to do that area.  There's just never enough time to do it all!

Looking forward to more!

[BuckeyeFortFan 35]

Not a chowd but I would wear one of those hats, sans pins, if it embarrassed my kids.  I would wear it all day long.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Great update!  Lots to comment on!

I've never seen that CM with the bird, but I do love the street performers at HS.  It's my favorite park to just kill a little time in, thanks to those guys.

That guy with the bird must be new. He was running all over the street trying to get it to fly. I wanted to stick around and see if it would, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't going to. It was a stuffed bird, after all.

I agree about the street performers. There is some very good talent there.

 

I totally agree that the 4th FP+ is a scam.  Even when I went right at park opening at HS to try to run the FP+ hack with extra MBs, all the rides that you actually need a FP for were either all sold out or the return times were for late that evening.  Just not workable for us at all.

The only place the 4th FP+ has any merit is at the MK. And even there, you are not going to get a big ride. But, I have gotten Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise and Peter Pan- and those are definely beneficial to have on a busy afternoon or evening.

 

My dad would totally wear one of those Paul Revere hats with all the pins if he had one.  Not that I would approve, but he would be all over that.

I give your dad permission to wear one, then. But if I see anyone other than him and BFF (see below) wearing one, I'm going to knock it off the guy's head.

 

Do they make everyone wear the helmets for ice skating?  I'm guessing so since it looked like everyone had one on.  I really wish we had time to do that area.  There's just never enough time to do it all!

Looking forward to more!

Yes, everyone has to wear a helmet. And sign a waiver printed in small print, single spaced, on the front and back of a sheet of paper. Lord knows what the Disney lawyers snuck in that document!

 

 

Not a chowd but I would wear one of those hats, sans pins, if it embarrassed my kids.  I would wear it all day long.

OK, if you are wearing it to embarrass your children, then please feel free to wear one. But, before you buy it, have you seen the snowman hats?

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

What a great update!  Thanks for all the info!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

If you like bonus material, today is your lucky day.

 

Here's some more.

 

We left off at DHS.  We needed to get to the MK to ride the Mine Train.  The fastest way I knew how to do that was the MK bus. 

 

We arrived at the MK bus stop to find that no one was waiting. That's not good.  It usually means the bus just left.

 

It's nice that they now provide a bus directly to the MK now, but it's not nice that the bus stop is completely out in the open, no shade and no cover if it rains:

 

 

I snapped that photo at 3:57 pm.  I told myself that I would take the next photo from the bus as we were leaving, and then I would be able to document how long we waited for the bus.

 

You know, because we usually get pixie dust.

 

Much to my surprise, I remembered to take that next photo.  Here we are loaded on the bus and pulling out:

 

 

It was 4:01 pm when I took that photo.

 

Four minutes!

 

It's good to be TCD.

 

So, we headed right to the MK.

 

As we were driving, Twin #1 looks out the window, and sees Twin #2 driving next to us.  She was heading to the place behind the MK where they give CM's their costumes.

 

She called Twin #2 to let us know that we were on the bus next to her.

 

When we got to the MK toll gates, we got past her.

 

Then, when we stopped to turn into the MK, Twin #2 came past us on the right.

 

I was ready with my phone:

 

 

I love that photo.

 

You can see Twin #2 in there driving.

 

Right past the Contemporary Resort.

 

Like a boss.

 

So, we made it to the MK.

 

With time to spare.

 

Which meant we had to look in some stores.

 

They're air conditioned, you know.

 

Then it was time for us to ride the Mine Train.

 

We got the back row. We haven't had the back row yet.  It did seem to rock more:

 

 

For some reason, our train really slowed down when it got into the dark part.  I thought that would allow me to take non-blurry photos without my flash:

 

 

But I was wrong.

 

Still, these are better than my prior attempts:

 

 

Even going slower, we passed through the mine quickly, and came up to Doc, who shouted out "High Ho!," and then we proceeded up the hill, and prepare ourselves for the drop to come.

 

We clicked up the hill to the tune of the singing dwarfs, and then . . .

 

We stopped.

 

We came to a full and complete stop.

 

And the music stopped.

 

What the Fort?

 

An announcement came on telling us to stay in the vehicle.  Like I had a choice?  I was smashed in real good by that narrow safety bar.

 

We sat some more.

 

You want to know something?

 

It's hot and stuffy in that part of the cave.

 

Really hot and stuffy.

 

And dark.

 

And we kept sitting.

 

We were stopped right on the hill.

 

So we were pointing up.

 

The backs of the seats in the Mine Train are not comfortable.

 

They're bumpy.

 

And still nothing happened.

 

Except we could hear Sleepy snoring.

 

Loudly.

 

That was funny.

 

But my back was starting to hurt.

 

And my legs were smashed together.

 

OK for a one minute ride, but not for and extended period.

 

I got an idea.  Maybe if I took flash photography- a CM would come and yell at me and I could let him know that we are stuck.

 

I tried to take a selfie.

 

We all know how that would have turned out.

 

So Twin #1 told me to hand over the camera.

 

She took this one:

 

 

Hey, that reminds me.

 

I think I forgot to mention why Twin #1 had come home for that orthodontist appointment.  She got her braces off!  Poor kid- she went through her first year of college and a trip to Europe with braces.  But, her teeth came out nice.  So, it was worth it.

 

After the selfie, I told Twin #1 to hand the camera back.  I used to flash to see that we had nice stairs right next to us:

 

 

This is what was behind us-looking back in to the mine:

 

 

Sleepy was snoring back there somewhere.

 

And then we waited some more.

 

At this point, I was beginning to think that they would be coming out to evacuate us soon.

 

But, they never did.

 

Instead, an announcement came on telling us that the ride was about to resume.  And, just like that, it did:

 

 

So how long were we stuck?

 

It sure seemed a lot longer, but it was only about 10 minutes.  Not really a big deal.

 

After the drop, we slowed down again, and kind of crawled past these props:

 

 

 

Then we came to a stop again in front of the cottage.  Which gave me a chance to take some photos while we were standing still-look at all of the details they put into this. Normally, you fly by this, and don't even get to look that closely:

 

 

 

 

 

It seems like the plant life on the mountain has continued to grow in.  It is a very pretty ride:

 

 

We were only stopped here for a minute or so, and then the ride continued back into the mountain.

 

When we pulled up, a manager type came out and apologized to us, and told us to make sure and see the CM on the way out. They were passing out re-ride passes. Yes!

 

Since we were in the back, we were the last ones to exit. The CM had a big stack of those passes.  She handed us two.  I kind of joked that we ought to get two more-since we were in the back, and we were stuck the longest. She laughed.  Then I said, and my back hurts.  And then she handed over two more passes.

 

So, for that 10 minutes, we got these:

 

 

Do you see that?

 

Four passes.

 

Good for anything.

 

Any time.

 

And good through the end of the month!

 

I didn't even know they still had these.

 

But they do.

 

That CM had a huge stack of them.

 

I wonder why they need a huge stack?

 

Why do you think?

 

Didn't I tell you earlier in this TR that the Mine Train doesn't work right?

 

That's why.

 

And, God help you if you're in the standby line.

 

I'll bet all those poor suckers who were waiting while we were stuck didn't get any of those passes.

 

They had it worse than us.

 

We still got to ride.

 

And now we can come back two more times if we want to.

 

It's good to be TCD.

 

This day was really flying by, because it was almost 6 by the time we got out of the Mine Train.

 

We had to figure out dinner.

 

It was just me and Twin #1.

 

We did the whole what do you feel like thing.

 

She said something crazy.

 

What about a GAG?

 

She didn't have to ask me twice.

 

Now. remember, this was July 19th.

 

Just two weeks earlier, we spent a weekend at the Fort where we ate two GAG's during a 3 night stay.

 

It's how we roll.

 

To the boat!

 

As you may have guessed, a boat was ready for us when we arrived, and we were off.

 

No problem.

 

Until we got near the water bridge.

 

We pulled over a bit and stopped.

 

What's this about?

 

Oh:

 

 

 

They were bringing the second ferry out.

 

Didn't I say earlier that I had never seen two ferries in operation with that new dock?

 

I should have jumped off the boat and swam over there to watch.

 

After that little delay, we moved on.

 

The CM dock by the Fort was back to normal- no barges full of explosives:

 

 

And River Country was peacefully rotting away, just like always:

 

 

 

Everything was back to normal.

 

The shoe tree still looks like it has a good crop:

 

 

In case you would like to take a closer look:

 

 

We pulled up to the marina right around 6:30.  The beach looked like it always does:

 

 

I headed in to order the chicken.

 

On the way in, I noticed that the lookout tower was gone from the top of Pioneer Hall:

 

 

This was a big deal, so I took several photos.

 

Bix Sits saw me, and waved:

 

 

We walked over to see him and the other Hoop Dee Doo actors:

 

 

I wanted to ask Bix Sits if he knew anything about our old friend Ben.  But, it was crowded around there, and I couldn't get to a place where I could ask him that privately.  He was in character, as they say.

 

I went in and ordered the chicken.

 

I was going to enjoy some of this free water while I waited, but it was all gone:

 

 

Twin #1 and I went around the side porch to get a table, and we ran right into Leslie/lklasing.  She and I had texted earlier, and I told her when we were heading over here that we would be at Trail's End for dinner.  So, she came to say hello.

 

We had a really nice visit.  It was good to finally get to meet you, Leslie!

 

Leslie stayed for a while, and then headed back to meet up with her daughter and that goofy boyfriend of hers.

 

Twin #1 and I stayed and chilled for a bit.

 

We still had a bunch of chicken left.

 

No way was I going to chuck it.  It went into the backpack.  Along with some cornbread and fries.

 

Then we headed back to the MK.

 

Twin #2 was working there tonight!

 

TCD

[we3peas 12]

Someone tell me who the Luckow family is and why I should care. I tried to Goggle but came up with nothing. They sound like people with a bunch of $$ from NJ and not much sense wasting it on concerts and fireworks......

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Someone tell me who the Luckow family is and why I should care. I tried to Goggle but came up with nothing. They sound like people with a bunch of $$ from NJ and not much sense wasting it on concerts and fireworks......

 

That's a good question.

 

Try to Google Robert Luckow of Wycoff, NJ.

 

Here's one article, from the Wall Street Journal, that tells a bit about him:

 

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB111331189063804529

 

Here's a screen-cap from that article.  It tells how there were criminal charges brought against several traders, but not Luckow.  He was only charged civilly by the SEC:

 

 

Do you see the other name I marked?  Todd Christie?

 

He's the brother of the current NJ Governor.

 

It seems Todd and Robert were partners in a firm that ultimately was purchased by Goldman Sachs for hundreds of millions of dollars, which went in to their personal pockets.

 

A bunch of stand up guys, all of them.

 

Glad they have money to burn at Disney World.

 

What a country.

 

TCD

[sherryberry 35]

Dang! We missed seeing you that day. That was the day we drove over to Tarpon Springs, from Disney. I have almost the same shot of the ferry, taken the following day (we headed to the Fort, to do some shopping).

The ice skating - I would have been one of the ones with a death grip on the wall (if I even attempted it, to begin with).

[caveat lector 181]

Alright Mr TCD, 3 items of note:

1) I wanted to make sure and post before your TR got its 6,000th view. Whew, that was close

2) next time, have Yuri on speed dial. He would put that SUV security guy poser in his place

3) Am I the only that sees the irony of parking that Motorcoach in the parking lot behind an RV campground. If they put it in a great site on the 100 loop, I bet 98% of the people wouldn't have looked twice. The only difference between the ratty clothes that some country singers wear and my wardrobe, is that wear them onstage. Then again, I doubt that Luke would have put up with the heat in the comfort station. :)

[clakey 9]

Great update!  Lots to comment on!

 

I've never seen that CM with the bird, but I do love the street performers at HS.  It's my favorite park to just kill a little time in, thanks to those guys.

 

I totally agree that the 4th FP+ is a scam.  Even when I went right at park opening at HS to try to run the FP+ hack with extra MBs, all the rides that you actually need a FP for were either all sold out or the return times were for late that evening.  Just not workable for us at all.

 

My dad would totally wear one of those Paul Revere hats with all the pins if he had one.  Not that I would approve, but he would be all over that.

 

Do they make everyone wear the helmets for ice skating?  I'm guessing so since it looked like everyone had one on.  I really wish we had time to do that area.  There's just never enough time to do it all!

Looking forward to more!

Me and my five year old daughter watched this street performer back in July.  He did not have the bird with him.  However, he was performing a skit with a lady.  We had a blast watching him.  We laughed and laughed as he acted out a skit about their first date.  He got a lot of help from the crowd as he made this story up.  It was a lot of fun.