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

[lklasing 16]

Yay for bonus features, and yay for getting to meet you and Twin #1!  It was really neat getting to talk with y'all for a little bit.

 

We clearly arrived at just about the same moment, as the cast of HDDR was out on that porch when I got there too, except I had to make a pit stop before finding y'all and by the time I got out, they had disappeared.

 

Y'all didn't tell me about those awesome FP's from the Mine Train - what an awesome prize for 10 minutes of getting to take fun pictures that you normally would have missed!

[dvccamper 32]

 

 

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.

 

 

 

Oh great.  I suppose next you'll be saying I can't bring my pilgrim hat either.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

When I saw the picture of you and Twin #1, the first thing I noticed was NO BRACES! Yay! As a former braces girl, I know how great that feeling is. 

 

2 extra rides! That's worth getting stuck. 

 

Since I failed in my English teachers earlier, I'll help you out... "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." Cast Members is not possessive, so it doesn't get an apostrophe. Does that redeem my English teaching abilities? Probably not. But I will say that FF.net has some of the best grammar of Internet message boards. Really. 

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

I didn't notice the lack of braces right away, but i did notice immediately how pretty your daughter looked!  

 

Can't wait to hear how you used the bonus FPs.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

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).

Very cool. I thought that was my photo. I had to look again.

Tarpon Springs, you say? That is like 10 minutes from my house. Opa!

 

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).

If you decide to go, please let me know when, so I can show up to video.

 

 

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. :)

1. Good job.

2. I will not put Yuri on speed dial. That guy is bad news. I'm not calling him.

3. You are right. I forgot to mention that the VIP cabins were being used in some capacity for the party. There were CM's coming and going from there throughout the day in official Disney vehicles. We thought they were being used as command centers, but for all I know Luke slept in one of those.

 

 

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.

I didn't stop to watch the guy with the bird. Next time I see him, I will. I agree that those street performers are a lot of fun.

 

 

Yay for bonus features, and yay for getting to meet you and Twin #1!  It was really neat getting to talk with y'all for a little bit.

 

We clearly arrived at just about the same moment, as the cast of HDDR was out on that porch when I got there too, except I had to make a pit stop before finding y'all and by the time I got out, they had disappeared.

 

Y'all didn't tell me about those awesome FP's from the Mine Train - what an awesome prize for 10 minutes of getting to take fun pictures that you normally would have missed!

We may have walked past each other in front of Pioneer Hall.

Yes, getting stuck on the Mine Train was "totally worth it," as your future son-in-law (can you imagine?) would say.

 

 

Oh great.  I suppose next you'll be saying I can't bring my pilgrim hat either.

That's a given. Ditto on the musket and knickers. Like I said, y'all can do whatever you want back home, but don't be wearing that stuff around me.

 

 

When I saw the picture of you and Twin #1, the first thing I noticed was NO BRACES! Yay! As a former braces girl, I know how great that feeling is.

Thanks for noticing.

 

2 extra rides! That's worth getting stuck.

Yes, totally worth it. Seriously- I've had much worse ride experiences and received nothing in return. Those anytime/anything FP+'s were sweet!

 

Since I failed in my English teachers earlier, I'll help you out... "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." Cast Members is not possessive, so it doesn't get an apostrophe. Does that redeem my English teaching abilities? Probably not. But I will say that FF.net has some of the best grammar of Internet message boards. Really. 

Hmm, are you sure you're an English Doctor?

You're not aware of the use of the apostrophe to indicate a plural abbreviation? If it's good enough for the New York Times and the Chicago Manual of Style, it's good enough for me: http://afterdeadline.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/faqs-on-style/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

 

Oh, and Grammar-Monster.com says it's cool too: http://www.grammar-monster.com/lessons/apostrophes_show_plural_of_abbreviations.htm

 

http://www.grammar-monster.com/lessons/abbreviations_forming_plurals.htm

 

So there.

 

 

I didn't notice the lack of braces right away, but i did notice immediately how pretty your daughter looked!  

 

Can't wait to hear how you used the bonus FPs.

Thanks, Marty. I think she's pretty too.

Trust me, those bonus FP+'s (see what I did with that apostrophe there, GDF?)  were burning a hole in my pocket. We couldn't wait to use them.

TCD

[lklasing 16]

Yes, getting stuck on the Mine Train was "totally worth it," as your future son-in-law (can you imagine?) would say.

 

:dropjaw: :dropjaw: :bugeyes: :bugeyes: :dropjaw: :dropjaw:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I could have planned this a little better, but this is going to be really short bonus update.

 

We left off with us leaving the Fort with a backpack full of fried chicken.

 

We had a lucky day weather-wise, there had been a lot of clouds, but no rain.  In case you were wondering, all of the orange buoys have been removed from Bay Lake:

 

 

At the bag check, when I unzipped my backpack, the unmistakable aroma of Trail's End fried chicken poured out. The security guard asked if I was smuggling McDonald's fries in to the park,  Nope, I told her-just fried chicken and the fixins.'  Have a magical day, she told me.

 

When we got in to the MK, we were surprised to see that guests were lining the curbs for the Main Street Electric Parade.  It seemed early for that, but I guess they were having two performances tonight. 

 

There was a huge tour group gathered in front of the train station, and their leaders were in the street encouraging the teens to scream and leading them in chants.  Sorry to be a fun-sucker, but I do not think this should be allowed.  It's obnoxious.

 

We knew that Twin #2 was working in the Emporium tonight, but that could mean she could be at any one of the registers in any one of the many rooms. 

 

We started at the door closest to the park entrance, and would work our way up through the store

 

We found her right away, hard at work:

 

 

We visited with her a bit between customers.

 

And, then we popped out to watch the parade.

 

This isn't a bad place to get a last minute spot to watch.  The added bonus is you can leave the park easily afterward if that's what you want to do:

 

 

I have a bunch of kind of blurry photos, but I'll spare you.

 

Here's one of Elliot that makes it look like Pete is headless:

 

 

Unfortunately, he wasn't:

 

 

The bald eagle, because I love America:

 

 

We had big plans after the parade.

 

We considered going back to DHS to see the Frozen fireworks.

 

Or going to the Mine Train to cash in those bonus FP+'s we got earlier.

 

But, we ultimately chose to do neither. 

 

Instead, we visited Twin #2 some more.

 

And, we decided to call it a night.

 

I still had to drive home, and Twin #1 needed to drive back to Gainesville in the morning.

 

And it felt like a storm was coming on.

 

So, we headed out.

 

And, then home.

 

That was it for this bonus day.

 

But, it's not the end of the bonus content.

 

We headed back again the following weekend.

 

Well, it was just me and the oldest TCD DD, who got a week break at the end of her summer semester at Auburn.

 

TCD

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

I agree with you on the , especially in enclosed areas where it's extra annoying. If it weren't for the chanting, the tour groups wouldn't bother me as much. I sure didn't encourage chanting when I took a group to Europe.

 

 

Hmm, are you sure you're an English Doctor?

You're not aware of the use of the apostrophe to indicate a plural abbreviation? If it's good enough for the New York Times and the Chicago Manual of Style, it's good enough for me: http://afterdeadline.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/faqs-on-style/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0
 
Oh, and Grammar-Monster.com says it's cool too: http://www.grammar-monster.com/lessons/apostrophes_show_plural_of_abbreviations.htm
 
http://www.grammar-monster.com/lessons/abbreviations_forming_plurals.htm
 
So there.
 

Trust me, those bonus FP+'s (see what I did with that apostrophe there, GDF?)  were burning a hole in my pocket. We couldn't wait to use them.

TCD

 

I'm actually an almost doctor. I'm not finished with my dissertation. 

 

I wasn't aware of the Chicago Style rules on that because I've never had to write in Chicago Style. English, reading, education, and literature use APA or MLA format. I believe (but could be wrong) that Chicago Style is only used in the field of history. APA and MLA do not use apostrophes after abbreviations. In that case, I guess we're both right.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I agree with you on the , especially in enclosed areas where it's extra annoying. If it weren't for the chanting, the tour groups wouldn't bother me as much. I sure didn't encourage chanting when I took a group to Europe.

 

 

I'm actually an almost doctor. I'm not finished with my dissertation. 

 

I wasn't aware of the Chicago Style rules on that because I've never had to write in Chicago Style. English, reading, education, and literature use APA or MLA format. I believe (but could be wrong) that Chicago Style is only used in the field of history. APA and MLA do not use apostrophes after abbreviations. In that case, I guess we're both right.

 

APA?

 

MLA?

 

Never heard of it.

 

Actually, I'm pretty sure the twins had to write their high school papers in one or both of those formats.  I don't recall ever having so many technical rules when I was in school.

 

Full disclosure-I never heard of Chicago Style either- I just found that on Google and posted about it to yank your chain

 

I do mess up with apostrophes from time to time. Maybe I can get a job as a sign maker for 'Ohana?

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I didn't take many photos when we visited WDW on July 27.  The oldest TCD DD and I kind of repeated the itinerary that Twin #1 and I followed on the 19th.  We hit DHS first, saw the parade, rode some rides, went to the sing-a-long, and even to the animation class.  Then we popped over to the MK to cash in those anytime FP+'s we got on the 19th.  We got to ride the Mine Train once, and then, got in line again. The second time, it got stuck, and they shut it down. They emptied the lines, and were passing out more of those re-ride passes.  They wouldn't give us one, though, since we had not yet turned in our second ones.  They told us we could come back and use them.  The problem was that they expired on July 31.  So, we never did get to use that second set that I did all that begging to get.  We visited with Twin #2 again on this trip, and that was pretty much it.  Short and uneventful.

 

Then August 2 rolled around.  This would be the oldest TCD DD's last chance to visit WDW until probably November, so we decided to pop over for a night.  Twin #2 was able to get a CM rate of $115/night for a room at Port Orleans French Quarter, so we booked a room there.  Twin #1 drove down from Gainesville, and the plan was to meet her there.

 

I have a few things to do that morning, so we didn't head over until the afternoon.  The twins met up earlier and were doing things in the MK.  We decided to meet up there.

 

Hey, have you seen a recent photograph of those bungalows they're building off the beach at the Polynesian resort?  Look at this:

 

 

Do you see those?

 

I never realized they were building so many.

 

They block most of the view from the beach there.

 

Not cool.

 

Another place it was not cool was in the MK.  And the sun was beating down.

 

We had texted the twins earlier, and found out that they had secured one of those new paper return time things to eat lunch at BOG.  My oldest daughter and I had already eaten, so we told the twins we would meet up after lunch.

 

Believe it or not, they wanted to watch the Festival of Fantasy parade.

 

Oy.

 

I think I've seen it enough.

 

But, there were places to be claimed right on Main Street as long as we didn't mind roasting in the sun.  This was the situation at 2:39 pm:

 

 

We were right by the balloon guy:

 

 

I would hate to be a balloon guy.

 

It seems like mostly that job entails repeatedly answering the question "How much?" and then having to deal with the disgusted looks and rejection.

 

We lucked in to another sunny day.  I'll take a hot sunny day over a rainy day any time:

 

 

The twins arrived right before the Grand Marshalls, and we were ready to go:

 

 

Now that I've tried the Train Station, I know that I prefer to watch the parade from ground level. There is a lot that happens on the street that you can't see very well from the Train Station.  Like these dancers:

 

 

And Cinderella:

 

 

 

And the Frozen girls:

 

 

There was a parade we saw not too long ago where they only had two dancers with the Tangled float.  They're all back now:

 

 

That BAM got right up in the TCD girls' grills:

 

 

I am still amazed that none of these Lost Boys have died of heat stroke:

 

 

 

The Peter Pan float looks cool from ground level:

 

 

But you really can't see Peter and Wendy:

 

 

Captain Hook still is flying solo:

 

 

Mr. Smee is still on foot. And Go Gata:

 

 

The Scottish dancers are much better to watch from ground level:

 

 

Here comes the dragon:

 

 

Fire shot:

 

 

Dragon Pilot shot:

 

 

One more fire shot:

 

 

The dwarfs:

 

 

Which one is this?  Happy, I think:

 

 

The weird float from Japan:

 

 

A dancing lady and Goofy:

 

 

Chip posed for a photo:

 

 

The end:

 

 

Now, it was past 3:30.

 

We discussed whether we should hang out here, or head back to the hotel.

 

The idea of a dip in the pool and some AC sounded good.

 

So, we chose that.

 

Next up- our room at POFQ.

 

TCD

[FunFinder265....Cody 36]

Whew, you guys are getting it done at WDW. Awesome!

[drafthorsecrazy 10]

Why haven't they fixed that 100 loop comfort station??  It was hot hot last winter and I thought someone had just set it too warm.  I can't imagine what it's like in the summer.  Has anyone called housekeeping and complained?  If its still too warm when we return this winter I'm gonna be speed dialing housekeeping several times a day complaining.  

[LONE-STAR 370]

The balloons are over priced to me and a pain in the but to deal with after you buy one. I will not buy another.

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

All caught up.

Congrats to Twin#1 on the braces removal.

Nice job on getting a third GAG during this TR. Is their a 4th in the offing?

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

The Peter Pan float looks better from far away. It's WAY too high when it's in front of you.

 

Even thought they're building a lot of those villas, it's WAY less rooms than at most DCVs. Aren't they converting some rooms as well? I thought that was the plan but haven't read about that when people discuss the construction. 

 

I'm still amazed at how the balloon guys get the balloons out of the bunch, easily amused I suppose. 

 

 

APA?

 

MLA?

 

Never heard of it.

 

Actually, I'm pretty sure the twins had to write their high school papers in one or both of those formats.  I don't recall ever having so many technical rules when I was in school.

 

Full disclosure-I never heard of Chicago Style either- I just found that on Google and posted about it to yank your chain

 

I do mess up with apostrophes from time to time. Maybe I can get a job as a sign maker for 'Ohana?

 

TCD

 

We've gotten nerdy enough, but they probably used and still use MLA.

[Beckers 1,136]

Kelly I think it's fascinating as well. If I go to the party store and buy more than one balloon it's a hot mess before I make it to my car!!

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

Great to see the bonus footage.

That's some good quality time with all three of the TCD girls.

I have to agree that you do see more of the parade from street level. I think people should watch it at least once from the train station. It gives you a great view of those taller floats.

[dvccamper 32]

Even thought they're building a lot of those villas, it's WAY less rooms than at most DCVs. Aren't they converting some rooms as well? I thought that was the plan but haven't read about that when people discuss the construction.

I believe they are converting some of the buildings to DVC as well. I also read that each of the 20 bungalows will have their own private 'plunge pool' kind of like the size of a hot tub but deeper.

I have the feeling that even with banking and borrowing the points I have I will never be able to stay there.

[fladogfan aka Gretchen 259]

Here we go- Bonus Content!

.

.

.

 

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

Slowly catching up, on page 13 now, but have to stop to comment.....maybe WDW will keep these floats for Frozen and build new floats for the Christmas parade in MK.  Since the new floats there now are so tall that the garland supposedly will not be able to be hung over Main Street it would seem they would use the new MK floats decorated for Christmas or build new ones.

 

Maybe Twin #2 wasn't the only cast member to miss the parade.....wonder who was scheduled to be on the empty float?

 

OK, back to reading......

[fladogfan aka Gretchen 259]

WOW finally caught up!

 

TCD said...

"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:"

 

Read this to DH, you had both of us laughing!  We need to get over there and watch the skaters.  I know if I was on skates I would be gunnel grabbing the walls for certain.

 

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.

:rofl2:  :rofl2:  :rofl2:  :rofl2:  :rofl2:

 

I didn't notice the lack of braces right away, but i did notice immediately how pretty your daughter looked!  

 

Can't wait to hear how you used the bonus FPs.

I forgot about the braces and only thought, those smiles sure look related, so big and pretty.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Whew, you guys are getting it done at WDW. Awesome!

 

We always TCOB at WDW.  Always.

 

So, who is that in your Avatar?  Seems familiar, but I can't place him.

 

 

 

Why haven't they fixed that 100 loop comfort station??  It was hot hot last winter and I thought someone had just set it too warm.  I can't imagine what it's like in the summer.  Has anyone called housekeeping and complained?  If its still too warm when we return this winter I'm gonna be speed dialing housekeeping several times a day complaining.  

 

I sure hope it gets fixed before you get there.  Now that you mention it, I don't think the AC was working right when we were there for Spring Break.  The 1500/1600 Comfort Station was like that for a year or so, before they finally fixed it.  On this very trip, they had a temporary AC unit and duct work hooked up to the 1400 loop comfort station.

 

For them to charge what they do for campsites, and not properly provide air conditioning in the comfort stations is inexcusable.  I didn't bother wasting my time calling the front desk.  I've been down that road before, and I wasn't about to waste my vacation time talking to some ding-dong in a call center in New Jersey.  It was easier for us to use the cart to go to a different comfort station.

 

The balloons are over priced to me and a pain in the but to deal with after you buy one. I will not buy another.

 

They must sell enough balloons to justify having them there for sale. I don't get it.  What does a kid do with a balloon after he gets it back to the hotel or campsite?  Look at it?  How is that any fun.

 

These things are the ultimate impulse purchase item.

 

All caught up.

Congrats to Twin#1 on the braces removal.

Nice job on getting a third GAG during this TR. Is their a 4th in the offing?

 

Nope. There hasn't been another GAG since that last one.  But, there is about to be some more fried chicken from a different WDW restaurant.  And, it was good.

 

The Peter Pan float looks better from far away. It's WAY too high when it's in front of you.

 

Even thought they're building a lot of those villas, it's WAY less rooms than at most DCVs. Aren't they converting some rooms as well? I thought that was the plan but haven't read about that when people discuss the construction. 

 

I'm still amazed at how the balloon guys get the balloons out of the bunch, easily amused I suppose. 

 

 

1. I agree about the Peter Pan float.  Some of the others too.  I think they built these so guests didn't have to be right on the parade route to see them.  But, they are too high for the guests who are right along the parade route. 

 

2.  Yes- those villas are just part of the DVC room inventory they'll have at the Polynesian Village Resort. I think they are converting two (maybe more) of the regular room buildings into DVC units as well.  It seems like more than half the resort is currently walled-off.

 

3.  That is a good observation about the balloons. I know I've had trouble with a much smaller number brought home to decorate for a party.  And, those things are awful to untangle if they do get tangled.

 

Kelly I think it's fascinating as well. If I go to the party store and buy more than one balloon it's a hot mess before I make it to my car!!

 

Agreed.  I make sure that they put those clips on them before I leave if I buy a bunch.  Even then, it's hard to keep all the strings separate.

 

Great to see the bonus footage.

That's some good quality time with all three of the TCD girls.

I have to agree that you do see more of the parade from street level. I think people should watch it at least once from the train station. It gives you a great view of those taller floats.

 

I agree- see the parade from both places- it is neat to see those tall floats pass by at eye level.

 

I believe they are converting some of the buildings to DVC as well. I also read that each of the 20 bungalows will have their own private 'plunge pool' kind of like the size of a hot tub but deeper.

I have the feeling that even with banking and borrowing the points I have I will never be able to stay there.

 

I didn't hear about the plunge pools. I assume that will be out on a balcony of some type.  It seems like the bungalows are so close together that they won't have much privacy.

 

I didn't think about the pool situation.  I wonder if they're going to build a bigger pool somewhere over by the new DVC rooms?

 

Slowly catching up, on page 13 now, but have to stop to comment.....maybe WDW will keep these floats for Frozen and build new floats for the Christmas parade in MK.  Since the new floats there now are so tall that the garland supposedly will not be able to be hung over Main Street it would seem they would use the new MK floats decorated for Christmas or build new ones.

 

Maybe Twin #2 wasn't the only cast member to miss the parade.....wonder who was scheduled to be on the empty float?

 

OK, back to reading......

 

It will be interesting to see if they come up with a couple of new floats for the Christmas parade. I guess they could refurbish one or more of the floats from the parade that Festival of Fantasy replaced.

 

Twin #1 mentioned to me that the empty float had been mentioned on a couple of blogs.  And, it was empty the second time we saw the parade.  So, I think it has always been empty.  Which is weird.

 

WOW finally caught up!

 

TCD said...

"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:"

 

Read this to DH, you had both of us laughing!  We need to get over there and watch the skaters.  I know if I was on skates I would be gunnel grabbing the walls for certain.

 

 

I hope that you go and see the ice skating, and that you have as much fun watching it as we have.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Let's get back to the bonus material.

 

It's still Saturday, August 2nd.  We spent the afternoon at the MK, and now Twin #2 is heading to work, and we're heading to see the room at Port Orleans French Quarter.

 

The TCD gang has stayed at almost every single WDW resort.  We've stayed at Port Orleans Riverside more times than I can count, and we have visited the quick serve restaurant at the French Quarter many times, but we have never stayed at this actual resort.

 

I don't know why we never stayed in POFQ.  I guess the times we wanted to stay in a moderate resort, the other choices seemed better.

 

Our reservation for this trip was made by Twin #2, with a CM discount, and it was the best price on a moderate room- only $115 a night.  And, this is a Saturday night during the summer peak time.  So, that was a good deal.  I guess it's 40% off the rack rate.

 

I used to say that there wasn't much difference between the value rooms and the moderate rooms, but I've noticed the differences more on our trips over the summer.  The moderate rooms are noticeably bigger-and just nicer.

 

So, here's our room.  It has beds:

 

 

And indoor plumbing:

 

 

When we camp, nobody comes in my camper and makes me one of these:

 

 

Twin #2 had checked in to the room earlier, and told us that when she checked in, the CM who checked her in was from our town, Dunedin, Florida.  Which is kind of a rare thing.  Most of the time, even people from Florida have never heard of Dunedin (their loss).  When we got to our room, my suspicions that CM's take care of their own were confirmed. Our room was on the first floor and in an excellent location, right across from the pool.

 

That pool looked really good on that very warm Saturday afternoon.  So, we took a dip.

 

The pool here has a giant serpent sculpture:

 

 

That's the middle of the serpent in that last photo.  His tail is over yonder, and past that is a very nice poolside bar:

 

 

Since this is a moderate resort, that means it has a pool slide.  So, we headed over to the slide area to give it a try.  Over in this corner, you can see the boats that provide transportation to the POR and Downtown Disney:

 

 

The serpent's tongue provides the slide:

 

 

If you're thinking that the POFQ slide is lamer than the Fort's, you are right.  That is a very slow and boring slide.  Just one slow curve, and you're done.

 

Still, the pool is nice, and has some fountains and things:

 

 

And, some creepy gator statuary:

 

 

One amenity they have here that I don't think I've seen at any other Disney resort is that you can see the backside of water:

 

 

This gives you and idea of the size of the pool-it's large:

 

 

Everything around the resort is New Orleans/Mardi Gras themed:

 

 

Which brings up a question.  Check out this big jester:

 

 

Do you see that thing under his foot there?  It looks like a demonic pear.  What is that?  There's another jester statue inside the resort that also has a creepy looking pear guy underneath.  What is up with that?

 

This is the outside of our building- our room is on the first floor, right through that opening you see there in the fence- the pool is directly across on the left, and the boat dock for transportation is straight ahead, just outside the area shown in the photo:

 

 

This is our view looking toward the pool from right in front of the door to our room:

 

 

After our swim, we got cleaned up and ready for the evening.  The plan for tonight was to hit Hollywood Studios, where I had made us FP+ reservations, and stay to watch the Frozen fireworks, which none of us had seen yet.  Oh, and we were going to find and visit with Twin #2, since she was working there tonight.

 

We had to decide what to do about dinner.  I voted for a beer and pretzel dog from Dockside Diner.  Twin #1 and my older daughter outvoted me, and said we should just eat at the hotel.  We had looked at the food court earlier, and they have added some new things to the menu.  So, I didn't mind being outvoted.

 

Twin #1 saw that they had fried chicken on the menu.  Since she's a connoisseur, she had to go with that.  The jambalaya caught my eye, and my oldest decided to go with an old favorite- good old chicken fingers.

 

Like all quick serve places in the resorts, we ordered and paid, and were issued a beeper.  The fried chicken and jambalaya were ready before the chicken fingers, so I got photos of those meals:

 

 

 

Sorry they're a little blurry.  But you get the idea- very nice meals for a quick service location.

 

We all liked the food.

 

The décor in this place, though, is freaky- and consists mainly of giant disembodied heads floating above the seating area:

 

 

 

 

 

Despite the creepy décor, we enjoyed our meals.

 

Then we hopped the bus to DHS.

 

We were there on the first day that they had converted the free Olafs on a stick to Olaf fans.  Whoever was in charge of that change should get a promotion:

 

 

Two-thirds of the TCD DD's:

 

 

The trifecta:

 

 

I had planned our FP+ times carefully.  We had TOT first, then Rock N Rollercoaster. The plan was to go to the TOT one at the very end of our time window, and then we would be able to immediately go and ride RNR.  Then, we were going to stake out a place for the fireworks.  Simple plan.  Easy.

 

Until we got to TOT.

 

We got into the FP+ queue fine.

 

And then found a stopped line of guests in the FP queue just a few feet in.  Which meant that the FP+ line was backed all the way up to the entrance.  And it wasn't moving.

 

From what we could see, only one of the elevators was operating.

 

We stood for a while.

 

And then a while longer.

 

More people came in behind us, and the line still didn't move.

 

After ten minutes, I said let's bail.  Even if the line started to move immediately, it would be 20-30 minutes or more from where we were before we could ride.

 

Plus, our RNR FP+'s were now good.

 

We had to walk out through the FP+ queue.  When we got to the entrance, they were still admitting guests through the FP+ scanners.  I stopped and asked the CM why they were doing that when the ride was clearly not operating properly. 

 

The girls got mad at me.  They never want me to complain or make a fuss at CM's now-since Twin #2 is one, and has told us stories about some pretty bad guests, they don't want me to be one.

 

But, I had a valid beef.  Someone should have let us know that the ride wasn't working right, and let us choose whether or not we wanted to stand in a line.

 

The CM apologized, and handed me these:

 

 

Just as I was about to negotiate for some more, Twin #1 grabbed my arm and told me to leave the CM alone.

 

Dang it.

 

But, look at that.

 

On August 2, I got handed these passes that are good for anything in DHS until August 31. 

 

They are handing these things out like candy now.

 

Ain't FP+ great?

 

We had no problems at RNRC.  Even got to use our Olaf fans in the ride photo:

 

 

Check out that single rider who got to ride next to me.  That isn't a posed face.  She was really scared.

 

It was now already 9 pm.  The fireworks were at 9:45. I've heard that the good spots need to be claimed an hour beforehand, but I don't believe that.  There are plenty of good spots.  Still, it was kind of crowded, and this was a Saturday, so I suggested that we go and find a spot.

 

We found a good spot a bit back from the stage.  This is where we had watched the Star Wars fireworks.  People were sitting on the ground.  Some were flat out laying on the ground.  I'm not proud.  And I was tired, so I lay down too.  This was my view looking up:

 

 

And from toward the stage:

 

 

Since I was taking up a lot of real estate by laying down, the 2/3 of the TCD girls with me went to visit the 1/3 that was not.  They found Twin #2 working in the fancy store closer to the BAH-Keystone Clothiers.  I swiped this photo from Twin #1's SnapChat later that evening:

 

 

As fireworks time got closer, it got more crowded around us, and I texted the girls to come back, and I got back up on my feet.,

 

Next up, the Frozen fireworks.

 

TCD

[alexwyattmommy 181]

So with 2 daughters as CMs, that is the twice the amount of discounts you can get at hotels?

I am thinking you should start a travel agency real soon.

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

Nice job getting the FPs. You were right.m they should have said something.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I have a few comments below.....

 

This is the outside of our building- our room is on the first floor, right through that opening you see there in the fence- the pool is directly across on the left, and the boat dock for transportation is straight ahead, just outside the area shown in the photo:

 

 

 

 

 

Those rooms have outside entrances??  I guess I thought the moderates had interior hallways.  I admit I'm not an expert on Disney hotels and have only stayed in a handful of them over the years....but I just don't like outside entrances and I thought only the values had those. 

 

 

 

We had to decide what to do about dinner. I voted for a beer and pretzel dog from Dockside Diner. Twin #1 and my older daughter outvoted me, and said we should just eat at the hotel. We had looked at the food court earlier, and they have added some new things to the menu. So, I didn't mind being outvoted.

 

The décor in this place, though, is freaky- and consists mainly of giant disembodied heads floating above the seating area:

 

 

We ate at that food court ONCE, and I thought it SMB.  Our food was very disappointing, and the giant heads freaked out the young ones (and me to be truthful). 

 

 

 

I swiped this photo from Twin #1's SnapChat later that evening:

 

 

 

Whoa!  Wait a minute....I thought the whole concept of SnapChat is that the pictures disappear after a set number of seconds.  Or was it retained on the sender's device?