Surprise, Santa, and a Shiny new AP Holder… A GDF Trip Report

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I like your fire pit.  I also don't have one, as I didn't want something else to have to bring along and store when I got home.  Also, I like my campfires to be out in open and on the ground, the way they're supposed to be.  You've got me thinking, though.

 

Being able to hear the Settlement Christmas music from you hammock is pretty darned awesome.

 

I'm sorry that your attempt to see the castle lighting got rained out.  I hope you got another chance later.

 

Boat trouble?  That doesn't sound fun.

 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Another great update, Kelly!

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

Short, but fun evening! Sorry the rain sent you running

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

Really like the fire place. One of the complaints is that it is super small. How much wood does it hold?

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

Really like the fire place. One of the complaints is that it is super small. How much wood does it hold?

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

Love the selfie of you three... and the picture of the castle lit up.  Nice :)

[Cortezcapt (Derek) 156]

Sounds like a great trip so far.

I have been looking at that fire pit for a while now and habe it saved on my amazon wish list. Cant wait to get a fiend review of it. Does it seem like something that will last?

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

Sounds like a great trip so far.

I have been looking at that fire pit for a while now and habe it saved on my amazon wish list. Cant wait to get a fiend review of it. Does it seem like something that will last?

I read some of the reviews on Amazon and someone said theirs lasted 10 years. I put mine on my wish list too. Honestly we would only use it periodically as most places allow fires in a pit. Camping in the winter at the Fort can be unpredictable so I think it would be well worth it during those times. 

[Cortezcapt (Derek) 156]

I read some of the reviews on Amazon and someone said theirs lasted 10 years. I put mine on my wish list too. Honestly we would only use it periodically as most places allow fires in a pit. Camping in the winter at the Fort can be unpredictable so I think it would be well worth it during those times.

One of the reasons I havent bought it yet is Im afraid it will be to small and that we will only use it at the fort.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Boy, howdy....it sure did pour a couple of times during that week. 

 

Yeah, there was A LOT of rain that night. 

 

Rain SMB.

The hammock time sounds good. The only thing that would make it better is a tasty beverage in tow.

 

No worries, I also had a tasty beverage. 

 

The hammock with Settlement Christmas music does sound like heaven.

 

It was! 

 

I like your fire pit.  I also don't have one, as I didn't want something else to have to bring along and store when I got home.  Also, I like my campfires to be out in open and on the ground, the way they're supposed to be.  You've got me thinking, though.

 

Being able to hear the Settlement Christmas music from you hammock is pretty darned awesome.

 

I'm sorry that your attempt to see the castle lighting got rained out.  I hope you got another chance later.

 

Boat trouble?  That doesn't sound fun.

 

TCD

 

I'll have to post a picture of it all compacted. It's really small. Jason was initially not that excited about it, but once he saw it in person, he changed his mind. 

 

Another great update, Kelly!

 

Thanks!

 

Short, but fun evening! Sorry the rain sent you running

 

The evening isn't finished yet... It took us awhile to get back to the Fort. 

 

Really like the fire place. One of the complaints is that it is super small. How much wood does it hold?

 

I think we would put about 5 logs in it and then add them. We brought our standard firewood from home. Jason was worried we'd have to cut it, but we didn't. 

 

Love the selfie of you three... and the picture of the castle lit up.  Nice :)

 

I love those too! 

 

Sounds like a great trip so far.

I have been looking at that fire pit for a while now and habe it saved on my amazon wish list. Cant wait to get a fiend review of it. Does it seem like something that will last?

 

At this point, I do think it will last. Ours came with a small dent in it, but we didn't see that until we got to the Fort, and neither of us really cared, so we kept it. We REALLY enjoyed having it, more so than we thought. 

 

I read some of the reviews on Amazon and someone said theirs lasted 10 years. I put mine on my wish list too. Honestly we would only use it periodically as most places allow fires in a pit. Camping in the winter at the Fort can be unpredictable so I think it would be well worth it during those times. 

 

That's exactly what we were thinking! 

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

One of the reasons I havent bought it yet is Im afraid it will be to small and that we will only use it at the fort.

 

It's not too small. It's smaller, but a perfect size for what we wanted it for. We'll probably only use it at the Fort because we have a built in fire pit at home and most other sites where we camp have fire rings, but I'm OK with that. 

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

In all my 28 years of camping, we've never had a fire anywhere.  But I have to admit we've been at the fort several times when it would be so nice!

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

In all my 28 years of camping, we've never had a fire anywhere.  But I have to admit we've been at the fort several times when it would be so nice!

 

WHAT?!?!? You've never had a campfire?!?! I can't imagine that. Do you guys only camp at the Fort?

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

WHAT?!?!? You've never had a campfire?!?! I can't imagine that. Do you guys only camp at the Fort?

 

Usually only at the fort and at Ocean Lakes in Myrtle Beach.  And we don't go to MB when it's cold.

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

I personally won't start a fire at my own site when I'm by myself. So much easier to just turn on the little propane heater. 

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Usually only at the fort and at Ocean Lakes in Myrtle Beach.  And we don't go to MB when it's cold.

 

We even make a fire at the lake in the summer. There's nothing like yapping and relaxing at a fire. 

 

I personally won't start a fire at my own site when I'm by myself. So much easier to just turn on the little propane heater. 

 

Awwwww.... it's just not the same. 

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Well, let’s get to what was probably the least magical part of our trip, the boat ride back to the Fort on the 21^st. As I’ve already said, it was raining pretty hard.

 

We headed out of the MK… note all the ponchos.

 

 

We get to the dock, and the line is pretty long. But, eventually a big boat flying the green flag pulls up. I figure we have a chance to get on.

 

 

But there’s a problem. Because of the weather, all small boats are suspended. There was a small boat picking up the Lodge people, so they have them get off and decide they board 50 Fort guests and 50 Lodge guests.

 

Guess who was the cut off. Yep, us. Awesome. We have to wait for the next boat. Z says he has to go to the bathroom. Before they pull off, I asked the CM if the shared boats were going to the Fort or Lodge first (really knowing the answer). The Lodge. There’s no way Z is going to be able to wait for another boat, take it to the Lodge, then get to the Fort bathroom. Crap. The CM tells me to take him up to the restroom near guest services. We’ll have plenty of time before the next boat.

 

So I did.

 

Side note… These people are awesome. They’re together with 2 double strollers blocking most of the walkway.

 

 

Thanks folks!

 

When we get back, Jason lets us know that after we left, they came back and let 10 more people on the boat. Awesome! We missed that too.

 

Then, the small boat originally going to the Lodge was allowed to leave with passengers. Still no Fort boat.

 

We wait a bit longer. Here comes a big boat!

 

 

Yep, it’s flying a red flag. It needed to pick up all the people going to the Lodge.

 

 

Well hey, there were a few waiting!

 

Never mind all people waiting in the line to go to the Fort.

 

 

They were really going to board them and take them to the Lodge. At this point, I was pretty frustrated. But I tried to put on my nice face when I called a CM over. I explained that a Fort only boat had arrived, and they filled it with half Lodge people to accommodate them because the small boat couldn’t run. Then, the small boat was allowed to run. It didn’t seem fair that they were going to send a big boat to the Lodge with a few people on it while we all waited. They should split their boat too. The guy pretty much said sorry; that’s what was happening.

 

People in line were PISSED. But the boat didn’t move.

 

After a couple of minutes, they told us that they were going to make this a split boat too. Yay!

 

However, that was not the end of our fun. When we got to the Lodge, someone on a scooter boarded. They needed to go to the Contemporary. So sorry folks, we’re going to the Contemporary next. I took a deep breath. It was good that Z had peed. LOL

 

After all that fun, Jason and I decided that we weren’t going to cook. We’d get a GAG. Z was soaked, so Jason would take him back to the RV, and I would wait on the food. That was another great thing about being in the 100 loop. We could just split up and walk.

 

I ordered our food and decided I’d earned a drink after that fiasco.

 

Crockett’s has a new Moonshine menu, and I chose the Gullywhumper.

 

 

It was pretty good.

 

 

I headed back with our GAG that included 2 buckets of chicken because all white means all breasts.

 

 

It was pretty heavy on the way back!

 

We enjoyed dinner in the RV because of the rain.

 

 

So that’s the end of a great day with a crappy ending. Monday, December 22^nd is up next. It’s a full day that begins at Epcot and ends at DHS... yep we’re going to park hop, a first with Z. Highlights include Biergarten with the DIT family, the Candlelight Processional, and the Osborne Lights.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

For those interested, here's a picture of the fire pit broken down. The fire pit grate, grilling surface, screen sides, and legs are inside. 

 

[Cortezcapt (Derek) 156]

For those interested, here's a picture of the fire pit broken down. The fire pit grate, grilling surface, screen sides, and legs are inside. 

Wow that does pack up small, would fit perfect in our little (hopefully soon to be bigger) trailer. Hmm I'll have to start hint for my birthday. Haha

 

  

We even make a fire at the lake in the summer. There's nothing like yapping and relaxing at a fire. 

 

 

Awwwww.... it's just not the same.

We like fires anytime, for the same reason great to sit around and chat. Although ones at home seem to always turn into big fires instead of the nice small ones that are planned.

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

That boat ride back to the fort was a nightmare.

Love the fire pit

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

That fire pit looks cool!  We might look into that

[parrothead7368 aka Norm 101]

That drink does sound good, but Ole Smokey moonshine is only 40 proof. I have some nice 90 proof peach moonshine that would mix nicely with the pineapple and cranberry juice.

 

Best Regards,

Norm

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Man, I hate hearing about things like what you experienced at the boat dock.  Unfortunately, we've had a few experiences like that over the years.  I hate it when they blatantly give the Lodge guests preferential treatment over us filthy campers.  But, what can you do?

 

TCD

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

  

We like fires anytime, for the same reason great to sit around and chat. Although ones at home seem to always turn into big fires instead of the nice small ones that are planned.

 

We have a built-in fire pit at home. We've been known to have some VERY large fires there. Jason is currently looking forward to his favorite fire of the year, the burning of the Christmas tree. It's outside drying out a bit, so it will put on a spectacular show. 

 

That boat ride back to the fort was a nightmare.

Love the fire pit

 

It was a nightmare! But, that was really the only bad part of the trip, so I can deal with that.

 

The fire pit rocks. 

 

That fire pit looks cool!  We might look into that

 

It's very cool! 

 

That drink does sound good, but Ole Smokey moonshine is only 40 proof. I have some nice 90 proof peach moonshine that would mix nicely with the pineapple and cranberry juice.

 

Best Regards,

Norm

 

Whoooo! You'll have to make me one of those some day. 

 

Man, I hate hearing about things like what you experienced at the boat dock.  Unfortunately, we've had a few experiences like that over the years.  I hate it when they blatantly give the Lodge guests preferential treatment over us filthy campers.  But, what can you do?

 

TCD

 

Luckily, they did finally agree to take us too. But I was not a happy camper that night. 

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Sorry to hear you had such a hard time getting back to the fort.

 

I'm surprised that Crockett's posted prices on the sign.  Last time we were there, the bartender didn't even know the price of a drink.  She had to ring it up on the register to find out.