Work, the Fort, Thousand Trails, more work, and new friends.

[ependydad...Doug 176]

WHEW.. how's that for a mouthful of a topic name. But, basically - we have started our fulltime RVing adventure. Coming off of the heels of my wife and my's anniversary trip, I didn't feel right taking another week off of work. Our plan was to get up early, do park stuff and then come back around lunchtime where I would work for the afternoon/evening and then we would head back out. That went poorly. Between lunch reservations, FastPasses, and simply not wanting to work while at the Fort- I finally gave in and asked off for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday was a holiday.

My memory is pretty well shot, so this is going to be a bit disjointed and likely out of order. With that, on with the show!

We debated coming in the back way to Fort Wilderness, but I wanted to get some main gate pictures (ahem, "for the kids"). We typically take 3 days to get to the Fort from Maryland- one very short evening, on very long day, and one short day. We finally knew we were there when we saw this:

Shortly followed by this:

You'll note that I'm in the wrong lane. I've since learned that the lanes to the right of the "M" do not have that silly center concrete curb. In a dually, you should always use that right-most lane. Or just straddle the curb.. but the mouse may not like you for that.

We had a Preferred site again. I like this location as it's easy to the boats. I had Jason put in a request for me (last minute email, "ohhh, hey... I'm too busy; can you put in some kind of request?"). He requested site #216 for us based on the Google Earth maps. But, it wasn't available, so they assigned me site #214. At the gate, I checked the app and panicked a little when it said "Backin: Difficult". My wife told me to not be a sissy.

Fortunately, the site across the street was unoccupied. I was all over that grass like a hippy on grass. Turned out to be easy parking. It would have been tricky with someone in that site, though.

Here we are:

We are at the very back of the pad:

I actually wanted to be slightly further back, but the tree behind us had some wasps nests in it. I didn't want to be touching the tree with the camper because of them.

Looking down the street:

If you look close, the 3rd vehicle is a white car. I figured out a little later that the car was parked in sand and quite stuck.

Here is my site's decoration:

You'll notice it is off. And that's because someone broke off their ground plug in the outlet. I ended up calling up front as we left the next morning about that and the wasps nests. They fixed the post plug, but apparently couldn't find the wasps nests as they were still there and active.

Our first day/evening at Disney was spent getting the camper in some order. Our moving out of the house and into the camper on my daughter's last day of school was a mad-dash, sprint/crash at the end. This picture amuses me & it happens to be the only picture of the day.

Our first park day was Magic Kingdom. My wife read that Magic Kingdom is the most busy on Mondays because people get there on the weekend and want a classic Disney experience the first day. Turns out, we're most people. Firstly, it was going to be HOT HOT HOT. Here's our prep:

Boat rides and snuggles:

Back in April, my daughter hurt her ankle/foot/something (I'm playing the dad card here) while we were hiking. It just hasn't gotten better and we were concerned about her being in pain walking around Disney. On the way down, we called Walker Mobility and rented a chair. I'm sure glad that we did.

The crowds weren't bad with us getting to the park at 10:45 (remember that plan of early arrival.. hahahaha):

We either went to the bathroom or went to the Sorcerer's thing, but as we were coming out- the Move It, Shake It parade was just beginning. My wife and kids got front row seats while I was stuck a bit back. See how it is? Leave Dad in the dust when it suits them...

And Phineas and Ferb (they're still my favorite):

You know you missed my selfies. Here we are at the castle:

Pre-selfie-stick ban:

We headed for the Jungle Cruise. We missed our FastPass window, but the guy at the handicap entrance took pity on us and let us ride right away.

Out walking around. Apparently I grew an arm out of my neck:

Sheesh, more selfies. Here we are on the wet chick ride:

We all took turns pushing the wheelchair. Here's little brother being a big helper:

Lunch was at Be Our Guest. I likely will never go here for breakfast based on reviews and likely won't be back for lunch. It was just OK. Nothing great, nothing terrible, and prices were fairly in-line with other quick service prices. I do love the atmosphere, though. I wanted to sit in the room with the rose, but daughter nixed that idea.

Here's our Mickey light lit up:

We went back out later that evening to watch the Main Street Electric parade. I honestly don't recall where dinner was had. It could have been back at the camper. No pictures means it didn't happen. Headed for the boat, the call of the sand was just too much for my son.

Going artsy. How many people do you think have that exact same shot? I'd bet alot.

We got to the FastPass area (which, I know that some feel like these are wasted FPs.. we really like the FPs for Wishes and MSEP):

Our neighbor told us about the hidden Mickey on the underside of the train station made out of the ceiling decorations:

No pictures of the parade as I covered it quite extensively last time. It was nice to put the camera down and just watch. :)

Afterwards, we headed back to the Laugh Factory. It's amazing how kids make friends with everyone near them. Here my son and another little boy played by driving my son's monorail back and forth:

However, my son wanted nothing to do with the show once we were inside. He was tired and plum didn't like the monsters. It started with Roz while we were in line. (Which is funny because he loves Monsters University.) I finally took him out of the show and sat outside while my wife and daughter finished up. As it would go- my daughter was shown on the screen. Grr. My son's a jerk.

Next up, we rode the People Mover:

From there, we said we were absolutely done for the night. No more rides. Except we walked past Buzz Lightyear with no wait...

[ependydad...Doug 176]

Just to wrap up this day, here was Buzz Lightyear. I was sad to see that the big Buzz had a big curtain blocking it:

As you can see, there is literally no one in front of us.

As you can see, she was a terribly sad prisoner:

Tomorrow we go to Animal Kingdom!

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

In :)

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

Haha... and I was first  :banana:

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

Okay... so, LOVE the shirts.  Super cute.

 

Your son's expression in the camper... priceless :)

 

Love the pic and you and your daughter in front of the castle.... along with the family pic while waiting for the fireworks; super cute :)

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

I'm in too.  Second!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Wow, another trip report!

 

I'm in.

 

There's something going on with the electric boxes at the Fort.  The last two sites I've stayed in both had dead electric outlets.  I had to call to the front desk, and they sent an electrician out right away, and he installed a new outlet both times. 

 

I guess they do that rather than routinely inspect them to make sure that they're working.

 

Seems like it is happening more than it should, though.

 

TCD

[alexwyattmommy 181]

Glad you weren't a sissy, ROFL.  Did you have any problems with the wasps?  We have allergies here, so I would not be a happy camper.

 

Great first day.

[momof3kids-Yvonne 596]

I'm in too.

[beccaewert 10]

Awesome! Just finished your other report and your onto another one!!!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

First page!!

[ependydad...Doug 176]

Haha... and I was first  :banana:

Congrats!

 

Okay... so, LOVE the shirts.  Super cute.

 

Your son's expression in the camper... priceless :)

 

Love the pic and you and your daughter in front of the castle.... along with the family pic while waiting for the fireworks; super cute :)

My wife did an awesome job on the shirts! He was too funny in the camper. I'm not sure what I said to get the face, but there it is for the world to see. :)

 

 

I'm in too.  Second!

 

Congrats, though being #2....

 

Wow, another trip report!

 

I'm in.

 

There's something going on with the electric boxes at the Fort.  The last two sites I've stayed in both had dead electric outlets.  I had to call to the front desk, and they sent an electrician out right away, and he installed a new outlet both times. 

 

I guess they do that rather than routinely inspect them to make sure that they're working.

 

Seems like it is happening more than it should, though.

Yes, another. I wasn't sure if I should continue the last one, just post a link to Flickr, or what. So here you go. A TR that covers 3 weeks.

 

I was a little surprised at how long it took for someone to come around. I feel like we called at 10 or 11am and they didn't come by until midafternoon. BUT- they came, they fixed it, and even plugged my light in for me. :) This was clearly some kind of abuse by the prior site occupant vs. just general wearing out of the outlet. But while they're cleaning the site between uses, it would only take another minute to plug in a tester.

 

Glad you weren't a sissy, ROFL.  Did you have any problems with the wasps?  We have allergies here, so I would not be a happy camper.

 

Great first day.

 

Yeah, she knows how to sweet talk me. The wasps were NO problem but we didn't spend much time outside of the camper. Our Fort trip ended up being very much like a hotel trip and we just used the camper like a room. I still haven't perfected the art of "hanging out at the Fort" like most of you all. :)

 

I'm in too.

Welcome!

 

Awesome! Just finished your other report and your onto another one!!!

I feel like this is stalking in a whole new light. But that's ok- stalkers are just fans. :)

 

 

First page!!

WOOT! I feel like I should post a bunch of posts just to make y'all feel special.

[ependydad...Doug 176]

We hit up the Tusker House in Animal Kingdom the next morning. I don't think we have ever eaten there before, so this was a nice new first. We were there for my son to meet the characters, but it was kind of neat to see that my daughter busted out a pad of paper for signatures and made sure to get one-on-one hugs and pictures. 11 turning 7 turning 17... the life of a pre-teen.

I have more pictures of the kids and characters on Flickr but I'll cherry pick a few cute ones. First, both of the kids and the mouse that started them all, Safari Mickey:

See, she's excited - even if she tries to not let on:

And all characters get a big squishy hug:

And Daisy:

And Donald:

And, last but not least, Goofy:

I do believe that we saw a few of the characters a couple of times. Either they're quick, or we're slow.

Family picture outside. You can see our modifications to the wheelchair- zip-tied towels on the arms and a towel draped over the back and seat. There's also a padded seat cushion; though this rental did have some padding that the WDW wheel chairs do not (this one was also a smaller/more narrow size for her). The Florida sun proved to be a challenge the day before.

After breakfast, we headed back to the safari. We were greeted with this line at FastPass:

There were next to no CMs keeping the line orderly or letting people know what the line was. That could have been done better. I never did find out what caused such a backup.

My daughter was all about taking pictures. Partly for herself, partly to send to friends, and partly for posting to her blog.

Incredibly old fake tree:

The construction that I reported last month is still going on:

And, yet again- I'm no TCD, so I don't know what or why or some interesting trivia about this. Sorry folks. My trip reports are pictures, maybe a tiny bit of humor, and more pictures. Read his if you want to learn stuff (which is what makes them awesome).

One of the few animals I can actually name- giraffes. I believe there is a young/"little" giraffe in this picture:

Yep, there it is:

(Ok, my shining TCD moment- a baby giraffe is called a calf. Boom. Knowledge-drop.)

Three hippos wrestling:

Elusive white rhino:

Lions:

And, sometimes they're cute. Here they're holding hands:

My wife and I remembered some petting area thing from our honeymoon. So we took the train back to the learning center. We passed the various animal houses (strangely, there were no drinking fratboys):

They brushed and petted only a few animals. The animals were mostly in their "resting/do not disturb" areas (because that's where the shade was!):

The boy was licked by a lion:

I was charged by an elephant:

To cool down, we did the only sensible thing and got an frozen drink:

Daughter and I were faced with another crazy long FastPass line at Expedition Everest. We decided to single-rider it. Here she goes!

My cousin asked if I could send post cards to her youngest daughter from each location. I begrudgingly agreed to it. Try to make sure that you read the Florida Facts (maybe click on it to zoom in):

It was at this point that I tried to live up to the original plan. I left the park and headed back to the camper. But first, I needed some energy for what turned out to be an epic walk:

First, I got lucky and went in the correct direction from where I was (near the Lion King Sing Along) and headed towards the exit. But truthfully, I can't navigate myself out of a paper bag. Armed with the map on the app, I punched in "Rainforest Cafe" and figured out where I needed to go- turn left at the Tree Of Plastic Leaves. Only, I got distracted at the people taking pictures with Photopass and other people walking through them that I didn't turn. After all but hitting Tusker House, I knew something was terribly awry. I opened the app, had to re-find Rainforest Cafe, and got turned back in the right direction. The next problem came when I got out of the gates. I legitimately had NO idea whatsoever where my truck was. I knew I was sort of near some kind of cast member/handicap/something special parking. I walked outwards for a while and then turned and walked for a while. I resorted to randomly pushing the panic button and was finally able to head across a road towards the blaring horn. Schmuckface.

Later tonight, we head to Downtown Disney for some food...

[alexwyattmommy 181]

Isn't that why we have the panic button on the key chain?

Love the state bird. ROFL

Your kids are adorable.

[momof3kids-Yvonne 596]

I have Tusker House reserved for breakfast during our October trip. I can't wait!

Your daughter looks to be very protective of her little brother. I am sure he bothers her at times, but you can see in her eyes she is a caring big sister.

Oh and I have been enjoying her blog. I still need to share it with my girls.

[ependydad...Doug 176]

Isn't that why we have the panic button on the key chain?

Love the state bird. ROFL

Your kids are adorable.

We're in Stone Mountain, GA. I now need to figure out witty things about Georgia. There's definitely going to be something to do with bad (well aggressive) drivers...

 

 

I have Tusker House reserved for breakfast during our October trip. I can't wait!

Your daughter looks to be very protective of her little brother. I am sure he bothers her at times, but you can see in her eyes she is a caring big sister.

Oh and I have been enjoying her blog. I still need to share it with my girls.

We enjoyed Tusker House. It was definitely about the characters, but the food was decent (we generally aren't fans of buffets). You're right about sister- she definite loves and protects little brother. Poor guy sometimes has 2 moms, but she means well.

Glad you've been enjoying her blog. She's doing a nice job with it!

[alexwyattmommy 181]

I do believe the Georgia state flag is painted on cut off jeans.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Great job on the funny comments, Doug.

 

And, you did a tremendous job with your Florida facts on that postcard.  LOL.

 

TCD

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

Yeah...Georgia drivers are. Not aggressive, they're idiots (and I can say this, as I'm from Washington State ). Seriously, each time we've been away and we're coming home and get close to the city I think, "ughh... I hate the drivers here".

Have fun at SM :)

Pics above are cute. Love that your sweet girl still gushes over the characters; gives me hope for Boo for another 3 years. Goes by sooooo fast.

[dblr....Rennie 224]

I'm in reading along at Thousand Trails Chesapeake Bay, Glad to see you posting the trip and will be reading along. Safe travels

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

Thank goodness for the panic button. Great pictures. Love seeing you love on your wife, makes me smile. My husband and I are the same way, fair warning for our TR.

[ependydad...Doug 176]

I do believe the Georgia state flag is painted on cut off jeans.

This is great! I'll definitely include this one. :)

 

 

Great job on the funny comments, Doug.

 

And, you did a tremendous job with your Florida facts on that postcard.  LOL.

I feel like they were fair and balanced. Nothing was a blatant lie...

 

 

Yeah...Georgia drivers are. Not aggressive, they're idiots (and I can say this, as I'm from Washington State ). Seriously, each time we've been away and we're coming home and get close to the city I think, "ughh... I hate the drivers here".

Have fun at SM :)

Pics above are cute. Love that your sweet girl still gushes over the characters; gives me hope for Boo for another 3 years. Goes by sooooo fast.

 

For me to call someone an aggressive drive is impressive. I hail from the Baltimore/DC area and drove in northern NJ right out of high school. But these Atlanta folks were something else...

 

I'm in reading along at Thousand Trails Chesapeake Bay, Glad to see you posting the trip and will be reading along. Safe travels

How is it there? I've heard mixed opinions on it. This trip was a fun one- especially with the newness of being in the camper full time.

Thank goodness for the panic button. Great pictures. Love seeing you love on your wife, makes me smile. My husband and I are the same way, fair warning for our TR.

Yes, that panic button was heaven-sent. I'm good in parking lots at malls and shopping centers; but these Disney lots get me more than I like to admit. The funny part was- another lost soul and I were walking up from different directions both doing it. At times I had to figure out if it was my horn or his that I was following!

And thanks for the kind words about us. I do adore her. We are people watchers and listeners- she was telling me about this nightmare of a couple at Blizzard Beach. The two parents and two kids, about 5-7 years old. The parents were bickering and fighting and at one point Mom made the statement to the kids, "it's because you dad doesn't love us, that's why." She said she couldn't believe it.

I couldn't imagine going through life unhappy. And I'm lucky that I love my wife like crazy. :) So, you go on with your cute lovey-dovey-ness of each other! It's the way to be!

[ependydad...Doug 176]

After I abandoned my family, they kept going at Animal Kingdom. I think they did the Not Frozen Lion King Singalong or something like that. And, really- I don't know what else. My wife doesn't take pictures, so you'll just have to believe me.

For dinner, we had reservations for That Famous Guy's Cafe Place. Driving to Downtown Disney sucks. We spent more time in that last 3/4 of a mile than we did in all of the miles leading up to it (the whole way from Maryland! ok, maybe just the campground). But still, there's no good way into this place. Fortunately the parking garage (not deck/landing/other incorrect name) is easily accessible for oversize vehicles. We found a spot on the first floor and parked over 2-spaces with no fuss.

It was raining, so we properly prepared:

I have no pictures of our restaurant or meals. But, they were underwhelming at best. The highlight of the meal was the fake allergic reaction one of the trio 20-somethings performed. He made a big deal about having an allergic reaction to nuts after having his meal. The waitress assured him that his meal had no peanuts. And the chef came out and assured him that there were no nuts on that side of the kitchen. And magically he was better. The funniest part was the waitress in the midst of her concern and frustration blurted, "But I asked you IF YOU HAD ANY ALLERGIES?!"

Anyway, moving along - we went into and promptly out of the Candy Cauldron. Way too many people in way too small of a shop.

And then we waited for a boat to take us to the far side of DTD.

While we waited, it started to thunder and then lightning in the distance. Two boats came, filled, and went. But, we had a cool view:

We were to be on the third boat when we noticed boat #2 was literally just circling down by the other end and then back near our dock and circling around. By this point it was after 8pm and I had work the next day. We broke the news to my very disappointed daughter that we wouldn't be shopping.

But, we got to see fireworks on the way (and 2 resulting accidents):

I'm out of time, so I have to stop there. The next morning, I had my first ever breakfast at Trails End. :)

[dblr....Rennie 224]

Doug, We really like the Chesapeake Preserve it is one of our favorite TT Parks, we usually try for a site that overlooks the river after the lake, only 30 amp sites but cooler and more shade so it works just fine. I would put it on your to do list to visit, around a 40 minute ride to Williamsburg but better then the park there.

[ependydad...Doug 176]

As mentioned, our next morning started with breakfast at Trails End. While we waited, we played with the hula hoops, the horseshoes, and ultimately made our way over to the playground.

Wanting to make sure I wasn't weighed down with heavy foods, I was careful about what I picked for breakfast. Nothing greasy, nothing heavy, and made sure that my sugars came from fruits.

I added some detail to the kid's placemat while letting my extremely healthy breakfast digest a little.

After breakfast, I went looking for a Fiend. I didn't find him, but I did find his gorgeous sign. But first, I saw this Fort Wilderness/Musket Mickey sign:

And then I found it:

There are no 2 ways about it. This sign really is a work of art:

After breakfast, we headed into Hollywood Studios. The last trip, we kept missing the Disney Junior stage show. My son is a huge fan. Fortunately, this time around - we made it. First, there was Mickey Mouse Clubhouse:

And then Sophia the First:

Followed by Doc McStuffings:

(Did you ever notice that the cast of characters on Doc McStuffings closerly mirrors the show Becker. You have the doctor (male vs. female in this case), the sassy black woman nurse, the ditzy airhead assistant, and than the "special" patients).

Lost Boys (not the vampire kind):

And then we decided to wait for a visit with Baymax. First, here's a picture of son, daughter, and giraffe. For some reason, giraffe needed to be in the picture.

And this handsome devil:

Visiting with Baymax was pretty neat. They did a great job on this character. And it's always nice visiting characters who can talk. Hiro (spelling?) did a great job and was a lot of fun.

You'll notice, my son wanted NOTHING to do with Baymax. Big and intimidating, he was.

But, I wanted in on that action. Hiro does a fun job of posing you:

Safe with Mom is good:

Well, hmm... maybe Mom can protect me. This guy is kind of cool:

Well, ok- everyone gets a hug! The Photopass photographer was taking these photos and missed the actual hug with my camera. I need to check the PP+ photos online; maybe it's there.

Moving right along, we did a 3D attraction. I thought it was Toy Story, but based on the picture after it, it might have been Muppets. I honestly can't remember... Where in the world?

This is clearly not a ride vehicle. So, maybe it was Muppets.

One stupid little point of Disney magic for me is seeing the minor changes. When we were here last month, they had just added letters for Mr. Gold's shop. This time around, they had props in the windows. My wife was able to tell me what most of these things were and how they related to the story. She seemed interested.

Some close-ups (terribly hard to photo). But, the book:

A box.. I think it holds someone's heart, maybe?

We went back to wait for Mike and Sully. But, as my standard luck has it- when we walked up, they had to go inside for a quick break. My son was way more interested in chasing the dozens of lizards back this way. We bailed.

Next up was The Fast And Furiously Bourne Identity. The handicap seating area is pretty nice- but a fair warning that we found out later; only 6 people of your group are allowed to go. We enjoy the stunt show, but seem to have a knack for making it rain any time we go to see it. Today was no different... the clouds are rolling in:

Family selfie:

My daughter dislikes fireworks. Apparently my son dislikes other loud noises (though, fireworks- no matter how loud, are just fine). Crazy loud music is always fine. I don't get my kids, but I do get them hunting ear muffs.

And, sure 'nuff- rained out.

We waited out the rain for as long as we could and finally bailed. We had dinner reservations at Cape May Cafe. I always wondered if this was a punishment job for the CMs- "here, go push water around while it is still raining!".

Super exciting and a first-ever sighting (for me) coming up next. You won't believe my excitement when a simple reservation for dinner turns into this.