Another July 4 at the Fort TCD TR 2015

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I have seen a wedding couple in a park once, but they were accompanied by a photographer:

 

 

And what's up with Prince Philip fighting the dragon?  I've never seen that.

 

I know that you can pay for the privilege of having wedding photos taken in the parks, but I thought they prohibited regular guests from wearing wedding attire and taking their own photos.  But, maybe that has changed -read on.

 

It must depend on where you watch the parade, but on Main Street, the crew with the dragon goes through a whole choreographed routine where Philip fights through the guys on stilts, and then waves his wooden sword menacingly at the dragon.  Just once, I'd like to see the Dragon Pilot light Philip up, but so far that hasn't happened.

 

Since you can have a Disney wedding it doesn't surprise me that you could have pictures taken within the parks if you've paid enough money.

 

Right, Disney charges Big Bucks for their weddings.  Which is why I thought they didn't let regular schmucks show up and take free photos in their wedding gear.

 

The official Disney Wedding website says exactly that:

 

             Q- Can I wear my wedding dress into the theme parks?

             A- For the safety of all parties involved, we do not allow wedding attire in our theme parks. You can, however, wear your wedding attire to any restaurant at Walt Disney World Resort or Downtown Disney area.

 

https://www.disneyweddings.com/florida/memories/faq/

 

But the official list of what is and isn't allowed, which is where most people would look to see what they're allowed to wear, doesn't say anything about wedding attire:

 

Proper attire, including shoes and shirts, must be worn at all times. We reserve the right to deny admission to or remove any person wearing attire that we consider inappropriate or attire that could detract from the experience of other Guests. Visible tattoos that could be considered inappropriate, such as those containing objectionable language or designs, are not permitted. Special events may have additional attire guidelines.

 

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/park-rules/

 

So, I don't know what is and isn't allowed. 

 

TCD

[keith_h 420]

But we don't know if these folks are regular schmucks or not. Just because they had a Photopass photographer take some pictures doesn't mean it wasn't part of their package.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

But we don't know if these folks are regular schmucks or not. Just because they had a Photopass photographer take some pictures doesn't mean it wasn't part of their package.

 

My understanding of the wedding photo thing is that the folks who pay for it have a photographer assigned to them, and they go in the parks and take their photos.  Then they leave.  They don't get to walk around the parks in the wedding gear- just like it says on the one official website.

 

So, I say those were regular schmucks.

 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

 

It must depend on where you watch the parade, but on Main Street, the crew with the dragon goes through a whole choreographed routine where Philip fights through the guys on stilts, and then waves his wooden sword menacingly at the dragon.  Just once, I'd like to see the Dragon Pilot light Philip up, but so far that hasn't happened.

 

 

I just looked through my FOF parade pictures which were taken from almost exactly where you were sitting -- but no Philip!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I just looked through my FOF parade pictures which were taken from almost exactly where you were sitting -- but no Philip!

 

Really?  No Philip at all?

 

Maybe the Dragon Pilot lit him up back in Frontierland, and he had to go to First Aid?

 

J/K, there are lots of times that we've watched the parade and performers are missing.  Like once recently, that giant mime was missing.  Other times,  a character or two were missing.  I'm sure they only have so many CM's who can play Philip, and if someone calls in sick or whatever, the show must go on.

 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Sorry.  Ghost haunted me again.

[PrincessNana 15]

we used it. we may have been the only ones ... but we used it! 

When we went to dinner on July 4th, that was the only place they let us park. Everything else was blocked off with cones and they had cm' s directing traffic into the new parking area.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

I think Philip has always been in the parade when I've seen it. 

 

A cord coming from a fairy? Where was it going? 

[FEARtheEERS 18]

I love everything about a TCD trip report, but my absolute favorite part is the morning solo walking tours of the Fort and the observations and commentary.

Great stuff. We should really market this stuff to expand the readership.

I agree! Honest snooping is the best.

[FEARtheEERS 18]

I have seen a wedding couple in a park once, but they were accompanied by a photographer:

And what's up with Prince Philip fighting the dragon? I've never seen that.

I'm jealous I haven't seen this either, but we haven't watched a parade other than the mvmcp parade in a very long time.

[FEARtheEERS 18]

I have seen a wedding couple in a park once, but they were accompanied by a photographer:

And what's up with Prince Philip fighting the dragon? I've never seen that.

I'm jealous I haven't seen this either, but we haven't watched a parade other than the mvmcp parade in a very long time.

[Travisma 1,317]

I know that you can pay for the privilege of having wedding photos taken in the parks, but I thought they prohibited regular guests from wearing wedding attire and taking their own photos.  But, maybe that has changed -read on.

 

It must depend on where you watch the parade, but on Main Street, the crew with the dragon goes through a whole choreographed routine where Philip fights through the guys on stilts, and then waves his wooden sword menacingly at the dragon.  Just once, I'd like to see the Dragon Pilot light Philip up, but so far that hasn't happened.

 

 

Right, Disney charges Big Bucks for their weddings.  Which is why I thought they didn't let regular schmucks show up and take free photos in their wedding gear.

 

The official Disney Wedding website says exactly that:

 

             Q- Can I wear my wedding dress into the theme parks?

             A- For the safety of all parties involved, we do not allow wedding attire in our theme parks. You can, however, wear your wedding attire to any restaurant at Walt Disney World Resort or Downtown Disney area.

 

https://www.disneyweddings.com/florida/memories/faq/

 

But the official list of what is and isn't allowed, which is where most people would look to see what they're allowed to wear, doesn't say anything about wedding attire:

 

Proper attire, including shoes and shirts, must be worn at all times. We reserve the right to deny admission to or remove any person wearing attire that we consider inappropriate or attire that could detract from the experience of other Guests. Visible tattoos that could be considered inappropriate, such as those containing objectionable language or designs, are not permitted. Special events may have additional attire guidelines.

 

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/park-rules/

 

So, I don't know what is and isn't allowed. 

 

TCD

So Wedding Dresses are unsafe for all parties at the MK.

But SUV sized strollers and EZ Go carts running over feet and kids are OK

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

So Wedding Dresses are unsafe for all parties at the MK.

But SUV sized strollers and EZ Go carts running over feet and kids are OK

 

Exactly!   I laughed out loud when I read, "for the safety of all parties involved".  Safety....what exactly is going to happen?  It's not about safety it's about money, but the parent's of that bride would probably say, "Hey...do you know how much this thing cost??  I hope she wears it for days, everywhere she goes!"  :)

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

Oh... and the shoe tree.  Of course I've seen it several times, but I don't know the story behind it.  Why are there shoes all over it??

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

When we went to dinner on July 4th, that was the only place they let us park. Everything else was blocked off with cones and they had cm' s directing traffic into the new parking area.

 

What time of night was that?  We went by that parking area both on the night of the 3rd (around 7:45) and the 4th (around 8:45), and there was the same mean CM standing right in the middle of the path in not letting anyone in the lot, and it was practically empty.  As will soon be told, Twin #1 made a GAG run for us on the 3rd, and was also denied access to that parking lot at around 6:30 pm.

 

I think Philip has always been in the parade when I've seen it. 

 

A cord coming from a fairy? Where was it going? 

 

I was wondering if maybe Prince Philip was added some time after the parade debuted, but I dug into the TCD archives, and found my photos from the very first performance of FOF back in March, 2014, and Philip was there.  But the fairies didn't have their fancy floating dresses yet:

 

 

 

I agree! Honest snooping is the best.

 

I prefer to simply call it exploring.  As my official Fort Wilderness t-shirt says, the Fort is a "Great Place to Get Lost."

 

I'm jealous I haven't seen this either, but we haven't watched a parade other than the mvmcp parade in a very long time.

 

You've never seen the Festival of Fantasy parade?  You need to fix that.

 

So Wedding Dresses are unsafe for all parties at the MK.

But SUV sized strollers and EZ Go carts running over feet and kids are OK

 

That's just an abbreviated statement of the truth. The complete statement is: "Guests wearing wedding dresses in the parks create a danger to our bottom line and may cut into the obscene profits we rake in from our Fairy Tale Wedding^TM division."

 

Exactly!   I laughed out loud when I read, "for the safety of all parties involved".  Safety....what exactly is going to happen?  It's not about safety it's about money, but the parent's of that bride would probably say, "Hey...do you know how much this thing cost??  I hope she wears it for days, everywhere she goes!"   :)

 

Yup, it's always about the money.

 

Oh... and the shoe tree.  Of course I've seen it several times, but I don't know the story behind it.  Why are there shoes all over it??

 

The story I've heard is that WDW boat captains who retire tie their shoes together and throw them in the tree. That doesn't explain the tetherball that's up there in the high branches.  That is probably from that prankster Walt.

 

About 10 years ago, some idiot manager ordered all of the shoes removed, and for a few years the shoe tree was shoeless.  But the shoes slowly came back.

 

TCD

[FEARtheEERS 18]

We have seen it, we just haven't actually sat down to watch a parade in a very long time. We won't sit down in advance and won't fight the crowd for a viewing spot. We are spoiled maybe.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

We have seen it, we just haven't actually sat down to watch a parade in a very long time. We won't sit down in advance and won't fight the crowd for a viewing spot. We are spoiled maybe.

 

I understand.  Parades do require a big time commitment.  And, you miss some shorter line rides while so many people are watching the parade.  We never were big parade watchers, but we really like FOF, and now we are parade people.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Let's move on.

 

We left off with the afternoon of July 3.  We spent some time at the MK, and then came back to hang at the Fort.  We did some looping, and then it was time to eat.

 

We voted, and decided to get a Giddyap and Go chicken dinner from Trail's End Take Out.

 

Twin #1 went to get it, and came back with the chicken and a report that they had spent the whole afternoon placing cones all around the Settlement area, and had stationed CM's around telling guests where to park.  A CM at the entrance to the Pioneer Hall parking lot would not let her in to park there even though she assured the CM that she was only there to fetch a take-out meal, and there were only a few carts in the new, ugly, giant lot.  They couldn't park at the marina either-they had to park in the grass by the playground and walk from there.

 

Dumb.

 

The plan tonight was to hit the MK to see the 4th of July fireworks.  Those are performed on July 3 as well, and it's a lot less life threatening to go to the MK on the 3rd rather than the 4th.  We visited the MK for the actual 4th of July fireworks last year, and none of us had fond memories of that.  I still was willing to go on the 4th, even though some of the TCD gang were against that idea.  But, we all agreed to go on the 3rd.

 

We knew we needed to allow plenty of time, so we left the campsite at about 7:10 pm, and headed to the marina.

 

When we got to the Settlement, an IR was there to mess up the traffic flow.  Unlike years past, though, they weren't sending everyone to park behind Pioneer Hall.  They were sending everyone down the regular path to the marina, and on we went.  On the way there, Twin #1 pointed out the mean CM who was still on duty blocking access to the nearly empty Pioneer Hall parking lot.  I didn't want to park there anyway- I was hoping for a spot close to the dock, and I saw some open.  But, I couldn't get there.  There were more cones and another CM blocking access to those spots.  We were told to keep it moving.  So, on we went.  We got to the field next to the playground, but there was another CM there to tell us we couldn't park there either.  At this point, I had everyone get off the cart and head to the boat, as it was clear that we were going to have to park far away.  I forgot to mention that as we pulled up to park, we saw the MK boat was at the dock and guests were disembarking.  There was a short line of guests waiting to board, so we knew we had to get there quick or we would miss that boat.

 

I followed the directions of another CM who directed me to park way down past the sidewalk to Clementine's Beach, almost to the River Country entrance.  This was after I had been directed past all kinds of open spaces where I could have parked.  The obvious plan was to fill up the furthest spots first.  Which was great for the folks who would be arriving later.  But, does it make sense to punish the people who plan ahead and come early to beat the crowds?  Anyway, I parked quick and hurried to get to the boat, as I was afraid that by this point it would be loaded and ready to go.  I've seen heartless boat captains untie and leave when guests are walking up the dock, like they're on some kind of strict schedule or something.

 

Even though I was in a hurry, I stopped for this one photo, just so you can see the extreme cone placement that went on for this 4th of July:

 

 

Seriously, why is that necessary?  They had to pay people to bring all of those cones here, and place them, and then to pick them back up after the 4th.  And why?  There were cones like this all over the Settlement area.  My golf cart parking space is way in the background and to the right in this photo.

 

From there, I hustled across the beach, and fast-walked down the dock.   The CM who was in charge of untying the boat saw my coming, and, thankfully, waited for me.

 

It was a hot and humid evening, and it was stuffy in the boat.  There were no more seats open, so I made my way through all of the people blocking the aisle, and went out to the back of the boat, where, suddenly, there was a really nice and cool breeze blowing.

 

That cool breeze was ushering in some really dark clouds:

 

 

Then, the wind really started blowing, and those clouds were coming at us fast:

 

 

 

There were a bunch of folks who had set up chairs on the beach for later, but no one was out on the beach:

 

 

The wind really picked up.  The flag on the back of the boat was whipping around:

 

 

I could see a wall of rain approaching, and decided I had better head back in to the cabin, as the rain would be coming in horizontally.  I made it in just as the rain hit.  You can see that the wind was blowing up small whitecaps on the lake:

 

 

According to the time stamps on my photos, I boarded the boat at 7:23 pm.

 

The storm hit at 7:26, and even though I was the last to board, we hadn't left the dock.

 

When the storm hit, the boat captain told us that he was going to wait here at the dock until visibility cleared up.

 

It seems like we stayed there forever.

 

The other MK boat pulled up, docked on the resort boat side of the dock,and let its passengers off, and other guests now were boarding that boat.  After that, they sat too. 

 

Our boat had Wilderness Lodge people on it.  They were sharing the route at this time of day.  That meant that both boats they had running were now parked at the Fort.  I imagine there were some very wet guests waiting for the boats at the Lodge.

 

Even though the storm let up in intensity pretty quickly, we still sat for what seemed like a really long time.

 

We didn't leave the dock until 7:53.  In all, we sat there for 30 minutes.  The other boat left the dock right after us, and pulled up at the Lodge side at the MK right after us.

 

It was soggy at the MK when we finally got there.  The fireworks were supposed to be at 9, and it was now after 8.  I thought that meant we wouldn't be able to find a space on Main Street, but it really wasn't that crowded.

 

I had tried to get FP+'s for the fireworks on both the 3rd and the 4th, but they were never offered.  I figured they were going to let VIP's use the FP areas.  But, when we got there, we found that the FP+ areas were open, and anyone could walk in there.  So we did.  Here's how things looked in there at 8:18 pm,  about 45 minutes before the big show:

 

 

It was just lightly drizzling at this point- and you can see that some guests were even sitting on the wet fake grass:

 

 

 

A few minutes before 9, an announcement came over the PA to tell us that the fireworks were going to be delayed.  No one left at that point.  But, then there were several other similar announcements, about every 10 to 15 minutes, and we kept waiting.  But a lot of people started to leave.  The rain picked up some, and we broke out the ponchos and settled in to some good viewing spots.

 

At 9:30, we got our hopes up when they dimmed the lights, but that was just false hope, as the now familiar announcement was made again:

 

 

And we waited.

 

And waited some more.

 

It really wasn't crowded in the FP+ viewing area by then.  I figure that a lot of guests didn't realize that you didn't need a FP tonight, so they didn't bother trying to come in.

 

Everyone in our group was in good spirits, and the time passed quickly.

 

There were further announcements, and it wasn't until the odd hour of 10:22 that the narration for the fireworks finally began.  There was no announcement to tell us that the fireworks were finally going to start almost an hour and a half late. They just started:

 

 

 

For the 4th of July, they set off two identical sets of fireworks that are perfectly synchronized.  I still am not sure who this is supposed to benefit.  If you're in the MK in front of the castle, you can't see the fireworks being shot off behind you:

 

 

the castle was lit up red, white and blue, but it doesn't look like that in this photo:

 

 

Another look at the fireworks behind us:

 

 

For the 4th of July fireworks, like they do for some other special occasions, they shoot off perimeter fireworks.  I don't have any good photos of them to share, but they never fail to impress me.  Tonight's were no different.  The 4th of July fireworks show is my favorite of all the fireworks displays they do at WDW.  And, tonight's show was worth the time and trouble it took for us to see.

 

After the fireworks, we rode rides.  The park was still going to be open until 1 am, with EMH's until 3 am to follow.  We used to be all over 3 am EMH nights, but none of us were feeling it tonight.  We were wet, and it was still kind of crowded.  And, we had to be up to see the golf cart parade and go to breakfast at Trail's End in the morning.  So, we bailed before it was even 1 am.  It's too bad, too, because the crowds were really thinning out by then.  Our cart, which we had a long hike to get to, was one of the last ones left anywhere around the marina.

 

When we got back to the cart, we did some late night looping.  But nobody was up.  Not even on the 2000 loop.  That rain sucked all the fun out of the night.

 

That was it for the 3rd.

 

We will be starting early on the 4th.

 

Next up will be some early morning July 4th photos.

 

And then a lot of photos of red, white and blue golf carts.

 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

That really stinks about the rain and the long wait.  Also the parking situation.  

[jmaul 65]

 

 

 

TCD

 

 

This photo makes me want to veer to one side or the other and take out the entire row..........With a rented cart.........And my 10 year old driving it....

 

 

Not much pixie dust on your parking, travels, or fireworks start.   But, you made it.

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

The orange cones make me laugh. Lined up that way really does make you want to knock over just a few to screw up someone's OCD. Better yet just nudge a few into the sand. On a different note the fireworks are amazing. I had the privilege of enjoying them one time as a kid. I am not sure what I remember the most however, the fireworks or the frightening mob of people afterwards.

[Avatab.... Steve 124]

Someone must be getting paid by the cone......

 

or maybe Mngmnt said "lets spread some pixie dust on a hot day, Ice cream cones for everyone!"  And by the time the order came down thru middle mngmt it read: "lets spread some cow manure on a hot day, Safety Cones for everyone!"

[CeciliaKy 1]

What time of day/night did you park there on the 4th?  I parked there for breakfast at Trail's End, but that evening, they had all of the cones set up and CM's directing guests where to park.  It looked to me that they were saving that lot for the latest guests to arrive, and were directing everyone else to the field area around the Settlement playground.

 

 

early/breakfast time. we filled our mugs and ske-daddled  

[PrincessNana 15]

What time of night was that?  We went by that parking area both on the night of the 3rd (around 7:45) and the 4th (around 8:45), and there was the same mean CM standing right in the middle of the path in not letting anyone in the lot, and it was practically empty.  As will soon be told, Twin #1 made a GAG run for us on the 3rd, and was also denied access to that parking lot at around 6:30 pm.

 

I think we got down there about 5:30 or 6:00. Our reservation was for 7:00 pm at Artist Point and we were trying to beat the rain. When we finished dinner, they had all the boats closed down for the fireworks so we took the bus back to the fort. It was great....it went directly from the lodge, down that back road to pioneer hall. Sorry, I don't know how to navigate through multiple quotes.

 

I was wondering if maybe Prince Philip was added some time after the parade debuted, but I dug into the TCD archives, and found my photos from the very first performance of FOF back in March, 2014, and Philip was there.  But the fairies didn't have their fancy floating dresses yet:

 

 

 

 

I prefer to simply call it exploring.  As my official Fort Wilderness t-shirt says, the Fort is a "Great Place to Get Lost."

 

 

You've never seen the Festival of Fantasy parade?  You need to fix that.

 

 

That's just an abbreviated statement of the truth. The complete statement is: "Guests wearing wedding dresses in the parks create a danger to our bottom line and may cut into the obscene profits we rake in from our Fairy Tale Wedding^TM division."

 

 

Yup, it's always about the money.

 

 

The story I've heard is that WDW boat captains who retire tie their shoes together and throw them in the tree. That doesn't explain the tetherball that's up there in the high branches.  That is probably from that prankster Walt.

 

About 10 years ago, some idiot manager ordered all of the shoes removed, and for a few years the shoe tree was shoeless.  But the shoes slowly came back.

 

TCD

[jmaul 65]

 

 

I really wanted Cars Land to come to DHS, but I guess the Fort is just as good......