Another July 4 at the Fort TCD TR 2015

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Sounds like you made a good call leaving MK when you did.

 

Sorry the rain kept Mrs. TCD and Rocky away.

 

No rocking chairs?  That's a travesty!  Maybe Brown Paint Guy moved them all out to paint them.  If so, they should be back in a month or so.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Sorry that rain ruined your big cookout. Sounds like you guys made the best of it though!

[WannaBeImagineer 98]

I'm also sorry about the rain.

 

It's funny I have a new perspective on rain at WDW, in the old days when we went once a month we didn't mind it, we knew it would keep the crowds down and we went enough it was ok. 

 

Now that we only go once a year, rain for three or four days in a row while camping gets old quick!  Don't get me wrong we still made the best of it and had a great time but I'd really like to not have multiple days of rain again.

 

WBI

[Travisma 1,317]

I'm also sorry about the rain.

 

It's funny I have a new perspective on rain at WDW, in the old days when we went once a month we didn't mind it, we knew it would keep the crowds down and we went enough it was ok. 

 

Now that we only go once a year, rain for three or four days in a row while camping gets old quick!  Don't get me wrong we still made the best of it and had a great time but I'd really like to not have multiple days of rain again.

 

WBI

With all the money Disney is raking in, they should dome all of the parks and resorts!

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

Rain = bad.

 

Disney = good

 

Rain + Disney = still better than a sunny day at home.

[Specularius 102]

We were caught off guard on the 4th fireworks. We had been told they could not fire them off until there was no lightening within 30 miles for 30 minutes. We could still hear the boom of lightening just 15 minutes before the scheduled time. Therefore we missed the fireworks on the 4th. Everyone was disappointed. 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

That would require people to think about others around them and how their actions will effect them. We all know that's in short supply now a days.

 

You got that right.

 

I have found that an umbrella usually doesn't help cool things down, unless it's a beach umbrella that has been up for quite a while and has a shore breeze going thru it.

 

One of those hand held misting fans, or just a fan by itself works a lot better keeping you cool.

 

I understand why people want to use umbrellas to shade them from the sun.  But, they shouldn't be used in confined places where other guests are trying to see.  If you want to use your umbrella, have the courtesy to stand behind the crowd, not in front of it.

 

Where did the rockers go? Funny about the rain. My husband and I spent our honeymoon at WDW. It rained almost the entire time but was by far the best trip we ever had. The rain kept the crowds away so it felt like we had the park to ourselves, in June of all times.

 

I hope the rockers are just out to be refurbished.  But, who knows?

 

Sounds like you made a good call leaving MK when you did.

 

Sorry the rain kept Mrs. TCD and Rocky away.

 

No rocking chairs?  That's a travesty!  Maybe Brown Paint Guy moved them all out to paint them.  If so, they should be back in a month or so.

 

Brown Paint Buy is a good suspect.  If it's him, then they're going to be gone for a while.  He don't move too quick.

 

Sorry that rain ruined your big cookout. Sounds like you guys made the best of it though!

 

Yes, we made the best of it.  The silver lining about the rain is that it cooled things off a bit.

 

I'm also sorry about the rain.

 

It's funny I have a new perspective on rain at WDW, in the old days when we went once a month we didn't mind it, we knew it would keep the crowds down and we went enough it was ok. 

 

Now that we only go once a year, rain for three or four days in a row while camping gets old quick!  Don't get me wrong we still made the best of it and had a great time but I'd really like to not have multiple days of rain again.

 

WBI

 

We can and do enjoy WDW in the rain.  But, we enjoy it more without the rain.

 

And, having everything wet at the campsite gets to be a drag after a while.

 

With all the money Disney is raking in, they should dome all of the parks and resorts!

 

That idea was kicked around in the very early planning.  They vetoed it then because of the expense.  No way it would be approved now.

 

Rain = bad.

 

Disney = good

 

Rain + Disney = still better than a sunny day at home.

 

Can't argue with that.

 

We were caught off guard on the 4th fireworks. We had been told they could not fire them off until there was no lightening within 30 miles for 30 minutes. We could still hear the boom of lightening just 15 minutes before the scheduled time. Therefore we missed the fireworks on the 4th. Everyone was disappointed. 

 

I never heard that about the lightning.  Maybe that explains the very small crowd at the beach.  Sorry you missed the fireworks, but the sound didn't work if that's any consolation.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

It's still the morning of July 5.

 

And we're out looping.

 

Let's see what we can see.

 

This truck was parked at a site on the 700 loop.  It's cool and all, but why would someone want to drive around with those decals on his car every day?:

 

 

The 4th of July decorations at the sites were kind of sparse this year.  Maybe all of those decorating rules are making folks give up because of the hassle.  There were a few decorations around though.

 

I liked what these people did with a pallet.  But, that's a big thing to have to haul around:

 

 

That wasn't the only painted pallet we saw in the Fort. There were a few.  Must be a fad.  Even these cabin people had one:

 

 

Today, Twin #2 and DD1 took off.  Twin #2 needed to back for school on Monday, and DD1 had job search stuff to do.

 

So, it was just me and Twin #1 left.

 

That was fun for us.

 

It's easier to make decisions with less opinions.

 

It was going to rain again, so we decided to go to DHS.  There was indoor stuff there that we could do.  Like see the new Frozen Sing-a-long venue.  And visit the Animation Academy for what might be our last time.  And One Man's Dream- there are rumors that it's on the way out too.

 

So, we headed to DHS.

 

The Olaf's Summer Cool Down show is about what you would expect it to be- a lot of Frozen corniness.  The CM with Olaf isn't someone we've ever seen before, and he was pretty entertaining.  What was funny, though, is that it started to rain within a minute or two after the show started, and they suddenly ended the show and left the stage.  So, I still haven't seen the whole show.  But, I've seen enough:

 

 

 

Since it was raining, we ducked into One Man's Dream.  We didn't have time to see the movie, so we just enjoyed all of the exhibits. There's some really interesting stuff in there.  We hung out there until about 5 minutes before the next Sing-a-long show was supposed to start, then headed over there.  With no FP+'s or anything, we walked into the theater and got pretty decent seats.  The theater was fuller than I expected it to be, though, and on a busy day, it's possible that we may have been out of luck arriving that late.

 

I have seen this sing-a-long more than I have liked.  The last few times I've gone was only because I was hoping to see our old friend Ben (f/k/a Six Bits) perform.  Well, just like you mother probably told you, persistence pays off.  Because look who our Royal Historian was:

 

 

The show is so much better when Ben is there!

 

I laughed out loud several times.

 

As an added bonus, we got Lisp-off!:

 

 

What?

 

You don't know Lisp-off?

 

He's a CM who plays Kristoff.

 

And he has a lisp.

 

You will know it's him when he says:  "You can't thell thnow thoes in thummer!"

 

But, as Twin #2 says, he's easy on the eyes.

 

After the show, we ended up in Starbucks. This photo is supposed to show that they have some stand-up tables set up in there, but I messed up trying to be sneaky:

 

 

We had been able to book RNRC, TOT and Star Tours FP+'s, so we used those.

 

Then it was getting to be near dinner time. 

 

We were thinking about trying to see the Frozen fireworks.

 

But, we didn't want to hang around the park all evening waiting for them.

 

We decided to head out to a resort for dinner in a quick serve, an then come back.

 

We chose AKL of all places.

 

We hadn't been there in a while, and there's plenty to see there.

 

So, we headed to the Mara.

 

On the way out, I tried to take a photo of the Elsa topiary and make it look like she was wearing Mickey Ears.  I saw a photo of someone who did that, but aligning the Earful Tower's ears behind Elsa in the photo.

 

I failed:

 

 

 

Dinner was OK, but there was a big foul up.

 

Like they have been doing at the quick serves at the Poly and Contemporary, they have a CM with a paper pad take your order.  Then, you have to take that ticket to the cashier, and pay.  You are then issued a pager, and directed to find a seat.  We did all of the above.  And then we waited.  And waited.  I began to notice that people who came in after us were getting their orders.  But our beeper did nothing.  I noticed that the people who had ordered right before us had gotten their food way before us, and were almost done eating.  After almost 15 minutes had passed, I went up to the counter and tried to get a CM's attention.  They all did a good job avoiding eye contact.  But, finally one looked at me, and I gestured that I had a question.  I asked if she could check on my order.  She looked at the beeper.  Then she looked at paper tickets hung up waiting to be completed, and she said "I ain't got that ticket."  That wasn't what I wanted to hear.  About now, a manager type walked up and asked the CM what was going on.  She told him that she ain't got my ticket.  The manager type looked at my beeper, then at the tickets hanging there, and confirmed that there was no ticket for my order.  He asked what I had ordered, and said they would get it prepared right away, OK?  I told him no, that was not OK.  It had been over 20 minutes now since we first walked in here, and they somehow lost my order, and I was supposed to be OK with that?

 

The manager type came around the counter to talk to me, and apologized again, and said that he would comp my order.  Now, that was OK.

 

So we had a free dinner.

 

I wished I had known that before I ordered.

 

After dinner, we hopped the bus back to DHS.

 

We decided to visit the animation class.

 

We got to draw something we never had drawn before:

 

 

You recognize that, right?

 

We had never had this artist before:

 

 

She was good:

 

 

 

Twin #1's:

 

 

Mine:

 

 

While here, we took a moment to explore the room where they have the displays for the most current Disney or Pixar movie.  We've seen a lot of stuff like this over the years, going all the way back to Mulan.  This stuff is from Inside Out.  It's always interesting to look at the concept art:

 

 

 

While we were here, we decided to see the movie part of the tour.  It has been many, many years since we had done that.  Which is too bad, because it was actually kind of entertaining.  The CM who had to interact with the animated Mushu on the screen did a really good job. Which surprised me.

 

Now, all of that is apparently gone for good.  They shut all of this down, probably permanently, in the last couple of weeks.

 

When we came out of the animation building, it was raining pretty good.

 

We didn't feel like waiting around in the rain again for fireworks.

 

So we bailed.

 

We hung out at the campsite for a while.

 

Then, headed to the MK.

 

We got the front of the Mine Train again, and I tried to take another photo of that Hidden Mickey on the log:

 

 

Do you see it?

 

Look here:

 

 

 

One side of the ramps that lead up to and away from Cinderella Castle was blocked off.  They had it all ripped up:

 

 

We topped the night off by splitting a sundae at the Plaza Ice Cream shop.

 

And, then we headed back to camp.

 

That was it for our fourth and final night.

 

Tomorrow, we have to pack up and leave.

 

Which means there's just one more update to come, and this TR will be over.

 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

"While we were here, we decided to see the movie part of the tour.  It has been many, many years since we had done that.  Which is too bad, because it was actually kind of entertaining.  The CM who had to interact with the animated Mushu on the screen did a really good job. Which surprised me."

 

I don't think we've ever done that!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

"While we were here, we decided to see the movie part of the tour.  It has been many, many years since we had done that.  Which is too bad, because it was actually kind of entertaining.  The CM who had to interact with the animated Mushu on the screen did a really good job. Which surprised me."

 

I don't think we've ever done that!

 

To tell you the truth, I am not sure I had ever seen that particular part of it either.

 

This is the description of the former attraction on Wikipedia:

 

Originally, when the park first opened in 1989, the Feature Animation pavilion of "The Magic of Disney Animation," designed originally by award winning experience designer Bob Rogers (designer)^[1] and the design team BRC Imagination Arts,^[2] included four connected experiences which explored the legacy of Disney animation. The tour commenced with the short film entitled "Back to Neverland,"^[3] in which Veteran newscaster, Walter Cronkite and comedian Robin Williams guided guests through the different stages in animating a feature-length film by turning Williams into an animated character in the form of one of the "Lost Boys" of Peter Pan. Following that introductory film, guest would witness the process of animation, first-hand, from elevated, glass-enclosed walkways within Disney's actual animation studio.^[4] The third segment of the animation tour was a short film in which Disney Animators described the joy of the art of animation. A finale film, entitled "Classic Disney" presented a montage of key moments from classic animated Disney films.^[5]

The Magic of Disney Animation now has one main showroom, where a Disney animator shows guests how the characters in Disney animated films are chosen and designed, with the help of Mushu, the dragon from Disney's Mulan, voiced by Eddie Murphy. Mulan was the first of three films produced by the former Orlando, Florida division of Walt Disney Feature Animation, which was headquartered in the building before being closed in 2004.

After guests leave the showroom they are led to an area with interactive games and a chance to meet characters from the latest Disney animated pictures. There is also a section called The Animation Academy, where guests can draw their favorite Disney characters, under the guidance of a Disney Animator. Several original cels from classic Disney films as well as several of the Academy Awards won by Disney films are on display at the attraction.

The attraction closed permanently on July 12.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magic_of_Disney_Animation

 

I remember visiting this attraction with my oldest daughter, and seeing the concept art for Mulan, and hearing about that film.  I remember that clearly because I thought the idea of a girl dressing up like a boy to fight in a war sounded like a questionable concept for a cartoon.  Back then, the Mushu interactive film would not have existed.

 

I am not sure if I ever forced the twins to go in there.

 

It's too late to go now.

 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

TCD, thank you for the info.

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

Thought this was interesting. In your picture of the cool down to summer, there is a kid wearing a bright yellow shirt. Here is some info about it. From the picture it looks like there is quit the touring group.

http://jamaicagleaner.com/article/sports/20150703/martial-arts-courtleigh-combine-promote-sports-tourism

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

One more post? Sigh...the California trip report can't come soon enough.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Ahhhhhhhhh... did you mention how you rode the Mine Train? No way you waited standby. 

[Travisma 1,317]

To tell you the truth, I am not sure I had ever seen that particular part of it either.

 

This is the description of the former attraction on Wikipedia:

 

Originally, when the park first opened in 1989, the Feature Animation pavilion of "The Magic of Disney Animation," designed originally by award winning experience designer Bob Rogers (designer)^[1] and the design team BRC Imagination Arts,^[2] included four connected experiences which explored the legacy of Disney animation. The tour commenced with the short film entitled "Back to Neverland,"^[3] in which Veteran newscaster, Walter Cronkite and comedian Robin Williams guided guests through the different stages in animating a feature-length film by turning Williams into an animated character in the form of one of the "Lost Boys" of Peter Pan. Following that introductory film, guest would witness the process of animation, first-hand, from elevated, glass-enclosed walkways within Disney's actual animation studio.^[4] The third segment of the animation tour was a short film in which Disney Animators described the joy of the art of animation. A finale film, entitled "Classic Disney" presented a montage of key moments from classic animated Disney films.^[5]

The Magic of Disney Animation now has one main showroom, where a Disney animator shows guests how the characters in Disney animated films are chosen and designed, with the help of Mushu, the dragon from Disney's Mulan, voiced by Eddie Murphy. Mulan was the first of three films produced by the former Orlando, Florida division of Walt Disney Feature Animation, which was headquartered in the building before being closed in 2004.

After guests leave the showroom they are led to an area with interactive games and a chance to meet characters from the latest Disney animated pictures. There is also a section called The Animation Academy, where guests can draw their favorite Disney characters, under the guidance of a Disney Animator. Several original cels from classic Disney films as well as several of the Academy Awards won by Disney films are on display at the attraction.

The attraction closed permanently on July 12.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magic_of_Disney_Animation

 

I remember visiting this attraction with my oldest daughter, and seeing the concept art for Mulan, and hearing about that film.  I remember that clearly because I thought the idea of a girl dressing up like a boy to fight in a war sounded like a questionable concept for a cartoon.  Back then, the Mushu interactive film would not have existed.

 

I am not sure if I ever forced the twins to go in there.

 

It's too late to go now.

 

TCD

I remember the glass walkway. Went by and there we no animators in there. Kind of lame. That was a long time ago.

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

I remember my first couple of times through there. It was AWESOME. They had all the Mulan stuff out. The movie had just premiered, but the artists were working very steadily on Lilo and Stitch. I LOVED this tour.

 

My first few backlot tours, they had the catwalks above actual studios where they were working on television or movies. I remember specifically a PBS show was being filmed there.

[Travisma 1,317]

What was the tour/ride that one of the first things was a model ship in a big tank and it had explosions around it, then you saw what it looked like on a screen.

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

That was the Backlot Tour. It started there, then went through the prop room, then onto the overhead catwalks where Toy Story Mania is now. It used to be actual recording studios there, then it went onto the tram tour, which went through residential street and Catastrophe Canyon.

 

Apparently in the even earlier years, New York street was part of the tour.

[Travisma 1,317]

That was the Backlot Tour. It started there, then went through the prop room, then onto the overhead catwalks where Toy Story Mania is now. It used to be actual recording studios there, then it went onto the tram tour, which went through residential street and Catastrophe Canyon.

 

Apparently in the even earlier years, New York street was part of the tour.

Catastrophe Canyon was great!

[caveat lector 181]

As always, another outstanding TCD TR. while I don't have a chance to be on as much, there is something extremely comforting about knowing I can steal a half hour here or there to virtually tour the WDW with the man. Thanks partner!

Quick thoughts:

1) if Feisty still had her spot, she could sell parking spots to insiders. That would be a way to get around those ridiculous cones.

2) put some Mickey ears on those ridiculous cones. As long as they are going to inconvenience you, it should at least be themed.

3) heretofore, that abomination should be referred to as BAPL - big a## parking lot.

A) side note - I wonder if isn't intended to be temporary.

[Travisma 1,317]

As always, another outstanding TCD TR. while I don't have a chance to be on as much, there is something extremely comforting about knowing I can steal a half hour here or there to virtually tour the WDW with the man. Thanks partner!

Quick thoughts:

1) if Feisty still had her spot, she could sell parking spots to insiders. That would be a way to get around those ridiculous cones.

2) put some Mickey ears on those ridiculous cones. As long as they are going to inconvenience you, it should at least be themed.

3) heretofore, that abomination should be referred to as BAPL - big a## parking lot.

A) side note - I wonder if isn't intended to be temporary.

I wonder if they keep it blocked off because they want it to always look picture perfect... no tire tracks or footprints.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

 

 

Thought this was interesting. In your picture of the cool down to summer, there is a kid wearing a bright yellow shirt. Here is some info about it. From the picture it looks like there is quit the touring group.
http://jamaicagleaner.com/article/sports/20150703/martial-arts-courtleigh-combine-promote-sports-tourism

 

Good sleuthing!  The author of that article certainly has high expectations for this group's visit.  The thing is there are groups like this visiting Disney every day.  It's not as big a deal as the author thinks.

 

One more post? Sigh...the California trip report can't come soon enough.

 

Yeah, just one more post.

 

And, I'm not sure about a California trip report.  We are driving there, dropping the girls off, and then I'm leaving. They won't have their Maingate passes yet while I'm there, so I don't think we will be visiting the parks.  They're going to be in the parks every day for 5 months, so I'm not keen on the idea of buying park tickets while I'm there.

 

We will have to see if there is enough interesting stuff that happens on the trip to justify a report.

 

Ahhhhhhhhh... did you mention how you rode the Mine Train? No way you waited standby. 

 

Good catch.

 

The twins acquired some Rider Switch passes via the CM black market.  We had enough for a few rides on a subsequent trip too.

 

I remember the glass walkway. Went by and there we no animators in there. Kind of lame. That was a long time ago.

 

I got to see it when animators were working.  It was interesting, but not something that would hold anyone's attention for very long.

 

I remember my first couple of times through there. It was AWESOME. They had all the Mulan stuff out. The movie had just premiered, but the artists were working very steadily on Lilo and Stitch. I LOVED this tour.

 

My first few backlot tours, they had the catwalks above actual studios where they were working on television or movies. I remember specifically a PBS show was being filmed there.

 

I know that we visited before Mulan was released, and there was a lot of buzz and energy in the building, because they had created the film there.

 

I don't remember ever being on the catwalks above any of the studios.  I know we visited DHS in the late '90's before the Disney film Pearl Harbor was released, but I can only remember the version of the Backstage Tour that began with the war scene.

 

What was the tour/ride that one of the first things was a model ship in a big tank and it had explosions around it, then you saw what it looked like on a screen.

 

As Carol said, that was the Backlot Tour.  And the part of it that you remember was still part of the tour before it closed this year.  I got to be in that scene a couple of times- once on the bow of the ship that was being attacked, and once I was the guy who got the water dumped on him.  Those were good times!

 

That was the Backlot Tour. It started there, then went through the prop room, then onto the overhead catwalks where Toy Story Mania is now. It used to be actual recording studios there, then it went onto the tram tour, which went through residential street and Catastrophe Canyon.

 

Apparently in the even earlier years, New York street was part of the tour.

 

I wish I had gotten to experience one of the longer versions of the Backlot Tour.  The only version I remember is the one they had for the past ten or so years, leading up to the closing.  We always started with the boat scene, then proceeded into a prop room and loaded on to the trams.  I do remember going through the residential street until that was cut-out so they could add the Lights, Motor, Action theater.  But, I don't remember ever walking the catwalks.

 

Catastrophe Canyon was great!

 

Agreed.  Always a good time.

 

As always, another outstanding TCD TR. while I don't have a chance to be on as much, there is something extremely comforting about knowing I can steal a half hour here or there to virtually tour the WDW with the man. Thanks partner!

Quick thoughts:

1) if Feisty still had her spot, she could sell parking spots to insiders. That would be a way to get around those ridiculous cones.
2) put some Mickey ears on those ridiculous cones. As long as they are going to inconvenience you, it should at least be themed.
3) heretofore, that abomination should be referred to as BAPL - big a## parking lot.
A) side note - I wonder if isn't intended to be temporary.

 

Good points.

 

I don't know about the BAPL being temporary, though.  The trees and wilderness are gone, and those aren't coming back.  The only thing that could change is that the space could be repurposed if they ever build the DVC and turn the field next to Pioneer Hall into an even worse BAPL.  Then this Pioneer Hall BAPL might be repurposed for something like the carriage rides. 

 

I wonder if they keep it blocked off because they want it to always look picture perfect... no tire tracks or footprints.

 

I'm not following your thought here-  what area are you talking about that looks picture perfect?

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Well, this is it.

 

The last batch of photos from this trip.

 

These are from the morning of July 6. 

 

It was just me and Twin #1 left, and the only plan for today was to get packed up and leave.

 

While she slept, I made my final morning rounds.

 

All was quiet out behind the 300 loop:

 

 

It was another misty morning:

 

 

 

I hadn't seen any deer out here on the previous mornings I visited, but there was one here today:

 

 

There was some stuff rearranged at the mysterious campfire area, but it still didn't look like anything had happened here yet.  I figured that if there had been plans to use it during the fireworks the past few nights, those plans probably had to be cancelled because of the weather:

 

 

Now that I know about the breakfast being served by a campfire for that new Walt's Wilderness tour, that must be what this is all here for:

 

 

Now we're all the way down at Clementine's Beach.  All is quiet here too:

 

 

It was right at 7:30, so I was able to get a cup of coffee and enjoy one of the rocking chairs on the porch for a moment:

 

 

I am really glad that those stupid high top tables are gone:

 

 

This was not a good year for the crepe myrtles in this fenced in area in the center of the Settlement- they have very few blooms this year for some reason:

 

 

I never did get any photos of the expanded golf cart parking area when it had some carts parked in it.  But even from these photos ,you can see how tight things will be when there are a lot of carts parked in here:

 

 

 

Now, we're on the 2000 loop.  As you would expect, it had been pretty full all weekend, and there were several large and unruly groups.  Things had thinned out by now, and the large an unruly group who occupied these sites were sleeping in, so I was able to get a few photos:

 

 

 

 

That mess of signs tells everyone that group was celebrating some birthdays over the weekend.  And that's fine.  What wasn't fine was that there were 30-40 people spread over those sites, and every time before this when I looped the 2000 loop, those people were overflowing from those sites, with adults standing around drinking, and kids running wild through the loop.  I'm sure they all had a great time, but I sure would hate to be assigned to the site next to or anywhere near that mess.  Somehow, the Fort has transformed from a place where a family can go and enjoy a peaceful camping experience to a place where a mob of people who are there to party can take over a loop with their obnoxious behavior.  And that's sad.

 

Now we're down at the Meadow Recreation Area.  The crepe myrtles at the pool are blooming a bit more than those at the Settlement, but it's still an off year:

 

 

Sheez.  Would you look at that?  Another dummy on Bob's dock:

 

 

Bob is the only dummy allowed on that dock, so I had to go and tell that guy to get lost.

 

Here's a look at the canal next to the pool.  That's the 1300 loop there on the right:

 

 

The huge sycamore tree behind the Meadow Trading Post is looking prime:

 

 

Things were quiet on the Meadow Trading Post back porch:

 

 

It was just a few minutes past 8 am, but there was a family across the Fishin' Hole gathered around a picnic table in front of the Bike Barn.  I don't know what that was all about:

 

 

That guy was still on Bob's dock.  I hollered over to him that he needed to step off:

 

 

There were still no rocking chairs to be found back here (or around front) :

 

 

I apologize for the blurry photo, but I needed to post this in case anyone was planning to get a Musket Mickey smashed penny.  The Penny Smasher is busted.  And that sign looks kind of like a long-term sign:

 

 

I popped back out to make sure that non-Bob dummy had gotten off of Bob's dock, and saw that he had.  The problem was that now there was a new guy on the dock.  What the Fort was going on here today?:

 

 

At that point, I gave up on trying to keep the riff-raff off of Bob's dock.  It's too much work.  Plus, I wanted to enjoy this beautiful morning:

 

 

The bushes behind Bob's site sure have grown and filled in, haven't they?:

 

 

Now we're back across the bridge, admiring how everything is reflecting in the Fishin' Hole today:

 

 

Then I made my final loop before returning to my site to pack up.  I went around the 100 loop to get a couple of photos of things I had seen earlier, but didn't get a photo of.  First, here's a bike that someone had parked at the front of their site with a "For Sale" sign on it:

 

 

And, just around the loop was this hammock, which also had a For Sale sign on it.  The For Sale sign must have blown off during one of the rain storms, but the hammock was still there:

 

 

So now we can use our campsites to sell our crap?

 

Nice.

 

After this, I headed back to the site, and went through the process of returning my Kenny Cart.  It involved two round-trip drives off site- to get the trailer, then back to get the cart, then back to drop off the cart and trailer.  All of that took near an hour.  Which isn't a fun thing to do on the last morning of your trip.  But, I saved nearly $300 by using Kenny.  So, to me, it was worth it.

 

After returning a cart, I packed up the trailer.  About 2/3 of the way through, Twin #1 woke up, packed her stuff up, and split.  I finished up and headed home.

 

This wasn't the best 4th of July visit we had to the Fort.  But, it was still a lot of fun, and I'm glad that we got to go.

 

The way things look now, there may not be another TCD trip to the Fort this year.

 

In four days, we will be packing up the twins' cars and heading west to Disneyland.  And they'll be there until early January.

 

DD1 doesn't think she will get any vacation days at her new job for a while.

 

But it's still good to be TCD.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

TCD

[Travisma 1,317]

I'm not following your thought here-  what area are you talking about that looks picture perfect?

 

TCD

 

The new cart parking  they are keeping  blocked off.

 

Maybe they don't want to keep raking it...

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

 

 

The new cart parking  they are keeping  blocked off.

 

Maybe they don't want to keep raking it...

 

 

Oh.  LOL. 

 

Yeah, they want it to keep looking beautiful.

 

Actually, the plan apparently was to fill in all of the available parking spaces around the Settlement by forcing those who arrived earliest to park in the spots furthest out, and then fill the other spots in as guests continued to arrive, saving the Pioneer Hall lot for last.  Very simple.  But, also very unfair to give guests who had the foresight to arrive early the worst spots.  Had there been a normal 4th of July crowd, that would also mean that the guests who arrived earliest would be stuck in the annual traffic jam of carts trying leave the Settlement.   Very dumb.

 

TCD