Another July 4 at the Fort TCD TR 2015

[jmaul 65]

 

That's one BIG cart....

[ependydad...Doug 176]

That's one BIG cart....

Literally the exact words that came to my mind. :)

[CeciliaKy 1]

I need to respond to this comment separately.

 

I forgot to mention the lighting!

 

There was a lot of lightning the night of the 3rd.

 

In fact, photos of it began to circulate on social media.

 

We even got a call from Mrs. TCD as we were waiting there for the fireworks as she had caught wind of it, and saw a report somewhere that the castle had been struck by lightning.  Of course, we were standing right out in the open, not far from the castle, waiting for the fireworks to start.

 

Here is one of the many photos that were flying through cyberspace that night:

 

 

There are more posted here: http://www.cnn.com/2015/07/05/travel/disney-world-lightning-storm-feat/

 

 

(CNN)Visitors waiting for a fireworks show at Disney World's Magic Kingdom Park experienced a different kind of light show.

An incoming thunderstorm delayed Friday night fireworks at the Disney theme park in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. The storm also brought lightning strikes directly above Cinderella's Castle, leading to striking pictures taken by visitors.

Kelsey Carragher, a visitor to the park who took one of the photos, said guests didn't seem to be frightened by the close bolts of lightning.

"The crowd seemed to be enjoying the lighting as much as they would have the fireworks," Carragher said.

Shortly after the storm, Disney World was able to continue with the special Fourth of July fireworks show, which was on Friday and Saturday.

 

TCD

 

there was a fire at an apartment complex not far from the MK ... reports said it was caused by a lightning strike. my husband works a lot with OSHA on safety issues (he works on a job along the Ohio River) and his lightning alert app was going nuts. He would've told you to get out of the open Main Street

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

The Mater cart was cute :)

 

 

Those are some serious looking tires!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Seals 111]

 

 

At least someone has some creativity!

 

Have there ever been twins as WDW ambassadors? 

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

TCD must be really busy today ... will we have to wait until Monday for an update?

[Specularius 102]

...

 

...

 

 

What?  Y'all were at the Fort over the 4th?  I'm sure I looped past your site.  What loop were y'all on?

 

...

 

TCD

1st through the 7th. site 1458

[lklasing 16]

Seventh page bragging rights!  So much I missed but think I caught up on - Too many traffic cones!  New cart parking! Awesome FW prints!  Amazing lightening!  A Donnie sighting!  And even more!

 

As always, I'm enjoying your report and looking forward to more.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I agree with you about the Halloween golf cart parade being better.  It seems the Halloween carts are more creative and elaborate.  

 

Another thing about the Halloween parade that I like is that it's in the evening.  It's a much more festive atmosphere, and the holiday lends itself to creativity.

 

I feel a little sad that none of those carts were driven by kids.

 

LOL.

 

That gives me an idea for a cart in a future parade.  It could be driven by a kid, and maybe pull a couple of people on skateboards behind it.

 

 

That's one BIG cart....

 

LOL.

 

Literally the exact words that came to my mind. :)

 

A couple of great minds . . .

 

there was a fire at an apartment complex not far from the MK ... reports said it was caused by a lightning strike. my husband works a lot with OSHA on safety issues (he works on a job along the Ohio River) and his lightning alert app was going nuts. He would've told you to get out of the open Main Street

 

I didn't hear about the fire.  That's sad.  There were no warnings about the lightning, although I would guess they must have shut down the outdoor rides.

 

The Mater cart was cute :)

 

 

Those are some serious looking tires!

 

Yes, that Mater cart was well done.  I don't think he won anything, though.

 

I didn't notice those tires.  Those are a bit ridiculous. 

 

 

 

At least someone has some creativity!

 

Have there ever been twins as WDW ambassadors? 

 

Creative yes.  But, is that supposed to be a carriage?  Is it in that awkward between pumpkin and carriage stage?  And, what does it have to do with the 4th of July?

 

TCD must be really busy today ... will we have to wait until Monday for an update?

 

Yes, I had a busy weekend.  We moved our oldest DD into her new apartment in Miami all weekend.  And when I say we, I mean Mrs. TCD and I and a UHaul truck.  My aching back.  It all turned out nicely, though.

 

...

 

1st through the 7th. site 1458

 

Dang.  I'm sure I looped the 1400 loop, but we probably didn't hit Little Bear.  You kept a low profile.

 

Seventh page bragging rights!  So much I missed but think I caught up on - Too many traffic cones!  New cart parking! Awesome FW prints!  Amazing lightening!  A Donnie sighting!  And even more!

 

As always, I'm enjoying your report and looking forward to more.

 

Congrats on page 7!

 

Hope all is well with you and the family.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

We need an update.

 

After the parade, we hopped on the cart, and headed down to Trail's End.  We had some reservations for breakfast.

 

In years past, they would have the parade participants drive down behind Pioneer Hall and park, and then have an awards ceremony from the Pioneer Hall porch.

 

The didn't do that this year.  Instead, they said the golf cart parade awards would be announced at the beach party in the evening.

 

That was good, as there wasn't a big mob at the Settlement.

 

There was small mob there to meet a special guest.

 

This guy was in line in front of us- do you recognize him?:

 

 

How about now?:

 

 

That's Kenny the Pirate.

 

He has a pretty popular blog.

 

And he was at the Fort to meet Goofy and have breakfast at Trail's End.  He said so in this tweet:

 

Met Goofy at Fort Wilderness. Time for breakfast at Trails End! http://ift.tt/1rF5Tmy  pic.twitter.com/oVGSuh9Psz

 

Compared to previous years, it was remarkably not busy around here:

 

 

Unfortunately for us, the bagpiper showed up and tortured the captive audience waiting for Goofy.  This is a bad photo of him, as he was hogging all the shade while the guests waiting to meet Goofy had to stand in the sun:

 

 

When the bagpiper started to pipe, Goofy made an exaggerated reaction, and then made a gesture like he was pumping a shotgun.  I thought he was going to pantomime shooting at the bagpiper, but he instead gestured like he was shooting his gun in the air:

 

 

Then he did a little dance:

 

 

Then it was our turn to meet him.  The twins went first:

 

 

Then DD1:

 

 

Then me:

 

 

After this, we checked in for breakfast.  We had to wait a bit, but that gave me a chance to enjoy this view from the rocking chairs on the side of the porch:

 

 

 

I told you that those bushes could use a trim.

 

We headed on in to Trail's End, and we had a great breakfast.  I don't have any photos from breakfast, as I was there to eat.  We did see  Melissa aka MMandMMlovesDVCandABCXYZ, or whatever her name is on here inside Trail's End.

 

We got Donnel as our server, and he was awesome as usual.  He told us of his big trip to Cocoa Beach to buy fireworks and the big plans he had for that night.  I hope he made it.

 

After breakfast, it was back to the camper to get ready to hit the MK. The girls took showers, and I tidied up.  We had some pretty good shade on our site, and the pop-up AC was doing a good job keeping it cool for us inside.  After 1:30 or so, we lost our shade, and it started to get hot inside the camper too.  By 2:00 pm, we had to get out of there.

 

We headed to the MK in search of some nice indoor attractions:

 

 

Does anything look different about the FW/WL dock at the MK?:

 

 

Here's a photo I took back in February.  The brown roof was pretty new. But, you could see that it was covered in bird poop:

 

 

Some creative problem solver solved that one by ordering up a new roof.

 

So, they can re-roof that whole dock without anyone even noticing, but they can't put a new roof on the covered wagon rotting behind the Settlement Trading Post?

 

Here's a nice touch- they were passing out free little American flag pins to everyone coming in to the park:

 

 

It wasn't very busy at the MK when we arrived, which is odd, because I saw reports of it having a closing for being at capacity.  If they were redirecting guests, it was probably an anticipatory move by them as it wasn't much different from a typical Saturday there from what we could see.

 

There was a commotion going on over in front of the Train Station-  some guy with a full sized cooler on wheels tipped it and spilled it.  I want to know how people are bringing these things in to the parks, when there are clearly published limits on what is allowed and not allowed:

 

 

It was scorching in the MK.  I would have been willing to sit on a shady part of Main Street and wait for the parade, but all the shady spots were already occupied.

 

I suggested we go to the coolest place in the park:  The Hall of Presidents.  And everyone agreed.  So that's where we headed first.  We needed to be out of the heat and to cool down.  Here's how things look in the HOP on a hot 4th of July afternoon- busy:

 

 

America!:

 

 

I had recently visited the HOP with my oldest daughter, and here we were again.  I still like it.  It's pretty darned impressive, and the narrated presentation at the beginning is very well done.  It's neat to think about the fact that there will be a new robot in here in about two years.   Politics and ideology aside, wouldn't it be cool to see The Donald's hair on a robot?   Or a female President robot? 

 

Since it was so hot out, and we didn't secure a shady spot, we weren't going to watch the parade today.  But, we kind of got trapped by it, and decided to see it from Liberty Square for a change.  There were spots behind the guests lining the parade route, and the floats are so tall that it should be fine, so we found spots and waited- the parade music was already playing, and we wouldn't have to wait for long:

 

 

What none of us factored in was that so many of the people in front of us would have umbrellas:

 

 

Seriously, is this the umbrella section, or what?:

 

 

I couldn't see anything anyway, so I retreated back a bit to an overhang that was providing some shade.  I could see good enough from here-the floats are tall:

 

 

But, I didn't anticipate that I would have a wannabe Mary Poppins in front of me, holding her big black umbrella as high as she possibly could:

 

 

The umbrella people blocked me from being able to see the parade coming, but I could see the floats pretty good as they passed by:

 

 

If you are interested in such things, note that the window on that building to the left is open- that's where one of the speakers for the parade music was located.

 

I saw Cinderella and her Prince well enough:

 

 

And the Frozen girls:

 

 

But, the wannabe Mary Poppins blocked the Tangled float pretty good:

 

 

I guess that wannabe Mary Poppins inspired the lady next to her to hold her umbrella up high, as she started to as well:

 

 

Now I really couldn't see anything.

 

I have some more umbrella photos coming up, so be sure and check back.

 

TCD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[fowlandfishmommy 10]

I may have told this story before but it's worth telling again.  In about 1990 my family and I went to DW.  I was about 10 and my sister (who was a hooligan) was about 2.  We went into HOP and she proceeded to squeeze through those bars around the seal there (apparent they were farther apart back then).  She then would get an arms reach away from my dad every time he reached to get her.  She even was sticking out her tongue and doing a little dance when he couldn't reach her.  This went on for a while.  It was HILARIOUS!  Although my dad did not agree!! There was a huge crowd around us laughing and someone was even videoing. :)  So so funny! Thankfully that girl has Jesus now and she and her husband moved to Colorado to plant a church.  We were all a little worried when she was little.  :)  

 

 

 

 

 

America!:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

TCD, glad to know you're okay!

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

It's probably bad that I immediately recognized Kenny. 

 

I've seen that hippie shirt before...

 

`Merica! 

 

Umbrellas SMB.

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

boy am I late. all caught up though. 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

 

I may have told this story before but it's worth telling again.  In about 1990 my family and I went to DW.  I was about 10 and my sister (who was a hooligan) was about 2.  We went into HOP and she proceeded to squeeze through those bars around the seal there (apparent they were farther apart back then).  She then would get an arms reach away from my dad every time he reached to get her.  She even was sticking out her tongue and doing a little dance when he couldn't reach her.  This went on for a while.  It was HILARIOUS!  Although my dad did not agree!! There was a huge crowd around us laughing and someone was even videoing. :)  So so funny! Thankfully that girl has Jesus now and she and her husband moved to Colorado to plant a church.  We were all a little worried when she was little.   :)

 

 

That's a great story!  And, I'm glad that your sister turned out OK.

 

TCD, glad to know you're okay!

 

Yes, I'm fine.  Life is very busy at the moment, and about to get busier. In exactly one week from today, the twins and I will be driving clear across the country!

 

It's probably bad that I immediately recognized Kenny. 

 

I've seen that hippie shirt before...

 

`Merica! 

 

Umbrellas SMB.

 

I should have said hello to Kenny- he and his daughter were seated right next to us at Trail's End.

 

Yes, you've seen my 4th of July hippie Seaside shirt.  I wear it once a year, and then it goes back in the closet.  Nobody likes it, including me.  But, if I don't wear it on the 4th, when else would I wear it?

 

boy am I late. all caught up though. 

 

Hey, you made it on to page 7 just like Leslie.  Good job.

 

If it makes you feel any better, last 4th of July was much better than this one.  It was much hotter and much rainier this year.

 

TCD

[Travisma 1,317]

I love and hate your reports.

 

Love them because they are witty and well written

 

Hate them because I can't see the photos you post until I get home.

 

Work pc blocks the majority of them.

 

Then by the time I get home there's been 25 replies to you latest post.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Let's move on.  I need to get this report done in within the next week.  Because in exactly one week from today, I'll be on my way with the twins to California. 

 

We left off watching FOF from the little area I was squeezed into near Sleepy Hollow Refreshments.  The umbrella gang did their best, but they couldn't completely block my view of the Peter Pan float.  Thank goodness it's as tall as it is:

 

 

I could see Peter and Wendy, but not the good Captain swinging under the rainbow:

 

 

I got a good look at the Neverland map though:

 

 

I enjoyed watching the Sleepy Hollow employees enjoy the parade more than I enjoyed trying to watch the parade.  Look how their faces lit up as the floats passed by:

 

 

 

When the dragon came by, I wished that it would breath fire on those darned umbrellas, but unfortunately that wish was not granted:

 

 

The parade path is very narrow here, which means the floats are very close to the audience and to the buildings along the route.  The dragon apparently holds her fire along this part of the route:

 

 

Hey, there's Pinocchio there above the umbrellas:

 

 

We got to see the backside of Pluto:

 

 

Since we were in a small, congested space, I suggested to the girls that we start heading away right as the last float came by.  So, this shot was taken as we passed the very busy umbrella stand as we got away from the parade crowd:

 

 

So, here we were on one of the busiest days of the year.  And one of the hottest.  In a packed MK.  What would we do next?

 

I knew.

 

We were going to ride the Mine Train.

 

How, you ask?

 

Well, even though I didn't have a 4th of July reservation until the very last minute, I did have a resort reservation that we had used back in June.  Once that showed up in My Disney Experience, I had the ability to book FP+'s more than 30 days out, and those extended dates included the 4th.  Even though I wasn't sure if we'd be able to use them, I booked us all prime FP+'s for the 4th, with the idea that we'd probably watch the 3:00 parade, and then hit some big rides right in order after that.  Mine Train was first.

 

One of the many unfortunate consequences of the FP+ system is that there are a lot of park guests who simply don't understand it.  There are a surprising number of guests who think that having a MB means they can skip lines.  And, as is typically the case on busy days, some of those very confused guests were blocking our FP+ access when we arrived at the Mine Train.  You would think that Disney could have thought of a better way to design this, but I guess they thought the FP+ system was flawless:

 

 

We got to stand in the hot sun and roast while the confusion in front of us was sorted out.

 

Then we got to the cave.

 

The AC in the Mine Train queue right before you get to the loading area very well might be the best AC on property.  Man, it felt good in there.  We wished we could have just stayed there for a while and skipped the ride, but it doesn't work that way.  So we rode.

 

We got the front of the train, which gave me a chance to take a photo of a very faint Hidden Mickey that you can see on a big horizontal log right by the control podium.  The problem is that I used a flash and washed it out.  But, I did wake up this CM, so it wasn't a total loss:

 

 

If you ever ride in the front, look at the very middle of that lower log you see in the photo- there's a classic Hidden Mickey carved in it.

 

We hit the Mine Train at the beginning of our FP+ return window, which meant we now had almost an hour before we could use our next ones at Big Thunder Mountain.  We needed relief from the heat, so we rode the Little Mermaid ride standby.  The line wasn't long, and we were in the AC for most of the wait, so that was good.

 

But we still had a lot of time left.

 

The train!

 

We could ride the train over to Frontierland.  That would eat up some time, and save us for a long walk being fried by the sun.

 

But, everyone wanted to ride the train today.  We found a line way outside of the station.  I took this photo from the end of that line:

 

 

Normally, I wouldn't want to wait in a line like this, but I knew that as soon as they loaded the next train, we would at least be under cover where they had shade and ceiling fans.  And that was better than walking to Frontierland.  So we waited.

 

The wait wasn't long, and soon we were all aboard and on our way.  The breeze felt great as we plodded along:

 

 

I don't know if you've ever thought about this or noticed it, but CM's who have to get to Space Mountain do not walk in the same tunnel that guests in the queue use. They have to cross the tracks above ground, and head in to the mountain through a door on the other side of the tracks.  I tried to get a photo of their path, but I blew it:

 

 

This is supposed to be a photo showing that you can see the roof of Wilderness Lodge from the MK, but this grass berm got in my way:

 

 

When we passed the main entrance at 4:17 pm, I was surprised to see how uncrowded it was there:

 

 

 

Seriously, it looks dead, doesn't it?

 

But just a couple of hours after this, they announced that the MK would have a Phase B capacity closure, and it apparently stayed in place until 8 pm http://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions/magic-kingdom/news/04jul2015-magic-kingdom-closed-to-some-guests-due-to-reaching-capacity.htm

 

Based on what I saw here, I guessed that they had already started diverting guests to Epcot to try to head off the inevitable 4th of July crowds.

 

On our way to the Frontierland station, we passed this gate.  When we were here for Memorial Day this year, we got to go back behind that gate and see the mess they have back there.  I'm glad you can't see it through the gate:

 

 

When we got to the Frontierland station, we were feeling good.  That ride on the train did a good job cooling us off.  It looked really hot and crowded in Frontierland.  So, we made a surprising choice.  We decided to skip Big Thunder, and keep on riding.  And that's what we did.  We got a good look at the guy in the bathtub behind Big Thunder:

 

 

We did exit when we got back to Storybook Circus, and then did the People Mover, and hung out in the Space Mountain gift shop before cashing in our Space FP+'s:

 

 

After that, we were out of FP+'s, and we decided to head back to the Fort.  It was past 5 now, so we should have some shade on our site again, and the AC in the pop-up would get the job done.

 

So, we headed to the dock.  That isn't the boat we're looking for:

 

 

But that is:

 

 

These folks who rented a pontoon boat on the afternoon of July 4th had a great idea:

 

 

There's the shoe tree:

 

This spot right here is where they had plans drawn up to build that big DVC resort.  I hope that never happens:

 

 

There's good old Clementine's Beach.  They had done some set up for the beach party that was going to be taking place tonight.  If you look there along the treeline, you can see they have some big white lights set up.  I don't recall them doing that in the past:

 

 

 

Uh-oh, they broke out one of the slow boats.  The poor guests who get to ride on that thing:

 

 

According to the official times guide, there should have been some activities going on at the dock as we arrived here.

 

We will start out the next update with a look at what was going on here at the beach.

 

TCD

[jmaul 65]

Nice update.  I can almost feel the sweat pouring off.

 

Umbrellas SMB.  Even in the rain.

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

Do you save all your ride photos?

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Brings back memories of our many summer trips in the heat.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Nice update.  I can almost feel the sweat pouring off.

 

Umbrellas SMB.  Even in the rain.

 

It was hot.  And humid.  The sweat was definitely dripping.

 

I have nothing against umbrellas.  But people who are standing in front of other people who are trying to see ought to think about what they're doing.

 

Do you save all your ride photos?

 

I save all of my photos, so yes.

 

Brings back memories of our many summer trips in the heat.

 

It was extra hot this year.

 

TCD

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

I have nothing against umbrellas. But people who are standing in front of other people who are trying to see ought to think about what they're doing.

TCD

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.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

We left off on the boat about to dock at the Fort in the early evening of July 4.

 

There are folks on the beach, but not too many:

 

 

It was about 5:50 pm, and according to the official activities guide, there should have been a volleyball tournament and sandcastle building going on:

 

 

http://www.fortfiends.net/_/activities/fort-wilderness-activities-schedule-july-2015-r400

 

But, not many people showed up for those activities:

 

 

 

There goes the slow boat- I hope those guests didn't have to be somewhere anytime soon:

 

 

From here, we headed back to the site.

 

And it started to rain.

 

Oh well.

 

Tonight was supposed to be a big cookout at the TCD site.  And Mrs. TCD and Rocky were supposed to come.  But, around mid-day, we talked and we canceled those plans.  It was raining pretty much all day back home, and chances were good that we'd be rained out here too.  We can all hang out in the pop-up when it's raining.  But, it's not our favorite thing to do.

 

Still, during a pause in the rain, I did fire up the grill, and cooked up some hot dogs and beans.  And that ended up as our big cook-out.  The coals were good for marshmallows too, so we enjoyed some smores.  Then came a few small sparklers and spark emitting fireworks from our site.  Nothing too dangerous, and no one was injured. 

 

There had been an ongoing debate all afternoon about whether of not we should go back to the MK for the 4th of July fireworks that night.  We had been the year before and it was pretty brutal.  And, last night, we had to wait over an hour while the fireworks were delayed.  With the rain we were having tonight, we knew there was a chance of another delay.  None of us felt like doing that again.  So, we ultimately all agreed that we would watch the fireworks from Clementine's Beach.  We also agreed that we wouldn't go there too early, as we didn't want to have to stand there in the rain.  Instead, we hung out, and did some looping, and hung out some more.

 

I wanted to go and hear the announcement of the golf cart parade winners, but it was raining pretty good at 7 pm, so I skipped that.

 

At around 8:30, it was just drizzling, and we decided to head down to the beach to see what was up.

 

It was cone city again at the Settlement, and the same mean CM as the night before was standing in the entrance of the Pioneer Hall parking area telling guests that the lot was closed.  Even though there were only a couple of carts in it.

 

We were also directed away from the marina parking, and told to keep driving down toward the River Country entrance.

 

When we passed the playground, I turned into the field next to it, and parked there.  There were plenty of spaces, and at this time of night, there weren't going to be too many more carts showing up.

 

If you've ever been to the Fort on a night when there were going to be special fireworks- like the 4th of July or New Year's Eve, you know that the beach can be wall-to-wall people.

 

Well, here's how things looked at the far end of the beach at 8:43 pm on July 4, 2015:

 

 

This was a lighter crowd than a regular night:

 

 

It was still drizzling.  The dance party was going on down near the marina end of the beach, and there was a small crowd there.  But, nothing like we've seen in years past.  And this was a Saturday night.  That rain kept everyone away.

 

We figured the fireworks might be late, but right at 9, they started.

 

We were surprised, because the narration that introduces the fireworks didn't start.

 

After the first few fireworks started, the sound came on.

 

Then it went out again.

 

Then it came on again.

 

Then it went out again, and stayed off.

 

Which is a real shame.  The patriotic music that accompanies the fireworks is important.

 

Here's a couple of photos of the fireworks from the beach.  It's fine to watch them from here, but not as impressive as being right there in the MK to see them:

 

 

 

As soon as the fireworks ended, we ran to the cart, hopped on, and got out of the Settlement before the IR's started to direct traffic and cause the annual 4th of July golfcart traffic jam.

 

Back at the campsite, there was another round of smore making.

 

And some more looping.

 

The Fort was pretty quiet that night.

 

Even the 2000 loop.

 

Rain has a way of sucking the fun out of things.

 

The MK was open until 1.

 

So, after a bit, we went.

 

It wasn't too bad there.

 

We even rode the Mine Train standby.

 

I took a couple of photos for the Where in the World? thread, but I think they're too obvious:

 

 

 

We closed down the MK that night.

 

And headed back to the Fort.

 

Our golf cart was the last one at the marina.

 

And that was it for the 4th.

 

I was up early on the 5th. 

 

Today, I headed out to loop around some of the cabin loops and see what was up in that part of the Fort:

 

 

On an earlier looping expedition, we had seen that two of the cabin loops were closed, with fences across the entrance.

 

The 2100 loop was not closed.  This loop was the last one to get the new cabins back in the late '90's.  The porches on all of the cabins looked like these do:

 

 

But, look at the porches on the cabins on the 2200 loop- they have been replaced.  Look at the vertical posts on the railings, instead of the crisscross pattern they used to have:

 

 

The 2400 and 2600 loops were both closed and fenced off like this:

 

 

Looking in to the loop, I could see lots of stacked lumber and miscellaneous construction equipment.  Some of the cabins had brand new porches on them, and others were in the midst of getting brand new porches:

 

 

The sun was busy drying out all of the wet from the night before, making things misty:

 

 

 

The sun was right in my eyes as I headed back to the 4-way:

 

 

It was good to see the sun.  Maybe today wouldn't be rainy?:

 

 

From here, I headed down to the Meadow Trading Post.  I hadn't spent much time here yet.

 

I checked on Bob's Dock, and saw that there were a couple of people trespassing:

 

 

 

The Fishin' Hole was pretty full then.  I'll bet it's really full now that we've had so much rain in the month since I took this photo:

 

 

A bird was using Bear Rock as its perch:

 

 

I told the bird to get lost:

 

 

Look at how messy Bob's dock was.  I was glad that he wasn't here to see this.  I told these two knuckleheads that this was Bob's Dock, and they had better move along:

 

 

It wasn't too brutally hot this morning, so I thought I could sit in one of the rocking chairs on the porch and chill for a few moments.

 

There were no chairs on the back porch:

 

 

And none on the side porch either:

 

 

Oh well, the front would be fine.  But, there were no rocking chairs there either:

 

 

So, on July 5, there were no rocking chairs at all anywhere on the porches of the Meadow Trading Post.

 

As they say:  Bad Show.

 

That's all for this update.

 

Next, we will do some looping and see some interesting things guests had at their sites.

 

TCD

[Travisma 1,317]

It was hot.  And humid.  The sweat was definitely dripping.

 

I have nothing against umbrellas.  But people who are standing in front of other people who are trying to see ought to think about what they're doing.

 

TCD

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.

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

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.