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A Tale of Two Holidays


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Page 2! YES! I WIN!

 

Thanks for doing a trip report. Unfortunately, what really sticks with me is that you consider leaving at 6am "late" and were driving through the MK gates by 7am. Ouch.

 

We usually leave home no later than 4:30 a.m.  Overnight in St. Augustine and leave there around 4:30 a.m. the next day.  

 

We leave early to beat the rush hour traffic in Charlotte and Columbia.  But this time we left on a Sunday, and that wasn't a problem.  So 6 was late for us!

 

That salad looks so yummy!

 

Try one some time!  You won't be disappointed!

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Well, that stinks that they sent a slow boat to the Fort, and that those can't accommodate ECV's.

 

I'll bet the guests at Wilderness Lodge suffered no such inconvenience.

 

If they're going to do this, fine, but they need to provide advance notice and a bus for guests with ECV's.  Whatever happened to Disney's excellent customer service?  Is that out the window for scummy campers?

 

TCD

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Yay, Another trip report!!  looking forward to the rest of your report. Thanks for deciding to write one.  I  really enjoy reading them.

 

Thanks for being here!

 

Well, that stinks that they sent a slow boat to the Fort, and that those can't accommodate ECV's.

 

I'll bet the guests at Wilderness Lodge suffered no such inconvenience.

 

If they're going to do this, fine, but they need to provide advance notice and a bus for guests with ECV's.  Whatever happened to Disney's excellent customer service?  Is that out the window for scummy campers?

 

TCD

 

I agree.  But it got worse for us scummy campers on ECVs.  Wait until we tried to get to EPCOT the following week.  You won't believe how long it took us.

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Well, that stinks that they sent a slow boat to the Fort, and that those can't accommodate ECV's.

 

I'll bet the guests at Wilderness Lodge suffered no such inconvenience.

 

If they're going to do this, fine, but they need to provide advance notice and a bus for guests with ECV's.  Whatever happened to Disney's excellent customer service?  Is that out the window for scummy campers?

 

TCD

Actually, Wilderness Lodge does. During "normal" boat operations, they get a large cruiser, and a small launch rotating on a regular basis to Magic Kingdom, so therefore if an ECV user wants to use the boat from Wilderness Lodge, they have to wait on the cruiser.   But, they do have the direct bus to the MK.

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Actually, Wilderness Lodge does. During "normal" boat operations, they get a large cruiser, and a small launch rotating on a regular basis to Magic Kingdom, so therefore if an ECV user wants to use the boat from Wilderness Lodge, they have to wait on the cruiser.   But, they do have the direct bus to the MK.

 

I didn't know that was the regular rotation for WL- I've seen them using the small boats, but thought that was supplementing the large boats.

 

I would think ECV users would just go for the bus anyway. Fort guests have no such luxury.  I say it's bad show for management to let guests go all the way to the dock only to find out that their ECV's can't be transported.  But, Fort management doesn't really seem to be concerned about bad show.  So what if someone is 30-45 minutes late?  They can just go on MDE and move their FP's and ADR's- no problem.  That's why they spent two billion dollars on MDE, so guests wouldn't have to rush, rush, rush.  We can just use the free Wi-Fi at the Fort to go on the MDE app, and make the changes we need.  Best thing ever.

 

TCD

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Late but i am in

 

Yea!  Maybe you can help me with some names later!

 

Your puppy is so cute! And I'm very impressed by your pictures. If you don't mind me asking, what kind of camera do you use? Love seeing Magic Kingdom decorated for fall!

 

Thank you.  I use a Nikon D7100 with a Nikkor 18-300mm zoom lens and an f/1.4 50mm prime lens for low light conditions.

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Wednesday, October 28

 

We had breakfast at TE again.  Ran into Josh, Julia, and Caleb  while waiting to be seated.

 

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Had a really long wait for an EPCOT bus but thankfully had several Fiends to talk to while we waited.

 

Once we got to EPCOT rain and thunderstorms hit big time.

 

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We ducked into O Canada to get out of the rain and then spent time in the American Adventure.

 

We were disappointed that these guys were performing in place of Voices of Liberty:

 

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VOL was taking a week off to rehearse their Christmas songs, but unfortunately they wouldn't start performing them until after we left.

 

I've tried and tried, but I just can't get this picture quite right:

 

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We were tired of dealing with the rain and decided to grab a snack and then go  back to the fort.

 

David selected the Chilaquiles de Pollo at Mexico (Corn Chips layered with Seasoned Chicken, Queso Fresco, Sour Cream, and Cilantro).

 

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I thought it was really good.  He didn't like it.  Why?  The corn chips weren't crisp.  He is very much a traditionalist, especially with food. 

 

I stopped here and got my snack:

 

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Trio of Artisan Cheeses and a glass of chardonnay:

 

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He did taste the cheeses and eat the bread, which surprised me.

 

By the time we got back to the Fort the rain had stopped, so we took Kassie on a long buggy ride.  We met Rebekah and Brian (Beckers) along the way.

 

Since the kids were arriving in a few days, I went back to Dolly and cooked a big pot of chili to freeze.  Einstein had informed me a few days earlier that he now loves hot dogs with chili, so I was happy to oblige him.

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Speaking of monitors, when we were there, we shot over from HS to Port Orleans to grab something to eat and go somewhere different and while we were waiting for the bus to go to Epcot to catch a bus back to the Fort, I noticed they had no bus monitors there. I was very surprised.

 

Best Regards,

Norm

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Speaking of monitors, when we were there, we shot over from HS to Port Orleans to grab something to eat and go somewhere different and while we were waiting for the bus to go to Epcot to catch a bus back to the Fort, I noticed they had no bus monitors there. I was very surprised.

 

Best Regards,

Norm

 

You must have been at the French Quarter.  I think Riverside was one of the first Disney World resorts to get a monitor, but it's just at their main bus stop, not all of the others that circle the resort.

 

TCD

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You must have been at the French Quarter.  I think Riverside was one of the first Disney World resorts to get a monitor, but it's just at their main bus stop, not all of the others that circle the resort.

 

TCD

 

Yes, we were at the French Quarter, thank you for the explanation.

 

Best Regards,

Norm

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It's still weird that Riverside has one, but French Quarter doesn't.  They share buses between those resorts for some destinations and at certain times.

 

TCD

 

Yes, my wife and I couldn't believe how big the comlex was and how many stops we made before heading to Epcot.

 

Best Regards,

Norm

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VOL, one of these days I will see them!

 

I hope you do.  They are wonderful!

 

My son tried the Chilaquiles de Pollo and really enjoyed it but he is a major foodie. My husband is more like yours and doesn't understand food-ism lol

 

"...doesn't understand food-ism" is a polite way of saying it!

 

Was the new monitor at the Outpost bus stop working?

 

Yes

 

You say you had a long wait for the Epcot bus. Were other buses coming more frequently?

 

Yes

 

I know that there have been some tweaks to the buses- the Epcot bus still shares with Wilderness Lodge, doesn't it?

 

Yes, it does.  And therein lies the problem.  Most people won't be affected.  More info later.

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Thursday, October 29 -- a No Park Day

 

As usual, I was awake really early and out under the awning enjoying a cup of coffee.  At 5:30 a.m. a Disney bug sprayer went past the entrance to our loop and drove me back inside.

 

Cooked breakfast (scrambled eggs with sausage and cheese) and awaited a call from TwiceBlessed...NaCole.  We had promised to help her get backed onto her site.

 

A little later she called to say they were at the Outpost, so we went up and picked them up on the buggy.  We all rode around awhile until her site was ready, and then she got situated on the site.  She really didn't need much help from us.  By the time we went by later than afternoon, she had removed her hitch and connected everything. 

 

Later we found this rig all set up on their usual spot in 1200: 

 

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and found a few other interesting sites:

 

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We hadn't had TV service since we'd arrived on the site.  I suggested to David that maybe our cable was bad and he should try a different one.  And it worked!  So he was much happier, even though we could only get Disney channels.  That meant no Fox News.  (I was secretly happy.)

 

After I cooked dinner we took Kassie looping again.  Talked to Mo and Brian, Cheryl and Jeff, Lynn and George.

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Friday, October 30

 

A DHS day.  Before we left for the morning I put my offering for the GG in the crock pot and took a picture of our wheels:

 

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The bus monitor at the Outpost is helpful, but it would be more so if it didn't keep changing the times.  What's up with that?

 

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Finally we arrived.

 

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I have never ridden Star Tours because I was afraid of getting motion sickness on it, but I was brave today!

 

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It was so much fun!  I must confess that I did have to shut my eyes several times.

 

And then we went on the GMR just so I could take some pictures.

 

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And then it was on to Indiana Jones, again just so I could take pictures.  These pictures were hard because the disabled section is all the way at the top back of the seating.  I can't do stairs, so I had to rely on my 300mm zoom lens.  The lighting on the stage wasn't great at that time of day.

 

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Then we split a hot dog from Dockside Diner.  One hot dog and two drinks = $20.  Ouch!  This was the first time in many years that I've even seen this location open.

 

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(to be continued)

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