ICYMI: A New TCD Trip Report April 2016 at the Fort

[keith_h 420]

1 hour ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

I don't think there should be any time that guests have to shut off their holiday lights.  But, I agree midnight is much better than 10 pm

It all depends on what the decoration is. On one of our trips around Halloween the folks across the street had some popup ghouls near the trash cans that were set off by movement. It was ok during the day but they would also go off all night as critters investigated the trash cans for a potential free meal. It only happened that first night so I suspect they forgot to turn it off after a late night at the parks but it would have generated a complaint had it gone on a second night. So while lights are ok so many people have noise makers I think the midnight rule is a decent compromise and treats everyone the same.

[Avatab.... Steve 124]

We used to have a pop-up (two in a row actually, and I still miss the second/nicer one, there's something nice about the open-air feel that you just don't get in a hard-side camper...) and I would always have a bag of earplugs on board just in case.

For that matter, I still carry them in our motorhome, but luckily it's been rare that we've had to use them. We usually do what TCD mentioned above and turn on a fan or the AC.

I agree that midnight is a good compromise for turning off decorations, now we'll see if the Fort enforces it consistently.

 

[Helmsey......Todd 134]

Thanks for taking the pics and sharing with us.
Looking forward to bonus material!

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

5 hours ago, keith_h said:

It all depends on what the decoration is. On one of our trips around Halloween the folks across the street had some popup ghouls near the trash cans that were set off by movement. It was ok during the day but they would also go off all night as critters investigated the trash cans for a potential free meal. It only happened that first night so I suspect they forgot to turn it off after a late night at the parks but it would have generated a complaint had it gone on a second night. So while lights are ok so many people have noise makers I think the midnight rule is a decent compromise and treats everyone the same.

You'd hope people would use common sense, but.... 

[fladogfan aka Gretchen 259]

Page 3 finished. 

Did the yellow flies follow TCD back to the camp ground?

If you are out this way any time in the near future, be careful.  If you get lost, like I did, you're going to find out where the Yellow Flies have been hanging out.  They were swarming all around here near the lake.

[fladogfan aka Gretchen 259]

7 hours ago, mouseketab.....Carol said:

Oh, I agree, I got three parking passes for my stay too. But if I were to show them the rules and insist on following them, would they even know where an alternate parking place could be? Just my evil OCD coming out. (Just like when Toyota had Prius ads that said there was "A Prius for Everyone", I went to a dealer with the ad and asked where the Prius with a 10K towing capacity was).

Good for you Carol

My husband could ask for the one that will carry a 4x8 slab of plywood.

[fladogfan aka Gretchen 259]

Thanks TCD!

On noise and lights.  At WWW we asked to be close to the CS.  Disney put us next to it.  That was fine, had a direct walk to the CS.  And the lights on and around the CS lit our way.  Didn't really need the outside light on the hybrid.  But our first night there, about 1am the noise that woke me sounded like someone banging on or in a dumpster.  Marty went outside, reported the next morning it was the cleaning crew banging on rugs or something.  We didn't hear it the other nights.  Maybe just too worn out to hear

[Memphis 105]

I bet the 12 o'clock decoration rule has more to do with keeping the late night bookings for the hay/carriage/sled rides.  

[Grumpy and Grandma 740]

1 hour ago, fladogfan aka Gretchen said:

  Marty went outside, reported the next morning it was the cleaning crew banging on rugs or something.  We didn't hear it the other nights.  Maybe just too worn out to hear

Or tooooooo many adult beverages?  

[Travisma 1,317]

TCD, since you're getting into running, this won't be too far of a drive and a lot less $$$ than a Disney Run.  

Of course this era maybe a little before your time.  I'm guessing a Disco Era run might be more your style.

Put on your groovin' shoes and join us for Goodwill's Hippie Dash 5K! 

Saturday, May 21st, 2016
Downtown Gulfport

Registrations are non-refundable and cannot be transferred.

5K Hippie Dash 

1 mile Walk, Woof & Roll (strollers & dogs welcome)

Flower Child Fun Run

5K Hippie Dash $30/Walk, Woof & Roll $20/Flower Child Fun Run $10
Medals for all finishers!
T-shirt & goodie bag for registering!
Free beer!
Special awards for 1st Place finishers in every age group!
Awards for Best Dressed Dude, Best Dressed Dudette & Best Dressed Dog!

8:00 a.m. -  Hippie Dash 5K start  
8:15 a.m. - Walk, Woof & Roll start
9:00 a.m. - Flower Child Fun Run

The 5K is a chip-timed event. 
Virtual runners welcome.
All proceeds benefit Goodwill's programs for adults with disabilities
and for people with other barriers to self-sufficiency. 
 

Our Sponsors are Outta Sight! 

        

Winters & Yonker, PA
Canteen 
Clear Channel Outdoor   OUTFRONT Media
TECO Peoples Gas
Piedmont Companies, Inc.
Hawkins Construction, Inc. 
Humana
3 Daughters Brewing
Gordon Food Service
 

 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

21 hours ago, ependydad...Doug said:

It's a good thing I'm pretty as I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed... I thought the name plaques were wedged in there and not hanging from hooks. I see that I'm wrong. :)

Good call on the more kids but no more chaos. :)

Hey, no worries- I had to zoom in on the photo to see how Papa did it.

If I'm ever a grandparent, I think it would be a blast to have a big RV that I could park at the Fort to host visits from the grandchildren.

21 hours ago, keith_h said:

It all depends on what the decoration is. On one of our trips around Halloween the folks across the street had some popup ghouls near the trash cans that were set off by movement. It was ok during the day but they would also go off all night as critters investigated the trash cans for a potential free meal. It only happened that first night so I suspect they forgot to turn it off after a late night at the parks but it would have generated a complaint had it gone on a second night. So while lights are ok so many people have noise makers I think the midnight rule is a decent compromise and treats everyone the same.

Makes sense.  But, I personally never had a problem with anyone's decorations before the unnecessary new rules were created.

20 hours ago, Avatab.... Steve said:

We used to have a pop-up (two in a row actually, and I still miss the second/nicer one, there's something nice about the open-air feel that you just don't get in a hard-side camper...) and I would always have a bag of earplugs on board just in case.

For that matter, I still carry them in our motorhome, but luckily it's been rare that we've had to use them. We usually do what TCD mentioned above and turn on a fan or the AC.

I agree that midnight is a good compromise for turning off decorations, now we'll see if the Fort enforces it consistently.

 

Like I said, I never had a problem with anyone's decorations before the new rules.

But, I'm usually the last one to go to bed and the first one up when I'm at the Fort.

20 hours ago, Helmsey......Todd said:

Thanks for taking the pics and sharing with us.
Looking forward to bonus material!

Bonus material?

Who said there's going to be bonus material?

You must be a true TCD TR connoisseur. 

Of course there will be bonus material. 

I'll take a look at what I have and try to scrape up something for today.

15 hours ago, GaDawgFan.....Kelly said:

You'd hope people would use common sense, but.... 

Thankfully, real campers are courteous and have common sense, and most of the guests at the Fort are real campers.

But, there are always a few knuckleheads around to ruin things for the rest of us.  So, rules are necessary.  And, as we have all said a million times- if they would just make some effort to enforce the rules that are already in place, all these nit-picky new rules would not be necessary.

15 hours ago, fladogfan aka Gretchen said:

Page 3 finished. 

Did the yellow flies follow TCD back to the camp ground?

If you are out this way any time in the near future, be careful.  If you get lost, like I did, you're going to find out where the Yellow Flies have been hanging out.  They were swarming all around here near the lake.

I didn't have any Yellow Fly encounters in the 1400 loop while I was there.  But, those flies may have followed me back.

14 hours ago, fladogfan aka Gretchen said:

Good for you Carol

My husband could ask for the one that will carry a 4x8 slab of plywood.

Men.

14 hours ago, fladogfan aka Gretchen said:

Thanks TCD!

On noise and lights.  At WWW we asked to be close to the CS.  Disney put us next to it.  That was fine, had a direct walk to the CS.  And the lights on and around the CS lit our way.  Didn't really need the outside light on the hybrid.  But our first night there, about 1am the noise that woke me sounded like someone banging on or in a dumpster.  Marty went outside, reported the next morning it was the cleaning crew banging on rugs or something.  We didn't hear it the other nights.  Maybe just too worn out to hear

So true.  I once was set up on a site on the 1500 loop where my camper was positioned in such a way that the headlights from the trucks the maintenance folks used to visit the comfort station would hit.  And, then there was that time I had a site right by where the delivery trucks for the Settlement Trading Post would park.

I don't like how bright the new lights they have installed around the Fort are, but there used to be a lot of complaints about how dark it was around the campground at night.  It was probably the same management group who decided to rip out the wilderness in the loops that decided to install lamps with lighthouse grade bulbs around the Fort.

13 hours ago, Memphis said:

I bet the 12 o'clock decoration rule has more to do with keeping the late night bookings for the hay/carriage/sled rides.  

Of course.  I recall reports from Fiends with nice decorations on the sleigh ride route that they were asked to keep their lights on past the published 10 pm curfew.  Money always talks.

12 hours ago, Grumpy and Grandma said:

Or tooooooo many adult beverages?  

You know them Wild Women well.

10 hours ago, Travisma said:

TCD, since you're getting into running, this won't be too far of a drive and a lot less $$$ than a Disney Run.  

Of course this era maybe a little before your time.  I'm guessing a Disco Era run might be more your style.

Put on your groovin' shoes and join us for Goodwill's Hippie Dash 5K! 

Saturday, May 21st, 2016
Downtown Gulfport

Registrations are non-refundable and cannot be transferred.

5K Hippie Dash 

1 mile Walk, Woof & Roll (strollers & dogs welcome)

Flower Child Fun Run

5K Hippie Dash $30/Walk, Woof & Roll $20/Flower Child Fun Run $10
Medals for all finishers!
T-shirt & goodie bag for registering!
Free beer!
Special awards for 1st Place finishers in every age group!
Awards for Best Dressed Dude, Best Dressed Dudette & Best Dressed Dog!

8:00 a.m. -  Hippie Dash 5K start  
8:15 a.m. - Walk, Woof & Roll start
9:00 a.m. - Flower Child Fun Run

The 5K is a chip-timed event. 
Virtual runners welcome.
All proceeds benefit Goodwill's programs for adults with disabilities
and for people with other barriers to self-sufficiency. 
 

Our Sponsors are Outta Sight! 

        

Winters & Yonker, PA
Canteen 
Clear Channel Outdoor   OUTFRONT Media
TECO Peoples Gas
Piedmont Companies, Inc.
Hawkins Construction, Inc. 
Humana
3 Daughters Brewing
Gordon Food Service
 

 

Wow, that sounds terrifying.

Thanks for letting me know.

So, I can up here in north county.

TCD

[Travisma 1,317]

Wow, that sounds terrifying.

Thanks for letting me know.

So, I can up here in north county.

TCD

 

But did you see the most important item?  Free beer!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

34 minutes ago, Travisma said:

But did you see the most important item?  Free beer!

Typical Hippie trick. 

No way I'm falling for that.

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

As mentioned above, I do have some bonus stuff to share.

Like, I have some photos from a day trip I made back in January.  If I am remembering this right, Twin #1 and a friend made a trip down to visit Twin #2 and were crashed at her place.  I offered to take everyone to breakfast at Trail's End (as long as Twin #2 showed up with her CM ID), and everyone was good with that plan.  I arrived early, and had some time to kill, so I walked down to River Country to have a look around.

These photos are from that trip.

Here we are in the old entry area of River Country, looking out toward the old ticket booth:

There was something different about that rock there on the right of the sidewalk in that photo.  Take a closer look at it:

I wonder who did that and why?

That Hidden Mickey is relatively new- like it appeared some time in the last year.

Over there is where the River Country water tower used to be, ICYMI:

Here's something else new that I haven't seen mentioned on this or any other Discussion Board . . .  See that empty space to the right of the benches in this photo?:

That box you see sitting over there to the left used to be in that empty spot.

There used to be two working water fountains there.

From back in the days of River Country.

Here are some photos from the TCD archives that show how it used to look:

By the way, that little building you see in the back center of that photo is gone now too, but it's been gone for a while

Another old River Country water fountain shot:

But that version of the River Country water fountain, with the cute Hidden Mickey cut-outs,  is itself a relatively new development.

I had to dig near the bottom of the pile for this photo- which shows the old River Country entrance when the water tower was still there (look to the far left).  You can see the old wooden box around the water fountain to the right:

Well, all we will have left of the River Country Water Fountain is memories now, because just this old/new box is left:

The old ticket booth got a new roof since that last photo was taken.  Someone also painted an nice white line around the porch, and those old log benches have disappeared.  Progress:

On the bright side, we have another Hidden Mickey here to admire:

Does anyone remember back about six months ago when Miss Josie and Miss Paulette were honored by having the Trail's End Take Out area renamed P&J's Southern Take Out?

There was a new sign and everything:

Well, some scoundrel broke the sign, and here's how it looked in January:

In true Fort fashion, the remaining bit of the sign was removed sometime since January, and it has not been replaced.

As far as I could see, there was no signage of any kind identifying Trail's End Take Out by its new name.  The name is still in use on the Disney website, but not at the actual location.

Makes sense.

That's all I have for this bonus post.

But, I think it's enough.

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

The first Hidden Mickey you took a picture of was there during our last October/November trip.  But I don't think the second one was.  At least I didn't see it.

What a shame about the P&J's sign.  Hopefully it was an accident.

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

Yay!! TCD is back!  And smart enough to visit the weekend before WWW. Lol

Love all the pictures!  They maker want to go back and spend more time just looking around. My daughter and I did have a relaxing time sitting on the side porch of the Meadows Trading Post, listening to the music and rocking in the rocking chairs. 

Thanks for coming back, TCD. You were missed. 

[ftwildernessguy 778]

In keeping with the frontier theme, weapons will be checked upon check in, sort of like those old west towns run by the somewhat seedy sheriff.   Hopefully that will cut down on those gunfights in the street after the Saturday night brawls in Crockett's Tavern.

[djsamuel 322]

On ‎5‎/‎5‎/‎2016 at 11:14 AM, Tri-Circle-D said:

I don't think there should be any time that guests have to shut off their holiday lights.  But, I agree midnight is much better than 10 pm

It just so happens that I can answer that question.  On this trip, we had three cars, as the girls arrived in their own cars.  We had all three right there at check-in.  I asked the CM checking us in if we could have three parking passes, so we could leave one or more of the cars in overflow, and he printed them and handed them over.  He also said they haven't even been printing parking passes, except upon request, and that it was OK to park in the overflow lot without a parking pass.  I'm not sure if that's accurate, but that's what he said. And he didn't blink at my request for three parking passes.

TCD

We stayed at Coronado Springs when we were running the Star Wars Half Marathon.  They told us they no longer print parking passes at all, and they are no longer needed anywhere. 

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

Since I generally leave my truck in the overflow when camping at the Fort, I just feel a lot more comfortable if there is a parking pass in the window.

[ImDownWithDisney 342]

On ‎5‎/‎5‎/‎2016 at 0:18 PM, Tri-Circle-D said:

LOL!  That's funny!

Doug, the eyes are starting to go.  Take a closer look:

What is interesting, though, is that Papa is contemplating that there could be two more grandchildren, but four is going to be the limit.  I guess four puts the Peaceometer on chaos, and nobody wants to know what comes after that.

I don't have to put myself in your shoes, I'm a fellow pop-up camper, and I know what you mean about the noise and light.  Since my girls like to sleep in most mornings, I always have the AC, heat, or fan running.  That effectively blocks out the inevitable noise that comes as our loop neighbors start their days.

As for light, I am bothered way more by some of the bright lights that the Fort management installed and keep on all night long than a fellow camper's Christmas lights.

TCD

I think PaPa is saying that the bus is full. If the whole family goes "campin" then they are full.

[Travisma 1,317]

4 hours ago, djsamuel said:

We stayed at Coronado Springs when we were running the Star Wars Half Marathon.  They told us they no longer print parking passes at all, and they are no longer needed anywhere. 

That's odd, especially like Carol said about the overflow lot at the Fort.  I can see the other resorts not needing them since they will be scanning your Magic Bands to get on property. Maybe the Fort is cracking down on unregistered day visitors?

So far with the new all APs have free parking, we've only had our card scanned once.  Most of the time we just hold it up and they wave you thru never looking at the name or asking for ID. 

Hmmm,  makes you wonder if they have long range MB scanners reading your bands as you approach the toll booths?

Tin Hats anyone?

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

On ‎5‎/‎6‎/‎2016 at 1:14 PM, CCIntrigue...aka Gwen said:

The first Hidden Mickey you took a picture of was there during our last October/November trip.  But I don't think the second one was.  At least I didn't see it.

What a shame about the P&J's sign.  Hopefully it was an accident.

I kind of figured those Hidden Mickeys were made by someone with a pressure washer, so I'll bet they appeared around the same time.  But, who knows?

On ‎5‎/‎6‎/‎2016 at 3:10 PM, Momof6....aka Marty said:

Yay!! TCD is back!  And smart enough to visit the weekend before WWW. Lol

Love all the pictures!  They maker want to go back and spend more time just looking around. My daughter and I did have a relaxing time sitting on the side porch of the Meadows Trading Post, listening to the music and rocking in the rocking chairs. 

Thanks for coming back, TCD. You were missed. 

When I arrived on for this trip, the thought crossed my mind that it might be WWW.  But, I missed it by a week.

I'm glad to hear that you got to spend some quality rocking chair time with your daughter.  That's good stuff!

On ‎5‎/‎8‎/‎2016 at 8:42 PM, ftwildernessguy said:

In keeping with the frontier theme, weapons will be checked upon check in, sort of like those old west towns run by the somewhat seedy sheriff.   Hopefully that will cut down on those gunfights in the street after the Saturday night brawls in Crockett's Tavern.

LOL.  I'll bet there are plenty of weapons in the Fort.

6 hours ago, djsamuel said:

We stayed at Coronado Springs when we were running the Star Wars Half Marathon.  They told us they no longer print parking passes at all, and they are no longer needed anywhere. 

Interesting.  As I mentioned, the CM at check-in told me that the paper passes weren't necessary, but he would print me some if I wanted him to.  That was on April 22- which was after the Star Wars Half.  And, I know that I just showed that pass when we drove to AK on that trip.  So, the CM who told you that they no longer print passes at all wasn't correct.

5 hours ago, mouseketab.....Carol said:

Since I generally leave my truck in the overflow when camping at the Fort, I just feel a lot more comfortable if there is a parking pass in the window.

Same here.  I wouldn't think of leaving a vehicle in the overflow lot overnight without a parking pass.  But, apparently, it's now OK to do that?

1 hour ago, ImDownWithDisney said:

I think PaPa is saying that the bus is full. If the whole family goes "campin" then they are full.

PaPa is no fool.

1 hour ago, Travisma said:

That's odd, especially like Carol said about the overflow lot at the Fort.  I can see the other resorts not needing them since they will be scanning your Magic Bands to get on property. Maybe the Fort is cracking down on unregistered day visitors?

So far with the new all APs have free parking, we've only had our card scanned once.  Most of the time we just hold it up and they wave you thru never looking at the name or asking for ID. 

Hmmm,  makes you wonder if they have long range MB scanners reading your bands as you approach the toll booths?

Tin Hats anyone?

The Fort is not cracking down on unregistered day visitors.  At least not in my experience. I've been there a few times in the past few months just to have breakfast with my daughter.  We always make a reservation- but the guards at the shack don't bother looking that up.  Just flash an ID, and you're in.

For parking at the parks, I always have my photo ID and Passholder ID card in hand to show the CM at the booth, but they rarely even take them out of my hand to verify the name and my ID.  I've never had my pass or MagicBand scanned this year, and I've parked at all the parks several times.

I seriously doubt they would spend money on long ranger RFID readers at the parks.

But, one thing I did notice is that the MB reader at the returning guest gate at the Fort does have a longer range than the scanners they use at the parks and at the comfort stations- if I got my MB anywhere near that reader, it opened the gate.  I did not have to touch "Mickey to Mickey."  I appreciated that.

TCD

[Travisma 1,317]

But, one thing I did notice is that the MB reader at the returning guest gate at the Fort does have a longer range than the scanners they use at the parks and at the comfort stations- if I got my MB anywhere near that reader, it opened the gate.  I did not have to touch "Mickey to Mickey."  I appreciated that.

 

That's so them big boy diesel rigs 7 foot off the ground don't have to fall out of their window trying to scan their MB!

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

Is this the day we were blessed to meet you? 

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

On 5/5/2016 at 10:31 AM, Tri-Circle-D said:

 

 

Hey TCD can I get a digital copy of that new map for my files. If I download from here it get blurry when I zoom in.