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

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Let's get through the rest of my Disney Springs photos-

Twin #1 wanted to take a look in the Kate Spade store.  I told her I would wait outside and people watch:

I am not personally familiar with Kate Spade or her stores, but I think she's for the fancy ladies.  Twin #1 came out of the store after just a couple of minutes and said it was horrible in there with moms pushing giant strollers around and all kinds of other horrible things that aren't typically seen in a Kate Spade store.  Can you imagine?

We continued walking along this part of Disney Springs, and I spied some kind of prop across the way:

The water in here was bubbling, and I think this is supposed to be the spring that Disney Springs was built around:

That wheel you see over there spins around, and a lady was just there spinning in like crazy, but as far as we could see nothing happened:

I've never heard of Zara, but they have a big store here.  Twin #1 says it's a department store with origins in Europe:

Right near that other spring we saw, there's more spring water bubbling here:

There were bunches of people coming in and out of this place, and we could see plaid-vested Disney CM's in there- so I am guessing this is Guest Services, but maybe they could get a sign?:

One of the stores that Twin #1 wanted to visit today was Sprinkles cupcakes.  I never heard of it, but she had visited one out in California, and apparently it's a thing. This one was slammed, though:

If you are trying to orient yourself, note that you can see the sign for Raglan Road there in the background of that photo.  I was surprised when I saw that- I know that the old stuff didn't move, but it's weird to try to think about what used to be here.  I think it used to be a parking lot.

Here's another look at the guests lined up in the 90 degree heat for a cupcake.  There are actually two lines.  The mob to the right is waiting for the cupcake ATM, and the line on the left is waiting to get in the store.  Apparently, there was a way to register on-line for a free cupcake (which Twin #1 had done), but we both agreed that it wasn't worth dying of heat stroke for a free cupcake.  We were in the minority with that view, apparently:

Here's some more stores on their way:

The Lime Parking garage opened today for the first time, and the entry/exit for it into the shopping center is straight ahead in this photo:

There's a lot of spaces here with signs in the windows telling us what is on its way:

Here's a photo of the new map for Disney Springs.  All the stuff in orange is new- #46 is where Planet Hollywood used to be.  The frame is still there, but even it is being rethemed- note the big central area designated for the bus stops- that wasn't opened yet:

I told Twin #1 about BB Wolf's and she wanted to try it, so we headed back there:

I posted this on another thread, but take a closer look at the weather vane on that building:

They were backed up on their orders at BB Wolf's so we waited around the side for our order.

The view from here is pretty nice-and there goes one of those Amphicars:

Twin #1 got the Three Little Pigs- I had to help her with the Rueben one -which was delicious:

As we walked around, I realized that I hadn't seen the water tower that they installed here not too long ago, and I wondered where it was.  I consulted the map, and saw that it was out in the bus parking area, between the two parking garages.  That area was not being used yet, but I was able to take a peek through the hedges on wheels that they were using to hide it:

There were restrooms here, so I figured I ought to check them out:

I had to get a photo of the restroom-it was really nice:

It was 90+ degrees at this point, and we had seen what we came to see today.  We had talked about heading to a park from here, but we decided instead that it would be nice to go someplace cool where we could get some ice cream or something.  I suggested the Contemporary Resort.  Twin #1 suggested a Dole Whip at the Polynesian.  That girl is a genius!

So we headed out.

Twin #1 had parked in the Orange Garage, so we headed there.

This is a view of the new, and yet to open, bus area from the parking garage:

That big brick building over there is going to be a World of Coca Cola store- it's huge:

Twin #1 likes to park on the top deck of the parking garage, because she can usually park near the elevators.  That's not a bad strategy, but I'd rather park in the shade below and walk some.  It was hot, hot, hot up here on the roof:

Those are the elevators over there:

It's amazing that they built these two giant parking garages:

From here, we headed to the Polynesian.

We had been there recently and had dinner at 'Ohana.  When we got there, the guard didn't even verify that we had a reservation.  It seems like they have let up on the parking restrictions, and we figured we could try and see if we could park right there.

And, I wanted to share my impressions of Disney Springs- I like what they've done.  I think it's a huge improvement.  But, I really wonder whether there are enough customers to support some of those stores and whether folks on vacation are going to be buying what they're selling.  I don't blame Disney for trying.  They have thousands of guests with money to spend, and why not keep them right on property rather than have them head over to City Walk, Mall of Millennia, and other destinations.  In the TCD gang, we always thought City Walk at Universal was more fun than Downtown Disney.  But, I don't feel that way anymore.

TCD

 

 

 

 

[Northerngirl--Lori 5]

Loving the new bonus report! Don't stop now, I want to see the stores! I'm leaving The area today and never made it to Disney Springs[emoji17][emoji33]

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Travisma 1,317]

Here's another look at the guests lined up in the 90 degree heat for a cupcake.  There are actually two lines.  The mob to the right is waiting for the cupcake ATM, and the line on the left is waiting to get in the store.  Apparently, there was a way to register on-line for a free cupcake (which Twin #1 had done), but we both agreed that it wasn't worth dying of heat stroke for a free cupcake.  We were in the minority with that view, apparently:

 

Tampa has a Sprinkles down in Hyde Park that opened back in March? I think.  Not sure if the cupcake ATM is working yet.

[fladogfan aka Gretchen 259]

On ‎5‎/‎16‎/‎2016 at 6:41 PM, fladogfan aka Gretchen said:

Wonder why some of your photos did not show on the report on my computer?  Some did, some didn't. 

But with your words I can "see" what you saw.

I hope whatever is going on with your computer is fixed, as I have a lot more photos to share.

On ‎5‎/‎16‎/‎2016 at 6:45 PM, fladogfan aka Gretchen said:

OK it's something wrong on my end.  I just went to read WWW TR and photos I could see yesterday are not showing.

What?  Is it working now?

 

Took me a while to get back to answer.  The photos are showing up fine now,  whatever the problem was is gone!  Good.  Love all the photos of the fort and your views of DS.  The 3 little pigs plate looks tasty.   Did not know the new garage had opened already.  As garages go the Orange one is OK. 

Gwen the temps are in low 90s already   and a bunch of rain last night!

[Beckers 1,136]

I saw a post that a dozen cupcakes from Sprinkles are $52!! And that's cutting you a deal because they are normally $4.95. From the pics I saw they aren't all that special either (and they were getting some bad reviews).

[ftwildernessguy 778]

If I was stupid enough to pay 5 bucks for a damn cupcake just to get it out of a machine, I sure wouldn't admit that it tasted like doo doo.

[Travisma 1,317]

18 minutes ago, ftwildernessguy said:

If I was stupid enough to pay 5 bucks for a damn cupcake just to get it out of a machine, I sure wouldn't admit that it tasted like doo doo.

I remember when you could get an entire cake for $5 and probably a gallon of milk to go along with it.

[fladogfan aka Gretchen 259]

11 hours ago, Beckers said:

I saw a post that a dozen cupcakes from Sprinkles are $52!! And that's cutting you a deal because they are normally $4.95. From the pics I saw they aren't all that special either (and they were getting some bad reviews).

I don't understand the cupcake craze.  It's a great idea for those selling them, easy money,  but to pay 5 bucks or more for a cupcake?!  Maybe it's the icing piled inches high on the little bit of cake? 

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

More sunny and hot pictures to start another dreary day.  Thank you!

[Travisma 1,317]

27 minutes ago, fladogfan aka Gretchen said:

I don't understand the cupcake craze.  It's a great idea for those selling them, easy money,  but to pay 5 bucks or more for a cupcake?!  Maybe it's the icing piled inches high on the little bit of cake? 

It's like every other fad that comes along.  Once someone with a "famous" name is seen with an item, everyone has to have them.

I hated having to pay $1.50 for a box of Tasty-Cake cupcakes at the bakery thrift store the other day.  Guess they are a super bargain compared to "Sprinkles".

And the worst part about it, is how much wasted food there is going to be.  People buy these overpriced/over hyped cupcakes for their kids, who maybe eat 1/2 of the icing and a bite of cake, then toss them out.

[parrothead7368 aka Norm 101]

That's the thing, it is more icing than cake. I thought the cupcake craze was over, the new thing around here is that there is a beer brewing company opening up on every corner. It's kind of getting ridiculous and I really like beer!!!

Best Regards,

Norm

 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

20 hours ago, Northerngirl--Lori said:

Loving the new bonus report! Don't stop now, I want to see the stores! I'm leaving The area today and never made it to Disney Springs

No big loss- there are still a lot of things that aren't open yet, and construction walls up. 

20 hours ago, Travisma said:

Tampa has a Sprinkles down in Hyde Park that opened back in March? I think.  Not sure if the cupcake ATM is working yet.

My daughters know about the store in Tampa, but we've never been.  The twins visited Sprinkles in California and reported back that it's OK, but not worth making a special effort to visit.

16 hours ago, fladogfan aka Gretchen said:

Took me a while to get back to answer.  The photos are showing up fine now,  whatever the problem was is gone!  Good.  Love all the photos of the fort and your views of DS.  The 3 little pigs plate looks tasty.   Did not know the new garage had opened already.  As garages go the Orange one is OK. 

Gwen the temps are in low 90s already   and a bunch of rain last night!

I'm glad you can see the photos.

I like the parking garages-especially the electronic signs saying how many spaces are open on each level, and the directional lighting for each space- those are really helpful features.

14 hours ago, Beckers said:

I saw a post that a dozen cupcakes from Sprinkles are $52!! And that's cutting you a deal because they are normally $4.95. From the pics I saw they aren't all that special either (and they were getting some bad reviews).

I didn't know they were that much.  Good grief.

But, I think that's right in line with what Disney charges for their cupcakes.

14 hours ago, ftwildernessguy said:

If I was stupid enough to pay 5 bucks for a damn cupcake just to get it out of a machine, I sure wouldn't admit that it tasted like doo doo.

I guess the machine is the attraction.  The cupcake quality isn't important.

13 hours ago, Travisma said:

I remember when you could get an entire cake for $5 and probably a gallon of milk to go along with it.

You're sounding like a grumpy old man, Mark.

2 hours ago, fladogfan aka Gretchen said:

I don't understand the cupcake craze.  It's a great idea for those selling them, easy money,  but to pay 5 bucks or more for a cupcake?!  Maybe it's the icing piled inches high on the little bit of cake? 

I don't understand it either.

Just like I didn't understand why people would pay $5+ for a cup of coffee.

But, they do.

2 hours ago, CCIntrigue...aka Gwen said:

More sunny and hot pictures to start another dreary day.  Thank you!

I have one more batch of those to share.

2 hours ago, Travisma said:

It's like every other fad that comes along.  Once someone with a "famous" name is seen with an item, everyone has to have them.

I hated having to pay $1.50 for a box of Tasty-Cake cupcakes at the bakery thrift store the other day.  Guess they are a super bargain compared to "Sprinkles".

And the worst part about it, is how much wasted food there is going to be.  People buy these overpriced/over hyped cupcakes for their kids, who maybe eat 1/2 of the icing and a bite of cake, then toss them out.

My daughters like to share a Disney cupcake, and that works out being a good deal if they share.

2 hours ago, parrothead7368 aka Norm said:

That's the thing, it is more icing than cake. I thought the cupcake craze was over, the new thing around here is that there is a beer brewing company opening up on every corner. It's kind of getting ridiculous and I really like beer!!!

Best Regards,

Norm

 

Same here.

A couple of years ago, we had one micro-brewery in our area.

Now, they're popping up everywhere.

I think there are too many now.

We used to have a lot of cupcake and frozen yogurt shops too.

But now we don't.

The beer places will probably suffer the same fate.

TCD

[ImDownWithDisney 342]

I really like the new downtown Disney, but I liked the old one too.....and I liked the "village" before that.  I'm not very discerning, I guess.

 

Are the new parking garages 4 door dually friendly?

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

4 minutes ago, ImDownWithDisney said:

Are the new parking garages 4 door dually friendly?

That's a good question.

I don't remember seeing signs for over-sized vehicles.

The ceiling height on the ramps is high, but on the covered decks it seems pretty low.

I'll check on that the next time I'm out there.

TCD

[Grumpy and Grandma 740]

16 minutes ago, ImDownWithDisney said:

I really like the new downtown Disney, but I liked the old one too.....and I liked the "village" before that.  I'm not very discerning, I guess.

 

Are the new parking garages 4 door dually friendly?

Height and length definitely, not sure about width since we use the ADA spots.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Well, I still have some more bonus content.

We left off with Twin #1 and I leaving Disney Springs and heading to the Polynesian Village Resort for a Dole Whip.  We had plans for later in the day to meet up with Twin #2 at the MK, and we didn't have FP's for any rides at the other parks.  Heading to one of the other parks on a hot Sunday afternoon with no FP's didn't sound like a good plan.  We would come up with a better plan over the Dole Whips.

On the way to the Polynesian, we saw the old 2100 loop cabins on the old air strip:

At that time, I mentioned to Twin #1 that I wouldn't mind seeing those from the Epcot monorail.  We filed that though away for later discussion.

At the Polynesian, we were able to enter just by flashing a photo ID- no questions about what we were doing there or how long we intended to stay.

There were lots of spaces open in the parking lot.  The Polynesian wasn't very busy that day.

We got our Dole Whips and found a nice spot in the lobby to enjoy them.  Twin #1 discovered that the table lamps in the lobby have both electric and USB outlets in them for phone chargers.  Nice touch.

We chilled in the Polynesian for a while, and then kicked around the idea of heading to the MK to watch Festival of Fantasy, and hanging around there for a while after.

We headed to the monorail, and were about to get off at the MK, when we both agreed that we were not looking forward to being in a hot and sweaty crowd.

I suggested that we go and chill for a while at the Contemporary Resort instead.

And that's what we did.

We both got a couch on the 2nd floor, outside of the convention rooms, and enjoyed some quiet time.

Then it was time to do something.

I suggested that we go to Epcot to pickup our free May Passholder gift.  It's just a print from the Flower and Garden Festival.  But, it's free.

And we didn't have anything better to do.

So we went.

And, I got to see the old 2100 loop cabins from the Epcot monorail:

As we continued on, I took a good look at the intersection with Vista Drive that is currently used for guests heading to Fort Wilderness because there have recently been plans filed showing some big changes there.

Hey look- A Four Seasons Resort bus:

According to the plans the grassy area on the right of this photo will become a retention pond, and a new access road to Vista Drive will be on the other side of the pond.

It will be nice when that's done, but it's going to be a mess while they're building that.

As we approached Epcot, we got a look at he new Solar panels.  I thought these were constructed in the shape of a Mickey head, but these don't look like any part of a Mickey head:

I've always liked how the monorail makes a loop around Future World upon arriving at Epcot.

Here, we can see that the entry area isn't too busy, which is a good thing:

There's the Splash Zone that's in the area in front of Test Track:

And there's the Cool Wash outside of the Test Track exit.  These misting things are pretty much useless in Florida's humid heat:

I always like seeing the Flower and Garden flower beds from the monorail:

You can see the big butterfly tent in these shots:

And, now we are on the other side of the entry area:

This flag is definitely at half-staff, as were the flags we saw at the Polynesian and Contemporary Resorts.  As mentioned earlier in this thread, May 15th is Peace Officer's Memorial Day.  I didn't know that before this day trip:

We headed on into Epcot.  To my surprise, I was not picked to have to go through the metal detector after the bag check.  On our last trip, I was "randomly selected" without fail.  It seemed apparent then that they are going after men and not women.  But today, I didn't get picked, and neither did Twin #1.

Here's a look at the Daisy topiary in the entry area:

We headed over to get our free print, and then decided that today would be a good day to see the Pixar short film presentation they now have in the Captain EO theater.  On the way there, we stopped to ride the Figment ride.  A group entered the FP+ queue at the same time we entered the stand-by queue, and we got on the ride before them.  FP+ is a total joke and waste at Epcot.  After Figment, we headed to the Pixar film festival, but were told by the CM at the door that it would be 20 minutes until the next performance.  That was a no for us, so we headed on out.  We were going to ride the Big Golf Ball ride on the way out, but it was closed, with CM's out front blowing bubbles to make up for the closure of one of Epcot's few attractions.

It was still going to be a bit before Twin #2 was off of work, so we had some more time to kill.  We had agreed to meet her at the Fort for a Giddyap and Go, so it made sense to now head to the Wilderness Lodge, where we could hang out until it was time to head over to the Fort.

We took the bus from Epcot to the Lodge.  Here's a couple of shots of the Vista Blvd. intersection past the MK parking booths- this is where that new pond is going to be dug:

We decided to hang out in the Villas lobby.

They are doing a lot of work on the outside of the existing Villas building:

We saw a few guests come in and out, but it doesn't seem like very many people are staying in the Villas right now.

Some CM's came in and set up a movie in the railroad room:

They had a big bag of Lion Guard buttons that it looked like they would be passing out to whoever showed up for the movie:

I'm not sure if there was going to be popcorn too, but they set up a Pop Secret sign:

A little bit after I took that photo, two CM's came in and started the movie.  But, no guests showed up to watch it, so they left.

I headed out back for some ground level shots of the construction going on:

We've looked at that new building going up, but look over at the ground in the center of this shot- there are a bunch of pipes sticking up out of the ground. Something new is going to be built in that spot too:

There's a bunch of blocks and sand stacked there:

And, to the right of all of that, there are more pipes sticking out of the ground:

They're doing work on this side of the building, too:

After our brief visit here, it was finally time to head over to the Fort.

We will be heading there, and finishing up with the bonus photos, next.

TCD

 

[Beckers 1,136]

4 hours ago, parrothead7368 aka Norm said:

That's the thing, it is more icing than cake. I thought the cupcake craze was over, the new thing around here is that there is a beer brewing company opening up on every corner. It's kind of getting ridiculous and I really like beer!!!

Best Regards,

Norm

 

I didn't read who posted this and was thinking, the same thing is going on where I live. And then I saw it was you lol.

 

[djsamuel 322]

Quote

Here's another look at the guests lined up in the 90 degree heat for a cupcake.  There are actually two lines.  The mob to the right is waiting for the cupcake ATM, and the line on the left is waiting to get in the store.  Apparently, there was a way to register on-line for a free cupcake (which Twin #1 had done), but we both agreed that it wasn't worth dying of heat stroke for a free cupcake.  We were in the minority with that view, apparently:

My wife and I were standing in that line for the free cupcakes.  It moved much faster than it appeared and they were able to keep people moving.  The were working very smoothly inside, and the manager was very nice and she said they've worked hard to get things moving smoothly.  For their first day of operation, they did well.  I got the dark chocolate cupcake and it was really good.  My wife got the chocolate marshmallow and enjoyed it.  I don't think I'd be spending $4.95 for one, but for free it was well worth the wait.  I really don't understand why people were using the cupcake ATM and paying for it when all they needed to do was sign up on the web site and get a free one. 

[Travisma 1,317]

1 hour ago, djsamuel said:

My wife and I were standing in that line for the free cupcakes.  It moved much faster than it appeared and they were able to keep people moving.  The were working very smoothly inside, and the manager was very nice and she said they've worked hard to get things moving smoothly.  For their first day of operation, they did well.  I got the dark chocolate cupcake and it was really good.  My wife got the chocolate marshmallow and enjoyed it.  I don't think I'd be spending $4.95 for one, but for free it was well worth the wait.  I really don't understand why people were using the cupcake ATM and paying for it when all they needed to do was sign up on the web site and get a free one. 

Because they are the cool kids. 

More $$ than brains and they wanted selfies of themselves and their friends "OMG cupcakes out of a machine!!!"

[ependydad...Doug 176]

4 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

The twins visited Sprinkles in California and reported back that it's OK, but not worth making a special effort to visit.

We visited the one in Vegas. Much like the general consensus - they were good, but not worth $5.

[Beckers 1,136]

57 minutes ago, Travisma said:

Because they are the cool kids. 

More $$ than brains and they wanted selfies of themselves and their friends "OMG cupcakes out of a machine!!!"

Maybe we should open back up an automat?? We'd be rich! 

[Travisma 1,317]

3 hours ago, Beckers said:

Maybe we should open back up an automat?? We'd be rich! 

Used to go to one in NYC every time we visited.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

20 hours ago, djsamuel said:

My wife and I were standing in that line for the free cupcakes.  It moved much faster than it appeared and they were able to keep people moving.  The were working very smoothly inside, and the manager was very nice and she said they've worked hard to get things moving smoothly.  For their first day of operation, they did well.  I got the dark chocolate cupcake and it was really good.  My wife got the chocolate marshmallow and enjoyed it.  I don't think I'd be spending $4.95 for one, but for free it was well worth the wait.  I really don't understand why people were using the cupcake ATM and paying for it when all they needed to do was sign up on the web site and get a free one. 

Good to know that line moved quickly- it was hot out in the direct sunlight.  I didn't mention it, but things were slow at the BB Wolf Sausage Co. too, but it was their first day of operation, and everyone in the booth was working hard.  I'm sure everything will go more smoothly once the employees are more comfortable with their roles.

I know at some point we will be back at Sprinkles.  Twin #1 thinks she will be able to claim her free cupcake then, and the rest of us can go ahead and register for one too.

17 hours ago, ependydad...Doug said:

We visited the one in Vegas. Much like the general consensus - they were good, but not worth $5.

Well, now we know why it's called Sprinkles.

They don't scrimp on the toppings, do they?

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I have a just a bit more bonus content to share, and then that will be it for this TR.

I don't have another day trip planned to WDW, and the next visit will require a full-blown TR of possibly epic proportions.  But, we'll have to see how that trip plays out first.

For now, these are the last of my photos from my day trip on Sunday, May 15.

We left off with Twin #1 and I hanging out at the Villas of Wilderness Lodge.

It was just officially announced yesterday that name will soon cease to exist.

The Villas are going to be renamed the Villas at Boulder Ridge.

And those cabanas they're building are going to be the Cabanas at Copper Creek.

Which means they're going to have to make themselves a creek, I guess.

It sounds like there will be more TCD visits to the Wilderness Lodge in the immediate future.

For now, though, we are back at the good old Fort.

When I left there in the morning, I wasn't sure I would be back, but Twin #2 and a friend of Twin #1's agreed to meet us there to help us eat a GAG, so I got to go back.

Which meant that I got to visit the old windmill after all:

When I visited here in April, the jasmine on the windmill was just starting to bloom.  It clearly had been in full bloom some time since then, and it looks like the blooms are already in decline here in mid-May.  But, it still smelled wonderful:

And, today, we had the bonus addition of the blooming gardenia bushes which are next to the windmill- they also seem to be just past their prime, but they were still plenty fragrant:

Bonus points if you noticed that I caught the moon in those shots.

I really wish that you all could have been there with me.

Boy, did it smell good.

I imagine those blooms will be mostly gone by the end of this month.

If you have a chance to get to that spot before then, go!

Since we were in the neighborhood, we went and checked on the calliope.

It was there, and the button that you press to play the poor quality tape recording of the calliope playing music was working.

Sarge was eyeballing the CM's who were lollygagging with his hay:

We received a text from Twin #2 that she was in the parking lot and about to hop a bus to the Settlement, so we grabbed a couple of chairs on the porch of Crockett's Tavern- and all was right in the world:

As I sat there rocking, I couldn't help but think how almost a year ago to the day, I was across the world in chilly France enjoying the other Crockett's Tavern:

I liked that OK, but it was sure good to be home:

I am pleased to report that no swings are missing from the only swing-set left at the Fort:

If someone from the Fort is reading this, please give the bushes on the side porch a trim- thanks:

Remember how, way back at the beginning of this TR, I promised to let you in on 10 new things at the Fort?

There were actually more than 10 new things, but I had failed to get photos of some of them.

I fixed that while I was here.

So, here's and 11th new thing for those of your who like new things.

You can now buy your own personal pie or cake right at Trail's End take-out. When I asked they told me that the had apple, cherry and pecan pies.  I didn't ask about the cakes, sorry.  I'll do that next time.  But for now, here's what an $18 pecan pie looks like:

I guess that isn't bad for Disney prices.  Seems like 3 cupcakes would cost more than that, right?

I need to see that $35 cake though.

Back in April, I failed to get a photo of the new menu board showing that they sneakily reduced the pieces of chicken in a GAG from 10 to 8, and I didn't do such a good job this time- sorry it's blurry, but if you squint your eyes, you can see that it now says you only get 8 pieces of chicken in your GAG:

Here's a photo I took in February-I thought that the only thing that changed is the reduction in the number of pieces of chicken, but now that I look at both of them at the same time I see that they jacked-up the price of pizza and the pulled pork sandwich too.  But, they added a cornbread loaf, banana bread loaf, and strawberry shortcake to the snacks and desserts.

 

#ThanksShanghai

But wait, there's more!

Here's the 12th new thing at the Fort.

Check out this ketchup packet:

What the Fort is that?

What happened to the Heinz ketchup they have always served here?

I reckon Red Gold gave them a better deal.

So, it looks like we now have off brand ketchup.

Even though we had two less pieces of chicken to enjoy, our meal was still great, and still the best deal on Disney property.

After dinner, we headed to the MK.

By bus.

They currently have a bus running directly to the MK from the Settlement for HDDR guests to use to get back to their resorts.

It's a lot faster than the boat.

It goes directly the MK and parks at the very first bus stop.

The girls met up with friends at the MK, and we decided to get out before Wishes, since Twin #1 and I needed to go back to the Polynesian to fetch her car, and the transportation scene to there after Wishes is an ugly, ugly thing.

And here's one last new thing- they now rope off the entire walkway through the Tomorrowland Terrace for the Wishes Dessert Party:

I dislike that.  That walkway is our go-to method to go to Tomorrowland and avoid the congestion around the hub.

With the new walkways that came with the hub expansion, closing off that walkway isn't that big of a deal.

But still- they are closing off a walkway and restrooms from regular park guests so they can make that area exclusive for the suckers who pay big bucks to eat some small cupcakes and pudding.

And that is that.

See you on the next TR.

TCD

 

[GradyBunch 11]

Well done TCD.