Let's Talk Turkey: TCD's 2016 Thanksgiving at the Fort Trip Report

[LONE-STAR 370]

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

Happy New Year! Thanks for writing the report.

We've had a magical moment with Peter Pan too, but t wasn't that good. I'd love to run into Hook.

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We caught Hook and Mr. Smee at the CR dock no other kids were around and the pirate cruise had just left. So they gave my daughter a lot of attention.

[Travisma 1,317]

7 hours ago, DaveInTN said:

We've had a couple of Pan encounters...one on the dock at the CR as she was waiting for that cruise, and another on the Disney Dream. Both kind of creeped me out to be honest with you.

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There is/was a Peter Pan that lives in the Tampa area.  He used to go to a bunch of bars and would pop up at festivals and events. He finally found his Wendy if I wasn't mistaken.

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

If BW would have been chasing Peter through the third floor of the CR; that would have been more magical.

[rm0530 5]

I was about to say Big Wendy is not going to be happy to hear about Twin #1 getting some special Pan attention.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

On ‎1‎/‎12‎/‎2017 at 1:25 PM, GaDawgFan.....Kelly said:

Happy New Year! Thanks for writing the report.

We've had a magical moment with Peter Pan too, but t wasn't that good. I'd love to run into Hook.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I can't remember if y'all have ever done that Pirate and Pals fireworks cruise.  I think you get to meet Hook and Smee on that.  And, that's where Peter was heading when he stopped by to chat.

On ‎1‎/‎12‎/‎2017 at 1:56 PM, dblr....Rennie said:

TCD thanks for another great trip report ( as usual) and may the New Year bring many more trip reports from you and the best to you and the whole TCD Family for a great New Year

Hey Rennie-  Thanks for the kind words, and I wish you and your family all of the best too!

23 hours ago, DaveInTN said:

We've had a couple of Pan encounters...one on the dock at the CR as she was waiting for that cruise, and another on the Disney Dream. Both kind of creeped me out to be honest with you.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

I hear you.  I stayed out of the conversation between Twin #1 and Peter, but it was pretty funny.  At points, I was laughing so hard that I messed up my dragon sketches a little bit.

16 hours ago, LONE-STAR said:

We caught Hook and Mr. Smee at the CR dock no other kids were around and the pirate cruise had just left. So they gave my daughter a lot of attention.

It's pretty funny how many of us have run into the crew from the fireworks cruises around the Contemporary dock.

16 hours ago, Travisma said:

There is/was a Peter Pan that lives in the Tampa area.  He used to go to a bunch of bars and would pop up at festivals and events. He finally found his Wendy if I wasn't mistaken.

If I ever see Peter Pan walk into a bar, I'm going to put down my drink and order an Uber.

7 hours ago, AC in A2 said:

If BW would have been chasing Peter through the third floor of the CR; that would have been more magical.

Good one.  I was going to make a BW comment in my post, but I wasn't sure if anyone would remember her.

46 minutes ago, rm0530 said:

I was about to say Big Wendy is not going to be happy to hear about Twin #1 getting some special Pan attention.

Wow, another Fiend who remembers Big Wendy!  Good job to you, too.  And it's great to see a post from you.  I'm afraid to ask how old your baby is now.

I think I mentioned it in a previous TR, but we ran into Big Wendy not too long ago, and she was working as a Photopass photographer at DHS.  Twin #1 made note of the name on her nametag, and put her computer skills to work and found all of BW's social media sites.  I'll be kind and just say that they were all interesting.

TCD

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

Wow you are getting really good at fireworks photos! Well now it's time to say goodbye to another trip report. Here's to a new year and new reports.

[rm0530 5]

Son just turned 4! Little brother will be arriving in April. We haven't been able to cruise or camp because of the Zika mess. We have a Fort reservation for October. Not sure why we're being crazy and tent camping with a 6 month old. The Fort will do that to you!

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

How could anyone forget BW? I bet she's working as a PP hoping to get transferred to Peter. Do her social media accounts involve dragons? 

We have never done Pirate and Pals, but I know that's why they're there. Z would probably like it, and I've considered doing it.

 Apparently a lot of Fiends boat over to the Contemporary. 

1 hour ago, rm0530 said:

Son just turned 4! Little brother will be arriving in April. We haven't been able to cruise or camp because of the Zika mess. We have a Fort reservation for October. Not sure why we're being crazy and tent camping with a 6 month old. The Fort will do that to you!

We started camping with Z as a baby. We always had a good time. I think it makes them better travelers if you start young. 

[Roberta 42]

We had many big rigs on Loop 1500 last week. I took a short video of just ones I could see while standing in the doorway of our camper. I think there were four in the video - all very large. Class A, 5th wheel, and even a bus! I was shocked because I thought only tent and pop-ups were allowed, but didn't mind at all. I had the comfort station mostly to myself the entire week. I only ran into another shower being used twice. 

There was us and two other pop-ups, 4 or 5 tents, and the rest all very large rigs. 

It was a slow week, and within a couple of days of arriving there was quite a few empty spaces on the loop. We didn't run into any rude people, especially ones who keep lights on all night. That would drive me crazy, I wouldn't be able to sleep. We had tent campers next to us and would be as quiet as possible when returning at night, and never lit up any lights outside. We are late park people, and they were always asleep when we got back. 

After spending the past couple of hours reading this entire thread, the only conclusion I can come to is that the obnoxious people are not "campers" in everyday life. They just do so to hit up Disney on the cheap. They need a course in camping etiquette for sure. I've been camping my entire life and I have never seen such lack of common courtesy anywhere. Most of these photos are completely shocking ... like nothing I have ever seen in the camping community.

This was a great Triple Trip Report and I learned my now favorite Disney tip -   "Do you know the  TCD Chip Trick^TM  ?"  I really hate paying for Disney foods. We never eat the sides. I will be trying to get them tossed off the price tag everywhere we go in the future. 

Thanks TCD, for taking time to write up these awesome trip reports! They took me right back to the fort, where our time passed much too quickly. I think we need two weeks next time. I already have reservations, may have to add more days. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Travisma 1,317]

7 hours ago, Roberta said:

We had many big rigs on Loop 1500 last week. I took a short video of just ones I could see while standing in the doorway of our camper. I think there were four in the video - all very large. Class A, 5th wheel, and even a bus! I was shocked because I thought only tent and pop-ups were allowed, but didn't mind at all. I had the comfort station mostly to myself the entire week. I only ran into another shower being used twice. 

There was us and two other pop-ups, 4 or 5 tents, and the rest all very large rigs. 

It was a slow week, and within a couple of days of arriving there was quite a few empty spaces on the loop. We didn't run into any rude people, especially ones who keep lights on all night. That would drive me crazy, I wouldn't be able to sleep. We had tent campers next to us and would be as quiet as possible when returning at night, and never lit up any lights outside. We are late park people, and they were always asleep when we got back. 

After spending the past couple of hours reading this entire thread, the only conclusion I can come to is that the obnoxious people are not "campers" in everyday life. They just do so to hit up Disney on the cheap. They need a course in camping etiquette for sure. I've been camping my entire life and I have never seen such lack of common courtesy anywhere. Most of these photos are completely shocking ... like nothing I have ever seen in the camping community.

This was a great Triple Trip Report and I learned my now favorite Disney tip -   "Do you know the  TCD Chip Trick^TM  ?"  I really hate paying for Disney foods. We never eat the sides. I will be trying to get them tossed off the price tag everywhere we go in the future. 

Thanks TCD, for taking time to write up these awesome trip reports! They took me right back to the fort, where our time passed much too quickly. I think we need two weeks next time. I already have reservations, may have to add more days. 

 

 

 

 

 

That's typical Disney.  Unless they changed the Fort reservation page it does say 1500 and 2000 are supposed to be tent, PUPS, and van campers.

But we've been there and seen small TT (not teardrops) and hybrids in the 1500 numerous times.

Disney is the biggest rule breaker of them all.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

On ‎1‎/‎13‎/‎2017 at 9:29 PM, Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie said:

Wow you are getting really good at fireworks photos! Well now it's time to say goodbye to another trip report. Here's to a new year and new reports.

I missed this comment when you made it. Thanks- it turns out that my phone can take better fireworks photos than I ever can with my camera.

On ‎1‎/‎14‎/‎2017 at 7:09 PM, rm0530 said:

Son just turned 4! Little brother will be arriving in April. We haven't been able to cruise or camp because of the Zika mess. We have a Fort reservation for October. Not sure why we're being crazy and tent camping with a 6 month old. The Fort will do that to you!

Four!  Congratulations!  And another about to arrive. Good job!  If anyone can tent camp with a 6 month old, I know that the two of you can.  Enjoy that new bundle of joy.

On ‎1‎/‎14‎/‎2017 at 9:05 PM, GaDawgFan.....Kelly said:

How could anyone forget BW? I bet she's working as a PP hoping to get transferred to Peter. Do her social media accounts involve dragons? 

We have never done Pirate and Pals, but I know that's why they're there. Z would probably like it, and I've considered doing it.

 Apparently a lot of Fiends boat over to the Contemporary. 

We started camping with Z as a baby. We always had a good time. I think it makes them better travelers if you start young. 

Surprisingly, from what I saw, there were no dragons on BW's social media accounts.  I guess that's a special thing that she only shares with Peter.

8 hours ago, Roberta said:

We had many big rigs on Loop 1500 last week. I took a short video of just ones I could see while standing in the doorway of our camper. I think there were four in the video - all very large. Class A, 5th wheel, and even a bus! I was shocked because I thought only tent and pop-ups were allowed, but didn't mind at all. I had the comfort station mostly to myself the entire week. I only ran into another shower being used twice. 

There was us and two other pop-ups, 4 or 5 tents, and the rest all very large rigs. 

It was a slow week, and within a couple of days of arriving there was quite a few empty spaces on the loop. We didn't run into any rude people, especially ones who keep lights on all night. That would drive me crazy, I wouldn't be able to sleep. We had tent campers next to us and would be as quiet as possible when returning at night, and never lit up any lights outside. We are late park people, and they were always asleep when we got back. 

After spending the past couple of hours reading this entire thread, the only conclusion I can come to is that the obnoxious people are not "campers" in everyday life. They just do so to hit up Disney on the cheap. They need a course in camping etiquette for sure. I've been camping my entire life and I have never seen such lack of common courtesy anywhere. Most of these photos are completely shocking ... like nothing I have ever seen in the camping community.

This was a great Triple Trip Report and I learned my now favorite Disney tip -   "Do you know the  TCD Chip Trick^TM  ?"  I really hate paying for Disney foods. We never eat the sides. I will be trying to get them tossed off the price tag everywhere we go in the future. 

Thanks TCD, for taking time to write up these awesome trip reports! They took me right back to the fort, where our time passed much too quickly. I think we need two weeks next time. I already have reservations, may have to add more days. 

I'm glad you got the 1500 loop-especially since Disney apparently lets anyone who wants to use it. 

I'm also glad that you didn't have any of the special gangs that invade the Fort for holiday weekends.

I hope you do go back for two weeks.  That would be perfect!

52 minutes ago, Travisma said:

That's typical Disney.  Unless they changed the Fort reservation page it does say 1500 and 2000 are supposed to be tent, PUPS, and van campers.

But we've been there and seen small TT (not teardrops) and hybrids in the 1500 numerous times.

Disney is the biggest rule breaker of them all.

Yup.

TCD

[Helmsey......Todd 134]

11 hours ago, Roberta said:

After spending the past couple of hours reading this entire thread, the only conclusion I can come to is that the obnoxious people are not "campers" in everyday life. They just do so to hit up Disney on the cheap. They need a course in camping etiquette for sure. I've been camping my entire life and I have never seen such lack of common courtesy anywhere. Most of these photos are completely shocking ... like nothing I have ever seen in the camping community.

I think this is pretty spot on. I think you are going to get folks at the Fort that use if for convenience that have no idea of what the camping mentality is. I have to remind myself of that from time to time when we are there so I can relax a little.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

35 minutes ago, Helmsey......Todd said:

I think this is pretty spot on. I think you are going to get folks at the Fort that use if for convenience that have no idea of what the camping mentality is. I have to remind myself of that from time to time when we are there so I can relax a little.

To be fair, I probably wouldn't know how to act at the Grand Floridean and would leave folks shaking their heads.  

[Roberta 42]

Here is the short video I took of some of the large rigs on 1500. Had I realized this was not commonplace, I would have rode the loop and taken video. You can only see the very front of the bus through the trees. The following day, a huge 5th wheel took up residence on the empty site to the right. 
 

Apparently, people just like the location as it's right across from The Meadows. I know I LOVED the location. I feel like we had the best site on the loop, thanks to TCD's recommendations. Perhaps they were just allowing this because of the empty spots? The day we arrived (Sunday) it was full, but on Monday and after, there were always 4 or 5 sites empty at all times, until we left. 

Here is our camper on 1504. As you can see, I scored a Fort Wilderness sticker from eBay prior to our trip. We have a bathroom, but don't use the shower for fear of creating water damage. We do use the cassette potty. We emptied that and our grey water tank on an empty site, as was suggested on the forum. It worked out great. 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

11 minutes ago, Roberta said:

Here is our camper on 1504. As you can see, I scored a Fort Wilderness sticker from eBay prior to our trip. We have a bathroom, but don't use the shower for fear of creating water damage. We do use the cassette potty. We emptied that and our grey water tank on an empty site, as was suggested on the forum. It worked out great. 

1504 is a pretty sweet spot!  But let's keep that between us!

Wow, your camper looks brand new!  Very nice.  Did you not use your awning?

TCD

[Roberta 42]

1 minute ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

1504 is a pretty sweet spot!  But let's keep that between us!

Wow, your camper looks brand new!  Very nice.  Did you not use your awning?

TCD

Thanks! It's a '99 Coleman Nevada. I spent several hours taping off all the decals and DH painted it. We also used Grizzly Grip on the roof, which made it look nice, as well as crack proof. We did quite a few other repairs on it as well, but only paid $1800 for it, so didn't mind putting a bit of work and money into making it last. Better than having something with payments. I made all new curtains and cushion covers, and DH fixed the cargo leak, repaired the small soft spots the leak had left in the floor, and laid new linoleum tile.

We never put out the awning. We could have if we moved the picnic table down some, but never needed it. The camper came with a screen room as well, but I threw it away. It had been folded (more like wadded) up wet and was horribly mildewed. We tried to save it with straight bleach, but I could still smell the mold, so it had to go.