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

[momof3kids-Yvonne 596]

You should have taken your dirty dishes over to the Dishwasher gang. You could have told them you'd be back in an hour to pick them up. I mean why waste your time washing dishes when a service like this is being offered at the Fort.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

Wait a second. We need to back up to your posting on rules and folding chairs. What is this?

• Pets (unless they are service animals, defined as any dog or miniature horse trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability)

Miniature horse! WTFort! Who brings a miniature horse to a park? Who even uses a miniature horse as a service animal? 

[DaveInTN 3,247]

[Travisma 1,317]

12 hours ago, lightbikes said:

Yes we were there through DVC and they were nasty about taking the phones.

I saw those folks with the gift bags and wondered who they were - "social media moms"  - I don't know the term?  Help?

Don't know who the ones with the reserved were either.  

What really made us think the whole business  about the phones was silly was because all those balconys behind us in the Poly had a wonderful view of the screen and anyone could have been sitting there in the dark with a camera and no security would have noticed them.  THe security was too busy watching all of us.

 

By the way the "Dishwasher Gang" is one of the many reasons we aren't at the Fort this year.  THe 1500 loop just got overrun with them every weekend.  And you're right - the rules don't apply to them.  And Disney management either doesn't care or can't be bothered.

 

 

We were in the 2000 loop a while back, and they might not have had dishwashers (maybe they did), but it was a huge group of people.  Multiple cars at each site.  One site had nothing on it except multiple EZ Ups with probably 10 to 15 picnic tables under them.  Kids all over the place, bikes/scooters lying all over.  Some of the kids forced my granddaughter off the road while she was riding her bike. Everyone had chairs lined up at the edge of their driveways and all overflowed onto the roadway.  They were loud and obnoxious.

[shoreline99 137]

12 hours ago, lightbikes said:

I saw those folks with the gift bags and wondered who they were - "social media moms"  - I don't know the term?  Help?

You may be more familiar with the term 'mommy blogger'.

[Travisma 1,317]

9 hours ago, Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie said:

Wait a second. We need to back up to your posting on rules and folding chairs. What is this?

• Pets (unless they are service animals, defined as any dog or miniature horse trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability)

Miniature horse! WTFort! Who brings a miniature horse to a park? Who even uses a miniature horse as a service animal? 

Same people that take a comfort pig on a plane and have it poop all over the floor and get other passengers sick.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

17 hours ago, ThemeParkCommando said:

I need you to go out and watch Disney's Prep and Landing.   Seriously, it is the best new Christmas animated story I have seen in YEARS.   It ranks right up there with Rudolph and " How the Grinch Stole Christmas"  (the animated classic).     It comes out every year, now,  (this year, ABC - Thursday Dec 15th at 8:00 pm EST).  It's funny, cute, a great story and has the coolest reindeer in existence....

However,  looking at the air date again,  you'll need to record it,  since that night is the night of the Rogue One premier. 

I'm still not convinced.  Since I was curious, I went and looked up some details on Prep and Landing.  It turns out those are not the names of the elves.  So I learned something new today.  This was a half hour TV special from 2009.  I still don't understand why the decision was made to feature the elves (whatever their names are) from this pretty obscure show so prominently in this new show.  They could have and should have just showcased some of their classic characters.  I do appreciate that there was no Frozen in the show though.

17 hours ago, DaveInTN said:

Wouldn't alligators be attracted to the sorts of smells that food particles discharged from dishwashers make?  

Good point.

Of course, the Dishwasher Gang is long gone by now.  But, I'll bet their food particles are still there.

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

I was laughing out loud about the Dishwasher Gang. I mean, it's not funny; it's disrespectful and rude, but your commentary was spot on. I think I also spied an unapproved fire pit. Why don't we have intel on these people? I want to know who they are. 

We do have some intel on this group.  Donnie/Stacktester cozied up to them a few years ago, and they also all display signs with the official name of their group and where they're from(the official name is not Dishwasher Gang).  They know about Fort Fiends.  I would imagine that some of them are members or at least lurkers on this site.  I purposely haven't posted their official group name or photos of their signs.  I am sure that they're nice people, and I don't want to pick a fight. 

13 hours ago, lightbikes said:

Yes we were there through DVC and they were nasty about taking the phones.

I saw those folks with the gift bags and wondered who they were - "social media moms"  - I don't know the term?  Help?

Don't know who the ones with the reserved were either.  

What really made us think the whole business  about the phones was silly was because all those balconys behind us in the Poly had a wonderful view of the screen and anyone could have been sitting there in the dark with a camera and no security would have noticed them.  THe security was too busy watching all of us.

 

By the way the "Dishwasher Gang" is one of the many reasons we aren't at the Fort this year.  THe 1500 loop just got overrun with them every weekend.  And you're right - the rules don't apply to them.  And Disney management either doesn't care or can't be bothered.

 

 

Social Media Moms is some dumb group that Disney officially caters to.

Disney hasn't been too effective in harnessing the power of social media.  Seven or eight years ago, they got the idea of forming a group called the Social Media Moms.  Through some secret process, they pick women who have a presence on the internet, through blogs, Twitter or Instagram.  They have an annual conference at Disney World, and offer "deep" discounts to these women so they will come and post about it.

If you want to know more, here's an article that explains the whole thing:

Disney's powerful marketing force: social media moms

By Lisa Richwine | LOS ANGELES

LOS ANGELES Wendy Wright is a home-schooling mother of two, a prolific blogger and a self-described "Disney Nut." Her cats are named Mickey and Minnie, and her blog is filled with advice for visiting Disneyland, tips for holding Disney-themed parties and reviews of Disney movies.

Wright's enthusiasm for all things Disney eventually drew the attention of the Walt Disney Co (DIS.N), which invited her to join a carefully vetted group of roughly 1,300 Disney Social Media Moms. The group of mothers - and a few fathers - are part of a Disney effort to incorporate the enthusiasm and influence of parents into its marketing efforts.

Wright isn’t sure why she was picked, but guesses her online postings about Disney helped. "There's been a lot on social media about our trips to Disney," said Wright, who writes about technology, entertainment and other subjects from her home in Phoenix. "It's very obvious we are a Disney family."

Disney moms are not paid, but they receive perks from the company for their efforts, including - for some - deeply discounted, four-day family trips to Walt Disney World for the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration, an event that is part vacation and part educational conference. 

You can read the rest of the article here: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-disney-moms-insight-idUSKBN0OV0DX20150615

I am sorry that the disruptive behavior that is allowed at the Fort is making nice people stay away.  It seems like the nice people are being replaced by more rude people. It gets a little worse every year.

12 hours ago, momof3kids-Yvonne said:

You should have taken your dirty dishes over to the Dishwasher gang. You could have told them you'd be back in an hour to pick them up. I mean why waste your time washing dishes when a service like this is being offered at the Fort.

LOL.  that would be funny.

10 hours ago, Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie said:

Wait a second. We need to back up to your posting on rules and folding chairs. What is this?

• Pets (unless they are service animals, defined as any dog or miniature horse trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability)

Miniature horse! WTFort! Who brings a miniature horse to a park? Who even uses a miniature horse as a service animal? 

I totally missed that.  I know that there was talk about miniature horses serving as service animals some time back.  I haven't seen one yet.

1 hour ago, DaveInTN said:

Wow.

Seriously, why is that necessary?

I try hard not to judge those with disabilities, but I don't understand what a miniature horse can do that a dog can't.

1 hour ago, Travisma said:

We were in the 2000 loop a while back, and they might not have had dishwashers (maybe they did), but it was a huge group of people.  Multiple cars at each site.  One site had nothing on it except multiple EZ Ups with probably 10 to 15 picnic tables under them.  Kids all over the place, bikes/scooters lying all over.  Some of the kids forced my granddaughter off the road while she was riding her bike. Everyone had chairs lined up at the edge of their driveways and all overflowed onto the roadway.  They were loud and obnoxious.

Sad.

And even sadder that this is becoming more and more common.  As they have steadily jacked up campsite prices, it seems to me that there are more groups that share campsites and take advantage of the generous ten person per site rule,  Huge groups seem to make their visits an annual event, and they must lock up their reservations way in advance. That leaves regular families who just want to camp out in the cold.

As Lightbikes mentioned above, the unruly behavior keeps the nice folks away, and the Fort becomes more and more a group party place and less and less a family campground.

As I noted earlier, some of the crap that goes on at the Fort would not be tolerated at as State Park or at a properly managed campground.  These issues could be easily solved with a little effort, but I guess Disney likes the fact that these folks will gladly pay $125 a night for their campsites, and as long as the money is flowing in, they don't care.

1 hour ago, shoreline99 said:

You may be more familiar with the term 'mommy blogger'.

Correct, but Disney has chosen a bunch of the mommy bloggers and made them Social Media Moms^TM.  That distinction earns them special treatment, like invites to a free movie at the Polynesian Village Resort and a fabulous gift bag.

1 hour ago, Travisma said:

Same people that take a comfort pig on a plane and have it poop all over the floor and get other passengers sick.

A comfort pig?  That's a new one for me.

TCD

[Beckers 1,136]

I googled and the 3 things I learned about horse vs dog is horses can live 30 years, allergies to dog and certain religions feel dogs are unclean and they can not have them. 

[DaveInTN 3,247]

4 minutes ago, Beckers said:

I googled and the 3 things I learned about horse vs dog is horses can live 30 years, allergies to dog and certain religions feel dogs are unclean and they can not have them. 

The life expectancy was the thing that first popped into my mind.  And while an average horse lifespan may be 30 years, smaller breeds can live much longer.  

[ThemeParkCommando 81]

How big does the poop bag for a miniature horse have to be? 

[Travisma 1,317]

38 minutes ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

 

A comfort pig?  That's a new one for me.

TCD

Amazing how a TR about a glorious Thanksgiving Visit turns into posts about horse poop bags and comfort pigs

 

But here you go

 

Airline: 'Emotional support' pig kicked off flight for being disruptive

By Emanuella Grinberg, CNN

Updated 11:36 PM ET, Mon December 1, 2014

 

When US Airways passenger Robert Phelps first saw the woman coming down the aisle of the plane, he thought she had a "really big dog" or a stuffed animal thrown over her shoulder.

It was about 6:10 a.m. the day before Thanksgiving, and Phelps was waiting to take off from Connecticut's Bradley International Airport for Washington. He thought it could be a service animal, but service animals are usually in crates, he thought to himself.

As she got closer, there was no denying that the woman was carrying a big brown pig, perhaps between 70 and 80 pounds, Phelps said.

"Everybody was trying to surmise what it could be, because no one thought it was a pig," he said. "Other than a Fellini movie, where would you see a person with a pig?"

The passenger was allowed to bring the pig on board as an "emotional support animal" under Department of Transportation guidelines, a US Airways spokeswoman said.

Apparently, it was not meant to be. Before the plane took off, the passenger and her pig were kicked for being "disruptive," spokeswoman Laura Masvidal said.

How disruptive? Fellow passengers told the Hartford Courant that the big brown pig stank up the cabin of the tiny D.C.-bound aircraft and defecated in the aisle.

Phelps watched in amusement and horror as the pig began "dropping things" in the aisle while his owner stowed her belongings. When she tied him to the armrest and tried to clean up after him, he began to howl.

"She was talking to it like a person, saying it was being a jerk," he said. "I have no problems with babies, but this pig was letting out a howl."

A flight attendant asked her to move to the front of the plane, and eventually she left, he said. He took a photo of her as she walked past him.

"I understand dogs and cats on planes. They come in crates, but this was way too big, and it had no container," he said. "It looked heavy. It was not a tiny, cute little pig."

Why was the animal allowed on the plane to begin with? People have been bringing "emotional support animals" on planes in increasing numbers in recent years, as well as to restaurants, museums and stores.

In 2003, the Department of Transportation updated its policy regarding animals in air transportation (PDF) to say that "animals that assist persons with disabilities by providing emotional support" qualify as service animals.

It's up to airline personnel to determine whether an animal is a service animal. They can do so by seeking "credible verbal assurances"; looking for physical indicators on the animal, such as a backup or identification tag; or requesting documentation for service animals.

When it comes to emotional support animals, airlines may require supporting documentation from a mental health professional. The documentation should state that the passenger has a mental health-related disability and that "having the animal accompany the passenger is necessary to the passenger's mental health or treatment or to assist the passenger."

It is not clear whether the passenger on Wednesday's flight provided such documentation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

1 hour ago, Beckers said:

I googled and the 3 things I learned about horse vs dog is horses can live 30 years, allergies to dog and certain religions feel dogs are unclean and they can not have them. 

Thanks for sharing this information-  those are all things that I did not think of.

1 hour ago, DaveInTN said:

The life expectancy was the thing that first popped into my mind.  And while an average horse lifespan may be 30 years, smaller breeds can live much longer.  

I didn't realize horses lived that long.  But it sill seems weird to travel around with a horse.

51 minutes ago, ThemeParkCommando said:

How big does the poop bag for a miniature horse have to be? 

I don't even want to think about that.

32 minutes ago, Travisma said:

Amazing how a TR about a glorious Thanksgiving Visit turns into posts about horse poop bags and comfort pigs

But here you go

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow.  I missed that whole story when it came out.

As I said, I am sensitive to those with special needs, and I try hard not to judge.  But, this support animal business needs to be regulated somehow.  Both of the twins have acquaintances  who have blatantly abused the system so they can have pets in living accommodations that do not allow pets, and they both have seen strange and questionable things in the Disney parks.

TCD

[shoreline99 137]

We have seen way too many 'support' animals in the parks. There is one lady that brings a half dozen poodles in there all the time, and the creepy guy with his dogs has been documented here a few times.

We have a friend that is truly blind and has a service dog, and he gets enraged when the topic of fake service animals is brought up. I believe in dogs or other animals for support (PTSD especially, or for medical reasons like the dogs for disabled or diabetic youth), but pigs? Turkeys? There's a whole lot of crazy there.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Time to get this TR moving along.

It's still Saturday morning, November 26th, and I'm making my morning rounds looking for things to see.

We have moved on from the 1500 loop, and now we're driving past the swamp that lies between the 300 loop and the 1500 loop- I like this swamp.  Because it's a swamp and not campsites or a parking lot:

As I approached the 1400 loop, I figured I may as well take a loop around- I hadn't visited this loop very much yet on this trip.  These folks took over things on the inner loop of 1400, including using the center of the loop as a parking lot.  That's not allowed, but anything goes during holiday weekends at the Fort- plus this is nothing compared to the Dishwasher Gang:

There were a lot of inflatable turkeys around the Fort over the weekend, but this is the only one that I saw in a pot.  Kind of morbid:

And here's another unique inflatable- Santa on a hoverboard.  I thought hoverboards were banned at the Fort?:

These poor folks did the best they could with the site they got.  That tent barely fits.  I wonder how it was sleeping that close to the road?:

There's a guy walking a little dog around the 1400 loop.  Another dog in what used to be a non-pet loop:

There were some early birds in the dog park- this photo was taken at 7:45 am:

Man, they went nuts with the fencing in this area:

Take a closer look at what's going on here- note how they have the rope fence all the way around the little pond here:

Behind all that fencing, there are some campers that set up a bunch of stuff way behind their site- you can't see it to well in the photo, but they had lights, a dining canopy, and tables and chairs way off the back of their site.

Surprisingly, the 300 loop never looked too bad over the weekend.  Most folks respected the yellow lines, and kept their stuff back from the loop road:

These folks put their inflatables a bit close to the road, but they probably won't hurt anyone's truck when they get run over:

Since I was in the area, I parked the cart and went to enjoy my favorite spot at the Fort:

I did pretty good visiting my favorite spot every morning of this trip- I only missed the morning that I had Rocky with me.  The man says pets aren't allowed back here.  Although, I guess all Fort rules are more suggestions or guidelines, so maybe I should have brought him.

I love strolling down this path:

The Settlement Christmas decorations look great:

You can't see her very well in this photo, but I saw her- Miss Josie was on duty out on the porch:

And look- all of the rocking chairs were available for my enjoyment:

I ran all the way back to the 300 loop to fetch my cart, and then headed into the spacious and beautiful Pioneer Hall golf cart parking facility.  On the way in, a flock (rafter?) of turkeys blocked my way:

Funny how those guys are brave enough to show themselves today.  A couple of days earlier, they were all hiding.  I think that inflatable turkey in the pot on the 1400 loop got them shook.

I popped in to P & J's Southern Emporium of Epicurean Delights (or whatever they call Trail's End Take Out now) and got a cup of coffee, and then stopped by to say good morning to the actual J.  She was busy checking in some guests, so I just got to say good morning, and I scooted over to grab a rocking chair.  I took a photo of the Settlement Christmas tree as I made my way to the rocking chairs:

As you can see, Ms. Josie had rearranged everything on the porch into its proper configuration:

I chose my rocking chair carefully.  I prefer the Bay Lake view:

If you and the Fort go way back, like me, you may have noticed that they finally removed the oval wood fence where the old silver River Country wagon used to be parked.  I was so happy to see that- it means they are going to build a nice, new fence for the wagon display when they finally bring it back from its short refurbishment. 

Right?

Oh well, things change.  There aren't many folks who care.  I mean, who cares about some old wagon?  As long as they don't take away my dishwasher.

I  like how there's a little Christmas tree right on the porch:

I was in for a treat this morning.  They finally were playing the Fort Wilderness Christmas Music loop!  Oh man, do I love that.

And I had the whole porch to myself to just rock in my chair and enjoy it.

Perfection:

I sat and rocked and listened for about 15 minutes.  It was so peaceful.  That little moment there on the porch was a highlight of this trip.

There was other stuff I needed to see, though, so I bid goodbye to Josie, and headed out.

This golf cart was parked in the lot- the owners customized it with family photographs. I have never seen such a thing:

I guess that's one way to make sure no one takes your cart by mistake.

Ah, the VIP cabins.  Good times:

I wanted to check on things in the 500 loop.  There was a big group in that loop.  We had looped by them the night before, and the kids in that group were running wild all over the loop.  The adults were all congregated on one site, watching something on a big screen, being loud, and smoking stinky cigars. 

None of them were up early this morning, though:

Today would be a big college football day, and it looked like they were fixing to fry up some turkeys right there at the front of the site.  Big pots of boiling oil right where their unruly kids would be running around?  Seems like a great idea:

I doubled back to the path into the Settlement to get a photo of the back of this site on the 100 loop- they had a ton of inflatables and lights, and it all was going strong well past midnight last night.  I figure the Fort likes this site, as it provides some good visuals for the guests who ride by on those pricy sleigh rides they sell during the holidays:

Now it was time for me to get a photo of my favorite site over on the 600 loop, so I headed that way.  And here we are, at the entrance to the 800 loop looking at the back of the sites on the 600 loop that back up to the road:

Let's stop here, and I will pick it up from here in the next update.

TCD

[Helmsey......Todd 134]

22 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

One initial comment I have about these decorations is that I was here at the site at 7:32 am, and all the inflatables and some of the lights were all still on, and had been up all night. When I checked in on Wednesday, I was given parking passes and other documents by the cast member, along with a little document telling me about mosquitos and a fee can of insect repellant.  What I did not get was any handout that had the published decorating rules that they tried to implement a few years ago.  It looks like these folks were observing some kind of set-back rule, but they clearly were not shutting down the decorations at night.  Did that rule change?   I think it did, because there were a lot of decorations and lights that were left up and on all night over the time we were visiting

I saw someone in a Facebook group recently received a nastygram from the rangers about decorations being on after midnight. Apparently there is at least one ranger that will enforce the possible rule.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

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

I saw someone in a Facebook group recently received a nastygram from the rangers about decorations being on after midnight. Apparently there is at least one ranger that will enforce the possible rule.

Was this recently?

Because I saw no enforcement at all of any decoration curfew over the Thanksgiving weekend. 

Lots and lots of sites had their inflatables up and Christmas lights on all night long.  And those star shower projectors have become all the rage.  Seems like everyone has one now, and people leave those on all night long too.  The guy right next to me had two that he had on all night.

TCD

[Helmsey......Todd 134]

1 hour ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

Was this recently?

Because I saw no enforcement at all of any decoration curfew over the Thanksgiving weekend. 

Lots and lots of sites had their inflatables up and Christmas lights on all night long.  And those star shower projectors have become all the rage.  Seems like everyone has one now, and people leave those on all night long too.  The guy right next to me had two that he had on all night.

TCD

It was the last week or so. I went back and tried to look for the post but was unable to find it due to the amount of posts in the group(s).

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

We left off on the last update at the entrance to the 800 loop.  I intended to park my golf cart there behind the 800 loop bus stop, and walk the path next to site 617 and across the footbridge to the campfire area.  I wanted some photos of site 617 and the Christmas decorations in the campfire area. 

But, I saw that some kid was enjoying the spacious backyard provided by site 617, and figured his parents wouldn't appreciate some creepy old dude snapping photos of the site from just over the fence:

So, I had to put my plans on hold for now.

Instead, I took a drive around the 800 loop.  Some new campers had arrived on Friday, and were packing every spare inch of their site with inflatables.  They arrive with a big trailer full of decorations, and spend days getting set up.  Disney delivers bales of pine straw to them to use to cover up their cords.  I don't know how they manage to connect all of this to the electric service at their site.  These same folks were on this same site when I was at the Fort for Thanksgiving 2014, and arrived at the same time.  Back then, the manager, Jose, was very vigilant about the decoration rules, but these folks kept theirs going all night.  They must have connections:

This is the other side of their site:

And they were still working on it.

I knew that the Starbuc71 gang was going to be packing up and leaving this morning, so I looped around their loop to say goodbye.  Their trailer was still there, but they weren't out and about.  I did see something interesting in the site next to them, though- it looks like this guy slept outside in his hammock all night:

I have always said that I want to do that some time, and I've even tried a time or two, but I always give up and go to my nice comfy bed in the camper.

As I was making my rounds that morning, I ran into another familiar face.  It was a Fiend blast from the past.  Does anyone remember CKCK?  He's the dude with the two redheaded girls?  He likes to go to tea at the Grand Floridian (but blames it on his wife), and he has the misfortune of being a Georgia Bulldogs fan.  That guy.  I last saw him over the Thanksgiving 2014 weekend, and he told me that he and the redheads had been at the Fort last year for Thanksgiving ,and they were back this year.  We had a short visit, because he was packing to go home, but I got to see the redheads, and heard that the older one got to lead Chip and Dale out during the campfire the night before.  She was stoked about that.  If you're reading this, CKCK, it was good to see you again, and don't be a stranger.

The TCD twins were still sleeping when I got back to the site from my morning rounds, so I decided to enjoy some hammock time myself. Here are some hammock POV photos:

The girls finally started to stir, and we all went out looping.  We hadn't been in any cabin loops yet, and decided to take a loop around 2200 just to see what things were like with the cabin people.  There weren't many decorated cabins, but this one was pretty good:

I especially liked that inflatable deer head.  Very Melvin the Moose-ish.

We ran across these two beauties on the 1800 loop:

Those were two well-behaved dogs.  They were on the last site on the loop, right at the corner, and we stopped there for a bit just to watch the two of them.  As we were stopped there, a lady walking a small dog on a leash walked up behind us and started talking to us about the dogs.  They were hers.  And so was the little one.  We asked how that worked.  She had the little dog first, so he was the boss of the two Great Danes.  The Great Danes are 18 months old, and they are a brother and sister.  Their names are Derby and Julep.  The owner asked the girls if they'd like to pet them, and they practically knocked her over jumping off the cart to get to the dogs.  That was fun!

We saw a woodpecker on the 1700 loop- he's the little bird you see to the left of the thin tree in the center of this photo:

There was something strapped on to that tree.  You can see it in this photo:

I am guessing that is some kind of bird feeder?  I am not sure how that works.  The Fort management posted signs on every picnic table in every campsite telling us not to feed the wildlife, but someone on that site went to a lot of trouble to strap that bird feeder way up in that tree.  Why would anyone go to the trouble of doing that?  The folks on this particular site are long-term campers, so I am guessing that bird feeder has and will be there for a while.

Speaking of long-term campers, the 1700 loop has more than its fair share of them.  These folks on the first site entering the loop have been here a while. I recognize them because they feel the need to chain up their golf cart.  No offense, but if I was a golf cart thief, this would not be the cart that I'd steal:

This is a cool trailer- must be horse people:

There was a premium square plastic picnic table sitting near the site of some other long-term campers.  I wonder how they finagled that?  Everyone knows that lowly full hookup campers do not qualify for premium picnic tables (or protection from alligators) :

Go Gata!

Looking at this photo, I don't know why I took it- maybe just to show some simple fall decorations? or maybe I took it by mistake.  Whatever, this is another site on the 1700 loop:

Here's another site on 1700- it has a nice collection of inflatables, with an emphasis on snowpeople.  I like the snowperson hiding behind the tree with the orange vest and rifle.  It would have been awesome if these folks had one of those inflatable mounted deer heads to hang next to the hunter snowperson:

We headed around 1600, and saw this site's eclectic collection:

That photo reminded me of a minor critique I have of the 1200/1300 loop.  Those loops don't have an electric outlet out on the site number post like they do here on the full hook up loops, and most of the other premium loops.  I missed that, and had to use an extension cord to charge my cart.

These folks put a lot of effort into their site decorations, including setting up table displays:

This is a shot of the front of the Overachievers' site on 1600- they also have that Hank and Dory inflatable that we saw on another site:

I can't recall what led us to go around the 1700 loop again, but we did.  And on this loop around, we found yet more flagrant rule violators. Here they are:

That boy is flying a drone!  It's the black blur that the girl is looking up at:

I felt bad for those kids.  They were really trying.  But, that drone would get about 8' off the ground, and then would slam down:

That didn't seem very fun.

We headed around the 1500 loop.  A lot of the Dishwasher Gang was at their HQ.  But some of them were leaving.  Like this guy, with the huge travel trailer:

You might be asking yourself what that huge travel trailer was doing on a site in the 1500 loop.  All I can guess is that it belonged to a member of the Dishwasher Gang.  They are allowed to do whatever they want.

From 1500, we headed back to the site.  We had some plans for the afternoon, and the girls had to get ready.

While I was hanging around the site, I notice that our across-the-loop neighbors had pulled out, and their site was empty.  The Picnic Table Relocation Technician was there to move the picnic table back 2' for the next guest:

And people still ask why the Fort's prices are so high.

Our plan for this afternoon was to catch the MK boat by 1 pm so we could get to the MK in time to watch one of the new Muppets performances in Liberty Square. 

We were pretty much right on time until we got held up in this traffic jam caused by some slow-driving golf carts up ahead:

I'm not sure if you can see what's going on up ahead, so here's a zoom on that photo.  There's a genius on a bike holding on to an overloaded golf cart and hitching a ride:

I guess that guy driving the cart didn't read the rules of his rental agreement, or the same rules posted on the steering wheel of his cart telling him to pull over for motor vehicle traffic.  But, wouldn't that just be common courtesy?  So, it's just another self-entitled guest who is doing whatever he wants without thinking about the next guy.  The Fort is full of them.  Jerks.  Oh, well, we will get there eventually:

It turns out that jerk was one of a bunch of jerks who were out running around the Fort on their golf carts.  Here they are about to go tearing down the pedestrian path behind the Settlement Trading Post.  There are two big signs there saying no carts area allowed on that path.  Maybe these people can't read after all:

We parked the cart, and headed for the boat.

I noticed these three metal poles at the marina area the last time we were here, and they're still there.  I can't figure out why, though.  Does anyone know?:

The beach was looking good this afternoon.  Well, except for those rocks and that rope fence:

We had a short wait for a boat, and then we were off.

I have a lot of photos from the boat ride, so I had better save those for the next update.

TCD

[parrothead7368 aka Norm 101]

38 minutes ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

That photo reminded me of a minor critique I have of the 1200/1300 loop.  Those loops don't have an electric outlet out on the site number post like they do here on the full hook up loops, and most of the other premium loops.  I missed that, and had to use an extension cord to charge my cart.

I'm glad you wrote this, because I had heard that there were outlets on the site posts, and I have felt like an idiot because I ran an extension cord when we were there and not noticing the outlet. well that's why I didn't notice. LOL 

 

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

On 12/5/2016 at 1:43 PM, PGHFiend said:

I have the Emmet Otter Christmas on DVD- it's one of my sister and I's good childhood memories, I could recite almost every line.  Was there a show or ride at WDW years ago, like Poo and Mr. Toad, or was that just a fun Muppet reference?

Thank you for this information!  I have requested the DVD from my library.  I hope to watch it with my kids next week.

 

 

[YJeepgirl32 3]

I too had seen on FB that someone had gotten in trouble for leaving their lights/inflatables up too long. Thanks for the recipe for that drink. Great report. 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

On ‎12‎/‎8‎/‎2016 at 1:56 PM, parrothead7368 aka Norm said:

I'm glad you wrote this, because I had heard that there were outlets on the site posts, and I have felt like an idiot because I ran an extension cord when we were there and not noticing the outlet. well that's why I didn't notice. LOL 

LOL.  When you stop and look at it, there are slight differences in how the utilities are set up on the loops.  Some loops still have the old concrete stumps, but they have been removed on some loops.  Some loops have the electric and cable connections all the way at the back of the site, and some have it mid-way.  Some have that extra outlet on the site pole, some have a separate pole, and some have no outlets at the front of the site. 

On ‎12‎/‎8‎/‎2016 at 2:41 PM, Momof6....aka Marty said:

Thank you for this information!  I have requested the DVD from my library.  I hope to watch it with my kids next week.

I didn't even know that there was a DVD of this otter movie.  Please let us know how you like it.  It seems pretty weird to me.

On ‎12‎/‎9‎/‎2016 at 2:53 PM, YJeepgirl32 said:

I too had seen on FB that someone had gotten in trouble for leaving their lights/inflatables up too long. Thanks for the recipe for that drink. Great report. 

I don't know what to make of that. I saw folks with their lights and inflatables on all night.  As I said, I didn't get a copy of the "new" site decoration rules when I checked in.  I figured they had finally given up on those. 

TCD

[Travisma 1,317]

On 12/8/2016 at 2:41 PM, Momof6....aka Marty said:

Thank you for this information!  I have requested the DVD from my library.  I hope to watch it with my kids next week.

 

 

It's a cute movie.  One of the earlier Muppet ones, so there are occasional glimpses of sticks controlling arms etc.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Time for an update.

We left off about to board the MK boat at the Fort marina.

We boarded and took our favorite seats in the back of the boat.

We had a stowaway:

The new beach fence doesn't look so bad in this photo, but it looks bad in person:

The Shoe Tree has a bumper crop this year:

Take a closer look:

Hey look- someone with a rental boat is checking out the remains of River Country:

At the beginning of this trip report, we took a look at the DVC construction going on at Wilderness Lodge.  Here's a look at it from the lake side of the project. In typical Disney fashion, they doubled the number of bungalows they're building here compared to at the Polynesian resort:

Here's another construction shot- those are more bungalows on the left, and that smaller building on the right is the old bike/boat rental shack, which is getting refurbished as well:

There are a lot of bungalows:

The big building in this photo is the new quick serve restaurant building.  That restaurant is no doubt going to be busy- which means some of those bungalow people aren't going to have much privacy:

The bungalows we've been looking at in the last few photos are just half of the new bungalows- there's a whole other set on the other side of the Lodge building, closer to the MK:

A lot of the bungalows on this side of the Lodge will be overlooking that little island that the boat captains call Shipwreck Island, but the ones on the far end will have a view of the Contemporary Resort and the Monorail:

Those last couple of bungalows will probably have a good fireworks view.  But, they will also have a long walk to the main Lodge building, pool and new restaurant.

Here we are arriving at the MK.  I always like to size up the crowd situation as we make our approach.  It was pretty busy, but we've seen worse:

We arrived right as a huge group was stampeding down the monorail ramp.  But, we're ahead of most of them:

Bag check wasn't too bad, because they had both side and all lanes open:

Our main objective today was to see the new Muppets show in Liberty Square.  Twin #1 had visited here on opening day, but Twin #2 and I had never seen it.  The girls had consulted a times guide, and we were in place right before the show was to begin:

The times guide doesn't tell you which show you're going to see.  We got the shorter Paul Revere show, and it began with Kermit popping up right on cue:

As you can tell, we stood back from the crowd.  Twin #1 told us that it's easier to see the show from back here, plus the crowd up front gets unpleasant as more and more guests shove in as the show progresses.  You can see how the crowd builds in the next few photos.

As you may have heard, this show consists of Muppets screaming out of windows:

The crowd built up pretty fast:

One drawback of standing back where we were is that the walkway gets constricted by the crowd, and soon guests were walking right in front of us:

As the walkways gets narrower, guests walking by get pretty close.  Which isn't a big deal, except when the guest is a hippie:

The show is lively and short- and wraps up with a nice finale':

I ended up liking the show more than I expected to.  It's quick paced and funny.  And, it's easy to see with no long wait.  I want to go back and see the longer Declaration of Independence show.

After the Muppets, we were right on time to catch a performance of the new Mickey's Royal Friendship Fair castle show.  Twin #2 discovered a great viewing spot for this which doesn't require showing up early.  The center of the hub is slightly elevated, which gives you a clear view of the stage above the heads of the guests standing right in front of the castle:

Granted, you're not as close, but you get an unobstructed view of the whole stage, and you don't have to stand around for 45 minutes or more before the show to hold your spot:

This show gives you a good look at a lot of characters, and they add some extra holiday material which makes it fun:

There's even a bit of fireworks at the end:

This is the first Christmas since all of the work on the Hub area was completed.  It looks pretty nice:

Had we wanted to, I could have lined us up some FP+'s for the afternoon, but we were planning to use our allotment for a visit to Epcot in the evening, so we had no FP+ reservations, and the MK was very crowded. We discussed some options like the train or people mover, but decided to get the heck out of there.

Main Street was packed:

That last photo was taken at 2:23 pm.  That TCD transportation luck worked as always, and by 2:32 we were aboard the boat and on our way back to the Fort:

There were a lot of rental boats out and about today:

I didn't notice it earlier, but there's a little construction wall set up right across the water bridge on the Contemporary grounds:

Aw, look, it's a little duck family:

I was on the Discovery Island side of the boat for the return trip.  Can you see the shipwreck?:

It's pretty hard to see, but it's still there:

I hopped over to the other side of the boat for one more Shoe Tree photo:

After we docked, it was time for some afternoon looping, and we watched some football.  We were hoping Auburn might have a plan for Alabama, but that ended up not being a fun game to watch.  There was also some Big 10 game on, but I just couldn't. 

We will start the next update with some afternoon photos from the Fort, and then move on to our Epcot adventure.

TCD

[Travisma 1,317]

We saw both Muppet Shows about a month ago, and at the end of each show they shot streamers off the Kermit building.

When we saw them over Thanksgiving weekend there were no streamers to be seen.