Out with the old, in with the new

[Travisma 1,317]

Hopefully Imgur is going to co-operate and I'll be able to add some photos to this report.

Some of you may have seen some of my other posts looking to purchase a T@B.  We found one about 6 weeks ago in Atlanta, and this was going to be our maiden voyage in it.  Previously we camped in a tent then moved up to a old 1986 Coleman PUP.  The T@B is in another universe all together.

We went to the Fort over Veteran's Day weekend.  I worked a 1/2 day Friday, so we left Tampa around noon.

I had hitched up the camper Thursday night, and used my wife's car Friday to go to work.  While I was at work, she loaded 3 tubs and the tent in the bed of the truck and the suitcases in the back seat along with our snack bucket.  When I got home, I filled the ice chest and tossed it into the truck and we were off.

It was an uneventful trip, other than trying to avoid the numerous potholes on I-4 and keeping from getting run over by semis and idiot drivers.

We were able to check in as soon as we arrived, but then hit our first snag. 

We were assigned to the 2000 party loop or as some people refer to it Miami North.  We tried to get a site in 1500 but they said it was full. 

They did allow us to pick our site in 2000 and we picked 2030.  We got over to the site which was just about at the upper part of the loop.  It was a nice site and we had the big grassy area behind us which led to the comfort station.

I attempted my second time backing the camper.  It went better than my first time into our driveway, but I ended up unhitching on the road and pushing the T@B back into the site.  We arranged the camper enough to get my truck off the road and then started setting up the tent for my daughters and our screen room.  We worked on those first because the sky was getting darker by the minute.

We were able to get those set up and the camper and it still hadn't rained.

 

My daughters and granddaughter showed up around 5 and we had dinner.  By then it had started to sprinkle.

We decided to catch a bus to Disney Springs and go to the Christmas Tree Trail.  It rained on and off while we were there, sometimes pretty hard and other times just a mist.

We saw some trees

Had a frozen eggnog fortified by Captain Morgan.

We walked around to a few stores but as usual, Disney has done a wonderful job promoting themselves so everything was packed.  The kids decided to stay and my wife and I caught a bus back to the Fort.

 

[Ivy 36]

Looking forward to hearing all about your trip! 

Your T@B. and tent set up looks great!

[fladogfan aka Gretchen 259]

I agree with Ivy, looks cozy and homey.  Looking forward to the "rest of the story" .

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

Looking forward to this!   Somehow I missed that you were up in our area to pick up your camper...

 

[Travisma 1,317]

20 minutes ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Looking forward to this!   Somehow I missed that you were up in our area to pick up your camper...

 

It was kind of a quick trip.

We had gone back and forth with the owner who was out of town and arranged to have his dad there.

We left Tampa on a Thursday late afternoon and drove up to the Stone Mountain area and spent the night. Turns out where we stayed was only about 5 miles from the sellers house

The next morning we checked out the camper, went to the sellers bank, transferred the $$, went back hitched it up and headed back to Tampa.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

2 hours ago, Travisma said:

It was kind of a quick trip.

We had gone back and forth with the owner who was out of town and arranged to have his dad there.

We left Tampa on a Thursday late afternoon and drove up to the Stone Mountain area and spent the night. Turns out where we stayed was only about 5 miles from the sellers house

The next morning we checked out the camper, went to the sellers bank, transferred the $$, went back hitched it up and headed back to Tampa.

Glad it went smoothly and you found what you were looking for 

[Travisma 1,317]

20 minutes ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Glad it went smoothly and you found what you were looking for 

It was a pretty nerve wracking process.

There was nothing in our area that we could afford.

We had one lined up in Alabama, but that was when Dorian came thru and by the time we were going to get it , it was sold.

We found some in NC, Ohio and even upstate NY, but they all had different problems with them.

We finally lucked out with this one.

[ImDownWithDisney 342]

2000 loop huh....cant wait for the 1am salsa dancing block party report

 

Good looking set up you have there too.

[Travisma 1,317]

17 minutes ago, ImDownWithDisney said:

2000 loop huh....cant wait for the 1am salsa dancing block party report

 

Good looking set up you have there too.

Complete with drums and very large barking growling dogs in tents!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Good job on the start of your report. You picked the right weekend for the weather- the first cool weather we've had around here for six months!

TCD

[Travisma 1,317]

TR continues

My wife and I got back to the site and it was till just an on and off light rain.

We had neighbors now, two tents, two ez ups 2 cars and at least two dogs.  They were under their ez ups talking away and playing music.

A little while later the adult kids came back and settled in.

Then we heard the water parade, then we heard it again, and again... it seemed like a dozen times.  I guess from our site we could hear it at every stop.

Later in the evening the rain picked up and I had to shut the roof fan.  Looked out the window at the kids tent and everything was quiet.

Saturday morning dawned cooler and overcast because of the cold front that had come thru. 

It also brought the sounds of my daughters dragging everything out of the tent because it leaked and got a lot of their bedding soaked. They swept out most of the water then tried using towels to finish the job.  They place the 2 air beds on the top of the truck bed to dry, then headed to the laundry to wash and dry the wet stuff.

During breakfast they asked us if we had heard the going past midnight drum session next door (we hadn't).  I guess they were more aware of what was going on trying to dodge the leaks.

I was surprised it had leaked because it had a solid roof and a rainfly over it.  And this was the first time I staked it out and pulled everything tight so water wouldn't pool anywhere.

After breakfast we hung out at the site and finished the laundry, then went exploring.

We decided to cut thru the group camping and 900 loop and visit the Meadow Trading Post.

 

More to come because I more pictures to post.

[Travisma 1,317]

7 minutes ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

Good job on the start of your report. You picked the right weekend for the weather- the first cool weather we've had around here for six months!

TCD

It was great for us, not so much for the kids in the tent!

[alexwyattmommy 181]

Sorry about the rain damage.

The set up looks great though.

[fladogfan aka Gretchen 259]

Poor kids.  Life lessons in a tent.  Set up looked fine, did you figure out why it leaked?

[Travisma 1,317]

I checked out the pin display at the Meadow and saw some fairly new pins (still no Musket Mickey) and found this one.

Had to have it. 

Found out a couple of days ago that they were supposed to go on sale on 11/11, but I guess the Fort jumped the gun.  They have them for all of the WDW resorts, also California, Hawaii, and Paris.

No Musket Mickey pins, but they still had the 51 cent Musket pressed penny!

We decided to walk down to the Settlement and look around.  It was pretty sad to see all of construction fencing up and the beach blocked off.

Nothing new at the Settlement Store.  We looked around some more then headed to the bus stop.

Some Reflections pictures thru the construction fence at the bus stop.

New Barn?

We got back to the site and had lunch.

Everyone was happier being fed, and also that it warmed up and the sun dried out the tents indoor swimming pool! That's my two oldest girls and youngest granddaughter.

We hung around the site for a while listening to the neighbors blaring music and barking dogs.

I repaired the tetherball 3 times, and that was in addition to maintenance coming out in the morning and replacing the ball because the loop on it was broken.  I wonder if the kids riding on it while their parents looked on (and at their phones) was why it kept breaking?

Got changed and headed to  the MK.

Had a nature show at the 2000 bus stop

Got down to Pioneer Hall and the little store/kiosk across the walkway was open.

Found this

Picture doesn't do it justice.  This was the 8th picture I took, just couldn't get a good shot.

I had on my Country Bear shirt and the CM said she really liked it.  She asked me if I collected pins and I said ones that mean something to me.

She pulled this out of a bag and said they weren't out yet and gave it to me.

I got Pixie Dusted!!

Headed down to the boat and saw these.

Turns out they have been doing the team building contests all week. I read somewhere after we got home that they ran until 11/14?

MK was typical weekend MK. Crowded, but at least the temp and humidity was down and it felt a little more Christmassy then walking around in 90 degrees and 95 % humidity.

They were filming a bunch of different acts all around WDW for multiple specials.

Here are some pictures from the park and the MK filming.

If you've ever been there or anywhere else while a show/movie was getting filmed, you know nothing goes right on the first take or the 15th. We had gotten a note at the campsite alerting us about fireworks going off up until as late as 12:45. Now we knew why.  A lot of the re-takes involved fireworks going off behind the performers, a whole lot of times.

My wife and I decided to head back towards the campground.  We walked to the Contemporary to look at the gingerbread house. Again is was really nice walking around and not dripping sweat all over.

After the gingerbread house we went and caught the boat to the fort then the bus.

Arrived back to the site to blaring music, dogs barking and kids yelling.  But you can't say anything because it would ruin their "magical " time. At least the tetherball was still in one piece!

Sunday, a trip to AK.

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

Awesome pin finds. My kids are taking notes. Last trip we had kids running through our campsite at midnight screaming, yelling, etc. Parents are at their sites getting drunk and blaring music. 

[Travisma 1,317]

12 minutes ago, Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie said:

Awesome pin finds. My kids are taking notes. Last trip we had kids running through our campsite at midnight screaming, yelling, etc. Parents are at their sites getting drunk and blaring music. 

We try to rectify that later in the saga.

I also picked up a limited edition Santa Jack Skellington with a toy bag full of jack o lanterns

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

So sad to hear about the neighbors.  I always want people to have a good time, but the Fort is so expensive that when their "good time" dampers (or ruins) my good time... that's when it gets really tough.  Also sad to hear about the tetherball.  Not good.  Oh... and the dogs?  I don't know why it's so tough, for the Fort to enforce the rules.

Sounds like getting your camper was actually a lot of work!  Not sure whey that surprises me actually, finding a good one is a lot of work.  Glad you've got it now and you can enjoy it 

[Travisma 1,317]

Time to continue with the TR.  Had life interrupt it.

Let me back up, Saturday night my daughters stayed a while longer at MK.  They came back to the site around 9:30 and said they were going to head back over in a while because one of our favorite performers Lindsey Sterling was supposedly going to be performing at 11.

A CM told them as long as they were back in the park before closing at 11 they could stay.  They ended up not going back, because they said that each act was multiple takes, and they weren't 100% sure that she was really going to be there.

Sunday after breakfast we all got cleaned up and headed to AK.

My two girls and granddaughter drove over since my oldest was going to fly out Sunday afternoon.

My wife and I hung out a little while longer and started to pack up things we weren't going to need when we got back or Monday morning.  We had discussed what to do with the leaky tent, whether to invest the $$ on loads of seam tape and sealant or get rid of it.  Getting rid of it won out, so we took it down and posted it for free pick up on a couple of Fort FB pages.  Someone replied they would come by around 6 to get it.

So off we went via bus to AK.

They had some new puppets/muppets/ whatever you want to call them.

They also had some different meet and greets

These were all over in the Dinoland area.

While we were there, my daughter wanted to try some special deserts at the Dino Bites snacks. 

They had this crazy huge peppermint ice cream sandwich. It was two large chocolate cookies and each was 1/2 dipped in thick peppermint bark candy.  In between was a massive amount of hard ice cream then they rolled it in crushed peppermint.  It was $6.99 and it was more than enough for 2 to share.

They also had a Scrooge McDuck sundae for $7.99.  I got it with chocolate ice cream, then it had whipped cream, gold mini chocolate chips, and bacon pieces.  It was really good, but the ice cream sandwich was way better.

We took a walk around the park went on the Wilderness Trek and ended up in Pandora, before we got ready to leave.

The park was crowded, but I've been there when it was worse.

We said goodbye to the kids, they were going to head to the outlet before taking my eldest to the airport and my wife and I headed to the bus stop to go back to the Fort.

Decorations in the rafters at the bus stop

Bus came, and we were the only riders back to the Fort.

When we got to the Fort we walked over to the Outpost to talk to a CM about our future options.

We told her about our after midnight drum playing neighbors and their two dogs in a tent. We were given the normal story about rangers can't be everywhere and that they cannot ask if the dogs are service dogs.  She also said they were aware of the 2000 loops reputation as a party loop.  We said if they know about the issues, why don't they have the rangers patrolling that loop more than the premiums (with all those rowdy people in their $250,000 RV's).  She didn't have a good reply, and also when we said if they were service dogs they wouldn't be barking and growling.  We said we have Halloween 2020 booked, and that we were going to be very upset if we end up in 2000 again.  She found our reservation and added notes to that effect.  We shall see if it make a difference.  I think for future bookings we are going to look at full hookups since the Fort can't clean up 2000.

Went back to the site had something to eat and packed up the rest of the items we weren't going to use like the screen room, extra bedding the girls had, etc.

I wanted to go back to the MK to get a pin that I wished I had gotten the day before. It took a long time to get there, a person was on a scooter and wanted to go to WL, so they took him on the big boat.  When we got near the lodge we had to wait about 15 minutes because the dock was full.  We finally made it over to the MK and I got the pin.

After that we left and grabbed a bus to HS. 

We hopped on the Skyliner and went over to Art of Animation just for the ride.

At Art of Animation we grabbed a bus back to the MK, then grabbed another bus to WL.

We saw the new, but unfinished Gingerbread Cabin.

 

[Travisma 1,317]

Site is acting odd, freezing up and won't let me add to the previous post.

While I was taking pictures my wife was talking to one of the bakers.  He said the cabin was about 50% finished.  They were going to add stonework around the base similar to the chimney, along with poinsettias and Humphrey Bear stringing lights.

I've seen pictures of the finished cabin and it's pretty great for it's first year. 

Also after we got home Monday night I saw that there are limited edition pins for each of the resorts showing their gingerbread creations.  And I did not know that Saratoga has some sort of display.

We grabbed the bus back to the Fort then back to the campsite and turned in.

Before I went to bed I hooked up the cable TV and got a load of different channels on our little 17 inch wall mount TV. Of course the majority were Disney related including tons of advertising stations.

Next morning I took a couple of pictures of our new home before breaking down the site.

 

My wife made the awning and the widow shades.  When she did the @T symbol she didn't realize it matched the @ in the T@B until we put the shades on.

We finished up breaking down everything and loading/hitching up.  It was a lot easier and quicker than breaking down our old PUP.

Overall we had a great trip besides the party people and not getting to relax as much as we had planned. 

Originally it was going to be just the two of us, but then we were  joined by my daughters and granddaughter.

When my oldest goes to WDW, she makes sure she fits in as much as possible, so we did a lot more park visiting than we had originally planned on.

I brought walkie talkies with me and my granddaughter had one of them, so we were in constant communication with her in the Fort and at the parks.  It was really enjoyable seeing her have so much fun with them.

Bus transportation was so-so.  A few times we waited forever for a bus to arrive,  and other times we hardly waited.  And it was the same old thing, a purple bus never arrived, tons of people waiting, and 3 yellow busses come in, two right together and one leaves empty.  But it beats driving or walking.

So another successful Fort trip under our belts.  Now to get the holidays out of the way so we can go camping again!!

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

Looks like a great time!! I see you have your visor set up to attach to the lower keder rail. Most folks have more success just staking it out to the ground. That's what I do. (I don't have a lower keder rail, so no choice)

[Travisma 1,317]

1 hour ago, mouseketab.....Carol said:

Looks like a great time!! I see you have your visor set up to attach to the lower keder rail. Most folks have more success just staking it out to the ground. That's what I do. (I don't have a lower keder rail, so no choice)

We had it both ways.  My wife sewed on 2 different sets of tabs.  Before the picture we had it staked down.

[fladogfan aka Gretchen 259]

Love those little T@Bs.  The more you camp the quicker it will be to set up and close it down.  Of course you already know that

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

Love seeing the Christmas decorations.  Those puppet things at the AK were super cute.  Not being able to ask if a dog is a service dog, is PC as it's worst.  Ridiculous.    Umm.... bacon on ice cream? 

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Quote

We told her about our after midnight drum playing neighbors and their two dogs in a tent. We were given the normal story about rangers can't be everywhere and that they cannot ask if the dogs are service dogs.  

That's a ridiculous "I just don't want to deal with it" answer.  First of all, they absolutely can, BY LAW, ask if a dog is a service dog. Under the ADA you can ask  if the dog is a service animal that is required due to a disability, and what type of work or task the dog has been trained to do. The ADA only prohibits them from asking about a person’s disability. 

And in the case of dogs in tents, their own website says this right now...

"Please note: Pets are not allowed in pop-up trailers or tents."

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/rooms-packages/camping-pet-friendly/

So.... either the guests lied (even by omission) at check-in, which is easy enough for Disney to confirm since everyone checking in with a pet has to sign something, or someone at check-in screwed up. Either way, Disney should deal with it and not let one guest impact all the other guests around them.

And I can't lay my hands on it at the moment, but I could swear that piece of paper you sign at check-in addresses dogs misbehaving.

I really hate "those dog people" that ruin it for the rest of us that are responsible, but I hate it even more when Disney doesn't enforce it's own rules and lets it happen. (argh)