Spring Break 2011 @ The Fort By TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Yes.

This is another TCD trip report.

A month ago, you missed TCD.

Now, you are sick of TCD.

Isn't it funny how that works?

Things sure have picked up around here in the past month, haven't they?

Before TCD came along on May 5, 2011, no trip report on Fort Fiends had even a thousand views.

None.

Now there are many.

And, there is one with over 11,000 views.

Wow!

Let's see how many take a look at this one.

The TCD gang visited the Fort beginning on March 25 for four nights.

TCD did some exploring.

And, we met some Fiends.

But, first, we must start at the beginning.

This was originally going to be a one week trip.

We haven't gotten a full week at the Fort under our belts in a while.

But, as often happens, we had to change our plans.

The TCD twins unexpectedly won a regional competition for a club that they belong to at their school, and they had to travel to the State Championship during the second half of their spring break.

So, we had to cut our stay at the Fort short.

Also, some unexpected conflicts caused us to leave from home late on Friday afternoon. We weren't able to get away until a little after 4.

That is bad for us.

Because Tampa traffic stands between us and the Fort.

And Tampa traffic is not very nice on Friday afternoons.

It was especially not nice on Friday afternoon, March 25th.

The drive that normally takes us an hour and a half to two hours took us three plus hours.

It was after 7:00 before we arrived at the Fort.

This was not good.

The last time we arrived this late on a Friday, we got a crappy camp site.

But, I tried something new on this trip.

On-line check in.

I've never tried it before.

But, since I knew that we would be arriving late, I figured maybe it would help.

I think it did.

Because, we scored a site on the 1500 loop!

We were assigned to 1503.

The sun was just getting ready to set when we got to our site.

But, we had not yet had our dinner.

So, we headed down to Trail's End for our Giddyap and Go.

Since our site was not set up, we ate it right there on the porch.

Then, it was back to the site to get set up in the dark.

Not a problem.

After owning my camper for almost 12 years now, I could set it up blindfolded if I had to.

It was Extra Magic Hours at Epcot that night. So, I sent the girls on to that, and stayed back to have a couple of beers and get things set. The plan was that I would join them later and give them a ride back.

Because we arrived late, and our evening consisted of me setting up in the dark, I have zero photos from Friday.

It was a wonderful evening.

Clear and cool.

I headed over to Epcot at about 11.

We had some ice cream and rode Soarin'

And then it was back to the Fort.

When we got back, it was around 12:30 am.

It was such a nice night that I decided to chill in my hammock.

The next thing I knew, it was 1:30 am, and I got woken up by a bus stopping at the 1500 loop bus stop.

The hammock was so comfy, that I decided to try to do something I have always wanted to- sleep in the hammock all night. I grabbed a couple of blankets and tried to do just that.

The only problem with my plan was that I was about 25' from the 1500 loop bus stop.

And, every time I was about to drift off, a bus came by.

I was surprised by how many buses came by that late at night.

But they did.

I also realized that my body is a bit older than back in my Boy Scout days when I used to sleep in a backpacking hammock all the time.

So, I gave up with my hammock plan and went in to the camper at about 2:30.

Fail.

We were up early for Hollywood Studios rope drop on Saturday am.

My photos start here.

Here we are stampeding to the Toy Story Midway Mania attraction:

The crowds were not bad on this cool Saturday morning.

In fact, as soon as the mob disappeared into the attraction, it was kind of empty around there:

We enjoyed Hollywood Studios for the morning.

And, then we headed back to the Fort for lunch and a nap.

Here's a couple of shots from the back of our site (you can see where my hammock is in proximity to the bus stop):

I have never had this site before. I never thought I wanted it because of how close it is to the bus stop. But, I loved it. The footbridge to the pool was just across the street. It is a great location, and the bus noise really was not a problem.

We did some looping, and saw these folks with their whimsical signs were still on the 100 loop. The have been here since the first of the year:

This appeared to be one family with a bunch of dogs. A bunch. I am not sure what loop they were staying on, but I'm glad it wasn't the 1500 loop:

The fishin' hole behind the Meadow Trading Post was looking good:

Do you see that thing floating out there in the lake?

Have you ever wondered what that is?

More on that later.

I stopped by the Meadow Snack Bar for a root beer. I snapped this photo so I could see if the prices have changed yet again. I am happy to report that there have been no price increases since my last visit in mid-February:

Here we are back at camp:

The TCD gator got broken out because Florida was playing Butler in basketball on Saturday March 26. The Gators made it to the Elite 8 this year.

Unfortunately, Albert got packed right back up a little later that afternoon.

No need to revisit that issue.

Are you wondering if there will be photos of site 617 in this report?

Wonder no more:

Remember, the guy in this space is paying $30 a night more than I am.

Sucker!

When I got back from this little looping adventure, I tried to grab a quick bit of shut-eye in the TCD hammock.

But I had visitors.

It was Steffa70 and Magicbus!

What a nice surprise.

They both lobbied pretty hard for me to join Fort Fiends.

And, now look at me!

While I was visiting, the TCD twins were in the camper doing some kind of hippie craft involving hemp.

Yes, I said hemp.

Hemp.

I've got to watch these two:

It was not Extra Magic Hours at Animal Kingdom, but they had AK open to 8. If you ever see that, go. Everybody heads out of there at around 6, and the park really empties out. It is better than EMH.

We ate dinner at the Flametree BBQ. I first tried this place just recently, based on the recommendation of other Fiends. It is a great quick serve location, and look at the view you get from the seating area:

After we ate, we headed over to Expedition Everest.

The girls needed to take a pit stop, and I got to admire some of the themeing that went into this park:

While I was waiting for the girls, guess who walked by?

It was Steffa70's son and his girlfriend.

It is a small world, after all.

Expedition Everest was basically a walk on.

We rode it many times.

Then we headed back to the Fort.

We were in plenty of time to enjoy the Electric Water Pageant at 9:45:

And, that was our Saturday.

Wow.

We are already up to our second night, and this is only the first post of this Trip Report.

Don't worry.

On Sunday, we spent a leisurely morning around the Fort.

And I took plenty of photos.

Which we will be looking at next.

TCD

This post has been promoted to an article

[parrothead7368 aka Norm 101]

Love the reports!

Best Regards,

Norm

[ajcjmom 8]

Yea, another trip report. We just home from our weekend at the fort and I will be attempting my first trip report soon. Can't wait for more!

[SCTigerCock 171]

:popcorn:

Yippee, another TR!

[Lou... 3,118]

When I got back from this little looping adventure, I tried to grab a quick bit of shut-eye in the TCD hammock.

But I had visitors. It was Steffa70 and Magicbus! What a nice surprise. They both lobbied pretty hard for me to join Fort Fiends.

And, now look at me!

Can you tell I'm off today. I never post during the day.

I wouldn't say that me putting you in a head lock and Stef kicking you in the groin qualifies as hard lobbying.

[Grumpy and Grandma 740]

Off to a good start..

[HillBillyWhisperer 20]

Are you sure that there is not a Horse among those Dogs or maybe a Shetland Pony? That thing needs it's own trailer!

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

This looks like it's gonna be another good one :banana: All those dogs, OMG, I thought 5 chihuahuas was nuts. They take the prize :rofl2:

[lklasing 16]

We must be living right to get another TCD TR! And, I even found this one while it's still on the first page. :dance: Looking forward to more!

[Sensei 18]

Can you tell I'm off today. I never post during the day.

I wouldn't say that me putting you in a head lock and Stef kicking you in the groin qualifies as hard lobbying.

Better watch those headlocks. NASCAR will fine you 150K for it.:rofl2:

[Roller ... aka Ed 351]

Better watch those headlocks. NASCAR will fine you 150K for it.:rofl2:

If a headlock is worth $150,000, how much is the kick to the groin? :suspense:

Good report so far, and you only seem to get better as the report continues. :banana:

[dblr....Rennie 224]

Jumping on the trip report looking for another great ride, thanks again.

[jrandall1972 aka Jan 0]

YEA!!!! A new TCD trip report. This is the one where we met. Which was great!! Can't wait to read more.

[PureTcrazy...rita 380]

I'm glad to see you have started another report. We must have just missed you on this trip. I think we arrived on the 28th.

[Santa ... Shannon 160]

Off to quite a start... 13 dogs for 7 people! Crazy, man!

[stefa70 205]

Can you tell I'm off today. I never post during the day.

I wouldn't say that me putting you in a head lock and Stef kicking you in the groin qualifies as hard lobbying.

:rofl2: Gee and I thought I was subtle about it!!

Sick of TCD? NO way, NO how! I've been gone most of the day (dealing with salesman, no less :banghead: ) so to come home to another TCD report was an unexpected surprise! Looking forward to more!

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Wow it really MUST be Christmas to get another TCD TR so soon! :jumpforjoy

We love the later hours at AK, and riding EE at night is a very different, and very cool experience.

I wouldn't say that me putting you in a head lock and Stef kicking you in the groin qualifies as hard lobbying.

Nice work, Fiends!

Are you sure that there is not a Horse among those Dogs or maybe a Shetland Pony? That thing needs it's own trailer!

I was thinking the same thing! I'm going through the line.... Whippet, Whippet, Whippet, Sheltie-something, bunch of small dogs.... HORSE!

Holy cats that's a lot of dogs!!

That even surpasses the people we met last year at the dog park. We were leaving with the 2 girls and 2 women where coming in with a herd of 6 Corgis.

We have seen a Wolfhound or 2 at the Fort before - as well as a few Great Danes. The giant dogs are so cool!

[anolefan 8]

And the winner for most trip reports in one month goes to................TCD!

Off to a great start as usual.

Looking forward to more.

[LONE-STAR 370]

Flame Tree is good, we have been eating there since AK opened.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Love the reports!

Best Regards,

Norm

Congratulations, you were the first to respond!

I'm glad you like TCD trip reports.

Because there's another one still to come after this one.

And maybe (if all goes according to plan) even one more!

Yea, another trip report. We just home from our weekend at the fort and I will be attempting my first trip report soon. Can't wait for more!

I would say: "what's taking you so long?" Except, I really cant, seeing as this report is being posted 2+ months after the fact.

Don't wait too long, though, you may forget some important details.

:popcorn:

Yippee, another TR!

Thanks.

Buckle your seatbelt, as this one is about to take off.

Can you tell I'm off today. I never post during the day.

I wouldn't say that me putting you in a head lock and Stef kicking you in the groin qualifies as hard lobbying.

If that isn't hard lobbying, I would hate to see what is.

Seriously, Lou, thanks to you and S70 for your sales pitch. It got me here.

Off to a good start..

Thanks, Dave.

I'm glad that you're reading along.

Are you sure that there is not a Horse among those Dogs or maybe a Shetland Pony? That thing needs it's own trailer!

No kidding.

What is that?

An Irish Wolfhound?

Are those Irish Wolfhound puppies?

I don't know.

This looks like it's gonna be another good one :banana: All those dogs, OMG, I thought 5 chihuahuas was nuts. They take the prize :rofl2:

Ummm . . .

Five Chihuahuas is nuts.

But, these folks do take the dog quantity prize.

We must be living right to get another TCD TR! And, I even found this one while it's still on the first page. :dance: Looking forward to more!

Thanks, Leslie.

Speaking of TR's, do you have any news you would like to share?

Better watch those headlocks. NASCAR will fine you 150K for it.:rofl2:

Ell-Oh-Ell

If a headlock is worth $150,000, how much is the kick to the groin? :suspense:

Good report so far, and you only seem to get better as the report continues. :banana:

True dat.

You never know what detours we will take along the way.

But, I always end up learning something.

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Hey- I used to only be able to multi-quote five times in a post.

Now, it looks like I can do at least 10.

Thank you Webmaster!

Now, please fix it so I can capitalize TCD in my trip report titles. "Tcd" doesn't look right.

A few more responses before we move on:

Jumping on the trip report looking for another great ride, thanks again.

Welcome.

If I am not mistaken, you also have a TR due.

So, let's have it.

YEA!!!! A new TCD trip report. This is the one where we met. Which was great!! Can't wait to read more.

Indeed it is.

I met y'all right there on the steps of Pioneer Hall.

Right after I had spoken to my good buddy Six Bits. Hopefully not for the last time.

It was great to meet you. I think y'all had just checked in, and we were checking out the next day.

How did things go there on the 2000 loop?

When will you be heading back to the Fort?

I'm glad to see you have started another report. We must have just missed you on this trip. I think we arrived on the 28th.

Oh.

I never made the connection.

You and Runner brought that bad weather with you.

Which we will be taking a look at later.

As you can see, it was beautiful before y'all arrived.

Off to quite a start... 13 dogs for 7 people! Crazy, man!

Agreed.

Since I only have Rocky, I don't know what the policy is for more than one dog. Do they charge a pet deposit for each? Also, the one time I did get charged the pet deposit, it was later reversed, and not because of any request from me. Does anyone know if the pet charge is normally refunded? Does anyone know if you have to pay per pet? If so, these folks' pet deposit must have cost them more than their campsite.

:rofl2: Gee and I thought I was subtle about it!!

Sick of TCD? NO way, NO how! I've been gone most of the day (dealing with salesman, no less :banghead: ) so to come home to another TCD report was an unexpected surprise! Looking forward to more!

Thanks, S70.

I need to get this one moving.

Which, I will.

Once again, thanks for stopping by, it was good to see you again, and it was great to meet Amanda.

Wow it really MUST be Christmas to get another TCD TR so soon! :jumpforjoy

We love the later hours at AK, and riding EE at night is a very different, and very cool experience.

I was thinking the same thing! I'm going through the line.... Whippet, Whippet, Whippet, Sheltie-something, bunch of small dogs.... HORSE!

Holy cats that's a lot of dogs!!

That even surpasses the people we met last year at the dog park. We were leaving with the 2 girls and 2 women where coming in with a herd of 6 Corgis.

We have seen a Wolfhound or 2 at the Fort before - as well as a few Great Danes. The giant dogs are so cool!

1. I agree with you about EE at night. It is great. And, great to look at, too. For some reason, WDW no longer has night EMH's at AK. But, as I said, the 8 pm close time is better than an EMH.

2. There is a family who regularly visits the Fort with their Great Danes. Really nice folks. I see them at the Fort often. The dogs are huge, but very friendly and gentle.

And the winner for most trip reports in one month goes to................TCD!

Off to a great start as usual.

Looking forward to more.

Thank you sir.

I accept this award with the hope that somebody will step up and better the record.

But, four in one month is going to be hard to top.

Flame Tree is good, we have been eating there since AK opened.

You are probably one of the ones whose recommendation led me to give this place a try. When AK first opened, our quick service choice was always Restaurantasaurus. They had McDonald's Happy Meals then, and the toy was always a Dinosaur squirt gun. There is not way I would ever get my kids to forgo that in favor of Barbecue. But, times have changed, and now it is either Yak and Yeti or Flametree for us when we are looking for quick serve at AK.

TCD

[Sensei 18]

I very much like your trip reports. They are very informative and entertaining. As I haven't done one yet, I'm using yours as the model of what a great TR should be. Thanks for posting all your TR's. FortFiends is richer for it.

[Roller ... aka Ed 351]

But, times have changed, and now it is either Yak and Yeti or Flametree for us when we are looking for quick serve at AK.

TCD

We've tried Yak & Yeti table service and loved it. I've been thinking of trying their counter service, but Flame Tree has always been my favorite for that.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I very much like your trip reports. They are very informative and entertaining. As I haven't done one yet, I'm using yours as the model of what a great TR should be. Thanks for posting all your TR's. FortFiends is richer for it.

Thanks.

I appreciate your kind words.

Some advice about writing a trip report- mine tend to end up being bloated monsters by the end. I am not the greatest photographer, so I compensate by posting hundreds of photos. That may not be your cup of tea. Be yourself. Don't try to be TCD. I enjoy a short trip report with a few good photos. Especially from a first time trip report writer. So, give it a try. You can write a long convoluted report on your next effort.

We've tried Yak & Yeti table service and loved it. I've been thinking of trying their counter service, but Flame Tree has always been my favorite for that.

Y and Y counter service is good. Not great. But good. There is quite a bit of drop-off between the table service and counter service in terms of quality. Since we get Chinese take-out often at home, Y and Y is just an occasional thing for us when we are at AK. But, there isn't anything wrong with it. It is about on the level of what you would get at a local take out joint (although I reckon they don't have a lot of those in your neck of the woods). I will digress for a moment to say that we once had occasion to stop at the McDonald's in Blountstown ( which I think is your nearest "civilization") on our way to the panhandle, and I have never seen so many John Deere trucker hats in my life. This was when trucker hats were a bit of a fad among the hip hop crowd. My DD's thought these folks in Blountstown were cutting edge.

TCD

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

Since I only have Rocky, I don't know what the policy is for more than one dog. Do they charge a pet deposit for each? Also, the one time I did get charged the pet deposit, it was later reversed, and not because of any request from me. Does anyone know if the pet charge is normally refunded? Does anyone know if you have to pay per pet? If so, these folks' pet deposit must have cost them more than their campsite.

Since I have five dogs, I feel qualified to answer this one :rofl2: You pay $5, per night, no matter how many dogs you have. I was actually charged for each dog one time and didn't notice it. Disney sent me a refund when I returned home. It was a nice surprise when it arrived :banana: