TCD's Flippin' Awesome July 4 2011 Fort Trip Report!

[Sensei 18]

Good start to another TCD TR. Notice anything odd about this coach?

I don't know, but looks like the bay door in front of the rear wheel is open. Hope they didn't lose things coming down the road.

[daddyphat808 - Eric 16]

Awesome so far. Next year we are going to be there for the Fourth!!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

We are moving right along here, aren't we?

It is now Sunday morning, July 3rd.

We will be on this day for a while.

I have a lot of photos from Sunday.

I hope you don't mind.

As you may have expected, our day begins with TCD racing the sun to Bay Lake.

On the way out of the 1500 loop, something catches my eye.

Look, up there right above the trees, between the two signs there by the bridge:

What's that?

Take a closer look:

A hot air balloon!

Cool!

What a fun way to start the day.

Here's a look back at site 1501. It doesn't come with much privacy. But you can't beat the location:

Hey look, it's a Yellow Bus. We saw a lot of those all weekend:

When I looked back to check on the balloon, I now see that there are two!:

One is Red, White and Blue. Perfect!:

And, then I notice another balloon:

And a couple more just to the left:

There are a whole lot of balloons this morning!:

As is always the case, these photos don't do the scene justice. It was pretty cool to sit there and watch those balloons float just above the tree line.

It was a surprisingly cool morning.

The TCD pop-up's onboard weather station reported that it was just 72 degrees this morning.

That is really cool for July.

It felt great out.

Too bad for all of you who stayed away because of the heat.

It was so cool, in fact, that there was fog hanging over the swamp between the 1500 loop and the 300 loop. I love this area. And I took several photos. You can see them all. No extra charge:

That is one beautiful swamp, if you ask me.

As you might have guessed, I headed around the 300 loop and out back.

I was going to check Bay Lake and the canal for gators.

There had been cones blocking this all off yesterday afternoon.

Thankfully, somebody had already moved them:

The little cove between the dam and Bay Lake was looking nice and clear this morning:

When I was out this way just a month ago, there was a big green pump pumping water from the canal into the lake.

The green pump was still there.

But it was not pumping.

There has been plenty of rain lately.

There is also a new piece of equipment back here:

I'm not quite sure what this new thing is. I guess it's another pump?

Look, there's a cardinal on that fence post:

This new piece of equipment had instructions on how to start it. I followed them, and the thing started right up. But, I still couldn't tell what it was there for. So, I shut it down:

It looks like a highly trained engineer has been at work here with some rope:

Here's that green pump:

Check out the chain and rope going on in this photo:

Definitely the work of professionals.

Here's a look at the canal that runs along the 300 loop, and continues on past the 1500, 1600 and 1800 loops. Note that there is a fellow fishing on the far right of the photo:

As I passed by the fisherman, he says hello, and I say hello back. I ask how's it going. He says if I want to wait two minutes he'll show me the biggest bass in Fort Wilderness. I laugh. He laughs. Fun times. Then he gets a bite. It had been like 30 seconds. He pulls in a big fish! He asks me to take a photo with his phone, so I do. Then I ask him if I can snap a photo, he says sure. Here he is:

Nice fish!

Nice guy.

He said he doesn't live far, and he camps at the Fort a lot.

The funny thing about this is that the previous evening I spoke to TnBob, and he told me that the fishing had been terrible for him.

Fellow Fiend anolefan caught a fish on the other side of the bridge that looks a lot this one. I wonder if it's the same fish?

My new friend the fisherman asked if he could pay me to stay there with him for a while.

I was his good luck charm.

I told him thanks, but no.

I had placed to go and things to do.

So, off I went.

Next up . . .

We take a look in the lake, and then check out River Country.

TCD

[Lou... 3,118]

Who puts a dolphin on fireworks?

Flippin, Flipper, it's all the same.

That's my 4th of July shirt.

My DD's hate it.

So I only wear it on the 4th.

It says Seaside, that's not from the Seaside Inn, is it?

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Good start to another TCD TR. Notice anything odd about this coach?

I don't know, but looks like the bay door in front of the rear wheel is open. Hope they didn't lose things coming down the road.

Good catch!

That door sure is open.

Maybe someone was just checking on something while they waited in line.

Or, maybe, as you said, they left a trail on the way to the Fort.

Awesome so far. Next year we are going to be there for the Fourth!!

Great!

You will have a blast!

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Flippin, Flipper, it's all the same.

It says Seaside, that's not from the Seaside Inn, is it?

1. True.

2. No, that shirt is from Seaside, Florida. That is where we used to always go for the 4th. But, we took our trip there earlier this Summer to coincide with my oldest DD's school break. Where is the Seaside Inn?

TCD

[devores 382]

First, the scans.

Some people want to know this stuff.

Here's the official schedule for the weekend:

This is about the same as last year.

There are a couple of new things.

Now, here's the schedule for the month:

It looks like they got themselves a new printer at the Fort.

Be sure to make note of the movie schedule.

Do you notice how they are repeating movies throughout the month?

Do you notice anything odd about these scans??? Check out the movie for the 3rd of July. One says cars, the other Tangled. The 2nd lists 2 different movies as well.

Cant wait to read more.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Do you notice anything odd about these scans??? Check out the movie for the 3rd of July. One says cars, the other Tangled. The 2nd lists 2 different movies as well.

Cant wait to read more.

No I didn't notice that.

The 4th of July handout said that the movie for the 2nd was "Mickey's Great Outdoors.' I think that is a short cartoon. When we stopped by later in the night, they were playing The Princess and The Frog. I am not sure what ended up playing on the 3rd. I thought it was Tangled. I never noticed the one that said Cars.

TCD

[devores 382]

No I didn't notice that.

The 4th of July handout said that the movie for the 2nd was "Mickey's Great Outdoors.' I think that is a short cartoon. When we stopped by later in the night, they were playing The Princess and The Frog. I am not sure what ended up playing on the 3rd. I thought it was Tangled. I never noticed the one that said Cars.

TCD

Tangled played on the 3rd. The new movie list is very hard to read and distingush what is playing when, but the two different movies listed on the same day is odd.

[caveat lector 181]

Wow, I have to make a list of all the teasers:

Yuri's return

Unusual title

River country mention

Pumps and machinery galore

Popo on patrol

.

.

.

There's a lot of drama building. Glad I'm along for the ride. :popcorn:

[Lil Lisa 53]

:popcorn: Very excited for the TP!

Someone got TP'd??

Looking forward to the rest Andrew!!

[Keylime359 2]

Someone got TP'd??

Looking forward to the rest Andrew!!

would you believe me if I said it was for Trip 'Port? :rofl2:

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

signed up for the instant notifications. Glad you've gotten started.... now let the entertainment continue!

[mgsmom 9]

Very cool with the hot air balloons!! I really like the fog pics too.

Glad to hear Yuri is still around and doing well. Tell him I said "Heeyyyyyy"

[lklasing 16]

Wow - I need to re-work my life to be able to get on the boards more often. I wasn't even done with the last report and I missed the first whole page of this one. Anyway, I'm on board now and looking forward to more!

[anolefan 8]

Awesome start!

I take the afternoon off and I have 2 pages to catch up with.

I have a couple of comments:

-Regarding the GC theft and other activity, a fellow fisherman told me that on Friday night 7/1 that someone ripped the change machine off the wall in the 900/1000 comfort station. I don't know if that is true, but I had to do some laundry on Saturday morning and when I went there to get change, it was missing for sure.

-People were moving those cones behind the 300 loop all weekend. I actually saw a CM on a Segway come back and make some guys that took their cart back there to fish leave on Friday evening.

-That fish may have been the same one, originally I thought the one I caught was bigger, but maybe not :). And just in case anyone missed it, you have given me another opportunity to post it again. Thanks!

I can't wait for more. I'm off to work and am sure I'll have 6 pages to read when I get home this evening.

[HillBillyWhisperer 20]

Great report so far. Waiting again for more..........................

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Tangled played on the 3rd. The new movie list is very hard to read and distingush what is playing when, but the two different movies listed on the same day is odd.

Agreed. I really do not like what is happening here. When they started using inflatable screens and playing movies at the other resorts, this is how the movie play-lists went there. Some just had the same movies each night of the week, and it repeated throughout the month. It looks like that is where the Fort has gone, too. One of the things I always liked about the Fort is that there would be variety. They played some really obscure movies every now and then.

Wow, I have to make a list of all the teasers:

Yuri's return

Unusual title

River country mention

Pumps and machinery galore

Popo on patrol

.

.

.

There's a lot of drama building. Glad I'm along for the ride. :popcorn:

You are very perceptive.

There are some River Country photos coming up.

And some more machinery photos.

And some po-po photos too.

Someone got TP'd??

Looking forward to the rest Andrew!!

Ah!

The queen of the zippy one liners has graced us with her presence!

Good to see you VCL!

TCD

would you believe me if I said it was for Trip 'Port? :rofl2:

No.

But nice try anyway.

signed up for the instant notifications. Glad you've gotten started.... now let the entertainment continue!

Now that is dedication.

The report will continue momentarily.

Very cool with the hot air balloons!! I really like the fog pics too.

Glad to hear Yuri is still around and doing well. Tell him I said "Heeyyyyyy"

Thanks.

I will tell Yuri you said Hey the next time I see him.

Which hopefully will not be for a while.

You know how I feel about him.

The guy is Bad News.

Wow - I need to re-work my life to be able to get on the boards more often. I wasn't even done with the last report and I missed the first whole page of this one. Anyway, I'm on board now and looking forward to more!

Priorities, Leslie.

Priorities.

Oh well, at least you're here!

Awesome start!

I take the afternoon off and I have 2 pages to catch up with.

I have a couple of comments:

-Regarding the GC theft and other activity, a fellow fisherman told me that on Friday night 7/1 that someone ripped the change machine off the wall in the 900/1000 comfort station. I don't know if that is true, but I had to do some laundry on Saturday morning and when I went there to get change, it was missing for sure.

-People were moving those cones behind the 300 loop all weekend. I actually saw a CM on a Segway come back and make some guys that took their cart back there to fish leave on Friday evening.

-That fish may have been the same one, originally I thought the one I caught was bigger, but maybe not :). And just in case anyone missed it, you have given me another opportunity to post it again. Thanks!

I can't wait for more. I'm off to work and am sure I'll have 6 pages to read when I get home this evening.

I think Jen reported that there was a change machine theft in the 1600 loop.

Man, the OCSO was at the Fort a lot this weekend.

What is wrong with people?

I left your fish photo in your quote.

That is a nice fish!

And great job getting that photo without assistance!

I don't know if TnBob is reading along, but I don't think the poor guy caught anything the whole time I was there. And it wasn't for lack of trying.

Great report so far. Waiting again for more..........................

Yes sir.

I will get working on some of that more for you.

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

After bidding adieu to my fisherman friend, I was on my way to the Settlement.

Of course, I just had to stop at one of my favorite spots in the Fort. I am talking about the shore of Bay Lake where you can see the castle and Space Mountain:

You can see a boat approaching in those photos.

Here's a closer look. It's one of the resort boats:

Turning just to the left, from that photo, check out the big heron perched right in the grass. You can see his full reflection in the calm water:

From here, we continue on our way to the Settlement.

I love this path.

It is quiet and tranquil. It kind of has a jungle feel in the Summer:

As we travel along this path, we pass by the back sides of the 300, 200 and finally the 100 loop. You can't see the campsites from here, but they are right on the other side of all this lush vegetation:

Here's a look down the path. The new dining pavilion is supposed to be going in the area to the right of the path in this shot:

There's the end of the path up ahead. You can see that one of the unnecessary safety cones is smashed. This is confirmation that it was smashed before I got anywhere near it:

This shot is from near the end of the path, turned back and looking in. This cleared area is right where the corner of the new dining pavilion will be going:

As we pass by the Settlement Trading Post, I must check for the old River Country wagon. It's still here:

No one has disturbed the cones blocking access to the 100 loop. Yet:

The lawnmower tree was faithfully standing guard over the settlement:

Here's a bit closer look:

There's the lawnmower from which the tree takes its name:

And here's the sign that explains everything:

And a bit closer, for good measure:

Even though the boats are running, there are no passengers for them at this early hour:

Here's a random shot of where the horse carriages park:

And, here we are on the porch of Trail's End. Those stupid cones ruined this perfectly nice photo:

It was time for that first cup of coffee, and then down the path to River Country.

TCD

[campingdawgs 4]

Those are great pictures! So peaceful. I love the heron standing tall. It's a shame so much of the natural area will be gone with the new pavilion. The nature trails and wildlife are some of the best things about the Fort.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

love the lawn mower stuck in the tree... wonder what the real story is behind it

[stefa70 205]

The fort is extra beautiful when there aren't hoards of people roaming around. Boo to the orange cones ruining your picture, they must not have known you were coming.

I had a somewhat perverted analogy about this TR (imagine that!) But this is a family board, so I'm going to put it another way.....

I was so happy that you started this TR, so soon after finishing the last one.

It has been wonderful so far, and I am looking forward to more,

but part of me wants you to slow down, so it's not over too fast. ;D

Then I won't have anything to look forward to.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Here we are inside the old River Country entrance area.

I am glad that this is accessible to Fort Wilderness guests. It really brings back a lot of memories for me.

This is a shot from inside the entry area, looking back toward the old ticket booth and where the water tower used to stand:

This is a shot of the Fort Wilderness Pavilion. This used to be inside the boundaries of River Country and was open to guests for dining. You could bring your own food, or purchase it from Pop's Place. This is used now for the Mickey's Backyard BBQ event:

There is a big, green fence that fences off the rest of the remains of River Country from this area. There are several gaps in the fence that allow glimpses of what is behind the fence.

This may seem like deja vue for anyone who read my last trip report, as these photos are all taken through the same openings. I am posting them here because some day this will all be gone. For now, everything is about the same as it has been since River Country closed ten years ago.

This is what we call the picnic table graveyard:

This is the back of an old food service building:

And this is the front of that building:

It looks like someone has been poking around back here, as this looks like a cabinet door from the food service building:

This is the back of another building. This area has pumps and filters for the old Indian Springs area of River Country:

This is on the accessible side of the fence. These impatiens have survived from the old River Country days:

Through another gap in the fence, we can see those blue tanks which first showed up here about a year and a half ago. I still have no clue why they are there:

These fake rocks are in the accessible area. They look like they are holding up OK, despite the fact that they are climbed on by everyone trying to see over the fence:

This is always a sad sight. The old main pool:

Lest we forget, here's the same pool and slides in better days:

I'm not sure if you can make it out in the previous two photos, but the rocks under the slides seem to be breaking up. At one point, there was hope that parts of River Country might be salvaged and opened for Fort Wilderness guests. At this point, I would say the rocks and slides are too far gone. I don't know about the pool.

You can see an old towel return building here:

I don't remember this table being here before. I know the flipper wasn't there the last time I was here:

This plywood on the ground is part of an older wall which is rotting and falling down:

These shots are from back as far as we can go in the accessible area, looking back to the entrance. You can barely make out the old ticket booth in the background of these photos:

We spent some time looking at some of the trees and plants in this area in the last trip report. Here are a few photos of the landscaping in the accessible area:

These picnic tables are used for seating for guests waiting to enter the BBQ on the evenings when they have it. I don't know of any reason why Fort guests couldn't use them at other times:

You can see the rising sun hitting the weather vane on top of the pavilion in this shot:

Here's another look from the back of this area toward the entrance:

These fences and walkways were part of River Country. They seem to be holding up well:

Since it seems like nothing new is happening back here, it is time to move on.

But first, a final look at the pavilion:

And a look at the buildings behind the pavilion:

As many of you know, there have been persistent rumors that a new DVC resort is going to be built in this area. So far, there is no evidence anywhere back here that this construction is going to begin at any time soon.

But, later on Sunday, I did see something back here while riding the boat to the MK which suggested that something might be going on.

This led to a visit by my cousin to this area on Monday.

Which we will get to after we finish with the rest of the photos from Sunday.

Next up, it's still Sunday morning, and I run in to some more Fiends.

TCD

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Wish I'd gone to River Country the one time I visited when it was still open.....

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

The fort is extra beautiful when there aren't hoards of people roaming around. Boo to the orange cones ruining your picture, they must not have known you were coming.

I had a somewhat perverted analogy about this TR (imagine that!) But this is a family board, so I'm going to put it another way.....

I was so happy that you started this TR, so soon after finishing the last one.

It has been wonderful so far, and I am looking forward to more,

but part of me wants you to slow down, so it's not over too fast. ;D

Then I won't have anything to look forward to.

So does anyone else have a sudden desire to have a cigarette :rofl2: