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

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

"You had better watch yourself, or you are going to get on my list.

First you beg for a trip report, and then you go off and don't pay attention.

Let's get with it!"

Totally Hutchinson, the heat and hubby's fault! I caught up on the drive that should win me some points back!!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Totally Hutchinson, the heat and hubby's fault! I caught up on the drive that should win me some points back!!

OK- that's more like it.

I was only kidding about the list.

I don't have a list.

Yet.

TCD

[kampfirekim 260]

I'm glad that you finally got out to the area behind the 300 loop.

Did you see any signs of your favorite cowboy?

I have no doubt that Hurston would not cave. He seems like a pretty smart fellow.

TCD

I'm glad too. It was worth the effort for sure, even if there was no cowboy to greet me. I don't think H would have approved of my meeting a cowboy alone behind 300 loop anyway. It all worked out for the best.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Have you ever heard the saying: "Getting there is half the fun?"

How about: "It's the journey?"

Whoever made those up has never tried to use Disney transportation.

J/K

I love to use the WDW transportation system.

Sure, it can get frustrating sometimes.

But, it really is part of the experience.

On Sunday evening, July 3rd, we got to put the transportation system to the test.

We were going to head over to the Polynesian Resort to eat and then watch the special 3rd of July fireworks.

We did the same thing last year.

And we liked it.

Shouldn't be too hard.

Right?

The fireworks were set for 9 pm.

We knew that we could encounter some crowds, so we left our site at around 6.

The plan was to park our cart at the marina, and take a boat to either the MK or Contemporary to catch the monorail to the Polynesian.

We encountered our first glitch before we got to the marina.

The helpful rangers were directing traffic at the three way.

They wouldn't let any golf carts down the path to the marina.

They said all carts had to park behind Pioneer Hall.

Remember it was barely 6 pm.

I knew full well that there were plenty of parking spaces at the marina.

But the rangers didn't care.

We had to go park behind Pioneer Hall.

Here is where we parked:

This was no big deal.

Just a minor annoyance.

But, there really was no good reason to require this so early in the evening.

Sure enough, as soon as I walked up to the marina, I saw that there was plenty of parking both there and in the parking area in front of Trail's End.

This was just unnecessary meddling by the rangers.

I encountered more of that than I cared for on this trip.

And in the meantime, I had cars illegally parked right in front of my site, and all kinds of freeloaders enjoying the pool.

As soon as we parked, we saw that there was a MK boat loading, and a resort boat just pulling up. We hurried along.

I would have preferred to take the resort boat, but it had come from the Contemporary and was heading to Wilderness Lodge first. And it was crowded. The MK boat had plenty of space, and was ready to leave.

We took the MK boat.

Here we are pulling away from the dock. You can see that the resort boat is still there:

You may wonder why I took that second photo.

Then again, maybe you are used to this type of repetition in a TCD trip report.

But, I actually had a reason for the second photo.

I was trying to get a photo of this:

What's that, you ask?

That is the Independence Eve Beach Party.

Remember?

It was listed on the activity sheet in my first post, above.

It was scheduled from 5 to 9 pm, and was advertised as follows:

"Join the Fort Wilderness Activities Cast at Clementine Beach for a fun-filled evening the whole family can enjoy! Games, events, prizes, and of course, fireworks."

They did this last year on the night of the 4th.

The beach was packed all evening.

Not this year.

Fail.

Last year there was a DJ and dancing.

Lots of dancing.

This year there was what you saw in the photo.

Which is almost nothing.

Some Party.

I'm sure the beach would get busy closer to 9 pm, but here's how it looked as we passed by:

Those rangers were doing a great job with the crowd control!

Here's the good old shoe tree:

We have seen a lot of Shoe Tree photos in recent TCD reports, so even though I have more, I'll spare you this time.

Here's a couple of shots of the area where that new DVC resort is rumored to be going:

Those are the rotting remains of River Country right over there:

As we passed by River Country, I noticed something. You can see it in these photos- there is a big piece of orange equipment- some type of lift- which appears to be parked there in River Country:

I wonder what it is doing in there.

Don't you?

I thought about jumping overboard and swimming over to take a look.

But we were on a tight schedule.

Maybe when we get back to camp, I will shine my big "Y" light in the sky to summon my Cousin Yuri.

We will come back to this later.

For now, we continued on our boat ride.

Here's the dock used by the Lake Patrol boats:

There goes the other resort boat. This one was going the opposite direction from the other. It was coming from the Lodge and heading to the Fort. I assume it would go to the Contemporary from there. This is unusual, as at some point in the evening, they used to just travel one route. Remember this. It will be important later in our story.

There's the Wilderness Lodge:

The lighting in the photo above is good for seeing the Bear Face. Don't those dormer windows up at the top of the main building look like a pair of eyes?

Take another look:

As we motor on, we can see a MK boat pulling up to the Lodge:

After passing over the water bridge, I noticed this area to our left which has recently been cleared. You can see the equipment parked there in the background of the second photo:

I don't recall being able to see the monorail track so clearly from this area before.

Here we are docking at the MK:

As we pulled up, we could see that a Polynesian/Grand Floridian boat was loading passengers at the adjacent dock. If we hurried, we could catch that, and not bother with the monorail.

As luck would have it, even though our boat was only about half full, a family blocked everyone else from exiting the boat because they had to unfold their stroller and load their precious children, and make adjustments, as soon as they stepped off the boat. And, they couldn't be bothered to step to the side either. Why should they? The rest of us didn't mind waiting. After these folks finally got their entourage loaded and moving, they slowly walked around the walkway, taking care to block it completely so no one could pass by. From there, they slowly walked over to the Polynesian/GF dock, and walked up to the waiting boat.

The sweet thing was that as this group moved at their glacial pace, the boat captain for the Polynesian/GF boat untied the boat, hopped on, and took off, leaving those folks standing there in disbelief.

That was awesome!

This sign was posted there at the dock:

We obviously headed up the ramp to the resort monorail.

Just as we got to the top, a monorail was pulling up.

We walked all the way to the back.

You can usually enjoy and uncrowded monorail car back there.

We had a car to ourselves.

For a while.

As soon as we loaded, an announcement came on that the monorail was going to wait at the station so they could bring another monorail on line.

No big deal. We had a seat, and we were in the air conditioning. But they left the doors open. So all the cool air was escaping, and the hot air was coming in.

We sat there for a while.

There were several announcements about the delay.

Since it wasn't so cool in the monorail, I stepped out on the platform to look around.

The monorail platform is a nice vantage point:

It looks like this is some type of boat that will be used for tonight's fireworks:

Here's our monorail:

We ended up sitting there with the doors open for about 15-20 minutes.

After a while, our car was completely packed to standing room only. And it was warm in there because the doors had been open for so long.

Finally, they announced that we would be on our way.

And we moved.

Only to then stop outside the Contemporary.

For the monorail ahead of us to allegedly clear the station.

Then we finally pulled up.

There was a huge crowd waiting to get on.

What the Fort?

What happened to that new monorail they were adding to the track?

We squeezed a few more guests into our already crowded car, and we finally moved along to the TTC and then we finally arrived at the Polynesian.

It was now 7:05.

It had taken us an hour and five minutes to get here from the Fort.

Not bad I guess.

But not good either.

As we headed from the station into the hotel, we could see that the Polynesian was packed.

Uh oh.

Next up, our dining adventures.

And then Disney's Celebrate America!- A Fourth of July Concert in the Sky!

TCD

[wak648...Bill 94]

It had taken us an hour and five minutes to get here from the Fort.

I know the feeling last summer when we were there, we had reservations at Ohana for dinner. We left our site 1.5 hours before the reservation. We were taking the boat to the Contemporary and then the monorail to the Poly. Problem one was we had a boat captain in training and it took him 5 times to dock up at the Contemporary. We still had 45 minutes to get there no problem right? Wrong, we got on the Monorail and it broke down between the TTC and the Poly. We were stuck there to another 1/2 hour before they limped it back to the TTC. After walking to the Poly we got to the Restraunt 1/2 hour after our ressies and they gave us crap about not being there on time and we should had allotted more time for Disney Transportation.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I'm glad too. It was worth the effort for sure, even if there was no cowboy to greet me. I don't think H would have approved of my meeting a cowboy alone behind 300 loop anyway. It all worked out for the best.

Yeah.

I haven't seen the cowboy around for a while.

But, here's a photo of him, for old time's sake:

I know the feeling last summer when we were there, we had reservations at Ohana for dinner. We left our site 1.5 hours before the reservation. We were taking the boat to the Contemporary and then the monorail to the Poly. Problem one was we had a boat captain in training and it took him 5 times to dock up at the Contemporary. We still had 45 minutes to get there no problem right? Wrong, we got on the Monorail and it broke down between the TTC and the Poly. We were stuck there to another 1/2 hour before they limped it back to the TTC. After walking to the Poly we got to the Restraunt 1/2 hour after our ressies and they gave us crap about not being there on time and we should had allotted more time for Disney Transportation.

OK, you beat me.

But getting there is half the fun, right?

Fortunately, this kind of thing is the exception and not the rule, and we were expecting some glitches along the way.

TCD

[stefa70 205]

We have some housekeeping to do here before moving on.

Since TCD trip reports are interactive, I have some comments to respond to before we move this thing along.

Don't worry, it won't take long.

And we are in no rush on this one.

Right, S70?

So let's see:

The only way I would be mistaken for Mark Spitz' twin would be if you drank a bunch of that Wacky Punch you had at the shuffleboard court at the campground you visited in Crystal River. Even then, I still think it would have to be dark, and you would have to squint.

Even then, probably not.

TCD

You are moving along at a perfect pace! :)

While the wacky punch I had was delicious and potent, I don't need it to know a good thing when I see it!

So Mark Spitz was a good swimmer, big deal! I'm sure he doesn't have your witty writing abilities, your sense of adventure, your eye for detail OR a crazy troublesome cousin Yuri.

Besides this is Mark Spitz today. I'm not impressed ~ so you wear your speedos proudly!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

You are moving along at a perfect pace! :)

While the wacky punch I had was delicious and potent, I don't need it to know a good thing when I see it!

So Mark Spitz was a good swimmer, big deal! I'm sure he doesn't have your witty writing abilities, your sense of adventure, your eye for detail OR a crazy troublesome cousin Yuri.

Besides this is Mark Spitz today. I'm not impressed ~ so you wear your speedos proudly!

Wow!

Mark Spitz got old.

How did that happen?

Maybe I could be mistaken for his twin (you would still need at least a little Wacky Punch though).

TCD

[Lil Lisa 53]

Okay then for you it would be arm leg and a dog!

That price is way too steep for me!

[BouncingTiggers 98]

Figures the one day I'm actually working at work there's a contest.

TCD that sounds like a monorail nightmare you had there. 20+ minutes on a hot packed monorail would be terrible.

Maybe Homer was driving the new monorail.

[PrincessNana 15]

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.

The change machine was ripped off the wall and stolen. I was washing clothes when security

came in and started taking pictures. It made for an exciting morning on the loop. It shook our sense of security so we were alittle more careful about locking up on this trip.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

That price is way too steep for me!

I knew you would say that.

A kid is one thing.

A dog, now that is asking a bit much.

Figures the one day I'm actually working at work there's a contest.

TCD that sounds like a monorail nightmare you had there. 20+ minutes on a hot packed monorail would be terrible.

Maybe Homer was driving the new monorail.

It wasn't that bad, really, and everything worked out for us.

As you will see in my next post.

The change machine was ripped off the wall and stolen. I was washing clothes when security

came in and started taking pictures. It made for an exciting morning on the loop. It shook our sense of security so we were alittle more careful about locking up on this trip.

Geez.

Who would do that?

I hate hearing when things like this happen at the Fort.

I wonder if the folks I saw in the parking lot on Saturday were related to this.

Oh-

anolefan will be happy that another photo of his fish got posted.

And-

I see that you all arrived back in Texas. I hope you had a great trip.

You know that you have to do a trip report.

Even if it's a little one.

TCD

[Discamper 394]

TCD Here are pictures of the golf cart parking behind Pioneer Hall in 2009

Great trip report TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

The saga continues.

We left off with our arrival at the Polynesian Resort.

Somehow, we end up here at least once on every visit.

The TCD twins had just been here for lunch on Saturday while I was setting up camp.

They like the Dole Whip.

So, the plan was to try the Kona Sushi Bar.

Bad plan.

I knew it might be crowded.

But, it wasn't just crowded.

It was packed.

Every seat was full, and there were people hovering around looking for any possible chance of grabbing a seat.

And we were a party of four.

I didn't know that you could take the sushi to go from here.

I found that out by observing the long line of customers at the cash register, and those standing off to the side waiting for their orders.

We obviously weren't going to have sushi tonight.

Time for plan B.

The girls mentioned that there were a couple of new items on the menu at the quick serve place downstairs when they stopped by yesterday. They menitoned a new pulled pork sandwich and pulled pork nachos.

So, we went with plan B.

We headed down to Captain Cooks.

There was a line out the door.

We have never seen that before.

But, there were castmembers there directing traffic, and keeping folks from grabbing tables until they had ordered their food.

That worked out well for us.

The line moved quick.

We got a place to sit.

But this all took time.

It was getting to be 7:45 by the time our food was prepared.

I had originally thought we would be good if we made it out to the beach by 8 pm.

But, clearly this year was way busier than last.

I took my pulled pork sandwich to go, and let the girls sit inside to finish their food.

I told them I would get a place for us to sit and watch the fireworks.

But first, here's a photo of the pulled pork nachos:

They use those hand-made Hawaiian chips instead of tortilla chips, and then add pulled pork, coleslaw and pineapple. It's pretty good. But weird.

My pulled pork sandwich was great.

Now, on to the beach.

Last year, we arrived at about 8, and had no problem snagging lounge chairs right on the water. But, last year it was raining on and off in the afternoon, and it was drizzling when we arrived at the beach. This year, the weather was fine.

As I walked the beach looking for some empty chairs, I found none. Not a single chair was available:

This wasn't going according to plan.

As I pondered what to do, I noticed that someone had pulled a lounge chair up on the grass by one of the buildings.

Nobody was around that chair.

I walked up to it.

I looked around.

Nobody seemed to have staked a claim to it.

So I picked it up.

And carried it all the way to the edge of the Seven Seas Lagoon.

A lot of folks looked at me as I walked by.

They were wishing that they had a chair.

But, I had the last one.

There was plenty of open space along the water.

Space wasn't the problem.

Lack of chairs was the problem.

I put the lounge chair parallel to the water. All four of us could sit on it that way.

Problem solved.

This was our view from our spot. That's the castle over there across the lagoon:

It was a beautiful night, and the sun was setting. There was a nice breeze, and kids were enjoying playing in the sand along the water's edge:

We were a bit further down the beach than we were last year.

There is an area I have heard called The Point just past the beach here. The point must be a good place to watch the fireworks, because a lot of people head over there.

That is The Point over there. Note that they have hammocks on the beach for Polynesian Resort guests:

Here's a closer look at one of the hammocks with The Point in the background:

After the girls finished eating, they joined me at our viewing spot.

This gave me a chance to wander off a bit to look around.

I wanted to take a look at the point, so I headed that way.

Here we are up on the point:

This looks like it would be a good place to watch the fireworks. I like how this lady set her chair up front and center:

My only question about this is that it looks like an island blocks some of the castle from view. Maybe that's not a big deal since the fireworks are all above the castle, but I like that we could see the whole castle from our spot.

A lot of folks just spread out on the grass and waited for the show to begin:

Here's the view from up here:

You can look down the whole beach from here. It doesn't look all that crowded, but it was probably just a bit after 8 when I took this photo. And all the chairs were definitely gone by this time:

As I headed back to my place, a steady stream of guests kept arriving:

Here's one more look down the beach from up on The Point:

The sun continued to sink behind the Grand Floridian.

Mother Nature decided to put on a bit of a show of her own to compete with the man-made show about to begin:

People were letting their kids play in the water.

Is that a gator?:

No.

But it could have been.

I noticed that there was a temporary snack bar set up on the beach. They were selling hot dogs and pulled pork sandwiches. And beer. I made a mental note of this for next year. I also saw folks walking around with mixed drinks. That was sounding good to me about now.

So, I headed down the beach in search of something cold and refreshing:

I found the snack bar.

They were just serving the $7.00 beers in there that you can find everywhere around WDW.

We were at the Polynesian Resort, so I was thinking more along the lines of a tropical drink.

So, I headed toward the pool bar.

The sun was still putting on its show:

They had a pool party going on here. Looks like fun:

I found the bar.

Or rather, the line leading to the bar.

Here it is:

There were two lines and two bartenders.

They worked fast.

And, the line moved along.

Folks were still enjoying the pool:

It was starting to get dark, but I still had plenty of time:

My Mai Tai set me back $10.00.

I think they're cheaper in Hawaii.

But it was good:

I would have enjoyed it more if it hadn't cost me $10.

It got dark pretty fast after that:

You can see one of the party cruise boats there in front of the point. There must have been 15-20 of these out in the water to watch the fireworks.

The beach was really getting full now, as was The Point:

Here are some more of those special fireworks cruise boats:

Right before 9, the EWP boats pulled in to place. You can see them, as well as the castle, which is glowing pink, in this photo:

It was finally time for the fireworks to begin!

Next up-

a few fireworks photos!

TCD

[stefa70 205]

Great sunset pictures!

$10.00 is pricey for a Mai Tai, but for some reason the drinks taste better when your at WDW, so it's easier to pay those prices. And hey, at least they threw in a pineapple wedge!

[Lou... 3,118]

Next up-

a few fireworks photos!

Will it include photos of the non-fireworks too?

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Great sunset pictures!

$10.00 is pricey for a Mai Tai, but for some reason the drinks taste better when your at WDW, so it's easier to pay those prices. And hey, at least they threw in a pineapple wedge!

Yeah. I guess ten bucks for a Mai Tai sounds about right when a beer is seven bucks.

It was worth it.

If the line wasn't so long I would have had two.

Will it include photos of the non-fireworks too?

You are a smart one there, buddy.

At first I was thinking what are non-fireworks?

But then the lightbulb went off.

I do have photos of the non-fireworks, but I'm not sure if I will post them, what with snoopy rangers being encouraged to read our posts and all.

TCD

[Lou... 3,118]

I do have photos of the non-fireworks, but I'm not sure if I will post them, what with snoopy rangers being encouraged to read our posts and all.

I really don't think we have to worry about snoopy rangers.

They probably have as much authority as bus drivers.

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

Great pictures. The sunset was awesome. Congrats on snagging a lounge chair. The very first time I had a mai-tai was at the Poly. They were were included in the price of the luau. I had a lot of mai-tai's. They were good :banana:

[anolefan 8]

I may have to quit my job to feed my fortfiends.net addiction.

Great updates!

I remember your report from last year, and your pictures from the beach. Wasn't there a hula hoop contest going on as well? There were a lot more people there then.

Huge props to Princess Nana for giving my fish more airtime!

I love your pictures of the beach and the Polynesian. Did you notice the nice camera on the tripod in one of your photos? I bet that guy got some nice fireworks shots.

Can't wait for more, and Thursday is my day off, so I'll be able to keep up

[devores 382]

First off, the sushi is amazing and you should go when the crowds are less intimidating. But remember, you can get it to go to.

The hawiian nachos are good too. We had them there as well. Nothing like the smothered hot dog at the Fort, but still good.

The Point is a prime viewing location for a few reasons. We watch from there all of the time. One reason is it ussualy isnt that crowded. You have nice soft grass to sit on rather than the sand. And, for special events like this, the Poly doesnt check for resort IDs here. Thier "jurisdiction" ends at the sand, which is odd because they do sell stuff this far down.

[mgsmom 9]

Great pics - the sunset looks beautiful! Mother Nature always trumps manmade, if you ask me...

$10 is not bad at all for that drink - that's the same or less than you'll pay at most vacation-type spots. The concert venue that we try to frequent in the summer charges $8 for a beer and I've never even asked how much for the big margaritas. I know most folks will disagree, but I've found MOST things at WDW are not terribly out of line. Compared with over vacation spots/amusement parks, that is. For example, I helped chaperone a band trip to an amusement park and paid $18 for a BBQ sammich, fries, and diet coke. That's pretty strong - and it was a walk-up window with just some picnic benches sitting around.

Can't wait to see the fireworks pics!!!

Oh, and oh Disney-master please tell me - we are planning to do MK fireworks with DD3 one night this year - we think she can hang in there this year. Where should we watch them from inside the park?

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

The nice thing about waiting to read a TCD report is that you can spend a concetrated amount of time almost feeling like you are there. Today was one of those days when I needed that. Thanks, TCD!

But here is the question I have - I saw the TCD hammock. Did anyone try spending the night in it?

[momof3kids-Yvonne 595]

Loving this trip report as usual. Though I do feel like an impatient two year old. I keep checking back to see if the fireworks pictures are posted yet. :rofl2:

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Caught up again....

I think next trip I need to do some resort hopping. I've only seen All-Star Music, the military resort, the contemporary, and the fort. I want to see those hammocks.