4th of July-What a Party! Trip Report

[PrincessNana 15]

TURN OUT THE LIGHTS, THE PARTYS OVER!! But what a great party it was! We left Texas on June 27 and arrived at Ft. Wilderness on Thursday, June 30th. One mishap on the way, but I’ll tell you about that in a minute. We started with a large group..me (Princess Nana – Karen), Louis (Pops and my husband), DIl..Amanda, Allie (granddaughter) , Colton ( grandson) and 3 dogs. My son had to work (works offshore) and my friend Cheryl had to restart cancer treatments (but we’re bringing her at Christmas). This was our first long trip in our “new to us” motor home. Our first full night out (8 hours driving time) we had a power problem with the mh. After about an hour, it miraculously cured itself, or so we thought. Our second full day of driving..again..no power. Louis decided to keep driving to get to Tampa where we would have a better chance of getting the motor home fixed and still be close enough to Ft. Wilderness to make it in on our day. We spent the night at a Days Inn on I 4 which was an absolute dump. It was in my book “The Next Exit” and advertised pet friendly and big rig friendly. It was neither..but we lived through it and now, I have to give a plug to Lazy Days RV Center. We took our motorhome to them at 8:00 am that morning, without an appointment. They took us right in and fixed our motorhome and saved our vacation. (We were so frazzled that night, we didn’t think to pm Lorna Duck or any of our many friends who live in the Tampa area…a belated thanks to everyone who offered help.)

So now……………………….let the trip report begin.

After becoming addicted to the site maps in Google Earth (thanks Shan Man) I picked the perfect site for my family. It looked easy to back into, was large and shady and was towards the back of the loop. Site 912 was perfect..but KampfireKim was in that site, they thought it was perfect before I found it. But Disney put me in my second choice which was 915 and we loved it. It was everything I had asked for. I’ll add pictures when my dil Amanda (aka Flashy MaMa….she was dubbed this by park personnel) sends them to me. I have a few, which I’ll give a go at posting …maybe tomorrow when I’m not so tired. Across the road from us was Key Lime 359, who we never got a chance to meet.

I’ll continue this tomorrow. I just didn’t want everyone to think I wasn’t going to try a trip report. Don’t expect a TCD report though..HA!HA!HA!

[PureTcrazy...rita 380]

Yay! I'm anxiously waiting to hear more!

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

Looking forward to more :banana:

[anolefan 8]

WOOT!

Another TR, can't wait for more!

[Keylime359 2]

Hi Nana! I kept peeking over and never saw anyone there! I am sorry I missed you!

[Lou... 3,118]

Hold on, you guys were staying there, across from each other, and didn't meet and I visited for one day and met both of you plus some really cute pups. That is not acceptable behavior for Fiends.

BTW, I noticed you call your husband Louis. Is that what he goes by?

I allow my wife & Disney to call me that. I'm Lou to everyone else.

[PrincessNana 15]

Hold on, you guys were staying there, across from each other, and didn't meet and I visited for one day and met both of you plus some really cute pups. That is not acceptable behavior for Fiends.

BTW, I noticed you call your husband Louis. Is that what he goes by?

I allow my wife & Disney to call me that. I'm Lou to everyone else.

Yes, he goes by Louis. All the first born males in the family are named Robert and they all go by their middle names. Southern traditions, what can I say? We had trouble getting up and going early, but we were gone most of the time.. Kim caught us the One day we actually managed to get everyone up early and dressed early enough to reach a park at opening time! Then, we never saw her again.

[PrincessNana 15]

Hi Nana! I kept peeking over and never saw anyone there! I am sorry I missed you!

We were in and out. You guys were usually out when we were in. I'm sorry we missed you too. The grandkids kept us so busy we didn't have much down time. We think the next time we come, we're not going to the parks. We just want to hang out at the campground....but we did alot of really cool things this trip.

[GOBA Mom Lynn 18]

Thanks for doing a trip report! Even short ones are worthy.

It's always great to read about everyone's trips, but this set of trip reports adds a new twist on the "normal" trip report because all of you were there at the same time! It's interesting reading everyone's slightly different take on the "same" vacation.

[Lil Lisa 53]

Yay!! I'm lovin' all of the trip reports!

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

:popcorn:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Hey Princess Nana!

Thanks for doing a trip report.

I am glad that you had a great visit at the Fort. Especially after the rough start.

I am looking forward to your photos!

TCD

[campingpixi 11]

:suspense:

[kampfirekim 260]

Hold on, you guys were staying there, across from each other, and didn't meet and I visited for one day and met both of you plus some really cute pups. That is not acceptable behavior for Fiends.

I think Princess Nana should change her name to Elusive Butterfly Nana. I didn't realize a fiend was in that site until Gabe and I walked the loop. That was when I noticed her fiendmingo in an arrangement of absolutely FANTASTIC Disney decor. I never saw anyone home so I implemented my super stalker skills and took advantage of my one Princess Nana sighting. They were all loaded on the GC ready to roll when I ran over like a crazy person before they could leave. :rofl2:

We had trouble getting up and going early, but we were gone most of the time.. Kim caught us the One day we actually managed to get everyone up early and dressed early enough to reach a park at opening time! Then, we never saw her again.

I hope I didn't keep you from making rope drop but ya'll were hard to catch. It was nice meeting you and your family. :) (You actually did see me one more time as we were leaving on our GC. I waved but it didn't seem like you recognized me since I'd actually combed my hair and put on decent clothes. :rofl:

Sorry ya'll had power problems with the MH but what would a WDW camping trip be without some sort of mishap. We had a couple ourselves. Glad you got it all fixed and your vacation was saved!

[PrincessNana 15]

:rofl2:

I think Princess Nana should change her name to Elusive Butterfly Nana. I didn't realize a fiend was in that site until Gabe and I walked the loop. That was when I noticed her fiendmingo in an arrangement of absolutely FANTASTIC Disney decor. I never saw anyone home so I implemented my super stalker skills and took advantage of my one Princess Nana sighting. They were all loaded on the GC ready to roll when I ran over like a crazy person before they could leave. :rofl2:

I hope I didn't keep you from making rope drop but ya'll were hard to catch. It was nice meeting you and your family. :) (You actually did see me one more time as we were leaving on our GC. I waved but it didn't seem like you recognized me since I'd actually combed my hair and put on decent clothes. :rofl:

Sorry ya'll had power problems with the MH but what would a WDW camping trip be without some sort of mishap. We had a couple ourselves. Glad you got it all fixed and your vacation was saved!

We did make the rope drop..it was our first time ever! I might point out that none of you guys where ever around when we were at home. It became a game with the grandkids to see if we could ever catch any fiends at their campsites. LOL :rofl2:

[TnBob 311]

Lou and I cought you first shot!

Now if we could catch ya some other fiends could!

Nice meeting you by the way, I hope the electrical problems are a thing of the past.

[PrincessNana 15]

The report continues...probably without pictures, unless I can finally figure out how to download them. It's so hard being technically challenged!

July 1 was our first day at the park. I sent Louis, Amanda and the kids to Magic Kingdom while I stayed to do the laundry…all alone. It was a great morning! That’s when I found out about the great change machine robbery! There were Disney police everywhere…taking pictures and exchanging notes..very exciting! I took the boat over to the Magic Kingdom and met the family at the Crystal Palace for our first character lunch. We stayed another hour after lunch and then headed back to rest. We returned to the park later that night but stayed too late for us old people. Our butts were kicked. We also had our first (of many) run ins with the Disney police. They pulled us over (golf cart) and very nicely told us we could not let the kids steer the cart. Solved all of our problems with the kids fighting over who was getting to drive. We did notice a greater presence of security all over the fort and we really did appreciate it. Our entire stay was a lot more pleasurable because of their presence.

(I'm still working on getting the pictures to download)

[PrincessNana 15]

Shot at 2011-07-14

Here's Colton at the Crystal Palace ith Tigger.

[PrincessNana 15]

Shot at 2011-07-14

You'll start seeing a theme with Louis and the characters...Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm I wonder who really wants to go to Disney World every year!

Obviously, I'm figuring out the picture thing.

[PrincessNana 15]

July 2 – Louis and I are too tired to go to any parks (remember the late night that kicked our butts) but Amanda and the kids went to Animal Kingdom and had a great time. She’s not sure if it was the weather or if they added more animals, but the animal viewing was fantastic that day. Colton was most excited about getting to ride on a real bus! While they were gone, we tried to solve the problem of all my overloaded circuits. I had too many lights, appliances, etc and not enough extension cords. After digging around for about an hour, I finally found all my heavy duty extension cords which solved my problem of tripping breakers all the time. I also followed Lorna Ducks advice and unplugged all my appliances inside so I could use my hairdryer without tripping the breakers. Thanks Lorna!!

That night we were going to Mickey’s Back Yard BarBQue…we like the more relaxed atmosphere and the interaction with the kids. Only one minor problem, Colton (boys will be boys and he has the prepaid plan at the emergency room) climbed on the little fence leading into the pavilion and busted his lip. You might notice it in some of the pics. We felt like this was a successful trip because we didn’t have to make any trips to the emergency room!

Shot at 2011-07-14

Colton with his busted lip.

[PureTcrazy...rita 380]

I'd like to hear about the BBQ! Bless Colton's heart.

[PrincessNana 15]

I'd like to hear about the BBQ! Bless Colton's heart.

We could write a book about Colton's adventures (he's a daredevil and very creative...as we've found out several times already, but thats a whole other topic).

We love the barbeque... there's plenty of food..chicken, ribs, corn on the cob, beans, coleslaw, watermelon, corn bread, ice cream bars and beer and wine for the adults. Mickey, Minnie and Goofy come out and visit and dance with the kids. It was alot more orderly than in the past. The guy who does the roping is really good and the band is good too. Your not packed in so tight that you feel like you can't get up without bothering everyone around you.

[stefa70 205]

Loving the report so far. Colton is such a cutie! A good camping trip should include a couple of bumps and bruises. :)

[Just Whipperwhirl 24]

Im glad to hear more detials about the BBQ - I have always considered booking this but it has gotten such poor reviews.

[kampfirekim 260]

:rofl2:

We did make the rope drop..it was our first time ever! I might point out that none of you guys where ever around when we were at home. It became a game with the grandkids to see if we could ever catch any fiends at their campsites. LOL :rofl2:

Too funny. We were home alot. You were gone alot. You said so yourself....don't make me quote you. :rofl: I'm just kidding. That's how it goes sometimes. I'm just glad I didn't keep you from making rope drop. :)

Lou and I cought you first shot!

Now if we could catch ya some other fiends could!

Beginners luck.

We could write a book about Colton's adventures (he's a daredevil and very creative...as we've found out several times already, but thats a whole other topic).

We love the barbeque... there's plenty of food..chicken, ribs, corn on the cob, beans, coleslaw, watermelon, corn bread, ice cream bars and beer and wine for the adults. Mickey, Minnie and Goofy come out and visit and dance with the kids. It was alot more orderly than in the past. The guy who does the roping is really good and the band is good too. Your not packed in so tight that you feel like you can't get up without bothering everyone around you.

I've always wanted to try the BBQ but never have. I know they have a lot of ceiling fans... do they do a good job beating the FL heat? We may need to do it next trip. It looks like something the kids would enjoy.