Down by the Riverside (and Fort): A TCD End of Summer Trip Report

[stefa70 205]

:suspense:

Fishing, oh fishing......

:rofl2: OH sick minds think alike!! The minute I typed that, I started giggling. I just always misbehave with TCD and I thought I would play nice and not say anything about it.

To self: "maybe no one else will pick up on that"

I should have known better! >:D

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Too funny....I had a feeling you weren't quite that tough. I know how hard it is when my dd looks at me wanting me to buy her something. I would have bought that shirt on the spot for your DD.

I also totally understand about the "now you have to buy the other one something".

But you know what - it's all good in the end!

Enjoying the report, you may recall our last visit to WDW was at Port Orleans. We really liked it and if I couldn't stay at the Fort, it was a great alternative.

I agree 100% that POR is a great alternative to the Fort.

I have a feeling it won't be another 10 years before our next visit.

And here we were thinking Disney is getting cheap! Anamotronic Gators and Deer!

LOL!

What a beautiful resort. I've actually never been there, so it was nice to see your pictures. Of course, your narrative is probably better than any tour that a Disney employee would give.

I'm glad that you caved in and bought the twin her T-shirt. :heart:

Not to be all sappy again, but you know how fast they grow up. Spoil them while you can! Pretty soon all of our money will be tied up in college tuitions....X 2!!!

My only question for this installment is, why does the fishing hole close at 3:00pm?

How do they know the fish won't decided to bite at 3:30?

Or before 7:00am?

I always heard that fishing is good early in the morning. Or at dusk.

Maybe that's just the hours of the pole rentals? What if I brought my own pole? Do I still have to pull out at 2:30?

I'm not sure the photos show it, but they have a gate that they close to block access to the fishing hole.

And the fence has got to be at least 3 feet high.

No way anyone is going to sneak in there!

But, although the Fishing Hole is allegedly stocked, I have never seen anyone catch anything in there.

Years ago, when my oldest DD was probably only 3 or 4, I spent my money and gave it a try.

She was bored after a couple of minutes.

That girl had already caught plenty of fish on her own Tweety Bird fishing pole at that point in her life.

She was not impressed by the Fishing Hole.

We haven't been back since.

I can hold a grudge.

By the way, if you look on the Disney website for Fort Wilderness, they use a photo of this Fishing Hole and try to pass it off as being in Fort Wilderness.

As we all know, the Fort's boardwalk, which was similar to this one, was neglected, and rotted away to the point that it finally had to be removed.

As you can see, POR's boardwalk still looks great.

Boo Fort management!

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

:suspense:

Fishing, oh fishing......

:rofl2: OH sick minds think alike!! The minute I typed that, I started giggling. I just always misbehave with TCD and I thought I would play nice and not say anything about it.

To self: "maybe no one else will pick up on that"

I should have known better! :D

I don't know why, but S70 always makes me feel like I have lived a sheltered life.

I like to think that I have street cred, but I have no idea what y'all are talking about.

And, I'll tell you what. . .

Let's keep it that way!

TCD

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Many years ago, when I was still dreaming of taking the kids to WDW, I looked at POR. At the time, I was considering it to be more of a family reunion type visit...and we didn't have the trailer ten either.

[stefa70 205]

I don't know why, but S70 always makes me feel like I have lived a sheltered life.

TCD

Now you're really making me feel bad. I highly doubt that you've lived a sheltered life, maybe just a "purer" one.

I just looked at the Disney website and you are correct! Not that I doubted you, but I never noticed the boardwalk in the photos, nor would I have known that it was a picture from POR. I learn all sorts of things from TCD reports.

[caveat lector 181]

TCD you talked me into joining and making a first post. I followed all of you from the other site, took a while to find you, but glad I did. Loving all the trip reports. I don't camp and have not been to the Fort, but looks like a wonderful place. Port Orleans Riverside is where we have stayed the last four visits, we love it there. Looking forward to your trip report . It has been a year since we were last there. Next time we are at disney I would like to go over to the Fort and look around, can anyone go there and just visit?

Getting to follow a "TCD TR" is definitely worth the transition from lurkdom. Welcome and enjoy the content.

[caveat lector 181]

......

I am in the same boat.

We have gone for NYE for the past several years. I have been trying for a while to get reservations at the Fort for this year. But so far, nothing. It is pretty annoying, because I'm sure they really aren't fully booked.

....

TCD

I hope you get your reservation. Maybe I'll see you there. Based on the strategic precision with which you attacked DHS on your first day in this report, I'm going to look back for some of your past Holiday TRs for planning tips.

Thanks,

[caveat lector 181]

...

That girl had already caught plenty of fish on her own Tweety Bird fishing pole at that point in her life.

...

TCD

My daughter had the same pole, while my son used the tazmanian (sp?) devil model. Not sure I will ever part with those two pieces of their child hood.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Many years ago, when I was still dreaming of taking the kids to WDW, I looked at POR. At the time, I was considering it to be more of a family reunion type visit...and we didn't have the trailer ten either.

I still think the Fort would be the best place for a family reunion type visit.

But, POR would be a nice alternative.

Now you're really making me feel bad. I highly doubt that you've lived a sheltered life, maybe just a "purer" one.

I just looked at the Disney website and you are correct! Not that I doubted you, but I never noticed the boardwalk in the photos, nor would I have known that it was a picture from POR. I learn all sorts of things from TCD reports.

1. Don't be so sure about the "purer" thing either.

2. I meant to screen cap that photo, so I did. Here's the photo I was talking about:

That is definitely the POR Fishing Hole, and not the Fort!

I hope you get your reservation. Maybe I'll see you there. Based on the strategic precision with which you attacked DHS on your first day in this report, I'm going to look back for some of your past Holiday TRs for planning tips.

Thanks,

I hope I do too.

You don't need a lot of tips. The keys to a successful park visit during busy times are rope drop and Fastpasses. Did you see that the wait for Toy Story was 65 minutes already as we left? And, the park had only been open 20 minutes at that point. Those folks who got an extra half hour of sleep now had to wait 65 minutes for a ride that we walked on. Plus, we already had a Fastpass for later, and would be eligible to get another in a half an hour. We often will leave a park before noon to head off to do something else. I am amazed at the crowds entering parks late in the day. What exactly do these people think they are going to do arriving that late? Stand on line all day, that's what!

And, I am also amazed at how many people still have no idea what Fastpass is or how to use the system. While we were waiting for TOT on Friday morning, this family behind us was debating whether or not Fastpasses cost money. I finally had to butt in and explain it to them. I showed them the Fastpasses for two attractions that I was holding at that point. And here they were waiting on a long line with no chance of skipping at least one line. I would like to think that they left TOT and went and got some Fastpasses for something. But, I'm not sure that they believed me.

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

My daughter had the same pole, while my son used the tazmanian (sp?) devil model. Not sure I will ever part with those two pieces of their child hood.

My oldest daughter is now 20, and we still have her Tweety Bird fishing pole. It still works great.

I never have seen a Tasmanian Devil one! You had better hold on to that one!

TCD

[MLM5.. aka Judy 97]

Too funny....I had a feeling you weren't quite that tough. I know how hard it is when my dd looks at me wanting me to buy her something. I would have bought that shirt on the spot for your DD.

I also totally understand about the "now you have to buy the other one something".

I'm a total sucker.. but in my case I have to buy the other FOUR something.. no wonder I'm always broke ... :rofl2:

[MLM5.. aka Judy 97]

Maybe that's just the hours of the pole rentals? What if I brought my own pole? Do I still have to pull out at 2:30?

you feed my inter pervert.. :rofl2:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Wow, we are on page 4 already!

And we are up to Friday afternoon on our trip.

We hung out around the hotel all afternoon.

We were planning an early dinner.

And, I had a rendezvous to make.

It was great hanging out at the hotel.

The rooms at POR have refrigerators. And great air conditioning.

Who needs camping?

We drove over to the Polynesian Resort at around 5 pm.

I met up with Lou/Magicbus in the parking lot over there.

I gave him a couple of spikes to pass out over the upcoming Labor Day holiday.

We won't be at the Fort that weekend.

So Lou will do the spiking.

Great to see you Lou!

As we both agreed, we need to meet up some time where we can sit and have a real conversation.

Maybe next time.

After my meet-up with Lou, the girls and I headed upstairs to the Kona Cafe Sushi Bar. We have wanted to try this for a long time. But, we have always arrived too late, and the place was packed.

We got there early today.

There were three seats open right at the main bar!

Perfect!

Here we are!:

You can order sushi here, or you can also order off of the Kona Cafe menu.

That is good to know.

We went for the sushi.

Well, two of us did.

One of the TCD twins loves the Asian noodles they serve at Captain Cook's downstairs. So she went and got an order of those to go. We asked the waiter if that would be OK, and he said no problem. I would imagine they would prefer that folks not do this if it is busy.

As we were looking over the menu, we could see the sushi chefs making the sushi right in front of us. There's no doubt that it's fresh:

Until a couple of years ago, I didn't know much about sushi. Truth is, I still don't. But, I now know that sushi isn't necessarily raw seafood. Most of what I eat is called a roll. It's basically some type of cooked seafood wrapped up in rice. Here, you can see the chefs making the rolls:

Here's one of the TCD twins at the bar:

They have an fancy drink menu here. I have been known to enjoy a fancy drink. The prices are outrageous. But, I like to splurge every now and then. So I ordered the Lapu Lapu. As far as I know, I have never had one before. The menu said it had Meyers 151 in it. I have had that before. I figured since I was only going to have one, what the heck?

I was surprised when my drink arrived:

How's that for a fancy drink?

It was good, too!

There were a couple of folks who ordered before us, so we got to see their order get made.

The stuff you see on the plate there is barbecued eel:

As far as I know, I have never eaten barbecued eel.

But it smelled good.

I may give it a go next time.

This item was called a volcano roll:

Our order got made next.

Here's a shrimp roll (it had some other fancy name, but that's what it is-fried shrimp wrapped in rice):

This is a crab roll (again it had a fancy name, but it's crab- and I think the crab was cooked, but I am not sure):

You can see my fancy pineapple drink there. Also note the big green blob on my plate. That was the most delicious pistachio ice cream I have ever eaten! (Are there any Cars 2 fans in the house?)

You can see the other TCD twin's Asian noodles in this photo:

And, here's an artsy shot of the shrimp roll:

We really enjoyed the sushi.

We will be back.

But, for now, it was back to our room to get ready for our next activity.

We drove back by the Fort.

Since it was still light out, we decided to pop in for a look around.

We parked in the main lot and used the bus.

First stop was the cabin pool.

The last time I was here they were getting ready to put up some new lights.

Well, that project is done (the big tall things in these photos are the light poles):

These signs still say the pool closes at dusk, but I think these will be gone soon:

From here, we decided to pay a visit to our favorite loop.

The 1500 loop.

We found a bit of a water situation there:

Those photos are all of the area behind site 1501. That's where we camped this past 4th of July.

We all agreed we were glad that we weren't camping on this trip.

Not to belabor the point, but it is high time that the management of the Fort Wilderness Resort does something about the poor drainage they have there. I mean, this is disgusting. The drainage system has never worked well, and despite constantly raising the rates for a campsite, they have done nothing over the years to correct it. Compare how this looks to how nice things look over at POR. Boo Fort management!

After that quick visit, we were on our way.

Don't worry, I will be coming back to the Fort for a closer look later.

For, now it was back to POR.

The parking situation is really good at POR.

One of the things I don't like about the value resorts is the parking.

The parking lots are always crowded, and you can have a long walk to your room.

There is plenty of parking at POR.

There was a set of stairs right next to the parking lot that took us right up to our room:

This is just us goofing around:

Here we are looking out over the courtyard between our Lodge and Lodge 17:

I don't think I mentioned it, but it was EMH at the MK tonight. So, the MK would be open until 2 am.

We were all over that.

But first, we were going to check something else out.

We received a tip to participate in an activity that goes on at POR.

So we did.

And we had some fun.

I'll tell you about that in the next post.

TCD

[stefa70 205]

I was surprised when my drink arrived:

We found a bit of a water situation there:

This is just us goofing around:

TCD

I have been wanting to try one of those drinks for a long time. I promised Amanda that I would wait until October when she will turn 21. Since I am a lightweight, I told her instead of "drinking around the world" we could "drink around Bay Lake." MUCH shorter journey. It looks delicious!

I Love the balcony picture! :heart: Those are the kind of pictures your daughters will look back on and smile at all the fun times they had with Dad.

I completely agree with the water situation at the Fort. This was behind our site in May, in the 500 loop. Another words, I was paying a pretty hefty price to have this waterfront, mosquito infested property. :argh:

I'm still sad that I won't see you Labor Day, but I understand. Football to you, is like NASCAR to me. It can't be missed! In your honor though, I will have a small tribute to you in my TR when I get home.

That's all my comments on this installment, and I behaved myself through the whole thing! :golfclap:

[SCTigerCock 171]

That's all my comments on this installment, and I behaved myself through the whole thing! :golfclap:

Did it hurt? :rofl2: :heart: :rofl2:

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

I am definitely going to try the sushi bar. It's a texture thing with me

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I have been wanting to try one of those drinks for a long time. I promised Amanda that I would wait until October when she will turn 21. Since I am a lightweight, I told her instead of "drinking around the world" we could "drink around Bay Lake." MUCH shorter journey. It looks delicious!

I Love the balcony picture! :heart: Those are the kind of pictures your daughters will look back on and smile at all the fun times they had with Dad.

I completely agree with the water situation at the Fort. This was behind our site in May, in the 500 loop. Another words, I was paying a pretty hefty price to have this waterfront, mosquito infested property. :argh:

I'm still sad that I won't see you Labor Day, but I understand. Football to you, is like NASCAR to me. It can't be missed! In your honor though, I will have a small tribute to you in my TR when I get home.

That's all my comments on this installment, and I behaved myself through the whole thing! :golfclap:

1. Drinking around Bay Lake? I love it! Sorry to get technical on you, but the Poly is on the Seven Seas Lagoon! So, you will have to drink around Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon. I definitely recommend the Lapu Lapu. My oldest turns 21 next year. Maybe she will be up for that, too!

2. I am really sorry that I will not be around the Fort for Labor day. And now I have to worry about this tribute you are going to do.

3. Did you notice the orbs in your photo? OMG- there are ghosts at the Fort! Or maybe they are just drops of water.

4. Thank you for behaving yourself. I was worried when I was posting the photos of the new light poles. I have learned saying pole around you might get you going.

TCD

[We4mickey 6]

Great trip report TCD. Happy to hear you liked POR so much, as that is where we finally settled on for after the cruise. I have only stayed at All Stars and really we only slept and showered there. I hope we like it.

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

Great trip report TCD. Happy to hear you liked POR so much, as that is where we finally settled on for after the cruise. I have only stayed at All Stars and really we only slept and showered there. I hope we like it.

You will love it Lynn. I've stayed at POR twice, I like French Quarter better for aesthetics but the food court at POR is awesome :banana:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Great trip report TCD. Happy to hear you liked POR so much, as that is where we finally settled on for after the cruise. I have only stayed at All Stars and really we only slept and showered there. I hope we like it.

You will love it Lynn. I've stayed at POR twice, I like French Quarter better for aesthetics but the food court at POR is awesome :banana:

I will echo what Doodle said.

For as long as the values have been open, I have chosen them over moderates.

But, I really felt that POR was worth the little bit extra it cost over a value.

As I mentioned, the rooms have refrigerators. That is really nice.

And, the parking is better.

And, getting around the resort is easier.

The food court is a lot quieter and nicer than the big. loud, busy food courts at the values.

And the pools are nicer.

The boat to Downtown Disney was a nice feature too.

And, you are literally right around the corner from the Fort if you need to get over there to visit some Fiends.

TCD

[stefa70 205]

1. Drinking around Bay Lake? I love it! Sorry to get technical on you, but the Poly is on the Seven Seas Lagoon! So, you will have to drink around Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon. I definitely recommend the Lapu Lapu. My oldest turns 21 next year. Maybe she will be up for that, too!

2. I am really sorry that I will not be around the Fort for Labor day. And now I have to worry about this tribute you are going to do.

3. Did you notice the orbs in your photo? OMG- there are ghosts at the Fort! Or maybe they are just drops of water.

4. Thank you for behaving yourself. I was worried when I was posting the photos of the new light poles. I have learned saying pole around you might get you going.

TCD

1. Bay lake, Seven seas, it's all the same to me!

2. I promise you, don't be worried!! I will be keeping my clothes on. I swear it is nothing bad. Just something so that you will know I was thinking of you.

3. SCARY!! I didn't notice that orb?! I guess it is water....or is it?

4. I am turning over a new leaf. With the fairies running amok, anything I say is being used against me in a court of law in a tag. Though I will admit, it doesn't take much for my mind to wander.......

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

I have to say after all your talk about MK late magic hours I want to try it. However, I'd have to go it alone as the kids can't make it that long yet.

Then again I'd probably have to ride them all by myself as my kids don't like coasters!! How old were the twins before they started to enjoy the roller coasters?

[Roller ... aka Ed 351]

They use the robot logs to keep down the population of robot rabbits - and maybe the occasional robot guest. :rofl2:

[Roller ... aka Ed 351]

What if I brought my own pole? Do I still have to pull out at 2:30?

I've been gone - OldeKoot had a Doctor's appt in Tallahassee. I'm sure this has been picked up on ... and I'm sure it wasn't by a Tag Fairy! Our Tag Fairies aren't Snarky enough to stick you with this tag ...

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

1. Bay lake, Seven seas, it's all the same to me!

2. I promise you, don't be worried!! I will be keeping my clothes on. I swear it is nothing bad. Just something so that you will know I was thinking of you.

3. SCARY!! I didn't notice that orb?! I guess it is water....or is it?

4. I am turning over a new leaf. With the fairies running amok, anything I say is being used against me in a court of law in a tag. Though I will admit, it doesn't take much for my mind to wander.......

1. I know. Me too. And, they are even connected. But Bay Lake > Seven Seas Lagoon.

2. OK, I won't worry. Good thing you told me not to worry. I was starting to think about cancelling my football plans.

3. I don't know about those orbs. Maybe we need to ask JudyinTexas?

4. What is going on with you and the fairies? Have they hijacked your signature? Jeez!

I have to say after all your talk about MK late magic hours I want to try it. However, I'd have to go it alone as the kids can't make it that long yet.

Then again I'd probably have to ride them all by myself as my kids don't like coasters!! How old were the twins before they started to enjoy the roller coasters?

The twins have been riding the Disney coasters since as soon as they were tall enough. Remember they have an older sister, and it seemed like forever until they finally met the height requirements for the different rides. I remember they had a certain pair of sneakers that made them just tall enough to qualify to ride Space Mountain. They are fearless, and the WDW coasters are all pretty tame, so they have been riding them for years.

They started out on the Goofy roller coaster, which is currently closed for the Fantasyland expansion. If your kids think they don't like coasters, that is a good one to start out on. I think most kids love it. Mine sure did. We rode that darned thing a lot. I think our record for consecutive rides was 13.

TCD