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

[Lou... 3,118]

its so nice to pull in the parking lot (from our 16 hour drive) and leave the car, and let Disney take us to where we need to be.

Of course I have to agree with you about the cramming so many people on the buses, do not like that at all.

In a perfect world, taking the buses sounds great, but waiting 30 minutes or more in the heat, then to get packed in like sardines by a dim witted bus driver, and a lot of them are, doesn't sound magical.

I always, always, drive myself. Except to MK that is.

If you must take the bus and don't want to be crammed in, adjust your time by about an hour to avoid the two peak times.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

He'll be there, kinda.

I'll be giving out spikes that TCD gave me during a well executed clandistine operation at the Poly a couple of weeks ago.

Good luck and Godspeed Lou.

I hope I gave you enough spikes!

As usual, awesome report!

I thoroughly enjoyed seeing POR from your perspective. It is definitely a consideration for our next trip.

Looking forward to hearing all about your next visit.

:bravo:

Thanks, KFK.

Of course, your TR continues!

For anyone reading along who hasn't checked out KFK"s I highly suggest that you do so!

I wonder if I will start and finish another TR before KFK finishes hers?

As always, a great trip report!

Thank you.

I appreciate it.

Thank You! Loved this report.

Please see my response to CCI, above.

Thanks for a wonderful trip report now we have a few new things to add to our list to see on our next trip, thanks again.

Thank you.

And, I hope that you do check out some new things on your next trip. There is always something new to see at WDW. If you find out anything interesting, please make sure to let us know.

Hold I'm not an alchie. I do partake in a few adult beverages while hanging with fiends / friends. But I think that in all my days of fiendishly posting and facebooking and chatting I have only partaken in drunken debachery online 2 times.

The first was on the original other stupid place. On one of my original Fort work trips in the 800 loop.

The second was the other night in the chat room here on ff.

But... Now that you mention It I bet I could get all kungadrunk'd up and start one he(( of a TCD trip report hi-jack. I bet it would last 2 plus pages.

OK Lug, if you say so.

If you aren't drunk-posting, then what is it with the geese?

Is it a goose fetish?

On second thought, please don't answer that.

Only a 2 page hijack? We've done some close to 15 - although we have be asked not to do that again! Get your Snark on when you hijack over here!

Yeah, Ed knows how to engineer a good hijacking.

But, y'all should save it for someone else. This TR is done.

O and by the way...

They are always here from Canada. And they always prevail

Sorry had to take advantage on first post on page 17

There you go again, Lug.

I am worried about you.

Finally, something useful out of Canada.

LOL!

It's over??? Man, this was a fast report. But a good one. Thanks TCD.

You know that's how I roll Dave.

You snooze you lose.

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

TCD thanks for the trip report. I enjoyed all your pictures especially the ones of POR. I have not ventured back to the Alligator Bayou section before, but I plan to on our next visit. (hopefully next year) POR is part of the draw for us to come to Disney, its so nice to pull in the parking lot (from our 16 hour drive) and leave the car, and let Disney take us to where we need to be. Of course I have to agree with you about the cramming so many people on the buses, do not like that at all.

We also enjoy all the beautiful landscaping and walking trails, and a nice food court.

I want to also thank you for the information about the water bridge. I can't wait to share this info with my husband and son. We always wondered what this was on our previous trips.

Looking forward to your next adventure!

Lynn

Thanks again for joining FortFiends, and for posting in this trip report.

I hope that you become an active member here, and that you post a trip report for everyone to enjoy after your next visit.

And, that reminds me, Heidi, you still haven't joined and posted.

Come on.

Please?

In a perfect world, taking the buses sounds great, but waiting 30 minutes or more in the heat, then to get packed in like sardines by a dim witted bus driver, and a lot of them are, doesn't sound magical.

I always, always, drive myself. Except to MK that is.

If you must take the bus and don't want to be crammed in, adjust your time by about an hour to avoid the two peak times.

Of all the castmembers in WDW, I have never found many dimwitted bus drivers. The repository for dimwit castmembers is Fort Wilderness. They can hire anyone to drive around on a golf cart and harass the paying customers. But, bus drivers have to study and pass a pretty challenging test to earn a commercial drivers' license. Dimwits need not apply.

I like using the buses, but I will drive if I want to be at a park for rope drop.

TCD

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

The only times we've had crowded buses is not in the morning going to rope drop but coming home from the parks. Apparently not everyone likes doing EMHs....

[Sunset Lady 6]

In a perfect world, taking the buses sounds great, but waiting 30 minutes or more in the heat, then to get packed in like sardines by a dim witted bus driver, and a lot of them are, doesn't sound magical.

I always, always, drive myself. Except to MK that is.

If you must take the bus and don't want to be crammed in, adjust your time by about an hour to avoid the two peak times.

For people who have gotten lost trying to find the right Disney exit, the right Resort exit, six out of the seven times we have visited, the buses are magical to me. The seventh time we borrowed a GPS and drove right to the resort with no problems. There was almost no seventh trip, because I was tired of being yelled at to find the right exit to get there. :rofl2:

We have very seldom had to wait too long to get a bus, mostly after the fireworks show have been the worst. As far as the heat goes, its always hot as heck in August when we go. no matter what we are doing.

If we knew our way around better, we would probably look into driving ourselves, but we only get to disney once, every other year or so,therefore the bus system works well for us.

[Starbuc71 162]

Thanks again for joining FortFiends, and for posting in this trip report.

I hope that you become an active member here, and that you post a trip report for everyone to enjoy after your next visit.

And, that reminds me, Heidi, you still haven't joined and posted.

Come on.

Please?

Of all the castmembers in WDW, I have never found many dimwitted bus drivers. The repository for dimwit castmembers is Fort Wilderness. They can hire anyone to drive around on a golf cart and harass the paying customers. But, bus drivers have to study and pass a pretty challenging test to earn a commercial drivers' license. Dimwits need not apply.

I like using the buses, but I will drive if I want to be at a park for rope drop.

TCD

...Just don't call the cast members who direct traffic at the fort "Minimum wage" dim witts. It pisses off the bus drivers :rofl2:

[LONE-STAR 370]

Great report. You should treat yourself to a Keystone.

[PureTcrazy...rita 380]

Interesting pics of the otters. Am I mistaken in thinking that Otters consume LOTS of fish? I know that we have stocked ponds up this way and they have been known to clean them out in a very short time. I hope they don't affect Bob's fishing too much.

[LONE-STAR 370]

Interesting pics of the otters. Am I mistaken in thinking that Otters consume LOTS of fish? I know that we have stocked ponds up this way and they have been known to clean them out in a very short time. I hope they don't affect Bob's fishing too much.

Maybe Bob just needs to get Otter bait?

[Heidi-meetsTCD@TSM 5]

TCD,

I have joined, I have joined!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was GREAT to meet you at TSM!!!! We to had just finished the "running of the bulls at Pomplona" as you so aptly described!!!! Considering, I was just four weeks out from cancer surgery, I did pretty darn good to get myself in the building so quickly!!!! Maybe it had something to do with my two teenage boys urging/pushing me along!! Boy, was I in for a shock when I got into the building. As I was catching my breath, I glanced over my shoulder, turned forward again and thought to myself, "hey, that looked like TCD!!!" I turned around again to scan the crowd and spotted a TCD twin!!! It WAS TCD for sure!! I said to my oldest son, "TCD is behind us" to which he responded, "how can you tell" HOW CAN I TELL??? Because I have read EVERY one of his entertaining trip reports!!! So, I knew I had to say something to you as we passed in line. What an honor it was for me to meet you!!!!!!! The other thing my meeting you did for me was that it took my mind of my cancer for most of that day and some of the following ones. We were at Disney from 8/12-24. It was a trip sandwiched between two cancer surgeries. I had my second surgery on the 26th. I am beyond happy to report that I got my pathology report back yesterday and NO MORE cancer was detected!!!!! Yippee!!!!!!! Now, I know that I will have many more Disney trips in my future!!!!

So TCD, I have totally enjoyed reading this trip report and I look forward to your future ones. I have been going to Fort Wilderness since 1975 and have only missed a few years when I first got married. Our whole family loves the place. Reading your reports and others on here, make me feel like I am back home again. So thanks for all of your hard work posting your reports, as I know how time consuming that is. Again, it was wonderful to meet you and I am so happy to have joined fortfiends. My postings will most likely be limited, as I will be starting chemo in a few weeks, but I am sure I will be reading along and dreaming about my "happy place" until I can get back there myself!

Heidi

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

TCD,

I have joined, I have joined!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was GREAT to meet you at TSM!!!! We to had just finished the "running of the bulls at Pomplona" as you so aptly described!!!! Considering, I was just four weeks out from cancer surgery, I did pretty darn good to get myself in the building so quickly!!!! Maybe it had something to do with my two teenage boys urging/pushing me along!! Boy, was I in for a shock when I got into the building. As I was catching my breath, I glanced over my shoulder, turned forward again and thought to myself, "hey, that looked like TCD!!!" I turned around again to scan the crowd and spotted a TCD twin!!! It WAS TCD for sure!! I said to my oldest son, "TCD is behind us" to which he responded, "how can you tell" HOW CAN I TELL??? Because I have read EVERY one of his entertaining trip reports!!! So, I knew I had to say something to you as we passed in line. What an honor it was for me to meet you!!!!!!! The other thing my meeting you did for me was that it took my mind of my cancer for most of that day and some of the following ones. We were at Disney from 8/12-24. It was a trip sandwiched between two cancer surgeries. I had my second surgery on the 26th. I am beyond happy to report that I got my pathology report back yesterday and NO MORE cancer was detected!!!!! Yippee!!!!!!! Now, I know that I will have many more Disney trips in my future!!!!

So TCD, I have totally enjoyed reading this trip report and I look forward to your future ones. I have been going to Fort Wilderness since 1975 and have only missed a few years when I first got married. Our whole family loves the place. Reading your reports and others on here, make me feel like I am back home again. So thanks for all of your hard work posting your reports, as I know how time consuming that is. Again, it was wonderful to meet you and I am so happy to have joined fortfiends. My postings will most likely be limited, as I will be starting chemo in a few weeks, but I am sure I will be reading along and dreaming about my "happy place" until I can get back there myself!

Heidi

Heidi-

Wow!

You made my day!

Thank you so much for joining!

And for sharing your story.

I had no idea.

I am glad to hear that your prognosis looks good.

Just to be sure that you are really Heidi, please tell me where we were in the line when you said hello.

So where are y'all from? Were you staying at the Fort on this visit? When do you plan to visit again?

TCD

[Heidi-meetsTCD@TSM 5]

Heidi-

Wow!

You made my day!

Thank you so much for joining!

And for sharing your story.

I had no idea.

I am glad to hear that your prognosis looks good.

Just to be sure that you are really Heidi, please tell me where we were in the line when you said hello.

So where are y'all from? Were you staying at the Fort on this visit? When do you plan to visit again?

TCD

TCD,

I really am Heidi!!!! I was ahead of you in line, I think that I may have been in front of Mr. potatoe head, when I introduced myself. For even more evidence that this is really me, I waved to you once I was in the ride vehicle and passed you and the twins in line ready to board. I was by myself in the ride vehicle, my boys were behind me. (my husband was getting FP's for later) My boys claimed that you snapped a picture of us, when we were at the bottom of the stairs and you were at the top.........ok, now do you believe it was me??? I even think that I remember what I was wearing if you actually did take a photo. (I didnt see you do that, my boys thought they did!!!)

We are from NH.

Sadly, we werent staying at the Fort this trip, but we did go over for an afternoon. We stayed at our favorite value, All Star Music.

We come down to Disney anywhere from 1-3 times a year. We try to stay almost two weeks. Right now we have no trip planned, but have talked about a Christmas trip as a "reward" for getting through chemo. An April trip is a possibility too, as my youngest son will probably be heading to Disney with the band and possibly his baseball team. My oldest son did a band/baseball trip in April 2010 and it was a blast. The other possibility is another August trip. That is up in the air as we want to take another trip our west, we LOVE visiting out National Parks!!!

Glad I made your day, as I already said, you made mine that day. As I always tell my boys, you never know what kind of battle a person is fighting, so always be kind, you never know what kind of impact you may have on them. Like I said, you made a positive impact on me that day, seeing you really did push cancer away from my mind for a bit!!!

Let me know if I " passed the Heidi test". I am pretty sure I have remembered correctly where I was in line. If you have any doubts, I can give you my physical description!!!!!!!

Heidi- the "real" one!!!!!!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

TCD,

I really am Heidi!!!! I was ahead of you in line, I think that I may have been in front of Mr. potatoe head, when I introduced myself. For even more evidence that this is really me, I waved to you once I was in the ride vehicle and passed you and the twins in line ready to board. I was by myself in the ride vehicle, my boys were behind me. (my husband was getting FP's for later) My boys claimed that you snapped a picture of us, when we were at the bottom of the stairs and you were at the top.........ok, now do you believe it was me??? I even think that I remember what I was wearing if you actually did take a photo. (I didnt see you do that, my boys thought they did!!!)

We are from NH.

Sadly, we werent staying at the Fort this trip, but we did go over for an afternoon. We stayed at our favorite value, All Star Music.

We come down to Disney anywhere from 1-3 times a year. We try to stay almost two weeks. Right now we have no trip planned, but have talked about a Christmas trip as a "reward" for getting through chemo. An April trip is a possibility too, as my youngest son will probably be heading to Disney with the band and possibly his baseball team. My oldest son did a band/baseball trip in April 2010 and it was a blast. The other possibility is another August trip. That is up in the air as we want to take another trip our west, we LOVE visiting out National Parks!!!

Glad I made your day, as I already said, you made mine that day. As I always tell my boys, you never know what kind of battle a person is fighting, so always be kind, you never know what kind of impact you may have on them. Like I said, you made a positive impact on me that day, seeing you really did push cancer away from my mind for a bit!!!

Let me know if I " passed the Heidi test". I am pretty sure I have remembered correctly where I was in line. If you have any doubts, I can give you my physical description!!!!!!!

Heidi- the "real" one!!!!!!

OK- you convinced me. We were right in front of Mr. Potato Head when we met. I may have snapped your photo. I'll have to check on that. I also think I saw you somewhere else later in the day, but I don't remember where now.

As I already said, I had no idea about the battle that you have been fighting, and I'm glad that you were able to get to Disney World with your family and have a good time.

The famous fiend Monique/BradyBzLyn12 is from NH!

Now that you have joined, I hope that you will post from time to time. There's a thread on the Community section of this board where people introduce themselves. You should post a message on there so you get a proper Fiend welcome. This TR is over, so there may not be many people who see your post here.

As you already know from reading along, this is a great group of people, and there are many here who will support you in your battle.

TCD

[Roller ... aka Ed 351]

TCD,

I have joined, I have joined!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Heidi

:insanity: and congratulations on you prognosis! :bravo:

[caveat lector 181]

Cool.

A new Fiend joins the group.

TCD rockstar status reinforced.

[FigmentChick 0]

Once again, I'm a day late and a dollar short with reading this TR. Oh well, I still had to leave a comment considering that you guys stayed at POR. You see, before the family and I first visited the Fort last year, POR had basically become our home resort. We absolutely love it, and you are spot on about the theming. Not only is it a beautiful resort, but we always enjoyed the laid-back feel there. Of all the buildings at POR, we've only stayed in the mansion section (Acadian House & Oak Manor) and loved them both. During our upcoming trip to the Fort this November, my parents will be staying at POR the same week that we'll be camping. Of course, I've already made plans to visit them!

I wholeheartedly agree with you about the convenience of the food court. The Fort would definitely benefit from having one, so hopefully it'll come to fruition soon.

Bob Jackson is always fun to watch! There really are some great points of interest at POR, and I thought you did a great job of covering them. One of our favs is the boat that runs from the resort to DTD. Very relaxing in the evening!

As much as I have enjoyed staying at POR in the past, I still believe that the Fort is a treasure no doubt! Sometimes it's hard to believe that it took us so long to finally visit, but man, was it worth the wait or what?! Each chance that I get, I'm doing my part by spreading the word about one of DW's best assets. And yes, I'm also helping to spread word about the fine folks on this forum!!!

Thanks again for another great TR, TCD! Maybe next time I won't fall so far behind. (Yeah, right!)

-Hill

[jjbescher 17]

Another great trip report from TCD. I had a chance to stay at the resort when it was Dixie Landings, but had to upgrade to Wilderness Lodge because of the package we were getting.

Treehouse Villas - I realize I am very late on responding to this trip report - however, been very busy at work and now just getting a chance to catch up on a lot of trip reports. I have stayed at the new THV. They are 3 Bedroom and 2 Full Bath. As another poster stated, they count as a 2 bedroom for points. This makes them very valuable because the rooms consist of the following. 1 King, 1 Queen and then 2 Bunk Beds. The main area also has a pullout couch and a chair that turns into a sleeper.

You can not walk to Old Key West from the Treehouse Villas, but the walk is not bad to the main part of Saratoga Springs. The area does have a its own little pool, which is nice. Transportation is very similar to the Fort where you have to catch an internal bus to catch the bus to the main bus stops. For a lot of DVC owners that is a drawback. The treeshouses definitely are in a wilderness area and are very dark inside.

If you have anymore questions about the treehouses, feel free to let me know.

jon

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

You used to be able to walk from OKW to DTD, treehouse, and Saratoga. I know they put a gate to the TH when the college kids were living there. Did they rework the sidewalk when they rebuilt?

[jjbescher 17]

You used to be able to walk from OKW to DTD, treehouse, and Saratoga. I know they put a gate to the TH when the college kids were living there. Did they rework the sidewalk when they rebuilt?

I will have to look at the maps of the THV, but I do not remember a walkway. They may also not have showed it on the map.

It could be that you can walk to it from Saratoga Springs, but nor directly from the THV, unless the pathway is by the street. On the map that I have, it does not show by the street towards OKW.

[Roller ... aka Ed 351]

You can walk from Saratoga Springs to THV. I don't think the path to OKW is still there.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Another great trip report from TCD. I had a chance to stay at the resort when it was Dixie Landings, but had to upgrade to Wilderness Lodge because of the package we were getting.

Treehouse Villas - I realize I am very late on responding to this trip report - however, been very busy at work and now just getting a chance to catch up on a lot of trip reports. I have stayed at the new THV. They are 3 Bedroom and 2 Full Bath. As another poster stated, they count as a 2 bedroom for points. This makes them very valuable because the rooms consist of the following. 1 King, 1 Queen and then 2 Bunk Beds. The main area also has a pullout couch and a chair that turns into a sleeper.

You can not walk to Old Key West from the Treehouse Villas, but the walk is not bad to the main part of Saratoga Springs. The area does have a its own little pool, which is nice. Transportation is very similar to the Fort where you have to catch an internal bus to catch the bus to the main bus stops. For a lot of DVC owners that is a drawback. The treeshouses definitely are in a wilderness area and are very dark inside.

If you have anymore questions about the treehouses, feel free to let me know.

jon

Thanks, Jon.

I'm glad that you enjoyed the report, and I appreciate your posting a comment.

I have a feeling that I will be trying the treehouses some day.

You can walk from Saratoga Springs to THV. I don't think the path to OKW is still there.

What's this- a mystery?

I will put it on my list.

TCD

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

If I'm rmembering the path is not directly from OKW its like on the golf course, then to the real sidewalk

[jjbescher 17]

If I'm rmembering the path is not directly from OKW its like on the golf course, then to the real sidewalk

alright, I had to look at Google Maps to figure it out. Yes, the Golf Course connects Saratoga Springs to Old Key West. Here is the Google Map Link

You can see the treehouses up at the top. From the treehouses you have to go to the Golf Course and then walk over. Then there is a walkway(fairly long) that will bring you to Old Key West.

jon

jon