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

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Caught this one early. Really nice to come home from a day spent doing laundry to find a TCD report to entertain me. I'd better go set up the email notifications now!!

[Sunset Lady 6]

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?

[PureTcrazy...rita 380]

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?

Welcome! We are so glad you came on over and joined us! We have a lot of fun here. We always stayed at Port Orleans also, until we finally decided to try the Fort.

[Roller ... aka Ed 351]

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?

:insanity:

There's almost always a Fiend or Two (or a GG of them) at The Fort, so you just drive over to visit them as a guest ... OR, ride a Disney Bus over to The Fort and visit all you want.

[Lou... 3,118]

TCD, a babe magnet. Now I know why he doesn't bring the Mrs.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I made it to the first page too! Our only stay at POR was miserable ... missing the fort. It was for our son's wedding. Quick trip down and back so we didn't tow the TT. We found POR to be dark and poorly decorated with really small rooms. The pool was so small ... we were miserable ... did I say that again? Hope your stay was better!

When was it that you stayed at POR?

There is no doubt that they have upgraded the rooms not too long ago. I thought our room was fine. And, I thought the main pool was great. Even the quiet pool near our room was nice.

We had a great visit. I enjoyed it way more than I expected to.

We have 2 great travel agents that most of deal with, one is Rhonda she is super and a lot of the fiends use her. She supports us!!!

The other is Judy, a lot of fiends use here and she can usually get what you want!!!!

BTW both of these TA's support OUR SITE :banana:

For the record, I think the world of both Rhonda and Judy. I have not yet had the pleasure of meeting Rhonda in person, but I have heard nothing but good about her.

I have met Judy many times, and she is a wonderful and very funny person. Plus, she has fed me. From talking to her, I would recommend her as a travel agent in a heart beat.

But, I like Hilda too. Hilda has a heart of gold, and she has done a lot of nice things for me and others.

So, this is a good thing. If you need a good travel agent, there are three great ladies to chose from.

Oh, and as long as I'm sharing, I like Lorna and Richie too!

I still haven't been able to connect Dec 29 to Jan 1. Those three days just aren't available - at least that's what reservations says ...

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.

I go and treat myself to a spa day and come home to a TCD report. How awesome is that :banana: This should keep me busy until I head to the Fort next week :popcorn:

Most definitely.

I have a lot of photos and stories to share.

This one will go into next week easily.

Being sick today, I have enjoyed reading both of your trip reports. Thank you!! :popcorn:

Thanks for posting.

I hope that you are feeling better today.

I'm in too! I have always liked POR, Mama likes Alligator Bayou and the boat to DTD. Of course, it ain' the Fort!

As you will soon find out, we were in Alligator Bayou on this trip.

And, we took the boat to DTD. Which was a first for all of us. That is a great amenity.

Yippee!! I'm in too!!! And on the first page to boot! I just finished one TCD report and low and behold here's another. It's like it's raining TR's from heaven!

Congrats to the TCD twin for being the rebel spy. May be force be with her.

Yes, you made it in on the first page!

Good job!

And, there is more to tell about the rebel spy.

Check out my next update.

Yay! Another TCD trip report. This should get me through until Friday when we leave! I wish you were going to be at the fort over labor day weekend (Lou told me that you weren't going to be around). I was really hoping to meet you this time.

You leave this Friday?

Hooray!

I am also disappointed that I will not get to meet you, Bruce and the pups. But make sure to catch-up with Lou. I gave him something to give to you. We will have to meet up the next time.

Thanks for the beer I enjoyed it. Hope you got one for your self.

You're welcome.

I did buy some 24 oz. beers at the Hess Express, but it wasn't Keystone.

After I drank the first one, it occurred to me that I'm not sure I had ever drank a 24 oz. can of beer before. That's a big can of beer!

Hey, made it on page 2. All in all not too bad.

I know how it feels being bested by your daughters on TSMM. They are fast learners!

True.

But, when did you bring Anna on TSMM?

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Yeah another TCD trip report.:banana: Being that we are a family of 5 Riverside is one of the optional resorts available to us. We have never stayed there so, I am looking forward to reading all you have to say about it.

We are a family of five too, and we have all stayed in a POR room before. This was a long time ago, so we fit fine. I'm not sure how well we would do now that the girls are young ladies.

Alright another TR from TCD. I can't wait for more.

You don't have long to wait. The next batch of photos is uploading now!

Caught this one early. Really nice to come home from a day spent doing laundry to find a TCD report to entertain me. I'd better go set up the email notifications now!!

Thanks for joining in.

I'll try to get a couple of updates posted today so we can get this thing moving!

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?

Welcome Sunsetlady!

Your post made my day.

And it's still just the morning.

I don't know why, but I really enjoy it when a former lurker becomes a fellow Fiend.

Please feel free to ask questions and join in the fun. You may be able to add information about POR.

Yes, anyone can visit the Fort. You just can't drive around the resort. You have to park in the main parking lot and walk and/or use the internal bus system. It's right around the corner from POR. In fact, I visited the Fort twice on this short stay at POR. I'll be telling about that and sharing photos in just a bit.

Welcome! We are so glad you came on over and joined us! We have a lot of fun here. We always stayed at Port Orleans also, until we finally decided to try the Fort.

See Sunsetlady? You already have a friendly welcome!

:insanity:

There's almost always a Fiend or Two (or a GG of them) at The Fort, so you just drive over to visit them as a guest ... OR, ride a Disney Bus over to The Fort and visit all you want.

And, there's another friendly welcome for you Sunsetlady!

TCD, a babe magnet. Now I know why he doesn't bring the Mrs.

It's true.

But don't be jealous.

It's a curse.

I have learned to live with it.

But, sometimes it's hard to be TCD.

p.s. to Heidi- we are still looking for you to join and say hello. Come on! Sunsetlady did it. You can too!

[Lou... 3,118]

I don't camp

Neither do I.

and have not been to the Fort, but looks like a wonderful place.

It is and they do have cabins for non-campers.

Also, FF.Net is not just about Fort Wilderness and camping. It's much more than that.

It's about getting the latest WDW info, meeting Fiends in person, making friends, being Snarky without getting slapped on the wrist.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Also, FF.Net is not just about Fort Wilderness and camping. It's much more than that.

It's about getting the latest WDW info, meeting Fiends in person, making friends, being Snarky without getting slapped on the wrist.

To which I say Amen and Hallelujah!

Preach it, brother Lou!

TCD

[Live4FW 30]

One of the TCD twins was the rebel spy!

Darth Vader was mad about that.

He chased us all over the universe.

But we got the spy back safely.

Here she is!:

While the Disney reservation system is clearly run by idiots, the Disney marketing division is clearly run by geniuses.

Do the math.

You are a lot tougher than I am, I would have wound up buying it......

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Well, I would say this trip report is off to a nice start!

Thanks for all of the comments.

And welcome again, Sunsetlady.

Now, let's get moving on this thing!

As I went through the long check-in at POR, my DD's did a bit of looking around.

They visited the gift shop.

And played this trivia game:

A castmember behind the cash register had the answers, and when they got all of the answers correct, they were given a little certificate.

We were having fun already.

So, how about you?

Do you think you can answer all of the trivia questions?

Without cheating?

I will give the first person who posts the correct answers a certificate too.

(provided I can find my crayon box and a piece of paper)

POR has a great lay out.

Just behind the lobby building, they have a marina:

You see that boat there?

That boat will take you all the way to Downtown Disney.

For free!

And it will bring you back to.

For a slight charge.

Just kidding.

The return trip is free too.

This is the "river' from which POR takes its name:

Don't tell anyone, but it's really just a glorified drainage ditch. It's not really a river at all.

But, they do let folks kayak in it:

Having just snagged the reservation the night before, I had no time to make a room request, or even research where I might want to ask to be placed in the resort.

So we went with the luck of the draw.

That usually works fine for us.

And it did on this trip.

We were assigned to Building 16 (or as they call it at POR: Lodge 16) in the Alligator Bayou section of the resort.

It was a great location.

We were not too far from the main building or pool.

But, we also had our own quiet pool right outside of our building.

Nice.

I have a confession to make.

I told a little lie in my first post.

I said that I didn't cave in and buy my DD an overpriced rebel spy T-shirt.

But, I really did.

She was so excited to have been the Rebel Spy, and she and here sister really liked the shirt, so I got it for her. Here she is in our room modeling it:

You can see a bit of the room decor in this photo. The beds are made out of real wood. I heard they were specifically carved for this resort out of hickory by a craftsman in North Carolina. I'll bet he was happy to get that contract.

You might think that since this is not a value resort or campground, the clientele would be a bit classier than us lowly Fort Wilderness campers.

It turns out that our neighbors in Lodge 16 weren't all that classy.

And they knew how to make themselves at home:

The funny thing is, these folks weren't the only ones to hang their laundry right outside of their front door. It was kind of a trend around the resort. Classy.

This quiet pool was right outside of our building:

There was a nice laundry room and restrooms there too.

And, this pool had parts that were 6 feet deep.

That's a simple thing, but I enjoyed it.

I hate how the cabin pool at the Fort is now all three freakin' feet deep, and there is no deep end at the main pool. Hate it!

I love the landscaping in the Alligator Bayou section of the POR resort.

This courtyard area was outside of our building:

After checking out our room, we changed in to our suits, and headed over to the main pool for a dip.

The main pool here is located centrally on an island.

The food court for the resort is located in this building, which is built to resemble a cotton mill, complete with a working water wheel:

We will be taking a closer look at the big water wheel later.

This is some of the typical signage that you see around the resort:

They have a Fishing Hole on the island where the pool is located:

This giant bar is also located on the island, adjacent to the pool:

They even have a campfire area here!:

And, doesn't this look familiar?:

There is a nice playground near the pool:

Here's an interesting sign which was posted next to a very majestic oak tree on the island:

And here is that majestic tree:

Isn't that an amazing story? Something like this would never be done today. Today it is all about cutting corners and the bottom line. But, 20 years ago, it was about being excellent and unique. Boy, has this company lost its way.

The pool slide is built in to this little hill:

Here is a shot of a portion of the main pool. You can see that there's an island in the middle, and water fountains and such:

See those fountains squirting out around that pile of rocks there in the back of this photo?

Lots of boys climbed up on those rocks and positioned themselves just right to make it look like they were "springing a leak" in to the pool.

Even some dads did too.

And, lots of moms were around taking photos.

Good times!

I'll bet the imagineers never thought of that.

Like at the Fort, they have castmembers leading pool games and playing music here at the main pool:

I thought the pool was great.

The Fort should have a pool like this.

But the Fort is managed by a bunch of penny pinching cheapskates.

So we have a too small, rectangular, boring pool, with a pretty nice slide slapped on the side. But it could be so much more. And it should be so much more.

And man, would it be nice to have a bar at the pool.

After cooling off at the pool, we headed back to our room.

The buildings in Alligator Bayou all look the same.

So, it's hard to find your building without following the signs.

But, thankfully, we had our neighbors with their redneck clotheslines to show us the way (please be sure not to miss the careful placement of the sweat-socks):

Here's a photo showing the roof lines of the buildings. Look at the detail! They have pitched roofs, and even fake chimneys. Now, they just put giant Coke cans or statues of characters in front of a big box and call that themeing, but back when POR was built, they went for authenticity. I really appreciate that:

You can see that despite being over 20 years old, these buildings are all in great shape. The management of this resort has done an excellent job of keeping the grounds and buildings in top notch shape. We will be taking a walking tour of the resort a bit later. You will see how great the landscaping looks all around this resort. You can already see a lot of it in the photos in this post. After seeing this resort, it really makes me mad how the Fort looks these days. When they cleared out all of the undergrowth at the Fort a few years ago, they should have done some landscaping so that the landscaping around the loops looks natural and beautiful like you see around POR. Instead, the loops look barren and ugly. Good show POR management! Boo Fort management!

Next up- we head out for a rendezvous with a certain Fiend and try to get a seat at the Polynesian Resort's Sushi Bar.

TCD

[MLM5.. aka Judy 97]

Awesome! I'm hoping to take a speical trip with just mom and the big kids in the spring for a weekend, POR is our first choice as we will more than likely be flying. Glad to know you liked it! Keep it coming! :popcorn:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

You are a lot tougher than I am, I would have wound up buying it......

LOL!

As you now know, I am not tougher than you.

I bought that shirt.

And that created another problem.

It meant that the other twin was entitled to a new T-shirt too.

We had to spend a while looking for the perfect one.

But we found her one eventually.

I have a photo of it too.

Coming up a bit later in the report.

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Awesome! I'm hoping to take a speical trip with just mom and the big kids in the spring for a weekend, POR is our first choice as we will more than likely be flying. Glad to know you liked it! Keep it coming! :popcorn:

Yes, I liked POR a lot.

A lot more than the value resorts.

Read on!

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Whoops!

I just realized I forgot to post an important photo.

As we were pulling in to the resort, we noticed that there was a log floating along in the water just off to the side of the entrance bridge:

On closer inspection, the log had eyes and a big mouth with a lot of pointy teeth!:

What a great welcome to the resort!

Can you believe they put robot alligators in the water like that?

What a nice touch!

TCD

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

Let's see how I did.

1.Expedition Everest

2.Dinoland USA

3.Hollywood Towers

4.Rock n Rollercoaster at DHS

5.The American Adventure

6.commander, pilot,navigator and engineer

7.The Land Pavilion

8. A

9.Song of the South

10.Swiss family Robinson

I'm not sure but I think I got all of them for no.6, I love a good quiz.

It amazes me what Disney will do to totally immerse you into the atmosphere :rofl2:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Let's see how I did.

1.Expedition Everest

2.Dinoland USA

3.Hollywood Towers

4.Rock n Rollercoaster at DHS

5.The American Adventure

6.commander, pilot,navigator and engineer

7.The Land Pavilion

8. A

9.Song of the South

10.Swiss family Robinson

I'm not sure but I think I got all of them for no.6, I love a good quiz.

Very good try!

But, two of your answers are wrong.

I won't say which two, so it won't be too easy for someone to copy off of you.

I will allow you to take another shot at that certificate- so, if you want, go ahead and change two of your answers and try again!

TCD

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

Here are my Guesses:

1. Expedition Everest

2. Dinoland USA

3. The Hollywood Tower Hotel

4. Rock n' Roller Coaster

5. The American Adventure

6. Navigator, Pilot, Commander, Engineer

7. The Land

8. B

9. Song of the South

10. Swiss Family Robinson

[SCTigerCock 171]

Let's see how I did.

1.Expedition Everest

2.Dinoland USA

3.Hollywood TowersHollywood Tower Hotel

4.Rock n Rollercoaster at DHS

5.The American Adventure

6.commander, pilot,navigator and engineer

7.The Land Pavilion

8. A B

9.Song of the South

10.Swiss family Robinson

[Live4FW 30]

LOL!

As you now know, I am not tougher than you.

I bought that shirt.

And that created another problem.

It meant that the other twin was entitled to a new T-shirt too.

We had to spend a while looking for the perfect one.

But we found her one eventually.

I have a photo of it too.

Coming up a bit later in the report.

TCD

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.

[daddyphat808 - Eric 16]

Whoops!

I just realized I forgot to post an important photo.

As we were pulling in to the resort, we noticed that there was a log floating along in the water just off to the side of the entrance bridge:

On closer inspection, the log had eyes and a big mouth with a lot of pointy teeth!:

What a great welcome to the resort!

Can you believe they put robot alligators in the water like that?

What a nice touch!

TCD

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

[stefa70 205]

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 your 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 decide 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?

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Here are my Guesses:

1. Expedition Everest

2. Dinoland USA

3. The Hollywood Tower Hotel

4. Rock n' Roller Coaster

5. The American Adventure

6. Navigator, Pilot, Commander, Engineer

7. The Land

8. B

9. Song of the South

10. Swiss Family Robinson

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Please step away from your keyboards!

We have a winner.

Although, according to the castmember, the answer to #6 was Captain instead of Commander. DD said Commander, at first, but the castmember gave her a clue and another chance. But, I think commander is right.

We also had trouble with #8, some of us were thinking that the Haunted Mansion was from Louisiana, but B is the correct answer.

Carol, I will get you your certificate the next time I see you. I should be able to find my box of crayons and a piece of paper by then.

TCD

[SCTigerCock 171]

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?

:suspense:

Fishing, oh fishing......

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

Close but no cigar :rofl2: