A Fiend Looks at Fifty-A TCD Birthday Trip Report

[DaveInTN 3,247]

OK, why would there be an Outpost Bus Stop in 1974?? There was only the Magic Kingdom, no Epcot, no Studios or Animal Kingdom. Only the resorts around Seven Seas Lagoon. Was any of the Lake Buena Vista Village developed yet?? The ADA rules were not totally in place at that time, so no need to provide "alternate" transportation for wheelchairs or scooters.

Perhaps a tram stop?? Maybe even the train platform?? Just curious.

Yeah, I would guess that was the Outpost train depot at that time?

Can't wait to see your HDDR pics! And to hear whether Ben was performing the night you went. :dance:

[LONE-STAR 370]

Glad to see your Fort Report.

[Momoffive aka Loretta 34]

Happy Happy Birthday TCD!!!!!

Loving the travel report. Glad you got to spend an "early" birthday at the Fort rather than no birthday at the Fort! I can't tell you how handsome rocky is. A beautiful dog! The tetherball play is pricless. My daughter, a definite dog person, will love these pictures and no doubt will try to get our Chloe to do the same thing. Looking forward to the rest of the report!! Keep it coming.

[daddyphat808 - Eric 16]

Fantastic as always TCD! And you don't look a day over 21!

[kampfirekim 260]

Yay! another TCD report!

Happy Birthday to you!

[SCTigerCock 171]

Happy Birthday!

Great TR! LUV :heart: the pics of Rocky!

[Flamingogal 0]

Happy Birthday TCD. Glad you got to celebrate at your "Happy Place".

Thanks for the TR, Nov. can't come soon enough for us!!

Jeanne

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

You should have called me, I would have drove over and babysat Rocky for free! :heart:

Now there's an offer that I cannot refuse. I will put you on speed dial for our next visit!

Happy Birthday! 50 is not old, I'm right behind at 49 now. Rocky is adorable! I have never been to Hoop Dee Doo so I am looking forward to hearing more!

You have never been to the Hoop Dee Doo? And you're 49? Well, I guess you know what that means! Rita's 50th will be at the HDDR!

You really should invest in some tetherball. Can you imagine the hours of enjoyment the family would get from this. Just imagine. One morning you wake up, let rocky out, get your coffee and look out the back door. rocky is swinging by his mouth from the tether ball..... you almost choke on your coffee and then burn yourself as you spit it out..... Ok, so maybe not such a great idea.

LOL! I can totally see that happening.

I guess I had better hurry up and get that tetherball set for the backyard.

Old isn't an age - it's a State of Mind ... I haven't been to that State, yet.

Good for you, Ed.

I don't feel old either. It's weird, though. Because I thought I would.

Happy Birthday TCD!!!!!!

What a fun surprise to log on this afternoon and see a new report from you!

Those River Country photos never fail to bring a tear to me eye.............I spent so many happy times there as a kid and I was lucky enough to bring my own kids when they were 1 and 4 right before it closed for good. I sure do miss the place!

We have been at the fort when entire loops are empty too, it sure makes for a different feel.

Looking forward to more!

Heidi

Hello Heidi!

Thanks for checking in.

You are becoming a regular around here nowadays!

I hope all is well with you and your family.

And now you know who the mystery guest is that was at the Fort this weekend. No, not TCD, it was Mrs, TCD.

And thanks for keeping a lid on that, Lou!

I'm sorry that we weren't able to meet up on Saturday.

I guess I shouldn't have wasted my time watching the FSU game and you shouldn't have wasted your time watching the Red Sox.

Go Rays!

^ Man is that some small font or what?

I thought I saw a TCD twin on Saturday at the Fort! Then I was Sure I saw you loop by. Turns out we were neighbors. I was/am right next door in 1505 and never realized it. It's a small fiend world!

Brent, Brent, Brent!

I can't believe it.

I noticed a young man setting up his site next to ours on Saturday. I was quite impressed with his set up.

And it turns out the young man was you!

There was something about your set-up that was familiar to me, so I walked by your site several times to see if I recognized anyone there. I guess maybe I have seen photos of your set-up before. I did not see a Fort Fiends sign, so I guessed that I was mistaken.

You big dummy!

You should have said something. I would have given you a spike!

So, how did you like your across the loop neighbors on Saturday and Sunday? The mom over there had quite the mouth. Mrs. TCD said she heard an F-Bomb. All I know is that Katherine Margaret (the kid she was always yelling at) sure gets in a lot of trouble.

I hope that you enjoy the rest of your stay at the Fort.

Happy Birthday.

Is 50 really old? I hear it's the new 40. Of course, if you think 40 is old, then being the new 40 may not sound good at all.

If it makes you feel any better, you and my grandmother share the same birthday. She will be 86 I think. That should make you feel a lot better about being 50!

Can't wait to read more. We arrive at the fort in two weeks so this is great timing to get me even more excited!

Thanks.

I think.

Tell your grandma happy birthday from me.

I hope I make it to 86.

OK, why would there be an Outpost Bus Stop in 1974?? There was only the Magic Kingdom, no Epcot, no Studios or Animal Kingdom. Only the resorts around Seven Seas Lagoon. Was any of the Lake Buena Vista Village developed yet?? The ADA rules were not totally in place at that time, so no need to provide "alternate" transportation for wheelchairs or scooters.

Perhaps a tram stop?? Maybe even the train platform?? Just curious.

You are correct. I just called it the Outpost Bus Stop because that's what we call it today. I actually think it was called the Gateway Depot back in the day. Somewhere in the back of my mind I recall that there was bus service offered to Fort guests from there. I'm not sure if the boat was the primary means of transportation to the MK back at the beginning.

Yeah, I would guess that was the Outpost train depot at that time?

Can't wait to see your HDDR pics! And to hear whether Ben was performing the night you went. :dance:

Spoiler Alert!

I am afraid to report that Ben has left the building.

We didn't even get Ben's nemesis, Bix Sits. We got a totally new guy. And I was shocked when I first saw him.

I have photos of the whole thing coming up in just a bit.

Wait till you get a load of the new Six Bits.

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Glad to see your Fort Report.

Thanks, Michael.

I'm glad that you are following along.

Happy Happy Birthday TCD!!!!!

Loving the travel report. Glad you got to spend an "early" birthday at the Fort rather than no birthday at the Fort! I can't tell you how handsome rocky is. A beautiful dog! The tetherball play is pricless. My daughter, a definite dog person, will love these pictures and no doubt will try to get our Chloe to do the same thing. Looking forward to the rest of the report!! Keep it coming.

Thanks.

I'm glad that you like the tetherball pics. Because I have more! Just you wait!

Fantastic as always TCD! And you don't look a day over 21!

Wow!

You had better get those eyes checked!

Yay! another TCD report!

Happy Birthday to you!

Thanks, KFK!

Happy Birthday!

Great TR! LUV :heart: the pics of Rocky!

Thanks.

There will be plenty more Rocky pics coming up.

Even some non-tetherball ones!

Happy Birthday TCD. Glad you got to celebrate at your "Happy Place".

Thanks for the TR, Nov. can't come soon enough for us!!

Jeanne

Thanks.

The Fort is, indeed, my Happy Place.

TCD

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

The Fort is, indeed, my Happy Place.

Mine too! I am hoping and praying to get there in a few weeks. If I go to all that effort, I am very hopeful that the TCD crew will be there as well.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Mine too! I am hoping and praying to get there in a few weeks. If I go to all that effort, I am very hopeful that the TCD crew will be there as well.

I'm working on it. Halloween is going to be tricky for us because of where Halloween falls. We may just be there for over the weekend, or we might not make it at all.

We will see.

TCD

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

The Fort is, indeed, my Happy Place.

TCD

We could start a thread "Hi my Name is.... and I'm a Fort-o-holic" but then again isn't that what fortfiends.net really is? A place for all the Fort addicted persons to congregate?

[stefa70 205]

I'm working on it. Halloween is going to be tricky for us because of where Halloween falls. We may just be there for over the weekend, or we might not make it at all.

We will see.

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I forgot to mention something about Friday.

When I was out looping, I came across fellow Fiend, Disneylitch/Debbie. She and her family were camped on the 1700 loop. I stopped by and spiked her. I looked for other Fiends throughout the weekend, and found no others. I know that we had some Fiends in the cabins, but I didn't see any signs.

As Friday evening approached, it was time for Rocky to go to the babysitter.

The Best Friends kennel opened at WDW last year at about this time.

We have not yet visited.

But, we have driven past it many times.

Here we are at the front entrance:

I would say that the architect earned his money on this project.

Outside, they had a couple of giant fire hydrants.

Rocky had to check those out.

He was running around a bit outside, so this is the best photo I have with him and a giant hydrant:

You can kind of get some perspective on its size by looking at it compared to Rocky.

Here's another shot of the hydrant- note that there's a sign posted down near the base:

At first, I was guessing that the sign said to keep your dogs away. Which, I thought was dumb on their part. They are asking for it by putting giant fire hydrants on the way in to the building. It turns out that I was wrong about the signs. Here's what they really said:

What is going on with the kid in that picture? Is he dripping? How gross is that?

I think they need to make the signs a little bigger.

Here we are inside. Naturally, this being Disney World and all, they have a display of overpriced merchandise for our shopping convenience:

I have to say, this had to be the nicest kennel I have ever visited:

Check in was a breeze. The staff seemed to be well trained and very professional.

They obviously were not busy, as there were about a half dozen staff members congregating around the front desk. They all fussed over Rocky, and he ate it up. One of them led him off, and he didn't even look back to say goodbye.

The young lady who checked us in told us that we could take Rocky out to the dog park when we came back to get him. The kennel stays open until one hour after the last WDW park closes, so with EMH at Epcot and a MNSSHP going on at the MK, that meant they would be open until 1 am tonight. The dog park is lit, and is open when the kennel is open. It is only for paying guests of the kennel. We decided to take a look at the dog park while there was still a little daylight.

Here it is:

As you can see, this is like a spray ground for dogs. I knew Rocky would love it!

There are benches over here for the humans. Note the grass. It's fake. I'm not sure what they do about all the pet business that happens on the fake grass. I would say don't walk around in there barefoot:

Here's another shot of the fountain area:

They also have a fenced in area to walk dogs:

Here are the dog park rules:

This is a shot from outside the dog park fence, looking back toward the kennel building:

This is an inside play room. I believe you have to pay extra for your dog to get a chance to play in here. I think just the staff gets to use this room:

When the kennel first opened, there was a lot of talk about the VIP suites, where pets got individual rooms furnished with TV's and beds. The hallway for the VIP suites is right off of the lobby:

I could see down the hallway a bit. Here we can see one of the guests enjoying his VIP accommodations:

I have no idea what these metal containers are for. They say "US Mail" on them:

You can see that two labs are sharing one of the suites:

And, you can see one little fellow looking out his door at the end of the hallway in this photo. It also looks like there is a storage box outside of each suite for owners to leave their pet's gear:

It looks like none of the VIP customers was taking advantage of the beds and TV's in their suites.

And, they probably would have preferred to drink out of the hose outside instead of drinking the chilled bottled water provided by the concierge inside.

Ingrates.

When I first heard about these VIP suites, I joked about renting one and staying in it. After seeing them, I seriously would rather stay in one of those than at one of the value resorts.

We never did get to see where Rocky was going to spend his time here.

I assume it was nice.

Good thing he didn't see the VIP suites on the way in.

With Rocky safe and sound, we headed back to the Fort.

It was almost time for the Hoop Dee Doo!!!

TCD

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

Since I have not been to the Hoop Dee Doo Review and don't expect to go soon, i would appreciate if you could accompany your next installment with singing. Thank you!

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Wow. My dogs would never want to come home after a visit to that place! I am sure Rocky had a blast.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Since I have not been to the Hoop Dee Doo Review and don't expect to go soon, i would appreciate if you could accompany your next installment with singing. Thank you!

I have not been either but my go on my next visit. As for the singing... does he have a good voice?

[stefa70 205]

Ok, the sign on the hydrant was pretty gross! I agree it should be a bit bigger. The last time I was in the dog park at the fort, there was one other family in there with a jack russell pup. I was having a great time watching the puppy bounce all over the place, when his "Dad" thought it would be a good idea to get comfortable. IN THE GRASS BY THE TREE! I can only imagine how many dogs had done their business in that very spot. It didn't seem to bother him a bit. He laid there, sprawled out on his back the whole time we were there. Yuck!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Since I have not been to the Hoop Dee Doo Review and don't expect to go soon, i would appreciate if you could accompany your next installment with singing. Thank you!

OK, no problem.

I'm getting ready to write the next installment now.

I will sing while I am writing it.

Wow. My dogs would never want to come home after a visit to that place! I am sure Rocky had a blast.

As best we can tell, he did have a blast.

I forgot to mention something.

When we checked Rocky in, they asked if we wanted any extras for him.

I asked the young lady what she recommended.

She said they could give him ice cream.

She shouldn't have said that right in front of him.

Because we had to go ahead and pay $4.00 extra for the ice cream break!

I have no idea whether or not Rocky got the ice cream.

I have not been either but my go on my next visit. As for the singing... does he have a good voice?

Does who have a good voice?

Me?

Absolutely!

Ok, the sign on the hydrant was pretty gross! I agree it should be a bit bigger. The last time I was in the dog park at the fort, there was one other family in there with a jack russell pup. I was having a great time watching the puppy bounce all over the place, when his "Dad" thought it would be a good idea to get comfortable. IN THE GRASS BY THE TREE! I can only imagine how many dogs had done their business in that very spot. It didn't seem to bother him a bit. He laid there, sprawled out on his back the whole time we were there. Yuck!

LOL!

Yes, I can imagine! That is hilarious!

TCD

[SCTigerCock 171]

TCD,

Do you know of any shuttles from the Fort to the Kennel?

I.e. on our next trip we plan to take Savannah, but will only have our motorhome as our transportation. I would prefer not to have to break camp to take her to the kennel if we decide to.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

It was finally here!

The TCD gang was assembled, and it was time to go to the Hoop Dee Doo Revue.

I had been waiting for years to go back.

We had last been for my 45th birthday.

That was five years ago.

And now, the day had finally arrived.

As I mentioned earlier, the original plan was for us to go this coming weekend.

I had made reservations a long time ago, and we had Category 1 seats reserved.

The last time we went to the HDDR, there were no categories of seating. As I understand it, seat assignments were made by when you made your reservations. Our visit for my 45th birthday was a last minute thing, so we were seated off to the side and back on the main floor. It seemed as if our table had been squeezed in just so they could add a few more paying customers.

Well not this time.

This time, we were going Category 1!

But, when I had to reschedule the date, we had a problem.

There were no more Category 1 spots available.

We had to go with Category 2.

It turned out to be fine.

And, I saved a couple of bucks.

But not many.

The reason we haven't been back to the HHDR for five years is that I'm cheap. I don't like wasting money. And, no matter how you look at it, the HDDR is a waste of money. But it's fun. So, for this special occasion, I bit the bullet, and we went. For those of you wondering whether I am a huge cheapskate, let me tell you that the cost for the five of us to attend after including tax was $295. And, it would have been more had we gone to an earlier show, or sat in Category 1. That's a lot of money for five people to eat fried chicken and ribs. The show is good, but it's not that good. However, since I'm the one who wanted to go to the HDDR, I banished those thoughts from my mind, and went to have a good time.

After you check in outside, they ask you to pose for a photo. Then, when you're inside, they come around and offer to sell it to you. It costs $31.00 for the photo. But, it comes in a nice folder, and includes a photo of the cast. But still, you would have to be a fool to spend $31.00 on a photo. Well, guess who's a fool? I am. Here's our photo:

And, here's the free bonus photo of the cast:

The sad thing is that this photo includes THE Six Bits, Ben. And, he doesn't perform in the show any more.

As I mentioned, we were relegated to Category 2 seating, and when I picked up our tickets, I noticed that our table number was 93. That sounded like it was in the way back.

When we arrived, we found that our table was, in fact, in the back of the room. But, it was in the center, and we had swivel seats that were like low bar stools. That had us sitting higher than the guests in front of us. That was great. I actually liked our seats.

When we arrived, our salad was there waiting for us on the table:

I told one of the twins that this big ball of butter was vanilla ice cream. Back in the day, she might have believed me and taken a bite, but they are getting too smart for me. She was a good sport anyway and posed like she was going to eat it:

Here I am with Mrs. TCD and our oldest DD:

You may notice that my Birthday Button says "Pappi." That's what the girls call me these days. It started as a joke. Mrs. TCD and I were discussing a friend who was about to have her first grandchild. She was about our age, and didn't want to be called grandma. So, she decided she would ask her grandchild to call her "Lola." That got us to talking what our names should be if and when our girls ever have children. One of the girls mentioned that Miley Cyrus called her grandfather Pappy. So, we all decided that I would be called Pappy when I become a grandfather. The girls thought it would be funny to start calling me Old Pappi now, so that's what they do.

Now you know what the button is all about.

The service in the HDDR is great.

We were promptly greeted by our server, who took our drink order. The drinks are included in the price. Including beer and wine (HOOP DEE DOO!!!)

One of the things that Mrs. TCD has talked about consistently since the last time we attended the HDDR was how awful the sangria was. She said it was so warm that it was almost hot. Like tea. I said no way. She insisted it was true. I believe her. So, on this trip, I just had to try it.

Here I am raising a toast with my sangria. You can see that there was ice in my glass. So, mine wasn't warm. like Mrs. TCD's was the last time:

But, in the interest of full disclosure, I have to say that even with ice, that sangria is the worst I have ever tasted. They must do that on purpose. That way they don't lose money on the free drinks.

It wasn't long after we got our drinks and dug into our salad that the doors right behind us flew open, and the cast came in!

At long last, our wait was over.

We would get to see who our Six Bits would be.

As you already know, it wasn't Ben.

It wasn't even Ben's understudy, who isn't that bad.

It was this guy:

Do you see that?

What The Fort?

The guy looked like a young Woody Allen. Only nerdier.

THAT was our Six Bits?

I couldn't believe it!

How could THAT be our Six Bits?

Well, he was.

The cast wound their way up to the front of the room.

They did a bit of singing and audience interaction, and then the servers started to bring out buckets with our food in them.

We got chicken:

And, we also got ribs, mashed potatoes, corn, and cornbread. There was plenty of food.

And if we wanted more, our server said just ask.

The chicken was the same as what you can get right next door at Trails' End.

In fact, I got a whole bucket of it the night before with two sides and corn bread for $24 and change. That fed us fine. Tonight I was paying ten times that amount. But, I forced myself not to think about that.

Just as we began dining, we were paid a visit by the impostor himself:

I've got to tell you something.

As much as I did not want to like this guy, he was actually very personable. And funny. He was just so different an actor from the real Six Bits that it was hard for me to get used to him. The old Six Bits undenialbly was the focus of the whole show. This new guy is way more low key. He is the comic relief, but he does not overshadow the rest of the cast. Much to my surprise, it worked.

I still miss Ben, but this new guy is OK.

As we ate, the cast prepared to continue with the show.

Being in the back, we had some of the cast hanging out around our table.

Here are Claire and Johnny:

Right after they saw my DD take that photo, they signalled her to take another, so she did:

It was right after this that they asked who was celebrating a birthday.

Claire came right over and announced mine first:

You can probably tell from this photo that Claire was in to me.

I had to tell her to back off, as Mrs. TCD was sitting right there.

Mrs. TCD was OK with that.

As you can imagine, that type of thing happens all the time.

After we got the birthdays and anniversaries out of the way, it was time for some napkin waving.

Every Hoop Dee Doo requires some napkin waving:

Then, it was time to break out the washboards:

This is where I noticed that I had been spelling Revue wrong all this time.

Silly me.

I thought it was the Hoop Dee Doo Review.

It's the Hoop Dee Doo Revue. It says so right on the washboard. And on everything else.

I stand corrected.

The cast went through some more singing, and then ended with a big finale:

Here is the cast taking their bows:

Check out Six Bits without his hat:

As I said, I liked this guy, but it's just wrong!

Here's the birthday boy with Mrs. TCD:

Here I am sporting my Mater hat. We were all supposed to wear these, but a couple of the girls objected:

OK, they all objected.

So, I was the only one to wear the Mater hat. And, I was asked to wait until the end of the evening before putting it on.

We finished up with dinner at about 11:15.

It was time to head back to the site, and for me to go and spring Rocky.

Which is what I did next.

Next up, we will see Rocky on the Best Friends Dog Park.

Oh Boy!

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

TCD,

Do you know of any shuttles from the Fort to the Kennel?

I.e. on our next trip we plan to take Savannah, but will only have our motorhome as our transportation. I would prefer not to have to break camp to take her to the kennel if we decide to.

As far as I know, there is no transportation.

And, that is a big problem.

That was one of the strongest objections that I heard when they first announced that they would be closing the Fort's kennel.

And, true to form, the Disney bean counters ignored those objections.

It is really too far to walk now, and you can't drive a golf cart there.

S70 has offered to start a dog babysitting service. Maybe she could help you out.

TCD

[Lou... 3,118]

That's the first time I've seen Mrs. TCD.

Looks like you married up Andrew.

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

I think the littl girl in this picture shows that, for her at least, it was worthh the money. :D

Thanks for singing while you typed it - it really helped me feel like I was there.

[Heidi-meetsTCD@TSM 5]

TCD,

Loved reading about your night at the Hoop De Doo. I have been twice, once when I was 15 and a second time when I was 16. (I am now 44, so its been a LONG time!!!) We always talk about going again, but the pricetag always takes my breath away!!!!! Its funny how it hasnt seemed to change much over the years. I remember twirling my napkin and hitting a spoon on the washboard.......good times!!!

Can't wait to read more!

Heidi