TCD's Halloween 2011 Trip Report

[michele j 9]

Love your trip reports

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

do I hear the Jeopardy music playing......

[stefa70 205]

Ok, my chores are done, whenever you're ready!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

:jumpforjoy Hooray, an update! I have not been on the haunted carriage ride, but I do like that stage coach. Maybe I will just skip the ride and stalk the headless horseman behind the trading post. Judy is feisty? That, my friend, is an understatement!!

It is one of our Halloween traditions to stalk the Headless Horseman behind the Settlement Trading post. This little secret has gotten around, and there was a small crowd gathered there behind Feisty's site when we visited on Sunday night. This is all subject to change once they break ground on the new pavilion.

Great pictures, Andrew. I don't know how much of a problem EAB are in Florida but they have been pretty devastating here. They have a hefty fine levied for anyone caught transporting firewood. Why the trap was in an Oak tree baffles me though. I agree Fiesty really lives up to her name :rofl:

I am no tree expert, but I'm not sure that there any ash trees in the Fort. Maybe the EAB's bother other trees, too.

Agreed on Fiesty. She absolutely lives up to her name!

One of the things I am most looking forward to on our upcoming visit is meeting Fiesty. You have told me about her, and we actually are now connected on FB. But I have never met her in person.

I hope that you do get a chance to meet her.

Have you ever been to "Nawlins?" I've been a few times. The people are different there. In a good way.

In my book, Fiesty is the personification of all that is good about New Orleans and Louisiana. She is a total hoot. She speaks her mind, and does so very colorfully.

You'll see.

I guarantee she will have you in stitches!

Love your trip reports

Thanks! I appreciate you saying that and reading along!

do I hear the Jeopardy music playing......

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I hear it too.

Ok, my chores are done, whenever you're ready!

Sorry again. I am working on the next installment. It shouldn't be much longer!

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Moving along with our report . . .

We left off early on Sunday morning looking at Fiesty' great decorations. But it was time for coffee.

So, next stop, Trail's End.

I love the peacefulness of the Settlement area at sunrise:

The next time I see this area, I expect that there will be poinsettias and perhaps a giant Christmas tree on display in that little fenced in area. I can't wait!

Next stop, of course, is the required visit to the old River Country entrance area. There is nothing new to report or share about that.

But, I did see some new things around the pavilion.

Specifically, they had decorated it for Halloween. This was Sunday morning. I know that they were offering a special Halloween version of the Backyard BBQ for Monday evening. It looks like they decorated early for this, so maybe they were doing the Halloween version all weekend.

They haven't decorated the pavilion for Halloween before.

These big skulls were interesting to me. I can't imagine that they were purchased for this event, so they must be left over from some other Disney attraction. Something about them suggests Animal Kingdom to me. Plus, to me they look like they are ape skull, not human. My best guess is that maybe they were props from the old AK Tarzan show, or maybe even the Lion King show, but I don't know:

They also had special decorations up around the stage area in the pavilion.

Here's a coffin:

And another (note that both coffins are occupied)-

Here are a couple of shots of the stage:

And another look at one of the coffins:

I was kind of surprised about the "spookiness" of these decorations- I thought it to be a little too far on the macabre side for the young children that they target for this event. It seemed a little un-Disney like to me. But, then again, I guess there are a lot of skeletons and such on the Pirates ride in the Magic Kingdom.

Outside of the pavilion, they had a nice little display with a scarecrow:

They even included the classic crow on the shoulder (those jokesters!) :

That's really clever and original, isn't it?

There was another crow on the pumpkin:

Just over a bit, they had a couple of gravestones and pumpkins set up:

Here we are looking in to the pavilion. Have you ever wondered how many tables are in there? I found out later during this visit. You see, I returned here on Tuesday morning just to see how things looked after Halloween. I ended up meeting an old friend here, who many of you will recognize from some earlier TCD trip reports. But we will get to that story at the appropriate time:

Here's a not very good shot of the weather vane. I got a better shot of it later, so don't worry:

There were some more props, including a fence, gravestones and a spiderweb set up by where Pop's Place used to be:

So, that was all mildly interesting.

But, it was time for more coffee.

Which means back we go to Trail's End.

It was probably getting to be 8 am, so folks were starting to show up.

But, the path into the Settlement was still empty:

I love this path.

But I don't love how crowded and congested it has become.

When I stopped by for the next cup of coffee, I admired the take-out items offered.

This breakfast sandwich is a new offering:

The biscuits and gravy came along this year:

As did the cinnamon rolls in this form:

If you follow TCD trip reports, you will remember that the breakfast sandwich was just recently added to the take-out menu, and that I vowed to consume one as soon as I had the chance.

Well, I had a chance today. So I took it. I ordered one.

While I was waiting, I ran in to a couple of Fiends.

First, PirateJeff stopped by for coffee.

Then Judy, MLM5 (something like that) and her crew.

It is always fun to run into Fiends.

Judy had a FF.net t-shirt on. I had not met her yet, but I said hello, and she recognized me. We had a brief chat, and I got to meet her DH. Great folks, and a very nice family. It was good to meet you Judy!

It was a beautiful morning, so I grabbed one of the picnic tables there on the porch to enjoy my sandwich. I even had the presence of mind to take a photo, because I'm sure there are some who would like to know how it looked. Well, it looked like this:

And, I'm happy to report that it was delicious!

I will be eating another the next chance I get.

Pricey? Yes.

But not too bad by Disney standards.

Next up, I return to camp.

And find that Nicholas has begun his day.

I will be asked to watch him again while my sister hit the shower. For the sake of Nicholas' remaining 9 fingers, I decided to take him away from the camper for a little adventure. We will take a look at that next.

Oh yes- one more thing- I think that I saw Lug on the way back to camp, and we had a little chat there by the 800 loop bus stop.

TCD

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

a Food post.... now I'm hungry. That sandwich looks yum...

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

Thanks for the update, Andrew. Now maybe Stef will quit whining. :rofl2:

Great pictures as always. The breakfast sandwich does look good but what is in the little cup next to it?

[stefa70 205]

Since I didn't make it down to the pavilion this trip, I'm glad you got some pictures of the Halloween decorations. I have to say they are very brave leaving that milk can on the stage. There are some people who would love to have one, and they are hard to come by.

I am also with you on the path! :heart: One of my favorite areas, but since the pole placement near Judy's site, it's become more of a highway.

The breakfast sandwich really looks great! I'm not a big breakfast fan, but I would rather waste my money on something like this, than the whole buffet.

Excited to hear about the adventures with Nicholas. What a lucky kid getting to spend time with Uncle TCD. Do you have any nieces? Would you like one?

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

a Food post.... now I'm hungry. That sandwich looks yum...

It was yum.

And now that you mention it, I'm hungry too.

I wish I had one of those sandwiches now.

Thanks for the update, Andrew. Now maybe Stef will quit whining. :rofl2:

Great pictures as always. The breakfast sandwich does look good but what is in the little cup next to it?

Thanks.

And to keep Stef quiet, I am going to post another update in just a bit.

The cup next to the sandwich is an order of breakfast potatoes. You can chose those or fruit with your sandwich. I was expecting the potatoes to be like the ones they have on the buffet at Trail's End and at most of the Disney counter service places- little squares of potatoes. These were the shredded variety. I'll tell you what though, they were really good!

Since I didn't make it down to the pavilion this trip, I'm glad you got some pictures of the Halloween decorations. I have to say they are very brave leaving that milk can on the stage. There are some people who would love to have one, and they are hard to come by.

I am also with you on the path! :heart: One of my favorite areas, but since the pole placement near Judy's site, it's become more of a highway.

The breakfast sandwich really looks great! I'm not a big breakfast fan, but I would rather waste my money on something like this, than the whole buffet.

Excited to hear about the adventures with Nicholas. What a lucky kid getting to spend time with Uncle TCD. Do you have any nieces? Would you like one?

Let's see- I think I have 6 nieces and 4 nephews. And, I am the fun uncle for sure! All the rest of them are teenagers or older. Nicholas is the baby by far. And even though I have plenty of nieces, I'd be happy to have another. Who do you have in mind?

TCD

[stefa70 205]

And to keep Stef quiet, I am going to post another update in just a bit.

TCD

Ok, I promise to be quiet.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Ok, I promise to be quiet.

Oh come on!

I don't like it when you're quiet.

TCD

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I seem to remember commenting on a previous trip report that I would like to get one of those sandwiches and sit on the porch enjoying it while people watching. And now that you tell me the sandwich was tasty, I definitely need to do this!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I am going to press on with another update.

I still have a lot of ground to cover in this report, and I need to get it finished before Thanksgiving week gets here.

So, it's Sunday morning.

I arrived back at camp to find Nicholas and my sister up.

I told my sister I would watch Nicholas so she could go and get a shower.

In addition to jumping in puddles, Nicholas also enjoyed the 900 loop tetherball court. Not for playing tetherball mind you, but because he loved digging in the sand. There were a couple of boys around Nicholas' age staying two sites down, and they had all particiapted in an excavation project in the tetherball court the day before. But, that ended badly. There was some sand throwing and some toy grabbing. The toys belonged to the boys. Nicholas didn't think they were doing a good job sharing. And by that he meant that they were supposed to hand over the toys when he asked for them. He has what my sister diagnosed as only child syndrome. I tell you all of this to set the stage for the first two photos in this installment.

When Nicholas came out of the camper, I asked him if he would like to go on a golf cart ride. I told him we could go and look at some old train tracks and look for railroad spikes. Nicholas likes trains, so he thought this sounded great. I gave him a spike to he knew what to look for, and we headed out to the cart. First, though, Nicholas thought it would be good to go and dig in the tetherball court before the boys from down the loop horned in on his territory. Just as we got out there, as if on cue, the two boys ran over to the tetherball court and commenced digging.

Nicholas grabbed his spike and stick, and showed me his angry face:

Those other boys were a bit older and bigger than Nicholas, but after I saw that angry face, I decided that Nicholas shouldn't go over to the tetherball court, because someone was going to get hurt, and it wasn't going to be Nicholas. I told Nicholas that I knew where another tetherball court was, and that it was better than this one anyway. He decided to spare the boys from the whoopin' that they otherwise would have received, and to go off with me on the cart.

Crisis diverted.

When I got on the cart, I noticed that someone had placed a sticker on my windshield:

What the Fort is Paw Parazzi?

How did that sticker get there?

I'll just go ahead and tell you that this little mystery was solved later in the day when I saw PirateJeff again. He told me that he put the sticker on my windshield that morning at Trail's End. I just now noticed it. Some powers of observation I have. Jeff said he got the sticker at the pet parade from someone taking photos. Maybe it's a website? I don't know I haven't looked. And I don't intend to. I still don't know why Jeff stuck it on my windshield.

Anyway, we headed out on our adventure, and looped around the 900 loop. These folks were about half-way around the loop. Someone on this site is handy with a saw and paint:

I am guessing the folks directly across the loop from them were with them:

I guess these folks must have thought there was a candy corn division in the site decorating contest. But there wasn't. I think there should have been. You can't deny that they had the most candy corn.

I took Nicholas over to the 700 loop to show him some of the old tracks that you can see by the pet walk area:

You can follow the old ties here until they disappear into the brush:

If you walk around some of the thick brush that covers the old tracks, you can follow the tracks some more on the other side:

The tracks are a bit obscured by vines and stuff back here, but you can still follow them. Here's Nicholas, with spike in hand, looking for more spikes:

The path continues on through the trees:

But Nicholas got bored of this pretty quickly. He didn't care about finding more spikes. He already had one, and he wanted to see that tetherball court I had mentioned to him.

So, we loaded back on the cart, and headed around the 700 loop. There were a couple of Fiends staying on the 700 loop, but we didn't see them out and about.

I don't know who's site this is, but these folks had impeccable taste in site decorations:

We headed over to the 300 loop playground. There's a tetherball court there.

We played on the playground for a little while.

This large boxer walked by. It looked a lot like the last boxer we had, so I got a couple photos:

There were some girls playing volleyball with the tetherball, which I thought might make for an interesting photo. Notice how I got a bit of the fall leaf thing going in the photo too:

It is a sad and annoying fact that the tetherballs are often separated from their tethers around the Fort. Rotten kids.

But, the lack of a ball was no problem at all for Nicholas, he just likes to play in the sand:

I almost had to physically drag Nicholas out of that sand. He just did not want to leave. I had to trick him by suggesting that he would have more fun back at the 900 loop because the boys probably were gone and their toys would be available.

As soon as we got back to the 900 loop, Nicholas went right to the tetherball court. No sooner had he started digging, and the boys were back. Fortunately, everybody kept their hands off of each other, and played nice:

It wasn't long after this that the twins dragged themselves out of bed, and had a light breakfast there at the site. My sister had already planned to be on the road by 11, so they kids spent a bit of time together, and then Nicholas and my sister took off.

It was now just TCD and the twins.

That's how we like it best.

The plan for the afternoon was to head over to the MK for lunch and then see what happened.

The girls headed off to the shower.

I walked over to the Meadow Trading Post and got another cup of coffee and enjoyed one of the rocking chairs on the front porch. I liked how I could see my site from there:

That's the 900/1000 loop bus stop there:

It was just a beautiful morning!:

I noticed a worker pull into our loop, so, naturally, I had to investigate. Notice how he's digging, and has a big post and sign there on his cart:

After he had dug for just a bit he stopped. And he got on his radio. And he sat. And sat. And then sat some more. A manager type came by, and they had a long discussion, and then the guy sat some more. Finally I had to ask him what was going on. It turns out he was just trying to install a one-way sign. Somebody had taken out the last one. But, when he dug where he thought he was supposed to, he exposed some type of junction box. He had to wait for someone to come and tell him where to dig.

The poor guy sat there for a good hour. He was still there when we took off, so I don't know how long he was there, but he was gone, and he new sign in place when we got back a few hours later.

Next up, we will head over to the MK.

I saw something new there that I had not heard anything about. And I have a photo of it for you.

TCD

[stefa70 205]

Ok, I tried to be quiet, but like a lot of other things in life, it required too much self-control.

Nicholas scares me a little bit now. I couldn't help but think of Damian from The Omen when I saw his angry face. Add to that, the fact that he is holding a stick, a rusty spike, and is probably almost the same size as me, I'm frightened!

As an only child, I can tell you, it is not a syndrome. It's just called "What's mine is mine, and what's yours is mine!"

I also took a picture of that candy corn. When I told the nice gentleman what a nice job he did with them, he told me "they're for sale too." I smiled, nodded and drove on. Anything to make a buck, I guess. Of course, just like the detailers, and golf cart renters, next Halloween there will be 2 or 3 wooden candy corn retailers. And on & on until fort mgt. shuts them all down. I just hope he did well this year.

The view from the rocking porch was nice! ^-^

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I seem to remember commenting on a previous trip report that I would like to get one of those sandwiches and sit on the porch enjoying it while people watching. And now that you tell me the sandwich was tasty, I definitely need to do this!

Yes, Dave, you did.

And, I have to say that eating it on the porch made it more delicious.

I hope that you get to enjoy one of these very soon!

Ok, I tried to be quiet, but like a lot of other things in life, it required too much self-control.

Nicholas scares me a little bit now. I couldn't help but think of Damian from The Omen when I saw his angry face. Add to that, the fact that he is holding a stick, a rusty spike, and is probably almost the same size as me, I'm frightened!

As an only child, I can tell you, it is not a syndrome. It's just called "What's mine is mine, and what's yours is mine!"

I also took a picture of that candy corn. When I told the nice gentleman what a nice job he did with them, he told me "they're for sale too." I smiled, nodded and drove on. Anything to make a buck, I guess. Of course, just like the detailers, and golf cart renters, next Halloween there will be 2 or 3 wooden candy corn retailers. And on & on until fort mgt. shuts them all down. I just hope he did well this year.

The view from the rocking porch was nice! ^-^

1. Nicholas is a little scary. But, as far as I know, he is not possessed.

2. I can't believe that guy was trying to sell the candy corn. I saw him packing up, and I would say he didn't sell very many. Fail.

3. Please don't ever feel obligated to keep quiet.

TCD

[lucy_love 1]

2. I can't believe that guy was trying to sell the candy corn. I saw him packing up, and I would say he didn't sell very many. Fail.

TCD

I did notice earlier in the weekend they had a "for sale" sign up for the decorations. I wonder if the Fort told them to take the sign down? I did not bother to find out prices.

My mom and I laughed because we makes bows and headbands, and have a ton of Disney ones (shameless plug: find us on facebook- Lucy Lu Accessories http://www.facebook....282745028412276) :-\ . She said next time she is going to set up shop at our site and sell bows haha. She even has special Minnie Halloween and Christmas bows that would have been a huge hit. Kidding of course, she is really not going to set up shop.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I did notice earlier in the weekend they had a "for sale" sign up for the decorations. I wonder if the Fort told them to take the sign down? I did not bother to find out prices.

My mom and I laughed because we makes bows and headbands, and have a ton of Disney ones (shameless plug: find us on facebook- Lucy Lu Accessories http://www.facebook....282745028412276) :-\ . She said next time she is going to set up shop at our site and sell bows haha. She even has special Minnie Halloween and Christmas bows that would have been a huge hit. Kidding of course, she is really not going to set up shop.

I never saw the sign, and we passed by that site many times.

The folks on it seemed nice enough.

I guess you can't blame the guy for trying to make a buck, but I'm glad that they made him take down the sign.

Good job on the shameless plug. You made me look. My girls like Hello Kitty. They used to wear bows, but now so much any more. I'll mention it to them, though.

I see your mom will be at Christmas Under the Oaks this weekend. Mrs. TCD used to go to that all the time back when it was on SPJC's campus. I guess now they do it at Coachman Park. It should be beautiful there by the water this weekend.

TCD

[stefa70 205]

1. Nicholas is a little scary. But, as far as I know, he is not possessed.

2. I can't believe that guy was trying to sell the candy corn. I saw him packing up, and I would say he didn't sell very many. Fail.

3. Please don't ever feel obligated to keep quiet.

TCD

1. :whew:

2. See next quote!

3. I'v been told my whole life to be quiet, and it hasn't worked yet. But I will try not to be a pest.

I did notice earlier in the weekend they had a "for sale" sign up for the decorations. I wonder if the Fort told them to take the sign down? I did not bother to find out prices.

Gee, I must have caught him post fort crackdown, because I didn't see any sign. Instead he resorted to carnival style "barking."

"get yer wooden candy corn here!"

[Pirate Jeff 9]

The paw-parazzi stickers were handed out by Disney at the dog parade to most of the photographers. kind of like the poperazzi that chases around the hollywood stars.

This site is Doris,Donna and Chrissy's They are from my home town in NC (Hudson) Chrissy is UF student

[lucy_love 1]

I never saw the sign, and we passed by that site many times.

The folks on it seemed nice enough.

I guess you can't blame the guy for trying to make a buck, but I'm glad that they made him take down the sign.

Good job on the shameless plug. You made me look. My girls like Hello Kitty. They used to wear bows, but now so much any more. I'll mention it to them, though.

I see your mom will be at Christmas Under the Oaks this weekend. Mrs. TCD used to go to that all the time back when it was on SPJC's campus. I guess now they do it at Coachman Park. It should be beautiful there by the water this weekend.

TCD

I want to say we saw the sign Thursday or Friday, if it was Friday it was in the earlier part of the day.

Yep she will be at Under the Oaks. She was at Mt. Dora and Fiesta in the Park in Orlando and did great! This is our first season of shows, before we only sold college accessories and it kinda grew into all bows. Thanks for checking it out :jumpforjoy

1. :whew:

Gee, I must have caught him post fort crackdown, because I didn't see any sign. Instead he resorted to carnival style "barking."

"get yer wooden candy corn here!"

We never saw the people so can not confirm the carnival barking

we saw the sign either Thursday or Friday (earlier part of the day)... it wasn't big and it was low on the ground.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

1. you gave a child a spike when his arch enemies were within reach?

2. sad that you couldn't turn him into the "Spike Expert Finder" (I am practicing my pie making skills)

3. did you leave the sticker on the windshield

4. two updates in one day.... impressive

5. waiting to see what trouble you three got into.....

6..... hmmm... got nothing left

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

This site is Doris,Donna and Chrissy's They are from my home town in NC (Hudson) Chrissy is UF student

Good job, Jeff!

You sure have gotten to know a lot of the 700 loop regulars.

How about the guy with the Minnie cart? He was just a couple of sites down from you. Did you meet him?

I want to say we saw the sign Thursday or Friday, if it was Friday it was in the earlier part of the day.

We never saw the people so can not confirm the carnival barking

we saw the sign either Thursday or Friday (earlier part of the day)... it wasn't big and it was low on the ground.

I'm sorry I missed it.

My trip would have been so much better if I had been able to purchase some wooden candy corn.

1. you gave a child a spike when his arch enemies were within reach?

2. sad that you couldn't turn him into the "Spike Expert Finder" (I am practicing my pie making skills)

3. did you leave the sticker on the windshield

4. two updates in one day.... impressive

5. waiting to see what trouble you three got into.....

6..... hmmm... got nothing left

1. You're right, what was I thinking? Well, I was thinking that maybe I would see a good fight. But, I know my sister would have been against it.

2. Don't worry- you will get your spike. If you ever make it to the Fort.

3. No. I took it off before I found out where it came from. I thought it was from some subversive group or something.

4. You are easily impressed.

5. We never get in trouble. But later in our trip we received a personal visit from a Fort Ranger.

6. You got nothing left? I guess that means it's time for an update!

TCD

[Pirate Jeff 9]

Good job, Jeff!

You sure have gotten to know a lot of the 700 loop regulars.

How about the guy with the Minnie cart? He was just a couple of sites down from you. Did you meet him?

I'm sorry I missed it.TCD

He wasn't very talkative. I think he had family visiting him and was out a lot

[stefa70 205]

Hmmm, no update yet?

I suggest getting this one finished up, as I know what you did this weekend. (Nothing gets past me, ya know )

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

OK- Let's get this thing cranked back up. We are only about half-way through, and I have to get this one wrapped up by the end of the week.

We left off with Nicholas and my sister taking off on Sunday morning. It was a lot of fun having them visit. Four is a fun age. It is great to see a youngster enjoying the Fort.

We had yet to make it over to the Magic Kingdom on this trip, and we all agreed it was time for that to change. So, the girls got fixed up, and we headed down to the marina. Here are a couple of true Fiends: We headed down to the marina via the 600 and 700 loops. I like looping these two loops because the entrance to the 700 loop is directly across from the exit for the 600 loop. I snapped this photo on the 600 loop because I liked the little boxer dressed in the pirate costume: This year, my mother gave us a gift for Halloween which was this same dog dressed in a boxer costume (with a robe and boxing gloves in his mouth). She found it at Cracker Barrel of all places. Has anyone seen any other versions of this statue, or know where they can be purchased? As we drove down the path to the marina, we had to pull over to make room for this guy: It used to be pretty clear that you aren't allowed to drive motorcycles down to the marina. I guess maybe the signs aren't as clear any more?

The MK boat pulled up just as we walked up the dock. Sweet! It was a beautiful late morning, so we sat in the back. That gave me a great view of the flag: This may not seem significant to you, but this flag is new. The boats all used to have American flags with 48 stars. Now they have these nautical versions of the American flag. These flags are now on all of the boats. They weren't in use when we visited just a month earlier.

I could see that this resort boat had the nautical American flag on it, but you can't see it very clearly in this photo: We headed right toward the shoe tree on our way to the Magic Kingdom: Again, this may not look like anything significant to you, but there are a lot more shoes on the shoe tree these days. Here's a zoom on that last photo. You can see several pairs hanging in the top branches. You can also see the tetherball that was previously photographed and reported on by CKCJ at the very lower left of this photo: The sun was shining brightly, which made it easy to see the rotting remains of River Country along the shore of the lake: The sun also made the roof of this old building on Discovery Island really stand out: Since we passed right by it, I had to take a photo of the old shipwreck. Look how it is continuing to disappear into the jungle:

I love all of the trees, water and blue sky that you see on the way from the Fort to the Magic Kingdom!: This is a look back toward the Fort marina from the boat: There's another of the MK boats heading toward the Fort. It also has the new flag. I have to say the boat service was excellent for this visit. Remember that we had just left the dock, and you can see that another boat was already on the way. It isn't always like that: I'm not sure if you can see them very well in this photo, but the flags on the MK ferry were also the new nautical ones: There was once a time that I thought I would get to the point in writing trip reports where I would have nothing new to say. But, so far, that has never been the case, and now I have come to believe that it never will be. There is always something new at Disney World. Most of the time, it's just small things, but I have to give credit to the management for always striving to improve. We have already seen one new thing in just this installment- the new flags on all of the boats. Now, we will take a look at something small, but new in the Magic Kingdom.

We were planning to eat lunch in the MK. We always have a tentative plan. Today the plan was to try either the Taco place by the Pirates ride or the Columbia Harvest House. Believe it or not, we have never eaten at the Taco place. It used to have very inconsistent hours. But, lately it has been open more consistently. We have been to Columbia Harvest House many times, but there was a new item on the menu that I wanted to try. We still had not settled on a choice when we arrived at the MK. Then we came across something at the Sleepy Hollow Refreshment stand that made us reconsider our two possible choices. It was this:

They were selling waffle sandwiches here.

Here's a zoom on the menu that was posted there on the table:

You can also see what the sandwiches look like.

That sweet and spicy chicken sandwich sounded kind of good.

Plus, the TCD girls are huge Nutella fans. That is kind of a new development. The oldest TCD DD discovered Nutella during her first year of college. Apparently, it is very popular among the college crowd.

And as long as we are looking at that photo, I have to ask, what is up with Disney World and Aruguala? What is Arugula, you ask? I'll tell you- its that green stuff that looks like a weed you pull from your lawn there on the sandwiches. Disney loves this stuff. They must have their own Arugula farm, because they put it on everything. I am not anti-vegetable, but what's wrong with some nice iceberg lettuce? Who wants to eat weeds?

We had a lively argument discussion right there about lunch. Since we were hungry, and it was close, we all settled on Columbia Harvest House. That spicy chicken waffle sandwich will have to wait. But, I will get back there soon.

We had a great meal at the Columbia Harvest House. I got to try the new item that they recently added to their menu- the lobster roll. It was very good, and I will be sure to visit there again. We also split a bowl of the clam chowder. That is good too.

After lunch, we hit the Haunted Mansion since it was almost Halloween, and then we headed over to Big Thunder. The line was out of the building, which usually means a good 20-30 minute wait. The Fastpass machine is right there, and was offering a return time which was less than an hour away. So, I suggested that we get Fastpasses, and then ride the train around the park for the complete circuit, and then just come back and use the Fastpass line. Everyone liked that plan. Sot that is exactly what we did.

Whenever we ride BTMRR, we call out things that we see. I don't know how that got started, but that's what we do. So, if you ride with us, you might hear someone scream "bats!" in the cave, or "possum!" or "goat!" as we ride the tracks. One of the rarer things that we look for is the guy in the bathtub. What he's doing there, I haven't a clue, but we always look for him. He's hard to see when you are on the ride, but he's really easy to see from the train. Here he is:

And, here are a couple of hogs:

As you probably know, the Toontown Train Station is currently closed for the Fantasyland construction project. They have a big wall there to bock guests from seeing the construction:

Just past the old Toontown stop, some of the fabric on the fence had slipped, and we could see into the construction area. I am not sure what the building on the left is for, but I think it may be for the Goofy roller coaster:

From this same spot, looking back toward the old Toontown, you can see the train station on the right, and the frame of the old tent-like building on the left. You can see that the covering is gone, and the metal frame is exposed:

I am guessing that this tent-like building is going to be used in the new area, as it is circus themed.

Here are a couple more shots. I really couldn't tell much from what I saw here. The project obviously has a long way to go:

I guess since we didn't have to drop off or pick up passengers at Toontown, we made it to the Main Street Station a lot sooner than we had anticipated. It looked like we would have about 20 minutes to wait for our Fastpass return time when we got back to Frontierland. So, we changed plans. We decided to head back to the Fort. We were already planning another visit to the MK on this trip, and our main purpose for this visit was to eat lunch. So, we left the train here, and headed down to the dock.

Our boat was on its way as we arrived at the dock. You can see the Wilderness Lodge and MK Ferry docked in this photo, and the Fort boat is approaching. All of these boats had those new flags:

We enjoyed a nice ride back to the Fort.

Next up . . .

We chill at the site.

And, we will get a good look at the afternoon's big event- the pumpkin carving contest.

TCD