TCD is Thankful for Thanksgiving at the Fort Trip Report

[Heidi-meetsTCD@TSM 5]

I have not done a free dining trip yet, but man am I tempted.

More and more it seems like that danged Dining Plan is the whole focus of WDW management.

Devil's Tower- that's the one the aliens landed on in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, right?

Heidi- I'm sorry that you miss the Fort (I think that's what you are trying to say). But, I hope this report will help.

Stay tuned for a lot more decoration photos.

And, Jeannie got that Mickey from the castmember store that they have at WDW (I always hear people call it Property Control). It is an old prop from somewhere, and it is one of her prized possessions.

TCD

TCD,

I highly reccomend the free dining plan, especially if you can get a good price on a room. I just checked back on my notes from our August 2010 trip. We stayed at the All Star Music for $84.60 a night. There were four of us. We stayed for 11 nights and received 88 free counter service meals and 88 snacks. I kept track of every meal/snack. In the end we ate our way through $1,617.92 worth of free food!!!!!! I've seen debates on other boards that free dining isnt really "free", that you pay more for your room etc. Well in our case, free dining is certainly FREE and makes for a pretty inexpensive vacation. Its true that you have to buy the 2-day park ticket. For somone like yourself who always has an annual pass, that could really make the free dining not as "free", but for us we eventually use the tickets we have to buy. In fact we had annual passes ourselves in 2010, so we didnt use the 2-day tickets, but when we went this last August, I upgraded them to nine day tickets and used them. For us the free dining has been really fun, hope you get to try it someday.

Yes, Devils Tower was in the Close Encounters movie! Your the first person that I have mentioned Devils Tower to that has actually heard of the place. I had never even seen that movie until after our trip out west.

You have solved the "mystery" for our family on where that Mickey came from. If it was mine it would be one of my prized possessions too!

Heidi

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Brent's picture of a nearly empty HDDR makes me sad somehow. And I'm wondering if I should suck it up and try to get back to it once more while I still can.

I don't think the HDDR will disappear. Maybe someone will think of dropping the price (duh!) and you will get a crack at going.

I also know there are Fiends who have some type of wizard powers on figuring out how to get a deal on the HDDR. I think TiggerInBama knows some tricks. I am going to ask her about this the next time I see her.

I would love to see photos of your gang at the HDDR!

Neat! My thesis focused on the assimilation efforts (through education) and the Carlisle Indian School. I first got interested in Native American studies after learning about the Trail of Tears on my own... it makes me sad that this is not taught in all school districts and most Americans do not know about the extreme assimilation many Native American children and adults went through. I would love to teach on or near a reserve for a year or two!

Whoa!

That is cool.

I hopet that you get to do this. I think the history of the treatment of the Native Americans by our forefathers is shameful.

I was so hoping you or the girls tried the nutella & fruit waffle! I'll admit that I drooled a little when Monique posted the picture on the dining thread. I guess I will have to make the sacrifice and eat one for the FF team. (For review purposes only)

The nature Mickey is amazing!! I've seen tons of the pine cone ones, but that is original, for sure!

I wanted to whistle, cheer and do some catcalling at the male model on your boat, but I don't want people to think I'm some kind of pervert.

The girls like nutella, so I thought they would go for it too.

But, I think we all wanted to be inside during the rain, and we have all wanted to try that Mexican place for a long time.

We will get one of those waffle sandwiches one of these days!

TCD,

I highly reccomend the free dining plan, especially if you can get a good price on a room. I just checked back on my notes from our August 2010 trip. We stayed at the All Star Music for $84.60 a night. There were four of us. We stayed for 11 nights and received 88 free counter service meals and 88 snacks. I kept track of every meal/snack. In the end we ate our way through $1,617.92 worth of free food!!!!!! I've seen debates on other boards that free dining isnt really "free", that you pay more for your room etc. Well in our case, free dining is certainly FREE and makes for a pretty inexpensive vacation. Its true that you have to buy the 2-day park ticket. For somone like yourself who always has an annual pass, that could really make the free dining not as "free", but for us we eventually use the tickets we have to buy. In fact we had annual passes ourselves in 2010, so we didnt use the 2-day tickets, but when we went this last August, I upgraded them to nine day tickets and used them. For us the free dining has been really fun, hope you get to try it someday.

Yes, Devils Tower was in the Close Encounters movie! Your the first person that I have mentioned Devils Tower to that has actually heard of the place. I had never even seen that movie until after our trip out west.

You have solved the "mystery" for our family on where that Mickey came from. If it was mine it would be one of my prized possessions too!

Heidi

Thanks for the free dining info.

I have talked to several folks about it, and I know with proper planning it can be a heck of a deal.

It's the proper planning part that always gets me stuck. I really don't want to create a spreadsheet dictating how I will spend my vacation.

Plus I have a hard time getting excited about staying in a hotel as opposed to the Fort.

Sure, I've heard of Devil's Tower. In fact, I knew about it before the Close Encounters movie. I have never seen it, or a lot of other stuff. But I can tell you anything you want to know about the Fort and WDW!

Poor Jeannie actually has that Mickey chained to a tree. I would hope nobody would ever stoop so low as to steal it, but you know how things are these days.

TCD

[Heidi-meetsTCD@TSM 5]

Thanks for the free dining info.

I have talked to several folks about it, and I know with proper planning it can be a heck of a deal.

It's the proper planning part that always gets me stuck. I really don't want to create a spreadsheet dictating how I will spend my vacation.

Plus I have a hard time getting excited about staying in a hotel as opposed to the Fort.

Sure, I've heard of Devil's Tower. In fact, I knew about it before the Close Encounters movie. I have never seen it, or a lot of other stuff. But I can tell you anything you want to know about the Fort and WDW!

Poor Jeannie actually has that Mickey chained to a tree. I would hope nobody would ever stoop so low as to steal it, but you know how things are these days.

TCD

I just have to say that there was no spreadsheet necessary for the free dining we had in 2010 while staying at the All Star Music. By staying at the values you received counter service, not sit down meals, therefore no planning at all, just eat when and where you want. We have had the sit down plan twice, and your right, that did indeed take some planning. We were actaully happy when the free dining at the values changed to the two counter service a day, as well as the two snacks a day.

Your right though, staying at a hotel isnt as much fun as the fort, not nearly as much fun. However, for a variety of reason, we cant stay at the fort every trip, so on those trips, when free dining is offered its pretty cool.

Too sad that Jeannie has to chain her Mickey to a tree............sad but true that the fort isnt immune from the "bad" folk. I know years ago we had some stuff stolen from our site. It was weird stuff to steal too, a small cooler, both of my boys jackets, and a backpack. I've always wondered what kind of person would do that.

Anyway, have a great weekend, looking forward to another update next week.

Heidi

[parrothead7368 aka Norm 101]

.

The Virginia Tech Hokie!:

I guess a Hokie is a turkey?

Nice fearsome mascot!

Gobble! Gobble!

Actually Hokie was a made up word that as used in their spirit yell/fight song back in the 1800's

Hoki, Hoki, Hoki, Hy.

Techs, Techs, V.P.I.

Sola-Rex, Sola-Rah.

Polytechs - Vir-gin-ia.

Rae, Ri, V.P.I.

Later, the phrase "Team! Team! Team!" was added at the end, and an "e" was added to "Hoki."

They were originally called the "Fighting Gobblers" and they combined the two and you have today's mascot.

Best Regards,

Norm

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Well, I am bummed about the food at Tortuga Tavern. Doesn't sound like it's as good as it was before they changed the name...sorry. I am hoping to hear about those sandwiches now...

I love your castle pics.

[LONE-STAR 370]

Well, I am bummed about the food at Tortuga Tavern. Doesn't sound like it's as good as it was before they changed the name...sorry. I am hoping to hear about those sandwiches now...

I love your castle pics.

We ate there it was still a nice change from a burger. We actually ate there twice so we tried everything the nachos were our least favorite. I liked the chicken burrito the best my DW liked the taco salad.

[Brent... Just Brent 83]

Brent's picture of a nearly empty HDDR makes me sad somehow. And I'm wondering if I should suck it up and try to get back to it once more while I still can.

I don't think it's going anywhere anytime soon, but I'm no expert. I've seen the back row or two empty plenty of nights. Also, it's important to note that we decided to add the dining plan a week before the trip. I called and got ADR's at The Wave, Artist Point, Le Chefs, Mama Melrose, Sanaa, Flying Fish, Narcoose's, etc with no problem and at the times we wanted. It must have been a slow week.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

We ate there it was still a nice change from a burger. We actually ate there twice so we tried everything the nachos were our least favorite. I liked the chicken burrito the best my DW liked the taco salad.

The kids got the quesadillas, DH got tacos and I had the vegetarian burrito. We had eaten there twice before they changed the name.

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

Yes, Devils Tower was in the Close Encounters movie! Your the first person that I have mentioned Devils Tower to that has actually heard of the place. I had never even seen that movie until after our trip out west.

Maybe it is that you are young? I saw the mention of Devil's Tower and immediately thought of Close Encounters. I don't know that my kids are familiar with it, but they are homeschoooled. I guess we should get the movie and watch it for school one day - you know, to educate them on that part of American Geography! :)

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Maybe it is that you are young? I saw the mention of Devil's Tower and immediately thought of Close Encounters. I don't know that my kids are familiar with it, but they are homeschoooled. I guess we should get the movie and watch it for school one day - you know, to educate them on that part of American Geography! :)

Same with me. That movie came out when I was 9 or 10, and I saw it in the theatre and it freaked me out a bit. When I visited Devils Tower as an adult I couldn't stop thinking about the movie. I wanted to get some mashed potatoes and start shaping them into a tower.

[PureTcrazy...rita 380]

Same with me. That movie came out when I was 9 or 10, and I saw it in the theatre and it freaked me out a bit. When I visited Devils Tower as an adult I couldn't stop thinking about the movie. I wanted to get some mashed potatoes and start shaping them into a tower.

One of my students was playing in their mashed potatoes at lunch. I said, "if you build it they will come" it went right past them. I guess it is not being seen by the younger generations.

[YodaGirl 13]

Considering I didn't get in until the seventh page, once again I had to make notes in order to comment. Either mommy brain is still alive and well, I don't get on here frequently enough, or both. I'm going with both. Here goes...

I can't see a manatee without thinking of the Barbara Manatee VeggieTales song. You should listen to it sometime. It's definitely a few minutes that you will never get back. "Barbara Manatee, you're the one for me..." Moving along.

Awesome news about the cover article! Congrats TCD DD!

13-14 is a tough loss. That stinks.

I would love to be in MK at 3am. At one time, I could've. I've gotten old.

We stayed in the 2000 last October. I'm not so much a fan of it. Thankfully, my teacher-voice got rid of the kids running through our campsite playing flashlight tag. Who runs through other people's campsites?

I love your pictures! Makes me homesick for the Fort, though. 2013 can't get here soon enough. Of course, that means that Micaiah will be 2. Maybe it can wait a bit....

I love the new merchandise! Do you remember the price of the license plate frame, by any chance?

The clouds breaking up after the storm looked so cool! Great pictures!

Whew. I think I'm caught up, now. Looking forward to the next installment!

ETA: I almost forgot! See that's what happens when I forget to write a note down... I completely understand what you mean about a hotel versus the Fort. I think that I've mentioned once before about our trip in '96 when we had to stay in the Polynesian. And yes, I used the word "had". It was pretty. Did we use the pool? Nope. We wandered around the Fort moping because our new camper was sitting at home thanks to issues with the tow vehicle. Who does that?

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I don't think it's going anywhere anytime soon, but I'm no expert. I've seen the back row or two empty plenty of nights. Also, it's important to note that we decided to add the dining plan a week before the trip. I called and got ADR's at The Wave, Artist Point, Le Chefs, Mama Melrose, Sanaa, Flying Fish, Narcoose's, etc with no problem and at the times we wanted. It must have been a slow week.

That is interesting that you were able to score all of those ADR's on short notice.

I think the Free Dining promotions have really influenced how people do things.

I have been tempted to plan a trip to the Fort when free DDP is not offered with the plan of paying for the Dining Plan and hitting some of the restaurants you listed. But, I always stop short of just thinking about it because I really do not want to do all that planning.

Maybe it is that you are young? I saw the mention of Devil's Tower and immediately thought of Close Encounters. I don't know that my kids are familiar with it, but they are homeschoooled. I guess we should get the movie and watch it for school one day - you know, to educate them on that part of American Geography! :)

Sounds reasonable to me.

Now I want to watch the movie again. It has been a long, long time.

I just read an article about Steven Spielberg. I guess he has a couple of movies coming out. It is pretty amazing to think of all the movies he has directed.

One of my students was playing in their mashed potatoes at lunch. I said, "if you build it they will come" it went right past them. I guess it is not being seen by the younger generations.

Isn't that saying from Field of Dreams?

I can't see a manatee without thinking of the Barbara Manatee VeggieTales song. You should listen to it sometime. It's definitely a few minutes that you will never get back. "Barbara Manatee, you're the one for me..." Moving along.

No need for me to listen. I know the song well. The TCD girls watched a lot of Veggie Tales.

I love the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything.

I have no problem with the Barbara Manatee song.

Now, Everybody Has a Water Buffalo, there's a song that got on my nerves.

I don't have a Water Buffalo.

I would love to be in MK at 3am. At one time, I could've. I've gotten old.

Child please.

You signature says you're 30.

That is far, far, far from old.

I love the new merchandise! Do you remember the price of the license plate frame, by any chance?

I think it was in the $7 range. Which might sound cheap, but the plastic they make this out of is thinner than a credit card.

I thought about buying one, but I couldn't get past how flimsy it was.

ETA: I almost forgot! See that's what happens when I forget to write a note down... I completely understand what you mean about a hotel versus the Fort. I think that I've mentioned once before about our trip in '96 when we had to stay in the Polynesian. And yes, I used the word "had". It was pretty. Did we use the pool? Nope. We wandered around the Fort moping because our new camper was sitting at home thanks to issues with the tow vehicle. Who does that?

Who does that?

Fiends!

That's who!

TCD

[Doggmeat-aka Todd 3]

_{thought about giving you a verbal thrashing TCD, for being up my way without knowing about it. but i was working 12 hour shifts that weekend, so ill forget about it.....lol}

[stefa70 205]

In my softest, sweetest, non-nagging voice: Are we going to get an update today?

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

_{thought about giving you a verbal thrashing TCD, for being up my way without knowing about it. but i was working 12 hour shifts that weekend, so ill forget about it.....lol}

OK, that's good. The fact is that I am usually very rushed on the football weekends, and my plans revolve around my DD's. And she doesn't usually tell me her plans ahead of time.

But, as Rita mentioned, maybe we can set-up a Tallahassee Fiends meet next football season.

In my softest, sweetest, non-nagging voice: Are we going to get an update today?

Of course.

I'm working on it now.

It took me a while to get caught up.

It won't be too much longer.

TCD

[Doggmeat-aka Todd 3]

OK, that's good. The fact is that I am usually very rushed on the football weekends, and my plans revolve around my DD's. And she doesn't usually tell me her plans ahead of time.

But, as Rita mentioned, maybe we can set-up a Tallahassee Fiends meet next football season.

works for me. not a big fsu fan (wife gradutated from there- i was born in coral gables, raised on hurricane football) but can get by with them meeting new people

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

works for me. not a big fsu fan (wife gradutated from there- i was born in coral gables, raised on hurricane football) but can get by with them meeting new people

Maybe we can figure out something the day before or after a game.

After next year's schedule is released we can scheme.

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

S70 asked for an update, so here it comes!

We are on Monday night, November 21st. It is EMH at Hollywood Studios. We are going to go there just to see the Osborne lights. Any rides we get to enjoy will be a bonus.

But first, since it is dark, we will look at some of the better displays of decorations at the Fort.

Because of how things worked out, this post will be a little short, but I will follow with a longer one.

The sites that we will look at here belong to folks who seem to be at the Fort every Thanksgiving. We will start on the 1100 loop. There are folks who are there every year. They have an arch of lights, and have angels up high in the trees. If these folks were affected at all by any new decoration rules, I didn't notice how. Here are a few photos of their site: All of these lights are synchronized to music, just like the Osborne lights.

Here's a short video for you:

http://s305.photobucket.com/albums/nn218/TCDvideo/?action=view&current=MVI_1458.mp4

I don't know how long these folks stay. I know they don't stay as long as the guests on the next two sites.

From here, we traveled over to the 1600 loop to check on the overachievers. Shanta gave them this name, and I think it is very appropriate. These folks deal in quantity. The past two or so years, they had a site that backed up to Big Pine Drive and you couldn't miss them. This year, they moved over a site or two, and now back up to the bus stop. Again, I did not detect any decrease in the size of their display. Here are some photos of the overachievers' work: There is a path that runs right through this site, all the way to the road. It is fun to walk it: Here's a little video from the overachievers:

http://s305.photobucket.com/albums/nn218/TCDvideo/?action=view&current=MVI_1467.mp4

The overachievers usually stay through New Year's, so chances are good that if you visit the Fort between now and then, you'll see them. Next, we headed over to the 400 loop. The back of this guy's site is right across from the exit to the 700 loop. He had the Thriller display for Halloween last year, but apparently had to change that this year because of the new rules. His Halloween display was more subdued. So is his Christmas display. This is it: These lights also "dance" like the Osborne lights. But the volume was turned down very low. Still, it is a nice display. And considering this guy has now been on this site for over a year, I think this display will be up through the end of the year, too.

The last photo from our quick pre-Hollywood Studios looping comes from the 800 loop. These folks are on the 800 loop every year at this time. They also went with a Thanksgiving theme. We all liked their pet naming skills: As far as I'm concerned, the decorations put up by campers at the Fort are just as enjoyable, if not more so, than the Osborne lights. But, we still headed over to Hollywood Studios. I have plenty of photos of what we saw there, which I will share in my next post.

I am thankful for all of the great decorations campers put up at the Fort for every holiday, but especially at Christmas time.

TCD

[stefa70 205]

Thank you. :heart:

I agree with you, Fort campers do a great job with decorations, no matter how big or how small the display is.

I can't wait to see the Osborne lights, but I usually end up crying. I'm such a sap.

[Gots2pitt.. Jeff 64]

The sites that we will look at here belong to folks who seem to be at the Fort every Thanksgiving. We will start on the 1100 loop. There are folks who are there every year. They have an arch of lights, and have angels up high in the trees. If these folks were affected at all by any new decoration rules, I didn't notice how. Here are a few photos of their site:

I think these people were there in 2009 when I was there. Don't think I have any pictures of them though. We were in 1300 loop.

[kampfirekim 260]

As far as I'm

I am thankful for all of the great decorations campers put up at the Fort for every holiday, but especially at Christmas time.

TCD

Love this photo! The Mickey and Minnie Pilgrims are too cute! I am very Pro-not overlooking Thanksgiving.... just a reminder. ;D

Great update TCD! Now you have me pining away for the Fort at Halloween AND Thanksgiving/Christmas.

[YodaGirl 13]

No need for me to listen. I know the song well. The TCD girls watched a lot of Veggie Tales.

I love the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything.

I have no problem with the Barbara Manatee song.

Now, Everybody Has a Water Buffalo, there's a song that got on my nerves.

I don't have a Water Buffalo.

Do you have a baby kangaroo?

Child please.

You signature says you're 30.

That is far, far, far from old.

True.

I think it was in the $7 range. Which might sound cheap, but the plastic they make this out of is thinner than a credit card.

I thought about buying one, but I couldn't get past how flimsy it was.

That stinks that it's so flimsy.

Who does that?

Fiends!

That's who!

TCD

Exactly!

I really do like the Poly (and the Wilderness Lodge, for that matter), but I'm not sure that I could ever stay there without wishing I was at the Fort....and that's way too much money to spend to be wishing I was elsewhere.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Thank you. :heart:

I agree with you, Fort campers do a great job with decorations, no matter how big or how small the display is.

I can't wait to see the Osborne lights, but I usually end up crying. I'm such a sap.

Thanks, S70.

The Osborne lights are on their way!

I think these people were there in 2009 when I was there. Don't think I have any pictures of them though. We were in 1300 loop.

Yes, they were there in 2009. I believe they were in site 1101 that year.

Love this photo! The Mickey and Minnie Pilgrims are too cute! I am very Pro-not overlooking Thanksgiving.... just a reminder. ;D

Great update TCD! Now you have me pining away for the Fort at Halloween AND Thanksgiving/Christmas.

You really do need to try Halloween or Thanksgiving one year.

I know you love the Summer, and I do to, but the decorations and activities are a lot of fun.

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Here we go . . .

It was Monday night.

We had done a little looping.

And then it was off to Hollywood Studios.

I wanted to drive.

The girls wanted to bus it.

The girls got their way.

It worked out fine.

Here's the Hollywood Studios Christmas Tree:

We headed in to the park, and headed to our new regular first stop: Star Tours.

That's really weird, because before the recent renovation, we had been on Star Tours exactly once. And that is because I made the girls ride it so they would know what it was like before it was closed and renovated.

Now, we typically head there first.

The thing I like about this ride is that it can handle a lot of people, which means very short waits. We have never had a long wait for this ride.

As we entered the park, we heard some very loud music.

What was this?

They had the big stage set back up in front of the hat:

We first saw this stage for the Star Wars weekends earlier this year. Then they took it down and put it away. Now, for some reason, it was back.

So who was playing?

These guys:

Mulch, Sweat and Shears!

Who?

When did these guys get to perform on this big stage?

And who wants them to?

Look how sparse the crowd is in that photo of the stage.

I'll tell you one thing-

These guys were loud!

I did not like it.

You could hear them screeching err singing all over the park.

We didn't stay long.

In fact, we didn't even stop.

We kept right on walking to Star Tours.

I admit that I'm no Star Wars geek.

So, maybe some of you know what the strange letters are on written on these props, but I don't:

I figured the first one was just the name of the ship in the geek font. But, I don't know why there are 8 letters required to translate the number 2 into Star Wars language. Does anyone know anything about this? On second thought, never mind, I really don't want to know.

We love the 3-D glasses on this ride:

TCD twin #2 was not the rebel spy this time. She has lost her touch.

We found out some secrets about how the rebel spy thing works later on our trip. I'll be sure to tell you when we get to that part. I'll tell you right now that another member of the TCD gang is now a member of the rebel alliance.

From Star Tours, we went around the corner, and entered the Osborne Lights. Here we are:

I love how all kinds of things like bikes, grills, coolers, basketball hoops, etc, are covered with the lights. Here's a bike:

And here's a tire swing:

One of the original decorations from the Osbornes was a canopy of red lights. This year, they replaced the red lights on the canopy with LED lights. This allowed the canopy to "dance" with endless colors. Here it is in action:

This is the TCD twins standing under the canopy:

You could spend hours wandering around here and not catch all of the details. I love these dalmatian puppies:

Here's another action shot of the canopy:

Note in the photo above that the Christmas tree that was in the background of the twins' photo has changed colors and a Hidden Mickey has been revealed.

Here's Mickey with Santa:

And here's the canopy in action again:

Here's a group of carollers:

I liked this basketball hoop, and there are several Hidden Mickeys in there too:

I'm sure that you've heard that they make it snow on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom for the Christmas parties. Well, they have the same fake snow here for free:

BTW- that snow is really soap bubbles, and it doesn't taste so good, so don't do what twin #1 is doing if you visit.

These angels and giant globe all came from Arkansas with the original decorations:

I think this is a sweet photo (even though it is posed):

Here are some more angels and some more snow:

More snow:

I enjoy this nativity display. You don't see one of these in many places other than churches these days:

From here, we hit Tower of Terror, and then headed on back to the Fort.

No problems at all with the buses.

We got to bed by 1 am tonight!

That means I will be up early in the morning.

And, it's a good thing too, because I was going to take a couple of Fiends on a mission.

TCD