TCD is Thankful for Thanksgiving at the Fort Trip Report

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Mulch Sweat and Shears is known as Los Lawn Boys for gigs outside of Disney.

Sound familiar now??

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

Love the Osborne Lights.

Funny story, we took friends to the MK for their first Mickey Christmas party. The male part of the group kept insisting I was wrong and that Disney made real snow on Main Street. Instead of arguing with him I said go ahead taste it. The look on his face when he got a mouthful of soap was priceless. :rofl2:

[stefa70 205]

Ahhh, love the Osborne lights!

The last time I saw MS&S, they weren't bad. Then again they were singing out of a pickup truck for like 20 minutes. Why in the heck were they on the big stage? BTW, they also used that stage for Super Soap Weekend.

:hah: at Twin #1 for catching snow soap on her tongue. Goofball!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Mulch Sweat and Shears is known as Los Lawn Boys for gigs outside of Disney.

Sound familiar now??

Maybe.

But I am pretty sure the drummer was the guy we saw spraying the herbicide outside of my camper.

So music isn't their primary line of work.

Love the Osborne Lights.

Funny story, we took friends to the MK for their first Mickey Christmas party. The male part of the group kept insisting I was wrong and that Disney made real snow on Main Street. Instead of arguing with him I said go ahead taste it. The look on his face when he got a mouthful of soap was priceless. :rofl2:

That is classic.

I wish I could have seen it.

The last time I saw MS&S, they weren't bad. Then again they were singing out of a pickup truck for like 20 minutes. Why in the heck were they on the big stage? BTW, they also used that stage for Super Soap Weekend.

When was Soap weekend?

That stage was brand new for the Star Wars weekends- it is much bigger than the stage they used to use.

I wan't to know why Mulch, Sweat and Shears was on there too. I guess they are popular, but why put them on the big stage like that? As the photos show, they did not draw anything close to a crowd.

:hah: at Twin #1 for catching snow soap on her tongue. Goofball!

The apple does not fall far from the tree.

TCD

[stefa70 205]

The last Soap weekend was 2008. This was from 2006. Is it different?

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

The last Soap weekend was 2008. This was from 2006. Is it different?

Yes- the new stage is much taller, and has a cover over it- you can see the difference in the two photos.

They used that stage in your photo earlier this year for ESPN The Weekend. When we saw the new stage for Star Wars Weekend, the larger size was very obvious. The actors in the Hyperspace Hoopla production even made the fact that the stage was new and big part of a running gag.

TCD

[wdwbound 0]

Saw you DD with her tongue out for the "snow" and wanted to shout NOOOOOO!!! I did do that the first time too, nasty, nasty taste that I needed MUCH liquid to get out of my mouth!!!

Nancy

[Duane 152]

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

I applaude Disney for not caving (at least yet) to all of the wackos around the country who every year trys to water down or even eliminate the true meaning of Christmas. For a business to be as large as Disney is, and for the amount of folks from all over the world that is hosted at Disney, I for one am thankful that they are still standing on some principles and not letting the voices of a few spoil things for the many....

Now on with the show....

[YodaGirl 13]

You had only been on Star Tours once prior to the reno?!

I kinda like Star Wars. I'm sure no one would be able to guess that.

Fairly certain I'm more of a rebel scum-type gal.

The lights are awesome! One day I'll see them in person. My parents have been saying for years that they are going to Disney during Christmas. Lord willing, they'll finally make it this year!

I'm impressed that there is a nativity scene. Kudos to Disney for not caving to become "politically correct".

[LONE-STAR 370]

We were at DHS the same night we stayed past closing. We got back to the fort around 1am. The band was very loud it was funny to hear AC/DC You shook me all night long at DHS.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

I too am a rebel scum girl but my son is a dark side kinda guy.....

[Roller ... aka Ed 351]

Sometimes I'm more the Obi Wan type - others, I'm Darth Runner

[stefa70 205]

Just popping in to see if there was an update.

[Heidi-meetsTCD@TSM 5]

TCD,

I am really enjoyed all the pictures of both the site decorations and the Osborne lights. Seeing them brings me to my "happy place"!!!

We, like you, only rode Star Tours once in all these years. However, on our August trip, my boys rode it 4-5 times. The update really breathed new life into it!

Heidi

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Saw you DD with her tongue out for the "snow" and wanted to shout NOOOOOO!!! I did do that the first time too, nasty, nasty taste that I needed MUCH liquid to get out of my mouth!!! Nancy

Too late. She knew it was soap bubbles, so I don't think she really caught any.

She was just trying to be funny (Lord knows where she gets that from).

I applaude Disney for not caving (at least yet) to all of the wackos around the country who every year trys to water down or even eliminate the true meaning of Christmas. For a business to be as large as Disney is, and for the amount of folks from all over the world that is hosted at Disney, I for one am thankful that they are still standing on some principles and not letting the voices of a few spoil things for the many.... Now on with the show....

Agreed. I don't think I got any photos, but they did have some elements in the display to honor Hanukkah - I saw a big dradle and menorah.

The phrase "Happy Holidays" rubs me the wrong way. I love the fact that there is a great big Merry Christmas in the Osborne Display, and that the Christmas story is read in Epcot. I do not see these things as disrespecting other religions.

You had only been on Star Tours once prior to the reno?! I kinda like Star Wars. I'm sure no one would be able to guess that. Fairly certain I'm more of a rebel scum-type gal. The lights are awesome! One day I'll see them in person. My parents have been saying for years that they are going to Disney during Christmas. Lord willing, they'll finally make it this year! I'm impressed that there is a nativity scene. Kudos to Disney for not caving to become "politically correct".

I hope that you get to WDW some year for Christmas, too.

The old Star Wars attraction just did not appeal to any of this. I am not a big fan of simulators like this (I didn't like Body Wars either). But, the addition of 3-D and variable scenes really has improved this attraction to the point that we all want to ride it when we are at Hollywood Studios.

We were at DHS the same night we stayed past closing. We got back to the fort around 1am. The band was very loud it was funny to hear AC/DC You shook me all night long at DHS.

OK, then you can back me on this- wasn't it odd to have them playing on that big stage at the volume they were playing?

I remember Taking Care of Business blasting down the street as we walked in to the park.

What is up with that?

Why the heck did they put that stage up?

The twins said MSS usually performs where the Osborne Lights are.

I don't know if that's true, but even if it is, why put them up on the big stage. I think they should have just stayed at the Fort and done the landscaping.

Just popping in to see if there was an update.

Check back soon.

Like within the next hour.

TCD, I am really enjoyed all the pictures of both the site decorations and the Osborne lights. Seeing them brings me to my "happy place"!!! We, like you, only rode Star Tours once in all these years. However, on our August trip, my boys rode it 4-5 times. The update really breathed new life into it! Heidi

I'm glad you like the photos Heidi.

That's interesting that your family's reaction to the Star Tours upgrade was the same as mine.

And, the thing I like is that even though this ride is now very popular, it can handle a lot of guests, so the line moves.

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

OK, here we go. . .

This will be a short post to bring us up to Tuesday morning and to share a special story about a secret misson.

First, let's back up to Monday night.

When we arrived back from Hollywood Studios, we did our late night looping, and I crashed in the hammock for a while.

As I lay there looking up at the stars twinkling in the clear cool night, I felt very grateful for all the blessings in my life.

What I'm trying to say is that we were having a really good trip.

It was cool to lay there and be able to see all that was happening at the 4 way stop. Which isn't much at 1 am. Just an occasional car or bus. And sometimes a golf cart, but there weren't many folks out and about this late at night.

When I went to bed, I unzipped the bunk window in my camper, and I could see the stars and the four way stop right there from my bunk. And, that's how I went to sleep that night. Right in the middle of the Fort.

I slept like a rock, and was up before sunrise on Tuesday morning. That's more like it. I had stuff to do today.

First order of business was a secret mission.

I can't tell you much about it because it was a secret mission.

Let's just say that it involved a man and a moose.

It was really his mission, I was just the technical advisor, so you will have to wait and let him tell you all the details about the mission.

I will just share this one photo:

Yes, that's who you think it is.

What the heck is he doing up there?

This is where my technical advising came in.

Most of you loyal TCD fans know that I have shimmied up the poles there on Pioneer Hall many times.

As far as I can tell, shimmying violates no rules.

There are no "No Shimmying" signs posted on those poles.

When this fellow that we are talking about and I spoke about his desire to go moose hunting, I told him that maybe he could see some things from up there on the Pioneer Hall balcony.

I asked him if he had ever shimmied up a pole.

Most of you may not remember this, but he has bragged before that he shimmied up a Pole before.

So, we headed down to Pioneer Hall.

There was no one around.

Just old Janakowski the maintenance man.

I said to our friend: "OK, here's your chance- let's see you shimmy up a pole."

Before I could blink, our friend leaped from the golf cart and latched on to old Janakowski like a love-sick Koala.

I said: "What the heck are you doing?"

He said: "I'm going to shimmy up this Pole!"

Janakowski was not amused.

He told our friend to back the heck off.

Then I told him that he was supposed to shimmy up a pole not a Pole with a capital P.

He understood then.

Thus the photo.

I'll tell you what, this guy really could shimmy up a pole. And he apparently can shimmy up Poles, too. But not Janakowski.

Oh, I should mention that he had a young female helper with him too. One who has incredible face making skills.

But this was a secret mission.

And, I have probably already said too much.

So, let's move on.

I'll tell you all about the rest of my morning at the Fort in the next post.

I am thankful for secret missions.

And shenanigans.

TCD

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

I'm on the edge of my seat. But being a Pole, I must remember to give our friend a wide berth. :rofl2:

Love the update Andrew! Falling asleep under the stars, at the Fort, it doesn't get any better than that. :)

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

So how are you doing?

Enjoying the report?

We are moving along at a nice pace.

For this post, we are going to slow down a bit, and I'm going to give you a nice, long post with a lot of photos.

That's how I roll.

So please, take your time and enjoy it. . .

The secret mission out of the way, I parted company with my friend and his young assistant, and continued on with my morning activities.

You know, looping and looking for stuff.

As I mentioned, the TCD twins needed some sleep, so we all agreed that they would sleep in again today. We were thinking Wednesday would be our rope drop day, so this morning would be a sleep-in and big breakfast day.

It worked for me.

I headed over to the 300 loop. There was something over there that we had seen while looping that I wanted to take a closer look at.

It was this site:

One of the TCD twins pointed out the sign to me the night before. I said, that's nice, that couple has a personalized sign. But then my DD pointed out that the couple apparently is two dudes: Grumpy and Happy.

Sure enough, that's what the sign says:

Just to make things clear to everybody, even their license plate was customized:

But, note that on the license plate, Happy is really Dopey.

What the heck is going on here?

I don't know.

I guess it's two dudes who share a camper.

Nothing wrong with that.

But, still it's interesting to me.

Oh yeah, don't miss the wooden sign hanging from the front of the RV in the last photo-the name is cut off, but it read "Russell's Romper Room."

O-Kaaaay.

Still a little interesting to me.

And, please, I am not saying that anything wrong is going on here.

The Fort is for everyone!

Even two dudes who can't keep their dwarf drawings straight.

From the 300 loop, I ducked out the back way, past the guy in the tent along the canal, and saw this across the canal:

Clearly what we have here is two guys in trucks with a big roll of cable in the back.

This confirms that construction is about to begin on the 3000 loop.

You heard it here first.

From here, I went to my spot to view the view that I always view in the morning.

But two guys were fishing there:

I wondered if they were Grumpy and Happy, but neither of them seemed to be grumpy, so I guessed not.

I headed down the path to the Settlement Trading Post.

In the past year or so, there have been numerous survey stakes and other signs of possible future construction along this path. There really isn't much of anything along here now.

But, there were some streamers that looked like they were there for some reason hanging in some trees close to the Settlement entrance to the path. You can see them in the center of this photo:

As I was checking this out, a maintenance worker zoomed by on his cart. It wasn't Janakowski. Come to think about it, I never saw Janakowski again on this trip. Later, I found that he had asked for a transfer.

Anyway, here's the maintenance guy on his golf cart:

I don't know why I bother, but I did look behind the Settlement Trading Post to see if the River Country Wagon or anything else cool was stowed back there. But, nothing new to report on that:

From here, I got some more coffee, and then headed to the Meadow Trading Post to see if there was anything going on there.

The brown paint sub-contractor was still doing his thing on the back porch:

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. When I retire, I'm grabbing a paintbrush and a can of brown paint, and I'm heading to the Fort. I will be the best brown paint specialist they have ever seen.

I haven't confirmed this, but it seems to be true- I'll bet that at any given time someone is painting something brown at Fort Wilderness. It sure seems that way to me.

From here, I went to check on the tee-pees.

There were more today than yesterday.

Also, I spied a new arrival on the 2000 loop.

It was the undisputed winner of last year's Thanksgiving Edition TCD Real Man of Genius Award.

He and his dishwasher were back!:

Yes I said dishwasher.

You see that blue hose?

That's the drain.

He just drains it right into a ditch.

Nobody cares.

Except me.

And I don't count.

So, that's what he does.

He's a genius, that one.

I think my gourmet camping kitchen is impressive.

And then this guy comes along with a friggin' dishwasher.

I don't like it, but I can't deny the guy is a genius.

Over at the tee-pee encampment, this fellow was setting up a portable ice machine. Just like they used to do it on the plains:

Sorry, but let's see that dishwasher one more time:

Yup.

Geniuses!

Well, that guy can have his dishwasher.

I have my tree-hugger.

Here we are back at site 1208.

This is the TCD tree-hugger:

A place for everything and everything in its place.

I got everything I need hanging right there.

I decided to move the TCD hammock a bit further out into the clearing near our site so I could see the sky better. Here it is in its new location:

I mentioned a big breakfast, right?

Well, that's what I got to doing next.

Here's the TCD gourmet kitchen in action:

As soon as everything was ready, I woke the girls, and we had a great breakfast in the great outdoors. Here's what we had:

Yes those are tots!

What the heck are you doing having tots for breakfast, you ask?

It's a TCD gang tradition.

Here's how it came to be- One day on a previous visit, we awoke to really heavy rain. We all decided to hang in the trailer and wait for the storm to pass. We had the leftovers from our Giddyap And Go in our fridge, so I decided to heat up the fries in my toaster oven. That ended up being a huge hit. That then became a tradition. But, as the girls (and I) got bigger, we didn't usually have left over fries. What to do? One morning, I spotted a bag of tots in the freezer case at the Meadow Trading Post. I think they cost about $20 or so (I may be guessing on the low side, but this was a while ago), and I cooked those up for breakfast one morning. That was a hit too. That is how our tradition was born. But, I usually buy the tots from the grocery store at home so I don't have to deal with paying the Fort's price for tots.

Anyway, we had a great breakfast.

Lot's of fun and good conversation.

That is my favorite thing about camping.

We don't have fun and good conversation at home. Well sometimes we do, but not too often.

But we always have time for that when we are camping.

After we ate, we played a game.

It's a dumb game, but we like it. We all sit at the table. We take turns closing our eyes while the other people at the table change one thing on the table top. Like switch the salt and pepper shakers. Or move a knife or fork. Something like that. Then the person opens her eyes and has to guess what has changed. Like I said- dumb. But we are simple folk and we enjoy this type of thing. After a while, you run out of things to change, and then it gets silly. Which explains why I have a ketchup bottle on my head here:

With breakfast out of the way, the next order of business was looping.

In case you didn't notice, we loop a lot.

Try it, you'll like it!

We headed over to the 1900 loop.

There is always something to see there.

And, sure enough, there was something to see today.

I had to issue another TCD Real Man of Genius Award to this guy:

What the heck is that, you ask?

It's a tent cot.

You know, a cot with a tent attached to it.

Or a tent with a cot attached to it.

Whatever.

You are supposed to sleep in there:

Note that this guy had a big trailer to haul his stuff.

But, he spent his money on a tent cot instead of a tent.

And, see the kid's stuff? Like the bike?

So, how many people are going to sleep in that tent cot?

I don't know, but the guy gets an award for being a genius!

BTW, he only stayed one night.

I wonder why?

I love this inflatable Santa and reindeer roasting marshmallows:

From here, we did a bit more looping, and then headed back to the site.

The girls were going to get showers and fix themselves up so that we could move on to our afternoon activity.

Which will be a visit to Epcot.

While the girls worked their magic, I got in some hammock time.

Have you ever noticed how tall the pine trees are at the Fort?

I have.

They're really quite impressive.

I loved lying there and looking up:

I also loved that I could look over to my left and see the 4 way stop:

But mostly I liked looking up:

My neighbor's site is over here to the right, but there was a lot of space and trees, so you can't even see him:

Over to my left, I have a view of inflated butts:

So, mainly I just looked up.

Imagine, for a minute that you are there:

It was in the low 70's and there was a nice breeze.

I could have lay there all day, and I would have been happy.

But the TCD twins came back from the showers, and they wanted to go have some fun.

I did too.

Twin #1 is a Gator fan. Twin #2 was a Gator fan for a while, but she has grown to like FSU this year. So, here we are in the front of our site:

Fun times!

From here, we hopped on the cart and headed to the marina.

Wait a second you say.

Didn't I say we were going to Epcot?

In fact I did.

And we are.

But we aren't taking no stinking bus.

The journey is the thing.

And we were going to take a journey.

I'll share that in my next post.

So, how did you like this post?

Like I said, this one would be long with a lot of photos.

I think I delivered.

TCD

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Great updates! I really enjoyed them, except as you know, when I am at work I have to surf ff.net on my phone. So the pics are small. Accordingly, I can't make out the picture of the doofus on the balcony. Who is that?? And who in their right mind would shimmy up there?

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I'm on the edge of my seat. But being a Pole, I must remember to give our friend a wide berth. :rofl2:

Love the update Andrew! Falling asleep under the stars, at the Fort, it doesn't get any better than that. :)

Thanks, Cherie.

And, I'm honored that you chose this trip report to make your 10,000th post here on ff.net.

Awesome!

OK- I'm lying about that, but 10,017 was close.

Great updates! I really enjoyed them, except as you know, when I am at work I have to surf ff.net on my phone. So the pics are small. Accordingly, I can't make out the picture of the doofus on the balcony. Who is that?? And who in their right mind would shimmy up there?

I know nothing.

Actually, I know something.

But, I was sworn to secrecy.

I think it's safe to say that you're right about the dufus part, though.

And, I should have mentioned that I feel really bad about what happened to poor old Janakowski.

TCD

[carierraine 1]

I love it! I am for sure getting some hammock time this trip. 4 sleeps, only 4 more sleeps!!! then 4 days driving! so does that make 8 days for me? anyways soon soon! hammock time for me!!! Warm weather please! :worship:

[stefa70 205]

Gosh, where do I start? I ran to Walmart and the liquor store and you have done two updates! :banghead:

First and foremost.....poles, Poles, or even polls, it doesn't matter, I like it. I will leave it at that.

Grumpy & Happy together? No big deal, whatever creams your twinkie. The romper room sign is kinda creepy though. I don't want to imagine the romping that is going on in that MH.

Breakfast looks yummy!

I love your stupid game. No matter what your doing, talking about or playing, the point is, it's quality time with the girls that's important. :heart:

BTW, I love ketchup....so ketchup on TCD is okay in my book!

I will be leaving for the Fort tomorrow, but I will check back after we get set up. Hope there's more!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I love it! I am for sure getting some hammock time this trip. 4 sleeps, only 4 more sleeps!!! then 4 days driving! so does that make 8 days for me? anyways soon soon! hammock time for me!!! Warm weather please! :worship:

Four days of driving?

Wow!

Did I say that I'm thankful that it's about 80 miles from my driveway to the WDW exit on I-4?

Because if I didn't I am.

Thanks for posting.

I'll see what I can do about the weather. So far, it's been pretty sweet around here lately.

Gosh, where do I start? I ran to Walmart and the liquor store and you have done two updates! :banghead: First and foremost.....poles, Poles, or even polls, it doesn't matter, I like it. I will leave it at that. Grumpy & Happy together? No big deal, whatever creams your twinkie. The romper room sign is kinda creepy though. I don't want to imagine the romping that is going on in that MH. Breakfast looks yummy! I love your stupid game. No matter what your doing, talking about or playing, the point is, it's quality time with the girls that's important. :heart: BTW, I love ketchup....so ketchup on TCD is okay in my book! I will be leaving for the Fort tomorrow, but I will check back after we get set up. Hope there's more!

Hey S70- I'm glad that you got to see the updates before you head out for the Fort.

Have a great trip!

The chances look good for another update sometime tomorrow morning.

So, please check back after you get set up.

And, you, Trevor and Mason have a great time!!!

TCD

[Specularius 102]

From here, we hopped on the cart and headed to the marina.

Wait a second you say.

Didn't I say we were going to Epcot?

In fact I did.

And we are.

But we aren't taking no stinking bus.

The journey is the thing.

And we were going to take a journey.

I'll share that in my next post.

So, how did you like this post?

Like I said, this one would be long with a lot of photos.

I think I delivered.

TCD

Loving the report!!!!!

Sounds like our trip Christmas day 2009. We had not been fully indoctrinated into the Disney transportation ways and wanted to go to Epcot Christmas day to see all the different Santa's. We hoped the boat to the Magic Kingdom in hopes of getting on the Monorail. When we got to the Magic Kingdom, the Monorail was not running and the crowd was huge waiting on rope drop at the Magic Kingdom. We got on the ferry to Transportation Central, then got on the monorail to Epcot. We still made rope drop at Epcot, how I do not know. Must have been a little pixie dust involved. The day turned out to be the best day of the trip and the crowds were non-existent at Epcot. This really surprised us because we heard that the Magic Kingdom closed the gates due to being at capacity.

Anxiously awaiting the next update!

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

Another update, wow!

I love the hammock pictures, they help me get through the cold winter days up here.

I don't find it strange at all to have tater tots for breakfast. To me they are a munchkin version of Mcdonald's hash brown.

I agree with Stef, I don't want to think about what happens in the Romper Room. Ewwwwww