The TCD gang Pops over to WDW

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I can't believe they didn't know how to fold their stroller? I assume they either traveled to WDW in their car, or by plane. And it would have to be folded to fit in either of those modes of transport.

Maybe they'd been drinking? That would be my excuse. In fact, it often is.

Actually, that looks like a rental stroller from an offsite company that is being seen more and more around WDW.

Carol is right.

Again.

That was a rental stroller. It had the name of the rental company on there.

I guess these companies need to give their customers instructions.

It's been a while since I've had to operate a stroller, but I would think that folding one is a pretty simple process.

If those people had been at the Fort, they would have received a TCD Real Man Of Genius Award.

Actually, even if they had been at the Fort, they would have escaped receiving that award.

Because I ran into an even bigger genius when we returned.

Yes, you read that right.

We will be heading back to the Fort.

Remember that deal I made with the girls the night before?

I will fill you in on the details in the next post.

TCD

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

I would love to make a funny comment on the stroller drama BUT I like my karma good. I can't believe you did not get more of a chance to explore the Fort. No Bay Lake view this TR? I am not sure we can handle the shock of it....

posted right after your reply!

Edited April 30, 2012 by Nicki aka Rebelstand

[caveat lector 181]

Too funny on the stroller folding folley (say that three times fast.

The memory is quite fuzzy, because a lot of time has passed. However, I remember when I had two stoller inhabitants. Our friends got us a two seat stroller at the baby shower. The brand was European and I couldn't pronounce it anyway. The mechanism to get this thing folded was obviously designed by a specialized team from NASA. There was a certain protocol, whereas you had to apply exact amounts of pressure to different points in exactly the right sequence. Many times I offered to complete the folding exercise by utilizing the downward gravitaional pull of the rear tire on my truck. Which was immediately followed by, "this is a very expensive stoller....here....let me do it."

[Lou... 3,118]

Finally, the bus driver had enough.

He opened the back doors of the bus, and asked the folks to bring the stroller in unfolded:

He strapped the stroller down like it was a scooter or wheelchair:

People not being able to fold a stroller happens more often than it should.

Yup, that exact incident has happened to me.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I would love to make a funny comment on the stroller drama BUT I like my karma good. I can't believe you did not get more of a chance to explore the Fort. No Bay Lake view this TR? I am not sure we can handle the shock of it....

posted right after your reply!

One way or another, I was going to get to the Fort on this trip.

Remember, the weathermen had cheated me out of it the night before.

And then Yuri messed up my plans for a morning visit.

So, I had to find a way . . .

Too funny on the stroller folding folley (say that three times fast.

The memory is quite fuzzy, because a lot of time has passed. However, I remember when I had two stoller inhabitants. Our friends got us a two seat stroller at the baby shower. The brand was European and I couldn't pronounce it anyway. The mechanism to get this thing folded was obviously designed by a specialized team from NASA. There was a certain protocol, whereas you had to apply exact amounts of pressure to different points in exactly the right sequence. Many times I offered to complete the folding exercise by utilizing the downward gravitaional pull of the rear tire on my truck. Which was immediately followed by, "this is a very expensive stoller....here....let me do it."

Brilliance!

Pure brilliance!

I think we just missed the fancy stroller fad. I had a pretty crappy double umbrella stroller that I used to push the twins around in the parks when they were stroller-sized. I can't believe the things that pass for strollers these days. You are right-they do look like they were designed by NASA.

People not being able to fold a stroller happens more often than it should.

Yup, that exact incident has happened to me.

For a brief while, I began to think that the bus driver was going to leave the people there with their unfolded stroller.

Had the bus been more crowded, he would have had to.

TCD

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

We had a stoller that required you to hold the strap out of the way, push forward on the handles, and step on a button at the base of the stroller while holding a three year old and keep a five year old from wandering away.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Rental stroller....there's a concept that hadn't even occured to me. Sounds a little pricey, but I guess when you are paying the cost of a Disney vacation, what's another $50-100 for a stroller rental. I guess the convenience is worth it. Although I agree, if folding the thing is that complicated there should be laminated instructions attached to the handle.

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

Rental stroller....there's a concept that hadn't even occured to me. Sounds a little pricey, but I guess when you are paying the cost of a Disney vacation, what's another $50-100 for a stroller rental. I guess the convenience is worth it. Although I agree, if folding the thing is that complicated there should be laminated instructions attached to the handle.

INSTRUCTIONS???!!!!! Who reads needs INSTRUCTIONS???!!!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

We made it to Hollywood Studios without incident.

Those storms that had been predicted never showed.

I thought that the dire warnings may have kept folks at home, but the MK was rather busy, and so was Hollywood Studios.

When we arrived, we checked the tip board to see what was up with wait times.

One of the twins checked the Mobile Magic App.

Everything matched up.

Toy Story was 90 minutes.

So was Rock 'N Roller Coaster.

Well, Tower or Terror usually isn't bad.

Wrong.

The tip board and Mobile Magic both said 120 minutes.

That can't be right, I thought.

So, I convinced the girls to walk with me there.

Sure enough, this is what we saw:

That says 120 minutes alright.

Something was wrong here.

A portion of the ride must have been shut down.

The Fastpass return time wasn't bad. But, we didn't plan on sticking around that long. There's a girl over there on the left in this photo who could play the lead character from Brave:

Even though the park was busy, they can move folks through Star Tours quickly, so we headed there:

That was a good choice.

Then we headed over to the Animation building.

We checked out the items displayed from the Brave movie.

And we participated in the drawing activity.

I didn't take any photos in there.

But, it ended up being a lot of fun.

Then we headed over to the Great Movie Ride.

Check out the blue skies:

We waited longer for the Great Movie Ride than we should have.

When we came out, the blue sky was gone, and clouds were blowing in.

Maybe those storms were rolling in after all.

It was here that I reminded the girls of the deal we made the night before, when I got outvoted on our dinner choice.

I told them we could go to the sushi bar that night, as long as we went to the Fort for chicken tonight.

They had agreed to that.

One of the twins complained that it might rain, and if it did, the porch at Trail's End would be crowded. Plus, we would get wet walking there from the bus stop.

So, I said, let's go back to the Pop and get the car.

Then we would drive to the Fort.

If it was raining, we wouldn't stay.

We would go somewhere else for dinner.

As we headed back to the Pop, it did rain. Hard for a few minutes. But it had already stopped when we got there. We got the car, anad headed to the Fort.

We parked in the main lot, and took the bus back. I got off at the 900 loop bus stop, so I could walk part of the way. I sent the girls ahead to order the chicken and claim a table.

It was wet, and it looked like it might rain again, but it didn't rain as I walked along.

I got to see my favorite site:

What lucky people they were!

Over here, we can see the path of the old railroad:

And, there's the 700 loop entrance:

Just for giggles, here's a shot taken of the 700 loop entrance back in 2007, after they had cleared it out and planted some new bushes:

Stuff grows fast in Florida!

Here's one of my favorite places in the Fort:

And this is a photo from that same spot, but looking back in the other direction:

While I waited to pick up our order, I admired the baked potato bar:

Even though it had rained, we were the only party sitting out on the porch enjoying the take out:

That was by far the best meal of this trip.

After we ate as much as we could, I packed up the leftovers, and we headed back to the bus stop.

We were going to head back to the car.

But, we made a slight detour on the way out.

TCD

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Wow those ride times were bad!

We didn't eat at the Fort last Christmas. Only gotten our mug refilled at Trails End. That reminds me I've got to make my ADRs tomorrow and I still have one spot to fill.

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

The chicken has my mouth watering.....I can't believe it's nine more months until I can partake. :panic:

I agree about that path being one of the best spots at the Fort.

[stefa70 205]

You can probably imagine how much I hate missing these updates, I've just got A LOT on my plate right now.

The "big storms" that you had were about the same as we had over here. Though we did get a pretty good amount of rain during the night, it was nothing like they had predicted. Damn weathermen!

As for the stroller incident, I wouldn't have been any help either, it's been too long (though I would have probably most likely been silently cussing them under my breath)

I'm thrilled that you made it over to the Fort and got your GAG! :)

[YENSIDCAMPER 66]

TCD you do get more done in a day in the park than I can in a week. Do you ever really sleep?

Love the pictures from CHH. I wish I had thought of looking out of the windows, we ate up there and didn't realize you could see over that wall.

What character did you draw at HS?

The GAG has my mouth watering.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

You can probably imagine how much I hate missing these updates, I've just got A LOT on my plate right now.

You ok?

[Hotmamac aka Misty 11]

That porch looks rather heavenly to me right now.

[Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo..Karla 77]

Just loving your trip report!!

On the stroller....sometimes the simplest things defeat us. To fold that stroller there is a handle in the middle of the seat...just pull up on it and the whole thing collapses! No locks to undo or buttons to push. Don't ask me how I know...

And a GAG!!! Can't wait until tomorrow and I can get one for real!!! :drool1:

[ftwildernessguy 778]

I suspect a refillable mug rule violation. What kind of example are you setting for these young impressionable girls, anyway?

[caveat lector 181]

The before and after of the 700 loop entrance is amazing. Five years later and you can't even see through the tree line. That is a cool perspective.

[CKCK 45]

I normally would woo hoo the GAG, but as of now, I am still boycotting this TR.

Oh crap, I can't help myself.

woo freaking hoo.

[Total Joker ... TJ 203]

Dude had a wicked fiddle accident in the foot!

HIDDEN JOKER

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

I suspect a refillable mug rule violation. What kind of example are you setting for these young impressionable girls, anyway?

I suspect refillable mug violations would only occur if Yuri came to town and took the mugs without asking.

[disneylitch......Debbie 61]

The new strollers can be extremely difficult to fold. My daughter and son in law had a baby trend jogging stroller and it was so heavy and difficult to fold that they sold it to another unsuspecting new parent.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I guess nobody with any power around this place reads TCD trip reports.

Because, I still can only multi-quote ten at time.

Here comes the first ten.

Then we will have some more.

Then we will be on our way.

We had a stoller that required you to hold the strap out of the way, push forward on the handles, and step on a button at the base of the stroller while holding a three year old and keep a five year old from wandering away.

It sounds like these strollers are being designed by NASA (government contractors).

Rental stroller....there's a concept that hadn't even occured to me. Sounds a little pricey, but I guess when you are paying the cost of a Disney vacation, what's another $50-100 for a stroller rental. I guess the convenience is worth it. Although I agree, if folding the thing is that complicated there should be laminated instructions attached to the handle.

These rental strollers have become all the rage.

Back in my day, it seemed like most of the strollers in the parks were the ones folks rented from Disney.

Now, it's definitely the private strollers that you see more of.

It seems like there are folks lugging big strollers onto every bus that we board.

It hasn't always been like this.

INSTRUCTIONS???!!!!! Who reads needs INSTRUCTIONS???!!!

Carol, you are just one of the guys, aren't you?

Wow those ride times were bad!

We didn't eat at the Fort last Christmas. Only gotten our mug refilled at Trails End. That reminds me I've got to make my ADRs tomorrow and I still have one spot to fill.

The wait times were bad on this trip.

I should have gone and people watched at the TOT entrance. What kind of person would willingly get on a two hour line for that ride? Seriously, there were still Fastpasses available. But, there must have been people on line, or else it wouldn't have been that long of a wait.

The chicken has my mouth watering.....I can't believe it's nine more months until I can partake. :panic:

I agree about that path being one of the best spots at the Fort.

I'm sorry that you have to wait nine months.

I love driving or walking down that path. We were on foot for this trip. I think walking is the better way to go.

You can probably imagine how much I hate missing these updates, I've just got A LOT on my plate right now.

The "big storms" that you had were about the same as we had over here. Though we did get a pretty good amount of rain during the night, it was nothing like they had predicted. Damn weathermen!

As for the stroller incident, I wouldn't have been any help either, it's been too long (though I would have probably most likely been silently cussing them under my breath)

I'm thrilled that you made it over to the Fort and got your GAG! :)

Stef- I hope all is OK with you.

We got some really heavy rain at our home late that night too. Of course, nobody predicted that.

The stroller thing didn't bother me at all. We were comfortable sitting on the bus in the AC, and got to watch the show. If we had been in a hurry, it might have been a different story.

I'm glad that I made it to the Fort too. When the rain finally came in on late Saturday afternoon, I was afraid that we might have to scrub our plans. Luckily, the rain didn't last long, and we got to go.

It is good to be TCD.

TCD you do get more done in a day in the park than I can in a week. Do you ever really sleep?

Love the pictures from CHH. I wish I had thought of looking out of the windows, we ate up there and didn't realize you could see over that wall.

What character did you draw at HS?

The GAG has my mouth watering.

Twin #1 gets credit for lifting the curtain and looking out the window. I noticed the cheap curtains, but never thought that they were put there to hide the construction work going on.

I wish that I had taken photos of the three drawings we did. I will on future trips. Then I can have people vote on their favorite, like you did in your trip report.

We drew Winnie The Pooh. To my amazement, all three drawings resemble him enough that he is recognizable.

You ok?

Yes, Stef, are you OK?

That porch looks rather heavenly to me right now.

Me too.

I am lucky enough to get there more than most, but I still wish I could get there more often.

Just loving your trip report!!

On the stroller....sometimes the simplest things defeat us. To fold that stroller there is a handle in the middle of the seat...just pull up on it and the whole thing collapses! No locks to undo or buttons to push. Don't ask me how I know...

And a GAG!!! Can't wait until tomorrow and I can get one for real!!! :drool1:

Shoot. I wish you hadn't said "don't ask me how I know." I was going to ask you how you knew.

It's tomorrow now. Enjoy your GAG! I hope you get more than one on this trip.

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

OK, a few more, and then we will be ready to get rolling:

I suspect a refillable mug rule violation. What kind of example are you setting for these young impressionable girls, anyway?

All kidding aside, you are right.

Busted.

And, I actually feel a small bit of guilt about this. It isn't a good example I'm setting. My rationalization is that everybody else does it.

But that doesn't make it right.

And, it is certainly not an argument I would let my girls make on some different issue.

I will have to think about this on future trips.

The before and after of the 700 loop entrance is amazing. Five years later and you can't even see through the tree line. That is a cool perspective.

I agree.

I knew that I had taken that photo back when they first planted the new landscaping there. I didn't realize that it was almost five years ago.

They recently have planted similar landscaping along the road by the 600 and 1000 loops.

Even further back, I remember once camping in the very first spot on the outside loop of the 1400 loop. I didn't like that site very much because it was very open. They since planted a bunch of trees between that site and the bus stop, and now it is very private.

I was against all of the clearing when it was done. Now, I have to agree that it was a good idea.

I normally would woo hoo the GAG, but as of now, I am still boycotting this TR.

Oh crap, I can't help myself.

woo freaking hoo.

Are you boycotting because I don't know the difference between a band and a string ensemble?

Oh come, on!

This isn't String Ensemble Fiends.

Although that might be an interesting idea for a Discussion Board.

Dude had a wicked fiddle accident in the foot!

HIDDEN JOKER

I didn't notice the hurt foot.

Interesting.

And, I cannot find the hidden joker.

I need a clue.

I suspect refillable mug violations would only occur if Yuri came to town and took the mugs without asking.

Yes, that would be a violation.

But a small one by Yuri's standards.

The new strollers can be extremely difficult to fold. My daughter and son in law had a baby trend jogging stroller and it was so heavy and difficult to fold that they sold it to another unsuspecting new parent.

LOL at the part I bolded.

Very funny!

TCD

[disneylitch......Debbie 61]

Glad I was able to amuse you TCD!!!