We Biked, Got Spiked, Celebrated and Swam Around the World!

[fladogfan aka Gretchen 259]

I've heard the double rainbows called 'sun dogs'. Have no idea why. But they are pretty.

Love the family pic in the Mickey ears. Boys look happy.

Seems to me pool hopping should be OK if you are a registered guest at any of the hotels/Fort.

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

Jason... My first thought was "a double rainbow.... Oh God ... Another double rainbow"... cue Youtube :rofl2:

Glad I wasn't the only one. Funny enough my wife had no clue what I was talking about till I showed her the clip.

[Southern Blessings 4]

Love the family pic at the Mickey ears! I've never been on one of those monorails either, they look cool!

[Total Joker ... TJ 203]

This is the most beautiful picture of the whole trip..

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

This is the most beautiful picture of the whole trip..

I disagree. When it was all done would have been the most beautiful picture

[fortpartyof4 108]

Woah what does it mean?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQSNhk5ICTI

It means you ate one too many little squares of that pretty paper, Yosemitebear.

Jason... My first thought was "a double rainbow.... Oh God ... Another double rainbow"... cue Youtube :rofl2:

I am so sorry - this didn't even occur to me - didn't intend to bring that up again! I've only seen this once and had forgotten all about it!

I've heard the double rainbows called 'sun dogs'. Have no idea why. But they are pretty.

Love the family pic in the Mickey ears. Boys look happy.

Seems to me pool hopping should be OK if you are a registered guest at any of the hotels/Fort.

The rainbows were really pretty - the colors really stood out on the dark sky.

Thanks! I want to get that same picture during the day!

I agree and that is the only reason we did it. And it's not the last time during this trip. However I still wish the pool at the resort we're paying to stay at was better so we could just stay put.

Glad I wasn't the only one. Funny enough my wife had no clue what I was talking about till I showed her the clip.

I didn't either! See above.

Love the family pic at the Mickey ears! I've never been on one of those monorails either, they look cool!

They had just seen the movie earlier in the summer. I didn't go but they said it was really good. Once you're inside it's not any different but they really look good from the ground!

This is the most beautiful picture of the whole trip..

It is pretty sweet. But I agree with Nicki, I just didn't take any of the finished product. I make it extra crispy and it was goooood.

[Total Joker ... TJ 203]

I disagree. When it was all done would have been the most beautiful picture

It is pretty sweet. But I agree with Nicki, I just didn't take any of the finished product. I make it extra crispy and it was goooood.

Again, This is the MOST beautiful picture of the trip since there is no picture of the final product!! :hah: :banghead:

[Heidi-meetsTCD@TSM 5]

Great trip report!!

My boys are older than yours (19 and 16) but when we stay at the fort we LOVE having lots of fort time too!!! Over the years, my guys have spents hours and hours and hours on the tennis courts, so I loved reading/seeing pics of you guys using the courts!!

We are also big bikers and LOVE to bike around the fort, we rarely have a golf cart, but thats mostly beecause we prefer to bike!!!

Also noticed the swimming goggles........my guys have always worn goggles too!!!

Thanks for bringing back some good memories for me!!!

Heidi

[fortpartyof4 108]

Great trip report!!

My boys are older than yours (19 and 16) but when we stay at the fort we LOVE having lots of fort time too!!! Over the years, my guys have spents hours and hours and hours on the tennis courts, so I loved reading/seeing pics of you guys using the courts!!

We are also big bikers and LOVE to bike around the fort, we rarely have a golf cart, but thats mostly beecause we prefer to bike!!!

Also noticed the swimming goggles........my guys have always worn goggles too!!!

Thanks for bringing back some good memories for me!!!

Heidi

You are welcome!

We don't play a ton of tennis here at home, but enjoyed it at the Fort. We were very close to the courts so it made it an easy thing to do. We do ride our bikes a lot at home and almost all of our camping and beach trips.

The swim goggles are mostly because the chemicals really do a number on their eyes and now they've gotten to where they can't be without them.

[fortpartyof4 108]

We left off on Saturday night. I forgot to mention that because the weather pretty much spoiled our plans on Saturday, I had started to suggest that we stay another night so my husband could have some fun since he hadn't been with us the entire week, and his one day got rained out. He checked his calendar and agreed it would be OK as long as we got out right away on Monday morning so he could still get into the office that afternoon. I went up to the check-in counters on Saturday afternoon and made that happen.

I also tried to extend our cart rental by a day, but Kenny was fully booked and needed ours back, so this would be our last morning with a cart. So I went out for a ride on my own while everyone else was still asleep and took some pictures around the Fort before the place was crowded with people.

I was pretty bummed to be losing the cart, but we still had the bikes so not the end of the world.

After I returned the cart and fed my brood, I had to do some laundry to get us through one extra day. Then my oldest son and I went for a bike ride while the younger one and my husband played more tennis.

A few shots from our bike ride:

I am very intrigued by this little cabin. What is it, or was it? There is a trash can nearby, so I assume it is still used for something? I'll bet this has been discussed many times before but I don't remember reading about it and have only been reading TR's since March of this year.

There were some turtles in the water here. It's hard to see them.

After everyone was back at the camper we had some lunch and packed up for our afternoon adventure.

My husband and I had a club sandwich, kids had pb&j. I did take one picture - excuse the bamboo skewers, I didn't have any toothpicks!

Next, we set out for the afternoon and get ready for the dreaded packing up to go home.

FP4

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

The little cabin WAS many moons ago located in the 1200 Loop for actual guest use. They relocated it back there, and supposedly was used for a "kids program" of some sort, but I think that has been discontinued. Now all it does is house "stuff" (junk) and a generator and speakers for when they choose to pipe the Wishes music back there. Sometimes the Fort wagon rides coincide with the Fireworks so they occasionally crank out the speakers so that folks back there watching the fireworks can hear the soundtrack.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I am very intrigued by this little cabin. What is it, or was it? There is a trash can nearby, so I assume it is still used for something? I'll bet this has been discussed many times before but I don't remember reading about it and have only been reading TR's since March of this year.

That is where the Headless Horseman lives.

Send your kids across that bridge at midnight one night when there is no moon and tell them to knock on the door.

Or, that might be the old rental cabin that they had on the 1200 loop for a while, and then moved out here.

I can never keep that story straight.

Oh, and you make a mean club sandwich!

TCD

[fortpartyof4 108]

The little cabin WAS many moons ago located in the 1200 Loop for actual guest use. They relocated it back there, and supposedly was used for a "kids program" of some sort, but I think that has been discontinued. Now all it does is house "stuff" (junk) and a generator and speakers for when they choose to pipe the Wishes music back there. Sometimes the Fort wagon rides coincide with the Fireworks so they occasionally crank out the speakers so that folks back there watching the fireworks can hear the soundtrack.

So it was before all of the cabins that we see now? It's cute, reminds me of the little hunting cabins I used to see scattered in the woods near my home town.

We did that wagon ride to watch the fireworks one night a year or 2 ago. We did go back on that trail and parked not far from that little bridge and we could hear the music from the speakers. It was really pretty to watch them back there in the dark. And with no other people around, we could actually hear the narration. Totally worth what we paid to ride.

That is where the Headless Horseman lives.

Send your kids across that bridge at midnight one night when there is no moon and tell them to knock on the door.

Or, that might be the old rental cabin that they had on the 1200 loop for a while, and then moved out here.

I can never keep that story straight.

Oh, and you make a mean club sandwich!

TCD

You mean Yuri hasn't already done that?

Those sandwiches were good. It's called throw everything on some bread to use up what's in the fridge on our last day of camping! And when there's no bread, it goes into a bowl and gets eaten with a fork!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

That rental cabin was just an experiment during the mid '90's. It was just that one cabin on the 1200 loop, and it wasn't there for long.

There's a little bit of discussion and an old photo of it in this post, if you're interested: http://www.fortfiend..._200#entry90182

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

And here's a post which has some photos of the inside of that cabin, in case you're interested: http://www.fortfiends.net/forum/topic/3864-a-fiend-looks-at-fifty-a-tcd-birthday-trip-report/page__st__160#entry89358

TCD

[fortpartyof4 108]

That rental cabin was just an experiment during the mid '90's. It was just that one cabin on the 1200 loop, and it wasn't there for long.

There's a little bit of discussion and an old photo of it in this post, if you're interested: http://www.fortfiend..._200#entry90182

TCD

And here's a post which has some photos of the inside of that cabin, in case you're interested: http://www.fortfiend..._160#entry89358

TCD

Thanks! Very interesting.

And, now I am caught up reading that trip report. I will have to finish it later, but am really loving it so far! I like it when the Mrs. pops up in your TR's. You sure are outnumbered. At least the dog is a boy!

Also, it looks like that was just about a year ago - so that means you have a birthday coming up?

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Thanks! Very interesting.

And, now I am caught up reading that trip report. I will have to finish it later, but am really loving it so far! I like it when the Mrs. pops up in your TR's. You sure are outnumbered. At least the dog is a boy!

Also, it looks like that was just about a year ago - so that means you have a birthday coming up?

Man, you are pretty smart for a Fiend.

Yes, I do have a birthday coming up. It seems like I have one around this time of year every year.

TCD

[DaveInTN 3,247]

That IS a pretty looking club sammich! I have always enjoyed club sandwiches, but never make them at home for some reason. I have very fond memories of being a kid and going to the lunch counter at McCrory's with my Mom for a club sandwich and a chocolate coke. Good stuff.

[fortpartyof4 108]

That IS a pretty looking club sammich! I have always enjoyed club sandwiches, but never make them at home for some reason. I have very fond memories of being a kid and going to the lunch counter at McCrory's with my Mom for a club sandwich and a chocolate coke. Good stuff.

They were good. That was even cheddar sliced right from the block, not that plastic wrapped American cheese "food". Who cooks like that while camping? I know, I'm strange. But I like to cook, and I like to eat even more.

Your story reminds me of my special trips to Friendly's with my mom growing up. Except my menu choice was always a grilled cheese and chocolate milk!

[fortpartyof4 108]

After lunch, we headed over to the marina on our bikes to catch a resort boat. This is where we begin the swimming around the world portion of our trip. If you are anti-pool-hopping, just skip over this update.

We got a boat in no time. Clouds were looming above, but we had checked the radar and the weather wasn't supposed to be as bad as the day before so we carried on with our plans. Being our last day, what did we have to lose anyway?

A lot of birds were out when we passed the shoe tree area!

That is more than enough boat ride photos.

After the WL stop, we made it to our first destination - the CR. During the ride, my husband said we should also play "bar golf". I said why not? We will see how that works out later.

We hopped off the boat, and it began to rain while we were walking down the dock. Except for the people who had rented the cabanas, the pool deck cleared out. A few remained in the pool, and the kids jumped in for a quick dip.

They went down the slide once, then my husband and I tried some rum-punch beachy drink from the poolside bar. He liked it, I thought it was too sour and strong. I wish I could remember the name, it was catchy. No photo of that one.

We sat at a table and finished our drinks while the boys had some snacks and dried off.

Then, we went inside and got on the monorail. Next stop - the Poly.

When we arrived at the volcano pool, it was raining even harder. But, the pool remained open. The kids had a blast on the slide there.

After that potent drink at the CR, I wasn't up for too much more just yet, so we shared a Captain Morgan Mai Tai:

I liked that one much better.

It kept raining, and raining, so getting out and drying off was difficult. But we managed to get so that the boys weren't dripping wet, and went inside to visit the lobby and shops. Then got back on the monorail for the next stop. I really just wanted to head on back to the Fort, because they had so much fun on that volcano I thought the water fun portion of the day had been satisfied. That was when the boys and their Dad came up with the swimming around the world idea. They were on a mission now. Who was I to stop them? But I told them that if anyone said anything to us, we were not going anywhere near the next pool and would be going back to the boat launch.

Meanwhile, the rain had let up and the sun came back out. We did take a quick dip at the GF pool, which was nearly empty.

Except for a few kids and a couple of ducks:

Yes, I said ducks! There had been ducks in the pool at the Poly, too!

Our beverage selections at this pool bar:

Needless to say, Mommy had to be cut off after this stop.

We got dry again, and made our way back to the CL to get our boat. The deal was, if the first one that came was going to the Fort, we'd go back there. If the first one was going to the WL, we'd go there. Until we realized that a very large crowd that was already there were all going to the Fort for the HDDR early show. Then we decided WL it was. That would also complete the circle of swimming.

The boys jumped in, and my husband headed to the bar. My rum-induced silliness had evolved into a pounding headache, and I retreated to a lounge chair.

Their pool wasn't busy at all either.

My headache got worse, so I left the 3 of them there and headed back to get some Advil and get dinner going for us. We pretty much finished up whatever was left in our little camper fridge. It was quite late by the time we ate, and we were leaving first thing in the morning. So we spent the rest of the night packing up and getting ready to go.

Even though the weather wasn't the best, we had a really fun day. I was glad we stayed, because my husband had been having a lot of really tough days and nights with work and he needed some fun. As for the swimming, that was a one-time adventure. There really are some lovely amenities at some of the WDW resorts, but next time we'll just head to one of the water parks and stay put. I do think that between the fireworks on Saturday night, smelling the aromas coming from Kona and the pool visit on Sunday, a Poly stay is definitely in our future.

FP4

[Mecha Geek 1]

Good job on the pool hopping! Although I think it was just an excuse to go pool bar hopping! :doublebeer: :wine:

[fortpartyof4 108]

Good job on the pool hopping! Although I think it was just an excuse to go pool bar hopping! :doublebeer: :wine:

hahaha yea, I think at first it seemed like a good idea, but definitely one of those "I'm not 25 any more" lessons!!

I think I have heard that some other fiends may or may not have done this at the World Showcase in Epcot…….that would be fun too!

[Total Joker ... TJ 203]

hahaha yea, I think at first it seemed like a good idea, but definitely one of those "I'm not 25 any more" lessons!!

I think I have heard that some other fiends may or may not have done this at the World Showcase in Epcot…….that would be fun too!

:facepalm: :wine: :doublebeer: :beer: :cheers: :SmileyMargarita1: :oregonian_winesmiley: :sad-emoticon-msn:

[fortpartyof4 108]

And this will be the wrap-up. The dreaded last day. When you have to take that last sad, wistful spin around the Fort, trying to absorb it all in hopes of bringing some of it back home with you.

As I said, we had to get going. Early. My husband was actually going in to work later (this was Monday morning). Even with our prep work the night before, we still didn't get completely cleaned up and hooked up to go until about 8:30. He went on ahead, and the boys and I stayed behind to hang out a little bit.

We went around the big circle in the car one last time. Saw this work going on outside the 400 (?) loop I think, near the 100/200 entry:

I believe I read in another TR and some other threads that this was part of a lot of upgrading that has been going on with electrical and plumbing systems within the Fort.

Then we made one last stop at the Meadow TP. On our way out, we saw this very impressive set-up. This person is on FF, and had told me they would be there during the time we were. I think we passed their site once but no one was around. I did ask the guy if it was OK to take his picture, and he said go ahead! I'll bet he gets that a lot.

If you're reading, fellow fiend, this is brilliant! Hats off.

Waiting in line to return the internet box thingy:

Some parting shots:

We actually ended up catching up to my husband on the road with gas stops and all. Traffic wasn't too bad, drove through some nasty weather for a while and we were back home by lunch after dropping the TT off at the storage lot.

Boo!

Until next time. Already missing my favorite place.

FP4

[stacktester 78]

Not being nosey FP4 but if that's the storage place you keep your rv it looks like the one on 16 near the Shands Bridge. If I'm correct and you ask how do I know one of my clients is near there and it just looks familiar.

The guy with the golf cart on top? I've run into him a couple times. He was in 1724 when I was there over the summer. He's from VA. All I can say is it's cool but what a PITA to bring a golf cart and the wind drag has got to suck some diesel baby.