TCD's Pre-Halloween 2012 Trip Report

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Thank you for not posting any food pictures of kitties before I have had my lunch. I wish we could form a steering comittee for the Fort and bring back the petting zoo, the calliope, the train, and River Country. My parents never took me camping or to WDW when I was young, so I missed out on all those. (Wow, amazing how quickly I can get back on the oh, poor me train these days.)

Sadly, it would take more than a steering committee to bring any of that stuff back. But, in case you do form it, please add the Swamp Trail to the list.

Thanks.

Dr. Terminus!

Hmmm.

Worse than I thought.

How does that guy get patients?

I assure you Lou is still around. I missed him at the potluck but met him at the GC Parade. Then said a brief hello while on my way to the Laundry room.... I even got Hugs!

You had me going there for a minute.

Until you mentioned hugs

That couldn't have been Lou.

Love the early morning photos and RC photos as always! Boo to any future parking lot. Down with the Fort DVC idea.......that may be the only idea dumber than Avatarland. Maybe the Fort DVC will be made to look like Endor and the Ewoks will be roaming about? That way the worst idea of the original trilogy can be matched up with the worst idea WDW has ever come up with.

You are a genius!

Endor was the forest moon or planet or whatever it was.

They could totally build that resort there on the old River Country site.

They would make a fortune!

Stef could get a job as an Ewok.

Brilliant!

Random thoughts:

As far as parking lots go, that looks like a small one, unless they go up and build a huge monolithic garage.

That looks like tracks from a deer that wears a left flip-flop. Same brand as yours!

I wonder if they took the calliope away for some theming at the 4 Seasons or Fort DVC, wouldn't that be a slap in the mouth? The calliope button just goes to show you how dumb they think we are!

I love the half log benches. That will be sad if they go!

More homogenous campground stuff, they seem to be slowly but surely stripping away a lot of the Fort's character.

Good points, MD.

About the parking lot- don't forget the genius part of the plan- they are going to rip down the perfectly good barn and petting zoo to make more space for the goober smoochers' cars. That will be a plenty big parking lot.

And I think that the calliope was pulled to be fixed up and used somewhere else. I thought, and still do think, that it is going to show up in the new Storybook Circus part of MK.

There are still plenty of the half log benches around, but I don't like the fact that these new ones use just a slab of wood.

TCD

[fortpartyof4 108]

I've never seen Pete's movie either, or Beauty and the Beast for that matter. I'm in the camp of moms-with-boys-who-refused-to-watch-any-princess-movies. But I might need to do something about that before I go to the new area of MK. Gaston appears to be kind of a tool, though.

It is remarkable how you photograph things we all just walk by while staying at the Fort, then present them like this and make us realize how much we will miss them when they're gone. I also love that area back there. We almost always include it in our bike hikes at the Fort. It's so peaceful. Too bad.

What is a goober smoocher? Is that a nice way of saying kiss a*@?

MD - nevermind contemplating parking decks or whatever else the greedy geniuses at Disney have planned for our beloved Fort property and get back to your TR! I am waiting very impatiently for an update!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I've never seen Pete's movie either, or Beauty and the Beast for that matter. I'm in the camp of moms-with-boys-who-refused-to-watch-any-princess-movies. But I might need to do something about that before I go to the new area of MK. Gaston appears to be kind of a tool, though.

It is remarkable how you photograph things we all just walk by while staying at the Fort, then present them like this and make us realize how much we will miss them when they're gone. I also love that area back there. We almost always include it in our bike hikes at the Fort. It's so peaceful. Too bad.

What is a goober smoocher? Is that a nice way of saying kiss a*@?

MD - nevermind contemplating parking decks or whatever else the greedy geniuses at Disney have planned for our beloved Fort property and get back to your TR! I am waiting very impatiently for an update!

Yes, you need to watch Beauty and the Beast. Gaston is a total tool. But, he doesn't know it. Chicks dig that. But not Belle.

A goober smoocher is like a yuppie, but I don't think that there are yuppies any more. In this case I was referring to the new DVC owners who will be parking where that nice field, barn and petting zoo have stood for 40 years.

I am going to try for one more update today.

Wish me luck.

TCD

[fortpartyof4 108]

Yes, you need to watch Beauty and the Beast. Gaston is a total tool. But, he doesn't know it. Chicks dig that. But not Belle.

A goober smoocher is like a yuppie, but I don't think that there are yuppies any more. In this case I was referring to the new DVC owners who will be parking where that nice field, barn and petting zoo have stood for 40 years.

I am going to try for one more update today.

Wish me luck.

TCD

I have a lot of Disney movies that I never watched in VHS format, BATB is one of them. My mom used to buy them for me when they would get released. We do still have a player that plays both DVD and VHS, but it won't communicate with the new fancy schmancy receiver my husband installed. Funny thing is, that receiver was to help make movie watching more like a theater. Now all it helps with is watching the Gators and Jaguars play. I take that back, nothing helps watching the Jaguars play. HA! Men and their gadgets.

I do catch a lot of the ones I missed at the outdoor movie when we're at the Fort, which is my absolute favorite way to watch Disney movies. Maybe I will get lucky and BATB will be playing next time I am there.

[TurkeyPants...Nicole 92]

From what I've heard, he is a character in the movie Pete's Dragon.

Which, as far as I can recall, I have never seen.

The dragon and Pete also play a pretty major role in the Main Street Electrical Parade which is still being featured at the MK.

I think I ought to watch that movie some time.

Well, guess what?

I bought a copy.

But so far, the twins have refused come up with good excuses every time I have suggested that we watch it. I even brought the movie with us on this trip. But, it was a no go.

Truth be told, I am not all that excited to see it, but I think I need to.

And I will.

One of these days.

Pete's Dragon is one of my all time favorite Disney movies. I used to watch it over and over when I was a kid. Try it, you might like it!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I have a lot of Disney movies that I never watched in VHS format, BATB is one of them. My mom used to buy them for me when they would get released. We do still have a player that plays both DVD and VHS, but it won't communicate with the new fancy schmancy receiver my husband installed. Funny thing is, that receiver was to help make movie watching more like a theater. Now all it helps with is watching the Gators and Jaguars play. I take that back, nothing helps watching the Jaguars play. HA! Men and their gadgets. I do catch a lot of the ones I missed at the outdoor movie when we're at the Fort, which is my absolute favorite way to watch Disney movies. Maybe I will get lucky and BATB will be playing next time I am there.

I agree with you about watching movies at the Fort. The thing that stinks is that they do not play anywhere near the variety of movies that they used to. Which is also a good thing cough cough Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again.

Sorry about the Jags. But if it's any consolation, we have the Bucs.

Pete's Dragon is one of my all time favorite Disney movies. I used to watch it over and over when I was a kid. Try it, you might like it!

Over and over? Really? I guess I can at least watch it once then.

What's the deal with Dr. Terminus? He's a bad guy I figure. Probably wants to steal the dragon. I see that coming from a mile away.

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

OK, one more update, and then the weekend starts.

We left off with Saturday morning at my site.

I got the girls up, and they headed to the comfort station to get ready.

I tidied up around camp.

Except for the sidewalk right next to us, I liked our site.

It certainly was big:

And look at all that pavement.

I did not miss the coquina.

And, we had a lot of space in the back too (don't miss the guests walking by) ;

Want to see something cool? :

I'll bet there are people reading along who have no idea what Discovery Island was.

I know there are people reading along who claim to have hated Discovery Island.

But I liked it.

And I miss it.

As long as I'm taking photos, here's something you may not have seen or know anything about:

If you participate in the show at Enchanted Tales with Belle, you get one of those. It has your photos on it, and everyone else's too. I'm not sure how some people would feel about that. I don't care, but some parents might not like other people having photos of their kids. I'm thinking this is something that they will be changing.

I mentioned that we were going to breakfast.

Did you guess where?

We went to the Polynesian Resort.

For Tonga Toast!

I've heard about Tonga Toast for years.

Some people rave about it.

I've never tried it.

It's a signature dish in the sit down restaurant upstairs.

But, you can also get it from the quick serve downstairs.

We had talked about taking the boat and then monorail to the Polynesian. But, that would take a long time, no matter what. And we weren't sure when they stopped serving breakfast- so we drove.

It takes maybe 10 minutes to get there from the Fort.

For future reference, you can order breakfast from 6:30 to 11:00 am:

Check it out- Tonga Toast is pretty cheap- only $5.19. That's less than one of those breakfast sandwiches at the Fort. But note, that is just for Tonga Toast- no bacon or anything else.

You can add a side of bacon or sausage - I think it was another $2 for that.

Two of us had bacon, one sausage.

Here's what Tonga Toast looks like:

The verdict?

Awesome!

Six thumbs up.

We all loved it.

That said, it's not something I'm going to get every trip. It's not easy to get here, and there are other breakfast items I love, too. If I had to choose between Tonga Toast and a Breakfast Bagel from Trail's End, I would choose the Breakfast Bagel. But, that doesn't mean I hate Tonga Toast.

There is an art shop around the corner from Captain Cooks.

They have some weird stuff in there.

Like this sculpture:

That's cool and all.

But who would buy one of these? And, what would you do with it if you did?

One of the reasons that we drove to the Polynesian was that the girls got ready quick to go, but wanted to spend some more time fixing themselves up before we went to a park.

So, we went back to camp.

Today was a Saturday.

In October.

The Gators were going to play South Carolina later that day. Which was easliy the biggest game of the day. ESPN game day was in Gainesville.

The Noles were in Miami to play the Canes. That was also a big game.

So, even though I swore of decorating my site, I had to at least represent for the Gators.

So, I put up one Albert:

And a Gator Nation flag on the cart.

But that was it.

When I was setting up Albert, I found a weird looking piece of wood:

It reminded me of something, so I took that photo. It's been bugging me ever since what;

The girls were ready to go after not too long, and we headed up to the Outpost to catch a bus.

The spooktacular people from 1700 had taken over the field next to the Meadow pool (or maybe that is the meadow) :

Since we had been to the MK a lot, and were going to Epcot tonight, the choice for today was either DHS or AK.

We all agreed on DHS.

Even though it was an EMH morning at DHS.

We figured the EMH people would be out of the way, and wait times wouldn't be bad.

We figured wrong:

110 minutes is almost 2 hours, right?

We decided to get Fastpasses for TOT and go see the Indiana Jones show. It had been a while since we saw that.

Did you ever notice this rope outside of Indiana Jones? :

We pulled the rope.

Interesting.

Look for it.

I like little things like this.

Have you seen the Indiana Jones show?

If so, feel free to keep reading.

If not, I will issue a spoiler alert.

There's a little part of the show that you may prefer to see before you read about it here.

If you don't care, then read on.

If you would rather be surprised your first time stop reading this post now, and wait for the next one. We are going to discuss the Indiana Jones show for the rest of this post.

As you may know, the first part of this show involves "extras" who are picked from the audience to come up on stage.

I have seen the show a few times, and know how this goes.

They pick a bunch of regular folks, and then they slip in one of their actors, who gets involved in some antics that get carried away on stage.

The twins and I had discussed how it would be funny if I got picked and then did stuff like the fake extra/actor did. Or overreacted to him. What would they do?

So when they called for volunteers, I stood up and waved my arms.

If you have met me, you know how I stand out in a crowd, so of course I was picked.

That's me in the yellow shirt up there on the stage:

For this part, they ask you your name and where you're from. Then they ask you to act out a big laugh, and to act scared. Then they send you off to get a costume.

I was surprised when the gave me an Indiana Jones costume and took me up to a cat walk and had me climb down this rope. I kept asking if they were sure and if it was safe. They said it was:

All that rope climbing I did in Junior HIgh finally paid off!

OK, I made that part up.

Just seeing if you're paying attention.

Actually, here I am in costume, that's me 5th from the left with the sweet turban:

When they took us away for costumes, they actually had us sign a waiver. I kept an eye on all the guys to see if I could spot the actor. He was easy to spot. He didn't sign the waiver, an he had a belt with his robe. That's him on the far right.

I had handed my camera to Twin #1 when I headed down to the stage, and she waved to me from their seats. I waved back:

The first thing they did with us was pick out a guy to act out being shot by a gun

Another guy volunteered faster than me and he did a pretty good job playing out a prolonged death. Look how he did the classic feet in the air there at the end:

Next, the actors who play Indy and Marian came out. They have a scene where Indy has to fight a bunch of acrobatic bad guys with plastic swords:

Indy fights them all and whips them with his whip:

This is where I saw my opportunity to jump in- one of the bad guys fell down and dropped his sword right in front of me. I could have picked it up and helped Indy fight the bad guys. I thought about it for a minute. But then I chickened out. Fail.

Then came the part for the fake extra.

They call him out, and Marion beats him up:

I had another chance here.

I could run out there and jump on Marion's back and help out the guy.

But, I didn't do that either.

So he got knocked out:

After that, they moved us off the stage and had us go back to our seats.

That was fun.

But, next time I'm not raising my hand.

After this, we headed to TOT for our ride, and then we hit up the animation class.

I'll tell you about that in the next post.

TCD

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Props on getting picked for the Indy show! That would be fun. The only thing I've ever been picked for at a Disney park was getting drowned on the movie set at DHS.

[mommy rainbo.....Bo 41]

Great job at being picked..even if you chickened out.

[TurkeyPants...Nicole 92]

Over and over? Really? I guess I can at least watch it once then.

What's the deal with Dr. Terminus? He's a bad guy I figure. Probably wants to steal the dragon. I see that coming from a mile away.

He's a swindling creep! But you almost feel bad for him when the people turn on him in the marketplace...almost.

[fortpartyof4 108]

You are so lucky, always getting chosen for the cool acting gigs. My boys would love to be in the IJ show.

I apologize in advance, but cannot resist saying that when I saw this photo I thought you all looked like a group of people who had been let out of the looney bin for the day.

Did your girls die, or just pretend not to know you?

hahaha

[anolefan 8]

Great stuff Andrew! I've always enjoyed how interested the twins are at all the events and their interactions with the cm's. it's really cool.

I love your early morning photos and the sunrise series. My favorite is Sunrise Over Campfire.

Seeing the beef truck made me curious so I looked them up. Apparently Buckhead Beef is quite reputable and even serviced the Olympics in Atlanta.

http://www.buckheadbeef.com/company_info.htm

Thanks for the River Country photos.

Site 617 will need a lot more foliage than that for me to be want to stay there. I hope I'm never assigned there on a full weekend with no other options available.

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

I was going to skip the Indiana Jones part, as I have not seen it, but I wasn't sure when to start reading again. It's not like I could skip all the comments over the whole weekend. I would miss some legendary hijacks, in all likihood. So i read it and I'm glad I did. :)

[The Troll 67]

TCD, I'm all caught up. I must admit I skipped over some sections because I didn't want to spoil the new Fantasy Land for us. Great TR, as always!

I know there are people reading along who claim to have hated Discovery Island.

Yep. I effing hated that effing place. Crappy zoo-like place with very little to "discover." Get ready to be bored to tears. And sweat. And get eaten alive by mosquitoes. Hated that place. No surprise it was closed. Good bye. There's so much that could be done with that island. Only problem would be ferrying people over.

Stuff like this worries me:

Perhaps I'm paranoid, but many, many years ago, I worked in the health club business. One thing we always knew was that anytime a health club stopped paying attention to the details and started letting little things slip, it meant the health club was getting ready to close.

I've noticed they seem to have totally given up on the theming of the Fort. Yes, they still landscape and decorate for the holidays, but the theming has been abandoned. There used to be garbage cans shaped like tree stumps, topiaries, totem poles, and such. Now the log benches are gone, too? Plus the management seems to let other things slide, too, like junked-up sites.

I'm sure the Fort is profitable. But is it profitable enough? Enough for Disney? It does occupy a lot of prime Bay Lake real estate.

I wonder.

[Big Kahuna aka John 71]

And the academy award for best supporting actor goes to....... TCD !!!!

[mommy rainbo.....Bo 41]

TCD, I'm all caught up. I must admit I skipped over some sections because I didn't want to spoil the new Fantasy Land for us. Great TR, as always!

Yep. I effing hated that effing place. Crappy zoo-like place with very little to "discover." Get ready to be bored to tears. And sweat. And get eaten alive by mosquitoes. Hated that place. No surprise it was closed. Good bye. There's so much that could be done with that island. Only problem would be ferrying people over.

Stuff like this worries me:

Perhaps I'm paranoid, but many, many years ago, I worked in the health club business. One thing we always knew was that anytime a health club stopped paying attention to the details and started letting little things slip, it meant the health club was getting ready to close.

I've noticed they seem to have totally given up on the theming of the Fort. Yes, they still landscape and decorate for the holidays, but the theming has been abandoned. There used to be garbage cans shaped like tree stumps, topiaries, totem poles, and such. Now the log benches are gone, too? Plus the management seems to let other things slide, too, like junked-up sites.

I'm sure the Fort is profitable. But is it profitable enough? Enough for Disney? It does occupy a lot of prime Bay Lake real estate.

I wonder.

Nah, nah, nah fingers in my ears, my first trip to the Fort is coming up and I already don't want to see "change" in its future.

[devores 382]

Its funny that you posted about these benches. Just today, I saw a truck (not a Disney truck) leaving the fort with a bunch of those old split log benches in the back. Not sure how they got them or where they were going, but it was the old split log benches.

[Southern Blessings 4]

I liked Discovery Island, of course I think I only went there twice. You always get picked for the shows! Very cool!

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

Maybe someone on 617 did like I did on 623 last february, and relocated the grill to the ground. You know, It is hard backing a big fifth wheel around a pine tree anisd into a site when the truck is bigger than the fifth wheel. I'm glad to see they moved the grill over although I would never use one those grills to cook on. I've seen everything from gas cans to stinky slinkies stored on those grills.

How hard is it to pull the grill? I never use mine either and while I have a little trailer I still have a big camping setup and I hate not being all the way in the back. Plus on Premium sites I want as many EZ-up legs off the concrete as possible to stake stuff down.

[thegooftroopfla 18]

Great report. We're going up e Friday after thanksgiving so I will have to pull the rope. I also can't wait to see fantasy land

[Specularius 102]

How hard is it to pull the grill? I never use mine either and while I have a little trailer I still have a big camping setup and I hate not being all the way in the back. Plus on Premium sites I want as many EZ-up legs off the concrete as possible to stake stuff down.

It's not hard at all when you back into it and knock it down. Oops. A crescent wrench and a few minutes you could un-bolt it and lay it down but ranger rick would not be happy.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Props on getting picked for the Indy show! That would be fun. The only thing I've ever been picked for at a Disney park was getting drowned on the movie set at DHS.

I was picked for that once, too. But, I was on the boat shooting at the Japs (my apologies to any Japanese Americans reading along- it was a Pearl Harbor scene-so no offense).

I still got the cool raincoat, though.

My best role being picked out of the audience wasn't at Disney. I got picked a long time ago by this creepy magician type guy. He had me stand on the stage, and he climbed up on me and did a handstand on my shoulders. Very, very creepy I tell you.

Great job at being picked..even if you chickened out.

I know.

I'm such a wuss.

He's a swindling creep! But you almost feel bad for him when the people turn on him in the marketplace...almost.

Sounds like a classic 70's Disney flick.

If he's a bad guy, it's kind of weird that they picked his name to go on the canvas that covers the campfire stage.

You are so lucky, always getting chosen for the cool acting gigs. My boys would love to be in the IJ show.

I apologize in advance, but cannot resist saying that when I saw this photo I thought you all looked like a group of people who had been let out of the looney bin for the day.

Did your girls die, or just pretend not to know you?

hahaha

Yeah, the girls pretended not know me.

They even heard a lady behind them comment on how the guy was waving at someone in their section.

Your boys will need to wait until they're 18 to be in the Indy show- they only take adults to be extras.

Great stuff Andrew! I've always enjoyed how interested the twins are at all the events and their interactions with the cm's. it's really cool.

I love your early morning photos and the sunrise series. My favorite is Sunrise Over Campfire.

Seeing the beef truck made me curious so I looked them up. Apparently Buckhead Beef is quite reputable and even serviced the Olympics in Atlanta.

http://www.buckheadb...ompany_info.htm

Thanks for the River Country photos.

Site 617 will need a lot more foliage than that for me to be want to stay there. I hope I'm never assigned there on a full weekend with no other options available.

Thanks for doing that research, Tom.

I figured that company had to be from Atlanta.

I'll bet that is a sweet contract.

I also bet that all the beef in WDW comes from the same supplier- so the steak you get at the Canada restaurant is the same as the one you get at Port Orleans or wherever.

I was going to skip the Indiana Jones part, as I have not seen it, but I wasn't sure when to start reading again. It's not like I could skip all the comments over the whole weekend. I would miss some legendary hijacks, in all likihood. So i read it and I'm glad I did. :)

Well, when you take your family to the show, don't tell them about the opening sequence. Let them be surprised. Maybe you could volunteer, and do something to embarass them.

TCD, I'm all caught up. I must admit I skipped over some sections because I didn't want to spoil the new Fantasy Land for us. Great TR, as always!

Yep. I effing hated that effing place. Crappy zoo-like place with very little to "discover." Get ready to be bored to tears. And sweat. And get eaten alive by mosquitoes. Hated that place. No surprise it was closed. Good bye. There's so much that could be done with that island. Only problem would be ferrying people over.

Stuff like this worries me:

Perhaps I'm paranoid, but many, many years ago, I worked in the health club business. One thing we always knew was that anytime a health club stopped paying attention to the details and started letting little things slip, it meant the health club was getting ready to close.

I've noticed they seem to have totally given up on the theming of the Fort. Yes, they still landscape and decorate for the holidays, but the theming has been abandoned. There used to be garbage cans shaped like tree stumps, topiaries, totem poles, and such. Now the log benches are gone, too? Plus the management seems to let other things slide, too, like junked-up sites.

I'm sure the Fort is profitable. But is it profitable enough? Enough for Disney? It does occupy a lot of prime Bay Lake real estate.

I wonder.

I hear you about the theming.

But, then they will do something that suggests that the Fort isn't going anywhere.

Like all the recent new lightposts that have been installed at the crosswalks in the Fort. Those are themed.

So, I don't think the Fort is going to be closing.

But I do think it is managed by a bunch of idiots.

And, I never hated Discovery Island. My kids were young when it was open, and it was just right for them. We could see almost everything in an hour or two, and the low key exhibits and shows were perfect for young children. I can see where it would be boring for an adult. Still, I wish it was still there.

And the academy award for best supporting actor goes to....... TCD !!!!

Thank you.

But, the guy that did the death scene deserves it more than I do.

If I hadn't chickened out on my plan, though, I would definitely deserve it.

Nah, nah, nah fingers in my ears, my first trip to the Fort is coming up and I already don't want to see "change" in its future.

Good job.

Don't listen to us old timers gripe.

It's hard to believe, but even after losing all the old stuff, the Fort is still a great place, and new visitors don't even miss the stuff that's gone.

Its funny that you posted about these benches. Just today, I saw a truck (not a Disney truck) leaving the fort with a bunch of those old split log benches in the back. Not sure how they got them or where they were going, but it was the old split log benches.

Oh man.

I hate hearing that.

I didn't notice any of the new benches anywhere else, but I wonder if they are swapping them out?

Not cool if they are.

TCD

[doodlebug....Cherie 461]

I'm still here, trying to catch up. I think it's going to take me a while. :)

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I liked Discovery Island, of course I think I only went there twice. You always get picked for the shows! Very cool!

You got to go to Discovery Island? Good for you. There aren't a lot of people who remember it.

I do always get picked for the shows. I especially get picked on at the Monster's Inc.Laugh Floor in MK. The best I can figure, it must be female CM's who do the selecting there, and, like most ladies, they simply can't resist.

How hard is it to pull the grill? I never use mine either and while I have a little trailer I still have a big camping setup and I hate not being all the way in the back. Plus on Premium sites I want as many EZ-up legs off the concrete as possible to stake stuff down.

On the partials, full and preferred, it's just a matter of pulling the grill straight up and out of the sand. There isn't anything holding the pole in place. You can then slide it back in place when you leave.

On the premiums, it will take some tools, as Specularius says below.

Great report. We're going up e Friday after thanksgiving so I will have to pull the rope. I also can't wait to see fantasy land

The Friday after Thanksgiving?

Oh man, it's going to be crowded!

Have fun, though.

Definitely check out the new stuff in Fantasyland.

It's not hard at all when you back into it and knock it down. Oops. A crescent wrench and a few minutes you could un-bolt it and lay it down but ranger rick would not be happy.

LOL- I would not want to run into one of those grills when they are bolted down like they are on the premium sites.

The only think about unbolting them, is you are still going to have bolts sticking up from the slab- so the space still isn't 100% useable.

I'm still here, trying to catch up. I think it's going to take me a while. :)

No rush, take your time.

And, as you know, there is going to be a little TCD report after this one finishes, so you probably will never get caught up.

It was good to see you for 30 seconds Saturday night!

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Let's get back to our report.

After my performance at the Indiana Jones show, it was time for a quick ride through space on Star Tours.

The great thing about this attraction is that even on busy days, it doesn't usually have a long wait.

Today, we were in and out in no problem.

This interesting parade passed by us on our way. They were carrying Tiggers on a stick. I don't know why:

Next stop was the Animation building.

We have heard that Pooh is getting the boot and Wreck-it Ralph is moving in.

The old Pooh back drop was walled off, but Ralph wasn't there yet.

The line for the animation class was short, though, so we hopped on.

And, 20 minutes later, we had these Mousterpieces:

The last one is mine.

Yes, I know that I'm getting worse at this.

I messed up the circle guideline at the beginning. If you get that wrong, you're toast.

Today I was toast.

On the way out, one of the displays caught my eye.

There was a display that showed aerial views that had been used in some of Disney's animated movies:

This is what caught my eye:

That is supposedly a scene from the movie Dumbo. I don't remember this scene, as it has been a long time since I watched Dumbo, but I guess that is the circus tent from the movie.

It caught my eye, because it's a match for the new building they built in the Storybook Circus area for the double Dumbo.

I'll show you.

From the Animation building, we walked over to the One Man's Dream Attraction, and headed all the way back to the New Fantasyland model they have on display in there. We had wanted to check it out after now having visited there.

First, here's the model:

Now, here's a closer look at the new Dumbo queue building from the model:

Cool, huh?

But, the main reason we came to look at the model was to take a look at what is planned around the Little Mermaid area. One thing that surprised us is that the Mermaid has no gift shop. Belle has a gift shop, why not Ariel? Well, take a look here. This is a shot looking in to the new area with the 7 Dwarfs Mine Car on the left, and Ariel on the right. The model shows a building that looks like a tower across from the Little Mermaid ride- I'll bet that will be a mermaid gift shop. Also, you can clearly see that there will be a walkway between this area and the new Storybook Circus area. This walkway has not been opened yet, but I'm betting that it will be once the new area officially opens in a couple of weeks. The last thing I wanted to point out in this photo is how detailed it is- if you look toward the back- you can see that the model of Gaston's Tavern even has the Gaston/LeFou statue out front:

This model is really cool to look at now that parts of the expansion have been opened. It is amazing how accurate the model is.

From here, we headed back to the Fort for lunch.

And football.

The Gators were playing South Carolina beginning at 3:30, and I got to watch the first half.

That was the longest period of time we had been at our site for the whole trip, except for sleeping.

Devores stopped by for a while, and he sat and watched a little football with me and had a beer.

That was strange.

Two grown men drinking beer, watching football, and discussing New Fantasyland.

One of those things is not like the others.

The Gators played amazingly well in the first half, and benefited greatly from some turnovers by South Carolina.

When half-time arrived, the TCD twins politely reminded me that we had agreed to go to Epcot tonight for the Food and Wine Festival.

And it was time.

So, I had to go.

I really wanted to stay and watch football, but I also did not want to miss a Saturday night Food and Wine Festival.

So we went.

We took the cart to the Outpost and took the bus to Epcot.

It was very, very busy.

But fun.

On the way in, there was a long line just for the bag check.

Boo.

We waited and waited.

Finally, just as it was my turn, and I had stepped up and unzipped by back pack, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

I turned around, and was surprised to see a fully uniformed Orange County Sheriff Deputy.

Not a Disney security guard.

A real cop.

In a real uniform. With a gun and handcuffs and everything. Even a badge.

And he had just tapped me on the shoulder.

Crap.

What did I do? I actually felt my heart drop. I thought I was in trouble for something, but I had no idea what.

Then he smiled and told me the Gators had just scored another touchdown, and he gave me a high five.

Did I mention I was wearing my lucky Gators shirt?

The cop was just a fan telling another fan some good news.

That guy is my hero.

He's standing there with his earbud in looking all official.

But, he's listening to the football game.

And he's a Gator fan.

Awesome.

We finally made it in.

There were several groups with matching shirts.

Like this family:

I mean familia:

We stopped in Canada first for our new favorite- the filet.

Then we moved on through the UK.

Holy smokes, there were a lot of people here:

Here we are on the bridge to France looking back at the crowd that we just walked through:

A closer look:

That's a lot of people.

And more than half of them were tipsy.

It is well known that the French are not the most efficient people in the world. Their food line always confirms that:

I guess it says a lot about the Coq a Vin that we waited on that line to get some.

We ate it over here with this view:

This was our second visit to the Food and Wine Festival.

And our second time not getting the Belgian Waffle. This line was worse than France's:

I loved this group. They were celebrating a baby shower. Yes, I said baby shower. We tried to find the mom to be, but either she wasn't with them, or she wasn't showing:

Somehow, I feel sorry for the kid.

We stopped at Japan, and I tried the beef sandwich, which was new this year. I liked it, but it didn't really seem like authentic Japanese food. More like something they created to appeal to the Food and Wine crowd.

The one hit wonder band tonight was Survivor.

Everybody has heard of them.

You know, Eye of the Tiger?

They attracted a big crowd:

As luck would have it, we passed by just as they began their one hit. Here's the first 30 seconds of Eye of the Tiger:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okWCQs81v2s&feature=youtu.be

I don't care what anyone says.

That is a good song!

And those geezers can still play it.

We are about half-way around the lake now, so this is a good place to stop.

We will continue our journey in the next update.

TCD