TCD is Thankful for Thanksgiving @ The Fort 2012

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

I'm all caught up, and would like to point out that skirt guy was feeling all tacticool... He was actually wearing a 5.11 tactical kilt. I sure as hell would never wear one, but apparently people do. The link says when they're gone you cannot order more. Probably not a great idea for the 5.11 line. :hah:

http://www.511tactic...-Duty-Kilt.html

I think I learn something new every time I'm on this site. Lol

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

I'm all caught up, and would like to point out that skirt guy was feeling all tacticool... He was actually wearing a 5.11 tactical kilt. I sure as hell would never wear one, but apparently people do. The link says when they're gone you cannot order more. Probably not a great idea for the 5.11 line. :hah:

http://www.511tactic...-Duty-Kilt.html

Need to carry pocket Lysol at WDW from now on and worry about what's hidden in the pockets of the kilt. As if working wether or not he has the tactical briefs on wasn't enough.

[alexwyattmommy 181]

I'm all caught up, and would like to point out that skirt guy was feeling all tacticool... He was actually wearing a 5.11 tactical kilt. I sure as hell would never wear one, but apparently people do. The link says when they're gone you cannot order more. Probably not a great idea for the 5.11 line. :hah:

http://www.511tactic...-Duty-Kilt.html

I am going to guess the guy in the kilt was Max. He is the only person to post reviews of the item - 5 reviews from the same person.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Going to be the longest weekend ever waiting for the next update.

You are right-that was a long weekend.

But, I am dusting off this report, and we will get it finished this week!

It makes perfect sense to go home for Thanksgiving dinner and then return to the Fort. That is not even questionable. :)

I knew that Fiends would understand.

Nobody else does.

Well, I'm far too late to this party, but I wanted to say, great report! One of my favorite trips to the Fort was Thanksgiving 2008. Thanksgiving is so crowded, but still an awesome time to be at WDW and the Fort. It's great to see you having such a great time with your family (including Rocky, the tether-dog!).

Hope all is well with you and the other Fiends I haven't seen enough of lately! (My bad - life has gotten interesting/complicated at home - but I do miss y'all!)

Leslie

Leslie-

Thanks for popping in! I hope the interesting/complicated stuff isn't too bad.

And Thanksgiving is definitely one of my favorite times to visit too. The crowds are awful, but you can still have a lot of fun.

Great update!

One question? I don't remember the canopy at the Osbourne lights last year. Is it new or is my brain having a senior moment?

The canopy is actually an original feature of the show, but it was updated with multicolored LED's last year.

It used to be just a red canopy of lights. In 2011, they added the multicolored lights and the ability to create designs with those lights.

So, it has always been there. The current version was first shown last year.

All caught up again! I've got to stop staying away so long. Y'all did really good on your trip to the studios, can't believe you got to do that much so quickly!

Glad that you got a chance to catch up.

We did have some luck that night. But we would have had fun no matter what.

Sorry I fell behind again.

Freaks are always at DW. I could sit and people watch for hours. You will see some strange stuff, but I have to admit I've never seen a dude in a skirt for no apparent reason. Do you think he was commando? Ewww

I hope you're doing something fun this weekend!

Nice job starting a little threadjack with that commando comment.

Yes, we did something fun. The girls toured the UCF Rosen School of Hospitality campus, and we got to visit WDW to boot. They have both already been accepted to UCF. They hear from FSU in about a week, and UF in February. They both really liked the Rosen campus, and I did too. If they get accepted by the other schools, they are going to have a tough decision to make.

I am sad you will not be at FW during WWW, as that may be my only chance to meet the great TCD.

Oh, and i do not think it strange to drive home for Thanksgiving dinner. Lots of people drive hours away for just dinner that day. The only requirement is that you listen to Alice's Restaurant at least once during the trip. Then it is OK.

I guess if there are no updates this weekend, it would be a good time to work on Christmas Cards for the Fiends! :)

Hmmm. It would be a shame for you to not be able to meet the great TCD. I'll see what I can do.

Great report TCD! BTW - a little meteorological trivia. The technical term for what you see coming off of the pool on a cool morning is called a 'mixing cloud' and it is the same thing that happens here up nort' with car exhaust when it is really, really cold. I'm sure that is something that you have always wanted to know.

Thanks Stef! My new worst fear is to run into a dude in a skirt for no apparent reason who is going commando at Epcot while riding Soarin...

If you think it is bad when you can see peoples' feet on that ride, it could be worse. Just sayin...

Hey- it's great to see a post from you, Lisa!

Mixing cloud. Got it.

Man, I did not need the mental image of that dude in the kilt being above me on Soarin.

Gross.

Great updates! I've been following along but in a funky mood the last couple of days. Sorry I haven't been responding.

I'm sorry to hear that Gwen.

I hope things start to look up for you.

I have been since we left the Fort.... Disney Depression?

I'm sure there must be such a thing.

I avoid it by always having the next trip planned.

It works for me.

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I think Dopey looks like Porky Pig.

I see that too.

That makes the flag even weirder. That is about as random a group as you can assemble.

I'm never going on Soarin again. Just in case.

Double eww.... I feel bad enough for anyone in the row under me as I'm swinging my bare feet because I left my flip flops on the ground as instructed. :rofl2:

I think I agree with Lisa. It is no longer worth the wait

I'm all caught up, and would like to point out that skirt guy was feeling all tacticool... He was actually wearing a 5.11 tactical kilt. I sure as hell would never wear one, but apparently people do. The link says when they're gone you cannot order more. Probably not a great idea for the 5.11 line. :hah:

http://www.511tactic...-Duty-Kilt.html

Need to carry pocket Lysol at WDW from now on and worry about what's hidden in the pockets of the kilt. As if working wether or not he has the tactical briefs on wasn't enough.

I am going to guess the guy in the kilt was Max. He is the only person to post reviews of the item - 5 reviews from the same person.

You see what you did, Stef?

Nice job.

I never knew that there was such a thing as tactical clothing, let alone a tactical kilt. And that Max guy is downright scary.

TCD

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

updateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdate.........please

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

updateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdate.........please

I get it.

You are waiting for an update, right?

TCD

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

I get it.

You are waiting for an update, right?

TCD

I am actually home today and able to read them when they are posted instead of having to catch up on 3 updates at night......

[HappyRedhead......Betsy 16]

updateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdateupdate.........please

What she said........

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

I'm home sick.... and waiting... :)

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

I have finished teaching school for the day (Christmas season makes for short school days at our house), so an update would would be nice right about now!

(Still hoping for a TCD visit, be it ever so brief, during WWW) (Hoping Lou will stop by as well!) (OK, I am hoping to meet lots of Fiends!)

[nutters4wdw......Amy 5]

Oh update, where are you? :pc:

[alexwyattmommy 181]

Did I miss the update?

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

I have finished teaching school for the day (Christmas season makes for short school days at our house), so an update would would be nice right about now!

I just figured up the rest of our school year. Starting after the Christmas Break, we have 14 weeks left of school. 11 weeks of math lessons. I figure that gives me plenty of weeks off if needed or the kids will get a mamouth summer break.

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

I just figured up the rest of our school year. Starting after the Christmas Break, we have 14 weeks left of school. 11 weeks of math lessons. I figure that gives me plenty of weeks off if needed or the kids will get a mamouth summer break.

I school through the summer so we can have time off during the nice weather of spring and fall and some time around Christmas. OTOH, we will probably do at least some school most days through the "Christmas Break" as it just gives some order to our days.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

I school through the summer so we can have time off during the nice weather of spring and fall and some time around Christmas. OTOH, we will probably do at least some school most days through the "Christmas Break" as it just gives some order to our days.

I started in summer for a few reasons. Halloween & Rally at Fort, Cruise, and potential Christmas at Fort (we decided not to do) and mostly because it helps keep the kids occupied while daddy is working (small space).

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

I started in summer for a few reasons. Halloween & Rally at Fort, Cruise, and potential Christmas at Fort (we decided not to do) and mostly because it helps keep the kids occupied while daddy is working (small space).

I hear you! I find that if we do school in the morning, so everyone is quiet and sitting still, then I can send them outside in the afternoon and they will happily amuse themselves while I enjoy the quiet house.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

I hear you! I find that if we do school in the morning, so everyone is quiet and sitting still, then I can send them outside in the afternoon and they will happily amuse themselves while I enjoy the quiet house.

Oh.. the days of backyards ..... doesn't quite work that way here. I have to be able to go out with them. It's what comes of living in campgrounds. Rules state your kids can't be left unattended and frankly not real safe to leave them unattended.

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

Oh.. the days of backyards ..... doesn't quite work that way here. I have to be able to go out with them. It's what comes of living in campgrounds. Rules state your kids can't be left unattended and frankly not real safe to leave them unattended.

You know, I hadn't considered that aspect of living in an RV. I always romaticized it. Now I am very grateful for our backyard.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

You know, I hadn't considered that aspect of living in an RV. I always romaticized it. Now I am very grateful for our backyard.

I do know that some people let their kids roam the campgrounds but usually in groups but most campgrounds are instituting the kids under 14 must be accompainied by an adult. However we don't allow it for safety reasons. We see how many RVs pull in and out of campgrounds during a day...

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

My apologies for the delay.

But, on the bright side, it gave all the home school teachers a chance to compare notes.

And, this update has a full 30 photos.

The last update, which was so long ago, left off right in the middle with my foot looping around the fishing hole.

We are now on the bridge that golf carts used to be allowed to drive over, but is now off limits.

There's Bob's dock now:

And here we are at one of my many favorite places to visit at the Fort- the back porch of the Meadow Trading Post:

There is just something about the landscaping and layout of the back porch that appeals to me.

The back porch Christmas decorations:

And now here we are rounding the building, looking down the long side porch. The thing that I cannot convey through these photos is the great instrumental Christmas music that was playing from the outside speakers. If you look carefully, you can see the 900 loop bus stop off in the distance:

They keep the lights on inside the Trading Post all night. I love looking in the windows when it isn't opened. It looks so calm and orderly in there:

Now we are on the front porch where I found four rockers and no waiting:

I sat and listened to one song.

That's the rule.

At least one.

It is guaranteed to put you in a good mood.

The view:

I would have liked to sit a spell, but I needed to get on the road.

So, here we go back to the 800 loop:

Near the 800 loop:

That's all the photos I have from the morning.

And the afternoon.

We bolted for home. Ate some turkey. And then bolted back.

Here we are back at the Fort at 4:39 pm. We made a point to leave earlier from home this year, so we could enjoy some daylight back at the Fort.

I am not in the returning guest lane because they had that lane coned off. Everyone had to go past the guard. The guard said it was because the parking lot was on strict restrictions:

I guess that means that they think people must be sneaking in behind guests.

We made it back to camp, and I set out on foot to find some Fiends.

I knew there was supposed to be a gathering at Rita's site, so I headed that way.

The sun was already ready to set:

I walked past the Trading Post, and up along the sidewalk that used to be the train tracks.

This is the back of a site near Rita's. They had two tents back far from their pad:

I found a large group chowing down at Rita's. This was the first (and last) time I saw Ed on this trip. Same with Lorna. And then there was Monique and Brian, and Scooter Minnie, and her DH, and a bunch more. They said grab some food and pull up a chair. I said I was just popping by to say hello, but that I would go and fetch the twins and come back. So, I headed back.

I love the sights you see around the Fort on Thanksgiving afternoon. Here's a whole family riding bikes:

And a couple more kids who passed me. These kids didn't have helmets on, and one had a skateboard, which aren't allowed at the Fort:

Despite my best efforts, the twins were not interested in walking over to the 1300 loop. They had two good reasons. One, they were stuffed, and two, their stupid dad messed up and didn't arrange for us to have a golf cart for two nights of our trip. I wasn't so fond of doing all that walking either. So, I made them a deal. We would take the truck and drive up to the front and I would see about renting a Disney cart, and then we would head on to Hollywood Studios.

So, that is what we did.

Which means I didn't get any of Monique's Lobster Macaroni and Cheese. The lobster is almost as good as fried hot dogs. That was a major bummer.

When we headed up front, I was glad to see that there were at least a dozen golf carts sitting outside the Reception Outpost. I waited my turn and said I wanted to rent one. The CM told me sorry, but we're sold out. But, there's a bunch sitting right out there, I said. They're all reserved, he said. Fail.

So off to Hollywood Studios we went.

It was busy.

But, we were able to walk on the Great Movie Ride.

There was one of those drinking birds in the Alien scene:

I've never noticed that before.

I wonder why it's there?

Notice how the front car is empty here. That means they weren't busy and weren't operating the cowboy scene. But, they still had a CM in the front car:

We decided to try out the new Pirates walk-through that just hopened where the Narnia thing used to be.

Here we go:

That talking pirate directed us into this room, which had an impressive amount of pirate stuff everywhere you look:

There is a lot of audience interaction:

And some pretty cool skeleton robots:

Then Captain Jack shows up. I thought it was a live actor. But, the girls later informed me that it was a hologram. They did a pretty good job with this, as it fooled me. It actually was a projection of Johnny Depp. I wanted to get back in line and see it again right away, but the girls vetoed that idea.

Instead, we crowded in to the Osborne Lights for the third time this trip. Seeing the Osborne Lights on Thanksgiving night has become a tradition for us:

It was crowded, as we expected:

The next Thanksgiving tradition for us would have been to go back to the Fort to loop and look at all the Christmas decorations.

But, we were still cartless.

I stopped at the office again on our way back, and those same carts were still out there. It was around 9:30 now. Still no carts.

I will fastforward here to let you know that there were at least a dozen carts sitting there the next morning.

They could have made $70 renting one of them to me.

But, they sat there instead.

Anyway, since we had no cart, we just sat in the camper for a while and ate some of the leftovers we had snagged to bring back.

It was a cool night, so Twin #1 had to wear her Gator Snuggie with her Pilgrim Hat:

The next Thanksgiving night tradition was to head to the MK to close it down.

So we did.

I believe these decorations belong to Fiend FtWildernessRick on the 100 loop:

We got a good place to see the new Castle Show:

And then we enjoyed the MK.

We headed back to the Fort around midnight.

Ray on 400 finally got some of his Christmas decorations up:

And there's Hilda's site across the crosswalk. She is behind schedule this year. And, I don't like that new bright light they put over there:

And that was our Thanksgiving.

I hate to tell you, but we are packing up for home tomorrow.

But, I have some bonus photos.

We were only home long enough to ditch the trailer and load up for our tailgate in Tallahasee.

I'm going to share those photos in this report.

And, one of them is of a VIP TCD fan.

So make sure you check back for that.

TCD

[TurkeyPants...Nicole 92]

I gave Monique and Brian something to give to you.

Make sure you get it from them.

TCD

Finally saw Brian and Monique yesterday - thank you so much! It was so nice to get a little piece of Disney on a cold and yucky December day in Massachusetts. You are the best! Sorry that I missed you... hoping for next year!

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Great Thanksgiving traditions!

Why isn't Hilda decorating? She didn't have anything out for Halloween either.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Dont tell twin #1 but the snuggy and hat make her look much..much..much younger

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

I don't suppose the late update today means we get a bonus update today, does it? OTOH, this might be the last update. *sigh*