TCD is Thankful for Thanksgiving @ The Fort 2012

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

Great update! But I am still hungry.

[stefa70 205]

:clint: It seems as if we took the same vacation at different times.

As for your previous comment about the twins' college: I would hardly call either of those girls sheltered!!

They'll make the best choice for them when the time comes. At least I got my vote in.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

More mystery....

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

three surprises? Looking forward to it.

anytime you can use dinglehopper in a TR it must be good.

I still can't get over the fact that your twins can go to beer and wine school and then "hop" to the world in 15 minutes. Yeah, UCF looks pretty good about now. You can always road trip to some football games elsewhere if you get the itch.

[stefa70 205]

if you get the itch.

I also think they make a cream for that.

May be caused by wearing meggins.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Wow. A trip report within a trip report. And a tailgating side trip. Nice! I can't wait to see the new Fantasyland stuff for myself.

Thanks for reading!

The new Fantasyland stuff is something worth seeing. I have some more of that to show you in the next update.

Waiting for the next update. This one was really good.

Thanks. I am already working on the next update, and will post it this afternoon.

Great update! But I am still hungry.

I hope you have lunch before the next update.

'cause we are going to have some pretzels, and you are going to be even hungrier.

:clint: It seems as if we took the same vacation at different times.

As for your previous comment about the twins' college: I would hardly call either of those girls sheltered!!

They'll make the best choice for them when the time comes. At least I got my vote in.

Yes, it's funny how we took similar photos at Test Track and of the Mine Train ride.

The girls are pretty sheltered. And they would have it pretty cushy at UCF compared to how it was for their big sister at FSU. But, what's wrong with that?

You are right, though, when it comes time to make a decision, I'm sure they will make the right choice, and that they will be happy wherever they end up.

Right now, my vote is for UCF too.

More mystery....

Of course.

Would you expect anything less?

three surprises? Looking forward to it.

anytime you can use dinglehopper in a TR it must be good.

I still can't get over the fact that your twins can go to beer and wine school and then "hop" to the world in 15 minutes. Yeah, UCF looks pretty good about now. You can always road trip to some football games elsewhere if you get the itch.

Yup.

Three surprises. Three things I did not expect to see that day. You'll see.

UCF has a football team, and they joined the Big East, so next year, they will be playing Cincinnatti (new coach-TT), UConn, Louisville, Rutgers and others. In fact, they even have a deal with South Carolina to play them in Orlando. How strange is that? The girls could see an SEC game. So, they could still have the college football experience. They have cousins who attended UCF, and they even tailgate over there. The main campus is 30 minutes from this one, and there are free shuttle buses on the hour.

I also think they make a cream for that.

May be caused by wearing meggins.

LOL!

Good one!

But I believe its meggings. (three "g's")

TCD

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

I knew they had a team....but so does Eastern michigan University and I am not going to watch them play.....unless they happen to be playing in Ann Arbor or South Bend.

I would still rather drive to the Swamp to see real football being played. But beer and wine class is a tough thing to turn down.

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

Great day! & Three surprises!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I knew they had a team....but so does Eastern michigan University and I am not going to watch them play.....unless they happen to be playing in Ann Arbor or South Bend.

I would still rather drive to the Swamp to see real football being played. But beer and wine class is a tough thing to turn down.

Well, they are going to be in the Big East- so that's a notch above Eastern Michigan. OK, maybe not a notch. But, it's a real conference.

They can't take the beer and wine class until they're 21, so that isn't a big draw for them. I, on the other hand, was thinking about re-enrolling in college.

Great day! & Three surprises!

Yes, and here they come!

TCD

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

Yippee!

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

I need to get to work but I can't. I need the update!

LOL!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Now, for those three surprises . . .

We saw the first one as soon as we entered Storybook Circus.

I'm sure that you've heard by now that this area of Fantasyland now has a circus theme.

But did you hear that they have clowns wandering around in there?

Clowns.

Why did it have to be clowns?

I hate clowns.

I am not afraid of clowns like some people.

I just hate them.

They are annoying.

And condescending.

And those white faces and yellow teeth?

Yuck!

The big shoes?

Stupid!

I hate clowns.

So, guess what we ran right into?

This:

It's a clown.

Right there at the entrance to Storybook Circus.

See- he's putting something together.

The girls wanted to stop and see what this was about.

And so did I.

Even though I hate clowns.

So the clown built something with those flimsy boards.

Big deal.

Then he asked for a volunteer from the audience:

I did not raise my hand.

He picked a kid and had him stand off to the side near some of those pins you always see clowns juggle.

Then the clown climbed up on the boards:

Hmmm.

Not bad.

That looked pretty flimsy to me. I said let's stay and watch. Who knows? Maybe the clown would fall and get hurt. I don't wish harm to the clown, but that would be something worth seeing for me, seeing as how much I hate clowns.

Then the clown puts down a cyliner, and a board on top of that, and steps up onto that:

He was having trouble keeping his balance.

Oh boy!

This might get good!

Then he asks the kid he picked out of the audience to toss the pins up to him one at a time.

The kid was terrible.

The clown had to reach far out to catch the pins. And some were so far off, the clown couldn't even catch them. That was also good. Maybe the clown would fall trying to catch the pins.

But, the clown had the boy move closer.

Here he is tossing a pin up to the clown:

Do you see the back ot that kid's head?

What is going on there?

Take a closer look:

What the Fort is that?

A rat tail?

When was the last time you saw one of those?

That is already the second surprise.

The clown was the first.

I never thought I would see a clown in the Magic Kingdom. And I never thought I would see a kid with a rat tail.

Now, back to the clown.

The kid finally tossed the second pin where the clown could catch it:

And then the third, whereupon he began to juggle:

I'll tell you what.

Even though I hate clowns, this guy was good.

I wonder where they found him?

Where do you find a guy with these kinds of skills?

By the way, the clown had a German accent.

After he juggled a bit, he jumped down, and was going to move on to some other thing to entertain the crowd.

As we were walking away, Twin #1 said he had broken out a bunch of knives.

Knives?

I said let's go back.

Maybe there would be a knife mishap?

But, they were fake knives.

So, we moved on.

You know what?

Even though I hate clowns, I liked this clown. He was good. He entertained the crowd. He wasn't obnoxious. It added some neat atmosphere here. I would stop and watch him again.

He is bound to fall one of these times.

After our clown encounter, we moved on to the purpose of our visit.

We were going to have a snack.

A Mickey head pretzel to be exact.

From one of the new stands back there by the yellow tent.

It was right around 4:30.

The hot dog cart was closed:

But the pretzel cart was open, and we got a couple. We got a couple because there were only two left. But that's better than nothing:

That's the twins sitting at one of the new tables they have back here.

This is a nice little addition to Fantasyland.

A place to sit and chill.

Nice.

We could look over and see the train station:

And then this guy came by:

That's the third surprising thing.

A full-on Tennessee fan. Even the shoes. When was the last time you saw that in public? When was the last time Tennessee had a winning season?

I kept my eye on that guy.

He might have been up to something.

Maybe he was an undercover cop?

What normal person would walk around dressed like that?

So, there's your three surprises: 1. The clown. 2. The Rat Tail. 3. Vols fan.

Wow.

What a day.

I'm really glad we decided to come over here for a pretzel.

The plan was that we would hop on the train here, and go up to the front. Great plan.

I heard the train coming, so we headed over to the station.

I didn't know there was a crowd of folks waiting on the other side.

But there was.

A big crowd.

We were about the last ones to make this train.

But we did make it.

Here we are in the Main Street station. This big thing is actually a SOTMK portal:

There were a bunch of Castmembers standing under the station at parade rest waiting for the Flag retreat:

We didn't stay to watch, as we were in a hurry to get to Epcot.

We hopped the Express Monorail. I realized that it had been a long time since we had been on the Express. It was strange going the wrong way around the Seven Seas Lagoon:

You know I just had to look at the darned Four Seasons across the way:

I swear the building is taller than it was when we were here just two weeks earlier:

I just caught the tip of the resort monorail in this shot:

We slowed down around the Grand Floridian construction, so I was able to get a couple of photos of it:

It looks like someone chose to get married on a Friday:

We also stopped for a bit at the Polynesian:

And then made it to the TTC.

I forgot that you can just walk across the platform to the Epcot monorail from here. If you are on the resort monorail, you have to walk down a long ramp, under the rails, and then back up a long ramp.

As luck would have it, the Epcot monorail pulled up just as we lined up.

I guess whatever the reason they were busing people this morning from Epcot had been resolved by now.

Because we hopped on, and were on our way to Epcot.

We will pick it up from there in the next update.

TCD

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

Thank you. I can get some work done now.

Pretzels and clowns in the same trip. I can't wait till our trip in two weeks.

[alexwyattmommy 181]

WooHoo, I caught the update. Were the pretzels really shaped like Mickey?

I think I want to go back to college too.

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

Good update.

I was waiting for the big moment when the clown fell on his face.

I hate clowns too.

In fact I never liked the circus, but Storybook Circus will likely be an exception bc I love taking DD on Dumbo.

She loves it and therefore Daddy does too.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

We didn't see any clowns last month! Sorry, but I think that's a great addition to Storybook Circus!

The rat tail I can do without. But it's not as bad as the mohawk my DGS (7-year-old Caden) insists on getting 3-4 times a year.

We occasionally see a Vols fan here, but that's expected since we live so much closer than you do.

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

I believe it is possible that the rat tail is the beginning of a boy trying to grow a jedi braid. Anyway, that is what i choose to believe.

Is it possible to get Mickey Pretzels anywhere outside the parks? They look really good, but my next trip doesn't involve park time.

And you were right - the pretzel picture did make me hungry. I had a child bring me a banana. Not really the same.

[Gots2pitt.. Jeff 64]

Good update.

I was waiting for the big moment when the clown fell on his face.

I hate clowns too.

In fact I never liked the circus, but Storybook Circus will likely be an exception bc I love taking DD on Dumbo.

She loves it and therefore Daddy does too.

Just wait, for mine it was the Barnstormer, but luckily for me they graduated to Big Thunder Mountain after a dozen rides or so on the Barnstormer.

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

Whew, finally got to read today and got caught up!!

Rest assured, all the decorators were well finished by the time I left.

Hilda did seem to take the longest, she wasn't finished decorating till about the 8th.

And yard sale lady in 1800 is definitely packing up.

Yes, they are asking long termers to move as necessary. Apparently some were starting their stays in Premium, then booking preferred or full for subsequent reservations, and were "upgraded" so they wouldn't have to move. Plain and simple, if ya want to stay in the same site for a long time, book the same category for each reservation!!!

And as I said in another thread, Test Track HAD to open, ready or not cause the Press Event was already scheduled. Although, I do admit, the duct tape on the return times is pretty tacky!~~~

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Love the changes to the construction fence for the Mine Coaster. It's going to be there for a while, might as well take advantage of that and make it interesting!

And yard sale lady in 1800 is definitely packing up.

As in leaving for real?

Yes, they are asking long termers to move as necessary. Apparently some were starting their stays in Premium, then booking preferred or full for subsequent reservations, and were "upgraded" so they wouldn't have to move. Plain and simple, if ya want to stay in the same site for a long time, book the same category for each reservation!!!

Fair enough!

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

One last drawing on the wall, right near Storybook Circus:

I like that the picture on the way to Storybook Circus, where the Dumbo ride is, has Dopey using the feather Dumbo held when he first was flying. :D

[kampfirekim 260]

1. I am indifferent to clowns per se, however, if you say he was good then I believe it. Really enjoyed seeing the photos of Storybook Circus! I have been very excited to finally see it! Looks like a lot of fun. That area needed a redo.

2. Rat tails were not cool even when they were supposed to be. No further comment on that.

3. I love a loyal fan. Go Vols Fan I say! Good for you. One of G's therapists is a full on TN fan also (right down to the ponytail scrunchi and car magnets, so this is not an uncommon sight for us. (We wear our Gamecock colors regardless of how the season went too.) :D

[Doggmeat-aka Todd 3]

in tallahassee again and no notice...geez. let me know next time you are here, buy ya a beer or few

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

I missed quite a bit yesterday.

I have to say the Mickey Pretzel photo of the Twins is a really good for a candid.

I am indifferent to clowns but mostly he'd have to be really good to get me to stop.

May have to go find me a pretzel

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Thank you. I can get some work done now.

Pretzels and clowns in the same trip. I can't wait till our trip in two weeks.

I'm glad you were able to get back to work.

I'll try to have something new for you to read before your lunch break today.

That's exciting that you get to go in two weeks. All the Christmas stuff should still be around then.

WooHoo, I caught the update. Were the pretzels really shaped like Mickey?

I think I want to go back to college too.

Yes, the pretzels were really shaped like Mickey.

Here's a photo from a previous trip. This one is unsalted, which is how Twin #2 prefers hers:

In the MK, they only sell these at the stand across from the Country Bears in Frontierland, and now at the little stand here in Storybook Circus.

I have seen them in one of the other parks, too, but I can't remember exactly where. All the other pretzel places just have regular pretzels.

Good update.

I was waiting for the big moment when the clown fell on his face.

I hate clowns too.

In fact I never liked the circus, but Storybook Circus will likely be an exception bc I love taking DD on Dumbo.

She loves it and therefore Daddy does too.

You got that right.

Nothing wrong with Dumbo.

I am not a big circus fan either, but I really like what they did in this little corner of the MK. The circus theme works perfectly. And, as I said, even though I hate clowns, they add to the atmosphere here, and the one we saw was not in the least bit annoying.

We didn't see any clowns last month! Sorry, but I think that's a great addition to Storybook Circus!

The rat tail I can do without. But it's not as bad as the mohawk my DGS (7-year-old Caden) insists on getting 3-4 times a year.

We occasionally see a Vols fan here, but that's expected since we live so much closer than you do.

I actually agree with you about the clowns. Having some live performers around adds greatly to the atmosphere.

Go easy on Caden. Mohawks are cool. Rat Tails are not.

I used to see a lot of Vol fans around here too. But they have gone into hiding lately, so it was a real surpise to see the Vol Fan.

I believe it is possible that the rat tail is the beginning of a boy trying to grow a jedi braid. Anyway, that is what i choose to believe.

Is it possible to get Mickey Pretzels anywhere outside the parks? They look really good, but my next trip doesn't involve park time.

And you were right - the pretzel picture did make me hungry. I had a child bring me a banana. Not really the same.

A Jedi braid? I didn't think of that. My apologies to the kid if that is what he is doing.

I don't think you can get a Mickey pretzel outside of any of the parks, and there aren't too many places inside the park you can get one either. Don't fret. I'll let you in on a little secret: they taste exactly the same as a regular pretzel.

Just wait, for mine it was the Barnstormer, but luckily for me they graduated to Big Thunder Mountain after a dozen rides or so on the Barnstormer.

Welcome to the club.

It was a big day when the twins were finally tall enough to ride Space Mountain.

But, time goes fast, so enjoy them while they're little.

Whew, finally got to read today and got caught up!!

Rest assured, all the decorators were well finished by the time I left.

Hilda did seem to take the longest, she wasn't finished decorating till about the 8th.

And yard sale lady in 1800 is definitely packing up.

Yes, they are asking long termers to move as necessary. Apparently some were starting their stays in Premium, then booking preferred or full for subsequent reservations, and were "upgraded" so they wouldn't have to move. Plain and simple, if ya want to stay in the same site for a long time, book the same category for each reservation!!!

And as I said in another thread, Test Track HAD to open, ready or not cause the Press Event was already scheduled. Although, I do admit, the duct tape on the return times is pretty tacky!~~~

Thanks for the info!

I really need to get back to the Fort before Christmas to enjoy all the decorations. We just got to see the beginning. Things must be close to full swing by now.

Love the changes to the construction fence for the Mine Coaster. It's going to be there for a while, might as well take advantage of that and make it interesting!

I like it too.

Whoever thought of that was smart. That fence kind of dominates the whole area. Letting guests have a peek let's them know that something really cool is on the way.

And all that artwork around the fence is clever. I like how they give tribute to the attractions that are near.

I like that the picture on the way to Storybook Circus, where the Dumbo ride is, has Dopey using the feather Dumbo held when he first was flying. :D

Very good, Marty!

I did not make the connection. I saw the popcorn, and figured that was a nod to the circus theme. I thought the feather was just Dopey being dopey.

TCD