Random ramblings from a Christmas visit to the Fort

[caveat lector 181]

In no particular order of importance or chronology.

1) if you are getting on 429 south, and the big sign says all lanes close,....get off at the next exit, turn around, or put it in 4 wheel drive and go unconventional. There was an accident Friday morning involving a meers shuttle bus, that completely closed the highway. My gps then spent the next hour telling me that I was 23 miles to my destination. I didn't see any ambulances, so I hoping no one was injured. On the upside, I got peruse all the local fauna that resides just off the 429 shoulder

2) cowboy beans do not show on the menu,but are still available, and they're great!

3) All white meat version of GUaG is now $3 more. Maybe it was the same last year and I just wasn't paying attention. I don't care though because its great food and a relative Disney deal

4) a young checked us in, and was wonderful. Friendly and overflowing with cheer. I wish I remembered her name, but 18 hours behind the wheel, had destroyed my short term memory.

5) Judy came thorough with reservation...she rocks

6) Kenny came through with cart....he rocks

7) it was weird driving past some of the plant frost guards that Disney placed yesterday. It got pretty cold last night

played tennis yesterday evening. The family on the court next to use thought we were bonkers playing in shorts and tshirts. Then I noticed that the wife and daughter were wearing stocking caps. It was 50-something out. Floridians and Midwesterners have vastly dift definitions of cold. They were really nice folks though.

9) the dog park is rocking this year. It's Bandits and Thors first trip, but they are having a blast. The fewest dogs that have been there so far was 6 dogs. All the dogs have been players and the owners very attentive. My family had a sad moment when we hopped in the golf cart to go the first time. Zeus loved the people/friends that he met at the park. He is missed.

10) the RFID thing to pay seems to be working pretty well. One hiccup, when first tried to use our KTTW card, it said we were over our balance, even though we had just checked in and hadn't used them. They said there's a glitch in the system. A quick trip next door to the concierge and we were good to go.

11) the big Christmas tree at the fort is just plain cool. Couple that with the piped in banjo Christmas music, and I'm in a great mood.

12) this is the first trip to Disney that kind of snuck up on me. Been working 12-14 hour days, so a lot of the buildup and anticipation was lost. I kind of missed that, so I guess I'll just have to come back again.

13) all the decorations are up on the RV ....bring on the fat man in the big red suit.....ho ho ho

That is all.

[caveat lector 181]

Oops, one more thing.

We pre ordered the photopass for $119ish. It was kind of fun being the park today and making it a point to look for the professional photographers. Usually photopass is a "like to do", but with the pre order everybody's excited to see what memories we can capture. Plus, the photopass folks were all a hoot today. They added some fun.

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

awesome!!!! enjoy your trip!

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Glad you are having a good time! I'm pretty sure that we paid $3 extra for all white GAG last April, but they gave us all breasts, so it was a ton of food and well worth it.

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

Thanks for sharing and enjoy!

[4mickey2 41]

sounds like you are having a great time! i bet the photo pass is fun at this time of year. enjoy the trip!

[SCTigerCock 171]

Rambling reply in somewhat order:

Stay Safe

Enjoy

Don't do anything I would do

[caveat lector 181]

awesome!!!! enjoy your trip!

You bet I will. Thanks in large part to all the info you have shared in your posts.

Glad you are having a good time! I'm pretty sure that we paid $3 extra for all white GAG last April, but they gave us all breasts, so it was a ton of food and well worth it.

I'll probably have it at least twice in the next week or so. I'm assuming I will think they raised the price each time. :)

Thanks for sharing and enjoy!

Absolutely. It's nice to have something to share

sounds like you are having a great time! i bet the photo pass is fun at this time of year. enjoy the trip!

I'm hoping that the professional photographers can make me thinner and younger in the photos

Rambling reply in somewhat order:

Stay Safe

Enjoy

Don't do anything I would do

I'll do what I can to make you proud

[caveat lector 181]

I will apologize in advance for my poor photography skill, but here is the obligatory golf ball pic and a shot of the great Christmas tree at EPCOT

Notice the relatively light crowds in the turnstiles. Really not bad at all

[stefa70 205]

Great ramblings!!

Sorry about you getting stuck in an accident, but glad it wasn't you involved.

Judy and Kenny do ROCK!

As a Floridian (and munchkin) if the temps are below 70, I'm bundled up in jeans and a sweatshirt.

Hope you guys have a wonderful trip and a very happy holiday at the Fort. :doublebeer:

[alexwyattmommy 181]

Wishing I was there with you. With just a few sentences, you put it all right there for me. Enjoy your trip!

[wak648...Bill 94]

played tennis yesterday evening. The family on the court next to use thought we were bonkers playing in shorts and tshirts. Then I noticed that the wife and daughter were wearing stocking caps. It was 50-something out. Floridians and Midwesterners have vastly dift definitions of cold. They were really nice folks though.

We laughed last year when in New Years Eve we stopped at Daytona Beach and we were swimming in the ocean when it was only in the 70's. Life guard told us we were nuts as he stood all bundled up in a heavy winter coat and sweat pants.

[caveat lector 181]

Great ramblings!!

Sorry about you getting stuck in an accident, but glad it wasn't you involved.

Judy and Kenny do ROCK!

As a Floridian (and munchkin) if the temps are below 70, I'm bundled up in jeans and a sweatshirt.

Hope you guys have a wonderful trip and a very happy holiday at the Fort. :doublebeer:

Thanks. Going great so far. Had a happy accident last night. Many moons ago, I made ADR for Ohana at 9:05. Wasn't really thinking about it when I made the call. However, they were running behind about 20'minutes. Lo,and behold, we got to watch fireworks at MK while I was downing my 3rd or 4th skewer of shrimp. Magical family moment....indeed

Wishing I was there with you. With just a few sentences, you put it all right there for me. Enjoy your trip!

I agree bud. How exciting would it be to have a full fiend compliment taking over the Fort. Don't worry, we have room for an inflatable for Lou and family.

We laughed last year when in New Years Eve we stopped at Daytona Beach and we were swimming in the ocean when it was only in the 70's. Life guard told us we were nuts as he stood all bundled up in a heavy winter coat and sweat pants.

Don't worry wild Bill, I've had an adult beverage or two in hopes of thinning my blood. I'm doing it for scientific purposes only, as I want to experience how the cold feels to southerners. :)

[Big Kahuna aka John 71]

Wow... Cutting edge research, tennis in December, fried chicken, and a trip report. You sir are a true fiend. I applaud your scientific endeavor and wish you and your family the very best. Keep us updated on the thinning blood experiment. I suggest you research several locations throughout Disney and the Fort. Just to make sure that several temperature variations are experienced. :rofl2:

[caveat lector 181]

Wow... Cutting edge research, tennis in December, fried chicken, and a trip report. You sir are a true fiend. I applaud your scientific endeavor and wish you and your family the very best. Keep us updated on the thinning blood experiment. I suggest you research several locations throughout Disney and the Fort. Just to make sure that several temperature variations are experienced. :rofl2:

BK, your analytical approach is spot on. I will continue the endeavor at the at the high level you've projected.

Today's log comes to you from Disney studios. Am I the only one disappointed that they no longer have audience participation in the first part of backlot tours. And while I'm harping, I also miss driving down the street that had the house facade that they used for the golden girls. Oh well, I guess that's progress. Early in the day, Star Tours and Great Movie Ride were 10 min waits. Then a torrential Florida downpour blew through. I took the opportunity for further blood thinning research at the beverage stand across from backlot tours. They are serving Christmas themed drinks. My reaeach discovered that no matter how much kahlua(sp?) you add, that Disney coffee still tastes like Disney coffee. RnR and ToT both shot to 120min wait by mid afternoon. Fortunately, we had strategically procured all appropriate fast passes and still had time to see them flip the switch for Osborne family lights. A little tip: if you want a pic in front of the big light tree, get in line before they throw the switch. Otherwise the wait can be long. There were 6 photopass stations setup tonight, we hit each one and I can't wait to see the products. One other tip: if u do photopass, write down the number on the card. That way u can always pull up the pics online if you lose your card,

That is all.

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

Did you try the SnowBall??? Yum!!!!!!!

[stefa70 205]

I saw the storm you got. I only have two weather apps programmed on my phone, my home and WDW.

Because....If I'm not home, I am at Disney.

Our storm didn't last too long here but the chilly temps followed it. :-

Hope you're still having a great time!

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

BK, your analytical approach is spot on. I will continue the endeavor at the at the high level you've projected.

Am I the only one disappointed that they no longer have audience participation in the first part of backlot tours. And while I'm harping, I also miss driving down the street that had the house facade that they used for the golden girls.

When did they discontinue the audience participation? They had it in the spring.

And I also miss the Golden Girls house.

I only have two weather apps programmed on my phone, my home and WDW.

Same here!

[caveat lector 181]

More random ramblings:

- crowds are showing no signs of abating, however I will always want a bit of "magic" in our vacations

- 2 years ago we had the 10 day pass

- this year we had the 6 day pass

- I'm thinking that next time, we will have 4 days or less at the parks

- the New Years fireworks at Magic Kingdom are just plain awesome!

- the dog park is the best place to meet friendly folks. In my short time here, I've enjoyed conversations with dog owners from Toronto, KC, Lakeland, Mich, Tenn, and Sarasota.

-I'm excited to announce that I've followed in the footsteps of our ROCKSTAR TR writer and was bestowed the position of Guard protecting the fair Belle. My official bookmark will be placed in a position of prominence within my trophy case. Thanks for the tip TCD.

-My first time in the 1800 loop and I have enjoyed it. Big pads, nice neighbors, and close to the canal (for occasional fishing)

-the cinnamon rolls from the Main Street bakery are ridiculous. I had one two days ago, and I'm just now coming down from a sugar high.

-couple of tips that everybody on here probably already knows. 1) there are plastics "To go" containers in the back right hand corner of the Main Street bakery. Makes it easy to have a quick microwaveable snack available later. 2) check your Disney receipts. At the bottom (where there is normally an annoying survey), Disney provides a 20% off merchandise coupon. You have to shop at certain store before 1pm, but 20% of xxxx can really add up

That is all

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

Glad you got to partake in the cinnamon rolls!

Cool you got to be a guard too.

Thanks for the updates/tips,etc.

[caveat lector 181]

A couple of final thoughts (not sure why, but I might have to end some sentences with prepositions):

1) the chicken from the GUaG travels very well in the RV refrigerator.

2) Pre-ordering the photopass CD was totally worth it. Aside from the discount, it was nice that it caused us to stop and capture memories that we otherwise might not have.

3) you can get a pic with Santa Goofy once the Osborne lights begin. It's down on the end by Backlot tour, and the line moves really quick. Definitely ranks as one of my favs

4) this last one I'm sketchy on the details. My daughter wanted some Florida Gator stuff and my wife wanted to see what the "Disney outlet" store talk was all about. So, I hit the Siri button, and asked her to direct me to the Disney outlet mall. After sitting in bumper to bumper traffic for last mile or two, we pulled into the parking lot. There were cars parked everywhere. ...on the grass, on the sidewalks, up on the medians. It was utterly ridiculous. People driving up and down the rows in search of a parking spot. Not unlike nomads roaming the plains in search of their next meal in prehistoric days. It seemed like a really nice mall with some upscale stores. One which I will NEVER return to. A monumental waste of precious vacation time. As I used Siri, I'm not even sure where the heck it was. I vaguely remember International drive, but that could have been an illusion of my desperation. This where Lou will offer some snarkiness aimed at technology.

That is all.

[Lou... 3,118]

This where Lou will offer some snarkiness aimed at technology.

Siri, more like seriously lame technology.