FW Trip Reports!

[disney4dan]

Great TR - thanks for sharing. Sorry to hear about the CM in Germany. Many years ago, our oldest and his friend were on their own touring in Epcot at 14 yo and ended up meeting a CM from Norway. Being 14, they were both "smitten". She was nice and even met up with them after her shift to talk with them some more and it's hard to say whether that or the 40x in a row on Space Mountain were the best memories of the trip.

 

[CDNCruiser]

We are in Site 517 from October 21st to November 5th. You can find our Trip Report here:

http://www.carol-anne.ca/2009 October TagOmania Trip Report.htm

 

[kaguilbeau]

We are in Site 517 from October 21st to November 5th. You can find our Trip Report here:

http://www.carol-anne.ca/2009 October TagOmania Trip Report.htm

I had not recognized your screen name - but as I started reading the report I thought ,"Hey, I know those dogs!" I think past reports I had read under Carol's screen name.

As always, very enjoyable reading!

 

[MadFF]

I had not recognized your screen name - but as I started reading the report I thought ,"Hey, I know those dogs!" I think past reports I had read under Carol's screen name.

As always, very enjoyable reading!

LOL, so it wasn't just me?!

Fun report!

 

[CDNCruiser]

Yup, my DW Carol posts under her screen name zakerdog.

I'm Gary!

 

[SCIMACER]

What did you do with your dogs while you were there?

Howdy friends. We were at the fort from Dec 6th through Dec 14th. Its kind of weird but I have not had the desire to come to the boards untill recently. I think the thought of us not being able to come back for 2 years was just so depressing! Our DD and SIL are saving up for a house.
I am slow typing with my 2 finger technique so I will do this report in stages. First a quick summery. We drove down nonstop 1040 miles from east Texas, left home at 6:30pm, arriving at the Fort around 3:00pm on sat. We stopped 3 times for gas thanks to the 44 gal tank in the Excursion. SIL helped me drive and the trip was no problem. We got a great site, 1813, which backed up to the canal. I remembered a couple of campers in the loop who have been there every time we are. We had a great time as usual, but it could have been better. We assumed that the parks would be not crowded so we slept in and did not get that early start, arriving at the parks about 11:00 or so each day. We also did not use a park touring plan, again assuming the rides would not have long lines at that time of the year. The parks were more crowded than we expected. We could not believe how many school age kids were there. We had our 10 mo old grandaughter and we did not stand in any long lines. We were able to do most of what we wanted but skipped a few rides because of long lines. Even fastpass didn't help us in our schedule at EPCOT, we never got to ride Soarin. Next time we will get up early and have a plan for the parks. We enjoyed looping at nite, the Christmas decorations were awesome! We had a great time at the HDDR. I babysited one evening so everyone else could go to LaNuba. They loved it, said it was worth the big ticket price for sure.We brought our 2 Siberian Huskies and put them in the kennels while we went to the parks. I love my dogs very much but having them with us did consume a lot of my time. It takes time to take them to the kennel and check them in, and also to go and get them out. I also spent a lot of time walking them 4 times a day. I love doing all that but it really limited my free time to enjoy all that the Fort has to offer. I will do it differently next time, if I take them. I like the new golf cart rental being done at check in. The carts were parked just inside of the gate. In summery, we had a great trip but we all agree that next time we will spend less time in the parks and more time at the Fort. I will try to post more details later.

 

[thegooftroopfla]

hey just got back from halloween this weekend and looking forward to going back tomorrow. love the fort and so does the whole troop

 

[kaguilbeau]

I took notes and pictures with the idea of coming back here and sharing. After several batches of wash and a few days back at work, I decided that know one would miss if I didn’t share. Then I remembered how much I enjoyed reading about others trips - no matter how short or how few pictures - and I’ve got a four day weekend to work on this!

A little background info for you: We’ve probably been to Disney close to 5-7 times in the last 13 years. (some of us more than others). Enough so that we are familiar with the Disney transportation and the kids are comfortable splitting up from us. I debated over flying and staying in two resort rooms, flying and staying in the cabins, driving (so we could take our bikes) and staying in the cabins - and finally decided to pull our own travel trailer. This allowed us to bring three of the bikes.

Because there are five of us: DH, myself, DS13, DD21 and DD22 - I made a few decisions for us thinking mainly of my sanity and comfort. I decided that DH and I would pull the camper and bring the dogs. It’s about a 13 hour trip for us. I decided the kids would fly Southwest and take DME to the Outpost. They have all flown before, so I felt they could do this. And I decided that the two girls would sleep in the camper and DH, DS13 and I would sleep in the tent.

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that you would’ve made the kids sleep in the tent. My thought was that we could have our space for our clothes in the tent. We could get up early (early for vacation at least) and not disturb them. I didn’t want to hear any huffing, puffing and grumpy sounds coming from those pretty little mouths. I had a plastic bin that I put our ‘morning stuff’ in like coffee, the electric pot to heat the water, oatmeal packets, bagels, a ziplock bag with an assortment of plastic spoons, knives, etc. I had my bath house stuff in the tent along with my clothes. I could easily wake up, shower in the bath house, have breakfast and coffee before even going in the camper.

While this picture is mostly legs, you can see the plastic bin I used for our coffee, bagels, etc. The box on top of the burner had the dog food, leashes, etc. We put it up higher so the otters wouldn't get it - or the ants!

The plan was to work half day on Friday Dec 11th, drive as far as we wanted, rest when we wanted, and arrive at the Fort sometimes Saturday during the day. Usually the kids are traveling with us and we drive all night - less chance of hearing those noises that impatient teenagers make. Since they are flying down, we can do what we want, when we want.

I decided to take off the morning also. It gave me a chance to try and organize the camper instead of just throwing things in. I was also able to wash the dishes and my sheets so that would be fresh when we returned.

We loaded the dogs, my bag with snacks, maps and The Next Exit and pulled out at 12:30 p.m.(CST) When we travel with the camper, we usually have to stop every three hours or so for diesel. Take turns walking the dogs and running in for a quick bathroom break.. I think the GPS reported that we were stopped a total of 45 minutes before we pulled over for the night. I wanted to get on I-75 S before we stopped. That would get us past that very long, boring stretch of I-10 between Pensacola and Lake City. Ugh!

I had read different opinions regarding stopping at rest areas or truck stops. We found numerous rest areas in Florida - it seems one every 30 miles or so. This was such a welcome change from Louisiana. I don’t think we even have rest areas anymore! We pulled into a rest area around 11:00 p.m.(EST) and crawled into the 5th wheel to sleep. I think this is an o.k. idea if the weather is pleasant. Not sure how it would be if it were one of those very warm summer nights. For us, it was cold! We unzipped some of our sleeping bags and slept in our clothes. Even though we could hear the trucks on the interstate, as well as those pulling into and out of the rest area, it still felt good to sleep some - and helped us have a little more energy the following morning. Sleeping in the rest area or truck stop is something we couldn’t have done had the kids been with us.

Now, I’m one of those with short hair and have to wash it every morning when I wake up. It just doesn’t do right if I don’t. In the rest area bathroom I went with my face wipes and hair dryer. I used my hands to wet my hair as much as possible and the dryer to help calm it down some. It wasn’t a morning shower, but served it's purpose.

I mentioned to DH that it was very unlikely our site would be ready this early. We talked about what we would do and decided we’d pull into the overflow lot, board the dogs, and ride bikes around the fort. I was excited about this idea - just the two of us - at least until the kids arrived around 9:00 p.m.

We checked in around 10:30 a.m. The CM said it wouldn’t be long before our site would be ready. Pulled into the overflow lot, walked the dogs and changed clothes! The temperatures had risen a lot from the night before when we slept at the rest area. I proceeded to the Kennels to inquire about leaving the dogs for a little while. It never, ever occurred to me that I needed reservations. I couldn’t believe I didn’t think of that! While the dogs would sleep with us at night, I wasn’t sure how they would act during the day. My plan was to just board them on the days we anticipated being in the parks for long periods.

Anyway - the kennels were full all week. It was 12:30 p.m. before we received the text that our site was ready. It was so quite and peaceful in the overflow lot, I commented that maybe we should’ve driven all night and just slept once we arrived in the overflow lot! Since we couldn’t board the dogs, about all we could do was hang out in the camper (which was packed full of stuff!) Because it had warmed up so, we had the door opened as well as all the windows.

Our site was 334. This is on the back of the loop, about three or four sites from the entrance to the dog walk. All of 300 is tight and the sites are close together, but we knew this as we’d stayed there previously. After walking around the loop, I was interested in the sites on the right-side of 300 as you pulled in. Those sites backed up to the grassy area along the canal. I saw campers with their chairs, dogs and kids romping in this grassy area - just out the back door to their camper.

 

[kaguilbeau]

As soon as DH saw the canals he asked if you could fish in them. I (remembering born_2_fish many comments about fishing) answered that I thought you could. He said, “Why didn’t you tell me that? I could’ve brought my fishing pole.” - exactly -

The kids flew in and found the Magical Express without incident. They said it took them an hour to arrive at the Fort (of course the Fort was the last drop off). We directed the girls to the Downtown Disney bus and took off with DS13 to the DIS Toy Story Mania party. This was our first time riding Toy Story Mania and was fun to do it several times in a row with minimal wait. I think I saw clkelley (Carol) while in line for the ride - but never saw her again to say “hi”. I did meet up with Shanta (Shan-man) and introduced myself. He really did look like Santa!

Most of our days were spent at one park or another. DH, DS13 and I would often start the morning to be joined later by the older girls. Once they realized that by waiting until 11:00 to join us - they were missing out on being able to walk on the rides. Some fast passes had returns for hours away. They quickly realized they needed to get up and get moving! Here are a few shots at various parks showing different crowd levels.

My husband is not an electronic geek. He is merely a hard-working country boy. But when he found out his new cell phone could take pictures, he immediately became obsessed! He took pictures of every thing that moved, blinked or glistened. We had over 250 pictures taken by cell phone. He would take a few pictures and then spend the next few minutes deleting the ones that were bad or duplicates. If he would’ve just picked up his head and looked where he was walking instead of constantly looking at the pictures on his cell phone. Granted, we were at Disney and he was enjoying himself - so I tried not to complain - but I have over 250 pictures that are grainy and blurry! One of us needs a new camera for Christmas!!

One night I managed to drag the kids to MK in time to see Wishes. We were standing on the bridge that is closest to the castle and goes at an angle between Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. Just as Tinkerbelle left the castle, she was flying directly above our head, DD22 said - Momma, that is NOT a girl! I laughed remembering the thread on the DIS about “Tinker Bill?” I swear I had not mentioned a thing to her about this notion that Tinkerbelle was a guy!

We were at Hollywood Studios the first day of the test period of the new que system for Rockin’ Rollercoaster. I personally thought it was neat, but wondered how it would work when the park was very crowded. The DJ interacted with the crowd doing line dances, scavenger hunts, and other games with the kids.

I enjoy sitting on the ledge of the planter, being able to purchase water or use the bathroom without standing in line. The test period only lasted two or three days - by the end of our trip the entire stage and que area was completely disassembled.

One night we went to Downtown Disney - a tradition for our family (although I think the girls found the Irish Pub two nights!). We walked up to T-Rex and were seated immediately around 9:00 one evening. Ordered the Sampler Appetizer to share between three of us without any problems. They had these neat elfs walking on stilts and entertaining the crowd.

We shopped around some - DH was looking for a cap - and met up at the bus stop. While I was waiting for them, a bus arrived with Contemporary/Wilderness Lodge on it’s display. The driver got off the bus and announced to those waiting, “This bus is going to the Contemporary and Wilderness Lodge. That’s right, folks! This bus will NOT be stopping at the campgrounds!” And all of the waiting guests cheered!

Now DD22 had already decided that she never wanted to stay at the Fort again. She swore that our stop was always the last to be picked up/dropped off and that Fort Wilderness busses ran much less frequently than some of the other resorts. I reminded her that if she chose to stay at, for example, Old Key West next time, she would see many Fort Wilderness busses and very few busses for her resort. That is just the laws of nature. But I couldn’t help but remember the thread on here about Fort Wilderness guests being treated like Third Class citizens!

 

[kaguilbeau]

There were two days during the trip that I needed to get something done for work. Now, give me a desktop with an IT person on our staff and I can do miracles. However, if you leave me with a laptop to try and figure things out myself - I am not a good worker. I borrowed my daughters laptop that she uses for college. I knew it was wifi able because she uses it like that at school. I took the laptop to the porch outside Crocket’s Tavern. The CM at the front desk had already told me what ‘connection’ - I’m not sure if that is the term - I needed to use. It was Smart - something-or-other. Sure ‘nough, I was asked for my room key to be charged the 9.95 for 24 hours and I saw the Smart . . . that I needed to connect to. Everything was fine - or as fine as it can be for someone that is used to using a numeric keypad of the keyboard and having to peck out numbers on a laptop - until the battery died. I moved to the porch of the Settlement trading post where I found an electrical outlet. Once I clicked on Internet Explorer icon - I received the dreaded message that said the internet wasn’t available. I put it up for the night and got an early start the next morning - choosing to go to the Outpost lobby. I clicked on Internet Explorer and again received the message that said I couldn’t connect to the internet. I asked the CM at the front desk and she directed me to the building located between the check-in lanes. Packed up all my stuff and moved out there. Same problem. Back to the front desk to ask the CM for the phone number to call for assistance. He told me that the internet service had been spotty at the Fort and he had a call in now to have it looked at.

Now, I had to finish this small project that day. I packed up and drove to the Contemporary to try and use their business center. The nice (?) lady there said I would have to purchase a different package since my 9.95 would not work for that area. I chose a 3.95 for four hours and made myself comfortable in the corridor outside the business center. Click on Internet Explorer and get the same message. This time I take the laptop in the office and say, “See - this is what I keep getting!” She goes down to the task bar and connects first to the remote network - and then the internet. Well - NOBODY TOLD ME THAT!!! I thought the screen would prompt me for that - never occurred to me that I’d have to go to the task bar and actually find it!

Granted, I should’ve known - but instead I kept getting sent from one location to another. I said that was the last time I would ever try to do anything remotely for work via wireless!

Because we often split up - I enjoyed a late morning trip to Magic Kingdom with one of the girls. Just the two of us. None of this "we don't want to watch the stupid parade - hurry, let's go ride Space Mountain for the tenth time!" We shopped in the stores, ate at Columbia Harbour House, watched two parades and ate a funnel cake! No rushing to do anything! I really enjoyed that day. Here are a couple of pictures of the parade that went around the hub in front of the castle.

One morning while at the Outpost waiting for the bus, I pointed out to DD21 that the freshly painted trash can cover looked damp with dew and not really wet. Gee - she had to touch it to see for sure! As we stood there, I caught a couple of people about to lean up against the trash can. We joked about the fact that even though they had signs, it was easy to still lean up against it. My kids said, “Momma, quit being the paint police!” I think maybe I was embarrassing them. But as this one lady began to rest her forearm on the can - I just couldn’t help myself and blurted out “Wait . . . It’s been pai .. . . “ it was too late. She looked at her forearm and looked at me and said, “Well, why didn’t they have a sign?” - as I pointed to the sign on the post.

An idea that I got from these boards was to share extra/unused fast passes with other guests. I had the opportunity to do that twice during our stay with fast passes for Toy Story Mania. I had a hard time finding a party of just two guests (since I only had two fast passes). One time the fast pass window had just opened and we were going to ride. DH and DS13 had already left for Blizzard Beach - so I had their fast passes too. We stood near the entrance to the ride and I watched this one family of four approach the fast pass distribution Either they were all distributed or the return time was really late. I can’t remember. I saw the dad turn to the son, maybe 8 yrs or so - and explain that they couldn’t ride it then. I approached him and said I had two fast passes for RIGHT NOW if he wanted them. The dad said, “Really?” His eyes were big. I turned to his wife and said, “I’m sorry that I only have two.” He took them - and he and his son rode the ride then and there. My girls were like, “Mom - why did you do that?” I said, “Just a little Disney magic I wanted to share!” Not sure if they “got it” or not - but I did hear of them giving away fast passes later in the trip.

Since Wednesday night DH and I had a ‘date’ to Boma for dinner - and the girls were going to watch DS13 - they decided Tuesday night would be their night for DATW at EPCOT. I tried warning them. I have read reports and seen pictures of really, really drunk people. I suggested that instead of them each buying a drink, that they split a drink at each country.

Momma don’t know nothing. What started out as fun at EPCOT, ended up - somehow - at Downtown Disney. From the little I’ve heard about the night - I’d just like to say ‘thanks’ to Fort Wilderness bus drivers and Security for making sure they made it back to the campsite safely. Yea - Momma don’t know nothing

 

[kaguilbeau]

Thursday night was our last night together before the two girls flew back to their jobs Friday a.m. As is tradition on our family vacations, we all were going out to eat together - we just hadn’t decided where. I was concerned because I had no idea what was still available. A quick call to WDW-DINE from the comfort station snagged us 8:20 reservations at Kona. I really enjoy visiting the monorail resorts each trip - and especially enjoyed our meal there.

DS13 and I made a quick trip to Magic Kingdom prior to Kona to see the 6:15 lighting of the castle. This was also a night for the MVMCP - so lots of people were entering. We made a quick run to Space Mountain and also Monsters Inc before the 7:00 park closing. Now I remembered reading a trip report where someone commented on people staying past closing to view the parade and fireworks even though they didn’t have tickets to the party. We didn’t. We were walking down Main Street towards the exit - with lots of other people at 7:30 p.m. - but I will say that I can see how easy it is to do. I’d imagine that each party has lots of people remain in the parks without wristbands. Especially this night, with the weather cooler and most having on long sleeves. We made our way to the Poly via the resort monorail and enjoyed a drink in the Tambu lounge prior to checking in for our reservation. I just love seeing these resorts!

Kona was pleasant. The bread and butter was wonderful. The server actually bought us an additional loaf. And I will say that once I saw my shrimp and scallop platter - I was glad I had eaten a lot of bread. I hated the thought of leaving hungry! With that said, DH had a ribeye that came with seasoned potatoes and it appeared to be a hearty portion.

DH returned to the camper while the kids and I continued to the Grand Floridian for pictures and to view their Christmas decorations, Another tradition that I’m glad the girls don’t think they are too big for!

Friday morning we drove to the Outpost so the girls could board the DME. I have to say that we got some good use out of my daughter’s iphone. They were able to check in 24 hours ahead for their flight while waiting in line for Rockin Rollercoaster. Since she didn’t have the flight confirmation number with her - I had her access my e-mail and retrieve the confirmation e-mail to get the flight numbers. When they landed in MSY, she had left the pre-paid parking confirmation number back at the camper. Again, I had her retrieve the e-mail confirmation through my e-mail and present that as proof of payment. I’ve never thought I needed an iphone, but I’m sure glad she had hers for us to use.

Friday afternoon the light rains began falling. We had wanted to pack up the tent while it was still dry. We were moving into the camper for our final nights stay! Managed to pack up most everything that afternooon late and finished the night off at EPCOT.

I had yet to see Illuminations and really wanted to see it this trip. We arrived in time to ride a few of our favorites before Future World closed. Worked our way over to World Showcase and chose to eat at Morocco counter service. I found EPCOT to be very crowded in the countries. It was the park with late hours (staying open until 12:30 a.m.) DH decided he would return to the camper. He does that mid-way during each trip. He gets enough of the parks and just really enjoys hanging out at the Fort. DS13 and I walked around some and sat at the railing for awhile staking out our spot for Illuminations. He mentioned that his head was starting to hurt. He gets headaches that develop into migraines if he doesn’t take something at the first sign. I looked around for a Mother with a bag thinking she probably would have some Advil or something. He told me “Don’t you dare ask somebody!” I didn’t think they’d mind. I know I wouldn’t have minded. Just as the fire in the water started and the fireworks were beginning, he looked at me and said, “Let’s go.” I knew it must be getting worse - but learned along time ago not to say anything and just let him call the shots.

By the time we boarded the bus and were on our to the Outpost - we were standing very near the stairwell by the rear door. It was loud with people talking - naturally - and the music being played was some African-bongo-drum-banging stuff. He kept looking over his shoulder at me. I was so afraid he was going to throw up. I was prepared to give him the hood to my sweatshirt and let him throw up in that. I know the stuffiness of the bus, plus the loud voices and banging music were not helping. The bus first stopped at Wilderness Lodge (of course) - he pointed outside and said, “I’m getting off here!” Whew! What a relief! The cool air and quite of the Wilderness Lodge resort helped so much. We made our way through the grounds, down to the resort ferry launch and had a private trip over to Fort Wilderness. DS took his migraine medicine, a shower and went straight to bed!

Saturday - we left the Fort around 8:00 a.m. - this time with an extra passenger. Since DS13 was officially out of school for the Christmas holidays, he rode back with us. The smaller dog usually stayed up front and the black lab had the back seat.

We were still stopping for diesel when there was about ¼ tank left. Just into Louisiana, DH announced it was time to get diesel. I pointed out to him that the next few exits were busy (Slidell) and that if he could wait till we reached the Abita Springs exit, I knew they had diesel and it would be much easier on/off. He asked how much further - and I said 10 miles. That wasn’t a problem. Until we were two miles from the exit and the truck died while driving down the interstate. Just flat died. We coasted on the shoulder and finally came to a stop at the ‘one mile to exit’ sign. He thought maybe he had run out of fuel, although the low-fuel light wasn’t on and it still registered 1/8 of a tank left. He did what any person traveling with bikes on the back of the camper would do: He took the bike off the rack and rode it - in the dark - along the side of the interstate to the exit. DS and I took the dogs and stood off the shoulder away from the camper. I was concerned if someone hit the camper that we wouldn’t be safe. We still weren’t convinced it was just out of diesel. About 30 minutes later - what seemed like an hour - he comes riding the bike back, with his head lamp on and a one gallon can in each hand.

He yells to us, “If it cranks, jump in quick!” He turned the key. And turned the key. And turned the key. It didn’t sound good. Finally, it caught! And we hopped in and took off to fill up. Thank goodness for a lot of things. Thank goodness I was familiar with the area and knew (thanks to my Next Exit book) that diesel was available at that exit. Thank goodness we were on a portion of the road that had a shoulder. The Atchafalaya Basin bridge over the swamps of Louisiana does not have a shoulder!! And thank goodness the next exit was ‘just a bike ride away’!

 

[Tnbob]

He mentioned that his head was starting to hurt. He gets headaches that develop into migraines if he doesn’t take something at the first sign. I looked around for a Mother with a bag thinking she probably would have some Advil or something.

If you need an asprin or the like a lot of the stores have a bin under the counters with asprin and sinus pills for sale but you need to ask at the check outs. I've had this happen a couple of times once in MK and once at Epcot, both times I got some Tylenol Sinus from the counter.

 

[StinkerBell629]

I loved your trip report! We are thinking about going in spring 2011 because my son and daughter's marching band will be going there over Spring Break. I think you have some really good suggestions. We are regular campers and I definitely agree with not cooking on the first night--I learned that the hard way as well! Can't wait to read your next trip report. BTW, I used to live in western KY (Madisonville).

​

 

[blm2003]

What an awesome trip report, thanks for sharing. Makes me long to be there myself....have to keep saying, "just 11 more months, just 11 more months!"

 

[disney4dan]

Awesome TR, sorry to hear about the migraine and the fuel issue, but sounds like you all know how to keep going despite the setbacks. We used to have company owned Jeep 4WDs for a particular project that needed something capable of off-road work. They had a problem of the gauge never going below half a tank and the owner's son was always running out of gas with them somewhere. I heard it can be dicey on getting a diesel to start again once you run them dry, sometimes need to get the lines re-primed by a professional.

Glad it all worked out and thanks for sharing!

 

[stacktester]

Is the truck a Chevrolet? I have run my Silverado out of Diesel and it's no fun getting it primed again. There is a gauge problem in mine so I try to fill up when it get's 1/4 tank just to be safe.

Great report btw.

 

[kaguilbeau]

If you need an asprin or the like a lot of the stores have a bin under the counters with asprin and sinus pills for sale but you need to ask at the check outs. .

I was thinking of visiting the first aid station. I never even thought of the stores - but now that you say that, I do remember reading it in the past.

BTW, I used to live in western KY (Madisonville).

​

Hey - we have a Madisonville here in Louisiana too!

 

[kaguilbeau]

I heard it can be dicey on getting a diesel to start again once you run them dry, sometimes need to get the lines re-primed by a professional.

Glad it all worked out and thanks for sharing!

I remember when DH first got this truck back in 2000, he specifically told me to never run out of gas in it. He said it was not a good thing to run out of diesel.

Is the truck a Chevrolet? I have run my Silverado out of Diesel and it's no fun getting it primed again. There is a gauge problem in mine so I try to fill up when it get's 1/4 tank just to be safe.

This is an 2000 F250. We always try and fill up around the 1/4 tank mark. Because he doesn't usually let it get much below that, we had no indication that the low fuel light would or would not work. I took the blame because when he first said we need to look for gas, I persuaded him to go another 10 miles for a station that wasn't at such a busy intersection.

He commented later that he was afraid the battery was going to die before he got it cranked. It took him several attempts after putting the diesel in to get it cranked.

 

[Sparker]

Everything at Disney was great, no-complaints - except with myself. We tent camped for 5 nights at the end of July 2009. First, let me say, I am from Fort Worth, Texas so when I think hot I think - burning my skin 100 degree weather heat - not thick hot air you can't breathe and hot yet soaking wet with sweat heat. Yea, I read the weather, but I thought how bad can it be? We had 2 air mattress, 2 box fans, coleman stove to fix breakfast (we were on the meal plan for lunch, dinner, and snack) so I thought we would be fine, we've been camping before. What I didn't imagine was having the swap behind us and everything feeling damp. When we went to break down camp, we had frogs all over the tent - kind of cool, kind of annoying when you are trying to roll up your tent. We rented a golf cart for 2 couple of days and that was really fun.

Fort Wilderness if very nice, never had to wait on the boats, buses could be a little bit faster, but okay. Restrooms very clean, but showers get busy. Staff friendly, Trails End breakfast is good too.

My only regret is the tent. I thought it would be a great experience, but everyone was so miserable and wet feeling I promised I would never suggest it again. If I had it to do over at FW, I would either be in an RV or cabin. I am sure tent camping at FW would have been better in cooler, less humid months, but I will never know because of my promise to my family to never camp in Florida again.

 

[FWTrailerTrash]

My family and I have 77 days until our FW trip. I am so giddy. Going BONKERS! Need a WDW fix. HELP!