It's a New TCD Trip Report- June 2010 at the Fort!

[mgsmom]

Enjoying the report - as a always!
Love the pics of Rocky too - we have a boxer and he is a great dog! Although DD sometimes gets upset and demands to know where his tail is...

 

[anolefan]

Awesome trip report. I am finding myself more and more addicted to this site. BTW I grew up in Dunedin TCD

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Rocky is a good lookin pup. By the looks of his paws he's gonna get pretty good sized. He will need a popup of his own soon. Seeing you in your hammock with him brought back memories when our dog was a pup. She's a big horse now. She would knock down a hammock or even a tent I fear.

Yes, it looks like Rocky is going to be good-sized. It almost seems like we can see him growing. I might need to get him his own hammock.

Rocky is a good looking dog. My DW loves boxers that's what she had as a kid.
She wanted another one but I said baby or dog. We now have a wonderful little girl.(in 10 days she will be 10 months) Glad to hear the pizza is getting better. As a kid I loved the pizza but in the last ten years it has gone down hill.

I can't believe your baby is 10 months old already! You have a lot of fun times ahead! Enjoy! And happy belated Father's Day.

I bet this kid didnt release that bass....nice catch!!!!! If I was a kid pulling them in like THAT...Id pull the "But Im just a kid, I didnt know I had to throw it back..." line...then Id start crying...I bet it works!!

For the record, that kid did release the fish. This young man was apparently quite the fisherman. He said that this was his fourth or fifth fish that afternoon. He apparently was camping with his family on the 300 loop, as he called his dad when he caught the fish, and the dad came over to make sure the fish was properly released.

Now, Rog, if you ever catch that nice of a fish, you should go ahead with the crying routine. I'll bet it will work for you.

Yep, we did, too so you must have saw the same group we did. I believe it was actually on Memorial Day when it seemed that a whole group took over the shelter!Oh, and looking at your pic of your GC, I think I remember seeing around the Fort and the kids commenting how cool it was!

TCD...please continue...I always find these TR's very interesting

I will be continuing momentarily.

I love the puppy and DD's acting!

How about those gourmet jelly beans? Did you get suckered into buying any of those? I used to buy a bag whenever we visited WDW but this past February I found an entire aisle of beans at a Super Target. I won't be paying WDW's prices any more. I just have to drive 2.5 hours to that Super Target

No- I didn't get clipped for the gourmet Jelly Beans. At least not on this trip. I'm afraid it's only a matter of time, though. You have to drive 2 1/2 hours to get to a Super Target? Wow!

Yes, yes I am following, and what a beautiful swimmer that is !!
See there,,THERE ARE SOME REAL NICE SWIMMERS at Disney.
How many people do you spose is gonna believe that young man when he says "I went to Disney and caught this !"
Awesome,,simply awesome.

I thought you would like that fish, Frank.

Oh my gosh, Rocky is adorable! I hope that I get to meet him at the Fort dog park one day!
Still loving the trip report...keep it coming!

Yes, Rocky is a keeper.

And, there is a lot more coming right up.

Ahh... good looks AND brains! He's a beauty, and so glad he enjoyed his first FW trip.

Rocky sure did enjoy himself. I think he will be seeing a lot of the Fort.

TCD,
As an extreme dog lover, I gutta love the Rock.

I ran the photo of the RV with what appears to be R2D2 thru PhotoShop and it's very clear that it is . What, you don't have one? Check out my site a few weeks ago at the Fort.

Hmmm, would have come in handy for your RC photo shoot. It's voice activated.

Are you serious?

You have an R2D2, too?

Awesome!

Those are some Great pictures of your family & Rocky! He is a cutie!

Thanks!

Loving the TR and Rocky.

Thanks, Denise!

Rocky is so cute. My Brother has a boxer, her name is Princess and she is the greatest dog. ( He did not name her) I am loving the pictures and especially the real men of genius award finalists I will definetly have to show them to my DH.

It's amazing how many people have boxers, or know someone who does. They have definitely become a more popular breed than they were when we got our first one years ago.

DD is in love with Rocky! So cute!

Great. And, thanks for reading along. But, I am sorry to say that I'm out of Rocky photos for this TR. Time to plan another trip!

Your rock rocks, but you rock more. Awesome TR, as always!

Thanks, Leslie. I'm glad that you're enjoying it. I hope to see a TR from you sometime soon.

Gotta love the MH in 2000 loop. Are you sure it was the 2000 loop?

Deb- That is a great story! Yes, I'm pretty sure that the photo is from the 2000 loop, and the site markers I see in the photo confirm this. But, maybe I am hallucinating? From what I have seen, if you want to put your Class A on a partial site, nobody will even give it a second thought. Go for it.

I'm in! I'm late, but I'm in.

Great photos.....I'm mostly a lurker on this board and I always love a good TCD TR!

Looking forward to more.....

.

Thanks for reading along, and more is on its way!

Oh but Great report as always! I really owe you a dinner if we are ever at the Fort at the same time! Giddy up and Go's all around!!

What?

You are offering to buy me a Giddyap and Go?

You've got a deal!

Very easy to do. Book, go inside to check in, then pull your MH into the site when it's ready. You are in a partial hookup. I would bet with some of the kids working the checkin lanes, you could go right through the checkin lanes with your MH and not a word would be said.

Agreed.

With some of those CM's at check in I am sure you could play Jedi mind tricks on them.

"This isn't the motorhome you are looking for."

"This is simply an oversized popup."

Apparently, this is how it's done.

TCD,
i absolutely LOVE ROCKY! what a face! i love boxers to death, they are the sweetest pups ever. those are classic pictures, all of them! can't wait to hear about all his fort trips!! loving this report!

Thanks, Donna.

I hope there are a lot of Rocky at the Fort trips to report on.

great tr. i think it took 2 hours to read through. lol i feel the same way about the no mh's in certain sites. now, if they were REAL tent sites (not level, etc) i could understand. but, if we are willing to take our grey/black water home with us, why not?

Two hours? Is that all? Did you just look at the pictures?

Well, I'm glad that you're caught up, because we are just about ready to move on.

Enjoying the report - as a always!
Love the pics of Rocky too - we have a boxer and he is a great dog! Although DD sometimes gets upset and demands to know where his tail is...

Too funny!

Our oldest daughter also had a weird fascination with our first boxer's tail.

Awesome trip report. I am finding myself more and more addicted to this site. BTW I grew up in Dunedin TCD

Really?

You grew up in Dunedin?

And you're a Nole fan?

I didn't grow up in Dunedin, but I've lived here quite a while.

And, I'm not a Nole fan, but Mrs. TCD is, and my oldest DD just finished her Freshman year at FSU, and will be going back for more shortly.

It's a Small World after all.

TCD

 

[DisCamper]

TCD did you get any Photos of the new 3000 loop

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Finally, we will be moving on with this report.

I think it's time for some more random photos.

A while back, photographer extraordinaire Ynottony99 posted this photo on the Picture of the Day thread:

There were comments and discussion at the time pointing out that the first rock in the photo looked like a bear swimming in the lake, trying to fetch a stick. And, after this was pointed out, I have to agree.

Since seeing the photo, I have meant to go back and look at this in person.

This is right behind the Meadow Trading Post.

I'm sure I've been there a hundred times, and I never noticed the bear head rock.

So, I visited this area again on this trip.

And, I couldn't see the bear head.

I took these photos of the area where I thought it should be:

Now that I look at the photos- I see the problem. I was there in the morning. It looks like I need to visit in the afternoon. And, someone needs to pull some of those weeds growing around the bear's head. I'll have to try this again.

Here's a shot looking toward the foot bridge in the 600 loop:

And, here we are looking across the lake at the Bike Barn:

This isn't a huge lake, but it's a decent size.

So, why is everyone fishing from this same spot?:

(I think it offered the best shade)

When folks ask about free things to do at the Fort, someone will usually mention the basketball goals, playgrounds, shuffleboard, tennis, tether ball and such, but no one ever mentions hop scotch. Well, you can play it right here behind the Meadow Trading Post anytime you like:

And, if you get hot and thirsty, you can step right inside the Trading Post and get yourself a nice Goofy Glacier. Or some gourmet jelly beans!

A while back, KFK posted an old Fort Wilderness Gazette on the Best Thread of 2010. Among many other interesting things, it listed a food service location called the Beach Shack. I had never heard of the Beach Shack before, and I'm still not clear on where it was actually located, but I did notice something about the Fort Wilderness Marina building on this visit. When you walk up to the Marina building, this is what you see:

You see a big Coke machine and a Pressed Penny machine.

These have been here for as long as I can remember.

But, there's something hidden behind these machines.

Here's a side view of the Coke machine:

And here's what's behind the machines:

Looks like shutters to me. Like for a food service location.

Also, there are tables and umbrellas here on the side of the Marina building:

This is the side of the building closest to the tables:

Does anyone remember food being served from here?

I don't.

On Sunday afternoon, we headed over to the Contemporary Resort for lunch. We took the resort boat, and got a good view of Discovery Island on the way over.

Here's what you see from the Fort Wilderness dock:

The storage shed that you see in these photos has been sitting on that dock for years. It was not there when Discovery Island was open. I have no idea why that shed is there, and I have never seen anyone docked there to use it.

Discovery Island used to be encircled by white sand beaches. You can't see the beaches anymore:

This shipwreck has been the subject of much discussion on the Best Thread of 2010:

I appreciate the fact that the shipwreck is still there, and I look for it on every visit.

Here's a photo of one of the big boats heading to the Fort for transport to the MK:

While this is a pretty view of The Contemporary Resort and Bay Lake Tower, I miss the view of the castle and Space Mountain that you used to be able to enjoy from this part of Bay Lake:

Here we are making a stop at Wilderness Lodge before heading over to the Contemporary:

Have you ever seen the Bear Face at the Wilderness Lodge at night?

No?

The next time you are heading back to the Fort via boat at night, take a look at the Wilderness Lodge. Do you see the two dormer windows up top? These usually are lit, as are two small spot lights mid-way down the building that end up looking like a nose. The whole thing looks like a bear's face from the lake. I have tried before to get a night photo of this, but I haven't been able to pull this off from a moving boat at night. But, please check it out yourself some time, and let me know what you think.

It is now time for a very important news flash.

Something that may be of big interest to many Fort campers.

They have installed a self-serve soft-serve ice cream machine at the Contemporary Resort!

You know, it's just a quick boat ride away from the Fort?

Here it is:

The bowl they give you to use is a pretty decent size.

If you take your time, you can get quite a bit of ice cream in there.

Say, enough for three people to share.

And there is free caramel sauce.

And free chocolate sauce.

Yes, I said free.

If you want to visit this amenity, I suggest you go soon.

I predict someone is going to get fired over this.

And, it isn't going to be there for long.

Especially since campers can get there so easily.

I'm just sayin'

Seriously, though. If you find yourself at the Fort on a hot summer afternoon, a visit to the Contemporary for some soft-serve ice cream can't be beat. This is set up right in the new quick serve location in the Grand Canyon Concourse. You can sit there in air conditioned comfort enjoying your ice cream and watching the monorails whiz by.

It seems like people are always asking what time the boats start running from the Fort marina. The good folks at the Contemporary don't have to ask, because they have nice clear signs that tell them:

Don't quote me on this, but I believe the first run of the day begins at the Fort, so our start time is at 6:45 each day. I wish WDW management would throw us poor campers a bone and give us a sign like this, though.

Well, there you go.

Another post chock-full of photos.

And, there is more on the way!

Including some of the other side of Discovery Island (we took the boat back), and more Fort fun.

TCD

 

[ftwildernessguy]

They start serving Dole Whip from that machine at CR and I might go over there. Otherwise, it's just a stopover on my way to the Poly.

 

[BayLake Campers]

That's the truth.
DOLE WHIP

 

[Disneylitch]

How can we get a soft serve ice cream machine at The Fort? I'm sure it would be a great seller.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

TCD did you get any Photos of the new 3000 loop

Is this a joke?

They start serving Dole Whip from that machine at CR and I might go over there. Otherwise, it's just a stopover on my way to the Poly.

That's the truth.
DOLE WHIP

Agreed on the Dole Whip.

But . . .

1. The Contemporary is a lot easier to get to than the Poly.

and

2. The Dole Whip machine was "temporarily unavailable" when my DD's visited there on Friday afternoon. According to them, the computer screens at the ordering stations indicated that Dole Whip was temporarily unavailable. I hope temporary really means temporary in this case. We hit that machine at least once on every visit.

TCD

 

[Tri-circle-D]

As promised, here are some more Discovery Island photos.

When we took the boat back to the Fort from the Contemporary, we went on the other side of the island- the side not visible from the Fort.

Here, you can see the remains of some type of fence or wall:

Here on this corner of the island, there are buoys in the water. I guess they are there to keep the folks who rent recreational boats from getting too close to the island:

These photos are from early Monday afternoon, when we took a boat over to the MK. I am posting them here, out of order, because they are of Discovery Island. In these photos, you can see quite a variety of birds on the island, including Pelicans. Also, if you look closely, you can see that the beach is still there. There is just a bunch of shrub and brush growing on the beach:

This is a close up of an area of the photo posted immediately above. If you look behind the birds here, you will see the beach is still there:

More of the Discovery Island shoreline:

On Sunday afternoon, we visited Typhoon Lagoon.

It was surprisingly busy there.

Typhoon Lagoon was open until 7, but we headed back to the Fort before that.

Here are some random photos from Sunday afternoon.

This is the hammock area near Site 1512. It was completely in the shade all day long. Very nice. Except for the cable box:

Here's a photo which will help illustrate why it's good to be TCD.

Did I ever tell you that I have a great Mother-In-Law?

I really do.

No joke.

This is what she gave me for Christmas this year:

It's a Corona cooler. It's built like an old-fashioned milk box. All metal. As far as I can tell, it is water-tight. It doesn't keep ice from melting as well as a good Coleman cooler, but it is a neat-looking item to have at the campsite. And, it has a built in bottle opener.All in all, it isn't very practical, but I love it!

I do need to put a padlock on it to keep the otters out, though.

On early Sunday evening, we were down in the campfire area, and noticed the Chuckwagon was open. I have been wanting a good photo of the Chuckwagon menu, so I got one:

So, here is something interesting.

Here's a photo (with a bad glare) of the Chuckwagon Menu from August, 2009 (as in less than a year ago):

Note that all the prices have changed. Some have gone up. But, some have gone down. When has that ever happened at Disney (prices going down I mean)? The prices of sticks and straws have dropped significantly-relatively speaking. Also, note that the prices used to include sales tax, but now they no longer do- so the lower prices aren't that low when kicked back up with tax, but some of them are still lower. Kind of odd that this much effort went in to tweaking prices, isn't it?

I don't know why, but when ever I am on this side of the lake, I have to take a photo of the 600 loop. So, here you go:

Do you ever wonder what's behind the big fence behind the Bike Barn?

Not much:

They used to keep golf carts back here.

Hey- here's and idea for you Fort management (I know at least one of you is reading along)- Why don't you tear down that fence? And, maybe let people park bikes here. And give us back our golf cart parking at the pool? Oh yeah, while you're at it, you need to re-open the access to the Meadow Recreation area from the 1400 loop and the bridge- it is way too congested (and dangerous) with only one way in and out of here. Thank you.


On Sunday evening, we were down at the beach for sunset. Here's something I didn't know. You can borrow a volleyball from the Marina:

Who doesn't love this? :

Here's the same scene. Now with a boat quietly parting the waters:

These are the boats used by the WDW fishing guides:

From Clementine's Beach, we headed over to the lakefront behind the 300 loop. I was looking for the scene of an old photo that was posted on KFK's thread.

This is the photo of which I speak:

I love that photo.

I think this is a photo from the Marshmallow Marsh activity that used to go on at the Fort in the good old days.

If you look at that photo, you can see the castle and Space Mountain jutting up from the horizon.

You can see them, right? Look to the right of the cowboy's rear end.

Well, here we were last Sunday night at sunset:

You can see the castle and Space Mountain there on the horizon, right?

Look just to the right of that BLT abomination. (sorry Bay Lake Tower lovers- I actually like your building- just not so much when it messes up my view from the Fort).

Well, what do you think the MK fireworks would look like from here?

You can't see the lower fireworks that are shot off near the castle from the FW beach. And, these new Summer Nightastic fireworks apparently have quite a bit of the lower fireworks.

Don't you want to know what the fireworks would look like from here?

Well, check back for my next post, and you will find out . . .

TCD

 

[kampfirekim]

Ok, it's official. You def rock.... right along with KFM! I am especially glad you found the site of the Marshmallow Marsh singalong and marshmallow roast and have solved the mystery of the scene to the right of the cowboys butt! Well done! Bravo! Oh! It would have been the old Fantasy in the Sky fireworks back then and I'll bet they were spectacular from that location!

I don't like the BLT blocking my view either! Thanks for the heads up on the bear face at WL...I'll look for it in July! Looking forward to the FW photos.
(PS. There's a 1991 Gazette just posted today to ignore.)

 

[doombuqqy]

I am learning so many new things about the Fort. Thank you so much.

 

[novdisneydreams]

TCD - Your report is GREAT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am loving every bit of it

Heres a question - Does the s'more kit on the sign say $6.99 - What is in this kit? Like marshmallow, chocolate & graham crackers? I'm sorry, but I am cheap. That seems like a lot. Do they care if you bring your own s'mores stuff to the campfire? Or do you have to buy the kit? And I wonder how many s'mores it can make, anyway....

 

[kazlac4]

TCD thanks SO much for a great trip report. The pics and facts kept me glued to the computer until I got through the complete thread..unfortunately my hand is totally cramped up from sitting here with the mouse pad. Anyway, keep up the great work. Your efforts are very much appreciated from all of us fiends!

 

[jenscourt]

Heres a question - Does the s'more kit on the sign say $6.99 - What is in this kit? Like marshmallow, chocolate & graham crackers? I'm sorry, but I am cheap. That seems like a lot. Do they care if you bring your own s'mores stuff to the campfire? Or do you have to buy the kit? And I wonder how many s'mores it can make, anyway....

Yes, you can bring your own s'mores stuff to the campfire.

 

[LONE-STAR]

TCD - Your report is GREAT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am loving every bit of it

Heres a question - Does the s'more kit on the sign say $6.99 - What is in this kit? Like marshmallow, chocolate & graham crackers? I'm sorry, but I am cheap. That seems like a lot. Do they care if you bring your own s'mores stuff to the campfire? Or do you have to buy the kit? And I wonder how many s'mores it can make, anyway....

Also BYOB

 

[shafke]

TCD

I think I would rather purchase the bowl 'from' the cashier. I don't think the cashier is going to contribute to the purchase.

BTW... you used to be able to climb about on the ship wreck way back before the ship became an insurance liability.

These were taken in 1977.

 

[ambertides]

2. The Dole Whip machine was "temporarily unavailable" when my DD's visited there on Friday afternoon. According to them, the computer screens at the ordering stations indicated that Dole Whip was temporarily unavailable. I hope temporary really means temporary in this case. We hit that machine at least once on every visit.

We hit the Dole Whip machine on 6/17, so definitely temporary.

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

They must have served food from that window that is now covered with the Coke machine and press penny machine. I say that because I vaguely remember getting something to drink and sitting at those tables to watch the electric water pageant. We used to stay at the Fort a lot during the late 70's- early 80's. I'm sure it offered fare like hot dogs and Cokes; things very similar to the items offered at the marina of the Contemporary.

Of course, back then the beach was super crowded with swimmers! The pools weren't really that popular because it was so nice to swim in the lake. And of course, you could always visit River Country!

Great trip report, as always!!!

 

[shafke]

They must have served food from that window that is now covered with the Coke machine and press penny machine. I say that because I vaguely remember getting something to drink and sitting at those tables to watch the electric water pageant. We used to stay at the Fort a lot during the late 70's- early 80's. I'm sure it offered fare like hot dogs and Cokes; things very similar to the items offered at the marina of the Contemporary.

Of course, back then the beach was super crowded with swimmers! The pools weren't really that popular because it was so nice to swim in the lake. And of course, you could always visit River Country!

Great trip report, as always!!!

Actually the pools weren't that popular in the 70s and early 80s because there were no pools at the FW unless you payed to go in to River Country. You could pool hop (there was a lot that used to be allowed back then) to the CR which was just a blah rectangular pool or over to the Poly for the only pool on property that had a slide.