DD15 and I traditionally and do a road trip every August, and the plan for this year had been Busch Gardens Williamsburg then on to Orlando for Seaworld, then Busch Tampa and their assocaited waterparksto maximize use of the annual passes we bought for our spring break trip. Plan had been to spend two or three nights with one set of relatives just a little west of Orlando, then B-I-L and DN12 in Bradenton. All planned in pencil given tropical weather possibilities at this time of year.
Three weeks before departure as I'm starting to ink some things in, it suddenly becomes apparent that Florida kids are back to school that week... so our stay would be seriously disruptive to with DN's first week back at school. Started Googling cheap places to stay in Orlando... that's when the trouble started
So, three nights at Fort Wilderness Campgrounds in August is actually very cheap... not quite so much, it must be said, once you add two day park hoppers and QSDP...
So after lunch with Shamu and a wander around SeaWorld we headed to Walmart to pick up some essentials - case of water, case of beer... can't remember what else... then breezed into the campground without talking to a soul, having received magic bands in the mail and checked in on-line. Heavens had opened as we left Walmart, and I was extremely glad that I had bought rope and tarps in addition to the tent... waited in the car for the rain to ease off, then strung a rope between two trees to suspend a tarp to keep the tent dry under it while I set it up. Worked pretty well, only thing that got really wet during the process was me. Note that the tent sites are quite coarse sand pits. They are too shallow to use the really big screw-in type pegs meant for sand as they hit solid ground before they are screwed in far enough. Original pin type pegs worked for us, luckily we didn't experience much wind. Wider V-shaped pegs would be a better option.
Had just about everything set up as home in time for our 9:15 Whispering Canyon ADR. Had hoped to be able to walk to and from that, but given the still very damp weather, the fact that our site on the 2000 loop was a long way from everything, and that it had taken longer to set camp than I had hoped, I drove.
Amusingly we saw a huge pick-up with Alaska tags in the parking lot. Not sure why he had driven ~5,000 miles to stay at Wilderness Lodge of all places
Food was excellent, and although it was winding down got there in time for the last hobby horse race and to get some ketchup.
Tried to drive back the way I had got there, but the gate on W Wilderness Rd is a staff only gate when going from the Lodge to the Campground.
Early rise for HS EMH on Wednesday morning. Decided to drive to avoid the two bus system from the campsite, and since we had our FP+'s for AK later... got parked up and walked thru the gates right on 7am, followed everyone else to Slinky Dog, which had a 40 minute wait at that time. It's quite delightful, but can't quite see what all the fuss is about, definitely wouldn't get up at 6am to do it again.
While there we still pretty much walked on to ToT and RnRC, then drove over to AK. Had FP+ for EE & Dino, than Navi in the afternoon. Plan was to hopefully get in early enough to join the line for Pandora, but it was already 120 minutes when we got to it, so that was abandoned. EE FP was a complete waste... we did two regular line walk-ons before using our FP for the third ride. Wandered around seeing characters and soaking up the atmosphere before using our Dinosaur FP, by which time we had to head to MK for our BoG lunch ADR. Bus to MK worked reasonably well... pretty much straight thru the Kingdom to BoG... the ADR however was simply an opportunity to join the line at that time, and it did take a while to get our food ordered and then seated. Drinks were self serve, and there really weren't enough soda machines for the number of people... that said, free refills were greatly appreciated and the food was delicious.
Then it was back to AK for our Na'vi river cruise FP, and coming out of there the line time for Pandora was down to 90 minutes so we jumped in (no siesta for you, Dad). Turned out to be a fortuitous action, just as we got to the indoor part of the line it started raining. By the time we got out the ground was really wet, but the sun had come out again. Headed back to the car to drive back to the campground for a shower and change.
After changing we headed around the loop to our bus stop... we'd been waiting about 5 minutes when a couple of cast members on a golf cart drove by, asked where we were heading and offered us a ride up to the boat dock so we could catch the ferry to MK. Got there around 7:30 it was heaving... busiest I've ever seen, but to be fair I'm a February/October Disneyer, apart from a MVMCP. Convinced ourselves that it would all be worth it once the regular folks go home at eleven. Picked up whatever FP's were available... think we got Haunted Mansion and Pooh, did Tiki House (a first for us, was refurbing first time we went, can't imagine how awful it must have been before the refurb
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Watched the fireworks and grabbed dinner at Pinnochios, did Carousel of Progress... a first for DD. I have always had a special affection for that ride since I remember my grandmother telling me about it when she visited the World's Fair in New York where it debuted. Buzz, then aimed for Jungle Cruise - forgot it was closed for EMH, same with Splash
- Big Thunder was a 45 minute wait, Peter Pan was over an hour so we skipped it, SDMT was 90, did Barnstormer... 10 after midnight still said 45 minutes for Space Mountain, DD's favorite, so we decided to make that the last of the night. As luck would have it we were out by about 12:40 so we headed back to SDMT... 40 minutes so we joined the line. got on the ride about 1:10, exited the park at 1:25 and caught a boat back to camp at about 1:45.
DD couldn't face getting up at 7 for our 8am FP for Toy Story Mania. so I decided to set the alarm for 8 and drive to HS. A lot of construction going on on the roadways right now, and the onramp we had taken the previous day had been blocked off. That added about 10 minutes to our drive, but we parked, walked briskly to the gate instead of waiting for the shuttle and got there with 5 minutes to spare. Waited for Alien Saucers, FP Tower of Terror and Star Tours, caught the 11am BatB show, another favorite of DD after she was a chorus member in Drama camp a couple of years ago, and stole the show in her middle school version as LeFou.
Drove back to camp to get the bus to Epcot. Got a 4pm FP for Soarin so started touring the world, in Canada, DD got pics with Mary Poppins, Belle & Snow White, I may have sampled a beer or three
After Soarin I had a chance of an 8pm Test Track FP, but passed it up, Got an immediate for Spaceship Earth, did that and then got an 845pm for Frozen. Mission Space was walk on, and then we single-rider'd test Track... walk straight on and both got in the same car, just different roads. After that we toured the world again, sampling food and beverages in several countries, did Frozen, watched Illuminations and bussed back to the camp site. Started to spritz as we got off the campground bus and really raining as we got back to the tent. Aforementioned tarp did it's job again.
Tent was not too wet to pack up Friday morning, we got all loaded up with about ten minutes to spare before the 10am checkout time. parked in general parking and bussed back up to the top end of the campsite, Grabbed breakfast from P&J's, converted a spare meal to snacks in the shop, then grabbed a to go lunch from P&J's which we ate in the Busch Gardens Tampa parking lot later that afternoon.
I did like the campground... sites were clean, just far enough apart, and comfort stations (bathrooms, showers, laundry, soda & ice machines) nearby. DD is in no hurry to repeat, nor am I in August again... I would go back for maybe a ten day stay when it's a bit less warm, with five or six days of park tickets so we get some down time. I would definitely budget for a ($60/night) golf cart rental... everything is too far apart to walk and the bus service within the campground a bit sporadic. Although we never actually waited that long for a bus there was no way to know how long you might be waiting, and the southbound stop on our loop was simply a bench: no shelter from sun or rain.
Three weeks before departure as I'm starting to ink some things in, it suddenly becomes apparent that Florida kids are back to school that week... so our stay would be seriously disruptive to with DN's first week back at school. Started Googling cheap places to stay in Orlando... that's when the trouble started
So, three nights at Fort Wilderness Campgrounds in August is actually very cheap... not quite so much, it must be said, once you add two day park hoppers and QSDP...
So after lunch with Shamu and a wander around SeaWorld we headed to Walmart to pick up some essentials - case of water, case of beer... can't remember what else... then breezed into the campground without talking to a soul, having received magic bands in the mail and checked in on-line. Heavens had opened as we left Walmart, and I was extremely glad that I had bought rope and tarps in addition to the tent... waited in the car for the rain to ease off, then strung a rope between two trees to suspend a tarp to keep the tent dry under it while I set it up. Worked pretty well, only thing that got really wet during the process was me. Note that the tent sites are quite coarse sand pits. They are too shallow to use the really big screw-in type pegs meant for sand as they hit solid ground before they are screwed in far enough. Original pin type pegs worked for us, luckily we didn't experience much wind. Wider V-shaped pegs would be a better option.
Had just about everything set up as home in time for our 9:15 Whispering Canyon ADR. Had hoped to be able to walk to and from that, but given the still very damp weather, the fact that our site on the 2000 loop was a long way from everything, and that it had taken longer to set camp than I had hoped, I drove.
Amusingly we saw a huge pick-up with Alaska tags in the parking lot. Not sure why he had driven ~5,000 miles to stay at Wilderness Lodge of all places
Food was excellent, and although it was winding down got there in time for the last hobby horse race and to get some ketchup.
Tried to drive back the way I had got there, but the gate on W Wilderness Rd is a staff only gate when going from the Lodge to the Campground.
Early rise for HS EMH on Wednesday morning. Decided to drive to avoid the two bus system from the campsite, and since we had our FP+'s for AK later... got parked up and walked thru the gates right on 7am, followed everyone else to Slinky Dog, which had a 40 minute wait at that time. It's quite delightful, but can't quite see what all the fuss is about, definitely wouldn't get up at 6am to do it again.
While there we still pretty much walked on to ToT and RnRC, then drove over to AK. Had FP+ for EE & Dino, than Navi in the afternoon. Plan was to hopefully get in early enough to join the line for Pandora, but it was already 120 minutes when we got to it, so that was abandoned. EE FP was a complete waste... we did two regular line walk-ons before using our FP for the third ride. Wandered around seeing characters and soaking up the atmosphere before using our Dinosaur FP, by which time we had to head to MK for our BoG lunch ADR. Bus to MK worked reasonably well... pretty much straight thru the Kingdom to BoG... the ADR however was simply an opportunity to join the line at that time, and it did take a while to get our food ordered and then seated. Drinks were self serve, and there really weren't enough soda machines for the number of people... that said, free refills were greatly appreciated and the food was delicious.
Then it was back to AK for our Na'vi river cruise FP, and coming out of there the line time for Pandora was down to 90 minutes so we jumped in (no siesta for you, Dad). Turned out to be a fortuitous action, just as we got to the indoor part of the line it started raining. By the time we got out the ground was really wet, but the sun had come out again. Headed back to the car to drive back to the campground for a shower and change.
After changing we headed around the loop to our bus stop... we'd been waiting about 5 minutes when a couple of cast members on a golf cart drove by, asked where we were heading and offered us a ride up to the boat dock so we could catch the ferry to MK. Got there around 7:30 it was heaving... busiest I've ever seen, but to be fair I'm a February/October Disneyer, apart from a MVMCP. Convinced ourselves that it would all be worth it once the regular folks go home at eleven. Picked up whatever FP's were available... think we got Haunted Mansion and Pooh, did Tiki House (a first for us, was refurbing first time we went, can't imagine how awful it must have been before the refurb
- .Watched the fireworks and grabbed dinner at Pinnochios, did Carousel of Progress... a first for DD. I have always had a special affection for that ride since I remember my grandmother telling me about it when she visited the World's Fair in New York where it debuted. Buzz, then aimed for Jungle Cruise - forgot it was closed for EMH, same with Splash
- Big Thunder was a 45 minute wait, Peter Pan was over an hour so we skipped it, SDMT was 90, did Barnstormer... 10 after midnight still said 45 minutes for Space Mountain, DD's favorite, so we decided to make that the last of the night. As luck would have it we were out by about 12:40 so we headed back to SDMT... 40 minutes so we joined the line. got on the ride about 1:10, exited the park at 1:25 and caught a boat back to camp at about 1:45.DD couldn't face getting up at 7 for our 8am FP for Toy Story Mania. so I decided to set the alarm for 8 and drive to HS. A lot of construction going on on the roadways right now, and the onramp we had taken the previous day had been blocked off. That added about 10 minutes to our drive, but we parked, walked briskly to the gate instead of waiting for the shuttle and got there with 5 minutes to spare. Waited for Alien Saucers, FP Tower of Terror and Star Tours, caught the 11am BatB show, another favorite of DD after she was a chorus member in Drama camp a couple of years ago, and stole the show in her middle school version as LeFou.
Drove back to camp to get the bus to Epcot. Got a 4pm FP for Soarin so started touring the world, in Canada, DD got pics with Mary Poppins, Belle & Snow White, I may have sampled a beer or three
After Soarin I had a chance of an 8pm Test Track FP, but passed it up, Got an immediate for Spaceship Earth, did that and then got an 845pm for Frozen. Mission Space was walk on, and then we single-rider'd test Track... walk straight on and both got in the same car, just different roads. After that we toured the world again, sampling food and beverages in several countries, did Frozen, watched Illuminations and bussed back to the camp site. Started to spritz as we got off the campground bus and really raining as we got back to the tent. Aforementioned tarp did it's job again.
Tent was not too wet to pack up Friday morning, we got all loaded up with about ten minutes to spare before the 10am checkout time. parked in general parking and bussed back up to the top end of the campsite, Grabbed breakfast from P&J's, converted a spare meal to snacks in the shop, then grabbed a to go lunch from P&J's which we ate in the Busch Gardens Tampa parking lot later that afternoon.
I did like the campground... sites were clean, just far enough apart, and comfort stations (bathrooms, showers, laundry, soda & ice machines) nearby. DD is in no hurry to repeat, nor am I in August again... I would go back for maybe a ten day stay when it's a bit less warm, with five or six days of park tickets so we get some down time. I would definitely budget for a ($60/night) golf cart rental... everything is too far apart to walk and the bus service within the campground a bit sporadic. Although we never actually waited that long for a bus there was no way to know how long you might be waiting, and the southbound stop on our loop was simply a bench: no shelter from sun or rain.
