October trip reports 😊

[bama_ed]

Again, no wait at all to get a monorail ride to MK.





As I mentioned previously, a CM in an orange vest was at the MK boat launch gate to the FW boat with the handheld device to scan my Magic Band. They were only allowing people with ADR's or those staying at FW onto the boat. DW and I had the boat to ourselves so it was like a private charter cruise. Naturally we sat up front.



Nearly at the Fort dock, there was a group fishing near the Shoe Tree.



And in another minute, we were "home".



ToT is tonight 6-9pm. I brought HUNDREDS of pieces of chocolate candy (I mean, if there's any left over ... ) to give out. I wonder if the restricted access to the Fort will produce any lower ToT loads. I did ToT only once 5 years ago and handing out the candy went by like a blur.

We shall see.

Bama Ed

 

[Teamubr]

I'm curious to see how they handle the limited access this year. The past 2 years, they had Covid restrictions to blame. Seems that ship sailed for this year. The parade pics certainly looked like a healthy crowd.

j

 

[4077]

Also in 100, a Jack Skelington site.







The food truck circle down by the Settlement Trading Post was hoppin'.





The Beach Bash with DJ was going strong.





Next the pumpkins being judged. They had run out of paper ballots for people to vote with.







Let's look at the carts being voted on then head for the home loop and check that out.

Bama Ed

A lot of great pumpkins to judge!

 

[4077]

Naturally we sat up front.

I thought someone had mentioned front seats removed on boats to stand up front now, but it seems you had seats to sit in in the bow area…..

 

[bama_ed]

I thought someone had mentioned front seats removed on boats to stand up front now, but it seems you had seats to sit in in the bow area…..

Every boat I've seen has had seats up front thus far. There may be one for added accessibility that has front out though (just an idea).

Ready for tonight with about 875 pieces of candy - all of the chocolate variety. No sweet tarts, candy corn, or hard candy.



Bama Ed

 

[bama_ed]

Fort Wilderness Halloween 2022 Golf Cart Parade video is up on YT courtesy of Mousesteps/JWL Media. https://www.youtube.com/user/JeffLangeDVD

It's about 15 minutes long filmed near the entrance to 600 loop.

Bama Ed

 

[tripleb]

Very nice Ed and you are right ... there really wasn't much Halloween hoopla in the 1900 loop.

 

[bama_ed]

So a brief update tonight after Trick or Treating.

1. Have about 100 pieces left. The ToT'ers came in spurts in 300 loop.
2. Six or eight (a bunch) Orange County Sheriff's Deputies in uniform on bikes pedaled by tonight. Nice to know they were there.
3. Peach, your buddy the General Manager of Fort Wilderness, Bill Thompson, was stuck in a golf cart traffic jam RIGHT IN FRONT of my site during ToT (his title emplazoned on the side of the golf cart) and I thought to myself, "It's NOW or NEVER". So I approached him and asked him a direct question about the Walking Trail to Wilderness Lodge and its future. And he gave me a direct answer.

Will post more on #3 tomorrow.

Bama Ed

PS - going to church tomorrow morning then the only ADR of our trip for lunch. Which then will be followed by a walk-about. Will then come back and take down stuff and load up in prep for an early Wednesday morning rollout.

 

[Love Ft Wilderness]

So a brief update tonight after Trick or Treating.

1. Have about 100 pieces left. The ToT'ers came in spurts in 300 loop.
2. Six or eight (a bunch) Orange County Sheriff's Deputies in uniform on bikes pedaled by tonight. Nice to know they were there.
3. Peach, your buddy the General Manager of Fort Wilderness, Bill Thompson, was stuck in a golf cart traffic jam RIGHT IN FRONT of my site during ToT (his title emplazoned on the side of the golf cart) and I thought to myself, "It's NOW or NEVER". So I approached him and asked him a direct question about the Walking Trail to Wilderness Lodge and its future. And he gave me a direct answer.

Will post more on #3 tomorrow.

Bama Ed

PS - going to church tomorrow morning then the only ADR of our trip for lunch. Which then will be followed by a walk-about. Will then come back and take down stuff and load up in prep for an early Wednesday morning rollout.

Noooo, I have to wait until tomorrow for the answer to #3. We have asked many times with the answer of no answer. You're getting it straight from the horse's mouth so to speak. Can't wait!

 

[Teamubr]

Will post more on #3 tomorrow.

Waiting..................



j

 

[bama_ed]

So I walked up to his golf cart and said, "are you Bill"?

He seemed a little startled to be addressed personally and I pointed at his title on the side of his golf cart.

"Yes I am".

So the way I phrased it was that I asked about the future of the Walking Trail to WL. Will it ever come back, is it gone forever, or what because we campers would LOVE to have it back ASAP.

He relaxed at this point and said how he had LOVED the Walking Trail as much as we probably did and would LOVE to have it back as well.

< This is the part where I ask you if you want to hear the GOOD news or the Bad news first. >

The GOOD news is he said the Walking Trail WILL return in about 3 years (an estimate I will grant him that).

The BAD news is he continued on by saying that it would come AFTER the new resort had been built on the old Reflections job site.

On hearing THAT news, I hung my head and said, "Do we HAVE to build there?" and he said it was coming.

So my guess is that they will build on the old Reflections site (new plan, old plan, revised plan who knows) after the Poly DVC tower which is now in build mode. Went by it today and the old Spirit of Aloha building is gone and the earth is being work/cleared between the last Poly hotel building and the Wedding Pavilion along the water's edge behind a construction fence. As it nears completion, the FW/River Country project will be announced and the build will start again there while the sales of the Poly DVC start for a couple months.

It makes sense, sadly, I guess. But I do note that riding the Purple bus line up to the Settlement Bus Depot coming in past the new Tri Circle D Horse Barn, they did lay a fresh new sidewalk along the new portion of the road there down to the turn onto Wilderness Road (the road to the lodge). Right now that sidewalk just STOPS. But they laid it and made it to go somewhere in the future.

I've said before that the DVC building program is a beast that must be constantly fed. I just hope the FW version doesn't alter the vibe of the camper/cabin Fort too much. I don't want to see DVC villas between Trails End and the edge of Bay Lake, for example.

So that was the answer. It's coming for better or worse.

Bama ED

PS - going to the campfire singalong in a few minutes (not staying for the movie) and then will relay today's events. I ended up with a new souvenir to take home.

 

[Teamubr]

Thanks Ed.

Sort of the answer I was expecting. They have too much invested in site prep, utilities and foundational work to ignore the Reflections site for too long. I suspect their research showed a Poly expansion would sell faster than a completely new resort, hence the timing.

At least the walking trail will return. Too bad half of it will be through a resort/DVC parking lot.

j

 

[bama_ed]

Today's update will come tomorrow after I get home.

Bama Ed

 

[JETS70]

Ed, It was good to see and get to talk to you and your DW at the Fort. Safe travels home and on your return visit in the not so distant future.

Steve and Teresa

 

[Love Ft Wilderness]

So I walked up to his golf cart and said, "are you Bill"?

He seemed a little startled to be addressed personally and I pointed at his title on the side of his golf cart.

"Yes I am".

So the way I phrased it was that I asked about the future of the Walking Trail to WL. Will it ever come back, is it gone forever, or what because we campers would LOVE to have it back ASAP.

He relaxed at this point and said how he had LOVED the Walking Trail as much as we probably did and would LOVE to have it back as well.

< This is the part where I ask you if you want to hear the GOOD news or the Bad news first. >

The GOOD news is he said the Walking Trail WILL return in about 3 years (an estimate I will grant him that).

The BAD news is he continued on by saying that it would come AFTER the new resort had been built on the old Reflections job site.

On hearing THAT news, I hung my head and said, "Do we HAVE to build there?" and he said it was coming.

So my guess is that they will build on the old Reflections site (new plan, old plan, revised plan who knows) after the Poly DVC tower which is now in build mode. Went by it today and the old Spirit of Aloha building is gone and the earth is being work/cleared between the last Poly hotel building and the Wedding Pavilion along the water's edge behind a construction fence. As it nears completion, the FW/River Country project will be announced and the build will start again there while the sales of the Poly DVC start for a couple months.

It makes sense, sadly, I guess. But I do note that riding the Purple bus line up to the Settlement Bus Depot coming in past the new Tri Circle D Horse Barn, they did lay a fresh new sidewalk along the new portion of the road there down to the turn onto Wilderness Road (the road to the lodge). Right now that sidewalk just STOPS. But they laid it and made it to go somewhere in the future.

I've said before that the DVC building program is a beast that must be constantly fed. I just hope the FW version doesn't alter the vibe of the camper/cabin Fort too much. I don't want to see DVC villas between Trails End and the edge of Bay Lake, for example.

So that was the answer. It's coming for better or worse.

Bama ED

PS - going to the campfire singalong in a few minutes (not staying for the movie) and then will relay today's events. I ended up with a new souvenir to take home.

Thank you for the update. I am so glad the trail will return but VERY unhappy about the new resort. I think they would have done better to expand the campers/cabins.
I'm afraid the wildlife will be pushed further away having so many more people and development in what once was their refuge.

 

[bama_ed]

Couple notes about ToT on 10/31 first.

Here was my little setup. I stood there for 3 hours handing out candy.



Nearly all the sites around me used a "help yourself" approach and just left a bowl of candy because the parents wanted to go with the kids to ToT. They generally visited once or twice during the night to restock if needed.

This was the good stuff (chocolate) I was handing out. No Dots, candy corn, sweet tarts, or hard candy.



A lot of the traffic was golf cart only (no ToT) who were seeing decorations I guess. Some kids were hopping on/off carts though. I only handed out candy if they got out of the cart.



I was back in the back of 300 and had no sense of what was happening in the other loops. I shut it down at 9pm and took a shower and had dinner then slept like a rock. Kids were still coming around scrounging candy even after 10pm. It was a fun experience.

We slept in a little on Tuesday morning then went to an off-site All Saints Day service. Upon return, I got a November Recreation Calendar (it was 11/1 after all) and posted it in the November Trip Reports thread. The Thanksgiving Day activities on the back page were sparse. They had a 5k on Turkey Day in 2019 and I was hoping to see that again but it wasn't to be. But that's okay - I know my 5k route around the Fort anyway.

We were back at the campsite briefly then walked though the back of 300 loop and along the Bay Lake beach to the Fort boat dock to head to lunch at the Contemporary via boat. We docked at MK and walked over. The MK had some Christmas decorations up (see the red/green garland on the RR station steel fence) that weren't there in the Oct 31 pics I posted.





Cool jazz plays on the overhead speakers as you walk into the Contemp.



Steakhouse 71 (the old The Wave location) is at the far end of the main check-in lobby.





DW got a salad with the steak upgrade.



I got the Salisbury Steak plate with garlic mash and fine friend onions on top.



I was not impressed with my spuds. I eat/make mash and it's best the Wolfgang Puck way with skins on and a little bit firm with milk/cream, garlic, olive oil, Parmesagn, salt/pepper, and healthy real butter. As you can see in my pic, the mash is a little limp with no skins. Not expensive by Disney standards but still, do I have to go back in the kitchen and demonstrate how to make proper mashed garlic potatoes myself?



Apparently good help is hard to find these days.

Let's roll on.

Bama Ed

PS - Steve, lunch was good but I like the breakfast menu better. But it didn't work out schedule-wise.

 

[bama_ed]

One thing I had notice on the walk from the MK dock to the Contemp for lunch was the number of people with these lumpy Mr Toad things around their neck or in bags. As we left Steakhouse 71 I asked someone with the lumpy object what it was.



Apparently it's the "must have de jour" a Mr. Toad's Wild Ride Popcorn Bucket - limited edition 4 days only - limit two per customer around $30 each. Honestly, it didn't look like it would hold much popcorn but the back of the car popped open and the wheels did actually roll. Look for them on Ebay. They do have a neck strap. If they made a Country Bears version popcorn bucket I would "REEEEE" and buy it.

After lunch our adventure was this: walk from the Contemp back past Magic Kingdom along the new walking trail to Grand Floridian and on to the Polynesian for some ice cream dessert. Leaving the Contemp were the monorail lines overhead.



In my head I hear Aerosmith and Steven Tyler singing "Walk This Way".



The aging monorail glided over our heads.



More close-ups of new Christmas decorations at MK.





I was looking for the walkway to GF and could not find any direction/sign for it.



I inquired with the security guards at the GF/Poly boat dock and they said the signs DON'T show it but this is the way. When you get back to their actual dock, THEN you see a sign.



( the guards said they answer this question all day and repeatedly at closing at night).

The monorail station was loaded up just over my shoulder.



But we just followed the sidewalk.



Let's move on.

Bama Ed

 

[bama_ed]

The canal between GF and MK stores the Electric Water Parade floats and the walking bridge over it was put in a few years ago.









You can see the silver colored section of the GF roof where they were replacing shingles.



Then you curve around under the monorail



and across the last water ditch



and towards the Grand



to enjoy the abundant air conditioning in the lobby after a warm humid walk.



They had cleared space in the lobby and put together the house to hold the gingerbread for Christmas.



I admit we did recuperate and recharge our batteries before heading out for the Poly.

More in the next thread (souvenir ahead).

Bama Ed

 

[bama_ed]

The walking path to the Poly is a circuitous route along the GF shoreline.





However, it does have beautiful views in places.



More curves. We're headed past the GF DVC villas towards the Wedding Pavilion area.



This is the Wedding Pavilion center, bathrooms, etc. The chapel itself is the steepled building by the water in the previous pic.



At this point the walking trail to the Poly is like a puzzle. Construction for the Poly DVC tower has torn up the established walking path but a temporary path is available if you follow the brown signs.



Yep the Spirit of Aloha building is gone and the land movers are "sculpting" the new beach shoreline and land.



Just follow the signs.







We make it to the Poly in the next post.

Bama Ed

 

[bama_ed]

Here's a pic of Hard Hat Mickey along the green scrim fence in the previous pic.



The scrim fence has some temporary pavement as we walked towards the Poly.



Until we reached familiar territory.



The Poly has a nice boat dock area near the Trader Sam's/Captain Cook's entrance.



We were headed, however, to the area just out back behind the main lobby, the Pineapple Lanai, for some lunch dessert, Dole Whips in various forms. Standing in line, I looked at the overhead sign and was surprised that I had a souvenir opportunity (see the bottom line of the Float description):



For a small $5 upcharge, I could get a souvenir sipper cup with my Float. I'm IN!

So I got the souvenir sipper float and DW got a regular Dole Whip.



Akshually, the sipper cup had two different designs on the front/back.





I enjoyed the pineapple juice and pineapple ice cream then washed out the sipper and snapped the lid on. Pretty cute little souvenir, no?



Wrap up next.

Bama Ed