Return to River Country . . . And More! A New TCD Trip Report- April 2010

[RvUsa]

Amazing as always!

 

[des1954]

TCD - You are magical!! I deem myself as a person who has "lived" a lot of FtW history (Isn't that a more politically correct way to say I'm older than dirt?) and let me commend you on the railroad sleuthing. There were indeed many trestle bridges throughout the Fort that carried the trains over the canals.

Now as to the mystery of the split tracks behind the 700 loop - they were used to store an extra RR car during the daytime so during the busy times of the day they could add a car without going back to the roundhouse. Remember - originally the train was more than an attraction - it was the original method of transportation around the Fort until they decided to add the trams. I think the train as the only form of transportation (besides your feet or a bike) lasted until 1975 or maybe 1976 when River Country opened. I can't quite recall when the trams were added, but I know they were not there in Oct 1974 when we camped there for the first time.

The roundhouse is still there - but is being used as a CM building. The turntable is still inside, but of course, the tracks have been removed. (If you befriend CM's at the Fort - you sometimes get to go places others only dream of - unless, of course, you're "TCD - Super-Sleuth). When you enter the day parking lot, guests are "encouraged" to take a left into parking lot - as if you were going to the kennels. If you go straight, you go back to CM services for FtW. That's where the roundhouse is. There is another road on the right near the 1st turn to go to Peacock Pass - or to the cabins. That road goes to the same area. AND - on the 1700 loop is a dirt road that says "Cast Members Only" almost in the direct center of the loop on the right. If you follow that dirt road, you'll end up at the roundhouse. I discovered that in 2003 - when I WAS a cast member - so I was legal - in case you were wondering.

Anyhow - TCD - you are absolutely the BEST!! As Roger said: "You kick-asterisk"!! Thank you for risking life & limb to give us the best trip report EVAH!!

 

[Lil' Lisa]

Coming up . . .

Photos from Discovery Island!

(Bet you didn’t see that coming)

(And I’m serious- there are going to be some photos from Discovery Island)

(Right here on this thread)

TCD

Once again you have me on the edge of my seat.



(Good thing that I have a small butt that will fit on the edge...)

 

[Barnabus]

I read about the remaining rails a couple of years ago and after looking over old maps and satellite pics I figured the rails must be back where you found them. When I went to check it out I could not get past the WALL of vines and brambles. That area was def. machete country. I did find what was left of the bridge abutment over by the dog park. but that was about it. In the satellite pic you can also see the RR embankment where it crosses through the dog park. The embankment is not really obvious when you are on the ground and there has been some rain.

 

[bama_ed]

TCD,

Great minds think alike. During your absence a few months ago I explored the area past the 1500 loop for the FWRR track and found it. I laid out some pictures in this thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2343428. This was during our visit during Thanksgiving Week 2009.

My brother from Kennesaw was with me and took home a few souvenirs from the abandoned track (much like your cousin Yuri taking those RC pix). As a train buff I was happy to ride his coattails.

Thanks for the report and keep them coming

Bama ED

 

[irishtigger]

It is just a shame to see what it has become. I have such fond memories of going there with my family when I was younger. To be honest I liked it more than the other 2 water parks mostly cause it was not crowded. I really hope they do something to make it look better

 

[Tnbob]

I believe that the stakes were put in the ground the minute TDC checked in. I would bet $ that they have meetings just to discuss this thread and a plan to throw him off the scent. I could just see the plan "He's here!" " Go put the stakes in the ground and a couple of building permits scattered around" "RED alert! RED alert!"

 

[DisCamper]

This is some of the remaining track bedding in the dog park

 

[Tri-circle-D]

I still hate this site. And now that I won't be able to sneak a hot dog off that grill as I walk by, I have no use for it at all.


Oh no you didn't!

Not to worry, if there is a fence, it will be practically touching the grill- so you can still grab your dog.

And, I'm sorry to tell you that you are right- I didn't.

But, I'll bet that a few of the Disney moles reading along got more than a little riled up after reading that.

Edge of the seat reporting AGAIN!!!! Youre one Bad Asterisk Dude, TCD!!!!

Thanks, Rog. But, as I stated, I may have mislead you all just a bit.

I do environmental testing and sampling. Those borings could be a number of things, such as testing for pesticides/herbacides, groundwater testing, etc. I wonder if there is an underground storage tank in the barn area? It's hard to tell from the photos, but the placement of the stakes doesn't look like a typical groundwater investigation. Could be geotechnical borings related to an upcoming building project too. I see that they have the utilities marked. Won't be long until work starts.

Interesting. These stakes are spread out over a pretty large area. A lot further away from the barn than I would think any testing would need to be done to check for a leaking fuel tank. Time will tell.

are they close to the lake. could this be the lakeside campsites we have been speculating on.

Could be.

I was just thinking we might take a break from the fort for a while but you have given us several reasons to go back now.

We went back in the Wilderness Swamp Trail area too, but did not venture quite as far as you did.

I am happy to help. Now get that next trip booked!

Amazing as always!

Thanks, John!

TCD - You are magical!! I deem myself as a person who has "lived" a lot of FtW history (Isn't that a more politically correct way to say I'm older than dirt?) and let me commend you on the railroad sleuthing. There were indeed many trestle bridges throughout the Fort that carried the trains over the canals.

Now as to the mystery of the split tracks behind the 700 loop - they were used to store an extra RR car during the daytime so during the busy times of the day they could add a car without going back to the roundhouse. Remember - originally the train was more than an attraction - it was the original method of transportation around the Fort until they decided to add the trams. I think the train as the only form of transportation (besides your feet or a bike) lasted until 1975 or maybe 1976 when River Country opened. I can't quite recall when the trams were added, but I know they were not there in Oct 1974 when we camped there for the first time.

The roundhouse is still there - but is being used as a CM building. The turntable is still inside, but of course, the tracks have been removed. (If you befriend CM's at the Fort - you sometimes get to go places others only dream of - unless, of course, you're "TCD - Super-Sleuth). When you enter the day parking lot, guests are "encouraged" to take a left into parking lot - as if you were going to the kennels. If you go straight, you go back to CM services for FtW. That's where the roundhouse is. There is another road on the right near the 1st turn to go to Peacock Pass - or to the cabins. That road goes to the same area. AND - on the 1700 loop is a dirt road that says "Cast Members Only" almost in the direct center of the loop on the right. If you follow that dirt road, you'll end up at the roundhouse. I discovered that in 2003 - when I WAS a cast member - so I was legal - in case you were wondering.

Anyhow - TCD - you are absolutely the BEST!! As Roger said: "You kick-asterisk"!! Thank you for risking life & limb to give us the best trip report EVAH!!

Thanks, Deb. I know about these backstage areas you described, and I have already poked around them. The problem is that there are always a lot of castmembers around asking me what I'm doing there and such. I would really like to get a good look around the old train storage building.

I read about the remaining rails a couple of years ago and after looking over old maps and satellite pics I figured the rails must be back where you found them. When I went to check it out I could not get past the WALL of vines and brambles. That area was def. machete country. I did find what was left of the bridge abutment over by the dog park. but that was about it. In the satellite pic you can also see the RR embankment where it crosses through the dog park. The embankment is not really obvious when you are on the ground and there has been some rain.

Good stuff. Before the dog park, that old train trestle used to still be there.

TCD,

Great minds think alike. During your absence a few months ago I explored the area past the 1500 loop for the FWRR track and found it. I laid out some pictures in this thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2343428. This was during our visit during Thanksgiving Week 2009.

My brother from Kennesaw was with me and took home a few souvenirs from the abandoned track (much like your cousin Yuri taking those RC pix). As a train buff I was happy to ride his coattails.

Thanks for the report and keep them coming

Bama ED

Bame ED- I am sorry that I missed your previous thread. It does look like we were in the same spot. Good job!

It is just a shame to see what it has become. I have such fond memories of going there with my family when I was younger. To be honest I liked it more than the other 2 water parks mostly cause it was not crowded. I really hope they do something to make it look better

You and me both.

I believe that the stakes were put in the ground the minute TDC checked in. I would bet $ that they have meetings just to discuss this thread and a plan to throw him off the scent. I could just see the plan "He's here!" " Go put the stakes in the ground and a couple of building permits scattered around" "RED alert! RED alert!"

You are probably on to something here.

Alright folks, thanks for reading along.

Let's press on, shall we?

TCD

 

[Tri-circle-D]

I am afraid that I may have raised your expectations about Discovery Island.

TCD did step foot on Discovery Island.

But, that was about 11 years ago. And, I had to buy a ticket like everyone else.

I would like to go back.

But, a lifetime ban from WDW would bother me.

So, I just have to look at the island like everyone else.

There is clearly stuff on there worth investigating.

As we shall see in these next photos.

After our visit to Typhoon Lagoon on Saturday afternoon, we came back to the Fort with plans to visit the Polynesian Resort for dinner.
So, a bit later that evening, we boarded the Resort launch at the Fort Wilderness marina, and headed over to the Contemporary. The sun was getting ready to set, and it was a beautiful evening.

Here we are leaving the dock:

And here is the beautiful and deserted Discovery Island just before sunset:

Here we are looking back at the Fort Wilderness Marina, and the beach:

Over here is where the fishing guides keep their boats. Just past the boats, you can see where the River Country gazebo used to be, and the shoeless shoe tree:

Here we are driving past Discovery Island:

Do you notice the dock that has what looks like a generic maintenance shed on it? That used to be the dock where the boats would tie up for guests arriving and departing Discovery Island. I don’t know what that shed is doing there, but it has been there for a while.

You can clearly see another building just around the island a bit:

Here is a closer look at the shed:

Here we are looking back at the Fort:

And here is Discovery Island again:

Here we are moving alongside the island:

Do you see all those white spots in these photos? Those are birds. Hundreds of them. They sleep in the trees at night. I would imagine that there is a bird doo-doo situation there on the island.

If you look just past the shoreline in these photos, you will see what appears to be a wooden fence or wall:

A closer look:

If you look just above the trees in these photos, you will see what looks like a roof-line covered with vines. I believe this is the netting from the old aviary on the island:

And, here’s a closer look at the old aviary:

After we clear the island, we get a good look at Wilderness Lodge:

Check out that bird flying alongside us in the middle of the lake.

Are there any bird experts out there who can tell me what kind of bird that is?

I don’t know what kind of bird it was, but I can tell you that it tasted like chicken:

Sorry, but that’s all I have to share for today about Discovery Island.

I know some of you are disappointed.

But come on, it isn’t the first time, and won’t be the last time that TCD has let you down.

Next up, we start to scrape the bottom of the barrel for the remaining photos from this trip.

But, there is more.

And some of it is mildly interesting.

I promise.

TCD

 

[Tri-circle-D]

You know that the end of a TCD trip report is approaching when TCD breaks out the wildlife photos.

But, every TCD trip report requires wildlife photos.

So, here we go.

I give you Duck, Rabbit and Snake (these are photos, not the buffet at your local Asian fusion restaurant):

Another feature of most TCD trip reports is TCD’s review of other folks’ campsites. You know, where we look at other people’s equipment, maybe post some embarrassing photos, you know, that type of thing.

Camping with us here on the 1500 this weekend was a group with an Airstream Basecamp. I looked at one of these at an RV show once. The concept is very cool. It is kind of like a cargo trailer, but it is fitted out with fold down cots and a kitchen area. This would be great for tailgating and for short camping trips. The only drawback is that these things went for $25K plus. I believe they were only manufactured for a couple of years, and are no longer in production:

I am sure that I have seen this camper before. Talk about unconventional. But I give him/her points for neatness:

I guess they sleep in that van. And the portable car-port keeps them dry?

And this camper wins the award for best sign:

Here is the first runner up:

I am a little slow, but I’ll bet that these folks know each other. They’re from the same town and everything. And, they were camping right next to each other. Nothing gets by me.

And now we will look at Clementine’s Beach. Just because I like it:

We had a situation regarding swings at the Fort last week. As a matter of fact, this is the only swing in the entire resort. One swing. Hundreds of kids. Do the math. Memo to Disney mole monitoring this thread: PLEASE HANG UP SOME MORE SWINGS! Thank you:

And, here are two shots which I share here because I have them to share:

OK. We are getting there.

But, we haven’t looked at the group camping area yet.

We always look at the group camping area. A lot of times there isn’t much happening there. But, this past week, there was a lot going on there. You’ll see.

And, some of you might want to hear how the girls did at the concert at The House of Blues.

And, I still have some other things to discuss, too.

I thought this trip report was about over.

It is.

Almost.

TCD

 

[dtum]

Very nice clothesline tied to the trees with the airstream. Does FW allow this? I didn't think so.

 

[DaveInTN]

I am a little slow, but I’ll bet that these folks know each other. They’re from the same town and everything. And, they were camping right next to each other. Nothing gets by me.

I am always looking for bright analytical minds to work in my audit group. If you ever find yourself in Nashville and in need of a job, give me a call.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

I am always looking for bright analytical minds to work in my audit group. If you ever find yourself in Nashville and in need of a job, give me a call.

Auditor?

Did you say auditor?

Have you heard any of these?:


Why did the auditor cross the road? Because he looked in the file and that’s what they did last year.


Why did he cross back? So he could charge the client for travel expenses.


How many auditors does it take to change a light bulb? How many did it take last year?


TCD

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Yes, the group camping area.

Also known as Creekside Meadow.

A lot of time it sits empty.

But every now and then, it is packed.

And so it was when we arrived at the Fort on Friday April 16.

The week of April 12 was spring break for the Hillsborough County School District.

That’s Tampa.

It seemed like all of the folks I saw here in group camping were from Tampa.

Here’s how it looks when it’s full:

There is a lot of parking back here for the campers. But, when I looped around there on Saturday night there was not an open spot to be found. This is how things looked on Sunday morning:

By noon on Sunday this area was completely cleared out.

I am always glad when I see an improvement or upgrade to something at the Fort. That gives me a feeling of confidence that the item is not going to be ripped out and discarded. So, that is why I am showing you these photos of the footbridge that goes from the 1500 loop bus stop to the Meadow Recreation Complex:

This sign is new (within the last year or so):

And the bridge recently got new railings:

I love to walk across this bridge.

I don’t know why.

But I do.

So I am glad that it looks like it will be around a while longer.

TCD

 

[Tri-circle-D]

As I mentioned earlier in this report, the primary reason we headed to Orlando for the weekend was so that the TCD twins could attend a concert Sunday night at the House of Blues.

I don’t think that I have mentioned that Sunday ended up being a rainy day. It rained on and off all day.

The girls wanted to go to the House of Blues early so they could get lined up.
This was a general admission concert.

And the girls needed to be in the front row.

Have you ever been to a concert at the House of Blues?

They are a bunch of geniuses over there.

They have two lines.

The have something called “skip the line.” If you spend $15 in the restaurant or gift shop, or pay an extra $15 at the ticket window, you get to “skip the line.” But that’s not really true. You get to skip a line. There is still usually a pretty good line formed by the folks who paid to skip the line. See? Geniuses!

As happens frequently in the TCD household, there was a negotiation regarding when I would have to take the girls over to Downtown Disney. They wanted to go pretty early. I thought they didn’t need to go as early as they thought they did. We discussed it. I made my points. They really didn’t have a point. And then the negotiation ended, as they all do, with me just doing what they wanted to do in the first place. You know, I am the only man in my house, and you think I would be tired of this type of thing by now. But, what can you do?

Actually, the weather became my ally. The girls didn’t really like the idea of standing out in the rain for hours.

Plus, I had never even heard of any of the bands playing in this concert, so how busy could it be?

If I recall correctly, the doors were going to open at 5, and we headed over at 2-ish. We were going to take the House of Blues up on that fantastic skip the line deal, and I was going to wait there until the girls got inside, and then head back to the Fort until I was summoned to return and pick them up.

Oh yes, I have already established that I am hopelessly un-cool because I did not know a single one of the bands that were playing. In fact, I had never even heard of any of them. What about you? Are you hip? Here’s the lineup: Never Shout Never, Hey Monday, The Cab, Every Avenue, The Kungaloosh and The Summer Set. Tell the truth, have you heard of any of them? I didn’t think so, so watch who you are calling un-cool next time, OK?

So, we arrive at the House of Blues about three hours before the concert starts. The girls get in the skip the line line. How much sense does that name mean? And, I go and buy two $15 t-shirts in the gift shop. I got the ugliest ones I could find too. It’s my little protest. See, I am really in charge here.

Anyway, this is how things were looking at the House of Blues a few hours before the doors were to open:

This is the front of the restaurant. The door to enter the concert venue would be to the far right in these photos.

The TCD twins are here in line under the orange and blue umbrella (Go Gators, right DaveInTN?):

This line then curved around the side of the building. So, the girls were not too far back-they are in front of all the people in this photo. But, they clearly weren’t early enough to be on the rail at this concert:

So, this line we have been looking at is the skip the line line.

The real line, for the regular schlubs who do not have chumps for fathers, formed in the back of House of Blues, along the lake:

I don’t think these photos do that great of a job showing how long the line was. It was long! If you follow along the lake all the way to the very background of this photo, there are people standing in line. This was a sold out show. So, all of these people have heard of those bands. But, I haven’t. When did life pass me by? This is sad!

In any event, the time passed very slowly, as it does when you are waiting in a line that isn’t moving in the rain. The girls made it to the front, and I took the umbrellas and headed back to the Fort.

Our campsite was starting to get swampy:

But, the rain wasn’t that bad, so I was able to get out and do some looping before it got dark.

I found the 1700 loop to be almost empty:

The 1900 loop was completely empty:

And the 1800 loop had two campers on it:

It continued to rain on and off until I got a call from the girls to come and get them. They said it was the best concert they have ever been to.

Coming up . . .

Our last morning at the Fort.

And this trip report gets wrapped up!

TCD

P.S. When I listed the band names above, I inserted a fake name to weed out the posers. For extra credit, see if you can guess which name is not the real name of a band on the AP Tour.

 

[StPeteDisneyFan]

I'll make a guess!!! The Kungaloosh?!? Am I right? What do I win?!?

 

[DaveInTN]

I'll make a guess!!! The Kungaloosh?!? Am I right? What do I win?!?

The Kungaloosh is a real band. My DD14 has a poster of them on her wall. It looks something like this:

 

[kampfirekim]

The Kungaloosh is a real band. My DD14 has a poster of them on her wall. It looks something like this:

I fear that I too am uncool. I'm older than 40 but younger than 50 and I have never heard of any of these bands. Although, the Kungaloosh band looks kind of suspicious.

 

[BigDaddyRog]

Ive heard of Never Shout Never...but only because my daughters have had that whiney little punks voice blasted at 10.5 decibels for about the last 3 years. The singer of NeverShoutNever is the sole blame of my daughter's Vegetarian phase...which Im proud to say she snapped out of day before yesterday!!!! Her first real meal after a 1.5 year stint of rabbit food? Wendy's chicken nuggets!!! Of all of the grilled steaks she's missed out on...the ONE thing she missed the most was friggen Wendy's nugget!!!! So, TCD....dont feel bad for not knowing the groups....Im a DJ and only know ONE of them under protest....they most likely will never be "rock n roll hall of famers".