Tri-circle-D
<font color=peach>Throwing some love to TCD<br><fo
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2004
The TCD gang made it to the Fort for Thanksgiving, 2010.
It was our sixth visit this year.
That is quite an accomplishment considering that we were boycotting the Fort for the first three months of 2010.
This trip was sandwiched between Saturday visits to Gainesville and Tallahassee for football games.
So, we arrived on Sunday, November 21, and left on Friday, November 26th.
That's five nights at the Fort.
And, our visit was magical.
You might be thinking that after all of TCD's visits to the Fort there will be nothing new to report.
If you are thinking that you are wrong.
This trip included an unbelievable amount of magic and pixie dust.
It is good to be TCD.
And, guess what?
My cousin Yuri visited us, and wandered off and got lost on one of his photo expeditions. He ended up in some off-limits area, and I found some odd photos on my camera. I'm not sure if I am correct on the location he photographed, but I think I know where he was. He has gone back to his country, so I will have to wait until the next time I see him to ask him for sure. But, I'll share his photos in due time so we can all look at them an speculate.
Another news flash is that I was surprised to find an Musket Mickey item for sale in the Meadow Trading Post.
Really!
I'll have a photo of that, too.
But, as with all TCD trip reports, we must start at the beginning.
We have been to the Fort at Thanksgiving time plenty of times.
It's a great time to visit.
But, it's pretty busy then.
It used to be that early in the week wasn't so bad, with the campground progressively filling as the week progressed.
But, when we arrived on early Sunday afternoon, this is what we saw:
Traffic was backed up past the guard shack.
Only three check-in lanes were open.
And, campers were backed up waiting to check in in every lane.
Not so magical.
The guard apparently told the people ahead of us to go park in the parking lot and go inside to check in, because they took off in that direction. When we reached the guard, he told us we could pick a lane or go inside. I told him I would pick a lane. I don't like going inside. Besides, who is to say that inside was any better.
So, I got in the far left lane.
There were two unopened lanes to my left.
I got out to take a few photos:
The TCD rig is right behind the first trailer in this photo:
This was a bad way to begin our visit.
But, I didn't care.
We were at Disney World.
And guess what?
We got our first sprinkling of pixie dust right then.
As soon as I got back in my truck, a castmember opened the lane next to me and waved me up.
A guy behind me tried to dog me.
But he didn't realize who he was dealing with.
So, I pulled right up.
We had waited in that mess for less than ten minutes!
I had a great castmember.
She knew what she was doing.
That, unfortunately, is not always the case.
She handed me my site assignment.
I had reserved a partial site for this trip.
And dutifully faxed a site request form requesting to be assigned to the 1500 loop.
I knew that the 1500 loop might be full.
But it doesn't hurt to ask.
Anyway, I didn't get 1500.
I was assigned to a site in the 1800 loop.
What the Fort?
That's a full hook up site.
I asked the castmember what was up.
She said I had received a free upgrade.
Free?
Upgrade?
That has never happened to me.
Ever.
But it was happening now.
I know you're not supposed to look a gift horse in the mouth.
But, I am not a fan of the 1800 loop.
Or the 1900 loop.
So I said to the castmember that I really didn't want to be on a site so far back and away from everything.
She said she would see what she could do.
She made a call, and the next thing you know, we had a new site assignment: 1711.
I like the 1700 loop.
So we took it.
And we were off.
When I got to our site, I found that we backed up to the main road. We were pretty close, actually. I went and looked at the site we were first assigned on 1800 loop. It was on the inside of the loop, right across from the sidewalk to the comfort station. I discussed this with my DD's. I thought I would like the 1800 loop site better. They disagreed. They liked the fact that 1711 backed up to the road. It would let us see all the action, and we would have plenty of space for decorations.
So, we stayed on 1711.
And, I ended up liking it fine.
So, that is two sprinklings of pixie dust already: a super quick check-in on a busy day, and a free upgrade.
The girls ran off to the Poly for lunch while I set up camp.
When they called for me to come pick them up at the marina, I was just about finished with the set-up, but I hadn't had lunch. And, I was hungry. I figured I would have some cheese and crackers to tide me over until we got our traditional first night meal.
But, as I was heading down to the marina, who did I run into but my old pal Feisty! Do y'all know Feisty? She's the nice lady from Louisiana who camps on site 114. All the time. With all the decorations. Well, she's a TCD fan. So she stops me to say hello. She asked me if I had eaten lunch yet. I told her I hadn't. She told me to hold on. I told her that I was picking up my DD's at the marina, and would be right back. So, I picked up the girls and headed back. And when I got back to Feisty's site, she handed me a plate covered with foil. She told me it was Boudin. I told her I never heard of it. She told me it was some kind of Cajun sausage made with rice. I told her thanks. And, we headed back to camp.
As soon as I got back to camp, I dug into that Boudin. And guess what? I like Boudin! Thanks Feisty!
So, there's some more pixie dust.
Crazy, isn't it?
We spent a little time looping, and squaring things away. And checking out some of the decorations already in place.
And, then it was time for our Giddyap and Go.
The GAG was great, as usual. But, the steak fries are still missing. We just got the same old fries they serve all over WDW. I am afraid the steak fries are gone for good. Too bad. But, it's still the best deal on property.
After we ate, we hung out some more, and then we headed out to the MK.
I think it was like 10 pm when we headed out.
We weren't in a rush. The MK was open until midnight. And, then it was Extra Magic Hours until 3 am. Yes I said 3 am. We have done it before, and we were going to do it again.
As expected, the MK was still a bit busy when we arrived. So we headed to Tommorrowland to visit the Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor. We love the Laugh Floor. You can almost always get in with a minimal wait, and the show is always different. Fun!
And, while we were at the Laugh Floor, we got some more pixie dust . . .
Guess who got to be That Guy?:
That was a little surprising. They usually pick some old clueless guy to be That Guy. But for some reason they picked me!
After Laugh Floor, we rode the People Mover, and Buzz. And, we asked a castmember if they would be using Fastpasses for EMH. They do that sometimes when it is busy. Well, they were going to use Fastpasses. So, we waited around the Fastpass machine, and got Space Mountain Fastpasses right after midnight. The return time was 1:30 am.
We headed over to Fantasyland. On the way, we noticed that the tree from the Winnie the Pooh playground was now over in front of the Winnie the Pooh ride. The girls would occasionally play on this playground during EMH nights, because they would have it to themselves. We decided to check out the tree. I had always heard that there was a hidden Nautilus Submarine inside of the tree which the Imagineers had included as a tribute to the 20,000 Leagues attraction that the playground displaced. I have even looked for this sub before, but I never found it. I heard that it was over one of the doors inside the tree. It was too dark in there for me to see anything, but I snapped some photos anyway. When the flash went off, I saw a hidden mickey over one of the doors:
I didn't see anything when the flash went off as I took a photo of the area above the other door, but look to the right center of this photo:
I'll be darned. There's the sub! Cool! It's kind of weird that it's there now, as the tree is no longer sitting where the 20,000 Leagues attraction used to be.
From there, we headed over to Adventureland, and rode the Jungle Cruise and Pirates, and then headed over to Frontierland for BTMRR. Along the way, we enjoyed the Christmas decorations. We especially like the Castle lights:
This is actually a photo of the castle's reflection in the water:
We worked our way back to Space Mountain, where I took this self portrait:
I shouldn't have wasted my time, because they took this photo of our group for free:
As you can see, we had no idea that they were going to take our photo. By the way, the girls aren't throwing up gang signs. Their High School has a "U" in the name, and they call themselves the U ala the University or Miami. Kids.
I have already forgotten the exact details of what happened next, but I know we ended up back at BTMRR, which we rode until the park closed. Here are some photos of that:
Here is that darned U again:
When you stay at the MK past 3 am, you are required to stop for a photo on Main Street to document your achievement. And so we did:
Last year, it was close to 3:30 before we headed to the boat. And we just made it. They told us we were on the last boat. I don't know what would have happened if we missed it. And, I don't want to find out from personal experience. So, we headed to the boat right after this.
We had a nice ride back with a few more troopers.
Not much was happening at the Fort when we got back.
So we called it a night.
We planned to sleep in a bit on Monday, and then head to Epcot for lunch.
Coming up, our afternoon at Epcot.
And more pixie dust!
TCD
It was our sixth visit this year.
That is quite an accomplishment considering that we were boycotting the Fort for the first three months of 2010.
This trip was sandwiched between Saturday visits to Gainesville and Tallahassee for football games.
So, we arrived on Sunday, November 21, and left on Friday, November 26th.
That's five nights at the Fort.
And, our visit was magical.
You might be thinking that after all of TCD's visits to the Fort there will be nothing new to report.
If you are thinking that you are wrong.
This trip included an unbelievable amount of magic and pixie dust.
It is good to be TCD.
And, guess what?
My cousin Yuri visited us, and wandered off and got lost on one of his photo expeditions. He ended up in some off-limits area, and I found some odd photos on my camera. I'm not sure if I am correct on the location he photographed, but I think I know where he was. He has gone back to his country, so I will have to wait until the next time I see him to ask him for sure. But, I'll share his photos in due time so we can all look at them an speculate.
Another news flash is that I was surprised to find an Musket Mickey item for sale in the Meadow Trading Post.
Really!
I'll have a photo of that, too.
But, as with all TCD trip reports, we must start at the beginning.
We have been to the Fort at Thanksgiving time plenty of times.
It's a great time to visit.
But, it's pretty busy then.
It used to be that early in the week wasn't so bad, with the campground progressively filling as the week progressed.
But, when we arrived on early Sunday afternoon, this is what we saw:
Traffic was backed up past the guard shack.
Only three check-in lanes were open.
And, campers were backed up waiting to check in in every lane.
Not so magical.
The guard apparently told the people ahead of us to go park in the parking lot and go inside to check in, because they took off in that direction. When we reached the guard, he told us we could pick a lane or go inside. I told him I would pick a lane. I don't like going inside. Besides, who is to say that inside was any better.
So, I got in the far left lane.
There were two unopened lanes to my left.
I got out to take a few photos:
The TCD rig is right behind the first trailer in this photo:
This was a bad way to begin our visit.
But, I didn't care.
We were at Disney World.
And guess what?
We got our first sprinkling of pixie dust right then.
As soon as I got back in my truck, a castmember opened the lane next to me and waved me up.
A guy behind me tried to dog me.
But he didn't realize who he was dealing with.
So, I pulled right up.
We had waited in that mess for less than ten minutes!
I had a great castmember.
She knew what she was doing.
That, unfortunately, is not always the case.
She handed me my site assignment.
I had reserved a partial site for this trip.
And dutifully faxed a site request form requesting to be assigned to the 1500 loop.
I knew that the 1500 loop might be full.
But it doesn't hurt to ask.
Anyway, I didn't get 1500.
I was assigned to a site in the 1800 loop.
What the Fort?
That's a full hook up site.
I asked the castmember what was up.
She said I had received a free upgrade.
Free?
Upgrade?
That has never happened to me.
Ever.
But it was happening now.
I know you're not supposed to look a gift horse in the mouth.
But, I am not a fan of the 1800 loop.
Or the 1900 loop.
So I said to the castmember that I really didn't want to be on a site so far back and away from everything.
She said she would see what she could do.
She made a call, and the next thing you know, we had a new site assignment: 1711.
I like the 1700 loop.
So we took it.
And we were off.
When I got to our site, I found that we backed up to the main road. We were pretty close, actually. I went and looked at the site we were first assigned on 1800 loop. It was on the inside of the loop, right across from the sidewalk to the comfort station. I discussed this with my DD's. I thought I would like the 1800 loop site better. They disagreed. They liked the fact that 1711 backed up to the road. It would let us see all the action, and we would have plenty of space for decorations.
So, we stayed on 1711.
And, I ended up liking it fine.
So, that is two sprinklings of pixie dust already: a super quick check-in on a busy day, and a free upgrade.
The girls ran off to the Poly for lunch while I set up camp.
When they called for me to come pick them up at the marina, I was just about finished with the set-up, but I hadn't had lunch. And, I was hungry. I figured I would have some cheese and crackers to tide me over until we got our traditional first night meal.
But, as I was heading down to the marina, who did I run into but my old pal Feisty! Do y'all know Feisty? She's the nice lady from Louisiana who camps on site 114. All the time. With all the decorations. Well, she's a TCD fan. So she stops me to say hello. She asked me if I had eaten lunch yet. I told her I hadn't. She told me to hold on. I told her that I was picking up my DD's at the marina, and would be right back. So, I picked up the girls and headed back. And when I got back to Feisty's site, she handed me a plate covered with foil. She told me it was Boudin. I told her I never heard of it. She told me it was some kind of Cajun sausage made with rice. I told her thanks. And, we headed back to camp.
As soon as I got back to camp, I dug into that Boudin. And guess what? I like Boudin! Thanks Feisty!
So, there's some more pixie dust.
Crazy, isn't it?
We spent a little time looping, and squaring things away. And checking out some of the decorations already in place.
And, then it was time for our Giddyap and Go.
The GAG was great, as usual. But, the steak fries are still missing. We just got the same old fries they serve all over WDW. I am afraid the steak fries are gone for good. Too bad. But, it's still the best deal on property.
After we ate, we hung out some more, and then we headed out to the MK.
I think it was like 10 pm when we headed out.
We weren't in a rush. The MK was open until midnight. And, then it was Extra Magic Hours until 3 am. Yes I said 3 am. We have done it before, and we were going to do it again.
As expected, the MK was still a bit busy when we arrived. So we headed to Tommorrowland to visit the Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor. We love the Laugh Floor. You can almost always get in with a minimal wait, and the show is always different. Fun!
And, while we were at the Laugh Floor, we got some more pixie dust . . .
Guess who got to be That Guy?:
That was a little surprising. They usually pick some old clueless guy to be That Guy. But for some reason they picked me!
After Laugh Floor, we rode the People Mover, and Buzz. And, we asked a castmember if they would be using Fastpasses for EMH. They do that sometimes when it is busy. Well, they were going to use Fastpasses. So, we waited around the Fastpass machine, and got Space Mountain Fastpasses right after midnight. The return time was 1:30 am.
We headed over to Fantasyland. On the way, we noticed that the tree from the Winnie the Pooh playground was now over in front of the Winnie the Pooh ride. The girls would occasionally play on this playground during EMH nights, because they would have it to themselves. We decided to check out the tree. I had always heard that there was a hidden Nautilus Submarine inside of the tree which the Imagineers had included as a tribute to the 20,000 Leagues attraction that the playground displaced. I have even looked for this sub before, but I never found it. I heard that it was over one of the doors inside the tree. It was too dark in there for me to see anything, but I snapped some photos anyway. When the flash went off, I saw a hidden mickey over one of the doors:
I didn't see anything when the flash went off as I took a photo of the area above the other door, but look to the right center of this photo:
I'll be darned. There's the sub! Cool! It's kind of weird that it's there now, as the tree is no longer sitting where the 20,000 Leagues attraction used to be.
From there, we headed over to Adventureland, and rode the Jungle Cruise and Pirates, and then headed over to Frontierland for BTMRR. Along the way, we enjoyed the Christmas decorations. We especially like the Castle lights:
This is actually a photo of the castle's reflection in the water:
We worked our way back to Space Mountain, where I took this self portrait:
I shouldn't have wasted my time, because they took this photo of our group for free:
As you can see, we had no idea that they were going to take our photo. By the way, the girls aren't throwing up gang signs. Their High School has a "U" in the name, and they call themselves the U ala the University or Miami. Kids.
I have already forgotten the exact details of what happened next, but I know we ended up back at BTMRR, which we rode until the park closed. Here are some photos of that:
Here is that darned U again:
When you stay at the MK past 3 am, you are required to stop for a photo on Main Street to document your achievement. And so we did:
Last year, it was close to 3:30 before we headed to the boat. And we just made it. They told us we were on the last boat. I don't know what would have happened if we missed it. And, I don't want to find out from personal experience. So, we headed to the boat right after this.
We had a nice ride back with a few more troopers.
Not much was happening at the Fort when we got back.
So we called it a night.
We planned to sleep in a bit on Monday, and then head to Epcot for lunch.
Coming up, our afternoon at Epcot.
And more pixie dust!
TCD
