Tiggerdad's Pretrip Report: November 14th-23rd

[tiggerdad]

Snowmedic November 1st-15th
Tiggerdad November 14th-23rd
Betmust November 12th-18th
Jpthom17 November 21st-28th
Kanda November 16th-27th
Westbeach Bum November 14th-22nd

Well, according to my Disney Vacation Countdown today is 28 days out from our trip! Received our email this morning that our MBs have been shipped. Guess now is as good a time as any to start up a pretrip report.

This particular vacation is scheduled for November 14th-23rd. Have 1 day booked for Seaworld since none of us have been and looking for something new to add. The rest of the days are sit around and relax days. Will also be squirrel watching...
We have some ADRs, including HDR on arrival day at 4:30, early morning coffee Chef Mickey's the day we go to Seaworld, and breakfast at the Castle on the 21st prior to park opening (hoping for some good empty Main Street pics). I have made my FP+ selections, though this is my first trip using FP+ I'm not totally sure how all this advanced planning is going to set with me...

I have a cart rental from Kenny, but as of right now he didn't have one available until the 16th, so still hoping he gets something open for the first two days as well.


This trip will be for myself, my wife Stacey, my 9 y/o Emily, my 3 y/o Madison, and my 9 y/o niece Kaylee (I brought her older sister on my 2012 trip to the Fort, so I'm keeping my promise to take her too). As of this posting, none of the kids have a clue where we are going. We have told them we will take them out of school for 1 day so we can take the camper down to the beach for the weekend. Actually taking them out of school for the entire week. We'll be driving through the night, so hopefully they will sleep and not realize where we are going until we come through the welcome arch on the Western Way. If I am extremely lucky, we will make it to the Fort before they figure it out (wake up), at which point I'll let the CMs tell them where they are at when we get to checkin.

I have several things I am working on, including my Mickey Lampost. So I'll use this 28 days to post pics and lay out our plans and progress including pictures. We gotta get the Christmas decorations out and ensure they work, get the camper out from under the cover and cleaned up, service the f-250, and pack it all in.

I'd like to get an idea of who all will be at the Fort during my stay. I'll do my best to get by and visit as many as I can. So post your visit dates if they overlap mine and I'll add us all here on this first post in a list to help keep track. (BamaEd did this on his last pretrip report and it seemed to help keep track of it pretty well so I'll steal his idea ) Who knows, maybe even the infamous Rusty may be spotted...

OK, well gotta pack for another trip. Sister's wedding is this weekend in Destin, FL. Go wifi though, so I'll maybe even post a pic from the beach this weekend.

More to come...

 

[ruthies12]

My trip is still more than a year away and I can't get my mind on anything else. I always get a bit depressed when our camping season ends, but I have a feeling this year is going to be a very loooong winter for me. So glad you will be doing a pre-trip and trip report to help me take my mind off my own boredom at work!!!!! Lots of pics would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[TheRustyScupper]

. . . I'd like to get an idea of who all will be at the Fort during my stay . . . Who knows, maybe even the infamous Rusty may be spotted . . .

1) Rumor is he is pretty shy and somewhat reclusive.
2) Such bashful people only come out once in a while.
3) But, there is a good chance during those dates he might come out of his shell.

 

[4077]

Hooray for preparations! Will be interested to see the building of the lamp. If my lotto tickets come through, I'll be there! Lol.

 

[Teamubr]

Your down to the exciting/can't think of anything else/don't sleep much phase.

ENJOY!

Take some nice pics of Destin. It looks like we will be doing a condo there next summer. Sadly, it is half the price of the Fort. We normally alternate between the beach somewhere and the Fort, but last year messed that up when we did both. This year was a "cheap" vacation in Colorado since we redid our kitchen over the winter. My DW said WDW is out next year since we are still "recovering" from the kitchen. I think she just wants to go to the beach.

Either way, Have fun in Destin. Have more fun at the Fort and tell the Loop 100 squirrels HI for me.

j

 

[betmust]

I will be at the Fort Nov 12 - 18 from the Boston area.

Sonds like you have a really good trip planned - hope you all enjoy.

I have been to WDW 25+ times over the years. Last year was the first time it was just me and hubby. This year will be the same.

I just can't get into making FP+ plans. I cannot sit and figure which days I want to go where and what rides I may feel like going on. I am just going to just go and get on whatever I want, whenever I want. If there is a line then i guess I will just stand in it or try another time.

I understand the logic behind the FP+ but I just cannot get into it. I do not like my whole day planned ahead...

On another note, we just sold our 40 foot seasonal camper and will be looking into a 28-30 foot trailer to start traveling. Did that for a year or 2 and then parked one for 23 years. Can't wait to hit the road again. May even take it down to the Fort next year....

 

[tiggerdad]

Added ya on Betmust. Good fortunes on your travel trailer hunt.

 

[snowmedic]

Don't forget me! Will be there Nov. 1 - 15

 

[tiggerdad]

Sorry Medic, had you in my plans and it somehow didn't make it to the post.

I'll list you first to make up for it...

 

[bama_ed]

Tiggerdad,

Good luck with the upcoming trip - that's very nice of you to take your nieces as you do. So no WDW theme park days huh? I'm not planning any either when I'm there in January.

I love reading TR's of all kinds. So I've recruited someone the squirrels respect to follow your pre- and live- trip reports with me. I'm just gonna sit here with him on the couch, share some popcorn (he asks for extra butter on his), and follow along. The only thing is, darn it, he keeps hogging the remote...



On to our friend the Scupper:

1) Rumor is he is pretty shy and somewhat reclusive.
2) Such bashful people only come out once in a while.
3) But, there is a good chance during those dates he might come out of his shell.

He's actually very modest. But he considers himself something of a WDW foodie. I see his opinions over on the Restaurant Forum and I have to say he's a pretty tough reviewer. I mean the amount of research he conducts on the WDW meals offered to us peasants is simply incredible. One time I dared to disagree with his evaluation of The Plaza in the MK in a thread (graded, bullet-pointed, and opinionated his evaluation was) and he cut my knees off with his insightful reply. So be careful with him. Laugh at his lame jokes, flatter him with empty praise, and bring Peanut M&M's.

Bama Ed

PS - and he talks about himself in the 3rd person like Charles Barkley does.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

. . . Laugh at his lame jokes . . .

1) All true.
2) But, "lame jokes"?
3) I always thought the jokes were/are
. . . insightful
. . . probing
. . . well thought-out
. . . full of humor
. . . and (like me), adorable

 

[tiggerdad]

Ed, I need to clarify: my OP was misleading, I do have 6 days for the parks. My wife and kids would never forgive me otherwise.

All your advise on Scupper is noted and will be utilized should an encounter occur. One question: I know if you encounter a black bear you are not supposed to run, but what if it's a Scupper? Do you lay down and play dead?

 

[bama_ed]

Ed, I need to clarify: my OP was misleading, I do have 6 days for the parks. My wife and kids would never forgive me otherwise.

All your advise on Scupper is noted and will be utilized should an encounter occur. One question: I know if you encounter a black bear you are not supposed to run, but what if it's a Scupper? Do you lay down and play dead?

Ooops. Enjoy your park days then - I should have considered the DW and kids aspect more strongly. I still ain't doin' no park days.

Look, I've got no good advice about what to do in a Scupper Encounter. Run in a zig zag pattern? throw pine cones? freeze still in place since he senses movement although he has poor eye sight (like a T-Rex)? I'm a Scupper Encounter survivor but I don't know what I did right. I'm afraid you are on your own.

Bama Ed

 

[Teamubr]

what if it's a Scupper? Do you lay down and play dead?

I don't think I'd do that. I'm sure the report would go something like this:

1. Hmmm. He appears dead, but could be playing dead.
2. Poked him with a stick to check
3. He didn't move so I kicked him slightly.
4. Still didn't move so I kicked him harder.
5. No reaction. I went for the Fort pickup to run him over once or twice to make sure he's dead.
6. He got up and ran.

Knew he was faking.

j

 

[betmust]

Added ya on Betmust. Good fortunes on your travel trailer hunt.

Thank you - really looking forward to it..

We have always stayed in a cabin so it would be great to spend some time in a trailer at the fort.

 

[tiggerdad]

OK, just got back from Destin, FL and my sister's wedding. Somebody asked about some Destin pics, so here is one I took with my phone when I was supposed to be looking at the bride and groom like a good groomsman



and yes, I did find some squirrels while I was there



but these were obviously city squirrels who had adapted to their urban environment. Who needs a vine when you have cable?



Anyway, back to the parts that actually deal with getting ready for going to the Fort. While in Destin, my wife decided to drag me and the kids to the Silver Sands Outlet Mall. It is big, trust me, I walked it three times over. While there we came across a Kitchen Collection store. These places are actually pretty good one stop locations if you are looking for some things for your camper. Here is what I picked up:

From left to right: A new glass measuring cup for $1, a manual chopper because it is quieter, easier to clean, and easier to store in a camper than the electric one I was using, multipurpose measuring spoons, with just the two I can go anywhere from 2 Tbsp on down to 1/4 tps and they are easier to clean and store than the old "keyring" I was using, I got a new camper coffee mug (picked it up at Disney Store, more on that in a minute), some cooling racks that are smaller and easier to store and help keep fried foods crispy, and a new grease thermometer for my fish frying outings when we camp.

While walking the seemingly 10 miles around this outlet we came to the place that the kids were ready for, the Disney Outlet. We lucked up and found my new camper coffee mug with appropriate labeling. The girls got to make crowns and even got some Halloween treat bags after taking part in the parade around the store when the music for Mickey's Boo to You parade started playing.


So we made it home today and guess what was waiting in the mailbox...

 

[Teamubr]

Great pics.

And that was me that asked for the Destin shot. Very nice and I hope you didn't get into to much trouble for that one.

I see your fascination with squirrels extends beyond the Fort.

j

 

[tiggerdad]

For some people it's fish (Frank), but for me it's squirrels. I have no clue why, they are just funny to watch I guess. After awhile it becomes funny and you just keep it going...

 

[ruthies12]

We went to Destin for the first time last summer and have a week planned for next July. I had seen that outlet mall but had no idea it had a Disney outlet!! Will definitely be putting that on my to-do list for our next trip so I can pick up some stuff before our Disney trip next November. Thanks for sharing!!

Did you guys camp in Destin? Where did you stay? We stayed at Topsail this past summer but did not like it, we are booked at Camp Gulf for next July. We were Myrtle Beach people til we saw the Gulf beach for the first time! Good Lord is that beautiful water!

PS- your little princesses are adorable!

 

[jpthom17]

We will be there Nov. 21-28. Staying in a cabin this time instead of bringing our fifth wheel. Grandaughters can't wait!