Update on Fort Improvements- with photos!

[Tri-circle-D]

The TCD crew made a visit to WDW over the past weekend. Didn't stay at the Fort, but I did make a surprise inspection visit on Saturday morning, September 6. These photos were all taken between 7:30 and 8:30 am:

First, I inspected the work on the 500 loop. For some reason, I had interpreted the information provided by the Fort management to mean that only some of the sites in certain loops would be upgraded to the new premium designation. That is clearly not the case in the 500 loop, as every site has been expanded, or is in the process of being expanded.

Here is an example of a site modification. The darker colored pavement is new:

Notice that the utility poles have not been switched. These are still the concrete stumps that have been removed from a lot of the other loops. I will find it odd if these are not ultimately removed, and new utility hook ups moved to the back of the sites, like on some of the other loops, but I don't understand why this would not have been done before pouring the new concrete?

This is the site located along the sidewalk to the comfort station. It is now all concrete- no sand pad (or privacy) whatsoever:

Here is a site that just has the concrete forms in place. You can see that they are making the entrances wider, in addition to paving the entire sand pad in the back:

This is just a truck parked along the loop with debris that is to be hauled off:

I think this shot may give you some perspective on how deep the new sites are going to be:

Here is a pile of discarded materials from the concrete forms:

(remember-no bare feet in the 500 loop for a while)

Here is a shot down towards the exit of the loop. These men were still setting the forms for the concrete in some of the last sites on the loop:

This is a shot taken from the back of one of the sites. This is a worker's pick up. It is a small truck, but you can see how big these new concrete pads are:

This is the back of one of the sites. That wood is an old form from a sand pad. You can see that there will not be room behind the sites for a tent or screen room:

This is the entrance to the 500 loop:

I find it odd that none of the existing obstructions around some of the sites have been moved. Here, you can see that the pavement has been expanded, but someone is going to hit these existing utility obstructions for sure:

All of the picnic tables and grills are gone from the loop. I am not sure where they are going to put the grills. There is no sand area left. If the idea of the new sites is to eliminate obstructions, I would think the grills are going to be located away from the concrete, but there doesn't seem to be space left for the grills. We will have to wait and see.

After visiting the 500 loop, I headed out past the 300 loop and down to the Settlement area. I will post photos of what I saw there in my next post.

TCD

 

[clkelley]

Great pics!!

That last picture, they could have added a foot or two more of concrete and had a pull-through.

Also, a screen room on the back may still be doable. Since there is soft ground on the edges of concrete. Three legs of the screen room could be staked down, and a weight put on the 4th leg.

 

[Us3]

TCD was on a mission! I love it! ha

Thanks for the pics and looking forward to more!

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Great pics!!

That last picture, they could have added a foot or two more of concrete and had a pull-through.

Also, a screen room on the back may still be doable. Since there is soft ground on the edges of concrete. Three legs of the screen room could be staked down, and a weight put on the 4th leg.

Carol-

You are right about that last photo. There are going to be some issues created by these new larger sites. Say the camper in this site decides to set up all the way at the back of his site, and the camper at the other site in the photo has a slide out on the street side of his rig, they are going to be practically touching.

I have a couple more 500 loop photos:

This is one of the sites that backs up to Big Pine Drive- the dog park is right across the street from here:

Here is a shot of a site prepped for a concrete pour. If you look carefully, you can see the forms and the outline of where the new pad will be:

TCD

 

[Tri-circle-D]

So, I heard that there was some work being done on the playground near the 300 loop.

Sure enough, there is new equipment, but there are some important things missing!

First of all, the swings are gone. This mulch area is where they used to be:

My DD's are going to miss the swings here.

Here is a shot of the new equipment. Nice, but no lumberjack log roller, and no hand glider:

Taking a look across the street, I see that there is a lot of standing water in the 400 loop:

I head on down to the 100/200 loop entrance, and walk around the 100 loop to go to the Settlement area. Here is a nice set-up in a tent. This is a very clean and orderly site, and looks like a nice set up with the A/C:

As I exited the 100 loop and head out toward the Settlement Trading Post, I see that the gate to the storage area behind the trading post is open. I wonder if there is anything interesting back there? Here's something!:

Wow! Discovery Island! Why hasn't someone put that trash can on E-Bay?

Next, I head over to Trails' End to see what is going on there on this beautiful morning.

TCD

 

[Tri-circle-D]

It is around 8:15 when I reach Trails End.

Look at the golf cart parking area!:

One golf cart!

Where is everyone?

Not in the restaurant!:

Yes, that is the famous Ken!

Look at the porch!:

The poor hostesses have nothing to do:

Nothing happening here folks, time to move on:

I hop a bus to the Meadows Trading Post to see what is going on around there.

TCD

 

[Us3]

Oh no! My girls loved those swings next to 300!! I have lots of good pics of them swinging there!

Hehe, can't believe you went in the storage area...great pic!

 

[vick]

Thanks for all those pics. It makes me wish I was back at the Fort though!

 

[ynottony99]

Excellent reporting, as always!!! Waiting anxiously for more.

 

[We4mickey]

Great post as usual. Love the pictures! You didn't by chance go around the 1700 loop did you. I want that loop, but don't know if it has changed from a pet loop yet or not.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Oh no! My girls loved those swings next to 300!! I have lots of good pics of them swinging there!

Hehe, can't believe you went in the storage area...great pic!

You can't believe I went into the storage area? Come on, now!

OK, so I make it to the Meadows area. Nothing looks different around here.

But, I have some interesting news from the 1100 loop.

Remember these photos were all taken on September 6, 2008.

Wait for it . . . .

Here it is . . . .

The first Halloween decorations are up!

These folks have their Mickey ghost and pumpkin lites up:

I would say that this is way early, but the first Not So Scary Halloween Party of the season has already taken place at the Magic Kingdom.

TCD

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Great post as usual. Love the pictures! You didn't by chance go around the 1700 loop did you. I want that loop, but don't know if it has changed from a pet loop yet or not.

Yes, I actually have a lot to report about the 1600-1900 loop area, so check back. I have a few photos from the 1700 loop, and big news about the 1900 loop!

TCD

 

[ynottony99]

You can't believe I went into the storage area? Come on, now!

OK, so I make it to the Meadows area. Nothing looks different around here.

But, I have some interesting news from the 1100 loop.

Remember these photos were all taken on September 6, 2008.

Wait for it . . . .

Here it is . . . .

The first Halloween decorations are up!

These folks have their Mickey ghost and pumpkin lites up:

I would say that this is way early, but the first Not So Scary Halloween Party of the season has already taken place at the Magic Kingdom.

TCD

It is a little early, but then one of the stores I service was putting out Christmas displays at the end of August, the week before they started with Halloween items.

 

[PanFanAL]

Man I just love your trip reports. You should do a guide book or something. Everyone buys those books even us Disney know-it-alls. I bet one on just Fort Wilderness would sell great.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Alright, from the 1100, I make a trip over to the 2000 loop. So we are all on the same page, this is a partial hook up loop, but they are supposed to be installing cable in this loop sometime before November (allegedly).

No changes here. So, no photos.

Next stop, 1700 loop.

The TCD gang spent Spring Break '08 here, and our site was empty, so I was able to give it a good look over.

I should mention that there were many open sites on every loop. You already saw what the Settlement Area looked like. It is slowww at the Fort!

So, in the 1700 loop, I am looking for evidence of cable TV installation.

I don't see anything new at the sites.

The utility hook ups on the 1700 loop are in metal boxes at the back of the sites. There are no concrete pseudo stumps here.

In the back of one of my old site, I see something new. This conduit was not here in March:

I am not sure what all of this is. This black wire looks like television cable, but it is a lot thicker than what I have seen around the rest of the Fort, or at my house, for that matter. Here is a closer look:

Anybody know what it is?

Perhaps this is a feeder cable, and service to the sites will branch off from here?

Otherwise, everything looks pretty much the same in the 1700 loop.

Next, back to the swamp (1800 and 1900 loops!) Big changes here!

TCD

 

[TxTink :)]

WOW- great info and awesome pics! Those sights look much easier to get into. I love see Fort pics!

 

[NLPRacing]

Thanks for the updates! How do the new pools look?

 

[Tri-circle-D]

So, on to the 1800 and 1900 loops . . .

I see that both of these loops are completely closed off.

Here is the entrance to the 1900 loop:

and the entrance to the 1800 loop:

It looks like whatever may have been done in the 1800 loop is complete.

But clearly, there is a lot going on in the 1900 loop.

There obviously was a lot of filling of low areas done.

There is new sod now around the perimeters of the concrete pads, and empty sod pallets are everywhere:

This is the first site on the left as you enter the loop. There are bales of pine straw on the picnic table. You can see the new sod, and evidence of filling of the low areas:

Here, you can see the low, swampy areas have been filled in. A lot. There was obviously heavy equipment in here. Looks like this poor trash can took one for the team:

For those of you familiar with the 1900 loop, there were some very low areas in this loop that filled with water whenever there were prolonged rains. These areas have been filled-in extensively. This is a shot of the center portion of the loop:

More work in progress:

Here are a couple photos of the work vehicles parked in the sites:

Travelling around the loop, you can see work has been done all around. None of these sites have been expanded. I look for evidence of cable installation. I think the gray conduit pipes next to the utility boxes are new. Also, this box had pvc connectors in it, which suggests that conduit has been recently installed. The conduit pipes are covered with a piece of duct tape, but there is nothing inside of the pipes:

If you are familiar with the 1900 loop, this next photo will really show the amount of filling that has been done. There is one site right in the back of the loop, on the interior, where the loop curves around, that basically became an island when it rained. In this photo, you can see that all of the low areas have been filled in:

We are talking about three or four feet of fill here. I hope that whoever is doing this work knows what they are doing. I have always heard that cypress trees and oaks cannot tolerate fill to a great extent. That is why a lot of parking lots and such in Florida have barriers constructed around trees that are left when a project is being developed. Typically, these trees are left at their natural grade. This fill obviously has been dumped right on the trees. I hope they make it.

If the trees make it, I think the 1900 loop is going to look a lot nicer when this work is all done. It will not be anywhere near as swampy, that is for sure.

Next up, a quick look at the 1800 loop.

TCD

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Thanks for the updates! How do the new pools look?

The pools have not been touched yet. I am not sure anything is going to be done to the cabin pool, and I don't think the work on the Meadows pool will start until winter gets here.

TCD

 

[Us3]

Wow!! 1900 looks sooo much better! I hope they continue this in all of the low spots at FW!!!