Okay, so where was I? We left out Thursday evening and drove to Pensacola, FL. Pulled in and didn't un-hitch---just plugged in and went inside and crashed. Had a full, amazing night's sleep (that never happens before leaving for Disney!!!) and woke up refreshed. Got on the road for 8am. The kids were great and my hubby and I laughed and talked a lot. That's another part of camping that people don't realize----you get to really visit with the people you're holed up with in the vehicle. Good stuff!
Now I had done my homework (via the Disboards site)
and was an unofficial expert on all things Fort Wilderness. I had rented the golf cart from Kenny w/ Tee times and he actually called my cell on the last leg of our drive in to touch base. What a nice, genuine guy!!! My husband is a former cast member and very familiar with the area, so he was a little surprised when I suggested we take a route that I'd read about during my research. I was nervous that I'd get us lost and get a raised eyebrow look from him, but nope----we bypassed so much traffic that my hubby was very impressed!
Before you knew it, we had Disney signs and MK gates popping up right in front of us. Once I figure out how to load pics, I'll do that and you'll get to see my sweet kids' happy faces. Next up, Fort Wilderness entrance. AAAAHHHHH----I think I heard angels singing! 5 minute stop to get our packet and away we went to loop 700, site 711. We LOVED it!
One of Kenny's guys brought our golf cart directly to our campsite and away we went to the front of the fort to catch a bus to Downtown Disney. Our older son (16) and a friend flew in and we had a car pick them up and deliver them to us there. We grabbed a bite to eat at Wolfgang Puck's, then went to Cirque de Soleil. What a fantastic first day! Back to the camper for Day 2...
Hmmm, this is where things get fuzzy. I have no idea which day we went where, but we stayed until the following Friday and visited multiple parks each day. The only negatives for this trip was that it was the week before Easter and the crowds were hellacious! There were literally seas of people. No matter, we've been enough that we took our time and only focused on our favorite attractions. We didn't stress, had adult beverages when we could, fed the kids ice cream almost every time they asked and life was GREAT!
We did the Hoop de Doo Revue (sp?). Gosh, I've got to upload the pics from there. Great sangria---and you know the funny things people can do with spoons, hanging them from their noses???? Yeah, we did a lot of that too.
There's just so many reasons that I fell in love with the fort. I didn't think I would, but once I got there---I was just entranced. The spell of Fort Wilderness was cast and I was forever mesmerized by: deer in our backyard (really!!!), the cleanest bathhouses I've ever come across, watching my kids play on the beach w/ MK fireworks in the background, Chip 'n Dale's campfire, the ease of riding the boats to MK and Contemporary to catch the Monorail, the sweet vibe
of other campers who are always so gracious with their smiles/ conversation/ absolutely anything they can help with, being able to tuck my kids into the bunkhouse and then crack open a bottle of wine and sit outside with my hubby recounting the memories we'd just created w/ our sweet kids, the rustic look of the buildings and benches with all of the gorgeous greenery. I could go on and on. No matter what anyone says, I just don't believe I'll be convinced to stay anywhere else on Disney property. I am a proud new fort fiend!