YooHoo, We're going back!!!!!!

[mouseketeer_mom]

So, I logged in today for the first time in months and the bug BIT! I gotta get back!! I called DH at work (thank the good Lord he still has a job in this economy) he agreed and we're going back to FW!!!

It's going to be the kids Xmas present; 10 days in Disney at FW! We just got a new (well, new to us) camper. A 2006 Keystone Cougar BH with 2 slides, the kids finally have their own space. Our first long trip will be to Disney in February. I can't wait, LET THE PLANNING BEGIN!

Thanks for listening, I just had to share with a group that I knew would understand my excitement! It will have been almost three years since we've been there by February, three very lllooonnngg years. We've been really tighten our belts in the economy and just hoping to survive, but things are looking okay so we are planning a trip! I actually started a part time business a few months ago just to be able to plan vacations, I'm so psyched that Disney will be our first big trip!!!

 

[bama_ed]

You're right - we DO understand your excitement.

Congrats on the NTY camper. I'm sure it will get a workout at the Fort.

Make sure you post a trip report when you get back so WE can feel like we were there too.

Bama ED

 

[liv luvs disney]

There's not much that excites me more than WDW! I know once we've been to the Fort, it's definitely gonna be at least an annual trip whether we get to the parks or not. DH is not able to go with us in September, so we will have to go again soon after that so that he can experience FW too.

 

[DaveInTN]

Congrats on the new camper and your planned trip to the Fort!!!

 

[Born 2 Fish]

Wow,,all that excitment and not one mention of gett'n to fish at the Fort !
(kidd'n), but seriously,pack yer poles,
Congrats on yer new camper,,,AND the Fort trip !

 

[John I Haggerty]

The bug that bit you must have also bit me. We too are from Maryland and heading down in September. We too have a Cougar BH. We will stay overnight 2 nights getting there, 13 nights at FW and 2 nights getting home. Never been to Disney and too are excited.

 

[mouseketeer_mom]

The bug that bit you must have also bit me. We too are from Maryland and heading down in September. We too have a Cougar BH. We will stay overnight 2 nights getting there, 13 nights at FW and 2 nights getting home. Never been to Disney and too are excited.

A "neighbor"! How exciting. Where abouts are you? We are just west of Frederick. Having planned the trip before, I know of some good places to stop, let me know if your interested in the info!

 

[John I Haggerty]

A "neighbor"! How exciting. Where abouts are you? We are just west of Frederick. Having planned the trip before, I know of some good places to stop, let me know if your interested in the info!

I'm in New Windsor, Carroll County. I've been to Florida but never Disney. There is just my wife and I and 3 dogs (pugs). We are getting a 10 day hopper pass with water parks. We also want to go to the Holy Land Experience and Sea world. Normally I take I-95 the entire way. Normally, I stop overnight for one night near the North/South Carolina border.

This time I'm taking I-81. We are not in a hurry, so I'm planning on staying overnight at two different campgrounds on the way down and back. We leave home the Tuesday after Labor Day and return home 18 nights later.

 

[mouseketeer_mom]

I'm in New Windsor, Carroll County. I've been to Florida but never Disney. There is just my wife and I and 3 dogs (pugs). We are getting a 10 day hopper pass with water parks. We also want to go to the Holy Land Experience and Sea world. Normally I take I-95 the entire way. Normally, I stop overnight for one night near the North/South Carolina border.

This time I'm taking I-81. We are not in a hurry, so I'm planning on staying overnight at two different campgrounds on the way down and back. We leave home the Tuesday after Labor Day and return home 18 nights later.

Sounds like a great trip. We really like taking 81, beautiful drive and really not any additional drive time as triffic is substaintially better. If you can avoid Charlotte NC at rush hour, it seems to be smooth sailing. The stretch of drive between the VA border and Charlotte is very pretty. I gotta warn you though, FW will spoil for just about any other campground. Nothing else compares!

 

[Shan-man]

John, sounds like you have an epic trip ahead of you! Have you ever done Holy Land Experience before? We have gone once and enjoyed it, though I was a little disappointed by some of the nickel-and-dime'ing there. For instance, they hit you up for parking, as though it were a big theme park. It's a small lot like at a strip mall, no trams or anything. I don't pay to park at Wet'n'Wild why do they hit you up here? The food was Disney prices. No big deal, but you do get the feeling that you are being made to pay for their under-realized business plan. The fact that they are soaking you and calling it a ministry at the same time just didn't sit well with me.

I was also surprised at the Christian emphasis... I had expected a fairly neutral representation of what ancient Israel was like, and that it might be of equal interest to Christians and Jews alike (or even Muslims). That assumption was gone in an instant when you walk through the gates and in four-foot letters rimming the lake are the words "HE IS RISEN"... indeed! I mean, we really enjoyed the omnipresent Christian message, but someone who is expecting neutral might be in for a rude realization.

The Passion play was one of the best done parts of the "Experience", though it is graphic and many in the audience got very emotional. The Seder Meal presentation (in which they show how the Gospel message hidden in the elements of the Seder meal), and "guided tour" of the miniature of Jerusalem were all very good also (IMO). The Scriptorium is interesting to some, but certainly not all (have you had a chance to brush up on your Hebrew and Greek? How about Ugaritic and Aramaic?). Some of the stage shows are a little hoeky, like the musical rendition of the healing of the Centurion's daughter (which I did enjoy, despite myself). All in all it's a good place to spend 4-5 hours and a small fistful of cash, just don't expect the quality to rival Disney, it's more on par with Ripley's.

 

[mouseketeer_mom]

So, help me out fellow camping Dissers. The last trip took 12.5 months to plan, I'm clearly in a time crunch here with only 8.5 months to plan

Can it be done and done well? First question: When to go? Presidents day is February 15th 2010. I was thinking arrive Feb 26th and depart March 6th. Any opinions on crowds? Weather? Last trip was in the first two weeks of March 07. (I don't remember the exact dates, but the weather was perfect and crowds weren't awful )

Side note: My children's school calendar is irrelavant to travel plans so that is not a consideration.

 

[OK GRUMPY]

There's some thing to consider Presidents day week end would be crowded and depending when Daytona and Bike week fall also effects the crowds. If you only have to work around Presidents day weekend then it may not be to bad. Just some things to consider.

 

[mouseketeer_mom]

There's some thing to consider Presidents day week end would be crowded and depending when Daytona and Bike week fall also effects the crowds. If you only have to work around Presidents day weekend then it may not be to bad. Just some things to consider.

Hmmm, well I was hoping to avoid the crowds by arriving the end of the week following presidents week. Do you think I've given enough time? I can look up the date for Daytona but how do I find out when bike week is?

 

[OK GRUMPY]

I think those dates would be good! I just don't know when bike week falls.

 

[mouseketeer_mom]

I know things have changed since we were there in 2007. I think I even noticed a change in loop categories. I think last time we had a "non-preferred" site that was essentially a full hook up without cable. I'm pretty sure the 900 loop. It was perfect as far as were concerned. What would I need to reserve in order to be in the 900 loop category again? It's not a premium site now is it?

 

[Shan-man]

Yes, 900 is now Premium. Sorry. 61% of all non-partial campsites at the Fort are now Premium (430 of them), it is hard to get a non-Premium.

 

[mouseketeer_mom]

Yes, 900 is now Premium. Sorry. 61% of all non-partial campsites at the Fort are now Premium (430 of them), it is hard to get a non-Premium.

Does that mean it now has cable hook up? I'm not opposed to cable we just don't need it.

 

[tlh0726]

Here are some dates for 2010

Daytona 500 Feb 14
Daytona Bike Week Feb 26-Mar 7
Easter Apr 4th

 

[mouseketeer_mom]

Here are some dates for 2010

Daytona 500 Feb 14
Daytona Bike Week Feb 26-Mar 7
Easter Apr 4th

Yikes Bike week is smack in the middle of my tentative dates. WWYD? I think if we go the week after, we start to hit the college and Canadian spring breakers. If we go the week before we hit the President week hangers on. Does anyone know how much Bike Week effects the crowd level at the park?

 

[Shan-man]

Does that mean it now has cable hook up? I'm not opposed to cable we just don't need it.

Yes, all Fort Wilderness sites now have cable... all except the primitive group camping area.