keith_h

I will have a longer review on my page most likely but here it is, and the buffet lovers may disagree/hate me for it. 
 
This was the best dinner I have had at Trails End in years. Sure I missed some minor elements (bread pudding) but the ability of the food was superior and it was hot and fresher than the buffet. Having it served vs. buffet was nice as well. Anything we wanted more of they were happy to bring. The andouille, brisket, rotisserie chicken, breads, and salad and really everything was great. 
 
I am not a fluff piece kind of person. I showed up expecting to be really disappointed or even hate it. Nothing could be further from the truth. 
 
if you have any questions on dinner ask away and I will try to answer them. 

Yep.  I can count the number of rope drops I've seen on one hand, and often we don't get to the parks until noon.  But we also pick our park of the day based on what's open the latest.  I think I've only ever ridden Peter Pan after midnight (I refuse to wait an hour and don't generally waste a FP on it.)  lol
I'd love for those late hours to return - after midnight almost everything was a walk on and the parks were so cool at night when they weren't crowded - but short of paid events like this, I doubt that will happen.

Oooh, pick me!!  I have more than a few photos of the Main Street clock at 1am, 2am, and one time, 3am! 
Those late nights were super fun.  I miss them.  

Sorry Lou I never tire seeing the EWP.  It is one of the oldest things that hasn’t changed.  I pray it lasts at least till my future grandkids are old enough to watch and remember it.  First saw it in 1992 and all my kids love it.

Have we reached the ecstasy, or are you going to tell us your camper burst into flames, or rolled into the lake?  🤣
That site looks nice.  I remember being at the Fort when they were adding those sites (had to be 2009 or so?), and not liking what they were doing.  But that looks like a pretty spot to sit, drinking coffee and watching for stuff to pop up out of the water.  As long as it isn't anything that wants to eat me.  Wait, is that your next update?  Did your dog get eaten? 

and more reasonably priced I am sure.
 

It’s always after hours at Mickey’s Backyard Massage Parlor and Casino. 

Oops. I read your original post the other way around for some reason. Now you know why my wife is the social director and keeper of the schedules.

We've thought about upgrading to a small diesel pusher in a couple of years after Rene retires. Normally we would buy new but are considering used. I expect to see fair number of 2 and 3 year old models with low mileage on the market for a decent discount after folks discover how much it costs in time and money to keep up an RV.

When our kids were young we would go to WDW when they were tracked out in January. We found the daytime temps tended to run from the low 60's to low 80's. I don't think we saw anything much below the mid-50's at night. What we would wear here in NC for winter clothing was more than adequate for anything Florida could throw at us cold wise. We also packed summer clothes for the more typical daytime temps in the 70's.
I can't speak to crowds these days but in the 90's and early 2000's January was a good time as it was in between US school vacation times and Brazilian youth groups.

My sources tell me they will be offering special trauma services for people who’ve just received their Disney hotel bill.   

Desantis wanted local control when it suited him as a means to avoid a decision on a mask mandate.  I thought local control was a good idea.  Then he pulled the rug out from everybody when it was politically expedient to do so by telling local governments they cannot enforce the very rules he said they are the best to decide on.  He also required bars to incorporate very expensive precautions in order to reopen and then one week later issued a huge "never mind" and told everybody they could fully open.  Bar owners were not happy and most continued to adhere to some level of precaution.  
I too prefer small government and I voted for Desantis.  I never will again.  He is too wrapped up with building his brand.
As far as masks, all I will say is there is a reason surgeons wear masks in surgery, including cloth ones.  It is to protect the patient much like wearing a mask now is not to protect the wearer but to diffuse the air exhaled by a person and limit the distance any airborne viruses may spread. Imagine you were throwing a golf ball at a wall 30 feet away.  With no barrier, you would hit it every time.  Put a chain link fence up between you and the wall, and maybe only about 20% or less of the balls you throw would make it to the wall.  That is all a mask does.  
I'm not interesting in debating but I wanted to give another side to this since you mentioned it.  I'm done with this conversation.

Say what you want.  Blame it on COVID.  Blame it on greedy executives.  Blame it on politicians.  But I'm here to settle the argument.  Blame for the decline of Disney can be placed with one group, and one group only. 
The bakers.  My proof?
Circa 2010

 
Circa 2015

 
Circa 2019

 
Circa 2021

 
I rest my case. 

I'd love to attend but I'd have to drive a whopping 45 minutes just to see some Fort Fiend knuckleheads. For those who remember me, I retired from Disney and now live north of Atlanta. I will show up at Stone Mt. to annoy as many of you as I can. It'll be just like old times at the Fort. And you thought you had gotten rid of me. I expect some apple pie. 
 

I’m glad to read that your girls have landed on their feet. I would have expected nothing less.  I wish them the best in their post-Mouse lives.   
Anna is 13 years old.  Yes, we’ve combined Anna’s trademark Russian attitude with teenage angst.  Life in the DIT household is pretty active.  While most of our friends are now empty nesters, we’re still firmly in Disney princess territory, which is really annoying for me being the anti-Disney guy I long have been.  Like the country song said...I was anti-Disney before anti-Disney was cool.   Lol.  
So all of these changes at Disney haven’t impacted us...we weren’t returning to WDW anyways. But I’m sorry for those of you affected, in particular those who were or still are employed there.  This COVID stuff has derailed many careers, but none more upsetting than our young adults who are just beginning their lives and then everything went sideways.  My older girls are dealing with their own setbacks.  But at the end of the day they are learning skills of resilience that our generation never really had to.  This will serve them well eventually.   If you’ve ever read the book The Fourth Turning, this was actually all predicted by demographers who study generational change.  The current 20 somethings have a lot in common with the Greatest Generation, who survived the Depression and won the War.  This group of young folks will do great things, IMO.  
Anyways, sorry for the hijack.  Back to our regularly scheduled programming.  Yes Disney sucks.  No I’m not on Facebook or any social media.  Yes I miss the old days on FF.  But I will always cherish the memories of the interactions on here and my family’s 10 years of camping at the Fort.
Onward and upward.    

Is there a full day exciment at typhone lagone?

Also a big Wawa fan, when I drove tractor trailer for UPS it was at least twice a night stop for coffee. On a side note I am even a bigger fan of Wawa as my dad was a delivery driver back in the VERY early days to houses when I was born so I tell everyone I am the milkman's baby 

For me, we've actually lost some interest in Disney and the Fort. The uptick in prices, the fact that we can no longer buy an annual pass at present, and the pandemic, has put a damper on our enthusiasm for things Disney. (Especially since we just traveled cross country for three weeks, for less than a week at the Fort)

Rene and I  enjoyed it when we went a coupe of years ago but this year between COVID and daycare for our latest grandchild our trip plans have been put on hold.

The bean counters would probably have them use the Pillsbury ones in a can!

If only I was local. 

We have started talking about trying to get down to WDW on 2022 though whether it would be in February or the gap between Halloween and Thanksgiving is yet to be decided. It would be for our 40th wedding anniversary so we really want things fully opened and running smoothly. 

As the old saying goes isn't that the pot calling the kettle black. I tried to watch it but decided best to go watch a train wreck instead 

We're in NH and right now are booked for a few weeks in November. Really hoping things are a lot more "normal" by then.  As much as we love hanging out at the Fort, it's too far for us to go and too much for us to spend if so many things in the parks are still weird/closed.

We had hoped to be there for the 50th, and it's our 25th anniversary to boot, but if things aren't more open by then we may shorten our time at WDW and maybe head to the coast or Keys for the rest.

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