Roberta

15 hours ago, h2odivers...Ray said:

Maybe they are remodeling it into a deluxe.  

It needs a remodel. I stayed there once and never will again. It didn't even feel like we were at Disney. It was so depressing.

Glad it was only for a weekend. If it were longer, we would have moved to POP or one of the other values. 

Rode along side this guy today on I-75 South. I just knew he was going to the Fort with that golf cart in tow. We finally got next to his drivers window and DH held up our passholder magnet, that had been in the glove box. He nodded his head "yes" and gave us a thumbs up. 

Whoever he is, he drives that thing like a pro. We encounter lots and lots of campers and motorhomes on the highway here and many of them are fairly timid drivers. This guy was doing 80-85 mph all the way and easily passing and changing lanes. He's got to have a LOT of experience driving that thing or he's a truck driver. He never cut anyone off or anything, he judged his size perfectly every time, and there was quite a bit of traffic. I need those skills. 

Cool! I don't remember these existing before. I'll have to get one before we go next time. 

No screen name anymore. LOL I just changed to to my real name since I noticed, in my absence, lots of people had added their real names to theirs. I guess everyone at FW will know my name, but that's good with me. 

3 hours ago, sherryberry said:

 We rode our bikes around several loops and looked for fiend signs,

I'm going to have to look into this. I remember back in they day, looking for a pink flamingo to paint purple. Is there are standard fiend sign? 

We've never tent camped through a FL storm, but did some biggies up north. Only scared me when our kids were little. One night I completely emptied out the van (a huge G30 Chevy van) and made beds for all the kids inside. The rear space perfectly held a queen sized air mattress for us and the two youngest. The older two had their own bench seats. 

2 hours ago, sherryberry said:

That storm last week scared me pretty bad. We were in a tent and I think it was about 1:00 am when it got cranked up. My sister was texting me from Georgia to check on us. The wind was enough to wake me up about 30 seconds before my sister started texting. She's real good about keeping an eye on the weather when I'm camping (I'm the baby so she's always worried about me). We got dressed and ready to bolt if we had to. I was shaking like a leaf from fear. The worst part was how loud the thunder was and how bright the lightning was. But, we do tend to experience at least one bad storm on most of our trips. That was the first one that rattled me like that, though.

Awww, I'm so sorry to hear that. I feel bad that you were frightened by it. You could have taken your air mattress and blankets and set up in the comfort station. If I learned anything from our latest trip to the Fort, it's that mostly everyone is completely chill. I never met anyone that wasn't, I only know they exist from this forum. 

It was really loud. It woke me from a sound sleep, that had been induced by two different rx sleeping medications. Even so, I loved going back to sleep to the sound of it. Not even sure how long it lasted because I did fall back to sleep quickly. 

What loop were you on? 
 

5 hours ago, Travisma said:

We have lived in FL since 1978, and last year the heat was brutal.  It stayed warm all winter, jumped right to hot in the spring and by summer was scorching.  Along with the temps was the110% humidity all day and most of the nights!

It was either global warming or old age not being able to cope any longer!

 We live in northern FL (Lake City) and tent camped all summer last year. We even had to run out to Walmart to buy a space heater when we were at Fort Clinch in June. I had spent the previous night in the van with the heat cranked up to 90. 

Also, our electric bill ran quite low all summer. It has been $100 higher from all the a/c usage in previous summers. 

Interesting how we have completely different perspectives. We do live in the boonies, no where near town, so it tends to be cooler here. Also, the majority of our camping it at the beach. We don't do Disney at all in the summer. 

2 hours ago, Travisma said:

But what about people that have phobias about dogs?  With the way Disney now lets pets in any loops, those people are no longer being accommodated.

This is true. One of my grandsons (4 yrs) is afraid of dogs. I would not want to camp next to dogs with him. 

I often accuse my mom of wearing rose colored glasses. Perhaps I'm turning into her? 

On 5/12/2016 at 5:02 PM, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:

 

That purple thing around my neck is a cooling towel.  Let me just say that it saved my melty behind the entire time and I honestly don't think I'd have managed without it 

We started out into World Showcase counter clockwise. Because it was high noon-ish and H-O-T, we started with Dragonberry Coolers.

 

 We two northern girls agreed that it was just too darned hot for a lot of the heavier dishes,

 

...all the way around to the American pavilion, where we both decided it was not too hot for barbecue.

 

 It was our first full day in FL and the heat was taking it's toll.  Just that sunny stretch between the Coolpost and China was brutal. So we decided we needed a break from the heat and where better to get one that La Cava del Tequila! 

 

Can I just say air conditioning is awesome!  :)

 

 

This post had me cracking up with all the references to the "heat" in MAY, especially last year. 

The only place it would have been warm is in Animal Kingdom. 

We didn't even have too much of a summer last year. We camped all year, even though we usually skip a couple months when it's hot. In May we were still running the heat at night. 

Anyway, aside from being amused by anyone thinking it was hot, it looks like you all had a great time! I enjoyed the trip report very much. 

1 hour ago, Cortezcapt (Derek) said:

I don't see how they could say no. I always assumed that the reason some places say not pets in tents or pop-ups is because they could get out and also possible heat issues in Florida. But with a service animal one would think you would take it everywhere with you so it wouldn't be left alone.

Our pop-up has great air conditioning. Many of them do, I just thought it was because they could escape through the canvas. I can see a dog chewing their way out if left alone. 

We never leave our dogs alone anyway, even the non-service variety go everywhere we go while camping. 

I didn't mean to derail the conversion. Was just thinking maybe some of the dogs in the wrong loops may be service dogs? Or am I giving people too much credit? I know none of the ones I have seen photos of on here are service dogs, or they wouldn't be dragging their owners around on the leashes like they do. Service dogs know how to walk properly in step with their person. 

I love storms in a tent. I know it's not a safe place, but I enjoy it anyway. 

Because we have a pop up, I always check the canopy above us when we get to a site. If any branches looked iffy, I would ask for another site, or move the camper to a location of the site not directly in the path. 

We had a good thunderstorm last week, in the middle of the night, at the Fort. I knew we would have been safer to move to the comfort station until it was over, but didn't want to get out of our cozy bed. Just said a little prayer and went back to sleep. 

On 1/31/2017 at 11:31 AM, Momof6....aka Marty said:

Can this thread expand to include other Dollar Finds, especially Disney themed ones?  I love adding little bits of Disney to my day and DT is a more affordable way to do it.

 

A few years ago, I got some cotton swabs (imitation Q-tips) in a small tin like an Altoids box, but with Mickey painted on the outside.  

I also have a Disney Princess themed nightlight I use when we stay in a Disney hotel.  

Any other cool finds? 

These are super cute! The only ones they have now are Frozen themed. If Frozen EVER wears off, I'm going to keep my eye out for one of these for the camper. Right now our Q-tips are in a Ziploc. Maybe I will see if they will fit in a Disney puzzle tin. I know they have those at Dollar Tree. 

The glow sticks, for camping with kids, are a must at Dollar Tree. You can get a tube of 16 bracelets or 8 necklaces for $1. Best price anywhere. 

Our camper is completely stocked from Dollar Tree and thrift stores. The only thing I had to throw away and get a better one of is the can opener. Dollar Tree can openers are junk. Just skip that one, unless you only expect one trip out of it. 

Just wondering if there is any exception for service dogs, who would never be alone? 

I mean, assuming a person with a tent or pop up was to pay the premium for a pet loop. 

Our dogs always camp with us, other than the Fort. Even once our Addie is certified as a service dog, I doubt we would bring her to Disney. Just wondering if the same rules apply. 

1 minute ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

1504 is a pretty sweet spot!  But let's keep that between us!

Wow, your camper looks brand new!  Very nice.  Did you not use your awning?

TCD

Thanks! It's a '99 Coleman Nevada. I spent several hours taping off all the decals and DH painted it. We also used Grizzly Grip on the roof, which made it look nice, as well as crack proof. We did quite a few other repairs on it as well, but only paid $1800 for it, so didn't mind putting a bit of work and money into making it last. Better than having something with payments. I made all new curtains and cushion covers, and DH fixed the cargo leak, repaired the small soft spots the leak had left in the floor, and laid new linoleum tile.

We never put out the awning. We could have if we moved the picnic table down some, but never needed it. The camper came with a screen room as well, but I threw it away. It had been folded (more like wadded) up wet and was horribly mildewed. We tried to save it with straight bleach, but I could still smell the mold, so it had to go.  

Cool signs. 

I think we could make our own. I wouldn't try to hand paint anything, but maybe some sort of transfer paper method, covered with sealant. 

Here is the short video I took of some of the large rigs on 1500. Had I realized this was not commonplace, I would have rode the loop and taken video. You can only see the very front of the bus through the trees. The following day, a huge 5th wheel took up residence on the empty site to the right. 
 

Apparently, people just like the location as it's right across from The Meadows. I know I LOVED the location. I feel like we had the best site on the loop, thanks to TCD's recommendations. Perhaps they were just allowing this because of the empty spots? The day we arrived (Sunday) it was full, but on Monday and after, there were always 4 or 5 sites empty at all times, until we left. 

Here is our camper on 1504. As you can see, I scored a Fort Wilderness sticker from eBay prior to our trip. We have a bathroom, but don't use the shower for fear of creating water damage. We do use the cassette potty. We emptied that and our grey water tank on an empty site, as was suggested on the forum. It worked out great. 

We had many big rigs on Loop 1500 last week. I took a short video of just ones I could see while standing in the doorway of our camper. I think there were four in the video - all very large. Class A, 5th wheel, and even a bus! I was shocked because I thought only tent and pop-ups were allowed, but didn't mind at all. I had the comfort station mostly to myself the entire week. I only ran into another shower being used twice. 

There was us and two other pop-ups, 4 or 5 tents, and the rest all very large rigs. 

It was a slow week, and within a couple of days of arriving there was quite a few empty spaces on the loop. We didn't run into any rude people, especially ones who keep lights on all night. That would drive me crazy, I wouldn't be able to sleep. We had tent campers next to us and would be as quiet as possible when returning at night, and never lit up any lights outside. We are late park people, and they were always asleep when we got back. 

After spending the past couple of hours reading this entire thread, the only conclusion I can come to is that the obnoxious people are not "campers" in everyday life. They just do so to hit up Disney on the cheap. They need a course in camping etiquette for sure. I've been camping my entire life and I have never seen such lack of common courtesy anywhere. Most of these photos are completely shocking ... like nothing I have ever seen in the camping community.

This was a great Triple Trip Report and I learned my now favorite Disney tip -   "Do you know the  TCD Chip Trick^TM  ?"  I really hate paying for Disney foods. We never eat the sides. I will be trying to get them tossed off the price tag everywhere we go in the future. 

Thanks TCD, for taking time to write up these awesome trip reports! They took me right back to the fort, where our time passed much too quickly. I think we need two weeks next time. I already have reservations, may have to add more days. 

 

2 hours ago, h2odivers...Ray said:

So happy everything went so well. 

Have you begun planning your next trip back?  

As a matter of fact ....... 

First week of May. 

On 11/14/2016 at 9:36 AM, Tri-Circle-D said:

 That leaves only 1504, 1505 and 1506 which meet your criteria.

I just want to thank everyone that helped me out on this, with a special shout out to Tri-Circle-D for specific site suggestions. I had no clue what I was doing and could not have managed such a perfect trip without the help. 

I sent a fax specifically requesting one of these three sites, as a first option, and the ones suggested in 2000 as a secondary option. We were given site (censored.) It was a perfect site for us. 

Our son was able to navigate the bus and boat system to get himself to Magic Kingdom. This is a HUGE step in the process of regaining some of his independence. He has not mastered getting back yet, but hopefully by next trip. For this past week, we would just go meet him and go to other parks together. 

We all just loved the Fort. It was so intimidating, having been so many years since we've been there, our life is very different now. Even so, seeing it in the perspective of our current family dynamics it worked perfectly. We loved having our own camper with us, being able to have our own food with our own kitchen, and sleeping in our beds. It also totally rocked not having to drag all of our stuff a half mile in and out of our resort room! Just perfect! Thanks again. 

6 hours ago, Katman1356...Jason said:

You can park in the overflow till midnight on the day you check out. 

 

You could also drive to the park you wish to visit and leave the camper in the parking lot there and head out from the park to home. 

Thanks, we will use the overflow lot. 

The less time I have to be behind the wheel, the better. I hate driving. 

Also, we will have an ECV that has to be returned at FW and no way to transport it other than Disney transportation. This will work out perfectly for us. We were not originally planning on going to a park on Friday, but realized the Arts Festival at Epcot is only on weekends. I NEED to attend that. 

We only live a couple of hours away, so not that big of a deal. 

Thank you. I wasn't sure if they would let me park there or not, since I was no longer registered. But going to give it a shot for sure. 

Is there a place we can park our van and camper on the day we check out? I think we have to be out of our site by 11, but still want to got to a park that day before we drive home. 

We certainly did need her. Just didn't realize how much at the time. 

Just wanted to update. Joan got a name change to Addie a few days after being here. It's short for Adilee, a German name that means "powerful." Our son really loved the meaning of it as he feels like he has lost most power over his life. Addie will be giving some of that back to him. We tried it out to see if she would respond to it, as we didn't want to traumatize her. She seemed to know immediately that it was her. So she is now "Addie."

She has been in training since a week after we got her. She is so smart and amazing. She picked up all her commands within a few minutes and has perfected all of them. She walks on a lead so beautifully now. She stays a few inches from our side with her front legs just behind ours. She sits when we stop, automatically. As much fun as this is to see, I do resist stopped 10 times in 20' just to watch our sweet, smart girl and marvel in her goodness.

We love her so very much, that I cannot imagine life without her. She has been a huge blessing. Not long after we got Addie, our oldest, a Newfoundland/Shepherd mix, had a stroke and had to be euthanized. She was almost 15 years old. It was a very hard time for all of us. She had been born in our home, to a mother to young to have her. We had the pregnant mama from a neighbor who kept her on a chain outside. We didn't even know she was pregnant, she was only about 10 months old and fairly thin.

We had an appointment to get her fixed and get her shots. So, imagine our shock, when she ran across the living room just a few days prior the appointment and a puppy fell out of her! That puppy was followed by 10 more. The mama didn't want anything to do with the pups. Poor thing was just a baby herself. We tried  holding her down to let the babies nurse, but wasn't working. I went to Tractor Supply and got puppy milk and bottles and began bottle feeding them. Eight of the pups went to heaven in short order. I took the remaining to the vet and found out they were terribly premature. Only two survived the next week, girls - Faith and Hope.

We found a good home for one puppy, and they chose Hope. We kept Faith, who we always called Faithie. She grew to be a strong, 140 lb alpha dog of our family for many, many years. Her and I had a special bond, as I was the one that bottle nursed her 24/7 in the beginning of her life. She slept with me until she was too old to get on the bed. For her last years, she was on pain medicine and had difficulty with steps. On her worst days, my husband or son would carry her up and down to do her business. I knew she was way past her life expectancy, but honestly couldn't part with her as long as we could keep her from being in pain most of the time.

So, anyway, this post was supposed to be about Addie ... When Faithie had a stroke and had to go to heaven, Addie filled that spot in my broken heart. I didn't realize "I" needed her, but I certainly did. Faithie can never be replaced, as no person or dog can, but Addie has brought me so much love and happiness that the grieving process was lessened. Addie and her training fill us all with the beauty of fresh, new life. She is yet a baby, although a big one. Although she will eventually be a service dog for our son, she is so incredibly loved by every member of our family. I would take a bullet for her, or our other dogs, and I know they would for me as well.

Something that I never told Andy, as I didn't want to make the separation worse on him or his mom - for the first few days Addie was here, while she was still Joan, she would ask me to get her travel bag down for her to sniff and then lay her head on it. I always kept it up, but in her sight as I know she really wanted it her first night. When she would go to it, and want it down, I would sit with her, rub her, and tell her how loved she was. I would assure her that she was loved and that's why she was here. Just like an adopted child. After three days, she kept asking to have her travel bag. That's when we took the chance on changing her name. I left the travel bag out for another two weeks, but she never asked for it again, so I finally put it up.

We are packing up to leave for the Fort for 5 nights on Sunday. I did cut it down by one day, as we were originally scheduled for six nights. Our younger son (23) will be staying home with the dogs and will not be working for the week. He will be here full time with the dogs. Even so, I am stressed about going away for that long without the dogs. I came very close to canceling our trip. Depending on things go with us humans, we may end up cutting it short. We were away from Blaze, our other dog, for the first time in December and everything went fine. I was just as stressed leaving him for the first time. I'll be talking to Levi several times a day to check on them both. 

We are frequent campers, but our dogs go where we go. Can't do this in Disney. Once Addie goes through her service dog training, which she will easily ace, she will be able to go on cruises with us as well. That is about the only other vacation we take. 

Well, I know I've been babbling. Just wanted to update everyone how this story is going. I believe with all of my heart that Addie was meant to be with our family since birth, just none of us knew that. She will giving our son back his power and she filled what would have been an empty spot in all of our lives. 

On 1/29/2017 at 6:25 PM, fladogfan aka Gretchen said:

Can't remember if I mentioned this before.  At Epcot a few months ago I saw several dogs and a PONY!  yes a pony, at the water splash area on the bridge.  They were in training to be assistant animals, getting use to crowds and weird things...the splash thing. 

Wow, that would be a site to see! I would think it would be hard to travel with a pony, but still very cool. 

I've been here since June 14, 2011. I had no idea that i had stumbled upon a new group when I first came here. 

Looks like I had two good years prior to my son's accident that took me away from all forums, and life in general, for a bit over 3 years. I've popped back into my other camping forums as well and was surprised to have some people remember me! 

Well, Happy Birthday Snarky!!!! If I remember correctly, you are a purple flamingo. :-)