Mrs.TN22

Yes, the magnets will be here hopefully before the 10th or very soon after.

We have site 59.  and Tim and Vicky site 57

Should work for us - and Yes, Tim and Vicky will be there also

Until I see otherwise, I am giving Disney the benefit of the doubt with this resort.  Let's face it...the Fort of our youth has been gone for over a decade, if not two.  The peacocks, train, trams, River Country, etc are never coming back.  But what will exist once this construction is all over in a few years might not be terrible.  While it's becoming clear that the Settlement and Clementine Beach will be significantly altered, I have yet to walk around a single resort at WDW where I thought to myself "good Lord this is awful!".  I believe they will create a beautiful place.  Different, no doubt, but probably pretty darn nice.  I too grieve the loss of what was a peaceful Settlement, where I enjoyed sitting on the porch with a drink while the kids played.  But I have other peaceful places in my world.  And I'm hoping we will see a nice combined area with enhanced amenities for the benefit of both resorts.  This talk of "our beach will become their beach" rings hollow with me, because I don't see Disney running a fence through the Settlement with razor wire to keep us out.  I imagine additional areas to walk around, like at many of the other resorts.  Yes, there will be more people.  That's a given.  But hopefully it will be nice to visit additional shops, grab a beverage at new bars with outdoor dining areas, and still have our peaceful campsite to relax at (and possibly some additional amenities to come in the Meadows area).   

Just found this - thought some might find interesting
https://wdwnt.com/2018/09/update-rafikis-planet-watch-at-disneys-animal-kingdom-will-reopen-spring-2019/
Guests will be able to learn more about conservation and Disney’s animal programs after all.
Disney confirmed today that Rafiki’s Planet Watch’s closure will in fact be temporary rather than permanent, and the area and Wildlife Express Train will reopen in Spring 2019. This will allow time for an “extensive refurbishment”, where Disney is expected to rework the area’s offerings to appeal more to today’s guests.
Rafiki’s Planet Watch’s last day of operation is scheduled for Saturday, October 20th, while the meet-and-greets are expected to close tomorrow, September 29th. We will provide updates as the story develops.

Thanks for following along -
Monday -First full day at Disney and the Fort.
DH, DD, and I went looping that morning and headed to MK for a little while. We went to the Arribas Bros store and bought my mom a mug and had it engraved. 


This is the Tumbler we bought for my mom.

We also went to Guest Relations to get dd her new AP card. Went back to the Campsite to get DS who slept in, and We then headed to Hollywood Studios around noon. 
I had gotten FPs for Toy Story mania for all 4 of us so we headed there.  Loser was supposed to buy lunch. 

Well, I lost as usual, but since I stopped to watch the Star Wars show, they all left me and had already ordered and paid by the time I got there.  We chose Baseline Taproom for Pretzel and a Cheese plate.  The kids hadn’t eaten here before as they weren’t with us in October.  The pretzel was really good.  The cheese plate was great as usual. We really like this place for a midday snack. Somehow I didn’t get a pic of the pretzel, but here is the charcuterie board.  The goat cheese is my favorite.

We headed back to the Fort for a break since  we were heading back to MK that evening.
 
DD wanted Sushi from the Poly for dinner, so we got on the boat and headed to MK boat stop.
We then were faced with choosing monorail, or boat to Poly.  DS chose monorail, and the rest of us took the resort boat.  He beat us by 10 minutes.  Upstairs to the Sushi Bar – alas, her hopes were dashed when they said the menu changes all the time, and they were not offering the sushi she wanted – headed over to tambu lounge, they were very crowded, so just decided to go down to Captain Cook’s.  Captain cooks was very crowded and very loud, but we managed to place an order and find a table.  Fun night of family conversation and laughs.  The food wasn’t all that great, but it was edible.  It started to fill up more and was getting very loud, so we left and took the monorail to MK.
Tree at the Polynesian

 
Upon arrival it looked really crowded at the entrance lines, but after getting in, it wasn’t too bad.  I was able to snag us a FP for the Jingle Cruise, and that’s about it.  FP were hard to get that week.  I had made a few for what we really wanted but plans change, and apparently not a good week to be randomly changing plans. We did ride the people mover, and stayed in the park until around 11, then we headed back to call it a night.


 

The crowds were thick depending on where you were in the park.  It was weird.  Tuesday will be a non-park day for us.
 

Thanks - and number one spot too~
Thanks for joining.  You are welcome - I struggle with finding the time to do reports once we get back..but will keep this one going.
Thanks and you are welcome.
glad you are here.
yay!
Yep - back with the kids - Yes, one happy mom to have her kids back in Disney with her.

Our first Christmas at the Fort / Disney –
We were supposed to be there 12/10-12/15, however due to a wedding that our daughter was in our final exams for our son, I knew that week would be not doable – so when we came back home in November I logged in and was able to grab 12/17-20, but only by booking one day at a time.  Grrr – then the next day I grabbed the 22nd and the next day the 21st, so we were set. I then called and had them all combined.
We arrived on 12/17 which was a Sunday.  We haven’t ever checked-in on a Sunday, but since the wedding was on Saturday, a Sunday check-in it would be.  We left Saturday around 5 and drove to the St. Mary’s/N. Jacksonville KOA with a lovely 1a.m. arrival time.    We were up and on the road by 7 the next morning.
Welcome Home!

We arrived at the Fort at 10:30 – which on any other check-in day we’ve arrived hasn’t been an issue.  We were about 4th in line.  Made it to a window and got all checked in and a site was available (nothing in the 1400 was available) so we headed to 1321 – which according the app and the cast member, we should fit.  We arrived at the site, and not enough room.  So, we called the number and requested 1320 as it was empty.  Well, someone had already requested that site, so they said they would find us a comparable site, and would send us a text.  Great – so we went back up front to overflow, and then were told we could park in the grass at the load/unloading place.  So, we joined the other 10-15 people who were parked there.   By this time is was 12:00 and by 12:30 we had a text telling us to head to 1222 – I was skeptical as the fort app showed the directional arrow in the photo so I knew it was the last site next to the entrance.  However, we made it to the site, and loved it!  It was a fantastic site.  1200 is a great loop. I walked around and took a few pics of the sites.

 
We got set-up and all were hungry so we headed to Epcot.  Traditionally MK is our first stop, but since it was a party night, we knew we would have to leave soon, so we opted to go to Epcot and Festival of the Holidays.  I didn’t get any food pics – but we tried several things – all that we tried today were really good.
 

We left Epcot around dark – and headed back to the fort.  1200 loop was a very decorated loop.  We walked around that loop and looked at all the decorations, and then headed to Trails End for our mugs, and drinks, and then looping we went.
I will say that I felt that not as many people were decorated for Christmas as was for Halloween, but those that did decorate went all out.  Very  beautiful.
We were all worn out from the long drive the day before and we called it an early night and just hung out at the campsite.
Monday, Day 2,  is MK, Hollywood Studios, and MK again.

We will be there!!  Along with Humphrey Bear!
Can't wait!

Move their clothes into one of the washers that doesn't work.  They'll really scratch their heads over that one.  

DisDining missed one small detail, which I've corrected above.   
 

The BOAT arrow pointing toward the bus stop is for those rainy days when everything floods at the Fort!

have a great time!!!

We have Christmas Ornaments from each trip - I love those.
But I did buy the salt and pepper  shakers that look like the Magic Kingdom trash cans on this last trip, and I love them!  

Snarky went on a trip with us and HumphreyBear and families - here are some highlights!
 
 

 
We stayed here -
 

 
 
Visited  Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
 

 
 
played on the beach 
 

 
Visited the Wright Brothers Memorial - but Snarky stayed in the backpack -

 
Had some lunch

 
 
We had some Donuts - best ever! 
 

Flat Snarky visited Anchor Down in Dandridge, TN over the weekend.  It was  a nice balmy 98 degrees - 
 
He really wanted to have S'mores made in this wonderful fireplace - but since it was 98 degrees - he decided not to  
 

 
 
So, he decided to just enjoy the view!
 

 
 
I hope to post more pictures and a small trip report later today :)

We were in site 1431 - wonderful site!