GradyBunch

Update:  The in-laws have decided to go along with us as well, and they are renting a camper.  This will allow us to spread out a bit more and be less cramped.  Still gonna shoot for the 1600 loop, however.  They found a pretty good deal on outdoorsy to rent one for the week.  All in it's approx $145 per night (which includes all the fees, even though the ad states $79 per night).  They set up and take down for you as well.   Any advice on this topic as I've never rented a camper before would be greatly appreciated.

On 2/28/2021 at 7:18 AM, Katman1356...Jason said:

1900 tends to flood the most. I was in there once and will avoid if at all possible in the future. 

 

I remember reading this in a prior thread.  1600 seems to get decent reviews.  I'll probably spend some time on google earth looking at the diff sites and how they are laid out...or just let them decide, that's fun too!

31 minutes ago, Travisma said:

Not that big, we’ve done a T@B, tent, Clam type screen room, awning, and two cars on a partial site!

 

You’ll just need someone with a good eye for decorating to squeeze everything in.😀

I am not that person with a good eye.  But I have a few with me that do.  So that’s good to know.  Just want to make sure everyone is comfortable.  Here are the ages of the “kids”. 26 M, 23F, 22F, 16M, 16F, 14F.

Hey old friends...been a while since I've had a trip booked to the fort but NOW I DO!  I've completely gone outside my disney mind and taking the entire clan next year. 

8 of us total, and with the recent price hikes...OMG...so, we will have a 33' travel trailer w bunkhouse along with a tent.  This should give the teens the space they will need.  We normally stay in a premium loop, but will be in a full hookup next year.  Has anyone had this set up?  Any tips are welcomed.  Best loops for this?  

AG

19 hours ago, TN22.....Brady said:

That is great news Allen. I look forward to catching up with you.

Same here,  it's been way too long.

We are in site 52...booked and ready to begin camping again. 

On 9/19/2018 at 12:54 PM, Tri-Circle-D said:

Maybe so, but y'all will look like champions (and not just champions of life) on Saturday. 

But, Go Gata 

TCD

Well, we do have 5 star hearts as well...

On 9/20/2018 at 2:44 PM, TN22.....Brady said:

Are you going to the game Allen? I will be there to tailgate, haven't decided on going into the stadium just yet. But I will still be wearing my orange.

 

Go Vols!

Not this year unfortunately, I will be cautiously watching from my couch with beverages ranging from weak to strong readily available...wish i could make it over there to catch up!

On 9/18/2018 at 11:00 AM, Tri-Circle-D said:

You think the Landsharks are the worst defense in college football?  You must not have seen the UF team in action yet this season.

Go Gata. 

TCD

Building on that point even further down the chain...you must not have seen the UT team in action this year.  This weekends game isn't going to be what one would call "quality football" if i were to go ahead and guess.

Go Vols

I'm in!!  You had me at 5,200 miles

We are eating here now and can confirm that still, no hula hoops. [emoji19]

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We are here at site 824. It was 37 degrees when we left and it's 80 today. Merry Christmas!

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On 9/30/2016 at 2:22 PM, Helmsey......Todd said:

Thanks for posting your thoughts on this place. If we can make it that far I'll give it a shot for an overnight stop, but I'm not sure we can make it that far in one day. That would be 600 miles for us the 1st day and I just don't think that would make for a good day in the truck with 2 little ones. But I will drive as long as they are happy 

We normally leave Maryville around 3:00pm on Friday and stop at the camping world campground in Lake Park GA before midnight...normally around 10:30 or 11.  That leaves us 2.5 to 3 hrs to the fort.  Most sites are pull through and we just leave a check in the registration office.  For good sams members it's $23.

5244 Jewell Futch Rd,  Lake Park, GA 31636

16 hours ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:

Bumping this question as we're contemplating making an ADR for Christmas Day... or turkey sandwiches at the camper. 

Would love to but we've got Victoria & Alberts that night for our belated 20th Anniversary dinner. (Tried to get in on 24th - our actual anniversary - but no luck)

We have 8:55 ADR's for breakfast on Christmas morning.  I figure Reese will have us up around 5 am and we will be starving by then.  

We have been offered alternate accommodations at the pop century (where we are eating now). It's been a long day packing up in the rain and getting the camper ready for the storm. They parked us in the Cruella parking lot with other RV's. I'm going to check it out tomorrow and make a final decision on whether to stay or head back.

In another note, the fort really doesn't have an effective communication plan as we were told several different things. While we were in the checkout line we were told that alternate plans were being made for fort guests. The CM right next to us told other guests to "go away". I mentioned what "Larry" was telling the folks in line and he said "We have a Larry?" Fun times today.

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You will enjoy that KOA, many of the sites are fairly close together but you can't beat the location.  You can ride a trolley to Dollywood from the campground for $0.50 per person.  If you have time, check out moonshine holler in Gatlinburg...sitting in a rocking chair listening to live bluegrass is the stuff.

Enjoy!

My fave so far...

Marrison Haul System

This simple but effective mechanical advantage hauling system was developed by Chris Marrison for the Outdoor Action Program (see Figure 6.28). It's particularly helpful when you have heavy food loads. Bears are very intelligent and some bears are smart enough to know that by cutting the diagonal rope to the tree, they can bring down the food bag.

1. Find a tree with a live branch. The branch should be at least 15 feet (5 meters) from the ground with no object below the branch that could support a bear’s weight. The point at which you will toss the rope over the branch should be at least 10 feet (3 meters) from the tree. The branch should be a least 4 inches in diameter (10 centimeters) at the tree and at least 1 inch in diameter (3 centimeters) at the rope point.
2. Throw the rope over the branch. Test the branch to make sure it is strong enough to hold the weight (don't be standing directly underneath when you test). Make a Truckers Hitch about 6 feet (2 meters) from the ground and clip carabiner 1 into the bight.
3. Feed the running end of Rope End B through Carabiner 2 and then through Carabiner 1.
4. Pull the end of the Rope End A to move Carabiner 1 as close to the tree branch as possible. Tie off Rope End A to the tree.
5. Attach the food bag to Carabiner 2 and haul the bag as high up as possible. Tie off Rope End B.
6. To retrieve the bag, untie Rope End B and lower the bag to the ground.

Figure 6.28

22 minutes ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

There is a clue in one of the photos that shows how we got the lanterns up there in the trees.  I used a technique I learned back in my Scouting days from when we had to hang our food in trees to keep it away from bears.

Fun game, I've learned so much about "bear bagging" from the interwebs today.

Still not sure which technique you used since I can't find the clues, but look forward to finding out.

Great TR and what a happy birthday for the twins!

14 hours ago, GaDawgFan.....Kelly said:

I will be in Athens, GA on October 1st for that very reason. :)

We typically have to listen to this game, as it normally falls on a weekend that we are either traveling to or from a Fall Break trip. 

This year it is on day 1 of the trip...and will probably be a 3:30 game, and we have 4:45 ressies at Raglan.  Planning fail on my part.

13 hours ago, LONE-STAR said:

The Fort really does ruin most other campgrounds.  We have been doing mutiple trips a year for awhile now. One week in the summer only water parks, 1 and a half to 2 weeks in the winter, and then spring break. Although this year we couldn't get a reservation for spring break, so we went to Camp Gulf and really liked it.

Camp gulf is typically our other spot as well.  We've been a few times over fall break and the wife really enjoys it. Very relaxing...until you get home...and have to "de-sand" the

camper.

On ‎5‎/‎29‎/‎2016 at 6:46 PM, cindymac11 said:

Suffering from the same illness...we were there in November, December, March, and head out in two weeks for a June Adventure. Can't. Stop. Myself.

As for storage, we ended up using Top Notch RV Storage (http://www.topnotchrvstorage.com/) in Clermont.

It was quasi on the way from us (coming from Texas).  They were very accommodating to a month-to-month. We paid $85 for the month, and a prorated amount for the rest of November - I think maybe $120 total.  The only down side is there there was no place to plug it in like at our normal storage place, so the fridge was not cooled off, etc.  All in All it was worth it, though I doubt in the end we saved very much money.  Perhaps saved a headache or two along the way. We had originally planned on leaving it again between Christmas and Spring Break, but opted to bring it home and not give up our local space.  Our next thought is that we will find a place to leave in in Alabama and pick it up along the way, meaning we can sleep in it on night one and avoid a hotel.  Since camping at the Fort, we find all other campgrounds in the world completely unacceptable and haven't camped any where else since we contracted "the sickness."

The Fort really does spoil it for regular campgrounds.  We even live less than 30 miles from the mountains and Dollywood, and still haven't ventured out since our spring break fort trip.  To be fair it's not all the Fort's fault...travel softball consumes one's life.

I noticed Top Notch had covered storage as well, I'm assuming the $85 per month was uncovered?

We normally camp on the way down just past Valdosta so we would have to work the logistics out on that as well.  Typically we can't leave early on Friday due to our schedules, so it would be a late night arrival if we tried to push it and make it all the way down to Orlando.  We would probably push the departure time to the middle of the night, putting us at the storage place around 8-9 in the morning.  Lot's of logistics to work out.

57 minutes ago, GaDawgFan.....Kelly said:

I'm going in late September, Christmas, and maybe Spring Break 2017.... What's the problem?

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I see you also share the sickness...they say the absence of denial is the first step.

Will you be there Oct 1st?  Big game that weekend I hear.

On ‎10‎/‎21‎/‎2015 at 4:27 PM, cindymac11 said:

Fortunately for us, MOST of what we take lives in the trailer full time...will have to cart our clothing and dog carrier...something I had not considered, but I THINK we'll have room in the bed of the truck even with the 5th wheel hooked up.  I am going to call a couple places to see where we might store.

 

BigTom made us a very sweet offer of storage between Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I think we have decided to leave it there until at least March, since we'll be back at Spring Break.

How did all this work out for you?  I am currently trying to figure out our best option.

We are going down early October and again during Christmas.

Maybe even spring break 2017. 

It's a sickness, I know...

Well done TCD.

21 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

Thanks.  I'm glad that you're in.  I think I owe you a spike, don't I?

TCD

Impressive memory on the spike convo....that was a while back.

Running does the mind and body good, huh.   We will be at the fort the first week of October and over Christmas break.

Let me know if you will be there around that time...since you are only a hop, skip, and jump away.