Robin

I will also say Disneyland is so much better! 

Thanks I think I will book at cave country. I did not know they had camping at the bend. I did look into it but that's where the show is and we are thinking it might be a little loud.

We are planning a few nights in May for a car show in Bowling Green. In the past we have stayed at the Jellystone. We have always had a nice stay no problems.

This time though we will not be spending much time at the campground. I don't want to pay their prices if not going to be there much other than sleeping and eating.

I found 2 other places and can't decide Dad's Bluegrass and Cave country. Both are about the same price and distance. Has any one been or know anything about them?

Thanks for your help in advance. 

What about the city museum near St Louis?  We have gone twice fun for all very unique place?

Not sure what you decided but I think kids would be bored for most of it.

We are campers have tented it and for the past few years have a pop up. We really want a travel trailer.

Any companies better or worse than the others?

On are last trip my husband and I did a lot of walking around the loops. My question is we saw one site with 2 campers on it.

One was a bigger pop up and one was a travel trailer. I could not believe this is allowed. Do you pay extra? Is this a common thing?

Do you just put your vehicle's in overflow?

Thanks

I'm so glad you enjoyed it thanks!

Some final thoughts. We had a great time! Before we got there we had people ask if your not going to the parks what are you going to do? We had so much to do I would of loved a extra couple of days. We had so much fun playing shuffleboard , walking around and, just hanging out. We never got bored not even close to it.

I was sad about all the construction and I'm a little worried about the new DVC going up. I really hope it doesn't take to much away from the Fort. I'm so glad we got to do Mickey's BBQ before it left and would be devastated if the Hoop Dee Doo left. We love this show so much and have always had a blast! I have many fond memories of attending this show and hope to have many more.

I think we timed the Christmas party just right. I bet the closer to Christmas the more the crowds come. I would love to do this again. We did not get to see all the shows and need to get on Space Mountain. It was great to go on rides we have not been on in years. Loved the drinks and snacks included. 

I did come home with a bunch of bug bites. I think I got them on the beach watching the parade. Next time will have to use repellent.

We are hoping to go back in May and bring our son with. I do feel a little bad that he could not go with us. I love the fact that he still loves Disney and,I need to indulge him while I can.

Thanks for reading along! Safe travels to everyone this year! 

After a restful night sleep in a comfy bed.We filled up with breakfast at the hotel. While in the elevator back up to our room after breakfast we ran into a couple who spotted my husband wearing a brewer shirt. Turns out they live about 30 min from us and their trip was just beginning. After a small chat we checked out and was back on the road. It was still a little chilly this morning. Our destination is Austell GA. We are headed to Six Flags. I can hear groans. It's not Disney by any means but I think they have improved over the years. We have had a membership now around 6 years. Having a teen son and young nieces and nephews we feel it's worth it for us. We get to visit any park for free and we pay extra for dining we get a dinner ,lunch, snack and, soft drinks every time we visit for one price. 

  We arrived with no problems and the temps had warmed up a bit. This was are second visit to this park so we knew a little what to expect. We went on a few rides got lunch and checked out some of the holiday decorations that they started to put up. Went on a few more rides and took are dinner and snack to go. It was nice to just walk around and enjoy the last few hours of are trip before reality of being home. We did not find the grounds dirty which I have heard about them. The food was typical theme park food it was not bad.

 Back on the road we are headed home. We talked about if we want to stop somewhere or drive straight back. It was now getting late. We felt like we could go all night so that's what we did. We arrived home late morning to a cold gray day. Glad and sad to be back home. I made a big breakfast while my husband unpacked and, we watched the packer game from the weekend before that we successfully was able not to hear the score all week. The van driver at the DVC almost gave it a way but I stopped him in time.

 I will have some final thoughts next.     

Yes it is packing up wet stuff is not fun but, I think I would of felt worse if it was sunny and 80. 

I checked the weather before going to bed I saw it was going to rain all night and, into the morning. Sure enough it was raining when we woke up. I had gotten things ready before going to bed so we would not be looking for things in the van in the rain. I went to the comfort station while my husband tore down our bed. When I got back he had it down and packed up and breakfast started. By now it was a light rain. We had a sad breakfast in the tent. After breakfast it was his turn to use the comfort station while I packed some stuff. Now it was only a light drizzle a long sleeve shirt was needed it was cool out. All we had left was the tent we tore it down but left it to dry a little now the rain had stopped. I was not leaving this spot till 11. We decided to take one last walk around. We walked back over to the settlement and went into the shop. My husband ending up finding a Fort shirt he liked. We had a couple of gift cards with that had a few dollars on them that I brought with just in case. We used them up and had to use some cash. The shirt is a light blue and says Fort Wilderness in gray letters across the front. Now it was time to really pack up everything we could not drag our feet any longer. We wiped down the tent packed it up and said our See You Real Soon and left. 

 We drove back to our friends house and said good bye to them and headed out. We drove up to Gainesville  and spent the night at a hotel. We do one more fun thing the next day before going home.

On 12/28/2019 at 6:23 PM, fladogfan aka Gretchen said:

Finally took time to read the rest of your story(so far).  I'm glad you had a good time and sorry it was cold.  Question...did you try taking a hot shower to get into bed already warm? 

That's my trick, of course, depending how far away from comfort station your camp is you could get too cool just getting back to camp.

 

Thanks for the idea no I did not it was hard just getting undressed maybe next time I will try that. Thanks for reading along.

Already dreaming on returning.

I was just going to say they are really for kids with special needs. If they can't sit alone someone can hold them. Great that they are thinking about that!

What's next? We walked back to our site changed found the umbrella because now it was starting to sprinkle and walked back. We walked around the meadows area sat and watched the movie for a bit. We decided to walk through a few more loops now that it was dark and look at more decorations. It was lightly raining on and off. We then walked over to the settlement and made a quick look in the store. We made are way over to the pier to get ready for boat parade and fireworks. We found a table with a umbrella and waited. Soon a few others joined us. The old beach mad me sad we have fond memories of sitting there watching the fireworks with our son when he was younger. Once the boat parade started we moved over to the new beach and stood under a umbrella and watched it. There was maybe a total of 8 of us. After the parade we went back to the table for the fireworks. There was a few more people for the fireworks but not to many. Not sure if it was the rain or if people don't watch from there any more. I remember it being packed with people it was very quiet. There was 3 women with 4 kids. The kids seemed really excited for the fireworks. One of the moms wanted that perfect picture of the kids with the fireworks in the back ground. Ya that never happened the kids refused to turn around and look at her. I don't blame them they wanted to see the fireworks not take another picture. It was nice to just sit relax and enjoy the show. We walked back to the site still only a light rain and walked in a few more loops on are back. Once back got ready for bed on are last night. I walked into the comfort station to find it overflowing with teen girls. If you know teen girls they have a lot of stuff and it was every where. They did seem like a nice group and gave me some space at the sink. I finished up quick as girls kept coming and going. Not sure what site was theirs all seemed quiet around us. Maybe from another loop and just using the comfort station? 

Up next the last morning always the worst.

Dinner time we are going to the Hoop Dee Doo Revue! We love this show we have been multiple times. If you have never been I highly recommend going. It's all you can eat, drink and, a great show. We got cleaned up and hopped on a bus to the Settlement. First thing we notice is all the changes with the construction. Honestly I tried not to look it made me sad. We checked in and had a bit of a wait. It was nice out we did not mind. We paid for tier 3 up in the balcony. There really isn't bad seat seat. There was a bunch of empty tables it was not sold out. We both got a sangria I got white my husband got red. Are salad was on the table so we could dig right in. The food and the show both excellent as always. We even made it into the show with a joke about us being cheeseheads. I'm a little embarrassed to say that the strawberry shortcake was so good I ate almost the whole thing myself. My husband will not let me live this down. 

After dinner we decided to walk off of some dinner and in my case dessert we skipped the bus back. It really wasn't that bad of a walk. We got back and changed into are swimsuits and headed over to the meadows pool. The last time we came to the Fort we had been to busy to swim but, not this time. There was only about 2 other families in the pool and 2 people in the hot tub. The water was really warm. It was so nice to have it practically to ourselves. We swam for a while and I even went down the slide. Next we moved over to the hot tub and the other couple had left we had it to ourselves for a little while. I love hot tubs my husband can only stay in them so long. He got out and I was alone for about 2 min when some kids joined me. The little girl I want to say was about 7 her brother 5. I had a nice chat with these kids. Very polite and friendly. I got out dried off and we talked about what's next?

I would love to read a report.

We are up and ready to go. We both slept well and it's warming up outside. We made breakfast got dressed no sweatshirts today and relaxed for a bit. We walked over to Meadows I'm so glad we switched spots. We walked around the gift shop just taking our time and really looking at things.. The sun popped out so we grabbed a couple of chairs by the pool and soaked it in. Boy do I miss that sun right now. We decided to do something we have never done at the fort before shuffleboard. The Cm renting out the equipment was really funny she kept telling jokes. I ran back to our site and got us some cold beverages while my husband set us up. We had a ball and played for a few hours. Don't mean to brag but I was the winner. Next we walked around a few loops looking at all the Christmas and the few Thanksgiving decorations. Time flies while your having fun it's time to get ready for dinner. We skipped lunch because we are having a early dinner. 

Next what do we have for dinner remember we don't leave the fort today.

We left off going to get some dinner. We went off grounds and got a pizza. I had a 50.00 gift card burning a hole in my wallet. We decided to go to Disney Springs would be a good place to spend it.

 We decided to park in the green. We parked here once before and it seemed like a good spot. We pulled in and found a open spot on the end with out much of a wait.

Before we did any shopping I wanted to do the tree trail. I checked on my phone where this was located. The springs was busy but not to bad. I think we got there early enough that the parks had not closed yet. Also it was dinner time for some. At the entry was a DJ we saw pretty many families out dancing. The tree trail really impressed us. They had I think 22 trees decorated. There was a lantern on each tree with a ornament that went with the theme of the tree that you could of course purchase. In the middle section there was a cafe you could purchase drinks and treats. At the end was Santa posing for pictures. There also is snow falling we see enough snow at home so we do not get excited over it but, it adds to the atmosphere. If you have the chance to do this I would recommend it and it's free!

After this we looked in a few shops and then headed over to World of Disney. I might be alone in my thinking but, I miss the old store. To me it was unique now it looks like all the other shops. I had seen a sweatshirt in Magic Kingdom that I liked so we looked for that. We could not find it I saw a few other ones that I liked for back up. We flagged down a CM at first she did not think they had it. After a few min of her thinking her face lit up and she said I know just what you want. She said it was in the unisex department and she also really liked them. She took us over and we got a winner. We thanked her a bunch she was super nice and took time to help a great CM! I wish I had thought to get her name. Now after all that I found one next to it I liked better. This one is a blue hoodie with Mickey on it and was cheaper. We also got my son a pair of socks from Toy Story to match his Toy Story shoes for a Christmas present. We looked for antenna toppers has we have a few and would like a new one. We found another CM to help out. She told us they no longer make them. I guess not to many cars now have antennas. We paid and decided to head back to the Fort. I was tired from my lack of sleep. First thing I did when we got back was put the space heater on high. It was still chilly out but the wind had died down. We got ready for bed and I was out like a light. I slept much better than the night before.

Are last day will be a Fort day. We have never spent the whole day at the Fort will we be bored?

Ok off to the skyliner. We walked up and got right on no waiting. We did not have to share had it all to ourselves. It was a bit on the cool side today and a little breezy. You could feel some movement but not to bad. There are some holes in the seat for air flow and the windows do open and close. I was cold so we shut them. They move pretty fast I asked my husband how he was and he said good. He thought it wasn't to bad. He liked that it is enclosed and you don't have to look down if you don't want to. I really enjoyed getting a different look at things and I found it fun. Now maybe when it's 100 out and your packed in maybe not so fun but, today it was fun.  We did have to get off and change gondolas.This time we had 2 other couples we all had a nice chat. We got off at Epcot and walked over to the beach club.

 We loved looking at all the holiday decorations and looking around the resort. We have never been over here before.

A few months before are trip I received a email  for a 50.00 gift card to look at DVC. I brought it with just in case we had time.We have looked into this before and also got a gift card then. We walked over to the DVC booth in the lobby and in no time a van picked us up. We knew we did not want to buy it 's not for us but I'll take 50.00 bucks. We arrived got our name tags got some free snacks and drinks and was shown a room. The guy doing the presentation was kind of a jerk. He kept talking about his family and how much they love DVC Yada Yada Yada . I just want my gift card. He took us over and showed us the new rooms at Riviera. He couldn't pull down the murphy beds because he told us they had to be fixed they would not come down right. Ok you would think by now they know how to install these things. He kept saying look how nice this is look how nice that is. Ya they are nice but not for us. He dropped us off in the ice cream parlor and said he had others waiting. He was done with us and I'm sure wanted someone more interested. We got some free ice cream and my 50.00 gift card. We got a van ride over to Grand Floridian. We had super friendly van drivers and had nice chats with both.

Has always the Grand Floridan was gorgeous! We walked around the lobby and loved the Gingerbread house. We went into Basin and it was fun to look and smell everything. We tried a few things out. We did not buy anything though. Next we jumped onto the Monorail and rode over to the Contemporary.  I stayed here twice way back when I was a teen with my family. I found fond memories of the great arcade that once was.They have a much smaller Gingerbread house display. It was nice but not grand. We made are way outside and took pictures with the Mickey statue out back. The silver metal one.  I love that this is still here and will be sad if they ever remove it. We walked down to the boat dock and got right on the boat. We are headed back to the fort. I never stayed at the fort growing up but we did visit it and I remember loving it! I'm so happy to be able to stay here. The captain warned us it was going to be cold and windy. He was right it had started to get cold. We arrived back got our coats jumped into the van and headed out for dinner. Next what do we have?

After breakfast we talked about what to do first. Today was a bit on the cool side. Warmer than last night but still a little windy. I was definitely wearing pants and a light sweatshirt. My husband said he might do skyliner so I wanted to get him on before he changed his mind. 

We waited about a bit with another family for a bus going over to the outpost. Once we got to the outpost it was crowded. I looked on the monitor for times we are going to start at Hollywood studios. There was a time for everything but the studios I think just had a line. We waited and waited and waited. I kept checking the monitor but was the same. The family we arrived with also was still waiting. There was a women with three small boys under what looked like the age of 4 also waiting. She definitely had her hands full. We commented that we hope she was meeting someone because I don't know how she managed alone at a park. Now buses would come but not for Studios. A women went onto a bus and asked and was told soon, great answer! There was a Cm standing there I asked him and was told 10 min. I asked about the monitor and told they were having problems another great answer. Just as a bus pulled in the monitor showed 15 min? We waited a total of 45 min to get on the road to the studios. This is why we drive to the parks. 

Once we arrived we headed right over to the skyliner. I did not give my husband much time to look at it. I knew if he he watched it moving around in the wind he would not go.

Up next does he make it on?

On 12/4/2019 at 9:43 AM, twiceblessed....nacole said:

So glad you had a great time at the party.  Sounds like the prefect blend of low crowds and a great atmosphere.  We went the first week of November last year (maybe the second or third night they offered the party?) and for us, it was a very bad choice.  Apparently the bloggers and such had stormed the park for merchandise... or something to that effect I was told.  So, it was horrible.  However, we've been there before when our experience was like your (as it should be for every guest who pays extra to attend the parties) and it was magical. 

Sorry the night's sleep was so rough.  Not getting out of bed to get a sweatshirt... LOL, I would have done that too.  I would have been afraid that getting up would have made me even colder and I do not like the cold or being cold 

Glad I'm not alone in my thinking. I also hate to be cold I would rather be hot!

Before going on I wanted to say how much we both enjoyed the party. The atmosphere was very jolly, loved the decorations, free snacks and low crowds. What more could you ask for besides lower price and more time. I think by going in early November the crowds just had not arrived yet. I would love to do it again same time of the year. I bet close to Christmas it's a whole different thing. 

Now we arrived back to the Fort pretty quick with it still lightly raining. We had brought a space heater with us just in case. The night before we did not need it. Tonight I knew we would temps are in the 50's. I put it on low last time we used it in the tent it got toasty in there. We got ready for bed and my husband was a sleep before his head hit the pillow. I on the other hand was freezing cold! I could not warm up. I got up and turned on to high. I think because it was so windy that the heater could not keep up. I debated getting up and finding my sweatshirt. But I did not want to get out of bed. Finally about 4:30 I fell asleep only to be waken up by my husband at 6:30 who had to go the bathroom. All those drinks at the party caught up to him. I then decided to get up and find my sweatshirt. I fell back to sleep and slept till 9 finally warm I just should of gotten up and gotten my sweatshirt. 

We got up made breakfast and got ready for the day. Today we are going to go look at decorations at the other resorts and I'm going to try and talk my husband into riding the skyliner. Stay tuned to find out if I was successful.

Yes, it's always a gamble wait or not wait.