Tony

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The last morning, we have breakfast trying to eat up what we have left. We jump on the bikes and do some looping around. We stop at Meadows this is my last chance to find something. I ended up getting some hair clips for my neighbor and the Haunted Mansion puzzle. We head back taking the long way not wanting to leave. We pack up and pull out at 11. We have to stop back at Walmart to take in the battery core. Wow they have some unhappy workers there. 
We made it back home with no problems! My husband thinks the converter is bad. We ended up having a Mobil Tech come over just to double check that it is the converter.
I tell him about the problem with the box at the Fort and the power issues. He is not sure if they are related or not but will check everything. Drum roll what do you think the issue was? Well Clark just check the plug. Yup the converter box plug was loose. All he did was plug it back in all the way. We had looked up reasons why the power was bad and we never saw check the plug. The Fort box was just a coincidence it had nothing to do with it. Now we know.
Thanks for reading along! 

Today we are up bright and early. I decided I wanted Strawberry Shortcake for breakfast. I hop on my bike and head down while my husband has his breakfast. Wow lots of dog walkers out. There was a few Shortcakes in the cooler I pick one and check out with no wait. I make my way back finish getting ready. I eat my breakfast on the way to EPCOT. I finish just in time. Today is calling for some afternoon showers so I back umbrellas in the backpack. It took forever to get in and we arrive just as the regular guests can enter. It looks like the park is going to be busy today. We get all the rides done in the morning and have a snack. I forgot about the virtual line for guardians and it's 1:30 when I log on. There was still availability, so I make the reservation for one. We decided to ride the boat in the lagoon across. This is something we never do. Just as we get in line it starts to rain. We are just able to get under the awning. By the time the boat arrives it has stopped raining. This was it for the rain all day. Otherwise, it was another beautiful day. We enjoyed eating around the showcase all afternoon. We even saw the concert in the American pavilion. We love test track and do another ride. The first time the design a car was not working. We eat some more and walk around. I want to get a good spot for the firework show so we claim a spot by a table. We completed the cheese challenge and I go claim our prize. While we are enjoying this my time is up for Guardians. I'm torn if I ride it, I might miss the fireworks. I know this show is temporary and we might not get another to see it. Last time I rode Guardians I was so afraid of getting sick I didn't look around, so I know I missed a lot. Now if I get sick it's almost time to leave so not as much a big deal than if we had hours left. I decide to walk over there and see how long the line is. I talk to the Cast Member working and she said it would be close. I decide not to ride. The line was getting bigger as it was getting close to the end of the night. I knew it would be hard to find my husband in the crowd if I was late and missed the show. I make my way back to the spot. I nice family joins us, and we enjoy talking to them while waiting. We really enjoyed the show and I'm glad I got to see it. We make our way out. We are super tired we walked a ton today but had a lot of fun and good food.
Once back my husband runs the battery charger, and everything is still working. Another big day tomorrow so we head off to bed.

Thanks so Fort Wilderness Glampers for these pictures.  My normal sources did not come through this month.   

I've always used the hitch & unhitch area on the way in on the right, before the 4-way stop.

I was waiting for the bus yesterday and saw this sign talking about the FWRR.  Since I am a HUGE fan of the railroad, I had to snap up a picture.  I didn't see it when I was at the Fort in February.  I thought it was super cool.
 
 

Congrats and welcome back to the great outdoors 🤠

We used to say, "who goes to Disney for the food?".  However, the TE buffet was awesome in its own right.  I believe the family skillets were to purposely cause this to happen along with the removal of the resort boats so that the resort traffic would be reduced.  It sickens me quite frankly.
First our exercise trail to Wilderness Lodge, no boats and now this.  I'm hoping to go one last time to record the interior as I'm afraid all the charm will be lost in the reimagining.  I agree that the cost of staying at the Fort might not be worth it once they take away all that made it special.

I remember as a teenager camping at the Fort in the early 70’s. At night they turned the buffet stations into build your own personal pizza. It was so cool. You would go through and build your little pizza pay for it then find a seat and wait for it to cook. There was bear heads hanging on the wall and other decor around. That was over 50 years ago and those are the best memories. Along with the open trams that would go around the loops to drop you off at your site. We would ride them just to avoid the mosquitoes.  Ahh the memories. Miss them. 

Thanks for sharing, loved following along 😀

I'm going to finish up the report today. 😃  It was a short trip. 
Refreshed and restored, we went on through the world showcase, through Norway.  Frozen was at 60 minute wait at 2:30, with no LL’s available. And so we went on into Mexico.  We rode the Three Caballero’s ride, only a 5 minute wait.   We came out of Mexico pavilion and picked up churros to share.

I grabbed an LL for Imagination, and we went to the ride. Pooh was interacting on the lawn outside of the Imagination pavilion, so we went and got pictures.  The LL saved us maybe 5 minutes in line.   All of the CM’s were happy about Figment coming back to meet and greets soon.  We got to hear about it quite a bit, and we were happy.   After, we did the Pixar Movie Shorts, then on into the Chase Visa Character meet and greet, where we got to take pictures with Goofy and Mickey in their 50th finery.

We went on down to the Seas pavilion afterwards, and talked a lot about the length of the queue for the Nemo ride, and how I’ve seen it completely full in the summer, and never want to see that again, lol.   We enjoyed the aquarium area, but didn’t stay for Turtle Talk with Crush.   Afterwards, we went to ride the monorail, as we had no other plans to take it for transportation on this trip, and we wanted the inlaws to experience it.   So down to the TTC and back again.   Father in law at this point was finally grasping just how big WDW really is. 
Back at EPCOT, we had 6:30 reservations at the Rose and Crown.   They are still on a limited menu, but we did have a waiter from Scotland, and he was a lot of fun to speak with.   I had the cheese, fruit and meats board, hubby had Fish and Chips and the inlaws split a Shepherds Pie.   We had both the Sticky toffee pudding and the Strawberry Trifle for dessert.   The Trifle was better.
Afterwards, we were all wiped out by the day, so went to find a good spot for Harmonius.  We got a great spot on a planter shelf near the entrance to World Showcase.   A rainshower came through, so we wrapped up in our poncho’s and waited it out.  Harmonious started on time, and it was  lovely.  Since the in-laws had no other show to compare it to, they were blown away.   It was the biggest fireworks show they had ever seen.  They were sooo happy to be there for it.   
We made it back to the car, and then to the cabin, and collapsed.   MK Rope Drop was coming early!
So, for our MK day, we took our golf cart to the Marina, and jumped on boat transport to MK.  Had to wait for just one boat.    We walked through the tunnel into MK at about 8:10, but we are doing the old folks tour, so had no real reason to be at the front of the crowd.   We bought the in laws souvenir hats.  Father in Law got a Partners silhouette hat, and Mother in law got a Cinderella’s castle hat.   Hubby was decked out with his Nautilus hat, and I was wearing full Figment regalia ( T-shirt and ears).   We started our day with Carousel of Progress.   It was a hit!  Next on the list was WedWay people mover.   We broke down inside space mountain, so had a nice break in the AC.    Tron Coaster was a beehive, looks like they were doing walkways and other concrete pours.    The coaster was not running tests. 
We did Teacups, Barnstormer,  Dumbo and Ariel’s ride all with no wait.  We bypassed 7 dwarfs and Pooh,  and went in to wait to see Cinderella.   Mother in Laws favorite Princess.   We waited about 40 minutes out of a 60 minute posted wait.   Got to meet Elena and Cinderella and took some lovely pictures.  Next, we did It’s a Small World, and then jumped on the carousel (My must do ride), and then had a light lunch at Pinocchio’s.   We had a LL for Jungle Cruise at 1:00pm, so wandered over and went to see the backside of water.   Our cruise director had the ability to remember that elephants never forget… and told us this fact over and over and over again, as she promptly forgot she had done so already.  It was a little annoying at first, but became absolutely hysterical by the end of the trip, as all of us were trying to figure out ways to hide the elephants from her.   Never realized just how many elephants there are on the jungle cruise, lol.
Out of Jungle Cruise, we grabbed our obligatory Dole Whip pineapple floats, and started out of the park. 
Next up, a 4pm show of the Hoop de Doo Revue!

Hoop de Doo was great, as always.   This was our first time back since the pandemic, and not much has changed, except for the actor play 6-bits.   Chicken and Ribs and all the fixin’s are still delicious.  Our waiter kept our tea and lemonade topped up, as we were dehydrated from the park.  The in laws had a blast, and we gave them the washboard to play at the end, since we’d done it before. Mother in law got so enthusiastic with it, I thought she was going to punch it out of its frame.  So many bad jokes.  So much rip roaring fun.
After the show, we drove back to the cabin and took an hour nap, then went back to the Marina for a trip back for fireworks.   We were all pretty tired by this time, but no one was complaining.  We found father in law a spot to sit, as his back was really hurting at this point.  He was on the steps by the Uptown Jewelers, and we were in the street holding a spot.   The crowd was not near us when we chose the spot, but by the time the show started, it was shoulder to shoulder.   The had the projections running on main street as well as the castle this night, so there was  a LOT to look at.   Mother in law kept turning circles trying to take it all in.  It was crowded, but quite magical.  The music and ambiance is just unique, and worth the crowd.   We all enjoyed every minute of the show.  Afterwards, we ducked back to the steps where Father in law had waited before the show, and we sat there while the crowd thinned out.   We moved up to the gardens near the castle, and waited there for a bit until the photographers came back out. 
We got in line behind a newly engaged couple, and the photographer did some really awesome poses for that young couple.  Very unique shots with the partners statue and with the castle.   She showed them to us before we started our photos, because we were so very impressed by her abilities.  We got some great shots from her, as well.

I snagged an LL for Pirates, and we wandered over that way, playing with the magic bands and golden statue interactions on the way.   That is a neat feature of the new magic band+ system.   Those bands also vibrate and put on a light show during the fireworks, but to me that was more annoying than fun.
We rode Pirates, then grabbed an LL for immediate return to Haunted Mansion.  LL wasn’t necessary here, as we went all the way to the join spot with no line on either side.  Coming out of  HM, we walked past the Tangled restrooms and HOLY SMOKES, the lantern photo artist was there!!!!   I herded our tired crew into line, told the in laws that this is still one of the rarer photo shoots to get at MK, and perked everyone up for one last photo.        That kept us happy and talkative all the way back to the boat dock.  We enjoyed the final ride to the Fort, and collapsed into bed one last night at WDW.

 
The next morning, we were up and packing early.   Hubby and I took the golf cart over to the Meadows trading post to grab a Ft. Wilderness pin, and souvenir mugs for us.  I was standing near the checkout, but not in line yet, looking at merch.   There was a woman checking out, and I heard her talking as to a small child.   I went to take a step forward, heard my hubby yell ‘WATCH OUT’, and my foot hooked a crawling baby.  My brain went from nothing to 90, as I realized I was going down, it’s a baby under me, DON’T SQUISH IT!!!!   I reached out with my hands, dropped my pin and mug, hopped the baby with the other foot and thank goodness the shelf I reached for was a heavy, wooden thing that could take my weight.   I saw the foot that hooked the baby roll him onto his back like a little turtle.   I wrenched my right knee slightly, but the adrenaline rush was enough to keep the pain away.
The poor baby, I turned and went down to him, put my hand under the back of his head as his dad swooped in and picked him up.   The mom, the dad, the closest CM and I were all clucking like biddy hens, offering apologies all around and making sure the baby was ok.   He was only a little startled, cried for about 3 seconds then just looked at us all wide eyed.  No harm, no foul.   Scary end to the vacation, though.   My knee only hurt for a couple of days.
Thanks for reading!!

This sign was posted at the Meadow Campfire area when I visited the Fort last weekend:

 
Here we are with campsite prices at an all time high, and the campfire has been reduced to one hour. No sing-a-long, no chipmunks. They can’t even be bothered to set up a food service location to sell s’mores kits. The food truck is mainly parked at the settlement these days. 
I doubt the sing-a-long and chipmunks will ever be back.  No way is Disney going to allow “free” entertainment with characters anymore. 
Boo!
TCD

I'm in and sending hugs

For Monday, the plan was EPCOT.  9:30am RD time for resort guests.   We woke at 7am and picked up boarding group 93 for Ratatouille, with an estimated 2:35 pm time frame.  I also paid for the ILL to the Frozen,  11:25 am start time.  Then we got our LL for Soarin’ at 12:30pm.  Not too bad for a first day, while trying to figure out exactly how the Genie+ worked. 
One snag we ran into, was that I had linked an account on Genie+ for my husband, that was one I made back in 2014 for FP+ stuff.  It was not his usual MDE account.   So, he had to add his old account on his MDE to use it for Genie+.   He could not book ILL at all, because he had no park reservations or tickets on his MDE account.  It did allow him to book LL for me and the old account though, as long as he did not include his new account. 
The parking lot for EPCOT was open when we got there at 8:15 am.  We went right into the park, and were held in the ally between the guest services building and what is going to be the Guardians ride. The early entry plan was to head for Space 220, and get on the waitlist for the lounge.  The problem hit that the lounge started taking reservations the Wednesday before we got there, so they had ditched the waitlist.  But, the CM for Space 220 didn’t show up until 10:15am to tell the crowd this information, so we all wasted our morning waiting there.
Moving on with just a bit of a sour feel to our day, we wandered slowly to Regal Eagle to get the CP dining plan.  We stopped along the way and got the Linzer cookie from Bavaria, along with the stamp book for the Cookie Stroll.  That was a good cookie!  At Regal Eagle, they opened at 11am, and we easily got our CP reservation for 8:30pm. You have to buy your food immediately to get the CP entry, so an early lunch of American BBQ it is!  I had the pulled pork and Ed had the brisket.  The sauce selection was diverse.  Ed and I both liked the vinegar based sauce.  Probably would never have eaten there otherwise, as we have plenty of good BBQ in Texas.  Still, if you are craving meat, this is a good choice. 

After lunch, we traveled back to Norway for our Frozen LL.   On our first pass by the line around 10:30, the standby line was all the way out into the main walkway area passing Norway.  When we returned, the standby line was only just outside the door to the ride, at about a 25 minute wait.  We walked right on with the ILL.

We walked back to the Port of Entry area, and took pictures of and with the 50th anniversary statues there.  Got our Photo Pass photos with Spaceship earth, and one with Figment.   The Chase Visa Disney card photos are in the building next to World of Imagination, by the jumping water fountains.  We got our photos  (Virtual characters only), then walked towards the Land Pavilion.  We saw Winnie the Pooh interacting with a Christmas present out in a field.   It was cute, but sad that he had to be so far from the crowd.  At noon, I picked up at 1pm Living with the Land LL.  Standby was 15 minutes, but I figured 15 minutes saved was still worth it.
 

One girl was up early ready to go the other I had to wake up. We got ready had breakfast and walked up to the little store they have. They have discount tickets for Hershey attractions. Got are tickets and my niece showed me a sweatshirt she was thinking of buying. We made the short walk back to the site and piled into the van.
 This morning we are going to Hershey Gardens. This was a first for all of us. It was a hot sunny day. They have those sun blocker umbrellas you can borrow. The gardens are beautiful and they have a butterfly room. The girls walked around with us for a bit and then went on their own.  It wasn't to crowded which was nice. We spent a couple of hours here and the girls wanted lunch.
We made a quick stop at the grocery store that was 5 min down the road and picked up some things for lunch and dinner for the next of couple of days.
Back at the site we had lunch and we put the AC on in the camper. The pool was closed for cleaning so, the girls relaxed and the hubby and I walked around the campground.
While walking it started to get dark and looking like rain. We headed back but, not in time a brief shower went through. It was almost done when we made it back. We got the girls ready tonight we are going to the theme park. 

We just got back from a trip to the sweet spot. Any guesses? Here is a hint chocolate. 
 This was the first time out in are new to us travel trailer. In this trip is my husband my self and 2 older teen nieces. One from my side and one from my husbands side. My one niece picked the place so she was really excited. The girls did not know about the new camper we kept it a surprise. We parked around the corner when we picked them up and they really got excited to see the camper. 
 We have memberships at six flags with dinning and would be driving right past it. We decided to make a quick stop remember that word and get something to eat since it is already paid for. We have about a 45 min drive to get here. About half way my husband notices the lights on the camper have stopped working. We pull over and the turn signals and brake lights work just not the running lights. It is not dark out yet so we continue on he will look at it more when we get there. We arrive and park in the busses lot and run in. We get are food and are snack and, eat real quick. My husband heads out to look at the lights I stay with the girls they want to ride one coaster. 
 The line was longer than we thought I was getting a bit nervous we had to get going. I had not heard from my husband but was not worried. After the ride we refill are soda cups and hit the bathroom. I rush the girls along and we make are way back to the van and camper. As we get closer I see the back door open to the van and my husband still working on the lights. At this point it's been a little over a hour. Now I know why he never called me.
 Do we fix the lights or head back home?

Am I the only one that likes to wing it?  who knows what I'll be in the mood for to eat or what ride I want to try 3 months or more ahead of time let alone that very morning.

I used the fax number for my brothers site and mine and i got them on my Sept trip.

Here’s a link where you can see the official Meadow Trading Post hours of operation: 
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/shops/campsites-at-fort-wilderness-resort/meadow-trading-post/
Be forewarned that you may be turned away from visiting to shop depending on who is working the guard shack. They have been very restrictive in allowing visitors due to the pandemic. 
TCD

The video thing really gets me.  Put the electronic device down and experience the event in person.  Otherwise, stay home and watch it on TV.  Maybe I'm just an old fuddy-duddy.

We decorate the site / cabin and cart in December Its become tradition to decorate the cart before the bags are unpacked....

I'm actually hoping that they use this time wisely.  They'll have two weeks with NO guests.  CLEAN the parks.  Paint.  Make repairs.  Get more done than you ever could possibly under normal circumstances... this is my hope.  But... who knows. 

I have been watching the Fort change since 1979. And while a lot of the changes we haven't loved some have turned out ok. Our least favorite has been the price increase. At this point I don't like all the changes that are going on at the Fort, but it may turn out to be great we haven't seen the final work yet.  So I am hoping the Disney magic will somehow keep the Fort a great place to camp.

It is a shame what the settlement has become. The replacement beach is a slap in the face to campers. Our last trip I didn't even attempt to find a rocking chair at Crocketts 

Welcome!!! Transferring reservations is almost impossible. The better solution is to have a travel agent continuously look for you. [email protected] is excellent at dogging the reservation system and finding what you need 🙂