Brent... Just Brent

Hope this hasn't already been posted elsewhere, but I read about it in the AllEars.net newsletter.

Trail's End Restaurant at the Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground has a new baked potato bar during the dinner buffet offered each evening. Top your salted baked potato with melted cheese, fresh bacon, and a variety of other toppings.

Just thought I'd pass along!

Good luck with the purchase!!!

Thanks! I actually ran across a T@B that was a great bargain. It was the model with the kitchen inside. Unfortunately, it just wasn't quite big enough since I usually have a few friends with me. Was hard passing that one up!

I second or third of fourth what everyone else said. Bud and Bud Light. The Sangria is made from a pretty cheap red wine, so be careful with it. It goes down easy, but you'll pay the next day.

Glad you had a great trip and.... WELCOME!

Well put! I totally agree.

Unless a product is just cheaply made garbage, there are gems everywhere. doesn't matter the brand or location.

Have fun!

Thanks. It's a big decision. I think it's a sound purchase.

I've never heard of a lifetime warranty on any camper part from any manufacturer. I have seen a 12 year warranty on roof membranes. Note...this does not cover leaks due to improper maintenance of seams and caulking.

With any camper water is the enemy. Even if it is "new" I would check it from top to bottom paying special attention to the corners of the roof and floor for soft spots and/or leaks.

Not trying to be negative, but it is not uncommon for a trailer to be leaking even when new.

If you store it inside you will be a lot better off in the long run. If not, invest in the best cover that you can find.

I once let a camper sit outside and ruin. I was a tough lesson to learn.

Jayco builds a good product. They are a family owned business too.

I saw the warranty was linked below. That was a big selling point. I have a garage space for it. I'll do a more thorough inspection before I commit to the purchase.

Jayco makes a very good unit still a smaller private company not affiliated with the larger rv makers you can feel safe in buying their unit. Some of our best times were in our pop up just getting older and spoiled so we now have the mom and pop 5th wheel.

I thought I wanted something bigger, but they just didn't "feel" right if that makes any sense. I loved some of the fifth wheels, though!

One question, is what year is it and what model? If it has been sittiing on the lot for a couple years, the tires are going to be shot soon. Check the dates on the tires and for cracking and if they are more than 2 years old, I would get them to give you new ones with the deal. Tires should be replaced every 5 years. So you would be losing out a couple years right there.

Jayco's are good products, built by the Amish and have a good warranty's. Good Luck, we love our PUP.

Best Regards,

Norm

The dealer claims it's been sitting inside its whole life. I'd doubt that except it doesn't look like it has ever seen sunlight. Thanks for the advice about the tires. I thought about that last night. I'll have a=to see what kind of negotiating I can do about those. It's a 2009 Jay Series 1006.

Actually, many of the pop up manufacturers went with lifetime warranty's on certain parts. Coleman (Fleetwood) started it many years ago with lifetime on floors and lift systems and for several years they had lifetime on the ABS roof. But, that was before Fleetwood sold the pop up business and the new owner couldn't make and money and closed the plant.

JAYCO's warranty:

http://www.jayco.com/php/warranty.php

I personally don't think you can go wrong with JAYCO. Totally family owned and have been since the 60's, they also own STARCRAFT and ENTEGRA COACH.

Thanks for posting that link!

Oh, and thanks for the feedback everyone. I really appreciate it. I was hoping people weren't going to blast away with tons of negatives, but I'd rather hear it now than later.

Not sure about popups, but Jayco warranties their hardsides for two years, while the industry standard is one.

According to the salesman it's lifetime to the original owner on roof and floor and then the two years on the things inside. 5 years on the canvas. The price plus the warranty was certainly a good incentive to buy.

Well, it's not a huge secret that I've been looking for a starter trailer for some time now. I called up a friend whose opinion I trust and we started looking in earnest. We spent two days at Camping World. Of course I liked what I couldn't afford. You know, the $70K 5th Wheel with a fireplace? Yeah... that was fantastic. Otherwise, I was frustrated. I couldn't stand up in some of the smaller trailers without hitting my head. And good luck fitting in the shower. My head was in the skylight. Overall extremely frustrating. I finally broke down and went to the mom and pop dealership in town today. It's in a sketchy part of town so I'd been avoiding it.

They mainly sell Jayco products, which I wasn't super excited about, but... I was up for looking. The salesman was pretty slimy, but tolerable. He showed me a new 22' Jayco trailer, no slides, that I really liked. The price was fair. I finally asked to see popups (Camping World doesn't sell those here). The first one we walked into was as good as sold. It was exactly what I'd been looking for. Even my friend, who was opposed to popups, agreed it was the perfect combination. It's a brand new unit that's been on the show floor a couple of years, but he had no problem coming down to NADA value of a used one. So, I told him I'd think about it until Monday since we couldn't do any paperwork today anyway. Does anyone have any popup advice? Specifically Jayco advice? I know it's far from top of the line, but it's a great deal on a starter unit - esp since it's being treated as new with the warranty and all.

Brent's picture of a nearly empty HDDR makes me sad somehow. And I'm wondering if I should suck it up and try to get back to it once more while I still can.

I don't think it's going anywhere anytime soon, but I'm no expert. I've seen the back row or two empty plenty of nights. Also, it's important to note that we decided to add the dining plan a week before the trip. I called and got ADR's at The Wave, Artist Point, Le Chefs, Mama Melrose, Sanaa, Flying Fish, Narcoose's, etc with no problem and at the times we wanted. It must have been a slow week.

Wow, Brent!

So were you sitting at a table, and the rest of the room was empty like that?

I had to idea that attendence was that bad!

I also didn't know you went to the HDDR so much.

Do you have a CM friend or something?

It costs more that a night's campsite rental to eat there!

TCD

Right. That's where we were sitting and the rest of the room behind us was completely empty. It, honestly, ruined the show. There couldn't have been more than 40 people in the room so it wasn't very lively and the energy wasn't there to keep the cast going. I was mostly sorry for my coworker who had never seen the show before.

One day I'll tell the story of my WDW connections, but they're nothing exciting. I used to contract out my services for WDW so I got to know a lot of people. A friend of mine actually performed in the show for quite a few years. She's long gone now, but those were good times. It seems like every time a group of us goes to WDW, that's what they want to do. So we do. It's not inexpensive, but if you're not paying for 5 the price for dinner is a lot easier to stomach.

I have to chime in on the HDDR a little bit. I've been going several times a year for at least 7 years now. In all those years, I've never seen anyone in the balcony for the late show. However... this summer I was there for work and went with a coworker. We chose the 9:30 show... and this is what the crowd looked like. I was completely shocked. This was also the night that they removed the HDD Polka and replaced it with the new song, so I at least expected some people there to hear that. Have they finally priced themselves out of the fried chicken market?

Probably the night before you got your limp fries, I got a lone rider (enough food for 3 people, btw) and mistakenly chose the fries. They weren't limp, but they were so salty even someone like me who loves salt couldn't handle them. I ended up throwing them out. Loving the TR so far!

This is just a quick follow up post to point out something in one of the photos in my last post.

(for some reason my spacing gets messed up when I try to edit my posts, so I am handling it this way).

Note how the two notice signs in front of Pioneer Hall are blank. They are currently experimenting with different start times for the Hoop Dee Doo Review, so the old signs were taken down. I think it's interesting that they have not put up new signs. I guess this is really just an experiment, and they're not sure what they are going to do:

TCD

I need to write my trip reports faster. You're scooping me on all the things I specifically took photos of to scoop you!

TCD! I'm in. Once again we missed each other. I was in the 1500 loop until Monday, and I can assure you it wasn't that busy then. In fact, most of the week prior the Fort was deserted. There were quite a few empty sites. Even the 2000 loop wasn't that busy I heard from friends over there. Glad you got the upgrade. The people in the 1500 loop were beyond obnoxious, especially early in the morning or late at night. All of the other loops seemed so tranquil and quiet in comparison. Can't wait to read more!

I'm in! Great start and thanks for sharing Anna's story.

Looks like everyone had a great time. Enjoyed the trip report!

SORRY! I've been a total slacker and haven't been posting like I should have been. And, to top it all off, I'm back at the Fort... TOMORROW! I'll get another update out soon (now that I don't have to compete with the Halloween GG reports. There was no "punch" when I was there, though maybe it's not too late for tomorrow. Hmmmmm

Works in Safari and on my iPhone. Great job!

I hear ya. We went the MH route and I enjoy it, but every month when I pay that payment and havn't used it recently, I think we should have gone with a small trailer. Good luck with your decision.

I hear Buffet is coming to Chucktown with tickets on sale in Feb(?).

He is. VERY excited! Tickets go on sale Nov 5. I just live a few minutes from the coliseum, so maybe I'll have a Fort Fiends tailgate.

Enjoying the trip report!

I thought you were going to look for a pop up? Decided against it?

Genia - I was. I somehow convinced myself that it wasn't the right time and that I wouldn't use it enough. I'll talk more about this later, but after this trip there was no doubt that I needed something. The problem was not wanting a MH due to maintenance and not really wanting a larger truck as a daily driver since I drive around downtown Charleston a good bit. All of those issues have worked themselves out, though, so a new-to-me travel trailer is in the works. I hope to have it all by my "work's finally done so I can relax for a week at the fort" trip in less than three weeks, but it's not looking good. I'm borrowing a hybrid for that trip if I don't have one of my own. No more being cold/hot and no more sleeping on the ground. Done.

Day 3 - Sunday, September 25

Today's plans were simple… do whatever I want. Since it was night 1 of camping, I was up pretty early. There was coffee and general relaxing in the sauna that was Orlando that week. I decided that maybe I'd go over to Animal Kingdom that morning and see a show, ride a few rides and eat some BBQ. Sounded simple enough.

Then this golf cart drove by. There was a guy driving it that looked familiar. It looked like the one and only TCD. Ha! I knew I'd seen a twin the day before. Could that have been Mrs. TCD with them? Could I have hit the jackpot? It looked like it. Using my incredible powers of deduction, I decided they were obviously staying in the 1500 loop, but I hadn't seen them when I was out and about. Hmmmm. So then I casually walked to the recycling bin nearby. When I turned around to walk back, I realized that TCD had been right next to me all along. Apparently I was in the 1 site at the Fort with enough shrub growth to obscure my view of the site next to me.

So there was a change of plan. Shower, TCD introductions and then Animal Kingdom.

Then, there was the flip flop incident. They stay in my gym bag and pretty much only get used there or at the Fort. Well, I slipped them on and made about three steps toward the comfort station and nearly busted my rear end. It appeared I'd blown out a flip flop. Clearly I'd stepped on a pop top at some point. Normally, at home, this would be no big deal. I have other pairs. At the Fort, however, I had one pair and there was no way I was going to shower without some sort of shower shoes. So, I did what anyone would do… I straight up McGyvered a solution with rope and what was left. It took a few tries, but I finally got it to hold long enough to shower and make it back.

Here are the flops.

New plan. Shower, TCD introductions, Animal Kingdom, shower shoes shopping.

When I got back from the comfort station everything was quiet over at TCD's site. I figured they'd run off to a park while I was gone and since it was 10am, they weren't leaving that day. I'd catch them when I got back. Only, I wasn't aware TCD was a speed packer and would be long gone by the time I returned. So close, but no spike! It would have been great to meet the one and only TCD, but that's how it goes. If you remember, we were just a few sites apart in February. I didn't realize it until I got home and was reading his trip report.

So I was off to Animal Kingdom. It was a nice morning to be in the park, Low crowds. Somewhere between Dinosaur and Everest I got a text from a friend who was visiting Orlando - part of the reason I was there. He wanted to go to Hollywood Studios with his kids and they wanted me to come. I was pretty excited to be able to catch up with them, so I headed over.

The ladies wanted to hit the sweet treats shop there on Hollywood. When we walked in, the girl making candies absolutely flipped out. She was gushing. Smiling like I've never seen. Speaking a language I didn't understand. She gave me and my friend this.

(FYI it's a marshmallow with sprinkles I later discovered).

Interesting, but we moved on. We hit the coaster and TOT. They were great. I loved hearing the girl's scream. When we got to the coaster, a cast member saw us coming and gave us two fast passes and sent us through the fast pass line. So odd. Did one of us look like someone? Who knows. We all know I'm not famous or on a reality show or something like that, so it couldn't have been me. I was getting a little uncomfortable with all the special treatment, though. Next thing you know, we were going to win a golf cart decorating contest and then hang out with rangers.

After that we hit Star Tours (where one of the girls got a little sick, but the other was the spy) and a little Toy Story… again with this walk on treatment. I hated to do it, but it looked like the bottom was about to fall out and it was getting windy, so I headed back to the Fort. As luck would have it, not one drop of rain. None. I sat there and waited patiently for it, though.

I really wanted this to be a Fort evening. I called up my friends staying in the 200 loop and they were hungry. We agreed to meet at the Marina and head over to WL to either eat Artist Point food at the bar or just hit Roarin' Forks. When I got to the settlement, this is what I saw

Holy cow at the crowds. When I saw HDDR in July the room was only about 1/3 full. Not tonight.

We ended up eating at Roarin' Forks. It was actually much better than I remembered it being. We sat outside and really enjoyed the weather and atmosphere. It was fantastic. We boated back just in time to catch Wishes! from the beach.

After Wishes! I wanted to see the EWP, but it was still about 30 minutes away. I decided it would be a good time to loop on foot to see some of the Halloween decorations and then grab an adult beverage from Crockets Tavern.

So, I got the drink, sat down in a rocking chair and this was the scene in front of me. Things had certainly cleared out since earlier. Wow. Perfect Fort night.

The EWP was great. I'll spare you all the photos unless Lou wants some. I probably even have a video I can post for him. Then it was back to the 1500 loop to get some shuteye. Monday was MK day.

Sounds simple…well. I got back and started getting settled in. I turned on the fans, poured a night cap, lost the shoes. Normal things. And then I heard it. BLARING 80's music. Now, I like 80's music, but it was about 11pm by this point. That's probably a bit late. Then I heard the singing. A lady, I'd guess 40's, scream-singing Rod Stewart and Journey. Screaming! Not ok. Then, someone turned the music down and she started talking about Rachel. And by talking, I mean screaming. She dropped the F bomb a good 20 times in 5 minutes… at the top of her lungs. Poor Rachel. She'd obviously stolen her man and her truck or something. This went on for about an hour. Finally security came cruising by. Then another. And another. The rest of the Fort was obviously left to fend for itself. She was still screaming. I could see their lights flashing. And then. THEN. Along came the sheriffs car. And that, fiends, was the end of that. From what I heard as I was snooping - err, taking a late night stroll, she was going to the local establishment decorated with bars… and her husband/boyfriend/dealer/whatever was to pack everything up and leave. Immediately. Wow. BTW, I have an audio recording of this, but it's not really family friendly, so I won't post it.

Now, I have to tell you I was completely fine with this decision. It needed to happen and she needed help. They were trouble and who knows what would have happened if they'd let her stay. But. And there's always a but. When TCD and I were in the 2000 loop in February, there were obnoxious guests crammed onto a couple of sites. They were endangering themselves and other guests by driving their Gator the wrong way, at night, 10 year olds driving, no adult supervision. They were also obnoxiously loud. They broke all the Fort rules…. but they weren't asked to leave. In fact, when I called the front desk they did send security, but they didn't even get out of their SUV. So a woman being loud and using profanity gets arrested and the site has to be vacated immediately. Obnoxious campers breaking multiple rules and endangering other guests don't even get a warning? I do have a problem with that…

I will now step down off my soap box.

After that it quieted down and it was a great night at the Fort.

Wasting away again in margarita ville

And much like the song, it was all my own fault that it happened.

I'm loving the pics of checkin. Getting me excited as we'll see those sights in 20 19 days!

For me, it's a weird feeling. I'm always super excited to know that I'm checking in, but also a little stressed since I know that I have to handle all of the setup.

Well, aren't you a silver tongued devil!

Now that I know what you look like, I'll have to keep an eye out for you in the future.

J/K

I'm enjoying your report and photos.

I love how we Fiends all share a common love for the Fort, but all come away with different experiences and views on things.

I am looking forward to the flip-flop blow out story.

TCD

I know not of what you speak? Silver tongued? No. Not at all!

I definitely think I have a different view of things. Half the time I'm alone, so I know that changes my view. I'm also up pretty late most nights, so I see things that a lot of people done. I'll spare everyone the details, but there's a lot happening at the Fort at 1am that you'll only stumble on once before you make sure everyone hears you coming in the future.

Day 1 - Friday September 23

Not much to say about this day. The plan was to leave home around 10am. As is always the case, 10am = noon in reality. I wasn't in a huge rush, though, since I was checking into the Fort on Saturday. I had a room reserved at the Comfort Suites near DTD. The drive down started out uneventful. It was cloudy and overcast. There is part of the drive that I absolutely love near Beaufort. I know there are some fiends that know the stretch of Hwy 17 I'm talking about - where it opens up from wooded area and you're driving right through the middle of the marsh.

The road is very different now since there are another two lanes. That photo is a year or so old.

The rest of the drive is nothing to snap photos of, trust me. The rest of SC and GA went smoothly. Jacksonville wasn't bad since I just beat rush hour, but that's where the rain started. and it rained. and rained. AND RAINED. Then, there was a giant thud. I have no idea what it was but it busted a giant crack in my windshield… which then grew and grew. Not how I wanted to start vacation, but it could have been worse.

I had plans to meet two friends in Epcot at 8. I got on I4 at 7, so I knew I'd be cutting it close. There was another accident and bad weather on I4, so that held up traffic. I finally made it to Epcot about 8:15 and dashed into the park. Literally DASHED. Illuminations was great. I had a beer to settle my nerves. Beer was great. And then I did it. I lost my car in the Epcot parking lot. As in I was that guy walking around for 10 minutes looking for it. I'd been in such a huge rush to get in the park, I never paid attention to where I parked. I, of course, eventually found it, but not before I looked like a total idiot to everyone leaving the park. Checked into the hotel and I do recommend it. It was a very nice room for the price.

OK, so now the fun stuff.

Day 2 - Saturday September 24

The plan was to sleep in since I figured I couldn't check into the Fort much before noon. I slept as long as possible, but I eventually got moving and ran to the Wal-Mart right down the road. I hadn't brought my Carol-recommended painters plastic liner and I also needed batteries. And beer. I found this Wal-Mart this summer when I was there for work since I was using the Planet Fitness in that shopping center. I have to admit, I never go to Wal-Mart, but this one is fairly tolerable and it's super easy to get to from the Fort on the "back roads."

I headed over to the Fort around noon. I took the long way to see this! (sorry for the finger.. I'm not "giving you the finger" at least)

I figured I could at least get the paperwork done and they'd text me when my site was ready. I had a different security guard and I can't remember his name. He asked the right questions and then directed me to the pull throughs to check in. I disobeyed him and headed inside. I sometimes just like to be difficult.

There was no line and Bren helped me. I complimented her on her name several times, but I don't think she ever really got it. Oh well. She was actually fantastic and a real cast member. Not a college program kid. She knew what she was talking about and she definitely knew the computer system. I'm sure they'll move her somewhere else, but if you see her she's who you want to deal with.

Anyway, she gave me all of my paperwork, made sure I didn't need a map, etc. I said, "No, I know my way to the 2000 loop." She said, "Well good luck finding site 1505 in there."

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I got assigned to the 1500 loop. I didn't request it. I didn't do anything. I just showed up. Shocking. Completely shocking. Later I discovered that there were only 5 sites booked in the 2000 loop, so it made a lot more sense, but still! I was pretty stoked.

I headed back and began to setup camp. My first thought about the 1500 loop - the sites are definitely smaller!

I had on my "I don't care if I sweat through these clothes because they're dirty anyway" clothes. Boy am I glad I did. It. Was. Hot. Wow. Hot and Humid even. I even wore a hat. I have a giant melon of a head, so I don't usually wear hates. I got setup and spotted this lovely 16 year old curly haired lady walking to the comfort station. She came back with her mom older sister. I thought it looked like a TCD twin, but there was only one. And she was with not-TCD. Interesting. I was obviously mistaken.

Finally the setup was mostly complete. So complete I forgot to take a photo. Here is one after I broke some things down near the end of the trip.

I cleaned myself up, changed and headed over to the pool. It was a perfect pool afternoon, but man it was crowded. Lots and lots of people there with coolers who were clearly not staying at the Fort, but that's been discussed elsewhere.

After the pool I got some texts from friends staying in the 200 loop. In a camper. With a/c. They were going to Epcot and wanted to know if I'd be interested in having a few drinks there with them. I was, so I got myself together, waited 30 min for an internal yellow bus and headed over.

I snapped this photo, but that's all for the night.

Sorry for all the blabbering in this post, but I promise it gets better! And there are more pics coming up. Plus, I stepped on a pop top and blew out my flip flop!

Great trip report Dave! That looks like a fantastic CG.

Funny, I grew up about 3 or so hours from Gatlinburg. My parents used to insist we force us to go there for summer vacation and I HATED it. I always wanted to go to Myrtle Beach or somewhere like that. Seeing your photos makes me wish I were there enjoying the great weather and scenery. Guess our tastes change as we get older.

I'd trade tent camping at the Fort in February anytime! Just need a good foam cell sleeping pad and zero degree rated sleeping bag with fleece liner! Put a bottle of hot water at the foot of the bag before sleeping and you're good to go!

I learned I had to take extra precautions half way through that trip to stay warm. I went out and bought a cot. Getting up off the ground made a huge difference since heat rises, but the minute you wake up and get out of the sleeping bag... that's a different story. Talking to my dad (who just retired after 35 or so years in the Army) last night, he agreed it was time for me to upgrade. More on that in the trip report wrap up.