Memphis

But what does the Great Wall of China smell like? 

Oh man. My dinner plans just changed.  

Tri-Circle-D, on 20 Aug 2014 - 3:37 PM, said:
  If we get a hurricane in the area and the home centers run out of plywood I know where I'm going.  

TCD, thanks again for this awesome report. This knockoff mini Fort place is fascinating.
 
Now I have to do some Troll RantingTM. Please know that I am very envious that you got to go here and experience all this. If I had the bucks and the vacation time, I'd love to do it, too.
 
That said, something needs to be announced.
 
<TROLL RANT>
 
This place effing sucks. 
 
There.
 
I said it.
 
It's not even up to Universal standards, much less Disney. To prove this point, let's look at TCD's exhibit:
 

 
Look at that effing display case. Now I ask you, is there any square inch on WDW property where a display case would have empty hangers in it? The left side of the case has got nothing in it. Fail.

And TCD posted a pic of the trading post earlier. I should go find it. Outside of the trading post they had t-shirt racks set up on the porch! UNACCEPTABLE! That screams Dollar General, not Disney property!
 
Fail! 
 
You European people are FAIL! You hear me? FAIL! I always have to listen to these pseudo-intellectuals say, "Well, the way they do it in Europe is..."
 
Who gives a flying crap how they do it in Europe?!?
 
They can take their half-empty display cases, their grocery stores that require customers to bring their own grocery bags, their grocery store checkout girls who sit down at the register, their convenience store "refrigerated" glass cases set at 84 degrees to "Go Green," their "you must separate your garbage into six different recycling bins," their $12 warm Barbie doll glasses of orange juice, their $6 per gallon "petrol," their highways lacking yellow lines, their "Oh, over here you pay per person at a hotel, not per room," their "Soda refills? What's that?", their "We brought you a basket of bread with your dinner...you thought it came with the dinner like it does in the US...but no, we charged you extra, sucker," their "Oh, you want a glass of water with your meal? Hold on...I'll get you a bottle of Perrier...and then when you say, No, I want regular water, I'll pretend like I don't know what you're saying," their "What's that? You don't smoke cigarettes? Too bad. I'm smoking right next to you and blowing the smoke in your direction..."

...AND STUFF IT!
 
I bet those European people, when they come over here and see our awesome, properly done, superpower Disney World attractions, like, say, the Wilderness Lodge, I bet they get overwhelmed, get weak in the knees, and then urinate on themselves.
 
</TROLL RANT>

Did you notice that Disney has already declared "Frozen" a classic and put a short clip in the montage?  I am sure it will be but doesn't it take some time before you can call it classic?  

Oh look another way to increase prices.  Will the drinks cost more in the summer, coffee and hot chocolate in the winter?   

So I've been messing around with a cnc router I have access to and came up with a few designs. First one is a clock, made from plywood and a scrap piece of hardwood. I set the router to .125 deep and used a torch to age it before lacquer top coat. That was before I got the clock parts at michaels.
Second one is a camp sign for the fort. Made out of glued up scrap cherry strips. V bit letters and detail lines with a ball end mill pocket around the disney text. I'm going to paint the interior letters black and restain after paint. I'm using sikkens cetol 1 topcat. I'm going to add an led light and hang it from a tree branch style frame. Just thought I'd share.

This is a very cool upgrade. Thank goodness Disney farmed it out to an outside vendor and didn't let the MDE and MB crew try to set it up. I would hate to have to schedule my laundry 180 days out only to find out when I arrived that the system had crashed and Disney put a bucket and a HDDR wash board in front of the door. 

This is a very cool upgrade. Thank goodness Disney farmed it out to an outside vendor and didn't let the MDE and MB crew try to set it up. I would hate to have to schedule my laundry 180 days out only to find out when I arrived that the system had crashed and Disney put a bucket and a HDDR wash board in front of the door. 

This is a very cool upgrade. Thank goodness Disney farmed it out to an outside vendor and didn't let the MDE and MB crew try to set it up. I would hate to have to schedule my laundry 180 days out only to find out when I arrived that the system had crashed and Disney put a bucket and a HDDR wash board in front of the door. 

This is a very cool upgrade. Thank goodness Disney farmed it out to an outside vendor and didn't let the MDE and MB crew try to set it up. I would hate to have to schedule my laundry 180 days out only to find out when I arrived that the system had crashed and Disney put a bucket and a HDDR wash board in front of the door. 

Never forget a P! It's bad for your health. 

Free Dining offered for campsites when booked between April 1st and April Fool  

Someone on FB  got a Pic in October 2010
 

Cindy might just get HER castle back.   

Well, when we lived in Atlanta we found the mountains of western North Carolina and decided that would be our retirement home.  So, we found 3 acres with 450' on a native trout stream and built a home for our trailer.  This photo was taken during construction.  Now, 8 years later the grass is nice and green and I have added concrete walkways around the building and driveway in front.
 

 
 
The door is 15 feet wide and 14 feet tall with full clearance for the trailer the entire length of the barn.  I went ahead and built it 50 feed deep in case we decided to move up to a coach.  The road out front is two lane paved, but there is a ditch across the street - so it took a little practice backing the big trailer in.  Now, after a few times doing it it's easy peazy.  Last time I did it at 1AM with no spotter.  i just had to get out a couple of times to convince myself it was going in OK.
 
To the left of the door is an efficiency apartment with kitchen, shower and laundry facilities.
 
I have even added two campsites down by the creek with water and electric (20/30/50 amp).  My own little campground

Ok.....so I posted in the last update how we had 5 Fort days of relaxation.  
 
Well, on the 26th, we just hung around the Fort and prepared for the one thing I had most looked forward to on this trip.  
 
The Fiend Grand Gathering!!!
 
But here's the problem.  I don't have a single picture from 12/26.  
 
:rofl2:
 
Yep.  It's true.  I thoroughly enjoyed the 26th.  
 
I met so many people I hadn't previously met.  And saw some FrIENDS I hadn't seen in a while.  
 
But I didn't take a single picture.  
 
I visited.  I enjoyed.  And I knew that Kelly had my back.  
 
She took pictures of the gathering.  And if you haven't seen them, you haven't read her report.  So go read it.  
 
In any case, the 26th was a great day.  But it ended and became the 27th.  Which was also a good day!  
 
I had made a reservation for INC and I to go out that night.  But before we got to that point, we enjoyed our day.  We went to DTD with the kids and walked around a bit.  It looks like we sat with Pooh.
 

 
And we visited with Tigger.
 

 
I'm beginning to think this is a Trip Report about nothing.  
 
We did go into the co-op store....or whatever it is called.  It had some cool things like these WDW garbage can salt and pepper shakers.
 

 
I have to admit those are pretty cool.  
 
They had some awesome coffee mugs in that store too....and one in particular caught my eye.  As it turns out, DD17 bought it for me for my birthday.  It's this one.
 

 
That's a cool mug, right?  
 
So anyways, that afternoon I took Stella to the pool.  
 

 

 
That kid loves the pool.  She could spend all day there.
 
The pool entertainment CM's started up the pool party, and she was right there in the middle of it.  
 

 

 

 
After the pool party, we swam some more.  
 

 

 

 
It was some nice Daddy Daughter time.
 

 
We took turns going down the slide.
 
And then I had the bright idea of filming a trip down the slide.  
 
Unfortunately, being preoccupied with starting the camera while watching for the green light, I wasn't really paying attention to my launch.  And when I went, my one leg got caught and it twisted me around, pulling something in my knee.  So I ended up hobbled.  
 
But the film is sort of entertaining.  Watch the beginning....and you can see how my entire body was flipped around.  Knee and all.  
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzomvU8ddqA&feature=youtu.be
 
That evening was my date with INC....and now I had a sore knee.  
 
But it didn't stop me.  
 
I'm a trooper that way.  
 
We had dinner plans at California Grill.  They were on the early side....at 5:40 pm.  But we wanted to watch the fireworks from up there.  
 
Would it all work out?  Would we enjoy our meal?  Would be have a good time....and exactly how far is it to run all the way around the Seven Seas Lagoon if the monorails go down?  
 
Yes, that is foreshadowing.  
 
Coming up.....

Drink station will be open 11am-9pm
Also don't give up on the Smothered Hot Dog. "Ask and you may receive". :D

2 16 oz Porterhouses cooked to perfection over a wood fire, 2 Baked potatoes bigger than your fist with butter, sour cream cheddar cheese and bacon crumbles,  all you can eat salad and Texas toast.    Your choice of beverage (including adult)  No ADR required, guaranteed no wait table service all for about $20 and I don't have to leave my site.

Why does the check in almost never look like that when we check in. 

Well no wonder they are having trouble with MDE and MBs they are doing it in the wrong parks. 

I thought Mo was our concierge desk.   They forgot to mention the game will be on at about every 3rd site in the campground.

Anyone else notice how clear the pictures got when he got back to the Fort with a drink in his hand.  
 
Wow That's a lot of construction.  I didn't realize how big the project was. Thanks for the update.  

I read on a FB page that the high top tables have been removed and the Rocking Chairs are back as of today!
 

The real story is the mans wife caught him out on the deck with a another woman and she knocked him overboard. At least that is the story his wife told me. And I believe her.  Wave has no reason to lie.