rdancemom... Pam

ruh-roh rooby... butt pictures... now i know why the Lord set it up so I'd have to stay home. LOL he was just covering my butt... :rofl2: :rofl2:

Actually Bill is right about firemen and policemen.... And a fireman's hero is a true super hero.... You may know her as Mom....

She might call AAA south to ask about an advance purchase but pretty sure she'd need to be there with a FL id in order to verify/activate the tickets at the gate.
It's unlikely you would be able to buy tickets and then get a refund but you might possibly be able to buy them one or two day passes for only the days you need and then use those to upgrade to a more expensive FL resident pass. Not sure, but it's an avenue to explore I suppose. If you call GS remember to document any answers by noting the time/date/CM b/c this sounds like a question you're likely to get multiple replies on. If it didn't work, you'd be no worse off as you could still upgrade the kids' passes for the additional days you needed without the FL discount...

Would it be worth it?

:partythree: Happy Birthday!! :partythree:

Don't forget Anna has LOTS of Aunts and Uncles. I think we could arrange an evening or afternoon for 2 :)

Great update, Dave!
I loved the safari commentary.
I think you should become a driver for the safari.
You are a lot better than what they have there now.
It's funny that you mention stopping to see shows now. This is something that the girls and I started doing recently. Parades too. I used to never watch the parades. We needed to ride the rides! But, the parades and shows are pretty good.
I have a comment for Aaron:
That is exactly how you will feel.
Plus, if you have more than one kid you're trying to watch, you will also feel like one of them is going to end up missing.
And, for the love of Fuego, do not let them into the giant sandbox with the buried dinosaur bones. My kids loved that. I would rather watch paint dry.
I never understood why they didn't put a bar in there. They would make a fortune from the trapped parents.
TCD

Uhhh, no, but only because I need to organize my ping pong ball collection that week. What a coincidence.

Being a sometimes single woman with some physical limitations, I would NEVER have gone camping alone. But with the Fiends I do it all the time. I know they're there to help me if I need it, they keep an eye on me, they oftentimes feed me (I hate cooking), they've become my shrinks, they're great marriage counselors, always there when you need them, they're entertaining, and they're simply kind and loving people. I'm closer to some of them than to members of my family. They ARE family to me! And I love them :heartsmiley:

There sure are a lot of new informative & entertaining posts here every day. Mo's above was almost long enough to make me worry about losing my unofficial official longest post poster status. I should ramble a bit now just to be sure she doesn't get my title. Instead I've got to tel you about something that just happened.
I opened this thread a few minutes ago to catch up, only to be interrupted by a phone call from a fiend on the other end of the country who was standing in a long line waiting to pick up an almost-impossible-to-get-rather-pricey-disney-treasure I only mentioned wanting here yesterday. When I asked if I could pay for it in advance, her response was "I trust you, we'll take care of it when i get home." I have family members who wouldn't be this kind and I'm sure some of you probably do too. I am sitting here at this moment totally amazed - and not for the first time I might add - at the friendship & generosity of fiends.
I've said it before and I'll say it again --- FIENDS RULE!! :heartsmiley:

There sure are a lot of new informative & entertaining posts here every day. Mo's above was almost long enough to make me worry about losing my unofficial official longest post poster status. I should ramble a bit now just to be sure she doesn't get my title. Instead I've got to tel you about something that just happened.
I opened this thread a few minutes ago to catch up, only to be interrupted by a phone call from a fiend on the other end of the country who was standing in a long line waiting to pick up an almost-impossible-to-get-rather-pricey-disney-treasure I only mentioned wanting here yesterday. When I asked if I could pay for it in advance, her response was "I trust you, we'll take care of it when i get home." I have family members who wouldn't be this kind and I'm sure some of you probably do too. I am sitting here at this moment totally amazed - and not for the first time I might add - at the friendship & generosity of fiends.
I've said it before and I'll say it again --- FIENDS RULE!! :heartsmiley:

There sure are a lot of new informative & entertaining posts here every day. Mo's above was almost long enough to make me worry about losing my unofficial official longest post poster status. I should ramble a bit now just to be sure she doesn't get my title. Instead I've got to tel you about something that just happened.
I opened this thread a few minutes ago to catch up, only to be interrupted by a phone call from a fiend on the other end of the country who was standing in a long line waiting to pick up an almost-impossible-to-get-rather-pricey-disney-treasure I only mentioned wanting here yesterday. When I asked if I could pay for it in advance, her response was "I trust you, we'll take care of it when i get home." I have family members who wouldn't be this kind and I'm sure some of you probably do too. I am sitting here at this moment totally amazed - and not for the first time I might add - at the friendship & generosity of fiends.
I've said it before and I'll say it again --- FIENDS RULE!! :heartsmiley:

There sure are a lot of new informative & entertaining posts here every day. Mo's above was almost long enough to make me worry about losing my unofficial official longest post poster status. I should ramble a bit now just to be sure she doesn't get my title. Instead I've got to tel you about something that just happened.
I opened this thread a few minutes ago to catch up, only to be interrupted by a phone call from a fiend on the other end of the country who was standing in a long line waiting to pick up an almost-impossible-to-get-rather-pricey-disney-treasure I only mentioned wanting here yesterday. When I asked if I could pay for it in advance, her response was "I trust you, we'll take care of it when i get home." I have family members who wouldn't be this kind and I'm sure some of you probably do too. I am sitting here at this moment totally amazed - and not for the first time I might add - at the friendship & generosity of fiends.
I've said it before and I'll say it again --- FIENDS RULE!! :heartsmiley:

There sure are a lot of new informative & entertaining posts here every day. Mo's above was almost long enough to make me worry about losing my unofficial official longest post poster status. I should ramble a bit now just to be sure she doesn't get my title. Instead I've got to tel you about something that just happened.
I opened this thread a few minutes ago to catch up, only to be interrupted by a phone call from a fiend on the other end of the country who was standing in a long line waiting to pick up an almost-impossible-to-get-rather-pricey-disney-treasure I only mentioned wanting here yesterday. When I asked if I could pay for it in advance, her response was "I trust you, we'll take care of it when i get home." I have family members who wouldn't be this kind and I'm sure some of you probably do too. I am sitting here at this moment totally amazed - and not for the first time I might add - at the friendship & generosity of fiends.
I've said it before and I'll say it again --- FIENDS RULE!! :heartsmiley:

I found this board last year and quietly sneaked in the back door. I managed to find my way to the chat room where I have met lots of wonderful fiends. We talk about fort things but mostly what is going on in our lives or whatever crazy thoughts come our way that night. I am not there often but when I do return I am always welcomed with open arms. I have been invited to GG outside of disney and at disney but just haven't been able to make my way there yet. That doesn't stop these wonderful poeple from trying to meet me and help me. I did get to meet one local fiend when I invited her to a camp out near me. Without hesitation, she jumped up and came running, and guess what, her fiend flag was a flying. Another local fiend reached out to me and let me know just how many local fiends were in the area (and where they all are). This really is a very large small community. Thank you everyone and maybe someday I will meet you in person!

When I go looping, I come across several Fort Fiends.net signs and if I see someone outside I'll stop and introduce myself. OK, I've knocked on a few doors too....lol. It's amazing that when I do they perk up and are more welcoming than any group I have ever seen. It's kind of like long lost friends you haven't seen in a long time, even though you may never have met, other than electronically. You can't go wrong with this group. So if you haven't jumped in yet, please do so and discover the best Walt Disney Lovin', Fort Wilderness Lovin' and camping anywhere Lovin' Fiends you could ever meet.

Something else to consider for those that might make the argument "well I just want information, not all the banter"
There are LOADS of places on the web to get "just the facts ma'am." Anyone ever heard of Google? Of course these days many of the topics you Google specific to the Fort will point you directly to FF.net! Hmm... I wonder why that is? After all, Google doesn't tend to rank you highly for just "banter."
I know for me, I come to a message board not just because I'm too lazy to find the answer for myself or I don't know where to look, but because I don't just want facts posted on some random website.
For starters, some of that information is just plain WRONG and if you only ever get your information there, chances are you're going to find that out the hard way. On top of that, many of these websites just regurgitate information from elsewhere - in other words, it's general, common knowledge vs truly helpful "inside" information from people that know it first hand.
I find that getting your information from a group of people that actually have first-hand experiences and REAL inside information is the best. Not only is it information you're not going to find elsewhere, but because all of us are different and have different interests, family dynamics, likes/dislikes... you're going to get a lot of different points of view on the same subject instead of ONE point of view from some internet know-it-all who thinks theirs is the only opinion that counts. :wave1:
Yes there are a lot of shenanigans, joking around and thread hijacking going on here. And thank goodness!!
Personally I find that to be something to look forward to, not just because I enjoy the Fiends in general (even you, Lou) but because the daily grind sucks and why would you NOT want to "hang out" somewhere people are actually having a good time?!
For those that say that some places are better off without certain people... hmm... let's break that down a bit...
FF.net has been in existence for almost 2 years. In that time we've grown to over 1000 members
Nearly 100 of our members have over 500 posts during that time.
We have new people joining almost every day, with many diving in head first and quickly becoming fixtures in the "new content" department.
We have a debate board and topics that cover things banned by other boards, and yet we have banned no one from these boards in 2 years. Not one person.
We don't just talk about GGs, we actually have them! Not a season goes by when there isn't a gathering of Fiends somewhere in the country - not just at the Fort!
We just had a Christmas card thread that resulted in a big group of Fiends spreading some holiday cheer with each other through the mail
We've had virtual baby showers, helped out Fiends in need, supported each other's causes and been there for each other - not just virtually but in person.

All that while other places that have eliminated all the fun have faded to mere shells of their former selves. And how do we know this? Because not a month goes by that we don't have someone new sign up saying "thank goodness I finally found you!"
And let's not forget that in between all that is some fantastic information and first-hand experiences, from many points of view, on the things that brought us all together in the first place - our love of Disney, camping and the Fort.
So while Disney may give the Fort a back seat most of the time, FortFiends.net puts the Fort front and center, with members at the Fort nearly EVERY DAY (actually this is the year I'm betting it's EVERY day!), and dozens of active trip reports that don't just show you the same photos of WDW over and over again and give you the thumbnail view of a week at the Fort. Our TR Fiends take amazing photos (and lots of them!) and give us TONS of great, current information on all things Fort Wilderness. They also entertain us with the particular styles of reporting (who would have guessed we'd have so many good writers here??) and really bring you in and make you feel like you were there.
Roll all that up in a ball, wrap a big purple bow around it and serve it up on a Snarky platter and I challenge anyone to find a better place on the interwebz to hang out and get information on the Fort and WDW... or a better group of FrIENDS anywhere!
:heartsmiley:

The new version may not be demonizing overweight people like the original, but it still sounds like something I have zero interest in when I'm ON VACATION! We spend every day working to provide healthy choices and positive messages to our kids. I really don't want to hear it from anyone else...not the government, not Hollywood, and certainly not Disney.
So let's play Match Game.
"Poor Disney. They just can't win. They came up with another bad idea for an attraction, so DaveInTN told them to take it and shove it up their tight, skinny, _________.

I'll take fairies over Hannah & the Jonas Bros any day too. I can't tell all the supplemental fairyfolk apart but I'm still pretty sure they'd make better role models anyway.
That purple crayon is downright scary. If you insist on drawing pictures of the fort without campers, maybe you could use lime green to make it look more realistic... :clint:

I know there at least a couple of us who appreciate the Disney Dooney & Bourke purses. I saw this Disney Style Snapshots - Behind the Scenes video on the disney parks blog today and thought it worth sharing...
http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2013/01/disney-style-snapshots-dooney-bourke-behind-the-scenes/

train tickets purchased. It means it's real now, right? A month to go! Taking Marty's lead and started to throw things in my bag. Will count my quarters this weekend! My change purse is getting heavy.

i thought of that but have to be the rebel b/c the real rebel hasn't ventured a guess yet...

You know, I have "heard" that other boards are better without certain people. (posted recently elsewhere)
Frankly, I don't know of anyone that would be better elsewhere but here. This is not the place where you just post a question and then "walk" away, never to return. It "sucks" you in, because family does that. Family takes care of you (sometimes whether they like you or not :rofl2: ) and will complain, and spit and moan for a while too. BUT THEY DO IT. Us Fiends, we do the helping willingly and without forethought. When I am at the Fort, I consider myself ON CALL. That means I am willing to go on missions, help out a fellow Fiend, recruit new membership, give up something I own for a fellow Fiend, or anything that is necessary. That is what we are about here. We are not a board that has been created out of chaos, but has become a family that no one could have possibly imagined. Many, many of us will be life-long friends, oops, FIENDS. No other place can claim that.
If you don't know what I speak of, join us and find out. You have NO CLUE what you are missing.

I'll just add that for those of you that might be shy about meeting up with the Fiends in person, please don't be!
I know it's one thing to "meet" people online vs in person, but this really is the most welcoming group of people. We showed up at Halloween a year ago, having only met a couple of people the year before, and dove head first into the middle of a whopper of a GG. Fiends greet you like you're their long lost friend and it never felt weird to be hugged by a perfect stranger... or hugging the ones that say they're not huggers.
Since then we've been fortunate enough to spend time with more and more Fiends, including a wonderful Thanksgiving gathering this past year. We only wish we lived closer to see people more often. (even you, Lou!)
All you need to fit into a Fiend GG is the ability to enjoy eating (all Fiend gatherings - large or small - are marked by ridiculous amounts of delicious food), drinking (beverage of your choice-although there's usually something around that will knock you on your hiney if you're not careful) and laughing until your sides hurt.
If I've learned nothing else from Bob it's that ALL ARE WELCOME... just bring a chair! :heartsmiley:

That's great, Lorna. I could give several examples to add to this list that would demonstrate the community that has developed here. And in case any lurkers or newbies think this is a "closed group" that is tight knit and wouldn't open their arms to them...I can tell you there are Fiends created every day, some that dive right in and sit around at grand gatherings laughing it up seated next to someone who's been around forever. There are a handful of Fiends that were at those early gatherings at the Fort, but most of us were not and are still members of the community, which is more like a family to me. And still other Fiends have not had the opportunity to meet any other Fiends at all in person, but they are still members of the community too by participating on the boards. Whether or not someone considers themselves a Fiend is up to them. There's no membership fee, no application, no tests or initiation. Just a desire to be part of a great group of people.