fortpartyof4

We're supposed to be impressed?  The darn thing has steps, for crying out loud.  You want to impress someone?  Try shimmying up to the balcony of Pioneer Hall.  You do that, and THEN I'll be impressed.  

Damn skippy!  And you had the splinters to prove it!

I guess I'll come clean and admit that I have an actual ShamWow^TM (remember those?). That I use for this purpose.

 

I'm not sure it will soak up a 2 liter bottle of soda from a shag carpet, but it works fine to get the water off wet golf cart seats.

 

TCD

bahahaha

pun intended?

I would add to the cart parking tips that you cannot leave your cart in any of the lots overnight…….correct?

The Daytona KOA someone already mentioned is easy to get to from 95/I-4.  

We stayed at a small campground to watch the last shuttle launch and it is a very short drive from Orlando.  I cannot for the life of me recall the name but it's just minutes from 95.  I'll try to see if I can find it.

Anastasia is great, but way off of your route and hard to get reservations, depending on the dates.

There are a couple of other options in St. Augustine, Stage Coach is right off of 95, not fancy, but good for an overnight and easy to get to the beach - you just go right down 16 then on to US1 or on over to A1A in Vilano.  Another is the KOA in St. Augustine Beach, which again like Anastasia is way off of 95, there is a good bit of traffic to deal with and you have to take your RV over the intracoastal.  Lastly, there is North Beach Camp Resort in Vilano Beach, which is right across the street from the ocean in a less touristy area, very nice and less traffic (but also requires crossing the intracoastal).

We did this 2 years ago.  Stored it at a place off of 27 called 1st security.  Though, we left ours there from Thanksgiving until Christmas, then for the winter.  We got the name from Curtis here on FF who owns Fort Camper Rental…not sure if he still does, but he used to store his pop ups there when not in use.

The rent was pretty reasonable, around 65 or so per month, and it was secure.  Not far at all from the Fort.

Yeah, but what about this Go Fund Me Page from December, 2014, where they are asking for people to help them pay their mortgage.

 

Not even a year later, they have Annual Passes for a family of four, and are staying on WDW property?

 

https://www.gofundme.com/j5pxqs

 

TCD

TCD, you are some kind of super sleuth!

Actually, I am a little ashamed to admit that I made some observations based on the vehicle shown in the news clip, and the background of the fellow's video itself.  I am somewhat familiar with the various neighborhoods in St. Augustine, as my in-laws lived there for years, my mom lives there now, and I spent a lot of time there when I lived in FL.  There are some pretty iffy neighborhoods and a good bit of drug issues in certain parts of town (as in any town, but they used to have a pretty bad problem there).  Anyway, I also questioned how someone who lived like that could afford APs and frequent trips staying on property…..that's the part I am not proud of, but now seeing the info you uncovered, it does look like they may be mis-managing their income somewhat.  And, would explain why he believes he is owed something by Disney.

I was just going to say this. The magic file. Every complaint is logged and tracked. Guest relations and customer service has access to the files and any leader can request information when dealing with a guest. If something seems fishy the magic file can be checked. It's to protect Disneys interests from those who try to exploit policies. I bet he had a major file and they had had enough.

This is interesting info and could come in very handy if any of my charges get out of line when I am chaperoning the band trip to WDW this Nov…..hey you better straighten up or they will put you in their magic file and call your parents lol….

OMG, for some reason I had to watch the videos. It was like a train wreck, I couldn't look away.

 

Best Regards,

Norm

Me too.  I have way more important things to be doing but could not stop watching.

This popped up on our national news coverage up here in Philly last night…I immediately thought of you guys and thought I'd share it…but of course when I logged in to post it I find it's old news here!  You guys are on top of it!

Some of you may recall I used to live in Jacksonville, where this story was first reported.  Good ole Ken Amaro.  He was the local whistle-blower, pot stirrer, alarmist.  But cute as heck in his little bow tie.

This cat is a moron, plain and simple.  The original comment was stupid and uncalled for - for being placed on hold too long from the comfort of your room?  The poor kid who had the misfortune of ending up on the phone with this idiot probably just forgot to put him on hold, or maybe the hold music didn't come on for some reason and he actually WAS on hold.  I was once on hold with a CM for 2 HOURS.  HOURS.  In my CAR!  I was annoyed but made no threats or rude comments whatsoever.

His homemade video…..if you can get past his gross jiggly turkey neck where the camera/ipad is focused….is so damn ridiculous I cannot even count the stupid things he says in it.

The first thing that grabbed me is that they wanted to "get out of St. Augustine to get away from the crowds for the 450th anniversary celebration".  Hey, I know!  Let's go to WDW on a holiday weekend…….no crowds there!  Dolt.  Not to mention, your children really missed out on a tremendous opportunity to be part of a great celebration of our nation's oldest city.

I feel sorry for those kids.  And not just because of this incident.

The guy thinks he is owed something because he is a handicapped AP holder…..did I mention he is handicapped?  Because he does about a dozen times in his spiel…….has he not looked around while visiting Disney?  There are hundreds of other handicapped AP holders around the properties and in the parks, riding the buses…..Disney is quite accommodating and they get plenty of extra help if they need it from my observations…..he isn't owed anything!

This is my favorite response…..caveat hit the nail on the head:

Societal occurrences have driven us to this. People shooting up schools, theaters, churches and bombs being placed by mentally incompetent people have made it tough on the those just trying to live a law abiding life. There is now uproar about a kid that brought a homemade clock to a school. As someone that hopes to have grand kids someday, I am glad the cops and administrators over reacted. When it comes to protecting kids, I would much rather the authorities seek forgiveness than wait around for approval. Am I giving up,some precious rights, you bet. But who knows how to tell the difference between a bomb and a clock disguised as a bomb. Not me.
Same applies to this guy. How do you tell the difference between a meth cooker and someone who is not. Nametags?

I feel safer knowing Disney sets an example of zero tolerance. If I were a meth cooker and read this Facebook crap, it would cause me to avoid Disney altogether.

 

Since I couldn't get my Caraway Rye here, I decided to try one of these.

 

 

 

That beer ranked a solid "meh" on the DIT Beer Scale.  Too light and blah for me.  But I drank it nonetheless.  When I was done, I asked our server whether there was any way to get one of the beers from The Kitchen over there, and she said they aren't allowed to serve them but I was welcome to walk over there, get one and bring it back.  

 

That beer is brewed just minutes from where I grew up near Cooperstown, NY!  Sorry you didn't like it.

We will be in Cooperstown in July - my son is playing in the Dreams Park tournaments.  Can't wait!  I'll have to look for this beer and give it a try.

 

 

 

Wow.

 

So, we haven't seen a post from you around here in quite a while, and you have to come on here and bust my chops about my selfie skills?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good job.

 

Hope all is well with you and the boys.

 

 

 

It's "middle school mentality" - if I pick on you, in means I like you.

I spend a lot of time with kids that age.  I guess it rubs off on you.

Besides, would you rather I ruin your reputation by revealing how kind-hearted and sweet you are?

Oops - I just did :)

We are well, thank you - so crazy busy I am pretty sure we have lost our minds, but enjoying the ride!

I used to live about 15 min. from Stage Coach.  It's fine for an overnight but that's about it.  Make sure you have a surge protector, their hookups were dated last time we were there.

If there's been a lot of rain, be careful selecting a site.  Most of them are on grass and it can get messy, I have read about rigs getting stuck in the mud there.

It is comforting to me that even though I have been gone from FF a lot, and have missed out on so much, your selfies still suck.  The familiarity of it makes me feel right at home.

Carry on.

Congratulations on 20 years!  We celebrated 19 on the 18th of May.  Hoping we can also do some sort of trip next year, we will see…..

That vanilla beer sounds good!

How about a wedding photo?  

We have made this trip several times from Scranton , pa area and have found 81, 64, 17 95 a nice route.  However last trip there was a lot of construction where 17 joins up with 95 at Fredericksburg, va.    We always hit some congestion at 17/95 and at Richmond, after that it is easy sailing.  Have done  the 81 77 26 95 route and found the other ride easier, but that may just be me, and no it was not the steep grades coming off the mountains onto the coastal flats.  Newer trucks will hold a gear and we just coasted down at 55-60 barely touching brakes, just did not like this route.   Day one we usually stop a Roanoke rapids, crossroads rv park, then savannah ga (mainly because I like savannah and her food) day three it is a 5 hr ride to park... we travel with kids and dogs and found a 6-7 hr day keeps everyone happy.

 

Have fun

frank

We are just NE of Philly and take this very route.  Pretty out of the way considering 95 is 15 min. from our driveway but not worth the hassle of the large metro areas and their traffic and toll slow downs.  Except we don't use 81, we cross over on 30 to Gettysburg and pick up 15 there.

The only time we use 95 is if we leave late at night and do a "red eye" for the first leg, but not with our camper.

We also liked the CG at Pedro's, super easy access, cheap, clean, secure.  Crossroads another good one, and there's a nice Jellystone off of 95 near Emporia, VA.  I am totally with you on the 6-7 hours at a time, especially since my husband is the only driver when we're towing.  

Something that amazes me is the time some of you are able to devote to FortFiends.  I'll never catch up with all that is written.

This is my dilemma exactly.  I hope to one day have a huge block of time to read ALL of the TR's, like reading a good long book on a tranquil, tropical vacation.  I believe I am now almost a year behind <yikes!>

Congratulations Mo!  I have expressed my gratitude before, but will say it again……I am grateful to you and the other admins who do all the behind the scenes work to maintain this site.  I would add that I also appreciate the occasional posts you put on other social media sites to keep those of us who can't come by here very often in touch.  It also serves as a reminder to pop in and say hi.

And, I will echo what someone else already said about being away, then coming by for a visit and made to feel very welcome, no matter how long you've been gone.  Everyone here is so nice, and the sense of community stays the same even as the group continues to grow.

We checked in on a Monday.  Although, it was the Monday of the week between Christmas and New Year's, so hardly a good one to base anything on.  Arrived about 2 pm, site was ready and check in was seamless.

Checkout was another story - mass exodus on a Friday, also the day after New Year's Day, in addition to the influx of folks for the weekend.  Not that we had to stop up front or anything, but traffic was as bad as I have ever seen it there!

It's that dreaded drive past the overflowing check-in lanes, as you are totally bummed about leaving, seeing all those people just arriving and being so tempted to turn around!

For this last trip of ours, I got so bogged down with Christmas and preparing to travel to FL and visit family before our Fort stay, I totally forgot to send my fax.  I had it all printed out and intended to fax it once we got to Jacksonville, which would have been in that 5 day window, but never did.  I did online check-in and made a notation, plus called the front desk at the Fort the day before our arrival and made a request for 3 sites.  I didn't get any of them but the one we ended up on became a new favorite so it all worked out.

Prior to this time, I have always faxed and it has always worked for me, as recently as this past summer.  Right down to the specific site I asked for.

It just goes to show, it depends on who you talk to or who does or doesn't see your request.

So seriously- is that the east or west direction on 295? The only bridge I truly fear is Rt. 301 from MD to VA called the Harry P. Nice bridge. Let me tell you- it's brut get hairy nor nice.

East.

The west side has a bridge too, but not a suspension bridge, just a veeeerrry long one (I think it's a 2.5 or 3 mile span?).

As you see, opinions are divided here.  And, we have some thrill seekers!  Who needs BTMRR when you can whiz over the daunting bridges with an RV in tow in FL???  Who has done the one in St. Pete/Tampa (sunshine skyway, or something like that?)  We took that once in our SUV to go catch a spring training game in Bradenton…..really windy night and not fun at all!

Ditto to what everyone has said:  layers.  Also, I love those cheap fleece blankets for evening looping, movie under the stars, and viewing fireworks from the beach.  You can drag 'em everywhere and they keep you so nice and snuggly warm, but if they get all dirty you don't care!  And they clean up well in the end anyhow.  I have several Disney themed ones that stay in the camper.  Usually get them at Walmart.

Been so long since I've been able to read a TR.  Yours is perfect for those of us too far away to be able to visit the Fort or WDW in general.

Just the right mix of parks, food, Fort, and commentary.

Thanks for sharing your wonderful talent for photography!

This has been discussed many times on FF, in many threads.  95 or 295 through Jacksonville?

As someone who lived there for over 20 years and had to take the Dames Point bridge daily to work for many of them, I always chimed in with my two pennies and tried to tell everyone that 95 is better if you're towing or driving an RV.  (Dames Point is the big ole suspension bridge on 295)  The time saved isn't very significant, as 295 has gotten just as bad in terms of traffic sometimes, and since 95 has been expanded it isn't bad going through the city.

Today I saw this story posted on a friend's FB wall, and it confirmed the fears I have always had about that daggum scary bridge!  

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/story/traffic/2014/11/17/trucks-overturn-dames-point-bridge/19189183/

The first couple of days I heard a lot but not this week so far.  I know the kids are all discussing it.  The game being cancelled was such a shame for the East kids, as well as the West kids not involved.  It was their homecoming/senior night.  Our kids (East) are getting another chance, but the West kids don't due to the whole season being cancelled.

Nonetheless, I applaud the superintendent for his swift action and heavy punishment.  If what I have heard about it is true, it makes me sick - and makes me glad my boys don't play football!

Hi everyone!  Thank you so much for the birthday wishes!  I am so sorry I didn't see them until now.

My children and house renovations have been keeping me very, very busy and I haven't had a lot of time to go online.  I  miss all of you and you're never far from my thoughts!

Sadly, we took our camper out for the last time this past weekend.  But, we were able to do 3 fall camping trips and the weather was perfect and the leaves were exploding with color!  I love it up here!

Oh man, that is awful - people are so lame.  It must be creepy knowing you were home!  Is is really that profitable?  Seems like it has to be a pain extracting the copper from all of that rubber?  

I have to bring some stuff to ours later and am gonna check the cord!  Yikes!

Is there anything on the market to lock them into the unit when not in use?  Like the lock box for our surge protector?

I'm absolutely in shock. 

 

Speechless. 

 

I have wondered for years where that moose went to.  Some of you may remember my threads over at Voldy regarding it, and that carried over to here, ultimately culminating in a secret mission by TCD and me several years ago where we went backstage at Pioneer Hall in an attempt to free Melvin.  And despite what the trip report discussed...we didn't find him.  (I know, shocking).  I had to assume that he was long ago destroyed.  But apparently, he wasn't.  He was just sitting in some storage closet somewhere (maybe even backstage in Pioneer Hall....but probably elsewhere), and now someone is going to make bank by selling him. 

 

I really wish I could buy him.  But I can't see spending that kind of money on an old moose puppet.  Cool as it may be. 

 

Well, at least the mystery appears to have been solved.  Finally. 

Wait.  So are you saying that everything we read in a TCD TR isn't true?  That there may be some manufactured photos, notices, puppets, etc.?

Say it ain't so.

That kinda kills the magic for me.  ​And makes me look very, very dumb when I comment on references to such content in other threads……...

The worst part is that my parents couldn't see him for a while.  He was in the Naval Academy in Annapolis and got bit while sleeping in the barracks, which didn't have screens on the windows or A/C at that time (1979).  He was hospitalized for 6 weeks there, and lost so much time he had to drop out of the academy.  But it worked out for him, as the experience lead him to become a doctor and he's a Colonel in the Army.   

Oh man.  That really sounds awful!  But, I am glad it seems that it all worked out in the end.

One of my best friends was born on a military base in PR.  I can remember her mom telling us about their home on the base and how it had no windows or screens.  Now that I have been there, I cannot even imagine that!

My younger son recently spent a weekend at Annapolis with the Scouts.  They camped there, toured the military museum and went to a Navy game.