DisneyVampire

Soft opening is the 20th. CM dates are due to be the week before, but not confirmed. I'm working on definite information now.
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So after much research. The rumor is true. They will have the Gondola system running by the time the tower at the Coronado and Caribbean remodels are done.
I'm still trying to find out more information for everyone.
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Yes I know [emoji19] I wanted to go with the fam, but no such luck.
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I have information regarding the Trattoria Character breakfast.
Start date: 4/2
Starts booking: 2/23 - there will be a Disney blog about it
Characters- Rapunzel, Flynn, Ariel, and Prince Eric.
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Ever since Jason started this thread, I've been planning to get to the Fort to see this new Food Truck with my own eyes.
I was able to stop by this past weekend.
One thing I wasn't clear on is where, exactly, they were parking this thing.  It turns out that it's right to the side of the campfire area, along the sidewalk that leads into the 1400 loop:

The reports that the Chuckwagon was going to be removed were true.  All of them.  In fact, it's already gone:

In case anyone can't remember what used to be there, here's an old photo of the Chuckwagon in happier days:

In searching through my archives, this is the most recent photo I could find of the chuckwagon- this is from last April, and clearly something was going on with the wheels:

I'm going to miss that Chuckwagon.
It's been there as long as I've been visiting the Fort.
And, now it's gone.
You can see that new, shiny Food Truck from the site of the old Chuckwagon:

Since this new, shiny Food Truck is replacing something that I loved, I know I shouldn't like it. But, I kind of do.  I appreciate the effort they made to theme this Food Truck for the Fort.  Starting with the retro Mini Wini look and make sure you don't miss the assorted gear they have strapped to the roof.  I can see a canoe, paddles, a water ski, gas cans, lanterns, and more.  I don't think anyone would actually head down a highway with that much crap on their roof, but, still, it looks cool.
You can see here that they have added a concrete pad for the Food Truck.  That's good:

The last time I saw a Food Truck here, they just had it parked on the grass.  This was from the 4th of July in 2014:

Note that the concrete was not expanded yet.  But also note that they brought in some picnic tables and trash cans.  I think that would be a good idea to do now.
Now, let's get a good look at this thing.
Here's the front view.  I don't know if you can see it, but there's a map of Florida laying across the steering wheel.  Like they just drove up and parked this thing:

I'm sure you see that big Mickey emblem in the grill.
Here we are looking at the driver's side.  That golf cart there must be what they use to run the supplies out to the Food Truck:

Here we can see the big electric pole they installed for the truck.  There are no water or sewer connections, though.  Also, note all of the decals stuck on the back of the truck:

Here's a closer look at some of the decals.  Most of these relate to Wilderness Lodge- Fire Rock Geyser is the name of the geyser there; Whispering Canyon is the name of a restaurant at the Lodge;  Copper Creek is what they are calling the new DVC villas and cabins; Boulder Ridge is the new name for the old Villas at Wilderness Lodge (I don't know where the Cove is); I don't know of anyplace at Wilderness Lodge called Shady Point, but I'd bet money that it might be the name of the area where they are building cabins on the west side of the Lodge;  the "See America" sticker appears to just be a random sticker, but, again, I wonder if it has any connection to something at Wilderness Lodge:

Here's a closer look at the rest of the stickers on the back of the truck. I know of one Fiend who would love that My Laughing Place sticker!:

Let's take a closer look at these stickers:

Finally, we have a Fort Wilderness sticker, but a new-ish one. There's another Copper Creek sticker, and that round sticker refers to Boulder Ridge.  Note that it says "Rails to Trails" on the bottom.  That's a hint of the theme we will be seeing over at Boulder Ridge.
I think all those stickers are a nice touch.
Here's a side view from the back of the truck, looking at the passenger side:

As noted earlier in this thread, those old folding chairs are a nice touch.
Here we are on the side looking at the menu:

This sticker from the State was displayed in the front passenger window.  It's strange that it was just issued on January 26th, and expires already on April 1st:

There's another license displayed in front of that sticker:

I think that's enough Food Truck photos.
Here's another look at that sad plastic fence around where the Chuckwagon used to be:

You can see it in that last photo that one of the beverage carts that they used to park down near Pioneer Hall is now here near the projection building.  You can see it better in this photo:

I'm not sure what that is used for, but maybe they are selling something else over there during the campfires?
It's strange looking at the back of the Theater Under the Stars and not seeing the Chuckwagon:

The Food Truck was attracting customers:

I didn't see any hours of operation posted anywhere around the Food Truck,  I was there around 3 pm, and they were open for business then.  Later, I found this sign posted in Settlement Trading Post telling us the hours the Food Truck is currently open:

I'm sure that operating hours may be adjusted depending on how busy the Fort is, and how business goes. 
TCD

I have information regarding the Trattoria Character breakfast.
Start date: 4/2
Starts booking: 2/23 - there will be a Disney blog about it
Characters- Rapunzel, Flynn, Ariel, and Prince Eric.
Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

I have information regarding the Trattoria Character breakfast.
Start date: 4/2
Starts booking: 2/23 - there will be a Disney blog about it
Characters- Rapunzel, Flynn, Ariel, and Prince Eric.
Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

I have information regarding the Trattoria Character breakfast.
Start date: 4/2
Starts booking: 2/23 - there will be a Disney blog about it
Characters- Rapunzel, Flynn, Ariel, and Prince Eric.
Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

Rode along side this guy today on I-75 South. I just knew he was going to the Fort with that golf cart in tow. We finally got next to his drivers window and DH held up our passholder magnet, that had been in the glove box. He nodded his head "yes" and gave us a thumbs up. 

Whoever he is, he drives that thing like a pro. We encounter lots and lots of campers and motorhomes on the highway here and many of them are fairly timid drivers. This guy was doing 80-85 mph all the way and easily passing and changing lanes. He's got to have a LOT of experience driving that thing or he's a truck driver. He never cut anyone off or anything, he judged his size perfectly every time, and there was quite a bit of traffic. I need those skills. 

-laughs- Yes. Even with my availability for discounts I can't even afford it.
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Wind and Waves took over as of December 18th. Great place.
They still have the pirate dinner and brunch as well at SeaGrape.
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The suggestion that has been made about having carts floating around for those on this board, and those who are Fort regulars, has been done.  I witnessed it myself many times in years past, and I know of some of the contributors to this thread have taken advantage of a very similar arrangement.
As many have stated, Disney put their foot down on outside cart rental vendors, as well as scaring off those of us willing to juggle carts on site.  
I've used Kenny for years.  Again, I concur with everyone that his service is above and beyond, but his product can be sub par.  The last time we had an issue, he made it right and we got a huge discount.  
When  I lived in FL, we used him for rentals and ultimately, service once we purchased our own cart.  Now that we travel from up North and do not bring our cart along, we are back to rentals.  On both fronts, his service is top notch.  I have an upcoming rental and am hoping for no issues, though am apprehensive reading recent posts on this thread.......
FWIW I try to schedule the pick up end of the labor intensive Kenny cart rental process with a grocery run.  Since we have multiple drivers in our party, we all go to the meeting place, one will take the job of running the cart over while the rest of us hit the Winn Dixie or Walmart and stock up on supplies needed.  By the time both of us are done, it's time to return to the Fort and do some looping.  Usually works out unless it's raining!

Here's a review from tonight. I like following his page, he works for Southwest and goes to a lot of the parks. He's not a blogger really, so I'm pretty sure it's all on his dime. His FB is public so you can see it without being his friend.
(unrelated note he added some Sea World dining pass to his AP and it's interesting to see when he posts how much he paid initially and how much he's eaten). 
 
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10158472503905713&id=832165712

That's one of the names they're using for the new DVC addition they're building at Wilderness Lodge. They're calling the DVC villas Boulder Ridge and the new cabins are called Copper Creek Canyon. Or something like that. 
TCD

The SKU is 400000677880 if that helps.

Stick around Dinoland..... in the evening they offer it. They "might" be able to let you in. Not Guarenteed.
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Update:

Tomorrow the Disney blog will be posted about ROL around 10 am. In the morning there will be dining packages available.

They will have some great surprise days for DVC members and AP holders in the upcoming days til the grand opening on the 17th.

Pandora will be opening on 5/27 officially. However of course Disney style there will be a soft opening the days prior. Days for Cast, DVC, and AP are soon to be released.

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From what I know about the show there was or supposed to be more than that. However, not seeing the show yet.... I cannot confirm. That was only a trial run from the schedule I have. They will be doing more through out the week.
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Good job.
You were right about all of this!
You really did scoop the other sites full of so-called experts.
TCD

Update:

Tomorrow the Disney blog will be posted about ROL around 10 am. In the morning there will be dining packages available.

They will have some great surprise days for DVC members and AP holders in the upcoming days til the grand opening on the 17th.

Pandora will be opening on 5/27 officially. However of course Disney style there will be a soft opening the days prior. Days for Cast, DVC, and AP are soon to be released.

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Thanks for letting me know that. Lol I always wondered about retirement.
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So Just got home from being a weekend warrior at the Fort. It was a last minute decision that worked out for the best. I saw some new Signs from other guests and thought I'd share. I don't know where they got them from, but they were cute.
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I will know by the end of day.
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I was there this weekend and saw them. The food items are great (tried them all) but if you cannot eat spicy food, have them take off the horseradish sauce.

It only started this weekend, but they have big plans for it after talking to the chef. It will be taking over the old chuck wagon that was there for 30 years.

In the upcoming months they plan to park it up front in the mornings near the buses to offer grab and go breakfast items, including coffee, cocoa, egg sandwiches, bagels, and muffins.

I loved it and it looked like others did too.



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So Just got home from being a weekend warrior at the Fort. It was a last minute decision that worked out for the best. I saw some new Signs from other guests and thought I'd share. I don't know where they got them from, but they were cute.
Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk