photogal06...Sommer

When we were there on 11/28, we waited about a half hour just to order. The whole ordering process was incredibly slow. Once we got through it and sat down, our food came within minutes. The whole time we were there, there were many empty seats, but when we left, the line to order was double what it was when we were waiting. The experience was worth it once, but we didn't do it again when we went back on 12/2. Anything they can do to streamline ordering is a good idea, I think!

Trying to save a bit of money, I booked Category 3 tickets for the Hoop-Dee-Doo on our recent trip.....cheapest seats, in the balcony, off to the side. We did the Tuesday, December 4 show at 4:00pm, and *everyone* attending was put in Category 1 seating! Imagine our surprise when we ended up with what I think are the best seats in the house.....center stage, about half way back! The show was great, the food was excellent, and there was a lot of interaction with the cast, because there were only about 20 tables filled for that show. The nice thing with an early show is that you can still easi

That seemed more true than ever for us this last trip......between the buses and the boats, I lost track of how many hours we stood and waited for transportation and then seemed to crawl to our destination! We've never had it be that consistently bad before.

I can't believe our trip is winding down! We have two more days here in the 900 loop before we have to head for home. We're in 907, if you want to stop and say hi! I've seen a few Fiend signs around but haven't met anybody yet except for Judy! How awesome is she?!?! She loaned us "Fiesty" for an evening so we could go looping and see all the lights! Dd was in heaven, and Judy is now her favorite person :) We've had such a great trip. We saw the Magic Kingdom opening two mornings, the kiss goodnight there one night, the Osborne lights for the first time, and ate a bunch of Lou Mongello's

Now groundhogs, I have that one taken care of. My dog Trixie (lab/pit mix) is crazy good at getting rid of those. I used to keep a tally on the wall of the number she killed, because it was so shockingly high (and we live in the city.) When she was little, she would drag the dead ones up 5 steps and deposit them outside the back door to show us. Do you know how hard it is to push open a door against a giant dead groundhog? Hard, I tell ya.

Same here! Have you had any luck? We've been trying to figure out for a few weeks how they're getting in and where they're going, and they have us stumped. When we get back from the Fort, I think we're going to have to cry uncle and call in a professional. Last time we did battle with them, we won pretty easily. I think they're smarter this time, lol!

Wow....I just sat down and read many, many pages of your TR! Loved it! I'm sorry you had bad things happen, but I'm so glad everything worked out well in the end :) Seeing the manatees like that must have been amazing. And I so love your new tea kettle---I just pointed that one out to DH on the Disney store website a couple of nights ago! We are just a week away from heading down ourselves, and your photos have me as excited as any official Disney photos out there---they are wonderful!

We almost always stay at River Park RV Park on the way down....it's in Valdosta, GA, just a couple of hours from the Fort. It's right off the highway but strangely not super noisy the way some are. There's a hotel between the campground and the highway, which helps block the noise. The landscaping is pretty, and the people who run it are nice. They have a fenced dog run, too. And it's inexpensive....always a plus for us, lol!

Great trip report! Mmmm...cupcakes for breakfast....you're my kind of person! Hope you got a chance to rest up after your whirlwind vacation!

Thanks to some freakishly warm weather, we are leaving in about an hour to take the new Sunseeker out on her maiden voyage (with us, anyway!) We're heading to the same place we camped with our old one about a month ago. Wish us luck!! We've had a crazy last few days trying to get to know it a bit and getting it all packed and ready to go! Thank you to everyone who offered me advice and shared your experiences. You all are the best!

Thanks for the input! I think things have changed on vehicle donation in the past few years. If I read correctly, I'd probably not be able to deduct more than $500 for it, unless the charity sold it for more and sent me the exact proper form stating the sale price. I revamped my craigslist strategy on it....making edits and bumping it up every day or every other day. It seems to have worked! We have a deposit down on it from a local person who wants to take it out west next summer, and he's planning to pay the balance and pick it up on Wednesday. And we have 3 or 4 people who are interest

Well, that's just great......not. We just discovered the cinnamon rolls at Main Street Bakery on our last trip, and that was going to be a new thing for us every trip. And we love Fountainview at Epcot....there's a photo of dd with her massive ice cream sandwich on the calendar I made last year.....it's a thing for us every trip. And I hate coffee!! And I hate seeing real-world stuff at WDW. Coke is bad enough. I guess I should be grateful we're getting one more trip in before the changes, right?! Glass half full....glass half full!

Dang, those are cute! They almost make me want to upgrade to a smartphone just so I can buy one (or four.)

Thanks, Jason! So, we're taking a new route with this. We have two local salvage yards, and I called both. One laughed at me when I asked if they bought used RVs for salvage (not nice!) and the other was very nice and said they do buy them but only if they're completely stripped inside. So they want only the metal, not any of the parts. I'm not ready to do that to it (yes, I'm still emotionally attached.) I checked on ebay, and things this vintage are selling for about what I'm asking, but they're being sold by dealers, which gives buyers some peace of mind that I can't offer. So new route

Michael---it's a 1990 on an '89 Ford chassis Jason---I wish you could buy it, too! I've dropped the price a lot from when we talked, and at this point, I'll take almost anything for her, but you are crazy far away! I'd offer to meet you half way if dh had a lick of vacation time left, but he's already having to finagle extra for our November Fort trip, lol!

Yep, pretty far....thanks!

I might be satisfied with scrap price (I have no idea what that is, really.) I'm in way over my head with this. It has a lot of new parts, including 2-yr-old tires with very low miles on them, and an engine we're told by our neighbors is worth quite a bit. The water heater and pump are new, as are a lot of other things. Parting it out might bring the best money, but I keep thinking it's a great old motorhome for the right person.....if only that right person would come along! I was hoping a salvage yard would be an easy way to make a little money and get the old girl out of the driveway!

We are having no luck selling our old RV. It's old. It needs some work. I've dropped the price to an extremely low amount, so I don't think it's the price....it's just a case of not finding the right buyer. And I really don't want to keep it through the winter. I'm going to call two junk/salvage yards tomorrow....both advertise that they take old cars, so I'm hoping they also take RVs. Have any of you sold an RV (or car) to one of these places? Any idea what I should expect? At this point, I'd probably accept a ridiculously low offer, just to be rid of it. Is this a situation where I s

Loving the TR so far! Bummer about the dog though...been there too many times, though never in my camera bag! Can't wait to see the rest of your trip. And lol about the guy falling off the Segway....I promised DD that when she's old enough we'll do the Segway Tour, but I'm secretly afraid I'll fall off. Hopefully whoever sees will be nice like you and not take a photo of it!

The kindle keyboard is awesome :dance: ! The e-ink screen is so easy on the eyes...you will love it! Mine is with me all of the time.

In general, we try to stay as far away as we can from comfort stations, because we'd rather be somewhere with less foot traffic, especially with our dogs who get overly excited when they see people walk by. However, Disney is an exception for us, because the comfort stations there are so nice! My dd actually prefers to shower at the CS, because it's super clean, more spacious than our rv shower, and she can take as long as she wants without running out of hot water, lol! I may actually use it myself this next trip, for the same reasons :) We still can't be too near one, because of the dogs

Yay, another fall trip---my favorite! Looks beautiful there!

How great that you could walk from your campsite to the trailhead! That place is going on my list for the next time we head to the Smoky Mtns. We've been to that part of TN 3 times, twice staying in Townsend at the little campground just down from the KOA as you head into Cades Cove, and once staying at River Edge in Pigeon Forge just as you head into the mountains. We've biked Cades Cove and done some hiking there, but we haven't visited the Gatlinburg side yet, and we love hiking short to mid-length trails.....to have a couple of options that start at the campground would be ideal! I'm gl

Exactly, Dave, lol!

I like Josh's blog and loved his photos of the Fort. So much of that merchandise will be mine come November, lol!