ceemike...Mike & Judy

We were staying in the 200 loop, so we didn't need to.  Other people got on a bus that pulled up, but I can't remember what color it was. 

 

We were at the beach on New Year's Eve itself, but after the fireworks walked back to our camper via the 100 loop near the trading Post.  So I didn't see what was going on at the Settlement Depot that night.

OK, thanks. Since the MK was open until 2AM on Thursday, anyone coming back to the Fort by bus or boat would have been in the same boat we were. 

We rode a bus from the Magic Kingdom to the Settlement depot on December 30th after the NYE fireworks that night (they shot them off the 30th and 31st).  The boats were suspended from operating until 1230 AM to make sure all was safe on the water, so the load was taken up by the busses.  We got on at magic Kingdom, rode to Wilderness Lodge, and then straight to the Settlement depot to save time.  Then the bus went back the same route for another load. 

When you got to the Settlement depot, did you take an internal bus to your site?  

Mike- I am confused by something you said in your initial post above. Are you saying two buses marked Magic Kingdom showed up at the Settlement Bus Stop?

TCD

TCD, that is correct.  Actually, it was three MK buses that came to the Settlement bus stop. The first one came while I was at the stop, and the other two came and departed while I was getting my car.  They all arrived and departed via W Wilderness Road. We figured they had been to WL and then used W Wilderness Rd as a shortcut to the Fort. The buses could have been turning onto Frontier Way to get to the Outpost bus stop, but we couldn't see if they turned or not.

The only color we saw on New Year's Eve was RED!  

On New Year's Eve, Judy and I and another couple ate a late dinner at Trail's End, then went down to the beach to watch the MK fireworks at midnight.  Afterwards, we took our time heading to the Settlement bus stop, getting there about 12:40 or so. We joined a crowd of well over 100 people waiting for a bus to take us out to the parking lot. A bus was loading when we arrived; someone said it was an express going to the parking lot.

After waiting for more than 30 minutes for a bus, and watching two buses come down Fort Wilderness Trail and turn right onto Big Pine Road, I walked over to the cart trail at the intersection to see if I could beg a ride to the parking lot from a passing golf cart. I encountered some Disney Recreation cast members and explained the situation to them and ask if they could help get some buses. One of the CMs had a radio and used it to talk to someone but basically they offered no help, just saying we should continue to wait.  I then flagged down a passing golf cart, and a nice couple drove me to the parking lot where I got my car and drove back to the Settlement bus stop to get the rest of my party. 

While I was getting my car, 2 Magic Kingdom buses came down W Wilderness Rd. The first MK bus left for the MK with no one on board but the 2nd MK bus was about to be "hijacked" by some upset people when a bus designated Magical Moments showed up and started loading people. That's when I arrived with my car and we loaded up and left. I don't know how or when the remaining people finally left. While I was driving on Ft Wilderness Rd to the Settlement bus stop, I noticed a number of families walking along Fort Wilderness Trail so I assume they gave up and walked back to their sites. It was now after 1:30 AM. 

What I'd like to know is why did Disney stop running the internal buses so soon after a major event like the fireworks, and why couldn't they put a sign at the bus stop letting people know when the last bus would depart?  

Going to Epcot on Wednesday for my birthday dinner at Le Cellier. Tried to get FPs for Soarin'. Found out it will be closed for refurb. Me sad. 

I took my grandsons to the MK on the 29th. We ate breakfast at Whispering Canyon Cafe at WL and took the boat to MK. As we approached the MK dock, the boat driver told us to be very patient, get & use FPs, and take advantage of the free ice water available from the counter service restaurants. It was about 10AM and the bag check lines were jammed, but we went in thru the no bag entrance. It took us 20 minutes to get back to Buzz Lightyear, our first FP, & we made it with a minute to spare. The standby wait time was close to 60 minutes. Next we rode the people mover until our FPs for 7DMT started. While on the people mover, Space Mountain went down and we got some video of the inside with the lights on. Pretty cool. Next we did 7DMT & the standby time was 105 minutes. I also noticed that Mickey's Philharmagic had a 30 minute wait time, which I think is very unusual.

After eating lunch at Pinocchio Haus the boys voted to bag our last FP for BTM & leave the park. It was about 1PM and the bag check area was almost empty. I don't think I've ever been in the MK during Christmas week, & I doubt I'll do it again. 

We just renewed our APs with the new Platinum Plus passes. We used to get the DVC discount price, but we sold our membership last year and bought a place in an RV park so now we get the FL resident price, which is the same. We're snowbirds and we go to the parks frequently so the APs are a pretty good deal for us. We like the new free PhotoPass feature.

The guy ahead of me in the bag check line was wearing a Sorcerer Mickey hat. No one checked to see what was under there. He could have been packing a bubble shooter. :-)

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Here's a pic of the new metal detector at Epcot. People are selected for scanning, seemingly at random, by the people in the gold CSC Event Staff shirts after going through the bag check.

Also, no toy guns or bubble shooters are permitted in the parks.

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Later we found this rig all set up on their usual spot in 1200: 

 

 

We saw this same rig last week, only now it's been changed over for Christmas.  It's a pretty awesome display, complete with live trees.

I think I may have found the 3000 loop near the hitch and unhitch area.

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Arrived at the fort about noon, check-in went smoothly, got a site that I had requested, was told it wasn't ready yet and I should go to the overflow parking lot and await a text message telling me when the site was ready.  We unloaded the golf cart, drove back to the site, it was clean and unoccupied, so we got the coach and set up on the site.  I'm still waiting for my text message telling me the site is ready.  :facepalm:

I want to thank Jason again for his work in getting our reservation. 

When I picked up my cable modem kit at the Meadows TP today, CM Edgardo sort of chuckled when I ask him about WiFi in the CG. He said he has heard the same rumor. Maybe in 2016.

Picked up the rental trailer and some Christmas decorations this afternoon. Just need to finish loading the motor home in the morning and we should be at the Fort by noon, probably in the 1400 loop. I'll post our site number tomorrow.  We hope to meet some Fiends this trip.

We get to the Fort tomorrow.  I'll see if I can send it to you.  How should I send it?

Jason came through   :mademyday: and got us the night we were missing for our upcoming visit to the Fort, and he was also able to consolidate the multiple reservations into one, so I won't have to hassle with checking in 5 times in a week  :thank-you-smiley3: . We still got the multiple Magic Bands though, so our collections are complete! 

Now my remaining problem is finding a trailer to use to haul my golf cart to the Fort.  :panic:  :panic:  If only I could drive it down 192 without getting pulled over  :popo:  :siren: by the law. 

Can't wait for the 4th.

I'll have to check it other. I have a Galaxy S5 and I also thought it was "clunky".

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Correct Andrew. 

 

In this case I have been able to get him all but one night of what he wanted in a premium site. Once I get the last one I will have Disney note the reservations as a continuing reservation to increase the chances of him not having to move sites. It lets the site assigner know they have more days with them. Never guaranteed but I have not seen/heard of someone haveing to move sites. 

 

Only downside is since they are separate reservations you have to check out and back in to each one. But each one has its own deposit so more of the trip is paid for ahead of time. 

What Jason said.  He explained everything to me, & I don't have a problem with it. So far, we have a 1 day, a 4 day, and 2 more 1 day reservations, all for a premium site. The last 3 reservations are continuous, but oddly those days didn't show up as one reservation. 

This experience has taught me not to wait until the last minute to make reservations, if trying to make December reservations in May can be called last minute. I've already booked a site for Halloween 2016. 

One upside to this is we get a Magic Band for each reservation, so we'll get to complete our collection quickly. We can decorate our Christmas tree with them.   :rofl:

Correct Andrew. 

 

In this case I have been able to get him all but one night of what he wanted in a premium site. Once I get the last one I will have Disney note the reservations as a continuing reservation to increase the chances of him not having to move sites. It lets the site assigner know they have more days with them. Never guaranteed but I have not seen/heard of someone haveing to move sites. 

 

Only downside is since they are separate reservations you have to check out and back in to each one. But each one has its own deposit so more of the trip is paid for ahead of time. 

What Jason said.  He explained everything to me, & I don't have a problem with it. So far, we have a 1 day, a 4 day, and 2 more 1 day reservations, all for a premium site. The last 3 reservations are continuous, but oddly those days didn't show up as one reservation. 

This experience has taught me not to wait until the last minute to make reservations, if trying to make December reservations in May can be called last minute. I've already booked a site for Halloween 2016. 

One upside to this is we get a Magic Band for each reservation, so we'll get to complete our collection quickly. We can decorate our Christmas tree with them.   :rofl:

 

 

My advice is never buy a forest river product, they cant support it properly should a problem arise, and this is not a dealer issue, it came from the factory like this

I do plan on writing a Formal Letter to the NHTSA pertaining to the safety concern, and i have alerted the rep at forest river to this development, and i know i am not the only one, there are a few others on the FROG forum who have the same issue and are now doing as i do and are installing the spacer.

For those of you that don't know, the left side tire under the slide, has .75 inches of clearance and that's not acceptable, especially when the axle manufacture states you need 3 inches.

the spacer will raise the trailer 3 inches and provide the correct distance between the tire and wheel well for safe travel. 

 

thanks for listening to my rant, I am better now....

I don't blame you for ranting.  A friend of mine bought a brand new Rockwood travel trailer a few years ago and had numerous problems with it, including a water leak in the bedroom that the dealer couldn't/wouldn't repair.  At least you can do this repair yourself so you'll know it was done correctly.

Definitely still working on it Mike.

Thanks, Jason.

I am sure it could be arranged, however how far off site are you going to stay that 1 night, most of the hotels have ample parking and you might as well bring it with you

Well, we have a place in an RV park about 15 miles from the Fort, and we plan to sleep there on Saturday night if we can't get a reservation, but we plan to bring our golf cart too and I thought it would be easier to just move to the parking lot. We also have to pick up our sister-in-law and niece at the Sanford airport on Saturday. I've seen RVs parked in the lot overnight before, so I'm thinking the Fort powers that be would be OK with it for one night. 

We'll keep our fingers crossed that we can get the extra night. 

I apologize for the triple post.  :facepalm:

I can't find a way to delete them. 

These days FP+ and ADRs are probably worth a lot more than EMH.

 

Presumably they check in, but for all the talk about "phantom" or "throwaway" sites, I've never actually talked to someone that's done it to find out what the deal is. Some folks claim it's a huge problem, others claim it hardly happens.   It's kind of like Big Foot. 

 

The recent changes to the reservation should put the kibosh on this to some extent, as it's made it harder to book short stays.

The whole concept puzzles me, because I thought anyone, resort guest or not, could make ADRs 180 days out, and if someone wanted to book a FP 60 days out, then just book a resort reservation for any resort, put the one night deposit on a credit card, book your FPs, and then cancel the resort reservation. From what I've read, cancelling the the resort reservation doesn't cancel ADRs or FPs connected with the resort reservation. I may be wrong, though, as it's been known to happen before.   

I also hope that it's not too hard to book a short stay, as I need one more night for our December trip, as I posted elsewhere on the site.  :TantrumSmiley: