Tri-Circle-D

Love the Chevy Chase references :)

And I bet you have a picture of the new furniture at the Meadow Swimming Hole. I noticed on our last visit in April.

It was long overdue.

Chevy Chase?

Where?

I don't think the new furniture was there yet.

I have some pool photos coming up and we can check for sure.

I do think that it was there for our spring break visit.

TCD

You're lucky this guy didn't pick up.

That is one crazy and scary looking dude!

Fort Fiends!

Never Mind. Auburn Chris already got it. :-[

No- I think you got it first!

Good job!

I did a Google search of the numbers and a couple of links came up. Some people think they are significant dates,7/8/25, 6/2/89, 6/3/54 or 7/82, 5/62, 8/96, 3/54, or '78, '25, '62, '89, '63, '54, but someone said that they mean nothing and the Imagineers put them in there randomly.

The other flags spell out Fort Fiends.

Best Regards,

Norm

Nice work there, Norm #1.

I didn't know this had been discussed elsewhere.

But, as far as I know, I am the first person who ever figured out these flags at Typhoon Lagoon spell Piranha in Pool:

If you don't believe me, use this guide to see for yourself:

That is a weird thing about the numbers.

I did not see any kind of pattern, so I thought that they were random.

But, now that I think about it, there isn't much that is random at WDW.

I was pulled over there back in 05. I think that the speed limit there is 35, and I believe that I was pushing 50. My wife and I were headed to WL for breakfast. My wife was pregnant and really showing it. When the cop asked where I was headed my wife said "Wilderness Lodge and I have to pee really bad". :rofl2: He handed my license back over and said "slow down and be careful". :parrot:

I'm glad that you didn't get a ticket.

I think the speed limit is still 35, and folks certainly zoom through there much quicker than that.

TCD

I can't ignore the number flags. They're there, aren't they? Gotta figure it all out.

Looking at the flags from this direction (which we're meant to do, I guess, because the alphabet flags spell "DOCKSIDE DINER" correctly this way), we get:

782562896354

I don't have any idea what this means. Surely the imagineers are telling us something. Next time we're at the Studios, I'll have to investigate this further.

Maybe it's the combination to the safe inside the diner or something.

Dude!

You are a guy after my own heart!

You are probably right.

Those numbers probably do mean something.

So, I dialed the number on my phone.

You aren't going to believe this.

Dave in Tennessee picked up!

This is a number for a pay phone in Russia.

OK, I made that up.

But, i wonder what those numbers mean?

I agree, why would they stick random numbers in there?

Did you figure this one out?

TCD

Another great installment. I had one problem though. I kept getting distracted by a squirrel. :rofl2:

You and me both.

Maybe we need one of those cones of shame?

TCD

Welcome Norm!!!

And great updates Andrew!!

Sorry I have been away a bit the past two days. But you see, I was completely swamped answering all my fans from catertodave.com. The action on that site is insane! :rofl2:

I may be away a bit more the next couple days as we travel home this weekend, but I promise to get caught up eventually. And please try to find one stinkin picture of food on your card. I find it hard to believe that a man can take 6,000 pictures during a weekend and not one is of food...unless it's of him posing horribly with a sausage. :parrot:

Thanks for checking in!

I was starting to worry about you.

I am glad that you have a lot of fans over there on catertodave.com.

You know, I really don't think I have a food photo for you on this trip.

I don't know why I don't take food photos.

I mean you can tell by looking at me that I love me some food.

But, for some reason I am not in the habit of photographing it before I eat it.

Sorry.

But, I'll bet I could find that sausage photo if you really wanted me to.

On second thought, didn't I say something earlier about leaving the past in the past?

I think that would be a good thing for the sausage photo too.

But I will keep it handy.

I can use it to keep you in line.

As in:

"Don't make me post the nuremberg sausage photo!"

TCD

Hey, you’re the one posting pics of steel balls!

OK, you got me there.

I won't do that again if you promise not to chant "Corn Hole."

And the answer is...SCRABBLE!

It's me, Norm, the one and only genuine Troll, the hater of blowups, especially ones that depict the baby Jesus!

Hey, how come you can troll steel testicles and get away with it but if I criticize sacrilegious made-in-China Walmart blowups, I get raked over the coals?!

Not fair, I say, not fair! TCD gets all the Get Out of Jail Free cards he wants!

Hmmm.

Scrabble is right.

But it could be a lucky guess.

What word did Mrs. Troll spell right before it was your turn?

Just kidding.

It is really Norm!

Welcome, Norm!

And stop your bellyaching about my preferential treatment.

I don't think we do that over here.

Bellyaching I mean.

The preferential treatment is fine by me.

TCD

While we wait for the Troll drama to play out, I am going to press on.

This is one of those reports that seems like it will never end.

After a leisurely morning around camp, we headed over to Hollywood Studios. I don't know why I don't have many photographs from there, but I don't.

The girls did get a milkshake from the Dockside Diner, where I snapped this photo:

I have previously posted photos of flags used around WDW, and even on DCL.

These nautical flags spell something.

In this case, I was a bit stumped.

I figured that they spelled Dockside Diner.

But there were too many flags.

This is how you would spell Dockside Diner:

Studying this a bit, I see that the first flag in the photo is a D. The next flag is a flag that represents a number. Same with the other, longer, flags. So these flags do spell Dockside Diner. If you ignore the number flags interspersed in the line up.

While we are talking nautical flags, can anybody tell me what these flags say?:

Oddly enough, that photo of the Dockside Diner flags is my only photo from Hollywood Studios.

We took the bus back to the Fort.

As you know, that means we had to stop at Wilderness Lodge first.

Right after the turn off for the Fort, on the way to Wilderness Lodge, these cops were set up pulling folks over for speeding:

They were sneaky, too.

They had a man out by the road with a radar gun.

And then another down here where you see the cars parked waving cars in to the parking area.

The speed limit along here is something ridiculously low.

They were pulling a lot of people over.

I hope that they were just giving warnings, and not real tickets.

A ticket would not be much fun at the happiest place on earth.

Doodlebug, if you are still reading along, here's those photos I mentioned a while back:

This Doodlebug was set up on the 2000 loop. I never saw him/her, and really can't say exactly what is going on here.

I have no problem with a nice nativity scene silhouette.

But this was mid February.

So what gives?

Apparently, this person drives around in this van with Doodlebug on the door, so why should I be surprised by a random nativity scene?

On the 300 loop, I ran into flag guy:

I don't know.

Do you think he has enough flag stuff?

Notice the citrus on the trees on the other side of the trailer:

Here are some photos of the display from the Northern Pioneers:

I don't know why, but there is something about that sign telling me to stay on my side of the rope that made me want to run right into this stupid wagon with my golf cart.

But I didn't.

But, I can't make any promises if they put this display up again next year.

SQUIRELL!

I spent some time on Sunday afternoon enjoying my hammock. This was my view off to my right:

And this was my view looking straight ahead:

I can't express how much I enjoy hammock time at the Fort. I always think of the thousands of people crammed into the theme parks or even the other resorts on property while I am swinging in the breeze listening to the birds chirp.

I should have mentioned that when we got back from Hollywood Studios we found that the 2000 loop had been practically abandoned:

The party animals had packed it in and headed home.

It was kind of lonely there on the 2000 loop without them.

Since this was a Sunday, no body new checked in.

After my rest time, we did some looping.

This would have been a better photo if I had been quicker on the draw:

This was a family carrying armloads of firewood toward the 1600 loop. I don't know where they got the wood or what they planned on doing with it, but it's not something you see every day.

Here is a shot of what the Meadow Pool entrance looks like in the winter:

In the summer, when the trees have their leaves, you can barely see the sign.

Here's a shot of the Meadow Pool pavilion. Notice that there are some red and yellow balloons caught up in the tree:

SQUIRREL!!!!

Here we are at the 2000 loop tetherball court, looking toward our campsite:

You can see the TCD camper pretty clearly in this shot:

Night comes early at the Fort in February:

We spent our last evening of this visit over at the MK enjoying EMH until 2 am.

I'll be darned if I didn't get surprised by that Space Mountain camera one last time:

Next up- it's Valentine's Day.

But, it's also our day to head home.

Not to worry.

I was up early for plenty of photos.

TCD

"Corn toss"? Seriously? It's thinking like that that took Mickey's musket and replaced it with a walking stick... then the stick was deemed too weapon-like and they swapped it for a butterfly net! UGH!

CORN-HOLE!!!! CORN-HOLE!!!! CORN-HOLE!!!! CORN-HOLE!!!! CORN-HOLE!!!!

...and long live Musket Mickey!

STOP IT !!!!!!

There is no way that I would be shouting that if I was in North Carolina!

TCD

Well, now, would I be welcome here?

Of course! Who could resist a TCD trip report?

What's this? TCD has thrown down the gauntlet?! It's on, sir! Prepare to be bested. Provided, that is, the landlord approves of my presence here.

Norm?

Is it really you?

How can I be sure?

I know- I will ask a question only the real troll would know.

When I visited you at your site on the 300 loop in February, you and Mrs. Troll were playing a board game.

What game was it?

Please join in the fun!!!!! However, be forewarned, SNARKY RULES around here!!!!!

Here! Here!

Norm you got plenty of Snark.

That's what the folks around here like.

So bring it.

It's on like popcorn!

(I'm glad that I got a head start)

(but only by a week!)

TCD

I mentioned some new breakfast items available for take out at Trail's End.

What I don't know is how new these items are.

The take-out situation for breakfast has been in a constant state of flux over the past couple of years.

For a while, there was no take out.

And, then it was just muffins and danishes.

Now, it's this:

I am pretty sure this change happened after the first of the year.

But, I am not 100% sure on that.

I can say that I haven't posted photos of the menu or examples of the items before.

Before you get all excited about the new offerings, note that there are just 12 items on the menu. And five of those are beverages.

So, you have your choice of seven take-out items.

They are all on display right here:

In the photo above you can see the muffins, cinnamon rolls, sticky buns, yogurt, fruit, oatmeal and biscuits and gravy.

I am not sure about the price on the oranges. They aren't on the menu.

The biscuits and gravy deserve a closer look:

You can see the oatmeal there too.

I don't know about this display.

Does this stuff look good to you?

Especially the biscuits and gravy?

On the other side of the case, here are the sticky buns and yogurt:

So, how long do you think these items will be on the menu?

I am guessing it will be changed again by the time I next visit.

That's the way it has been going recently.

There is news of some work being done on the cabin pool.

Well, here's how things looked back in February . . .

This is the hot tub area:

This is the equipment room:

That seems like a lot of equipment for a pool this size.

But, they do a good job keeping things neat and clean in here.

That's good to know.

Here's a shot of the pool itself, with the rest room/laundry building in the back:

From here, I headed over to the 1500 loop, where I found that the group that had just arrived on Saturday afternoon was already in the process of clearing out. Some of the rental tents were already vacated:

Whoever these people were, their visit to the Fort was less than 24 hours.

I wonder what kind of group that was?

Continuing on my patrol, I was surprised to find that their were new occupants in site 617. There were quite a few open premium sites all over the Fort, but these campers were lucky enough to be assigned to 617. This site is rarely empty:

These folks had lovely site decorations, and were obviously looking forward to enjoying their nice patio area:

They even had a Mickey lamp!:

Remember the fellow with the "No Dogs" sign on the 1100 loop?

This guy on 1100 had one too. Plus a train. Actually, just a locomotive:

The engine circled the track by itself.

I'm not sure what the point of that was.

But, the Greco family earned a spot in a TCD trip report as a result.

If you go, make sure to keep your dogs away.

They are not welcome there.

Down at the pool, I noticed that they are now using a new board to display all of the activities:

Also notice that Corn Hole has been renamed to a more pleasant sounding Corn Toss.

I approve.

Next up, a visit to Hollywood Studios.

And more.

TCD

Hi Carol!

You are off to a great start on this report.

I always enjoy looking at photos of other campgrounds. Whenever I want to complain about something at the Fort, it helps to remember what other campgrounds look like, and what they charge.

I can't wait to read more!

TCD

Time for another installment.

As you may remember, there have been persistent rumors for the last year or so about a big new construction project in the area of River Country. Slowly, information has been revealed which establishes that there is truth to these rumors. The specifics are still hazy, but the project involves relocating the current equine operations located in the Settlement area of the Fort up to the Outpost area. A permit application for the new horse barn and related buildings in the Outpost area was discovered by a fellow Fiend, WannaBeImagineer, and there was much discussion about these plans. The permit application was made last Fall. I figured that since they applied for a permit, and the information was being discussed publicly, that ground would be broken early in 2011.

So, early in the morning on Sunday, February 13, 2011, I decided to take a good look around the area where the new horse barn is planned.

We start with a photo of the area to the East of the old Kennel building. In this photo, we are looking North:

This is the area where the new barn is to be built. As you can see, there is a single survey marker in place, and no signs of any construction:

There is a big backstage area here which is used for maintenance vehicles and such, both for Fort Wilderness and the adjacent golf course. You can see big trucks parked in the background of this photo:

There are already a lot of horses kept in this area:

It looks like it was breakfast time for these two:

Now, we are over on the West side of the building:

Here, we are looking toward the current trail ride starting point. The area in the foreground of this photo is where the plans show the new blacksmith shop will be built:

This building used to be the Fort Wilderness Kennel. It is now used by the horse people. The old kennel sign has been repainted:

As you may have figured, I am a big fan of the Tri-Circle-D logo.

Having confirmed that there is absolutely nothing new happening in the proposed new barn construction area, it was time for me to move on.

On the way back in, traffic was stopped for a trail ride:

After a brief wait, I was on my way.

I am headed back to Trail's End for some more coffee.

At Trail's End, I noticed some changes to the breakfast take-out menu. I will have some photos of these changes in my next installment.

TCD

Wow it sure takes a long time to read 15 pages! Wonderful trip report. I had just started reading the boards "over there" and didn't get to read your earlier reports, but have heard much about them. Now I know why! I had sent you a pm about the time of :flush2: "over there" and then you were gone. So glad to see you here. I really like seeing all the pictures.

Your excursion into the "wild" is terrific. Were you one of those who sneaked on to Discovery Island and took pictures? :rofl2:

Seriously, keep up the good work and keep the photos coming!

15 pages?

Sorry about that.

This little report sure has grown.

We are now at over 5000 views!

And, there is still quite a bit more to come.

Thanks for reading.

TCD

My favorite part of this picture is the bumper sticker. This must be the Obvious family's campsite.

:rofl2:

Umm, something is amiss. TCD went to the Laugh Floor and was not tagged with being That Guy? I know the park was crowded but surely there wasn't another dotty old hapless fellow that could trump our TCD?!!

Good catch!

You are correct.

While I have admitted to having been selected to be "That Guy" before, those instances were clearly some type of odd anomalies, because they always pick a clueless old man to be "That Guy."

Here's what you can end up with if you know when they'll snap the picture. We knew when it would happen and agreed beforehand to all have the same expression.

It's me, my daughter and two grandsons on Rock' N' Roller Coaster.

Lou-

That is awesome!

Do you have a good Dinosaur photo?

Expedition Everest?

Test Track?

Splash Mountain?

I do.

I;ll dig them out one of these days and share them.

The Rock and Roller Coaster photo op makes sense to me. They have the cameras in a spot where there are bound to be some real expressive reactions. Same with Splash Mountain and Test Track. But this one in Space Mountain makes no sense to me. If you look at other people's photos at the end of the ride, they mostly have dumb, vacant expressions on their faces.

Wow- so much catching up to do already. First of all, I used to enjoy the Pawn Stars show - I think Rick has a GREAT laugh! But, I started to get frustrated when people would sell these incredibly unique (and often historically rare) items for what I thought was a ridiculously low amount. I mean, come on, at some point you gotta say "I can sell this for 100 bucks or keep this really awesome piece of Americana in my family..." and they almost always sell! It would be like if you sold all your FWRR nails to them for 50 bucks. Seriously. Okay, rant over... :soapbox:

The Tangled meet n greet looks really cute - how long does the whole little skit take? What fun! And yes, it is better if the boys learn the ropes early... :raspberry:

Love the "candid" photos on the coasters... your girls are so cute - I bet they just love havin' fun with their Dad!

We will be there in late July - I'm wishing my ticker would move faster!!!

$50 for rusty nails?

Sold!

Mrs. TCD likes Rick's laugh too. We liken it to the laugh of Muttley, a character from on old cartoon that is probably before your time.

The Tangled meet and greet takes about 30 minutes. The wait to get in was about an hour. But, as I mentioned, they let one person from your party hold your place in line- so you and your DH could switch off taking your DD to go do something else while waiting in line. If she likes the movie, I would really recommend it- all of the kids that were there when we visited really seemed to have a good time.

July. Got it.

I have been known to visit the Fort in July.

Exactly what is the positive message this movie has? Not sure i need my children learning that one.

Let's see.

I have never been accused of being the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I think the message is if you ever find yourself kidnapped and locked in a tower, grow your hair long, befriend a lizard, get yourself a sturdy frying pan, and go live your dream. Something like that. What's negative about that? That is some helpful information to know!

TCD

All was quiet when we arrived back to our site on Saturday night.

The folks across the way had set up an outdoor movie screen earlier in the night.

And it looked like they were preparing for a big blast.

But, whatever they did, it was all over by the time we arrived at around midnight.

That is usually the case.

It takes some pretty hard core partiers to stay up late at the Fort night after night.

Especially when it is cold.

I was up and out on patrol early Sunday morning.

I took a shot of the River Country Wagon sitting behind the Settlement Trading Post.

It has been here for almost a year now:

That wagon reminded me to go check and see if anything was happening over at River Country.

Nothing was.

Here are your standard shots taken through or over the fence:

Those blue tanks are still there:

Nothing new around the big pool with the slides:

Here we are looking toward the pavilion. You can see the weather vane up top:

I took a look over around the dock used by the fishing guides. There are no new stakes or any evidence of anything new going on around here.

Here we are looking toward the Contemporary Resort. According to the leaked plans discovered by WBI, there may be new buildings constructed in this area some day:

Did you notice the bird perched in the middle of the photo above?

Here is another shot. The bird is still there. And, you can see the top of the Contemporary Resort:

The wetlands here are beautiful. It would be a shame if any of this is ever removed:

Here we see a resort launch cruising by, with Discovery Island in the background. The bird is still in this shot, too:

Here's a better shot of Discovery Island. Look how all of the trees are shedding their leaves getting ready for Spring to arrive:

Bottom line: There is no sign of any new construction in the Settlement area.

Next stop, we will take a good look around the Outpost, and the old Kennel building to see if anything is happening there.

TCD

I don't get the steel balls either but to each their own :rofl2: Love your candid Space Mountain photos. I'm just surprised that after all your trips you still haven't figured out when they take the picture :rofl2:

Free bubbles, it just doesn't get better than that :banana:

I know.

One of these days, I am going to figure out the Space Mountain thing. Then I am going to pose for my photo!

And right-o about the free bubbles.

Free anything is good at Disney.

And, did you notice what a nice, big bottle they gave out?

Oh no, not the dreaded BUBBLES!!!!

I recall more than a few threads "somewhere else" where people absolutely lost their minds at the concept of anyone blowing bubbles in line for any reason.

So glad folks here don't take themselves quite so seriously.

You are right.

I remember.

I was surprised to see a castmember passing them out.

One thing I thought about was whether it was a good idea to be handing out bottles of liquid slippery soap to kids in an area where a slip could cause a pretty serious injury.

I don't think anyone ran this idea by Risk Management.

TCD

Lovin all the pics TCD! Lots of great info as usual. Keep it comin!

Thanks, Lynn.

Will do.

Outstanding show! Rick seems to know a little about everything! His breadth of knowledge is astounding. Just wonder how much is done via internet and editing. If none, it's even more impressive.

Agreed.

But I figure that there had got to be a lot of editing. There is no way Rick knows everything off the top of his head. The show would be pretty bad if Rick didn't know anything about an item being presented. That said, I'm sure Rick knows a lot, and they make the whole thing very entertaining. There is another show I've seen a couple of times on another channel where the pawn shop is in Detroit. That show is not nearly as entertaining. But, I figure the Detroit pawn shop is more like a real pawn shop than the one in Pawn Stars.

Yes, I did see it. In fact I own it. As a mom of boys only... I'm not so sure how I feel about girl power now.

Well, the way I look at it is you are doing your boys a favor letting them know early on that the ladies are in charge in this life.

Like my daughters used to say: "Girls rule. Boys drool."

Truer words have never been spoken.

TCD

That last update was a little short.

I am trying to get this report finished, so I will squeeze in an update when I can.

We left off with us enjoying the Tangled attraction.

I recommend it, especially if you have young girls in your party.

But, the boys will like it too.

They really do a great job with this.

It is a lot of fun.

It's just the subliminal messages I could do without.

From here, we used our Space Mountain Fastpasses, and picked up another for later on.

We visited the Laugh Floor, and then decided to take a break.

It was crowded, and we decided to come back later, as the MK was open to midnight today.

Here's a Space Mountain photo for you:

I can never figure out where they take your picture on that ride, so I always am caught in a random and candid pose.

When we got to the boat dock, we found that they had combined the WL and FW route, although the sign did not say so:

There was definitely some type of problem with the boats.

We waited a long time.

And still no boat.

But, no worries.

The castmember broke out a box of bubbles:

So, it was all good.

I don't mind waiting for hours, as long as I get some bubbles to compensate me for my time.

Seriously, though, we had to wait a long time for the boat. And, then we had to stop at WL on the way.

They must have known this was coming.

Thus the peremptory free bubble distribution.

But, we made it back to the Fort eventually.

We hung out for the afternoon.

We saw Stacktester's limo and driver parked across from the 300 loop playground:

But, Donnie was not around.

He must have been off chasing a married woman or something.

And, he must have just asked his driver to wait for him.

We did a last bit of looping as the sun sank low in the sky.

I tried to get a photo of this camper with a boat parked at his site.

But, my wisecracker daughter photo-bombed me:

When I re-took the shot, the low light and the moving golf cart made it blurry:

These folks on the 800 loop, who have been there since at least Halloween had some nice Valentine's Day decorations:

Here is a phenomenon that I have never understood:

And this guy/woman is from Canada, too.

Who thinks this is a good idea?

All kidding aside, I don't get it.

If you are a man, what in the world are you trying to say by having a set of steel balls dangling from the back of your truck?

If you are a woman, same question.

I honestly do not get it!

Does this impress anyone?

Not me.

And, to those of you with such ornaments on your vehicle- please take no offense. I am just sharing my opinion. And, I may be missing the point of all of this entirely. So if you are one of these guys or ladies, feel free to enjoy your steel balls. This is America, and while I may not agree with your choice of expression, I absolutely believe in your right to express yourself.

Here is a nice sunset over the 900 loop:

We ate at the site.

I made a modified version of Pirate Jeff's Macaroni and Cheese.

Hey is Pirate Jeff reading along?

If so, hey Pirate Jeff!!!

We went back to the Magic Kingdom later in the evening. The temperature had really dropped, and it was not very crowded at all. We used our Space Mountain Fastpasses, and found another set on top of a trashcan in the gift shop at the exit. This is something that has happened to us before. That is a nice thing to do if you have extra Fastpasses, and we have done it too. Either give them to someone, or leave them somewhere where someone will find them and be able to use them.

So, here are two more Space Mountain photos.

Again I have been caught completely off guard by the well-hidden secret camera:

After our second ride, there was no need for Fastpasses anymore. There was no line. The girls rode a couple of more times, and then we hit the Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder Mountain. By about 11 it was very cold. Probably near freezing. So, we headed back to the Fort.

And, that completes our Saturday.

We still have all of Sunday to cover, and Monday morning, too.

So, be sure to check back.

TCD

I'm the first reply to this installment? Cool. Can I keep my Fiend Card then?

Lie to the man... then humiliate him. Got it. It's being taught by Disney right there in MK so it has to be a proper teaching right? I'll make sure not to miss this in July. :dance:

Of course you can keep your Fiend card.

I think you have a lifetime non-revocable one anyway.

Yep, Disney is just teaching the girls the way things are in the real world.

I don't know if you have seen the movie, but I should add that old Flynn is lucky that they took Rapunzel's frying pan away.

:rofl2: :rofl3: :rofl2:

I am a huge fan of Girl Power... but maybe... just maybe... this is really the beginning of an indoctrination process for the boys so they know how to properly treat our princesses when it is their turn... it's obvious to me that this lesson is aimed at the boys in the crowd not the girls... :shh:

OMG

You are right.

Being of the male persuasion I didn't catch this.

Girls know from an early age that they are really running the show. This show really is more to indoctrinate the boys that they had better just get used to it. I mean, the sooner they learn this, the easier they will have it out in the real world.

Hey TCD great report!

I just wanted to add that I read somewhere that the tarps/walls around the back of Cinderella's Castle are to block the view of the fantasy land construction from people eating at Cinderella's Royal Table. And when you call to make a reservation there they tell you that you're view will be blocked, so I guess that makes sense. They're using the tarps to prevent people from looking out instead of in.

Looking forward to the next installment.

WBI

Well, duh!

I didn't think of that.

Makes perfect sense now that you mention it.

I bet you can get quite a view from the Castle of what is going on in Fantasyland.

Thanks for checking in, and I have another short update coming up.

TCD

Let's continue on with the report.

But, first, let's pause for a moment to evaluate how we are doing.

As I began this post, this thread has been viewed 4314 times.

I am impressed!

This thread is less than a week old.

When I lurked before joining fortfiends.net, I saw that no trip report had been viewed even a thousand times.

That was kind of discouraging.

I thought maybe not many folks were interested in this site.

But I was sure wrong about that!

And, I am particularly happy about the fact that there is now another trip report thread that has exceeded 1000 views, and is well on its way to 2000.

Way to go Fiends!

And, for those of you guests viewing this report, let me suggest to you that you join up as a member. The thing i did not realize when I was lurking is that there is a huge members-only section to this board. HUGE! With a Community Board that is very active and very funny. But only registered members can see it. Registration is free. So, what are you waiting for? Plus if you register, you can post a comment or ask a question. Right here on this trip report. And you will get a personal response from TCD!

Just do it!

Now, where were we?

Ah yes, in the MK.

We are going to try something new.

It is the Tangled meet and greet.

Have you seen the movie Tangled?

If not, you really ought to.

It is a great movie.

Funny.

But with a positive message.

So, they have converted and area over near the teacups to be a meet and greet area for the movie.

The girls had checked it out on Friday afternoon, and saw that it was quite popular.

They also scouted out how the line worked.

And it works very well.

They let small groups in to this area at appointed times.

You have to line up outside before the appointed time.

This could involve a wait of an hour or so.

But, your whole group does not have to wait in the line.

So, that is nice.

We got in line, and took turns going off in pairs to shops and such.

And in no time it was our turn.

Here is a look at the set-up:

There are the TCD twins towering over all of the much younger Tangled fans.

They were just going to stand in line to meet the characters, but a friendly cast member insisted that they step up to the table and join in the coloring activity.

After the kids colored for a while, Rapunzel herself emerged:

She had a satchel in her hand, and was looking for somewhere to hide it:

Please make note of the young African American gentleman in the background of this photo. He was the star of the show, in my opinion. He kind of directed the traffic before the characters arrived, and he was hilarious. Kind of like a young Tracey Morgan. If this guy is ever working when you visit, stand around and listen to him, he is a real hoot!

Rapunzel decides the hide the satchel she is carrying under the table where all the kids are:

As soon as she has the satchel safely hidden, Flynn Rider comes running out:

Flynn is in a tizzy because his satchel is missing.

Rapunzel encourages all the little girls to join her in lying about having any knowledge of the satchel's whereabouts.

I pause here to ask exactly what is Disney trying to teach the young women of our nation here?

There is clever banter between Rapunzel and Flynn:

Rapunzel makes Flynn beg for his satchel:

Again, I pause to ask, exactly what are they teaching these young women?

There is more drama:

After Flynn has begged enough that Rapunzel is satisfied that she has humiliated him enough, she finally gives the poor man what he is asking for.

Rapunzel reminds me of Mrs. TCD.

I wanted to tell Flynn: "welcome to my world."

Then all of the kids join them in a dance around the table followed by a chance to meet the characters personally and pose for photos.

So basically, what we have here is a lesson on Girl Power!

I know all too well that this is how things work in the real world, but it was still kind of shocking to me to see it acted out this way.

I have plenty more.

So be sure to check back!

TCD

I love Pawn Stars!! I DVR it every Monday since it's on too late for me.

Never miss it. One of a handful of programs that I make a point of watching.

Well, there you go.

Great minds really do think alike!

So, who's your favorite on the show?

I am partial to Chumlee and the Old Man.

TCD

Of course, I hope you all realize that the real Fantasyland expansion is not going to look anything like that artists constipation drawing.

Ah, come on Magicbus.

Why would you say something like that?

Look at all of that lush landscaping and fantastic detail.

I think it is going to look exactly like the drawing!

Well, not really.

But it will still be something new to do at the Magic Kingdom.

So, it's all good.

Look at those crowds! It wasn't that bad last July, and they say it's really crowded in summertime.

DH went in Pinocchio's to get DD some dinner, but I wasn't there. DD and I rode Small World while he did that. Very clever man. :rofl2:

I am so happy to hear the cabins are open for spiking too - but we are going to rent the 5W from Donnie this year! Woo hoo! We're like real-live campers! :banana: I requested the 1700 loop... hint hint

I did notice in one of your first pics it looks like you had a Disney bride in front of you... awwww....

Good for you!

I am sure you will enjoy that much more than a cabin!

I know you may not want to post your exact dates, but approximately when are you planning to be there?

Ok so did anyone notice that the "research" lady was carrying one of last year's refillable mugs?

Good catch.

But, see my comments below.

What the heck? I miss a couple of days and now I have eye strain and carpel tunnel syndrome from scrolling for hours to catch up!!!

The only thing cooler than a gazillion pics of weeds and brush is finding FW railroad tracks AND genuine FWRR spikes...er..nails hidden in them. :banana:

Love the old Country Time Can, the vantage point of the Pinocchio's Haus balcony.... too many comments, too little time. I'll just say great report and leave it at that!

Thanks for not sharing the crack.

Hey KFK!

What do you mean you missed a couple of days?

Get with it lady!

That kind of thing could result in a revocation of your Fiend card.

I thought it was just me. I wasn't sure what this year's mugs looked like but that one sure looked like one sitting in my cabinet right now and I know I haven't been yet this year. :popo:

After perusing the photo again, I betcha the "research" was on using old refillable mugs while pool hopping. She's really just fishing to get an actual picture of the mug police in action and that's her bait...

You are both correct.

That is an old mug.

But, remember that this photo is from 2/12/11. The new mugs had not yet been introduced. They were introduced very shortly after this.

So, I don't' think she was researching mug abuse or pool hopping.

But, it must have been something important.

What with that official RESEARCH notebook and everything.

TCD

Thank you for sparing us a picture of the CM cleaning the site. My motto has always been "Say NO to crack!"

I have not tried Pinocchio restaurant either, What did you eat, and why are there no pictures? Dave likes food pictures of kitties, remember? :)

You are welcome.

I say Crack is Whack!

Sorry, but no food photos for Dave.

This is not CatertoDave.com.

Two of us had Chicken Parmesan and one of us had a meatball sub.

Dave- the meals looked pretty much like you would imagine.

The food was good.

I recommend this place.

In fact, we have been back a couple of times since then.

I agree. Don't keep us hanging! (Especially not our friends in Russia who need extra entertainment!)

ETA - Oops - I thought I was at the end of the report, when there was a whole 'nother page with a new installment. So, instead of bitching, I'll say good job and keep it up!

No problem Leslie!

This trip report is plodding along rather slowly.

I will see what I can do to pick up the pace.

Want a tip on a great place to view fireworks? Well you kind of found it we sat on the balcony of the Pinnochio Haus for Ney Years Eve a coupl of years ago, it was like a private viewing area, just don't tell anyone else :rofl2: :rofl2: :rofl2:

That sound like a good tip!

I don't think I will try it on NYE.

But maybe another time.

I'll bet the fireworks are right overhead!

Thanks for updating. I really enjoyed the scenes from the water. I love old trees and moss wherever it's found. WDW trees & moss have to be some of the best though... LOL my girls are underwhelmed by mossy trees. They just don't get it. Go figure...

I suspect they'd be more appreciative of those rusty nails as my dad worked for Patapsco & Back River RR and the kids were happy with rr lanterns & old insulators found on our hikes around here. Now the first thing they wanna know about a place though is "how's the net"...

Yeah.

I hear you about the teens.

Today's teens sure are connected in ways that I never even dreamed of when I was their age.

But WDW, and Fort Wilderness in particular is a good remedy for that.

As always great TR TCD. Love the Bay Lake pics. Love the MK pics. Say is that Garrison Keillor

at the Kingdom.

Sorry, Bro.

I am not smart enough to be a fan of Garrison Keller.

So, I can neither confirm or deny whether that was him.

TCD

Cool pic TCD. I can see this one getting referenced 30-40 years. Somebody brings up the distant memory of a train at The Fort. Next thing you know, they are referencing your photo journalism for undeniable proof. Nice work.

Not that I have ever consumed alcohol myself :rofl2: (haha), but I might be able to offer some insight. I say "might" because I'm not sure if my memory is referencing a documentary from the History channel, or some guy telling me a story at a bar.

In addition to the Egyptians, monks were one of the first brewers of beer. They carried a "church key" on the corded belt around their waist. In addition, I've been told that the corded belt is actually represented on the original cans of Budweiser. Specifically, inside the dark blue ring, above the word Budweiser. It kind of looks like a horse collar, but I've been told it was a homage to the original brewing monks.

As mentioned above, this maybe total fabrication.

Discuss amongst yourselves...why do you park on the driveway and drive on the parkway? :parrot:

Sorry, I missed these comments while I was working on the last update.

Good stuff.

I watch the History Channel a lot (are there any Pawn Star fans in the house?), but I sure never saw a program on the history of beer. Very interesting!

OK TCD...back to regular programming. Sorry for the hijack. :)

No apology necessary.

There really is no such thing as a hijack of a TCD trip report.

Somehow, everything becomes relevant.

Nice update, although you have left two disturbing things in my mind: behind crack and sauerkraut

Reminds me of going to a mall and smelling Mr. Dunderbaks throughout the entire thing!

Oh and I love the research photo! Very nice.

Mr. Dunderbak's.

Yep, that is it!

The thing is, I like sauerkraut.

In small quantities.

And, just on occasion.

I do not like being assaulted by its overwhelming stench when I walk into a restaurant.

More great pictures. Those crowds, wow. I don't do well with crowds. This is one of the main reasons I will not be doing any parks in July. That means I will be around if you should happen to be there and want a cup of coffee, while you are out taking more pictures for me to enjoy:banana:

And I am really glad you didn't get the "crack" picture :rofl2:

I think the crowded look was somewhat the result of the current construction. Overall, it was not that busy in the parks that weekend. We were a week before President's Day weekend, which is usually a very busy time. I can handle being in a crowd when it is cool, but I am with you 100% about July in the parks.

TCD

OK, stand back.

DaveinTN has requested an update, and By Golly, he's going to get one!

I've got 30 new photos loaded, so let's knock this one out!

It's still Saturday morning.

I have been away from the site for a little over an hour, first on my railroad expedition, and then visiting briefly with Stacktester and Otter Spotter.

The girls have been getting ready.

I love my daughters.

But, I miss the good old days when a jump in the pool and a pony tail/hat was all that "getting ready" consisted of on a camping trip.

Now its showers, and hair products, and make up.

It takes a long time.

Sheez!

But it's all good.

On the way back to the TCD site on the 2000 loop, I happened upon a castmember scrubbing a slab.

I've seen this before.

It's good to know that occasionally the slabs get a good cleaning.

Here he is:

I regret to inform you that I missed a very important shot.

When this fellow was putting some equipment on the trailer, there was some major crack action going on.

But, somehow I failed on getting the shot.

Maybe that's a good thing.

You can tell from this fellow's jeans that he is a professional:

Some things are better left to the imagination.

Strike that.

In this case, neither the real thing or what you might imagine are a good thing.

So forget about the whole thing.

The girls were ready to go when I got back.

I showed them the rusty nails.

They were underwhelmed.

So, we hopped on the cart and headed down to the marina.

The plan was to eat lunch at the MK, and check out a couple of things.

So, we hopped on the boat, and were on our way.

I spied an interesting person on the boat.

Some type of Disney expert conducting research.

See?:

I'm not sure you can read what is written on her notebook, so here you go:

I love the boat ride.

In the winter, I love how the cypress trees and moss look silver:

I love to look over at the rotting remains of River Country:

There was still some kind of survey marker out in the water- this is old news:

On the other side of the boat, we are gliding past Discovery Island.

You can see the roof of a small building here, with birds perched on it:

This is a shot of the Discovery Island shoreline. You can see an old post and rope in this shot:

Of course, I just had to take some shots of the old shipwreck:

Here we are looking over at Bay Lake Tower. There is one of the big Magic Kingdom boats cruising by there:

Here we are looking back toward Discovery Island. Look how all the cypress trees are brown, and the leaves on the other trees are very thin:

There was some kind of boat issue going on this weekend, because you can see that they are using one of the old Animal Kingdom boats here to transport guests to the Fort:

Here's a look at Wilderness Lodge:

We made it to the Magic Kingdom, and headed down Main Street.

We ran into the mayor and his girlfriend:

Meow.

We snagged some Space Mountain Fastpasses, and then headed for lunch.

It was really crowded.

See what I mean?:

Have you ever noticed that crocodile weather vane up there on the Peter Pan roof before?

I never have.

Also notice how everyone is wearing sweatshirts and jackets. It was a cool day.

I suggested that we try the Pinocchio Village Haus restaurant.

None of us have ever tried it before.

It's true.

What I remember about this restaurant is the overwhelming smell of sauerkraut.

I mean, it used to reek.

But, they have changed the menu.

It's an Italian joint now.

But, they still spell house "haus."

We had to wait on a long line just to order our food.

And then, we had to search for a table.

I never knew that there was an upstairs here.

Or outside seating upstairs.

Well, there is.

Here is a shot of the floor level from upstairs. The folks at the top of the photo are all in line to order:

Here's a view from our upstairs table:

Notice how the castle is behind and big, painted curtain. I'm not sure what they were working on, but it's interesting how they do this type of thing at WDW.

You can see all of the crowds and the downstairs outside eating area here:

We could see just a bit over the wall into the construction area for the new Fantasyland:

See those posters on the construction wall?

We will take a look at them in just a minute.

We enjoyed the restaurant.

The food is good.

But, I swear it still smells like sauerkraut in there.

On our way out of the restaurant, we ran into this fellow.

His job is apparently to guard the exit with that puppet:

Here's a photo of that poster we were just looking at from the restaurant:

You can see the drawing of the new Snow White Roller Coaster, and the Little Mermaid attraction behind it.

Over on this side of the poster, in the far right of the photo, you can see the planned double Dumbo ride:

Also note the shadow cast by the Mickey balloon.

Well, that's 30 photos.

Time to stop.

Next up, we visit a brand new attraction.

And we like it.

TCD