southernview -- Ray

I took that same hike about 4 years ago and he is not kidding when he says the brush is thick.  As an active railfan I have hiked many abandoned rail lines and this one was by far the hardest one that I have done.  Somewhere I have a pictures of the bridge that he is talking about that was taken before it was dismantled and I'll try to find it to post.

A few years ago we made the mistake of going to Universal for one of their Halloween parties.  I think they had six different "haunted houses" set up and you were supposed to be able to go through all of them with the opening from 6:00 PM until midnight.  When we got through the gate is when I thought we had made a mistake by being there and by the time we got in the first house it was already nearly 9:00 PM.  I have never witnessed such a crowd before or since then--it was unbelievable, one could barely take normal steps, it was worse than awful.  We left for the gate after going through the one house and finally made it out of there at nearly 11:00 PM. 

That was one of the biggest ripoffs that I have ever been a victim of and it left such a bad taste in my mouth that I have never been back to Universal since then.  When we were at Dollywood this past December, we were only going to go to the park two times and when we arrived to buy our tickets, we found that we could buy an annual pass for less money than two days would have cost and we did so because we planned on going back in the spring.    I guess Cyclonic is right, maybe they plan on making their money on other things.

Why do so many people use the comfort stations if they have bathrooms in their RV's?  I've camped at the Fort for many years running now and I haven't been in one of the bath houses for years.

No offense to those that had rather use the bath houses, but that's the reason I made sure my TT has a good bathroom, I always hated to have to go to the bath houses when we were tent camping.  I had enough of communal bath rooms when I was in the Army.

I do understand that when camping with a large group, the bath houses come in handy and perhaps this is why they are used so much.

I have never put them on a golf cart, but I've used these 12 Volt LED lights on other applications.  If your cart has a 12 volt lighter in it, these lights will plug directly into it and they can be sequenced together like any other Christmas lights.

If the cart doesn't have a lighter, the batteries in the cart can be half-tapped for the correct voltage, but that requires someone that is familiar with that procedure.

http://www.christmas-light-source.com/12-Volt-LED-Lights_c_253.html

 Referral check is on it's way to Kelly.

 

 

 If you don't, do you know about the FWRR spiking custom for Fiends?

 

 

Unless you're riding the CM bus at Epcot, you want find me on a bus, not that you would when I was driving a bus.

 

 

Fixed it.

Post your site number and Fort days so you don't have to stumble.

And, be sure and don't be asleep when he comes by to spike you, i'm still trying to live with the fact that he came by and I missed him.  Maybe next year.

I just got a weather alert on my phone showing a Winter Storm Warning for the Gatlinburg area. I wonder if I could convince Steve to turn around and head to the Fort instead.

I hope we don't encounter anything like that as we are going to be camping in Pigeon Forge in about 2 weeks.  I told DW that we were subject to freezing our backsides off, but she insisted we go for a few days.

One comment about adults ordering off the kid's menu - we always asked at sit down restaurants at Disney and there was never any hesitation - no problem. I do wish that more companies recognized seniors and offered them smaller portions, also.

I agree, me and DW can never eat anywhere near the amount of food that comes on most meals.  For that reason we split a meal wherever it is permitted to do so and we have never had any trouble doing this at Disney anywhere we have dined.  It may not be permitted everywhere, but we have never been denied at any Disney restaurant and have been to most all of them.

As for the original question about lying about a child's age for admission purposes, or any other purpose, a Christian has no choice to make--anything but the complete truth is a lie.

I thought as much, but I wasn't sure- I haven't camped at the Fort since July.

 

I know that they don't have it on the cable system at the other WDW resorts.  I thought that the Fort might be different, since the cable line-up at the Fort is different from all the other resorts.

 

It's too bad too.  That game on Saturday night was a good one. WDE.

 

TCD

It wasn't on at the Fort when I was there a couple of weeks ago.  This is probably due to the fact that it cannot be had without getting the package it come in and they don't want to take them all.  Although, one would think that Disney could get it by itself since they own ESPN.

We were there at the same time you were staying in the 800 loop.  Rode by a couple of times, but never caught you there.

What a beautiful family--those are really beautiful photos, were they done by Disney or someone else?

I really liked your post and could identify with several of the points you made.

My experience at MK last Friday has caused me to wonder about these security people.  I'm coming into MK from the boat dock and head for the entrance that you can walk through if you don't have bags or something to submit to search.  There are two guards standing there and right ahead of me are two women that are pushing large strollers with all kinds of bags and pockets going through this entrance.  There is a young, and I do mean wet behind the ears, female guard that lets them right through only with a slight bend down to look at the bags, didn't even slow them down.  In the meantime, I walk through and get about 10 feet away only to hear her yell at me to come back.  I turn and come back and she wants to know what is that under my shirt.  I promptly pull the shirt up to reveal my small cell phone and tell her what it is while also asking her if she has ever seen one of these before.  She doesn't answer or say anything, so I continue on my way.  The other guard, an older man, also said nothing.

Now folks, that's security.  I didn't mind too much her questioning me, but I had just saw her let the two strollers in without searching them or sending them to the proper entrance so they could be searched like everyone else.  Trust me, I am an easy going person who respects security when it is done right, but I'll admit that this episode disgusted me.  I think she caught my displeasure.

As a note, I carried a badge (a real one) and a gun for over 10 years and have all the respect in the world for proper authority.

Christ has no body now on earth but yours,

no hands but yours,

no feet but yours,

yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion

is to look out to the earth,

yours are the feet by which He is to go about doing good

and yours are the hands by which He is to bless us now.

                                                                                                                       St Teresa of Avila   

I couldn't help but to think of this verse when reading stacktester's post.  People, like her friend, remind us all that we don't live alone in this world and that we all have a greater purpose than just being here.

It should be mentioned that, if the trailer has ST rated tires like most of them do, the top towing speed is limited to 65 mph.  Before you tow any trailer at top interstate speeds I would challenge you to calculate the time you might save by driving that speed, or higher, against the actual time it will take you driving at 65 Mph or less.  You might be surprised when you find what a  small difference there is and then compare that savings with the extra danger you are putting yourself in to save an hour or so.

I would second the advice about trying the camper out before coming to the Fort.  Personally, I would never take any camper on an extended trip without checking everything out thoroughly.  All of the items listed above should be checked.

I've shared this before- but since Travisma is asking a specific question about it, I'll share it again.

 

I was in the Reception Outpost once when a couple showed up on a holiday weekend with no reservation.  They had tried to check in outside, and were told to park and go inside.  I heard them explain their plight, and the CM handed them a phone and dialed the number for WDW reservations. I am not sure how it ended, but they couldn't get a site.

 

This is the same thing that happened to me one time when we were at WDW and decided, on a whim, to see if we could spend the night at AKL,  I went to the check-in counter to see if they had any rooms available. The CM on duty couldn't tell me.  She also dialed the phone and handed it to me so I could speak to a reservation CM at the call center and ask.

 

Bottom line- if you go to the front desk of a WDW resort and ask if they have rooms (or campsites) available, they are going to hand you a phone.  The number they dial is the same one you can dial yourself.  So, there's no advantage to just showing up.

 

TCD

That scenario smacks of a company that doesn't need the business and/or has no interest in accomodating a customer doesn't it?

We will be there come this Friday.  Sign will be out.

Very interesting reading although I had read most of it before.  We went to River Country several times and the only bad thing I remember about it was that I had a "conversation" with an arrogant life guard that had chastised me for no good reason.  She finally just walked away when I proved to her that she was wrong.  One of the worst CM's I've ever encountered at Disney.

On another note, we were at WDW the week after 9/11 and it was pretty empty at the time.  I remember that quite well because my DW was pushing me in a wheel chair due to me recovering from a serious leg injury.

Being an active and longtime fan of class 1 railroads, the Disney RR is of special interest to me.  Thanks for the dedicated site for it and I will have to look into David's books on the subject.

Replace the smoke detector with one that uses photoelectric technology.  The detectors that come in campers use ionization technology and are easy to false.  A detector that uses photoelectric technology is less susceptable to false alarms.  Ionization detectors can trip in high humidity areas such as found near bathrooms and they are susceptable to interference from fluorescent lights.  They are more easily falsed when placed anywhere near an air vent and furnaces or ovens.

The NFPA guidelines recommend that a detector not be placed within 3 feet of an air vent or within 10 feet of high humidity areas such as laundry rooms and showers.  The recommendation of staying at least 20 feet away from fuel burning sources obviously could not be followed in most campers, but they should be mounted as far away from these sources as possible.

Due to the way ionization detectors function, which I will not go into here, they are more susceptible to nuisance alarms around many of these potential sources than are detectors using photoelectric technology.  This is exagerated in the close quarters of campers and is the reason that I substitute mine with photoelectric detectors when I buy a trailer.

It should be noted here that both technologies are good for smoke detection, each having certain advantages over the other.  In my home I use a combination of the two as is recommended by NFPA.  However, in a camper this would not be a good idea.  Placing the detectors as far away from the kitchen and the mentioned interference sources is very important to prevent false alarms.  Keep in mind that ionization detectors can respond to particles in the air that cannot be seen.  Photoelectric detectors respond to very small particles also, but usually they are visual, but not always.

As a further note NFPA 72 requires smoke detectors to be replaced when they have been in service for 10 years or as might be indicated by the manufacturer.  Obviously they should be tested regularly during that time and replaced as might be necessary.  

While on this subject, be sure and check your CO detectors, along with your gas/vapor detectors, and replace them if they have been in service a total of from five to seven years. Since March of 2007 detectors are manufactured with actual timer circuitary in them that will cause them to become inoperative and sound the trouble alarm when this five to seven years expires.  Most detectors have labels on the back that allows you to write the date on them as you place them in service.  Also, since September of 2009 gas and vapor alarms have this same feature and must be replaced when they expire.

These various detectors should be tested on a regular basis and, needless to say, their proper operation could well be a life or death matter for you and your family whether at home or while camping.

Always keep your trailer tires inflated to the maximum cold pressure.  As indicated, this is the pressure that the tire should be inflated to when they are cold.  Best to check them and inflate them in the early morning before they have time to heat up.  The fact thay you are not loading your trailer near it's maximum capacity should not entice you to run less pressure in your tires. 

Hope you have a fun trip.

Send them to the "Disney has seen fit not to give most CMs a MB" organization.

It's not that the lucky CMs that receive the hand-me-down MBs will be able to get FPs in advance, but they will at least be able to feel what it's like to wear one.

So help the needy and donate your MBs.

I hear you Lou, hope to meet you in October and by that time I'll probably have a couple of more sets.

There really should be a separate sidewalk along side the path to the settlement area. That path is just wide enough for carts to pass.  Add people walking and bikes it's just an accident waiting to happen.

 

 What in the world was a cart doing on the sidewalk to the outpost.    Same thing the 12 year-olds were doing with 9-10 year-olds standing on the back of the cart while doing hot laps in the 1700 loop last weekend. 

Actually, I would have loved to ask him that question, but since he didn't stop, or slow down much, I didn't get the opportrunity.  At the rate of speed he was traveling when I first saw him, my only guess is that, since that sidewalk is so nice and curvy, he looked on it as being a road race course.  What makes it really bad in most of that area is the fact that the sidewalk is raised 3 or 4 inches above the ground level so you can't just run off of it with your bike, you have to stop and put it off or risk serious consequences.  Good thing I saw him at just barley enough distance to have time to do that.  I ride a three wheeler most of the time and they are not very good off-roaders.

As for common courtesy and civility, I have ran upon several GC operators that are very courteous and it should go without saying that the majority of them conduct their selves in a safe manner.  Again, at peak times there I think the sheer number of carts becomes a problem and I'm not sure what can be done about that.  Perhaps Disney is beginning to get dollar signs in their eyes and will end up with some rather restrictive rules that may enrich their coffers in the long run.   I really haven't noticed if the majority of the offenders are using Disney carts, but I'll pay attention to that on our next trip.

They may even come up with some rules that will penalize the people that try to obey the rules.  An Alabama State Park that we used to camp at a lot did just that to bicycles when, because some campers would not properly supervise their children and let them ride in the middle of the roads day and night, they came up with a rule that all bicycles had to be parked at sundown.  I'm talking about kids that were 3 to 4 years old riding bikes with training wheels after dark, no lights or supervision and finally the predictable happened when a truck hit one of them one night, something we had predicted for a long time.  So, don't take the kids off the road, don't make every bike have lights at night, just forbid any riding at night even by responsible adults.

I'm sure that it is not any of the Fiends, but us people that love to ride our bicycles have, over the years, seen the carts become a nuisiance.  There are so many of them now and some of the operators are just plain rude.  On our last visit, a cart ran a lady complety off of the shared path to the marina.  Ran her off into the brushes and wrecked her, stopped, looked back and then continued on their way without even an apology.  This has happened more than once, one ran me completely off of the sidewalk path heading up to the Outpost.

For some reason, some of these cart operators think they have the right-of-way by default.  We have said many times that Disney, sooner or later, would have to do something about the carts as the place, at times, has become saturated with them.  It used to be a lot more fun riding there, but now it requires one to maintain a constant lookout for wayward carts, especially at night when, apparently, some of them cannot see where they are going.

Sorry for this rant, I'm sure that there is a minority of carts that cause the problems, but it only takes one to run over you.

Our next trip is this coming October and they have already sent us two sets of bands.  Anyone have any idea why?

Another option but it may be tricky is to drive to the Contemporary then walk over to the MK. I've always been able to park there with and without a resort parking pass. But it's usually later in the day.

We have done this a couple of times and have had no problems.  We were told to tell the guard that we were attending an early function at MK and they wouldn't have a problem with it and found that to be true.

Yep.  That's the battle that we've struggled with for a few years now.

 

 

 

Help educate me... if you have a receiver, do you still need an actual satellite dish?

Yes, that's what the Tailgater is--a dish that is contained in an enclousure.  When it is hooked up to the 211 class receivers it scans for the satellite signals and sets up the receiver automatically.  It has the same limitations of a regular dish as in it needs a clear view of the proper satellites not obstructed by heavy foliage. 

Sure they do. In my area they completely redid 192 and are widening the road which runs by my development

If it's a toll road, at least we get the out of staters to chip in.

Yes, and I thought they might just put a toll on 192 when they got through with it.  We don't have any toll roads in north Florida, at least in the Panhandle, although we do have a couple of toll bridges, but none that I have to use.