NoRegrets…BucketListTour

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its been a little while…ya think?

where the hell I been?

side trip...

he's back….

okay….back to the trip report in a while…..

life keeps on coming…and so will Day 2 at MK….EMH….what happened? Did Grandpa make it till 3am?

only the pictures will tell….

….taking care of life for a day or so….

thanks for all the kind words….glad you are enjoying….me enjoying….recording my bucket filling trip...

so, I cruised around all morning on my scooter…went by the pool…and the big Trading Post…

checked out the Canoes…we will come back to the Canoes later in the trip….and fishing poles…

what would a Grandpa story be without a boat and fishing pole?

so…I came back to site 109 and woke them up!…they told me it was the strategy….that EMH was 3 am later that day!

so we strategized and prepared for a full day at MK again….starting around 4pm or so…

I knew I wasn't going to be able to keep up with this crew…

so….next up…..day two at MK….

and all Alexis is talking about is Thunder Mountain Railroad….after all of the Princesses...

and young Jedi is eagerly awaiting his first solo ride on Space Mountain…

and I am secretly plotting taking them on Canoes and Fishing….

and Peach Cobbler...

look…I found a Mickey Lamp Post…waving at me…HI Mickey!

interesting flag pole…

look…its a FIEND!

its not any FIEND!

its….Bibbidi…Boddidi…Boo…Tri - B…

there aren't home….oh well, pass back later….

okay…lets try that again….

so, I left the kids sleeping…and I went looping!

but, first I went to try out the shopping…since we are in the 100 loop, its just a few feet to the Trading Post…

what? no FW merchandise? What's Up With That? Disney….are you reading this?

after all these years of wanting to come to FW and no doo dads to buy?….no Musket Mickey anything?

no spare tire cover?

no train to ride?

oh well….mounted up on the scooter and rode out the few feet to the lake….sorry no pictures…it was just too overwhelming…YES!

I rode over to the Trails End to see about getting a cup of coffee to continue my looping….

but, I was tempted…my arm was twisted…I gave in…

I had the breakfast buffet….what a treat….gourmet! Everything was perfect…even the bill….it was perfectly insane! Not for those on a budget with a ton of kids….

then I mounted up again and went looking for fiends….

okay…now I am MAD…4 nights without electricty…its midnite thirty…I am charging up my laptop and posting a bunch of pictures and I get thrown out of McDonalds and lose my post!…

how can one get mad…posting this stuff?….hang on…we'll try again…..

so…where were we?

Fort Wilderness…day two….rise and shine….

okay…maybe not everyone rise and shine…

okay…maybe only me rise and shine….

okay…maybe rise and not too shiny….

okay….maybe crawl and really dull….

I love the views…TN does have some beautiful spots…

I might have a chair that needs a covering…..

much…much more to come of this trip report…..that was just the first day!

I just spent two nights without electricity….Knoxville got hit hard a couple of nights ago….

there is a power pole down a few houses down the street….no one has done anything with it yet….

enjoying? a little McDonalds wifi right now….between charging the iphone in my truck….

Seymour is spitting distance!

Walker Scooters….actually don't won't to think about that one….after the scooter….comes the walker….

so…that railroad train ride is fast Grandpa….

not long after that Grandpa decided to head back to the Fort….

tip for you if you find yourself in the MK at parade or fireworks time….

CM's keep a path open so that you can pass through the stores on both sides of Main Street….who knows…you might buy something too…

so, Grandpa….went through the stores and hopped a boat back to the Fort….and climbed into his bed and shut the door on a really nice day….

a really nice day….like a bucket filling day…..

so back at MK….

young Jedi not much into POOH!

don't know which ride this is…but looks like it was worth price of admission to the Princess!

young Jedi…into Cars!

I see young Jedi is flirting with the Dark Side…

kinda of a second cousin to an evil eye…

looks like the kids probably outa call it a night….

alright….so we climbed a big tree…

we rode a boat in a jungle…

we rode another boat and saw a bunch of pirates…

when are we going to have some fun Grandpa?

patience Grasshopper….let's go ride this old slow train while we are thinking about it….

Grandpa….when are we going to ride something fast?

Grandpa…..this is getting a little better….what do you think? Jake?

Now….this is what I have been talking about!

so…let's go do something Grandpa…

wait…I want Pluto to sign my book….

I wonder what ride we go on first?

I wonder how many people go to this same ride as the first ride of a trip?

wait a minute…I saw those same lions back in 1961 in Disneyland!

just think about the difference in what a 5 year old and 30 year old see…looking at the same thing….

pre excitement looks….

in a few hours…will be total excitement….

in a few days….will be total burnout….maybe….for kids…..nah…...

so…back at the Fort…

I was being visited by a Magic Bus! but….I wasn't there….

when we returned from the MK….there was a strange business card on my camper door…one like I had never seen before….

kinda FIENDISH….

ignore that date and time….we are trying to tell a story here….

don't know if this will help…but here goes….

I was there in May…had a MMW ticket for six days….with no hopping….

I went to MK 3 days and Epcot once….so used 4 days….

I thought about upgrading to an AP before leaving…..but didn't….

I thought about it just before the 14 days were up to upgrade….

of course by then I was six hundred miles away from the park….

I called and told them my story….(I have a terminal illness)…

at first I was told I had to go to a park ticket window and do it in person….

I was persistantly nice…and told them how much this means to me…

eventually….I was asked for my MMW card number…and was given a Magic file number and really nice price to upgrade to AP…anytime I get to the park…before the first day I used the original ticket….and of course it will expire one year from the that first day, too….

so….you see….Magic Kingdom….Magic Bus…Magic File….

if you don't ask….no Magic….

so….now….

Let the Memories Begin…..

so…lets talk about my ride….

this is the 'Dash'….rented by one of the off site companies….they also rent the 'Dream'….

I wanted a Dream….but after talking with a Magic Bus…..I decided to just Dash….

I didn't have any problems with this machine….pretty quick…..I only flipped it once in the camping site….stayed charged all day….

If fits in the front area of the big boats….

I didn't try to ride any buses….so I can't say if it would have been a problem…

My ride was waiting for me at the front desk area when we checked in….after we checked in….I had my son in law drop me off there….I rode the scooter back to the camp site…When we checked out….Brandy wanted to drive it back to the front desk to leave for the outside company to pick it up….

If you think you would benefit by having a scooter….rent one….get one from offsite….

Disney treats you really well…if you need it….I can't stand or walk for long periods….but, I can wait…if need be….I waited only for short periods for riding….on most rides….a few of the rides you wait in line with everyone else….the lines accommodate the size of the scooter….on other rides you scoot you to a different line…a few of the rides that didn't have long lines….I just parked the scooter and waited in line…..on rides that didn't interest me….I told the kids to have fun….

so….if you are reading this…and don't go to Disney….because you think you couldn't handle it without going on a scooter….and you think it would be a hassle….for your family….do it…..rent that scooter….and go with your family….'no regrets that way'

so we loaded up the truck and we moved to Beverly….whoops…wrong memory…

so…we loaded everyone up on one of the big boats….cause I got we one of those scooters….and we went over to………………..

where else?

Magic Kingdom…..Disneyworld…..Disneyland….I went to see the Mouse….

so that leaves just one person to introduce….

my Daughter….Brandy…my fellow plotter and schemer…..

who traded in her quiet Disney resort … long planned vacation with just her family…

for a camping trip with Dad at Fort Wilderness….

Brandy's home is like a Shrine to all things Disney….with a heavy dose of Pooh…the Bear….oh my….

Brandy is my middle child…she was the one that you could never be sure just what she was thinking…but….she was thinking…

Brandy just got accepted into Nursing School….so I will have my own personal RN….

I know where she lives….

my camper is parked in her driveway….

now for the young Jedi…

if there ever was anyone handier with a Light Saber….he probably still wouldn't want to take his chances with Jake…

Jake and I have probably stared down more alligators than Yoda has Light Sabers….just sayin'….

Jake got to ride by himself on Space Mountain this time….and Grandpa was there!

now its time to meet the Boss!

you met Alexis in the first picture…on her way to go fishing!….but you were not introduced properly…say hi to the Princess…Alexis….

Grandpa got to meet all of her Princess buddies before the trip was over….Alexis was kind enough to make sure that I knew them all…she sure knows how to run in a pretty crowd…

seeing the MK in the eyes of Alexis at this stage of my life was quite a treat…it was a full drop in the ole bucket...

here is a quiet shot of site 109…

I wouldn't hesitate to put my 34' trailer in this spot again…I keep forgetting that the model number 3121…bears no resemblance to the length….

so…to continue

which drunk parked that camper?….yours truly…the next picture will show you why….

to get the most 'living area' in the rear under our awning and next to the 'boys' tent in the rear…I 'kicked' the rear of the trailer out….putting the trailer in cockeyed…..

that's my story….and I am sticking it to it….

we enjoyed our site…it was a little cozy…we had park a little strange….but…it was so nice to be just a few sites from the walkway to the trading post and the boats…

since I never stepped on a bus…this whole visit…this was the perfect site….and look….its waterfront….we have our own little stream right behind us!

so…after an agonizing short period of time….the day was upon us….we had 12 hour drive to get to the fort...

we decided to drive the night before and sleep in rest areas but arrive at checkin time…are we there yet?the GPS decided that we needed to go through some residential area and approach FW through a maintenance area…so we added another half hour to arrival time…the last 30 minutes….

my daughter had made all arrangements…when we drove up to the checkin….there seemed to be some confusion…for about 5 minutes….she handed them a copy she had printed off of her online checkin….then another 5 minutes and we were headed to our site….so, check in went smoothly…

we found our loop…say hello to Jake…Hello Jake!…Jake was my first grandchild…come to think of it….still is….

move along now…ignore that man behind the curtain…ignore that correct date, supposively representing another date…who left that date feature set on that camera?

looks like we found our site…

time to lay claim to our spot….before any of those weird pink or green birds show up…

do you think we should let them know who we are?

time to say hi to Scott….he gets to be the Daddy…its good to not have to be the Daddy...

if you found out that you only had a few years to make memories with those you love…

and you could go anywhere to start on this extremely urgent and important task…

where would you go?

where would you go to drop that first drop in that big ole empty bucket?

what about the Fort?

join me….and granddaughter Alexis, grandson, Jakob, and my daughter Brandy and son in law Scott…

for that first drop in the bucket….seven days and six nights at Fort Wilderness…along with a bunch of FIENDS and a Magic Bus!

I never had a dinner….

I never rode a bus….

but I did meet my own personal bus driver ….where yat Lou…..

Carol…we were in the 100 loop….great for scooting and walking to the boats….just a couple of minutes….

the kids told me…that all bus transfers had to be made at the front gate bus stop….a long haul from the 100 loop with the scooter….

I thought maybe outside buses would pick up at the settlement bus stop….by the horse stables….but the kids said they checked and that was not the case….

what is the real deal?