DramaMama .......... Janet

We haven't eaten at the Leaky Cauldron but we have had lunch twice at Three Broomsticks.  We really liked it.  Both times we got a pumpkin juice and a butter beer to share between the 4 of us.  That's about all I can take because it is so sweet, but both are tasty.  Congrats to Z for being picked - how cool!

I'm in!  We have had Universal seasonal passes this year along with WDW water park passes.  Of course, we have stayed at the Fort the two times we have gone.  Planning to make it back at the end of May before the passes run out.  Eight nights at the Fort, though!!!   

Looking forward to your thoughts on it.  We absolutely love all the Harry Potter World stuff!!!  Of course, it looks like it was designed by an imagineer.  There is no comparison to Disney in their theming at all anywhere else.  I got heartedly sick of simulator rides.  Pro on those is that they can run in FL's rain.  Still, it got old.  That and the constant jabs at Disney - blowing up Tinkerbell in the Shrek pre-show room, etc.  I just shook my head and whispered, "Disney doesn't NEED to compare itself to you."  

There were some rides we missed - water rides mostly - and we want to go back to the HP stuff so we'll head back to finish out the passes.  

Carry on!

9 hours ago, h2odivers...Ray said:

DD(7th grade) qualified for the Duke TIP program. (Duke  Talent identification program). Only two other kids at her school qualified.   She will taking no the ACT this December or February.   

I know Duke is an ACC school but it looks like a good program. lol.  

Btw. Does anyone have any experience with the Duke TIP?

Our son qualified this year, too.  We are going to have him take the SAT (since more schools around here require it for college these days) in March.  Thrill did it when he was in school and said it was a great way to get a sense of what it was like to take the test without any of the stress of actually making a certain score.  They know 7th graders won't ace it, but it will show what areas they excel in.  They can get education advice, publications, discounts on educational products, access to databases for scholarships, and possible summer gifted programs. DS isn't too excited about taking a big test, but it will be good for him! 

Glad to hear that Jungle Cruise was able to open back up.  

Sad to hear TCD's TRs may be ending.

My Fiend checking time is sporadic. Like many people I may be absent for a while, then binge the forums for a few hours.      

That's life.   Just glad its here for us when we're able to get our fix!

We let our kids play on their iPODS when we are at the camper, but they are not allowed to take them into the parks. Besides worrying about losing them, a Disney trip is far too expensive to waste staring at something they have at home.  

59 minutes ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:

A bit of damage inside the parks... although seems ironic that Mr. Toad is the one still standing.

 

I guess Irma is a fan of Toad.   Hmmmm.....  noisy, reckless, dangerous,  brash.    I can see that. 

On 9/11/2017 at 7:01 PM, Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie said:

How are fiends holding up in GA?

Thrill and I are fine, just sitting in the dark.  We lost power about 3:00 this afternoon and are not sure when it will come back on. So many people in our area are out of power it may take a while.  We lost some limbs and loads of twigs. The only damage we found was one piece of siding that came off and landed in our yard (so at least we have the piece to put back on). Quite a few people in our neighborhood have trees laying on their houses so we feel really blessed to have escaped with no damage. The crazy thing is the remainder of the storm is heading toward my parents in north MS!

*Edited - This evidently didn't post the other day.  Not sure why but it popped up saying it had now been restored.   Cool.  Our power hs since been restored, too. That is even MORE cool!

Thrill's family seemed to have weathered it well in South Florida.  They checked in again with us this morning and said they were about to venture out and see what might need to be mopped up or cleaned.  Here in Macon, GA, we are just getting started with our bit of fun.  The winds started picking up about 8:00 this morning.  So far we have just lost some limbs.  The heavier stuff is expected this afternoon.  I am concerned about all the super tall pine and oak trees surrounding our house.  They just aren't used to tropical storm strength.  Hoping the storm continues to weaken.

We are continuing to pray for all those who have lost so much in the storm.  Stay safe.

Praying for all our Florida fiends and Thrill's family, too. They are all staying put in South Florida.  The forecast now has us in central Georgia pretty concerned.  The strength of the winds we may get worry me - our house is closely surrounded by loads of trees.  We have food and batteries for the assumed power outage.  Light winds often cause limbs to fall on lines around here and take out transformers with lovely green fireworks.  This should be, um, fun.

9 hours ago, Specularius said:

The fire ban was officially lifted at the Fort yesterday, the 7th. The day we checked back in before heading home. There is now standing water at the Fort. The next time there is a fire ban, and you would like it lifted, just pay for me a site and I will be happy to come end it!

I laughed out loud at the sign posted at the comfort station this past week about the "dry" conditions.  We couldn't have used our grill anyway.  It was standing in 3 inches of rainwater.  

I'm in.  Carry on.  

I would say around 1504 to about 1510 or so. I am not sure which sites it starts to curve right toward the canal but it is about halfway.   Or look at the site and check the numbers that it says they are on the left - the inside of the loop.  I understand your preferences and am glad they don't "interfere" with ours - we always ask for 1500 and 1520 in particular!    Welcome to the Cottontail Curl loving family!!!   

9 hours ago, Travisma said:

It makes you wonder how much of this they are dong for the kids or how much they are doing for bragging rights to their mom circles.

^ This.

On 5/23/2017 at 0:27 PM, Tri-Circle-D said:

I agree with renting the viewing boxes.

But, let's have two or three different heights for the boxes.  That way guests can one-up each other.

And, they could also rope-off some area and make it a no Kids on Shoulders zone.  Maybe charge $25 to enter the No KOS area?

TCD

Why do I have The Sneetches playing in my head?   "The star bellied Sneetches had stars upon thars." 
 

Since we aren't FL residents (sadly) it wouldn't work for us.  I do think getting the water parks annual pass will work, though.  We have more trips planned, would like the chance to do both parks, and would like to be comfortable with only doing a half day at a time in the water parks without feeling like we were wasting our one full day ticket.  I am sure Aquatica will be great, but I have Disney experiences that need to be checked off "the list".

Speaking of, any more mini golf recommendations?

Hmmm.... after looking at the photographical evidence I am inclined to believe that with the "new" cinnamon rolls you would be paying for more air (i.e. empty space) than the previous dessert.  Here "airy" means light in content, not necessarily in texture.

3 hours ago, DaveInTN said:

We ended up buying water park annual passes so we could do both, and went to each park a couple times that week. It was around $125 I think or about the cost of 2 daily passes.

We have been looking at AAA discounts and with a couple more Fort trips planned within the calendar year this is looking like a good option.  

1 hour ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

They do provide life jackets for kids at both waterparks.

For most of the slides at both parks, water depth is not an issue- you dump out in knee to ankle deep water.

TCD

Good info.  That's what I needed to know.    

Keep it coming!

In watching the show online I was worried about how much they were relying on front of castle projections.  We would occasionally watch Wishes from Main Street but if it was crowded we would snag a spot in Frontierland or pretend we were in a bomb zone and hang in front of the Beauty and the Beast gift shop.  Even from the Fort you could get the story from the audio and fireworks.  It might even be better to just hear the music and see a good fireworks show.  I liked the colors on the castle and the stained glass section but the characters flying all over the place did seem frenetic.  

44 minutes ago, DaveInTN said:

Whoever was in charge of creating this show just got himself a brand new microwave and went overboard with it.  

Great analogy.  I remember my parents trying the "scrambled eggs" in a cup.  Pure nastiness.   

When school is out we are heading down to the Fort for a week. We won't have WDW park tickets, though we are planning to do a few days at Universal. (We figure we ought to check it out at least once.)  ;-)

We would like to do either Winterland/Summerland or Fantasia mini golf AND either  Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach.      For those who have done any of these please tell me what you liked and didn't like about each.  

As for the water parks, we have 2 adults (one swimmer, one not - me) and two kids (one decent swimmer, one just learning).   Do they have life vests for kids?  What is the depth of pools?   

Bring on the fiendish opinions!

3 minutes ago, Helmsey......Todd said:

I wondered while watching the live stream how it would be watching offsite. Hopefully there will be some Fiends that will be able to report on this sooner than later :)

We'll be at the Fort the first week of June without park passes.  It will be our only was to see the show for a while.

I'm in.  Keep the updates coming!

11 hours ago, mmfancipher said:

Everything is Awesome! When you're part of a team!

"Thanks" for the earworm.  Really.

Another big thumbs up for The Princess Bride.  Most quotable movie ever.

As evidenced here.

Oh, and thanks for the TR, TCD.  Great job as always.

On 2/16/2017 at 4:52 PM, Katman1356...Jason said:

You should have said so when we were all down there. I am an ordained minister. I had friends getting married many years ago and they wanted me to perform the ceremony. 

Careful!  You may get more business than you want!  

Anyway, very cool, Sir!

On 2/16/2017 at 10:19 PM, Roberta said:

I'm going to have to look into this. I remember back in they day, looking for a pink flamingo to paint purple. Is there are standard fiend sign? 

I know some have painted pink flamingos, but we found a company that makes them in lots of colors (supposedly for sports fans to match their favorite team.)  Our "team" is Fort Fiends!   I made little coonskin hats for them.  Great until it rained.  Then they looked a bit like the Beatles.  I will try to find a pic.