Travisma

Remember the good old days when you you just went to a ride, got in line, and waited?
And for dinner you called that morning or maybe a day or two in advance, or you just showed up and got in.
Now you have to plan 6 months in advance for everything.

He lives in a Million $ RV in the 3000 loop as a permanent guest.
 
He's also Tinker Bells standin on weekends.
 
He roams the service tunnels at night going thru the trash to get insider gossip.

Black Widow
Wonder Woman
Storm
Jean Grey
Rogue
Invisible Girl
Astrid from How to Train Your Dragon...not super but a Heroine
Yes there have been a lot of female copies of males
Supergirl
Spiderwoman
Batgirl
TV has been kinder to female heroines
Xena
New Starbuck
Captain Rader
Rizzoli and Isles
Chloe O'Brian
Annie Walker
But hopefully authors/cartoonists/producers will embrace the female side more often in comics and Disney instead of just Princesses

The new Captain America is going to be a black character.
Marvel Comics’ latest incarnation of their legendary Captain America character is a black man, the comic book industry giant announced late Wednesday.
The Falcon character in the “Captain America” series – one of the first black characters in the Marvel universe – has been appointed as the successor to the Captain’s shield. He’ll take over the role in the “All-New Captain America,” the team behind the series told Marvel.com.
Achie is dead. He died a hero protecting a gay friend from am assassins bullet.
Nick Fury is now a black man. He used to be a grumpy white guy when I used to ready the Shield comics. He was a WW2 vet who had his own comic series before Shield.
Batman has changed many times over the years.
Then check this out
When I wrote about this experiment in literary gender-swapping for the Last Word On Nothing website last year, the public response to Girl Bilbo was startling. My daughter had ‘brought the internet’s Tolkien fanboys to their Mithril-padded knees’, in the words of one commenter. Girl Bilbo and her implications, I knew through comments and emails, were discussed at length in science-fiction circles, parenting groups, Head Start classes, and among Swedish devotees of role-playing games.
So a female Thor, Hulk, or Iron Woman isn't out of the question.

Go to Wilderness Lodge. They break out a bunch of giant sized games to play in the lobby. Or head over to AL and let the kids play in the craft/day room while the adults site on the balcony and watch the animals

Not a lot of mention about this problem at Universal in the media.  It happened only 2 days after the WDW Monorail Tragedy!
 
Everyone hates the big guy.....
 
ORLANDO, Fla. -
 
Transformers: The Ride-3D at Universal Studios is operating Tuesday afternoon after fire officials rescued guests from the ride earlier in the day.
Orlando fire officials confirmed to Local 6 they were performing a "technical rescue" at Universal and safely assisted 12 passengers out of the vehicle on the Transformers ride.
 
No injuries were reported.
 
Casey Ruston, 20, who was visiting the theme park from New Jersey with her grandparents and siblings was a passenger on the ride when it suddenly broke down.
"The sounds completely stopped, like someone hit mute on the TV", said Ruston. "There was no sound, it was just us going through the ride. All of a
sudden everything went black and we stopped, like at a complete halt."
 
Pictures from riders showed the car of the ride being stopped on a low point, so it appeared the passengers couldn't walk off of the ride themselves.
 
Ruston told Local 6 the workers made it seem as though they got stuck in one of the worst places on the ride - about 40 feet up from the ground and far enough from the top that fire rescuers had to rappel down with ladders to reach the car.
 
"Earlier today, Transformers: The Ride 3-D experienced a technical glitch. We assisted a small number of guests off the ride. All guests are off the ride and everyone is safe and in good spirits," said Alyson Lundell, Universal Studios Public Relations Director.
 
Universal gave the rescued guests VIP passes and free lunch for the day.
The Universal Orlando website describes the indoor, simulation ride as "an ultra-immersive, next generation thrill ride that blurs the line between fiction and reality."
 
 
 
ORLANDO, Florida – Riders are being extricated from a ride at Universal Studios Orlando, according to Orlando television stations.
It is not clear what prompted the evacuation of passengers on the ride Transformers: 3D Tuesday morning.
According to posts on Twitter, riders were stuck for about an hour.  Firefighters rappelled down the ride to rescue riders, said published reports.

Make your own pizza on the grill!
 
 
 
We use a Cuisinart perforated pizza pan (I tried to post a web pic but it didn't take.  The handle pops off so you can close the grill lid (if you have one).  I use a ready made crust from Aldis, add the toppings put the pan on the charcoal grill, then cover the grate and pan with foil to make it like an oven.  It's done in about 15 -20 minutes.  Of course if the 1500 loop had the covered grills like I saw down in the 700 loop it would be easier.
 
This way you don't have to tip the driver or even leave your site!

Just spoke with a woman and she said that her husband was one of the coordinators for this shindig, and she can't even get in to see the show. She said her husband composed the music for the fireworks and it's going to be the biggest show that Disney has ever put on, even bigger than last nights. We've got our place staked out for the music, can even see part of the stage.

For that much they can put Luke on a flatbed and drive him thru the fort for a concert.

Sound check going on, it's either Luke or a cover band.

Spoke with the workers on 7/3. They were attaching copper caps to the top of the log ends. They said they had to replace the top 3 logs due to rot. Now they are protecting them with the caps. Some have already started to turn green.

Haven't seen that but there was a guy in the 1500 with a camper top for his jeep. I took a picture that I'll post when we do our trip report.

1400 loop is still closed. We rode our bikes thru there yesterday.... Don't tell security. A couple of contractors were there talking about getting trucks in and out. I hope the one was mistaken/joking, he said it would be closed until 2015.
Pool is open at Wilderness Lodge. They had the upper falls covered when we went over there yesterday, but by the time we left they we taking down the scaffolds. The life guard told a guest that they had finished the lower falls/pool area.
No matter how well behaved Fluffy is at home, make sure they won't be a terror on vacation. There has been a little dog yapping non stop since 08:00, and it's now 10:30. It 's somewhere in the dog loops 1600 - 1900. I feel bad for the dog and it's neighbors.
Squirrels will go into a truck if you leave the door open. Hoping the weird smell is some of the things I've got stored in there.
Keeping an eye on the weather. Tropical storm has formed off the east coast below Vero.
Having a great time. Daughter and second granddaughter arrived last night. Another daughter and boyfriend are flying in today.
No matter how much you pack, you will forget something or realize you could've used .....
Beer is good, but ice cold water is great on days like this.
I still hate golf carts.
We have a brand new grill and spigots at our site!
Wife and granddaughter have been catching fish in the canal behind 1500. They stopped yesterday when a 4 foot gator swam up and stared at them.

Disney breeds chickens in The Land that have extra breasts and legs and no wings!

She also made a preemie onesie for our nieces baby with the same design that says Future Disney Camper. We mailed it to her today.

This is one of the many shirts my wife made for the Fourth.

Had to call about a comp day credit and couldn't get thru to the person that was in the letter I received.
 
In their voicemail they listed another number to call which was Fort Wilderness Operations.
 
A very pleasant CM took my information, said just show the letter at check in, and that she was noting my reservation about the comp day.
 
She then said " i show you checking into the 1500 Loop" !!!!!!!.  Yeeehawwww!
 
I asked did she know what site, she said it was listed but she couldn't tell me in case things change.
 
At least we're not delegated to the third world 2000 loop this time.  Whew.
 
Checking in Sunday.  Can't wait

They weren't sweating, they were glistening. Sweating isn't allowed on Disney properties. It's not Magical enough!

Called this morning, gave them my requests, then faxed in the same request about a 1/2 hour later.

Called this morning, gave them my requests, then faxed in the same request about a 1/2 hour later.

I think I read somewhere that they are going to build  "Avatar!! The Musical" in place of Indy. :rofl3: Just imagine 7 foot tall blue critters tap dancing off the stage and into the audience!
 
And they are going to flatten Adventureland, Frontierland and Liberty Square to make Frozen World, Land of Ice and $$$, and also a 3 story Cinnamon Bun Stand.

Use the Segways that are hidden behind the 4th tree to the right of the Trading Post and take the secret tunnel under the lake from the Fort to the MK.  You come out inside of Cinderella's Castle.

After many years of staying in the cabins, then just staying in off property hotels because the cabins got to be too pricey, we purchsed a tent last year.  Last time we had "camped" we had 4 kids, a small pop up and were 25 years younger. 
 
Now it was the two of us, two granddaughters (4 and 8 ) and a couple of daughters on part of the trips.  The oldest granddaughter really really wanted to camp so we purchesed a used Coleman 10 X 14 EZ Up tent.
 
Our first trip they put us in the 1800 loop and didn't charge us extra.  That one had a larger concrete pad and a smaller sand pad but the tent fit fine.
 
The next trip was the 1500 loop, and the last one was the 2000 loop.  Each time we had no problems fitting the tent in the sand and had plenty of room for everything else.  We were able to fit 2 vehicles on the cement pads and still have room.
 
 
You say you are experienced, so the below may be redundant if you are a FL camper.
 
Tarps!  They can be your best friend during the FL rainy season.  Our tent didn't have a rainfly so we used a tarp strung to the trees the first 2 trips.  By the last trip I had purchased a large tarp and using some metal conduit for poles I had a pavilion over the top of the tent with enough room on one end to keep a couple of chairs dry.
 
Smaller tarps can keep bikes dry, provide shade, keep items hidden etc.
 
The plastic under the tent that mouseketab carol mentioned is a good idea, not necessasarily for dryness, but keeping the sand off the bottom when repacking.  I wish I had thought of that.
 
Broom for sweeping out the sand.  Rug/mats outside of the tent entrance for wiping feet.  The coquina sand sticks to everything and is a course sand.
 
Fishing poles... adults share with the kids because you won't have time to fish if they are.
 
Fans are a great idea.  We didn't have any and survived.  By morning the inside of the tent will be chilly, but the fans would've been good at turn in time.
 
Your favorite bug deterrent.  Flies and mosquitos are at the Fort.  Disney can't control everything.
 
Buying groceries at the Fort will be $$$$.
 
There are some nearby grocery stores off site, especailly if you go out the back roads.
 
Ice at the fort is $$$ and the stuff you get from the machines at the comfort stations is soft and runny.  Someone mentioned in another post that they have better ice at the meadow trading post.
 
But the number one rule is HAVE FUN and let the kids set the pace.  If they are happy you and everyone around you will be happy.

I think an iPad may be a little too heavy. I've been watching tv shows on my iPad at lunchtime in the cell phone lot at the Tampa airport. They have a fast wireless system, food trucks and bathrooms. I'm slowly cleaning up my DVR one lunchtime at a time.
Only problem is that it's so bright it washes out the dark scenes. So, I made myself a square cardboard tunnel that I slip onto the iPad and them put my face against it. I'm sure I look goofier to the people driving by then that hat user, but it gets the job done!

We recently tested some external phone chargers at work.  They are replacing our Blackberry's with iPhones and Galaxy S4's.
 
The best charger we found is this one.
 
Anker® 2nd Gen Astro 6000mAh (2A Output) Portable Charger External Battery Pack with PowerIQ™ Technology for iPhone 5S, 5C, 5, 4S, iPad Air, mini, Galaxy S5, S4, S3, Note 3, Galaxy Tab 3, 2, Nexus 4, 5, 7, 10, HTC One, One 2 (M8), MOTO X, G, LG Optimus, other Smartphones and Tablets.The smart charging port, powered by PowerIQ™ technology, intelligently identifies each connected device and speaks its language - guaranteeing the fastest charge time for EVERY device (up to 2 Amps). 6000 mAh of capacity and an energy efficiency rate 10% above previous generation Astros and many current standard alternatives charges the iPhone three times and large-capacity phones like the Galaxy S4 almost twice. A "shake" starts a charge or displays the remaining power level. The ultra-low power consumption (100000 shakes consume less than 1%) 10-LED power meter balances accuracy and aesthetics. Sturdy construction and matte finish withstand bumps and drops. Grade A cells and premium chips ensure reliability. Input: 5V / 1A; Use a 1A adapter (not included) with the included USB cable for the fastest charging time (6 hours). Package contents: Anker® 2nd Generation Astro External Battery, micro USB cable, user manual. (Apple 30 pin and lightning, Samsung 30-pin adapter, not included)  
Price: $59.99 Sale: $29.99 & FREE Shipping on orders over $35. Details You Save:  
$30.00 (50%)
 
 
 
This is from Amazon.
 
 
It will charge an iPhone that is almost dead 2 times on one charge.  It got great reviews.
 
We tried 2 other brands, and they were next to worthless.
 
My daughter gave me a backpack a couple of Christmas's ago that has a battery in it for recharging devices.  This is it, but I'm pretty sure she didn't pay anywhere near the listed price.
 
I use it when we travel.  It was real good in airports, because outlets used to be impossible to find for your chargers.  The pocket where the cables are located is roomy enough to place your phone in it while it charges.
 
Powerbag Back Pack with Battery for Charging Smartphones, Tablets and eReaders, Black (RFAP-0123F)by Homedics71 customer reviews | 7 answered questions   Available from these sellers.     Color: Powerbag Black Back Pack Designed  On-board removable battery with built-in PowerVine System delivers a 3000mAh charge directly to where it's needed. That's enough to charge the average smartphone twice. Easily accessible pockets include dedicated Apple and M2 connectors with micro and mini USBs that allow you to charge Android, Blackberry, and thousands of other portable devices. Apple connectors charge your iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. The full-sized internal USB port allows you to charge almost anything. Battery can be charged easily in or out of the bag with the included AC adaptor Padded pocket safely transports a 14" laptop, tablet, or other devices.