DaveInTN

*cough*  Dollywood  *cough*

The weekend of Sept 29.  So it is written....

*cough*  Dollywood  *cough*

So that makes it sound like you can park one vehicle without charge at your campsite....as opposed to one spot in the overflow lot per campsite.  Or am I reading it wrong?
And actually, upon reading it again, it says each campsite provides parking space for one "motorized vehicle".  That could be interpreted to mean a motorhome, but you'd have to pay for your toad.  

But cinnamon has 3 syllables.  

Over the years there have been many, many things that have disappeared from the Fort.  The train, the peacocks, swimming in the lake, the totem poles, the covered wagon, the River Country wagon, the lawnmower tree....just to name a few.  Everything on that list either had a good reason, such as maintenance issues, or while they impacted the ambiance of the resort, they maybe didn't directly impact my enjoyability of spending time there.  But this one crosses a line.  There is nothing I enjoy more than some quality rocking chair time on the porch.  In fact, when I'm at the Fort, I do it AT LEAST twice per day.  I enjoy coffee on that porch in the morning, while Anna plays on the playground.  And I enjoy a beverage in the late afternoon, before we embark on our evening dinner plans whether they be back at the campsite or off on a boat or bus for a dining adventure.  Those rocking chairs are a big part of The Fort to me.  Yes, all of the other things I listed above were enjoyable, but as I said, I understand why the train went.  I don't necessarily understand why the River Country wagon is gone, but its removal, which we personally witnessed on March 18, 2010, hasn't really impacted me.  This does.  And this one actually hurts more than the MSB cinnamon rolls.  

At the Disney shareholder meeting today, Bob Iger gave the first look at DCL's next 3 ships to be launched in 2021, 2022 and 2023.  Each will be approximately 140,000 gross tons, or slightly larger than the Dream and Fantasy. 

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2018/03/first-look-at-disneys-next-ships/

Yes we need to plan another gathering....even if just for a night at Bob's place.  Assuming Bob will have us.  

So is this evidence that the chairs are simply gone to be repainted before the Spring Break Crush descends on the Fort?  If that's the case, why don't they buy more chairs, and rotate them into and out of BPG's shop so that there is never a chairless day at the Fort? 
That porch, as well as the porches at both Trading Posts, should be LINED with chairs.  If Cracker Barrel can do it, why can't Disney?  (yes, I realize CB is selling the dadgum things....imagine how much the Mouse could charge for Fort rocking chairs?)

Over the years there have been many, many things that have disappeared from the Fort.  The train, the peacocks, swimming in the lake, the totem poles, the covered wagon, the River Country wagon, the lawnmower tree....just to name a few.  Everything on that list either had a good reason, such as maintenance issues, or while they impacted the ambiance of the resort, they maybe didn't directly impact my enjoyability of spending time there.  But this one crosses a line.  There is nothing I enjoy more than some quality rocking chair time on the porch.  In fact, when I'm at the Fort, I do it AT LEAST twice per day.  I enjoy coffee on that porch in the morning, while Anna plays on the playground.  And I enjoy a beverage in the late afternoon, before we embark on our evening dinner plans whether they be back at the campsite or off on a boat or bus for a dining adventure.  Those rocking chairs are a big part of The Fort to me.  Yes, all of the other things I listed above were enjoyable, but as I said, I understand why the train went.  I don't necessarily understand why the River Country wagon is gone, but its removal, which we personally witnessed on March 18, 2010, hasn't really impacted me.  This does.  And this one actually hurts more than the MSB cinnamon rolls.  

That's the primary reason I don't stay at Walmart parking lots anymore.  Even if we could do without the cooling of the A/C, I needed the A/C fan running to drown out the noise of the parking lot, delivery trucks during the night, roads, etc.  So I'd run the generator to be able to run the A/C, but then I'd lie awake questioning whether the CO detector was working, even though I added a second one for redundancy.  LOL.  So now I always find a campground right off my route that I've scouted out on rvparkreviews ahead of time, plug in and get some rest.  Then again, y'all might not be as neurotic as me.  

That would explain the rumored name change too....Be Our Guest (As Long As You're Willing To Spend A Minimum Amount).

That charred octopus just reminds me that 20k Leagues is gone forever.  And in its place, we have the SMB Ariel ride, Ms White's Adventures with Men, and the Be Our Overpaying Guest restaurant that masquerades as a fancy bistro but is really just a theme park restaurant that pumps out mass produced overpriced meals to the ADR addicted Disney moms who want their little brats to get a photo op with the Beast.  Oh, and what the heck is a "truffle tremor", and why does every Disney restaurant feel the need to have a charcuterie board on their menu now?

My sources tell me that, not only is Disney moving to ban all personal carts, but they are also eliminating all of the existing rental carts and implementing a fleet of autonomous "self-driving" Lyft carts.  Rather than renting a cart for the duration of your stay, when you want a ride you order it from the Lyft Fort app, and a Minnie decorated autonomous cart will pick you up and take you to your destination.  No more issues with kids driving, drunk idiots having mishaps, etc.  Fortunately, the carts will have a "Looping" mode, where you tell it to Loop and it will drive around all the loops until you tell it to stop.  Payment is handled through the app and added to your account to be paid at check out.    

#MeToo

Trip Number Two:  Spring Break at The Fort
Ok, enough with the wedding and Commodore 64 distractions.  The wedding was a 2016 event, and this is a 2017 report.  So, moving along....
When we left off, our first trip of 2017 had concluded.  That was in mid-February, and was only INC and me.  But we only had a month to get through until our family Spring Break trip....and this one was to the Fort!!!
It's been several years since we've stepped foot in a Disney park, but for our Spring Break trip I did buy park tickets.  Only....they were water park tickets.  We still aren't ready to go back to the theme parks.  But we'd never done Disney water parks, and a water park annual pass is fairly reasonable.  
I don't have a full photographic record of this trip....as I have previously stated, I had no intention of doing a trip report, so I just took pics here and there.  Accordingly, this section of the report will be a bit sketchy but I'll post what I can.
We left home on Friday afternoon and made it to our overnight spot just south of Dothan in time for dinner and some sleep.  That got us to the Fort on Saturday in the afternoon.  We got settled into the site and enjoyed our evening.  On Sunday, we headed to our first water park....which was Blizzard Beach.  No pics from this day, so I won't say anything about it because I do have pics from other water park days I can share.  I'll just say we enjoyed BB, but having visited Splashin Safari at Holiday World in Indiana, BB was underwhelming.  Great theming, just so-so rides and attractions.  
On Monday is where my first pics of this trip pick up.  We spent the morning hanging around the campsite to relax and do some laundry.  Izzy, as is her custom, was up early.  And she was hungry for some biscuits and gravy, so she headed over to Trails End and got herself some takeout.


We were all set up in 530...which was one of the sites I requested when I faxed my request in that last week.  


This is one of the sites that backs up to the canal.  

How do I remember that we did laundry that day?  This pic was my clue.  

We also took Elena of Avalor to the playground....which we do pretty much every day at the Fort.  
I raced her down the slide.  
We also got in some pool time that afternoon.  I recall the weather was beautiful.




Do you see that food truck sitting there in the field by the pool?  I was pretty stoked about one thing on their menu that I wanted to try....the roast beef on kimmelwick roll.  I posted back at the time about it, and about my disappointment in it.  So I won't rehash that here.  If you want to read my review of the sandwich, you can find it here:  http://www.fortfiends.net/topic/18327-fort-wilderness-food-truck/?do=findComment&comment=503050
That evening, we went to the campfire program and movie....primarily because I wanted to check out the food truck, and everyone wanted Mickey ice cream bars!!



My advice on this is....if you want Mickey bars, get them from the Trading Post.  The ones on the food truck are soft.  So you need to eat them quickly or they'll fall off the stick and/or melt.  
I'll leave it here for now.  Coming up....we go out for breakfast.  Any guesses where?  And INC and I go on a date!  Oh, and we'll eventually get to some water park pictures.  Stay tuned....
 
 

If that counter sold Mai Tais and Mickey bars I would camp out there for my entire vacation.   

They should build cars with powerful magnets along the front edge to pick up nails before the tires drive over them.  

#MeToo

Will there be a spa?  I'm hoping for Jabba's Backyard Massage Parlor and Casino, staffed with masseuses in Slave Leia outfits.  

Will there be a spa?  I'm hoping for Jabba's Backyard Massage Parlor and Casino, staffed with masseuses in Slave Leia outfits.  

Who proof read that sign?  There are at least 3 different ways of writing today's holiday on there:  Valentines Day (with no apostrophe), Valentine Day, and Valentine's Day.   
Probably the same person who can't figure out whether it's Meadow or Meadows.  Or is it Meadow's?

Will there be a spa?  I'm hoping for Jabba's Backyard Massage Parlor and Casino, staffed with masseuses in Slave Leia outfits.