DaveInTN

Small world....

The thought of a pedestrian bridge is incredibly underwhelming, especially when compared to the speculation earlier in this thread of something along the lines of Hogwarts Express.  

You should see my freezer mods.

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.    

Sure, it'll be the World's longest enclosed coaster, taking 45 minutes to complete a ride, but it will only go 1.5 mph.  And they still haven't figured out how to fit Ellen into the Guardians theme.  

There used to be a similar situation at WDW.  There was a group of people with lime green Mickeys who felt threatened by some folks with purple flamingos.  It got pretty ugly for a while, but eventually things settled down.  The flamingo people are still around, but no one has seen a lime Mickey in years.  

They need Jon and Ponch to go in and bust this up.  

There used to be a similar situation at WDW.  There was a group of people with lime green Mickeys who felt threatened by some folks with purple flamingos.  It got pretty ugly for a while, but eventually things settled down.  The flamingo people are still around, but no one has seen a lime Mickey in years.  

There is so much about that story that doesn't add up.  For instance, if Pebbles was so small it could fit in the palm of her hand, why not hide it and sneak it on the flight?  Also, I can't imagine someone that needs an emotional support animal would ever willingly flush that animal down the toilet.  I would think they'd do anything in their power to protect that animal.  Thirdly, since when does PETA not respond to a request for comment from the media?  I've never known them to pass up free publicity.  And finally, why is it news that Spirit Airlines provided poor customer service to someone?  Isn't that the only thing they are good at? 
Too many things ain't right with that story.  

There used to be a similar situation at WDW.  There was a group of people with lime green Mickeys who felt threatened by some folks with purple flamingos.  It got pretty ugly for a while, but eventually things settled down.  The flamingo people are still around, but no one has seen a lime Mickey in years.  

There is so much about that story that doesn't add up.  For instance, if Pebbles was so small it could fit in the palm of her hand, why not hide it and sneak it on the flight?  Also, I can't imagine someone that needs an emotional support animal would ever willingly flush that animal down the toilet.  I would think they'd do anything in their power to protect that animal.  Thirdly, since when does PETA not respond to a request for comment from the media?  I've never known them to pass up free publicity.  And finally, why is it news that Spirit Airlines provided poor customer service to someone?  Isn't that the only thing they are good at? 
Too many things ain't right with that story.  

I've heard if you wear it on SE Damn Judi changes back to Walter Cronkite.  

Honestly, I expected to open the thread and see a picture of a cinnamon roll.  

I've heard if you wear it on SE Damn Judi changes back to Walter Cronkite.  

The sensation of financial ruin for departing guests? 

While I am sure the front desk gets their share of idiots who want Disney to fix issues that are not Disney's fault...whether it be broken outside carts, a non-functioning A/C unit on a personal RV, or a credit card locked by the bank for fraud protection....I still believe the main reason Disney doesn't want outside cart vendors doing business on their property is $$$$.  There may also be secondary liability concerns, but the Mouse is motivated by the sweet smell of Benjamins.  

Mickey's Backyard Massage Parlor and Casino advertises hourly rates.  Maybe they are now doing the same for campsites?

I can't answer your question, but I noticed you are from Nashville.  I'm in Franklin.
  

There is so much about that story that doesn't add up.  For instance, if Pebbles was so small it could fit in the palm of her hand, why not hide it and sneak it on the flight?  Also, I can't imagine someone that needs an emotional support animal would ever willingly flush that animal down the toilet.  I would think they'd do anything in their power to protect that animal.  Thirdly, since when does PETA not respond to a request for comment from the media?  I've never known them to pass up free publicity.  And finally, why is it news that Spirit Airlines provided poor customer service to someone?  Isn't that the only thing they are good at? 
Too many things ain't right with that story.  

Honestly, I expected to open the thread and see a picture of a cinnamon roll.  

Wow, there's a ton of information in here.  And yet, I couldn't get past how this would make a cool Sith name....Darth Pervious.  
 

Ok, thanks again for the prayers, everyone.  They are working, because my blood pressure has come back up today and I feel a bit better.  In fact, I feel up to writing an update....so let's do that!  
When I last posted, I left off with a teaser about us enjoying the 3 P's of Fort life.  So...what are the 3 P's??  Well, for us, those would be Playgrounds, Pool, and Pina Coladas!!
INC had gotten into the Fort late on Saturday night (or technically very early Sunday morning), so we spent a lazy Sunday morning drinking coffee at the campsite.  Elsa....I mean, Anna....swept the pad for us.  

Of course, it wasn't too long before Anna was asking to go to the playground.  And since 100 is so close to the Settlement playground, that's where we went.  
Elsa...I mean, Anna...got in some good old swinging time.  

Stella enjoyed the freedom that comes with getting a bit older and possessing your very own refillable mug.  Life is good for a 12 year old at the Fort!  

And INC and I were enjoying a beautiful, blue skied fall day....soaking up the rays, the sounds of boat whistles, and the background ambiance of folks walking to the marina, waiting for Trails End reservations, and zipping around in their golf carts.  

And when I said Blue Skies....I meant it.  Check out that color!!

We hung out for a while, and then we decided to go to the pool to check out a Bingo game that had been listed in the Activities schedule.  We've previously enjoyed playing Bingo at the campfire area, or the picnic tables at the Meadows, so we thought this would be a good time.  
We headed toward the pool on our cart, and saw BPG hard at work at the 500 loop bus stop.  

We got to the pool a bit early, so just hung out for a while.  It was a somewhat cool day, so the pool was dead.  


Anna decided to do what she always does....make new friends.  

When it got close to Bingo time, I asked someone where they were doing the Bingo game.  They pointed to the activities area at the pool where they do all the kids activities, like dance contests and such.  No tables...you just got a bingo card from an activities CM and they did the game right there.  Which meant, it was geared toward kids.  Which also meant, there were MANY false Bingo callings by kids who were either trying to be funny, or didn't know how to play.  And it also meant, the prizes were the same crappy prizes they give during all the pool activities.  In previous years, they've had some really good prizes like Disney board games, bluetooth speakers, and the like.  Today, the prizes resembled the crap you get at a Chuck E Cheese when you cash in your skee ball tickets.  Lame.  And obnoxious.  But the kids enjoyed it, which is the point I guess.  
Later that day, we decided that it was a nice day to head to the Boardwalk and wander around.  Well, we actually had an ulterior motive for going in that direction.  We had a dinner ADR at Beaches and Cream!  So we bused over to DHS, and walked the pathway from there to the Boardwalk.  
At the Boardwalk, we came upon a bar, and a drink sounded good.  And since oldest DD is of age, she got to partake too.  I ordered a Pina Colada, and a gold Margarita.  They were actually fairly strong, considering it was Disney.  
 


Someone felt left out.  LOL.  

We made our way over to the Beach Club, and still had some time to kill, so we checked out the Christmas decorations.  



We headed back outside to the B&C podium and checked in.  I was a little worried, as our ADR was for 8 people since I expected Gwen and Caleb to be with us.  I had not had any luck reducing the size of the reservation before arriving.  But I check in and said we only had 6 people, and it was no issue.  Considering the size of the restaurant, and the tiny tables they push together for larger parties, I imagine they were fine with it.  That left an extra table to give to someone else.  
We were, of course, planning on having a kitchen sink.  But we also wanted dinner, so that came first.  
Some posing and faces were made.  

I always tell the kids...if you make a face, I am going to post it anyways.  LOL.  


I don't have any pics of dinner....but everyone was very happy with their choices.  They actually have an interesting and good veggie burger here.  I seem to recall the kids having burgers, or chicken tenders, and maybe one of them had grilled cheese.  And B&C has good FRIES!  
Ok, on to the star attraction.  We ordered the Kitchen Sink.  And since my girls aren't into all that fruity crap with their ice cream, we ordered the non-fruit variety....which basically has more of the brownies, cookies, fudge and all that goodness.  
Oh, but we did want the cherries.  

Many photos ensued.  I'm guessing this ended up on Snapcrap, or whatever.  

Before diving in, I excused myself to go to the rest room, and when I got back, this is what I found.  

Ok, that's a lie.  I had my fill with the rest of them.  
Some more than others.  

Most impressive, right?

Well, that is a good place to stop. 
We still have lots of fun stuff coming up.  Including breakfast at a place that we have surprisingly never tried previously.  Plus Thanksgiving with the folks that spawned DIT.  Stay tuned.  

Ok folks, it is past due time to move on to our sixth and final trip of this report.  I was traveling this past week and never had time to post an update, but I'm enjoying a quiet Saturday morning with Anna, have a fresh cup of coffee, and am ready to roll.  So, let's go.  
Trip #6 - Thanksgiving at The Fort
Once again, I had hopes that we would  be planning a trip to the Fort for all 8 of us, including son in law.  And they were on board too, so I planned accordingly.  I purchased a new tent to put up behind the motorhome for them, and had a Preferred site booked (I normally prefer 500), in part because that's the only level available but also because the pad would be better for a tent.  And then, just weeks before departure, SIL started a new job and couldn't take off.  Again, DD opted to stay back with him.  So, we went from 8 to 6.  And similar to the Dollywood trip, INC had a conflict on the Saturday before Thanksgiving that she needed to be in Nashville for.  My plans were to leave after school on Friday.  Should we delay our departure by 24 hours, shaving a full day off of our reservation?  Nah!  I booked her a plane ticket for Saturday evening, figuring we would arrive Saturday afternoon, get set up, and she would come in via Magical Express that night.  So, with that all laid out, let's get to departure day.  
In years past, I would typically yank the kids from school in the early afternoon to hit the road early.  But oldest DD works as a Special Ed assistant for the school district.  It's one thing to yank a student early, but she needed to be there for her kiddo, and she works until 4pm.  She then had to get to her home, pick up her bearded dragon Khaleesi to take to her sister's house (who since she wasn't going was babysitting Khaleesi), and then drive out to our place for departure.  I knew all of that would take until around 6, and being late November it would be dark by the time we left.  Driving the motorhome on the narrow, winding country roads we live on is never fun, but doing so in the dark would be even better.  The only thing that would make this better would be if it was raining.  Oh, guess what?  It rained.  LOL>  
Anyways, while waiting for DD to arrive that afternoon, I pulled the motorhome up front and was fully ready to hit the road as soon as she pulled in.  You can see that the sun was already pretty low in the sky.  


After DD11 got home, she was excited so we grabbed a selfie while we still had daylight.  

Poor DD arrived and I hurried her into the motorhome so we could get moving, as the rain was just starting to come down.  I never even let her go inside the house.  After we were on the road, she said she had had to pee so bad....lol.  Fortunately being in a motorhome has its advantages, so she didn't have to hold it.  
I had made a reservation for an overnight campsite at Harvest Moon in Adairsville, GA, around 4 hours south of us.  But after only 45 minutes on the road, I was wondering if we'd make it.  When we got to Murfreesboro, at the junction of I-24 and 840, we hit a standstill due to a large accident.  The combination of being Friday evening, in the rain, the weekend before a holiday, combined to royally screw things up.  We sat there for an hour before getting moving again.  Then, we had to go over Monteagle in the wind and rain.  I have arthritis in my hands (yes, early onset....I'm not THAT old), and I was hurting from grabbing tightly to that wheel.  Traffic in Chattanooga was its usual mess as well.  We made a quick stop in a rest area to eat our dinner, then pressed on.  I was exhausted, but we kept going and finally made it to Adairsville at close to midnight.  I figured I'd get Anna tucked in her bunk (she somehow had never fallen asleep during the ride), and I'd collapse to sleep.  Well, Anna and everyone else got tucked, and I went to bed.  But...I didn't sleep.  No idea why, but that does happen to me from time to time when traveling.  I laid all night without getting any sleep, so by 5 I figured I'd make some coffee, and hit the road.  The nice thing is, that took us through Atlanta early on a Saturday morning, so we just breezed on down the road.  The rain had ended, and it was smooth sailing.  
We hit the Fort by mid-afternoon, and got site 109, which was my first request.  



I got things set up.

After setting up and hanging out relaxing for a bit, we checked in down the loop with fellow Fiends Jason and Kelly....the GA Dawg fans.  This was the second time in the last 3 years that we've camped in 100 with them, so we were looking forward to that.  We chatted briefly, and then it was time to head to our arrival day dinner ADR at Trails End.  
We hadn't had dinner at TE in a number of years, and I figured not having INC with me, it would be easy just to stay put and walk over there for dinner.  When I made the reservation I didn't at all focus on the price range noted on the Disney site.  As you know, buffet prices fluctuate quite a bit based on the day, and my recollection was that dinner there was somewhere in the $18-20 range.  Well, let's just say it's no longer in the $18-20 range.  Dinner for the 5 of us (4 adults, 1 child) came to over $150!  I was glad I had Disney Rewards dollars to use.  Regardless, the buffet was good and everyone enjoyed their dinner.  
After finishing up at TE, we wandered back to 100, where Kelly and Jason were outside hanging out with ACinA2 (or something like that) Aaron and his family.  I was really hoping to get to meet them this week, and here we were lucking out and meeting them on the first night.  This trip, despite the rocky first travel night, was starting out awesomely!  
After visiting for a bit, we did a little bit of looping, but then we were all pretty tired from the drive, my lack of sleep, and getting set up, so we headed back to the RV to settle in for the night.  I didn't want to sleep as I wanted to wait for INC to arrive later that night.  She wasn't due to arrive at the Fort until around midnight, but I knew if I went to sleep I might not get up to go get her, and I wanted to pick her up on the cart rather than make her ride the bus.  After she landed at MCO, I stayed in touch and tracked her location to know when to head up front.  I saw that her bus was coming up Bonnet Creek toward Vista, so I figured they's make the left on Vista and head right to the Fort.  I headed up front in the cart to get her.  Well....the bus did turn left on Vista, but it buzzed right past the Fort.  It turns out they were first dropping guests off at the Lodge, and then the Poly, before coming to stop at the Fort.  What the Fort!!  I knew we were less important, but to drive right past the Fort like that was stupid IMO.  
Well, I had time to kill, so I tried to get a "midnight at the Outpost" picture.  That's not so easy on a phone, but it's not terrible.  

 I was still tracking her location, and had seen them stop at the Lodge and the Poly and then head back up World Drive and down Vista.  So I wasn't surprised to soon be seeing this.  

INC wasn't the only Fort guest to get off the bus.  There were some with luggage, so I assume they were cabin guests.  INC had the benefit of not having to travel with any luggage, since we brought everything with us.  So she hopped on board the cart and we sped back to 109 for a well deserved night's sleep.  
Coming up...we experience the Three Major P's of Fort Life!!  Stay tuned....you won't want to miss that.    
 

Let's move along and wrap up our Dollywood adventure.  
One of my favorite things to do at Dollywood is ride the train.  This train is massive...the real deal with an operating history as a working locomotive in Alaska.

One of the things I was excited about on this trip was quietly sitting and listening to some music.  Dollywood always offers a good variety of live entertainment, but during the Gospel festival those offerings ramp up.  I wasn't sure what to expect quality-wise, as there was so much on the schedule, but I'd check out shows and if they weren't to my tastes I figured I'd just move on.  
I don't recall the names of any of the groups I saw, but I'll say that there were some really good ones....and a couple of not so good ones.  
This family was super talented, and the younger son in the middle had a voice that would knock your socks off.

This is one of the groups that is a regular Dollywood performer, and not part of the gospel festival.  More like Lady Antebellum or Little Big Town, meetings schmaltzy Broadway.  They were entertaining.  

Another enjoyable group, with a bluegrass feel.

And then there is this group.  I have to say, they were catchy, but there was something about them that made me chuckle.  What do you think?  
I wish I had video of some of the good acts.  I don't want anyone to have the impression that all the acts were like that last one.  Then again, it's not like they were bad...they were mostly in tune, and they could kind of sing.  And those dance moves...those were top notch.  So perhaps a lot of people liked them.  
Anyways, after I left that show I figured I'd meet up again with the girls and we could get something to eat.  I wanted to get something from Granny Ogle's Ham and Beans.  They are known for their pit smoked ham, pinto beans, mashed potatoes, greens and cornbread.  So that's what I wanted.  The girls wanted Lumberjack pizza, so I got my dinner to go and headed to meet them at the pizza place to eat.  
I was quite pleased with my meal, especially for theme park food.  The only disappointment was the mashed potatoes...they tasted like instant.  Everything else was good and fresh tasting.  I failed to take pics, so here are a couple of pics I lifted from the web that show the food. 


The kids enjoyed their pizza.  After eating, we hit the Wild Eagle and Mystery Mine again, and then it was dark.  That meant we could see the Great Pumpkin Illuminights.  Here are some pics of that to give you an idea of what this was all about. 










And that's about it for pics for this trip.  
One other thing we did that I really enjoyed...is we were able to get together one evening with Lance and Olivia.  Those of you that have been around for a while will remember Olivia, who went by the username livluvsdisney.  I always try to get together with them when in the area, and we had a great evening catching up, laughing, and eating ice cream.  
So, Dollywood is now done.  That means one more trip for the year and I can wrap this little retrospective up.  And for our last trip, we return to the center of it all....The Fort, for Thanksgiving!!  Stay tuned.  
 
 

Trip #5 - Fall Break at Dollywood
Our kids typically get 3 days off in October for fall break, which makes for a 5 day weekend.  Not long enough to head to the Fort unless we pulled them out of school, but perfect to head to the Smokies and visit our favorite fun lady, Dolly.  
I've shared our visits and opinions on Dollywood many times in the past, so I won't rehash all of that.  I'll just say this....Dollywood is probably my favorite park anywhere, Disney included.  So I am always excited to plan a trip here.  And I was particularly excited about this trip, because I had planned it to include all 8 of us, son in law included.  Since we have 3 kids in public school this year, and our other 2 girls both work in Special Education for the school district, all 5 girls had the same break.  We had hoped that we would all get to the Fort for our March trip that I covered earlier in this trip report, but that didn't work out.  So this was a do over.  
Well...as we got into fall, plans started to fall apart.  First, INC had a major conflict.  She either wasn't going to be able to go, or at the very least would have to be home by Friday evening.  Since break started on Wednesday, that really put a crimp on things.  Then, it turned out that our son in law was not able to get time away, and our daughter decided against going without her husband.  That I understand.  So, this trip was looking unlikely.  But INC suggested that, perhaps, I go and take the remaining kids less Anna....since the rest of us are the huge coaster fans.  She figured she'd stay back and keep Anna so that we could hit the park hard.  Ultimately, DD17 decided to stay back as well and work.  So, this trip will only include me, and DD21 and DD11.  Those two are my biggest ride fans, and while I wanted to ride the coasters, I also wanted to take in some shows and entertainment, so this would work our nicely.  
I made a reservation at the Pigeon Forge KOA, as it's walking distance to the trolley depot where we could easily hop the trolley to Dolly.  We've stayed here a couple of times before, and it's proven a good base camp for Dollywood.  We left our home Wednesday morning, arriving at the KOA by mid-afternoon.  After checking in, we headed to the trolley to head to the park for the remainder of the day.  I had purchased  3 day park tickets via an online special they offered....if I remember right I paid around $99/person for those tickets.  Not a bad deal.  We headed in, and immediately we were immersed in the Fall Harvest and Gospel Festival....a festival focused on food, fall decor, Gospel music, and FUN!  

Even though there were many, many things I wanted to see, do and eat, we had a mission to jump immediately on upon entering the park.  We needed to get in our first Lightening Rod ride!  
If you aren't familiar with the Lightening Rod, let me first tell you that it is the biggest adrenaline rush I've ever gotten from a ride.  It is a wooden coaster that opened in 2016, and is the World's first launched wooden coaster.  It is also, with a peak speed of 73 mph, the world's fastest wooden coaster.  The ride was built in the Jukebox Junction section of the park, which has a 50's theme that feels kind of like Back to the Future.  I think they did a phenomenal job theming the ride....this is where you enter the queue.  

We got a ride in, and this thing is insane.  You leave the boarding area, and the cars launch up the first big hill at 45 mph.  When you crest the hill, you get airtime for the first of 12 times during the ride.   12!!  It feels like you spend more time off of your seat than on it.  The ride lasts 3 minutes and 12 seconds according the website, but it sure feels shorter.  It's a blast, regardless.  
After riding the Lightening Rod, we did some exploring before it got dark.  We were excited to see the park after dark, because they were advertising the Great Pumpkin Luminights as part of the festival this year.  But we first wanted to check things out in the light.  


We made our way to the Mystery Mine, which is one of the girls' favorite rides.  

This is a really cook dark ride coaster through an abandoned mine, with completely vertical hills.  
Waiting to ride....

We grabbed dinner in the park, then wanted to experience the Lightening Rod in the dark.  We had a Dollywood cast member pull off an outstanding photobomb.  

Bravo to that young man.  
I thought the Lightening Rod was insane in the daylight.  It's is beyond insane in the dark.  I wasn't exactly sure whether we'd survive.  Not being able to see the hills or banked turns was wild.  But still, we loved it.  Funny thing was, being that there were 3 of us, and you sit 2 across on the ride, we were paired with another rider.  It was an old woman dressed in a pant suit, jewelry and full face of makeup.  Before leaving the station, we chatted for a moment, and she told us that her grandchildren were riding and, rather than walk back down to the exit, she figured she'd just ride down.  She said she'd never ridden a roller coaster before.  I chuckled and said, "and THIS is the one you picked?".  LOL.  She looked nervous, but it was too late.  As I mentioned, the ride was crazy, and the poor woman looked shell shocked at the end.  I felt bad for her.  Bet she never rides another coaster again.  
We headed back to the KOA, and rested up for a full day at the park on Thursday.  
In the morning, we had a quick breakfast at the camper and headed to the trolley.  Those clouds looked a bit fall like, but the temps were blazing hot.  It was in the mid-80's that week, and very humid.  

We got to the park in time for rope drop, and where do you suppose we headed first?


After that ride, the girls went off to ride some more coasters, while I wanted to just explore the Craftsman Valley and listen to some live music.  


I decided to go see the Birds of Prey show, which showcases Eagles, Hawks, Falcons, Owls and other birds that reside in a sanctuary at the park . 


The show features some endangered species, but none are more endangered than the Silverbellied American Flip Phone.



The culmination of the show is the American Bald Eagle, of which quite a few reside in the park at the Eagle Mountain Sanctuary.  


That's probably enough bird pics.  
I made my way to the grist mill to get some of that famous Dollywood ooey, gooey cinnamon bread.  




I wish I had some right now.  That cup of icing on the side, melted into the crevices in the bread....oh my.  
Ok, moving on.
I also got myself some fried green tomatoes. 

I met back up with girls and gave them some of the cinnamon bread.  What, you think I ate the whole loaf myself??


I'll leave it here for now.  
Coming up, some music.  And some Great Pumpkin Luminights.