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Momof6....aka Marty

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  1. Upvote
    Momof6....aka Marty reacted to Hotmamac aka Misty in TCD is Thankful for Thanksgiving at the Fort Trip Report   
    Don't worry Lou...I love you. :heartsmiley:
  2. Upvote
    Momof6....aka Marty reacted to MLM5.. aka Judy in TCD is Thankful for Thanksgiving at the Fort Trip Report   
    Somethings just can't be topped.. and you my friend are the winner for today.. :bellringer:
  3. Upvote
    Momof6....aka Marty reacted to DaveInTN in From Moscow to Mickey – My Little Girl’s Journey to the Fort (DaveInTN and Family Spend Thanksgiving With The Fiends!)   
    Ok, got the video on youtube. Will try posting here... 
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Pei4x-yXMs&feature=youtu.be
  4. Upvote
    Momof6....aka Marty reacted to DaveInTN in From Moscow to Mickey – My Little Girl’s Journey to the Fort (DaveInTN and Family Spend Thanksgiving With The Fiends!)   
    The Beginning

    January 16, 2008.

    The dead of winter in St. Petersburg, Russia.

    The sun rises around 10:00am and sets by 3:00pm. It is a cold and dark day. (How do I know this? They’re ALL cold and dark in Russia! But I digress.) A woman pregnant with her 9th child heads to the hospital to deliver. This in itself is remarkable, as she has aborted the previous 7 pregnancies. But despite prenatal testing indicating this child has Down Syndrome, she carries to term and delivers a baby girl. And, as occurs in 95% of Down Syndrome births in Russia, she abandons the baby to state custody. Another orphan among 700,000 in Russia.

    The fact that she was born at all, after her birth mother’s history, is a miracle. Absent logical conclusions, we can only assume that God intended for that child to be ours from the very beginning. He only took a different path for her, maybe to illuminate the situation these children face over there. But regardless, on January 16, 2008, our daughter entered this world.

    At two weeks of age, the little girl, named Anastasia Orlova, was sent to live at Baby Home #1on the outskirts of St Petersburg. She lived among several dozen orphans, many of them typically developing kids.



    But little Anastasia, or Anna as we named her, wasn’t typical. She has Down Syndrome. And unfortunately, in her society, that makes her worthless. She has no chance of being adopted domestically. No Russian family ever visits or inquires about her. Even her birth mother, who lives in the neighborhood, never once calls to check on her. So she spends her first few years in the only home, and the only neighborhood, she would know up to that point, never venturing beyond the courtyard.





    By the time she is 2, she has been identified by Reece’s Rainbow Down Syndrome Adoption Ministry as an “at risk” child.



    In the Russian orphanage system, children with DS that have not been adopted by age 4 are transferred to mental institutions. They are considered “unadoptable” at that point, and do not do well. Many don’t survive a year in that environment.

    And so, it was through Reece’s Rainbow that we learned of Anna. Our future daughter…and future Fiend.

    Prior to starting down the path to adoption, we had been visiting the Fort twice a year in our motorhome. And for the last couple trips, we had annual passes. We had a blast! But around the time of what would be our last trip in the MH, in March 2010, God presented a bit of a detour to us. He put the idea of special needs adoption in our hearts. And that process took most of our time (not to mention our money!) for the next 18 months. We sold our motorhome. I honestly wasn’t sure whether there would be any trips to the Fort in the future. But once we made our first trip to Russia and met Anna, I knew that kid was a future Fiend. We are blessed that she is a healthy and happy little girl. And so this past winter we bought a TT and I began planning this trip.

    My little girl is a miracle! She is full of life! And throughout our long and difficult process of adopting her, you Fiends were there with us every step of the way. You provided moral support. You showered our older girls with love, cards and gifts when Christy and I had to travel for an extended period to Russia without them. And you have been family to us, sharing in our excitement. That is why, just 10 days after we returned home to the States with Anna, we traveled to Stone Mountain for the Fiend Grand Gathering over Memorial Day weekend. Some people thought we were nuts for traveling so soon. But we wanted to share our joy with our Fiend Family.






     
    We had a great weekend at Stone Mountain! But despite all the fun we had, a true Fort Fiend like Anna needs to make the ultimate pilgrimage. A trip to the Fort itself. And so the planning continued, the final details were hammered out, and on the afternoon of November 15th, we pulled out of our driveway to complete the journey of our littlest Fiend.
  5. Upvote
    Momof6....aka Marty got a reaction from RVinMomma in What makes your kitchen "perfect"   
    What makes my kitchen "perfect"?  Cheerful children cooking and cleaning up while I sit and chat with fiends.
  6. Upvote
    Momof6....aka Marty got a reaction from 4mickey2 in Halloween   
    Ok folks, I am still hoping and praying that we are coming. We keep getting stuff thrown at us - this week it is that the computer caught a virus and my tech guy (best neighbor ever!) has been working on it for days and still not sure he can get it off the laptop so i can use it again. There go all my lesson plans, not to mention my ability to be here. Right now, I am at the local library - not sure how often I can do that.
    Anyway, just wanted y'all to know I'm still hoping to meet many of you in a few weeks, Lord willing!!
  7. Upvote
    Momof6....aka Marty reacted to Tri-Circle-D in A Fiend Looks at Fifty-A TCD Birthday Trip Report   
    It’s hard to believe.
    50.
    A half century.
    I remember when I thought 30 was old.
    Then I thought 40 was old.
    It turns out that neither really is.
    But 50?
    There is no doubt that is old.
    And, I will hit that milestone in just a few days.
    For a long time, Mrs. TCD and the girls have asked me what I would like to do for my 50th birthday.
    What kind of question is that?
    Of course I wanted to celebrate my 50th at the Hoop Dee Doo Review.
    Duh!
    In fact, I had even specifically discussed Six Bit’s schedule with him so I could make sure to attend on a night when he would be there.
    So, months ago, I planned the whole thing out. My birthday fell on a Thursday, so we would celebrate a day later, on Friday September 30th. As a bonus, this is also the night the Haunted Carriage Rides begin. I booked a reservation for the very first one. FSU has a bye on Saturday, so my oldest DD would be able to drive down from Tallahassee. October 1st is the 40th anniversary of the opening of WDW- we would be there for whatever special events were planned. Plus, the Food and Wine Festival begins at Epcot on October 1st. Everything was set.
    It would be an epic weekend!
    Then the TCD twins went back to school.
    And found out that their Homecoming weekend is the weekend of September 30th. The Homecoming football game is on the 30th, and the dance is on October 1st.
    Fail.
    All the plans went out the window.
    As luck would have it, Friday, September 23 was a random school holiday for our local school district. That meant that we could head over to the Fort on Thursday night, and make it into a three day weekend. I was able to make new reservations, and we were all set. We would celebrate my birthday a week early.
    So, on Thursday, September 22, as soon as the TCD twins got home from school, we hit the road. We left home just before 3 pm. We timed things perfectly. We missed all of the typical afternoon traffic in Tampa, and made it to the Fort in less than two hours. Three of the check-in lanes were open, and a guest was pulling forward from one just as we pulled up. Sweet. We got checked in quickly. And we were assigned to site 1509. Awesome.
    The weather report for Thursday was scattered thunderstorms. We hit a doozy of a storm heading through Lakeland. Unfortunately, it followed us to the Fort. As soon as we got to the site, the rain started. My oldest daughter would not be arriving from Tallahassee until a bit later, so I sent the twins off with some ponchos to the MK, and got busy getting set up. I had just gotten started when I got a phone call from the twins. The boats from FW were all suspended because of lightning. They let me know that they were going to head over to Wilderness Lodge by bus, and decide what to do from there.
    The rain was light, but it didn’t stop for my entire set-up. I heard from the girls after a bit, and they decided that they were going to just take the bus back to the Fort. Just as I was finishing up, the girls came driving up in my oldest DD’s car. She had been driving by the bus stop just as they were exiting. It was about 7 pm.
    Luckily, the rain let up for a bit, and we were able to head down to Trail’s End to get our Giddyup and Go. It was pretty damp out, so we ate inside the camper. Originally, we had plans to hit a park at the end of the evening. But, there were no EMH’s tonight, and everything would be closed by 9 pm. Plus, it wasn’t done raining. So, we hung around the Fort. When the rain let up we looped. We got ice cream from the Trading Post right before it closed at 10, and we caught the very end of UP! At the Theater under the stars. There were maybe 20 people there.
    There’s not much to tell about our Thursday evening. In fact, I think I’ve told it all.
    Because of the rain, I have no photos from Thursday.
    Not even one!
    So the photos and our story begin on Friday morning.
    Don’t worry about the slow start. There is plenty to tell in this trip report. In fact, I have six new things to tell you about. Six. All at the Fort. I also have a bit of important news about a favorite place at WDW that we almost always visit. And, I even have a solved mystery to share. Plus there is a new TCD Real Man of Genius that you will be hearing all about. I would say that it was a successful trip.
    But, we must begin at the beginning. . .
    If you have ever read a TCD trip report, you know that I was up early on Friday. We were planning to do rope drop at Epcot at 9 am. But, I was up way before that.
    First stop was the canal behind the 300 loop. We have had plenty of rain in central Florida lately, so the canals are pretty full. But, Bay Lake is full too, so the canals are not flowing out into the lake. Which means that the water is starting to stagnate. You can see a green sheen on top of the water here:


    The pumps that were here earlier in the year are gone. Water is not being let out in to the lake. The dams are shut. Here you can see that the water from the lake is slowly leaking in to the canal:

    This is where the pump was. You can see it is gone now:

    This is an interesting piece of equipment:

    I have no idea what it is. If you look at this tag, you can make out that it says U.S. Government Property on the top line:

    I came back here to enjoy one of my favorite vistas in the Fort.
    This:


    I was still too early for my coffee from Trail’s End, so I popped in to River Country for a look around.
    These slides look worse than ever. The photos are a little dark since the sun was still rising, but you can see that the rock work is really crumbling:

    There is a lot of water in the old pool:



    The area that the public has access to is in decent shape:



    The new landscaping planted when Pop’s Place was removed has really grown in:

    7:30 finally rolled around, and it was time to get some coffee.
    There was something new here at the Trail’s End drink station.
    This sign:

    You don’t think that’s new?
    Well it is.
    Here’s the old one:

    I guess they wanted to make sure everyone knows the rules.
    I don’t know why it doesn’t mention the Meadow Trading Post. The coffee machine is still there. And, you can refill your mugs there. Also, you used to be able to get iced tea here at Trail’s End. Now it says just hot tea. But, guess what?
    There’s a new Sweet Tea dispenser here:

    And, it’s good Sweet Tea.
    All of the other resort drink stations use a machine that dispenses Peak iced tea. That stuff isn't bad, but it tastes like instant tea.
    You can see that this sweet tea is real brewed tea.
    This is a very good thing.
    I’m sure it won’t last.
    If you are keeping score, that makes two new things. The sign on the drink machine and the sweet tea dispenser. There are still four more new things to come!
    Back at the site, I got the girls moving.
    While waiting for them, this DVC van came by:

    I see them from time to time at the Fort. If you want to take a tour of a DVC resort, they will come and pick you up at the Fort. I spoke to this fellow for a while. I asked him what he knew about new DVC resorts. He said all he knew was what he read on Discussion Boards- they don’t tell him anything. We discussed the Grand Floridian project, which I didn’t realize still has not been officially announced. He didn’t know much about the Fort Wilderness DVC- just rumors.
    We were just a little late for Rope Drop at Epcot. We were pulling in the parking lot at 9. There were no lines at the turnstiles, and we were able to get Soarin’ Fastpasses without having to fight a mob. Epcot was not busy. We rode Test Track, Sum of All Thrills and Soarin’. At 11, we headed over to Mexico, and had lunch at the San Angel Cantina when it opened at 11:30. It was hot and sunny then, so we decided to head back to the Fort for a little break. The loose plan was to visit the MK in the afternoon. There was going to be a Halloween party that night, so the MK would be closing at 7. Usually that means lighter crowds during the day.
    We spent the afternoon at the Fort looping and visiting the pool.
    On one of our looping runs, we noticed a bunch of buzzards around the 500 loop:

    There’s a bunch up here in this tree:

    There were some picking at a dead armadillo on the other side of the road:

    I’m not sure if there was something else attracting them. It seems like a lot of birds showing up for just one armadillo.
    I have noticed that a few trees have been removed around the Fort lately. There was a crew right at the entrance of the 500 loop taking a tree down:

    At some point that afternoon, I stopped by and picked up our Hoop Dee Doo tickets. As I was being helped, I Iooked behind the castmember, and noticed a really cool photo on the wall. It was an old photo of the Fort entrance. I asked the castmember about it. He said it was from 1974. I asked him if he would mind taking a photo of it for me. He said sure. I handed him my camera. He didn’t do such a good job. But, you can still make out the highlights. You can see the check-in lanes, but the lobby building did not exist then. The guard shack looks like it’s in the same place, as is the Outpost bus stop:

    I will have to go back for a better photo some time. I would really like a chance to study the photo up close.
    While I was in the area, I snapped a photo from the Trail’s End porch. You can see that it was kind of dead around the Fort on this Friday afternoon:

    If fact, the Fort was kind of dead all weekend.
    The 800 loop was empty.
    Completely empty!
    It’s hard to take a photo of an empty loop, but here are a couple shots of the 800 loop on Friday afternoon:


    The girls did some decorating around the campsite for my birthday. Here is some of their handiwork:

    As Friday afternoon moved along, nobody really felt like heading over to the MK. We were pacing ourselves, as our reservations for the Hoop Dee Doo were for the 9:30 show.
    Since this was a special weekend, Mrs. TCD was going to be joining us for the evening. And that’s not all! The TCD dog, Rocky, was also coming along. Mrs. TCD was planning to bring Rocky by for the afternoon, and she and he would be spending the night.
    Mrs. TCD and Rocky arrived at about 4.
    Then the fun really began!
    You’ll hear all about it in the next post !
    TCD
  8. Upvote
    Momof6....aka Marty got a reaction from BradyBzLyn...Mo in The WITSHDTTSTA Thread   
    I would LOVE!!!! to be there for Thanksgiving, but that is way out of the budget. My contribution to the revolution will have to be in the form of prayer (mostly that you don't get caught!).
  9. Upvote
    Momof6....aka Marty got a reaction from BradyBzLyn...Mo in Free things to do at WDW!   
    This is a list I put together before our last trip: (I know the pettingg zoo is no longer at FW, but it won't let me edit it out.  Sorry!)
    ? Collect autographs instead of pins.
    ? Collect stickers from Cast Members
    ? Ask the front desk at your resort what ?free? things there are to do: for example at the Wilderness Lodge, one family gets to raise the flag each morning.
    ? Investigate special kids' programs at your Disney resort hotel. The Deluxe resorts usually have kids' recreation programs such as coloring, crafts, pool games, Hidden Mickey searches, and storytelling at various times. Cost: FREE to guests of the hotel.
    ? At Downtown Disney kids can play in interactive fountains or build legos for free at the Lego store
    The major restaurant in the Marketplace is a Rainforest Cafe. It's overpriced tourist food, but since you are about saving money, just go inside and wander around the gift shop and seating area. It's filled with giant aquariums and all sorts of animatronic animals. Once you have had your fun, walk out and move on.
    There is a Harley Davidson Shop.
     Check out the FREE magic demonstrations at the Magic Masters shop -- learn a card trick!\
     ? If you're looking for a fun photo opportunity, consider visiting the All Star resorts or Pop Century. These hotels feature enormous "pop culture" icons. Take a family photo in front of a 35-foot Buzz Lightyear!
    ? Several of the resorts, including Animal Kingdom Lodge, Wilderness Lodge, Grand Floridian, and Yacht Club, offer FREE tours that are open to any Disney resort guest (whether you are staying at that particular hotel or not). Some of the tours require a reservation, so inquire in advance.
    ? Sing around the campfire and watch a FREE Disney movie. The campfire program at Ft. Wilderness is open to all Walt Disney World resort guests. It is held every evening, at about 7:00 pm in fall and winter and about 8:00 pm in spring and summer, near the Meadow Trading Post. The program starts with a sing-a-long and marshmallow roast. You can bring your own food or buy it from the Chuckwagon, which sells S'more kits for about $9 (makes enough for about 4 people) and also offers other food such as pizza and hot dogs. Chip and Dale meet the guests and sign autographs. Then a Disney movie is shown on a large outdoor screen. There is some seating on bleachers and benches, or you can lay out a blanket. No reservations necessary -- just show up. Cost: FREE to all Disney resort guests.
    ? A similar outdoor campfire and movie program is offered at Beach Club Resort. There is a campfire sing-along on the beach, followed by a Disney movie. (No characters attend this one.) Ask at the front desk for a schedule. S'more kits that make enough for about 4 people are sold for about $9. No reservations necessary -- just show up. Cost: FREE to all Disney resort guests.
    ? Port Orleans-Riverside offers a seasonal "Campfire on de' Bayou" with stories and sing-alongs around a fire at the Ol' Man Island Fishin' Hole. (No characters attend this one.) It usually runs in the winter, from Halloween through sometime in March, and only a couple of nights a week (most recently, Sunday and Thursday), weather permitting. Ask at the front desk for a schedule. S'more kits that make enough for about 4 people are sold for about $9. No reservations necessary -- just show up. Cost: FREE to all Disney resort guests.
     If you haven't planned this already, you will DEFINITELY want to watch the fireworks over Magic Kingdom, from across the lake at the Polynesian Resort. An hour or two before the fireworks (check the park schedule), take the boat from Ft. Wilderness across the lake to the Contemporary.. then either hop on another boat, or take the monorail, to the Polynesian. Find a nice spot and hunker down (as long as you can see the castle, you can see the fireworks)... your kids could bide time playing in the pool or on the beach... the fireworks are AMAZING from across the lake, much better than from inside the park IMHO. And it won't cost you an extra dime.

    ? Take a stroll. There are lovely walkways or nature trails around almost all of the resorts. A great time for visiting the resorts is Christmas when they have their decorations up.
    o
    At night you can wander along the Polynesian's beach, sit in a cabana and watch the Electrical Water Pageant and the fireworks over the Magic Kingdom. Walk through the tiki-torchlit gardens between the Great Ceremonial House and the beach. It's all very romantic. (Please keep in mind that the beach and particularly the cabanas are primarily intended for guests of the Polynesian, though there is nothing to prevent the general public from using them.)
    o Watch the Wishes Fireworks from the Grand Floridian boat dock. Narcoossees restaurant is nearby and receives the audio soundtrack from the Magic Kingdom, so you can enjoy the fireworks synchronized to the music. There's a little bit of delay due to the distance, but it still works. Seeing the fireworks reflect off of the lake is beautiful.
    o
    From the Boardwalk, meander up to the back gate of Epcot, or over to Disney's Hollywood Studios around closing time and enjoy the music and perhaps a glimpse of IllumiNations or Fantasmic!. The bridge that goes over to the Swan and Dolphin sometimes has nice views at that time.
    o During the day, explore the woods from the Wilderness Lodge to Ft. Wilderness.
    o Stroll from the Grand Floridian to the Wedding Pavilion and poke your head in. (Unless there's a wedding in progress, of course!)
    o At Animal Kingdom Lodge, you can walk out to the viewing areas and see the exotic African animals roaming free. Note that the animals come out around dusk -- you won't see any during the day. (Please keep in mind that hotel guests' rooms open right out onto the viewing areas, so quiet is very much appreciated.)
    o Visit the Butterfly Garden located behind Acadian House in Port Orleans Riverside's Magnolia Bend section.
    ? Watch the Electrical Water Pageant. This floating parade is visible nightly, usually starting at 9:00, from Disney's Magic Kingdom-area resort hotel docks and beaches. The pageant takes about an hour to move slowly around the lake, stopping at each resort in order: Polynesian, Grand Floridian, Wilderness Lodge, Ft. Wilderness and Contemporary. Cost: FREE.
    ? Make the rounds of the Disney resorts and collect something! You can make your own scavenger hunt for little or nothing
    ? Find ?Hidden Mickeys?
     Take a free tour of Wilderness Lodge Check with guest services for times and details. There is also a hidden Mickey hunt (list available from guest services)
    We can spend all day looking for hidden Mickeys at WL and WLV. We get the sheet from the front desk that has riddles to solve to find the Mickey heads. Really fun way to kill some time.

     Visit The Boardwalk  Best in the evening. Just stroll and take in the atmosphere. There's usually lots of "street entertainment" Every night there are several different street performers that rotate through their acts. These acts are normally somewhere between 10-15 minutes long and can be anything from juggling to magic to a guy playing a piano on a bicycle. Some nights the acts are good. Other nights they are a waste of time. But don't complain, because they are free!
     Visit the The petting farm at Fort Wilderness. The petting farm is open 7 am to dusk a. There is free day parking at Ft. Wilderness.
     Take a boat ride.from Dixie Landings to Downtown Disney - it's especially nice at night. Take a stroll round Downtown Disney and catch the boat back to your car at Dixie Landings.
     Ride a Monorail...The Disney theme parks are famous for their monorails. This futuristic form of transportation travels between the Magic Kingdom, it's hotels, and EPCOT. The best thing about the monorails are that it won't cost you anything to go for a ride.
    Go for a Boat Ride
    Walt Disney World has all sorts of water on their property. There are several good sized lakes as well as miles of man-made canals. With all of this water, what Disney wants you to do is pay lots of money to rent a boat.
    Renting a boat is expensive, so why not turn Walt Disney World's free water transportation into entertainment. From almost every location on the property that has water, you can probably take a boat somewhere else for free. Explore where you land for a bit, then get back on the boat and enjoy your cruise back to your starting location. Nobody ever asks where you are going, so you don't need to be a hotel guest or any of that stuff. Sometimes they ask to see a photo ID before letting you board a boat, but once you show it to them, there isn't ever any problems.
    Some of my favorite free boat rides are:
    *Downtown Disney to the Port Orleans Hotel - It's a nice long ride, starting in Downtown Disney's lake. You then enter a canal and travel past the Saratoga Springs Resort, through golf courses, past the very cool condemned Tree House hotels (although they are in the process of reopening), and then finally arriving at the hotel. Get out and explore a little, then take the ride back. If you get a good driver, the whole trip will be narrated too, with all of the good stuff being pointed out along the way.
    *Seven Seas Lagoon Boats - To get to the boats here, follow the same method to get through the tolls for free that you use when riding the monorail. Then take the monorail either to the front entrance of the Magic Kingdom or to the parking lot. Get off and pick your boat. The big boats here are the ferries that transport people from the Magic Kingdom parking lot to the Magic Kingdom park entrance. These are some of the largest boats on Disney property. They are two levels, and you are free to walk around whatever level you choose while the boat is moving (always go for the second floor). There are some great views of the lake, it's many islands, and the surrounding sights. There are several smaller boats that go to some of the hotels that are on the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake that are fun to ride too. Board these by getting off of the Magic Kingdom monorail station, and pick your boat. Taking a boat to the Wilderness Lodge is always fun, mostly because it is a nice long ride that takes you through the Seven Seas Lagoon, into a canal that passes over a road, then into Bay Lake.
    If taking a boat here after dark, it's possible to see the Magic Kingdom Fireworks from the water and keep a lookout for the Electrical Water Pageant, which is a illuminated light show that floats across the Seven Seas Lagoon on barges.
    *EPCOT Waterway Boats - These boats travel from the back entrance of EPCOT, up a canal into the lake surrounded by the EPCOT hotels, into another canal to the Swan & Dolphin Hotels, and then up to the entrance of Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM), and then turning around and repeating the whole trip. It's a nice long ride, but with all of the stops, it's quite slow going. There are pathways along the whole route so you can walk back if you choose not to ride round trip.
     Explore the Hotels
    I have already mentioned some of the Disney hotels such as the Boardwalk and the Magic Kingdom hotels. What I mentioned previously only scratches the surface of the hotels though.
    Just like when riding the monorail, when entering a hotel, if there is a toll booth, say you are going to eat dinner at the hotel. If you feel like a big over achiever, know the name of a restaurant, but this isn't necessary. The guard will most likely ask for photo ID and will copy your name down, and then will wave you through as easy as that. Once in, you are free to roam around the hotel. You probably will get hungry eventually, and Disney hotels have very good food, so chances are that you won't be lying about eating dinner there.
    Here is a list of some of my favorites and some of the highlights of the free things to do at each one:
    *Animal Kingdom Lodge - This is one of my favorites. It is built next to the Animal Kingdom Theme Park, and carries over an African theme. The massive lobby is filled with cool stuff like bridges spanning with width of the room between the upper floors and giant ostrich lamps. All of that is good, but the best part about the Animal Kingdom Lodge is by far the animals. The hotel has it's own recreated African Savannah, so the hotel guests can see gazelles and zebras grazing outside of their rooms. For the people that aren't staying at the hotel, you can walk around the outside of the hotel and some of the indoor hallways and get wonderful views of the animals. It's like a free zoo. If you pay admission into Animal Kingdom next door, you'll get to see one of the world's best zoos, filled with all sorts of impressive animals. Here you are limited to slightly less exciting animals like zebras, giraffes, and other grazing animals. It's not quite as exciting, but it's still pretty cool, and it's free!
    *Wilderness Lodge - Another one of Disney's Lodge hotels. This one is themed to be somewhere in the American Northwest, specifically around the national parks. The setup of the hotel is very similar to the Animal Kingdom Lodge, only without the animals. It also has a massive lobby filled with all sorts of good stuff like giant totem poles, fireplaces, and hot springs. These fake hot springs bubble up into pools inside the lobby and then flows into a stream. The stream flows out of the lobby, where it forms a larger river outside. The river passes over several waterfalls and then flows into the Wilderness Lodge's swimming pool. It doesn't end there either. The water then flows out of the pool into another stream, and eventually flows out into Bay Lake. This whole water system is one of the highlights of the hotel, and it is very interesting to follow the flow of the water along it's whole path. Behind the hotel, along Bay Lake, there are some nature trails to walk around, and then their is the geyser. The geyser erupts every half hour and is a nice free show...
     Disney Character Outlet; We always go to the one near the crossroads just a couple of miles past DtD. It is an official Disney outlet and is staffed by Disney CMs. It's on the other side of the food court. We were there twice last week. I got some winter stuff like thermal long sleeve shirts that were 34.99 in WDW just last month and are only 9.99 at the outlet. Also got 3 teeshirts (one organic one, one kermit with a disney phrase about happiness is a state of mind, and one red/white/blue mickey one). They were 5.99 each. Got the grandgirls a small princess bag, regularly 18.99 and on sale for 5.99. They had lots of collectibles, holidays stuff and lots of winter sweatshirts. We never leave empty handed here and the stuff goes quickly. We got the dress up sets for the Minnie Mouse that you can change her outfits. The outfits were 5.99 and going fast. It takes me about 15 minutes to drive up and back and about 30 minutes at the store, so I can spare one hour of my precious vacation times saving a ton of money. Heck there are people who spend way more time than I do just waiting for buses!
    We go to the one that is in the big outlet mall off of Rt.4, on Vineland Road (?), about 1/2 mile from the crossroads. You turn left at the light when you see the Vineland Road sign and it's about 2 miles straight ahead. Very easy to find. We only go to the Disney outlet and when we're done there is a publix across the street, so a good time to stop for water or refreshments before heading back to the room for a nap.
     consider visiting playgrounds at various resorts with little kids...some of them are pretty cool and so under used since most of us are so busy running to the parks. Favorite ones for my kids in the past have been the beach area of CBR, the POR , and the one at Fort Wilderness.
     There are Hidden Mickeys at Wilderness Lodge, and a train room, too. You could also check out the geyser there.
     I agree with the boat ride to DTD from Port Orleans Riverside. Here is how we like to work it. Take the boat from the Fort to MK. From MK take a bus to POFQ, go through the lobby (feel free to explore a little) walk straight past the pool (stop for pictures with the fiberglass alligators) towards the canal and boat launch BUT don't get the boat here. There is a sidwalk that runs along the canal, while facing the canal turn left and enjoy a leisurely walk along the canal to POR. This is where you will get the boat which will take you to DTD from which you can get a bus back to the Fort. This route will eat up approx 3 hours, more depending on how much you explore the 2 resorts and DTD.

  10. Upvote
    Momof6....aka Marty reacted to BradyBzLyn...Mo in May the Fourth Be With You!   
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