The TCD Gang Springs Forward at the Fort- A Spring Break 2014 TR

[LONE-STAR 370]

I also thought about coming for the 24 hour event. But figured with a 4 and a half year old it wasnt a really good idea.

[momof3kids-Yvonne 594]

I also thought about coming for the 24 hour event. But figured with a 4 and a half year old it wasnt a really good idea.

I thought of it too, but they scheduled it the same time as my son's high school graduation. I really wish Disney would consult with me first. :rofl3:

[jlf 7]

Do you care to share what the trick is at toy story? I would love to know the secrets for toy story and buzz so I can defeat my hubby in both the games. I have actually had my numbers drop instead of getting higher in Toy Story. On Buzz my hubby and me were hitting same targets same time. He ended up getting 999,999. I received about 125.00 pts.

[Beckers 1,136]

Do you care to share what the trick is at toy story? I would love to know the secrets for toy story and buzz so I can defeat my hubby in both the games. I have actually had my numbers drop instead of getting higher in Toy Story. On Buzz my hubby and me were hitting same targets same time. He ended up getting 999,999. I received about 125.00 pts.

Photoshop is his trick

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

The comments are the only thing that kept me going.  I always comment on others' TRs because I know how much I appreciate it!

 

This is true.  TR's would not be fun without comments and questions.  So, all of you reading along and wishing there was more TR to read, go to one of the TR's currently in progress and post some comments and questions on those. It encourages the writers.

 

Regarding the Fantasmic show we have only done it with a dinner package. The last time we did it was in Nob 2013. They had just redone the seating. And to be honest I do not care for the new seating. I am a amputee so I do use my wheelchair. The old way of seating was all the way to the right. With wheelchair seating top row. There would be a two seater next to the wheel chair. So hubby would sit next to me and anyone traveling with us would sit in front of us. Well now, hubby sits in front and my guest would be in the row in front of him. But eventually I had to use my cell phone to talk to them. So unless it has changed, anyone in wheelchairs be prepared to not sit with your entire party

 

Wow, that's messed up.  How could they not plan for wheelchairs? 

 

Thanks for sharing TCD !

 

And thank you for reading!

 

Thanks for taking the time to write and post your pix.

I know how much time it takes and I appreciate all of your hard work.

And I've reconsidered taking up the 114 site in my retirement to display my Christmas decorations.

All those early morning deliveries would make me batty.

 

Batty?  Good one!

 

The deliveries aren't that bad.  I'd rather have that site than one that backs up to a bus stop, like the one I had on the 1000 loop for my NYE trip this year.

 

It is so cool to be able to just walk from your site to the marina, the trading post, and Crockett's.

 

I also thought about coming for the 24 hour event. But figured with a 4 and a half year old it wasnt a really good idea.

 

Absolutely right.  I've been to both of the 24 hour events now. The first one was on a weeknight in February, and there were no small kids.  The next one, which was on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend, there were little kids everywhere.  All night.  Most of them asleep in gigantic strollers, the rest of them crying and screaming from being overtired.  How is that fun?

 

I thought of it too, but they scheduled it the same time as my son's high school graduation. I really wish Disney would consult with me first. :rofl3:

 

How inconsiderate of them.  Maybe you can make the next one.

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Do you care to share what the trick is at toy story? I would love to know the secrets for toy story and buzz so I can defeat my hubby in both the games. I have actually had my numbers drop instead of getting higher in Toy Story. On Buzz my hubby and me were hitting same targets same time. He ended up getting 999,999. I received about 125.00 pts.

 

As Beckers said, I have no trick.  That Toy Story photo was doctored.  I have never beaten any of my girls' scores on that ride.

 

But, there are some tricks that make the ride more fun, especially if you work with your partner on the ride.  There are special screens that open in most of the segments on the ride if you shoot all of a certain target.  You can see what I'm talking about in this video, although this is a solo rider who scored over 500K:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNyHipLzGys

 

On Buzz, the ride stopped in the room that has the volcano.  I held the button down and continuously shot a target on the volcano.  That is the only time I've ever maxed out the score, and there won't be a next time unless the ride stops again while I'm on it.

 

Photoshop is his trick

 

Not exactly.

 

I have no idea how to use photoshop.

 

I use good old Microsoft Paint.  And my daughters mock me because of it.  They all have very good computer skills, especially Twin #1, who was the award winning photo editor of her high school yearbook last year.

 

For the fake score photo, I just had to cut and paste some 9's:

 

 

 

That cat symbol in the middle of the screen wouldn't have been there if our scores were really that high.  It would have been a bear.

 

TCD

[Seals 111]

 

 

 

That cat symbol in the middle of the screen wouldn't have been there if our scores were really that high.  It would have been a bear.

 

TCD

 

The reason I became suspicious at this point in your TR was that you supposedly had that high a score with only 24% accuracy. I'm not going to do the math (not that I could) but you would have had to have done a whole lot of shooting to get that high a score with that accuracy. Or been stopped for a really really long time. 

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Unfortunately TSM does not let you continue to shoot when it does stop, they have "hold on, the action will continue momentarily" screens when the ride is paused.

[devores 382]

As Beckers said, I have no trick.  That Toy Story photo was doctored.  I have never beaten any of my girls' scores on that ride.

 

But, there are some tricks that make the ride more fun, especially if you work with your partner on the ride.  There are special screens that open in most of the segments on the ride if you shoot all of a certain target.  You can see what I'm talking about in this video, although this is a solo rider who scored over 500K:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNyHipLzGys

 

On Buzz, the ride stopped in the room that has the volcano.  I held the button down and continuously shot a target on the volcano.  That is the only time I've ever maxed out the score, and there won't be a next time unless the ride stops again while I'm on it.

 

 

TCD

I watched that video. The guy must sit in his moms basement working on his Disney blogs. His forearm work out must be amazing.

 

And for Buzz, Ill share some secrets.

 

The first room contains an over-sized red robot moving both arms up and down. Aim for the interior of the arms — hit the target here and you'll rack up 100,000 points. The ride moves slowly enough that you may be able to hit this target several times before you pass. Look all the way past the moving aliens and target the volcano at the back of the next room — hitting the top target here will land you 25,000 points, and make the volcano erupt. Like the three-eyed aliens, pay great attention to the red "claw" hanging overhead as you pass from room one to room two. You'll have to rotate the spaceship so you are traveling backwards to hit the target on the underside of the claw, but a hit on this tricky target will advance your score by 100,000 points. When you see Zurg in his orange spaceship, aim for the target at the bottom of the ship. This tricky shot will earn you 25,000 points, but you'll need to angle your spacecraft just right to take aim. The room with the flashing stars and speeding spaceships has only two good opportunities. Focus on the room exit. Aim for the round black dot; hit this for am instant 100,000 points.

[Helmsey......Todd 134]

Question about the parade since the twins got to see it a second time... Was Mr. Smee standing on the anchor with Captain Hook this time? I didn't see that float in the pics of theirs you posted.

[devores 382]

Question about the parade since the twins got to see it a second time... Was Mr. Smee standing on the anchor with Captain Hook this time? I didn't see that float in the pics of theirs you posted.

Mr Smee walks in the parade. Ive seen it 10 times now and he has always walked.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

The reason I became suspicious at this point in your TR was that you supposedly had that high a score with only 24% accuracy. I'm not going to do the math (not that I could) but you would have had to have done a whole lot of shooting to get that high a score with that accuracy. Or been stopped for a really really long time. 

 

You're good.  I didn't even think about the accuracy percentage.  Mine is always low. I've always heard it doesn't matter-shoot as much as you want.  Your post made me re-watch that video to see what that guy had for accuracy. His was 48%, so I guess it does matter.

 

Unfortunately TSM does not let you continue to shoot when it does stop, they have "hold on, the action will continue momentarily" screens when the ride is paused.

 

True.  And, as I reported earlier, sometimes you even get gypped out of your score being posted at all.  That is what happened to us on our second visit this trip.  Which is pretty crummy.   The ride stopped in the last room, and we didn't get to shot.  Then it restarted and moved us to the scene where scores are posed, and ours weren't even shown.  As I said, I felt like complaining and asking to be allowed to ride again, but I didn't want to go through the hassle.  But, just getting on that ride once now is an achievement, and a guest who doesn't get to fully experience it should be allowed to re-ride.  I shouldn't have to go and whine to a CM about that .

 

I watched that video. The guy must sit in his moms basement working on his Disney blogs. His forearm work out must be amazing.

 

And for Buzz, Ill share some secrets.

 

The first room contains an over-sized red robot moving both arms up and down. Aim for the interior of the arms — hit the target here and you'll rack up 100,000 points. The ride moves slowly enough that you may be able to hit this target several times before you pass. Look all the way past the moving aliens and target the volcano at the back of the next room — hitting the top target here will land you 25,000 points, and make the volcano erupt. Like the three-eyed aliens, pay great attention to the red "claw" hanging overhead as you pass from room one to room two. You'll have to rotate the spaceship so you are traveling backwards to hit the target on the underside of the claw, but a hit on this tricky target will advance your score by 100,000 points. When you see Zurg in his orange spaceship, aim for the target at the bottom of the ship. This tricky shot will earn you 25,000 points, but you'll need to angle your spacecraft just right to take aim. The room with the flashing stars and speeding spaceships has only two good opportunities. Focus on the room exit. Aim for the round black dot; hit this for am instant 100,000 points.

 

The thing that puzzles me about that video is how the guy was able to shoot so fast.   Even if he had amazing super-hero forearm strength, I don't think it could be done that consistently.  There must be some trick to make the gun rapid fire like that.

 

Thanks for the Buzz tips.  A lot of times when people post Buzz tips, I don't understand them.  These, I understand.  That 25K target on the volcano must be the one that I was able to hit repeatedly.  I didn't know about the targets on the inner arms of the red robot.  I'll look for those.

 

 

Question about the parade since the twins got to see it a second time... Was Mr. Smee standing on the anchor with Captain Hook this time? I didn't see that float in the pics of theirs you posted.

 

Good question.  I stole those photos from their social media accounts (at least the ones I know about and have access to).  There were a lot of Flynn Rider photos, but no Captain Hook on the anchor photos.  Strange.

 

Mr Smee walks in the parade. Ive seen it 10 times now and he has always walked.

 

There you go.

 

The artwork showed him on the anchor with the Captain.

 

It would be nice if the Captain would let him swing on the anchor sometimes.

 

But, as I mentioned earlier,  maybe Disney audiences are not ready to see two guys dressed as pirates swinging on an anchor beneath a rainbow.

 

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

 

TCD

[YodaGirl 13]

Do I still get bragging rights for this page? O.o

Sounds like you all had a great Spring break!

We love the 100 loop. It's our favorite by far.

FoF parade looks really cool. It's a must for our October trip.

I admit it - you had me with the bat letter. I'm slow on the uptake and didn't catch on until the TSMM FP. Good job!

Florida played a good game against UK for the SEC championship. Hoping for a rematch pretty soon for the NCAA championship. Whatever Coach Cal did to tweak the cats, I'm glad he finally did it. Better late than never!

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Hey, I'm caught up! Thanks for entertaining me on my long ride home.

Loved the April Fools jokes!!!

PS- You know you will be at the 24 hour event. Don't pretend otherwise.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Do I still get bragging rights for this page? O.o

Sounds like you all had a great Spring break!

We love the 100 loop. It's our favorite by far.

FoF parade looks really cool. It's a must for our October trip.

I admit it - you had me with the bat letter. I'm slow on the uptake and didn't catch on until the TSMM FP. Good job!

Florida played a good game against UK for the SEC championship. Hoping for a rematch pretty soon for the NCAA championship. Whatever Coach Cal did to tweak the cats, I'm glad he finally did it. Better late than never!

 

Yes, you get page 29 bragging rights!

 

And, unless someone else shows up and posts for the first time on this TR, it looks like those bragging rights will belong solely to you.

 

It's been too long since I've seen a post from you!  I hope all is well with you and your family.  I'm glad to hear you've got another trip planned.

 

Well, that UF/Kentucky 4th game isn't going to happen.  I'll be rooting for your team and the SEC tonight.  If they win, then the Gators can always have the distinction of having beaten the National Champions three times in one season.

 

Hey, I'm caught up! Thanks for entertaining me on my long ride home.

Loved the April Fools jokes!!!

PS- You know you will be at the 24 hour event. Don't pretend otherwise.

 

You're back.

 

I hope that means a new GDF TR will be launching soon.

 

I seriously am not sure I'll make it to the 24 hour event.  I probably won't know until a day or two before.  I want to go, but I'm not ready to be a Master Sorcerer/Solo Traveler yet.  I don't have the t-shirt, nor are my SOTMK cards organized in a book.  So, Twin #2 is my only hope.  But, she is starting an internship for the summer on May 19, and won't know her schedule and availability until then.  Twin #1 is definitely going to be in another land (across the pond) for the entire month of May, and my oldest daughter will be in the midst of her busy time at work at Auburn.

 

TCD

[fowlandfishmommy 10]

I'm finally caught up!  Great report!  Loved it all!  So glad I got to see the parade pics.  I hope I get to see it one day!  

[jlf 7]

Thanks TCD for your day to day diary. I have been going to the Ft since 1978. But mostly our adventures have been since 2001. But after reading your reports, I still learn things. I must have missed about what they built over by the dam behind the 300 loop. I know you reported it as a bat house ala April fools. But I missed what it actually is. Our next trip is in Dec. so if I see your site set up, I will have to toot my horn! Again thanks :wave1:

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

Jlf, it really is a bat house. That was one of the few things correct about his Aprils fools day update.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I'm finally caught up!  Great report!  Loved it all!  So glad I got to see the parade pics.  I hope I get to see it one day!  

 

Don't worry.  You know how long Disney hangs on to parades- you will be taking your grandchildren to see that parade.

 

Thanks TCD for your day to day diary. I have been going to the Ft since 1978. But mostly our adventures have been since 2001. But after reading your reports, I still learn things. I must have missed about what they built over by the dam behind the 300 loop. I know you reported it as a bat house ala April fools. But I missed what it actually is. Our next trip is in Dec. so if I see your site set up, I will have to toot my horn! Again thanks :wave1:

 

Yes, as Ray said below, that huge thing really is a bat house.  If you want to learn more about it, read what I have posted below.

 

When you're at the Fort in December, if you post your site number, you may get a personal visit from me.  Or Lou.  And a genuine Fort Wilderness Railroad spike.

 

Jlf, it really is a bat house. That was one of the few things correct about his Aprils fools day update.

 

Correct.

 

There has been no official announcement of any kind from Disney.

 

Which isn't surprising.

 

But it's definitely a bat house. This exclusive photo of the building permit for it was posted earlier on Fort Fiends.  You will see it nowhere else on the interwebz.  Unless some guy from Alabama steals it and posts it on some other inferior site:

 

 

This bat house bears a striking resemblance to one of the bat houses built on the campus of the university of Florida, which looks like this:

 

 

As you can see, the University has posted warnings about the bats. 

 

The Fort, of course, has not.

 

If you would like to read more about the University of Florida bat house, there's more information than you could possibly need to know here:  http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/bats/

 

There is a rabies precaution page, which explains that a bat on the ground should never be touched, as these bats are more likely to carry rabies: http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/bats/rabies.htm

 

The Fort management, in its infinite wisdom, has done nothing to inform campers of the existence of the bat house or to stay away from the bats.  There's a pet walk area right across the canal from the bat house.  What if a camper or a dog comes across a bat on the ground? 

 

It will be interesting to see what happens with the Fort Bat House.

 

TCD

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

TCD.

We don't need official proof that it's a bat house.

We've got the TCD, eyewitness report.

And I do believe that would hold up in any court of law.

But hey, you be the judge! Lol

[superloopers 2]

I am new to the trip report scene, but I have read the last two from TCD and I have really enjoyed them. Thanks for all of the pictures, and I have learned a lot about the Fort from them.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

TCD.

We don't need official proof that it's a bat house.

We've got the TCD, eyewitness report.

And I do believe that would hold up in any court of law.

But hey, you be the judge! Lol

 

You should never take my word for anything.  I've been known to embellish.

 

I am new to the trip report scene, but I have read the last two from TCD and I have really enjoyed them. Thanks for all of the pictures, and I have learned a lot about the Fort from them.

 

Thanks.  And don't stop now.  There are lots of Fiend trip reports here, and even I learn new things from them!

 

The quantity and quality of the trip reports on this site set it apart from any other Discussion Board you'll find.

 

TCD

[jlf 7]

Jlf, it really is a bat house. That was one of the few things correct about his Aprils fools day update.

Thanks Ray for setting me straight. Between April Fools or just jokes, sometimes it is hard to tell when someone is pulling your leg!!!!!!!!

[The Troll 67]

OK, I just watched the Toy Story nerd's video.

 

As I have reported previously...the Trolls have never been on that ride.

 

Been to Disney eight zillion times, but no Toy Story.

 

I will say this, though -- from the appearance of the video, it would likely get a scathing Rant^TM.

 

Wii, anyone?

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

I have the Toy Story game on Wii, love to play, but we never seem to crank up the Wii very much lately