A Shining New Era is Tiptoeing Nearer for the TCD Gang

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Satanic lemonade. No way am i visiting his lemonade stand.

 

He's earning money for a mission trip to Hades.  

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Yup, they do.

Their model has 4 wheels, and they suggest you call and reserve in advance.

I don't think they have that many of them so you may not see one at the ECV/stroller/WC rental location.

They've been around for over a year.

I have seen one or two non-Disney 3 wheel ESVs at WDW.

 

Four wheels?  And the guest stands while using it?  I definitely haven't seen one of those around the parks.  I've seen 3 wheel scooters with the guest in a seated position, but not standing.  I want to see one of these.

 

 

 

Yeah, saw that this spring.  For the record, Mountain Creek has run a water / summer thrill park but with little or none of the original equipment for some years now. And, much tamer.

They plan to bring back the name and some 'action' supposedly.

 

For those that don't know what's being talked about, here is a recent news article.  This place was insanely dangerous.

 

http://nypost.com/2014/06/28/the-return-of-the-worlds-most-dangerous-theme-park/

 

 

 

As for the last TCD installment, all I have is 'Fuego' (close enough) .

 

Thanks for that link-I didn't know all the background on Action Park.  I moved from NJ in 1979, and don't recall having heard of it before I left.

 

When we went to MK in 2010, we had  lunch, dinner, and snacks for 8 in our cooler.  It was a budget trip and the budget didn't stretch enough to cover paying WDW prices for food.  

 

Wow.  How big was you cooler?  Did you stash it someplace, or carry it around in a gigantic stroller?

 

I don't like paying WDW prices for food either.  That's the nice thing about the Fort, it isn't hard to pop back for a meal.  Although the cooler definitely is the way to go to maximize park time.

 

I'm impressed.  I'm not that organized!!!!  I could never pull it off!!  Now I might go back to my camper or tent for lunch and supper but I'd never be able to pack it.   :)  Did you write a trip report from that trip?

 

I think you are forced to be organized if you have six kids.  If you haven't read Marty's report, you ought to.  She did a great job.

 

Yes, it is linked in my signature. :)  (I don't think I mentioned what we ate on that trip, but I still have my notes.  I plan to use them this time when i am planning.)

 

I'm looking forward to the next trip report!

 

Great update.

Looking forward to more chapters.

Satanic lemonade. No way am i visiting his lemonade stand.

 

Trust me, I'm trying to stay away from that Satanic mermaid too.  Do not look into her eyes.

 

He's earning money for a mission trip to Hades.  

 

OK, that does it.

 

I am re-starting my boycott right now.  I am not a fan of rivers of fire, gnashing teeth, and such.

 

TCD

[lklasing 16]

Awesome update yesterday.  I loved seeing the bridge for the CM entrance to the MK.  I've wondered about that before.  Good mine train selfie.  Good other stuff too, but mainly - awesome job on the FP+ cheat!  We will be trying that out in exactly two weeks!  :jumpforjoy

[alexwyattmommy 181]

When I lived in NY we teenagers took a trip to Action Park in 1985.  The Alpine Slides were my favorite.  But the boys liked to watch the water slides because the girls were always losing their tops. ROFL

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Awesome update yesterday.  I loved seeing the bridge for the CM entrance to the MK.  I've wondered about that before.  Good mine train selfie.  Good other stuff too, but mainly - awesome job on the FP+ cheat!  We will be trying that out in exactly two weeks!  :jumpforjoy

 

Two weeks?

 

Woo Hoo!

 

That's soon!

 

I hope y'all have a great time.

 

When I lived in NY we teenagers took a trip to Action Park in 1985.  The Alpine Slides were my favorite.  But the boys liked to watch the water slides because the girls were always losing their tops. ROFL

 

How juvenile.

 

Are those water slides still there?

 

What was the address of this place again?

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

One last update from the June 8/9 trip, and then we're going to change our latitude.

 

We left off with us waiting for the FOF parade.

 

Does anyone remember way, way back when this TR began with Twin #2 and I at a SWW, and the guys we saw with the giant visors?

 

I asked at the time if it was a trend.

 

And we thought not.

 

Well, I'm not so sure, because another one just walked by:

 

 

That lady is taking no chances-she has a visor and an umbrella.

 

In case you haven't heard, the 3 o'clock parade begins at 3 o'clock.  At 2:39, there were still curbside seats available right on Main Street.  Of course, they were in the blazing sun.  But, if you had a giant visor and umbrella, you'd probably live:

 

 

Waiting for a parade isn't bad.  There's usually good people watching, and pre-parade stuff to see.  Today, we got to see a high school marching band from Texas, led by two guys in dark suits.  I bet they wish they had giant visors and umbrellas:

 

 

The high school band was followed by the Main Street Philharmonic:

 

 

There were a bunch of photopass photographers out today.  A bunch:

 

 

I think there was training going on:

 

 

These trainees had no knickers:

 

 

I think they were supposed to be acting like a typical family, but they were pretty much just clowning around:

 

 

At 2:59 pm, the Grand Marshalls of the parade rolled by, so it won't be long now:

 

 

 

One thing you might not know is that the parade does kick off at 3 pm.  But, it kicks off in Frontierland, and it moves pretty slow.  So that meant the photopass trainees had more time to goof around.  This time, that guy in front was acting like a kid who wanted to look everywhere but at the camera:

 

 

The real photopass photographer over on the right in the knickers seemed to be a bit irritated by the trainees:

 

 

The guy in front acting like a kid was having fun:

 

 

As we continued to wait, a group of guests with earphones came down the street- I guess they were on some kind of tour:

 

 

Just up the street, there was a guy with a fannypack fooling around with the photopass photographers and acting crazy:

 

 

 

The guy with the fannypack was dressed as a guest, but he was bossing the photopass photographers around, and staged this photo with one of the balloon pushers:

 

 

I am glad the fannypack guy was down the street- he was annoying.  He was running from one side of the street to the next and urging the guests waiting for the parade to clap and cheer.  Who the heck was this guy?  The way he acted, I figured he was an off duty CM. If that is what he was, then he shouldn't have been acting like that.  I think he was the only one amused by his antics.

 

In case you're wondering how long it takes the FOF parade to reach this part of Main Street, this photo of the very beginning of the parade was taken at 3:24 pm- so there's a bit more of a wait here on Main Street:

 

 

This is the first float- I've posted a lot of FOF parade photos at this point, so I'm just going to include maybe a dozen or so to finish out this update:

 

 

This was embarrassing.  Elsa spotted me, and gave me a big wave.  It's hard being famous sometimes:

 

 

The spinner on that float sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. Today it was working, so we got to see Tiana and Naveene:

 

 

Here's something fishy.  This was a Monday.  I wonder if they give some of the dancers a day off?  Because there were only two with the big mime, and there have definitely been more than two the other times we've watched the parade:

 

 

It also seems like there were less dancers with Ariel:

 

 

The very first time I watched this parade was back in March, and I wondered how these guys with costumes that look like they're made out of shower curtains would do in the summer.  Apparently, someone just realized that those costumes are torture, because these guys lost their hoods, and have their sleeves pushed up:

 

 

The poor Lost Boys still are wearing their very hot looking costumes.   I don't know how they can run and dance in this heat:

 

 

The Peter Pan float is still too high.  Just Captain Hook was swinging on the anchor, so I guess that's the way it is:

 

 

It looked like all of Merida's dancers showed up for work today:

 

 

I am getting better at getting fire breathing dragon shots:

 

 

I ended up with a pretty good Goofy photo:

 

 

And then the parade was over.

 

So we left.

 

This is the last photo I had from that trip- on the way back to the Fort at 3:50 pm:

 

 

We took the bus to the Outpost, and went home.

 

Just a few days later we loaded up the Big Blue Excursion and headed south.  And we didn't stop until we couldn't go south anymore.

 

I have a few photos from that trip to share.

 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Great dragon shot!  Looking forward to your Key West pictures.

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

 

 

Wow.  How big was you cooler?  Did you stash it someplace, or carry it around in a gigantic stroller?

 

14"x20"x5".  It is a soft-sided. It fit under our stroller.  I don't think it could be termed a gigantic stroller.  LOL

 

I think you are forced to be organized if you have six kids.  If you haven't read Marty's report, you ought to.  She did a great job.

 

 

I'm looking forward to the next trip report!

 

Thank you!  I am looking forward to writing the next one.  :)

 

When I lived in NY we teenagers took a trip to Action Park in 1985.  The Alpine Slides were my favorite.  

I remember going to Action Park once with some friends in the late 80's.  We had a blast!

[Lou... 3,118]

Four wheels?  And the guest stands while using it?  I definitely haven't seen one of those around the parks.  I've seen 3 wheel scooters with the guest in a seated position, but not standing.  I want to see one of these.

 

http://www.news965.com/news/news/local/disney-brings-electric-standing-vehicles-magic-kin/nXff9/

[sherryberry 35]

Awesome update yesterday.  I loved seeing the bridge for the CM entrance to the MK.  I've wondered about that before.  Good mine train selfie.  Good other stuff too, but mainly - awesome job on the FP+ cheat!  We will be trying that out in exactly two weeks!  :jumpforjoy

We're exactly two weeks out, as well! No Fort this time, though (well, maybe a visit for dinner). We'll be at Saratoga Springs.

TCD - you got some great parade pictures. I hope to see this parade when we head back.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Great dragon shot!  Looking forward to your Key West pictures.

 

Thanks.  I am not that happy with the dragon shot.  I took it a second too early, and missed some of the fire.

 

This is Twin #1's photo, which she took with her phone, the same day:

 

 

Thank you!  I am looking forward to writing the next one.   :)

 

I remember going to Action Park once with some friends in the late 80's.  We had a blast!

 

Uh oh.  I hope you weren't at Action Park at the same time the boys in Annie's group were staking out the water slide to watch the girls.  That would be awkward.

 

http://www.news965.com/news/news/local/disney-brings-electric-standing-vehicles-magic-kin/nXff9/

 

Thanks.  I was expecting something bigger- it kind of looks like a scooter to me:

 

 

I don't know why anyone would choose that over a regular sitting scooter.

 

We're exactly two weeks out, as well! No Fort this time, though (well, maybe a visit for dinner). We'll be at Saratoga Springs. TCD - you got some great parade pictures. I hope to see this parade when we head back.

 

Woo Hoo!  No tent for you!

 

TCD

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Great update!

Yes, your daughter's pic is better, but yours is good.

Looking forward to pics from the Keys!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Great update!

Yes, your daughter's pic is better, but yours is good.

Looking forward to pics from the Keys!

 

Thanks.

 

Keys photos coming up!

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

We're heading south!

 

On the morning of June 11, we packed up the Big Blue Excursion and headed south.

 

First stop was just down the road to pick up my 82 year old mother-in-law.

 

This trip was her idea.

 

When the kids were smaller, we took a few trips like this.  Grandma would rent out a cottage someplace, and all of Mrs. TCD's siblings and their kids would vacation with Grandma for a week.  It was fun.

 

This year, for Christmas, Grandma told everyone that she wanted to treat them to a trip to Key West.  She'd provide the accommodations, and pay for flights for anyone who didn't want to drive.

 

Picking a date was impossible.  The youngest cousin is in high school.  The rest are in college, and one is done with college and married.

 

But, the sisters did the best they could, and we arrived on a date that most could make.  But, that was before Twin #2 knew she had been accepted into the DCP.  She was only able to finagle two days off while we were there, and decided against coming.  The oldest TCD DD also could only stay for two nights, and backed out as well.

 

So, this trip is just Mrs. TCD, her mom, Twin #1 and me.  And a bunch of cousins and some aunts you'll see later.

 

After picking up Grandma, we headed south, across the Sunshine Skyway bridge, and all the way down to Naples.  So far so good.

 

At Naples, the smart thing to do would be to stay on 75 and cross the Everglades.

 

But, if there's one thing you can say about me, it's that I'm not smart.  I wanted to hit some roadside attractions that I had visited with the kids when we made a previous visit to the Keys.  So, we headed a bit south of 75, and got on the famed Tamiami Trail.  The original US 41, which connected Miami and Tampa in the early part of the last century.  This truly is a road that has been forgotten.  I forgot that it has just one lane in each direction, but traffic wasn't bad.  In fact, there wasn't any traffic.  No one drives on this road anymore.  Well, that's not entirely true, because there was roadkill, so someone had.  Speaking of roadkill,  as we were cruising along, I noticed some buzzards having a snack in the opposite lane up ahead.  A car was approaching from the other direction, and I figured he would scare the birds off.  So, I didn't slow.  I must have been going 55 or 60.  That other car and I reached the buzzards at the same time, and they scattered.  Fine. The only problem was that one scattered right in front of me.  WHACK!  The buzzards had some more to eat.  No big deal.  Just hit the grill.  Thank goodness it wasn't the windshield.  We proceeded on.

 

Our first stop was in Ochopee, which claims to have the world's smallest post office.  I got out to see if there were any bird feathers in the grill, and was surprised to see this, which was briefly immortalized in a Snapchat video by Twin #1:

 

 

Dang it.

 

That stupid buzzard broke the Big Blue Excursion. 

 

Again, thank goodness it wasn't the windshield.

 

Should have taken the interstate.

 

But, if we had, we would have missed this:

 

 

 

Here's Grandma and Twin #1:

 

 

Just down the road from the World's Smallest Post Office is the Skunk Ape Headquarters.  A lot of you probably never heard of the Skunk Ape.  He is the Everglades version of Bigfoot, and there's a research center/campground right here in the middle of nowhere:

 

 

Twin #1 looked for the Skunk Ape, but only found mosquitoes:

 

 

The place has a nice gift shop, though:

 

 

 

In case you're interested, there's a campground right next to the Skunk Ape Research Center, and sites are only $30 a night: http://www.evergladescamping.net/

 

We drove some more.

 

And then some more still.

 

Florida is a big state.

 

Folks from NJ and such can never understand how big Florida is.

 

Our drive today was going to be around 430 miles.  And we live halfway down the state.

 

The girls wanted lunch.

 

But, I pushed things a bit so we could stop for lunch at Robbie's in Islamorada.  It's another place we visited before, and that I wanted to stop at on the way down.

 

Here we are:

 

 

The food was good.

 

But that's not why we stopped.

 

I wanted Grandma to feed the Tarpon:

 

 

The deal here is you buy a bucket of fish and go out on the dock and feed the school of Tarpon that hang around there.  This guy manning the fish bucket counter was loving life:

 

 

If you drop something in the water, tough luck, it ends up here:

 

 

Here's the dock it costs a dollar to walk on:

 

 

And these are the Tarpon:

 

 

I guess this is the biting pelican:

 

 

Twin #1's technique:

 

 

 

The hungry fish:

 

 

Dangling the fish:

 

 

Feeding frenzy:

 

 

I had to try:

 

 

The view from here:

 

 

They have a great bar here, which I would love to visit some time:

 

 

Some more driving, and here we are- this is the house Grandma rented for the week:

 

 

It was in the historic area of Key West.  There was no parking at the house- we had to find a spot on the street.  And, we were a mile from Duval Street.  Maybe not the best place to be.  But, the house was nice, and the walking did us good.

 

We were not far from the water, and we walked down to see the sun set over the marina:

 

 

Later,  we all walked down to Duval Street, and saw many interesting things.  Here's Twin #1 and one of her cousins meeting Darth Vader,  Who needs Hollywood Studios?:

 

 

That was pretty much it for our arrival day.  It was a long drive, and we were tired.  Tomorrow, we would be touring the city via the Conch Train.

 

TCD

[superloopers 2]

What a variety of sights all packed into one day.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

What an interesting day you had!

 

And you have a very generous MIL.

[jmaul 65]

I remember nothing from the Tamiami Trail during our family's late 70's trip except we were on it.  Route 66 FL style.  Might have to plan something before it rots away....

 

Love the "Do Not Remove Tarpon From Water' sign.  Amazing what needs to be said these days.

 

Is that real money hanging from the bar roof?  That would be gone up here before you could say 'Jersey Sucks'.

 

Sweet rental house.

[shoreline99 137]

My apologies, TCD - I figured you had been to Action Park back in the day or had at least heard of it from your time in NJ. It was nuts.

 

Can't wait to see more of the Key West Trip!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I like Islamorada.  Nice job on the tarpon feeding. 

 

I haven't been on Tamiami trail in a LONG time.  You know, you could take US 41 up to visit me....it goes through Nashville.  It actually goes all the way up to the UP of Michican I think.  Long road.  You took the butt end of it. 

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

Is it called the Tamaimi Trail because from the Keys, that is the road you take "ta Miami"?

 

Looking forward to more Key West pics.

[momof3kids-Yvonne 594]

I have never been to Key West. Looking forward to more of your report.

[sherryberry 35]

 

We're exactly two weeks out, as well! No Fort this time, though (well, maybe a visit for dinner). We'll be at Saratoga Springs. TCD - you got some great parade pictures. I hope to see this parade when we head back.

 

Woo Hoo!  No tent for you!

 

TCD

Yup! We're excited about our own bathroom and air conditioning!

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Nice rental house!

Love the Tarpon feeding. Looks like fun.

I saw a statue of the RC Panther in one of your photos.

Big RC fans there I guess.

Did you have any secret meetings with Fidel and Raul in the Hemingway house?

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Did you have any secret meetings with Fidel and Raul in the Hemingway house?

 

I think a meeting with Fidel these days would be like Weekend at Bernies.  

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

I think a meeting with Fidel these days would be like Weekend at Bernies.

Are you saying the pics wouldn't be funny though?