Let's Talk Turkey: TCD's 2016 Thanksgiving at the Fort Trip Report

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

7 minutes ago, BuckeyeFortFan said:

Nice trip Report TCD, entertaining as always.  Thank you for writing it and giving me a little vacation from the single digits here in Ohio.

I let the wife know she got mentioned in an authentic TCDTR.  She was quite pleased.

Rocky is looking good.  Our boxer is more gray than fawn these days.

It's a good thing you didn't watch that "Big 10" game you mentioned.  I don't know if you SEC folk can handle that level of competition.

Hey BFF!  Nice to see a post from you.  Hope you and the family are well.

Rocky is starting to get some gray around his muzzle.  It's hard to believe he'll be 7 in February.  I wish dogs didn't age so quickly. 

I have to give credit where it's due.  The Big 10 is looking pretty good lately.  Congratulations to your team for somehow sneaking in to the playoffs.  Dang that Irving Meyers.  Seriously, though, congratulations to you- and good luck.

My Gators get to play Iowa on January 2nd.  And Michigan to open next year.  I'm hoping the Big 10 isn't as good as everyone thinks it is.  But, I'm afraid it is.

TCD

[Specularius 102]

1 hour ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

LOL. I kind of liked the creepy giant heads.  It was certainly unique.  It seems like a generic warehouse in there now.

I agree about the 600 loop.  There is no vegetation near the fronts and between the sites on the "new" part.  I don't care for the openness.

Here's a closer look at that egg- is it a Mini Max?:

Those fries were really, really good- they had a Cajun-type seasoning on them. 

The warmer temperatures are here!  It's going to be up in the 80's this weekend!

TCD

Unfortunately that is the standard Mini. Good to cook one steak at a time or two hamburger patties at a time. 

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

TCD, I've been trying to figure out from the pic, but it's hard. One is a 10 in diameter and the max is a 13 inch diameter. The stand makes me think it's a regular mini, but it looks wider than one. $500 is more than a mini cost retail, but a little under what the Mini Max costs- unless you find a deal. 

[Specularius 102]

Kelly,

The Mini Max nest has a band that goes around the middle with a handle on each side. This is a Mini.

[Specularius 102]

Mini Max

 

Mini.

[Travisma 1,317]

TCD, check out the BGE imitations at HD, Lowes, and Sams.  ACE hardware used to sell them also.

 

After all, the BGE is an imitation of a Komodo generic cooker.  They just made a name for themselves, sort of like that company that sell the burnt coffee and is on every block.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

5 hours ago, Specularius said:

Kelly,

The Mini Max nest has a band that goes around the middle with a handle on each side. This is a Mini.

Yeah, I was thinking that part looked off. We love our Mini Max! 

4 hours ago, Travisma said:

TCD, check out the BGE imitations at HD, Lowes, and Sams.  ACE hardware used to sell them also.

 

After all, the BGE is an imitation of a Komodo generic cooker.  They just made a name for themselves, sort of like that company that sell the burnt coffee and is on every block.

Hey now, those are fighting words! Don't talk bad about my Egg.

[LONE-STAR 370]

Epcot has a couple of those fancy Coke machines, up in the Chase lounge.

[caveat lector 181]

Another great TCD tome.

Although an alternate title could be "double GaGs, dirty hippies, and a guy with way too much satellite cable."

[Seals 111]

I hate those Coke Freestyle machines. Usually they're are the only source of ice also.  I just need to get some ice for my iced tea and either some kid is making a mixture of 1000 flavors or some old person (older than me) has no clue how to use it. As busy as the food court drink machines were at All Star Music when we stayed there, at least one could get ice while someone else was getting his Coke product. You'd need a bunch of those machines to keep the same flow.

[Specularius 102]

And I hate how those machines are always dripping when you are trying to get ice for the tea. Makes it hard to get clean ice without the drippings from the previous person's soda.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

21 hours ago, Specularius said:

Unfortunately that is the standard Mini. Good to cook one steak at a time or two hamburger patties at a time. 

LOL.  I'm glad I passed.  Even at the discounted price, that's a lot of money to cook two burgers.

21 hours ago, GaDawgFan.....Kelly said:

TCD, I've been trying to figure out from the pic, but it's hard. One is a 10 in diameter and the max is a 13 inch diameter. The stand makes me think it's a regular mini, but it looks wider than one. $500 is more than a mini cost retail, but a little under what the Mini Max costs- unless you find a deal. 

So the Mini costs more than the Mini Max?  I would have guessed the opposite.

19 hours ago, Specularius said:

Kelly,

The Mini Max nest has a band that goes around the middle with a handle on each side. This is a Mini.

Wow, Jody- I didn't know your were a BGE expert.  Good eye.

19 hours ago, Specularius said:

Mini Max

 

Mini.

Nice work.

I wonder what the thought process is behind them offering two products that are very similar like these?

19 hours ago, Travisma said:

TCD, check out the BGE imitations at HD, Lowes, and Sams.  ACE hardware used to sell them also.

 

After all, the BGE is an imitation of a Komodo generic cooker.  They just made a name for themselves, sort of like that company that sell the burnt coffee and is on every block.

I have seen the imitations.  I am not sure if my Ace Hardware has imitations, as they have a gigantic BGE display.  I guess devoting all that floor space is worth it, as they must make a good profit on the sales.

I am mildly interested in BGE's. If my kids were still at home, I'd be more interested.  But, my gas grill is more than enough to take care of the grilling I do now, as most of our meals are just for Mrs. TCD and me.

14 hours ago, GaDawgFan.....Kelly said:

Yeah, I was thinking that part looked off. We love our Mini Max! 

Hey now, those are fighting words! Don't talk bad about my Egg.

I know you love your BGE's.  And I get it.

12 hours ago, LONE-STAR said:

Epcot has a couple of those fancy Coke machines, up in the Chase lounge.

I believe they're also in the DVC lounge in the Imagination pavilion.

It will be interesting to see if they start putting them in other quick serve locations.

11 hours ago, caveat lector said:

Another great TCD tome.

Although an alternate title could be "double GaGs, dirty hippies, and a guy with way too much satellite cable."

Thanks, Fred.

I like that alternative title. Very descriptive.

1 hour ago, Seals said:

I hate those Coke Freestyle machines. Usually they're are the only source of ice also.  I just need to get some ice for my iced tea and either some kid is making a mixture of 1000 flavors or some old person (older than me) has no clue how to use it. As busy as the food court drink machines were at All Star Music when we stayed there, at least one could get ice while someone else was getting his Coke product. You'd need a bunch of those machines to keep the same flow.

I hate them too.  They have been showing up in the fast food places around me, and in WaWa's.  It's a pain in places that have two machines for the whole restaurant.  People take forever, and the machines are always a mess with spilled drink everywhere.

1 hour ago, Specularius said:

And I hate how those machines are always dripping when you are trying to get ice for the tea. Makes it hard to get clean ice without the drippings from the previous person's soda.

That's one of my biggest complaints too.  I don't want some weird drink dripping into mine, and it always happens.  I also believe that all of the drinks are artificially sweetened, but there is no information on what they're using to sweeten the drinks.  It's like a big chemistry experiment.

TCD

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

I mis-typed. The Mini Max is more than the Mini. The reason both exist is that the Mini Max is fairly new. It came out a few years ago. We would have never bought a Mini because you can't do much on it. The Mini Max is large enough to smoke hams, Boston Butts, do pizza, etc. It's worth it. 

[YJeepgirl32 3]

I too hate those machines. Soda tastes disgusting. 

Those creepy faces are finally gone- but would have liked to see some other decorations- that aren't creepy of course. 

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I've previously stated my disdain for the Freestyle machines on an older thread, so I'll refrain from jumping in again.  I only wonder where they would fall on the DIT 2.0 scale?  

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

3 minutes ago, DaveInTN said:

I've previously stated my disdain for the Freestyle machines on an older thread, so I'll refrain from jumping in again.  I only wonder where they would fall on the DIT 2.0 scale?  

We need to see that scale again!

 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Well, here we are at the end of the line.

I will be out of photos from the Thanksgiving trip after this update.

It's been fun.

We left off with me leaving POFQ and heading to Animal Kingdom.  I considered leaving the truck and camper at POFQ, but I wasn't sure if there would be transportation after the Rivers of Light preview, and I needed to head home as quickly as possible after the show.

Heading to a park on check-out day is something that we used to do a lot.  It was a way to get everyone motivated to pack up and get out on time.  We mostly always would go to Epcot, back when the RV parking was in front of their kennel, as the RV parking there was the best.  But, they relocated the RV parking after the kennel closed, and I'm not even sure where it is now. 

I recall trying to use the RV parking in AK only once before.  On that occasion, I arrived in the late morning, and was told that all of the RV parking spots were full, so I was directed to park at the end of a regular parking row. That gave us a long walk to the tram and into the park.

Well, this late in the afternoon, there was no one in the RV spots, so I had my choice.  The designated RV spots at AK are just a row over from handicap parking, which is as close as you can get to the entrance.  Here I am in my spot.  That crane you see in the background is for Avatarland:

It was right at 4 pm when I parked and headed in to the park.  It was dead!  The park was open until 7, but no one was heading in with me:

Bag check was a breeze.  I really like the whole look of AK.  I am suspicious about how that bougainvillea above the ticket windows seems to always be in bloom:

With this visit to AK, I have officially seen the Christmas tree at each park.  I like the AK tree:

There's the floating mountains of Avatarland.  We will allegedly find out what the heck those things are all about this coming summer.  Allegedly:

I met up with the girls right inside the entrance, and we headed in to the park.

There's the good old tree of life.  It's mandatory that you have to take a photo of it when you come to AK.  So, I complied:

I like the openness they created with the work they did in this entry area this year:

I didn't notice that they changed the name of the gift shop here to Riverside Depot.  I never thought about Animal Kingdom having a river, and it doesn't.  But, Riverside Depot has a nicer ring to it than Drainage Ditch Depot, and Rivers of Light is a much better name than Drainage Ditches of Light.  So, they kind of didn't have a choice.

Speaking of rivers, here's a look at where the "river" enters the pond where they built the new Rivers of Light seating area.  I was stoked that we were going to be able to see what they've been working on for all these years:

The girls had made us FP+ reservations for Dinosaur and Expedition Everest, and we planned to see the Nemo show in between the two of those rides.  Then we planned to line up for the ROL show.

We hadn't ridden Dinosaur since it finally reopened from its prolonged refurbishment.  Nothing looked any different outside:

There was definitely some stuff removed and reworked in the queue, but the basic set-u is the same.  Note that there isn't any standby line.  In fact, the FP+ return line was longer than the standby line here at 4:22 pm:

Those of you who haven't been around as long as I have may not remember that Dinosaur was originally called Countdown to Extinction, and was sponsored by McDonalds.  Back then, there was Golden Arches signage around the ride, and there was a clever detail added by the imagineers.  Do you see the yellow, red and white pipes here?:

That lettering on the pipes is the chemical formulas for ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise.  That made sense when McDonalds sponsored the ride, but why didn't they paint over that while they had the ride closed for 5 months this year?

There were some noticeable improvements on the ride itself.  The lighting and sound seems to have been upgraded.  And, they added some projections of small dinosaurs at one point.  I liked all of the changes except those projections.  I don't understand what they expect a guest to think about those.  Everything else in this ride is actually there- lush plants, big detailed, moving dinosaurs.  That all works.  But then they add projections of dinosaurs?  They look like flat 2-D projections on a screen on the wall.  Am I supposed to think those are real dinosaurs? It doesn't work for me.  It's a distraction and not an improvement in my book.  But, Dinosaur is still a great ride.

After Dinosaur, we headed through this gift shop.  I like the theming of it:

I don't hate Dinoland USA-I think it's a fun little section of the park:

From here, we headed over to the Finding Nemo show.

You want to know something?  When you stop and think about it, that is an outstanding show.  Do you know that all of the songs performed in it are original compositions written specifically for this show?  Do you know that the composer- Robert Lopez, wasn't all that well known back in 2007, when this show debuted?  Since then, the guy wrote the music for a play called the Book of Mormon, and also composed the music for some movie about a snow man and a couple of sisters.  He and his wife were the composers of That Song.  In fact, he and his wife won both a Golden Globe and an Oscar for That Song.  All of that aside, this Finding Nemo The Musical is a very good and entertaining show.  Personally, I like it better than the Lion King show because the music here is original and unique.

After Nemo, we rode Expedition Everest.  The bird on a stick and Yeti are still both broken, but he hair tie collection is doing well:

After that, we lurked around the ROL theater to see if there was a line forming yet.  There wasn't.  Twin #2 saw a CM she knew, and got the intel on where they would be letting guests in to the show and when.

We hung off to the side in Dinoland for a bit.

I think these Dino lights might be holiday decorations, as I don't remember seeing them before.  But, they're not very holiday-ey, so maybe they're permanent?:

Here are our tickets for the event:

We were let in an hour before the show.  Which was 55 minutes too long to sit on these hard benches:

As show time neared, there were some cool lighting effects going on in the trees across the water, including fake fireflies flying around and animal shadows.  I liked it:

This is my last photo from the show, as right after I took this one, they made a very serious announcement about there being no photography of any kind allowed.  That boat you see in the center of the photo is one of two that play key roles in the show:

Not long after this, the show started.  And then stopped because of some technical problem.  Then it restarted.  Parts of it were very good, but as a whole, I would say it's not quite there.  Still, I was very appreciative to have gotten a chance to see it.

After the show, we headed out with the rest of the crowd.  Twin #1 and I hopped in the truck and headed west.  The good thing about heading back home on Sunday night was very light traffic.

Well, that's it.

Thanks for reading along and commenting.

And Merry Christmas or Happy Chanukah, or Happy Holidays to you and your family.

TCD

[Helmsey......Todd 134]

Another fantastic TCD report!
Thanks for taking the time to share with us. 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

2 hours ago, GaDawgFan.....Kelly said:

I mis-typed. The Mini Max is more than the Mini. The reason both exist is that the Mini Max is fairly new. It came out a few years ago. We would have never bought a Mini because you can't do much on it. The Mini Max is large enough to smoke hams, Boston Butts, do pizza, etc. It's worth it. 

Good to know.  I will take a look at a Mini Max the next time I'm at my Ace Hardware.  But, I can't picture myself paying $500 for such a small grill.

2 hours ago, YJeepgirl32 said:

I too hate those machines. Soda tastes disgusting. 

Those creepy faces are finally gone- but would have liked to see some other decorations- that aren't creepy of course. 

Wow, does anyone like Coke Freestyle machines?

You are right- they could use some more decorations in that place, especially since they didn't change the name, and it's still supposed to be a float factory.

2 hours ago, DaveInTN said:

I've previously stated my disdain for the Freestyle machines on an older thread, so I'll refrain from jumping in again.  I only wonder where they would fall on the DIT 2.0 scale?  

I recall that.

I also recall that you weren't so keen on those freaky giant heads at the POFQ food court.

2 hours ago, GaDawgFan.....Kelly said:

We need to see that scale again!

 

True.

Here it is.

It's still pretty good:

TCD

[DaveInTN 3,247]

You are correct that I was not a fan of the giant heads.  

And since the MSEP is gone, I'd slot the Freestyle machines in there.  Or perhaps swap that space with Disney Fries.  I'd rather have good steak fries but have to deal with a Freestyle machine, than to have regular Disney fries but a normal drink dispenser.  

[caveat lector 181]

Wait.....there's a late entry for trip report title " that bougainvillea above the ticket windows seems to always be in bloom:".  I dare someone to misinpret that one.

I liked countdown to extinction. That was a very creative and descriptive namemail.

That is a beautiful shot if the AK Christmas tree. I don't why, but the Epcot tree is my favorite, but family photos in front of Christmas trees is always best at AK.

There was no mention of bonus material, so I will assume TCD is taking a well deserved break from trip reporting. Merry Christmas good sir, and thanks again for entertaining us throughout the years withyour travel exploits. 

[Duane 150]

Is Claire Huxtable still on the Dinosaur film?

[Cortezcapt (Derek) 156]

Always enjoy a TCD trip report. Sounds like another great trip for you and your family.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

[Specularius 102]

Merry Christmas to you good Sir. Thanks for taking the time to entertain the rest of us Fiends.

[Littleolwoman.aka.Kristie 119]

Merry Christmas TCD and family.