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Devores 4th of July Adventure


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Dave, hope you don't mind me answering part of last question..... Memphis, there are pics of signs that I took, I just can't seem to find them on my camera! Must be hiding same place as the shuttle launch pics from yesterday. Okay, I admit that I'm having camera issues. Auburn family, LornaDuck, Total Joker, Hillbilly Whisperer & I all had signs on carts/sites in 1600 and 1700 loops. Don't know about the other loops. Here's mineDSCN6425.jpg

and Auburn & I had up clotheslines. Mine even has a "Snarky" bra. DSCN6419.jpgDSCN6420.jpg

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Thanks so much I feel like I was there! At Halloween this year we are TOTALLY getting up in time for the parade!

I wouldnt want you to be deprived of the great parade. Just make sure you see the next one live.

Great Report! Superb parade coverage. However, I did not see a single green Mickey head sign and only a couple snarky ovals, was Disney discouraging other signs on the cart windows?

I did not see any green ears either. But then again, that could be because the two members of that board were not at the Fort this weekend. There were plenty of snarkies around, but not many on the GCs. No formal Disney statement as to disallowing these signs and I hope they never do.

Loving the photos! Please keep them coming!

There are more comming, stay tuned.

Great pics I need more

:suspense:

See above....

Dave, hope you don't mind me answering part of last question..... Memphis, there are pics of signs that I took, I just can't seem to find them on my camera! Must be hiding same place as the shuttle launch pics from yesterday. Okay, I admit that I'm having camera issues. Auburn family, LornaDuck, Total Joker, Hillbilly Whisperer & I all had signs on carts/sites in 1600 and 1700 loops. Don't know about the other loops. Here's mineDSCN6425.jpg

and Auburn & I had up clotheslines. Mine even has a "Snarky" bra. DSCN6419.jpgDSCN6420.jpg

Thank you for the answer.

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Still 4 Jul 2011

After the GC parade, keylime's DD came over to visit with the kids. In an attempt to get them out of the house, we convinced them to play capture the flag at the pool.

The pool did not seem that busy for 1300 on a holiday

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Normally it would be so packed you couldnt even see the water in there. Good on Fort management for working this issue.

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Back behind the bus stop there is the camp of the infamous TCD.

After the game, which was very unorganized, we took the kids back to the camper and headed out to loop a bit.

While there, I noticed something I have not noticed before

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Not sure how long they have had these on the tables, but others have just noticed them as well. So there ya go, no feeding the wildlife.

Over on the 1700 loop, we see a ranger leaving a vehicle a love note.

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This vehicle was parked on the grass between sites. The owner could not be found, so this was left and the infraction was noted

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Its hard to read, but TCD reported on this in another TR. The handwritten part boils down to "We did not enforce the rules during the holiday weekend due to increased occupancy, but the rules are now being enforced. Please park your vehicle on the concrete pad or move it to the overflow."

Im glad they are enforcing the rules as stated. It will take some time to get everyone used to this, but it definetly be worth it in the long run.

While conversing with Jen, she gets a call about something going down at the pool. So we hightail it over there to see whats going on. DW refers to me as the Fort paperazi.

This is what we find.

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Behind those popo cars is a car parked by the tennis courts. We noticed it earlier, but didnt pay any attention, till now.

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They had 6 or 7 rangers/popo walking around the pool. From listening in, they were checking resort ids and looking for the owner of the car. Which they never found. I will assume the owner saw the popo comming and left. The pavillion was packed earlier in the day, but was empty at this point. So another plus for the Fort management.

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It is getting late and we have to get DW home so she can get ready for work. We get there, and goto open the door and this happens

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Yes, thats my door key, and if your wondering, the other half is still in the door. CRAP.

I work on trying to get the door open with the tools I have for about 30 mins. I end up doing more damage than I wanted

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I then look at DW and ask which window she could live without. I really didnt want to break one, but she had to get to work very very soon, no time to wait on a lock smith. Then I think, "I wonder if I could fit through the skylight?"

So up I climb

I manage to get the skylight open with no damage and squeeze myself through. Barely. Anyone wha has met me knows I am of a small build, and it was tight for me to get through there.

Luckily, I didnt damage the locking mechanism and open the door.

Of course I am mad, but we are in. Now I have to get a new lock....could have been worse though.

DW heads off to work and we head to the Poly to watch the fireworks. At the boat dock for the contemporary, I notice this sign

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This was odd as the 3rd, during the fireworks show, boats were comming and going throughout the show. Wish they would have done this for both nights.

We take the monorail to the Poly and grab a bite to eat, then head to the grassy knoll to get a good spot. This area is great for watching the fireworks and is ussualy not as crowded as the beach. You get right up next to the barges that they launch from and play the soundtrack, you can also see the castle a little better.

While waiting, I snapped a few pics

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Up next, the 4th fireworks from the Poly

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I'm really glad to see they are cracking down at the pool. Maybe the locals will take the hint and save themselves from the embarrassment :banana: Sorry about your key, I've never broken one in the lock but have managed to lock myself out twice. We climbed through a window once but had to break the lock the second time :banghead:

Love all your pictures and am waiting patiently for the fireworks to start :popcorn:

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Love the pics with the water parade!

I like the fact that they use these during the special fireworks.

Loving the report! Thanks!

Thanks

That is so cool that they had the EWP at the same time as the fireworks! Thanks for sharing!

Actually, during the special fireworks (4th of July, New Years, etc) they use the barges for the EWP as part of the show. They park them directly in front of the poly and use the speakers to play the soundtrack and then the lights during certain parts of the show. They even launch some fireworks from the barges too. If you have never seen them from the Poly before, I urge you to at least once. A whole different experience.

These pictures were definitely worth waiting for. Just awesome :banana:

Thank you, there are still more to come.

I love that you squeezed through the skylight - that was thinking!

I really didnt want to break a window, so Im glad I thought of it.

Great Pictures! Looks like you all had a good time, Thanks for sharing with us!

It was a fun time. Thanks for reading.

Good for you climbing through the skylight! Another point for the little people! :banana:

Great fireworks pictures!

Thanks...

There are still more to come, so stay tuned.......

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Still 4 Jul 2011,

After the fireworks, we head to the TTC for a ride back. I decided that taking the ferry to the MK then a boat to FW would be much faster than waiting on the monorail. So, we get to TTC just as the ferry pulls up and we are the only ones on it. The lines leaving MK were horrendous, but just as I thought, no one was going to MK this late. When we arrive at MK, we head over to the FW boat launch and are the only ones waiting on that boat, which pulls up a few mins later. I love it when a plan comes together.

When we get back to the site, Jen pulls up and lets me know we had won the grandprize in the raffel. I had also won a Fiend acronym shirt. Score. The shirt was a med, which shrunk when I washed it and is now a little tight. My DW had entered the raffel hoping to get one of the photo albums. She is a scrapbooker and had plans to make a FF.net scrapbook with it. Hopefully these go on sale in the store soon (hint hint 4brians). But getting the grandprize was cool. I did not even expect to win anything.

5 Jul 2011

We head over to Pop to visist DWs mom who was staying there. We spent the day at the pool and had dinner at whispering canyon.

We have eaten here before, and love the food and service, but this trip was horrible. Our waitress, Harmonica, had 3 tables she was working. But was never around. After our order was taken, we didnt see her again until we were half done with our food. The kids had gotten the never ending shakes, which I guess means once your done with one, you dont get anymore. The DW and her brother got the all you can eat skillet, which again they only got one skillet because the waitress was never around to order more. I went the entire meal without a drink and when we finnaly saw her, we had to ask 4 times for a refill. I looked for a manager to complain to but never found one. The worst part is, she still made a tip due to the mandatory gratuity. BLAH. I am writing a letter to Disney about this one.

Next up, EPCOT and Hollywood Studios......

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Congrats on winning the big prize :banana:

I never have that kind of luck when it comes to transportation, so I've decided to plan all future trips for when you are there. If you notice a doodlebug following you wherever you go, it's just me trying to catch a bus, boat or monorail :rofl2:

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...We have eaten here before, and love the food and service, but this trip was horrible. Our waitress, Harmonica, had 3 tables she was working. But was never around. After our order was taken, we didnt see her again until we were half done with our food. The kids had gotten the never ending shakes, which I guess means once your done with one, you dont get anymore. The DW and her brother got the all you can eat skillet, which again they only got one skillet because the waitress was never around to order more. I went the entire meal without a drink and when we finnaly saw her, we had to ask 4 times for a refill. I looked for a manager to complain to but never found one. The worst part is, she still made a tip due to the mandatory gratuity. BLAH. I am writing a letter to Disney about this one.

...

I don't blame you! I would have been grabbing any waitress that passed by and asking them to serve me. There is usually no better way to get a waitress to pay attention to you than to make her co-workers do her job. They will get on her butt really fast!

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The worst part is, she still made a tip due to the mandatory gratuity. BLAH. I am writing a letter to Disney about this one.

One thing we have started doing is NOT showing our Tables in Wonderland Card until the bill comes. If we get good service, we slap out the card, get our discount, and sometimes even give a little extra tip.

If we DON'T get good service, we forgo the discount in order to let the server know with our lack of tip that we were not happy!!!!! It all works out about the same, cause the discount is 20% and the autotip is 18%.

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One thing we have started doing is NOT showing our Tables in Wonderland Card until the bill comes. If we get good service, we slap out the card, get our discount, and sometimes even give a little extra tip.

If we DON'T get good service, we forgo the discount in order to let the server know with our lack of tip that we were not happy!!!!! It all works out about the same, cause the discount is 20% and the autotip is 18%.

Have you figured out the breakeven for TIW? I bought it this past trip and could not use it quite a few times. We had it several years ago and always got the discount. I guess it was a holiday so that was why.

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One thing we have started doing is NOT showing our Tables in Wonderland Card until the bill comes. If we get good service, we slap out the card, get our discount, and sometimes even give a little extra tip.

If we DON'T get good service, we forgo the discount in order to let the server know with our lack of tip that we were not happy!!!!! It all works out about the same, cause the discount is 20% and the autotip is 18%.

You are the smartest woman ever!

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I get that the 4th was a holiday, but the rest of the weekend?

Were you at Disney-owned restaurants every meal??

Some of the restaurants that are not owned by Disney have chosen not to participate in TiW

Also, counter service in most places does not accept it either.

The All-Stars, Pop Century, POFQ, and Animal Kingdom are the only CS that accepts TiW.

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