Hot Fun in the Summertime-TCD's August 2012 TR

[SCTigerCock 171]

Just one, but it might require use of pivot tables and possibly a data extraction tool like Monarch.

Did you HAVE to bring pivot tables and Monarch into FF? Did ya?!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

This is why I love your trip reports. You observe the most minute details that I would never ever notice.

The truth is that I missed a lot of the details the first time around.

And, my goodness, there are a lot of details on that site.

Good lord! How long would it take you to pack all of that junk collection? How many spreadsheets would you need to track your inventory?

Just one, but it might require use of pivot tables and possibly a data extraction tool like Monarch.

Ah, accountant humor.

It doesn't get better than that.

No wonder you guys get all the chicks.

TCD

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

That picture there is the difference between campers and fulltimers.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Did you HAVE to bring pivot tables and Monarch into FF? Did ya?!

Just sharing the misery. I knew you'd understand.

[fortpartyof4 108]

How about that! I figured someone had to recognize these folks! And not in a good way, like Feisty or the Santa guy. That is a lot of wind chimes. I'm glad we weren't closer, I bet they really rattle when the wind blows.

I remember the thread, and can recall seeing that Halloween site myself on past fall trips. But weren't they tent campers? Did they upgrade to a TT?

Sorry I made you back-track. But it was kind of cool to notice all of those details that I didn't when I physically sat in front of their site for 5 minutes taking it all in one day when the Git R Done-mobile wasn't there.

Oh, and thanks for the character meet info. I was kind of hoping you'd just reiterate it so I didn't have to do the work. Lazy, remember?

Dave, you and my husband speak the same language. If you and he ever got into a conversation around me, it would be like going to the nail salon. I'd have absolutely no idea what you were saying.

FP4

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I said there would be an update today, and by golly, here it comes.

To remind everyone where we are, it is now Sunday evening. We had done rope drop at Hollywood Studios this morning, gone back to the Fort, and then back to Hollywood Studios.

Now we are heading back to the Fort.

It sounds like a lot doesn't it?

Well, that is how we roll.

And, by the way, it is EMH at MK tonight, and we will be heading there.

For now, though, we are on the bus back to the Fort.

You know that means we have to drop off the first class guests at Wilderness Lodge first. Us campers always come last.

On the way to WL, the girls asked if we could get off there so they could do some pin trading in the lobby and maybe get some of the soft serve ice cream they have there.

I was thinking about the beers that had been waiting for me on ice all day back at our site.

I like ice cream as much as the next time, but it was way past beer-thirty, and I wanted to go back to the site.

So, we made a deal.

The girls could go ahead and get of at WL, and I would head to the Fort. They could then bus it back, and either take the bus to our loop, or call me and I would come and get them at the Settlement bus stop.

So, that is what we did.

Look what I saw on the way back to the Fort:

There is something about seeing a bunch of deer hanging out under the monorail that speaks to me.

Too bad the photo is a little blurry. Moving bus in low light. What could I do?

I got back to the site and popped a beer.

It is good to be TCD.

I headed up to the comfort station to take care of a little business.

And I saw this:

There was an IM there, standing around uselessly outside the comfort station, and I asked him about this.

He said that they had to shut down the water heaters because they were setting off the fire alarms.

Oh.

That reminds me.

That morning at 6 am, I had been awakened by bright lights which lit up the whole camper. We were positioned so that when vehicles came around the loop, their lights would hit the side of the camper. That was not a problem, as there isn't a lot of traffic when we are in the camper sleeping. But that morning, the lights didn't move on. They just were fixed on the camper. Plus I heard the sound of a large motor running. I thought it was a garbage truck. Which I was kind of miffed about, because why did they need to collect the trash at 6 am. I had gotten up to investigate, and found that it wasn't a garbage truck. It was a great big fire truck. The alarm was going off in the comfort station. Now I know why. Of course, it took them until that evening to do anything about it.

I asked the IM how long the hot water would be off. He said he didn't know. I could have guessed that would be his answer.

Oh well, we had our cart, so not a big deal.

Plus, it had been very warm in that comfort station all weekend, and we had actually talked about using another one to shower.

So, until further notice, we had no hot water in our comfort station.

Since I knew the girls would not be gone long, I decided to head down to the Settlement and try to snag a rocker on the porch of Crockett's Tavern. I would just wait there until the girls called.

I decided to park over by the Settlement bus stop and walk in from that direction so I could admire all the open space that will one day be a DVC parking lot.

The sun was setting, and I figured I might be able to get some different photos, so I snapped away.

This is the big, open field next to Pioneer Hall. It has been here as long as there has been a Fort. I always liked that there was open space here, and not a parking lot:

Here is the good old petting zoo. I don't have to tell you what this place means to me. Look at my user name and my avatar. That will tell you all you need to know:

It is hard for me to accept that this tree and all I see here illuminated by the setting sun is one day going to be plowed over and paved. Such a shame:

Here we are at the good old Blacksmith shop. You can see the inside of the horse barn glowing behind it:

There were just a couple of other folks around at this time, so I got to enjoy this peaceful scene of the pony eating a late dinner all by myself:

The sun had set, and the lights were all on:

The people who designed all of this understood the importance of open space, and left plenty of it around this area. That is the old River Country bus stop on the left. It doesn't get used for anything now. They used to use it for the Halloween carriage rides, but I understand that those have been cancelled this year, so the bus stop has no use now:

I call this photo sunset over the TCD barn:

Isn't the glow emanating from the barn inviting? :

I love this barn. It is so authentic. Check out the two horse grooming areas on either side of the entrance, and the building that looks like an outhouse on the right:

Fellow Fiend Starbuc71 already reported this, but the calliope that used to be on display here has gone missing. In its place is this wagon:

You see that little button on the wall? If you press it, the calliope used to play. Well, guess what? Through the magic of Disney, the calliope still plays if you press that button. Strange:

The part of the barn that they have open to guests is kind of boring. The other half of the barn, which is not open to guests, is where the real action is. Do you remember Fritz? From early in the report? He was not impressed? His stall is the first door on the right:

Fritz's stall has a little area outside of it that he is free to go out into, and he apparently had done just that:

Here we are looking at the wagon again:

I asked a friendly castmember if she knew anything about where the calliope went and where this wagon came from.

To my surprise she did know something. That is rare. She said they took the calliope away about a week ago for restoration. What she heard is that they wanted to fully restore it so it can be used in parades. That would be cool if it's true.

As for this wagon, she pointed out this display, which has hung here in the barn for as long as I can remember:

It appears that this wagon and a team of horses traveled to Calgary in 1983 to participate in the World Percheron Congress.

The photo in the top center of that display is a photo of this wagon:

I just noticed that it also looks like the wagon is depicted on what looks like a piece of china there at the bottom left of the display. I don't have a close up of that, but it will give me something to do the next time I"m at the Fort.

I wandered out and around the back of the barn, heading toward the old River Country area. This is the back of the barn. Some of the horses can walk out of their stalls and hang out back here. In fact, the horse closest to me in this photo is good old Fritz, who is still not impressed:

Here is the old River Country pavilion. I say it has the best weather vane in all of Walt Disney World:

I call this photo Sunset over the River Country pavilion (hopefully not the last one that I will see). Or, Another Day Surrenders to the Night:

Here is a photo of the real working horses. Not the ones who get those nice stalls in the front of the barn. That is none other than the not impressed Fritz standing there on the left:

Sorry, but I like the weathervane, so here comes two more photos of it. No extra charge:

I figured the girls would be calling soon, so I decided to head over to the porch.

They texted me as I was walking that way.

They asked where I was.

I said down at the Settlement.

They said to come to the cart, because they were sitting on it.

They had come back by bus, saw the cart, and hopped off at the bus stop.

So, I headed back to the cart.

It was time for some looping.

And we were also going to watch some of the closing ceremony for the Olympics before heading over to the MK.

I never got to the porch for that beer.

TCD

[stefa70 205]

No beer? :-

I too love the horse barn and try to visit every time. Not only does it bring back memories, I know one day I will show up and it will be gone.

It also makes me think of one of my favorite fiend friends.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

love love love the barn pictures!

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

I love the barn pictures too. Remind me that we can never take anything at the fort for granted. Anything can go the way of River Country.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

How about that! I figured someone had to recognize these folks! And not in a good way, like Feisty or the Santa guy. That is a lot of wind chimes. I'm glad we weren't closer, I bet they really rattle when the wind blows.

I remember the thread, and can recall seeing that Halloween site myself on past fall trips. But weren't they tent campers? Did they upgrade to a TT?

Sorry I made you back-track. But it was kind of cool to notice all of those details that I didn't when I physically sat in front of their site for 5 minutes taking it all in one day when the Git R Done-mobile wasn't there.

Oh, and thanks for the character meet info. I was kind of hoping you'd just reiterate it so I didn't have to do the work. Lazy, remember?

Dave, you and my husband speak the same language. If you and he ever got into a conversation around me, it would be like going to the nail salon. I'd have absolutely no idea what you were saying.

FP4

Well, we don't know for sure if it's the same people.

There could be a lot of people who like to camp with full sized fridges, mobile carports, red papasan chairs, and truckloads of knick-knacks. I know I would if I was lucky enough to have all that and had a way to bring it with me.

The Halloween people have been there every year since I can remember. They did used to just have a tent, but last year they were on the 100 loop, and I think that they did have a trailer.

No beer? :-

I too love the horse barn and try to visit every time. Not only does it bring back memories, I know one day I will show up and it will be gone.

It also makes me think of one of my favorite fiend friends.

Oh, don't worry, I had my beer.

Just not on the porch as planned.

love love love the barn pictures!

I'm glad you liked them.

I love the barn pictures too. Remind me that we can never take anything at the fort for granted. Anything can go the way of River Country.

Well, if the DVC plans come to fruition, all that we just looked at will be a parking lot.

There will be a new barn, but I can't imagine that it will feel like the old barn.

Plus it will be full of outside folks who can just pull in to the parking lot and gawk.

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Well, if the DVC plans come to fruition, all that we just looked at will be a parking lot.

There will be a new barn, but I can't imagine that it will feel like the old barn.

Plus it will be full of outside folks who can just pull in to the parking lot and gawk.

TCD

And that's just sad.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I also enjoyed the barn photos. That is my favorite area of the Fort...in particular I love the blacksmith shop. So authentic. It makes me very sad to think of it being torn down.

Maybe now that my Melvin freeing days are over, I will take up a new cause. Occupy the Blacksmith Shop. I will chain myself to it.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

I also enjoyed the barn photos. That is my favorite area of the Fort...in particular I love the blacksmith shop. So authentic. It makes me very sad to think of it being torn down.

Maybe now that my Melvin freeing days are over, I will take up a new cause. Occupy the Blacksmith Shop. I will chain myself to it.

make sure to have anna with you....

[DaveInTN 3,247]

make sure to have anna with you....

"So, you wanna tear down the blacksmith shop, eh?"

[Starbuc71 162]

There is an update coming.

I promise.

Today, I hope.

But, I have to back up and take another look at that wonderful campsite on the 1800 loop. I didn't give these folks enough credit, or fully appreciate all the work that went in to this.

So, let's take a closer look . . .

Here is a zoom on one of the photos. We can see the set-up much better now. Note the porch swing and home theater. Also the birdhouse and lighthouse collection, and they didn't slack on the wind chimes either:

As if the birdhouse and lighthouse collections were not enough, check out the Mickey mouse collection and the nice wrought iron furniture. Plus more windchimes! :

Also, please do not miss the red papasan chair on the far right of that photo. It is important. You will find out why in a moment.

FP4 asked if I noticed the full sized fridge. No I didn't. But now I see it under the awning here on the side of the trailer (there is also some kind of animal cage there that I missed at first glance) :

That full sized fridge got me to thinking.

There are campers who show up every Halloween with one of these carport tents and a full sized fridge.

These campers actually are the ones who were the subject of that contentious thread that FP4 referenced.

Here is a photo of them from Halloween 2009:

Let's take a closer look at something they have under their tent:

Is that a red papasan chair?

It couldn't be.

Could it?

TCD

I know some fiends will think different than I do, but we all like telling our opinions here. I think all this junk is ridiculous . We are camping here folks not cleaning out our garages. Even though I think some of the holiday stuff is too much, I understand its all good and people enjoy. I'm all for adding a special touch to your site, but bringing junk should not be allowed. I know, one mans junk is another mans treasure but seriously? Hate me and yell at me but I think the permanent site on loop 700 is out of hand also. It makes the fort look like we are all trailer trash even if you do have a 100k trailer on the pad. I always just turn my head when I see that crap because it will never change or be enforced. What happened to the great outdoors? If I wanted to camp next to junk I would camp in front of one my friends house where his neighbor has the lawn and lawn junk from hell. And to boot, he would not charge me $75 a night. Put all the long term campers on the 2000 loop so it's far from the ambiance of the fort. And we wonder why the fort management doesn't care about us.

[Heidi-meetsTCD@TSM 5]

wow, I'm surprised at no waits for TSM out there! Although it was 2008 when I was there!!

Carol,

We were surprised too!! We had been there in 2009 and while the lines were not nearly as long as WDW, there were lines. This trip was almost shocking at the lack of lines. I am sure there had to have been a wait for TSM in the afternoon, but we were never there at that time........our longest wait by far was riding the new Radiator Racers with Fast Passes.....even with the passes we waited a good 20-minutes. That area was packed! Heidi

[Heidi-meetsTCD@TSM 5]

Thanks, Heidi.

I thought of you on this trip.

You want to know why?

I was reading the book Wild by Cheryl Strayer. It is about a young woman who hiked the Pacific Crest Trail.

One of the highlights of her hike, which was over 1000 miles, was her walk through Crater Lake National Park. She had heard that a common reaction from those seeing the lake for the first time was one of disbelief. She didn't put much weight on that. Then she saw the lake.

If anyone is looking for a good book to read, pick this book up. It is very well written and very thought provoking.

And, Heidi, I do want to see photos from your trip, so I am going to hold you to writing that trip report. Let me know when you're ready for your photo posting lesson.

We have never been to Disneyland. I always wanted to go with the girls before they leave the nest. At this point, it doesn't look like that will happen. I have heard it is a much more laid back atmosphere than WDW. I would like to experience that.

TCD

TCD,

Thanks for mentioning that book, I'll have to check it out.

I'll let you know when I am ready......at the moment I am dealing with jet lag, and just plain exhaustion after being on the road for three weeks. We put on a little over 2.800 miles on our rental van!!! It was quite a trip! I'll do the trip report when things settle down this Fall.

Disneyland is both similar to WDW and different........if that makes sense!

Like I said lines were almost non existant.........saw tons of character with no handlers with them......no finger scan to get into the parks........seemed like more live entertainment going on.........they have the Golden Horseshoe which is the same as our Diamond Horseshoe and they actually USE it to put on really great shows.......their Fast Passes can be used anytime after the first hour on the one hour window. There is something special about being in the original park, where Walt actually spent time.

I hope that you get to go someday........you would love it.........for those of us who have grown up going to WDW or have gone to WDW multiple times that is our favorite park, but Disneyland is a lot of fun too!!!!

Heidi

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

TCD,

Thanks for mentioning that book, I'll have to check it out.

I'll let you know when I am ready......at the moment I am dealing with jet lag, and just plain exhaustion after being on the road for three weeks. We put on a little over 2.800 miles on our rental van!!! It was quite a trip! I'll do the trip report when things settle down this Fall.

Disneyland is both similar to WDW and different........if that makes sense!

Like I said lines were almost non existant.........saw tons of character with no handlers with them......no finger scan to get into the parks........seemed like more live entertainment going on.........they have the Golden Horseshoe which is the same as our Diamond Horseshoe and they actually USE it to put on really great shows.......their Fast Passes can be used anytime after the first hour on the one hour window. There is something special about being in the original park, where Walt actually spent time.

I hope that you get to go someday........you would love it.........for those of us who have grown up going to WDW or have gone to WDW multiple times that is our favorite park, but Disneyland is a lot of fun too!!!!

Heidi

We had the chance to go to Disneyland last summer for the first time and I have to agree it was a lot of fun. We had a bit more in the way of lines but the new Little Mermaid ride had just opened, The Soundsational Parade (best parade ever in my opinion) had just started running and the World of Color show(One of the best shows we have seen aslso) was fairly new. This really drove up the crowds and the locals passes were good too at the time.

For anyone who hasn't gone yet it is a real treat. It does kind of mess with your head because rides are not "in the right places" so to speak but you can't beat how much less walking you have to do.

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

Yeah, and the fact that you can walk out of the park and to your inexpensive off-site hotel and be there 15 minutes after fireworks is over, is a plus, and there is "true" parkhopping, you just walk across the "Esplanade"

Unfortunately though, no awesome campground!! About a mile away is a striped parking lot with electric and water hookups they try and call a campground.

[3Mouseketeers....Eddie 8]

Yeah, and the fact that you can walk out of the park and to your inexpensive off-site hotel and be there 15 minutes after fireworks is over, is a plus, and there is "true" parkhopping, you just walk across the "Esplanade"

Unfortunately though, no awesome campground!! About a mile away is a striped parking lot with electric and water hookups they try and call a campground.

I think we might have stayed in that one back in 2002 during a 10 week road trip to the west

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Saw this today and thought of your attempts at making the face.

[Southern Blessings 4]

Wow! That site is very packed! How do they bring all that in, I wonder? I love the last set of pics you posted of the sunset over the barn! Gorgeous!

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Wow! That site is very packed! How do they bring all that in, I wonder?

That's what I was thinking, but the bigger question is WHY?

[Heidi-meetsTCD@TSM 5]

Yeah, and the fact that you can walk out of the park and to your inexpensive off-site hotel and be there 15 minutes after fireworks is over, is a plus, and there is "true" parkhopping, you just walk across the "Esplanade"

Unfortunately though, no awesome campground!! About a mile away is a striped parking lot with electric and water hookups they try and call a campground.

So true Carol! We stayed at the Park Vue Inn and were literally on the other side of the crosswalk on Harbor. I figure from the end of Main Street to our hotel is about the same distance as if you are at WDW to go from the end of Main Street to the last bus stop at the Magic Kingdom....usually the Pop bus stop. Its crazy how fast we could get back to our hotel from the parks.

And Yes, it was super fun to just exit Disneyland, walk a few steps and walk into Disney California Adventure. Although, we really didnt need Fast Passes on this trip, what we would do is grab a FP at Disneyland, exit the park, run into the California Adventure, grab another one there (the FP system is not connected between parks) and head back to the hotel for a swim.

I love, love, love WDW, but I cant say enough positive things about Disneyland!!!

Heidi

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

So true Carol! We stayed at the Park Vue Inn and were literally on the other side of the crosswalk on Harbor. I figure from the end of Main Street to our hotel is about the same distance as if you are at WDW to go from the end of Main Street to the last bus stop at the Magic Kingdom....usually the Pop bus stop. Its crazy how fast we could get back to our hotel from the parks.

And Yes, it was super fun to just exit Disneyland, walk a few steps and walk into Disney California Adventure. Although, we really didnt need Fast Passes on this trip, what we would do is grab a FP at Disneyland, exit the park, run into the California Adventure, grab another one there (the FP system is not connected between parks) and head back to the hotel for a swim.

I love, love, love WDW, but I cant say enough positive things about Disneyland!!!

Heidi

I was a little further, I was at the Super 8 on Katella, BUT within spitting distance of my hotel was a PF Changs, California Pizza Kitchen, Bubba Gumps, and a couple of other WONDERFUL restaurants. There were also reasonably priced convenience stores in the walking area, I could get soft drinks and a Tylenol without paying a fortune! It is not a total escape, like WDW, but it has it's own charm. I spent 5 days there and really got to explore both parks thoroughly. I probably spent 3 days riding attractions, and the last two days, I made sure to watch all the live entertainment. It was an awesome experience!!

My only regret is I flew in at night, and flew out at night, so didn't really get the realization of flying over the Rockies and really realizing where in the country I actually was. I also took a shuttle straight to the Anaheim area, and straight back to LAX. Someday, even though the campground isn't the best I will pull the camper out there just to see the country in between!!