BEL13VE in Magic: The TCD Gang Rings in 2013 at The Fort

[fortpartyof4 108]

Are we jacking this TR because TCD didn't post an update today and now is leaving us all hanging???

I am in on that!!

Well for this one post anyway. It's way past my bedtime.

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

I didn't save it as it was only a 5 minute sketch of Mickey, however, and for your review, I submit the following photo as evidence of my tremendous artistic skills.

Sculpted in clay from scratch are the 7 dwarfs. Each being about 9 inches tall.

Behind it is a 36 inch long animation cell of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs drawn and painted from scratch.

I showed you my stuff, let's see yours.

Lou that is awesome work. I love to draw and paint but I've never been able to sculpt. Post some more pix of your art. I would love to see more.

[rdancemom... Pam 113]

I'll take fairies over Hannah & the Jonas Bros any day too. I can't tell all the supplemental fairyfolk apart but I'm still pretty sure they'd make better role models anyway.

That purple crayon is downright scary. If you insist on drawing pictures of the fort without campers, maybe you could use lime green to make it look more realistic... :clint:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I didn't save it as it was only a 5 minute sketch of Mickey, however, and for your review, I submit the following photo as evidence of my tremendous artistic skills.

Sculpted in clay from scratch are the 7 dwarfs. Each being about 9 inches tall.

Behind it is a 36 inch long animation cell of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs drawn and painted from scratch.

I showed you my stuff, let's see yours.

How can I compete with that?

I have a hard time telling when you are kidding, so I'm not sure if you are serious about this. But, if you really did sculpt those and paint that, it is amazing work!

I see you, like so many others, have forgotten the eighth dwarf, Dumpy, who flushes all the toilets at the Magic Kingdom when each guest is finished.

LOL!

TGFD!

(Thank Goodness For Dumpy)!

OK, OK...hold the phone.

The parking lot location looks questionable to me. Why would they put the parking lot right there when there's so much available property just west of the remains of River Country?

And ten stories? How many stories tall are the Wilderness Lodge buildings?

NORM!!!!

Where have you been?

It's good to see a post from you.

I've been waiting for your Thanksgiving Trip Report.

I agree with you that there is plenty of room on the west for a parking lot, and that placing the parking lot there would allow them to keep the horse barn, old petting zoo area and open field south of Pioneer Hall. But, that is not what the geniuses in charge have planned. They want to tear down the barn, old petting zoo and nice field south of Pioneer Hall and put in a giant ugly parking lot. Why? Because they're a bunch of idiots.

One need only look at that Four Seasons building looming over the Fort to confirm that.

TCD

I believe Norm just called 'fuego' on your purple crayon, TCD.

Yes, he did.

But he is making the mistake of trying to be logical.

The geniuses in charge don't think in those terms.

Lucky for you??? Are you crazy?

I'll take fairies any day over the Jonas Brothers and Hannah Montana.

Tinkerbell invents things out of junk and her fellow tinker fairies (Bobble and Clink) are the dorky but smart kids in class.

None of the fairies represent the "cool kids." They are all in their own way quirky. No one is stuck up, well except for Vidia-she's sorta the Hannah Montana or Sharpay of the group.

(P.S. If you get the chance to meet Vidia in the parks, do it. She's a cool character to meet.)

And just to bring you up to speed, Periwinkle has white hair because she is a snow fairy from the Winter Woods (she either has to have gray or white hair).

My girls have recently watched the Fairy movies.

I have passed.

But, I have to say that the story lines and explanations of who the fairies are and what they do is very clever.

My girls used to be anti-fairy.

But now they're not.

:rofl2:

Good one.

Yes, the Troll is Norm. And whatever happened to WBI, who's real name is Nick I think? Has he been around in a while?

Yes, Norm is The Troll. In name only. Actually, he is a perfectly nice guy.

And WBI is Nick. It's been a long time since he has posted. If I am remembering right, he went missing after the WIld Womenz tracked him down last year.

Coincidence?

I don't think so.

Tink looks a lot hotter on my Christmas tree topper than she does in real life.

Unfortunately, you are right.

The young ladies who play Tink in the parks must have been told to tone it down.

The real Tink is much more sassy.

Between the news story involving my favorite college team and your purple crayon DVC drawing.....I need a beer.

Have a couple, Aaron.

It's all going to be OK.

Nooooo!!! DVC!!! Please tell me your pulling my leg! I just discovered the Fort and now your telling me they might take away the peace of tranquility I've found. And yes I spelled piece wrong on purpose.

That being said thank you for another great TR. And one day I will get page one bragging rights on one of your TRs.

Nope, not pulling your leg.

They are really planning to put a DVC there.

But, they have made lots of plans in the past that never came to be.

We have to hope that this will be the case here.

Unfortunately, I think it is going to happen. I just hope it continues to drag on as it has.

fuego!

I heard that!

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Are we jacking this TR because TCD didn't post an update today and now is leaving us all hanging???

I am in on that!!

Well for this one post anyway. It's way past my bedtime.

Sorry to leave you hanging.

But I have a good excuse.

And it means that this TR isn't going to end, just yet.

I'll take fairies over Hannah & the Jonas Bros any day too. I can't tell all the supplemental fairyfolk apart but I'm still pretty sure they'd make better role models anyway.

That purple crayon is downright scary. If you insist on drawing pictures of the fort without campers, maybe you could use lime green to make it look more realistic... :clint:

LOL, Pam!

Very good! I agree with you about the fairies. As far as I know, none of them have been involved in any scandals.

Sorry, but I don't have a lime green crayon.

And I don't want one, thank you.

TCD

[fortpartyof4 108]

Sorry to leave you hanging.

But I have a good excuse.

And it means that this TR isn't going to end, just yet.

LOL, Pam!

Very good! I agree with you about the fairies. As far as I know, none of them have been involved in any scandals.

Sorry, but I don't have a lime green crayon.

And I don't want one, thank you.

TCD

I thought maybe you might be hanging with the mouse again…….can't wait to hear about it.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I thought maybe you might be hanging with the mouse again…….can't wait to hear about it.

Read on.

TCD

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Read on.

TCD

can't....at least not yet

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

can't....at least not yet

Exactly!

[alexwyattmommy 181]

Waiting to read on.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Sorry for the delay, but you will find out the reason for it in this update.

Getting back to our story, Wednesday, January 2nd, was the day to pack it up and bring it home.

This trip went by too fast.

But, it was time for us to go.

I had just a little time for a quick trip to the Meadow Trading Post for coffee.

I took the bridge over the canal by the 1500 loop.

Nobody was hanging out at the pool that early:

Not a freeloader in sight:

I call this photo Sunrise Over The Meadow Recreation Area Volleyball Court:

My favorite sycamore tree:

I spent a few minutes on the front porch watching the world go by. They were still playing the Christmas music:

I remembered that I had spotted the new RFID readers on the 900 loop comfort station, so I headed over to snap these photos:

The 1500 loop comfort station still had the old style key slots. I think they have since been changed to RFID. If so, this is what they look like.

One last look at the Meadow Trading Post Christmas decorations:

And the bare gum trees:

On the way back to my site, I snapped this photo from near the tennis courts, looking toward the 1500 loop. Notice how all the trees look kind of brown. It's winter for now. I will take another photo from this same spot in the spring, and we will look at the difference:

And with that, I headed back to camp and started packing it all up.

At some point, I got the girls up, and they headed to the MK for lunch.

It was a really warm and sunny day as I packed.

Really warm.

A few Fiends were out looping, and stopped by to say goodbye.

I remember seeing Metal Dad and FP4.

After I finally got it packed up, I left.

I headed over to Wilderness Lodge for a bowl of chili.

The girls caught a boat and met me there.

They had already eaten lunch at BOG again.

I told you it's our go too place.

Here's a photo they took for me. That's the remains of a turkey sandwich:

And then we loaded up and headed west.

As I pulled out of the WL lot, the official TCD Excursion thermometer told me it was 81 degrees. On January 2. I told you it was warm.

The next day's paper told me the warmest spot in all of the US on January 2 was Plant City, Florida, which recorded a temperature of 82 degrees.

We had driven through there on the way home.

While we hated to leave the Fort, it turns out that we had good timing.

The weather got a little cold and nasty for a couple of days after we left.

It's good to be TCD.

I'll bet you think now I'm going to say The End.

But I'm not.

This trip report had a prelude.

Now it's going to have a Post Script.

You see, we made an unexpected trip to WDW yesterday.

My oldest daughter had planned to go to a concert in Orlando last night and then spend the weekend there with a friend. She had a ride lined up and her concert ticket, but then her friend found out she had to work and wouldn't be able to hang out over the weekend. I tried to put another Fort trip together, but it didn't work out. So, instead, I told my DD I would pick her up on Thursday night after the concert, and bring her home, and then bring her back on Sunday.

The TCD twins heard of this, and informed me that they had an early release day from school on Thursday because of exams. That meant we could squeeze in a day trip.

So, yesterday, January 17th, we made a quick afternoon/evening visit to WDW.

There is stuff that is new since January 2, and we planned to see it.

Like the new quick serve place in France.

And, this week's Limited Time Magic offering in Canada.

So that meant first stop Epcot.

Instead of ending this report, then, we will head to Epcot for the afternoon.

Here's a quick look at the Limited Time Magic event in Canada. It consisted of a few trees, a snow machine, and four characters:

Yes that's it.

What were you expecting?

Something impressive?

Get real.

But, the trip ended up being worth it.

We loved the new French place, and we had a fun encounter that we didn't expect.

I'll cover that in the next update.

TCD

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

aaaah, day trips, I can only dream :)

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

On to the post script . . .

The weather here in central Florida has been flat out gorgeous for the past two weeks.

We have had weather in the high 70's/low 80's for going on two weeks straight, and not a drop of rain.

So, of course, on the day we want to sneak in a day trip it rains.

It was raining pretty good when we left home on the west coast or Florida around 11.

About half-way to the Fort, though, we just had clouds and the road was dry.

We had outrun the cold front that was coming in.

But it was on its way right behind us.

Since there were some things we wanted to do in Epcot, we headed there first.

All of our recent visits have been during the Food and Wine Festival, which started at the end of September, or the holidays.

Epcot has been really crowded on all those visits.

Today, it wasn't.

And it was nice to see just plain old flowers in the beds. Nothing fancy:

Not a lot of people, as you can see:

But there also wasn't a lot of sun or blue sky:

This is the main area that you come to first as you head into the World Showcase. For the past few months, it has been loaded up with topiaries and then Christmas decorations. Today, it's just plain old flowers:

I'll bet it's not going to stay this way for long, though.

The Flower and Garden Festival is right around the corner.

They're going to be getting ready for that soon.

I already posted these photos, but I'll post them again here in context.

This is what we saw as we walked through Canada:

As I menitoned, this is this week's Limited Time Magic offering.

Have you heard about this?

It's a promotion Disney is running in its parks this year.

They made a big announcement about it a few months ago with a giant ice sculpture of a castle in Times Square.

The idea is that they are going to have special surprises throughout the year.

But only for a limited time.

This one consisted of a special backdrop and four characters in winter clothes.

That's all.

Kind of lame.

But, we stood in line for a photo.

As it got cloudier, though, the CM in charge told those in line that if it started to rain, they would have to leave.

It really looked like it was going to rain.

And there were about 20 people ahead of us.

We decided to go eat and come back.

So we headed on around to France.

They just opened a new quick serve place there that we wanted to give a try.

It took over the space of a gift shop.

Here's a look at the place where you order and pick up your food:

That was also supposed to show you the menu.

But, the menu is too small and blurry to read.

Sorry.

Not to worry, I swiped this photo from a post from GaDawgFan/Kelly:

So there's the menu.

I did get a good shot of the dessert menu, though:

After you stand in line a bit, you come to a big case where everything is on display.

In this photo, you can see the sandwiches, salads and quiche:

The concept is that one of the CM's behind the counter is supposed to help you with your choices, and then you move down the case toward the desserts and cash register.

But, these CM's are all French.

They do a masterful job of avoiding eye contact and acting busy so they don't have to wait on the customers.

It's funny to see.

And, oh boy are they condescending!

It's hilarious.

I expect it, so it doesn't bother me in the least.

We had to stand there a few minutes before we were helped.

It's not that they didn't have enough people working.

It's just that the people who were working were working really hard to not do any work.

Needless to say, things move very slow here in France.

Finally, a young lady came over to help us.

Twin #1 ordered a Croissant Jambon Fromage. She could do that by pointing to the ham and cheese croissant in the case. No problem.

Twin #2 ordered the Quiche Lorraine. Again no problem, she just pointed to the quiche in the case.

I wanted to try the Croque Monsier. I understand that this is a toasted Ham and Cheese sandwich. I didn't see anything that looked like that in the case, so I had to try to pronounce it.

How would you say that?

I had no idea.

So, I took a stab at it. I pronounced it like this: Crow-kay Mon-soar. I thought that had to be close enough. Well it wasn't. The CM acted like she had no idea what I was saying, so she asked me again. So, I had to say it again, the same way, but louder. She again pretended not to understand. She smiled, but she was so condescending. She was good. What the hell else could I have been asking for? You can't tell me I'm the only stupid American who has passed her way. But, she still didn't understand. I should have just changed my order and pointed to something in the case. But, she was not going to win. So, I pointed to the menu, and said a third time, Crow-kay Mon-soar. I guess the third time was a charm, because she then said Oh- you mean croak-mo-seer (at least that's what is sounded like to me). Very good!

We then finally moved down the case to the dessert section:

In the photo above, you can see the CM's happily chatting in French and ignoring the customers.

I love it.

You can also see the fancy toaster ovens that they run the entrees through.

When one of the French CM's finally offered to help us with our dessert selection, we got one chocolate mousse to share, and made our way down the the register to pay.

That was kind of painful.

But you want to know something?

That was really good food.

Really good.

We will be back.

My Crow-kay mon-soar was delcious.

I am going to have another one of those.

And I will come expecting to be abused by the help.

It's the French way.

After lunch, we decided to try our luck with the Limited Time Magic thing one more time.

I forgot to mention that we had picked up Test Track Fastpasses on the way in, so we had some time to kill.

Here we go heading out of France. This is an interesting time of year. Some of the trees are bare, while others are full of bright flowers:

We crossed the bridge, and headed though the UK.

We could see the Limited Time Magic thing, and it didn't look crowded.

But, we saw something else, too.

The gates in front of the old Millenium Village were open.

And something was going on back there.

We looked and saw it was a bunch of Castmembers and characters, and they were beckoning guests to come in and meet the characters.

Detour!

Look, I see Country Bears! :

And more! :

That's Wendell on the left and Shaker on the right:

I've heard of Wendell before.

But not Shaker.

When you shake his hand, his whole body would shake.

I don't know why they call him Shaker.

We also got to meet Meeko:

And Turk:

And Foulfellow:

And Baloo:

The twins said this Baloo was "ratchet."

Have you heard that term?

It means nasty.

And he was.

His nose was scuffed.

And his fur was matted.

We think what we stumbled upon was a training session for new character CM's.

They must use old costumes.

It was still fun.

There were a few more characters that we could have met.

But it started to rain right then.

And they had to go.

And so did we.

The Limited Time Magic characters were leaving right when we walked by.

And the rain was coming.

We hadn't planned on this.

So we ducked in to the Canada pavilion.

We decided to watch the movie.

Do you know the last time the twins watched it?

Never.

And you know something?

It wasn't bad.

Martin Short hosts it.

The film must be somewhat new, because he looks old, and he refers to some relatively current events.

When we emerged, the rain was almost gone.

We needed to kill about 40 minutes until we could use our Fastpasses, so we headed to Innoventions. We hadn't hung out in there for a while.

We will pick it up from there in the next update.

TCD

[magnoliafig 51]

Meeko!

We stumbled on the same thing a few years back. IIRC it was Thumper's girlfriend, Turk, and somebody else. Very unexpected. But kind of cool.

Oh, and Fuego!

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

Test Track FPs- Yes

France- No

Meeting old school characters-Yes

Watching a movie never seen before-Yes

I give this update 3 Fuegos out of 4

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Ratchet? Can't say I have heard that one.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

Test Track FPs- Yes

France- No

Meeting old school characters-Yes

Watching a movie never seen before-Yes

I give this update 3 Fuegos out of 4

France - no.. isn't that a little harsh. They did try something new for all of us. Should that give him a Fuego...

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Meeko!

We stumbled on the same thing a few years back. IIRC it was Thumper's girlfriend, Turk, and somebody else. Very unexpected. But kind of cool.

Oh, and Fuego!

I have heard that they sometimes have characters out here, but we had never seen this before.

It was cool to stumble upon.

No comment on the Fuego.

Test Track FPs- Yes

France- No

Meeting old school characters-Yes

Watching a movie never seen before-Yes

I give this update 3 Fuegos out of 4

I used to think I didn't like French food.

But, you should give it a try.

They are a sweet and nasty people, but they do know how to cook.

Ratchet? Can't say I have heard that one.

I will be as lost as you after I no longer have teens attending public school.

But Urban Dictionary confirms it is an adjective meaning rough or nasty (and some other things that can't be repeated here).

Here's a closer look at Baloo- note how his nose is scuffed, and his a comb over look going up top:

Ratchet.

France - no.. isn't that a little harsh. They did try something new for all of us. Should that give him a Fuego...

You tell 'im Rebel.

I don't like the French as much as the next guy, but they make a pretty decent sandwich.

As long as you can put up with the abuse that comes with ordering there, I suggest you give it a try.

TCD

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

I have nothing at all against the TCD gang....and I love learning new things from his TRs.....just not a fan of France.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

I told him just for you TCD

I have nothing at all against the TCD gang....and I love learning new things from his TRs.....just not a fan of France.

just wanted a reason to type Fuego!

Why do I insist on checking out the urban dictionary despite knowing what I will find there.....

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

Urban dictionary is not your friend.....make sure you never look up Panamanian Petting Zoo.

Seriously...dont. I did after somebody told me not too and wished I hadnt.

The weird thing is it was instructors in a professional seting talking about it.

Moral of the story: if it sounds weird it probably is weird but also disgusting.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I have nothing at all against the TCD gang....and I love learning new things from his TRs.....just not a fan of France.

I am with you Aaron, I'm not fan of France either, and the French castmembers who work at the quick serve are amazingly rude in a very subtle way, but the food is good.

I told him just for you TCD

just wanted a reason to type Fuego!

Why do I insist on checking out the urban dictionary despite knowing what I will find there.....

Thanks.

And I try very hard to stay away from Urban Dictionary too.

But, sometimes I have no other source to turn to.

Urban dictionary is not your friend.....make sure you never look up Panamanian Petting Zoo.

Seriously...dont. I did after somebody told me not too and wished I hadnt.

The weird thing is it was instructors in a professional seting talking about it.

Moral of the story: if it sounds weird it probably is weird but also disgusting.

Dang it!

I should have listened to you.

I was curious, though.

I can't believe that's for real.

So gross.

TCD

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

There are some things that cannot be unread, unseen, or unheard.

That is one of those things.

[Nicki aka Rebelstand 272]

I am going to take your advice and pass up that last one... I am trying the mental erasure so I am not tempted.

[stefa70 205]

Please tell me you said "oui-oui"

Or "wee-wee" in case you couldn't read that. :)

I would be willing to bet they'll hear a lot of that, followed by giggles. (easily amused)

Country bears in Epcot? That's just not right. But cool that you got a pic with them.

:heart: the girls and Turk!