New Acquaintances, Auld Lang Syne…New Year’s at the Fort!

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

It was most definitely worth it and totally AUSOME!!!!!!!!!

[alexwyattmommy 181]

I :heart: that show.

Our first 3 trips to the World, we stayed at the Lodge. We had inner courtyard rooms. I loved looking out the window to watch parts of it. And on the nights that I didn't, the music was still loud enough that I could hear it in bed. It was always the thing that told me I would be waking up to Disney Magic in the morning.

[MetalDad 33]

Corny, Cheesy, and Severely Outdated.

I love it. My kids love it.

Not everything has to be super-ultra-high-tech.

I love that my kids look forward to it.

I love that it has had very few changes since it's inception.

I love that it's FREE!

I also love that when we hear it at the campsite, the kids yell out what scene it is!

Octopuss!

Flag!

[Lou... 3,118]

and if you don't like the EWP, don't waste your time reading this one.

Too late, it snuck up on me when I least expected it.

No idea why I took so many photos of that.

I know how you could have taken a few less.

tired old boat show.

Ok, finally we agree.

But hey, even thought that was a total snooze, you were thinking about being at the Fort, hearing that silly music, weren’t you?

Uhh, no, I was snoozing.

So it was worth it?

Uhh, no.

Maybe just a little?

No again.

Nice job on the TR even though.

[momof3kids-Yvonne 594]

I've never been to the GF. Thanks for sharing your pictures.

The EWP pictures were definitely worth it.

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

Too late, it snuck up on me when I least expected it.

I know how you could have taken a few less.

Ok, finally we agree.

Uhh, no, I was snoozing.

Uhh, no.

No again.

Nice job on the TR even though.

Lou your letting people know you read the trip reports again.

[fortpartyof4 108]

It was most definitely worth it and totally AUSOME!!!!!!!!!

Good! I thought so too.

I :heart: that show.

Our first 3 trips to the World, we stayed at the Lodge. We had inner courtyard rooms. I loved looking out the window to watch parts of it. And on the nights that I didn't, the music was still loud enough that I could hear it in bed. It was always the thing that told me I would be waking up to Disney Magic in the morning.

Me too. I have panicked before when I've heard the music and rushed down there thinking I missed it, but it turned out they were on another part of the lake and hadn't made it to the Fort shores yet. Love that!

Corny, Cheesy, and Severely Outdated.

I love it. My kids love it.

Not everything has to be super-ultra-high-tech.

I love that my kids look forward to it.

I love that it has had very few changes since it's inception.

I love that it's FREE!

I also love that when we hear it at the campsite, the kids yell out what scene it is!

Octopuss!

Flag!

I agree! Next time our families are both there I will tag along with you guys.

That's cool that they know the show so well!

Too late, it snuck up on me when I least expected it.

I know how you could have taken a few less.

Ok, finally we agree.

Uhh, no, I was snoozing.

Uhh, no.

No again.

Nice job on the TR even though.

Thanks……I won't let it happen again. I think one set of these per fiend is enough.

I've never been to the GF. Thanks for sharing your pictures.

The EWP pictures were definitely worth it.

You're welcome! Do visit the GF next time you're at WDW and have the time to. It has this feeling of splendor and being in another era.

[fortpartyof4 108]

Day 4 of our trip, day 2 of 2013. The temperatures are about 30 degrees higher than the first couple of days! We spent the entire day outdoors.

My youngest loves to play tennis and had been begging to do so since day one. So he and his Dad did just that this morning. The other half of our family went on a bike ride, then one went swimming.

Only in FL will you be wearing gloves and a hat one day, swimming 2 days later.

Pool was plenty busy that day. There had been folks swimming the whole week we were there, but being the thin-blooded Floridians we are, didn’t go ourselves until temps went above 75…

Playing around with camera settings while he goes down the slide. Good thing that slide is so slow.

We had a good laugh when those were uploaded.

I rode my bike back to the site and made the boys a picnic lunch, which I brought back and they ate it in the big pavilion by the pool. One good thing about winter camping at the Fort, not as many freeloaders, so the pavilion is usually not as crowded.

After that, we all got changed and my husband had to do some work. While he did that, the boys and I went looping and visited the playground by the dog park on the way.

My new ride all jacked up with Walgreens Christmas decorations!

Random shots of the Fort holiday décor:

This guy was on our loop for a few days. Have to say it is the first time I have every seen a Bentley at a campground.

Who says campers are riff-raff? Check out that rig, too!

These nice folks pulled in next door to us this afternoon. As you can see, they came all the way from the frozen tundra of MI, and brought along a frosty friend:

My kids were thrilled to see and touch real snow! They’ve never been in snow. Sad, I know. We will be doing something about that this year.

There was one other thing the boys had been begging to do since our arrival. I had put it off long enough and was going to have to hold up my end of the deal.

I had promised that if we didn’t get to go to any parks, we’d at least go to DTD. Which for us essentially means the Lego store.

Since I was unable to convince the hubs to spring for passes, we didn’t go to any parks. Therefore, I had a promise to keep, and that’s what we did next.

[alexwyattmommy 181]

How sweet they were able to touch snow.

Hope you didn't meet up with any DB during your trip to the Lego store.

Love the slide photos.

[Big Kahuna aka John 71]

That Bentley was suppose to be your Christmas present...

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I am caught up!

Am definitely pro-EWP. Love those pics.

Am also pro-pool slide. I have to go down that slide at least once every trip. And this last trip, that's exactly what I did...once. It was too cold to go again!

Also like the snowman. That is cool. He reminds me of Frosty when that jerk magician locks him in the greenhouse.

I am anti-jerk magicians.

And nice Bentley. Wow. And some people think the Fort is for poor people that can't afford to stay at a hotel. Oy.

[fortpartyof4 108]

I really apologize to the few who have been reading along for the delay in this TR. Life has interrupted my FF play time in a big way lately. I am going to do my very best to get it wrapped though, because it is only gonna get worse in the coming months!

After the hubs wrapped up his work stuff, we all loaded into the truck and headed over to DTD. On our way out, some of the RCFD guys were playing a little ultimate Frisbee on the field along the main drive into the Fort.

The parking lot was it’s usual nightmare and we got “japped” out of a spot we were waiting for. (I hope that term isn’t politically incorrect. I am not even sure what it means, it’s an old saying from my college days in NY). I cannot stand it when people do that to me and I let the young couple know that in no uncertain terms when they emerged from their car. By then, the boys and I had gotten out to walk in to the shopping area while my husband went to circle around ten more times in search of another spot, so I walked right past them.

We wandered around World of Disney while we waited for him. It wasn’t long before he texted me that he was waiting outside, so the boys met up with him and they took off for the Lego store while I got to continue my retail therapy in WOD.

The kids had some Christmas money they were anxious to spend and knew exactly what they wanted so they actually weren’t in there for long. We met back up again and tried to decide where we wanted to eat. It was a beautiful evening and I got some great shots of the balloon and sunset with my phone. OK they’re not great shots but not bad for a phone.

As we were wandering around, the boys asked if they could go into that water play area. We said sure, and looked for a place to sit down. Now that they are older, we don’t have to follow them in there or hover over them. And, since we go there so often, figured by now they knew what the deal was with the spouts of water so would use wise judgement about that.

Boy were we wrong.

They got completely soaked, particularly the oldest. Of course, the one who is supposed to set the example for his little brother.

Ugh. Then he expects us to buy him a tshirt so he doesn’t have to wear the wet one! Um, no.

We couldn’t agree on where to eat, and now the kids were drenched, so we decided to head out and either grab some fast food or leftovers back at the camper.

Pretty tree outside of EOS:

I think I remember we wound up back at the Fort for dinner, then some looping. I may have run into MD again that night.

Later on the boys and I went down to watch the fireworks since they had switched it back from the last show we saw. It had gotten very damp and chilly out as the night wore on.

We had a nice time.

And that wraps up our day. Tomorrow would be our last day. Boo!

[Beckers 1,136]

Enjoying your report!

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

From swimming to jackets and toboggans all in the same day. Wow!

[Beckers 1,136]

That's funny the first time your kids saw real snow was in FL lol

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Good job at plugging along with your report!

Don't worry about how long it takes, just get it done.

I love how you let the boys play in the fountain. They asked for it. And, they learned a lesson too. I'll bet it doesn't happen again. If you had just said no, you would have been the no-fun mom, and they wouldn't have learned anything. So, win!

TCD

[Southern Blessings 4]

Enjoying all your holiday pics from the fort and DW! Sounds like a fun trip!

[GOBA Mom Lynn 18]

Now I'm realllly late getting to this trip report, but, it's great!

Funny about the no shoes.

When my DD was about 4 or 5 we were going to my in-laws' trailer for a weekend away, and when we got there realized she had not put any shoes on when she got into the car. The thing is, I hadn't packed any for her either, since we were only going for the weekend. So off to Wally World we went. LOL we still tease her, all these years later, making sure she's wearing shoes....... :rofl3: Sometimes she's not too amused....

Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip.

[fortpartyof4 108]

I need to go ahead and get this thing wrapped up. I only have the last day to report, and it wasn't very eventful, actually a little depressing. But, that is often the case with the last day at the Fort. Add in some gloomy skies and rain, and it pretty much sinks it. Still, a rainy day at the Fort is better than a sunny one at work, right?

As we had been there for 5 days now, we had begun to break down the outside the evening before. The boys had assembled their new Lego sets out on the picnic table, so had something to do while we finished up the rest today.

After breakfast, I did some solo looping. I stopped and said hello, and goodbye, to TCD, who was packing up to check out that morning. Also ran into Dave, who was also breaking down, but leaving first thing the following morning. He and his family had been there for 2 weeks! We had a nice visit then I returned to our site to grab the kids.

My husband was not off this day, so had to work remotely from the site. When he was on calls, the kids and I left so it would be quiet and we could get in our last little bits of Fort fun. The first place we headed? Here is a clue:

Yup! We had ourselves a little porch time down at Trail's End.

Played a few games of checkers, and just chilled. Ms. Josephine was out doing her thing, playing with the hula hoops and making kids smile.

Copying the Troll, here is a POV shot of my place in the rocker:

Looking to my left:

This would be the last day those holiday decorations would be out, as it turned out. I am so glad they stayed up for our entire stay.

Now looking to the right. Someone was kind enough to leave a newspaper behind for others to enjoy:

Then, we wandered over to the beach for some tetherball. You can see how gray the skies were this morning:

I don't have many photos of the rest of the day. We did more looping, rode our bikes, and got packed up. The boys played basketball and ran around. Around dinner time, it started to drizzle off and on. Perfect, since we still had stuff outside and were leaving in the morning. Phooey!

Later that night, I drove the cart up to the overflow to load it on the trailer. It was then that I noticed a bunch of trucks and trailers up near the check-in area. With all of the rumors of construction and changes on the horizon, I was a little worried.

When I got to my car that had been in overflow all week, I needed to move it to hook it up to the trailer before loading the cart. It wouldn't unlock. I manually unlocked the door, got in, it wouldn't start. By now it is steadily raining. I am thinking, terrific, now I have to call my husband to drive up here and jump start the car, and if that doesn't work, call AAA and possibly mess up our plans for getting home in the morning.

My husband drives up with the truck and we get the jumper cables connected. I hate doing this anyway, let alone in the rain. I was very nervous. Fortunately it worked, and I kept the car running for a bit. We got the golf cart loaded and locked down, and moved the car to a larger spot in overflow. Overflow had been so packed all week that I had to leave the empty trailer in one spot and the SUV in another over in the regular lot.

By now, it's around 11 pm, and we are wet, cold and miserable. As we made our way back to the site, I found out what those trucks and trailers were for. They were taking down all of the holiday decorations. There were pickups, cherry pickers and box trucks scattered all over the Fort at the bus stops, Meadow Trading Post, and Outpost bus stops. In the lot near where you rent carts were large semi trailers where everything was being brought and loaded up.

Talk about depressing! I tried to get some shots with my phone, but it was pouring rain and I was in a moving vehicle. So they're not very good, but I'll share anyway.

This one shows one of the semi trailers:

We finished up loading everything since we were already all wet and wanted to get out first thing. Nothing was going to be dry in the morning, so it didn't matter at that point.

It was a great week. Can't think of a better way to spend part of our holiday break. And, I got to meet at least 10 or 12 new fiends. I am sorry if I met you and didn't mention you in this report. I started it too long after the trip, didn't take photos of any of you, and my memory is awful! But I was very excited to put faces with names and have some laughs with many of you. I liked being there knowing a bunch of you were, too. Made me feel that much more at home.

As always, it was sad to leave, but we had a great time. Our first New Year's at the Fort was fantastic, and we hope to do it again and again.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Bravo!

Great job!

I know that you saw me on the morning I was packing up, but I'm pretty sure I left more than a day before you and Dave.

That's cool that you saw them taking down the Christmas decorations, but I hate it when they come down. That means the fun is over.

I hope that you do make it back next year, and that I'm there as well.

TCD

[fortpartyof4 108]

Bravo!

Great job!

I know that you saw me on the morning I was packing up, but I'm pretty sure I left more than a day before you and Dave.

That's cool that you saw them taking down the Christmas decorations, but I hate it when they come down. That means the fun is over.

I hope that you do make it back next year, and that I'm there as well.

TCD

Hmm. I guess that was the day before, then. It has been too long now, but I thought I had seen both of you on the same morning, 1/3.

I must have run into you the morning before, on the 2nd?

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Hmm. I guess that was the day before, then. It has been too long now, but I thought I had seen both of you on the same morning, 1/3.

I must have run into you the morning before, on the 2nd?

Yes, it had to be the 2nd, as that is the day we left.

Maybe there was one of those TCD look-alikes there on the 3rd?

BTW, now that I heard it rained on the 3rd, I'm glad we left on the 2nd.

No worries about the date mix-up, I do it all the time.

TCD

[MetalDad 33]

Agreed. We left the day after TCD, which means I was packing and folding a popup in the rain. Drag.

Somwherez in there you came by our site with your husband. I recall meeting him late in the trip.

[alexwyattmommy 181]

Sorry it rained on you during break down. However, I think you all had a great time despite the rain trying to bring you down.

Thank you for taking us with you.