Fun at the Fort - Monday - last day - page 4

[lklasing]

Hi everyone! :wave2: I never know how to best start a trip report, but I guess a little background is always in order. This trip was hatched this past Memorial Day weekend, when my family was at the World with my dad, step-mom and two nephews on that side of the family. We stayed at Fort Wilderness in one of the cabins while my dad and step-mom stayed in their trailer and the kids bounced back and forth between the two. Here is the whole group from the May trip:

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q255/lklasing/disney%202008/image001.jpg

It was such a great trip in so many ways, but two primary things jumped out at me – 1. Fort Wilderness is an amazing place to be and the cabins in particular suit our family perfectly (more on why later), and 2. As much fun as WDW is with just our family of four, it's even more fun when you throw more family in the mix. Put those two ideas together, and I was calling my brother-in-law while we were still there to tell him we all needed to come to the World together. His response was perfect – that they needed a good family vacation, so let's do it over Thanksgiving! :yay: I convinced him that the FW cabins were the way to go, especially since they have 3 kids, and he took the bait! So, without telling my kids there was any possibility of another trip, I started planning this one as soon as we got back home.



I guess I should fill you in on who all the players are. They are:



Me – I'm a 42 year old big Disney freak. I went several times as a kid, once in college, and then my first time as an adult in May 2003. Each time I've gone, I've grown more in love with being in the World with my family. I work full time, so I really relish the time I get to spend with my family (just like everyone else here at the Dis), and we just love to travel together. So you'll know who everyone is when the pictures start rolling in, I'll post a pic for everyone in this intro part. Here's me:

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q255/lklasing/thanksgiving%202008%20-%20use%20this/tgiving051.jpg



My DH Ray – 48 years old. Tolerates my Disney obsession very well. He has really come to enjoy being at Disney more over the years as the kids have gotten older and more competent than they were when he first was here with them (they were 6 and 8 then), and really, finding the cabins at FW has helped him enjoy these trips so much more. (Again, more about why the cabins are so right for us in a little bit.) We've been married 15 years and just have a great time together. Ray:

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q255/lklasing/thanksgiving%202008%20-%20use%20this/tgiving122.jpg



Danielle – our 12 years old DD. Loves the World too, and has a lot of my OCD in her so she's a great help at planning. (Although, we didn't tell them about the trip util about 2 weeks out this time, so she didn't get to help plan as much as usual.) She especially loves being at the World with her cousins around – life really doesn't get any better for her than that. Now that she's in 7th grade, she is at the junior high here, so the trip had to be scheduled to minimize the time away from school. Thankfully, with the holiday, we managed to squeeze a 5 night trip in with her only missing 1 day of school. Here's Danielle:

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q255/lklasing/thanksgiving%202008%20-%20use%20this/tgiving068.jpg



Jodi – our 10 years old DD. Not at all OCD – just moves through life enjoying most every minute of it. If you asked her what her favorite part of being at the World is, I know she would say, "Getting to be with my family the whole time." :goodvibes While she's 10, she's still a mama's girl big time and I love it. :hug: I know life will catch up with her before too long and she'll have bigger interests than just us, but for now I'm loving her loving me. Jodi:

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q255/lklasing/thanksgiving%202008%20-%20use%20this/tgiving069.jpg



Next, we have the family of my BIL:



Kevin – DH's 42 year old brother. Kevin and I are the same age, and we love giving each other grief. (For my 35th birthday, he called my office and told the receptionist I was 40. :rolleyes: ) Kevin is a lot of fun and has lots of energy, so I knew he would be a great guy to tour with. Here's fun-loving Kevin:

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q255/lklasing/thanksgiving%202008%20-%20use%20this/tgiving105.jpg

Hope – Kevin's wife, slightly younger that the rest of us at 41. She and Kevin have been married 18 years. Hope likes having fun like the rest of us, but also values her sleep. As a result, she and their oldest son David slept in most mornings and met up with us early afternoon. :confused3 Here's Hope:

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q255/lklasing/thanksgiving%202008%20-%20use%20this/tgiving067.jpg





David – Kevin and Hope's 14 year old son – a great kid but we didn't get to see him as much as the others as he often slept in while the rest of us headed out to the parks. I think he had a great time, though. David:

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q255/lklasing/thanksgiving%202008%20-%20use%20this/tgiving066.jpg



Nick – Kevin and Hope's 12 year old son – very athletic, very fun. He was up for anything - the more thrilling the ride, the better. We really enjoyed getting to spend time with him. Nick:

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q255/lklasing/thanksgiving%202008%20-%20use%20this/tgiving071.jpg



Lynn – Kevin and Hope's 9 year old daughter – she has been good friends with my girls since birth, and they all play together so well. A very sweet girl and always a delight to have around. She spent the night with us several times on the trip and when the group broke into smaller groups, she was always with us, which kept our girls very happy. She even looks a lot like my girls, so when the three girls were together, people thought they were all sisters. Here's Hope:

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q255/lklasing/thanksgiving%202008%20-%20use%20this/tgiving050.jpg



Like I said earlier, I didn't tell our girls about the trip until about two weeks out. On all previous trips, they've known about it for a year or more, and I thought it would be fun to spring it on them much closer to traveling this time. We actually lined it up for Lynn to tell the girls over the phone, which was lots of fun. Danielle and Jodi were absolutely shocked and thrilled. My only regret on doing it that way was not taking any pictures, as the looks on their faces was priceless. :upsidedow



Up next: Off to the Fort and the MK (with lots of pics, I promise!). :)

Leslie

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Great start, can't wait to read more! :thumbsup2

[Dallas_Lady]

Great start, I will definitely be reading along. I am considering the cabins for our Thanksgiving trip.

[alan_renfroe]

Cool! Subscribing!

[OK GRUMPY]

Great as alway!:thumbsup2 I really enjoy the Fort!

[lucy_love]

subscribed

can't wait to see more

[FlaNative]

I have not read a Trip Report in several months, today I visit the TR forum, click on one at total random and: Oh. My. Gosh. It's YOU FOLKS again. :goodvibes

I absolutely loved your last TR, it was so complete it was like I was along on the trip. It saved me a ton of money. After I finished it was "Well, no need to go to WDW next week, I feel like I was just there." :thumbsup2 Great writing, and your pictures document everything so perfectly. The fun you folks have really shows. I'm surprised the Disney advertising people have not starred you in a WDW commercial yet as the Happy Fort Family. :thumbsup2

However, one question has been bothering me since your last TR: Just how do you manage to Photoshop every picture so quickly and so perfectly? I refer, of course, to the images of the DD rugrat "Jodi". No One on this planet can possibly have dimples that cute! They just can't be real, you must Photoshop them in! :rotfl: :rotfl2:

[lklasing]

Hey everybody - thanks for signing on! But you, FlaNative, are killing me! You are so sweet with your comments, both about my last TR and of course about Jodi's dimples! Yes, there will definitely be a lot of dimple sightings in this report again. :cutie:

I've got the next installment ready to go, but am trying to wait to see if my Photopass CD arrives tomorrow. It shipped yesterday and I paid for express shipping, so I'm crossing my fingers it will get here. I love some of the Photopass pics, so I'm hoping I can work them in while I post, rather than after the fact. But, if it doesn't get here tomorrow, I'll probably give in and at least posted get the first entry that involves the actual trip.

Stay tuned!

Leslie

[MeMom]

I'm pretty sure I saw you in front of the Mexico pavilion on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I saw three girls, I think, and they called out your name as you walked past them at the Cantina. Then you took a picture of them and you guys left. It was about two minutes in real time. I was contemplating walking up to you to speak, but I was afraid I might be wrong. As you walked away, I saw a LGMH on your bag, so I'm thinking my initial thought was right and it was you.

[poohbearluver]

Hi there! I can't wait to read more! :)
I'm also 10, like your daughter!
I'm subscribing to this!

[lklasing]

I'm pretty sure I saw you in front of the Mexico pavilion on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I saw three girls, I think, and they called out your name as you walked past them at the Cantina. Then you took a picture of them and you guys left. It was about two minutes in real time. I was contemplating walking up to you to speak, but I was afraid I might be wrong. As you walked away, I saw a LGMH on your bag, so I'm thinking my initial thought was right and it was you.

Oh my gosh - that was so us! I can't believe you saw us. We were there on Saturday, ate lunch at the CS at Mexico, then I went inside trying (in vain) to find a restroom, and when I came out the girls hollered my name and I took this picture:

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q255/lklasing/thanksgiving%202008%20-%20use%20this/tgiving216.jpg

I can't believe you saw us! I wish we had spoken! You'll probably see this picture again in the TR, which I'm still holding off on the next installment hoping my CD comes in the next day or so, but I had to post the picture now since you actually saw it being taken!

I very much wish we had gotten to meet. I trust you had as wonderful a trip as we did. It's such a magical place to be! :goodvibes

[lklasing]

Hi there! I can't wait to read more! :)
I'm also 10, like your daughter!
I'm subscribing to this!

Welcome, poohbearluver! DD10 Jodi will be glad to hear you're enjoying the report!

[emmababy]

we are going next Thanksgiving, so I am looking forward to your trippie!

[scottny]

just found your report and jumping in to read along.

[DisKate]

Hi! Your family looks like you have a ton of fun together! Can't wait to read more about your trip!

[lklasing]

Well, only 1 week to the day after I ordered it (with expedited shipping, no less ;) ), my Photopass CD finally arrived! I'm finishing up the next installment and should have it up in just a little bit. I hope y'all are still there! Sorry for the wait!

Leslie

[lklasing]

Wednesday, November 26 – Thanksgiving Eve

I was a little worried about traveling on what I have always heard was the busiest travel day of the year – the day before Thanksgiving – but that was the only way to work it to maximize trip time while minimizing time off from work and school. But, I scheduled an early flight for us hoping to ward off any delays, and thankfully it worked. We arrived at MCO before 9:00 and were met by our driver from the ever-reliable towncar service we use. It always makes me happy to have our driver meet us at the escalator with a sign with our name on it. :thumbsup2 After an easy stop at a brand new Publix (managed to spend $200 in 20 minutes, but loaded up on wine, breakfast food, sandwich stuff, etc.), we arrived!
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On to FW. I was thrilled to see that at least some of the Christmas decorations were up when we got there. I left Ray on the sidewalk with all our bags and groceries while I went inside with my fingers crossed that our cabin would be ready. The lobby was very crowded – somehow we had escaped any wait at all when we checked in back in May but we had no such luck today. But, it only took about 20 minutes and we were successfully checked in. After some confusion about whether there was a cabin ready for us, we were given the good news that there was one available. Ray and the girls were taken by FW van to 2722, while I got the golf cart. :drive: I was a little worried that our location might be too far from everything, but they had managed to give us the only thing I had asked for – that we be next door to Kevin’s family’s cabin – so I was thrilled. (And, by the way, with golf carts, the location of the cabins didn’t matter one bit.) When we got there, Jodi was a little surprised that it looked just like the cabin we had back in May. :lmao: After explaining to her that they all look just alike, we unpacked the groceries and grabbed some lunch. When we left for the MK, it became apparent that our golf cart had a battery issue. We barely made it back to the golf cart rental area, and that was with the girls getting out and running for part of the time to lighten the load.
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Happily we got the cart switched for one that worked, and we were off again. :)After a nice boat ride to the MK,
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We arrived!

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I was blown away by the Christmas decorations. While I had seen lots of pictures of the MK decorated for the holidays, I was still amazed. It was absolutely gorgeous. But guess what else it was…

CROWDED! :crowded: It’s not a very good picture, but here is part of the line at Splash Mountain:
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q255/lklasing/thanksgiving%202008%20-%20use%20this/tgiving019.jpg
The wait for Splash was about 55 minutes, but Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor was only (of course “only” is a relative term) 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, Kevin’s family was traveling down separately, so we weren’t there when they arrived at the Fort. But they found the cabin, and at least Nick appeared to be enjoying the FW scene.
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q255/lklasing/thanksgiving%202008%20-%20use%20this/DSCI0373.jpg http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q255/lklasing/thanksgiving%202008%20-%20use%20this/DSCI0374.jpg http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q255/lklasing/thanksgiving%202008%20-%20use%20this/DSCI0375-1.jpg

Of course, they make it to the MK and caught the photographers too:

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We finally hooked up with Kevin’s family, who were all starving, so we headed to Columbia Harbour House to get them a late lunch.
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q255/lklasing/thanksgiving%202008%20-%20use%20this/tgiving022.jpg

Meanwhile, I ran to get FPs for Thunder Mountain, and then we all rode the Haunted Mansion.
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[lklasing]

The posted wait for HM was 30 minutes, but it was really closer to 20. Next, the group split up into Space Mountain riders versus the youngest two plus me. But, in the time they waited to ride Space, we were able to ride Buzz with some FPs I got earlier in the day, and the People Mover (Tomorrowland Transit Authority) twice. (Don’t ask me why we rode it twice – I really don’t know, other than the fact that you could walk on and everything else had serious waits.)

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q255/lklasing/thanksgiving%202008%20-%20use%20this/tgiving028.jpg

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We made our way to Toontown hoping to ride Barnstormer, but I knew we didn’t have enough time to wait the posted 40 or so minutes, so instead, we took more pictures:


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Don’t they look like sisters instead of just cousins?

We finally met up with the rest of the gang and all headed to Thunder Mountain, which even with FPs was still about a 20 minute wait. I will admit that the crowds surprised me, even though I had tried to prepare myself. All of our other trips have been in May, which even on Memorial Day weekend is much less crowded. But, no worries, we were at Disney, which is always better than back at home at work and school. :)

Finally, after a big travel and fun day, several of us (including ME!), started getting tired and ready to go. But, the castle was too beautiful to pass by without a few more pictures.

Kevin’s family:
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q255/lklasing/image020.jpg

Our family:
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The first picture of the whole gang together:
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We had to do a little shopping on our way out for Ray and Nick, both of whom were definitely going to get too cold on this trip if they didn’t buy a sweatshirt (either that or they just felt compelled to have Mickey attire ;) ). Right outside the MK, we had another group split – Kevin, Hope, David, Danielle and Nick went to Epcot for sushi and Illuminations, while Ray and I took Jodi and Lynn back to the cabin. Having been up since 4:00 am, we were officially pooped out at that point. Once back at FW, I swung by Crockets Tavern to get some pizza to go (and some wine while I was waiting, which was better than I had feared). The pizza was fine – not great but definitely met our needs of being tired and hungry. After making what my family affectionately calls “sausage things”, which were eaten by someone or another for breakfast virtually every day of the trip, we settled in for the night.

Up next: Thanksgiving Day at Hollywood Studios! Will we make it onto TSMM? Maybe even twice??

Leslie

:offtopic: PS – If anyone wants the recipe for “sausage things”, let me know. It’s a very easy but awesome recipe for breakfast pastry things that go over like gangbusters with big groups. They served their purpose perfectly for this trip, but I always also make them for big family breakfasts and everyone loves them.

[scottny]

great update and pics.

WOW that line at SM.

I liked Fort Wilderness when I visited in October, might stay there one time soon.

[FlaNative]

When we got there, Jodi was a little surprised that it looked just like the cabin we had back in May.

There was simply no need to make your faithful readers wait for the photos to arrive. Your wonderful prose enables us to visualize events without reinforcement of pictures. For example, from the above quote we can correctly guess that the person involved was . . . a blonde. :rotfl2:

[lklasing]

There was simply no need to make your faithful readers wait for the photos to arrive. Your wonderful prose enables us to visualize events without reinforcement of pictures. For example, from the above quote we can correctly guess that the person involved was . . . a blonde. :rotfl2:

Oh.My.God. You have killed me with that statement. I have to remind DH Ray all the time that he can't talk about her being a ditzy blond in front of her. You really had me howling with that one. :rotfl: Thanks for the levity on a dreary day here!

[jeeperwy]

We love the Fort too!! The Fort was what turned my DH into a Disney fan. Before we stayed there, he didn't want to go, now he's planning the next trip AFTER the one we'll take in March!! :) We're only a family of 4, so we could stay anywhere, but the cabins keep us ALL sane!!

And Yes, I would like the recipe for the "sausage things". It sounds like something we would like. :)

Can't wait to read more,
Kari

[Dirtslinger]

Great TR so far. Looking forward to reading more. I guess I will have to start my TR soon as well, but first I booked my trip for next year...Nov 24 thru Dec 5. Do you think your family will be there then? Keep the TR going...................



Shannon
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popcorn::

[lklasing]

Kari - my DH is just like yours sounds - pretty much tolerated my obsession with going to WDW until we found the cabins. We had 2 stays at the Poly Concierge, which was great, but even with that, he wasn't willing to stay as long as he is now at the cabin. Just having the ability to have some breathing room has made all the difference for us.

Shannon - I'm so jealous of your reservation! No, we don't have any trips planned right now, but my mind is always scheming. We really enjoyed Thanksgiving at the Fort, so that's always going to be a possibility for us.

Back to Kari - I'm glad you asked for the recipe for sausage things - I was hoping someone would want it. I highly recommend making a batch for the holidays! Here you go:

Leslie's Sausage Things (I can't believe I'm actually putting a recipe on the net - I so don't know how to cook!):

1 pound sausage (we use regular - not maple or anything else wierd)
1 8-oz package of cream cheese (again, regular only - not low fat...)
4 packages Pillsbury crescent rolls (last disclaimer - regular ones only - not low fat, jumbo, etc.). (Tip - Keep the crescent rolls in the fridge until you are ready to use them, and then take each package out only when you are ready to use it so the rolls don't get too sticky.)

Brown the sausage like you would ground beef until done, and then drain. Next, while still hot, put the sausage in a bowl and put the cream cheese in with it. Stir until it is well mixed. Next, take a cookie sheet and separate out the triangles from one package of crescent rolls on it. Put a glob of the sausage/cream cheese mixture on each of the rolls. Then, do what DD Jodi calls "wrapping the packages" - for each one, fold in the corners until the corners are overlapping each other. You don't have to cover up all of the sausage stuff. Do the remaining packages the same way.

Bake according to the package directions, but add about 3 or so minutes or until they are golden brown.

Y'all please make them over the weekend and report back whether you like them or not!

Leslie

[lklasing]

Thursday, November 27 – Thanksgiving Day!

I woke up on Thanksgiving morning feeling very thankful to be in the World with my family. Since I had told them to, Kevin’s whole family, except Hope and David (who slept in for the first of many times on this trip), showed up at our cabin for breakfast. Many sausage things were eaten, as well as cereal, toast, poptarts, and the other usuals you would expect. We managed to leave the cabin by 8:15 and hopped the bus to HS.
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I don’t remember what the low temp was that morning, but you can tell by the coats and gloves that it must have been pretty cold! But, as the day went on, it definitely warmed nicely.

They had beautiful Christmas trees at each of the parks (I’m sure they had one at MK, though I never managed to get a pic.) Here is the HS tree:

http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q255/lklasing/thanksgiving%202008%20-%20use%20this/tgiving039.jpg

We were in the gates at HS at 8:40. I collected everyone’s tickets and positioned myself as close to the rope as possible, while the others did some pin trading on their way in.
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When they dropped the rope, I, along with 10,000 of my best friends, all made our way in a very calm fashion to TSMM. I jumped in line for FPs, and even though I felt like I had done a pretty good job getting there early, had to wait about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, the rest of my group got straight in the standby line, as I had read so many recommendations about riding it once standby and once with FP since it is such a great ride. Well, it is a great ride – a really great one – but if I had to do it over again, I wouldn’t do it that way. I would just grab the fast passes, and then head on over to RNRC and ToT, with the plan to ride TSMM later. The standby line was every minute of the 1 hour posted wait, and by the time we got out and went to the RNRC and ToT area, it was 10:15 or later, so those rides were totally jammed with Thanksgiving crowds. (I do realize, of course, that we had chosen to travel during one of the busiest times of the year, and maybe during a less crowded time, I would do what we did so as to be able to ride TSMM trice, but I’m guessing even then I wouldn’t.) Regardless of all that, though, we had a great time on the ride:

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Predictably, Jodi and Lynn had no interest in the HS thrill rides, so they went with Ray while Kevin, Danielle, Nick and I headed toward RNRC.
Kevin and Nick:
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Danielle and me:
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We had fun with this photographer, who cracked me up because he obviously thought we were all one big family, rather than in-laws:

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Given the wait times and return times for FPs, we opted to FP ToT and ride RNRC. This plan was great until they apparently had to change a train (limo) on the track while we were waiting. Since we weren’t close enough to see anything, we had no idea what was going on. All we knew is that we stopped moving at all for about 30 minutes. And, while Aerosmith is fun to listen to in the line for a while, after 90 minutes when the posted time was 50 minutes, it gets real old. :headache: But, we made it there finally and rode in the front 2 rows and had a great time.

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Meanwhile, Ray, Jodi, and Lynn, who had gone on 2 back-to-back runs on Star Tours, were tired of waiting on us, so we all met up and had some counter service lunch. Burgers, chicken nuggets, turkey sandwiches and pizza – all park fare and all perfect for what it was.

Right as we were finishing up lunch, Hope and David finally arrived. Kevin and Nick stayed and toured with them, but the rest of us were getting ready for a change of scenery. Of course, we first used our FPs for TSMM, which I will admit was especially fun after riding it once already. After that, we bailed and headed back to the Fort. On our way out, though, Jodi found 2 Dream FPs for that day which were totally unused except for TSMM. So, we had fun finding the right couple that looked like they would really benefit from the set and got to make them very happy by giving them the passes. :goodvibes

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Part 2 in just a minute!

[lklasing]

I cracked up when I got the Photopass CD and saw that Kevin and the rest of the gang apparently ran into the same photographer as we did:

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After we left, Kevin, Hope, David and Nick rode ToT, TSMM (using the FPs we had gotten earlier), RNRC again (I think) and saw Indiana Jones – pretty good given the fact that it was Thanksgiving Day!

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Meanwhile, when we got back to the cabins, I got the girls situated in Kevin’s cabin while Ray settled down for a nap. Once everyone was taken care of, I took off for a run. I absolutely love to run through Fort Wilderness – running through all the loops and checking out the Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations is especially fun. But this time, instead of “looping” around the Fort, I ran on the trail that goes straight to the Wilderness Lodge. It was a beautiful trail and I was delighted to see a deer who just stared at me as I stared at it for a few minutes. When I got back, Ray was up and the girls were ready to go shop, so we headed to their favorite store in the world – Goofy’s Candy Company! But, of course, we enjoyed the stables while waiting on the bus:

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Happily, we made it to the candy store:

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After bumping around DTD a little bit, we made it back to the Fort in time for our 6:40 ADR at Trail’s End.

Here’s the FW tree – very pretty:
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On our last trip to the Fort, this guy was inside, but he appeared to be enjoying hanging on the Crockett’s Tavern porch with the anxious diners:
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The dinner was good, but not nearly as good as the regular (non-Thanksgiving) dinner we had there on our last trip. They were trying to do a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but it just wasn’t as good as it should have been. One thing that jumped out at us in particular was the severe lack of desserts – they only had brownies (which Danielle described as “chocolate bread”) and pumpkin pie, which was very, very, very sad. That pie should have been put out of its misery long before we got there. Regardless, we at least ate a dinner on Thanksgiving and I didn’t even have to cook it, so it was a success in my book!
After stopping to take pictures of campsites on our way back to our cabin of all great campsites decorated for Christmas, we were finally in for the night. Here are some of the sites we saw that night (bear in mind that the pictures don’t come close to doing some of them justice!):

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And, even though we were flying and just staying in a cabin, I couldn’t pass up a chance to decorate, so I brought my trusty rope lights:
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All in all, it was an amazing Thanksgiving Day! I thought frequently about how much I have to be thankful for. I know it’s a Thanksgiving Day I will always remember.

Up next – off to AK, then we’ll find out the answer to the question, “Can these kids of ours find their way around Fort Wilderness on their own?”

[Dirtslinger]

popcorn::

[MeMom]

Jill, Brooklynn, and I went over to Fort Wilderness on last year's Christmas trip to see all the decorations. People really do have a lot of fun with it over there! We had seen it on the Samantha Brown special, so we decided we needed to see it for ourselves. Those people that spend weeks and weeks there are so lucky!

The mornings were pretty chilly, weren't they? When the sun came up and we started moving around the parks, it was just about perfect.

Thanksgiving Day we opened Magic Kingdom and did a run through of Fantasyland. We resort hopped, and we had a very filling dinner at Chef Mickey's. We almost had a Dis meet there, but we didn't hear our phones in all the commotion, and by the time we called back, they had left. I think we probably passed each other as they were leaving and we were in line to go in Chef Mickey's.

Great pictures! All the kids are cuties.

[lklasing]

popcorn::

Hey Shannon! Hope life is treating you well now that you're at home again.

Jill, Brooklynn, and I went over to Fort Wilderness on last year's Christmas trip to see all the decorations. People really do have a lot of fun with it over there! We had seen it on the Samantha Brown special, so we decided we needed to see it for ourselves. Those people that spend weeks and weeks there are so lucky!

The mornings were pretty chilly, weren't they? When the sun came up and we started moving around the parks, it was just about perfect.

Thanksgiving Day we opened Magic Kingdom and did a run through of Fantasyland. We resort hopped, and we had a very filling dinner at Chef Mickey's. We almost had a Dis meet there, but we didn't hear our phones in all the commotion, and by the time we called back, they had left. I think we probably passed each other as they were leaving and we were in line to go in Chef Mickey's.

Great pictures! All the kids are cuties.

Thanks, MeMom! Yes, the mornings were definitely cool, especially early in our trip. But, I always preferred under-dressing, so I didn't have to deal with an unwanted coat later in the day. I'm glad you made it to FW while you were there - the decorations really are amazing! Much more festive there over Thanksgiving than they are in the middle of the holidays at home!

More soon! Please keep reading!

Leslie

[lklasing]

Friday, November 27 – The wake up call came even earlier this morning, at 7:00. Since it was still pretty early in the trip, no one struggled too much to get up, at least in our cabin. Kevin never made it to the grocery store, so he, Nick and Lynn arrived in time for the only big breakfast we made that trip - sausage, eggs, toast, plus more sausage things and poptarts for kids. AK opened at 8:00 and we knew we didn’t want to try to get up early enough for rope drop so we just planned to leave at the same time as yesterday – 8:15. So, we all hopped in our respective golf carts and headed to the Outpost.
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Somehow at Disney, even just waiting on a bus can be fun:
Ray and Nick in their new sweatshirts:
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This one’s out of focus, but I love it as it shows how much fun we all have while just hanging out together at WDW:
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We made it to AK, where they had another beautiful tree.

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We arrived by 8:45, which stressed me out even though it had been planned as I like to be a rope drop kind of gal. But, sometimes you just have to lay your OCD nature down and take a breath while letting the rest of the group move at something less than breakneck speed. And actually, it worked out fine with our relatively late arrival. Ray, Jodi and Lynn all rode the Safari, which they said was great with lots of animals around, while the rest of us went to EE.

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First we grabbed FPs, then we went straight in the line. We actually had another line malfunction again, but unlike yesterday, there thankfully was no Aerosmith blasting in our ears. The line for EE is so peaceful and really very pleasant. We were relieved, though, when it started moving again and we got to ride. Danielle and I loved it, as we knew we would since we’ve ridden it several times, but Kevin and Nick really loved it. Kevin decided he wanted to ride it several times today, and that’s just what he wound up doing.

Then, we met up with the others at Primeval Whirl, which I was relieved was open as I had read just a week before was still in rehab. The posted wait was 50 minutes, but they managed to get on in about 30 or so. First came Danielle and Nick, followed by Kevin, Jodi and Lynn.
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By the time they got off PW, the FPs for EE (don’t you just love abbreviations ;) ) were ripe, so Ray, Kevin and Nick went back for round two while the girls and I played some games. I’ve never let us stop and play games in Dinoland before as it just seems wrong – first, I always deem games like that to be a rip-off, as you are so unlikely to win; and second, we’re at DISNEY WORLD for Pete’s sake – do we really want to kill time playing carnival games when we could be blasting commando-like through the park? Well, this time I relented, probably since I was more outnumbered than usual since Lynn was with us, and guess what? It actually was pretty fun! :confused3 And even more surprising than that, Lynn won a dragon. (It must have been worth at least $0.25 after playing only $6 worth of games! A real bargain!)
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After the exhilarating games, we met up with the boys at KRR. To me, it was nowhere near hot or even warm enough to risk getting soaked to the bone, so I declined and instead, held everyone’s jackets, gloves, purses, etc. while they rode. Amazingly, they got off and not one of them was drenched! Well, that pretty much made it a given that the kids would have to straight back on (no wait on this ride when it’s cold!), and the inevitable happened: they were soaked.

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Actually, we’ve had much worse soakings on that ride on previous trips, but they were pretty wet to be wearing blue jeans when it wasn’t very warm out. What cracked me up, though, is that while we were waiting on them to ride the second time, I went to the bathroom where I saw something I had never seen before – a woman standing in front of the air dryer, wearing a shirt, shoes and panties, and nothing else, drying her pants with the dryer! :eek: To her credit, she didn’t appear embarrassed in the least – she was just doing what needed to be done to help her enjoy the rest of her day.

By this time we were all starving, so we grabbed some CS lunch. After a planning session, we split up again for yet another round of EE. This time it was Kevin, Nick, Danielle and me, while Ray, Jodi and Lynn played even more games in Dinoland. Jodi won the prize this time. Meanwhile, the rest of us were having another great meeting with the Yeti. We asked to have the first 2 rows and got them. It’s very fun to sit in the front like that, but even better for taking pictures:
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(Nick didn’t get the memo that he was supposed to look scared for that one.)

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By the time we finished EE that time, several of us were ready to head on back, so Ray, Danielle, Jodi, Nick, Lynn and I all headed back to the Fort. Of course, we had to get as many Photopass pics as we could.
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(Part 2 in just a minute)

[lklasing]

When we were leaving, Hope and David arrived (nothing like sleeping in at Disney :sad2: - can you tell I’m not the type to sleep in?), and rode (wait for it…) EE! For those not counting, that was Kevin’s 4th EE of the day. Like I said, he really liked that ride!

David and Hope:
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On our way back to the Fort, the bigger ones had to stay in touch with their friends at home, while the little ones (not having any access to technology of their own) just hung out, and then, in Jodi’s case, rested.

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When we made it back to the Fort, we just had a relaxing afternoon hanging out with no real plans. Despite the cold weather, the kids had been hurting to go for a swim, so I agreed to take them. I wasn't willing to swim, mind you, but I was willing to take them to the cabin (quiet) pool. I chose that one, even though the other is more fun, as I figured it would be more tolerable for them for the trip back to the cabin since it was closer. They swam for a good while and had a great time having the pool all to themselves. Afterward, they played in and around the cabins for a while, while Ray and I went looping and checked out the Meadows pool. It was quite lively, with lots of swimmers and kids playing games like limbo and musical chairs.

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When we got back to the cabin, Kevin and the others were back, so we enjoyed some wine out of plastic cups on the deck. It was a gorgeous day - the high must have been close to 80 with bright sun. Hanging on the porch was one of my favorite parts of the day.

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What’s funny about this picture of Ray is that I posted it on a live trip report I was doing while there, and two days later we were at the Marina waiting on a boat when Dirtslinger (Shannon) recognized Ray from the picture and called out “Disser”. It was fun getting to see Shannon and his wife, who looked like they were heading out to a nice dinner without any kids – always a fun time. :)
And speaking of dinner without kids, that’s what this night was going to be for us. The four adults had ADRs at CG, and I had been looking forward to it since my last time there in May. If you haven’t ever been, you need to. It is sooooooo good!

Waiting on the boat to CR, there was the most beautiful sunset.

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After dinner, we enjoyed the view even though we were too early for the fireworks.

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As much as we may have wanted to linger over drinks and fireworks at CG, there was one problem: the 5 creatures we left to their own devices back at FW. We were careful to make sure to take the keys to all golf carts with us, to avoid any joy riding, and even made sure they understood the bus system before leaving. And amazingly, it worked! While we were gone, they managed to take the bus to the Settlement to play in the Trail’s End game room, then to the Meadows to play in that game room. Then, they went to the campfire and had dinner of some sort and smores, before heading back to the game room where we found them upon our return. After a little game room action for the dads, we all (as in 8 of us – David had sat out the festivities back at the cabin) climbed on one four-man golf cart and somehow made it back to the cabin all in one piece.
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I’m sure we didn’t look like idiots at all. :rolleyes1

It was another wonderful day. As I got into bed that night, I had the sad realization that the trip was about halfway over. I prayed for time to slow down as I drifted off to sleep.

Leslie

By the way, just in case y’all thought only the campers decorated to the nines, I was excited today when someone moved into our loop and totally outdid me on the decorations. It wasn’t even close:

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Compare that to my previous picture of me with my lame rope lights. :sad2: But, I was very happy to see such fun decorations on our loop.


Coming up: Breakfast with Mickey and the gang, followed by overt bribery at Epcot.

[lklasing]

Anyone still out there? :wave2: I'm working on my Saturday installment - should have it up probably tonight.

Also, has anyone tried making the "sausage things" yet? They're so easy - I hope someone tries them over the holidays.

Leslie

[FlaNative]

Anyone still out there? :wave2:

We are all here waiting with antici. . .

[FlaNative]

. . pation. :rotfl2:

[DisKate]

I'm here!!!! Especially now that finals are over with!

[Villainess]

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Is this a giant screen tv they have set up?

[lklasing]

Is this a giant screen tv they have set up?


I wish I had taken a picture during the day so you could better see it - it is an inflatable screen, that as I recall had Mickey Ears on top. They then projected the movie onto the screen. It looked like a lot of fun.


Thanks to FlaNative and DisKate too for letting me know you're still out there! Hope the exams went well, DisKate!

[islangrl]

Hi! Just joining in. I've only finished day 1 but I'll read the rest later tonight!
So excited for your FW TR. We are a Fort family too. My grandpa used to take my sister, 2 cousins and I every summer. Some of my BEST childhood memories. Once they started DVC he would take us to OKW.
4 years ago when DD#3 came along, I convinced DH that we had to stay at FW. He loves it, and so do all the kids. It's my favorite Disney resort!!
Can't wait to catch up with your report.:goodvibes

[Minnie&Mickey]

Keep it coming! I am loving your trip report! :thumbsup2

[OK GRUMPY]

I'm going to try those sausage things and bring them to work for our Christmas Eve breakfast:thumbsup2

[DisKate]

I wish I had taken a picture during the day so you could better see it - it is an inflatable screen, that as I recall had Mickey Ears on top. They then projected the movie onto the screen. It looked like a lot of fun.


Thanks to FlaNative and DisKate too for letting me know you're still out there! Hope the exams went well, DisKate!

Thanks! They sure did...got my grades today and am very happy with them!

[lklasing]

Thanks for replying, everyone! It's nice to know you're still out there! Now, on with the report:

Saturday, November 27 – That darn wakeup call keeps on getting earlier each day. They called at 6:45 since we had 8:10 ADRs at CM. Since Disney wanted to make sure we didn’t miss our appointment with Mickey, they called twice, which was just what Ray needed as he had dozed back off to sleep. Jodi woke on up, but Danielle was much harder to get up today. Several days of charging so hard start taking their toll. But up she got, and we met up with Kevin’s family and all followed each other in our golf carts to the marina to catch the boat to the Contemporary.

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[This is Lynn dumping sand from her tennis shoes after the tetherball game while waiting on the boat.]

You can tell from the kids’ clothes that it was definitely warmer this morning – very nice. We waited for the boat just long enough for me to wonder whether they were running yet, even though I knew from the Dis that they were. It finally arrived and we headed back to the CR.

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[This is what a 14 year old boy looks like when his dad makes him get up on vacation instead of sleeping in.] :rotfl2:
This is one of my favorite photo-ops in the World:

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Chef Mickeys was great. Everyone had a lot of fun. The funniest part was how David (the 14 year old) wanted to have nothing to do with the characters. Therefore, he became Goofy’s target – trying to goad him into interacting, goosing him one time when he walked by him. While David didn’t enjoy it much, all the rest of us did.

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Goofy giving David a hard time:
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When Minnie came, Kevin took a wedding ring and proposed to her on bended knee. It was very cute and got lots of attention. She said yes through a note to him she wrote in Jodi’s autograph book. Mickey was duly disapproving, just as you would expect. It was a very cute and unexpected part of the meal.

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After breakfast, we took the monorail to the TTC, and then to Epcot. Again, just hanging out together waiting on a monorail is fun at Disney whereas at home, just waiting on something to happen is not so memorable.

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Stay tuned!

[lklasing]

Happily, we made it to…
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Epcot! It’s so hard to say what my favorite park would be of the four big ones, but Epcot would definitely be in the running. It has my all time favorite ride, Soarin’, so of course I took off as soon as we got there and got FPs for everyone and then caught them at TT. Ray waited outside for me while the rest had gone on in. Ray and I went in the single rider line and easily beat the rest of the group by 15 minutes, even though we entered the line about 10 minutes behind them. Lynn particularly liked TT, which was good as she had been hesitant to ride.

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I love how Jodi has her fingers in her ears here. She hates loud noises and I guess was prepared for the worst!

Then, we all went to M:S, with Kevin, David, Danielle and Nick doing the orange (spinning) side while Ray, Jodi, Lynn and I rode the green (non-spinning) side. While I’ve done the orange side several times before and made it through without too much trouble, I was pretty happy to do the green side. It was just as much fun as the orange side without the stress of worrying about the g-forces, which made it much more fun for both Ray and me.

Afterward, we still had some time to kill before Soarin’, so we did Journey into Imagination, which I think the boys really hated. The girls liked it alright, but we were all happy to get out and grab a slushie before Soarin’.

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After our break, we headed to Soarin’ with our FPs, glad to not be waiting in the standby line which was 110 minutes by then. As Kevin hadn’t been nearly as crazy about TSMM as I had told him he would be, I was anxious to see how he would feel about Soarin’, which I had built up to an even bigger degree. To my delight, he loved it. He seemed to feel the same way about it as Ray and I do – that we could stay in there for hours as opposed to just minutes.

By the time we got off there, we were all starving but for different things, so we split once again into the fairly usual groupings. Ray and I took all the girls (except Hope, who had gone to the spa at the GF after breakfast) to Mexico for $50 worth of CS lunch. I was surprised at how expensive it was but I will admit that it was good and most of it got eaten. Meanwhile, Kevin and the boys apparently were lucky enough to get into Tutto Italia, which they loved. After lunch, Ray and I wanted to walk around the WS but feared the girls might get tired and/or cranky before finishing the loop, so we did what any self respecting parent would do – bribed them. After we told them they would be rewarded for good behavior (which they know includes smiling and being good subjects when I want to take a picture of them), this is what they looked like:

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This was right after we unknowingly crossed paths with MeMom. I hate that we missed each other. I still can’t believe you saw this picture being taken right outside Mexico:

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Mexico, by the way, is Jodi’s favorite country at Epcot – she is fascinated by it.

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The only photographer we ran into in the WS was in China, but we had a lot of fun with him. He snapped at least a dozen pictures of us, most of which were definitely candid as we weren’t ready, but I really have enjoyed them.

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I really love this one (above) – its windy and we’re off center, but it shows how much fun we were having.

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Germany:
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What a view!
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Obligatory tourist pic from Canada:
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Can you tell that Ray is holding up Danielle?

One more Saturday installment coming up in a sec!

[KeepSwimmingDory]

Anyone still out there? :wave2: I'm working on my Saturday installment - should have it up probably tonight.

Also, has anyone tried making the "sausage things" yet? They're so easy - I hope someone tries them over the holidays.

Leslie

Just started reading tonight but I'm hoping for more! And as soon as I can get to the grocery store I'm trying your sausage things. My boys will love those!

We have many good memories from Ft. Wilderness with my 4 boys who were 12, 11, 5, 5 when we stayed there the first time in 2000. Our last trip in the cabins was last Christmas and they still love it. I think the campground kept us sane on vacation and returning year after year to WDW with a big family. DH and DS loved sitting out on the deck. And when the kids were rowdy I didn't feel like we were bothering our neighbors as much as we would be in a hotel. :eek:

We are traveling to WDW in March with the twin 13 yr. olds (who turn 14 on the first day of the trip actually) and will be staying at the Wilderness Lodge which I love. I'm sure we will ride the boat over at least once and enjoy the campground. :)

Can't wait to read the rest of your report. popcorn::

[lklasing]

We had a nice time in all of the countries, especially Morocco, which had a great band playing. After we completed the loop, it was reward time. I think Ray and I had thought the reward would be something like ice cream or a piece of candy, but of course, somehow they managed to talk us into toys. Danielle and Lynn each got one of those balls you see everywhere in the world these days, while Jodi got an interesting little puppet from China. By then, Hope had arrived from the GF spa, only to get there in time for all of us to be ready to leave. :confused3

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When we left Epcot, all the girls went back to the Fort, while all the boys went to ESPN at the Boardwalk to watch football. Since they had figured out the bus system so well, I let Danielle, Jodi and Lynn bus it to the arcades again while I went on a run. I thought about running back to WL again, but decided to go looping again which included retrieving our GC from the marina parking. (I won’t even tell you how long Hope and I looked for that darn thing at the outpost before finally remembering it was parked at the other end of the resort. :rolleyes:) On my way back from marina, I passed Donnie (Stacktester on the Dis), who had his Fort Fiends sign in his golf cart, as did I, so we both stopped and got to chat for a few minutes. He and his cute daughter were very nice, as were more Dissers, Lonestar and his wife, who also stopped by. Finally, knowing my family probably thought I had dropped off the face of the earth, I had to say goodbye and get back to the cabin before they called the Fort police on me.

After cleaning up, Ray and I took Danielle, Jodi and our-practically-adopted-by-now Lynn to HS with only one purpose in mind – the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights. Having historically only come to the World in May, we had never seen it before and I was very excited about going. I think Ray was scared it was just going to be a big tree and a few other decorations, but it was obviously nothing like that. It was well worth the trip – unlike anything I had ever seen. Even Ray, who by then was definitely getting worn out from a big day, was enthralled by the whole thing. Spectacle doesn’t even begin to describe it. The synchronized songs were particularly mind-boggling.

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While we were there, a lady standing near us bought the girls 3D glasses as she bought her own – very sweet. We had lots of encounters like that throughout the trip, and they really make it special. We always try to do what we can for others on these trips, even if it’s just taking a group’s picture together or giving away unused FPs, but it really makes a difference. As hokey as it sounds, it’s really more fun to be on the giving side of those events than the receiving side. (Having said that, it was very fun to receive the 3D glasses!)

Back to our day and night – after the Osborne lights, we were supposed to go to Boma, but we were far too dead to do it. Really dead. Dead, dead, dead. So, we came on back to the cabin, handed out Uncrustables to the girls, made grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for us, and broke open the wine. It’s hard for me sometimes to pass up on going to a restaurant, especially on vacation, but even with my very strong preference to eating out, this is where staying at a FW cabin (or camper if you have one) really becomes worth its weight in gold. We were all tired and getting crankier by the minute – if we had had to go sit in a restaurant, which we may or may not have been seated in on time, or if we had gone to yet another CS place, I may have lost my mind. I was just dead. (Did I say that already?) So instead, we came back to our place, ate food we knew we liked, watched football and let the kids play. It was truly perfect.

After supper, the girls thought a night swim would be a good idea, but once they got in the pool up to their knees, they thought the better of it. You just can't heat the whole area enough in late November to make it fun for us at night. We came straight back and everyone had a bath or shower (being able to get into Kevin’s cabin was very helpful in this process) and then pretty quickly everyone poured into bed.

I don’t think I mentioned how beautiful today was – we had a high of about 80 and bright sunshine. I actually had to sunscreen everyone while at Epcot for fear of burning. It was really perfect. I’m afraid that going back home to dreary winter skies will be particularly depressing. But, it has really highlighted one of the perks of the World in the wintertime. Today I was cold early on in my shorts and light cotton short-sleeved shirt, but I sure was happy when the sun warmed everything up so much. Having only been to the World in May (at least since I have been an adult), avoiding the blazing-hot weather has been very nice.

Up next: Not so restful of a rest day, followed by MVMCP!

[MeMom]

Great pictures!

Aren't teenagers fun? They march to the beat of a different drummer for a few years, but when they grow up and look back on things, they'll let you know they really did have fun doing some of those 'not so cool' family activities. I'm glad Goofy tried to get him in the Disney spirit. (We ate our Thanksgiving dinner at Chef Mickey's, by the way.)

Yep, I did indeed see you take that very picture! I was trying to work out in my mind if that was your girls or not, but I knew you had two, and there were three there, and I wasn't thinking about cousins, so by the time I rolled all of that around in my mind, you had taken the picture and were leaving. When I saw the LGMH on your purse, then I was satisfied that it was you. I wasn't going to chase you down to say, "Hey! How are you? You have no idea who I am!" :)

I didn't get to spend nearly enough time in Epcot. I like to walk through every gift shop, every pastry shop, every corner of every country and take zillions of pictures, but there wasn't time for that on this trip. I did get to hear several story tellers, but then we just moved on to the next place.

You know, even on ten day summer trips, I still come back saying I didn't have enough time. One day, I'm going to book us for a full two weeks and see if that is enough time to do it all.

[KeepSwimmingDory]

The 14 yr. old boy picture made me laugh. That was my oldest when we dragged him to early breakfast. He would much rather sleep.

Love the pictures of them playing tetherball--that was always one of my boys' favorite things. Brings back good memories. Also enjoy the shots of the family just hanging out together waiting for things. Really shows how much fun it is to be there.

[lklasing]

Just started reading tonight but I'm hoping for more! And as soon as I can get to the grocery store I'm trying your sausage things. My boys will love those!

We have many good memories from Ft. Wilderness with my 4 boys who were 12, 11, 5, 5 when we stayed there the first time in 2000. Our last trip in the cabins was last Christmas and they still love it. I think the campground kept us sane on vacation and returning year after year to WDW with a big family. DH and DS loved sitting out on the deck. And when the kids were rowdy I didn't feel like we were bothering our neighbors as much as we would be in a hotel. :eek:

We are traveling to WDW in March with the twin 13 yr. olds (who turn 14 on the first day of the trip actually) and will be staying at the Wilderness Lodge which I love. I'm sure we will ride the boat over at least once and enjoy the campground. :)

Can't wait to read the rest of your report. popcorn::

Glad you've joined us! I'm with you on FW being great in so many ways, including not disturbing or being disturbed by neighbors. Have a great trip to WL, though - I know it will be wonderful too. Oh, and report back about the sausage things after you make them!

Great pictures!

Aren't teenagers fun? They march to the beat of a different drummer for a few years, but when they grow up and look back on things, they'll let you know they really did have fun doing some of those 'not so cool' family activities. I'm glad Goofy tried to get him in the Disney spirit. (We ate our Thanksgiving dinner at Chef Mickey's, by the way.)

Yep, I did indeed see you take that very picture! I was trying to work out in my mind if that was your girls or not, but I knew you had two, and there were three there, and I wasn't thinking about cousins, so by the time I rolled all of that around in my mind, you had taken the picture and were leaving. When I saw the LGMH on your purse, then I was satisfied that it was you. I wasn't going to chase you down to say, "Hey! How are you? You have no idea who I am!" :)

I didn't get to spend nearly enough time in Epcot. I like to walk through every gift shop, every pastry shop, every corner of every country and take zillions of pictures, but there wasn't time for that on this trip. I did get to hear several story tellers, but then we just moved on to the next place.

You know, even on ten day summer trips, I still come back saying I didn't have enough time. One day, I'm going to book us for a full two weeks and see if that is enough time to do it all.

I still hate we didn't meet. Next time you see me in Epcot, make sure to say hey! I'm jealous of you having such long summer trips! The longest we've ever done are 5 night trips - much too short, but definitely better than not going at all.

The 14 yr. old boy picture made me laugh. That was my oldest when we dragged him to early breakfast. He would much rather sleep.

Love the pictures of them playing tetherball--that was always one of my boys' favorite things. Brings back good memories. Also enjoy the shots of the family just hanging out together waiting for things. Really shows how much fun it is to be there.

Yes, the 14 year old boy cracked us up several times too. You could periodically just read his mind thinking about how he'd rather be anywhere than hanging around with his family at Disney. :eek:

When we first got to FW, we noticed that none of the tetherball poles had their balls attached. Happily, a few days later they were all returned. :confused: It definitely helped pass the time while waiting on the launch to arrive.

More soon! Thanks for reading!

Leslie

[Us3]

Hi Leslie! I just found your TR and I'm loving it! Thanks for sharing your trip with us! :thumbsup2 Looking forward to your next installment....

[jeeperwy]

I'm here!!! I have been meaning to tell you how GREAT the sausage things are (but DS6 is sick again!! Good thing those tonsils are coming out in a week!) I bought the ingredients the day after you posted it and made them a few days ago. They are delicious!!!!! My other question, do you think you could freeze them? We ate a bunch and then I brought the others to work (they just reheated them in the microwave). I'm going to make another batch this weekend if you think they will freeze well, otherwise I guess I'll wait till next Tues or Wed. Thanks so much for the wonderful recipe. The guys at work think I'm a chef!! HA HA HA! :rotfl:

And I am still LOVING your trip report. Your family seems so nice (isn't it weird the things you think you can tell from a picture!!). I don't know where you are from, but we live in Wyoming, so the Fort is a lot like most of our state and I was a little hesitant to stay there at first for that reason (when I get to go on vacation I want to feel like I'm somewhere other than home), but I doubt we will ever stay anywhere else, and if my husband has his way we won't even look at other resorts!!

Can't wait to read more!
Kari

[lklasing]

Hi Leslie! I just found your TR and I'm loving it! Thanks for sharing your trip with us! :thumbsup2 Looking forward to your next installment....

Glad you're along for the ride!

I'm here!!! I have been meaning to tell you how GREAT the sausage things are (but DS6 is sick again!! Good thing those tonsils are coming out in a week!) I bought the ingredients the day after you posted it and made them a few days ago. They are delicious!!!!! My other question, do you think you could freeze them? We ate a bunch and then I brought the others to work (they just reheated them in the microwave). I'm going to make another batch this weekend if you think they will freeze well, otherwise I guess I'll wait till next Tues or Wed. Thanks so much for the wonderful recipe. The guys at work think I'm a chef!! HA HA HA! :rotfl:

And I am still LOVING your trip report. Your family seems so nice (isn't it weird the things you think you can tell from a picture!!). I don't know where you are from, but we live in Wyoming, so the Fort is a lot like most of our state and I was a little hesitant to stay there at first for that reason (when I get to go on vacation I want to feel like I'm somewhere other than home), but I doubt we will ever stay anywhere else, and if my husband has his way we won't even look at other resorts!!

Can't wait to read more!
Kari

Yay! Finally someone made sausage things! I'm glad you liked them. They really are soo easy and fun. About freezing, I've never tried it, but I'd love to know how it goes for you if you do it! :) I've always made them when there is a lot of family around, so we've never had to worry about not being able to eat them all before they go bad. We have eaten them for several days (this trip being the most recent example), and while they may not be as good on day 4 as they were on day 1, they're still worth having.

You should try FW! It really is such a special place. You and DH will love it.

I hope your son's surgery and recovery go smoothly next week!

Leslie

[lklasing]

Sunday – After being asleep by 10:00 for Ray and the girls, and 11:00 for me, I was happy to sleep all the way until 7:00. I snuck out for a run while everyone else kept on sleeping. This time saw a doe and two younger deer plus another doe and baby on the trail to WL. Amazing. They clearly are very used to being around people – they weren't at all scared of me. On my next trip, I’m just going to have to run with a camera. On my way back to the cabin, I turned right on a road that I knew would loop me back to the cabin area. What I didn't know is that I would pass right by the tee-pee area. I was totally taken by surprise. A whole village of tee-pees, right there around the corner from the rest of Fort Wilderness - something I never would have known was there if I hadn’t decided to catch a run that morning. It was very fun to see. By the time I got back, everyone was up and ready for breakfast. Since we had already done all 4 parks once and had MVMCP that night, we had planned on not doing too much during the day. But, at breakfast at Trail’s End (a pretty good breakfast buffet), a plan of course was hatched to go back to one park for a few rides in the morning, and then have downtime until time for the party that night. So, we headed off to Epcot once again, since that seemed to be the spot that had the most attractions that we all wanted to see again, other than the MK which we would be going to that night.

More fun at the Outpost while waiting on the bus:
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[My girls call Lynn “Peanut” given her petite and lightweight frame – thus there was lots of carrying her around, whether she wanted it or not. :) ]

Once at Epcot, I once again did the Soarin’ FP dash, but noticed on my way that the crowds were appreciably lighter than they had been just the day before. That made sense, as it was now Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend and people appeared to finally be leaving to go back home. (That would be us tomorrow, but not quite yet thankfully!) Then I caught up with the gang (which consisted of Ray, Jodi, Danielle and Lynn as the others had chosen to sleep in) and we all rode TT together.

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Then we were off to M:S (sound a lot like yesterday? It was, though the lines were shorter and the park was easier to navigate), where Ray and Jodi did the green side and Lynn and I decided to brave the orange side with Danielle this time. Somehow doing the green side yesterday seemed to make the orange side a little easier today. Lynn even loved it. Maybe next trip I can get Ray and Jodi back on the “serious” side, as my girls call it.

After M:S, we still had a little time to burn before our FP time started, so we went to the building to see Turtle Talk with Crush. We snuck in through the gift shop and had a few minutes of play time before going in to Crush.

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None of us had ever been to Crush before, and it was lots of fun. Jodi even got to ask Crush a question, which she enjoyed. Then, we were delighted to head back to Soarin’, which will always be our favorite ride, I think. I was so sad when it was over, knowing it will be a long while before I saw it again. :sad1: We then thought about going straight back to the Fort for lunch, as we could tell it was definitely going to start raining before too much longer, but we were all starving, so instead we stopped by the Electric Umbrella and ate. While we were there, the heavens opened up and it started pouring. When I say pouring, I mean Biblical kind of rain. There were actually tornado warnings around us somewhere, although we didn’t know it at the time. Of course I had forgotten our ponchos :eek:, so we all got drenched - I mean really drenched - both going to the bus and in the golf cart coming back to the cabin. We looked like those people you’re so glad you’re not while we were running out of the park. But, it wasn’t too cold, so we just had fun with it. We looked like wet rats by the time we got on the bus.

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Even with the rain, I'd still rather be at the Fort (or, of course, anywhere at Disney!) than back at home.

Kevin and the rest of his family eventually made their way to Epcot that morning too, and somehow managed to avoid the drenching we received. After apparently running into Beauty and the Beast, they had lunch at Germany, which they really enjoyed.

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Meanwhile, back to us returning to the Fort. After a quick bath for the girls to warm them up back in the cabin, I enforced some rest time for everyone. I think everyone slept, except Jodi and me. Of well, 3 out of 5 isn’t too bad.

When everyone got up, the girls wanted to go (again) to the arcade. Their fascination for blowing money (some mine, some theirs) had been boggling my mind this entire trip. But, it filled a little time while I was waiting to be able to check in online with Southwest, so off they went. Right around the time I was checking in with SW, Donnie (Stacktester on the Dis – we had met the day prior) called as we had talked about getting our daughters together some time today. It was too late to get together to just play, as we had MVMCP tickets, but luckily they were able to join us for dinner at Trail’s End. It was very fun to get to spend a little bit of real time with another Disser, and Donnie and his daughter were both very nice to spend some time with.

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Me with Donnie

By the way, you may remember me complaining somewhat with the food offerings at Trail’s End on Thanksgiving. The dinner we had this night was much more the way I remembered TE being – a much better selection, and much better food. And, happily for the kids, many more options for dessert too. So, don’t let my relatively poor review on Thanksgiving Day be a deterrent to going to TE – I really think it’s one of the better bargains on Disney property.

When we got to the MK for the Christmas party, it was already 7:00, so the entrance area all the way down Main Street was absolutely packed.

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By the time we got to the hub, it started raining. Again. :sad2: This was no real surprise, as it had been raining on and off all afternoon, so we got ponchoed up and went on our way. Our first stop was the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor.

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We had never been to this attraction prior to our last trip in May, but it immediately became a favorite for us. So, we were enjoying the show, when all the sudden my DH appeared on the screen as “That Guy”! They showed him over and over, and we were all dying of hysterics over it. The best part was when they flashed Jodi’s picture on the screen as the bravest kid in the room for sitting next to “That Guy”. She was thrilled, of course. It was cute at the end, too, as they gave DH a sticker that says something to the effect of, “I was That Guy at Monsters Inc Laugh Floor.” Even after we left, the fun continued for the rest of the night as people would periodically see us walking around or in line and say to DH, “Hey – you’re that guy!” I think DH really enjoyed the attention.

After that, we did Buzz Lightyear with about a 10 minute wait – longer than at the Pirate and Princess Party, but certainly shorter than during the day.

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We were then off to Space Mountain with a posted 15 minute wait. I had been hoping Jodi would ride, but she has opted out of this ride for the past 2 trips, so I wasn’t surprised when she opted out again. She and Ray waited while Danielle, Lynn and I rode. What was funny was how much Lynn loved it and the effect it had on Jodi – she all the sudden wanted to ride. So, back in the line we went (still about 10 minutes, thankfully) and all rode it together. Jodi, much to my delight, loved it. :thumbsup2 She’s now a big Space Mountain fan, and has declared that the three mountains are collectively her favorite of all the rides at WDW.

When we got off Space Mountain that second time, I really was ready for a break as was DH, so we got some waters and forced the kids to ride the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (it will always be the People Mover to me). It was a great way to take a break and still be doing something, rather than just making the kids suffer by sitting at a table while Ray and I rested for a minute. After that, the girls rode Astro Orbiter – a ride we never ride except during parties like this. Right as they were getting off, the fireworks started going off. We watched for a few minutes, then started making our way to Fantasyland. Since the fireworks were so long, they were still going even after we did the teacups (with no wait).

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Just as we got to the Pooh ride, the finale of the fireworks went off and was incredible to see from that standpoint. We were literally surrounded by them. Some were being fired off from the castle area (behind the Pooh building), others were being fired off from what looked to be beyond Toontown, while others were exploding all around us. It was quite the spectacle and amazing fun. If you can ever make it there during the fireworks (or at least the MVMCP fireworks – I don’t know if the same would hold true for regular Wishes), do it. It was spectacular.

I had hoped to go on Peter Pan, but the line for that was 40 minutes, so we moved on to the HM, which had only about a 10 minute line. After grabbing some cookies and hot chocolate at Columbia Harbour House (which I was happy had no line at all, after some of the comments I have read about the wait for getting the cookies), we headed toward the other two mountains. We rode Thunder Mountain, which was walk on, and then went to Splash, which was so empty that many more logs went by without passengers than they did with passengers. When we got off, the girls wanted to go again, especially Lynn who had been a little apprehensive about that ride for some reason but of course loved it. That was fine, but I was not up for going with them (I had reached my limit not just for rides but for the day at that point), so Ray and I waited for them in the gift shop.

When they finally made it out (it seemed like about an hour but I think was only about 15 minutes), we headed to the front. It had been so crowded when we got there earlier that I hadn’t insisted on a photopass pic, but I was regretting that decision now that my hair was totally frizzed and flattened out (somehow both at the same time) from the rain. But, we found a photographer and I was pleasantly surprised that it turned out pretty well. The castle was, of course, stunning.

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After not being with them all night, we managed to run into Kevin, Hope and the boys on the way out and all we enjoyed the boat ride back to the Fort with a fabulous comedian of a boat pilot. It was lots of fun, and just what I needed to not actually pass out on the way back. Once we were back in our cabin, the girls poured right into bed and Ray and I were not far behind them, after a big, exhausting, incredible day.

Up next: We don’t want to leave! But, we’re going to have some fun before they kick us out of here!

[lklasing]

Monday, December 1 – Last day! :sad1:

As always, I was first up again on our last day. I was so sad for us to be leaving what had once again become our home away from home. I played on my computer in bed while waiting on everyone to get up. Once Ray awakened, we started the sad process of packing up. It was amazing to me how much everything literally grew when packing for the return trip. I had brought an extra bag to check and even with that we barely got everything in. The girls finally woke up also, and we had breakfast in the cabin trying to eat as much of the leftover food as we could. As far as the groceries went, we really did pretty well. We had some things left over, of course, but not as much as I feared. And, the ability to have a few meals in the cabin was really a lifesaver at times, and not just financially. It is just so nice to be able to grab something easy sometimes without having to go out to eat, whether it be table or counter service.

Anyway, we finally got everything packed up and started to say our goodbyes to Kevin and his gang. Hope was even so sweet as to have bought coasters for Ray and me at France in Epcot with the label of one of Ray’s favorite French wines on them. :thumbsup2 The girls said goodbye to their cousins, especially Lynn who was practically their sister on this trip, and then we left our beloved cabin. :sad2: After returning the golf cart and getting our boarding passes printed out by the concierge desk (in this way it was much easier now that the golf cart return is at the front of the Fort rather than at the bike barn, where it was on our last trip), we made our way to the marina and took our last boat ride to the MK.

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I was surprised at how crowded it was that day. There were literally hoardes of people entering when we got there around 10:30.

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But once we got in and made it to Tomorrowland, the crowds thinned nicely. Danielle and I went to the Laugh Floor one more time while Ray and Jodi rode Buzz. They had hoped to go on Space Mountain since Jodi decided she loved it the previous night at MVMCP, but unfortunately it was having some technical difficulty and was closed. For unknown reasons, we stopped in the gift shop outside Stitch. While we were there, a CM approached Jodi and asked her if she wanted to participate with her in a race of some sort.

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It was very cute, and she even gave Jodi a certificate for participating. :)

After that, it became apparent the girls were more interested in shopping than riding (which was fine with us since we had had so much fun at the MK the night before), so we headed toward the Main Street shops. On our way there, though, we ran into our last Photopass photographer, who perhaps took the most interesting picture of us on the trip. First, we got the traditional pictures:

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But, after that cute picture, he very meticulously positioned us for the next pic:

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I honestly have no idea what the theory of this picture is. He seemed like he had a plan, but when another Photopass photographer who was with him asked what he was doing, he had no answer. I really think he was just messing with us, but I like it anyway!

Next, we hopped the monorail and went to the Contemporary to enjoy our last ADR at the Wave. Let me tell you, the Wave was just the ticket for us. It was comfortable, with a big booth they gave us, and the food was excellent. After so many theme park meals and buffets, it was really a delight to order real food that was very fresh and very artfully presented. The girls each ordered off the children’s menu, even though both are considered adults, but our waitress said that was fine. The kid meals were actually very appetizing and were devoured by both my girls, who can eat like birds at times. The biggest attraction, though, was the gelato sundae (the make it yourself kind) that Danielle had ordered. Jodi took one look at it and immediately regretted having ordered the yogurt parfait. But, our very sweet waitress told her she would be glad to switch Jodi’s parfait for another sundae, so everyone was happy once again. :goodvibes As far as Ray and I went, he had a fabulous looking burger and I had a grilled chicken sandwich. Both were great.

So, with much more description of our food than I usually give, I hope you can tell how we felt about the Wave. It was such a nice, quiet respite in a world of crowds and craziness. And, at about $55 plus tip, it was only about $20 more than we probably would have spent on a counter service meal. Worth every dime.

Enough raving about the Wave. After a little more gift shopping, we took the launch from the Contemporary back to the Fort, where I was very disheartened to find that the Settlement Trading Post didn’t have any Fort Wilderness Christmas ornaments. :confused3 They have them at the Meadow Trading Post, but we didn’t have enough time to get there before getting picked up. So, we took our final bus back to the Outpost to find that our towncar driver was waiting on us. We retrieved our bags from the bag check area, and with that, vacation was over. :guilty: It was a very quiet trip back to the airport. The driver had some very pleasant Christmas music playing and we all just kept to our own thoughts about the trip, which had once again been wonderful.

Really, wonderful doesn’t begin to describe how I felt about the trip. I have a hard time explaining to people who either haven’t been to Disney with their families, or who have but it didn’t click with them the way it does with us, why I want to go to a place that is likely filled to capacity with people, stand in lines, eat sometimes mediocre food and spend an inordinate amount of money doing it. The only reason I can articulate is that it brings our family together in a way we don’t get in regular life. The older my girls get, the more they have a life of their own. But at WDW, we’re all together almost all of the time, in a setting that has none of the stresses of normal life, so it just works. The problem now is that I don’t know when we will be able to make it back. The economy just doesn’t lend itself for another trip there very soon. But, hopefully no later than whenever my dad and step-mom decide to take grandkids again, we’ll be back. The question is when will that be and whether I’ll be able to wait that long.

So, thanks for joining me on this trip down memory lane for our wonderful trip. For those of you with trips to the World coming up, I’m very jealous and I know you’ll have an incredible time. That especially holds true for those of you returning to FW anytime soon.

For those of you who celebrate Christmas, have a wonderful Christmas with your families! For all others, have a great holiday season! For everyone, have a great trip to WDW, whenever your next trip may be!

Leslie

[KeepSwimmingDory]

What a wonderful trip! I enjoyed all of your pictures and description of what you did. What lovely daughters you have! :goodvibes

I am making your sausage things for breakfast tomorrow, so thanks for posting the recipe. :santa:

[Donna]

Wow! This was just a fantastic trip report! i love all the pictures; now i want to take advantage of photopass more often. they really are priceless to have as the kids get older!
i think that pose you were wondering about is a "princess" pose. I think YOUR hand should be waist level and that is how the princesses pose alot of times. I know when we got some pictures with cinderella in the castle, they made us pose like that but my sister held her hand a little high and it looked like she was saying STOP! lol, we all had a good laugh when we got the picture back.:rotfl:
i hope you can get back to the fort sooner rather than later! it really does make for an ideal vacation at disney!

[Minnie&Mickey]

Your trip report is over??? No, say it isn't so! I really enjoyed it! Thanks so much for taking the time to write it!

[lklasing]

Thanks, everyone, for your kind words. And, thanks to Donna for the info on the weird pose - I'm sure you're right, but like y'all experienced, I think it looks like I'm saying "Stop!" Thus, my confusion over what we were doing. :rotfl2:

I'm hoping for another trip no later than May 2010, but I sure would love one earlier than that. Whenever the next trip happens, it will definitely be back to the Fort. :goodvibes

Have a wonderful Christmas week!

Leslie

[KeepSwimmingDory]

The sausage things were a yummy treat! I imagine they test even better at Ft. Wilderness. Everything does! So we may add that to our breakfast menu next time we are at the fort. I enjoyed your trip report and pictures so much. Thanks again. :goodvibes

[emmababy]

Yummy sausage! I made them with 2 packs of crescent rolls and overstuffed them. Even my 2 year old daughter loved them! We are going next Thanksgiving, any tips??

[lklasing]

I'm so glad the sausage things are working out for everyone! About tips for going next Thanksgiving, just plan for crowds and you'll be fine! I used all of UG, TGM and Ridemax, and think they can all help planning. Have a wonderful trip!

Leslie

[Dirtslinger]

Really, wonderful doesn’t begin to describe how I felt about the trip. I have a hard time explaining to people who either haven’t been to Disney with their families, or who have but it didn’t click with them the way it does with us, why I want to go to a place that is likely filled to capacity with people, stand in lines, eat sometimes mediocre food and spend an inordinate amount of money doing it. The only reason I can articulate is that it brings our family together in a way we don’t get in regular life. The older my girls get, the more they have a life of their own. But at WDW, we’re all together almost all of the time, in a setting that has none of the stresses of normal life, so it just works.

What an awesome TR. I don’t want to do one now because it would never measure up to that yours. I really liked your words above, it is exactly what DW and I think. Maybe someday we’ll get to visit for more than 10 seconds at the Fort. Merry Christmas and happy new year.

Shannon

[emmababy]

I'm so glad the sausage things are working out for everyone! About tips for going next Thanksgiving, just plan for crowds and you'll be fine! I used all of UG, TGM and Ridemax, and think they can all help planning. Have a wonderful trip!

Leslie

We follow TGM faithfully. Do you think by following this we should be able to enjoy ourselves and ride the things we want? How did you balance getting to rope drops with all the evening activities of MVMCP, osborne, etc...?

[lklasing]

What an awesome TR. I don’t want to do one now because it would never measure up to that yours. I really liked your words above, it is exactly what DW and I think. Maybe someday we’ll get to visit for more than 10 seconds at the Fort. Merry Christmas and happy new year.

Shannon

Hey Shannon - It was great to meet y'all too! Please do a TR - it's so fun living vicariously through others' reports! Hope to see you next time.


We follow TGM faithfully. Do you think by following this we should be able to enjoy ourselves and ride the things we want? How did you balance getting to rope drops with all the evening activities of MVMCP, osborne, etc...?


Honestly, the way I pretty much do it is to decide which days to go on the trip using UG (touringplans.com), then decide which park each day using TGM, and finally how to tour once in the park using Ridemax. I'm not a big fan of TGM other than his recommendations for which park each day, so I've never used his touring plans. I do think you'll be able to have a great time. But you will have to allow yourselves some slack on rope drop after late evenings. I think the only rope drop we made it to was HS due to TSM. All the others, we got there within an hour or so of opening and still did fine. But, we were always gone from the parks by slightly after lunch time and enjoyed resort (FW) time in the afternoons.

You'll definitely stand in some long lines, but you'll have a great time regardless! Just enjoy being with your family in such a magical place!

Leslie

[emmababy]

Honestly, the way I pretty much do it is to decide which days to go on the trip using UG (touringplans.com), then decide which park each day using TGM, and finally how to tour once in the park using Ridemax. I'm not a big fan of TGM other than his recommendations for which park each day, so I've never used his touring plans. I do think you'll be able to have a great time. But you will have to allow yourselves some slack on rope drop after late evenings. I think the only rope drop we made it to was HS due to TSM. All the others, we got there within an hour or so of opening and still did fine. But, we were always gone from the parks by slightly after lunch time and enjoyed resort (FW) time in the afternoons.

You'll definitely stand in some long lines, but you'll have a great time regardless! Just enjoy being with your family in such a magical place!

Leslie[/QUOTE]

We went during July 4th two years ago, and through the help of TGM, we never stood in a line longer than 25 minutes! With young kids, we fp and baby swap all the big rides, and hit the kiddie activities first thing. That seemed to help. But then the only night activity we went to was spectro/wishes. So during Christmas time, there will be that , mvmcp, and osborne lights. So, we will have to find some balance!!!

[OK GRUMPY]

Leslie,

I tried those sausage things YUMMY!:thumbsup2

Thanks

[lklasing]

Leslie,

I tried those sausage things YUMMY!:thumbsup2

Thanks

You're welcome! :thumbsup2

[jeeperwy]

I'm back and the tonsils are OUT!!! It was A LOT harder than I expected, but I'm glad we did it. I made more sausage things and froze half of them. They aren't as good as they are fresh, but they are still SUPER yummy!!! We were supposed to be at the Fort last week, but postponed until March because of the tonsils. We finally told DS6 about the trip, so we are officially counting down the days (53!!! :)).

I'm so glad that you shared your trip with us. I hope that your family weathers the economy and you are able to get back to the Fort sooner than you expected.

Thanks again,
Kari

[3SillyKids]

Loved all the pics. We are staying at FW later this year so I have been searching the board for TR's.

[lklasing]

I'm back and the tonsils are OUT!!! It was A LOT harder than I expected, but I'm glad we did it. I made more sausage things and froze half of them. They aren't as good as they are fresh, but they are still SUPER yummy!!! We were supposed to be at the Fort last week, but postponed until March because of the tonsils. We finally told DS6 about the trip, so we are officially counting down the days (53!!! :)).

Wow - I'm glad you survived the surgery and that the sausage things hopefully helped the recovery! Have a wonderful trip!

Loved all the pics. We are staying at FW later this year so I have been searching the board for TR's.

You'll love the Fort! Have lots of fun and report back after your trip!

Leslie