The open October 2015 pre-trip report

[tiggerdad]

Well, finally got my cabin in the mountains, condo on the beach, quiet place for me to get away from the women cleaned up. After the general washing I had to go back and tackle the black streaks that were in some locations. Man I despise black streaks! I have tried all combinations to get them off the side of my camper. The best thing I have found is undiluted Purple Power from Wal-Mart. I usually clean the camper with about 6 oz. of this stuff to a gallon of water, but when it comes to specific streaks I go full strength with a hand brush that eventually cuts through it but not without some elbow grease.

Anyway, here is the finished job...




Also, today made an effort to avoid a problem I had last November with my inflatable decorations at The Fort. I noticed that the Fort's ground around the sites it primarily pine straw and fine sand. When the inflatables turned on, the fans were sucking this stuff up and putting it all inside the inflatables, and it was a long day of trying to clean them all out when I got home. So, I'm going to try something different this year. I only have a few Halloween inflatables, so it shouldn't be as bad, but I'm going to try putting some thin pieces of 1/4" plywood under the inflatables' fans to see if this helps.


More to come...

 

[SouthAlabama5er]

 

[bama_ed]

Those rims really shine, tiggerdad! Bama Ed

 

[Yellowstonetim]

We are here! Comedy of errors led to an emty gas bottle, a fridge not working and no internet at first. Gas and internet corrected. We are in 1638.

Yellowstonetim and Lindsey, will see you guys there. At least i think. Tim, what date do you leave? We have a down day on the 9th when we arrive so we'll need to get together and shake a hand.

We are leaving Friday the 9th.

 

[Arielsfanmom]

I think my dad has finally has gotten into the spirit of the trip. I went to pick up the kids after work he had the truck and Rv washed and waxed. New tires and brakes put on his f-350. The bikes and grill are loaded. Cannot wait until next Friday when we pull out to head to the fort.

 

[Arielsfanmom]

also what is the easiest way to get to the fort coming from 1-75 how much do tolls usually cost? We are stopping overnight a Stephen Foster Folk State park near White Springs before heading to the fort on saturday. We hope to arrive around 11am.

 

[tiggerdad]

Arielsfanmom,
Coming down I-75, at Wildwood, Fl. we usually take, I believe it is exit 328, but look for the Ronald Reagan Turnpike (Hwy 91). You will be exiting to the left so be moved over for it. Take this to exit 267A (Hwy 469 south). The signs will guide you. It will say to exit right for Walt Disney World. Take this south and look for the exit for The Western Way. You will exit right and go back under Hwy 469. At this point get your camera ready because you can't stop, but the Walt Disney World welcome sign it going to be just ahead. Go to the stoplight at West Buena Vista Drive. Coronado Springs Resort will be visible on your left. Take a left at this stoplight. Just around the curve will be World Drive (you will go over it). Exit left to get onto World Drive and stay in the right lane. You will come to the Magic Kingdom entrance gate. The far right lane is for buses only. You need to be in the second lane from the right. As soon as you come through the gate immediately move over into the far right lane (don't crash into any buses). The exit to the right for Vista Blvd is right in front of you. Exit to the right and go under the Monorail...just around a few curves you will see "Home" on your left!

We'll see you when you get there!

 

[2goofycampers]

TD try using a magic eraser on the black streaks. It also works well for general camper cleaning.

 

[ruthies12]

Thanks for the awesome directions Tiggerdad, I printed them out as I will also be coming from I-75. I second the magic erasers for black streaks. Works great on dried St. Bernard slobber too in case anybody needs to know that

 

[PaHunter]

Thanks for the awesome directions Tiggerdad, I printed them out as I will also be coming from I-75. I second the magic erasers for black streaks. Works great on dried St. Bernard slobber too in case anybody needs to know that

Miss my St. Bernard slobbering all over everything.

 

[snowmedic]

Tiggerdad, with a trailer that big I better bring a six pack to watch you back it in.

Finished up all my work, tomorrow will have me detailing the car and getting everything packed into it. Will be leaving at 6 a.m. Sunday morning and checking in Monday. Last payment on reservation made just a few minutes ago.

 

[lbmiller77]

Since we are officially 14 days out to our departure day, I thought I would put my two-cents into this great pre-trip report thread. My three year old and I will be checking into the Fort on Sunday, the 18th and leaving on the 31st after trick-or-treating. It's our first real vacation in three years and I am so excited! I'm pretty sure the rest of my extended family is ready for us to go too.....they are probably getting tired of me talking about it all the time

The last 4 weeks I've been slowly doing some prep-work for the trip. Glad I did because when I set-up my ol' trusty tent, I realized it dry-rotted out since our spring camping trip. So off to the internet I went to seek out a new tent. I selected this 15 x 9 Bushnell Tent from Walmart. I set up the tent and gave it a good dousing of camp-dri but figured I would waterproof the rain fly another day.


I should have know better that I would not get around spraying camp dri onto the fly prior to our annual weekend camping trip at Governor Dodge State Park, near Dodgeville, WI. Once I got set up at the campground, I discovered that there were multiple large holes in the rain fly of the new tent. Thankfully, I had enough tarps to adequately keep us dry.

When I contacted Walmart to replace the fly, they sent me on a wild goose chase to contact the manufacturer. In the end, I found that the tent was not manufactured by Bushnell, rather it was made by Trakker. Trakker was awesome to work with. One call, a quick email containing photos of the holes, and Trakker had a new fly to me within 3 days.

Now that I have the tent situation taken care of, I am trying to figure out how we are going to pack all of our camping gear into my SUV. All this anticipation has led me to create an enormous pile of things I thought we might need on this trip. Either somethings need to be left behind or I may need to buy a bigger vehicle

 

[sirenia88]

Well the brakes and the tires were finally done tonight. A simple 6 dollar seal for one of the hubs delayed the brakes and bearing rebuild of the trailer. Everything is good to go with the trailer. We will be packing a large portion of the trip this weekend. Hopefully we should be ready to go on Tuesday afternoon. The weather forecast has been changed for the better too Nothing like pulling a trailer in blustery winds. So looking forward to the Fort...

 

[tiggerdad]

Hey Vince, moving your trip up means you got a few nights without the A/C. I'll unpack it first when we get there.

 

[serenitygr]

We are also here! We've been here since Tuesday afternoon, and just finally getting a chance to update on here! It really makes a difference having our brother, sister in law, and their 5 kids also here- we've been running pretty steady... We went to Epcot Wednesday, Blizzard Beach Thursday, and today was magic Kingdom. Everything with our checkin went great- we are in site 1430, and got our sign up last night. Have done a little looping but haven't run across any DIS signs yet.... Have our golf cart from Kenny- showed up as planned. Tomorrow is just going to be a relax at the Fort day. 2 of my kids caught a bad cold, and have been fighting sore throats for 2 days, and now are starting to cough- nothing like getting sick on vacation. The counter of our camper looks like Walmarts pharmacy. LOL Hopefully they'll fight it off soon... For tonight I'm heading to bed- just wanted to hop on here and let you all know we are here, and hoping to run across some of you soon! I think we're going to get the wifi modem stuff tomorrow, and that will make it easier to post- right now I'm just running off my phones hot spot....

 

[tiggerdad]

Serenity,
I started a live trip report for October. Update it as you go and I'll include your information in the opening post of that thread.

Glad to hear from ya

 

[bjschil]

Since we are officially 14 days out to our departure day, I thought I would put my two-cents into this great pre-trip report thread. My three year old and I will be checking into the Fort on Sunday, the 18th and leaving on the 31st after trick-or-treating. It's our first real vacation in three years and I am so excited! I'm pretty sure the rest of my extended family is ready for us to go too.....they are probably getting tired of me talking about it all the time

The last 4 weeks I've been slowly doing some prep-work for the trip. Glad I did because when I set-up my ol' trusty tent, I realized it dry-rotted out since our spring camping trip. So off to the internet I went to seek out a new tent. I selected this 15 x 9 Bushnell Tent from Walmart. I set up the tent and gave it a good dousing of camp-dri but figured I would waterproof the rain fly another day.
View attachment 126949

I should have know better that I would not get around spraying camp dri onto the fly prior to our annual weekend camping trip at Governor Dodge State Park, near Dodgeville, WI. Once I got set up at the campground, I discovered that there were multiple large holes in the rain fly of the new tent. Thankfully, I had enough tarps to adequately keep us dry.

When I contacted Walmart to replace the fly, they sent me on a wild goose chase to contact the manufacturer. In the end, I found that the tent was not manufactured by Bushnell, rather it was made by Trakker. Trakker was awesome to work with. One call, a quick email containing photos of the holes, and Trakker had a new fly to me within 3 days.

Now that I have the tent situation taken care of, I am trying to figure out how we are going to pack all of our camping gear into my SUV. All this anticipation has led me to create an enormous pile of things I thought we might need on this trip. Either somethings need to be left behind or I may need to buy a bigger vehicle

Lbmiller77, hope your new tent works well for you. You are good, seam sealing and waterproofing. I noticed you mentioned Governor Dodge in your trip report. Not sure where you are, but we live just 20 miles south of Dodgeville just off 23, on a Dairy Farm. The Fort is our favorite place to vacation, this year, leaving Dec. 27, and staying from the 29th until Jan. 14. Of course, weather may make our departure earlier, to get out of the snow. We have adult sons and a workforce that manage our business! Have a great trip, safe travels. Getting south of Paducah on our first day of travel is always our goal.

 

[bjschil]

We are also here! We've been here since Tuesday afternoon, and just finally getting a chance to update on here! It really makes a difference having our brother, sister in law, and their 5 kids also here- we've been running pretty steady... We went to Epcot Wednesday, Blizzard Beach Thursday, and today was magic Kingdom. Everything with our checkin went great- we are in site 1430, and got our sign up last night. Have done a little looping but haven't run across any DIS signs yet.... Have our golf cart from Kenny- showed up as planned. Tomorrow is just going to be a relax at the Fort day. 2 of my kids caught a bad cold, and have been fighting sore throats for 2 days, and now are starting to cough- nothing like getting sick on vacation. The counter of our camper looks like Walmarts pharmacy. LOL Hopefully they'll fight it off soon... For tonight I'm heading to bed- just wanted to hop on here and let you all know we are here, and hoping to run across some of you soon! I think we're going to get the wifi modem stuff tomorrow, and that will make it easier to post- right now I'm just running off my phones hot spot....

Serenitygr, we are sorry about the kids not feeling good. I was wondering why you haven't posted, but also realize Disney First, pictures and blogs 2nd. Here is to the rest of your trip feeling better. Relaxing at the Fort will be awesome for the day. Hope camper rental is okay. Blessings for great health and weather the rest of the trip.

 

[sirenia88]

We are also here! We've been here since Tuesday afternoon, and just finally getting a chance to update on here! It really makes a difference having our brother, sister in law, and their 5 kids also here- we've been running pretty steady... We went to Epcot Wednesday, Blizzard Beach Thursday, and today was magic Kingdom. Everything with our checkin went great- we are in site 1430, and got our sign up last night. Have done a little looping but haven't run across any DIS signs yet.... Have our golf cart from Kenny- showed up as planned. Tomorrow is just going to be a relax at the Fort day. 2 of my kids caught a bad cold, and have been fighting sore throats for 2 days, and now are starting to cough- nothing like getting sick on vacation. The counter of our camper looks like Walmarts pharmacy. LOL Hopefully they'll fight it off soon... For tonight I'm heading to bed- just wanted to hop on here and let you all know we are here, and hoping to run across some of you soon! I think we're going to get the wifi modem stuff tomorrow, and that will make it easier to post- right now I'm just running off my phones hot spot....

Sounds like quite an adventure going on here. Nothing is worse than getting sick on vacation. My daughter became ill during a trip a few years ago. I found a CVS with a minute clinic that was about 10 minutes from the campground we were staying at. We took her over there and had her checked out. Long story short. (I know those are strong words from my mouth.) The nurse practitioner was awesome. Great bed side manners. She was able to prescribe some meds to make her feel better before vacation ended. The NP sent copies of the visit to my DD's pediatrician. We got a call from the asking how my daughter was feeling while on vacation. I really hope the little ones feel better.

Golf cart from Tee Time? On property? Really? You must PM about this...

My sign will be up however, I need to get there first

Have fun I cannot wait to meet some of the other disboarders in a few short days. Just keep swimming...

 

[NMK62303]

We will roll in to the Fort in just under 3 weeks! Enjoying reading everyone's posts. Tigger dad, that's a great idea about the inflatables, may need to cut some wood for ours too, we bring a lot of decorations and camp next to my folks so we just blend into one big happy decorated group! Today I'm staying inside from the wind and rain and carving Inside Out character pumpkins, we carve craft type pumpkins every year and display them at the site. Y'all come by and check them out!