Lost wallets and broken bones. But at least we didn’t lose the dog this time!

[elizablake]

It was an adventure all right! But first let me talk about the good. We enjoyed 8 nights in our beloved RV, a priceless week with my daughter and niece, a much needed break from the stresses of work for DH and I. We got to do everything we wanted plus more. Despite the black cloud over my head, we didn’t see a drop of rain. And we didn’t lose the dog!! Why? Because we left the furball at home with Grandpa. What am I talking about? Well, during our last Fort adventure, we lost our dog for 48 hours! With the help of other campers we found him. Here is a link to that trip report: Here’s a link to that trip report:

Trip Report: Disney with 4 kids and a dog and we only lost one of them! 6/09

This was our 4th trip to Disney World. Our first was in January 2009. We stayed 9 perfect days and fell in love with DW and FW. Here is a link to that trip report:

Trip Report: Disney World and Fort Wilderness for the first time 1/09

And a few photos:

We loved it so much that we went back in June 2009 and brought our two nieces and nephew with us. 4 kids and a run-away dog made for an exhausting trip but still a great one.

And a few photos from the trip:

We returned in June 2010 with my parents but we didn’t stay at the Fort. My parents wanted more elbow room so we rented a house off-site. Here is the link to that trip report:

Oh wait, that’s right, I never got around to writing that trip report. Here’s a photo to make up for it:

That’s me in the front. DH is in the second row with DD. Memaw and Granddaddy are in the third row. I covered the faces of the strangers in the 4th row in case they are in the witness protection program.

We originally planned to take a trip in Oct 2011 but we decided to go in June instead so DD wouldn’t miss school and so we could bring our niece. She constantly talks about the trip two years ago and desperately wanted to go back so we jumped at the chance to take her before she is “too cool” to hang out with us. Speaking of “too cool”, our other niece and nephew have turned into teenagers and couldn’t stand the idea of a week squished in an RV without Facebook. So, this trip would just be my DN, DD, DH and I.

We planned and dreamed of Disney for months and finally our trip came. It was Thursday the 2nd…the RV was packed, the kids were going insane with excitement and DH had to work until 11:00 PM. The girls and I got in bed early and DH loaded us all into the RV when he got home about 12:00 AM. We stopped for gas and left west GA about 1:00. The girls were able to sleep on the sofa and still be buckled up so we didn’t mind driving at night. DH works nights so he was wide awake. I tried to rest until about 5:00 when I took over driving and DH tried to rest. The girls woke up at 7:00 and we arrived at the Fort at 9:00.

The girls screamed so loudly when they saw the DW sign that my ears rang for hours. We checked in and were pleasantly surprised to find out our site was ready. When I did the online check-in I noted that we would be arriving early. Maybe that is why we had a site or maybe it was dumb luck. Unfortunately, my luck ended there. DH joked that I had a black cloud over my head the entire trip. Specifically, we had a bus curse. We always arrived at the bus stop just in time to see our bus leave.

I hadn’t added our water park tickets so I asked when I checked in. The CM told me it would be better if I added them when we visited our first water park. He said they would give us new keys to the world at that time. Hmmm...I thought the CM who took our reservation over the phone said to add them at FW but whatever. WE WERE AT THE FORT! And I didn’t care about anything else.

Our site was 1924. It was private, shaded, and approximately 500 miles to the nearest bus stop. We didn’t care where our site was located because we had rented a golf cart from Kenny at Tee Time.

Side note: I would like to give a quick review of our golf cart experience with Kenny. Overall it was a great experience and I would rent from him again in a second. His prices are great! He charged us $245 for a week and the golf cart was perfect. It even had a rain shield, not that we needed it. My only warning is that Kenny is a one man show and he can come across as a bit disorganized. Which made me worry but now that I have rented from him I wouldn’t be a bit concerned next time. When I made the reservation in March, he said he would call one week before and charge our credit card at that time. When the charge had not posted a few days before we left, I tried to get in touch with him with no luck. I started to get a bit nervous thinking he had lost our ressie but he called me Wed and said everything was good. We agreed to meet Friday at noon in the overflow lot. When I got there at noon, he was no where to be found. I tried both phone numbers but got voicemails. I left him a message and he called back within a few minutes to apologize and let me know he was running a few minutes late. He offered to drop off the cart at our site before we left for Typhoon Lagoon at 1:00. He was there by 12:45 and was just as friendly as he had been on the phone. So any “problems” we had with the rental were just a product of my own nervousness about renting from someone new. I highly recommend him to anyone considering it.

Here is our site:

Our street:

Behind our site:

 

[elizablake]

The 1900 loop has full hook-up sites. They include water, electric, cable and sewer so we had everything we needed. The premium site are bigger with square picnic tables and grills with covers. We barely use the picnic tables and bring our own grill so the full hook-up site was great for us. As you can see in the photos, we had plenty of room for our 31ft RV with a slide. There is a sand pad at the back of the site but there were several larger class A RVs on our loop and they all fit.

We only hooked up the power and water and DH went to sleep while the girls and I walked to the pool. We arrived about 9:45 and the waterslide was not open yet. There were only a handful of people at the pool and the water was perfect. I thought it would be warm like 2 years ago but it was cool and refreshing but not cold.

The slide and the spray park opened a few minutes after 10:00. Very few kids were at the pool so the girls were able to slide over and over again. We stayed until 11:00 and started the long walk to the RV. DH was still asleep. I made the girls a quick lunch and left them with sleeping DH and the babysitter (the Wii ) while I went to meet Kenny at the overflow lot.

I made the long walk to the bus and was at the settlement in about 15 minutes. After I talked to Kenny, I caught the yellow bus and made the long journey to our site (again). DH was up and the girls we ready to go so I packed a backpack and we waited for Kenny.

We hopped in our golf cart and headed to the outpost to catch the Typhoon Lagoon bus. Unfortunately, the bus was pulling away as we arrived. We only waited about 15 minutes for another one.

 

[2goofycampers]

Oh goodie, another TR.

I remember the lost dog last time, glad he stayed safe and sound this trip.

 

[cruising spud]

Thanks for sharing your trip report. I would like to scream with excitement every time we make it to Disney, but I've stopped. And, since we probably won't get back to Disney for awhile (our middle daughter is living out of state at the moment, and, so, our visits are with her and her family right now), so I love reading the reports of others.

 

[bama_ed]

Thanks for the trip report. The splash mountain picture of you in front is priceless.

Yep. Kenny is a one man band with this golf cart rentals but we love him.

Glad to hear the dog was safe along with everybody else.

Bama ed

 

[EllaBean]

I just came across DISboards tonight and foung your 8x8 autograph book pages. They are great! I was wondering...do you still do personalized covers?

DH and I are taking DD(4) in a few weeks and I really want to make her a special autograph book.

If you could help me out, that would be great.

This is our very FIRST trip (June 30 - July 6) and My daugter, Ella, loves the princesses.

Thanks,
Vada

I would pm you, but because I am new, I am not allowed.

 

[dngtrumps]

Enjoying your trip report very much. We're excited to be leaving for our first Fort visit in two days!

Dawn

 

[mash]

YEAH!!! A new trip report. I'm lovin it so far. Great commentary and pictures. Keep up the good work. I'm looking forward to reading the rest.

 

[cinderella73]

Loving your trip report and cant wait to read more !

 

[elizablake]

Oh goodie, another TR.

I remember the lost dog last time, glad he stayed safe and sound this trip.

Thanks! I'm no longer known as the dummy who lost their dog. Now I get to be the dummy who lost their wallet.

Thanks for sharing your trip report. I would like to scream with excitement every time we make it to Disney, but I've stopped. And, since we probably won't get back to Disney for awhile (our middle daughter is living out of state at the moment, and, so, our visits are with her and her family right now), so I love reading the reports of others.

I was screaming on the inside!

Thanks for the trip report. The splash mountain picture of you in front is priceless.

Yep. Kenny is a one man band with this golf cart rentals but we love him.

Glad to hear the dog was safe along with everybody else.

Bama ed

I pretty much have the same face in every ride photo. Especially It's a Small World.

I just came across DISboards tonight and foung your 8x8 autograph book pages. They are great! I was wondering...do you still do personalized covers?

DH and I are taking DD(4) in a few weeks and I really want to make her a special autograph book.

If you could help me out, that would be great.

This is our very FIRST trip (June 30 - July 6) and My daugter, Ella, loves the princesses.

Thanks,
Vada

I would pm you, but because I am new, I am not allowed.

No problem. I'll make one tonight.

Enjoying your trip report very much. We're excited to be leaving for our first Fort visit in two days!

Dawn

I'm so jealous. Enjoy your trip and don't forget the bug spray.

YEAH!!! A new trip report. I'm lovin it so far. Great commentary and pictures. Keep up the good work. I'm looking forward to reading the rest.

Thank you.

Loving your trip report and cant wait to read more !

Thanks.

 

[elizablake]

Here’s a video the girls took at the FW pool our first afternoon:



The Lost Wallet!!

The Downtown Disney busses also go to Typhoon Lagoon. First they stop at the Marketplace, then Pleasure Island and finally Typhoon Lagoon. By the time we arrived at Typhoon Lagoon we were the only people on the bus. During the ride DH and I worked on rearranging our backpack. We put anything of value in a waterproof pouch/wallet that you wear around your neck. The pouch contained my driver license, a credit card, a key to our RV, our keys to the world, and $250 in cash because I still hadn’t added the water park tickets. I swear I remember putting the pouch back in the bag but apparently I didn’t because when we got to the ticket window at Typhoon Lagoon it wasn’t there.

The bus had already pulled away but the CM made some phone calls hoping to have someone radio the bus driver and ask him to turn in the wallet at FW. Since there was no one on the bus when he left TL, we were hopeful. The CM also contacted FW to see if someone could catch the bus when they pulled up and get the wallet but there was no way to know if the bus was staying on that same route.

The CM was very helpful and even offered to let us in the park. DH and I discussed whether it would be better to return to the Fort and see if it was turned it in or wait at the bus stop to see if the same bus came back to TL. The girls were quiet as could be but were looking up at us with sad eyes and DD asked “Mommy, did we lose the water slide money?” We assumed that the wallet would either be turned in and waiting for us at FW or it would be long gone so we decided to take the CM up on her offer to let us in to the park and try to forget about the wallet for the time being. The kids were thrilled of course. We were determined to not let the lost wallet ruin our trip.

Typhoon Lagoon is beautiful! I love when you round the corner and get your first glimpse of the wave pool.

 

[elizablake]

The wait times are posted on chalk boards around the park. All the waits were less than 15 mins except Gang Plank Falls which was 45 mins.

We took a short ride on Castaway Creek to the body slides. The lazy river was busy especially at the stop near the entrance to the park.

Castaway Creek is very scenic with waterfalls and caves. I love the misters:

We decided to try the storm slides first because we didn’t want to terrify DD on our first day. Here is a video of the one on the left which we loved.

Warning: You might want to turn down your speakers. I’m a screamer.



And another video:

 

[elizablake]

All the storm slides had less than a 10 minute wait.

DH and DN ride Humunga Kowabunga since it was right beside the storm slides. It had 15 min wait. DD and I ride the body slide in the middle with tunnel.

It is a lot faster. DD didn’t like it a bit. Here is a video:



DN talked me into riding Humunga Kowabunga while DH and DD rode the storm slides one more time. I was scared to death but proud I did it. The CM said you go about 35 MPH (which seems a lot faster when your not driving a car). It seemed like the tunnel made it less scary because you couldn’t tell how high you are.

DD counted 140 steps to the top of one of the slides. So our current stair count is 840.

Next we walked to the Shark Reef since the posted wait was only 5 minutes.

We picked up our masks and snorkels. I should have gotten life jackets for the girls since they are not good floaters. They ended up holding our arms while we snorkeled but I think they would have done better if they had life jackets.

The wait was more like 15 minutes but it went quickly.

The water was about 70 degrees and felt great! We saw a few brightly colored fish, some coral, sting rays and small sharks. Overall it was a fun experience but we all agreed that we didn’t want to do it again.

 

[elizablake]

Next up was Crush n Gusher. You can ride in a triple tube, double tube or single tube. There were three separate slides: Banana Blaster-the one we chose, Coconut crusher-my husband didn’t want to go anywhere near that one, and Pineapple Plunger. The minimum height requirement is 48 inches for all the slides. DD was 48.0000001 inches so she barely made it in.

The posted wait was 15 minutes but we waited a little less. I rode with DD and DH rode with DN. When we go close to the top of the stairs, DD started to cry. She is very dramatic like her Mom and will cry over anything. I asked her at least 3 times if she wanted to skip the ride but she kept saying no. One CM even pointed out the elevator and told her people change their mind all the time but she insisted that she wanted to do it. I should have known better than to ride it. Once she gets worked up like that, her fear is all in her head. Crush n’ Gusher could have been slower than the lazy river and she still would have been terrified.

We rode it. DD screamed and cried the entire time. I felt terrible – especially since I was enjoying the ride so much while she was terrified. DN and DH loved it too. It’s like a water roller coaster. You go down hills but also get shot up hills by spraying water. You catch a little air at the top of the hills but overall the ride is smooth and fast and tons of fun.

We took a short ride on Castaway Creek to Keelhaul Falls. It had a 5 minute wait. It was a very slow moving slide. DD described it as boring.

So we decided to try Mayday Falls which looked a little faster. We waited 15 mins for it. It was much faster and very bumpy. I turned around backwards toward the beginning of the slide and never turned back around. When we rode it later in the week, I realized the sides of the slide were padded so you could use your feet to keep from turning around backwards without getting hurt. I have a video my DH took but I can’t post it because it has too many curse words.

Mayday Falls:

Gangplank falls had a 45 minute posted wait time but the line looked short. So we stood in it for about 10 minutes and moved about 2 ft. We decided to try again later in the week.

It was 4:30 and the park was closing at 5:00 so we decided to leave. We were hungry and exhausted (stair count=1260). We walked outside as we saw the FW bus leaving. We waited about 20 mins for another bus.

When we arrived at the outpost we went to the concierge desk to see if the wallet had been turned it. The CM said it was not there but he was able to print new keys to the world for us and cancel the old ones. He checked and no one had used are other cards to enter a park or charge anything. At least that was good news. I called my credit card company on the way back to the RV and reported the card missing.

At least the golf cart key wasn’t in the wallet! Unfortunately, the RV key was in the wallet. The key to the RV door is really small so we always bring the key to the passenger and driver door. Which is the key to the ignition as well! The good news is that we have another key. The bad news is that it is 500 miles away at our house. Does that mean we never have to leave?

We decided to worry about how to get home later and worry about how to get into the RV now. We did bring an extra key to the RV. It was just locked inside at the moment. It was actually disturbingly easy to break into our RV. We were able to open the lock to one of the bedroom windows from the outside. Then we took off the screen and lifted DD through the window.

Once we were inside, I called central lost and found to file a report about the water wallet. The CM said I could call or stop by guest services at the TTA the next morning to find out if it was turned in by the bus driver but I wouldn't know anything tonight.

 

[proudmomof4]

I'm in for another trip report.

Thanks for detailing your time at the water park. I hope your wallet was recovered.

 

[cruising spud]

I am crossing my fingers hoping that your wallet is returned. You are way saner than me. The whole "missing wallet saga" would have consumed me.

 

[2goofycampers]

Yikes, you can't leave us hanging overnight. I'm sure hoping someone turned it in with everything in tact.

Great TR, on the edge of my seat.

 

[ljcrochet]

Yikes! What a way to start a trip.

 

[opieandy1]

Don't leave us hanging.....

 

[mash]

Please continue the report. Enquiring minds need to know if you get the wallet back.