*April PreTrip & Trip Reports*

[garneska]

First thing we had to do was get a new Tables in Wonderland card, this meant hitting MK before going to Contemporary. We got to the boat dock and with the wind the boat was having an issue docking so that allowed us to catch the MK boat. Holy Cow Batman, it was crowded at MK. Granted it was 10:30 am so people were there. Hit the guest relations and were not sure if we had time to wait, but the line moved quick. I really wanted the TIW card because the brunch would be expensive and I wanted my discount. We made it to Cali Grill at 11:20 and it was perfect because it was not crowded yet.

OK the brunch was awesome. It is expensive $80 per adult and then additional for the blood Mary bar. We heard about the Bloody Mary's so we were all in for this. The brunch is part buffet and then you order an entree. We were STARVING at this point. The buffet has the dinner quality sushi. We are big sushi fans so for us the price of this brunch we felt we got our money's worth. Sushi was awesome, if you are not a sushi fan the other stuff was fabulous as well but you might not think it is worth $80. Our server was excellent, she did not rush us and we spent 1.5 hours there. After 2 plates of buffet, and a complimentary mimosa (said we could get more but wanted the Bloody Mary), we hit the Bloody Mary bar. Honestly all the adds were great. Enjoyed the candied Bacon. The drink itself was ok. It looked good though.

[GALLERY=][/GALLERY]

Next we had the entree. I had eggs Benedict with lobster and Bert had the hangar steak. Most of his food is in the fridge, will eat it tomorrow. Unfortunately my poached eggs would not save well. I ate one and it was great but I was full. I took the rest of my bacon and lobster home.

Next was desert. It was nicely presented, but we took it hom too.

[GALLERY=][/GALLERY]

Headed back to the rig and took the dogs outside. The weather was great. Awning out and Bert and I napped until dogs would bark.

[GALLERY=][/GALLERY]

[GALLERY=][/GALLERY]

 

[garneska]

Walked dogs again before dinner. Fort is definitely not as crowded as when we got in. Empty sites, then we headed to Artist Point for dinner. Had the bison but will eat some of the left over desert from Brunch. Now sitting out and enjoying the lovely temps.

Flametamer, hope your drive back is good. I know you were busy packing up but some of the kids did pet Mallory. See you at Gulf Shores.

Hsmytwins, our dogs love this. I think you will enjoy having the pup with you on vacation.

Plan tomorrow is to call camping connection and work. Will cook at the rig and then hoping to catch the Star Wars Fireworks.

 

[friendofeeyore]

We always stay our 1st night @ Milton KOA. It takes us 12 hours. Then we stay the 2nd night @ Citrus, Fla. It is little over an hour to the Fort. Enjoying the reports & is making me home sick. Pray for safe travels going to the Fort & heading home.

 

[friendofeeyore]

In Jan. Grumpy Aggie dropped his phone while viewing the Osborn light. We spent most of Tuesday getting his new phone. I joke told him, we are intruding on my fort time.

 

[C. PIERCE]

I will be there. Currently have a preferred site on April 22 - 24th. Just a quick birthday trip for my daughter. I normally do not even unhook the 5th wheel for those... May switch to a cabin if discounts open up for them. If not then camping it is.

I live in Valrico, so even driving slow with a trailer.... Its an hour tops as long as I 4 is not shut down. Its been over a 5 hour trip home one night. ...

I just found this forum and was browsing thru when I saw your post and had to laugh, I'll be at Fort Wilderness also 22nd - 24th for my daughter's birthday and I live in Durant. Just thought it was a funny coincidence! We'll be riding around on a jacked up red club car with an orange Central Maintenance ball cap so be sure to wave.

 

[WorldWacky]

Wow, Garneska! $80 for breakfast is no joke! Glad you got your money's worth in sushi. I'm loving your report. And that pic of you and the dogs just chilling under the awning is precious. We won't be bringing our dog with us in August. I know she'd love the Fort, but we're stopping in Assateague on the way back for a week. We'll be without electricity or a generator. I'm hoping the ocean breeze will give us a reprieve at night, but a fur coat wouldn't be very helpful for her.

 

[mich1073]

I just found this forum and was browsing thru when I saw your post and had to laugh, I'll be at Fort Wilderness also 22nd - 24th for my daughter's birthday and I live in Durant. Just thought it was a funny coincidence! We'll be riding around on a jacked up red club car with an orange Central Maintenance ball cap so be sure to wave.

Had to change my dates to a family wedding that was up in the air for a while and they finally settled on the dates. So Mothers Day at FW instead. I will be cancelling BOG lunch for the 23rd if you want them!

 

[Flametamr]

Part 1. Okay bear with me folks. I'm not a writer and my mind wanders some. I'm going to try to do a brief TR. After final packing and hookup last Friday 4/8 we got my DD and niece out of school a few hours early for Spring Break. As I posted before I did a lot of work on my truck including a tune up with new coil packs installed. I was pleased we were getting on the interstate by 130 or so I thought. As I committed East Bound towards the Mobile Tunnel my truck started missing badly. Very Badly. In all the haste I had forgotten to pack the old coil packs in case this happened. I had used Accel aftermarket packs. So I turned around went back and got them figuring if nothing else I would change them on the road side if needed. Guess what ? The truck ran fine after that other than getting horrible mileage. As we passed the rest area that everyone uses near Ocala it was a ghost town. Maybe two campers and no trucks in the back. I would have stayed there but the girls need their comfort as in television and fans. So we arrived safely at the Wildwood KOA very late. They had left my info in the drop as promised. The site was easy to find and right across form the bath house. The park is very dated and plain. The pull thru spot was very close togeather but manageble. It took me longer to hook up the power than it did for the girls to pass out. So basically we could have survived the rest area. Maybe. I give Wildwood KOA a "C" rating. Because it did what it was required and met the needs we had. But would not recommend it for more than a day and night. Tomorrow off to the Fort.

 

[Flametamr]

Part 2. Saturday 4/9 up before daylight and heading to the Fort. Beautiful sunrise as we turned onto 429. Rolled into Fort Wilderness at 730 AM only to be told my 900 site was not ready yet. I politely asked if my 700 loop request was in there and surprise (not) it wasn't. She said only one 700 site would open that day but wouldn't tell me the number and sent me to overflow. We parked the entire rig and the wife and niece crashed again and daughter and I hoped the bus to HS. I needed to get the Florida resident applied to our passes and upgrade to Platinum Plus so we could do the water parks. We did all that and actually got a refund on a gift card for the amount I saved. As were heading back to the Fort I get the text that my site is ready. So get back wake up the others and proceed to site 727. I made the fatal mistake of not checking the app and requesting a larger site. We had wanted to open Blizzard beach and it was already 1030. So I backed in and hooked up the power and dropped the trailer. With time wasting away we decided to just go to AK for the afternoon as planned and skip the water park for this day. All day the small site wore on my mind and it made me angry that we payed so much to sit there and be cramped and miserable. So I got up and went to the office. They pleasantly gave me a choice of there sites to choose from in 700 but I would have to wait until they open. We picked 712 right by the path to the bath house. It was wider and much longer. So we prepared the camper to move and headed to Blizzard Beach while we waited on the new site to open or so I thought.

 

[Flametamr]

Part 3. Sunday we head to Blizzard Beach but it is closed due to technical issues with the safety spiel. So we then head to Typhoon Lagoon. Once there two major slides are closed for maintenance issues. Can you see a trend here ? We make do and surf some waves while waiting on the new site is ready. The call never came so around 2 pm we head back and surprise 712 is all clean. I quickly move the camper and the girls ferry the small stuff. Such as their scooters and bikes. As I get back to the old site 727 the CM is there cleaning it. I explained why my stuff was there and quickly moved it. He tells me 712 was ready three hours earlier. He had cleaned it before his lunch break. . So we settled into 712 much happier and I took the girls to the Meadows pool. Then we finally made our Walmart run for fresh foods.

 

[Flametamr]

Part 4. Monday we go to Blizzard Beach. It was open but sadly the two biggest things including Summit Plummet are closed for the immediate future due to major pipe issues under the mountain. I love Summit Plummet so this aggravates me. We make due and play. In the afternoon we head to the Magic Kingdom and close it down. Tuesday it's Typhoon Lagoon again followed by Epcot. Wednesday I let the girls sleep in and I head to the airport to meet my handicapped daughter. I let her fly for the first time so the younger girls could have some water park fun before she arrived. Now this was a nerve racking adventure. Orlando international is maze of a mess. Somehow I figured it all out though. Got back to the Fort and took the entire gang to the Magic Kingdom. Again we did everything several times and closed it down again. The rest of the week was pretty much the same cycle. Then the dreaded day of packing and check out on Sunday. We checked out and headed with the camper to Hollywood Studios. Finally around 2 pm we hit the road home. No issues to report but the long drive. We pulled into the house around midnight exhausted. Pictures to follow. Unfortunately we didn't get to meet anyone this trip. I went by one site to say hi to a Facebook friend but they weren't there. Garneska I hate we missed you. I didn't realize you were right by us. I had forgotten my laptop and wasn't keeping up on my phone. I wanted to participate in some of the marathon events but waited too late to plan and sign up. We also blew our participation in Dapper Day. I forgot to pack my suspenders and the wife's dress didn't fit right so we passed. Big mistake. It was so much fun seeing everyone dressed up that day. Next post is pictures.

 

[Flametamr]

Part 5. Pictures. Please forgive the size. I'm not real computer literate. First Site 727. Very small 14/51. We tried to make it work. Really we did. As the pictures show we barely had room to walk on the site and no room to park. Notice I had to back the truck at an angle into the woods to fit out of the road.

 

[Flametamr]

Our final home site 712. It is 15/62 and a much larger site. We felt like we could live there permanently. I highly recommend this site. WiFi was great and the cable television was okay. Even with the camper completely on the pad I had room to park two vehicles end to end if I had needed the room.

 

[bama_ed]

Wow! That is a huge difference in the two sites, Flametamr. Bama Ed

 

[tigger92662]

I'm not sure small is the right word for that site, I'm thinking more like cramped. Glad you were able to move

 

[tigger92662]

Garneska, that Bloody Mary looks awesome, too bad I'm stuck at work

 

[garneska]

Flame, went and looked at 727, yeah narrow. 723 which we are in is better than 727, but not my favorite I like 722, 716 and definitely 712 where you were. We have also been in 714, layout is great but because it is by the walkway the dogs spend a lot of time barking there. That is the nice thing of 723 no tall trees but lots of lower shrubs so the dogs can't see as much. However they hear those horses go by and bark at them if we are home. On a walk the dogs never bark at the horses, but sitting at home they do.

It was quiet at the fort. Weather was great worked outside all day. Here is the office.

[GALLERY=][/GALLERY]

[GALLERY=][/GALLERY]

Yes yeti has more twigs in his tail. It is never ending. Even Mallory was enjoying getting in the dirt.

 

[Flametamr]

Kris are you hiring anytime soon ? I'm seriously jealous that you have a job you can do sitting at the Fort.

 

[tigger92662]

Yeah I can tell by the picture, those dogs are working feverishly.

 

[C. PIERCE]

Had to change my dates to a family wedding that was up in the air for a while and they finally settled on the dates. So Mothers Day at FW instead. I will be cancelling BOG lunch for the 23rd if you want them!

I don't even know what BOG lunch is bud