FortWildernessLoopy
AP Holder
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2007
- Messages
- 675
The Pre-trip report for August 19-21st at Fort Wilderness
So I have had a dream since I was 2 years old to live at Disney World. Ok, I think the dream was to own it and lord over it as a princess but that may just be semantics. Disney is my happy place and more specifically, Fort Wilderness. I found my first love there...well, loves actually....make that chipmunks. I couldn't wait to head to the Meadow and sing-a-long, watching cartoons and hanging out with my family. The giggling while attempting to paddle a canoe with 39 other people for the Marshmallow Marsh. Heading over to play in the arcade in the Contemporary's basement (which used to be HUGE btw). Taking the boat over to the Polynesian to use their awesome pool because we were allowed since the Fort didn't have a pool
. And the sheer joy of riding my bike around paradise. The feeling never went away even during the difficult teen years when my parents were so incredibly stupid
.
Well, now I'm 38 and I have a little family of my own which you will meet in a minute. The last few years have been rough. I had to have major surgery last fall and my DH is a restaurant general manager which means in the last two years, he's been laid off twice. This has been the longest, he's been out of work since December. It had gotten pretty depressing but we still managed a few trips to the world both camping and with the help of some CM's, trips into the parks (I was a CM awhile ago for DCL and still have friends there). We also have done a lot of downsizing this year to "make it work". We purchased our teenie, little home which shall be henceforth known as our 'beach shack' with cash, we have no credit cards, and we eats lots and lots of ramen
. The only problem with this sort of lifestyle choice is we also never get to have any fun. It can get to be very depressing. It's not always living, sometimes it's just existing and we thought, we'd better do something for ourselves. Usually what that means is doing something for my birthday. Since it's the same as Uncle Walt, December 5th, we try to go to the world or something similar because that's always a value season. My Dh decided for my 40th (2012) we'd book a DCL vacation for a week!! I was stoked and so was he, but the more we did the math, the less sense it made. I decided to be a grown-up and say no.
. But don't forget, this is Disney and here comes our happy ending...
The wonderful people at Disney thought "Hey, I bet more people would purchase Florida resident annual passes if we allowed them to stretch the payments over a whole year!".
YAY!!!!! We could do that!! After the down payment, for the cost of a latte a day we could make a tiny family feel the magic for a whole year, not just one week! So with my bonus check, at 6:00am on August 12, 2011 (from now on known as "Happy Time"), I purchased an AP for the DH and a SP for me. I waited a WHOLE HOUR before I booked our campsite, which contrary to my DH's constant reassurance DID in fact almost kill me. So our "surprise" trip to the Fort is no longer a surprise....mainly because without any warning I start to giggle, clap my hands and do the happy dance. While my husband finds this cute, the people at Wal-Mart may have thought I was a bit looney...got to the front of the line though
.
Let me introduce you to my lil family and the cast of characters:
Me, FortWildernessLoopy, your narrator for this little journey. as you can see in this pic, I have needed a WC the last several times we have gone. VERY long story short, I had an, unbeknownst to me, 2lb tumor removed last fall and this will be my first attempt to go to the parks since the surgery. I am really trying to avoid the WC if at all possible(contrary to some people's opinion, you don't get to the front of the line you have to spend a day at everyone's butt level, getting cut off, and trying to correct your DH's driving skills). Having said that, I am trying to find one of those seat canes since I can't walk very far without having to stop to rest. I can do this
DH (32), Epcot_Pete here on the Dis. Incredible husband and the only man who can tolerate me for longer than 15 minutes at a time (it's been documented). He has the patience of....I'm reminded here of a quote from Ruthless People "Ghandi would have strangled her by now"..yep, that about sums it up. Did I mention he's also kind, loving and for some odd reason whenever I'm around, kind of quiet?
Liberty Mow, born on 9/11/2001. She is my little angel and has been my tiny therapist for almost 10 years now (shocking that my cat would have to have an adult ticket, huh?). Until we complete our camper, she will be staying with her great-grandma, my Nana.
Our tent and norman the gnome...he's over on the corner of the tent. until we finish our camper (see thread http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2778499) this is our home away from home. The set-up in my avatar is my folks...yes we still go camping with them to the fort and we still go to the campfire sing-a-long . The tent is massive. It's a 14x12 and sleeps 7 people...it's for the two of us
. I really wanted to go camping and I didn't have a camper, so I bought what I thought would be the perfect tent because it was on sale...as a surprise. Here's the thing, I grew up with several different kinds of campers: pick-up slide-in, small trailer, super long trailer, small motorhome,and a behemoth motorhome with two slides...not so much for the tents down here because of the heat. My DH is from Colorado and is an Eagle Scout...he grew up with sleeping on rocks in the winter in a mummy bag. You can kinda see what happened when I brought the tent home. But, we still have her after 6 years so it couldn't have been all that bad.
Side note here, on our first camping trip in the tent, in Colorado, after a snow storm, in April, in the mountains, I brought the cat....Oh good lord even I can see where this is going but I couldn't then. I'll tell you anyway, our little bundle of joy who travels with us everywhere chose that night to start making noises like a kitten with a broken leg who was all covered in butter and waiting to be eaten. We had coyotes all over us. I still have a small hole in the screen where one tried to get in. On the plus side, I learned that animal-loving, meek lil ole me can take out a coyote with a swift kick while simultaneously shoving said cat to the bottom of a sleeping bag and running for a car while my husband chases 3 more down the trail.
See?!? This is why I like my wilderness in Fort form...with electricity, water, comfort stations and roaming armadillos..the way god intended.
I got my bonus check so instead of just packing sandwiches, we're going to try to eat at the parks a few times. However, I still pack my own trail mix, rice crispy treats, and water bottles with the little kool-aid packets and breakfast is always at camp.The current plan is as follows:
Friday: get off work at 4:30 pm and hop into car that is already packed up and ready to go. I telecommute so I can already be dressed and ready to go to the parks. We should arrive at the Fort around 5:30 or so depending on traffic over from the beach. We'll set up camp and take the boat over to guest services at MK for our APs. **Now is a good time to mention that while I like to plan ahead and make lists, I hate itineraries. I rarely make any ADRs because I don't like the pressure of needing to be somewhere at a certain time. We're planning on playing all night at the MK into the EMH!
Saturday: I'm bringing the crock-pot and debating whether to make pancakes, or have breakfast ready when we wake up...I'm leaning toward crock-pot breakfast casserole actually. I'm not sure whether I will have some kind of dinner going in the crockpot for our return...maybe a stew of some kind. I'm packing the cooler, but in this weather, the ice won't stay frozen for long so left-overs are not an option. I think I can keep stuff cold into Saturday morning, but not so much after that. Anyway, We're driving over to DHS for the early EMH so my DH can ride Star tours and maybe we'll do Rockin roller-coaster then spend the rest of the day at Epcot. we'll play it by ear, but right now we intend to spend most of the day doing all the pavilions in WS since my DH has never done that before (seen the corny movies and walked around the shops). I'm not one who really cares for watching Illuminations every time, so we may do futureworld during that...usually stuff is walk on at that point.
Sunday: Break camp and check out early (I don't like to try and set-up or break camp in the heat of the afternoon and it will be plenty hot around 11). Drive over to AK in the morning for EE and whatever until around noon. I mentioned I hate making ADRs and I do, but I went ahead and made one for Whispering Canyon for lunch because my DH really wanted to try it and it gives us a time to head toward MK. After lunch, we'll park at TaT, head over to the MK and have fun until 8 or so. I don't want to stay out too late since I have to work early the next morning. *sigh* I don't even like typing about the end. Of course, we can do it all again the next weekend!!! Except maybe the camping part, that could get expensive lol.
You are more than welcome to join along on my little PTR and later trip report. Also, if there's anything you'd like me to check on while I'm there, let me know and if we're able, I'll check for you
So I have had a dream since I was 2 years old to live at Disney World. Ok, I think the dream was to own it and lord over it as a princess but that may just be semantics. Disney is my happy place and more specifically, Fort Wilderness. I found my first love there...well, loves actually....make that chipmunks. I couldn't wait to head to the Meadow and sing-a-long, watching cartoons and hanging out with my family. The giggling while attempting to paddle a canoe with 39 other people for the Marshmallow Marsh. Heading over to play in the arcade in the Contemporary's basement (which used to be HUGE btw). Taking the boat over to the Polynesian to use their awesome pool because we were allowed since the Fort didn't have a pool
. And the sheer joy of riding my bike around paradise. The feeling never went away even during the difficult teen years when my parents were so incredibly stupid. Well, now I'm 38 and I have a little family of my own which you will meet in a minute. The last few years have been rough. I had to have major surgery last fall and my DH is a restaurant general manager which means in the last two years, he's been laid off twice. This has been the longest, he's been out of work since December. It had gotten pretty depressing but we still managed a few trips to the world both camping and with the help of some CM's, trips into the parks (I was a CM awhile ago for DCL and still have friends there). We also have done a lot of downsizing this year to "make it work". We purchased our teenie, little home which shall be henceforth known as our 'beach shack' with cash, we have no credit cards, and we eats lots and lots of ramen
. The only problem with this sort of lifestyle choice is we also never get to have any fun. It can get to be very depressing. It's not always living, sometimes it's just existing and we thought, we'd better do something for ourselves. Usually what that means is doing something for my birthday. Since it's the same as Uncle Walt, December 5th, we try to go to the world or something similar because that's always a value season. My Dh decided for my 40th (2012) we'd book a DCL vacation for a week!! I was stoked and so was he, but the more we did the math, the less sense it made. I decided to be a grown-up and say no.. But don't forget, this is Disney and here comes our happy ending...The wonderful people at Disney thought "Hey, I bet more people would purchase Florida resident annual passes if we allowed them to stretch the payments over a whole year!".
YAY!!!!! We could do that!! After the down payment, for the cost of a latte a day we could make a tiny family feel the magic for a whole year, not just one week! So with my bonus check, at 6:00am on August 12, 2011 (from now on known as "Happy Time"), I purchased an AP for the DH and a SP for me. I waited a WHOLE HOUR before I booked our campsite, which contrary to my DH's constant reassurance DID in fact almost kill me. So our "surprise" trip to the Fort is no longer a surprise....mainly because without any warning I start to giggle, clap my hands and do the happy dance. While my husband finds this cute, the people at Wal-Mart may have thought I was a bit looney...got to the front of the line though
.Let me introduce you to my lil family and the cast of characters:
Me, FortWildernessLoopy, your narrator for this little journey. as you can see in this pic, I have needed a WC the last several times we have gone. VERY long story short, I had an, unbeknownst to me, 2lb tumor removed last fall and this will be my first attempt to go to the parks since the surgery. I am really trying to avoid the WC if at all possible(contrary to some people's opinion, you don't get to the front of the line you have to spend a day at everyone's butt level, getting cut off, and trying to correct your DH's driving skills). Having said that, I am trying to find one of those seat canes since I can't walk very far without having to stop to rest. I can do this
DH (32), Epcot_Pete here on the Dis. Incredible husband and the only man who can tolerate me for longer than 15 minutes at a time (it's been documented). He has the patience of....I'm reminded here of a quote from Ruthless People "Ghandi would have strangled her by now"..yep, that about sums it up. Did I mention he's also kind, loving and for some odd reason whenever I'm around, kind of quiet?
Liberty Mow, born on 9/11/2001. She is my little angel and has been my tiny therapist for almost 10 years now (shocking that my cat would have to have an adult ticket, huh?). Until we complete our camper, she will be staying with her great-grandma, my Nana.
Our tent and norman the gnome...he's over on the corner of the tent. until we finish our camper (see thread http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2778499) this is our home away from home. The set-up in my avatar is my folks...yes we still go camping with them to the fort and we still go to the campfire sing-a-long . The tent is massive. It's a 14x12 and sleeps 7 people...it's for the two of us
. I really wanted to go camping and I didn't have a camper, so I bought what I thought would be the perfect tent because it was on sale...as a surprise. Here's the thing, I grew up with several different kinds of campers: pick-up slide-in, small trailer, super long trailer, small motorhome,and a behemoth motorhome with two slides...not so much for the tents down here because of the heat. My DH is from Colorado and is an Eagle Scout...he grew up with sleeping on rocks in the winter in a mummy bag. You can kinda see what happened when I brought the tent home. But, we still have her after 6 years so it couldn't have been all that bad.Side note here, on our first camping trip in the tent, in Colorado, after a snow storm, in April, in the mountains, I brought the cat....Oh good lord even I can see where this is going but I couldn't then. I'll tell you anyway, our little bundle of joy who travels with us everywhere chose that night to start making noises like a kitten with a broken leg who was all covered in butter and waiting to be eaten. We had coyotes all over us. I still have a small hole in the screen where one tried to get in. On the plus side, I learned that animal-loving, meek lil ole me can take out a coyote with a swift kick while simultaneously shoving said cat to the bottom of a sleeping bag and running for a car while my husband chases 3 more down the trail
.See?!? This is why I like my wilderness in Fort form...with electricity, water, comfort stations and roaming armadillos..the way god intended.
I got my bonus check so instead of just packing sandwiches, we're going to try to eat at the parks a few times. However, I still pack my own trail mix, rice crispy treats, and water bottles with the little kool-aid packets and breakfast is always at camp.The current plan is as follows:
Friday: get off work at 4:30 pm and hop into car that is already packed up and ready to go. I telecommute so I can already be dressed and ready to go to the parks. We should arrive at the Fort around 5:30 or so depending on traffic over from the beach. We'll set up camp and take the boat over to guest services at MK for our APs. **Now is a good time to mention that while I like to plan ahead and make lists, I hate itineraries. I rarely make any ADRs because I don't like the pressure of needing to be somewhere at a certain time. We're planning on playing all night at the MK into the EMH!
Saturday: I'm bringing the crock-pot and debating whether to make pancakes, or have breakfast ready when we wake up...I'm leaning toward crock-pot breakfast casserole actually. I'm not sure whether I will have some kind of dinner going in the crockpot for our return...maybe a stew of some kind. I'm packing the cooler, but in this weather, the ice won't stay frozen for long so left-overs are not an option. I think I can keep stuff cold into Saturday morning, but not so much after that. Anyway, We're driving over to DHS for the early EMH so my DH can ride Star tours and maybe we'll do Rockin roller-coaster then spend the rest of the day at Epcot. we'll play it by ear, but right now we intend to spend most of the day doing all the pavilions in WS since my DH has never done that before (seen the corny movies and walked around the shops). I'm not one who really cares for watching Illuminations every time, so we may do futureworld during that...usually stuff is walk on at that point.
Sunday: Break camp and check out early (I don't like to try and set-up or break camp in the heat of the afternoon and it will be plenty hot around 11). Drive over to AK in the morning for EE and whatever until around noon. I mentioned I hate making ADRs and I do, but I went ahead and made one for Whispering Canyon for lunch because my DH really wanted to try it and it gives us a time to head toward MK. After lunch, we'll park at TaT, head over to the MK and have fun until 8 or so. I don't want to stay out too late since I have to work early the next morning. *sigh* I don't even like typing about the end. Of course, we can do it all again the next weekend!!! Except maybe the camping part, that could get expensive lol.
You are more than welcome to join along on my little PTR and later trip report. Also, if there's anything you'd like me to check on while I'm there, let me know and if we're able, I'll check for you
.
.
Humph...I know when I'm being humored. 
