August 2016 coming quickly....

[peg110]

That's awesome @JETS70

 

[mich1073]

While at the pool on Tuesday, a cast member spoke with Fort guest and informed them about a premier showing of Pete's Dragon. This was a ticketed free event to be held in the field behind Pioneer Hall. You had to be signed up by 5 Tuesday evening. We had to change a Fast Pass but no big deal. We were given wrist bands and had to sign waivers and you were absolutely forbidden to take any cell phones or recording devices to the event. They provided water and popcorn and the Disney Conservation Fund who also sponsored the event along with the Disney Parks Blog group provided activities and trivia prizes. After a long day at MK......I wasn't sure that I wanted to sit in plastic chairs (they did have a padded seat) from 7:30 until 11:00 pm. I'm glad we did. I really enjoyed the movie......especially when I looked over at my 23 year old DD and she had big tears welling up in her eyes. And as a bonus Oakes Fegley......Pete......was there. Pretty cool time. We did get a Disney Blog hat, Pete's Dragon lunch bag and a Disney Conservation button and information.

That is AWESOME! Congrats on lucking out on that one, I LOVED Petes Dragon as a kid and really looking forward to this movie!

 

[jbrostek]

That was an awesome find!!! It is always great to chat up the cast members, they can always clue you in on things like this.

So last night had a great dinner and got some more stuff done around the house. Today's weather is supposed to be awesome, so I am going to take advantage of that fact and kick some butt on the RV getting her polished up for the trip. The truck may not see work by me, I am thinking of giving it to my detailer and tell him to do his thing.

 

[tiggerdad]

Good deal on the premiere showing. Glad that came your way.

 

[WorldWacky]

Out of curiosity, and maybe it was posted elsewhere and I missed it, but did they do the same thing at the Fort beach that they have done at Poly and GF? Are the rocks and fence in place or just a fence?

No rocks. Like JETS70 posted, just the posts and rope fence.
I wondered what all the noise was while we were on the beach! It was the movie! That's great that you got to see it JETS70!

 

[FtW Mike]

While at the pool on Tuesday, a cast member spoke with Fort guest and informed them about a premier showing of Pete's Dragon. This was a ticketed free event to be held in the field behind Pioneer Hall. You had to be signed up by 5 Tuesday evening. We had to change a Fast Pass but no big deal. We were given wrist bands and had to sign waivers and you were absolutely forbidden to take any cell phones or recording devices to the event. They provided water and popcorn and the Disney Conservation Fund who also sponsored the event along with the Disney Parks Blog group provided activities and trivia prizes. After a long day at MK......I wasn't sure that I wanted to sit in plastic chairs (they did have a padded seat) from 7:30 until 11:00 pm. I'm glad we did. I really enjoyed the movie......especially when I looked over at my 23 year old DD and she had big tears welling up in her eyes. And as a bonus Oakes Fegley......Pete......was there. Pretty cool time. We did get a Disney Blog hat, Pete's Dragon lunch bag and a Disney Conservation button and information.

Neat SWAG free preview of a new Movie all on top of being named to Dory's Dive team It Don't Get Any More Gooder Than That

 

[JETS70]

The other day I had mentioned something about meeting a full time resident of the Fort. Well this actually goes back to last November when the DW and I had a site across from her and her daughter. One day while outside the camper, her daughter came over to visit. We talked about the Fort, Disney and our families. Now I would never post someone's name without their permission. Well........tonight we had the opportunity to view Wishes Fireworks from the top of Bay Lake Tower by invitation of Hilda and her daughter Stephanie. Stephanie...........I'm still trying to figure out how you guessed my Inside Out character as Anger . We had a wonderful time. We met Steve and Noah from Dayton. You guys travel safe on your way back home. We also met Jamie. We look forward to seeing your decorations at the Fort this Halloween. You have my DD determined to do the Pin Quest. Again.......we had a wonderful evening and enjoyed the Wishes Fireworks from a whole new perspective. But most of all I want to thank Hilda and Stephanie for sharing their evening with my family. See you again this October.

 

[mich1073]

Ahhh That so reminds me of my childhood every July 4th week at FW..... The fireworks are AMAZING up there.

My parents letting a little girl and her friend do the boat, monorail (always asked for the FRONT or Back), run up to the top of the Contemporary day and night, day just to see the parks because alot of the times we did not get tickets, and then again to watch fireworks. Then spend the rest of the day at RC or riding bikes around FW and the evening at the Contemporary game room..... Boy I still miss that GAME ROOM! Oh and I would save my money to do an hour each trip on the little boats and cruise all the way to poly and back...

 

[jeffrey1966]

Boy Istillmissthat GAMEROOM!
Me too! When I was a kid, our family would stay at the Poly and my parents would let my brother and I take the monorail over to the Contemporary to spend some time in the game room. They also played Disney movies in another room near the game room. I can remember seeing "Super Dad" and eating a lot of popcorn. Those were some special times. I haven't thought of that game room for a long time. Thanks for mentioning! It brought back some great memories.

 

[JETS70]

Today we had some early Fast Passes at EPCOT. We then went back to the Fort to clean up and head to Disney Springs for dinner at Wolfgang Puck, a little shopping and then the second showing of La Nouba. We first saw this show 15 years ago. There have been some changes but for the most part it is the same show........and a good one at that. They will not let you take pictures or film during the show but I did manage a pic or 2 during the pre-show and a quick pic during the encore. Sorry the pics are a little blurry due to low light and a lot of movement.

It is amazing how Downtown Disney has transformed into Disney Springs.
I have also included some pics of the converted cabin loop. It looks really nice. By the looks of things they should probably start booking soon. They even have the garden hoses on each site.

Notice the grill is located at the side of the pad as compared to the usual placement at the back of the pad.

 

[lindsey]

Contemporary game room! Yes! We always took DS there for few hours. Love reading everyone's trip reports.

 

[WorldWacky]

Some more great pics, Steve! It was so nice chatting with you and your wife today. I hope you're having a great day in MK.
Well, after watching dd-11, cry during Wishes that first night because we weren't planning on going into the Disney parks this trip, we bit the bullet and bought one day tickets at $100 a pop. (I know, I know)
With not a single planned moment, I dove right in and got some FPs. We rope-dropped and got on 7 Dwarves in 25 min. Then went on Pan. All told, we rode Space, Thunder and Splash twice each, got a total of 8 FPs and our longest wait was only 35 min. That was for our first Splash Mountain ride at 11:30. Everything else was 20min or less. 21 attractions total for the day. I LOVED being able to add that 4th FP with my phone after we tapped our magic bands the at the second post. I made each of those extra FP reservations while walking in line to board the attractions. The only attractions we didn't fit in that the kids asked about were Astro Orbiter(because that line always takes forever) and Pooh. But at 14, 11 and 11 they chose a second ride on Thunder over Pooh. We did end up taking a mid afternoon break from 2-6.
The only disappointment at the Fort at all has been the internal bus system. At first, DH and I couldn't understand why so many people feel the need for the golf carts. We didn't feel like the walk to the pool, Settlement or Front Desk is that bad. BUT, after experiencing the lack of buses when you DO want one and the, I'm sorry to say it, unfriendly nature of the drivers we've encountered, we've agreed that the golf carts are the way to go.
Last night after the last boat came in from MK, 5 buses were at the Settlement. Three looked like they were done for the night, another was for the Orange Loop/Meadow Trading Post and the 5th was either for Yellow or Purple. We got on the Orange loop bus, said hi to the driver and sat down. The bus driver never looked up. Next thing we know, another driver gets on the bus and says, "Hey! You guys can't be on here! This bus is closed!" Okaaay, well the door was open, the driver didn't tell us not to board and the three drivers standing outside chit-chatting weren't instructing anyone on what to do. They told us we could get on that 5th bus and that it was going to all of the cabins. Well we're not staying in or near the cabins. We walked. It was a stinky way to end an otherwise great day. Other than that, the Fort is beautiful. The pool had been lovely and the bathouses are great. We've added yet another night. Our 6 night stay have become a 10 night stay!

 

[4077]

Some more great pics, Steve! It was so nice chatting with you and your wife today. I hope you're having a great day in MK.
Well, after watching dd-11, cry during Wishes that first night because we weren't planning on going into the Disney parks this trip, we bit the bullet and bought one day tickets at $100 a pop. (I know, I know)
With not a single planned moment, I dove right in and got some FPs. We rope-dropped and got on 7 Dwarves in 25 min. Then went on Pan. All told, we rode Space, Thunder and Splash twice each, got a total of 8 FPs and our longest wait was only 35 min. That was for our first Splash Mountain ride at 11:30. Everything else was 20min or less. 21 attractions total for the day. I LOVED being able to add that 4th FP with my phone after we tapped our magic bands the at the second post. I made each of those extra FP reservations while walking in line to board the attractions. The only attractions we didn't fit in that the kids asked about were Astro Orbiter(because that line always takes forever) and Pooh. But at 14, 11 and 11 they chose a second ride on Thunder over Pooh. We did end up taking a mid afternoon break from 2-6.
The only disappointment at the Fort at all has been the internal bus system. At first, DH and I couldn't understand why so many people feel the need for the golf carts. We didn't feel like the walk to the pool, Settlement or Front Desk is that bad. BUT, after experiencing the lack of buses when you DO want one and the, I'm sorry to say it, unfriendly nature of the drivers we've encountered, we've agreed that the golf carts are the way to go.
Last night after the last boat came in from MK, 5 buses were at the Settlement. Three looked like they were done for the night, another was for the Orange Loop/Meadow Trading Post and the 5th was either for Yellow or Purple. We got on the Orange loop bus, said hi to the driver and sat down. The bus driver never looked up. Next thing we know, another driver gets on the bus and says, "Hey! You guys can't be on here! This bus is closed!" Okaaay, well the door was open, the driver didn't tell us not to board and the three drivers standing outside chit-chatting weren't instructing anyone on what to do. They told us we could get on that 5th bus and that it was going to all of the cabins. Well we're not staying in or near the cabins. We walked. It was a stinky way to end an otherwise great day. Other than that, the Fort is beautiful. The pool had been lovely and the bathouses are great. We've added yet another night. Our 6 night stay have become a 10 night stay!

Glad I don't usually use busses....sounds like good proof that the FP+ system is usable and can still work well even without ahead of time planning (although I will always still feel compelled to plan them asap online....and that is why I hate it! LoL). Anyway, glad it was (mostly) fantastic for the day!

 

[WorldWacky]

Out of curiosity, and maybe it was posted elsewhere and I missed it, but did they do the same thing at the Fort beach that they have done at Poly and GF? Are the rocks and fence in place or just a fence?

Well, the rocks are on their way:

 

[WorldWacky]

 

[bama_ed]

Guess that's why the new layer of sand stopped a couple feet short of the rope fence. Stones gonna fill in that last few feet.

Those sites in 2100 look like 'tweeners. Not 18 feet wide like Premium sites but no tent pads like Full or Preferred. Wonder what they will call them?

Late to the party but you August folks got it going. Steve, that picture of you coming down the slide is EXACTLY how I imagined you.

Bama Ed

PS - and yes, Hilda was for many years in the last site in 700 loop and moved to another loop a few years ago. But there are other full time Fort residents (as in they are there something like 11 months a year if you want to call that full time - although I know one who leaves to explore Florida for a week or two at a time - but they come back and resume residency)

 

[WorldWacky]

Guess that's why the new layer of sand stopped a couple feet short of the rope fence. Stones gonna fill in that last few feet.

Those sites in 2100 look like 'tweeners. Not 18 feet wide like Premium sites but no tent pads like Full or Preferred. Wonder what they will call them?

Late to the party but you August folks got it going. Steve, that picture of you coming down the slide is EXACTLY how I imagined you.

Bama Ed

PS - and yes, Hilda was for many years in the last site in 700 loop and moved to another loop a few years ago. But there are other full time Fort residents (as in they are there something like 11 months a year if you want to call that full time - although I know one who leaves to explore Florida for a week or two at a time - but they come back and resume residency)

I was actually just speaking to concierge today and asked what the 2100s will be and she said Full.

 

[JETS70]

It's a sad day.......heading home........but we had an awesome last full day at MK yesterday . We always like to finish up a trip to WDW with a go on Space Mountain. For some reason, last night was a walk on night for many of the rides. Most were only 15 to 20 minutes.

WorldWacky (Sharon), it was good meeting you. We hope you have a great rest of the trip and safe travels back to Long Island.
Ed, I have to be honest.........I'm usually not that graceful.
We also had an opportunity to go by and say goodbye until October to Hilda and Stephanie. Hilda told us the other night that she chooses to stay at the Fort with her daughter because of the kind of people campers are. I have to agree........
Just a couple of pics as I bow out of the August trip report and will now become a spectator.
Our campsite 1203

A couple from last night at MK

Love the colors of Tomorrowland at night.
I always like to throw in a panoramic.

And one of our favorite places to eat.........we are actually here right now as I am writing this waiting on a deep dish pizza. Life is good!!

 

[amcc]

We arrive in 4 days! We will be visiting the parks while we are there and hope to make it to EMH at MK one morning. This is a quick trip for us so we won't have bikes and no rental golf cart. EMH starts at 8 - will the buses be running to get us to the Marina early enough? I believe the resort boat is the one that starts earlier, hopefully early enough to get me to MK by 8. I'm hoping that IF the buses start a 7, we get on a boat by 7:20, and then walk to the MK (not sure if monorail will be quicker to grab or if walking is quicker), we should be at security by about 8, if all goes as planned. If anyone has any transportation thoughts about my plans, please let me know as this is the one thing that is stressing me out a bit.

We've stayed often at FW but have never gone to the parks while there. We usually travel with ALOT of things to make our campsite comfortable but we are trying to simplify this time - no EZ UP tent, no bikes, no refrigerator, no fans - since we don't plan on being there much time at all. Let's see how it goes. We are sized out of all the value and moderate resorts (family of 6) and the price to stay at the Fort is just so much more appealing...

 

[tiggerdad]

Great pics guys, Jets70, you be careful on the way home.