des1954
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2007
- Messages
- 7,329
We managed to take a spur of the moment 10 day trip to the Fort (10/14 - 10/24). The weather was great & I was surprised at how busy the Fort was for this time of year.
I spoke with several cast members about the "impending" changes and received varied answers - depending on who I spoke with. Choose the one(s) you like the best:
Everyone agreed that River Country was going to be leveled. What was going in its place was up for grabs. Choices include:
Large food court extending out onto Bay Lake. (This made sense because there were stakes with flags out in the water.)
Some sort of DVC venue.
Parking lot.
One Cast Member (the guy who picks up garbage on the beach) was the most informative. He said that in addition to the food court, there was going to be a DVC camping section between FtW & WL. These sites would all be water view, about as big as the premium sites, would have upgraded utility hook up stations with lights. There will be approximately 100 sites. The food court restaurant will have a large parking area so that HDDR & MBYBBQ guests and food court guests will have someplace to park besides the main lot. He also said that Trails End would be turned into a large gift shop/market. Now, he told me something quite disturbing. The Settlement Trading Post was going to be history. MBYBBQ was indeed, moving to behind the 100/200 loops along the lake. He said that the 300 loop was going to be leveled and that is where the pavilion and all the ancillary facilities were going to be built. I don't like this. I don't like this at all.
The TCD Ranch was going to be leveled, in addition to the current MBYBBQ & that is where the new parking lot is going. TCD Ranch will be re-built where the old kennel sits.
Josephine and Paulette knew nothing about any changes.
Two Settlement Trading Posts CM's knew about the DVC & MBYBBQ being relocated, but heard nothing else.
One boat launch captain also concurred hearing about a new DVC & MBYBBQ being relocated, and the new food court & parking lot.
I didn't ride any buses, so didn't get to quiz the drivers.
The guy picking up the garbage was the most informative of all. Once he started talking, he just spilled all he knew.
My brain just kept registering "Food Court"!
Oh...and there is a new lunch menu at Trail's End. It's an actual order off the menu fare and no longer a buffet. While I didn't eat there, Josephine did give me a menu to look at. The prices were reasonable ranging from about $10 - $14. This will be something of interest when we go biking at the Fort in the future.
The GC path and the "Wilderness Woods" between the 100 loop and settlement area are safe for the time being. No one knew anything about any construction in this area.
So, there you have it. I didn't go snooping around like TCD does, so I don't have any "construction" pictures to post. I do have some pictures of decorations which I will post later in a separate thread.
I spoke with several cast members about the "impending" changes and received varied answers - depending on who I spoke with. Choose the one(s) you like the best:
Everyone agreed that River Country was going to be leveled. What was going in its place was up for grabs. Choices include:
Large food court extending out onto Bay Lake. (This made sense because there were stakes with flags out in the water.)
Some sort of DVC venue.
Parking lot.
One Cast Member (the guy who picks up garbage on the beach) was the most informative. He said that in addition to the food court, there was going to be a DVC camping section between FtW & WL. These sites would all be water view, about as big as the premium sites, would have upgraded utility hook up stations with lights. There will be approximately 100 sites. The food court restaurant will have a large parking area so that HDDR & MBYBBQ guests and food court guests will have someplace to park besides the main lot. He also said that Trails End would be turned into a large gift shop/market. Now, he told me something quite disturbing. The Settlement Trading Post was going to be history. MBYBBQ was indeed, moving to behind the 100/200 loops along the lake. He said that the 300 loop was going to be leveled and that is where the pavilion and all the ancillary facilities were going to be built. I don't like this. I don't like this at all.
The TCD Ranch was going to be leveled, in addition to the current MBYBBQ & that is where the new parking lot is going. TCD Ranch will be re-built where the old kennel sits.
Josephine and Paulette knew nothing about any changes.
Two Settlement Trading Posts CM's knew about the DVC & MBYBBQ being relocated, but heard nothing else.
One boat launch captain also concurred hearing about a new DVC & MBYBBQ being relocated, and the new food court & parking lot.
I didn't ride any buses, so didn't get to quiz the drivers.
The guy picking up the garbage was the most informative of all. Once he started talking, he just spilled all he knew.
My brain just kept registering "Food Court"!
Oh...and there is a new lunch menu at Trail's End. It's an actual order off the menu fare and no longer a buffet. While I didn't eat there, Josephine did give me a menu to look at. The prices were reasonable ranging from about $10 - $14. This will be something of interest when we go biking at the Fort in the future.
The GC path and the "Wilderness Woods" between the 100 loop and settlement area are safe for the time being. No one knew anything about any construction in this area.
So, there you have it. I didn't go snooping around like TCD does, so I don't have any "construction" pictures to post. I do have some pictures of decorations which I will post later in a separate thread.
)
But, he did paint an illustrious picture of what's happening at the Fort. Who knows....stranger things have happened. I still like the Food Court on the water idea, the best!!
Security went through twice that I know of, and not a word was said.
) said that they saw otters running across their site and on to the 1900 loop and the drainage culvert. THAT would have been a perfect vacation had I seen otters running through my site! (we need an otter smiley) Instead, I had Stacktester running through my site.
I didn't see any other "ears", but I know of at least one other disboard (not Fiend) person who was there. Go look at DaveInTn's TR & you will find a picture of Dave and Donnie in front of Tom Foolery's site. I was a witness to the shenanigans!
