DaveInTN
I'm Not The Castle Guy
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2008
- Messages
- 2,922
We enjoyed 6 nights at the Fort this past week, arriving on Sunday afternoon after spending night one on the road at Eagles Roost campground near Valdosta, GA. Valdosta was a nice stop for us, although driving through GA last Saturday as they received 10 inches of rain was a challenge! 
However, our MH (The Holiday Road) handled well and we made it to the Fort unscathed, at around 1pm Sunday.
I should point out that this trip was somewhat unplanned, in that I found out several weeks ago that I needed to make a business trip to Orlando. Knowing that my employer would cover the expenses, I figured why not bring the family, drive the MH and make a little vacation out of it? The Fort is cheaper than the Marriott, so what the heck! It worked out great and didn't cost me much out of pocket. We didn't even do any parks. So, we decided to splurge for one big expense...which I'll get to later.
We were assigned site 517...perfect for us as 500 loop is our favorite. Our site was right across from the CS walkway, which was convenient. We really enjoyed this location for access to the Settlement area as well, as it's just a quick stroll or bike ride if you head out the back way via the CS walkway.
I spent Sunday afternoon checking out the pool progress and 600 loop construction, which I posted on last week. It was fun playing TCD Deputy for a brief spell until the real TCD showed up mid-week. One of the highlights on my trip was meeting TCD. I had hoped to run into Stacktester but no such luck.
Monday thru Wednesday were work days for me (boo!)...but I can't complain. I finished up my work by 4:00 Wednesday, so got to enjoy Thursday and Friday with my family. My DW and DD's spent most of the day while I worked at the WL pool. They really like this pool, and enjoy the access to counter service at RF for lunch and snacks.
My wife had the grilled chicken salad with apples and walnuts for lunch 4 straight days! The Fort would be a lot better IMHO if we had something like Roaring Forks, but we've beat that topic to death on the boards so I won't go into that any more. It sounds like we are getting some expanded options at the Meadows Snack Bar, so I'll hope for the best.
After I got home from work on Wednesday, we took the bus over to DTD for dinner. I had heard such good things about Earl of Sandwich, so we decided to give that a try. DW and I split the Caprese sandwich, and the roast beef with horseradish sauce. I highly recommend both of these! The best part is, all 6 of us ate for less than my daily dinner allowance from work when I travel, so it didn't cost me anything! (I know, I'm beginning to sound cheap, but you gotta save a buck when you can...) For desert, we tried out the Goofy Candy Co. We each did the build your own thing where you pick pretzels, rice krispy treat, cookies or such and then pick your chocolate dip and toppings. I had the pretzels with chocolate and peanuts...yum!
I highly recommend this place too, and if you are doing DDP they consider this a snack I believe.
Thursday, we spent the morning thru lunch time at the WL pool. We rode the bikes over. After a bit of a rest in the afternoon, we headed over to the Beach Club for dinner. This is where the trip took a turn toward the glutonous! We all had cheeseburgers at Beaches and Cream. They were pretty tasty, and the fries were good too. I was stuffed....but I said it turned glutonous, not just merely satisfying. We were having a great time, enjoying the surroundings and the moment, so we thought "what the heck". We ordered the Kitchen Sink! If you haven't seen it, it's a giant sundae served in a dish that looks like a sink. Ice cream, brownies, cookies, angel food cake, every topping imaginable, and a whole can of whipped cream! And yes, we finished it.
My little one enjoyed it.
After that we needed to walk a bit, so we strolled over the the Boardwalk. Really enjoyed the live entertainers they have there, such as magicians, jugglers and such. That was a ton of fun, and we hung around just long enough to catch some of the EPCOT fireworks from the bridge between the Boardwalk and the Beach Club. Then, we scurried back to the Fort in time for the Electical Water Pageant on the beach! Gotta love Disney!
Friday was our last day at the Fort, and we decided we wanted to check out the AKL. Had never been there, and they were talking about it the night before on one of the dozens of Disney channels to give you on their cable system.
Anyways...we rode the bus to DTD to change over to the AKL bus. It took almost an hour to get there, but we were excited to check out the animals on the savanah, and to grab a bite in one of their restaurants. Well...not to dis the hotel for those that like it; it's just not our thing. The animals were way off in the distance, and we couldn't really see anything we can't see at our local zoo. So, we figured we'd just grab a bite. The two main restaurants seemed very nice but pricey for lunch, so we went downstairs to the CS place. The menu was a bit different. Falafel? I don't think so. I prefer my fava beans with a nice chianti. Anyways, when my little one said she needed to leave this place, we took her advice. Hopped a bus to MK, where we switched to the WL bus and were back at RF in record time! DW got her salad, and I had chili. Much more my speed! But Friday was not all lost...as we had a special treat lined up for that evening! Earlier I mentioned that we splurged on one thing....That's right...HDDR!!!
I had called a couple weeks ago to see if they had any openings. Not only did they, but I snagged a Category 1 table! And not only that, but when we checked in, we had a table RIGHT NEXT TO THE STAGE!! Unbelievable! We had done the HDDR once before in the balcony, but this was so much better. We were literally a part of the action.
This was taken from my seat!
Finally, I want to share a picture of the six of us taken right after the HDDR. We were all wearing our Musket Mickey tshirts that we made from one of BigDaddyRog's designs. Rog, I have to thank you again for sharing these. We got SO many remarks, in particular from cast members. We had lots of fun with it. My girls' pink shirts even got a remark during the HDDR itself from Six Bits! Awesome!
Just one other random picture to share, one that sums up for me what is so special about the Fort. Where else in the world would my 9 and 3 year old DD's stop long enough to sit and enjoy checkers? My 3 YO didn't really get the game...but it's the simplicity that life takes on when you are there that I love. No iPod, no Nintendo DS....checkers!
Well, that's our trip. We closed things up with fireworks from the beach before turning in for some sleep in preparation for the early morning departure. Sorry for being so long winded, and thanks for reading!
However, our MH (The Holiday Road) handled well and we made it to the Fort unscathed, at around 1pm Sunday.I should point out that this trip was somewhat unplanned, in that I found out several weeks ago that I needed to make a business trip to Orlando. Knowing that my employer would cover the expenses, I figured why not bring the family, drive the MH and make a little vacation out of it? The Fort is cheaper than the Marriott, so what the heck! It worked out great and didn't cost me much out of pocket. We didn't even do any parks. So, we decided to splurge for one big expense...which I'll get to later.
We were assigned site 517...perfect for us as 500 loop is our favorite. Our site was right across from the CS walkway, which was convenient. We really enjoyed this location for access to the Settlement area as well, as it's just a quick stroll or bike ride if you head out the back way via the CS walkway.
I spent Sunday afternoon checking out the pool progress and 600 loop construction, which I posted on last week. It was fun playing TCD Deputy for a brief spell until the real TCD showed up mid-week. One of the highlights on my trip was meeting TCD. I had hoped to run into Stacktester but no such luck.
Monday thru Wednesday were work days for me (boo!)...but I can't complain. I finished up my work by 4:00 Wednesday, so got to enjoy Thursday and Friday with my family. My DW and DD's spent most of the day while I worked at the WL pool. They really like this pool, and enjoy the access to counter service at RF for lunch and snacks.
My wife had the grilled chicken salad with apples and walnuts for lunch 4 straight days! The Fort would be a lot better IMHO if we had something like Roaring Forks, but we've beat that topic to death on the boards so I won't go into that any more. It sounds like we are getting some expanded options at the Meadows Snack Bar, so I'll hope for the best.
After I got home from work on Wednesday, we took the bus over to DTD for dinner. I had heard such good things about Earl of Sandwich, so we decided to give that a try. DW and I split the Caprese sandwich, and the roast beef with horseradish sauce. I highly recommend both of these! The best part is, all 6 of us ate for less than my daily dinner allowance from work when I travel, so it didn't cost me anything! (I know, I'm beginning to sound cheap, but you gotta save a buck when you can...) For desert, we tried out the Goofy Candy Co. We each did the build your own thing where you pick pretzels, rice krispy treat, cookies or such and then pick your chocolate dip and toppings. I had the pretzels with chocolate and peanuts...yum!
I highly recommend this place too, and if you are doing DDP they consider this a snack I believe.Thursday, we spent the morning thru lunch time at the WL pool. We rode the bikes over. After a bit of a rest in the afternoon, we headed over to the Beach Club for dinner. This is where the trip took a turn toward the glutonous! We all had cheeseburgers at Beaches and Cream. They were pretty tasty, and the fries were good too. I was stuffed....but I said it turned glutonous, not just merely satisfying. We were having a great time, enjoying the surroundings and the moment, so we thought "what the heck". We ordered the Kitchen Sink! If you haven't seen it, it's a giant sundae served in a dish that looks like a sink. Ice cream, brownies, cookies, angel food cake, every topping imaginable, and a whole can of whipped cream! And yes, we finished it.
My little one enjoyed it.
After that we needed to walk a bit, so we strolled over the the Boardwalk. Really enjoyed the live entertainers they have there, such as magicians, jugglers and such. That was a ton of fun, and we hung around just long enough to catch some of the EPCOT fireworks from the bridge between the Boardwalk and the Beach Club. Then, we scurried back to the Fort in time for the Electical Water Pageant on the beach! Gotta love Disney!
Friday was our last day at the Fort, and we decided we wanted to check out the AKL. Had never been there, and they were talking about it the night before on one of the dozens of Disney channels to give you on their cable system.
Anyways...we rode the bus to DTD to change over to the AKL bus. It took almost an hour to get there, but we were excited to check out the animals on the savanah, and to grab a bite in one of their restaurants. Well...not to dis the hotel for those that like it; it's just not our thing. The animals were way off in the distance, and we couldn't really see anything we can't see at our local zoo. So, we figured we'd just grab a bite. The two main restaurants seemed very nice but pricey for lunch, so we went downstairs to the CS place. The menu was a bit different. Falafel? I don't think so. I prefer my fava beans with a nice chianti. Anyways, when my little one said she needed to leave this place, we took her advice. Hopped a bus to MK, where we switched to the WL bus and were back at RF in record time! DW got her salad, and I had chili. Much more my speed! But Friday was not all lost...as we had a special treat lined up for that evening! Earlier I mentioned that we splurged on one thing....That's right...HDDR!!!I had called a couple weeks ago to see if they had any openings. Not only did they, but I snagged a Category 1 table! And not only that, but when we checked in, we had a table RIGHT NEXT TO THE STAGE!! Unbelievable! We had done the HDDR once before in the balcony, but this was so much better. We were literally a part of the action.
This was taken from my seat!
Finally, I want to share a picture of the six of us taken right after the HDDR. We were all wearing our Musket Mickey tshirts that we made from one of BigDaddyRog's designs. Rog, I have to thank you again for sharing these. We got SO many remarks, in particular from cast members. We had lots of fun with it. My girls' pink shirts even got a remark during the HDDR itself from Six Bits! Awesome!
Just one other random picture to share, one that sums up for me what is so special about the Fort. Where else in the world would my 9 and 3 year old DD's stop long enough to sit and enjoy checkers? My 3 YO didn't really get the game...but it's the simplicity that life takes on when you are there that I love. No iPod, no Nintendo DS....checkers!
Well, that's our trip. We closed things up with fireworks from the beach before turning in for some sleep in preparation for the early morning departure. Sorry for being so long winded, and thanks for reading!
Thanks for sharing, glad you enjoyed your trip.
