Friday, October 14th (continued)
We had been forewarned by many experienced folks here on the Dis to leave ourselves plenty of time to drive to Fort Wilderness. Not only would we have actual commuting time from Cypress Palms to the Fort, but we would also have to take internal transportation once we arrived from the parking area at the Outpost Depot to the Trail’s End restaurant at the Settlement Depot. Even though our dinner ADR wasn’t until 6:50 pm, we decided to head out at 5 o’clock. With this being our first visit to Fort Wilderness, we knew we’d have lots to explore and to keep us busy if we happened to be more efficient than we anticipated.
Finding the resort was easy enough (though we can’t help but wonder how people fared before GPS’s were introduced to the mass public), and the drive from our resort was much shorter than we expected
. We arrived in very good time, and I think it took us longer to find an available parking space in the lot than it did to commute from Cypress Palms
. Parking, it turned out, was quite the challenge.
Once we finally found a space in the furthest reaches of the lot, we made our way past the Tri Circle D Ranch and toward the bus stop to wait for the next shuttle.
Our timing must have been such that we JUST missed grabbing a bus, because it did seem to take quite a while before the Purple Line bus pulled up for a fresh load of passengers. It was a nice night out, though, so the wait for transportation was quite pleasant.
Once on the purple line bus, we began our journey to the Settlement Depot, and we learned just how big the Fort Wilderness campground really was. It was MUCH larger than I anticipated it would be, and I now understand why they need a bus system to ferry campers from place to place. While I’m no fan of camping myself (the Days Hotel in Buffalo is as “roughing it” as it gets for this girl
), the campground seemed clean and well organized, though I was kind of surprised there was only one pool area for that entire resort.
Disembarking at the Settlement Depot, we took note of the time and confirmed we had a little bit of time to kill before checking in for our dinner reservation. We took our time strolling through the area, admiring the western-themed buildings all crafted in Disney-detailed perfection.
I was excited to see Pioneer Hall in person, as we had reservations for Hoop Dee Doo for our December trip. That was a big Disney Bucket List item for me, and I couldn’t wait to finally enjoy Orlando’s longest-running dinner show in a couple of months.
I was also pretty jazzed up to see the horse and carriage driver clip-clopping softly around the circle. The sound of the horse’s hooves on the pavement is strangely captivating…….almost hypnotic.
We walked over to the Settlement Trading Post, and browsed their selection of Disney merchandise and grocery section. I was actually kind of surprised at how small the Trading Post was inside…..the Vistana’s general store feels like its triple the size. But, I suppose it had the basics (including a nice selection of Mickey ears, one of which I was almost tempted to buy) so it did the job. I suspect that serious campers made a trip to Walmart or Publix before arriving, though.
We check in for our reservation, was given our pager, and settled into a couple of rocking chairs to wait for our chance to be seated. There were a LOT of people milling about, and numerous people coming in and out of Trail’s End as the minutes ticked slowly by and our reservation time came and went with the pager still silent in Steve’s lap. We were just discussing our mutual concern that we might not have enough time to properly enjoy dinner before we had to meet the driver for our 8:30 pm carriage ride when the pager finally went off and we returned to the podium to be seated by the greeter.
Inside the restaurant it was all campy and rustic, which we both thought was incredibly charming. Our drink orders were taken by the most wonderful server: a sweet old gent that made us feel like we were having supper at Grandpa’s house. He invited us to go up and enjoy as much as we liked from the buffet and assured us that our beverages would be waiting for us when we returned with our meals. He told us to make sure we tried the cornbread, because it was the best he’s ever tasted…..so with our tummies sufficiently rumbling with the smell of meat permeating the air, we did exactly as he recommended and swiftly moved to the end of the buffet line.
Steve was instantly in meatatarian heaven: an unlimited bounty of fried chicken, ribs, ham, pulled pork, beef, and a hearty array of sides lay stretched out before him. We were quite impressed by the selection on the buffet, especially considering the price: this was a “cheap” meal by Disney dining standards. With our plates loaded full, we made one additional brief stop for a slice of corn bread each and then returned to our table: and as promised, our strawberry lemonades were ready and waiting for us.
If this meal earns any criticism at all, it’s that all the foods were stick-to-your-ribs filling, which meant I had to be selective as to what I took because there’s only so much stomach capacity to be utilized. That said, EVERY item we sampled was absolutely delicious: and the cornbread was simply out of this world. Neither of us are huge cornbread lovers to begin with, but the Trail’s End version left us drooling. I think I could have made a meal on that and the baked beans alone. So. Very. Good. I also have to highlight the cuteness factor of the mac ‘n cheese. The wagon wheel pasta was oh-so-adorable.
Steve returned to the buffet line several times, and made a valiant effort to try at least a little bit of everything. While the meats were obviously his favourite aspects of the meal, he was very much impressed by the taste and quality of every item, including the soups and sides.
Our keen eyes had caught sight of the delectable dessert buffet (how could we NOT have noticed?) so we made sure to save some room to enjoy a dessert or two after we had finished our main meal. Trail’s End offered a mouthwatering selection of fresh cookies and squares in addition to strawberry shortcake that was to DIE for and a create-your-own sundae bar with kid (and big kid) friendly toppings. They also had hot apple crisp that was the surprise hit of the night for me. It tasted as close to homemade as any restaurant apple crisp could ever get, and it left me wishing I could smuggle a bowl into my purse to enjoy while we rode through the campground in our buggy.
Once dessert had been fully enjoyed and we were so full we seriously couldn’t have taken another bite if we tried, we covered our bill and saw that it was nearly time to meet our horse and driver at the designated meeting area just a few steps from the restaurant. While we had been concerned that being sat late for our ADR might cut our dinner time short, it actually turned out to be virtually perfect timing: on our way out of the restaurant, we made a quick stop to freshen up in the restrooms and proceeded directly to our carriage ride where our driver was waiting with our chauffeur for the evening, Porter.
We had booked the private carriage ride in advance of our visit, so the cost for the activity was paid in full (including the tip) in advance of our arrival. We had debated the $45 thirty-minute carriage ride against the $8 per person hay ride for quite some time before booking, but ultimately having the carriage to ourselves felt like it would be worth the additional $29 charge. I do want to enjoy the hay ride on a future visit someday too, though.
Our driver introduced us to our horse, allowed us the opportunity for a few photos, and then we hopped up into the buggy and were on our way. We had been SO looking forward to snuggling up together in the carriage while we enjoyed the fresh, autumn air and the Halloween light displays carefully erected at the campsites by a myriad of Fort Wilderness guests in the comfy solitude of the carriage. It sounded like the most peaceful way we could think of to end our first full day in Orlando.
Well, it was a nice thought
.
Turns out our driver didn’t get the memo that we were seeking a tranquil experience. While she was very nice, she was also VERY talkative: she kept up a steady (and rather loud) stream of conversation for the entire half-hour ride. She scolded Porter (way too often, quite honestly…..it seemed that poor horse couldn’t do anything right
), she asked us questions, she talked about the weather, she prattled on about little Fort Wilderness facts [which would have been interesting if she hadn’t been talking non-stop about any other topic that sprang into her head] …. there was so much conversation, it was absolutely exhausting
. It also totally altered the dynamics of what should have been our “romantic” evening activity. Now, don’t get me wrong…we still had a good time. The campground Halloween displays were incredible (so many of them!!) and we couldn’t have asked for a nicer weather night. But oh, how that woman talked too much: and that’s sayin’ something coming from me, because I am generally one to enjoy a good amount of chatter. I guess it was the fact that she was so consistently annoyed with that poor horse that was hardest to stomach. I can only imagine he was tired of hearing her prattle away constantly, too
.
We had thought about staying at the Fort a little longer to watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks from the beach, but we were weary from our long day of travel (that 4 am wake-up call had finally started to catch up with us) and the big meal sitting heavily in our stomachs was just intensifying the tiredness. We decided to catch a bus back to the Outpost and make our way back to Cypress Palms.
Arriving back at the resort, we experienced our first of what would be many frustrations with parking at Cypress Palms past 8 pm: there was hardly a spot to be had when we pulled into the parking lot just after 9:45 pm. We eventually found an empty space nearly building 9
and walked all the way back to our villa in building 2. While the extra walk was probably beneficial after what we ate for dinner, it was maddening nonetheless.
On a high note, the resort was marvelously quiet and the bed was surprisingly comfy so we enjoyed a rejuvenating and restful night’s sleep. Tomorrow, we had plans for a full day at SeaWorld, and we’d need as much energy as we could muster to fully enjoy our first time at their Halloween Spooktacular.
Next up: SeaWorld, Halloween-style!
. Fire the photographer! 
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. I hope your screen repair wasn't too pricey!
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. It was the one big thing that really let Steve down about our MGV stay.
aboard.....so happy to have you back and joining in with us once again!
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I was going to message you on Facebook and tell you to come on over 
I knew you'd understand. And I don't think I ever did give my review of the chocolate treasures that were hiding quietly under neath that silver lid. For the record, they were delish. I made a point of staying away from the Activities Center thereafter so I didn't overdose on chocolate brownies 
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. We had both been praying for your mom, and for you. 
