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<font color=peach>Throwing some love to TCD<br><fo
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- Nov 29, 2004
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Who wants to hear about this years new Hayride?
If you do, then please continue. Be warned, this post will contain SPOILERS!
If you prefer to be surprised, then stop reading now.
WARNING- SPOILERS
If you want the whole story, then here we go.
Note, it is dark out there on the ride. Most of these photos were taken during the day during a secret surveillance mission.
So, I think that most of you have heard that this year, the theme has been changed from the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, to Vineland . . . Mystery, Magic or Myth?
Here is a photo of one of the promotional signs near Pioneer Hall:
The Hayride route is completely different, as is the entire presentation.
Here is how it goes. . . .
First, tickets can now be purchased in advance by calling the Ft. Wilderness Kennel. This is a huge improvement over years past, where tickets could only be purchased on the day of. This meant if you couldnt get to the Kennel by about 8 or 9 am, you would not be going on a hayride that night.
As you can see on the sign photo above, there will be hayrides every night from the 25th through Halloween night.
Here is what the tickets look like:
As stated on the ticket, you report to near the blacksmith shop to begin your ride. This is just to the south of the petting zoo, near the horse barn. Our FW friends have re-purposed a bus stop there to become Vineland Station:
The blacksmith shop itself is also decorated, with large poster sized photos of pioneer times in Florida. There is an old map there that shows where Vineland was:
At the appointed time, a wagon drives up, and you hand over your ticket to load:
After loading up, the driver starts speaking over an amplified headset to tell you that you will be taking a trip through what used to be Vineland. Just before you are about to leave the station, the Cast member hostess states: Oh, I almost forgot, someone asked if you could drop this chest off at the Settlement. She then carries a large wooden box out to the wagon:
The hostess says that she has the key, and that we must take it with us. A volunteer is asked to hold the key. He or she is told to not give the key to anyone, under any circumstances, until we reach the Settlement.
The driver complains that if we have to go to the Settlement, that means we will have to go down Old Woods Road! She hates Old Woods Road- it is spooky!
So, we are off! As we travel, the driver begins to tell us the story of Vineland. It was settled in the early 1800s with only 49 residents. The residents tried to grow grapes-hence the name of the town. That did not turn out so well, and some of the people turned to cattle. One family, the Trents, turned to cattle rustling. The family had four members, Mom and Dad, who were Annie and Warren Trent, and a son, Tobias, and a daughter, Mary Beth. They all ended up dead and buried in the towns cemetery. Not a whole lot of details about how that happened, but they are the only folks that ever got buried in the cemetery. Well, times were tough, and the towns school and hotel burned down, and everyone moved away, so all that is left is the cemetery. Oh, by the way, we will have to go by it on our way to the Settlement. What a coincidence!
The wagon heads down Big Pine Drive toward the 300 loop. We turn in to the 300 loop. Down we go past campers, many of whom have great Halloween decorations. The riders are amazed. The driver asks how many folks are staying here at the camp ground? We were the only ones on the wagon! So, that is why it is hard to get tickets, word has gotten out!
As we come toward the back of the 300 loop, right by site 328, we turn down the little dirt road there. You campers will remember that this is the entrance to the pet walk area.
As we turn the corner, and head toward Bay Lake, we see this:
We drive over the bridge.
A woman dressed in 1800s era clothing comes running up. What are we doing on her property! Go away! The driver says we are just going to the Settlement. The woman approaches, says she is Annie Trent, and this is her familys property, and we are trespassing. Go away! She tells us that her husband and son are out looking for her daughter, Mary Beth, who is lost somewhere. She jumps up on the wagon, sees the box, and asks if anyone has the key. We all say no. We can see that her makeup makes her look like a zombie. She says get out of here. The drivers asks, cant we just cut through, she says OK, and waives us on.
We head toward Bay Lake, we continue on the path out to the water, and drive a little ways along the lake. Here is a photo of the path:
All of a sudden, out of nowhere comes a man on a horse! He is dressed like an old cowboy. He is quite a talented rider. He runs circles around the wagon at very high speed, banging on the sides with his hands, telling us to get out. Presumably this is Warren Trent. The driver says enough of this, lets go. So we head back toward the bridge-lets just get out of here! We now find that the bridge has been blocked by a barricade, presumably put up by Annie Trent, who is now nowhere to be found.
Here is a coral that is back by the lake. They must keep the horses here while waiting for each wagon to come by:
Well, we have no choice; we have to go down Old Woods Road to the Settlement. Here is what we go by:
See the coffin? There is an old rag doll in there. This must by Mary Beths. Remember this for later.
So, we head down the trail, we see cow skulls:
Skeletons:
An abandoned garden:
It is dark. We hear horse hooves approaching. We see a figure on a horse approaching from behind us. It looks like Annie Trent. Suddenly, from another path Warren pops out on his horse again, and rides around us. Give me the key! He yells!
We continue on.
We see this crashed buggy. And the rag doll again:
Then to our right is a clearing filled with fog. A demented looking man (Tobias Trent, I presume?) jumps from the fog up onto the wagon. He sees the box, and wants the key. Annie and Warren continue to ride around. We keep going. This is the clearing area:
A sheriff type character appears. He is Mr. Johnson. He boards our wagon. What is all the screaming he has been hearing? We tell him about the Trents. He says it cant be, they have been dead for 200 years. The Trents suddenly appear, and go through the banging on the wagon routine demanding the key. We all say to Mr. Johnson- see there they are! He says he doesnt see or hear anything, we must be crazy!
Here are a couple photos of the Trent boys:
We continue on, and exit the trail right by the Settlement Trading Post; we drive up to Crocketts Tavern, where we stop. Mr. Johnson says, oh, thanks for bringing me my box. Who has the key? The key is produced. He opens the box, reaches in, and says, what the . . . .? It is Mary Beths doll! How did that get in here?
We are told to disembark, which we do. There is also candy in the box, and we each get to take a piece as we exit.
Well, I think that covers it.
Overall, I would say that this was a great experience. Lots of fun, and not too scary.
We will do it again next year, for sure.
Let me know if you have any questions I failed to cover.
TCD
If you do, then please continue. Be warned, this post will contain SPOILERS!
If you prefer to be surprised, then stop reading now.
WARNING- SPOILERS
If you want the whole story, then here we go.
Note, it is dark out there on the ride. Most of these photos were taken during the day during a secret surveillance mission.
So, I think that most of you have heard that this year, the theme has been changed from the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, to Vineland . . . Mystery, Magic or Myth?
Here is a photo of one of the promotional signs near Pioneer Hall:
The Hayride route is completely different, as is the entire presentation.
Here is how it goes. . . .
First, tickets can now be purchased in advance by calling the Ft. Wilderness Kennel. This is a huge improvement over years past, where tickets could only be purchased on the day of. This meant if you couldnt get to the Kennel by about 8 or 9 am, you would not be going on a hayride that night.
As you can see on the sign photo above, there will be hayrides every night from the 25th through Halloween night.
Here is what the tickets look like:
As stated on the ticket, you report to near the blacksmith shop to begin your ride. This is just to the south of the petting zoo, near the horse barn. Our FW friends have re-purposed a bus stop there to become Vineland Station:
The blacksmith shop itself is also decorated, with large poster sized photos of pioneer times in Florida. There is an old map there that shows where Vineland was:
At the appointed time, a wagon drives up, and you hand over your ticket to load:
After loading up, the driver starts speaking over an amplified headset to tell you that you will be taking a trip through what used to be Vineland. Just before you are about to leave the station, the Cast member hostess states: Oh, I almost forgot, someone asked if you could drop this chest off at the Settlement. She then carries a large wooden box out to the wagon:
The hostess says that she has the key, and that we must take it with us. A volunteer is asked to hold the key. He or she is told to not give the key to anyone, under any circumstances, until we reach the Settlement.
The driver complains that if we have to go to the Settlement, that means we will have to go down Old Woods Road! She hates Old Woods Road- it is spooky!
So, we are off! As we travel, the driver begins to tell us the story of Vineland. It was settled in the early 1800s with only 49 residents. The residents tried to grow grapes-hence the name of the town. That did not turn out so well, and some of the people turned to cattle. One family, the Trents, turned to cattle rustling. The family had four members, Mom and Dad, who were Annie and Warren Trent, and a son, Tobias, and a daughter, Mary Beth. They all ended up dead and buried in the towns cemetery. Not a whole lot of details about how that happened, but they are the only folks that ever got buried in the cemetery. Well, times were tough, and the towns school and hotel burned down, and everyone moved away, so all that is left is the cemetery. Oh, by the way, we will have to go by it on our way to the Settlement. What a coincidence!
The wagon heads down Big Pine Drive toward the 300 loop. We turn in to the 300 loop. Down we go past campers, many of whom have great Halloween decorations. The riders are amazed. The driver asks how many folks are staying here at the camp ground? We were the only ones on the wagon! So, that is why it is hard to get tickets, word has gotten out!
As we come toward the back of the 300 loop, right by site 328, we turn down the little dirt road there. You campers will remember that this is the entrance to the pet walk area.
As we turn the corner, and head toward Bay Lake, we see this:
We drive over the bridge.
A woman dressed in 1800s era clothing comes running up. What are we doing on her property! Go away! The driver says we are just going to the Settlement. The woman approaches, says she is Annie Trent, and this is her familys property, and we are trespassing. Go away! She tells us that her husband and son are out looking for her daughter, Mary Beth, who is lost somewhere. She jumps up on the wagon, sees the box, and asks if anyone has the key. We all say no. We can see that her makeup makes her look like a zombie. She says get out of here. The drivers asks, cant we just cut through, she says OK, and waives us on.
We head toward Bay Lake, we continue on the path out to the water, and drive a little ways along the lake. Here is a photo of the path:
All of a sudden, out of nowhere comes a man on a horse! He is dressed like an old cowboy. He is quite a talented rider. He runs circles around the wagon at very high speed, banging on the sides with his hands, telling us to get out. Presumably this is Warren Trent. The driver says enough of this, lets go. So we head back toward the bridge-lets just get out of here! We now find that the bridge has been blocked by a barricade, presumably put up by Annie Trent, who is now nowhere to be found.
Here is a coral that is back by the lake. They must keep the horses here while waiting for each wagon to come by:
Well, we have no choice; we have to go down Old Woods Road to the Settlement. Here is what we go by:
See the coffin? There is an old rag doll in there. This must by Mary Beths. Remember this for later.
So, we head down the trail, we see cow skulls:
Skeletons:
An abandoned garden:
It is dark. We hear horse hooves approaching. We see a figure on a horse approaching from behind us. It looks like Annie Trent. Suddenly, from another path Warren pops out on his horse again, and rides around us. Give me the key! He yells!
We continue on.
We see this crashed buggy. And the rag doll again:
Then to our right is a clearing filled with fog. A demented looking man (Tobias Trent, I presume?) jumps from the fog up onto the wagon. He sees the box, and wants the key. Annie and Warren continue to ride around. We keep going. This is the clearing area:
A sheriff type character appears. He is Mr. Johnson. He boards our wagon. What is all the screaming he has been hearing? We tell him about the Trents. He says it cant be, they have been dead for 200 years. The Trents suddenly appear, and go through the banging on the wagon routine demanding the key. We all say to Mr. Johnson- see there they are! He says he doesnt see or hear anything, we must be crazy!
Here are a couple photos of the Trent boys:
We continue on, and exit the trail right by the Settlement Trading Post; we drive up to Crocketts Tavern, where we stop. Mr. Johnson says, oh, thanks for bringing me my box. Who has the key? The key is produced. He opens the box, reaches in, and says, what the . . . .? It is Mary Beths doll! How did that get in here?
We are told to disembark, which we do. There is also candy in the box, and we each get to take a piece as we exit.
Well, I think that covers it.
Overall, I would say that this was a great experience. Lots of fun, and not too scary.
We will do it again next year, for sure.
Let me know if you have any questions I failed to cover.
TCD
