First FW Trip & Trip Report

[liv luvs disney]

Let me first say that I am exhausted after driving 10 hours from FL to TN. It will be a miracle if I am able to post my pictures, but being as I left the Fort a week ago, I am eager to get started sharing our experience.

We left Knoxville on Friday, 9/18, to spend the night with family in Atlanta so that we would have plenty of time to pack my parents' camper on Saturday for our Sunday morning departure to FW. I also wanted to ensure that we would be near a television so I could watch the TN/FL game while packing. Nothing exciting happened on our drive to Atlanta except it rained a lot and I am so used to driving through Atlanta that I forgot to get off the exit for my aunt and uncle's house. When I reached the airport, it occured to me that I was not driving to Florida that night. So, I turned around in the dark and heavy rain and drove back the 20 minutes I had overshot. This is us in the van on John Sevier Hwy before we got on 75 south.

Heavens to Betsy, my pictures are ginormous! I'll try to fix that...tomorrow.

So we got up Saturday morning and ate a big breakfast with my anut and uncle and got back on the interstate. It was a lot later than I had intended, but people are more important than schedules. We did not make it to my parents' house before the game actually started, but around Valdosta, we found a radio station that was broadcasting the game, so we were good to go. Gretchen and I were dressed in our UT attire and got strange looks at every stop we made. Gage would not wear his shirt because he was "embarassed" of the Vols! Of course we all know how that game turned out, but life goes on...It's just football for crying out loud.
This is my cousin's youngins and me.

They were in their FL t-shirts when I got there, but to irritate their mama, who is more like a baby sister to me, I took their shirts off. Of course I had to coax them with popsicles.

I only slept a few hours Saturday night; I was so excited about getting to the Fort. I went shopping at Wal-Mart around 6:00. Even though there were just a few of us lunatics in there at that hour, we still had to wait to check out because we all decided to check out at the same time. The lady behind me was huffing and puffing. I just smiled away 'cause I knew in just a few hours, I would be at the "happiest place on earth!"

En route, setting up, and resting after all the hard work.

My Dad went back home after he set us up. (party pooper) We headed over to Y&BC for some ice cream. We rented my Mom a scooter, but it would not arrive until Monday morning. It was very diffficult for her to get around. In fact, this little excursion took us nearly three hours. I didn't know that in order to get the No Way Jose, which was the reason we went to begin with, you had to dine in. Mom did well to get off the bus, so a No Way Jose was not on the menu for us. We left her on a bench at the bus stop and carried our "to go" ice cream back to her. These are just a few pics from that excursion.

That prettty much ended our first night. Gretchen and I showered in the lovely comfort stations while Mom and Gage showered in the camper, separately of course, and we called it a night.

 

[Born 2 Fish]

WELCOME home from your trip ! I'm sorry you had to come home,,but welcome back anyways.
Great pics,what a great look'n buncha Tennessee folk ! It sounds like the beginning of your trip was off to a good start.
So did ya'll love the Fort ??



If you have more pics, don't hold back ! (when ya get rest'd)

 

[bouncycat]

Yep, first day looks pretty good!! I know how it feels with your mom not being able to keep up, had that problem last month, and she was happy as a clam when she got her little electric scooter!!!

 

[liv luvs disney]

WELCOME home from your trip ! I'm sorry you had to come home,,but welcome back anyways.
Great pics,what a great look'n buncha Tennessee folk ! It sounds like the beginning of your trip was off to a good start.
So did ya'll love the Fort ??



If you have more pics, don't hold back ! (when ya get rest'd)

Yep, first day looks pretty good!! I know how it feels with your mom not being able to keep up, had that problem last month, and she was happy as a clam when she got her little electric scooter!!!

Thanks Frank for the sweet compliment. We absolutely LOVED the Fort. My parents have never "gotten" the Disney thing. But, when we left, they both said, "Next time we come, let's stay two weeks!" My Dad only stayed the last two nights we were there, so he must have really enjoyed himself. My Mom thinks every park needs a two day visit to get it all in and a day's rest in between. I took over 300 pictures, but I'll dare not post all of them, but more are definitely coming.

bouncycat, we simply could not have done this trip without the scooter! It was a life saver and my Mom was happy as a clam too when she got hers! We debated on a golf cart for months, but knew it wasn't going to help her get around the parks. It was not in the budget to do both, so she chose to just get the scooter and it worked out great. She was able to get around the Fort AND the parks in that thing.

 

[liv luvs disney]

Forgot to mention from Day one that the kids and I rode all over the Fort on our bikes and like the typical nimwit that I am, I forgot to bring my camera. Right off the bat, we saw a little gator and I couldn't take a picture! There was only one other time that I didn't have my camera with me because I forgot to charge the batteries and they were dead. That was MK day and again, it would prove to be a much needed camera day. I'll share about that later.

We got up early Monday morning to have a big ole breakfast before heading out to Epcot. The plan was the kids and I were to do our homeschool activities at the park, come back to the Fort for lunch, and head back over with Mom for her to experience Epcot. Well, I must have misread the time the activites were to start and we were too late. I mean we were late so they wouldn't let us participate. Our plan was still carried out though, minus the homeschool stuff.

For some reason, Spaceship Earth was momentarily stopped. Gretchen wasn't too happy about this.

The kids rode Mission Space by themselves; it makes me .

For 12 years I have happily driven a minivan, but when the kids are grown, I'm gettin' me a Cadillac CTS.

As planned, we went back to the fort for lunch and Mom (Grammy) came back to Epcot with us. This was her first "outing" on her scooter and she loved it. However, she made me get it on and off the buses. We experienced a lot of "firsts" on this trip. One being people's prejudices towards larger people on scooters. The redneck in me wanted to kick some rear ends. In fact, I did have words with two different individuals, but I won't share that experience here.

I am new to this photobucket thing. I did figure out to make the pictures smaller, but only by resizing each individual one. Being as that would take me all day, ya'll will just have deal with big pictures that are close enough to see leftover breakfast in our teeth, cavities, boogers, wrinkles, etc. Sorry!

 

[mouseketeer_mom]

Oh, I'm in! I can't wait to hear more.

 

[bouncycat]

Great update!! I can TOTALLY understand people looking down on your mom....they didn't look down on us, that I noticed. My mom looks like 20 years older then she is with the white hair and all, plus we had another wheelchair with us on one day....so it was a double whammy. My aunt that came over for the day LOOKS like she's handicapped, and can't transfer out of it at all. My sister who was with us was one of the "scooter critics" and didn't see that mom was having alot more fun IN the scooter, then out of it. So who cares what people think, if the person IN the chair has a better time in it, that's the ONLY thing that matters, people don't understand the why's someone is in it, they just see what's on the outside, and that's what makes me mad about people getting on to other people in chairs. Having an invisible disability myself, it just strikes a nerve with me!! But, I don't need a chair....YET!!

Rant over, GREAT update!!!! Love your smiling children!!

 

[Born 2 Fish]

I love your reports,,okay,,ready for day 3,
As for the scooter thing,,well, I don't go to church so I can say it, "Screw them people!" I have dayz right now when I could sure use a scooter, and when the time comes it won't bother me a bit either,,I'll gladly mix words with some of them morons, But folk in Tennessee do tend to let the redneck out if someone wants ta scrapple.
Your moms a smart cookie,,I agree with the two dayz in park anna free day in between.
So glad everyone hadda great time.

 

[LONE-STAR]

Keep the pics coming.

 

[stacktester]

I noticed the tag on your dads camper has Baker County on it. They must be Macclenny folk. The trip looks like a blast. We go to the fort a lot but it's always fun to see what other people enjoy that we take advantage of.

 

[DaveInTN]

Lovin it so far! Keep it coming....and I see no reason why you can't post all 300 pics! Make TCD proud....

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Lovin it so far! Keep it coming....and I see no reason why you can't post all 300 pics! Make TCD proud....

Speaking of TCD.

My name is TCD, and I approve of this trip report!

Seriously, you are doing great so far!

300 pics is nothing. I say go for it.

I am impressed already with Gage. He refused to wear a Tennessee t-shirt because he was embarrassed of Tennessee, but then he rocked his Eat, Sleep, Hunt shirt. Good man! This kid is going to go far in life!

TCD

 

[mrsscooter]

I too love the pics.....keep 'em coming my friend! We leave in a few short weeks and they are great inspiration!

 

[ftwildernessguy]

Looks like a few empty spaces in that loop - guess the fort wasn't sold out.

 

[Skyw]

Great TR so far....

Great photo's!!! Looking forward to more!!!

 

[RocklandRVers]

As planned, we went back to the fort for lunch and Mom (Grammy) came back to Epcot with us. This was her first "outing" on her scooter and she loved it. However, she made me get it on and off the buses. We experienced a lot of "firsts" on this trip. One being people's prejudices towards larger people on scooters. The redneck in me wanted to kick some rear ends. In fact, I did have words with two different individuals, but I won't share that experience here.

Why are people so prejudiced against folks in scooters. What is that old Indian saying? "Don't judge a man until you've walked a mile in his mocassins" Just because some of us look healthy as a race horse doesn't mean there isn't some hidden ailment that causes us to need a scooter. So tired of the meaness in the world especially at the happiest place on earth. To those heartless losers who like to make snide remarks, stay home. Do us all a favor. You won't enjoy the Disney magic anyway.

Tell Mom to ignore the fools and have the time of her life.

 

[liv luvs disney]

I noticed the tag on your dads camper has Baker County on it. They must be Macclenny folk. The trip looks like a blast. We go to the fort a lot but it's always fun to see what other people enjoy that we take advantage of.

Donnie, I have obviously not made any kind of impression on you 'cause I've told you at least twice that I'm from Baker County. What will it take for you to remember me? My parents live in Glen St. Mary, which is even more rural than Macclenny. However, both towns have grown so that they hardly look like the place I left almost 16years ago.

Speaking of TCD.

My name is TCD, and I approve of this trip report!

Seriously, you are doing great so far!

300 pics is nothing. I say go for it.

I am impressed already with Gage. He refused to wear a Tennessee t-shirt because he was embarrassed of Tennessee, but then he rocked his Eat, Sleep, Hunt shirt. Good man! This kid is going to go far in life!

TCD

TCD my little dinky camera doesn't take near the quality pictures yours does. Trust me, noone would enjoy seeing picture after picture of blur. I so had a feeling you would like that Gage was embarrassed to wear his shirt. I reminded him that if that goober coach of ours ( I just don't like that man for some reason) does in fact eventually turn this program into a winning program, he will not be allowed to don any UT attire then. I have a very strong hunch that he has NOTHING to worry about this season. He's never ashamed to wear anything hunting related though...ever! That boy could shoot a skeeter a mile away. He's an unbelievable shot. And I'm a proud Mama.

Looks like a few empty spaces in that loop - guess the fort wasn't sold out.

Yep, the Fort was quite barren when we arrived. The 1700 loop, which was where we stayed, had more campers than any other loop, but it wasn't full by any means. However, by the weekend, the 1700 liked 2 sites from being full and honestly, a lot of other loops were a good half full. I was surprised.

Why are people so prejudiced against folks in scooters. What is that old Indian saying? "Don't judge a man until you've walked a mile in his mocassins" Just because some of us look healthy as a race horse doesn't mean there isn't some hidden ailment that causes us to need a scooter. So tired of the meaness in the world especially at the happiest place on earth. To those heartless losers who like to make snide remarks, stay home. Do us all a favor. You won't enjoy the Disney magic anyway.

Tell Mom to ignore the fools and have the time of her life.

She had a great time trying to run over those with bad attitudes. Not really, but she said she wanted to put a sign on her scooter that said, "I had health problems BEFORE I gained 100 pounds and they were/are (and list the health problems). Don't judge me, it may be you one day." Of course I didn't let her do it this trip, but I may have no control of her next time.

 

[stacktester]

Olivia, Sorry I didn't get that. Yes Macclenny and GSM have grown quite a bit. You stayed in our new favorite loop 1700. My favorite is 900 but not paying extra for more cement.

 

[liv luvs disney]

This was Animal Kingdom day and my kids look forward to AK because we always eat breakfast at Rainforest Cafe, their favorite place to eat while at WDW. This was also the only day that Grammy decided to head to the park with us in the morning. One, because were eating breakfast out. Two, this park closes so early. Three, this was the park she was most looking forward to.

Well, Grammy runs late for everything! She will honestly be late for her own funeral. It's a quirk of hers that you either have to accept or kill her. Instead of being at RFC at 9:00 for breakfast, we didn't even leave the campsite until 10:00. I reminded the kids that they had been to Disney 3 times and this trip was more about Grammy than them. They were okay with that until we got to RFC and found out they were already serving lunch. I thought Gretchen was going to cry, but I promised her we would eat breakfast at RFC before we went home. That would come back to bite me, but not until day 6.

Every morning, Mom would say, "Okay let me get your picture before you head out to school." You'll notice that Gretchen is trying to smile, but she is more concerned with breakfast than a photo op!

RFC pics

I think my Mom bought a RFC t-shirt for everyone in the county by the time we left. It's a good thing Disney takes your things back to your resort or we would have had to call it a day before we ever even entered the park!

We did get to enter the park and this is this first thing we encountered. I'm sorry, but this woman always creeps me out.

There was no wait for A Bug's Life, so we went in.

Mom loved A Bug's Life. Gretchen is adamant that there really are bugs under the seats, so before the bugs "exit", she always hops up in my lap.

Mom's favorite Disney movie is The Lion King and Festival of the Lion King was starting soon, so we headed over. She stayed in her scooter and we got to sit up front. I believe she took over 100 pictures of this production. Actually, I thought she was gonna come out of that scooter and dance.

We had some late comers come in looking for a seat. Since Mom can identify with people running late, she made the kids and me scrunch together and offered them 2 of our 3 seats. The talker that I am quickly learned that this couple was from California and had been to DL many times, but this was their first trip to WDW and that they were staying at CSR. I didn't get a mother's maiden name or anything like that though. Well, wouldn't you know, the husband of this couple got asked to lead our section with the elephant blow. He was destined to sit by us so he could be the leader...as least that's what my Mama said. She also pointed out that "the early bird does not always get the worm...he was late and still got a part." Moms! (I did get several pictures of him leading the "elephants", but they didn't get transferred to photobucket. I said I was new at this.)

Well my babies got asked to do something too. This was truly the highlight of Gretchen's day. Missing breakfast at RFC was but a distant memory for her now, but Gage being 13, was MORTIFIED!

Off to Kilimanjaro Safaris. Mom loved this too and took lots of pictures. The first year we rode this ride, my husband took at least 10 pictures of every animal we saw at AK. So, I'm good on animal pictures.

The kids were quite antsy at this point to ride EE, so we were off to Asia. As soon as Mom saw EE in the background, she was paralyzed with fear. There's no way we would have even considered her riding this ride. She's already had one heart attack. But, she would not go any further! This was as close as she would get.

She wanted to ride KRR and since we were already on that continent, we did. Again, no waiting, we walked right up. Now, let me say that being from the south, I like big hair and wet rides and big hair don't go together. I rode this ride strictly to please my Mama. I made her make a deal with me. I ride the ride/she takes no pictures of me afterwards. And it's a good thing, she and I both looked like drenched rats when we got off. You could not even tell that Gage and Gretchen had been on the same ride!

At this point AK was closing and it looked like a storm was brewing, but Mom really wanted a funnel cake. I sent her and Gage on to the bus and Gretchen and I went on a mission for funnel cake. No luck, everything was already closed and I figured they were already back at the camp site by now. When we got to the bus, the driver was loading someone with a scooter and the guy apologized profusely to me for having to wait. I assured him that I did not mind, that my Mom was in a scooter too and if she had been with us, we would have had to wait anyway, no big deal. When Gretchen and I did get on the bus, we went straight to the back. When we sat down, Gretchen said, "Mommy, that looks like Grammy's scooter." Well sure enough, there she and Gage were sitting. We walked right past them! My Mom still had a puzzled look on her face as to why we walked right by them without speaking or sitting down...and why didn't I have a funnel cake for her.

 

[liv luvs disney]

Olivia, Sorry I didn't get that. Yes Macclenny and GSM have grown quite a bit. You stayed in our new favorite loop 1700. My favorite is 900 but not paying extra for more cement.

Donnie, you actually were key to me changing our reservations at Pop w/ FD to the Fort. I so badly wanted to stay at FW, but FD had lured me into the values. Mainly because I didn't want the hassle of cooking 3 meals a day on vacation. You told me to cook some stuff ahead of time, put it in the freezer, and thaw it out when it's time to eat. We did that several times and it worked out great. We LOVE to cook while camping, don't get me wrong, but when you're paying for park tickets, you want to make good use of that money. KWIM?

Maybe because it was our first experience, but we biked that resort for hours and hours, and 1700 was my favorite! Our particular site was close to the CS and transportation and we just loved the loop in general. I remember 900 being nice as well, but like you, I'm not interested in paying extra for concrete.

I have been on the computer for weeks (maybe even months now) trying to get a full sometime in January with no such luck.