July 4th fun at the Fort trip report

[Tri-circle-D]

Wow, you camped at the Fort in July without air conditioning! You are definitely real campers now.

Luckily for you the rain kept things cooled off over the weekend. It was actually cool some of the evenings. Amazingly enough, I think it was cooler at the Fort this past weekend than it was in the northeast states.

Props to you for bringing the crock pot and making pulled pork! That is one of our favorite things to make for camping too. But on this trip, I made mine at home, froze it, and brought it along.

You most definitely should have been able to hear the soundtrack for the fireworks from anywhere on the beach, so there must have been some type of technical problem that night. Too bad. Did you get to see the fireworks on the 4th?

TCD

 

[rm0530]

Loving the reports, and longing to go to Harry Potter! I can't wait to experience that! It looks great, and I must say, I am a huge HP fan, and I would have waded through the rain too!

Looking forward to the rest of the report!

Harry Potter was the main reason we booked this trip and everything spiraled from that. It was really nice to see the environment but I'll love it even more once the crowds have calmed down. I knew to expect craziness, so if you go in with the proper mindset, you'll have a good time.

Great names!

I love how they didn't think they were too cool or old to have fun. DH's dino rode on the dashboard the entire drive back home (pictures later )

Awesome report.

I love the AC and the pulled pork looks yummmm!!

Wow, you camped at the Fort in July without air conditioning! You are definitely real campers now.

Luckily for you the rain kept things cooled off over the weekend. It was actually cool some of the evenings. Amazingly enough, I think it was cooler at the Fort this past weekend than it was in the northeast states.

Props to you for bringing the crock pot and making pulled pork! That is one of our favorite things to make for camping too. But on this trip, I made mine at home, froze it, and brought it along.

You most definitely should have been able to hear the soundtrack for the fireworks from anywhere on the beach, so there must have been some type of technical problem that night. Too bad. Did you get to see the fireworks on the 4th?

TCD

I had definitely become spoiled from having the A/C. The last three nights weren't awful but not relaxing either. I agree about the rain helping lower the temperature.

The pulled pork is so yum and very easy to make. The recipe we use is from the slow cooker section of the Betty Crocker cookbook. But the Sonny's sauce really makes the meal a winner. I'll hook you up next time

We saw the fireworks on the 3rd and 4th. Stay tuned!

 

[rm0530]

Day 4- July 3rd:
Our third park day at Magic Kingdom! The park hours were 9-12am and 12-3 EMH. Our goal was to hit rope drop and stay through EMH as long as possible. I had never been to a rope drop ceremony before and I was hoping we’d make it. Our plan was to get on a bus by 8am but between others not being as excited as me and having to wait on a bus, we got to the marina around 8:30.

See what I mean about the no privacy

Everyone ignore this picture

The rope drop ceremony was my second favorite thing on this trip. It was just so Disney to have dancing and singing, the town mayor, characters, and streamers to welcome you into their park. No pictures during the ceremony because I used my camera to record. I hope we are able to make it to the other three ceremonies before our passes expire.

 

[gillenkl]

great report and pics!

 

[itch1]

Wow this TR revivals TCD's
GASP ............Did I just say that? Good job maybe I need to get off my lazy **** a do my TR from Easter !
Itch

 

[disney4dan]

Great TR, loving the photos and commentary! Been looking forward to these, knowing all of you were down there last week!

 

[rm0530]

I'm glad people are enjoying! I've enjoyed writing them and having a written record for memories. Now it's time for more of our MK day...

We had a very successful morning at MK. I don’t know if many people figured it’d be packed the day before July 4th and decided on another park, but the crowd level was dead that morning. I’m sure it also helped being at rope drop. In our hour we had gotten Space Mountain fastpasses, rode Tomorrowland Speedway (BF had never done it before and apologized afterwards for requesting to ride), tea cups to ourselves, small world on a boat to ourselves, and Big Thunder. After Big Thunder, we did Splash Mountain, got another Big Thunder fastpass, Tom Sawyer Island, Haunted Mansion, Minnie’s house, Mickey’s house, Space Mountain and another Space Mountain fastpass (the crowd levels were so low that the time limit for another pass was only an hour, not two), Tomorrowland Transit Authority, and got fastpasses for Buzz. All of this was by noon. We decided to head back to the Fort for lunch, rest, and dinner. We had a boat to ourselves back to the Fort. I made chicken alfredo for lunch and then the boys fell asleep.

Walls for the fantasyland expansion

To ease TCD...we have our dock back

While we boys were sleeping, me and SIL decided to tour the MK resorts. We took a boat from the Fort to Wilderness Lodge. While waiting on the WL boat to show up, we spotted two different groups of pool hoppers. They weren’t even trying to be sly about it. If you’re going to break the posted rules, at least wear normal clothes and hide your towels. One group got off at WL and another went to the Contemporary.

From the WL, we hopped on a boat to the Contemporary.

We documented some illegal pool standing.

We boarded the monorail to the Polynesian, got Mickey bars, and scouted out a good spot for the fireworks on the 4th.

 

[rm0530]

From the Poly, we took a boat to the Grand Floridian but had to stop off at MK before arriving at the GF.

We took a monorail from the GF back to MK and then a boat back to the Fort. The only resort I was impressed enough with to spend the deluxe price was the Poly.

For dinner, we had beef roast, potatoes, and carrots that I’d put in the crockpot that morning. I’m taking that thing every time we go back to the Fort. It made meal time so relaxed and only required a quick cleanup. We took a boat back to the Fort and were inside MK at 7:30. We used our fastpasses for Buzz (I had 506,000 and made the boys annoyed) and then went back to the hub to grab a spot for fireworks at 9pm and MSEP at 10pm.

The fireworks were impressive but I could tell we were missing a lot from being inside the park. After the parade, we headed over for Jungle cruise, Pirates, snack at Pecos Bill, Big Thunder, Carrousel, Snow White, Winnie the Pooh, Astro Orbiter, used our fast passes for Space Mountain and then headed out around 2am.

 

[rm0530]

Day 5- July 4:
This was our day to rest after having three full days in parks. We all slept in till 9ish and cooked a late breakfast of sausage, bacon, and eggs at 10. We cleaned up breakfast and ourselves and headed over to Blizzard Beach at noon for more mini-golf. We did the summer side of Winter Summerland. It was raining again so no pictures other than the sign on the way out.

After golf, we needed Dippin’ Dots! We knew about the store on Irlo Bronson from staying offsite last year and passing it (and visiting it twice). After the delicious dots, we headed to Camping World to buy a stand for our stove. It was too late to really use it this trip but I’m looking forward to more table space next trip. We went back to the site around 3pm and SIL and BF fell asleep. Me and DH made some jiffy pop and relaxed under the canopy. I started to prepare the corn on the cob for dinner and we got the charcoal ready around 5pm. We had hot dogs, corn, and Hawaiian sweet rolls for dinner.

Our patriotic site and the extent of our decorations You can see how all the rain wilted our banner

Around 7pm, we headed out to the Polynesian for fireworks. We took a boat to the Contemporary and the monorail to the Polynesian.

We got spots on the hill between the two sand areas.

The fireworks were amazing! It was so much better than being inside the park because you could see everything being shot off around the lagoon. When it was time for the “You’re a grand ole flag” song, the EWP boats were parked in front of the Poly beach (we didn’t know this) and they lit up with the flag and stars at the beginning of the song. A ‘wow’ moment.

Being on the Polynesian beach for the fireworks was my third favorite thing of the trip. It’s a definite must-do. We will do this during New Years. The calendar right now is showing the New Years fireworks display on the 30th and 31st. We might go into MK on the 30th for the fireworks and then the Poly on actual New Years Eve. I’d like to see them from both perspectives again. We have ‘Ohana reservations on Dec 31 at 6:40pm. I figure it’d be better to eat and then chill at the resort instead of fighting for a place to stand inside MK.

It took a little while to get back to the Fort. We had to wait in a line (maybe 20-25min) for the monorail at the Poly and then stop at Grand Floridian and MK before jumping off at the Contemporary and getting a boat to the Fort. I'm not complaining though. I'd much rather have that short wait than be inside the mass I saw in MK as we passed through the station. When we got back to the site, we packed up whatever we could to make the next morning easier.

 

[rm0530]

Day 6- July 5tH:
Departure day Everyone was up and awake by 8:30. We broke down camp, packed, showered, and left by 10:30. We headed to Ihop on our way out of town and were finished eating at 11:45. We made it home at 6pm and went straight to DH’s parents house to use their backyard for our stuff. We set up both tents, canopy, and all the tarps so everything could dry out.

During this trip, I had decided our 4 person tent was not going to work anymore. I didn’t like having to crawl in and sit on the bed to get anything out of our bags. Sunday night my bag got pushed up against the wall, drew water in, and got soaked. I didn’t have much stuff left inside but it was still frustrating. So on Tuesday we traveled to our local Target and bought this bad boy

Coleman Hampton 9 person cabin tent

It has plenty of room for our queen bed, our stuff, and other people to stay with us. It also has two hinged doors on the front and a removable room divider. We set it up after buying it on Tuesday and it was real simple. Maybe 20 minutes at the most. It also has the small door on the left side for our A/C tubes. We are going to Stone Mountain July 30-Aug 1 with SIL and BF to test it out. It’ll be our last camping trip before I have to go back to work on Aug 9. I guess this also means we are now limited to 2000 loop only due to the size of a pad we’ll need. Not much of a sacrifice though. I enjoyed being the last bus stop on settlement purple and the first stop coming from the settlement.

We will be back at the Fort Sept 3-6. Our plan right now is Typhoon Lagoon, Hollywood Studios, AK, and a dinner at Whispering Canyon. I can’t wait to start on that report. Thanks for reading along and posting all your nice comments.

 

[allmydisneydreams]

What a great report !!!! Thanks for posting it

I am a huge fan of your MacGyver air conditioner and I gasped aloud when it broke! So glad its OK now. I was wondering from the beginning if your SIL and BF were planning to have no a/c all along ... but I am guessing now that the extra tent was for storing stuff (?) How did you ever survive July nights without a/c? And were your guys napping in the TENT when you girls were out adventuring? I would think they'd be broiled alive at that time of day.

Love your new tent!!!! I've looked at that one although I'm leaning towards the 3 room lodge that is on sale at Wal-Mart Do you think that your a/c will be able to cool the bigger tent?

Can you tell I am a/c obsessed?

Also you did such a great job with campground meals!

And I love your golf pictures - I've always wondered what the Disney min-golf was like. I think my kiddos would be very impressed - we may just have to try it when we go.

Anyway - you are an INSPIRATION to tent campers You guys make it look so fun - I can't wait to try it!

 

[rm0530]

SIL and BF had no A/C. They actually laughed when we told them our plan to build one before our May trip (they quickly felt stupid once we arrived in FL and they felt the weather). The red tent was our tent and the other one was their tent. Both 4 person tents. We had a queen mattress and they had two twins.

They used this fan in their tent and kept the front windows rolled down.

They said it wasn't so bad and were actually chilly the first night. The constant rain throughout the weekend helped us stay comfortable. I was miserable the first night our A/C was broken but adjusted and got over it. Better to be at the Fort and be hot than no Fort at all! We kept our front windows rolled down too since the canopy was protecting the rain.

I think the day we went resort touring, the boys slept in the chairs in front of the set-up. I know my DH pulled a chair under a shaded tree. I'm not positive on what BF did.

We hooked up the A/C to the new tent the night we bought it and set it up. With the doors closed, windows zipped up, and unit on high, it was very chilly. We put the room divider up and it was not as nice on the opposite side from the tubes. I don't think we'll ever use the divider. DH is worried about heating the tent for our Dec trip but that problem can be solved much later.

For storing stuff, we use three Sterilite containers with latching handles from Walmart. One is for kitchen items, one is for food, and one is for outside things (tarps, hose, tent pegs, tools, rope, door mat). We have a duffel bag with our sheets, air pump, first aid kit, flashlights, and other little items. We try to travel as light as possible but the A/C, mini-fridge, and tubes for the A/C take up a lot of room in the car.

For food, I planned out meals and what we would need for each one. I purchased all the non-perishables and small cooler items the day before we left and then went to Publix for meat once we arrived.

The mini-golf was so fun! Of course, it's all themed complete with music. I had expected the courses to be more crowded than they were. We had to wait 20 minutes at Fantasia Gardens for our tee time but it wasn't packed. I guess they like to spread out parties so you're not right against the family in front of you the entire time. Winter Summerland on the 4th was dead. We had no wait time. I don't know where all the crowds were that weekend.

We've had a lot of fun tent camping. We did two practice trips before coming down to the Fort. I'd recommend you doing the same so your precious Fort time isn't wasted by learning the ropes. We've spent about $500 on each trip including site, food, gas, and souvenirs. How many families at Disney can say that?

 

[Lil' Lisa]

Great report! Thanks for sharing your adventures with us!

 

[lledman]

Great trip report - I really enjoyed reading it

 

[Tri-circle-D]

The rope drop ceremony was my second favorite thing on this trip. It was just so Disney to have dancing and singing, the town mayor, characters, and streamers to welcome you into their park. No pictures during the ceremony because I used my camera to record. I hope we are able to make it to the other three ceremonies before our passes expire.

I hope that you make it to the other rope drop ceremonies, too. Each is unique, and a fun way to begin your day! I like the AK one the best.

Wow this TR revivals TCD's
GASP ............Did I just say that? Good job maybe I need to get off my lazy **** a do my TR from Easter !
Itch

I agree with you on both counts!

So, let's see that TR!!!

To ease TCD...we have our dock back

Hey!

That is newsworthy!

And, something that I missed on this visit.

I didn't realize that we got our dock back.

That is good news.

Thanks for posting a photo!

We got spots on the hill between the two sand areas.

Being on the Polynesian beach for the fireworks was my third favorite thing of the trip. It’s a definite must-do. We will do this during New Years. The calendar right now is showing the New Years fireworks display on the 30th and 31st. We might go into MK on the 30th for the fireworks and then the Poly on actual New Years Eve. I’d like to see them from both perspectives again. We have ‘Ohana reservations on Dec 31 at 6:40pm. I figure it’d be better to eat and then chill at the resort instead of fighting for a place to stand inside MK.

So, did you like the grassy area? I saw a lot of folks up there as we were on the beach for the July 3rd fireworks. When we have been at the Poly, we always have stayed on the beach, but there were so many folks up on the grass hill that it made me wonder. We may have to give it a try next time.

That is a good strategy for 12/31. We watched the 12/30 fireworks from the Poly last year, and tried to go back on 12/31 (we drove), and we were turned away from the parking lot. It was full! That's the first time that happened to us. But, we enjoyed the NYE fireworks from the Fort's beach, and it was nice to already be at the Fort and not have to fight crowds to get back.

We will be back at the Fort Sept 3-6. Our plan right now is Typhoon Lagoon, Hollywood Studios, AK, and a dinner at Whispering Canyon. I can’t wait to start on that report. Thanks for reading along and posting all your nice comments.

I will be looking for your next TR.

You guys are pro's now, so each trip should be easier.

Don't worry about heating your tent in December- a small ceramic space heater is all you really need, and you may not even need that.

TCD

 

[stacktester]

Not only do we have our dock back, both large vessels are running again.

 

[clkelley]

That must have happened on the 3rd or 4th.

On the 2nd we had both large boats back, but the docks were still swapped.

 

[dblr]

Your trip report is GREAT!!!!!!!!!!! we were there from the 1st to the 8th and it was great, we have a 40' 5th wheel and cudos to you on your tenting skills just when you think you have seen it all your set up is great, I do not think my son's scout troop is that good.
Loved your tips on firework viewing spots, we did dinner @ Ca. Grill for the 4th and all I can cay was WOW what a view,not cheap but one of those special things, I would agree about watching the fireworks for New Years out side we did it in the Mk 2 years ago and spent almost 2hours getting back to our resort,anyway once againg great report Thanks.

 

[rm0530]

Great report! Thanks for sharing your adventures with us!

Great trip report - I really enjoyed reading it

Thanks for reading along! We've had a lot of fun with our adventures. Next Fort trip...in-laws

So, did you like the grassy area? I saw a lot of folks up there as we were on the beach for the July 3rd fireworks. When we have been at the Poly, we always have stayed on the beach, but there were so many folks up on the grass hill that it made me wonder. We may have to give it a try next time.

We were pleased with the grass area. It seemed to have a more center view of the castle, if you're nitpicky. We all brought our ponchos in case and used them to sit on. It was difficult to hear the narration (music was better) from our spot. We will probably sit closer to the trees next time for better listening.

That must have happened on the 3rd or 4th.

On the 2nd we had both large boats back, but the docks were still swapped.

Yeah, we were at MK all day on the 3rd.

Your trip report is GREAT!!!!!!!!!!! we were there from the 1st to the 8th and it was great, we have a 40' 5th wheel and cudos to you on your tenting skills just when you think you have seen it all your set up is great, I do not think my son's scout troop is that good.
Loved your tips on firework viewing spots, we did dinner @ Ca. Grill for the 4th and all I can cay was WOW what a view,not cheap but one of those special things, I would agree about watching the fireworks for New Years out side we did it in the Mk 2 years ago and spent almost 2hours getting back to our resort,anyway once againg great report Thanks.

DH has told me he's drawn sketches of how to set up sites most effectively. I've not seen the drawings but I can't argue about how well our trips have gone. His next request is to purchase a large mat to go under the canopy area.

Can I ask how much the California Grill costs? I don't think I'd ever go unless I was on a dining plan and right now, I can't see myself paying the resort rates to get a plan. It would be a special experience though! Did you take any pictures?

 

[Schminston-Mo]

Thank you for the great trip report and pictures. Now I'm off to try to find a pulled pork crockpot recipe!