Lawnmower tree

[Figment Mom]

I've never camped at the fort but have fond memories of visiting it many times in the 70s during our annual Disney vacation.

5 years ago I brought my son and was so excited to show him the lawnmower tree - until I looked for it for a while (my childhood memory was unreliable as to exact location). I finally asked a CM and she had no idea what I was taking about. My son was starting to think I was a little crazy. But then another cm knew what I was talking about and shared the tree's sad fate as well as it's former location.

I figured there'd be people here who would mourn its loss with me. No one in my immediate family understands.

 

[BaymaxFan78]

I think the reason they tore it down is because the tree was rotting. I do really miss it though

 

[North of Mouse]

I've never camped at the fort but have fond memories of visiting it many times in the 70s during our annual Disney vacation.

5 years ago I brought my son and was so excited to show him the lawnmower tree - until I looked for it for a while (my childhood memory was unreliable as to exact location). I finally asked a CM and she had no idea what I was taking about. My son was starting to think I was a little crazy. But then another cm knew what I was talking about and shared the tree's sad fate as well as it's former location.

I figured there'd be people here who would mourn its loss with me. No one in my immediate family understands.

Oh, yes, we well remember the lawnmower tree. Every year we visited it sort of as a reassurance that we were really at FW! LOL

It was a small tree in early 70's and the blade was very visible. As it grew, the blade was slowly swallowed up. Maybe it led to the tree's early demise, as it's been gone awhile now. Don't think I remember how the blade actually became embedded in there.
So many changes - things missing - FW is much different than yesteryear, and really big changes coming now.

ETA: Just read in Disney trivia that the lawnmower tree was at FW when it was first developed. Someone had left a push style mower leaned against the tree, Disney thought it was such an interesting, unusual sight that it was left there and a sign erected next to it. We first saw it in '72.

 

[RangerPooh]

I remember the tree. We haven;t been back to the fort in a few years, but our girls thought that it was neat.

 

[tiggerdad]

On my first trip to the Fort in 2012 it was still there, though only about 5ft tall as it had been cut off after it died. This is my oldest DD at the time with it. You can just see the blade sticking out near her left foot.

 

[bigdisneydaddy]

Just stumbled across a pic of it the other day.

 

[disneycampingdad]

First saw "the tree" as a teen in 1978. Fast forward to the late 90's; the tree was still there. By 2011, the tree top had been lost in a storm, but the cut stump was still there. In 2018, the stump was gone....

 

[Tallis]

Glad @tiggerdad had a photo to share. I'd never seen it or even heard about it before. Interesting history.

 

[bama_ed]

Yeah it's an old piece of Fort History. It's a shame it's gone.

Back when Fort Wilderness was built (and it opened a few weeks after the MK did in 1971 because the MK had to borrow the Fort workers to get things done on time over there) the road into the property was basically where Fort Wilderness Trail is now (the entrance road down past the Meadow TP to Bay Lake). There was an old small cabin about where the Settlement TP was where the property owner would stay while he fished in Bay Lake.

Who knows at what time the tree overtook the rotary mower (I use a rotary push mower on my little front yard and a few months ago a pickup full of college boys turned around my cul-de-sac, stopped in front of my house, and rolled down the window to ask, "what's that"?). (and I'm counting on this younger generation to fund my Social Security payments soon .) Maybe the owner would chop down the weeds with the mower when he was going to be there a couple days and then abandoned it once he'd sold the land to Walt Disney's shell company.

Who knows?

But the Fort property was once somebody's weekend getaway place to fish in Bay Lake (no AC back then remember) so it's reasonable to assume that once in a while they might have wanted to use the mower to chop down the weeds and make the place presentable.

At least, the history makes sense to me.

Tiggerdad, I'm glad you got a picture of DD there. She'll appreciate that when she's all grown up and the Mower Tree only lives on in legend.

Bama Ed

 

[TheTexasKid]

My sister and I remember it well, because during our 1st trip to Walt Disney World, while staying at the Contemporary Resort, we made a special trip over to Fort Wilderness just to see the Lawnmower Tree, which we had heard so much. I am just glad that both of us were able to see it, while it was still there.