Live from the fort - where is everybody?

[lklasing]

WOW - I had seen several reports talking about how dead it was here, but I really didn't realize how empty it was. But still, even if no one else is, WE'RE HERE!

We got here around noon today - no one at the outpost checking in, everything went perfectly smoothly. We are in cabin 2203, so if anyone arrives, feel free to come say hey!

We went to the MK this afternoon. In the span of less than 4 hours, we had lunch at CHH and rode almost everything we wanted to: splash mtn, thunder mtn, haunted mansion, pirates, jungle cruise, laugh floor and buzz (twice). The longest posted wait for any of those was 10 minutes, but most were walk-ons.

Obviously, the light crowds in the parks are extremely welcomed (even though they may have been prompted this afternoon by scattered storms). The Fort looks odd to me without any more people here, but it still looks great. It's a little soggy from a lot of rain, but still has all the charm it usually does. We had a big day, followed by dinner at Narcoossees, so I'm about done for for the night, but I'll be checking in as much as possible (hopefully with pics), so feel free to ask any "current events" questions you might have! (I'll definitely be doing a real TR when I get home but this is the best I can do for right now!)

Leslie

PS - If anyone is here, let me know! I'd love to see you!

 

[OK GRUMPY]

I bet all those crowds your missing know are on there way and will start showing up Friday LOL! I'm glad you all are having a good time. Enjoy the peace and quiet know!

 

[liv luvs disney]

Glad you made it there safely. Enjoy your trip. I'm right behind you and I'm sooo excited. Is this the trip you are doing some sort of race or something?

 

[lklasing]

Glad you made it there safely. Enjoy your trip. I'm right behind you and I'm sooo excited. Is this the trip you are doing some sort of race or something?

This is that trip. The race is Sunday. You'll be given info when you arrive since the transportation that morning will be messed up until after the race.

It's still quiet here, but maybe not quite so much as yesterday. Although, the park crowds are still practically non-existent. Well, that may be an exaggeration, but not much of one. We went to AK this morning and between 9:00 and 11:00, rode Safari once, KRR three times (at least my girls did it that many times, I sat out the last two), EE twice and Primevial Whirl once. When we left the park at 11:30, the wait for both Safari and EE was still at 10 minutes. It was really awesome.

We checked out the new slide (over and over again) this afternoon. It is lots of fun - a big improvement over the old pool. We're off to dinner at the Wave tonight, probably to be followed by another trip back to the pool.

I'm sorry I don't have any pictures yet. My camera cord looks like it got damaged somehow. I'll have to get a new one when I get back. But, now that I know that, I'll try to take some with DD Danielle's camera, since her cord seems to be fine. I'll try to get some up of the Fort later tonight.

Leslie

 

[tloveswdw]

sounds like a great time to be at the Ft. ! Have fun!!!

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Leslie-

Thanks for taking the time to keep us informed about the Fort.

I am glad that you got to experience the Fort and the parks when they are not so busy.

But, I would say that you should buckle your seat-belts for this weekend, because I expect that the crowds are on their way.

Good luck with your triathlon!

Please post some photos when you get a chance!

TCD

 

[bouncycat]

Thanks for the update!! I'm hoping for the lower crowds and the labor day people gone when I get there in 11 days!! I can't hardly wait, so right now, I'll just be dreaming thru you! Good luck in the race!!

 

[tci1212]

We will be checking in on the 19th of September, wish we were there now. Sounds like you are having a great time. Have fun on the rest of your vacation!

 

[lklasing]

Thanks everyone. We're still having a great time. The Fort occupancy has definitely increased, but it's actually nice having more people around. The parks still seem a lot lighter than I'm used to, but of course the last time I was here was Thanksgiving. We're off to the Halloween party tonight, so that should be fun.

One of the people who have gotten to the fort in the last couple of days is a guy who has a real segment of one of the old FW trains. He has a beautiful site set up with lots of decorations in loop 1000. We stopped and chatted with him this afternoon and he was very nice. I suspect he comes here frequently so I bet some of y'all have seen him around before.

Had a fun swim with DD13 this afternoon while Ray and DD11 played some more in HS. Beautiful weather, lots of fun.

I'm going to try to hook up DD13's camera and see if I have any luck on any pictures. Back in a little bit...

Leslie

 

[lklasing]

A trip to the TCD Ranch:

Jodi:

We were practically attacked by this group of thugs:

They chased Jodi, but thankfully she got away.

One more:

Gotta run!

Leslie

 

[blondinkaya]

How are you liking the cabin? Is there plenty of storage space?

When I first booked our trip last year, I'd booked a cabin. Then changed it to a Movie suite. Then a deluxe room at the Wilderness Lodge. And finally back to a cabin. We like the idea of having a bit more privacy than the other places can provide. Plus, having our car right outside is always a good thing (we're driving). Finally, dh and I plan to retire to the Northwest (he's military and hits his 20 in a few years), and I love the look of the Fort in general.

The only hesitation I have is in regards to storage. We're four adults (dh and I are taking mil and her dh) and two kids (ages 14 and 6). Sleeping arrangements won't be a problem. I'm just worried about having a place for suitcases and whatnot.

 

[cindycastle30]

Had to post to say Hi and that we were almost your neighbor, we stayed in cabin 2202 from Aug 21-30th. We loved it in the cabins and booked the bounce back for next year, don't think we will stay anywhere else again. Hope you have a great time! For the pp asking about the storage space, we found there to be plenty, not nearly as cramped as we thought. For our suitcases (6 of them) we packed them into each other and put them in the back of our van, this really cleared up space in the cabin.

 

[cmcvean]

Thanks for the great live update - I love it! I hope you have great race!!!

Cindycastle30 - what a great idea about putting the empty suitcases in the car!

 

[lawnspecialties]

What's CHH?

 

[lklasing]

Like others have pointed out, we don't really have any trouble with storage, and we don't even have a car to put the suitcases in. There is a great space under the bench in the kitchen that will hold at least 2 big suitcases. Add in the closet space, and we have plenty of room.

Had to post to say Hi and that we were almost your neighbor, we stayed in cabin 2202 from Aug 21-30th. We loved it in the cabins and booked the bounce back for next year, don't think we will stay anywhere else again. Hope you have a great time!

Wow - I wish we were here at the same time!

What's CHH?

Columbia Harbor House - a good counter service restaurant at the MK.

Off to the triathlon expo to pick up my race number and bike for the race tomorrow! (I'm really nervous about the race - my legs are dead from playing so hard for the past several days. Keep your fingers crossed for me!)

Leslie

 

[WeLuvDiznee]

Hi Guys! We are tent camping this weekend,so we will look for you.We are only staying Sat. night,because when I called reservations, they told me they had no room!?! It looks pretty empty to me-right now. I know it's Labor Day weekend, so if it's not full and they couldn't give me an extra night I'm going to be pretty upset. We are staying in the 1500 Loop. So, we'll see you there!

 

[lklasing]

It's definitely picked up around here - a lot! I really like the Fort with more people in it than there were when we got here. Lots of women with bikes getting ready for tomorrow's race.

Hope to see you!

 

[WeLuvDiznee]

We are so happy we were able to get another night here at the Fort! While at the pool earlier in the day, I happen to glance over to where the volleyball court was and saw 2 teen girls covered in mud,pulling pieces sod out and tossing it at one another. Unreal! Just disrespectful! A woman went over to them to say something,and they just walked away. Besides that,just sitting in our tent waiting for the drizzle of rain to stop!

 

[lklasing]

Just checking in to let everyone know (so you won't lose any more sleep!) that I made it - I finished the triathlon this morning! It was lots of fun. Don't know my exact times yet, but I'm guessing I finished in around 1 hour, 40 minutes or so.

Off to TL for the afternoon. It's our last day! I can't believe our time in my favorite place is almost over.

Hey - if anyone reading this is here now and wants an unopened bottle of wine (Bogle Chardonnay) and probably a good bit of individual packs of snacks, let me know. We totally overbought given that we're on the dining plan this time.

Leslie

 

[Tri-circle-D]

So, I am looking at this photo, and I'm thinking, something about that sign looks familiar. . .

J/K- I thought this sign is the same as the one in my avatar, but as you can see, the "D" is different. That is odd. The one in my avatar is at the entrance closest to the bus stop. Now, I'm going to have to see if the D's are different, or if my D is obsolete.

TCD

p.s. your live report was great, but don't forget a real trip report when you get home.