Lix & Shawn take on camping - our night at The Fort

[ambertides]

This should be a super short trip report since we were only there one night.

Also we were at the Fort on the 25th & 26th, so I'm a little late. But the 27th was my birthday, and then the 31st was Halloween, and between the two I had a cold. And now it's November and I'm doing NaNoWriMo (a writing project thingy). So I at least have plenty of lame excuses.

So on Monday, we were up at about 4:30 in the morning. I had everything packed and by the door. We did a pretty good job of having everything we needed, thanks to the boards. The only thing we forgot to pick up was the welcome mat. Also, it would've been smart to bring more towels, or those towel robe things. We ended up showering about three times each plus we went to the pool. Two towels was a bit underdoing it.

So we came home with wet towels and a sandy air mattress. But otherwise, all good!

We got ready, loaded everything in the car, and off we went. We pulled in to the Fort at 7:00 exactly, which was what I was shooting for. Yay!

We were directed to the reception outpost for checking in. I'd done the online check in, but I'm not sure it really made any difference. I had to remind them about the tent rental ($33.45 for the night, including set up and tear down) so we could pay for it.

We debated on the tent rental a bit. Basically it came down to the fact that DH might absolutely hate tent camping and swear off ever going again (he was reluctant to even try it). The fact that the trip was so short and neither of us had set up a tent before factored in as well. Not having to set up Monday and tear down Tuesday gave us a bit more breathing room, time-wise. Since he gave the thumbs up for another, longer, Fort trip next year, we are looking into tents to buy now! Well, I am anyway.

I asked the nice lady checking us in if she could tell us which site we would have, and she told us no - very firmly. So I asked about loop, and she said 2000. I was hoping for 1500 but was okay with either loop. Before leaving she wrote out and handed me my birthday button. I wish I'd taken a picture since I promptly lost the thing. It was attached to my purse, so I'm not sure what happened.

She took Shawn's mobile number to text us when our site was ready, off we headed to breakfast.

Hard to see, but there are some deer hiding in this one:

Now, we went to Disney as a belated Honeymoon+Birthday trip in 2004, but I don't recall there being any Halloween decorations for that trip. So I think this is my first time seeing them (last year's birthday trip was just to Epcot). So I took a lot of pictures. Here are a few:

Shawn took a picture of me in front of the castle:

Then I stole the camera back and took a couple more:

It was finally coming up on breakfast time!

Which was good since we'd been up four hours without eating at this point.

I'm glad we were on the dining plan. When I made the reservation, the price listed was $18.99. The morning we went it was $4 more (each).

I grew up in Melbourne, so we went to Disney fairly often on school trips and whatnot, but we always packed lunches. When we went in 2004 we stayed, and ate, offsite (that was Shawn's first time). This was our first character meal, and our second table service meal at Disney. So we were really excited.

Anyway, after checking in we had about a 10-15 minute wait. I took a couple more pictures:

 

[ambertides]

MySpace pic!!

Time to eat!

More tomorrow unless y'all beg me to stop.

 

[kaguilbeau]

You've taken some really nice pictures.

I'm anxious to hear how the tent rental went for you - so YES, please continue!!

 

[DaveInTN]

This is a new twist on trip reports. One night...rental tent....dining plan....I'm looking forward to this! You are off to a great start!

 

[liv luvs disney]

This is a new twist on trip reports. One night...rental tent....dining plan....I'm looking forward to this! You are off to a great start!

Ooh I agree!

 

[Born 2 Fish]

I'd like to say , your pics are really good, Even tho it was a one day/night trip, I enjoy'd your report as much as any, good job and thank you.

 

[Lil' Lisa]

I won't beg you to stop... but I will beg for more!!!

 

[ambertides]

You've taken some really nice pictures.

I'm anxious to hear how the tent rental went for you - so YES, please continue!!

Thanks! The tent rental was great. That won't be in this post, but the next.

This is a new twist on trip reports. One night...rental tent....dining plan....I'm looking forward to this! You are off to a great start!

We're.... quirky.

Ooh I agree!

Oh, I'll definitely share some with you.

I'd like to say , your pics are really good, Even tho it was a one day/night trip, I enjoy'd your report as much as any, good job and thank you.

Hopefully it will keep being good! Thank you for reading along.

I won't beg you to stop... but I will beg for more!!!

Oh, there's more. I'm pretty good at dragging things out apparently.

Thanks for all the feedback, y'all.

 

[ambertides]

Okay, so here we are, time for breakfast!

We really enjoyed breakfast. I have food allergies, so I had to talk to the chef, and then he had to bring me food. It's a bit of a pain, but Disney has yet to make me sick or feel like I am being difficult for not wanting to be sick.

We met Eeyore, Piglet, and Tigger fairly quickly. There was a bit of a wait for Pooh - we debated leaving but then saw him coming just as we were getting up. There were two cute little girls at the table opposite ours, and one was really upset that she hadn't met Pooh, yet - but when he finally came she was just in awe and did not want to stop hugging. I'm so glad we stayed and got to see that - it was adorable.

My breakfast!

I was right under the skylight.

And thought the dried miniature rose statues were cute!

We were stuffed:

So it was time to go do something!

Jungle Cruise & Splash Mountain are two of my favorite rides at MK, but Shawn is not a fan of either one, so we've only ridden each once all year (we have the weekday pass APs and go for one day trips a couple times a month - this was our first time staying overnight, actually). I made him ride Jungle Cruise with me, but we skipped Splash (again). It's not fun riding by yourself or with someone who is actually afraid (vs. fun afraid).

My goal for the year since my last birthday was to ride every ride once - I've been totally afraid of roller coasters (but oddly, not flume rides!) since I was 7 and insisted on going on Space Mountain - and mom swore I was going to die of a heart attack. I was kinda done with being afraid of all these things! I wanted to at least try them once.

So I started with Barnstormer (yes, really), worked through Big Thunder, Test Track, and then Tower of Terror. Shawn had started playing along with me, but after Tower of Terror - he was done. But at least he found out he really likes Big Thunder. It's his second favorite ride behind Pirates now.

Anyway, the only thing left undone for me by this trip was... riding one of the Main Street Vehicles, and Expedition Everest.

When we got done with Jungle Cruise it was the worst timing. The parade was about to come out, so no vehicles. So I took more holiday decoration pictures:

Check out the pumpkins - it's a dalmation and a hydrant!

And then to amuse ourselves some more, we played some checkers outside La Chapeau.

I got trounced. Several times.

But finally it was time for our trip up Main Street!

 

[ambertides]

Here was our gracious trolley puller.

And then it was time to go.

We checked for a message about our site, but none yet - so off to AK!

I hopped in the single rider line for Everest, which took about 10 minutes.

Shawn waited in the gift shop so he could take embarassing pictures.

The folks I rode with didn't speak English, but they were totally calm and friendly.

It was a fun ride.

And with that - I had ridden everything in the four parks! And our text came!

We walked the long way out hoping to get Shawn a frozen Vault (I'll admit, I was a bit ungracious here - I was itching to get to the Fort, but I went along with it anyway). And when we got there, we found - no frozen Vault. They were out! So we kept on walking and off to the Fort! Yay!

Bye AK, and tomorrow's post... HELLO FORT WILDERNESS!

 

[DaveInTN]

Great update Alix! I love all the decoration pics along Main Street. They really show the beauty of the MK at Halloween time. I was just there last month and there are several things in your pics I didn't see. Thanks for posting!

Looking forward to your Fort pics.

 

[Lil' Lisa]

That is so cool that you have tackled every ride in the parks! Way to face those fears head on! I had a bad experience on space mountain at about the same age as you did. I will (begrudgingly) go on a roller coaster now and again, but I have to say that I don't think that I have ever enjoyed the experience. And I have never been back on SM since that fateful day...

Waiting patiently for the rest of your report!!

 

[Tri-circle-D]

OK, so I'm reading your report.

And, I see that you got up at 4:30 am to leave.

From Largo?

And you rented a tent?

And got the Dining Plan?

So, I'm thinking what the heck is going on here?

But then I saw this:

We're.... quirky.

So, now I get it.

Quirky.

That's good.

Can't wait to read more!

TCD

 

[ambertides]

I love all the decoration pics along Main Street. They really show the beauty of the MK at Halloween time.

It was all great, but once I really started looking, I really enjoyed the pumpkins most. I don't think I saw two exactly alike!

I had a bad experience on space mountain at about the same age as you did. I will (begrudgingly) go on a roller coaster now and again, but I have to say that I don't think that I have ever enjoyed the experience. And I have never been back on SM since that fateful day.

I gotta say, Space Mountain was the worst of all the ones I did this year - maybe because I was in the back, or maybe just bad juju from childhood - but it was just jerky and not very fun. The stars were cool, though.

I had a fast pass (I don't think there's a single rider), and would have walked right on... except the ride broke down right as I was where the line stopped. For (according to Shawn - I left everything with him) 40 minutes! So I had to wait there and get more and more nervous for 40 minutes! And the kids behind me were like, "I wonder if someone put their hands up in the air and they got cut off?"



During the ride, I screamed at every little dip. Including the first tiny one after you round the corner before blast off. Everyone in the rockets in front of me (I was in the back) turned around and laughed at me.

But I made it.

I even loved Tower of Terror. And liked Expedition Everest.

So overall it was a good experience. And I felt good for not letting it beat me.

And, I see that you got up at 4:30 am to leave.

From Largo?

You don't even want to know how long it takes to get DH up and ready to go anywhere. It's not that he's prissy, he's just very slow to wake up and get moving. And he doesn't like coffee.

So, yeah, even getting up at 4:30, we pulled into our parking spot at the Fort at 7:03.

Thanks everyone for the comments and encouragement. I really appreciate it.

More coming right up.

 

[ambertides]

Out of AK we went, and back to the Fort! DH resisted my directions, but in the end he submitted and we drove right to our site. Our site was 2064.

It had gotten hotter and hotter all morning and kept acting like it was going to rain, so we got everything in the tent and set up as quickly as we could, just in case. Then DH ran to take a shower while I blew up the air mattress and arranged everything. I made sure nothing was touching any walls! Thanks to everyone who suggested that.

Here's the rental tent:

And DH standing up in it, so you can see the height:

He's six feet, four inches tall. This was pre-shower.

I used the air mattress box as a nightstand (classy, I know):

Bed (and my nightclothes):

Our stuff:

And a panorama of the view:

Now it was time for my shower.

When we did online check-in it gave us a choice of near the comfort station or near the bus stop. I picked the comfort station figuring it'd be more complicated to find a potty in the dark than a bus in the daylight.

Here's the view of the comfort station from our site:

Aaand, here's our site from the comfort station:

We were right across the street. Also, if you look to the left of the comfort station, the bus stop is visible right behind it!

So, either way.

Once things were put together to my liking, I rinsed off and changed to head out. I'd worn jeans that morning and it had just gotten to hot over the course of the day to not change into something lighter. What is with that? Last year we had a heat wave just before my birthday, too.

Another MySpace pic!

Judy (in Texas) may recognize that shirt from her own trip report.

So, not only were we on the Dining Plan, we were on the Deluxe Dining Plan. Whatever it took to get DH to take me camping, right? Also, like I said previously, we hadn't really gotten to experience much in the way of Disney table service before. Just 50's Prime Time once last year, and of course, I went to the Melvin the Moose breakfast mumblemumble years ago. Well, the DxDP comes with the refillable mugs. So off we went to get those and explore the Settlement area.

Our first view of the Settlement! Can you see how hot it is?

The check-in lady said we pick them up from Crockett's. Well, Crockett's was closed. We asked at the Trading Post to see if there was an alternate pick up location, and they said Trail's End. Well, Trail's End... also closed! Oops. So I sent Shawn back to the campsite for some snacks and spent some quality time walking around... and then sitting in a rocking chair and knitting. I don't think I can emphasize how enjoyable that was for me.

 

[ambertides]

I loved these signs. I don't know why, but I loved them:

I would've taken a picture sitting at Crockett's, but those chairs were full every time I went by! They're pretty popular. I got a picture of Shawn in one in front of the Trading Post instead:

Another thing they told us at the Trading Post was that Trail's End opened at 4pm. Not so! 4:30. As I was told by what seemed to be a supervisor in Trail's End when I walked through the open door and stood about the cash register for about five minutes. I asked if there was a way for me to pick up my mugs anyway, and since I wasn't paying with cash, she kindly agreed.

We sat outside on a bench for a while and just watched folks come and go. We could see some of the decorations and saw some decorated carts.

I really wanted to go explore at the TCD Ranch, but at the same time I was afraid of being late to our scheduled wine seminar, so I was a big girl and refrained from pouting (too much ) as we made our way back to the bus stop, then back to the site to get our car and off to Epcot.

Next up, Food & Wine, 'Ohana, and waking up at the Fort.

 

[ambertides]

Okie dokie, time to finish up Monday.

We left the Fort to go explore Food & Wine at Epcot a little bit.

First up was a wine seminar for my favorite winery. It was the first time I'd been in the Wonders of Life pavillion since it was actually functioning - probably when I was 15 or so. That felt a little odd, even though I don't have a clear recollection of the pavilion from before.

Our presenter was great.

And so was the wine.

I even liked the Chardonnay, of which I'm not generally a fan.

I hadn't done a wine seminar before, and had a little bit of trepidation, as a lot of folks on the dining board panned them. But this was probably my favorite non-Fort activity of the weekend and I thought it was well worth the money just to hear about the history and operation of the winery and be able to ask questions and so on.

By the time the seminar was over, it was around 7pm.

We did a quick loop around the World Showcase.

First we stopped to get a picture with Duffy.

It was right after this I noticed my birthday button was missing. It had been on my purse when I went into the seminar. I suspect Duffy may have wanted a birthday button for himself.

He was awfully huggy.

Shawn only took one picture and it didn't come out. Our camera just does not do well at night.

But it was still fun meeting a giant teddy bear.

I gave Shawn all four of our snack credits to spend on Food & Wine items, since I was told none of the food was safe for me to eat. I did have a couple wines, though (the MacMurray Ranch Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir & the Chianti Placido Banfi) - and both were good. It was getting close to dinner time, so he only spent two of the credits (the ravioli in Italy which he quite liked and the lobster roll, which he said was just okay) before we headed back out to go to 'Ohana.

We also tried the Bacardi Frozen Torched Cherry Colada. Yum!

I tried to find a Toblerone in Germany. I'd seen some at the festival pavilion but had planned on grabbing one in Germany later, so skipped it then. I don't know if they were temporarily moved for the festival or if the caramel shop displaced them.

'Ohana was our favorite meal of the trip. It got very quiet around 9:45, and we were over in the corner by ourselves with a view of the castle. The food was excellent - Shawn said the best steak he's ever had (but he prefers well done steak). I just had chicken and rice and veggies, but it was all cooked perfectly.

So then it was back to the Fort, a shower, and then bed. We pondered going to the pool, but we figured by the time we changed and did all the bus switching, it'd be closed, so we just went to bed.

It had, by some miracle, rained a small bit while we were eating dinner. Which cooled things down considerably. So it wasn't hot that night at all.

And I had, I think, the best night of sleep in years.

Tuesday's report begins tomorrow. It'll be a lot shorter, I think.

 

[Judy in Texas]

Another MySpace pic!

Judy (in Texas) may recognize that shirt from her own trip report.

Ah, yes! You and my daughter both have a thing for Hello Kitty. Did you see the Hello Kitty merchandise in EPCOT's Japan?

 

[ambertides]

Ah, yes! You and my daughter both have a thing for Hello Kitty. Did you see the Hello Kitty merchandise in EPCOT's Japan?

That's my favorite store at Epcot! - for the Studio Ghibli stuff, too. And the chopsticks.

Your daughter is beautiful.

 

[ambertides]

I woke up in our tent at around 7am.

No alarm.

No stress.

No insomnia.

Just a great night of sleep. I spent a while laying there just listening to everything for a long while. I read a little. And then it was time to get up and stretch and shower.

We had some early morning visitors of the four footed kind:

And apparently a faceplant of the unfortunate facial hair kind.

Otherwise, our section of the loop was pretty peaceful.

Our neighbors across the way had two great little boys who spent a lot of time on their bikes.

I'm not sure why I took a picture of the ice machine, but there it is.

The moon was still up.

I read some of the notices on the board.

Even outdated ones:

I wonder if anyone ever uses the pay phones. We were the last folks we knew to get cell phones, and we've had ours for several years now.

It was all just.... so... peaceful.

Our neighbors to the right:

And to the left:

One of our furry early morning visitors:

Once showered we hopped the bus to the Settlement. It was pretty quiet. We were the only ones on the bus.

I loved the lanterns at the bus stops:

We hopped the bus to the pool (also alone). Everything was pretty much closed. We'd hoped to use the spa, but it was "unexpectedly closed" even after 10am. Still, it was really nice to swim. And really nice to lay out and read. We were the only ones there for about the first half hour.

Eventually the splash area came on:

And lifeguards opened the slide:

And we knew it was time to head back if we were going to check out at 11am.

Next up: a little bit more Fort, some Wilderness, and a party.