OFFICIAL DEC 2018 PTR AND TR THREAD

[tltay2005]

Today we did a little fishing, caught another nice bass, worked on my puzzle and took a nap (yes, sometimes vacation is plopping your *** on a couch and sleeping ). We went over to the Beach Club and Boardwalk. Ate a quick and much cheaper dinner at the ESPN Club. Now back at camp chilling in front of the TV outside under the stars .

 

[2goofycampers]

Have any of you ever seen river otters here? Of all the times we have been here never seen them, this trip we have seen four. They are too fast to get pictures, but it is very cook to see them. A group of turkeys flew across the canal this morning as we ate breakfast and a bald eagle flew over. Love that we can be right in the middle of the busiest place on Earth and still see such amen amazing array of wildlife.

We seen some otters behind 1000 in the canal in 2011/2012.

 

[tigger92662]

I think I'm going to wimp out on this one. $15 for four slices of bacon,

I'll agree there. We were with another couple who were treating us to dinner for our 30th. They order them and I honestly never looked at the price.
I'm by no means a chef, but I'd take a crack at makin it myself

 

[FtW Mike]

Have any of you ever seen river otters here? Of all the times we have been here never seen them, this trip we have seen four. They are too fast to get pictures, but it is very cook to see them. A group of turkeys flew across the canal this morning as we ate breakfast and a bald eagle flew over. Love that we can be right in the middle of the busiest place on Earth and still see such amen amazing array of wildlife.

ne.
Teri the other morning I had one moving up the canal towards the cattle gate like it was following me while I walked SKY the Little One. The following morning I was hoping for them to return, only to find a 2 foot gator had replaced them.

 

[bama_ed]

Well we are back in our camper at Blue Spring SP. What a long day.

I will post some pictures in my "Camping With The Manatees" thread on the Camping Community Board tomorrow but we drove straight down I4 in the morning fog to the Fort. From mile marker (mm) 95 above Orlando to mm 74 at Universal, the interstate is a slalom course at high speeds veering from new lanes freshly built to old lanes with barrier walls across uneven temporary paving and then back again. And again. And again. We went through at 730am or so this morning (on a Saturday no less) and no way would I want to tow through there in either direction between 8am and midnight any day of the week. On the way back we blew up the toll road Hwy 417 and it was worth an extra 9 minutes to run at 70mph+ all the way.

It was foggy/low clouds this morning and humid as we got to the Fort. Car thermometer said 73F. Walked through the Meadow TP briefly, got down to Pioneer Hall and kicked it on the porch, then checked in for breakfast about 10 minutes early. BTW, today DW stayed back at the camper to catch up on her sleep so it was just me and DD. Breakfast (TE brunch) was okay (not the best presentation) and surprisingly not crowded (I note a 7am EMH at MK plus who knows what the other parks were like).

After breakfast we got around and visited our posters tltay2005, FtW Mike, and amcc. Mike was the only one we had not met before so we spent more time with him (he and his DW and pets are planning to come to the Gulf DIS Meet in May). Next we thought we would go to Disney Springs first thing of the day (less crowded) but DD at the last minute reconsidered because she planned to do the most shopping there and didn't want to carry purchases around all day. So we hit the MK Deluxe resorts first instead and scoped out the the gift shops and Christmas displays. Also added in was a monorail ride to epcot and back without getting off there.

On the agenda this afternoon was DD's return to The Boardwalk Resort (her Disney College Program work location) and she was relieved nobody working recognized her (she did recognize a couple CM's that she had known). But I got the rolling commentary on working custodial in the BW lobby area and the length of the wooden boardwalk from the ESPN club to the Dance Hall on the other end. (The double wide metal trash cans were the worst, she said). The narration was priceless. It was hot and sunny by now.

Next we took a bus from BW to Disney Springs which was crowded and hit the new World of Disney store first. Hated it. Loved the old store, hate the new one. Yes, it was crowded and long lines at checkout but that's not why. I'll elaborate tomorrow. A few more stores we walked into to, got our shopping done, and then we were ready to head out. We had to wait at the DS bus stop 30 minutes for a bus back to the Fort to get our car.

Then as I said, got headed off property on Epcot Center Drive which becomes Hwy 536 off property and feeds up into the toll road Hwy 417 for the smooth drive home. As Hwy 536 crossed over I4, traffic northbound was stop-n-go as far as the eye could see in both directions. Hurray for Hwy 417!

Gonna settle in and watch the Bama game soon on the satellite. Clemson is easily handling Notre Dame currently (no surprise there).

Again thanks to all the DIS folks we saw today for your kindness and hospitality. Pictures and more details will be added tomorrow morning on the Community Board.

Bama Ed

 

[FtW Mike]

Ed Thanks for stopping by it was a true pleasure to meet you and You DD. Smart move to have her Brothers first but as they are out of the house a good Fowling Piece might be a wise idea.

 

[FtW Mike]

Christmas Eve continued.
When we came back from WL it was nearly time to get ready to report for the Ride of Shame aka the Holiday Golf Cart Parade. Our meager efforts were not the worst but far from the best. They people with the Gingerbread house did a fantastic job with theirs. Back at the coach we did a simple dinner of left over turkey we brought with us.

 

[amcc]

So great to reconnect with @bama_ed and meet @FtW Mike - old and new friends. Mike graciously dropped off the fire pit that we hope to put to good use tonight for s’mores - beautiful weather but we definitely don’t need it for heat .

Yesterday was a long pool day but today we took Mikes advice and headed to the Boardwalk area to see the gorgeous Christmas decorations. We had perfect transportation luck!! My son begged to come back to pack up our luggage and move in to the Beach Club. Poor delusional baby. Haven’t stayed in a Disney hotel for over 4 years. Lunch from Trails End takeout and probably pool again now. My 6y.o. is a pool fanatic.

There’s no tree by the Settlement - not sure if it was ever up but it was definitely still up at this time last year. We are in 2000 loop AGAIN although I’ve really grown to like it. Our site is huge! There are so many trailers and dogs in this loop both in tents and trailers plus very large groups with way too many cars. So far pretty quiet but there’s definitely no rule enforcing in this Wild West loop.

 

[tigger92662]

Mike graciously dropped off the fire pit that we hope to put to good use tonight for s’mores

OOOOOH, s'mores in TFP 2.0. I'm in

 

[snowmedic]

there’s definitely no rule enforcing in this Wild West loop.

very large groups with way too many cars.

You are right about the multiple cars, when we where there last Wednesday cruising around in the GC we seen some sights with 3 cars in them.

 

[tltay2005]

So great to reconnect with @bama_ed and meet @FtW Mike - old and new friends. Mike graciously dropped off the fire pit that we hope to put to good use tonight for s’mores - beautiful weather but we definitely don’t need it for heat .

Yesterday was a long pool day but today we took Mikes advice and headed to the Boardwalk area to see the gorgeous Christmas decorations. We had perfect transportation luck!! My son begged to come back to pack up our luggage and move in to the Beach Club. Poor delusional baby. Haven’t stayed in a Disney hotel for over 4 years. Lunch from Trails End takeout and probably pool again now. My 6y.o. is a pool fanatic.

There’s no tree by the Settlement - not sure if it was ever up but it was definitely still up at this time last year. We are in 2000 loop AGAIN although I’ve really grown to like it. Our site is huge! There are so many trailers and dogs in this loop both in tents and trailers plus very large groups with way too many cars. So far pretty quiet but there’s definitely no rule enforcing in this Wild West loop.

They just took it down Sat. There was also a snowman that was gone overnight.

 

[tltay2005]

Last day we went for our morning ride, then head d over to the Poly for lunch then back for one last ride to see the sunset. It was very nice to catch up with Ed and meet his daughter.

 

[tltay2005]

Another animal we have never seen before at the Fort, an Iguana.

 

[tltay2005]

Forgot to attach the picture to my earlier post about our son coming up for a visit and bringing the old man.

 

[bama_ed]

Yes, amcc, the tree on the ground in front of Trails Enc came down late Friday night/early Saturday morning. If you go to the Kickin' It thread I took a pix Saturday morning it was gone. snowmedic had posted one same spot two days earlier it was there. I feel slightly cheated....

 

[amcc]

Cooking dinner but have our chairs set up at the beach already. For the paid party event, they’ve cordoned off the nearest golf cart parking to the beach and the area extending back along the lake to where the canal meets the lake. It doesn’t seem like a good idea to eliminate so much parking.

We went to Walmart at around 7:30 this morning and the traffic to MK was insane!! Google told us that the back door route to the Fort was 24 minutes but the one through the MK parking gate was 50 min. longer!!!

Happy New Years everyone!

 

[FtW Mike]

26 Dec
Today was dedicated to touring World Showcase and hitting some of the food Kiosks. After seeing the crowds coming in thru the front Gate of EPCOT the other day we elected to use International Gate. Quick boat over to MK then catch a bus to Boardwalk then walk over. Lucille saw they had a boat from there to Epcot so that is what we did. Entry here was a breeze. Coming out next to France we looked over the offerings and made the mistake of passing. The salmon offering did not look appealing Think Salmon Hot Dog. The Turkey offering looked great but we had some defrosting back at the coach so pass for now.
Next was L'Chiam . The Pastrami looked great but was little more than a bite of a sandwich. Again pass but I did go for the Knish. Sorry but I worked in enough Hasidic and Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods to know a good Knish. They do NOT come with a schmear of Sour Cream. The filling needed more seasoning and the dough casing needed to be thin and fried not baked.
We made our way to England as we had gotten a late start and the girls were not doing well if stay away too long we would head back early. England had nothing we really wanted food wise but we did browse the shops. Best thing we did catch part of Father Christmas's presentation.

Found this in England and very disappointed to learn it only came in a 12 or 16 ounce BOX Not a 55 gal. DRUM

Then off to Canada.
Here I tried the Lamb and Pork Meat Pie. Either need a larger one or a second to really grade it but wouldn't turn it down if given the chance to try it again. Lucille went for the frozen coffee and raved about. It was nearly time for the Live show in Canada so we decided to stick around for that. Lead singer is not the same as 4 years ago but she had a spectacular voice and the show was well worth it.

 

[amcc]

Don’t know if to continue here or switch to January TR thread...

NYE party in the beach was super fun as usual. Big crowd, good DJ. My kids participated in the donut eating contest and one won!!! The prize was an hour on a pontoon boat which we will do today.
Yesterday visited the boat monorail loop resorts.
Polynesian and Contemporary had either already taken down the decorations or were pretty skimpy. The Contemporary gingerbread house is ok - it’s obviously some kind of preserved “gingerbread” because it’s onviously the same one as last year with a Cinderella theme.
We were really looking forward to Geyser Point for lunch as it’s one of our favorites but what a disappointment this time! Super slow to seat us despite it being only about 50% full and the menu has no sharing plates anymore although the place is set up for exactly that kind of service. Will probably only go by for a drink and not plan on food there.

 

[amcc]

A couple of observations
- My favorite thing here is the song a long as it’s unique and so Disney. Well, we missed it last night but made it to movie. They’ve removed the log benches and replaced (less of) them with metal ones! Uncomfortable and really detracted from the theme.
- There are more rocking chairs on the porch but the picnic tables are gone.
- The public bathroom toilet paper at Wilderness Lodge is better quality than the Fort comfort station. I get they pay more money but we NEED to use it.
- The women’s comfort stations need a shelf under the mirror across from the sinks especially in these tent loops. People block the sinks fixing hair and makeup and it’s uncomfortable for everyone.
- We met one of the snow birds in Loop 1700 and she gave us retirement ideas that have us dreaming. It seems like a great community of seasonal workers from all over the US that have formed strong bonds.

 

[FtW Mike]

27 Dec
Today was another day for touring WS to check on Live entertainment. Originally we planned to do the food Kiosks again but yesterday had been such a bust and seeing so many of the offerings had pork (Lucille his severely allergic ) that we made another ADR for Chef's De France having enjoyed it so much the other night and in the past. As it didn't make sense to come in International Gate and go to the front of WS and start in Mexico to work our way b ack to France we braved the insanity of the front entrance. We did a stop in MOUSEGEARS so Lucille could check out something. In there I found the same watch I was trying to get repaired that every Jeweler here says the don't have parts for. Same watch same price as 4 years ago I jumped on it. Lucille was at the other end of the counter getting me a really nice BOULAVA so now I have 2 nice Mickey watches.
Leaving there we headed off to Mexico and cut thru the Odessey Restaurant and ran into a family whose sons are either alumni or attending the same High School I did. The one kid had on a tee shirt for the track team and I asked him if was for Mineola or California. They are Mineola NY people same . It is amazing that 2 schools dedicated to the principles of the founder of the Marianists order are so different . After a brief exchange we all went our separate ways and we entered Mexico. We caught part of the story of The 3 Kings before moving on. Norway had little to offer Live entertainment and very little in the shops as well. China was much the same.