OFFICIAL OCTOBER 2017 pretrip and trip report!

[serenitygr]

All right, everyone- this is it! I hope you are all as excited to be reading this as I am to be writing it! For everyone arriving in October- just a reminder that you are all invited and more than welcome to post on this thread! Instead of everyone doing an individual trip report, this way we can all share our experiences on one "easy to read and follow along" post.

My name is Shelly, but for the DIS boards I am serenitygr. Some of you remember me from several years ago when we drove our "rolling turd" all the way from Minnesota. That was an amazing trip, and one I will never forget. Then almost 2 years ago, we came down and rented a camper from Florida Camper Rental during October- another beautiful trip! Both times we had the pleasure of meeting some legendary DIS folks, and hope we'll have the chance to do that again this fall!

ALL RIGHT OCTOBER DIS'ERS! IT'S ALMOST TIME! THIS IS A LIST OF ALL OUR OCTOBER CAMPERS THAT WE KNOW SO FAR, AND THEIR ARRIVAL DATES! (If I've made any mistakes please don't hesitate to let me know and I'll fix them!) HOPING THIS WILL MAKE IT EASIER TO MEET UP WITH FELLOW DIS MEMBERS, AND MAKE SOME NEW FRIENDSHIPS! FEEL FREE TO HOP INTO THIS TRIP REPORT ANYTIME YOU'D LIKE TO GIVE US AN UPDATE, AND WE DEFINATELY LOVE PICTURES! LET'S CARRY ON THIS AWESOME TRADITION, AND GIVE OUR NOVEMBER FRIENDS SOMETHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO!

1. tregal16: 9/30-10/9
2. BnD: 9/30-10/8 (requested 1500 loop)
3. PatriciaH: staying all of October!
4. serenitygr: 10/1-10/15 (requested 1400 loop)
5. rml0win: 10/1-10/18 (request 1700 loop)
6. tripleb: 10/1-10/8 (requested 1600 loop)
7. ruthies12: 10/5-10/15 (requested 400 loop)
8. dalir: 10/6-10/9 (full hook up site)
9. Tlat1270: 10/7-10/20 (requested 1500 loop)
10. JETS70: 10/9-10/15
11. FrozenOne16: 10/9-10/12 (tent camping)
12. proudmomof4: 10/7-10/15 (premium site) (updated arrival date)
13. jn3cv1: 10/14-10/28
14. FortWildernessCamper: 10/14-10/20 (requested 1800)
15. Tmom5: 10/14-10/21
16. ms2058: 10/15-10/21
17. jabrabu: 10/15-10/21 (full hookup site)
18. SmithCrazy3: 10/15-10/21
19. snowmedic: 10/17-10/26 or 11/3 (requested 1600 loop)
20. nnw: 10/18-10/29 (cabins)
21. wilkeliza: 10/19-10/22 (cabins)
22. Bdev13: 10/19-10/27 (preferred site)
23. KPSmithSr: 10/20-11/17
24. Jimsig: 10/20-10/29 (3 cabins!)
25. lokin4deer: 10/21-10/27
(requested 100 loop)
26. sheboz: 10/21-10/27 (premium site)
27. Judyfun: 10/21-10/28 (4 families!)
28. Sb4: 10/22-10/27
29. N365PA: 10/23-10/27
30. allaboutthemouse: 10/26-11/5
31. mickeyfan0805: 10/26-11/5
32. FLBBQMAN: 10/26-11/5 (premium site)
33. jhomuth: 10/27-11/7 (requested 1700 loop)
34. BamaEd: 10/29-11/5 (requested 100 loop)
35. DisneyFran: 10/29-11/4 (tent camping)
36. mich1073: 10/29-11/1 (3 premium sites)
37. mtnminnie: staying Halloween week (tent camping)
38. superblonde29: (not sure on dates)
39. Flametamr: 10/30-11/6 (requested 700 loop)

Last September, we were blessed to be able to purchase the most beautiful camper in the world (to our family, anyway, she is!) We still have not settled on a name for her, because almost as soon as we bought her, she went into storage for the winter. But this summer, as we get to know her better, we will come up with a worthy name for her! We are planning to head to Florida exactly 5 months from today- that will give us 5 days to drive the 1800 miles, and we're checking into the Fort on October 1st, and checking out 2 weeks later. Over the next 5 months hopefully we'll get many chances to let everyone know how our preparation and planning is going, as well as hearing how others are getting ready!

I also have to try to remember how to do the picture posting- any reminders would be great!

Just a quick outline of what are plans are: We will be going to Universal 3 days during our first week- we've never been there so that will be a new experience! We'll also be spending one day at Gatorland, and one day at LEGOLAND. We are not doing any days at Hollywood Studios this trip, planning one day at Animal Kingdom just to see what Avatar Land is like, planning a day at Epcot just to tour the countries with just my 2 boys (they are turning 15 this May!) , planning one additional day for all of us at Epcot so we can do Soaring and Test Track, and planning to do the Halloween party one of our nights! And in the middle of that, I'm hoping to sneak away to Magic Kingdom for a few hours every chance I get- that is my happy place other than the Fort.

Some of our other plans include my daughter and I doing the trail ride (that's become a tradition for us) , doing the parasailing, the Hoop Dee Doo one night, Cape May Seafood Buffet one night, and hopefully staying at Magic Kingdom one night until closing to say I was there for the "goodnight kiss"..... I think my 2 boys might want to do this with me as well!

Our family includes me, Joe (my other half, who is also our driver), Korey and Kody- our twin 15 year old boys, and Sammi and Scotty- our twin 12 year old girl and boy! And to make our trip even more exciting- my brother, his wife, and my mom are flying down to spend the first week with us! Mom will be staying in the camper with us, and my brother Steve and his wife Cindy will be pitching a tent on our site! We are very much hoping for the 1431 or 1432 site in Big Bear Loop- that spot has a very special meaning for us, so keeping our fingers crossed that will work out!

Looking forward to hearing from more of you!

 

[Judyfun]

We are doing a large family (multi (4) campers) trip coming in on 10/21 leaving on 10/28, but I will be trying to extend my site to 11/1 if at all possible. My Brother and his wife (never been to the Fort), their Daughter, son-in-law and Granddaughter (never even been to Disney), my Daughter and Son-in-law and my other daughter and her boyfriend. My biggest concern is if I have enough decorations to make all sites Halloweenish. We just got the golf cart totallllly updated, paint job, new seats, new extended roof, new tires, and drink holders for the back. Painted the color of Sully and will be making it into Sully for this trip!

 

[jabrabu]

We have a reservation for 10/15 to 10/21, Full Hook Up site. It will be my wife, my 10 year old son, and me. We have a 24 ft. motorhome. We usually stay at Shades of Green, and once stayed at All Star Movies, but this will be our first time at the campground. Looking forward to the new experience of camping at WDW. We may also try one of the water parks, which we have never done. We are from MD.

 

[PatriciaH]

We will be there all of October. See you there

 

[snowmedic]

I will tag along on this trip report instead of doing one of my own. This trip will be just the 3 of us again, me, DW, and DD10. We will be leaving NW VT. on Oct. 11 and heading down to, Bueller, Bueller, anyone? Destin, that's right, going to go and spend a couple days with my parents and sister again. I say a couple of days because my parents come for a visit that last about 1 1/2 months, so they should be good for a couple days, and my mom might come down and spend some time at the Fort anyway.

After spending the couple days in Destin, I will miss the Seafood Festival while we are there, we will be heading out at our normal time, 10:30 pm EST. on Monday the 16th for a nice and early Oct. 17 check-in. Have requested 1600 again, I wonder if I will get 1642 again this trip. Anyway, our Fort dates are Oct. 17 - Nov. 3. I made ADR's on Sunday, here is a preview:

Tues. 17, GAG, don't need ADR just thought I would list it, it has become a ritual on check-in day.
Weds. 18, Whispering Canyon Breakfast, made ADR because of sleeping in that morning.
Fri. 20, Boat House @ the Springs.
Sun. 22, Whispering Canyon for Dinner, love there breakfast and the antics that go on, so we thought we might try dinner.
Tues. 24, Ohana, never done this one but the menu looked good.
Oct. 28, my Birthday, I will be 47, Shula's at the Dolphin Hotel. Can't wait to sink my teeth into that 48 oz. Porterhouse. That night DD will be going over to Lilo's playhouse at the Poly while we have dinner.
Sun. 29, T-Rex, @ the Springs
Mon. 30, Trails End
Thurs. 2, Trails End for last dinner at the Fort
Fri. 3, Whispering Canyon for breakfast the morning of departure.
We will do TE more than once, just have to decide what days and just make ADR that morning, worked pretty well when we did it back in March.
I will do a full restaurant review like last time.

As for parks, let me see. We will still have our AP for Aquatica, thinking we might do AP's for Universal so we can do those 2 parks and also try out there new waterpark.
DW wants to do MK, if we decide on that I will probably just get the MNSSHP tickets.
I believe we are going to Clear Water Aquarium, so DD can see Flipper, I mean Winter.
There will also be another Orlando Eye ride again, and more time over in Cocoa Beach, hopefully the locks will be open to the public and we can see some fish and Manatees. If not, I know where to go to see the Manatees in Palm Bay.

Yes, once again we will be staying in a tent. I will be bringing my portable A/C with us, thanks again for that @tiggerdad. We will also be bringing a few (2-3) Halloween decorations and 2-3 Christmas decorations. Plus I will have my fireworks display again this year.

For now that is all I can think of. Until later, Snowmedic

 

[tiggerdad]

Hey Vince, as always we'll we reading along. My girls are on fall break the 9th and 10th of October which only gives us a short window so October is off the menu for us this year. Not sure when I'm going to be able to make this work out for a return trip for us.

 

[Teamubr]

Great start, Shelly and Vince. I'll be there a couple of weeks before you. I'll leave the light on.

It sounds like you both have pretty good plans. Other than KTTK tour and a couple of ADRs, I'm not even sure what park on what day I'll be in. According to the crowd calendars, it should be a great time for all of us. I may just take things day to day this trip. I've never done that before.

j

 

[bama_ed]

In on page 1.

I'm still sitting on a week's reservation during Halloween week.

Serenitygr, my hat's off to you starting this thread 5 months in advance.


Bama Ed

 

[serenitygr]

In on page 1.

I'm still sitting on a week's reservation during Halloween week.

Serenitygr, my hat's off to you starting this thread 5 months in advance.


Bama Ed

I think I'm overly excited

 

[sheboz]

Hi, My name is Jennie and we're Fort virgins. We will be driving from Windsor Ontario Canada. We check in October 21-27. We have a new to us A class motor home. We are a family of 5. DS 13, DD 10 and DS 3.

We will be in the parks daily and attending MNSSHP.
Dining reservations are made.

Currently we are completing some improvements on the motor home. New headers, new O2 sensors, new hydrolic lines and new flooring.

I enjoy reading about Fort Wilderness. We have booked a premium site. Could you recommend your favourite loop and tell me why please. Looking forward to learning more about the Fort.

 

[peg110]

to the Fort Jennie. If you like camping, I am sure you will love the Fort.

For Premium Sites, we really like the 1400 (Big Bear) loop and/or the 1000 Loop (Raccoon Lane) because of their proximity to the Meadows Trading Post, the pool, and other activities in that area.

 

[jv3cv1]

We will be there Oct 14-28 hope to add a few days before or after if they come available. We just love the fort. Was supposed to be Christmas trip with the kids but plans changed.

 

[peg110]

Was supposed to be Christmas trip with the kids but plans changed.

I think that's our "Mantra" PLANS CHANGE! Until we actually Arrive, the plans will change a 1000 times.... Then after we arrive they will change a 1000 more.

 

[FtW Mike]

In on page 1.

I'm still sitting on a week's reservation during Halloween week.

Serenitygr, my hat's off to you starting this thread 5 months in advance.


Bama Ed

Bama at the 8 month mark I am busy doing my preplanning planning

 

[serenitygr]

Just a quick update- pretty excited! It looks like I have found a much better savings on LEGOLAND tickets!! We were planning on buying 4 adult tickets, and then getting the 2 younger twins in free with the "buy one adult/get one free" coupons. But after researching more on the DIS boards (of course!) I found out since we homeschool, we are eligible to purchase our tickets for the special homeschool rate. We just have to bring proof from our school district that we do indeed homeschool, which should not be hard to do! So instead of over $300, our tickets will end up costing about $125!! That is such a HUGE savings! Just the difference in that will pay for 2 of our Halloween party tickets! So excited!

 

[peg110]

Bama at the 8 month mark I am busy doing my preplanning planning

So let me understand You wil plan to plan the planning?

 

[serenitygr]

So let me understand You wil plan to plan the planning?

 

[FtW Mike]

So let me understand You wil plan to plan the planning?

No Paul at this stage of the highly scientific process we follow we are conducting extensive debates of what activities we want to engage in. Then formulate a preliminary agenda of where we will need to be and how long it will take to get there taking into consideration an assortment of variables such as crowd levels, anticipated atmospheric and meteorological conditions, time of day , The degree of cooperation we get from and the overall behavior and attitude of the furballs. Then consider the alternative options weigh the pros and cons of each before tentatively committing to the proposed agenda while continuously investigating alternatives based on the above parameters and what we feel like doing for that particular day

 

[serenitygr]

No Paul at this stage of the highly scientific process we follow we are conducting extensive debates of what activities we want to engage in. Then formulate a preliminary agenda of where we will need to be and how long it will take to get there taking into consideration an assortment of variables such as crowd levels, anticipated atmospheric and meteorological conditions, time of day , The degree of cooperation we get from and the overall behavior and attitude of the furballs. Then consider the alternative options weigh the pros and cons of each before tentatively committing to the proposed agenda while continuously investigating alternatives based on the above parameters and what we feel like doing for that particular day

I feel tired just reading all that

 

[peg110]

No Paul at this stage of the highly scientific process we follow we are conducting extensive debates of what activities we want to engage in. Then formulate a preliminary agenda of where we will need to be and how long it will take to get there taking into consideration an assortment of variables such as crowd levels, anticipated atmospheric and meteorological conditions, time of day , The degree of cooperation we get from and the overall behavior and attitude of the furballs. Then consider the alternative options weigh the pros and cons of each before tentatively committing to the proposed agenda while continuously investigating alternatives based on the above parameters and what we feel like doing for that particular day

Oh.... I see, you are devising to outline a process to develop a schedule that will allow for the direction of movement in an adequate fashion for sufficient execution with minimal supervision based leadership channels from your local organization to strategically schedule, with oversight controls and input from multiple channels while tactically wielding the information with the intendance, through detail manipulation to posture the planning effort.

Thanks for Clarifying it.


~ Eschew Obfuscation ~