Official trip report! We're here. Apr 12-24th

[Maligator]

Hi guys. Sorry for not reporting on the road. It was a bit stressful! The first night's leg went well despite the rain all night. But, before we even got to the first campground in VA, the rubber membrane on our roof de-laminated and was flapping violently. Luckily it did not rip! I ended up having to do some drastic road repairs by stopping at a Lowes and securing it to the roof with a few wood strips to hold it down. I then sealed it with lap sealant to try to prevent any water from entering where I hd to screw it down. Not ideal but the way I see it was the roof is a total loss now anyway and we wouldn't have made it much farther with it flapping around before the rubber membrane ripped and made the problem even worse. Not happy!

But, we drove on and made it to our first camp at the Rocky Mount KOA. Nice and quiet but nothing to do there. Good for what it is, a place to sleep and dump the tanks. We did get to hit our first Golden Corral, which we loved. Chocolate fountain for breakfast!

Saturday, we stayed at the JAcksonvile north KOA and had such a great time that we decided to hit it again on the trip back. Great pool and very nice place.

Finally Sunday arrived and we made the last leg into the Fort. We took snowmedics recommendation and stopped at the Walmart in Titusville for supplies. It was very convenient being right near the toll road going west as we wanted to avoid i4 traffic. It worked out great and I would not ever drive i4 through Orlando again after doing it this way.

As we got nearer Disney property, excitement was building in the RV. The kids donned their hats and we were all freaking out.

We made it!

Best sign in the world!

After setting up camp, we headed down to the Settlement to catch a boat to the MK so I could activate my military tickets. On the way I saw my buddy Sully the horse:

After the tickets were set it was Monorail to the Polynesian for our 8PM Ohana reservation. We had gotten there at only 6:30 and were prepared for a kong wait until 8 but they were able to get us in at 7pm instead! DW and DS are celebrating birthdays so they got laid. Gosh that sounds aweful!

This morning we are just relaxing. DW is doing some laundry and I walked down to Crocket's porch to take the requisite picture:

I am very happy with our site. We had requested the 500 but it is closed for renovations. So, they put us in 400 which turned out to be even better for us. Hitting the pools in a while. More to come!

 

[KathyM2]

Great TR so far!!! Too bad about your issues on the road..at least you found a solution.. That's why I don't camp...I would have no CLUE what to do with such a predicament lol. You were able to handle it and get on the road again without too much delay. So much respect for handy people lol. Awesome that you were able to get in early for dinner too!! O'hana is somewhere I'd love to try for dinner...only been for breakfast. Looking forward to hearing more about your trip!

 

[Goofy14sure]

Glad you made it safe and mostly it one piece! That sounds like a good fix, I'd never figure out that. Sounds like a great day at the Fort!

 

[snowmedic]

Sorry to hear about the trailer roof. At least you knew how to get a temporary fix on it. Glad the Titusville Wally Weird worked out for you. Enjoy your trip! Will be following along.

 

[bama_ed]

This morning we are just relaxing. DW is doing some laundry and I walked down to Crocket's porch to take the requisite picture:

I am very happy with our site. We had requested the 500 but it is closed for renovations. So, they put us in 400 which turned out to be even better for us. Hitting the pools in a while. More to come!

Awright! More feet propped up and kicked back on the Trails End porch. Maligator, I have to ask that you post this picture in our "Kickin' It At The Fort" that our poster "mightyexplorers" started. It fits. Here is the link: http://www.disboards.com/threads/kickin-it-at-the-fort.3395574/

The kids look pumped in their hats and I was in 400 loop two trips ago. Not a bad place for a Premium loop. Thanks for the update.

Bama Ed

 

[Nan P]

I always stop by the horse barn / stables behind Trails End and I remember Sully the white horse. However, I don't remember him with two yellow magic bands on his front hooves.

 

[Maligator]

Gonna try to catch up here...

Monday was a lazy day for us. Hung out at the pool with the kids. Not many folks at the pool compared to our last visit despite the 90* temps. Very nice!

That night we went to the campfire sing along. Made some smores with the kids, had a blast dancing with them and getting messed up on the moves because I have no coordination! The kids got Chip n Dale's autographs and the DW got to hav some fun too:

The squirrels are in full effect. I think some of them have migrated from the 500 loop to the 400 loop in search of food because there is no one in 500. This one seems to be staking his claim:

Tuesday we visited AK in the morning and managed to hit absolutely every attraction we wanted to before noon! The kids got a few more autographs. Donald took a liking to DS because of his hat. He took him under his arm on the way to the meet and greet and ran all the way there with him. I was amazed that Donald didn't fall he was running so fast. It was a really great experience! Then we walked right over and got Goofy and Pluto and then Dug and Russel to boot. The kids books are filling up fast!

In the evening, we went to MK and again hit just about every ride we wanted to because the crowds were light and we had great fast passes. We ended up with GREAT location for Wishes and I am glad we did. That is just amazing, isn't it?

Yesterday we hit Blizzard Beach and had a great time. In the evening, everyone was a bit exhausted but craving ice cream so we went over to Downtown Disney for some Ghirardellis <sp?> and a bit of shopping. DS is big into Hidden Mickeys and he bought a book to help out. The other guy is half asleep in this pic:

Today is another lazy day. Will probably end up at the pool later and the kids have been talking about Wreck it Ralph showing at night.

They started the laundry refurb in the 400 today. Luckilly I had broken down and rented a cart so we drove over to another loop to use their machines. Only down side is that DW had gotten $20 in quarters that we can't use now, lol.

I had forgotten to mention that the CM at check in was saying that he believes the removal of the hat at HS is to make was for more Star Wars stuff. He thinks that Indiana Jones might fall to Star Wars as well. Who knows.

@Bama Ed: I'm going to go right over and put that pic in the thread now. Thanks!

Anyway, tomorrow is HS all day. More to come.

 

[ruthies12]

What's the laundry refurb? Not taking quarters now? Awesome pics!!

 

[bama_ed]

What's the laundry refurb? Not taking quarters now? Awesome pics!!

ruthies12, see this thread starting with post #8. http://www.disboards.com/threads/laundry-question.3397108/#post-53414911

 

[KathyM2]

Loving your report! The Fort just looks so relaxing after a busy day in the parks...sigh. Wish I was there! Loved the Donald pics! Would love to do the campfire thing too...s'mores are one of my fave desserts of all time!

 

[Maligator]

Just a quick report today and no pics yet. Doing HS all day today. We hit it at opening this morning and got a few things done.... Great Movie Ride, Star Tours, Muppets, lunch at that boat looking place and our younglings became Padawans at the Jedi training. I have to say that was awesome to be standing so close to Darth Vader. Impressive!

The Muppets was a disapointment for me. I think I had a bad pair of glasses because it was all double vision. Oh well.

When we got back to the RV for a rest a bit ago, DW smelled propane. Turns out the squirrels attacked the hose that goes from our grill to the tank, making a hole in it. Thankfully the valve was shut and all we lost was the residual in the line. Now I have to hope walmart has that adapter hose in stock or we will be back to those green tanks that go so quickly. I'm pretty upset with the squirrels. I'll be sure there are no scraps left out and maybe they will move on.

Leaving to head back now for our ADR at Hollywood and Vine. Then we have an FP+ for Aerosmith and seats at Fantasmic from the ADR deal. I hope the rain stays away fro the show!

 

[tiggerdad]

You are in 400 loop, home to a notorious gang of squirrels. I dealt with them in 2012 on site 420. Family of 5 as I recall it. Ran up and down the roof of the camper in the early morning. I was convinced they did it to get us up and cooking for them. Was feeding a group of three in front of me when I heard a noise behind me and found a fourth one up INSIDE the loaf of bread helping himself to a slice. They are very crafty.
You probably failed to leave out scraps, or the ones you did were not to their liking. They may have been trying to send a message to you. Hard to say, I would actually leave out extra scraps, perhaps set the table and everything for them.

Might help...

 

[Maligator]

OK so a bit more on yesterday. We went back to HS after nap time in the camper and made it for our 4:40 reservation at Hollywood and Vine. As you can probably tell from my passion for Golden Corral, I love a buffet. I was VERY happy with the selection and quality of food at Hollywood and Vine. The seafood mac and cheese was awesome!

This is one of the boys getting ready for their JEDI training. All the other pics are on DW's phone because I was video recording:

After dinner we went back on Star Tours again because the standby line was only 10min. We were very surprised that the show was different this time and we got the deathstar one which was a bonus for us! Then we went to the One Man's Dream and enjoyed all the memorabilia and the movie about Walt's life. Even though my two boys are 8&9, they enjoy the history of things and soaked it all in. Cool place!

DW and I posing with the scenery:

After a bit of roaming, it was time for our Rockin Rollercoaster FP+. My older son got a bit freked out on Expedition Everest last year and was apprehensive about tackling this coaster. I was very proud of him for toughing it out and making it through. At the end he said he was glad he did it but probably won't again. I guess he's just not into coasters that much.

Then we sat on Hollywood Blvd for a while and people watched while waiting for Fantasmic. The seats for the show that come with the Dinner deal are now dead center which is geat because they used to be off to the side if I remember right. We had perfect seats in the middle about half way up! Great show and well worth getting that dinner deal IMO.

Today we rented a car and did some groceries at the Walmart in Kissimmee. Alamo picked us up right at our site and when I dropped it off I elected to be dropped off at the Contemporary to take the boat back to FW. The kids want to see Big Hero 6 so we will hit that later on after chowing down at Trails End (YAY another buffet!).

Tomorrow we will hit Typhoon Lagoon and relax before hitting EPCOT all day Monday. This trip is really going great!

@Tigerdad, I offered some chips to the squirrel today. I hope that keeps him away from the new gas line I bought at Walmart. Just to be sure though, I am un-hooking the propane tank each time and stowing it in a compartment. I hope he doesn't eyeball my water hose now. Here's the damage that he did: