On the road from wny 4/9/14 - 4/23/14

[DisKramer]

Fort is not as crowded as I had thought. Reservations show no vacancies for everything but tent/pop up this week but I've counted at least 7 or 8 in each loop and half of 2000

 

[RandolphNY]

One major request all should make with requesting a site is you don't want the site right next to the garbage/ recycling bins. Convenience yes, but being on stage for others 24/7, I'd pass on.

I would say that the campsites are almost filled to capacity. I'm going to fully loop this morning. Regarding 500, nothing special. Right next to a bus stop which is always nice. The comfort station seems decent. No complaints from family as I use my own facilities

I mentioned in previous post why I would spend a little more being a larger spot and less dirt. Frankly next time I would step down. If you spend more time at parks then site why spend more money. I may change my thought if we relax more for the rest of stay.

Fast pass......hum. You definitely want to plan ahead. Kind of stinks as it's made out to be something changeable on the fly. Right now I'm scared to change any future plans as you don't want to lose what I have. More importantly found out that at 2pm yesterday , all the good Hollywood rides were sold out.

4 nights remaining

 

[RandolphNY]

days like today are where you forget what you've done so far at least yesterday. We went to the pool yesterday morning the smaller one although the weather was bad it's a very nice pool area so there were no crowds. Afterwards we took the bus to Epcot as we had planned. My back is killing me when I walk around so I'm taking too much time sitting down but were able to enjoy the fast passes that we had. I could not believe how fast we got through sailing.although I hear it eight and my family last night I haven't been on the tram in awhile so it took the tram from Epcot to the Magic Kingdom and then the boat back. Since I had left the golf cart at the other end I took the bus to bring the golf cart back. My wife and I rode around each of the loops this morning. Frankly it seems like this place is much busier this time then it was 3 years ago.thankfully I've slowed my family down a little bit so its 2 o'clock right now and we are getting ready to run over to Magic Kingdom and use the three fast passes that we have scheduled for today there. Don't know for sure what we're going to do this evening.when we were Looping I was trying to look for some members but have not found any.

 

[RandolphNY]

As we always say, time flies when you don't want it to.

Yesterday (Friday) was another weather day. Luckily, we were inside during the thunderstorms that rolled through. Watching weather on my phone, I was worried it was going to be an all day event.

I was exhausted enough to call it quits early.

Anyways, waking up all refreshed this morning we went to Animal Kingdom. This park actually has become my favorite. The driver on this safari trip was the best ever. We had lots off views real close this time. One of the best things is they removed that foolish act near the end where you were rushed back because of poachers near by.

We just got back from a walk down to the beach to watch the water parade. It was cancelled because of wind or something.

Last day plans are trying to squeeze in as much as possible tomorrow. Right now, I want to get up and go to epcot in the morning, comeback for Lunch, Head over to Magic for the new parade at 3. Return to the site for dinner and squeeze something else in prior to returning to magic for the wishes show.

Have used fastpass for the parade and wishes, so will be interesting to see if we get a good location (hopefully with seats).

Regarding FastPass, I mentioned before that it looks like a good system, but Disney needs to educate to users of the system much better. My disappointment is not planning well. In concept I wanted to have them scheduled one right after another, but it really took away from the relaxing part, because I didn't have them all in the same area or within reach. I ran into this at all locations and would highly suggest the following:

Map out the events and locations. Make the times fit into a normal walking path with planned stops along the way. You don't want to be at space mountain and then have to rush to splash mountain on the other side of the park.

Same thing occurred at Epcot.

 

[RandolphNY]

At this time, getting ready to "tear down" the campsite and hit the road. I will fill in at some point when we are either on the road or safely home. Expect to get at least to Charlotte today and drive the remainder tomorrow.

 

[jbrostek]

sounds like you had a good time. I agree with FP+, our first day of using it we realized that you need to space out the passes or you spend your time trying to run from pass to pass. We deciced to just wing it most days and only setup our FP+ the day before, but during the time we where there it was not much of an issue.

 

[RandolphNY]

We left the fort around 10:30 this morning and have traveled for 10 hours. We are staying at a KOA just outside of Charlotte and will finish the trip tomorrow.

Just sat down to look at all of the pictures that were taken using memory maker. They turned out pretty good and will need to spend sometime at home downloading and organizing.

 

[2goofycampers]

Safe travels.

 

[jbrostek]

Safe travels on your route home.

 

[RandolphNY]

Home!!!

 

[RandolphNY]

Home!!!

 

[2goofycampers]

Home!!!

Now we wait, patiently.

 

[allaboutthemouse]

Now we wait, patiently.

 

[RandolphNY]

Well, I will try to do my best to make this a worthwhile summary:

Regarding the traveling:
We left WNY @ 9:30pm on Wednesday and arrived at the Orlando/Kissimmee KOA @ 2:30am Friday Morning. We attempted to make this a non-stop trip with only gas/food/stretch breaks. (29 Hours)
On our return trip, we left @ 10:30am Monday, stopped overnight at the Charlotte / Fort Mill KOA and arrived home @ 10:30pm Tuesday Night.

Thoughts: I will never do a non-stop trip ever again. Although, my wife and I did a good job sharing the driving, it was not worth it. Although, I75 was 100 miles longer, and yes, I77 to Cleveland was faster, I will not go through WV with a RV every again. Wind and Curves are terrible.

Orlando KOA, is probably one of the finest KOA's I've been to. Although store isn't opened past 5pm, the campground is well maintained and the pool area is wonderful.

Universal:
Nice area, More amusement park themed than Disney World, but does have alot of nice areas. Am glad that we did get there Friday as there was less of a crowd than the weekend. Harry Potter is worth it all and food prices are the cheapest I have ever experienced. You do get your monies worth. No matter if you drive your motorhome or rent a car, the parking is quite a walk. They do have people movers, but plan on major walks. Overall: Enjoyed and will go back, but suggest during the week and not weekends.

 

[RandolphNY]

Monday, we returned the Rental Car, stopped at Walmart and proceeded to the Fort.

The fort is the Fort. We were placed in section 500. Sorry, but I don't remember the exact site number. Anyway, within walking distance of the Settlement Area / Boat Launch along with the bus stop. Only issue was, We were right next to the garbage / recycle bins, so we had alot of visitors. At any other campground, I would be nervous with all of the traffic, but I figure with all the money being spent just to go, I shouldn't have to worry about theft / damage.

I do think although a small amount, I will save some money and step down from the premium site. Yes, nice to have all cement, but other than using the grill, We really did not need the extra features. I was also disappointed that the site was not perfect for leveling. I do not have levelers on our Class C, so I did have to level on pads.

We did rent a golf cart for two days. Probably not worth it for what we used it for. (I really thought we would stay at the fort for most of Wednesday, but our daughter really wanted to goto the parks. We probably should have just sent the kids off and kicked back) Anyway, If you can bring your own, I would. I wish the rentals were cheaper, but comparing to a Jellystone rental, our cost wasn't too bad.

Compared to easter break in 2011, I did feel the Fort was full. Although, weather wasn't the best, we did enjoy the pool over by the cabins. (we did not goto / use the meadows area)

 

[RandolphNY]

Bus System:
For most part, I still support the use of the bus systems. The internal seemed much slower than 3 years ago, but I'm on vacation, so I try not to let it bother me. Walking to the boat launch was fine.

I know there has been discussion regarding driving to the parks, but I can not believe that you gain anything. Road traffic was nasty, lines at toll booths were long and being shuttled back and forth to your car seems foolish, when I am getting off the bus.

Magic Bands:
At comfort stations were not usable. We were given cards to be used for that purpose.

Final thoughts: I Love the Fort! Biggest mistake we made was not slowing down and enjoying the fort. It was the plan, but the plan was changed on the go. (kids!) I know I will go again, don't know when, but will try to slowdown more to enjoy the fort.

 

[RandolphNY]

Parks:
Monday, Magic Kingdom: Learned fast that you do not want to schedule fastpass, one right after another. Too much running and no enjoyment.

Tuesday, Hollywood: Don't let the name of the Restaurant and/or Dinner Package make it sound like your needing to be more dressy. We had reservations for the Hollywood & Vine with the Fantasmic show. Dress code was not necessary, although we looked nice as a family for the pictures.
Buffet style meal, worth its price.

Had weather issues in the afternoon and felt like I could have died while the thunderstorms rolled through as we are sitting on and under the bleachers for the lights, motor, action stunt show. Third time here and still haven't seen this show and wasted a fastpass.

Regarding Fantasmic, we finally got to see this and actually went back too it on Wednesday night using fastpass. Anyway, if you do the dinner package, make sure you ask for the 2nd and/or late showing. What a difference with the darkness level. For the first time, I am glad we watched it twice.

to be continued:

 

[jeffrey1966]

RandolphNY, I've been reading through your trip summary and it sounds quite similar to ours. We travelled from 4/4-4/20 starting from home in Kinderhook, NY (just south of Albany). We also stayed at the Orlando/Kissimmee koa for one night before we checked into the Fort. I also thought it was the nicest koa I've been to and really liked the pool area as well. The night we stayed there was the same day we went to Universal and it was our first time at universal. We will definitely do another day there on a future trip since we only got to Islands of Adventure.
We were at the fort 4/7-4/17 and stayed at site 115 (inside of the loop right across from the path to the settlement trading post. It was a very shady site and convenient for catching a boat to MK. We spent 4 of our 10 days never leaving the Fort and they were very stress free and relaxing.
I would have liked to spent less days driving and more at the Fort but it was just me and my 10yo DS, and the longest I can sit behind the wheel of my truck is 8hrs.
Thanks for sharing. Look forward to hearing more about your trip.

 

[bama_ed]

Hey jeffrey,

When u were at the Fort in loop 100 did u catch any of the Masters on tv?



Bama Ed

 

[RandolphNY]

Wednesday:
Was to be our relaxing day. I went to get the golf cart first thing in the morning. No issues since I had reserved in advance. I drove around the grounds for a little bit, but our plan was to head over to typhoon lagoon after lunch.

Very disappointed. I guess it just seemed like you had to have a map in your hands to find everything there. We did not take in any of the attractions other than the wave pool and lazy river. Crowds were large. Did have one laugh....during one of the waves, my wifes top was adjusted.

We returned to the site, cooked dinner on the grill and then headed back over to Hollywood. As previously mentioned, watched Fantasmic a 2nd time, which I was glad we did, as we saw the later show and it seemed better with it more dark. I used fastpass on the show, rock and rollercoaster and Toy Story.

Thursday:
We had dinner reservations at Epcot for 7:30 at the English Pub, so we went to the pool for awhile. We did more running around than I should have again with the fastpass jumping around, but otherwise it went well. My back was killing me (I sit too much at work and know it when I am traveling), so I had to take several breaks to rest it.

I was so happy with the Pub sitting. I had reservations so that we would hopefully be seated on the deck to be able to watch the show. Had almost prime seats. Weather was an issue with strong winds, so there was a little nip in the air.