Pre-Halloween 2009 Trip Report!!!

[Tri-circle-D]

With so many Dis-Board members preparing to head to the Fort for Halloween Weekend, I thought y'all might like a little preview.

The TCD gang visited the Fort on 10/15-10/18/09.

Some of the highlights of our trip:

1. I finally got to meet Ynottony! And, also met Disboarder Shirley38! Yesterday morning I ran in to Born 2 Fish, Frank and Denise.

2. The cabin hot tub is open for business!

3. It was 94 degrees when I checked into the Fort on 10/15, and 51 degrees yesterday morning when I woke up. Got to love Florida weather!

4. The Fort was packed! Very few empty sites.

5. The TCD twins tried the new attraction at Epcot, The Sum of All Thrills. They gave it four thumbs up!

That's enough chatter! I have about 400 photos. Here are the first 25:

Folks are already decorating for Halloween like crazy:

Even some of the cabin people got in on the action:

Here's some big news!

They have resumed take out breakfast items at Trail's End:

Look who was back at the Fort!

It is officially OK to wear your snuggie while making a hot cocoa run!:

On Sunday morning, the cool air made Bay Lake steam like a mother:

The Haunted Carriage Ride is the same version as last year's, but the Headless Horseman chased our carriage like a man possessed (he really liked DD's head!):

The cabin hot tub:

A frog on a sign:

Somebody forgot to turn the water off when filling the cabin pool:

The TCD campsite (1504):

The TCD twins at the Sum of All Thrills:

Check out this guy:

Before Disboards:

After Disboards:

That's the preview.

Be sure to check back for the whole, painfully detailed, trip report . . .

TCD

 

[3gr8kids]

With so many Dis-Board members preparing to head to the Fort for Halloween Weekend, I thought y'all might like a little preview.

The TCD gang visited the Fort on 10/15-10/18/09.

Some of the highlights of our trip:



Check out this guy:

Before Disboards:

After Disboards:

BAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA, love it!

 

[DaveInTN]

Just when I was settling into another LONG week at work, and dreading the whole Monday thing.....A TCD TRIP REPORT has materialized to give me the boost I need! Just like that first beer of the morning, it refreshes and prepares you for the day ahead! I'm ready and waiting.....

 

[testtubes]

Another lurker who looks forward to TCD updates. Don't know if we'll ever make it to FW during the fall to see Halloween decorations ( too busy with hunting and football seasons)! Love college football and WDW.

 

[Whipperwhirl]

What do you think Frankies owners thought when they got home? Love it.

 

[mrsscooter]

Thanks for the report and pics.....we leave in 5 days.....and have started the packing, halloween decorations included! (although, not as extensive as most there).

 

[camperhappy]

Thanks for the great pics! Can't wait to be there in person and see the Christmas decorations. We farm so Halloween may never be an option so will have to take it in through the pics everyone puts up!

Glad to hear they have some take out stuff, sometimes I just don't want to fix breakfast!

 

[campingdawgs]

I like that pic as well- it is so creepy!

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Now, let's start at the beginning.

Friday, October 16th was an in-service day for my younger daughters' schools. There is usually an in-service day around the middle of October every year, so we usually will visit the Fort that weekend. So does everyone else.

We left home at about 3 pm on Thursday, October 15. We ran into a lot of traffic coming through Tampa from the big football game (Cincinnati v. USF) that was scheduled for that evening.

It had been very hot thus far in October. It was in the 90's as we drove to WDW. We also hit a bit of rain. A cold front was coming through.

We pulled up to the guard shack at the Fort at just before 5 pm. We found a bunch of folks in front of us waiting to check in.

The guard directed us to lane 4, which was also the designated on-line check in lane:

We had not done on-line check in, and I told the guard that. He said use that lane anyway. So we did. The campers in the lanes on either side of us moved up steadily. But we did not. The person at the front of the line obviously had not done on-line check in either, and was having some type of issue.

This is why I don't do on-line check-in. What is the use? If they are not going to limit a lane to on-line check-in only, then you could get stuck waiting longer for your on-line check in packet.

Luckily for us, a castmember waived us over to an empty lane, and we checked in and headed to our campsite. The on-line check in lane still had not moved when we checked in.

My reservations were for a partial hook-up loop, and we were assigned to site 1504. We have camped in the 1500 loop three times this year, and we have moved one site over on each trip. All of the sites we had backed up to sites in the 1600 loop. I love these sites, and 1504 was by far my favorite so far. So, thank you Campsite Assigner!

It takes me a while to get the camper set up, so the girls headed over to the MK for a while. They called me at around 7:30, and I picked them up at the marina, and we headed to Trail's End to order a Giddyap and Go.

I was really hoping to do a Haunted Carriage Ride on this trip, but we were not certain until earlier in the week if we were going to go ahead and go. When I called to reserve a Haunted Carriage Ride, I was told that the rides were sold out for the weekend. Every night, including Thursday! I couldn't believe it. So, while we were waiting for our food, I headed over to the Blacksmith Shop to ask the castmember if perhaps there were any openings.
Luckily, there was one opening. And, we got it! For the last ride of the night (10:30). I can't believe how popular the Haunted Carriage Rides have become. If you have any interest in taking one, you had better call and make a reservation now.

Our food was soon ready, so we headed back to the camper to eat. It had rained a little on and off all evening, but the sky seemed to be clearing up.

After we ate, we did a little looping. As others have already reported, the Fort was just about completely full this weekend. That was good to see. We watched the Hallowishes fireworks from the Fort beach. The audio is definitely pumped in for this.

We really enjoyed the Haunted Carriage Ride. I will post a separate report with photos about that. After our ride, we called it a night.

I was up early Friday morning, as we planned to hit Hollywood Studios for rope drop. I checked out the cabin pool. I already posted a couple of photos, but here are some more:

The sign suggests that the hot tub is only open for certain hours, but there is a timer right there to turn it on, and the water was hot even before 8 am, so it looks like you can use it any time.

This is what is behind the fence, in case you are wondering:

They have installed new gates at the entrances to the pool. There used to be no gates. I was concerned that maybe they were going to start closing the Fort pools at night, but this new sign confirms that the pool is still open 24 hours a day:

We made it to rope drop, and were among the first to ride TSMM. One of my DD's had the second highest score of the day for a while:

We hung around DHS for a while, and took some photos:

One thing that was interesting is that it looks like almost all the Osborn lights are up. I know that they start early on this.

We bailed from DHS at around noon, and headed to the Poly for lunch. Then it was back to the Fort, where we got our decorations finished:

and, then we took a look around at some of the other sites:

There was a big group on the 1700 loop. They even had a "communal site" with a schedule posted. These folks knew how to

lots more to come . . .

TCD

 

[We4mickey]

Great pics as usual TCD! Can't wait for the weekend. We may finally get to meet you. Leaving in 3 days, oh the anticipation.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

I'm in!!!
By the way, this photo is great!

I like that pic as well- it is so creepy!

Very funny.

I have a photo of the Headless Horseman approaching where all you can see is the light reflecting off of the horse's eyes. I thought this was the photo, but as hard as I look, I don't see the eyes. I will check on this.

My apologies.

There will be no extra charge.


TCD

 

[DaveInTN]

These people reserved a site just for cornhole? I'm impressed.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

These people reserved a site just for cornhole? I'm impressed.

Dave, it wasn't just cornhole! They also had a campfire in a fire pit, and one night, they were showing a movie on a big screen with a projector. It wasn't a Halloween movie, either. I think it was a Chris Rock movie, or at least some kind of Chris Rock comedy special. I didn't recognize it, but the people were howling with laughter. Of course, they were all drunk, but they really thought it was funny.

Here's a close up of their schedule:

As I said, they knew what they were doing.

TCD

 

[Mickey Mobile]

TCD Thanks! Another awesome report! Can't wait till we get there Friday the 23rd! Your photos have me ready for Halloween at the Fort.

 

[freshlybarked]

My thanks also. I'm packing the RV right now. We leve in 41 hours, but whose counting. It's our 10th Anniversary trip. 5 days around Halloween. Never been at this time of year. We have the haunted carriage ride booked for Saturday night. Lots of fun things planned and lots of Fort time. Can't wait. The furry kids even got their Disney bath. Did I mention 40 hours and 58 minutes....

 

[Musikfans]

Thanks TCD for the great photos!

We'll be checking in on Saturday. After an 18 hr drive I hope we get a smooth check-in.

 

[speaksfam]

I am sooo excited , we leave in 30 hours!!! Haven't packed a thing! It's going to be a long day tomm but that's OK. Looking forward to all of the wonderful sights and sounds of FW. Will be doing the Haunted Carriage ride on Weds night, Divequest and Behind the Seeds tour on Thurs and Tower of Terror 5K on Sat. Going to be a great trip! BTW, have a GC rented through Kenny for the duration of our stay. Fingers crossed all goes well! take care all and looking forward to a great week ahead

 

[des1954]

Dave, it wasn't just cornhole! They also had a campfire in a fire pit, and one night, they were showing a movie on a big screen with a projector. It wasn't a Halloween movie, either. I think it was a Chris Rock movie, or at least some kind of Chris Rock comedy special. I didn't recognize it, but the people were howling with laughter. Of course, they were all drunk, but they really thought it was funny.

Here's a close up of their schedule:

As I said, they knew what they were doing.

TCD

First...great report!! Will you be there over Halloween?

I think I've seen this group here before last December IIRC in the 1700 loop. The family gathering I saw rented a site just for their events. Talk about doing Fort Wilderness in style!! They must have great fun!

I really like your inflatable pumpkin stack, TCD!

Tell me....is the family that put up the huge display on site 1701 last year there again? I have to say, their decorations were awesome! I hope to see them again this year.

I'm looking forward to all the fun and frivolity of the GG party on 10/31 - and to Jeff's super-duper Mac 'n Cheese!

 

[Tri-circle-D]

First...great report!! Will you be there over Halloween?

I think I've seen this group here before last December IIRC in the 1700 loop. The family gathering I saw rented a site just for their events. Talk about doing Fort Wilderness in style!! They must have great fun!

I really like your inflatable pumpkin stack, TCD!

Tell me....is the family that put up the huge display on site 1701 last year there again? I have to say, their decorations were awesome! I hope to see them again this year.

I'm looking forward to all the fun and frivolity of the GG party on 10/31 - and to Jeff's super-duper Mac 'n Cheese!

Deb, as you know, TCD is a man of mystery, so I must keep my comings and goings from the Fort secret. But, you know I was there last Halloween. And, you know how much I love the Fort at Halloween. So, you never know.

The big display on 1701 was not there. Yet. The camper who sets up this display has been there for years. He used to set up on the 800 loop. As you know, last year, he was on the 1700 loop because the 800 loop was being converted to a premium loop, and was not opened to campers until October 30. I thought his display worked better on 1701. Based on conversation that I had with him last year, I would expect to see him there mid-week next week.

TCD

 

[Tri-circle-D]

I need to get moving with this report, as I already have another trip to the Fort approaching, and I need to get this report finished before it's time to start another.

So, here are some more photos of decorated sites. As you can see, some folks keep it simple, while others go crazy:

I don't know if you can read any of the tombstones in this next photo, but the saying were quite humorous. The first one mentions that poor Wade met his demise when his wife caught him with the Maid:

I recognize these campers from last year:

More decorations on the 1700 loop:

The question is often asked: How many people can ride on a golf cart? The answer is, as many as you can fit:

Now we are on the 1100 loop:

And now, we are on 1200 and 1300:

Here we are on the 900 loop:

These are from 600:

And here are a couple from 700:

Coming up . . .

More photos from the 700 loop!

TCD