Pre-Halloween 2009 Trip Report!!!

[DaveInTN]

Do you think she would like a pewter bucket that she could use to bring you your dinner in each evening?

She could slam it on the table and say: "Here's your food!"

That sounds remarkably like dinner time at my house. Maybe I should put on a frilly dress, bang on a piano and charge people $58 to eat there!

Editor's Note: this poster is not bashing HDDR, and in fact loves HDDR. Any apparent put downs of HDDR are just an attempt at humor. Please don't flame the poster with pro-HDDR responses.

 

[clkelley]

The Mayor has spoken!


I did see that there have been some new barricade poles installed in the lot. I looked around to see if there were any new signs posted, or any indication of the purpose of these new poles.

I only saw this old sign:


This is one set of the new poles:

These block off the entrance/exit lane from the parking lot closest to Vista Blvd.

This is the other set of poles:

TCD

I'm now wondering if the poles were placed to help protect the arm guard that is exit only for guests and entrance only for buses. This keeps guests from accidentally turning left with nowhere to go except knocking down the security arm guard. That thing seemed to get broken quite often.

 

[2goofycampers]

Great to finally "run" into you.

I have seen more details in your pix then I do in "real" life. I have to go back now and look for some things I missed while looping.

See you soon.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

I'm now wondering if the poles were placed to help protect the arm guard that is exit only for guests and entrance only for buses. This keeps guests from accidentally turning left with nowhere to go except knocking down the security arm guard. That thing seemed to get broken quite often.

Carol- Not that it's a big deal, but since this is a discussion board, I am not sure that I follow your thought process here. I don't see how these poles will prevent anyone from breaking the automatic arm.

Here is an aerial view of the parking lot area. I marked the areas where the new poles have been installed with yellow circles, and I also marked the kennel. The automatic gate is just below the kennel building in this photo:

Even without the poles, an errant driver would have to drive a bit before coming to the gate.

I don't think these poles are there to prevent the gate from being broken. But, I can't say that I have a better hypothesis.

TCD

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Great to finally "run" into you.

I have seen more details in your pix then I do in "real" life. I have to go back now and look for some things I missed while looping.

See you soon.

Same here, Denise.

I hope that you and Frank are having a great stay. I am sure the site decorating will really get going over the next week.

TCD

 

[clkelley]

Carol- Not that it's a big deal, but since this is a discussion board, I am not sure that I follow your thought process here. I don't see how these poles will prevent anyone from breaking the automatic arm.

Here is an aerial view of the parking lot area. I marked the areas where the new poles have been installed with yellow circles, and I also marked the kennel. The automatic gate is just below the kennel building in this photo:

Even without the poles, an errant driver would have to drive a bit before coming to the gate.

I don't think these poles are there to prevent the gate from being broken. But, I can't say that I have a better hypothesis.

TCD

OK, the poles are not where I thought they were. Nevermind

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Time to press on.

In my last update, we were looking at photos from Saturday, October 17.

Here are some more from that afternoon.

We found this guy hanging around our site a lot:

The folks from Pennsylvania in the 700 loop continued to work hard on their decorating. We will come back to this site again to look at some of the details in these decorations:

We played a little tetherball on the 800 loop:

This RV was on the 800 loop. I remember these campers from a previous trip. They have all the dwarfs keeping an eye on things:

The weather was absolutely gorgeous on Saturday afternoon. Here are a few shots from the beach:

Just look at that sky!

Here's that guy who was hanging around our site again. We found him loitering around Trail's End and Crockett's Tavern:

These people were set up on the 1500 loop, and I meant to check back later to see if they had a van or something to sleep in, but I forgot:

Here's someone on the 1900 loop. I like these decorations. Simple, but nice:

We saw a night-time shot of this site earlier. These folks arrived on Saturday, and had everything ready to go by dark:

Here we are back at the Pennsylvania campers' site. Look at some of the details in these decorations:

We had a great morning and afternoon at the Fort, but we also planned to hit Epcot, so it was time to move on. Right after the end of the second quarter in the UF v. Arkansas game, we headed out.

Epcot was pretty busy. Which was not surprising, considering that the Food and Wine festival was going on, and this was a perfect day weather-wise.

Here we are entering Epcot:

Check out the foot gear on this kid:

Our first order of business at Epcot was to check out the new Sum of All Thrills attraction. So, that is where we headed first.

And, I will report what we think about the Sum of All Thrills in my very next post . . .

TCD

 

[des1954]

My hypothesis is that the poles have been put in place to confuse & confound us ignorant Florida Locals, and thus keep us from using the FtW facillities without actually paying to stay there. It's a dastardly plot by Bobby to extract more $$$ from the underpaid Florida working class.

 

[tungpo1]

I usually drive into the overflow area drop my cart and trailer then check in. I go to my site set up then take a nice walk and chug about 4 beers along the way to the overflow to get my cart. What the heck am i going to do now not enough room for my trailer at the site thats why i leave it in the overflow

 

[des1954]

I usually drive into the overflow area drop my cart and trailer then check in. I go to my site set up then take a nice walk and chug about 4 beers along the way to the overflow to get my cart. What the heck am i going to do now not enough room for my trailer at the site thats why i leave it in the overflow

If I may offer a few solutions to your dilemna...

1) Enter the day lot as normal, and take the 2nd left. Go to the first aisle and take another left. Go to the next left and take a left. Find a parking space & dump your trailer. You will be in the section of the day lot furthest from the bus stop.

2) Follow first sentence above only instead of taking a left at the first aisle, proceed straight ahead and take a left in the first aisle leading you in the proper position to park. Park. Dump trailer. You will be in the section of the day lot closest to the bus stop.

3) Take truck/trailer/GC through the guard post & veer to the right after passing the guard. Go to second stop sign, turn right. Proceed straight toward automated parking arm. Stop and let the arm raise so you can safely pass without scratching the GC (this step is VERY important). Take a right in the first ailse leading you in the proper position to park. Dump trailer. You will be in the same lot as defined in option 2.

4) Follow directions in 1st sentence of step 3. Look for a space in the "inner sanctum" lot. Park. Dump trailer. You will be in the lot closest to the check-in.

If the above information was helpful, please give me a beer on 10/31. If not, give the beer to Frank, Pete, Rog, Jeff, Al, John or whoever you stumble upon first.

 

[TheGreatGonzo]

My thought is they did it to block exits that come out next to a stop sign on the road they intersect with. Is there possibly a Florida law about how close a driveway can be to a stop sign?

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Last week, Disboard member FtWildernessGuy reported that there was a new attraction opening at Epcot called the Sum of All Thrills. This was described as a virtual ride simulator, and we were told that it would be open in one of the Innoventions buildings.

So, we had to check it out.

The attraction is located in the space that used to be the build your own robot exhibit. We hated to see that exhibit go, but this new one is a great and better replacement.

This attraction is a lot like Virtual Space Mountain in Disney Quest. The basic concept is that you get to design your own thrill ride and then ride it in a simulator.

When we arrived, the line looked pretty long, and we were reluctant to try. There are only four simulators, and they hold two people each, so it looks like this attraction will always have a long wait. But, the castmember at the line entrance told us that based on the number of folks in line, our wait to get to the orientation presentation would only be about 30 minutes. And he was right on the money.

How about some photos to go along with the description?

Here are the TCD twins in line:

After our brief wait, we were ushered in to a briefing room where an explanatory video was played:

They tried to make it sound like this attraction was educational, and would require the use of math and science. They said that the computer would allow you to design the ride, but would then test it to see if it would work pursuant to the laws of physics. If your design did not work, you would have to redesign it.

After the briefing, each party was assigned a computer terminal, and you could get to work designing your ride. These computer terminals were touch screens, and had a ruler and a knob that you could place on the screen to assist with the design:

Although they try to make a big deal about needing to use math, the design process was pretty simple. You can pick between three basic experiences: a bob sled run; a roller coaster; or a fighter jet. These are ranked respectively as mild, medium and extreme. You can choose if you want to go upside down or not. They obviously won't let you design something too outrageous.

As soon as you are done with your design, you are ushered up stairs to your simulator:

As you can see from these photos, the simulator is a capsule on the end of a large, robotic arm. These are cool to watch!

After you are latched in, it is time to shake and bake!:

Note- if you are wearing flip flops, they will ask you to take them off. You might want to make sure the soles of your feet are clean before you ride. Especially if anyone is going to take your photo and post it on a message board.
The ride itself is pretty short. I would say it was less than two minutes. Here the girls are finishing up:

And done:

The final verdict?

The girls loved it!

They had chosen the roller coaster experience (medium), but they did have some loops in there. Next time, they are going for the fighter jet!

This is a must ride for us on every future visit.

Thanks, Raytheon!

Because of the robotic arms, this is way, way better than Virtual Space Mountain!

TCD

Next up: We fight the drunken hoards?

(which makes me ask, why I didn't remember that if you can't beat 'em, you might as well join 'em?)

 

[des1954]

My thought is they did it to block exits that come out next to a stop sign on the road they intersect with. Is there possibly a Florida law about how close a driveway can be to a stop sign?

I haven't seen anything about that in our local news or in the newspaper, but that's not necessarily a news-worthy item here. Good thought, though.

 

[3gr8kids]

We found this guy hanging around our site a lot:

We played a little tetherball on the 800 loop:

Here's that guy who was hanging around our site again. We found him loitering around Trail's End and Crockett's Tavern:

You're both wearing the exact same outfit! And at the same site! How embarrassing. I really hate it when that happens. LOL

Check out the foot gear on this kid:

Although the foot gear is remarkable, I'm a little more amused by his Hannah Montana backpack!

 

[clkelley]

Carol- Not that it's a big deal, but since this is a discussion board, I am not sure that I follow your thought process here. I don't see how these poles will prevent anyone from breaking the automatic arm.

Here is an aerial view of the parking lot area. I marked the areas where the new poles have been installed with yellow circles, and I also marked the kennel. The automatic gate is just below the kennel building in this photo:

Even without the poles, an errant driver would have to drive a bit before coming to the gate.

I don't think these poles are there to prevent the gate from being broken. But, I can't say that I have a better hypothesis.

TCD

Now that I look at it more closely, here is my new Hypothesis. This now makes the overflow lot one way in and one way out. Now they could very easily temporarily block access to that lot at a point away from Buena Vista drive with a temporary guard or something like that. (Let's say if there were an Amber alert, or another creep showing up and someone reporting it immediately), or if they want to control access to the lot for events that create crowds such as the triathlon.

This way it only takes one security vehicle and a guy/gal with an orange light stick at that point where it turns into a CM road or you turn left to enter the lot. That places the temporary guard away from Buena Vista drive, so that it doesn't slow up traffic not entering the Fort.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

You're both wearing the exact same outfit! And at the same site! How embarrassing. I really hate it when that happens. LOL


Although the foot gear is remarkable, I'm a little more amused by his Hannah Montana backpack!

I am in awe of your powers of observation!

My DD's admired the young gentleman's Hannah Montana backpack as well. As they would say: "what is up with that?"

And, now that you mention it, I just realized that I left my Gators shirt and plaid shorts out on the clothesline, and that rascal must have stolen my clothes off the line. The nerve! This guy doesn't want to just pick my pockets, he wants my pockets, too!

TCD

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Now that I look at it more closely, here is my new Hypothesis. This now makes the overflow lot one way in and one way out. Now they could very easily temporarily block access to that lot at a point away from Buena Vista drive with a temporary guard or something like that. (Let's say if there were an Amber alert, or another creep showing up and someone reporting it immediately), or if they want to control access to the lot for events that create crowds such as the triathlon.

This way it only takes one security vehicle and a guy/gal with an orange light stick at that point where it turns into a CM road or you turn left to enter the lot. That places the temporary guard away from Buena Vista drive, so that it doesn't slow up traffic not entering the Fort.

Now you're thinking Carol! That is a good hypothesis! It makes sense to me. That would explain why there is no new signage, and there do seem to be more and more triathlons at the Fort. If I am not mistaken, I think some of the bike course actually comes out here, so that would be another reason that they need to control traffic here.

My hypothesis is that these poles stop ding-dongs in big rigs or pulling large trailers from pulling out in front of the buses after the buses have built up a little speed. But, the problem with that hypothesis is that the buses should be slowing down and preparing to stop as they are approaching stop signs at these points, anyway.

Carol, I also meant to mention to you that the folks from Ontario with the T@b were in the 1500 loop when I arrived on Thursday the 15th. They packed up and took off on Friday the 16th before I could get a photo. But, it was definitely the same T@b that I saw on the 1500 loop in February.

TCD

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

I am laughing myself silly here with your comment about making sure you have clean feet because your picture might be posted on the net.

Such a great update!

 

[clkelley]

Carol, I also meant to mention to you that the folks from Ontario with the T@b were in the 1500 loop when I arrived on Thursday the 15th. They packed up and took off on Friday the 16th before I could get a photo. But, it was definitely the same T@b that I saw on the 1500 loop in February.

TCD

Cool!!

Yeah, they come down quite often. They were there for our rally last October and were there for a good bit of the time I was there last December.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

I am laughing myself silly here with your comment about making sure you have clean feet because your picture might be posted on the net.

Such a great update!

Well, thank you. I always wonder if anyone reads my witty comments. At least now I know one person did, so thanks.

When I posted that photo I thought my DD's feet looked a little dirty. And, they probably were. We have hillbillyish leanings in the TCD gang, so there are often a lot of bare feet around our campsite. And there is a lot of dirt around a campsite. So, what can you do?

TCD