bama_ed
It's kind of fun to do the impossible-Walt Disney
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Interesting! We don't hear a whole lot about Legoland here on the DIS. Can't wait.
Bama ED
Pregnant and tent camping during Spring Break - a March 2012 TR
- Thread starter ksl5f123
- Start date
Interesting! We don't hear a whole lot about Legoland here on the DIS. Can't wait.
Bama ED
angelmom27
DIS Veteran
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Marshel
Mouseketeer
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"Now, you may be wondering where did MIL and FIL sleep? Well, I don't have a picture of this, but I really wish I did. They backed their minivan in next to ours (there was plenty of room on the asphalt for both), laid down the back row of seats, took out the middle row, and put in an air mattress. Yep, they slept in their minivan."
I used to do some weekend camping trips back when I had a minivan by throwing a twin conventional mattress in the back and an EZ up awning. I set it on its side, and when we arrived I would set up the awning and put my cooler and any other gear under the awning lay the mattress flat. As long as you're in an area w/o a lot of bugs, it's really easy and quite comfortable.
I used to do some weekend camping trips back when I had a minivan by throwing a twin conventional mattress in the back and an EZ up awning. I set it on its side, and when we arrived I would set up the awning and put my cooler and any other gear under the awning lay the mattress flat. As long as you're in an area w/o a lot of bugs, it's really easy and quite comfortable.
ksl5f123
DIS Veteran
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Like I said, if I had dried my hair and closed the windows, I probably would have been chilly but fine. I just didn't think this first night
Yeah. It was hard to plan our day because there just isn't enough information out there. I figure I can at least try to help a few others.
Thank you and
I hope some of the things help you out!Interesting. I could imagine sleeping in mine for a day or two if I was the only one in there. Of course, now with 3 kids that would be
ksl5f123
DIS Veteran
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When we last left off, we were on our way to Legoland. The drive out there is a few miles down I-4 and then a pretty long drive down US Hwy 27. Much of the drive is through an area that looks like it probably had tourist income about 20 years ago, but is now sort of run down looking. Nearer the end of the drive are some fields and rolling hills. We had planned to spend the entire day at Legoland (park hours 9 AM to 6 PM), so we were watching for places to eat supper along the drive. There was NOTHING but fast food until you actually got to Legoland and then there was a Ruby Tuesday next door.
We arrived at 8:30. We already had tickets, for me, DH, and the girls, but needed some for MIL, FIL, and DS3. It only took them a minute to get them. By this point it was about 8:45 and we realized that people were entering the park! They must have opened early. Through the gates we go!
A quick group picture just inside:
You may remember that I mentioned the night before I had been sitting in our screen house finishing up a special project. That project was DS3's shirt that you see him wearing in the above photo. I had made everyone's outfits the week before, but ran out of blue buttons and didn't get DS3's done. So, blue buttons were one of the things that we bought from Walmart on Sunday so I could finish his shirt. I felt very old fashioned to be sitting in my tent at night sewing by lantern light!
Our first stop was in the Lego Kingdoms area
They had this cute little joust ride that I knew DS3 would just love.
Only one problem They wouldn't let him on!!!! Both the website and the guide that you get at the entrance say kids have to be more than 36 tall and less than 12 years old to ride. He is 41 tall and 3 years old. However, when we got to the front of the line we learned they had changed the requirements since the guides went to print and you now also had to be at least 4 years old! DS3 misses by 3 months. While we stood there taking pictures of the girls riding, DS3 just walked away with his head hung and his lower lip out. No fit. No tantrum. Just clearly sad. I felt SO BAD! I had shown him Youtube videos and knew my knight loving little guy would just adore this attraction. So, I guess my lesson here is not to get your kids excited about any one attraction because they just might not get to ride it.
We quickly pacified him with some time playing over here
When the girls finished the joust ride, they joined DS3 on the playground while DH and MIL rode the Dragon coaster. DH said the theming in the beginning was good, but once it got going it was just a coaster.
After the castle area, we moved on to
This ride:
is kind of similar to Buzz Lightyear in that you shoot a laser gun. I had heard that the lines can get kind of long, so we wanted to go pretty early. At this point, there still weren't lines for anything. The problem with this ride is that there are only about 10-12 targets per room and if you don't hit them exactly, you don't get any points. The neat thing is that every target causes something to happen. But the limited number of targets and accuracy requirement meant that DD6 finished the ride with zero points. Now, she was sad.
Luckily, there was still no line, so DH, DD6 and I rode again and DH helped her so she did better the 2nd time.
Then DD8 wanted to ride this:
She managed to talk MIL into riding with her because the rest of the adults refused.
Then DH and DD8 headed off to Coastersaurus while the rest of us went to the Safari ride. Coastersaurus is a wooden roller coaster with pretty much no theming at all, but DD8 liked it anyway. It was a poor substitute for Big Thunder Mountain, but she made the best of it.
On the Safari, I rode with DD6 while FIL rode with DS3. This picture gives a good view of the (complete lack of) leg room on most Legoland rides.
DH said he felt the same way on Coastersaurus and pretty much had to put is legs in front of DD8.
The Safari is a slow ride past about a dozen different Lego animals. It is cute and the kids REALLY liked it.
It was now about 10:30 in the morning. We had already experienced 7 rides plus the playground, but now we were starting to see lines at the attractions. We headed into Lego City. There are two different places for the kids to drive Lego cars. The first is called the Ford Jr. Driving School and it is for ages 3-5 and then there is the Ford Driving School for ages 6-12. At both places, the cars are actually driven by the children no tracks!
Here is DS3 in the Junior version
DD6 in the regular
and DD8 in the regular
We were planning to also do the Boating school where the kids get to drive boats but the line for that was at least 30 minutes every time we checked it from this point on during the day.
We did stop at the Rescue academy where you work a pump to make your firetruck drive over to a place where you get to spray a hose and then pump your firetruck back to the start. Let's just say this was VERY hard work and absolutely EXHAUSTING!
After a bathroom break, we went down into the Imagination Zone were we found a little restaurant that isn't on any of the maps or on the website. It basically had sandwiches and salads, but there is very little to eat in the back of the park and we didn't really want to walk back to the front for lunch.
I had a chicken salad:
It was fine it was a salad (although I personally prefer my chicken hot rather than cold).
DH had a vegetarian panini
He liked it.
Each of the kids had a ham and cheese panini
Most of them ate the ham out because the panini bread was unfamiliar. These were actually pretty nice because in addition to the panini, they came with chips, apples, grapes and chocolate milk. All of the side items were consumed! We were happy that we went to eat at 11:15 because by the time we finished there was quite a lot of people standing around holding their food and hoping for a table.
We didn't get to go inside the Imagination Zone because there were school groups in there that day, so we headed out to the Lego Technic area where DH, DD6, MIL, and DD8 rode these
It was kind of like a Dumbo ride except instead of using a lever to go higher you had to pedal faster!
From here, we were off to Miniland. This was a fun area to look around, but except for one tree in the very middle, there was NO shade! We spent about 40 minutes looking at all of the models.
Las Vegas
Pirates
Cape Canaveral
DS3 insisted on watching the countdown on the rocket but was quite disappointed when it didn't actually launch, but just smoked.
Florida
San Francisco
New York
Somehow, I missed getting pictures of the Daytona Speedway and Washington DC.
The kids really wanted to do the Safari ride again. This time, the line was about 20 minutes long.
On our way back to the front of the park, we passed back through the Lego Kingdoms area. DS3 really wanted to go in the castle. What do you think we found? Yep, a souvenir shop!
It was now about 2 PM and I was feeling hot and tired. We made our way back to the front of the park and I sent DH and DD8 off to an ice cream cart to get everyone a treat. The ice cream here is the prepackaged variety. The kids had a couple of ice cream sandwiches, DH and I had Reese's ice cream cups, and we got a bottle of water.
After a little break, the girls wanted to ride the double-decker carousel. I took them over while DH and FIL took DS3 into a theater for a 3-D movie. This was a low point in my day. Of course, the girls wanted to ride upstairs on the carousel. The girls raced up the stairs and I drug my tired, pregnant self up after them. Unfortunately, a little girl (probably just barely 2 years old) was climbing the stairs behind me and when I lifted my foot to go up the next (very steep stair), I kicked her in the face. I felt horrible and her mom was NOT pleased with me. I finished dragging myself to the top of the stairs and sat on a bench for the ride.
It was quick and we actually made it into the theater in time to watch the movie with DH and DS3. It was a 3-D movie about a race with ZERO dialog just Lego characters and their expressions. I thought it was incredibly dull, but DH said that DS3 liked it.
We then headed over to the Lego Factory Tour which was actually about a 30 second walk through looking at a mock-up of the machinery used to make a Lego brick. Boring!
Finally, some souvenirs for the girls:
And a quick meet & greet with this guy on our way out:
That final picture was taken at 4:02 PM. The park was open for two more hours, but we were hot and tired and at this point almost all of the attractions had at least 30 minute lines. We were done!
Up next, supper!
We arrived at 8:30. We already had tickets, for me, DH, and the girls, but needed some for MIL, FIL, and DS3. It only took them a minute to get them. By this point it was about 8:45 and we realized that people were entering the park! They must have opened early. Through the gates we go!
A quick group picture just inside:
You may remember that I mentioned the night before I had been sitting in our screen house finishing up a special project. That project was DS3's shirt that you see him wearing in the above photo. I had made everyone's outfits the week before, but ran out of blue buttons and didn't get DS3's done. So, blue buttons were one of the things that we bought from Walmart on Sunday so I could finish his shirt. I felt very old fashioned to be sitting in my tent at night sewing by lantern light!
Our first stop was in the Lego Kingdoms area
They had this cute little joust ride that I knew DS3 would just love.
Only one problem They wouldn't let him on!!!! Both the website and the guide that you get at the entrance say kids have to be more than 36 tall and less than 12 years old to ride. He is 41 tall and 3 years old. However, when we got to the front of the line we learned they had changed the requirements since the guides went to print and you now also had to be at least 4 years old! DS3 misses by 3 months. While we stood there taking pictures of the girls riding, DS3 just walked away with his head hung and his lower lip out. No fit. No tantrum. Just clearly sad. I felt SO BAD! I had shown him Youtube videos and knew my knight loving little guy would just adore this attraction. So, I guess my lesson here is not to get your kids excited about any one attraction because they just might not get to ride it.
We quickly pacified him with some time playing over here
When the girls finished the joust ride, they joined DS3 on the playground while DH and MIL rode the Dragon coaster. DH said the theming in the beginning was good, but once it got going it was just a coaster.
After the castle area, we moved on to
This ride:
is kind of similar to Buzz Lightyear in that you shoot a laser gun. I had heard that the lines can get kind of long, so we wanted to go pretty early. At this point, there still weren't lines for anything. The problem with this ride is that there are only about 10-12 targets per room and if you don't hit them exactly, you don't get any points. The neat thing is that every target causes something to happen. But the limited number of targets and accuracy requirement meant that DD6 finished the ride with zero points. Now, she was sad.
Luckily, there was still no line, so DH, DD6 and I rode again and DH helped her so she did better the 2nd time.
Then DD8 wanted to ride this:
She managed to talk MIL into riding with her because the rest of the adults refused.
Then DH and DD8 headed off to Coastersaurus while the rest of us went to the Safari ride. Coastersaurus is a wooden roller coaster with pretty much no theming at all, but DD8 liked it anyway. It was a poor substitute for Big Thunder Mountain, but she made the best of it.
On the Safari, I rode with DD6 while FIL rode with DS3. This picture gives a good view of the (complete lack of) leg room on most Legoland rides.
DH said he felt the same way on Coastersaurus and pretty much had to put is legs in front of DD8.
The Safari is a slow ride past about a dozen different Lego animals. It is cute and the kids REALLY liked it.
It was now about 10:30 in the morning. We had already experienced 7 rides plus the playground, but now we were starting to see lines at the attractions. We headed into Lego City. There are two different places for the kids to drive Lego cars. The first is called the Ford Jr. Driving School and it is for ages 3-5 and then there is the Ford Driving School for ages 6-12. At both places, the cars are actually driven by the children no tracks!
Here is DS3 in the Junior version
DD6 in the regular
and DD8 in the regular
We were planning to also do the Boating school where the kids get to drive boats but the line for that was at least 30 minutes every time we checked it from this point on during the day.
We did stop at the Rescue academy where you work a pump to make your firetruck drive over to a place where you get to spray a hose and then pump your firetruck back to the start. Let's just say this was VERY hard work and absolutely EXHAUSTING!
After a bathroom break, we went down into the Imagination Zone were we found a little restaurant that isn't on any of the maps or on the website. It basically had sandwiches and salads, but there is very little to eat in the back of the park and we didn't really want to walk back to the front for lunch.
I had a chicken salad:
It was fine it was a salad (although I personally prefer my chicken hot rather than cold).
DH had a vegetarian panini
He liked it.
Each of the kids had a ham and cheese panini
Most of them ate the ham out because the panini bread was unfamiliar. These were actually pretty nice because in addition to the panini, they came with chips, apples, grapes and chocolate milk. All of the side items were consumed! We were happy that we went to eat at 11:15 because by the time we finished there was quite a lot of people standing around holding their food and hoping for a table.
We didn't get to go inside the Imagination Zone because there were school groups in there that day, so we headed out to the Lego Technic area where DH, DD6, MIL, and DD8 rode these
It was kind of like a Dumbo ride except instead of using a lever to go higher you had to pedal faster!
From here, we were off to Miniland. This was a fun area to look around, but except for one tree in the very middle, there was NO shade! We spent about 40 minutes looking at all of the models.
Las Vegas
Pirates
Cape Canaveral
DS3 insisted on watching the countdown on the rocket but was quite disappointed when it didn't actually launch, but just smoked.
Florida
San Francisco
New York
Somehow, I missed getting pictures of the Daytona Speedway and Washington DC.
The kids really wanted to do the Safari ride again. This time, the line was about 20 minutes long.
On our way back to the front of the park, we passed back through the Lego Kingdoms area. DS3 really wanted to go in the castle. What do you think we found? Yep, a souvenir shop!
It was now about 2 PM and I was feeling hot and tired. We made our way back to the front of the park and I sent DH and DD8 off to an ice cream cart to get everyone a treat. The ice cream here is the prepackaged variety. The kids had a couple of ice cream sandwiches, DH and I had Reese's ice cream cups, and we got a bottle of water.
After a little break, the girls wanted to ride the double-decker carousel. I took them over while DH and FIL took DS3 into a theater for a 3-D movie. This was a low point in my day. Of course, the girls wanted to ride upstairs on the carousel. The girls raced up the stairs and I drug my tired, pregnant self up after them. Unfortunately, a little girl (probably just barely 2 years old) was climbing the stairs behind me and when I lifted my foot to go up the next (very steep stair), I kicked her in the face. I felt horrible and her mom was NOT pleased with me. I finished dragging myself to the top of the stairs and sat on a bench for the ride.
It was quick and we actually made it into the theater in time to watch the movie with DH and DS3. It was a 3-D movie about a race with ZERO dialog just Lego characters and their expressions. I thought it was incredibly dull, but DH said that DS3 liked it.
We then headed over to the Lego Factory Tour which was actually about a 30 second walk through looking at a mock-up of the machinery used to make a Lego brick. Boring!
Finally, some souvenirs for the girls:
And a quick meet & greet with this guy on our way out:
That final picture was taken at 4:02 PM. The park was open for two more hours, but we were hot and tired and at this point almost all of the attractions had at least 30 minute lines. We were done!
Up next, supper!
Mom23Disneybelievers
DIS Veteran
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- Nov 25, 2008
- Messages
- 676
Following along on your trip report! It is great so far!
The information on Legoland is great. It is making me rethink our whole family going. I think it will be better suited for our two younger ones...so maybe it will be a day to split up and do different things. In fact, I think that my DH should take them..lol
The information on Legoland is great. It is making me rethink our whole family going. I think it will be better suited for our two younger ones...so maybe it will be a day to split up and do different things. In fact, I think that my DH should take them..lol
lovesdumbo
DIS Legend
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ksl5f123
DIS Veteran
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- Dec 7, 2009
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and thank you! Legoland really is geared toward the under 10 set. However, if your child is under I think 52 inches they have to be accompanied by an adult on almost every ride. That means that the adult to child ratio MUST be 1:1. One adult can NOT ride with two kids on almost any ride. We were really lucky to have MIL and FIL with us so that we always had more adults than kids.
LOVE your Legoland photos! Everything looks so bright. Did you many comments on your great outfits?
Your poor DS that he couldn't do the jousting.Sounds like he still had a fun day!
We got LOTS of comments on the outfits. Some from the workers and lots from other tourists. Many people wanted to know where we got them.
It was rough to watch him be so sad, but getting his sword and shield later seems to have left him with good memories of the day.
ksl5f123
DIS Veteran
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- 1,299
Since we left Legoland earlier than we planned, we decided just to head back to Orlando for supper. We discussed our off property options, but then decided to use FIL's iphone to see what was available at WDW. We chose a 5:45 PM ADR at The Wave.
We made it back to the Fort by 4:45 which allowed us a few minutes to clean up before heading out to supper. Somehow, DH then convinced me to walk down to the marina to take the boat to the Contemporary.
At this point, I hadn't quite figured out the internal bus, so I went with it. This was a terrible decision. We had been walking around Legoland all day. We were tired and hungry and DS3 just couldn't make the hike. He had to be carried much of the way. He may only weigh 38 lbs, but that is a LONG way to carry 38 lbs! What took DH about 15 minutes to walk later in the week took over 30 minutes this evening. If you have a tired 3 year old in your travel party, do NOT try to walk from the 2000 loop to the marina at supper time. Disaster!
Finally, we arrived at the marina. Our boat came relatively quickly and the captain asked if we were going to the Wilderness Lodge or the Contemporary. We told him and he said we would only stop at the Wilderness Lodge if people were waiting. Luckily, when we got over there, they were not. We arrived at the Contemporary at 5:40 PM. From their boat dock, it is a straight walk into the building and then The Wave is to your right about 10 steps. We checked in right on time and were seated immediately.
Both the food and the service here were very good. Our meal took pretty much exactly an hour and included appetizers, entrees, and desserts. On the way in, DD6 had spotted the Mickey art and really wanted a picture. I told her we didn't have time then, but we would do it on the way out. So, we fulfilled that promise on our way back to the boat.
We then took the boat back to Fort Wilderness. It was chilly to be out on the dock this evening and I was worried about another cold night. I told DH that I was NOT walking back to camp in the dark. I would be taking DS3 and we would take the bus. DD6 and DD8 asked to come with me. For some reason, MIL didn't think I could ride the bus alone with the 3 kids so she decided to come with me too. DH and FIL said they would walk.
I had noticed the bus stop on our way down to the marina so we made our way over there pretty quickly. However, we timed this just wrong and HDDR ended while we were waiting on the bus.
Suddenly there were SWARMS of people trying to get on buses after the show. Luckily, our bus came right as the first wave of people came out. We got on board and looked over to see DH and FIL jumping on the bus. They had gotten lost just trying to leave the Settlement and figured they better come join us! 
This was the only time all week we were on a bus that was filled to capacity. For those who don't know, lots of people from HDDR take the bus from the Settlement out to the Outpost where they have to park. In the future, I would time this better.
From the Settlement, the purple bus really winds through the woods on the way to the first stop. They announced a stop for Creekside Meadow, but didn't actually stop since it was unoccupied this entire week. So the first actual stop was our loop. Our bus driver said, We are at Spanish Moss Lane. If you don't know what that means, just stay on board.
Once again, the kids went to bed at 9 PM and the adults by 10 PM. We used sound of Illuminations to indicate bedtime for the kids and Wishes for the adults.
This time, I made sure all of the windows were closed before we went to bed and I didn't have any issues with being cold any other night the whole week!
We made it back to the Fort by 4:45 which allowed us a few minutes to clean up before heading out to supper. Somehow, DH then convinced me to walk down to the marina to take the boat to the Contemporary.
At this point, I hadn't quite figured out the internal bus, so I went with it. This was a terrible decision. We had been walking around Legoland all day. We were tired and hungry and DS3 just couldn't make the hike. He had to be carried much of the way. He may only weigh 38 lbs, but that is a LONG way to carry 38 lbs! What took DH about 15 minutes to walk later in the week took over 30 minutes this evening. If you have a tired 3 year old in your travel party, do NOT try to walk from the 2000 loop to the marina at supper time. Disaster!Finally, we arrived at the marina. Our boat came relatively quickly and the captain asked if we were going to the Wilderness Lodge or the Contemporary. We told him and he said we would only stop at the Wilderness Lodge if people were waiting. Luckily, when we got over there, they were not.
We arrived at the Contemporary at 5:40 PM. From their boat dock, it is a straight walk into the building and then The Wave is to your right about 10 steps. We checked in right on time and were seated immediately.Both the food and the service here were very good. Our meal took pretty much exactly an hour and included appetizers, entrees, and desserts. On the way in, DD6 had spotted the Mickey art and really wanted a picture. I told her we didn't have time then, but we would do it on the way out. So, we fulfilled that promise on our way back to the boat.
We then took the boat back to Fort Wilderness. It was chilly to be out on the dock this evening and I was worried about another cold night. I told DH that I was NOT walking back to camp in the dark. I would be taking DS3 and we would take the bus. DD6 and DD8 asked to come with me. For some reason, MIL didn't think I could ride the bus alone with the 3 kids so she decided to come with me too. DH and FIL said they would walk.
I had noticed the bus stop on our way down to the marina so we made our way over there pretty quickly. However, we timed this just wrong and HDDR ended while we were waiting on the bus.
Suddenly there were SWARMS of people trying to get on buses after the show. Luckily, our bus came right as the first wave of people came out. We got on board and looked over to see DH and FIL jumping on the bus. They had gotten lost just trying to leave the Settlement and figured they better come join us! This was the only time all week we were on a bus that was filled to capacity. For those who don't know, lots of people from HDDR take the bus from the Settlement out to the Outpost where they have to park. In the future, I would time this better.From the Settlement, the purple bus really winds through the woods on the way to the first stop. They announced a stop for Creekside Meadow, but didn't actually stop since it was unoccupied this entire week. So the first actual stop was our loop. Our bus driver said, We are at Spanish Moss Lane. If you don't know what that means, just stay on board.
Once again, the kids went to bed at 9 PM and the adults by 10 PM. We used sound of Illuminations to indicate bedtime for the kids and Wishes for the adults. This time, I made sure all of the windows were closed before we went to bed and I didn't have any issues with being cold any other night the whole week!
angelmom27
DIS Veteran
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- Jul 5, 2011
- Messages
- 1,637
Iove TRs they always have great tips and I hear about places I never knew about. I had never heard of Wave. Legoland sounds like a nice place but like you said definitely geared for the kids. I know what you mean by the 3D movie my kids watch the little lego movies on the computer and love them I think they are pretty boring.
loveysbydesign
I can pinch a penny so hard you can hear it scream
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- Dec 30, 2005
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- 5,450
Great update!
twoWDWfools
No, I don't think I'm done quite yet.
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2008
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- 1,278
Enjoying your report so far. Can't wait for the next update.
Love the bins between the beds for storage. Wish I had room for those but not this trip.
Love the bins between the beds for storage. Wish I had room for those but not this trip.
Christymarie222
Mouseketeer
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- Feb 13, 2010
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Really enjoying your trip report...thanks for taking the time to feed our addiction...lol!
ksl5f123
DIS Veteran
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- 1,299
Thank you! There is so much to see and do at the Fort. I wanted to share some of the wealth.
You're welcome! I have enjoyed reading about other people's experiences. it really helped me to plan.
Thanks!
The Wave gets pretty good reviews on the restaraunt board and because most people have never heard of it you can often get a last minute even during a busy time like spring break.
My DS3 seemed to like that movie. At least it was air-conditioned and the chairs were padded.
ksl5f123
DIS Veteran
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When we last left off, we had gone to bed on Monday night. Tuesday was our day to hang out at the Fort! 
We decided to just get up when we woke up this morning. That of course means everyone was up and ready for breakfast by 8 AM.
We used the electric griddle and some Shake and Pour pancake mix to make some Mickey pancakes for breakfast. I was amused to look over at the campsite next to ours and see the exact same pancake mix. I guess it is popular at the Fort!
MIL made some more of her bacon and attempted to cook some apples on the charcoal grill (didn't really work).
After breakfast, we made our way back to the Settlement and let the kids play on the playground.
We loved the rock structure that was part of the play area. It gave even something as standard as a plastic play area some theming. While the kids were playing, DH wandered around the Settlement looking for the best wi-fi signal. He had some luck up by Pioneer Hall, but got a much better signal at the Trading Post.
DD8 got bored at the playground after about 15 minutes so she and MIL went and played tetherball on the beach. The other 2 kids stayed for at least another 30 minutes. Once we were done on the playground, we went over to the Trading Post to look around. We were the only people shopping in there. DS3 found some Cars that he loved, but since he had the same ones at home, I convinced him to leave them behind. The girls played some checkers while they were waiting on DS3 and I to finish our negotiations. It was funny to watch my girls who are both on our school chess team try to out-strategize each other at checkers.
Our next stop was the pony rides. Coming from the trading post, the entrance to the pony rides is on the far side of the horse enclosure. We didn't know that and basically had to make the whole circle before finding the entrance. Kids have to be 48 or shorter to ride the ponies so DD8 was too tall by about 3 inches. Note: This is a difference from information found on some sites like allears.net which says that rides are for kids ages 2-8 and under 80 lbs. She only weighs 52 lbs and is 8 years old so we were expecting that she would get to ride. She was disappointed especially when she found out she was also too young for the trail rides (you have to be 9). However, the CM working the stable was super-nice and let her help us lead the horses that DD6 and DS3 rode.
We paid our $10 ($5 for each child) and the CM brought out Nemo for DS3 to ride.
Once the children are on the horse, the CM hands the reins over to a parent and the parent leads the horse around a well-marked trail (just follow the arrows). DH led DS3's horse around.
Then the CM brought out Cloud for DD6.
You can see in this picture the nice structure that they have for the kids to use to mount the horses. They just go up the stairs, stand on this platform, and swing one leg over the horse. It is really easy and saved this mama from having to lift her 6 year old onto a horse! I got to lead Cloud around the trail.
Even though DH and DS3 were probably only 5 minutes ahead of us on the trail, I have to give the CM a huge! At one point, Nemo stopped to do his business on the trail. I had expected to have to use some avoidance techniques when Cloud and I got to that location, but the CM had already cleaned it up! Impressive!
After our ride, the CM let the kids pose for some pictures with Cloud.
One child
Two children
Three children
From here, we headed over to the barn to see the big horses. They looked REALLY big after the ponies we had just visited. Inside the barn is a big calliope that you can make play by pressing a button. Luckily, my two youngest have super sensitive hearing, so one time pressing the button was plenty for both of them.
On the walls inside the barn were some great old pictures as well as some tack displays. The kids enjoyed looking at the big horses. As we were leaving, this one was getting a bath.
We asked his name, but I don't remember it right now. I am sure that my girls will, but they are in bed. He is the horse that pulls the wagon rides in the evenings.
We had a lot of fun down at the Settlement, but were starting to get hungry so we headed back to our campsite for lunch.
We decided to just get up when we woke up this morning. That of course means everyone was up and ready for breakfast by 8 AM.We used the electric griddle and some Shake and Pour pancake mix to make some Mickey pancakes for breakfast. I was amused to look over at the campsite next to ours and see the exact same pancake mix. I guess it is popular at the Fort!
MIL made some more of her bacon and attempted to cook some apples on the charcoal grill (didn't really work).After breakfast, we made our way back to the Settlement and let the kids play on the playground.
We loved the rock structure that was part of the play area. It gave even something as standard as a plastic play area some theming. While the kids were playing, DH wandered around the Settlement looking for the best wi-fi signal. He had some luck up by Pioneer Hall, but got a much better signal at the Trading Post.
DD8 got bored at the playground after about 15 minutes so she and MIL went and played tetherball on the beach. The other 2 kids stayed for at least another 30 minutes. Once we were done on the playground, we went over to the Trading Post to look around. We were the only people shopping in there. DS3 found some Cars that he loved, but since he had the same ones at home, I convinced him to leave them behind. The girls played some checkers while they were waiting on DS3 and I to finish our negotiations. It was funny to watch my girls who are both on our school chess team try to out-strategize each other at checkers.
Our next stop was the pony rides. Coming from the trading post, the entrance to the pony rides is on the far side of the horse enclosure. We didn't know that and basically had to make the whole circle before finding the entrance. Kids have to be 48 or shorter to ride the ponies so DD8 was too tall by about 3 inches. Note: This is a difference from information found on some sites like allears.net which says that rides are for kids ages 2-8 and under 80 lbs. She only weighs 52 lbs and is 8 years old so we were expecting that she would get to ride. She was disappointed especially when she found out she was also too young for the trail rides (you have to be 9). However, the CM working the stable was super-nice and let her help us lead the horses that DD6 and DS3 rode.
We paid our $10 ($5 for each child) and the CM brought out Nemo for DS3 to ride.
Once the children are on the horse, the CM hands the reins over to a parent and the parent leads the horse around a well-marked trail (just follow the arrows). DH led DS3's horse around.
Then the CM brought out Cloud for DD6.
You can see in this picture the nice structure that they have for the kids to use to mount the horses. They just go up the stairs, stand on this platform, and swing one leg over the horse. It is really easy and saved this mama from having to lift her 6 year old onto a horse! I got to lead Cloud around the trail.
Even though DH and DS3 were probably only 5 minutes ahead of us on the trail, I have to give the CM a huge
! At one point, Nemo stopped to do his business on the trail. I had expected to have to use some avoidance techniques when Cloud and I got to that location, but the CM had already cleaned it up! Impressive!
After our ride, the CM let the kids pose for some pictures with Cloud.
One child
Two children
Three children
From here, we headed over to the barn to see the big horses. They looked REALLY big after the ponies we had just visited. Inside the barn is a big calliope that you can make play by pressing a button. Luckily, my two youngest have super sensitive hearing, so one time pressing the button was plenty for both of them.
On the walls inside the barn were some great old pictures as well as some tack displays. The kids enjoyed looking at the big horses. As we were leaving, this one was getting a bath.
We asked his name, but I don't remember it right now. I am sure that my girls will, but they are in bed. He is the horse that pulls the wagon rides in the evenings.
We had a lot of fun down at the Settlement, but were starting to get hungry so we headed back to our campsite for lunch.
bama_ed
It's kind of fun to do the impossible-Walt Disney
- Joined
- Sep 23, 2004
- Messages
- 13,952
ksl5f123,
I'm sorry to hear DD8 was a little too tall for the pony rides. But the CM letting her be "hands on" by leading the pony was a good move and probably taught her some responsibility in a good way.
Thanks flor the update.
Bama ED
I'm sorry to hear DD8 was a little too tall for the pony rides. But the CM letting her be "hands on" by leading the pony was a good move and probably taught her some responsibility in a good way.
Thanks flor the update.
Bama ED
JWimberley
Disney Owner (0.00000074%) ;o)
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2000
- Messages
- 156
Great report! Such useful information!! We are going back to the campgrounds in June. My lovely bride wants to rent a 5th wheel to use while we are there and I would rather teach our daughters 6 & 4 about camping... I love seeing that you guys had such a smooth run with a large group.
I was considering bringing an outhouse tent and cassette style toilet to avoid hikes to the comfort station. Do you think it would be worth it or is it just as easy to use the CS?
I was considering bringing an outhouse tent and cassette style toilet to avoid hikes to the comfort station. Do you think it would be worth it or is it just as easy to use the CS?
LHARPSTER
Tiggermommie
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2012
- Messages
- 184
What a bummer DD8 couldn't ride the ponies. Our DS is going to be 8 when we get there and he is 53in tall and 60lbs now. So note to self...don't let him get to excited about riding one. I agree the CM was great to let her still feel involed!
ksl5f123
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2009
- Messages
- 1,299
She was a little sad because I was unable to warn her that she couldn't ride. She did enjoy getting to lead Nemo (with DH) and really liked getting her picture taken with the ponies.
I don't think there is a site that is more than a 4-5 minute walk from a comfort station. They really are convenient. I wouldn't worry about bringing anything else.
My kids LOVED sleeping in the tent. In fact, both my 3yo and 6yo ask to go back at least once a day! My only concern for you would be the HEAT in June. One year when we were there it hit 105 degrees! At that point, I want A/C, not a tent!
Glad I could give you a heads up on that one. DD8 loves horses so she enjoyed just being around them.
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