TCD is a VIP! A FW Cabin trip report May 2009

[Tri-circle-D]

Are you still with me?

Maybe I took too many photos?

Well, I always say quantity, not quality!

Here we will look at some of the runners as they headed out onto the run course. It looks like they headed toward the Wilderness Lodge, and then ran up the back road toward the group camping area, and then back to the Fort.

So, the ladies running by in these next photos are just starting out on their run:

All of these picnic tables were set up near the "trail head" of the bike path to the Wilderness Lodge. They must be the tables that are normally under the pavilion for the Backyard BBQ:

Here are some of the runners just getting going on the run course, as they come around the horse barn:

The ponies must have been amazed to see all the folks crowded around this morning:

Next up . . .

Some more race photos . . .

And then we break out of the 100 loop with our cart to take a look around.

TCD

 

[FIREKYMMIE]

i LOVE all the pics.. they are great makes you think you are there.... i am counting days down now for my vac. and all these pics are helping me.... ty

 

[Live4FW]

She is looking at you wanting to know why you are taking her pic. Doesn't she know who you are?

 

[Tri-circle-D]

She is looking at you wanting to know why you are taking her pic. Doesn't she know who you are?

Yes- she is looking right at me. I think she did recognize me, and then realized that meant she was going to end up in a TCD trip report!

TCD

 

[Tri-circle-D]

I'm going to get this trip report finished today.

Here are the last two photos that I took in the finish line area:

I think this is when I went back to the cabin to make breakfast for Mrs. TCD and the DD's. Boy, it is easy to do that in a cabin, as opposed to at a campsite.

After breakfast, we decided to get out of the loop on our cart.

Now that it was getting close to 11 am, folks were trying to leave, and traffic was getting bad. This camper was trying to leave the 200 loop, but had to wait a while for a break in the action:

This castmember was the gatekeeper- he watched for bikers, and then, when the coast was clear, he would signal the castmember in the loop, and open the gate up for the folks trying to leave:

These folks got backed up a bit heading toward the 100/200/400 loop area:

That guy that we just looked at waiting to leave from the 200 loop finally got to go- and look, he is the one who had that Minnie Mouse golf cart that we looked at earlier:

Here is the golf cart parking area in the 700 loop:

These Mears buses were going back and forth all morning long:

As you just saw from the temporary 700 loop golf cart parking, they still were not letting golf carts to go down to the Settlement well into late morning.

I was able to drive my cart into the Settlement Area from the 100 loop and snapped these photos:

Because things were so congested, I contemplated not returning my cart until after 11. I had hardly gotten a chance to use it all morning. But, we didn't plan on staying late today, so I headed up toward the Outpost at about 10:45.

Coming up, my trip to the Outpost . . .

And the end of this report.

TCD

 

[BradyBz12]

Still with ya.... great stuff!

Anybody else concerned that dog's line reached all the way to the recycle bins... and the road?

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Still with ya.... great stuff!

Anybody else concerned that dog's line reached all the way to the recycle bins... and the road?

Well, that way he could scare the 2200 bikers coming by!

J/K that dog was old! He didn't bother anyone.

I just don't know what he was doing in the 100 loop.

But, I see that kind of stuff all the time lately.

TCD

 

[BradyBz12]

Oh geez, I can only imagine my border collies in the 100 loop that weekend with all those bikes going by!

J/K that dog was old! He didn't bother anyone.

Yeah, he didn't look like he was about to bolt anywhere. If anything he looked like he might be in danger of stumbling in front of a bike. (ouch)

REALLY weird that they put them in 100. I've seen dogs lots of places at FW before, but not there.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Let's wrap this mother up.

As I attempted to make it back to return my cart by 11, I ran into this parade of folks heading out of the Fort:

That's about as bad a back-up as I've seen. But, the line was moving, and I made it to return the cart at just a little past 11. No problem.

On my way to the bus stop for a ride back to the Settlement, I peeked into the "Internet Cafe," to see if there was anything new in there. Sometimes there is a new piece of literature in there, but not today. But, I found out where they keep all their printed material. It is just behind the little door there in the Internet Cafe. Here's what you see if you take a quick peek:

From here, I headed over to the Outpost Bus Stop. Since I was going to the Settlement, I planned to take the first internal bus that came along: Yellow, Orange or Purple, it didn't matter to me. But, after a few theme park buses came, the next bus said Wilderness Lodge. Huh? I asked that bus driver what was up. She told me that there were no Yellow, Orange or Purple buses this morning. If I wanted to go to the Settlement, I needed to take the Ft. Wilderness bus. Oh.

Luckily, a Ft. Wilderness bus came right along:

Notice the "No Bikes" sign:

I didn't realize that the bus system would be modified on Sunday. But it was. And they told me so. Remember this letter?:

I didn't notice the part about there being more information on the back. But, there was:

So, during the Triathlon, there was just one bus route through the Fort. It followed the route of the Orange bus. Through the cabin loops, then past the Meadow Trading Post, and to the Settlement bus stop. I didn't see a lot of folks waiting anywhere for the internal bus, so it must have been working OK.

What I did see, when I got to the Settlement, was a long line of folks trying to get on the Mears Shuttle to get back to the MK parking lot. Here they are:

It didn't look like they were having a lot of fun.

And with that- I'm done.

After getting back to the cabin, we packed up and headed home.

We had been at the Fort for less than 24 hours.

But, we had plenty of fun.

And, as you can see, saw quite a bit.

I'm not sure when I will be back.

Maybe a surprise inspection of the splash zone before month end.

Until next time . . .

TCD is out!

 

[clkelley]

Sounds like an action packed trip!! Glad you had a good time!!

 

[BradyBz12]

Thanks TCD! Who'd have thunk that a "quick weekend trip" would have been so jammed packed? Great TR as always.

 

[Donna]

Great report as usual, i hung on every word and picture! can't wait til you're there again. We leave in a few weeks and i just can't wait! Got a cart from kenny's and there were only 2 left for june when i called!!

 

[jdd]

Thanks so much for all this information! I just have one question. We are coming to the Fort (1st visit!) Labor Day weekend, on which I understand they're hosting yet another triathlon. I'm wondering which you think would be the better option:

1. Check in late Saturday (6-8pm) - head out early Sunday (7am) for the TTC and monorail to MK or
2. Stay off site Saturday night, check in to FW early Sunday (7am) and head straight out for the TTC/MK.

The reason I'm considering the second option is that I'm wondering how crazy check-in on Saturday will be, and how hard it will be to get out Sunday morning.

The reason I'm considering the first option is that I'm wondering if checking in Sunday morning, right at the start of the race, would be a mistake.

Any opinion? Thanks!

edited to add that we're driving, so we have our own car - won't be relying on internal transportation.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Thanks so much for all this information! I just have one question. We are coming to the Fort (1st visit!) Labor Day weekend, on which I understand they're hosting yet another triathlon. I'm wondering which you think would be the better option:

1. Check in late Saturday (6-8pm) - head out early Sunday (7am) for the TTC and monorail to MK or
2. Stay off site Saturday night, check in to FW early Sunday (7am) and head straight out for the TTC/MK.

The reason I'm considering the second option is that I'm wondering how crazy check-in on Saturday will be, and how hard it will be to get out Sunday morning.

The reason I'm considering the first option is that I'm wondering if checking in Sunday morning, right at the start of the race, would be a mistake.

Any opinion? Thanks!

edited to add that we're driving, so we have our own car - won't be relying on internal transportation.

I would definitely suggest option 1. Check-in on Saturday night was not that bad. It was crowded, but they had plenty of staff on hand, and it moved quickly. On Sunday morning, I would bet that a lot of staff will be diverted to man stations for the triathlon. Also, you may have a problem driving back to your site, as some roads were blocked off before 7 am.

If you don't want to be around to watch the triathlon, then I would suggest that you head out early, and plan on coming back in the afternoon or later. With your FW parking pass, you could also park at the Contemporary, Polynesian or Grand Floridian and take the monorail from there. I would choose one of those rather than the TTC.

I would not let the triathlon deter you from coming to the Fort, but be prepared for some minor disruptions on the day of the triathlon.

TCD

 

[camperhappy]

Interesting stuff! Thanks for all of the details, I am surprised about the swimming in the lake, we were told on one of our boat rides that they don't allow swimming because of gators! I guess they check the water pretty good before allowing the swimmers to enter. Thanks for all the info!

 

[jdd]

I would definitely suggest option 1. Check-in on Saturday night was not that bad. It was crowded, but they had plenty of staff on hand, and it moved quickly. On Sunday morning, I would bet that a lot of staff will be diverted to man stations for the triathlon. Also, you may have a problem driving back to your site, as some roads were blocked off before 7 am.

If you don't want to be around to watch the triathlon, then I would suggest that you head out early, and plan on coming back in the afternoon or later. With your FW parking pass, you could also park at the Contemporary, Polynesian or Grand Floridian and take the monorail from there. I would choose one of those rather than the TTC.

I would not let the triathlon deter you from coming to the Fort, but be prepared for some minor disruptions on the day of the triathlon.

TCD

Thanks! I was afraid we wouldn't be able to get out Sunday morning. I'd prefer to stay Sat night at FW, though, as it would save checking in and out of multiple hotels. Also, thanks for the tip about parking at the Contemporary - I had no idea that was allowed. I thought you had to be a guest of that hotel to park for more than a couple of hours.

We're very excited to visit FW this year - I've been following the pool/splash zone thread, and loving all your pictures!