TCD's Thanksgiving 2010 Trip Report

[Tri-circle-D]

We have made it to Wednesday.

A lot happened on Wednesday.

It was a long day.

With some real surprises!

It began with an early trip to Animal Kingdom for rope drop.

We did not want to chance a bus delay, so we drove.

We made it in to the park in plenty of time, and quickly made our way through the oasis and to the bridge so we could get as close to the rope as possible.

As we crossed the bridge, we saw that the rope had already dropped.

And the tip board was open.

But, the park wasn’t supposed to be open for ten more minutes.

I asked a castmember standing next to the tip board what was up.

She said that new policy is to dispense with the actual rope drop early on busy days, and just let guests get on their way.

That’s a good policy.

We have been in some big mobs early on busy days.

But, I wish that we would have known that.

We would have been there earlier.

No big deal, though.

We didn’t have to brave the rush to Expedition Everest.

We walked back at a more civilized pace.

Fast.

But civilized.

We arrived at Expedition Everest and found it to be a walk-on.

Great!

We rode it a couple of times.

Sometimes the steam effect for the train is turned off.

But it was turned on today:

They still haven’t fixed the track that the Yeti tore up:

We got Fastpasses for later.

And headed to Dinosaur.

Another walk-on!

And, then to the Safari ride.

A short wait there, too.

We were able to get another set of Fastpasses for Expedition Everest.

It was going to be EMH’s at AK that night, so we knew that we would be leaving at some point and then coming back.

We decided that we would go ahead and leave now.

So we did.

We would come back later to ride Expedition Everest again.

And do some other things.

But for now, we headed back to the Fort.

And I cooked us up a late breakfast.

And then we received an unexpected visitor.

It was my cousin Yuri.

He doesn’t live in America.

And it has been a long time since we have seen him.

It was quite a surprise.

We visited for a while.

And then Yuri wanted a root beer.

He loves root beer.

I told him he could get one from the Meadow Snack Bar.

Which isn’t that far from the 1700 loop.

So, I gave Yuri some quick directions, and he headed out for his root beer.

After he left, I noticed that my camera was missing.

That danged Yuri.

He was gone for a lot longer than it should have taken.

I asked Yuri what happened.

I was not the least bit surprised when he told me he had gotten lost.

He had apparently walked right past the pool, and ended up at the campfire area.

I asked him if he knew anything about my missing camera.

Flashing a sheepish grin and making a shrug, he pulled it out of his pocket and handed it to me.

He apologized, and said he had taken some photos.

I asked him why.

He said because he knew that I liked photos.

He has often watched me with complete amazement as I took a photo of a trash can, or bus stop, or survey marker.

He thinks I’m crazy.

But, he was trying to get on my good side, so he took some photos.

He meant well.

I asked him to show them to me.

And here they are . . .

Yuri apparently mistook the projector building at the campfire for the snack bar:

I guess it was an honest mistake.

When he got there, the door was unlocked, so he walked in.

This was the first photo he took inside:

I think this must be Chip and Dale’s dressing room. You know, for when they wear Halloween costumes or Christmas hats and such. If you find it ironic that Yuri photographed a sign that says no photography, don’t. Yuri can barely speak English, and he certainly cannot read it. He is not from around here.

This is a bulletin board that is hanging in the little entry area of the projection building:

This is a photo of a photo hanging on the wall-it looks like it was taken during a very busy campfire performance:

There is a small staircase in the building, and this decal is on the wall of a landing for the staircase:

This looks like it is the same decal which used to be on all of the FW trashcans, and on some of the vehicles. But this one is black and white. I wonder if there is paper on there you peel off, and if this is really a color decal?

This is a photo of the actual A/V equipment in the upstairs room. The handle that you see in front of the equipment must open the window for the projector.

There is a bulletin board upstairs, too:

Here’s a copy of the script that the castmembers read at the end of the movie each night:

And here’s a chart that shows all of the castmembers names, phone numbers and email addresses (good thing it is too blurry to read):

This apparently is a notice from the boss to the techs who run the movies:

This is the script for the introduction of the movie each evening:

This is a list and description of the cartoon shorts that they play before the feature films:

This is another look at the equipment:

The movie for Wednesday night was Princess Protection Program- you can see it has been set out here:

This is a shot looking from the equipment area back toward the stairs:

Here are a couple of shots of the knick-knacks adorning the ledge of the stair opening:

This must be the chair that the movie technician sits in while the movie plays. It looks a bit shabby:

This is a cabinet in the room. Maybe the movie collection is kept in there. The movie from Tuesday night is sitting on top of the cabinet:

This looks like another shot of the ledge:

This looks like a photo of the castmembers who worked at the campfire at one time:

This photo is really interesting to me. This is a photo of a caricature drawing of two young ladies. The ladies appear to be wearing Chipmunk costumes. One has teeth that resemble Chip’s, and the other Dale’s. One is holding a pair of acorns in what I would call an inappropriate use of acorns (call me a prude), and the other is asking : “how long is 200 seconds?” Look for yourself:

So, what the Fort is that all about?

Who are these girls?

What’s with the acorns?

What is the significance of 200 seconds?

My initial thought is that this drawing is referring to something naughty. But, this drawing was right out in an open, very visible, location. So, it can’t be that naughty.

Can it?

That one girl is definitely doing something wrong with those acorns.

You know what?

We had better just move on.

It might be best if we not discuss this drawing anymore.

This is a family friendly board.

This is Yuri’s last shot:

It’s the bulletin board again.

I think that’s Sundee there just above center. Standing next to the person wearing some kind of costume.

After I looked at Yuri’s photos, he asked for a root beer again.

He still had not gotten his stupid root beer.

I drove him over on the golf cart.

He said he would walk back.

But, first he wanted to go look for what he called the Chipmunk girl.

I checked to make sure he hadn’t swiped my camera again.

And then we headed back to camp.

We never saw Yuri again.

Maybe he found the Chipmunk girl?

Probably not.

He probably just got lost again.

And , hopefully, he has returned to his country.

I’m sure I will see him again some day.

He always shows up when I least expect him.

So, that is all for Yuri.

I hope you liked.

Next up, we continue with our Wednesday.

There will be some more pixie dust and surprises.

So be sure to check back.

TCD

 

[WannaBeImagineer]

Wow!

Next time you see Yuri tell him great job on the pictures!

And good job putting all of Yuri's pictures together in the report TCD.

"how long is 200 seconds" that's got to be some inside joke??? But now I want to know!

 

[Lil' Lisa]

.

 

[stacktester]

I think there needs to be a disclaimer on this thread stating if you don't want to see the entire backstage of the fort please don't read. I remember riding bikes behind pioneer hall once and seeing a plain non themed sight that kinda took the magic of the bldg. away.

 

[stefa70]

Yeah that sticker really adds to the whole dork effect.

The bum in the baloney sandwich reference is bum like a transient, vagabond, hobo, tramp, that kind of bum, not a derriere, rear, buttocks, kind of bum. I concur that I would not want a baloney sandwich after Donnie's bum has been on it.



Your eyes are good?

That's bad news then.

Because that means your mind is slipping.

Or you've been hitting the bloody Marys again.

TCD

Now THAT is a definate possibility!!

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Wow!

Next time you see Yuri tell him great job on the pictures!

And good job putting all of Yuri's pictures together in the report TCD.

"how long is 200 seconds" that's got to be some inside joke??? But now I want to know!

That "How Long in 200 Seconds?" thing has been bothering me ever since I saw it. Clearly something is going on in that drawing. I just don't get what.

I actually did some research to see if I could figure this out.

There is a band that goes by the name 3OH!3 that has a song with a lyric that says: "I got 200 seconds and I'm ready to go . . ." The song has some crude words in it, so I won't share the lyrics here, but my guess is that there is a connection. By the way, I have actually heard of that band. My DD's may have seen them in concert (but they wouldn't have had I understood what these guys were screaming in their lyrics). I remember the name because I remember asking them what the Fort that band's name was. How do you pronounce it? Well, if you want to be cool like TCD, I will share with you that it's pronounced three-o-three. They are from Colorado, and that's the area code for Boulder, where they come from. I don't get the math, but supposedly, 200 seconds is 3.3 minutes, so this lyric is a play on their name.

So, my best guess is that these Chipmunk girls are fans of three-o-three, and the caricature artist included that phrase at their request.

Or, I could be completely and entirely mistaken.

Maybe Yuri disappeared because he got nabbed for taking pictures in a prohibited area???? If you see him again, you will have to commend him on the great snooping... er... aah... investigative reporting job!

I agree that the caracature does look a wee bit suggestive. I know that I couldn't get away with holding my acorns in that manner...

You're darn right! A lady should never hold her acorns like that out in public! I mean, what's a guy supposed to think when he sees such a brazen display?

I think there needs to be a disclaimer on this thread stating if you don't want to see the entire backstage of the fort please don't read. I remember riding bikes behind pioneer hall once and seeing a plain non themed sight that kinda took the magic of the bldg. away.

Sorry, Donnie, you are right. I'm sure that when you are there enjoying Snowball Express, you picture Chip and Dale upstairs sitting in their cozy living room with a fire blazing in the fireplace, sipping hot cocoa, and operating the projector for the lucky Fort guests. Yuri's photos blow that image all to heck. Dang that Yuri! Talk about ruining the magic- who knew that the upstairs of that projection building would look like a serial killer's apartment?

Now THAT is a definate possibility!!

Well there you go! S70 admits that she is losing it.

TCD

 

[WannaBeImagineer]

That "How Long in 200 Seconds?" thing has been bothering me ever since I saw it. Clearly something is going on in that drawing. I just don't get what.

I actually did some research to see if I could figure this out.

There is a band that goes by the name 3OH!3 that has a song with a lyric that says: "I got 200 seconds and I'm ready to go . . ." The song has some crude words in it, so I won't share the lyrics here, but my guess is that there is a connection. By the way, I have actually heard of that band. My DD's may have seen them in concert (but they wouldn't have had I understood what these guys were screaming in their lyrics). I remember the name because I remember asking them what the Fort that band's name was. How do you pronounce it? Well, if you want to be cool like TCD, I will share with you that it's pronounced three-o-three. They are from Colorado, and that's the area code for Boulder, where they come from. I don't get the math, but supposedly, 200 seconds is 3.3 minutes, so this lyric is a play on their name.

So, my best guess is that these Chipmunk girls are fans of three-o-three, and the caricature artist included that phrase at their request.

Or, I could be completely and entirely mistaken.

TCD

That caricature was puzzling me too and it looks like I found the same info as you when I did my research.

Without being a part of the inside joke I'd have to agree with your best guess. The girls are probably fans and always joke about that line from the song. I guess we'll never know for sure...

 

[Tri-circle-D]

That caricature was puzzling me too and it looks like I found the same info as you when I did my research.

Without being a part of the inside joke I'd have to agree with your best guess. The girls are probably fans and always joke about that line from the song. I guess we'll never know for sure...

We may never know, except that when I last saw Yuri, he was off to look for the chipmunk girls. Who knows, maybe he found one? I'm sure Yuri will reappear some day, and I'll ask him. For now, we will put this in our unsolved mystery file, and move on.

TCD

 

[Tri-circle-D]

And, here we go . . .

After our brief and strange visit from Yuri, we enjoyed the rest of our day at the Fort.

The TCDRMOG award winners had completed the set up of their dishwasher, and had addressed the issue of how to dispose of the waste water. Here’s how they did it:

Wait a second you say?

Isn’t it illegal to dump wastewater on the ground in Florida?

Aren’t we told that we must recover and appropriately dispose of all waste water at our campsites?

I always thought so.

But, apparently, it’s OK to have a dishwasher dump gallons of wastewater right on the ground.

As long as you’re in the 2000 loop.

Really?

Maybe someone stopped them from dumping the water in the ditch.

We will see.

In an earlier post on this thread, Stacktester said he talked to these people, and that they were feeding 60 people at a time. That’s great. But, how would you like to be their neighbor? I’m glad that I wasn’t assigned to the 2000 loop.

Here we are back at good old site 1711. Here are a couple more photos of the back of the site, as viewed from the road:

And, here are some photos of the front of the site, taken from the loop road:

Here’s the good old yellow bus heading to the Settlement:

From my view, the buses came pretty frequently all week. I thought about keeping a log for an hour or so, just to see what the timing was, but I didn’t want to waste the time doing that. I preferred to waste it looping or snooping around, and such.

On Wednesday afternoon, I checked out the Settlement Trading Post to see if any official Christmas decorations had appeared. They still hadn’t:

There weren’t any at Pioneer Hall either:

But, I did find something.

A power lift was parked behind Pioneer Hall:

What do you suppose that was doing there?

Here’s a shot of some heavy boat traffic on Bay Lake:

There were no Christmas decorations at the old River Country entrance:

Here’s a photo standing by the sidewalk next to the Clementine’s Beach sign, looking toward the Settlement Trading Post. You can see the new circular sign in the distance if you follow the roadway all the way to the end:

A while back, we were looking at some of the decorations set up by the campers on the last site of the 100 loop. They were the ones with the decorations behind their site, backing all the way up to the road.

Well, in front of their site, I noticed that they had what looked like big bird perches set up.

Today, I found out that they were bird perches:

What?

A lot of people bring their dogs camping.

Why can’t this guy bring his birds?

Here are a few snapshots of the decorations around the bird man’s campsite:

While we were looping around, we heard a lot of noise coming from somewhere around the Meadow Trading Post. It sounded like chainsaws and grinding. Naturally, we had to go and check that out. We found it the noise was coming from a crew removing a big tree on the 1300 loop. They worked pretty quickly, so by the time we got there, they were pretty much just packing up to go:

As far as I can tell, this was some kind of prank going on in the 900 loop:

I’m not sure what the broom on the windshield is all about.

Heading back to the 1700 loop, we were stuck behind a truck delivering a bunch of ice:

He turned right at the four way stop, heading out toward the group camping area. I think he was bringing the tee pee people more ice. That's a lot of ice.

It was about this point that the girls decided to head over to Wilderness Lodge for some soft serve.

And, I availed myself of the hammock.

But, it didn’t take the girls long to make their ice cream run, and before I knew it, I had been summoned to the marina to pick them up.

On the way there, I saw some interesting things.

Which I dutifully photographed.

And will share in my next installment.

TCD

 

[MandMLUVMMandDVC]

Maybe Yuri disappeared because he got nabbed for taking pictures in a prohibited area????

I think there needs to be a disclaimer on this thread stating if you don't want to see the entire backstage of the fort please don't read.

Maybe Yuri is missing cause some of us local backwoods moran rednecks that are a packin got aholda him and are givin him some southern discipline for goin ta places he oughtnota gone and ruined some of da magic for us. Some of us believe in obeying most of the rules mosta da time & especially when it involves illegal trespassing into buildings.

TCD.....In all seriousness, Yuri really NEEDS TO BE CAREFUL!! We wouldn't want his law-breaking ways to have any impact on you or your family being permitted at the Fort! Your girls really love the place too much to be told that Uncle Yuri ruined things for them. Lurking a little behind a fence is one thing, going into that building was something else entirely. Please show the following to Yuri.

Florida Statutes 810: (.... means that non-applicable writings are deleted)
810.02 Burglary: ..... (b) For offenses committed after July 1, 2001, “burglary” means:

1.Entering a dwelling, a structure, or a conveyance with the intent to commit an offense therein, unless the premises are at the time open to the public or the defendant is licensed or invited to enter;
......

(4) Burglary is a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, if, in the course of committing the offense, the offender does not make an assault or battery and is not and does not become armed with a dangerous weapon or explosive, and the offender enters or remains in a:

(a) Structure, and there is not another person in the structure at the time the offender enters or remains; or

(b) Conveyance, and there is not another person in the conveyance at the time the offender enters or remains

.....
810.07 Prima facie evidence of intent.–

(1) In a trial on the charge of burglary, proof of the entering of such structure or conveyance at any time stealthily and without consent of the owner or occupant thereof is prima facie evidence of entering with intent to commit an offense.
....

Just so Yuri knows what a 3rd Degree Felony is: Burglary of a Structure/Conveyance is a third degree felony punishable by up to five (5) years in Florida State Prison.

 

[stacktester]

Maybe the mess that place is in did make me a little queezy. I mean I know it's not going to be perfect up there but damn that is a wreck. Just not what I expected.

BTW, you mean to tell me that Chip N Dale don't go sit up there and watch all the movies? Devistating I tell you, devistating.

BTW Way, Snowball Express is on the movie list this month. I won't be there to see her dang it but I will watch at home.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

TCD.....In all seriousness, Yuri really NEEDS TO BE CAREFUL!!

Melissa-

I'll be sure to tell him.

Also, I really don't want to go into the details, because someone might get in trouble, but did you notice the green hose stretched out in the photo? Maybe there were a couple of guys there cleaning the campfire area, and they gave Yuri permission to take a quick look in the building?

Maybe the mess that place is in did make me a little queezy. I mean I know it's not going to be perfect up there but damn that is a wreck. Just not what I expected.

BTW, you mean to tell me that Chip N Dale don't go sit up there and watch all the movies? Devistating I tell you, devistating.

BTW Way, Snowball Express is on the movie list this month. I won't be there to see her dang it but I will watch at home.

No I didn't say Chip and Dale aren't up there operating the projector. I always thought they were. Maybe they're the ones who made the mess. I wouldn't put it past them.

I noticed Snowball Express on the schedule. Didn't it always used to be shown Thanksgiving week? I have yet to see it, but based on your recommendation, I intend to take it in one of these days.

TCD

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Where we last left off, I was on my way to go pick up the girls at the marina.

I headed out around the 1700 loop.

I had noticed this clothesline earlier in the day, and decided to snap a photo to include in my report, because there’s a point I wanted to make about clotheslines:

The point is this: you can learn a lot about people by looking at their clotheslines. Take a closer look at this one. What do you see? I see exactly 7 blue shirts. All the same. And a couple of t-shirts. And a pair of jorts. And one pair of jeans. It looks like a whole week of outfits for this guy. The blue shirts look like they could be a castmember’s shirt. Maybe the man staying on this site is a castmember. Or maybe he likes blue shirts. I don’t know. But, I found it interesting. And remember this point. We will be looking at another clothesline later, and I would be interested in hearing what you think about its owner.

As I headed down to the marina, I noticed that the Jesus Jet had been busy:

Who pays for this?

How much does it cost?

Has any market research been done to determine if this skywriting accomplishes anything.

It looks like maybe this message was written in tongues?

Or Hebrew?

What the heck does it mean?

As I waited for the girls’ boat to arrive, I noticed that now there were two lifts parked behind Pioneer Hall:

Something was definitely up.

What we see here is another boat on Bay Lake:

But, it’s not just any boat.

The TCD twins are on that boat.

I could see them waving.

But, you can’t.

When the girls got back, we planned out our evening.

We had Expedition Everest Fastpasses to use.

And, it was going to be EMH at AK that night.

So, we headed over to Animal Kingdom at about 6. The plan was to use our Fastpasses, grab some dinner, and then see what else there was to do.

We arrived via bus without incident. Once again, our bus was waiting for us, and we got to AK in no time at all.

We rode Expedition Everest once.

And, then we asked the castmember if the Fastpass line would be open during EMH’s. She said yes. So we saved our last Fastpasses and went to eat.

We ate at Flametree Barbeque. We love that place. There is a seating area way in the back that is right on the water. Directly across from Expedition Everest. The view from here at night is awesome. We were the only ones seated in this area, and ended up having a long conversation with a young lady working in the food service area under the college program.


After we ate, we took in It’s Tough To Be a Bug. We hadn’t seen that show in a while. I like it. The girls don’t. Also, the giant bad-guy grasshopper was missing. Did something happen to him? He used to make the girls cry. Maybe he was too scary?

After ITTBAB, it was back to EE.

On the way to EE we stopped for a restroom break. I was good to go, so I waited outside for the girls. One of my DD’s came out to tell me that they had the coolest hand drier she had ever seen in the ladies’ room. I decided to check out the men’s room to see if one was in there. There was one in there. And here it is:

I don’t know if you can make it out, but this is manufactured by Dyson. The folks who make those vacuum cleaners with no bags. The thing worked great! Really cool! I hope these take off. They are way better than those ones that don’t work that you find in McDonalds and such places.

At EE, crowds were very light. We rode once with our Fastpasses, and once without. Then we headed over to Dinosaur, and we had had enough.

On the way out, one of my DD’s asked to stop in the gift shop to look at the Vinylmation figures. She has started to collect these, and now has about a half dozen. When these things first came out, I didn’t think they would be around long. But, they don’t seem to be going anywhere. And, it looks like people are really getting in to collecting these.

So we looked at the Vinylmation figures.

I had seen this one earlier in our trip:

This figure is in the theme park collection. Which means that he is supposed to represent a ride at one of the parks. I asked my DD who he was. She didn’t know. His photo was on one of the boxes that we were looking at, and I my DD and I were talking about him when a friendly castmember joined in our conversation. She was a young lady named Jenny who was working there in the gift shop in the college program. She had been straightening the Vinylmation display when we walked up. We asked her about this guy with the moustache. She didn’t know what ride he was from either. She mentioned that she had seen him in the mystery box that they had there in the store. We asked her where the mystery box was so we could look. Here we found out why the mystery box is so named. We didn’t know anything about mystery boxes. But now we do. We were confusing the mystery box with the trade box. The trade box is a clear plastic box that sits next to the cash register. If you buy a Vinylmation figure, and don’t like it, and see one in the trade box that you like better, you can trade for that figure. The mystery box is different. It’s a black box about the size of a computer monitor. It has maybe twelve compartments in it, and those compartments hold Vinylmation figures. If you want, you can trade your Vinylmation figure for one out of the mystery box by telling the castmember what number you choose. I am not sure if you are obligated to complete the trade if you end up not liking your mystery choice, because that is not how Jenny operated the mystery box.

While we were there, a young man came up and said he would like to make a trade for a figure in the mystery box. He had a Vinylmation that he thought was too girly, and he wanted to trade for something more manly. So Jenny asked him to pick a number. She looked in the compartment, and said maybe he should try again. I don’t think this is how it’s supposed to go, but that’s how Jenny did it. The boy picked again, and out comes the Vinylmation guy with the moustache. Apparently, there was some notation on the back that said he is supposed to be the father from the Carousel of Progress. I’m sorry, but I don’t see it. Anyway, Jenny was excited to tell us that she had solved the mystery of the guy with the moustache. The boy saw how excited she was, and he ended up trading for the Carousel of Progress guy.

Stay with me here. I’m now getting to the point of this long story. My DD then asked Jenny if she had ever seen the Big Baby Vinylmation . Big Baby is a character in the Toy Story 3 movie. Kind of creepy, but also kind of endearing. Anyway, my DD had seen a photo of the Big Baby Vinylmation, and had said a while ago how she would like to have that one. The problem is that you don’t know what you’re buying when you buy a Vinylmation, so she could have to buy a bunch of figures to try to get the Big Baby one. But, Jenny told my DD that maybe there was a Big Baby figure in the mystery box, and that she ought to give it a try. Just so you are informed, the Big Baby Vinylmation is the top right one in this photo:

So, we bought a Vinylmation. It wasn’t Big Baby. My DD asks to try the mystery box. Jenny gave her some very specific hints. And before you know it:

Score!

My DD had her Big Baby Vinylmation.

Maybe you think this is a dumb story. But, it made my DD’s night. Mine too. We had a bit of unexpected fun there in the AK gift shop. Thanks Jenny!

I chalk that whole experience up to pixie dust, too.

We got back to the Fort by 10.

The MK was open until midnight.

In case you haven’t figured it out on your own, we’re crazy. We headed over to the MK to close it down.

We got to see the end of the EWP from the boat:

We did the Laugh Floor again.

They picked a clueless old guy to be That Guy.

Like always (except on our last visit).

We rode Carousel of Progress.

We rode Space Mountain.

The photographer caught us off guard again:

This isn’t us.

But we thought this photo was funny. So, I got this guy’s photo too:

There is a man having a good time at Disney World!

I admired this wreath, but it made me sad that the Fort’s Christmas decorations were still not up:

MK closed at midnight.

And we had to go.

There were still a lot of people there just after midnight:

Our boat awaited us.

I still can’t believe the good luck we had with Disney transportation all week.

We headed back to the Fort.

I’ll bet you think I’m going to say that we called it a night.

Well, you’re wrong!

We were heading back to see some real Disney Magic!

DISCLAIMER FOR STACKTESTER. THE NEXT POST MAY CONTAIN IMAGES WHICH REVEAL BEHIND THE SCENES MAGIC. YOU MAY WANT TO AVERT YOUR EYES.

TCD

 

[storyteller]

Well, I'm lovin it. Love the "GOLD" crown.. Yes, hail to the chief..
Behind the scene pics, awesome. I don't feel you lose any magic, I think you add a little more to the mystery of everything. Like the Magic kingdom and elsewhere, we all know what's there but it is still very magicial... I'm sure the powers to been would probably charge a fee if there was enough interest, Lets not tell them. It will be our little secret.
Please continue with your awesome TR "KING TCD"

 

[fugarwe]

Just poking my head in to say how much I'm enjoying this report. Being in the business I"m in I get to see the "back stage" area of all sorts of different events and businesses. In fact, it is kind of a hobby of mine. I come to expect it, because I normally am involved in it. So these posts, and your years previous posts, keep me satiated.

And as for the violation of law warning, I'm sure Yuri has that all figured out. But it is an excellent warning for others reading this who don't have such a handy cousin, that perhaps they should leave this kind of exploring to Yuri. We don't need a bunch of Yuris out there messing things up for the real one.

Carry on.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Well, I'm lovin it. Love the "GOLD" crown.. Yes, hail to the chief..
Behind the scene pics, awesome. I don't feel you lose any magic, I think you add a little more to the mystery of everything. Like the Magic kingdom and elsewhere, we all know what's there but it is still very magicial... I'm sure the powers to been would probably charge a fee if there was enough interest, Lets not tell them. It will be our little secret.
Please continue with your awesome TR "KING TCD"

Thanks! I agree with you. One of these days, I plan on taking one of the backstage tours at the Magic Kingdom. For me, seeing how the magic works does not diminish it in the least, in fact, I think it makes me admire what they do at WDW even more.

Just poking my head in to say how much I'm enjoying this report. Being in the business I"m in I get to see the "back stage" area of all sorts of different events and businesses. In fact, it is kind of a hobby of mine. I come to expect it, because I normally am involved in it. So these posts, and your years previous posts, keep me satiated.

And as for the violation of law warning, I'm sure Yuri has that all figured out. But it is an excellent warning for others reading this who don't have such a handy cousin, that perhaps they should leave this kind of exploring to Yuri. We don't need a bunch of Yuris out there messing things up for the real one.

Carry on.

How do you like that?

A cool cop.

Actually, I know a lot of cool cops.

Thanks for reading along, and I agree with your point.

So . . .

A warning: Boys and Girls do not be a Cousin Yuri. He sometimes does dumb things. And maybe one of these days he is going to get himself in some real trouble. The world does not need any more Cousin Yuris!

Now, let's get to those magical photos!

TCD

 

[Elliott]

My DD had her Big Baby Vinylmation.

Maybe you think this is a dumb story. But, it made my DD’s night. Mine too. We had a bit of unexpected fun there in the AK gift shop. Thanks Jenny!


TCD

Your story is great, but Vinylmation, now that I understand it, is dumb. (No offense to TCDD of course).

 

[Tri-circle-D]

So what is this magic I was referring to?

When we arrived back at the Fort Wilderness marina, we found that Christmas had arrived!

We found this rack full of decorations sitting right outside of the marina building:

Note how this works. It is very well organized. And clever. Each rack has a photo on it showing how the decorations are supposed to look:

All of these decorations were going to go on the marina building.

That looks like a lot of work.

I wondered when the other decorations would be put up.

I found my answer sitting outside of Pioneer Hall.

There were racks everywhere!

Here’s the rack for Crockett’s Tavern and the Guest Relations area:

This one is for Pioneer Hall:

This one is for Guest Services too:

All of these were accompanied by photos showing where the decorations were supposed to go:

There were pre-decorated small Christmas trees:

And pre-decorated larger trees:

And even a pre-decorated very large tree sitting on a trailer:

Here are the decorations for Trail’s End:

There were also decorations set out at the Settlement Trading Post:

Note that the photo on this rack shows the old sign. Would they decorate the new one?:

These photos show the interior decorations for the trading post:

So what was going to happen here?

I’ll tell you what happened.

All of these decorations got put up.

In one night!

The Fort went from no decorations to full decorations in one magic evening.

I watched the elves work for a while.

I even ran into BradyBz12 and her DH. They watched the magic, too.

After a while, I headed back to camp.

I planned to get up early on Thanksgiving morning to see what the elves had gotten done in a single magic night.

TCD

 

[DaveInTN]

Those Dyson Airblade hand dryers are the best. You can dry your hands in about 6 or 7 seconds. I wonder when they'll come out with a home version.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Your story is great, but Vinylmation, now that I understand it, is dumb. (No offense to TCDD of course).

I agree it's kind of dumb. But, at the same time, some of the designs are really clever. I thought I was out of the collecting phase with my kids. I don't even want to think about how much money I have wasted on Beanie Babies and Pokemon cards. The good thing about these Vinylmations is that you can only buy them at Disney theme parks (and maybe the Disney Stores?), so at least it's something easy to control.

TCD