.This is no ordinary RADP Meet...We invite you, if you dare, to join us as we ascend into our very
own episode of "The Twilight Zone"...
Two weeks to go
Amy had mentioned she was doing the E-Ticket Express this trip. I had gone to the Mickeys Very
Merry Christmas Party my last trip back in December and loved it. It's similar to E ride nights in that a
limited number of admissions are sold and there are very short lines for some of the most popular
attractions(of course there are differences too, at the Christmas party there are many special events and
more rides are open than on e-ride nights). There was just one drawback I came across.... E-Ticket is
for resort guests only. I had considered staying at one of the resorts, but due to our budget I didn't
think it would be possible for me to do that I had seen a few posts on the news groups that had
mentioned camping at Ft Wilderness as a way of staying on-site inexpensively. So I went to the web
site of Jeff Spencer, keeper of the Ft Wilderness FAQ (frequently asked questions). The first thing I
saw on the site was a special Fantastic Fort 26.50 a night. So, I called Disney the first Cast Member I
talked to couldn't find any specials left for those days. As soon as I hung up, I realized I had not asked
about getting an AP (annual Passholder) rate so, I called back and they did have an AP rate (same as
the special ) for those days. I got three nights at a full hookup site for $96 not bad huh? So, I borrowed
a tent and air mattress from a guy I work with.
The week before the trip I had noticed some problems with my car. The transmission leak had gotten
worse I didn't realize just how bad until the day before I left. I bought several bottles of extra fluid. I
left Charlotte directly after work at 6:00 A.M. I stopped at every rest area between Charlotte and
Orlando and added transmission fluid. I finally made it into Orlando by about 3:30 P.M.. My first stop
in Orlando was the Character Warehouse, they sell Disney theme park merchandise mostly clothing
but a few other items as well. One of the best buys I saw on a non clothing items were Sleeping Beauty
music box Snow globes (that sell for $55 in the parks I think ) for 20 some dollars. Too bad it was the
same one I bought one of for my wife (at full price) on my 1996 trip (sigh). Anyhow, I did get some
really good buys here a 25th anniversary knit polo shirt with embroidered emblem for $9.99 (marked
down from $14.99). A long sleeve polo shirt ( with Mickey and WDW est 1971 embroidered on it)
marked down to 14.99 (from $42 ). A couple hats for $5.99. and a few postcards at a whopping 9
and pin back buttons for 19 and 29 So you can see there are some real deals there
I arrived shortly after to Ft Wilderness and pulled up to check in. I was assigned a site in the 300 loop
(340 ). Then I set up my tent, blew up the air mattress, changed clothes and showered at the comfort
station and headed to the car care center, but it was closed since I didn't get there until six p.m.. I
decided that I wouldn't worry about fixing it until I got home.
I then returned to the campsite and headed out on the bus stop nearest to my campsite and rode it to
the settlement trading post stop at this stop there is a store, restaurant, guest services office, pony rides,
a petting farm, The River Country water park, and boat launches to Discovery Island and the Magic
Kingdom. Walking thru this area seeing all the vacationing families and as I walked past the dinner hall
and River country I started to feel like I was on vacation too. I continued on to the boats.
Ft Wilderness is located by the shores of a lake that has Discovery Island in the middle of it with
Wilderness lodge to the west and the Contemporary resort on the far western shore. The
Contemporary also sits on the eastern shore of the lake that the Magic Kingdom, Grand Floridian,
Polynesian and TTC (Ticket and Transportation Center) are all on. There is a connecting bit of water
between the two lakes (that the road to the contemporary passes under ) So once I got on the launch to
the Magic Kingdom I got my first looks ever at Discovery Island, and the Wilderness lodge en route to
The Magic Kingdom.
There were three things I needed to do upon arriving at the Magic Kingdom.
- get my E-ticket express admission
- see if I could upgrade my ap (annual pass) to include AK (Animal Kingdom)
- see what a PI (Pleasure Island ) annual pass would cost
I purchased my E-Ticket express admission, It was late so instead of a voucher I received a wrist band to enter. As for my AP since it was bought Sept. 12 ( three days before the Sept 15 price increase ) I would not be allowed to just add on AK to it as the folks who bought their passes after Sept 15th could. No, I would have to do a full year renewal, which was way more than I was wanting to do. As for PI I got quoted a price of $54.01 for, I believe it was a PI annual pass. So I just bought the E ticket admission right then and was on my way.
From there I started up Main Street, I thought to myself looking around "It's so nice to see the castle
back to normal again." The decorated castle as a huge birthday cake was a nice idea for the 25th
anniversary, but the sight of a freshly painted castle with the gold paint glistening in the sun was quite a
welcome sight.
