Segway Tour at Fort Wilderness

Courtney's parents and brother went on a segway tour at Fort Wilderness to "practice" for a tour they will be doing in Rome when they go on their Disney cruise this summer! Without further ado here is a post about the experience by Courtney's Mom:

Today three of us took the Wilderness Back Trail Adventure (Segway Tour).  It is offered 2 times at 8:30 and 11:30 at Fort Wilderness. We started at the Bike Barn with a group of 9. First, we had two great guides, Forrest from San Diego and Ron from Chicago. We started in an indoor room in the Barn with a 5 minute video about how to ride the segway.  We were then given helmets and electronic headsets. Then Forrest "the safety guy" gave us a demonstration of how to turn on the segway and move around on it. Once we were done we all got to take a bottle of nice cold water from the fridge and out we went to conquer the segway. 

We were greeted by Ron in a small flat area with alot of cones and our segways.  Ron took the time to help each of us get onto the segway and "balance ourselves". Once we could stand still we practiced moving forward and back and turning.  We even zigzagged through cones. Dad was going a bit fast and Ron mentioned that could get him in trouble!  Those boys!!  We then went to a hilly area and practiced riding there also. Once we were all given the OK we started our Adventure.

First we segwayed through Fort Wilderness with Ron telling us trivia about how Walt bought up the land in other peoples names and got some great prices. We drove on regular roads, street type areas and off road (grassy and forest areas). Our first stop was Bay Lake where Forrest now our "photographer" took all of our pictures with the amazing background of Bay Lake.  

 Our next stop was Pioneer Hall which is where Hoop De Doo Review is.  After a few jokes we were off to Tri-Circle Ranch, "do you know why it is named Tri-Circle Ranch?" Could it be that Mickey is made of three circles OHHH!!! Ron also talked about Walt's love of horses.  We saw the white ponies that pull Cinderella's Coach, as well as many horses including one named "Sully". These horses pull the trolley cars on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom and two of them were lucky enough to be in the Not So Scary Halloween Parade. Headless Horseman anyone?

Then we were off to Wilderness Lodge. This was a lot of fun. We were on road, off road, ducking under branches, zigging and zagging.  Even though it was warm the breeze kept us cool.  We heard stories about when Wilderness Lodge came into existence and about the heart shaped foliage on many of the trees. As we approached the Lodge he pointed out the two tall chimneys and mentioned the amazing fireplace inside which everyone must visit.  Look for the Hidden Mickey! 

Before we knew it we were on our way back to Fort Wilderness. We stopped for a quick look at the lake with the Contemporary in the background.  Forrest and Ron told some jokes, asked us lots of trivia questions which we got many right much to their surprise!!! Then Forrest sang us a song. We won't tell you the song so if you take the tour you will be surprised.  He actually had a pretty good voice!  

Then it was time to head back.  A bit more on road, off road, driving some places you couldn't go on your own, and zigging and zagging under the beautiful tall trees. Before we knew it we were back at the Barn.  We were each presented with a Segway Tour Pin and a handshake from our great tour guides. This was definitely an unexpected amazing experience that everyone should try!

Photos courtesy of Mom and Dad!