"Self-extenders" ruining the magic

[weehaulers 3]

'Self-extending is apparently Disney's magical name for campers who should have checked out but just decided to stay an additional day/night in the site and there's nothing Disney can (will) do about it. 

 

Rant because it's been a long day and I am grumpy. We are here with a big group for the long weekend and did the fax and called multiple times and we're all supposed to be together. When the first member of the group checked in we were all together.  We were the last check-in of the group by about 30 because we stopped to help a broken RV. 

Not in the same loop. The last site for the group spots never checked out and never added a day according to the front desk but is spending the night anyway. Anytime we are not out of our site by 11 on the dot the housekeeping cart is outside with their checklist looking at their watch, yet this site has been occupied six hours beyond checkout at our check-in and Disney is OK with this and hasn't updated their reservation system to show the site as occupied? Someone in the know please tell me there's an impoliteness fine that these campers are going to have to pay

I am extra grumpy because we have an infant, so not having the group right outside makes juggling baby and the older kid not magical at all.  I guess I should be grateful that there was a spot in another loop and we're not sleeping in overflow on the generator?

Supposedly they are leaving tomorrow and we can break the crib down and bring the slides in and unhook and rehook and set up again. 

That is all. Rant over. I feel better. I ate a Snickers too.  X'-D

 

 

 

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

Man...that stinks.  Now, in defense of the guests, they may have actually called in and requested to stay (and were approved to stay), but those updates were not put in the computer.  We were there a few weeks ago and were assigned a spot, after driving the loop we called and asked to switch to a different spot...Disney said okay, you may change, but no one updated their system.  About 5 days into our visit, we got a call from the front desk asking where we were as the (original) spot we were assigned was empty.

Bummer for you, but happy to hear that the spot will be open today/tomorrow so you can be near your group.

Have a magical trip!!

[Cortezcapt (Derek) 156]

I can understand your frustration on not getting a site in the same loop as the rest of your group. However I have learned to not really count on getting a site or loop that you request, sometimes it works out and others it does not. After all the Fort does not reserve specific sites and I'd think one of the reasons is for cases like this. We have extended our vacation several times always calling at least the night before to let them know and have never been asked to change sites. If they ever did ask us to move I would be rather upset. I doubt there is any penalty fee other than being charged an extra night. It is rude if the person did not let the front desk know that they were staying.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[Beckers 1,136]

I'd be annoyed too. I totally get the having kids and need to be near the group. It stinks, I'm sorry and I hope you can get moved tomorrow with no issues. 

[weehaulers 3]

Thanks, they left sometime between 3 and 6 am so we moved over. Kids are happy.

This is our first time back since early this year and I was sad to find the wading pool at Meadows was gone. We're here some pretty busy times every year and I've never had trouble getting a lounger with the pool there, if it was a seating issue. :-(

[Roberta 42]

Not Fort related, but back in 2002 we decided we wanted to extend our stay at Port Orleans. 

When I went to the desk to ask about it, the girl let it slip that there was a family that was supposed to move into our room the next day as it was an adjoining room with other family. The cast member then got embarrassed and try to take it back, but, of course I already knew we would be messing up someone's vacation. She booked us for the extra nights but wouldn't let us move rooms. I literally begged to be let to move to another room. It just wasn't a big deal at all for us. 

A supervisor got involved, I was upset at potentially messing up a family's reservations, but no amount of begging made them budge. They insisted we stay in our existing room. It got to the point where I felt like I was making a scene, so I finally gave in. They assured me they would take care of the other family. Here it is, 14 years later, and I still feel bad about this. I prayed they gave the other family an upgrade. 

[Avatab.... Steve 124]

So how does extending actually work at the Fort?  Can you just stay and pay for extra nights anytime you want?  What if I have a check-out date the day before Halloween or Christmas and I just stay? Will they come and evict me? Or to avoid a scene just add the extra night(s) on to my bill?

My guess is that like all things Disney and the Fort, there is no set answer, nor is there consistent enforcement of their own rules.  I get that there has to be some slack for emergencies but if this is general policy then aren't they again allowing some to inconvenience others with no consequences while those of us that don't bother others get in trouble if one of our cars wheels is off the pavement  LOL

 

[Roberta 42]

6 hours ago, Avatab.... Steve said:

So how does extending actually work at the Fort?  Can you just stay and pay for extra nights anytime you want?  What if I have a check-out date the day before Halloween or Christmas and I just stay? Will they come and evict me? Or to avoid a scene just add the extra night(s) on to my bill?

 

I was kind of wondering this myself. For our reservations in February, I tried to add an extra night and there is no availability. Reading this, I was thinking, "well, apparently, we can just not leave." Of course we will, because I would never have enough nerve to do such a thing. It does make you wonder, though. 

[Avatab.... Steve 124]

18 hours ago, Roberta said:

... Of course we will, because I would never have enough nerve to do such a thing. It does make you wonder, though. 

 

You're right Roberta, and most of us here would do the same as you because we are mostly decent people who have consideration for others.  

Disney and the Fort have a tendency of acting on little violations, usually by people who are otherwise considerate, and then overlooking the big violations by those who have little or no consideration for others.

 

 

[AuburnJen 770]

This seems to be more of a problem.  At Halloween I did not get to get into my site until 4 because of people not leaving when they were supposed to.  In addition, there were two additional people who flat refused to leave in the 2100.  There were two families including a 40 foot rv waiting to get in the spots and these people just wouldn't go.  One family locked up their rv and the other actually started an altercation with security and the guy who wanted the spot he had paid for that night.  Now I have been built of leaving late before bit this was 630pm.  When I left late there was a damned good reason for it and I called the front desk and apologized a million times for my technical problems.  These people had no problems other than they just did not want to go.  Neither one of them even started to pack up until a security popo came and harassed them.  I am not talking about a fort ranger either.

I had a pop-up this time and had no where to go because the overflows were full.  I also had my dog.  So I wasted pretty much my Saturday because these people won't leave.  So, I feel y'all's pain.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

This seems to be more of a problem.  At Halloween I did not get to get into my site until 4 because of people not leaving when they were supposed to.  In addition, there were two additional people who flat refused to leave in the 2100.  There were two families including a 40 foot rv waiting to get in the spots and these people just wouldn't go.  One family locked up their rv and the other actually started an altercation with security and the guy who wanted the spot he had paid for that night.  Now I have been built of leaving late before bit this was 630pm.  When I left late there was a damned good reason for it and I called the front desk and apologized a million times for my technical problems.  These people had no problems other than they just did not want to go.  Neither one of them even started to pack up until a security popo came and harassed them.  I am not talking about a fort ranger either.

I had a pop-up this time and had no where to go because the overflows were full.  I also had my dog.  So I wasted pretty much my Saturday because these people won't leave.  So, I feel y'all's pain.

People like that should be banned from returning to the Fort. My guess is that they are regular guests and feel entitled. I doubt a first time or rare visitor would act that way. Banning would get their attention.

[Roberta 42]

1 hour ago, DaveInTN said:

People like that should be banned from returning to the Fort. My guess is that they are regular guests and feel entitled. I doubt a first time or rare visitor would act that way. Banning would get their attention.

I totally agree they should be banned from the Fort for this behavior. I'm completely shocked by this entire thread. It's hard to imagine people with this much nerve. 

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

15 hours ago, DaveInTN said:

People like that should be banned from returning to the Fort. My guess is that they are regular guests and feel entitled. I doubt a first time or rare visitor would act that way. Banning would get their attention.

Ughh....the entitlement attitude is one that angers me the most.

[caveat lector 181]

I think they should be incarcerated for theft.  Then stockade for a round of public shaming. Dirtbags.

[AuburnJen 770]

The thing is that the ones that had the kids were actually picking a fight with the guy with the 40 foot that was telling him to get the hell out.  The fort rangers were going so far as to HELP THEM PACK THEIR CRAP while the wife watched and the kids played.  They then got all bent out of shape when everyone in the loop turned on them and took the side of the gentlemen with the 40 footer that wanted to park his RV.  By that time, there was not even a space in overflow for him to put his RV.

To his credit, when they finally did leave, he parked that thing in one try and worked his way around Chris's truck (with a little of super geek's help to not ding his beautiful rig with a sign post).  He got a round of applause from all who were watching the spectacle.

Please remember now, this was at 6:30pm and we were supposed to be having a GG at the time!

[ThemeParkCommando 81]

Hi Fiends!  This is my first post.   I've been lurking here for about a year, and always thought I should join, but since I don't camp, I don't usually have a lot to offer.  ( I do visit the Fort every trip, though.. ever since Minnie Moo was there)

Now, I have a bit of information concerning Florida rental laws as they pertain to hotels,  and I think campsites might fall into the same boat, since they are rented out as occupied spaces on a daily basis.  

Basically, once a guest has paid for and taken occupancy in a hotel room,  that room is theirs under standard rental laws.   As long as they continue to pay the going rate,  they may stay for as long as they desire.  Now,  a hotel has the ability to charge MORE for unexpected stays, if they wish, but no more than the maximum daily rate that is posted to the state of Florida.   This is to prevent hoteliers from gouging during peak times,  or during a hurricane crisis.    New rates have to be posted every year.  I would bet that if you check the Fort's check in station,  there is a small posted 'Maximum daily rate' form, somewhere.  

I used to fill out those forms for my hotel chain, and Florida had laws about how high a rate you could legally charge, too. ( if I remember, it was no more than 3 times the standard daily rate for the season.)  Yes, you can change the standard rate by season,  and generally, we posted the 'standard' rate as the highest rate we would charge for the season.  Then, guests would see the 'standard' rate in the room, and think they were getting a great deal. 

So,  if a guest refuses to leave,  you can increase their rate to the legal maximum.   As long as they pay it, there is nothing the hotel can do to make them leave.   If they choose not to pay the rate,  or try to pay the same rate they booked at,  you can start eviction proceedings.   But, as you know,  evictions require about a month to even get to court.

 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

26 minutes ago, ThemeParkCommando said:

Hi Fiends!  This is my first post.   I've been lurking here for about a year, and always thought I should join, but since I don't camp, I don't usually have a lot to offer.  ( I do visit the Fort every trip, though.. ever since Minnie Moo was there)

Now, I have a bit of information concerning Florida rental laws as they pertain to hotels,  and I think campsites might fall into the same boat, since they are rented out as occupied spaces on a daily basis.  

Basically, once a guest has paid for and taken occupancy in a hotel room,  that room is theirs under standard rental laws.   As long as they continue to pay the going rate,  they may stay for as long as they desire.  Now,  a hotel has the ability to charge MORE for unexpected stays, if they wish, but no more than the maximum daily rate that is posted to the state of Florida.   This is to prevent hoteliers from gouging during peak times,  or during a hurricane crisis.    New rates have to be posted every year.  I would bet that if you check the Fort's check in station,  there is a small posted 'Maximum daily rate' form, somewhere.  

I used to fill out those forms for my hotel chain, and Florida had laws about how high a rate you could legally charge, too. ( if I remember, it was no more than 3 times the standard daily rate for the season.)  Yes, you can change the standard rate by season,  and generally, we posted the 'standard' rate as the highest rate we would charge for the season.  Then, guests would see the 'standard' rate in the room, and think they were getting a great deal. 

So,  if a guest refuses to leave,  you can increase their rate to the legal maximum.   As long as they pay it, there is nothing the hotel can do to make them leave.   If they choose not to pay the rate,  or try to pay the same rate they booked at,  you can start eviction proceedings.   But, as you know,  evictions require about a month to even get to court.

 

Welcome.  That's a great first post!

I think a way for the property owner to get around the eviction laws is to issue a Trespass Warning to the guests and call the Sheriff to escort them off the property.  Disney did that to an annoying guest at one of the All Stars last year in a pretty well publicized case.  They had to go and did immediately.

TCD

[ThemeParkCommando 81]

5 minutes ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

Welcome.  That's a great first post!

I think a way for the property owner to get around the eviction laws is to issue a Trespass Warning to the guests and call the Sheriff to escort them off the property.  Disney did that to an annoying guest at one of the All Stars last year in a pretty well publicized case.  They had to go and did immediately.

TCD

This is true, but of course Disney won't do this for every extending guest, especially if they are not disturbing the peace or doing other illegal things. 

I know when it happened at our hotels, during busy times, we would try to make life uncomfortable for the guest that was staying, and if possible,  the guest that was supposed to get that room would be upgraded to a suite or other upsell room type, no extra charge.    It actually happened once to me,  as a hotel employee.  I ended up in a 2 room suite in Las Vegas for $45 a night.  That was a great trip!

There are a number of people who know these laws, and use them to their advantage.  We saw the most problem during Mardi Gras in New Orleans, or Superbowl weekend,  where guests would book the night before the special event started,  then refuse to leave.  They'd complain to high heaven when we upped their rates, but they'd not leave.   We were left scrambling to find a room for the incoming guests that would get bumped. 

OH, and it happened in San Antonio when the Pope was coming to town.  We actually had to bump people all the way to Corpus Christi ( a 3 hour drive) and those guests actually took the rooms without much complaining, because there was nothing closer.   Amazing, the amount of people that flooded San Antonio for the Pope.

[AuburnJen 770]

The unfortunate thing is that the people who would like to have the spaces and have sometimes made a reservation a year in advance may not get a space at the Fort.  The Fort has a finite number of spaces and in the instance of the people on Halloween weekend, there just were no other spots to put them in.   In addition, there really was not another place, other than to make the poor guy take his 40+ foot RV over to a resort, to put his RV if they upgraded him to a cabin.  It was a really hostile situation that never should have happened.  

[geoffdaddy 33]

It maddens me to no end after a 10 hour drive to arrive at the fort an hour after check in time only to be told that the preassigned site is not ready. grrr.. The last time we arrived they told us the site wasn't ready at 3:30pm. Instead of parking in overflow we drove down to where the site was to check it out to find it was completely empty, and looked to have already been cleaned off by the cleaning crew. In fact about a quarter to a third of the sites in the loop were unoccupied. I called the front desk and asked them if we could just park it since it obviously wasn't occupied. They made me wait on the phone and then a Fort Ranger came around to check it out while I was on hold. As soon as the Ranger passed the spot the front desk took me off hold and said it was okay to park it.

On another trip to St. Andrews State Park in Panama City we drove down a couple hours after check in and found our reserved site was occupied, on a holiday weekend and no indication that they were planning to evacuate the site any time soon. We went and tooled around the rest of the park to find a space to park in overflow and the whole parking lot was pretty much full so we had to shoehorn our rig at the Jetty parking lot and check out the beach for about a half hour or so, thinking surely they would leave (after all, there's about 3 hours gap between checkout and check in)... nope! Still there! Went to the ranger station and told them about it and they said give us a little bit, so we left our camper and went to get a bite to eat, came back and they were finally gone. About three hours total after we arrived.

 

 

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

One time, we were there at the Fort, and were a little bit slow leaving..... 1ish, I think is when we did pull out. We were even totally hitched up and ready to go by 10am. We had just taken longer than we though at Trails End. We were on 429 about 1:30 and got a call from the Fort trying to tell us what our rate would be since we were extending..... Whoah!! nope lady, we are already gone.

So, the really maddening part is the inconsistency. We were just a bit late on a very uncrowded weekend and they are bugging us about why we haven't left, and yet on one of the most crowded weekends, they are not pushing folks to get out.

 

[DaveInTN 3,247]

So, the really maddening part is the inconsistency.

Please tell me you weren't surprised by this. [emoji3]

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

2 hours ago, DaveInTN said:

Please tell me you weren't surprised by this.

No, not surprised, 

[Roberta 42]

Not that she would be a self - extender, as I'm sure she is fully reserved. But, isn't there a woman who lives at the Fort full time? 

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

10 hours ago, Roberta said:

Not that she would be a self - extender, as I'm sure she is fully reserved. But, isn't there a woman who lives at the Fort full time? 

Yes there is, Roberta.  She's a friend of mine.