Starbuc71

Hey all, I usually do not post here anymore for a few reasons. Mostly because we are not campers any longer and as I am not anti Disney, we have been saddened by the changes (even pre Covid) the mouse has made.  Our daughter is now 15. We started camping at the fort when she was 2. Unfortunately, Disney priced us out of the fort around 2016/2017.  Our daughter is still a huge Disney fan and will stay up to date with all things Disney at the parks. She wants to go back so bad, and honestly, the wife and I wouldn’t mind a little bit of happy place after this past 15 months working in the medical field. Now here is where I get frustrated.  I know everyone has suffered somehow through this pandemic and every business that survived is trying to figure out how to recoup their losses.  My plan was to possibly purchase Epcot after 4 passes for Christmas. With the latest announcement of AP last week, I don’t see the after 4 pass. This irritated me but didn’t get me mad yet. As I looked at the new passes, it started to get me more mad. To get a decent pass that allows you access on weekends or when school is out will run you close to $1000 each and for the poor out of state people, your looking over $1200.  This is just plain crazy.  Don’t make me quote the famous Walt speech about creating a place EVERYONE can enjoy. So, this got me mad, but this last one got me pissed. So now I figure I would get tickets for this new Christmas party special event ticket. Mind you, it’s 9pm to 1am with letting you in at 7, not 4 like previous hours. To my holy surprise, a November ticket was $189 and a December ticket was close to $230 each…. Sorry but WTF.  THIS IS TOTALLY INSANE.  I’m not buying these. If it were not for the love of Disney from our kids, I would ban these morons for life.  They might as well do a credit check at security and only let certain income people in.  They are doing this hypothetically by charging what they do.  And don’t get me started on Disney cruise line prices. It’s something WE WILL NEVER AFFORD. Thanks Disney for absolutely nothing

Hey all, I usually do not post here anymore for a few reasons. Mostly because we are not campers any longer and as I am not anti Disney, we have been saddened by the changes (even pre Covid) the mouse has made.  Our daughter is now 15. We started camping at the fort when she was 2. Unfortunately, Disney priced us out of the fort around 2016/2017.  Our daughter is still a huge Disney fan and will stay up to date with all things Disney at the parks. She wants to go back so bad, and honestly, the wife and I wouldn’t mind a little bit of happy place after this past 15 months working in the medical field. Now here is where I get frustrated.  I know everyone has suffered somehow through this pandemic and every business that survived is trying to figure out how to recoup their losses.  My plan was to possibly purchase Epcot after 4 passes for Christmas. With the latest announcement of AP last week, I don’t see the after 4 pass. This irritated me but didn’t get me mad yet. As I looked at the new passes, it started to get me more mad. To get a decent pass that allows you access on weekends or when school is out will run you close to $1000 each and for the poor out of state people, your looking over $1200.  This is just plain crazy.  Don’t make me quote the famous Walt speech about creating a place EVERYONE can enjoy. So, this got me mad, but this last one got me pissed. So now I figure I would get tickets for this new Christmas party special event ticket. Mind you, it’s 9pm to 1am with letting you in at 7, not 4 like previous hours. To my holy surprise, a November ticket was $189 and a December ticket was close to $230 each…. Sorry but WTF.  THIS IS TOTALLY INSANE.  I’m not buying these. If it were not for the love of Disney from our kids, I would ban these morons for life.  They might as well do a credit check at security and only let certain income people in.  They are doing this hypothetically by charging what they do.  And don’t get me started on Disney cruise line prices. It’s something WE WILL NEVER AFFORD. Thanks Disney for absolutely nothing

Andrew,
great to hear from you. When you of all people are parting ways with Disney, everyone needs to realize there is a problem..lol. Like we spoke years ago, Disney has changed so much. For years it was just an attraction that a family could vacation at. Disney was not battling for world domination back then like they are now. It seems the majority changed when they bought MARVEL. Everything was looked at to make more money. They didn’t just want to make more money, they wanted to become a powerhouse and make a HUGE amount of money. With acquisitions like ABC,ESPN and eventually Lucasfilms, the attraction disappeared and the big business began.  An average family, with an average income slowly could not afford that magical trip. The Disney experience that cast members believed in began to diminish and the hidden gem of fort wilderness where you could stay for under $100 a night and get all the perks of staying on Disney property was soon realized and corrupted. Then Covid hit which disrupted their entire business model and changed the way they treat their guest.  Such a shame. But as I posted, we had 10 good years of awesome memories at the fort. As for this site, there has been many memorable post and especially trip reports from you, the master. Hard to believe the twins are 25. Time flies. Everything moves on and moves twice as fast. I’ll never regret having our kids enjoy the 10 years of Fort camping. 

As I stated in another topic, this weekend was our swan song for our annual passes. Being a huge Star Wars fan, I had to check out Galaxy’s Edge before our passes expired.  I did not get my hopes to high from what everybody said about the land itself and smugglers run not being the best thing since sliced bread.  I’ll have to say, a lot of time and imagination went into the area, but I did not feel like I was immersed in a Star Wars world. It felt more like walking through a wider animal kingdom then stumbling upon  some Star Wars stuff all shoved together in the back corner.  The shopping area is way to small with a lot of dead space in the land where it all should have been built.   The food choices are horrible and the $8.00 for a tiny glass of frozen blue (or green) milk is a great way to throw your money away. The “to scale” ships and speeders are awesome, especially to a person like myself that waited my whole life to see the falcon in person, but you can’t touch them. It was also said there would be a ton of characters walking around to bring you into the Star Wars world and interact with you   Wrong.. only saw 2 storm troopers  who were talking to each other.  Must be a union thing.
Smugglers run is cool, except the story for me.  Unless you watched Rebels, you would have no clue who Hondo is and there is so much going on in the movie on the cockpit screen, you end up just pushing buttons with no clue on what your doing or what the heck is going on. Forget about taking in the sights of the cockpit because the Next thing you know, the cast member is yelling to move and get out in some kind of friendly way. 
I guess I’ll say, I was not disappointed, but I can say you can tell Disney built it and not George Lucas.  It could have been so much more.  I would have at least expected more to the entrance to the land at both entrances. Again it feels like 50% Animal Kingdom and 50% Something kind of out of Star Wars. Rise of the resistance is supposed to be ground breaking, but I’m not disappointed we won’t be going.  I do have to say, we rode slinky dog for the first time, and that was the highlight of the day. Never thought I’d say that. 

As I stated in another topic, this weekend was our swan song for our annual passes. Being a huge Star Wars fan, I had to check out Galaxy’s Edge before our passes expired.  I did not get my hopes to high from what everybody said about the land itself and smugglers run not being the best thing since sliced bread.  I’ll have to say, a lot of time and imagination went into the area, but I did not feel like I was immersed in a Star Wars world. It felt more like walking through a wider animal kingdom then stumbling upon  some Star Wars stuff all shoved together in the back corner.  The shopping area is way to small with a lot of dead space in the land where it all should have been built.   The food choices are horrible and the $8.00 for a tiny glass of frozen blue (or green) milk is a great way to throw your money away. The “to scale” ships and speeders are awesome, especially to a person like myself that waited my whole life to see the falcon in person, but you can’t touch them. It was also said there would be a ton of characters walking around to bring you into the Star Wars world and interact with you   Wrong.. only saw 2 storm troopers  who were talking to each other.  Must be a union thing.
Smugglers run is cool, except the story for me.  Unless you watched Rebels, you would have no clue who Hondo is and there is so much going on in the movie on the cockpit screen, you end up just pushing buttons with no clue on what your doing or what the heck is going on. Forget about taking in the sights of the cockpit because the Next thing you know, the cast member is yelling to move and get out in some kind of friendly way. 
I guess I’ll say, I was not disappointed, but I can say you can tell Disney built it and not George Lucas.  It could have been so much more.  I would have at least expected more to the entrance to the land at both entrances. Again it feels like 50% Animal Kingdom and 50% Something kind of out of Star Wars. Rise of the resistance is supposed to be ground breaking, but I’m not disappointed we won’t be going.  I do have to say, we rode slinky dog for the first time, and that was the highlight of the day. Never thought I’d say that. 

Wow. This is the most response I ever got on a topic I started. I’m proud of myself.  LOL. I have to say, besides the fort prices, the price of park tickets etc., we still think camping at the fort is not like it used to be.  As more and more people have found the hidden treasure at the fort, it’s become more crowed and not as relaxing. Large groups or groups of friends come together more often and like most of  the people nowadays, they have no respect for other campers and only care about themselves.   Many times last year on our trips, small children were not being watched while the parents sit and consume beverages, golf carts are being driven recklessly by both adults and underage drivers, people are constantly cutting through your site knocking things over, more and more non resort guest are taking over the amenities and the pool you could cross walking from head to head.  I guess because we used to go so frequently we notice these things vs people who visit once a year or so.  How about the campers that pile non garbage things like patio blocks, broken camper parts and chairs etc. near the trash cans.  one time we saw a recliner next to the trash can.  It’s a shame it’s not like it was. Wait till the abomination II gets built next door. You will have all those guest looping on rented golf carts, surey bikes and whatever else they can rent to look at all the camping folks. I’m sure this thread will have more comments and agreement when that happens. Security is a joke. Every time they get a good head of security that enforces the rules but is not a jerk, they get promoted or quit.  

I agree with you, but In past references on this site, locals were tagged as freeloaders who used amenities without being a paying fort visitor.  Not saying per say that people who live in Florida are all freeloaders.  You get the point

For the first time since 1981, my wife and I have decided not to renew our annual passes later this year. We just came back from a shorter trip last Saturday (spring break) and the 195.75 nightly rate (with tax)  was crazy.
we are opting to return every other year.

You are probably right. We are one of those pesky locals who used to clog up the fort on the weekends with a weekend trip. We work so during the week is out. At least there will be one less local family taking up a weekend reservation now..lol

I agree with you guys. I have always been a camper and there is no better vacation. I understand there are other places to camp than just the fort, and yes, all are getting pricey.  Our other issue was time. There was a time we could get 6-7 camping trips in a year.  The past few, we were lucky to get one.  Not only was the fort pricing is out, but it was a waste to have the RV at storage 51 weeks a year 

Dave-  I just saw your post, and I'm sad to hear your news. I totally understand. 
Sadly, things have changed, and the good old days are not coming back. 
I'm sad for your kids. I thought for sure that there would be a new Herbie for them to drive around the Fort when they got to be teens. 
I'm still hanging in there, and still plan to camp from time to time. But it will never be like it was. 
TCD

Go a little further down the road to Smoky bear campground.   Great little family owned campground 

I work my rear off too much 51 weeks a year. I don’t want to do it on vacation any more...especially for the money we spend. I’m leaning more towards my wife nowadays.  If I could afford a class A and push a button for set up, I would enjoy camping again, but that will never happen. Renting a cabin in the smoky mountains for near the same price or cheaper than a concrete pad at Disney sounds much more inviting.   And the theme park there is better than Disney anyways

Glad we were not there.  Camping at the fort is turning into like staying at a crowded value resort.  We are slowly migrating away from Disney.  I think after Galaxy edge opens, we are done with the mouse. 

Things have gotten super expensive, I'll agree with you there.
I think most really nice, resort, trips are super expensive anymore.  Tough part for us, is we love our memories from the Fort, so we want to keep going but... sadly, we just can't do it.   
But, I think for those who do Disney once in a lifetime or once every 4 or 5 years, the price is comparable to any nice resort (and I get that the Fort isn't a "resort", but for those of us who love our rigs and the camping experience, it's pretty darn close ).

Duh...I’m stupid.   Lol

Imho, the cabins are definitely not worth the cost for a family of 4 or below unless you have a CM discount or your sharing with another family.  I’m sure Disney knows this since the majority of the time, there are many empty cabins.  As far as other Disney resorts go, besides the value resorts, I can not afford them so I can’t comment if they are worth the price.  I will say, I know most of the rooms at the higher end resorts are your basic hotel room with upgrades like a new tv like every other resort in the world. The contemporary is a great example. I suppose with that resort, you are paying for the convenience of the location. For well over $500 a night, your paying for something.  Living close to WDW makes us locals look at things differently....I think.  I have friends up north who save all year for that magic vacation that may take 5-6 grand out of your wallet, so I guess it’s a deal for them.  I know at the moment since I’m trying to plan a once in a lifetime trip to Disneyland next year. I don’t think it’s going to happen due to price.  This is why I complain about the cost of the campsites now going so high. A once a year trip to the best campground in the country may seem ok to pay a high price, but to a local who wanted to get away from time to time to visit Disney on a budget is now gone and will never come back

Imho, the cabins are definitely not worth the cost for a family of 4 or below unless you have a CM discount or your sharing with another family.  I’m sure Disney knows this since the majority of the time, there are many empty cabins.  As far as other Disney resorts go, besides the value resorts, I can not afford them so I can’t comment if they are worth the price.  I will say, I know most of the rooms at the higher end resorts are your basic hotel room with upgrades like a new tv like every other resort in the world. The contemporary is a great example. I suppose with that resort, you are paying for the convenience of the location. For well over $500 a night, your paying for something.  Living close to WDW makes us locals look at things differently....I think.  I have friends up north who save all year for that magic vacation that may take 5-6 grand out of your wallet, so I guess it’s a deal for them.  I know at the moment since I’m trying to plan a once in a lifetime trip to Disneyland next year. I don’t think it’s going to happen due to price.  This is why I complain about the cost of the campsites now going so high. A once a year trip to the best campground in the country may seem ok to pay a high price, but to a local who wanted to get away from time to time to visit Disney on a budget is now gone and will never come back

Twice as good, if you catch my drift. 
 

Well, as some of you know from my other post, we are campers again and spent a few days at the fort and the parks last week.  Since it’s been over a year since we did a true Disney vacation, I wanted to give some opinions on some of the changes we saw:
Animal Kingdom:
its been over 2 1/2 years since we have been to this park and we actually went twice this trip. We were very excited to see the 5 year project of Pandora completed. As much as flight of Passage is an awesome ride, I was very disappointed with Pandora overall.  First, I thought the area would be much bigger. I was not impressed with the usual Disney use of concrete for everything(trees, plants,etc). I felt a lot of inspiration from Epcot.  As Much as the floating mountains are impressive, they didn’t do much for me. I know they can’t actually float a piece of concrete, but to me they didn’t even look like part of a the movie. The river cruise was alright. The use of projection for the animals and the waterfall was great. But again, it was a short ride and I expected way more than a little mermaid ride. Overall after a 5 year project, I was not overly thrilled with Pandora. Flight of passage though was a fun ride and I think a tad better than soarin and we love soarin.  Pandora was saved for us because of this ride. 
We had a FP for rivers of light and I have to say, one the best if not the best night time show of all the parks. There was some great imagination that went into this show and we really enjoyed it.  Are those floating flowers on a track?  If not, kudos to the flower drivers. 
We had dinner at Yak and Yeti for the first time and actually had a great meal and cheaper than most resort restaurants. The sevice sucked but the food made up for it. Maybe because this is a Landry’s restaurant that is not solely operated by Disney like the rain Forrest. Overall, Animal kingdom used to be my least favorite park but it’s starting to gain momentum  we had a great time both times  
The Fort:
a few little changes.  I loved what they did with the cart parking at the Marina  it was starting to get out of hand with carts parking all over the place  it’s nice the bikes are out of the sand and grass is now growing in areas once damaged by carts  the picnic tables are a little strange there, but I’m sure it was a typical fort quick fix.  I also thought they did a great job with the landscaping by the new cart parking and all  the new shrubs along the cart path.  It’s nice seeing them put money back into the fort.  The chuck wagon was a good idea to give another food option at the fort.  The fencing of the playgrounds was beginning the last time we camped along with fencing of the pool  both great ideas   At least now I know my kids will not wander off
Overall we had a great time and loved camping again  we went to the other parks but no real significant changes.  I did notice more security after dark at the fort and less people out and about after the fireworks.  Probably another good thing.  Now for the biggest con, we went to book spring break for next year and a premium site was $210 a night.  WTF
 

Well, as some of you know from my other post, we are campers again and spent a few days at the fort and the parks last week.  Since it’s been over a year since we did a true Disney vacation, I wanted to give some opinions on some of the changes we saw:
Animal Kingdom:
its been over 2 1/2 years since we have been to this park and we actually went twice this trip. We were very excited to see the 5 year project of Pandora completed. As much as flight of Passage is an awesome ride, I was very disappointed with Pandora overall.  First, I thought the area would be much bigger. I was not impressed with the usual Disney use of concrete for everything(trees, plants,etc). I felt a lot of inspiration from Epcot.  As Much as the floating mountains are impressive, they didn’t do much for me. I know they can’t actually float a piece of concrete, but to me they didn’t even look like part of a the movie. The river cruise was alright. The use of projection for the animals and the waterfall was great. But again, it was a short ride and I expected way more than a little mermaid ride. Overall after a 5 year project, I was not overly thrilled with Pandora. Flight of passage though was a fun ride and I think a tad better than soarin and we love soarin.  Pandora was saved for us because of this ride. 
We had a FP for rivers of light and I have to say, one the best if not the best night time show of all the parks. There was some great imagination that went into this show and we really enjoyed it.  Are those floating flowers on a track?  If not, kudos to the flower drivers. 
We had dinner at Yak and Yeti for the first time and actually had a great meal and cheaper than most resort restaurants. The sevice sucked but the food made up for it. Maybe because this is a Landry’s restaurant that is not solely operated by Disney like the rain Forrest. Overall, Animal kingdom used to be my least favorite park but it’s starting to gain momentum  we had a great time both times  
The Fort:
a few little changes.  I loved what they did with the cart parking at the Marina  it was starting to get out of hand with carts parking all over the place  it’s nice the bikes are out of the sand and grass is now growing in areas once damaged by carts  the picnic tables are a little strange there, but I’m sure it was a typical fort quick fix.  I also thought they did a great job with the landscaping by the new cart parking and all  the new shrubs along the cart path.  It’s nice seeing them put money back into the fort.  The chuck wagon was a good idea to give another food option at the fort.  The fencing of the playgrounds was beginning the last time we camped along with fencing of the pool  both great ideas   At least now I know my kids will not wander off
Overall we had a great time and loved camping again  we went to the other parks but no real significant changes.  I did notice more security after dark at the fort and less people out and about after the fireworks.  Probably another good thing.  Now for the biggest con, we went to book spring break for next year and a premium site was $210 a night.  WTF
 

Well, as some of you know from my other post, we are campers again and spent a few days at the fort and the parks last week.  Since it’s been over a year since we did a true Disney vacation, I wanted to give some opinions on some of the changes we saw:
Animal Kingdom:
its been over 2 1/2 years since we have been to this park and we actually went twice this trip. We were very excited to see the 5 year project of Pandora completed. As much as flight of Passage is an awesome ride, I was very disappointed with Pandora overall.  First, I thought the area would be much bigger. I was not impressed with the usual Disney use of concrete for everything(trees, plants,etc). I felt a lot of inspiration from Epcot.  As Much as the floating mountains are impressive, they didn’t do much for me. I know they can’t actually float a piece of concrete, but to me they didn’t even look like part of a the movie. The river cruise was alright. The use of projection for the animals and the waterfall was great. But again, it was a short ride and I expected way more than a little mermaid ride. Overall after a 5 year project, I was not overly thrilled with Pandora. Flight of passage though was a fun ride and I think a tad better than soarin and we love soarin.  Pandora was saved for us because of this ride. 
We had a FP for rivers of light and I have to say, one the best if not the best night time show of all the parks. There was some great imagination that went into this show and we really enjoyed it.  Are those floating flowers on a track?  If not, kudos to the flower drivers. 
We had dinner at Yak and Yeti for the first time and actually had a great meal and cheaper than most resort restaurants. The sevice sucked but the food made up for it. Maybe because this is a Landry’s restaurant that is not solely operated by Disney like the rain Forrest. Overall, Animal kingdom used to be my least favorite park but it’s starting to gain momentum  we had a great time both times  
The Fort:
a few little changes.  I loved what they did with the cart parking at the Marina  it was starting to get out of hand with carts parking all over the place  it’s nice the bikes are out of the sand and grass is now growing in areas once damaged by carts  the picnic tables are a little strange there, but I’m sure it was a typical fort quick fix.  I also thought they did a great job with the landscaping by the new cart parking and all  the new shrubs along the cart path.  It’s nice seeing them put money back into the fort.  The chuck wagon was a good idea to give another food option at the fort.  The fencing of the playgrounds was beginning the last time we camped along with fencing of the pool  both great ideas   At least now I know my kids will not wander off
Overall we had a great time and loved camping again  we went to the other parks but no real significant changes.  I did notice more security after dark at the fort and less people out and about after the fireworks.  Probably another good thing.  Now for the biggest con, we went to book spring break for next year and a premium site was $210 a night.  WTF
 

Well, as some of you know from my other post, we are campers again and spent a few days at the fort and the parks last week.  Since it’s been over a year since we did a true Disney vacation, I wanted to give some opinions on some of the changes we saw:
Animal Kingdom:
its been over 2 1/2 years since we have been to this park and we actually went twice this trip. We were very excited to see the 5 year project of Pandora completed. As much as flight of Passage is an awesome ride, I was very disappointed with Pandora overall.  First, I thought the area would be much bigger. I was not impressed with the usual Disney use of concrete for everything(trees, plants,etc). I felt a lot of inspiration from Epcot.  As Much as the floating mountains are impressive, they didn’t do much for me. I know they can’t actually float a piece of concrete, but to me they didn’t even look like part of a the movie. The river cruise was alright. The use of projection for the animals and the waterfall was great. But again, it was a short ride and I expected way more than a little mermaid ride. Overall after a 5 year project, I was not overly thrilled with Pandora. Flight of passage though was a fun ride and I think a tad better than soarin and we love soarin.  Pandora was saved for us because of this ride. 
We had a FP for rivers of light and I have to say, one the best if not the best night time show of all the parks. There was some great imagination that went into this show and we really enjoyed it.  Are those floating flowers on a track?  If not, kudos to the flower drivers. 
We had dinner at Yak and Yeti for the first time and actually had a great meal and cheaper than most resort restaurants. The sevice sucked but the food made up for it. Maybe because this is a Landry’s restaurant that is not solely operated by Disney like the rain Forrest. Overall, Animal kingdom used to be my least favorite park but it’s starting to gain momentum  we had a great time both times  
The Fort:
a few little changes.  I loved what they did with the cart parking at the Marina  it was starting to get out of hand with carts parking all over the place  it’s nice the bikes are out of the sand and grass is now growing in areas once damaged by carts  the picnic tables are a little strange there, but I’m sure it was a typical fort quick fix.  I also thought they did a great job with the landscaping by the new cart parking and all  the new shrubs along the cart path.  It’s nice seeing them put money back into the fort.  The chuck wagon was a good idea to give another food option at the fort.  The fencing of the playgrounds was beginning the last time we camped along with fencing of the pool  both great ideas   At least now I know my kids will not wander off
Overall we had a great time and loved camping again  we went to the other parks but no real significant changes.  I did notice more security after dark at the fort and less people out and about after the fireworks.  Probably another good thing.  Now for the biggest con, we went to book spring break for next year and a premium site was $210 a night.  WTF
 

It’s been 6 months without an RV and a year since we camped at the fort. I broke down for Christmas and bought the family the Florida resident gold passes in hopes we would do some quick weekends at a value resort.  After one trip to pop century, everyone missed camping at Disney. So I did what any dad would do that spoils the $:€#% out of their kids.....buy another RV.  I went shopping at the beginning of the year and bought the cheapest TT that would haul our golf cart, (never sold it) and accommodate the 4 of us.  I would love to post some pics but refuse to pay photobucket just to post photos here. But here is a link to our tiny vacation home on wheels:
https://www.rvt.com/Starcraft-Autumn-Ridge-19RT-2018-Marion-NC-ID7598269-UX110733
so, fast forward to last Saturday and here we are at the fort for a few days   I opted to buy a carefree of Colorado add a room for our 10ft awning and it was worth every penny  it created an awesome small TV room   We even survived the heavy rains and winds today without anything ripping or getting damaged  
we are happy to be back camping at the fort and have enjoyed some of the changes over the past year   
 

Believe me, I will still complain about the rates and the shenanigans upper management pulls here and at the parks, but if the kids enjoy it for now, that’s all that matters