swimmarz

The 2100 loop is open!  Only two campers in it so far. They used old rectangular picnic tables and the old grills with no lids. Photos on Monday. 
TCD

I'm not sure what day they ate doing,the gg, but on the 30th I have a gg at my,site to celebrate my birthday, all are invited. Eveyone beings,something to share and chairs 

it was me....
she wanted to know the site/ sites that things were posted on so i took numerous screen shots and sent them to her after our conversation, I also talked to her about the pool being used by non resort guests and how they really should put a MB scanner on it like the wilderness lodge now has and restrict it to resort guests.

to give more details, she said I was 1 of many many emails pertaining to this, and the new manager is being made aware of each one.
I don't know who the new guy is, but some of you posted here that he was good, we shall see...

during our conversation she did say to me that the events listed for  holiday weekend  in the activity schedule are for the"exclusively for  resort guest only"
She said that Disney does not publicly share the events schedule as to not draw attention to it but noted that various bloggers and websites do and that is what is creating the problem, I advised her that wasnt the issue, its resort security.... they could publish all they want, but if they are not providing a secure environment that's what causes the problem.  She saw my point when i mentioned the "gone mad" party at the GF, how they ran out of food/ drinks due to the amount of people that showed up for it this past Wednesday.  She was already aware of that(had a few complaints) and asked how i had known of it as i wasnt a resort guest, we got back to the blogs and such how people are essentially advertising come for the "free event"  here's how to "bypass security"  

she then asked how could Disney make it better, we talked about the NSSHP and VMCP how they use wristbands for the event and have staff ushering people out, they already have wristbands they use and just pick a different color for each holiday weekend, no band no access its that simple and it can be done at any point of entry just have to enforce it  each site can hold 10 people, so at check in you get 10 bands
Its really not right/ fair for non resort guest to show up for events/ facility use when we are paying to be there 
After 20 min or so we had exhausted all of my concerns and she sent me the email below
they have roughly 80 days to do something about it
 

 
Dear Rich,

 
Thank you for speaking with me yesterday and following up with this additional information.

 
We appreciate you taking the time to share this feedback. Please be assured that it has been forwarded to the appropriate leadership.If I can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.

 
I hope your next visit will be filled with many memories and Magical moments.

 
Best Regards,

 
Lene Jakobsen

Guest Experience Services

Walt Disney World Resort

(407) 828-1220

5+ years ago it wasnt a problem, so what changed?
people started blogging more, people started to share information
now I have never been there at Halloween, so I have no clue what to expect other than what i have read/ seen
so we will try it this year, see what happens, you may be right, i may avoid all holiday weekends at the fort after this trip
you cant fault me for trying to make things better, but i can "vote" with my wallet but id rather not

I don't know if i speak for many people when i say these things, but security is a factor we as society need to deal with more so than we did in the past.
Just this week ( or last) a man tried to bring a gun into MK, Lene and I talked about that and how the park security has stepped up and the same needs to be done at the resorts.

think about most   some of our issues at Ft Wilderness, kids driving golf carts, non guest using pool, non guest showing up for events like ToT and campfire/movie... all of this can be fixed quickly and easily by making the place more secure.

you already have personnel on the boats, while waiting to board scan bands/ check for the resort wristband, question those that don't have one, actually verify they have a reservation( think separate lines 1 for resort guest, 1 for dining guest).... the technology does exist, they just need to use it/ implement it at the fort

you already have security guards at most resort entrances, again actually verifying what the person is doing would fix the issue, not just taking their word for it...( people Lie)

Bus drivers, look for the resort bands if you going to the resorts, stop and question those that don't have them re-direct to proper bus

Monorail personnel look for wrist bands at the hotel stops,  no wrist band means you get stopped and have dining reservations verified, otherwise you don't get off the platform and get on the next train back to TTC... its not hard to implement all the pieces are there... 

yes a few people could still get past, and that's going to happen no matter what, but if the show they are looking for proof you belong there, and you cant provide it, then you get escorted off the resort or denied entry to it

they need to run these like the all inclusive resorts i have been to

Its not a bad thing to deny someone who has no reservation be it food or hotel/ resort access

it was me....
she wanted to know the site/ sites that things were posted on so i took numerous screen shots and sent them to her after our conversation, I also talked to her about the pool being used by non resort guests and how they really should put a MB scanner on it like the wilderness lodge now has and restrict it to resort guests.

to give more details, she said I was 1 of many many emails pertaining to this, and the new manager is being made aware of each one.
I don't know who the new guy is, but some of you posted here that he was good, we shall see...

during our conversation she did say to me that the events listed for  holiday weekend  in the activity schedule are for the"exclusively for  resort guest only"
She said that Disney does not publicly share the events schedule as to not draw attention to it but noted that various bloggers and websites do and that is what is creating the problem, I advised her that wasnt the issue, its resort security.... they could publish all they want, but if they are not providing a secure environment that's what causes the problem.  She saw my point when i mentioned the "gone mad" party at the GF, how they ran out of food/ drinks due to the amount of people that showed up for it this past Wednesday.  She was already aware of that(had a few complaints) and asked how i had known of it as i wasnt a resort guest, we got back to the blogs and such how people are essentially advertising come for the "free event"  here's how to "bypass security"  

she then asked how could Disney make it better, we talked about the NSSHP and VMCP how they use wristbands for the event and have staff ushering people out, they already have wristbands they use and just pick a different color for each holiday weekend, no band no access its that simple and it can be done at any point of entry just have to enforce it  each site can hold 10 people, so at check in you get 10 bands
Its really not right/ fair for non resort guest to show up for events/ facility use when we are paying to be there 
After 20 min or so we had exhausted all of my concerns and she sent me the email below
they have roughly 80 days to do something about it
 

 
Dear Rich,

 
Thank you for speaking with me yesterday and following up with this additional information.

 
We appreciate you taking the time to share this feedback. Please be assured that it has been forwarded to the appropriate leadership.If I can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.

 
I hope your next visit will be filled with many memories and Magical moments.

 
Best Regards,

 
Lene Jakobsen

Guest Experience Services

Walt Disney World Resort

(407) 828-1220

I'll be amazed if anything happens.
As I said earlier, talk is cheap.
October 31 is one day.  The Fort is already sold out, and it will be sold out again next year, even if the place is once again inundated with freeloaders taking your candy.  Maybe you'll be so offended that you won't come back.  But, there are plenty of folks who will.
On the subject of freeloaders, the major point that you are missing is that the majority of them are the families and friends of Fort Wilderness castmembers who have the blessing of management to be there.  So, what's going to happen when Lene asks the Fort management to look into this issue?
Nothing.  That's what.  This is not some new problem that hasn't been discussed many times before.
TCD

I don't disagree that there needs to be something done to curb the freeloaders that use the pool and abuse events such as tot and such. However as an annual pass holder there are times I may be on property that I'm not staying at a Disney resort and want to pop into a resort for lunch, dinner or even to just wonder around. That's where Disney has a problem, how do they verify that I don't just want to go to let's say Port Orleans to have a drink or a CS meal, or to the Poly for a Dole whip, or even into the Fort to buy something from one of the shops? They could beef up security for special events and holiday weekends only but then you have the problem of people at other resorts or that may actually be at a park not being able to go to a resort for a meal or just to look around without making a dining reservation. It would curb freeloaders but it would also slow down transportation and take a lot of the ease and magic out of getting around on property.
Wristbands handed out to guests at check-in would be the only thing I could see working for something like Halloween, and if word got out that they were doing that it might curb the freeloaders or at large groups. But how many campers would actually check for bands, I wouldn't turn a child away or deny them candy if they didn't have a band on, it not their fault.
I am all for a MB scanner at the pool!
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So how long before they have to put up "please don't climb on the rocks" signs?

I meant to write tight pants, but that damn auto correct.....

Had to read this line twice, first time I thought it said tight pants...

I believe it!  Motivation works miracles.  Our youngest was 3 and refused to be potty trained until he decided he wanted to go to the same school his siblings attended.  He had accidents the day before he started, but once that first day of school arrived he never had another one. 

Taking this thread slightly off topic but the cable spool is sitting on the road right about the tent camping area past 2000. There is a semi fresh trench most of the way up the side of the road with communications vaults in the ground. Somewhere around 2100 if I remember my ride correctly it cuts under the road from the other side towards 2100 and then runs under the walking path behind of 1100. From there it runs under the road and they are working on the next part which is behind of 1300 and almost directly behind our site. There is a large conduit spool sitting up beside of the meadows trading post.
My theory at this point is that they were feeding the WiFi from the cable system which is slower. I think they are taking a fiber feed over to the meadows from the lodge (closest logical place to hook into something to feed a high speed network). Once it is ran they are going to setup a small telecommunications hub inside the meadows trading post. Once it is in they would have higher network capacity for people like me who hookup the Roku to the WiFi and steam movies (yes this works). At that point a wireless distribution system could be ran in the campground without the need to run additional cabling and power is already available in every loop. Much cheaper than trenching cable for WiFi all over the place.
On a side note, Roku streaming works flawless over the forts wifi. We are sitting out right now beside the camper streaming tomorrowland off of vudu and drinking a few beers.
 

Alligator lives matter....
 

Allegedly, Dads are allowed to apply to be on the Moms Panel.
I want no part of it- it's amazing how inaccurate people who were selected by Disney can be.
They are worse than useless.
TCD

oh I am gonna make a comment... 

I'm glad that you posted some photos!
I've enjoyed 1518 on a couple of trips- great site. 
I didn't realize you don't have AC in your camper.  You are a brave (or crazy?) man.
TCD

I saw this and had to interject, according to Florida fish and wildlife, Sixteen of the 244 were removed this year so far, including six on May 10, 2016. One of those was 9 feet long and another was 8.5 feet long, records show. 
they are averaging about 25 gators removed from Disney property each year


 

This topic goes to show you many people have too much time on their hands when we need to know what the definition of swim is...lol

Vista Storage Trailer Overflow Lot, AKA the old runway?!?!

I pulled the pics from the FB post incase anyone was not on FB


 

Wow, that storm sounded scary. Glad everyone was alright. We spent a summer in a pop up when we were renovating our house. there were times I thought for sure that we were tipping over from the wind.
Thank you for sharing your trip report. I enjoy reading all of them.
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Looks like a good get away so far.

Making me miss living in Florida and it's barely been a month.  Fort Desoto was the first place we camped when we got back into land camping after selling the boat that we used for camping out in the gulf.  

That is a wonderful tr. Thanks
 
Really makes me wish I could turn back time.

What a great trip.  Thanks for sharing it with us.