fladogfan aka Gretchen

Some counties have lifted bans, but the larger companies have not stopped requiring masks in those counties, WalMart, Costco, Lowe’s, etc.  

Desantis wanted local control when it suited him as a means to avoid a decision on a mask mandate.  I thought local control was a good idea.  Then he pulled the rug out from everybody when it was politically expedient to do so by telling local governments they cannot enforce the very rules he said they are the best to decide on.  He also required bars to incorporate very expensive precautions in order to reopen and then one week later issued a huge "never mind" and told everybody they could fully open.  Bar owners were not happy and most continued to adhere to some level of precaution.  
I too prefer small government and I voted for Desantis.  I never will again.  He is too wrapped up with building his brand.
As far as masks, all I will say is there is a reason surgeons wear masks in surgery, including cloth ones.  It is to protect the patient much like wearing a mask now is not to protect the wearer but to diffuse the air exhaled by a person and limit the distance any airborne viruses may spread. Imagine you were throwing a golf ball at a wall 30 feet away.  With no barrier, you would hit it every time.  Put a chain link fence up between you and the wall, and maybe only about 20% or less of the balls you throw would make it to the wall.  That is all a mask does.  
I'm not interesting in debating but I wanted to give another side to this since you mentioned it.  I'm done with this conversation.

Desantis never had a state wide mask mandate.  When he was still of a somewhat sane mind, he said that because Florida was so large, each county should decide if they should mandate masks.  Then, he reopened the state, and made the ruling that no county or local government could level any punishment for violating a local mask mandate, persons or businesses.  Very hypocritical in the sense that he used local jurisdiction as a means to avoid being the person mandating masks and then turns around and bans the enforcement of any local decisions regarding masks.  The only thing that has limited the rise is the fact that most people continue to wear masks and ignore him.  Here in Clermont, if you go into a store, 99% of the people are still wearing masks.  Lake County never had a mask mandate and the vast majority of people still are wearing masks.  
Orange County is looking at gradually lifting the mask mandate by the end of the summer based on vaccinations and infections.  At that point, I would not be surprised to see Disney lift the mask requirements.
 

As a long time AP holder I paid for unlimited, unrestricted access to all 4 parks.  With the ability to park hop as I please.  Because of the pandemic those items, which I paid for, were taken away. I get it. Things had to change to accommodate as many guests as possible.   But why is it the AP seems to be hurt the most?

disney choose to sell new tickets to the parks. (Regular tickets.). Therefore limiting the access to people like myself that had already paid for tickets.   
 
What would you tell someone who bought a 7 day pass last month but when they arrived at WDW were told they could only go 4 times to the parks?  

Effectively that’s what they did to AP holders. 
 
If I was in charge I would have let AP holders but their AP on hold until they (the AP holder) were ready to return to the park or until the park Reservation system was removed and things went back to normal. 
And/or offer AP holders a big discount on their renewal to make up for the LOSS they (the AP holders) suffered due to the pandemic. 
 
 

From my point of view, how Disney treats CMs/retirees now is not much different than they've been treated during normal times. They've always gotten the leftovers. Disney gives them stuff when it doesn't cost them anything. They're allowed into the parks when the parks are not overly busy. Disney loses nothing by letting them in. They give them discounted cruises and resort stays if they know they won't sell out. In all cases Disney still makes out because as guests, CMs and retirees go to the restaurans and buy Disney crap. IE, it's the same old, same old. 
The treatment didn't bother me even when I lived next to WDW because I already had been to WDW enough times to last me a life time, I prefer Universal anyway. And I had enough Disney junk and had been to the restaurants that I wanted to eat it at enough times. The lack of cruises was the only thing that affected me but that will probably change when the new ships come on line, plus there are other good cruise lines.

More poor treatment of castmembers and reneging on retirement benefits. Park entry is part of the compensation and retirement packages that castmembers were promised. Except when Disney reneges so they can sell tickets to day guests.  Pure greed.
TCD

I agree with what you all are saying.   Good to 'see' you Lou and TCD so glad your girls have found other jobs.  Their youth and education probably helped them.  I know former cast members with years at WDW in salaried and 'helping' Tigger  positions and they still trying to find a new job.  Two in my neighborhood went ahead and retired, at least that freed up a couple jobs.  I haven't even tried to get a reservation to get in a park yet.  Now have learned I need to navigate that system to make, if possible, resies for out of town friends coming in Sept.  rats
I hate not being able to just say let's go walk around a park on the spur of the moment.  However, even tho many people and fiends said they felt very safe at WDW I still haven't even been back to Disney Springs let alone any parks.   I do have my 'jabs' tho so hoping  to be there soon, if I figure the system.

I’m glad to read that your girls have landed on their feet. I would have expected nothing less.  I wish them the best in their post-Mouse lives.   
Anna is 13 years old.  Yes, we’ve combined Anna’s trademark Russian attitude with teenage angst.  Life in the DIT household is pretty active.  While most of our friends are now empty nesters, we’re still firmly in Disney princess territory, which is really annoying for me being the anti-Disney guy I long have been.  Like the country song said...I was anti-Disney before anti-Disney was cool.   Lol.  
So all of these changes at Disney haven’t impacted us...we weren’t returning to WDW anyways. But I’m sorry for those of you affected, in particular those who were or still are employed there.  This COVID stuff has derailed many careers, but none more upsetting than our young adults who are just beginning their lives and then everything went sideways.  My older girls are dealing with their own setbacks.  But at the end of the day they are learning skills of resilience that our generation never really had to.  This will serve them well eventually.   If you’ve ever read the book The Fourth Turning, this was actually all predicted by demographers who study generational change.  The current 20 somethings have a lot in common with the Greatest Generation, who survived the Depression and won the War.  This group of young folks will do great things, IMO.  
Anyways, sorry for the hijack.  Back to our regularly scheduled programming.  Yes Disney sucks.  No I’m not on Facebook or any social media.  Yes I miss the old days on FF.  But I will always cherish the memories of the interactions on here and my family’s 10 years of camping at the Fort.
Onward and upward.    

Good to see you here, Dave. I bought my camper when my oldest daughter was 8, and the twins were 4, and those first 10 years were the best. Like you, we made many last minute weekend trips, and never had a problem getting a site or feeling ripped off.  I didn’t like what came next, but I accepted it, and we just camped less, but still enjoyed it when we did. 
What finally did it for me is seeing how opportunistic and greedy Disney has been during the pandemic.  The park pass system blocks out passholders so they can sell those spaces to day guests at a higher price. Even though park attendance is about back to normal, there are long lines everywhere because they are understaffed and not operating attractions at their capacity.  They are too greedy to even have the trams running in the parking lots. They should have used this time to complete the construction projects that were already in the budget, but even that would hurt the current balance sheet too much, so the MK will have no new attractions, and the Magic Kingdom train isn’t even going to be running for the 50th anniversary.
So congratulations to Disney. They win. Their stockholders are happy. Their executives are very happy. They sure made a bundle by picking the pockets of castmembers, DVC members, and passholders. Not to mention the millions of “loans” they got from us taxpayers that they will never pay back.  They won big.
TCD
 
 

You are correct.  I do not do Facebook either.  I only follow three forums and this is one of them.  I would be very sorry to lose this one.  Even though I do not post very often I check it regularly just to follow the news of WDW and the Fort.  Although we haven't stayed at the Fort in years, largely due to the cost, we always do several visits there when we are in the area if only to chat to the CMs we have met over the years or catch a meal or visit with friends who might be staying there. 
I would be sorry to see this forum migrate to Facebook.
 
 

I know for myself that when I first joined Fort Fiends I was a SAHM. My children were between the ages of 8-14. I had more time after they went to bed to post and comment. As they got older and as I started working part time my time became more limited. I also agree with Carol about the ease of posting pictures for Trip Reports is gone. Sadly, I don’t have a solution for that. 
My thought is this rather than focus on the past, why not continue to just post when we feel called. When I need prayers or positive thoughts I know I can turn to Fort Fiends. If I need advice on places to eat either at Disney or even places outside of Disney Ike Memphis, I don’t ask my friends on Facebook. I come here to Fort Fiends.
 

There is already a page on Facebook for Fort Fiends. If you have not already liked the page here is the link. 
https://m.facebook.com/fortfiends/
Also, it is imperative that we “like” the posts and comment on them. I have been slacking in this area. 

When I joined Fort Fiends my girls were still in elementary school. My son was just starting high school.  They are all grown now. It’s difficult even trying to plan a weekend away sometimes where we can all go. Like I mentioned in the Defeated Creek GG thread. Our lives are moving in different directions. 
I was thinking the other day about it and I was thinking it is like a neighborhood. When my family moved in to our neighborhood it was brand new. Like just a few streets done and most of us had small children. You would constantly see children playing and lots  of neighborhood planned activities As the children got to be older the neighborhood became more “quiet.” Some of the original families have moved away and new younger families are moving in. I am seeing an increase in neighborhood activities. 
I think the same will happen here so long as we remember to let people know about Fort Fiends. Yes people can go on Facebook, but let’s be honest how many of us cringe at some of the advice given there. I do not go to Disney or camping nearly as much as most of you. When any of my friends outside of here ask me for advice or a question, I always say, “ Well what I learned from my friends at Fort Fiends is...” 

Thanks Gretchen I do too. Been about 6 days since i contacted them and still no answer. With all the room on their locations just the safety factor for us is a plus, then they are usually cheaper on fuel but after we would get done shopping in their store whatever we saved on diesel would probably be left in their store.

ORLANDO (WFLA) — Walt Disney World has updated their website to say guests can begin taking outdoor pictures at their parks without having to wear a face covering.
Walt Disney World has had one of the most strict mask policies among private businesses in Florida since reopening last year during the pandemic. Guests aren’t even allowed to enter the park or walk around if their mask is below their nose.
Exceptions to Disney’s mask rule have been if guests were swimming or dining. Now, the park is going to allow its guests to temporarily remove their masks to take an outdoor photo, but they must be stationary and maintain appropriate physical distance.
The new policy goes into effect Thursday, April 8.

For me, we've actually lost some interest in Disney and the Fort. The uptick in prices, the fact that we can no longer buy an annual pass at present, and the pandemic, has put a damper on our enthusiasm for things Disney. (Especially since we just traveled cross country for three weeks, for less than a week at the Fort)

I agree, we had fun the year we were able to go.  Maybe next year.

Yep!  And those little buggers are the itchiest.
It helps me a wee bit, but not much.  I eventually found out out that if I pop an antihistamine it works better.

LOL!!  How's that joke go "first you say it..."

It is probably a reflection of my age but an item about expanding the Main Street Confectionary caught my eye and I couldn't help but wonder if maybe, if they take over the hat shop, if it wouldn't be a lovely opportunity to bring back a certain cinnamon bun?  A small revival of the Main Street Bakery?   Perhaps in honour of the 50th
As I said, it's a probably a reflection of age but that WOULD be a reason to celebrate ! 
(PS I know a certain large corporation up the street would likely not be happy about that)

Jason came thru again. Got us our dates and discount

I was able to get the discount! Saved us some money! Thanks for posting this!
Can't wait we will be there May 15-23.

Seems like being drunk is a convenient excuse.

We have started talking about trying to get down to WDW on 2022 though whether it would be in February or the gap between Halloween and Thanksgiving is yet to be decided. It would be for our 40th wedding anniversary so we really want things fully opened and running smoothly. 

I know... but it's also our 25th anniversary and we ended up having to cancel our 20th trip, so we were really hoping to make this a two-fer.  

But hey, if we do end up putting it off a little longer, I'm going to have enough Chase Rewards points racked up to pay for a whole lotta Dole Whips!! 


In a normal year I would have driven down just for the day.  

(see: once drove 40 hours to be there for 24)