disneylitch......Debbie

It was so much nicer when The Fort made their own reservations.  Now, you have to book too many days and then cancel what you don't want.  The large TA companies seem to have a monopoly of getting reservations.  Jason does a great job, but there is a TA in particular that seems to get the reservations and I have met her.  She isn't a nice person.

Another money making ploy for Disney.  Disney has basically removed the perks of staying on property.  They think they are doing us a favor by allowing to enter 30 minutes early.  Big deal!!!!  What happened to the late night extra magic hours?????  That was a great perk for staying on property.

They will be the first to hold Disney responsible when something goes wrong.

They will be 8 (1 month shy of 9), 7, 6, and 23 months

We are also in Maryland.  We live in Street/Jarrettsville located in Harford County.  I agree with you, the drive through northern Virginia is horrible.

We are in Maryland and I don't think Florida is any worse than Maryland.  We have been to The Fort many, many times in August.  In fact we were there last year with our 3 grandkids, the oldest is 6 and the youngest is 3.  Here's my tip, enjoy The Fort during the day, swim, etc.  We usually hit the parks about 4 and close them down.  That has always worked for us.  Just relax and enjoy yourselfs.

We honeymooned at Disney in 1980 and have been back many times since then.  I agree, Disney was much better during that time.  It's nice to be able to ride the rides multiple times, but there was something to be said about having the tickets.  Things were less planned and more spontaneous.  Definitely a little slower pace. 
The fastpasses are nice, but I would like to go back to the days without them.  It seems that you are planning your days around 3 rides.  If you don't use them you will never to get on the main attractions.
I agree that change is inevitable, but I think that a lot of the changes made are not something that Walt would like.  They need to get back to the street performers and the shows.  It's more than the rides, it's the experience.

Some of the sites in the 2100 loop are considerable shorter.  Also, some of them back to water.  Backing to water would not be good for us when we travel with our grandkids or when the mosquitoes are bad.  We walked through the loop during our last visit and noted some sites that would work for us.  We have a 39 foot diesel and sometimes tow an enclosed trailer for supplies.

I'm looking for the date that the tickets go on sale.  My son, daughter in law, and their 3 children want to get tickets for one of the parties in August.

Yup, their website just sucks!!!

Our grandkids, 5, 4, and 2, and going to Disney over Thanksgiving.  They are staying in a value resort and want to stay at The Fort with Mom Mom and Pop Pop.  Our daughter said they will pay for the gas and split the site if we can get a campsite.  We have been trying, but with no luck.  My granddaughter, the 5 year old, said she is just going to have to talk to Disney about that.  I asked her isn't it going to be fun just going with her Mom, Dad, brother, and sister.  Here answer was no!!!!

In my opinion, the bigger problem is that "guests" don't seem to need to take any responsibility for their own safety.  Common sense should come into play at some point.  No swimming means to stay out of the water.  I'm sure there will also be stay off the fence signs and stay off the rocks signs.  I guess that is what happens when we live in a lawsuit society.  It's always someone else's fault!!

In my opinion, the bigger problem is that "guests" don't seem to need to take any responsibility for their own safety.  Common sense should come into play at some point.  No swimming means to stay out of the water.  I'm sure there will also be stay off the fence signs and stay off the rocks signs.  I guess that is what happens when we live in a lawsuit society.  It's always someone else's fault!!

Now, how can we buy the cabins???

I agree with you!!!  me, To me Disney is just magical and Fort Wilderness is just the icing on the cake.  I love going as much now as the first time my parents took us.  That was opening year.  My Dad loved Disney and he passed his love of Disney to me.  My 2 sisters just don't get it.  They think Disney is fun, but can't understand the fact that I keep going back.
We now take 3 of our grandkids and they love Disney.  Their Dad is a Marine so they are stationed at Camp Pendleton is California.  They went to Disneyland 47 times last year.  So I guess we did a great job with giving them the love of Disney!!!  Right now, their Dad is at Parris Island training to be a drill instructor.  So they will be closer to us and about 250 miles from Disney World, but not as close as they are to Disneyland.  They are only 45 minutes from Disneyland.
So the bottom line is that I don't know when it will be too expensive to visit Fort Wilderness.  The problem is that Disney knows that too!!!!!
 

I agree with you!!!  me, To me Disney is just magical and Fort Wilderness is just the icing on the cake.  I love going as much now as the first time my parents took us.  That was opening year.  My Dad loved Disney and he passed his love of Disney to me.  My 2 sisters just don't get it.  They think Disney is fun, but can't understand the fact that I keep going back.
We now take 3 of our grandkids and they love Disney.  Their Dad is a Marine so they are stationed at Camp Pendleton is California.  They went to Disneyland 47 times last year.  So I guess we did a great job with giving them the love of Disney!!!  Right now, their Dad is at Parris Island training to be a drill instructor.  So they will be closer to us and about 250 miles from Disney World, but not as close as they are to Disneyland.  They are only 45 minutes from Disneyland.
So the bottom line is that I don't know when it will be too expensive to visit Fort Wilderness.  The problem is that Disney knows that too!!!!!
 

I understand everyone's concern with some of the issues at The Fort.  However, we have to remember that there are people reading these posts and we don't want to paint an extremely negative picture of The Fort.  Yes, things have changed over the years and not everything has been a change for the better.  With that being said, I love coming to The Fort and can't wait until my next visit.  It is very relaxing and much better than staying in a hotel.  I like not having to worry about dining reservations and can enjoy my stay on my own schedule.  Yes, there are things that I would like to see changed:  a way to enforce golf cart rules as well as the other rules in general, a better reservation system, improvements to the playgrounds, Wifi at all sites, and discounts comparable to the value resorts.  Hopefully we will see some improvements, but I wouldn't hold my breath on that.

I understand everyone's concern with some of the issues at The Fort.  However, we have to remember that there are people reading these posts and we don't want to paint an extremely negative picture of The Fort.  Yes, things have changed over the years and not everything has been a change for the better.  With that being said, I love coming to The Fort and can't wait until my next visit.  It is very relaxing and much better than staying in a hotel.  I like not having to worry about dining reservations and can enjoy my stay on my own schedule.  Yes, there are things that I would like to see changed:  a way to enforce golf cart rules as well as the other rules in general, a better reservation system, improvements to the playgrounds, Wifi at all sites, and discounts comparable to the value resorts.  Hopefully we will see some improvements, but I wouldn't hold my breath on that.

I understand everyone's concern with some of the issues at The Fort.  However, we have to remember that there are people reading these posts and we don't want to paint an extremely negative picture of The Fort.  Yes, things have changed over the years and not everything has been a change for the better.  With that being said, I love coming to The Fort and can't wait until my next visit.  It is very relaxing and much better than staying in a hotel.  I like not having to worry about dining reservations and can enjoy my stay on my own schedule.  Yes, there are things that I would like to see changed:  a way to enforce golf cart rules as well as the other rules in general, a better reservation system, improvements to the playgrounds, Wifi at all sites, and discounts comparable to the value resorts.  Hopefully we will see some improvements, but I wouldn't hold my breath on that.

There is a big problem with the way The Fort is booked, but I don't think there is anything we can do about it. 
If The Fort caters, so to speak, to week end travelers then it will be very difficult to book a longer stay.
If The Fort caters to guests that want to book a longer stay, then it is very difficult to book a week end.
I don't know how they can remedy the situation.  We travel 1000 miles, so we obviously need a longer stay.  If we lived closer, hopefully we will in the future, then we would want to be able to book for weekends.
Also, I don't begrudge anyone that is able to stay at The Fort for months.  We have met many very nice couples that do just that.  Quite a few of them are also seasonal workers for Disney.
I do wish The Fort would crack down on golf cart use, or misuse!!!  We were at The Fort and saw golf carts parked everywhere.  Many were driven by underage drivers.  We were almost run over by an underage driver.  When I confronted the parents, they told me to mind my own business.  I told them it was my business when I am paying to stay at The Fort.  In my opinion, this should be a top priority.  Unfortunately, they can't hire enough security to handle the amount of golf carts.  If they did, our rates would skyrocket.
I just don't understand why people can't follow the rules:
cars, golf carts, etc. must be parked on the pad
16 years of age with a valid license to drive a golf cart
plus the misc. other rules
If you don't like the rules, then stay someplace else!!!!
Yes, price is a concern, but you can stay with 10 people on your site.  For us that is important.  We usually have my husband, myself, daughter, sometimes son in law, and 3 grandkids.  It would be costly to add on that many people at other campgrounds.  Also, there are some campgrounds that don't allow over 5 people.
For first time visitors, The Fort is definitely magical.  For me it still is, especially when we bring our grandkids.  The love it!!!
 
 

If you want to go further, stop at Jacksonville North / St. Marys KOA. It is on the Georgia/Florida border. We drive it from northern Maryland. They have free pancakes and waffles for breakfast. My husband loves the pancakes and I love the waffles. They make the batter from scratch. Believe it or not, we drive there for the breakfast. The owners are great and you are personally escorted to you site, even at 10:00 at night.

We have stayed there and would definitely stay there again.  Great rates and it's clean.  If you want something fancy, don't stay there.  If you want to be able to relax for the evening and take a load off your vehicle, then definitely!!

You can add us. Exact dates to be determined. Full hookup

Just book our trip for Halloween 2015. Got a full hook up site. We have the daughter, son in law, grandkids, and hopefully my Mom going. This is the first time our son in law has been able to go with us in 4 years because of deployment and military duties. So excited!! A week ago there wasn't available and now there is availability for all site levels. Go figure. Our oldest granddaughter, she will be 4, can't wait to trick or treat at The Fort. Hopefully a lot of fiends will be there too!!

I enjoy The Fort, but I couldn't imagine a visit without going to The Magic Kingdom. That's my favorite park. I guess I'm just a kid at heart, but as soon as I seen the Magic Kingdom sign I get all giddy inside. My family just tells me that I'm crazy!!!!!