Tri-Circle-D

As people have previously posted here and on numerous FB groups, everyone knows the rules before they arrive, or at the very least when they check in.  If they choose to ignore the rules and get reprimanded I have no sympathy for them.
Do the cart and exercising mask rules make sense?  Maybe, maybe not but it’s Disney’s property and Disney’s rules and if you can’t abide, don’t go.

Yes, you can still fax site requests. 
No, they have not let up on the mask rules. In fact, they are using new signage identical to the signs they are using in the parks that say you will be asked to leave if you are not wearing your mask properly. That said, we were there for a two night stay last weekend, and compliance and enforcement were practically nonexistent.  Guests were blatantly ignoring the mask rule. On a previous trip over Labor Day weekend, there were castmembers stationed at the four way stops of the major roads monitoring mask compliance. Last weekend, there were no castmembers stationed anywhere. So, it’s likely no one will say anything about a four year old not wearing a mask. 
TCD

What a stupid thing to brag about. The chance to be recalled to a part time job that pays a bit over minimum wage with no benefits?  Gee, I’ll bet those castmembers are glad about all the union dues they paid for the union to cave in and kiss Disney’s ass. I’m sure the part time workers all have huge savings accounts they can live off while they’re waiting around for two years to be recalled.
Disney is doing exactly what they want to do. Their financial experts made a long term plan, and it’s playing out beautifully for them. Plenty of revenue is rolling in, and they are slashing expenses everywhere they can. It’s a brilliant plan. Money grubbing and heartless, but brilliant.
TCD

I know bloggers need to drum up interest by speculating, but this probably really is only for installing parking lot lighting. They already have been using the cleared site for castmember parking. Now, they’re adding some light poles. That’s all. 
TCD

Seems like a pretty good deal for the guy. 
I bet he comes back.
TCD

There is a lot of bitterness among the fired/laid off cast, i don't think a lot of them will even want to go back to WDW.
I don't know if it is alright to post this here so, if not, take it down.
Some of the let go cast have created a face book page to support each other and to hopefully sell some of their wares/services.
The name of the group is "ear for each other".  It is a public page but only the fired cast are allowed to sell on it. Anyone can buy from it.  We all can comment and buy.   I believe there are cast from both coasts involved.

This has been building for a long time.  It started in subtle, quiet ways, just a little less service here or there at the Fort, not being able to resolve an issue/25 people on a site on weekends; fewer people behind the counter at the restaurants or clearing tables; a couple of staff less in the Emporium or World of Disney when you were shopping; more people getting fast passes than the system could handle; less gardening here or there; and higher prices for everything. As TCD notes; cut the parades, cut the fireworks, cut away anything they can.    All small things by themselves  but they have added up.  Now, with COVID 19 it is the perfect opportunity/excuse to really cut deeply across the board, to get rid of staff and entertainment, the student program, the foreign staff at Epcot,  DVC staff, DCL staff; all with the justification it is necessary now.
In a couple of years they will hire some folks for minimum wage who have no idea what being a Disney cast member should mean and there will be nobody left to teach them.  All the "old timers" will be gone and their collective memories vanished.  No-one will even know what "Kungaloosh" means never mind be able to mix a batch!  
The shareholder price will increase, the executives will continue to get their exorbitant pay cheques and bonuses.  
People like us will be sad, weep a little, and say "remember when" whenever we do visit but we are a dying group and frankly I don't think Disney gives a hot damn about any of us.   
Walt is  spinning in his grave. 

Thanks, Mo.
Yes, we will all get over it, but it really stings now. 
And, we need to keep things in perspective- millions of people have lost their jobs, and 200,000+ more families have lost a lot more.
One more thing- if any of you Disney lovers out there think this won’t affect you, think again. Disney is firing performers who are irreplaceable, and has decimated its Guest Relations staff. The things that distinguished Disney from a Six Flags amusement park are all but gone. The current management thinks guests won’t care.  We are all in for a rude awakening. 
TCD

We did the D+ Hulu bundle, so for us it's worth it.
But I'd pay a monthly fee just to be able to watch the Princess Bride any time of the day or night.  🙂

Here’s a link where you can see the official Meadow Trading Post hours of operation: 
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/shops/campsites-at-fort-wilderness-resort/meadow-trading-post/
Be forewarned that you may be turned away from visiting to shop depending on who is working the guard shack. They have been very restrictive in allowing visitors due to the pandemic. 
TCD

I’m not sure what you’re referring to, but the mask rules at Disney are clear with regard to eating, drinking, and walking around. 
TCD

This photo shows the inside line to order from P&J’s.  This was from an earlier trip, as they have since added mobile ordering:

Here’s a look at the seating area- they’ve removed more than half the tables- we sat downstairs by the buffalo head and were the only guests seated down there:

Note the guest walking around with no mask. That’s a no-no, but there’s no staff around to tell guests what to do. Generally, it seemed like a pretty safe setup, but that could change as it gets more crowded and more people ignore the rules. 
TCD

We stay in the cabins a few times a year. They’re great.  
As far as tips go, they provide just about all you need. If you’re driving- some things you might want to add to your supply list are two bottles of pump hand soap for the bathroom and kitchen sinks, some kind of cleaning wipes, and a whisk broom and dustpan (no broom is provided). 
In case you don’t know, the only oven is a microwave/convection combo, so plan any meals accordingly. 
The wifi is fine. If you have an Apple TV or fire stick, you can stream.
If you don’t have a golf cart arranged, you should look into renting one- then you can get around and look at all the decorations.
Have fun!
TCD
 
 

Excellent job!  I hope it isn’t long before things get close to being normal, and you can look back at what a unique trip you had. 
TCD

A couple of weeks ago, we saw that our passes that my wife has from her retirement from Disney were finally unblocked for both of us to enter the parks.  So we were able to grab a nice reservation at Fort Wilderness and finally get back.  It was a great trip and I'll try to add some pictures here to give some info on what everything is like.  First I should say that the parks weren't bad the first weekend, and EMPTY the week prior to Labor Day weekend.  Our park passes were blocked again starting the Friday of Labor Day weekend, which was fine because it got pretty crowded.
 

 
We checked in near noon on Friday August 28th.  There was certainly no problem getting a site! The campground was really quiet and many loops were closed.  It was very peaceful.  
 


 
P&J's was open and that was the only food option.  However, they opened up the dining area of Trails End and you could sit inside and eat and/or drink.  It was actually very nice.
After setting up the camper we headed to the Magic Kingdom.  It was a little strange taking a selfie in front of a castle wearing face masks.

 
The Magic Kingdom was empty every day we were there (Friday, Monday Tuesday and Wednesday).


 
Disney did a good job with the social distancing and making sure people wore masks.  There were very few people not following the rules.  The wait times were great.  We rode Seven Dwarfs Mine Train about 9 times total and our longest wait was about 30 minutes; most were about 10 - 15.  The Haunted Mansion line is great without the stretching room.  The line moves quickly and I had the chance to look around and see details inside I never saw before.  Longest wait there was about 10 minutes.  We rode Peter Pan several times since the wait there averaged about 10 minutes as well.  Each time we went, we would stay about 3 hours and be able to get on MANY rides.  The Plexiglas dividers were great, much better than the chains.  At least kids couldn't occupy their time swinging the chains around and hitting everybody around them.Then we would head back to the campground and relax.
 
On Saturday, we headed to Animal Kingdom.  It was not crowded, but it was not set up for COVID as well as Magic Kingdom.  The lines weren't as conducive to distancing nor were there as many Plexiglas dividers up.  The crowds were down as well, and we waited about 10 minutes for Flight of Passage and less for the River ride as well as the Safari.

 
Sunday we went to Epcot and it was more crowded.  However, we walked onto Soarin and were able also walk onto Test Track and Spaceship Earth.  One of the strangest factors at Epcot was the absence of the International Program cast members.  Walking into Japan and seeing mainly American workers just felt strange.

(Above:  Sunday at Epcot)
We ate lunch at the quick service restaurant in Japan.  Both of us got the Beef and Chicken Teriyaki.  It was delicious.

 
We returned to Epcot on Thursday.  It was MUCH emptier, really a pleasure to walk around:



 
The pictures above were taken around 1PM.
We quickly walked onto The Seas and Imagination while heading to lunch at the UK.  When we got there we walked through the store a bit.  There we met a nice young woman from Scotland who lives in the US, so she fit the UK well as did another young woman from London.  When we went to check in, the hostess was from Bulgaria, and was VERY nice as well.  We requested a window seat and she got us a great one with an amazing view.


 
She even came into the restaurant after someone else seated us to make sure we liked the table.  We started the meal with the soup of the day; Tomato Bisque (delicious):

 
Then my wife got the Bangers and Mash and I got the Sheppard's Pie:


 
Both were outstanding, as was the server who was an Asian American who obviously worked a high end restaurant at Disney because he was so friendly, professional and great at his job.  
 
After the meal we took the Skyliner over to Caribbean Beach.  First, let me say that the Skyliner was pleasantly cool even the temperature was around 90 and it was humid and sunny.  
We got a good view of the construction in France for Ratatouille:


 
 On Friday, since we were blocked out of the parks, we went to Disney Springs.  Nothing much new there to report, but the crowds weren't bad.  From there we took the bus to the Grand Floridian.  It was eerie seeing it so empty:

 
The band is not playing and they moved the piano up onto the band stand:

 
On Saturday, we took the bus from the campground to the Wilderness Lodge.  The bus now rides along the road between the Fort and the Lodge.  From there we could see that the walking trail no longer exists.  It has been completely torn up and they were installing water pipes.  However, there were new concrete spillways in place which indicates the intent to restore the trail.  I'm sure that won't happen for quite a while though.
Like the Grand, Wilderness Lodge was pretty empty, although it was a bit more crowded for Labor Day weekend:

 
The next day we checked out and headed home.  It was a great trip; a nice combination of going to the parks and relaxing at the Campground.  Disney did a great job both at the Fort and the parks.  While I am looking forward to things getting back to normal, there were some changes I really enjoyed and makes me glad we booked our stay.
 
 
 
 

I just got back from a 3 night stay at the Fort over Labor Day weekend. There is still so much that is far from normal- no campfire singalong, no food truck, Trails End is takeout only, no fireworks, no EWP, no resort boat, shortened trading post hours, no trail to the Lodge, and there are rangers everywhere yelling about masks.
But the Fort is still the Fort. It was great to be there. Because park hours and availability are so limited, folks hung around their campsites more. On a Friday night loop, we noticed many campsites with projectors and screens showing the new Mulan movie, and lots of campfires, many in illegal fire pits.  Like always, the Fort is a magical place where the outside world and its problems seem far away. 
If anyone is staying away because of all the limitations and changes, don’t. Do yourself a favor and get to the Fort. It’s still a great place to be. 
TCD

. . . and as predicted, there are campers currently setting up in 1500, 1700, and 1900. 
For the first time since the closure, all Fort loops are open as of September 4, 2020. 
TCD

There are no specific written rules for the Fort. I don’t know if this is necessary or not:

TCD

Got it. 
So, are these tents or pop-ups that I saw set up in the 2000 loop today?:


TCD

I don’t how they missed the new sign, but it has not been removed. I just took this photo earlier this morning, September 5, 2020:

TCD

I’m not speculating any more. 
I just did some looping and there are campers on the 1600 loop and 1800 loop. As of this morning, 1500, 1700, and 1900 were still empty, but the sites are clean, and the signs that had been posted stating that the loops were closed are down. It sure looks like there will be campers on those loops later today. 
Also, they are running a bus from the Settlement to the MK, because the boats can’t handle the demand:
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TCD

There are no specific written rules for the Fort. I don’t know if this is necessary or not:

TCD

There are no specific written rules for the Fort. I don’t know if this is necessary or not:

TCD

I’m not speculating any more. 
I just did some looping and there are campers on the 1600 loop and 1800 loop. As of this morning, 1500, 1700, and 1900 were still empty, but the sites are clean, and the signs that had been posted stating that the loops were closed are down. It sure looks like there will be campers on those loops later today. 
Also, they are running a bus from the Settlement to the MK, because the boats can’t handle the demand:
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TCD

It’s ain’t pretty, but it’s better than nothing:

TCD