oft013

I'm surprised Disney would be at all in favor of that Gooding's being demolished. It's the only store in the region that makes the grocery prices in Disney's trading posts and resort gift shops look reasonable.

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To much trouble to enter

The rockers were there last week when we were there.  Very comfortable.  

If you are still enjoying your trips, and making good memories with your kids, by all means take those trips.  Keep in mind that everyone on here is in different stages of their Disney relationship.  Some have been going for many years and are jaded.  Others have been going a long time and will continue, as they simply love Disney.  Many more are in the early stages of their Disney crush and the magic is still being made.  If your only doubts about continuing on your journey are due to the opinions of others, please pay them no attention.  You may come upon Disney burn out on your own, in your own time.  But if you're not there yet, go and enjoy yourself.  Even I, a recovering Disney addict and sometime hater, still find many things at WDW that I enjoy, despite my complaining.  Don't let me or anyone else get you down.    

Mouse keepers have been saying 2100 is being switched to campsites. One cabin has already been removed.

Actually I think common courtesy, like common sense, left the planet quite some time ago

We live in a society where people believe that rules are suggestions, and they can do as they please.  There is no such thing as common courtesy.  And pity the fool who tries to stop these jackwagons from being jackwagons. 
 
I said for years that common courtesy is no longer common.

Not to sound like a complainer, but back in the Golden Age of the Fort, they used to have a large selection of groceries and fresh food and meats at the Meadow.  And, it was only slightly higher than going to an off site grocery store... I'm talking about a few cents more, not more than double like it is now.  The philosophy back then was to keep the campers on site as much as possible and make it easy for them to enjoy themselves.  Over the years they cut back on what they had in the way of groceries and expanded the souvenirs.

The question was then or now, I have a third choice, future.  My favorite fort trip is always the next one.  We have been camping at the fort since 1990, not as long as some, but longer than others.  The only thing I have really complained about are the prices.  But as stated earlier other tourist destination campground prices are priced similarly, so that complaint goes out the window.  One of the things I miss is the petting zoo, when it was up near Pioneer Hall. I have some great pictures of my kids with the animals and also on the pony rides.  The question is do I really miss that stuff or the memories of my kids being that young and the joy on their faces.  Our youngest is now 25 with one child.  So I guess the answer may be that I miss the good ole' days, not because the fort was better, but maybe because we viewed it a whole different way through the eyes of our children.  I am not going to write anymore at the moment because this got way too "dag gum" sappy.

Before I answer that directly I have to put things in perspective.
Grandma and I have never considered the FORT a "campground" it has always been a "THEMED"  RV destination resort(We've been fully self-contained since 1977). Campgrounds, at least to us, are KOAs, Jellystone Parks, State and County parks etc. These are places where you may be parked on pavement but usually grass or gravel and in many tourist areas, during peak season, not much cheaper than the tent sites at the FORT and the only thing you gain is sewer. Example:  Rapid City SD KOA, about an hour from MT. Rushmore in June with 4 kids you'd pay $75.00 a night to park in a mud hole if it rained.  West Yellowstone KOA, again a gravel site $95.00 a night.  A KOA in Wapakoneta OH, where you have about 8 ft between your awning and your neighbor, concrete pad here $88.00 a night.,
With that said I consider the fact that the FORT has kept up with "growing" RVs (larger pads in the Premium sites) the fact that they still allow larger families to camp together without an extra charge two very positive things. The recent addition of the walkway to the Marina a very positive move, the new drink dispenser at the pool another plus. The other amenities that we still have are great, by comparison to most "campgrounds". The campfire, sing along and movie, wishes at the beach every night if you so desire. The games and activites at the pool for the kiddos. A great on site restaurant and bar at TE, Trading posts that do carry a better selection than most CG stores and with pricing very close.
Would I like to see RC resurrected, the food truck and breakfast cart return, a deep water pool sure, but unfortunately, "Big Brother" and the attorneys won out. Too much liability. WeI would also like to see all the rules religiously enforced, but some people ignore them in most other campgrounds as well and get away with it. 
 As with many of you we don't always cherish change, but that is all part of life, it and things change.  We have RV'd/camped in all but two of the lower 48 and all of the lower Canadian Provinces. We have yet to find a place that gives you the same "bang for the buck" as the FORT.
 

It is a very good point.  If any of us rolled into FW tomorrow never having been there before, I think it's safe to say that we would be impressed and happy.
(except maybe for the whole too many cars, trucks and crazy golf carts thing.....   )
None of us would be here on FF if we didn't Love the Fort with a capitol L, even with imperfections.
And that's the problem. We do love the Fort and most of us HAVE been there before, some of us many,many times.
As good as the Fort still is, like so many other things around us these days it should be better, it WAS better.   
 
 

Especially since this is your first trip, you will find the Fort a wondrous place.  And it is and always has been far more family friendly than any of the hotels.  We have always said you could spend a week in the Fort and never go into the parks and still have a great time.
I read through all the posts here and I am going to go out on a limb.  It seems most of the posts are from folks who have been staying at the Fort for years.  Like anything else we see the Fort change and be a little or a lot less magical as our memories of earlier trips.  And we see the prices going up, which is aggravating especially when we are getting less than what we used to get.  
I will be the first one to complain about the overall cost of the Fort but the minute I get there all that goes away and I am in one of my favorite places to camp.  I notice the changes but I try not to let them get me down.  I look around and overall I'd rather be here than just about anywhere (except maybe a good beach bar).
Last year I was having the normal the cost of this is going to kill me thoughts.  I went on to Disney's site and found a deal to stay at the Caribbean Beach saving us $500.00 when you factor in the cost of gas.  So we changed and stayed at the Caribbean Beach and it was the worst $500.00 saving I ever had.  We missed the campground, looping with our way to expensive Disney golf cart, and most important staying where we have all our stuff at our disposal.  Can't do all that in a hotel room.  
So going forward we will only be staying at the Fort when we go to Disney, the heck with the cost (at least for now).  But what we will do is cut down on the number of trips per year.  We will go from 3 to 4 trips a year, to 1 or 2.  But I would rather do that then stay in a hotel.  And who knows maybe a few less trips could bring back some of the old magic and wonder to the Fort.
Since we are currently living in TX and do about 90% of our vacationing at the Fort, this will give us the opportunity to see Florida outside of Disney.  I'm not talking the other theme parks, but just the old school tourist stuff.  Because when we are at the Fort it is rare we leave Disney property, so this gives us a chance to explore.
Sorry this is by far my longest post.  Hopefully it makes as much sense as it did in my head. 

Especially since this is your first trip, you will find the Fort a wondrous place.  And it is and always has been far more family friendly than any of the hotels.  We have always said you could spend a week in the Fort and never go into the parks and still have a great time.
I read through all the posts here and I am going to go out on a limb.  It seems most of the posts are from folks who have been staying at the Fort for years.  Like anything else we see the Fort change and be a little or a lot less magical as our memories of earlier trips.  And we see the prices going up, which is aggravating especially when we are getting less than what we used to get.  
I will be the first one to complain about the overall cost of the Fort but the minute I get there all that goes away and I am in one of my favorite places to camp.  I notice the changes but I try not to let them get me down.  I look around and overall I'd rather be here than just about anywhere (except maybe a good beach bar).
Last year I was having the normal the cost of this is going to kill me thoughts.  I went on to Disney's site and found a deal to stay at the Caribbean Beach saving us $500.00 when you factor in the cost of gas.  So we changed and stayed at the Caribbean Beach and it was the worst $500.00 saving I ever had.  We missed the campground, looping with our way to expensive Disney golf cart, and most important staying where we have all our stuff at our disposal.  Can't do all that in a hotel room.  
So going forward we will only be staying at the Fort when we go to Disney, the heck with the cost (at least for now).  But what we will do is cut down on the number of trips per year.  We will go from 3 to 4 trips a year, to 1 or 2.  But I would rather do that then stay in a hotel.  And who knows maybe a few less trips could bring back some of the old magic and wonder to the Fort.
Since we are currently living in TX and do about 90% of our vacationing at the Fort, this will give us the opportunity to see Florida outside of Disney.  I'm not talking the other theme parks, but just the old school tourist stuff.  Because when we are at the Fort it is rare we leave Disney property, so this gives us a chance to explore.
Sorry this is by far my longest post.  Hopefully it makes as much sense as it did in my head. 

This will definitely help.  But is it me or can't they keep up with their own updates....Downtown Disney??  Shouldn't it be Disney Springs?

We have separate everything for the MH.  All we pack are clothes and food.
 
We also have a Coleman Roadtrip grill.  We have a half and full griddle that can replace the grill grates and also stove burners that can replace the grates.  With the half griddle we can mix and match depending on our needs

According to the Orlando Sentinel Disneyworld opened 44 Years ago today 10/1/71.  I didn't make my first trip until my honeymoon in 1981.

Never understood him or really cared to try, but for all the folks that have followed him and all the kids that love him this is sad.  I couldn't imagine one of the characters my kids grew up with getting the axe.  Budget cuts?  Can he get unemployment?  What does a has been bear do now?

Well that sounds pretty flipping awesome.  :)
 
Hey speaking of Cuban sandwiches... Bongos at Downtown Disney has pretty darned good ones.  In fact the food there in general is really good and a pretty good value for the mountains of it they give you.
 
Bonus - there are 2 or 3 bars in the placed and I'd be willing to bet they can do a good rum drink.  

And you can see a great sunset at Frenchy's Rockaway which is right N. Clearwater Beach.  You can wash that grouper sandwich down with a Rumrunner or 2.  Rumrunners may not be regional but there is nothing like sitting at Frenchy's Rockaway watching a sunset and a couple of rumrunners 

The first question to ask about seafood in Florida is if it is from Florida.  Sounds silly but a lot of Florida seafood gets shipped out of state where they can charge more money, and much of the seafood served in Florida is imported.  I would avoid buying any seafood at the grocery stores.  Recently I went to buy shrimp at a Winn Dixie in Indian Shores and when I asked if it was fresh from Florida, the kid behind the counter took me to a freezer box and showed me the bags of shrimp they use for their "fresh" shrimp.  So be careful.
 
For seafood we usually try to find Florida Grouper and Fresh Gulf Shrimp.
 
There is an excellent Cuban/ Spanish restaurant in Celebration called Columbia that has an excellent Cuban Sandwich.
 
Good luck and happy eats.

I guess the amoeba went hungry with this guy

Happy Birthday Snarky.  

That's it, exactly.
 
Based on what I've seen, the problem is that there are guests using the Fort as a place to congregate and party- not to camp.  Over Thanksgiving weekend, there were a couple of large groups on the 2000 loop.  One of these groups had about ten sites.  Every one of those sites had a small U-Haul trailer on it in addition to multiple cars.  One site had two U-Haul trailers.  Why the Fort does anyone need a U-Haul trailer to tent camp?  These folks weren't there to camp.  They were there to party, and the tents were just there for them to sleep it off.
 
Looking at the bigger picture, the problem with a lack of consideration for others isn't confined to the Fort.  It is engrained in our society now.  One of the reasons that the comfort stations aren't as clean as they used to be is that people have become inconsiderate slobs who make messes and leave them for someone else.  It's not just at the Fort.  You can see it in the restrooms throughout Disney World or at your local mall or movie theater.  Also, have you noticed how there's more trash on the ground at the parks?  Disney used to be much more vigilant about picking it up.  And guests used to be much more considerate about making sure trash was properly thrown away.
 
If we lived in a society where people were considerate of others, none of the new rules the Fort has implemented would be necessary.  If the idiots in charge would enforce the rules, then maybe some of the inconsiderate guests would take their U-Hauls elsewhere.
 
TCD

Also empty your water filter incase you have one, ours is inline but in the docking area and if not emptied will freeze and crack, I know this for sure not saying how I do but I do :well-duh-smiley:

I recommend flushing the RV with water, and flush yourself with vodka.