Avatab.... Steve

On 4/9/2018 at 6:54 PM, CCIntrigue...aka Gwen said:

We haven't read Trailer Life in years, have never had a subscription to it ... but, lo and behold, the May issue appeared in our mailbox today!  

If you have a Good Sam membership they send out a free issue of Trailer Life or Motorhome magazine twice a year to all paid members even if you don't subscribe to either one.

They do this because they discontinued the monthly Good Sam magazine they used to send out separately, but now they include a smaller version of "Highways" in both of their other mags every 6 months.

They are all one big company under Marcus Lemonis/Camping World now.

9 hours ago, DaveInTN said:

You are assuming that Fort management is actually going to enforce this new rule.  My prediction is that nothing will change at the campsites......  

....Disney likes revenue that is easy and non-confrontational to obtain.  In this case, they'll have to continually piss off guests by telling them they will need to pay for that extra car or 2 on the site.  Fort management has shown zero inclination over the years of wanting to enforce rules that tick off guests.  So I predict nothing will change, no one will be charged, and the huge groups that take over on weekends and holidays will continue to do so.  

Unfortunately you are correct.  I mentioned a page or two above that what will probably happen is that the Good people (like Lone-Star above) will follow the rules and dutifully pay any additional fees they are told they owe, while the Abusers will (as usual) thumb their nose at any rules they don't want to follow. 

Is it any wonder that the number of rule breakers seem to grow each year?  

6 minutes ago, DaveInTN said:

There is no way they will ever hand Mickey a gun again.  I think Disney has been exposed as a bunch of musophobic hypocrites.  

LOL!!  I had to look up "musophobia"   

The hypocrisy part is dead on though.  Amazing the double standards that the PC crowd can justify while talking out of both sides of their mouths....

21 hours ago, geoffdaddy said:

I asked about this yesterday and apologies if this has been covered already, but my understanding is that campers get one free pass under this new policy. To hedge my bets I went ahead and made a reservation yesterday for March 2019 in case we have others come with us since it only applies to new reservations after the 21st.

Anywho, I am of two minds about this... on the one had I agree it sucks royally. On the other hand, I wonder if it will help open up reservations which are getting difficult. I know we have been several times to be told that the campground is all full up only to see several vacant sites the whole time we're there, and we know it is a common practice for some unscrupulous people to stay off site and get a burner campsite reservation for the free multi-car parking, magic bands, and extra magic hours. Maybe on the plus side this will cut down on some of that.

I am also of two minds. I hate the trend towards fees fees and more fees for things that used to be free, but I am hoping that this new policy will mean that every site will now only have one car and the crazy parking in the loops will come to an end.

I am not sure this will help with the "Phantom Site" problem though. If I am reading this correctly the new parking fees will only apply to resort parking and not parking at the parks. If that's the case then it doesn't affect the Phantom campers since they will still get all the same bennies that makes getting a phantom site attractive in the first place.

What the new policy might actually help with is the Large Group problem, where a huge group or extended family take over several sites with too many people, too many cars etc. and make everyone else in the loop miserable.  Maybe this additional cost for them might drive them to the Group sites where they should be in the first place.

What they should be doing with EPCOT is sticking to the original ideas that set it apart from any other theme park.

They need more rides like Horizons, and less amusement park rides that will end up making EPCOT just another generic theme park gate...

22 hours ago, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Don't even get me started.... 3 families (with usually 3-5 people per family) in one site.

One of my biggest pet peeves is this 

Same here. Drives me crazy when I see that. The people who abuse the 10 people / 2 cars per site rules encourage others to do the same thing, especially when Disney does nothing to correct the (usually very blatant) issues.

It will be interesting to see how the Fort implements this new one car per site rule. Will you still be able to park a second vehicle at the site if you pay extra? How many spots can you pay for in overflow?  What about using overflow on check-in or check-out day? Will we have to pay for parking while waiting for a site, or pay when at the park after check-out on your last day? 

If they stick to their usual pattern there will be strongly worded notes left on windshields and the good people will go down and pay for the extra parking but the abusers will just ignore it and Disney will do nothing to them.....   

Was it wrong of me to start reading this and think "a site just opened up at the Fort!"  and then I got to the bottom and said "crap, never mind..."   

This is just the logical extension of what Disney has been doing for several years now:  monetizing things, services, and events that used to be free or were included in the park fees or hotel bills...... The Year of a Million Schemes....

Instead of expanding the parks, or the parking, Disney has created artificial demand and then charge handsomely for fulfilling that demand.

Couple that with a doubled US population since WDW opened, and you've got too many people chasing too few goods and services.

My guess is that it will get worse before it gets better. As others have said above, resort fees are coming plus whatever other things they can dream up.

On 2/20/2018 at 10:08 AM, twiceblessed....nacole said:

Haha... you're talking to the woman, who has four (4) fire extinguishers in her rig 

Same here.  4 extinguishers, 2 CO alarms,  2 smoke and heat alarms, (only one propane alarm though, maybe I should get another?).

Whenever I look at an RV, the first thing I check is the Fire exits. I won't buy one that only has one door, or one that has only small windows in the bedroom (or none!)

I've been to too many fatal house and vehicle fires to not be paranoid about it.....

On 2/20/2018 at 9:57 AM, DaveInTN said:

  Even if we could do without the cooling of the A/C, I needed the A/C fan running to drown out the noise of the parking lot, delivery trucks during the night, roads, etc.  

I need a fan running also. I ended up getting one of those 12volt fans for those Wally World nights, and I also got a small sound machine that runs on batteries and will play background sounds like rain, or crickets chirping etc.  The combo of those two works great for me.

11 hours ago, WrigleysWagon said:

Makes sense. When you can cook directly on the table top it saves on the gas/electric bill!

Makes you wonder who's actually making the decisions and if they ever bother to ask anyone at the Fort what they think.....

14 hours ago, Lou... said:

I've known Hilda for years, especially when she was a CM. I stop by and chat with her every time I see her at the Fort.

I simply made an observation and expressed my opinion and was neither endorsing or condemning the original post. For you to react as you have is little much. I've been off here for a long time and didn't realize that expressing opinions is now subject to approval by other posters. 

I'll go back to where I was, but if any of you see me at WDW, and you will, stop and say hi.

That was exactly my point Lou. (wait, that's THREE times in a row now that I've agreed with you.... time to play the lottery!)

I like TCD and am always glued to his trip reports, he has a real gift with them,  but I couldn't understand his reaction here. I can only assume he has some sort of personal connection here and knows a lot more about this that the rest of us don't.

Please stick around, I also would hate to lose your perspective.

11 hours ago, WrigleysWagon said:

Hooray for common sense!

Seconded!

6 minutes ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

I'm trying to get the attention of a moderator. If this site has one. I would be happy to explain why this thread is inappropriate to a moderator. 

TCD 

Ok, that explains why you might Downvote the OP.

it doesn't explain why you did that to me and Lou......

*** You apparently know something we don't *** 

I can't speak for Lou, but I know that I don't know the OP, or the TA, or of any rules about TA's living at the Fort.

I also know that I would never do that to you for posting innocent comments or questions.

If you are that bent out of shape about this then either notify Jen directly or take it out on the OP,  not us please.

Hey TCD,  Really?

Downvotes?

You say you're sorry for doing it, so then why do it at all?

The OP deleted her number, and none of the rest of us posted any of her info. I know for a fact I didn't.

You stated your opinion, fine. I even mentioned that you might be right. 

Do you know this woman or her business personally?  Why this reaction?

10 minutes ago, Lou... said:

Looks like advertising, and good advertising at that, to me. As long as that's her business phone number, from a business point of view, wouldn't  Hilda approve?

I agree Lou   (wow thats twice in one week.....what is happening!?!?  )

If she wanted her privacy, she'd have an unlisted number and it wouldn't be listed on her posts. (And she probably wouldn't be a TA for that matter...)

Having said that, maybe TCD is correct on this.   I'm not sure of the policy here on FF about adverts, phone numbers, addresses, etc.  Personally I am envious that she makes enough to be able to list the Fort as her address.

I have never used a TA so I don't know this Hilda, but if I did use a TA I would certainly use Jason right here on FF.  

Wasn't there a TA who used to live in the 200 loop that decorated to the max every holiday?  Did she have an issue with Disney because she was a TA? Or was it because of the decorations?

Not sure why they just don't cut to the chase and announce new names for all the Parks.....

Epcot will now be Frozen Land

Hollywood Studios will now be Star Wars Land

Animal Kingdom will now be Avatar Land

And Magic Kingdom will now be Merchandise Land      

On 2/12/2018 at 2:52 PM, Lou... said:

I've been working at DHS a lot lately, mostly at the SW dessert party, and yes, I have to wear a silly Star Wars themed costume and often have to carry a Light Saber when escorting guests to the Center Stage area for the show. Hopefully there are no photos. 

Now why did this scene come to mind immediately.....?    

2 hours ago, WannaBeImagineer said:

I finally watched that movie last week, not too bad.

WBI

Watched it a couple of times now and I agree, not too bad.  It has a couple of silly parts like the Eiffel Tower Rocket, and I am not a Clooney fan, but it's still a good take for a movie night.

I especially like the scenes set in the old Disneyland and that whole can-do attitude.

11 minutes ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

Tomorrowland pin?  Like this one?

Mum's the word. 

TCD 

Exactly.    Shhhhh!      I need to wear mine on other rides and see if anything interesting happens......  

On 2/6/2018 at 9:30 AM, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:

Given Disney is still featuring the monorail in its ads (saw a new one on tv just this weekend) I'd say that isn't happening anytime soon.

For decades now Disney has used the images of the Monorail in motion and the Monorail entering or leaving the Contemporary as memes designed to evoke memories of DisneyWorld and to set it apart in the public consciousness from the other "everyday" theme parks.

How sad is it that those two Icons of WDW haven't been updated or expanded in years. And that buses and BLT's are now the order of the day.

Other than Spaceship Earth at Epcot, what is there that really sets WDW apart anymore?

I have similar memories and pictures of wide-open sidewalks and short waits for rides. I can remember thinking that a 20 min wait was outrageous! 

One of the reasons I grew to love Epcot so much over the years is that it seemed to retain that open feeling long after it was gone at the MK.

It is interesting that they were able to operate (and expand!) the Parks with crowd levels so much lower. And arguably to a higher standard than today as well.

12 hours ago, kadancer said:

Small World is my "I have arrived" moment.  I hope it stays put and that future generations regain the sense of wonder that doesn't require large drops and high speed.

But what about that huuuge boat drop on the ride right after the laser beam scans my Tomorrowland pin? 

oh.... none of you have one?........  never mind....... forget I said anything......     

On 2/2/2018 at 9:11 PM, Tri-Circle-D said:

The numerous Disney channels don't play Disney movies. They play Disney infomercials.

TCD

I miss seeing my girl Stacy.... her energy is infectious..... almost as infectious as those endless Appliance Direct!! commercials.   

11 minutes ago, keith_h said:

I'm dating myself but when I lived in Massachusetts as a kid Filene's was more or less the place to go. I recall going to what I think was the Northshore Center store. Another was Shopping World in Framingham. The dome is still something that sticks in my memories.  I also want to say there was a GEM store there that we would shop at but that memory is very fuzzy. 

Yes, Filene's Basement was a great place to get bargains  

Lechmere's is also gone, along with Caldors, Ames, and Zayre's.

The local Mall still has a Sears and a JC Penny's but for how long?  Everything else is a Walmart, Target and a few Kohl's here and there.

Never heard of Uniglo..... also never heard of Primark, which is listed as the most popular in Massachusetts? Lived here most of my life, first time I've ever seen that name...LOL!

Also interesting that most of the country by far shops at either Walmart or Target, but New York goes to Bloomingdales....  

Great videos Dave, Thanks!  Nice to have a video break while its snowing and 20 degrees here  

You would think with the back of Everest never finished they could open it up again to fix the Yeti...... then button it back up and finish the outside right this time.

2 hours ago, Travisma said:

But such massive stories, common sense (not taught anymore) would have dictated you ran the stories by everyone in power before releasing them.

Then again, the closing stories only broke after people went to the closed stores and the local new media started reporting the closures.

I think it wasn't until this afternoon that Sams PR has made a statement.

This same thing happened several years ago in Plymouth, Ma.   They had built a brand new Super-Walmart, and directly behind it they built a Sam's Club. The place was massive and was always busy. After both stores had been open for 3 or 4 years IIRC, suddenly and with no warning whatsoever, the doors were locked, employees shut out, and signs posted that the store was closed effective immediately.

The local press reported that they had been selling memberships right up to the day before!  I had renewed mine just a month earlier, so I called and was told "So sorry, but you can still shop at the Seekonk location (about an hour away.....).  No refunds, no nothing. I told them I would be shopping at BJ's from now on.

So not only haven't they learned anything about doing this in a more positive way, but it's never a good sign when a chain is closing stores that are busy and serve an entire region.

Also, strangely, they left the practically brand-new building sitting there closed up for about 5 or 6 years (in an otherwise VERY busy and expanding complex) until finally it was reported a year ago or so that a local business had bought the property at auction for a fraction of what it was worth. They then bulldozed the site and it is now a mega-car dealership.... go figure.