Avatab.... Steve

I agree that CG's would usually take up more space per guest than a Resort Hotel, although I do wonder how the footprint of the Fort compares to the other Resorts in total land use when you include their parking lots, access roads, utilities, etc. TCD, we need your Magic Purple Crayon! And is space an issue at WDW? Other than space near the Lakes/Monorails isn't there plenty of room to plunk down another CG or two? My bigger question is that if some or all of the hotels also only really fill on the weekends and holidays like the Fort, that fact hasn't stopped Disney from addi

I've been using the Garmin RV760 for a couple of years now. It's not perfect (no GPS is...) but it was better than the others when I bought it. I like the big 7 inch screen and the notices it gives you about what services are off the next exit. I also use one of my older 5 inch Garmins in the RV. I keep one zoomed out so I can see the overall area, and I keep the other zoomed in so I can see the immediate road and any turns coming up. I leave the RV760 speaker on and mute the other one. (they both get Traffic info and will warn of any issues coming up) Lately, I have been putting my

Even on the weekends there are still some "Phantom Sites" when the system shows everything booked. I'm curious though..... do the Resort Rooms show the same "Weekend Warrior" effect? Are the hotels booked more on the weekends and less-so midweek? Or is that just at the Fort? I'm talking just WDW here, I know that CG's and hotels elsewhere do book up weekends much more quickly in general.

Several of us have emailed Disney over the last 5 years or so, but it seems to fall on deaf ears other than a canned thank you response. My own idea was that since Disney is fixated on Resort Room thinking (and DVC DVC DVC....) then make camping more in line with the Resorts: Create 3 levels of Campgrounds to match with the Deluxe, Moderate, and Value levels of rooms/resorts. Clear an open area, put parking lines in and put in basic electric and water for each space with a central dump station. Call it the Value area aimed at people who just need a place to plug in for a night or a w

Come on..... I make a Princess Bride reference and no one responds? Inconceivable! Oh, what sad times are these when passing ruffians can say Ni at will to old ladies. There is a pestilence upon this land, nothing is sacred. Even those who arrange and design shrubberies are under considerable economic stress in this period in history.

Universal was able to connect the two Harry Potter Lands by thinking outside the box and making a moving attraction out of the Hogwarts Express. Maybe they have something similar in mind here but on a larger scale?

I think they actually meant to say "See the Rodents of Unusual Size!"

Great pictures of the MK Christmas Tree! It's so nice you got to spend at least a little time there. FYI, Several years ago I went on one of those Behind the Scenes tours and they took us to the holiday decoration warehouse. The man in charge at the time was telling us how great it was when they changed the Christmas Tree to LED lights. He said they used to have to run all kinds of power cables all over the place and put temporary covers over them on the sidewalks so no one would trip over them, but once they started using the LEDs they could run the whole tree off of one regular outlet

As a former pro photographer I can second this, I used to cringe when I saw how much we spent on developing and printing photos that weren't usable and I believe that digital photography has been a true blessing. But.... even with digital I still end up taking several different shots of important scenes, and rejecting most of them (if not all of them! LOL) later at the computer..... And I also love your photos Gwen, there's no question you have the eye for it :-)

I agree! I guess it is or was a travelling promo for a Dairy Farmers group. It had its own truck to take it to fairs and shows. I said at the time they needed to be towing one of those Airstream Bambi's made up to look like a giant toaster.....

Went to this two years in a row awhile back. We stayed at Lazydays RV Park/Sales Lot, so it was easy to get to. Great show and lots of RV stuff and gadgets for sale. Plus they had the worlds largest display of carved butter! What more could you ask for?

If that was the case then that obviously is a good thing not bad, and by all accounts this Halloween was relatively sane compared to years past. Hopefully this is an indication that the Fort will finally start enforcing its own rules.

This jumped out at me. If it's true that no one was allowed to enter the Fort if they weren't campers, or had reservations for Trails End, etc, then why would they need all that extra parking? Why were that many cars being allowed in? And supplying Porta Potties? Hand washing stations? If you are driving a car to Fort Wilderness on Halloween there is an excellent chance that you are either staying off-property or live locally and are bringing your kids to TOT at the Fort. This sounds like another one of Disney's patented "please obey our rules, but while you're breaking them make sur

I used to go to DQ every trip for several years because they had an original full size sit down Atari Star Wars game..... complete with ancient computer wire frame graphics..... BUT I could still feel as though I was actually flying down the trench of the Death Star due to the excellent sound and music effects I loved that it had the original theme and Obi Wan sound clips from the movie: "Luke, the Force will be with you..... always!"

I've been a couple of places where dogs left alone barked loud enough and long enough to be a real problem. And one time WE were the problem at the Fort. Left our well-behaved Lab Retriever in the camper for a couple of hours and when we got back we heard her barking as we neared the site (it was in the 1900 loop I think). Turns out the AC had failed and there was a warning buzzer going off that was driving her crazy! Poor thing was VERY glad to see us... We apologized to the neighbors and then dropped her off at the Kennel each morning for the rest of the trip. Of course that was

I don't have a problem with this, the annual car pass for State Parks here is $60 per car. My guess is that most will opt to get the Annual Pass for 80, especially if they live nearby, or if it is part of a trip. The NPS has been underfunded for decades with a huge backlog of needed maintenance. It hasn't helped that they keep getting stuck with new "National Monuments" every couple of years that also need staffing and maintenance.

Same here, I rarely get the chance to read the TR's as they are happening and usually someone has already asked the question I would have or too much time has passed since it was written. I do make liberal use of the "Up Arrows" for whatever that is worth, although they don't seem to be used as much as they used to be. And I also apologize for not showing more appreciation, esp to TCD for his reports, which have turned me into a "Junior Yuri" on my last couple of trips, skulking around what's left of River Country, the old Nature Trail, and any fencing I can try and look through.....

Not sure if this has been posted yet but while I was reading this months Motorhome Magazine I came across a one page article about the Fort. Entitled: "The Spookiest Campground in America" it is on page 11 of the October issue. The subtitle is: "The spirit of Halloween brought to you by the magic of Disney" I thought it was ironic to come across this while reading the posts here. The very short article does not say anything about whether you need to be a resort guest or not, it simply says to "be sure to arrive in time for the resort's annual Halloween celebration" but it does give t

I'm surprised that Disney doesn't require ALL the buses leaving the Park to go to one end of DS and require everyone to get a Resort bus at the other end... That would be the Bus equivalent of having a Gift Shop at the exit of every ride.... I probably shouldn't be saying that out loud since someone at Disney might read it and think it's a good idea..... I'll bet they are working on a way to make all the cars leaving at night also go thru Disney Springs.... Mandatory Drive-Thru Gift Shops in the future?? Disney Mngmt is finally embracing the old Horizons Motto: "If We Can

Great trip report Robin Looking forward to the rest Sounds like you saw the best and the worst Disney has to offer... LOL You also had a front row seat to the 2 opposite abuses of the campsites: 1. Large groups overcrowding the loops when they should be in the Group Camping Areas, and 2. A so-called "Phantom Site", where people who are staying off-site will rent a campsite, put up a tent but never actually use it. That allows at least 10 of their off-site group to get Magic Bands and all the benefits of staying on-site.

I know you're kidding but that actually happened to me at the Fort back in 2004. Came back from the Park and found a tree had crushed the front bunk on my Class C in the 1900 loop! All I could say at that moment was "Thank You God that no one was in it!"

Which is another mystery..... Disney has gone to great lengths to try and spread out the crowds/demand in the parks to eliminate the old "slow times", why not do the same at the Fort? Advertise a special lower rate for Sun thru Thurs to fill those sites, and/or shift the demand by adding weekend-only parking lot type sites with minimal services and minimal themeing to try and re-capture the family business they are losing because they can't get in or can't afford the current high rates. And even if this is a "boom cycle" for RVs, the minimal service Lots would be easy to build and ju

I've mentioned this before but if I was Disney (oh, if only....LOL) I would add two more CGs: One for the high-end market, big diesel pushers and the like, call it the "Deluxe Level" and ALL the Loops would be the 3000 Loop.... Put it near/next to the Fort, (which would become the "Moderate Level"), and make some/all of them waterfront sites. (Can you imagine the charge for those??) And then build a "Value Level" in some God-forsaken corner of Disney property that would be a glorified parking lot. Make it as large or small as you want. Just someplace to plug in, hop on a

Which is exactly why it is a mystery to me that Disney does not expand the Fort and/or add an additional separate campground or two..... If one of their Resorts is popular they waste no time in expanding it or building another one right next to it. The only capacity they have added to the Fort since the 1970's was the additional sites on the 600 loop and removing the cabins on the 2100 loop (but that was campsites originally so really doesn't count...) Either the Fort turns a profit or it doesn't, if it didn't I would imagine it would be gone tomorrow and if it does and demand is so

So, another way Disney is separating people into Haves and Have-Nots...... When I first started going to the Fort you could take a boat, an open-air Tram, even a Steam Train! And yes, a bus. But they all cost the same to everyone: Zero. If you paid to come to Disney, you had already paid for transportation and most of that transportation was deliberately designed to be part of "the Show". I see enough buses in my everyday life, I don't want to see even more of them up close and personal while I'm on vacation at a "Resort" The one bright spot I see is the new Skyway t