lightbikes

So...Disney will entice people to spend the extra money to stay in Club level accommodations, so that they can have the privilege to spend extra money for fastpasses.  I hadn't seen the official announcement that The Year of a Million Schemes was extended.  Sweet!  

Again I say, while shaking head, some people and their pets are truly strange.
AND I am so sorry you didn't ask where Tennille was - would have loved to hear that answer!!!!
 

Like any good parents, they wrapped baby up in a towel.  


 
It has been my observation on several occassions (especially when I am at WDW) that some individuals have a very strange relationship with their dogs.  To the point that some seem to be treated better then many children.  (shaking head in confusion)
Love your trip report - but have after three days of all that food I'd gain 20 lbs and be wadling off the ship !!!
 

2.5 hrs of sitting in a recliner eating heavily butter flavored popcorn.....how can that be bad... it's better than being at work by a long shot

Classic.
They add the ability to order one drink, and they jack up the price for the plans.
Disney always wins.
Call me when they have a refillable beer mug.
TCD

I understand that.
It's a shame that Disney management is once again so short-sighted about this.  It would not be that hard to designate pet cabins and non-pet cabins, and enforce the rules.  But, once again, we see them taking the cheap and easy way out, and letting anything go.  Clearly, they don't care if they lose a segment of their business or loyal customers, because they're blinded by the easy money they can rake it by letting pets in the cabins.  They never think about the long-term costs.
TCD

We stay in the cabins. I don’t want to risk dog hair, or barking. We want quiet. I love all animals. I have a dog that I place in a daycare when I’m vacationing. Good get-away for me and my pet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I won’t go back to the Fort.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We've used this a couple of times as well and they are excellent; escpecially for Canadians it's nice to have something so close and not have to hunt around.
Both times we found the cost pretty reasonable, less than $200, and they provided a detailed receipt so we could file a claim once we got home.

But you're missing the BIG picture !
If Disney allows this to happen, then they can offer on site guests Fast Pass ++ (at an additional price of course)!

I believe it.
Some of those hotels used to offer guests EMH access.  Maybe some still do- I don't know. But, I seem to remember that the last one stopped.
Why?
$.
Those hotels paid Disney so they could offer that perk to their guests.  Disney probably kept on jacking up the price, so one by one, those hotels dropped out of that program.
I'm sure it's the same deal here.  Whatever hotels wants to pay the price can offer this perk to their guests.
That money goes straight to Disney's bottom line.
The only people affected by it are Disney's Resort guests who now have more competition for those FP+'s.  But, we know that Disney will put profits over guest experience every time.
TCD

I am planning a trip to assess the damage Irma did to the 3000 loop.  Beer lines are already scheduled for replacement, so mainly I will be focusing on the massage parlor.  I can't hook up the Outback, however, until I hit at least 650 likes.  So it's all up to you! 

Man, they really goofed on this.
The whole Hub area was reconstructed a couple of years ago to make more room and to ease congestion.
But, then they took away Wishes and replaced it with Happily Ever After (HEA), which is more focused on projections and special effects that guests can only see if they have a clear view of the front of the castle.  Wishes could be enjoyed from many different vantage points, but HEA really requires guests to be in the Hub area to best enjoy it.  Compounding the problem is that there is no longer a parade performed at night.  On busy nights, they would perform the Main Street Electrical Parade twice.  That would help to spread crowds out throughout the park.  Another issue is the fact that HEA is only shown about half the nights in October because the other nights are used for the hard-ticket Halloween party.  And the cherry on top is that they took away a good chunk of the fireworks viewing area by taking away one of the FP viewing areas and the Tomorrowland Terrace area and using that for a paid dessert party.
All of those things add up to a big mess.
They planned for this somewhat by providing for bypasses on both sides of Main Street.  But, they rarely use the one that runs behind the Emporium, and they don't always have the one by the Plaza Restaurant open.  Those should be open every night after the fireworks without exception.  But they're not.
I've been stuck in the gridlock, and I agree 100% that it's a very unpleasant and dangerous situation that Disney really needs to do something about.  The problem is that the fixes would reduce revenue or require more payroll, so Disney is just going to let guests suffer.
TCD

When we've owned dogs we've always arranged for their care at home or a kennel.
What I can't see coming out of this is the long term or short term for that matter desirability of rooms. Let's forgo the replaceable stuff like furniture that a dog might damage while the owners are gone. Instead how many dogs will have accidents of various types. No matter how you clean the carpets not all of it comes out and the smells will build up. The floors underneath are concrete and will absorb fluids as well. Even if they use a flooring like Pergo the fluids will work into the cracks. Unless they use something like linoleum or epoxy painted floors I can't see how the rooms won't begin to stink after a while. Even if I owned a pet I don't think I would put up with that. 
Another concern is how will the dog react to being in a room that has belonged to so many others? I could see this bringing out poor behavior as the dog tries to figure out where they are all coming from. Some dogs I have known would become really hyperactive trying to figure out where all of those other dogs have come from. I also suspect it would make one of my oldest daughter's dog become aggressive  as she becomes very protective around other dogs.
Lastly, how do you handle barkers? Not all owners care that their dogs bark. What if it yaps for hours while the owner is at the parks? Does Disney go in to remove them? Will FP's really compensate the neighboring room that has to put up with it? I just don't think it is a good idea as the negatives just don't outweigh the positives from my perspective.

This***
one of the problems is that people think
"it's my vacation and I'll do what I want regardless of others!  Besides my dog is a good dog and never barks or jumps up on people or anything.  It's other people's dog that cause the problems."   
I may be alone but I don't like strange dogs. Probably because I was bit by a dog as a child by a dog who's never bit anyone before.   And o don't think it's fair that I have to deal with others dog at Home Depot, at Sam's club or the countless other places people feel they have the right to bring their dogs  
I feel your rights end when they interfere with others rights.    And when I have to walk around your dog or down another aisle in a place of business.  Or listen to or smell your dog at a hotel,  well you have interfered with my rights.  

First off, I'm not a dog hater.  Have had a few over the years.
It's not just a matter of cleaning rooms and yappy dogs.
There are people with various stages of "phobias" about dogs.  How is Disney going to handle that, unless they put aside and entire wing, building, or loop just for pet people.
If someone is afraid of a dog and one gets on an elevator or stairway with them, they might have a meltdown.
Someone has already posted on a FB site that dogs at Art are going to ruin their sons vacation because of his phobia and it's not fair.I
We've been to the Fort more than once and had to listen to a barking/crying dog all day long.  It's not a pleasant way to spend a vacation.
I think.Disney has opened up a big ol can of worms with this decision.

That is bizarre. Lol. 
Omg.  It's amazing what the average person will spend on there fur baby. Trust me it's not just the 1%ers. There will be animals at ever resort.  Including the value resorts. I don't get it but there are  people that cannot be away from there fur babies for more than one night. And the funny thing is they always blame it on the dog. "
Oh my dog can't stand to be away from us. We just have to bring a little poochie with us or he will die!"
i love our dogs but they don't travel with us.   Yes ours whines when we leave. They act like it's the end of the world. But one minute later they are on the couch sleeping.  And I have the security cameras to prove it.  Lol!  

Someone posted this on FB and I replied," thank the maker. Maybe they will hire someone who will follow walts Dream and make the parks for every child and adult (who can afford it)". I got semi blasted by a Disney freak who tried to explain big business to me and she ended her reply with," you can't blame Iger for the condition of the parks, he's an executive and doesn't spend time in the parks. He has more important things to take care of and works from his office. That's why he has managers."  What a dumb a**. I'm with TCD on this

Sounds like my organization.  Don't tell the manager that things are going down the crapper, she has more important things to take care of... like telecoms all day long further tying up her managers so they can't manage either!

I was fortunate that I had old timers for most of my managers. They had no problem with admitting that my company had changed and it wasn't for the better. Like many companies employees became resources, risk taking declined and milking the cash cows became the norm. If customers complained that was ok as long as it was't so much that they went to a competitor. 

The original Disney management would not recognize what Disney has become.
But, the same thing can no doubt be said about every Fortune 500 company that existed 50 years ago and still exists today.  A lot of them are already gone.
The times have drastically changed.
Everything is now driven by pure, unmitigated, blind greed.
Nothing else matters to them.
And that's why companies like Disney are in the messes that they're in.
Greed has been the cause of death of many companies in the past 50 years, and it very well be the cause of Disney's death as well.  Thousands, maybe millions, of folks will lose a lot as a result, but the guys and gals who are piloting the planes into the ground will jump out with their golden parachutes and live out their lives with more wealth than they can ever possibly spend.
TCD
 

Ha. Ha.
Based on my personal observations, the majority of the freeloaders at the pool on holidays like the 4th of July are friends and families of CM's.
Reprimanded?
Fired?
Management has to know about it.  Personally, I think that they encourage it as a perk for working at the Fort.
Y'all can dream on if you think it's going to change.
TCD

I really hope the average joes of the world like me that is not camping at the fort anymore due to pricing starts to make a dent in fort profitability and opens up more reservations but I don't forsea that.  The pricing went up due to supply and demand. Disney knows holidays and weekends are usually booked full and Sunday through Friday, other than a holiday week can be like a ghost town.   So....raise your prices high to compensate for empty sites during the week and target the families with disposable incomes.  The fort has become a popular destination now since many people are realizing that you can get most all Disney amenities without paying the high price of a resort.  They will never build more sites unless the fort is booked all days. I believe the only reason 2100 loop was converted was because they have even a harder time keeping the cabins full 7 days a week.  Cabin prices are a joke unless you have a large family or your splitting the cost with family or friends. Us as a family of 4 is ridiculous to spend $400 a night on a cabin.   The cabins should be considered a value resort and priced accordingly. I'm  so amazed a topic I started got so many replies. Usually nobody responds to my comments...lol

With all due respect. 
We are talking about the Fort.
Not other campgrounds. 
I know this is a touchy subject, based on several posts here,  but the fort keeps raising their prices and cutting back on service.   I believe most of us can agree on that.   But it's not just the fort. It's all of WDW.    
IMHO Disney is living off of its reputation as being the number one family vacation destination.
And those bean counters in the corporate office don't see that they are running off life long loyal customers.   Just read some of the posts on this thread. 
You will see comments like...
"we were ones that solely camped at the fort and reservations and prices just got too out of control for us."
"I wish they would slow down on the price increases"
"I agree that rates are getting to the point that no matter how much we like the fort it is something we won't be doing as often as we would like to."
 
I will defend WDW's right to charge what every the market will bear.  Heck, I own stock  I want them to make money.   
But if you look at other industries they have loyalty programs and cater more to their loyal customers than Disney.  
Why?  Because they know that their regular loyal customers are their bread and butter.   Its business 101.
its cheaper to market to an existing customer.  It costs about 6-8 times more to attract a new customer than it does to keep an existing customer. Approve 65-70% of most company's business comes from existing customers. 
Yes  there will always be those people that save up their pennies to take a once in a lifetime disney vacations and they won't know how much prices have gone up and service and quality has gone down  
It seems like Disney is choosing to make a quick buck off of the once in a life time customer.  
I personally would rather make $20 off of a loyal customer once or twice  a year for the next 20 years then make $100 one time off of a one time customer.  
But thats just my opinion   
 

You're not serious right?
Probably a cheap plastic button, cost less than 10 cents versus a glass that costs them $1 or 2?
Which way will the bean counters lean....