acampingwewillgo 1 Posted October 31, 2015 Report Share Posted October 31, 2015 Hi all.... let me lay out what our tentative plan is. Travel by RV from Ca-Florida, spent 3 weeks at Thousand Trails Orlando CG followed by 1-2weeks at the Fort followed by another 2-3 weeks at Thousand Trail Orlando. So a total of 7-8 weeks in the general area. We are AAA members and obviously Thousand Trail members. The plan would be to get annual passes for all the Disney properties. We haven't visited the park in 20 year's so we expect to use our time exporing as much as possible and as much as our 60+ year old bodies can take. (do it while were still able)! I'm guessing most of our exploring of Epcot and Disney would be while were on site and then travel to the other venues while at the Thousand Trail property. I've recently purchased both the official and un-official guides to Disney. Without being too long winded, these plans above are flexible and things can be changed according to the best time(rate wise) to be at the Fort. I have heard of possible discounts at the Fort being offered either through AAA or via having an Annual Pass? I realize this is a year away but I know how reservations need to be formed as early as possible. ANY info would be greatly appreciated, any suggestions, thoughts, idea's would be wonderful. This trip will be one to relive some memories made some 20 year's ago when my wife and I had my Mother(RIP) along with us on our Disney adventure and tracing some of those steps will stir up emotions. The more I read, the more confused I get!!!Thank You for any info......Dwight Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LONE-STAR 370 Posted October 31, 2015 Report Share Posted October 31, 2015 Disney no longer offers AAA discount. Welcome to fort fiends Quote Link to post Share on other sites
acampingwewillgo 1 Posted October 31, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2015 OK...so much for that idea then :-) Thanks for the quick reply and the Welcome. Hope to get up to speed by reading over this whole Forum. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
dblr....Rennie 224 Posted October 31, 2015 Report Share Posted October 31, 2015 Welcome and most of us here would suggest to use Jason from Mouse Counselors for a travel agent, no cost to you an d if a discount becomes available he will find it. Thousand Trails Orlando is close but traffic can make it long make sure you ask about some of the short cuts & back roads to shorten your trips. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mouseketab.....Carol 1,261 Posted October 31, 2015 Report Share Posted October 31, 2015 Yes, for a trip that long, an Annual Pass is the way to go. and yes! [email protected] is the best way to make your Fort reservations! All it takes is a 1-night deposit to hold your site reservation, and it does book up quickly! Most here make their reservations a year out or more! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Momof6....aka Marty 769 Posted October 31, 2015 Report Share Posted October 31, 2015 Welcome :welcome2: and what they said! :stars-shower-smiley: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ependydad...Doug 176 Posted October 31, 2015 Report Share Posted October 31, 2015 When are you thinking of doing this? How long are you planning on it taking to get from California to Florida? We will be traveling from San Diego to Tampa from Dec 28-Feb 2. It sounds like a long time, but I work four 10-hour days and we'll try to site-see at some of the stops. I don't know if any AAA discounts. There is about a 15-17 mile drive between FW and TTO. TTO is decent. The back way between the TTO and WDW is well worth the extra effort to figure out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Retired & Tired (Judy) 90 Posted November 1, 2015 Report Share Posted November 1, 2015 Welcome to the this group. You will love all these crazy folks. :yay: :banana: :welcome2: :welcome2: :welcome2: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted November 1, 2015 Report Share Posted November 1, 2015 Welcome! Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk Quote Link to post Share on other sites
acampingwewillgo 1 Posted November 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2015 When are you thinking of doing this? How long are you planning on it taking to get from California to Florida? We will be traveling from San Diego to Tampa from Dec 28-Feb 2. It sounds like a long time, but I work four 10-hour days and we'll try to site-see at some of the stops. I don't know if any AAA discounts. There is about a 15-17 mile drive between FW and TTO. TTO is decent. The back way between the TTO and WDW is well worth the extra effort to figure out.HiThe master plan for this trip would be to start the journey in the beginning of Sept 2016. The first 4+ weeks would be spent with our traveling couple exploring the Thousand Trail Parks in Texas(his vacation will be during that time period). After saying our good-bye's we would then start toward Florida probably stopping here or there for a few days en-route(New Orleans..) I'm guess we'd make it into Florida in early to mid October(I believe this is about the same time we visited the Park some 20 year's ago). The time spend in the Orlando area is flexible but with the cost involved in getting an Annual Passport and staying at the Fort, we figure we may as well get our moneys worth somehow. Finally, on our way back home(weather permitting) we want to stay in Branson to catch some of the Holiday shows(late Nov to early Dec). That's the overall plan but things can change......we've wanted to get back to WDW for year's but it just never worked out. I've been a number of this Forum since 2012 but as most can see, I read more than I post. Thank You all for your comments and suggestions! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Santa ... Shannon 160 Posted November 1, 2015 Report Share Posted November 1, 2015 October is already booking up, and Halloween is booked solid. So I'd firm up plans ASAP so that you can spring on anything that comes available. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AuburnJen 771 Posted November 2, 2015 Report Share Posted November 2, 2015 I would latch myself onto a travel agent and let him or her do some magic for you. And as Shanta says, do it soon! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
acampingwewillgo 1 Posted November 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2015 I just now fired off an E-mail to Jason at Mousecounselors.com attempting to outlay our tentative itinerary...hopefully I provided enough info and flexibility to make something work. Given Halloween does fall within my dates next year, I moved my time up at the Fort to Nov...right after Halloween. This would probably be the time that would work out best anyways given I wanted to spend the first three weeks at the Thousand Trails Park putting us at the Fort around the first day of Nov for the one or two weeks indicated. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Katman1356...Jason 1,140 Posted November 2, 2015 Report Share Posted November 2, 2015 I just now fired off an E-mail to Jason at Mousecounselors.com attempting to outlay our tentative itinerary...hopefully I provided enough info and flexibility to make something work. Given Halloween does fall within my dates next year, I moved my time up at the Fort to Nov...right after Halloween. This would probably be the time that would work out best anyways given I wanted to spend the first three weeks at the Thousand Trails Park putting us at the Fort around the first day of Nov for the one or two weeks indicated.I just received your quote request and info. I am at the Halloween Party tonight but will take a look and work on this tomorrow. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
acampingwewillgo 1 Posted November 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2015 Wow....that's what I call fast service. Thank You Jason...have a wonderful time at your Party!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted November 2, 2015 Report Share Posted November 2, 2015 As you know from lurking, this is the right place for correct and reliable advice about WDW and Fort Wilderness. As you're already learned, the first step will be to lock in the dates of your visit. Since you have a nice, long visit, planned, you don't need to stress too much about planning, as you will have Annual Passes, and have plenty of time to visit the parks and hop around. One date that you need to be aware of is the date for making dining reservations (known as an ADR in Disney-speak). If there's a sit down restaurant that you really wish to visit on a specific date, ADR's open 180 days in advance. For some of the very popular places (like Cinderella's Royal Table or Be Our Guest restaurant, you might not be able to get an ADR if you don't make it way in advance). The obvious problem with this is that you have to pick a place and time that you want to eat six months ahead of time. I personally refuse to do so, but if dining at a certain restaurant is important to you, then you need to play this game. The other date you need to watch has to do with the FastPass Plus (FP+) system. This is not something you would have experienced 20 years ago. FP+ allows you to make reservations to experience certain attractions 60 days in advance, as long as you have valid tickets, and a WDW resort reservation. Since you have a nice long visit planned, this is not something that you need to stress over too much, but there are some attractions that run out of FP+ reservations at or near the 60 day mark, and it would be wise to book a few of those when you can. The rest of your FP+'s can be made closer in, even the day before or day of. A super travel agent like Jason can help you with your ADR and FP+ reservations, at no additional cost to you. So, use him for that! Once you get those ADR's and FP+'s made, you can fill in your plans around those dates and times. Since you have the luxury of a long visit, you can figure out a lot of this as you go along. No need to stress like folks who are coming for one week on a "trip of a lifetime." You have plenty of time to do it all! TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mommy rainbo.....Bo 41 Posted November 2, 2015 Report Share Posted November 2, 2015 Welcome, welcome. This online home of ours and now yours has most of the information on how to figure out how to see what you want while you are here. If you can't find it just ask. And...Jason is the best help of all. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
acampingwewillgo 1 Posted November 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2015 Thanks to all who posted...I'm going to try to read through the Guides I purchased to help learn about all the new going's on in the Magical Kingdom that is WDW. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
swimmarz 72 Posted November 3, 2015 Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 Thanks to all who posted...I'm going to try to read through the Guides I purchased to help learn about all the new going's on in the Magical Kingdom that is WDW. return the guides and ask questions here, some if not all the information in the guides are outdated, where as we have people on site every week of the year Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cortezcapt (Derek) 156 Posted November 3, 2015 Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 Thanks to all who posted...I'm going to try to read through the Guides I purchased to help learn about all the new going's on in the Magical Kingdom that is WDW. return the guides and ask questions here, some if not all the information in the guides are outdated, where as we have people on site every week of the year I second that, the guides may be a good place to get a very general overview but things change and are done differently throughout the year, it would be hard to keep up the printed guides. (Heck park hours have been known to change an hour before closing) Feel free to ask anything, there's loads of good information floating around on here and fiends on the scene or in the know, plus you're likely to get a few good laughs. Oh and Welcome! Sounds like a great trip, reliving past trips can bring up some sad memories but a lot of happy ones too. Keep us posted on your plans and such, it's always great to hear what others have planned and learn new things or places to visit. Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk Quote Link to post Share on other sites
acampingwewillgo 1 Posted November 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 The Guides were just for an overview of things(since it's been 20 year's) but not to worry, I'll be using all of you here for the down and dirty info of everyday life at WDW as well as the Fort and the Orlando area in general! Thank You in advance for all the help!!! :D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Santa ... Shannon 160 Posted November 3, 2015 Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 Wow....that's what I call fast service. Thank You Jason...have a wonderful time at your Party!!! Just to underline this... Jason was probably riding the WEDway People Mover at the Magic Kingdom's Halloween party, munching on a Mickey Premium Bar when he got and responded to this e-mail from a new client (i.e. someone he wasn't already working for) and he jumped on it. You don't find dedication like that just anywhere. I duck client calls when I have a half-way decent TV show on! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted November 3, 2015 Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 Welcome. Jason's the man if you want stress free bookings at the Fort. We made our 2016 Halloween reservations about 2 weeks ago, they go fast. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted November 3, 2015 Report Share Posted November 3, 2015 The Guides were just for an overview of things(since it's been 20 year's) but not to worry, I'll be using all of you here for the down and dirty info of everyday life at WDW as well as the Fort and the Orlando area in general! Thank You in advance for all the help!!! :D I think you're right. Guidebooks will have descriptions of all the attractions and restaurants. Since you haven't been in 20 years, a lot has changed (including a new theme park- Animal Kingdom). But, I can't imagine a guidebook will accurately portray how things really work. You can find that out here. Enjoy the planning- it's a fun part of any trip. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
acampingwewillgo 1 Posted November 14, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2015 Another quick Thanks to all for idea's and suggestions. Jason got right on it and we have a quote, just waiting for wife to give the OK! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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