Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted January 26, 2016 Report Share Posted January 26, 2016 13 hours ago, Grumpy and Grandma said: Just got back from looping. Less than 15 empty sites in all FH, PREF and PREM. Only 1 in 1500, didn't go to 2000. Wouldn't consider this week a "busy" week for any reason. Interesting. Is the "Northern Pioneers" group there? TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grumpy and Grandma 739 Posted January 26, 2016 Report Share Posted January 26, 2016 Some of them, others that we normally see are not. However there are usually a lot more empty sites during the week which is not the case. Getting on the MK boat today there were many families. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted January 26, 2016 Report Share Posted January 26, 2016 20 hours ago, Grumpy and Grandma said: Some of them, others that we normally see are not. However there are usually a lot more empty sites during the week which is not the case. Getting on the MK boat today there were many families. I wonder if the big storm over the weekend caused folks to stick around? And, those Northern Pioneers still are enjoying discounted rates, at least for this year. I am interested to see if occupancy is up for weekdays in the upcoming weeks. I heard that for the last couple of years, occupancy has been down, but profits have been up. And those in charge love that. So much, in fact, that they have continued with their strategy of raising rates and eliminating discounts. They're perfectly happy to have a bunch of empty sites rather than discounting to fill up the campground. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted January 26, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2016 Someone on one of those "other" sites said the Fort is packed, and a CM told them that the weekend is sold out and actually overbooked. If that is true, and everyone shows up, I wonder what they will end up doing? It's not like a hotel overbooking and getting you a room at a competitor down the street. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 8 hours ago, Travisma said: Someone on one of those "other" sites said the Fort is packed, and a CM told them that the weekend is sold out and actually overbooked. If that is true, and everyone shows up, I wonder what they will end up doing? It's not like a hotel overbooking and getting you a room at a competitor down the street. I've not ever heard a report of someone with a reservation being turned away from the Fort, ever - not even during Christmas week. I saw that post too and someone made the good point that the Fort isn't like a normal hotel, they're coming with food, pets, and all their stuff. I'd be willing to bet that whatever is considered "overbooked" at the Fort, it doesn't mean anyone is getting turned away. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted January 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 4 hours ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said: I've not ever heard a report of someone with a reservation being turned away from the Fort, ever - not even during Christmas week. I saw that post too and someone made the good point that the Fort isn't like a normal hotel, they're coming with food, pets, and all their stuff. I'd be willing to bet that whatever is considered "overbooked" at the Fort, it doesn't mean anyone is getting turned away. Our first time back to real camping at the fort after years of cabin camping, we booked a partial, but they gave us a full. Never did say why, so possibly they "overbooked" the partial sites. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 4 hours ago, Travisma said: Our first time back to real camping at the fort after years of cabin camping, we booked a partial, but they gave us a full. Never did say why, so possibly they "overbooked" the partial sites. Maybe that's it. I've heard many cases of people being bumped up to another site category when they check-in. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted January 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 56 minutes ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said: Maybe that's it. I've heard many cases of people being bumped up to another site category when they check-in. Only happened to us 1 time. I'm sure there is some statistical program that tells them how much they can overbook the entire fort by, and still be safe with some people not showing up. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grumpy and Grandma 739 Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 18 hours ago, Travisma said: Someone on one of those "other" sites said the Fort is packed, and a CM told them that the weekend is sold out and actually overbooked. If that is true, and everyone shows up, I wonder what they will end up doing? It's not like a hotel overbooking and getting you a room at a competitor down the street. I'll let you know if I see any PREVOSTs in the tent loop. :) MadCane 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 The posts about the Fort being full got me to wondering why that is. This isn't a busy time of year at WDW. So, why is the Fort so busy? Well, maybe the aggressive rate structure they use at the Fort has something to do with it. According to the chart posted on MouseSavers, January 18 through February 6 is the only time before August that the Fort categorizes as "Value" season. The highest rate, for a Premium Site on a weekend, during "Value" season is $106 a night. That very same campsite will cost you $156 a night once "Peak" season arrives on February 11 (and even more for President's Day weekend and around Easter). http://www.mousesavers.com/2016-fort-wilderness-campsites-rates-season-dates/ I'm guessing that there are a lot of smart guests who studied those rate charts parked at the Fort right now. Including Grumpy and Grandma. Let's see what happens on February 10th. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Theed31u 10 Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 I am fairly new to this site and have booked our first trip to the fort. We live about 20 hours drive from the fort and are a family of 6. For us to stay on property the fort is a great value. We could not touch these prices to stay at another resort and having a mh gives us the best value for us. We camp at a private lake here close to home all summer long so we were super excited about finding out about the fort. We just hope that it is as friendly as what this fourm is. We booked our site ourselves and we have an adr and tickets we will get from a partnership program from my wife's work. I would be interested in finding out any advantages to having a ta to book things because in our area they don't really exist. We will be arriving at the fort on April 3rd and are looking forward to a new experience! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted January 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 1 hour ago, Theed31u said: I am fairly new to this site and have booked our first trip to the fort. We live about 20 hours drive from the fort and are a family of 6. For us to stay on property the fort is a great value. We could not touch these prices to stay at another resort and having a mh gives us the best value for us. We camp at a private lake here close to home all summer long so we were super excited about finding out about the fort. We just hope that it is as friendly as what this fourm is. We booked our site ourselves and we have an adr and tickets we will get from a partnership program from my wife's work. I would be interested in finding out any advantages to having a ta to book things because in our area they don't really exist. We will be arriving at the fort on April 3rd and are looking forward to a new experience! A TA will do all the legwork for you, especially nice if you are having trouble getting certain dates. Jason is a TA that is on here. We've used him for a couple of hard to get reservations, but he has reminded us that we can use him anytime. He's up in the great white north, and we are here in sunny (rainy today) FL, but everything gets done on line or over the phone if necessary. There is no charge for using his services, he gets paid by Disney. And welcome Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Katman1356...Jason 1,140 Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 1 hour ago, Theed31u said: I am fairly new to this site and have booked our first trip to the fort. We live about 20 hours drive from the fort and are a family of 6. For us to stay on property the fort is a great value. We could not touch these prices to stay at another resort and having a mh gives us the best value for us. We camp at a private lake here close to home all summer long so we were super excited about finding out about the fort. We just hope that it is as friendly as what this fourm is. We booked our site ourselves and we have an adr and tickets we will get from a partnership program from my wife's work. I would be interested in finding out any advantages to having a ta to book things because in our area they don't really exist. We will be arriving at the fort on April 3rd and are looking forward to a new experience! For this trip it looks like you are pretty well set up. Here are some of the services I provide. Working on getting you the initial reservation, making dining reservations including continuing to hunt for hard to get ones if they are not currently available, when your FP+ selection window opens I am logged in and ready at midnight to try and get you the ones you want. And I prioritize which ones to go after based on difficulty in getting them. I also keep checking for the ones you want if for some reason they arent available. I can also set up any of the tours or other activities for you and making reservations at the Bippidi Boppidy Boutique(I always manage to spell that wrong . Think I got it that time). Also I can be an advocate for you if you have issues when there. I have had customers who's camper broke down on the way to the Fort and with one call to me I handle talking to Disney and pushing out the reservation for them or letting them know they will miss their check in day but are still coming. I even received a message while on my first cruise a couple of years ago from a client who wasnt going to be able to make there Fort reservation at all due to other issues and check in was that day. Since I work with some other great agents as well I was able to get the information to one of them so they could call and push the reservation out and save the deposit. Generally speaking I am almost always instantly reachable which I know is a concern for some people with using a TA. When you need things done or need to know whats going on I am either a call or email away and that cell phone is always by my side. Using a TA is always a personal call. It works for some and for others they dont like to give up the control. I have a lot of people especially form here that book just eh reservation with me and then handle everything else themselves. But they know if they hit a snag they can hand it off to me and know that I am working the problem for them. Sorry that ended up longer than I planned. Most importantly though Welcome! The Fort is a wonderful place and I know you will have a great time there. If you have nay questions for me you can message me here or at [email protected] and I will be happy to help. MadCane, Tri-Circle-D and BradyBzLyn...Mo 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted January 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 Jason, you need to shorten it to BBB or The 3 B's! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rjpete 8 Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 Jason, I thought you were on a cruise? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grumpy and Grandma 739 Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 2 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said: I'm guessing that there are a lot of smart guests who studied those rate charts parked at the Fort right now. Including Grumpy and Grandma. TCD Never look at them. If Grandma says we're going we go. BradyBzLyn...Mo 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Grumpy and Grandma 739 Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 17 minutes ago, Katman1356...Jason said: Generally speaking I am almost always instantly reachable which I know is a concern for some people with using a TA. When you need things done or need to know whats going on I am either a call or email away and that cell phone is always by my side. What? There have been several times it took you at "least" 10 minutes to respond to an "e" mail... :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted January 27, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 1 minute ago, Grumpy and Grandma said: What? There have been several times it took you at "least" 10 minutes to respond to an "e" mail... :) Probably 15 when he was replacing that doorway! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Katman1356...Jason 1,140 Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 12 minutes ago, rjpete said: Jason, I thought you were on a cruise? Not until July. Can't wait for it though Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Katman1356...Jason 1,140 Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 4 minutes ago, Grumpy and Grandma said: What? There have been several times it took you at "least" 10 minutes to respond to an "e" mail... :) That is true. I sometimes have to pull over while working my other job and finding a safe place can take time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Katman1356...Jason 1,140 Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 4 minutes ago, Travisma said: Probably 15 when he was replacing that doorway! Ironically I had a few phone calls while cutting open the house. I did respond or answer but mostly to tell them I would work on it later. With the giant hole in the side of the house pouring my heating money out I wanted to get it closed up as soon as I could Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jazzmatazz 1 Posted January 27, 2016 Report Share Posted January 27, 2016 5 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said: The posts about the Fort being full got me to wondering why that is. This isn't a busy time of year at WDW. So, why is the Fort so busy? Well, maybe the aggressive rate structure they use at the Fort has something to do with it. According to the chart posted on MouseSavers, January 18 through February 6 is the only time before August that the Fort categorizes as "Value" season. The highest rate, for a Premium Site on a weekend, during "Value" season is $106 a night. That very same campsite will cost you $156 a night once "Peak" season arrives on February 11 (and even more for President's Day weekend and around Easter). http://www.mousesavers.com/2016-fort-wilderness-campsites-rates-season-dates/ I'm guessing that there are a lot of smart guests who studied those rate charts parked at the Fort right now. Including Grumpy and Grandma. Let's see what happens on February 10th. TCD I'm leaving this Friday to camp at the fort Jan 31st-Feb 9th. I did hit the value season and Tent camping non premium was about $52 a night and 62-65ish on weekend days. I booked around Dec 17th with no issues. Getting my Disney tickets took longer going through military but I got it done finally. My issue is I farm most of the year and work retail in winter to keep busy so Jan-Feb are really the only time of year I can travel easily. But going during "Value" time was certainly a way to get me to book a stay. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Beckers 1,136 Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 I think theed31u brought up a good point. Your family size really makes a difference on the value. Because one you hit a family of 5, you can't stay value (I always joke this is why we only have 2 kids). So $150 a night for a family of 6 etc is a better deal then for my family that would fit value. But the frustration factor of planning could easily make me say forget it. Because of how Brian's vacation gets picked we don't always have a huge amount of time to plan. So it's book and hope it's approved or wait and hope there is something. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mmfancipher 31 Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 Even with fort prices being over $100 a night, I just looked and for a family of 6, which we are, a family suite will cost $487 a night. Now that is too expensive. We love the fort. I hope they never build a DVC at the fort! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Seals 111 Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 13 minutes ago, mmfancipher said: Even with fort prices being over $100 a night, I just looked and for a family of 6, which we are, a family suite will cost $487 a night. Now that is too expensive. We love the fort. I hope they never build a DVC at the fort! This is what I've been saying forever. Disney doesn't make staying onsite affordable for what they call "large" families. Our last visit Thanksgiving week 2013 our Fort site plus renting a pop-up from Fort Camper Rentals was about $180/night for our family of 5. The next cheapest onsite hotel option was at least $50 more per night. And with the Fort we could save $ by eating meals at our campsite and all 5 of us could get ready at the same time in the comfort stations. Going so rarely we want to stay onsite. The next best option where we stayed over the Thanksgiving holiday nights because we couldn't get those nights at the Fort was, and always seems to be, the Dolphin where they allow 5 in a room that isn't really bigger than any of the limited to 4 in a room hotels. And then we were paying for breakfast and had 5 competing for the same bathroom which is never fun. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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