geoffdaddy

Just an update on this... We made it to the fort. We leave tomorrow. anyways we went through the normal check in process when we arrived at about 9:30am and nary a peep about the camper. A site wasn't available that early obviously so we parked in overflow and went to Epcot for the day. Ended up in the 1500 loop along with two other hybrids, one of which is 5' longer with a slide out the same series as our camper! We did have a little trouble backing in due to the proximity of the marker post for the site across from ours but I think I probably started backing in later than I should hav

At the fort right now. I can confirm that our surpass is working fine now. We traveled both 429 and 419 so far on this trip and smooth sailing with the transactions this time around. I like not having to worry with stopping for tolls.

I hope you're joking! :)

<sigh> Sunpass... So, since we make enough trips down to justify this thing now, I sprung for it on the trip before last. We bought it about an hour before we hit the first toll plaza on Florida's Turnpike. According to all their documentation online, the transponder is active almost instantaneously after you set up an account. Well, first toll plaza we go through "TOLL NOT PAID." Great. so much for saving time I'm thinking. We looked through the website again and fixed what we thought was wrong, including the website putting our street address to a street in MADISON, FL, ins

One improvement I think they could/should make at the swimming pool is get rid of the ledge around the pool. I have seen one kid before trip on the thing and hit their chin on it on the way down. BAM! Bloody lip.

That drives me nuts more than anything. And, I can't really understand why the warning. I mean, it's not like the kneeling bus is much of a safety hazard compared to say backing up or letting the ramp down. I haven't noticed any pinch points anywhere.

Thanks for the tips guys. Last time we were there we looped the 2000 and were tent camping in the 1500 loop and I didn't notice any campers of any sort other than pop ups then. So, should I just go through the normal check in process or park it in the overflow and go inside? Ours isn't a large one... about 21' total length including the tongue, and from what I've seen in both partial loops I think we'd fit with loads to spare in either of them.

Full or Partial?

I figured that's what you must have meant, but I couldn't think of the proper name for it other than the delicious chicken dinner. Yes, we've partaken in that every single time for the past 3 or 4 visits. It is well worth it.

Ha! that is so funny...our best friend's favorite place to go while in Vegas is also Hash House as well. My acronymulator must be broken right now... what is GAG?

So, I snagged a three night stay at the Fort in a partial hook up site next Sunday a couple days ago! We're going to the Fort!!! We have a hybrid camper, so I'm tempted to bring it, even though I'd be breaking the rules. I'd be off the fence if someone could tell me with any certainty that they'd let me onto the site with the camper, but so far I haven't seen evidence on here of many people recently doing this. If anyone has any sage advice I'd like to hear it, otherwise we're tent camping. I don't mind that though, especially this time of the year. Does anyone have any recommendations on

I agree, it is confusing. I think I've seen it enough times now though that I've learned how it works. hahah

Well, I have to agree partly about the Fort being about Wilderness. I do think that there are three things that bother me most about the current state of the Fort: The Meadow Pool seriously needs an upgrade No more swamp trail... No more Cypress Point Nature Trail... Seems like those things would fit nicely into the current Fort Wilderness. The latter two (or ones similar) wouldn't be major expenses to do either.

Yeah, I understand that, I'm not advocating opening the natural water pool back up, but surely they could put a new chlorinated pool in its place.

We've been going to the Fort since we started in 2009, sometimes a couple of times a year, and a couple of things I'll mention: Even with the prices the way they are, it is still our favorite place to vacation, hands down. Even if we didn't visit the theme parks, that wouldn't bother us so much. Now, that said, I read The Troll's responses, and I think that he has several things spot on. I never visited the fort (or even knew of its existence) in its heyday, and from reading about it I feel like I can commiserate with the old timers sense of what has been lost. I think this is the th

I can attest to the barricades in the pedestrian path being a pain for bike trailers, and I find the bikes on the ped path counter intuitive. In the world outside of Disney, bikes are supposed to ride on the road with other traffic, not on sidewalks. I tend to follow that rule unless safety dictates otherwise. I agree ped paths are probably good for smaller kids on bikes though and perhaps that is what they intended.

I think Tusker House is my favorite place to eat on property.

For us living in Huntsville, AL, there is no direct freeway route to Atlanta despite the relatively close distance. The shortest path is all backroads (which is kinda pretty) to Adairsville about an hour north of Atlanta on i-75, via Rome, GA (traffic light capital of the world), via Chattanooga, or via Birmingham. We have driven via Adairsville three times, and via Birmingham (the longest path by about 60 miles) and have hit snarled traffic in Atlanta all the times we've been. I didn't attempt the 285 bypass to i-20 though this last time, so maybe that might have made a difference? Who knows?

I wanna say I am positive I remember the rules stating no gas powered carts at least the first few times we visited the Fort (first trip was in 2009), but I am equally positive that the last couple times we visited this past year it didn't specify against gas at all.

Oh yeah, we have seen that firsthand too I believe. The first couple times we stayed at the Fort we requested and got the 100 loop both trips were November trips, and each time the same RV was parked on the same site, with a TON of decorations. We asked one of the CMs in the Settlement Trading Post about it and she said, "oh yeah, they have been here for a couple years now..." So, it happens. I would love to know what they do to be able to afford a year long stay.

You know, it could just be a matter of how long someone's there for. We took our girls to do the arts and crafts thing over by the bike barn a couple trips back and were joined by another family. The CM asked where everyone was from and one of the girls from the other family said, "oh, we live here." I don't think she meant Orlando area, I think she meant Ft. Wilderness specifically. Now, as weird as that may sound, I believed her based on some of their other comments, and I have seen/heard reports of people staying for well over a year (one person stayed there for like 9 years straight!).

I have been told by my wife, who is a big Hocus Pocus fan that Bette Midler said that it was her favorite role in a movie and that she frequently performs "I put a spell on you" at concerts she does, so I don't think she would be against it.

Suits me! We have been multiple times and requested specific sites, only to be given another site and find all of our requested sites were empty and no one setting up. Why can't we have those empty sites? "We have a big group coming on the weekend." Oh, I thought these were first come-first served sites... nope, here's a huge group, here for three days... sorry pal, you can't have it for the five days prior since you are staying through the weekend. Sure enough, the sites sit vacant for a full five days. Pretty crummy if you ask me.

Yeah, the server was a piece of work I think. At one point he was talking with a couple of other cast members who must have been friends in the lobby about how he was hoping to be transferred to another restaurant on property, he certainly spent more time talking to them than he did the entire time at our table. I am sure that management has a fine line to walk on policing the resort. Too heavy a hand might turn off a lot of business and vice versa. I expect a certain amount of this type of behavior and will tolerate some, however in this case, the kids were out of control I think. I've de

A quick trip report... just got back from a trip to the Fort! It was fabulous as always with one exception. I'll start with the bad: on Saturday it was like teenagers gone wild! We observed copious unsupervised groups of teens (DL age or not) riding around the campground roads and our loop in golf carts, blaring loud music with lots of profanity, yelling at each other, honking their horns, and squealing tires. Thankfully our younger girls were both asleep (a testament to how late this was in the evening too I might add) so that we could avoid them hearing lyrics blaring from a radio of one gro