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Another Reservation System "Gotcha"


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Our DD and granddaughter who have moved out of state was spending some time with us unexpectedly this weekend.  So Saturday morning about 930 I was trying to think of something special to do together and I looked on whim to see if anything was showing available at the Fort. Well low and behold there was a premium site available. Now we usually stay in a partial hook up site to save money but I pitched the idea and 3 1/2 hours later we are pulling into the fort for a one night stay.  I have long suspected that the reservation system pushed the premium sites and this trip proved it.  After setting up we did a little looping and there were over 40 sites empty in the 2000 loop and a couple in the 1500 as well as several of all the other levels of sites.  So I looked at reservations again and played around with the dates and if I wanted to book 4 days or more there was every kind of site available.  It stinks that Disney forces you to pay for a premium site when others are available.  But we had a nice weekend and got to spend some extra time with our DD and GD.

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Our DD and granddaughter who have moved out of state was spending some time with us unexpectedly this weekend.  So Saturday morning about 930 I was trying to think of something special to do together and I looked on whim to see if anything was showing available at the Fort. Well low and behold there was a premium site available. Now we usually stay in a partial hook up site to save money but I pitched the idea and 3 1/2 hours later we are pulling into the fort for a one night stay.  I have long suspected that the reservation system pushed the premium sites and this trip proved it.  After setting up we did a little looping and there were over 40 sites empty in the 2000 loop and a couple in the 1500 as well as several of all the other levels of sites.  So I looked at reservations again and played around with the dates and if I wanted to book 4 days or more there was every kind of site available.  It stinks that Disney forces you to pay for a premium site when others are available.  But we had a nice weekend and got to spend some extra time with our DD and GD.

 

Is it possible the vacant sites were booked by the folks who advocate the "throw away" campsite reservation?

 

TCD

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Is it possible the vacant sites were booked by the folks who advocate the "throw away" campsite reservation?

 

TCD

It's possible, though i would assume they would try to book a cheaper weeknight, rather than a weekend.  Then again, if they are arriving on a Friday and want to have FP+ booked over the weekend, they might reserve a campsite for Friday night. :(  As long as staying off-site, plus booking one night at the campground is cheaper than staying on-site, people will use the loophole. :(

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Is it possible the vacant sites were booked by the folks who advocate the "throw away" campsite reservation?

 

TCD

I have a hard time believing there are that many but even so where do the sites come from that show up when I asked for 4 days?

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Now to further muddy the water.

 

That "other" FB site had someone post a question.

 

"Can an RV/TT be placed on a partial site?"

 

Snippy answers started flying!

 

When you book, it says that you do not get a sewer hook-up, so I guess that should discourage the big boy campers from booking those sites, especially since the Fort doesn't have a dump station.

 

I've seen Hybrids and smallish TTs in the 1500 loop, just like I've seen tents, PUPS, and teardrops in Full loops.

 

So are there any "rules" prohibiting an RV or larger TT from booking a partial site?

 

One of the comebacks to that question, was that some of the sites in the 2000 loop are larger than full sites.

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You know the reservations site does not show what we call partial hook up sites. It shows them as Tent or Pop up sites. I am sure I have read on Disney's site that only tents, pop ups, truck and van campers are allowed.  But Disneys server was down just now when I tried to look it up.  However, I have seen TT, class A, and even a school bus in the 2000 loop.  

 

Forgot to mention that even though 2000 loop was only 1/3 full there was still a jerk playing loud music with 4 cars on the site and 15 bikes laying in the road.  

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Glad you had a good time. Hate that you were forced to pay more than you wanted to for it.

 

^this^

 

 

Now to further muddy the water.

 

That "other" FB site had someone post a question.

 

"Can an RV/TT be placed on a partial site?"

 

Snippy answers started flying!

 

When you book, it says that you do not get a sewer hook-up, so I guess that should discourage the big boy campers from booking those sites, especially since the Fort doesn't have a dump station.

 

I've seen Hybrids and smallish TTs in the 1500 loop, just like I've seen tents, PUPS, and teardrops in Full loops.

 

So are there any "rules" prohibiting an RV or larger TT from booking a partial site?

 

One of the comebacks to that question, was that some of the sites in the 2000 loop are larger than full sites.

 

Last year, we had our hybrid and stayed in the 1500 loop for one trip.  We fit just fine.  Was not crowded at all.  No sewer of course (which we knew), but that just meant that we washed fewer dishes and used the bathhouse more.  Having said that... our TT is about 5 feet longer than the hybrid was (with the ends open) and I don't know that I would want to try and fit in there.  When we booked our site, they knew we had a hybrid.

 

 

  

 

   a jerk playing loud music with 4 cars on the site and 15 bikes laying in the road.  

 

I hate hearing that.... :(

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So are there any "rules" prohibiting an RV or larger TT from booking a partial site?

 

This is one of those things that seems to fall into the "call 5 times and get 5 different answers" category.

 

Many of us have seen hybrids and even small MH in the partial hookups, but I've also heard of people being told by Disney they can't do that.

 

And while there probably are a few sites in there that are bigger than the full hookups there are also a lot of sites where bigger campers wouldn't fit.

 

Seems like people mostly ask this question when trying to snag reservations over the really busy periods like holidays, when nothing else shows as available.

 

With the way sites are assigned and requests aren't guaranteed, and as full as the Fort gets over weekends/holidays, if I had a MH or bigger TT, I wouldn't want to take the chance of snagging a partial hookup, only to show up and find that I can't fit in the site and there aren't any others available.

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Says tent or pop-up campsite.  Has a picture of a Disney tent on it.

 

What's funny is that for the preferred campsite picture shows a Disney tent set up also, no TT/RV.

 

I just got off a live chat with someone on the reservation site that didn't understand what a travel trailer was, and asked me to wait a few Minnie moments while they checked to see if I was allowed to put one on a tent/pop up site.

 

The response was yes since I knew it was only going to be a partial hook up.

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Rules are for fools.  

 

I say do whatever the hell you want.  If Disney isn't going to enforce them, why should I worry about them?  

 

Next time I camp at the Fort, I'm parking my RV in the 15 minute Meadows trading post parking for the week, and letting Anna drive the golf cart wherever the heck she feels like driving it.  And don't even think about telling me I can't....that wouldn't be very magical.  

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Rules are for fools.  

 

I say do whatever the hell you want.  If Disney isn't going to enforce them, why should I worry about them?  

 

Next time I camp at the Fort, I'm parking my RV in the 15 minute Meadows trading post parking for the week, and letting Anna drive the golf cart wherever the heck she feels like driving it.  And don't even think about telling me I can't....that wouldn't be very magical.  

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