TheFlame 3 Posted May 30, 2017 Report Share Posted May 30, 2017 Hi all! I am a Fiend from wayyyy back. We used to go to the Fort quite often but during the past 6/7 years or so, our life has changed drastically. I am friends with a few Fiends on Facebook so I have kept up with a few of you on there. It has been difficult for me to come here except to lurk every so often. I miss camping, miss my camper, and at times miss our old life. We are planning our first WDW and Fort trip in 4 years and I am 3 months away and in a bit of panic mode. We have our site, Preferred loop, August 27th for 2 weeks reserved. We will be renting a camper(already reserved) and driving down from North Ga. Any advice on weather during this time and how to beat the heat? We do not normally come down during the heat... Renting is a first for us since we have always brought our own or families camper down. I am a bit nervous about that since it's something I haven't experienced. Not sure how the rental company will setup if they arrive first and how they will get into the Fort at all even if we are already there. Will there be a problem with check in or security? Haven't spoken to my rental company about this at length yet. I am sure she will know more. I am just looking for personal experiences... We would love to rent a golf cart again but I am aware that all of that has changed since our last trip. I would love any and all advice from Fiends on this subject. Renting from Disney isn't an option. I have never and will never be able to afford that. Last trip we rented from a Fiend. It was a 3 week stay and the only affordable option for us. My husband will be in touch with him but not sure he is still doing this. We have used Kenny in the past but with a 2 week stay just not sure a cart is in the cards for us. We do have a vehicle capable of towing in a trailer with a cart from Kenny. I just do not know how well this works with the new rules. Ticket prices.... Not sure what we will do here. Our income is much different now than any trip(anywhere) we have ever taken. In the past we have had AP for several trips, done homeschool days and ordered from UT. AP is NOT happening this time even if we are able to stay for the full 2 weeks. Any advice here? I have priced UT with Mousesavers discount, YES program tickets, and TAW. YES seems the cheapest for the longest stay ticket. Not looking for hopper or water parks.... just want as many days as we can get. I have been reading a few threads this morning and I am feeling very.... worried. We love WDW and love the Fort even more. I am seeing so many unmagical posts about the campground and the parks. I love reading any and all opinions. I like honesty and knowing how others vacations have went down good or bad. I would love any advice anyone can give. I am having a hard time planning this trip. I do not want to over plan since we have been a lot in the past 15 years or so but I do have a 6 yo DS who doesn't remember his 1st or 2nd trip in 2012 and 2013. Magicbands were in the testing phase last trip. This is all so overwhelming... It will be myself, husband, daughter and her husband, DS17 and DS6. Yes, my kids are 22, 17, and SIX. Yes, he was a surprise. Yes, I am tired, lol! Nice to be back! Love the information this site gives. I steer everyone I can from Facebook pages to this site who are interested in The Fort and camping. A wealth of knowledge here and a bit of Snark to boot! ~The Flame(Amy) mouseketab.....Carol 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DisneyVampire 45 Posted May 30, 2017 Report Share Posted May 30, 2017 Well welcome back. Don't stress. Take a deep breath. Magic bands are just your extended key instead of getting the cards. Just make sure you order them now if you can so you don't get grey. They will come to you a couple of weeks prior tongue trip. Some rental companies can go into the fort and set up prior to you arriving. For that I'd call the company and ask since they are all different. They won't have problems getting in if they are saying they are to see you with your last name etc. But like I said... call the rental company. As for beating the heat. It's called tons of pool time. Since August is one the hottest times of the months, make sure you stay hydrated. The kids love getting those neck things and putting them in the freezer the night before. I keep a bucket of ice water just for those and rotate a couple. Splash balls also work when you're at the camper. When at the parks... just come back to the fort for some relaxation for lunch and a bit after. The joy of being at the fort. I haven't rented from Kenny or any of the others. So I'm not sure how that works. I know the others have good info on that. As for tickets... just be careful when you get tickets from outside agencies. Sometimes we have found that they are big scams. I don't want you to lose out there. Hope it helps Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheFlame 3 Posted May 30, 2017 Author Report Share Posted May 30, 2017 41 minutes ago, DisneyVampire said: Well welcome back. Don't stress. Take a deep breath. Magic bands are just your extended key instead of getting the cards. Just make sure you order them now if you can so you don't get grey. They will come to you a couple of weeks prior tongue trip. Some rental companies can go into the fort and set up prior to you arriving. For that I'd call the company and ask since they are all different. They won't have problems getting in if they are saying they are to see you with your last name etc. But like I said... call the rental company. As for beating the heat. It's called tons of pool time. Since August is one the hottest times of the months, make sure you stay hydrated. The kids love getting those neck things and putting them in the freezer the night before. I keep a bucket of ice water just for those and rotate a couple. Splash balls also work when you're at the camper. When at the parks... just come back to the fort for some relaxation for lunch and a bit after. The joy of being at the fort. I haven't rented from Kenny or any of the others. So I'm not sure how that works. I know the others have good info on that. As for tickets... just be careful when you get tickets from outside agencies. Sometimes we have found that they are big scams. I don't want you to lose out there. Hope it helps Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk Very helpful! Thank you so much for taking time to respond! I guess my biggest concern is heat. In the past with the AP we felt so much freedom to come and go with many breaks at the Fort in between. Since we are not getting park hoppers I am concerned with being able to take a break during the day and then be able to make it back to that park for the evening. I guess AK park hours will be longer now with Pandora open, and except for maybe Hollywood, the other 2 are open late anyway. We used to take breaks and then just jump over to MK for the evening since it was the easiest from the Fort. I also do not like planning my days around FP+. In 2013 the bands were new and we had FP on them but we were also able to go get paper FP during that time too. Not looking forward to standing in any lines in the heat.... Thanks again DisneyVampire! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DisneyVampire 45 Posted May 30, 2017 Report Share Posted May 30, 2017 Very helpful! Thank you so much for taking time to respond! I guess my biggest concern is heat. In the past with the AP we felt so much freedom to come and go with many breaks at the Fort in between. Since we are not getting park hoppers I am concerned with being able to take a break during the day and then be able to make it back to that park for the evening. I guess AK park hours will be longer now with Pandora open, and except for maybe Hollywood, the other 2 are open late anyway. We used to take breaks and then just jump over to MK for the evening since it was the easiest from the Fort. I also do not like planning my days around FP+. In 2013 the bands were new and we had FP on them but we were also able to go get paper FP during that time too. Not looking forward to standing in any lines in the heat.... Thanks again DisneyVampire! You'll be able to do that with one day tickets just as long as you go back to the *same* park you started at. So if you went to MK that day and went back to the fort to cool off... You have to go back to MK in the evening. Go ahead and get your FP as long as you link the tickets to your MB. Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk Quote Link to post Share on other sites
martindi 1 Posted May 30, 2017 Report Share Posted May 30, 2017 Hi all! I am a Fiend from wayyyy back. We used to go to the Fort quite often but during the past 6/7 years or so, our life has changed drastically. I am friends with a few Fiends on Facebook so I have kept up with a few of you on there. It has been difficult for me to come here except to lurk every so often. I miss camping, miss my camper, and at times miss our old life. We are planning our first WDW and Fort trip in 4 years and I am 3 months away and in a bit of panic mode. We have our site, Preferred loop, August 27th for 2 weeks reserved. We will be renting a camper(already reserved) and driving down from North Ga. Any advice on weather during this time and how to beat the heat? We do not normally come down during the heat... Renting is a first for us since we have always brought our own or families camper down. I am a bit nervous about that since it's something I haven't experienced. Not sure how the rental company will setup if they arrive first and how they will get into the Fort at all even if we are already there. Will there be a problem with check in or security? Haven't spoken to my rental company about this at length yet. I am sure she will know more. I am just looking for personal experiences... We would love to rent a golf cart again but I am aware that all of that has changed since our last trip. I would love any and all advice from Fiends on this subject. Renting from Disney isn't an option. I have never and will never be able to afford that. Last trip we rented from a Fiend. It was a 3 week stay and the only affordable option for us. My husband will be in touch with him but not sure he is still doing this. We have used Kenny in the past but with a 2 week stay just not sure a cart is in the cards for us. We do have a vehicle capable of towing in a trailer with a cart from Kenny. I just do not know how well this works with the new rules. Ticket prices.... [emoji20] Not sure what we will do here. Our income is much different now than any trip(anywhere) we have ever taken. In the past we have had AP for several trips, done homeschool days and ordered from UT. AP is NOT happening this time even if we are able to stay for the full 2 weeks. Any advice here? I have priced UT with Mousesavers discount, YES program tickets, and TAW. YES seems the cheapest for the longest stay ticket. Not looking for hopper or water parks.... just want as many days as we can get. I have been reading a few threads this morning and I am feeling very.... worried. We love WDW and love the Fort even more. I am seeing so many unmagical posts about the campground and the parks. I love reading any and all opinions. I like honesty and knowing how others vacations have went down good or bad. I would love any advice anyone can give. I am having a hard time planning this trip. I do not want to over plan since we have been a lot in the past 15 years or so but I do have a 6 yo DS who doesn't remember his 1st or 2nd trip in 2012 and 2013. Magicbands were in the testing phase last trip. This is all so overwhelming... It will be myself, husband, daughter and her husband, DS17 and DS6. Yes, my kids are 22, 17, and SIX. Yes, he was a surprise. Yes, I am tired, lol! Nice to be back! Love the information this site gives. I steer everyone I can from Facebook pages to this site who are interested in The Fort and camping. A wealth of knowledge here and a bit of Snark to boot! [emoji6] ~The Flame(Amy) A couple of weeks ago I stayed at the Fort for the first time in a rented camper. We have always brought our own camper in the past, but wanted to try out something bigger. The process could not have been easier! We rented from Greenberg and they had the camper hooked up and waiting for us when we arrived about 2:00pm. They set up an outdoor rug, camping chairs, an outdoor fan, and even attached a tablecloth to the picnic table. They got the site # straight from Disney. On check out day we just left the keys on the table and drove away. Greenberg is having a promotion with significantly reduced rates in September, so we have booked another trip for then. I can't wait! Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk emmyannttu 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PghBob 31 Posted May 30, 2017 Report Share Posted May 30, 2017 Welcome back. Yes, it will be hot at WDW during your visit. You probably have thought of this, but, before you plan which days at the parks, check the weather forecast. Look for overcast days to go to the parks. Further, make sure to take days off between park visits. On the days between park visits, do the pools, ride the monorails, visit the hotels on the mono loop, ride a boat, etc. Plenty to do, and still manage to keep relatively cool. Can't help with rental stuff. We only rent a golf cart for a couple of days at the Fort. We use it for mainly looping, and only then to get to the "far away" sites. Otherwise, we walk or bus it. But, we are fortunate that none of us needs mobility assistance (yet!). Relax and have fun. It is the Fort way of doing WDW. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
momof3kids-Yvonne 596 Posted May 30, 2017 Report Share Posted May 30, 2017 Welcome back Amy! Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ImDownWithDisney 342 Posted May 31, 2017 Report Share Posted May 31, 2017 Make FP for the evening and night time at each park. Then go for rope drop and ride what you don't have a FP for. Get out by 10 or 11am and go hang at the pool and camper. Go back when it's cooler for your FP rides. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PrincessNana 15 Posted May 31, 2017 Report Share Posted May 31, 2017 Not sure who you are renting from, but we rented a camper for our kids from Meachams a few years ago and he had a package that included a golf cart. Everything was set up on their site when they arrived. Welcome back and enjoy your vacation!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted May 31, 2017 Report Share Posted May 31, 2017 Welcome back Amy!!! The one big thing that's changed re: camper rentals is that Disney now has "preferred vendors" - they're listed right on the Disney site. If you're renting from one of them, they should be able to come in and setup for you without any trouble at all. I'd just check with them on the specifics of how that will all work, but I've heard lots of good reports on people's experience with that. Golf Carts... outside vendors are no longer allowed to deliver as you've heard. For those still renting, you typically have to meet them somewhere off site to get/return the cart. Kenny typically allows you to use his trailer/truck (no need to have one of your own), but again check with him in case anything has changed recently. We've done this a few times now and you're probably looking at an hour-ish for pickup and again for drop off. For us that's worth the savings, but your mileage may vary. :) Hope you have a terrific trip!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheFlame 3 Posted June 1, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2017 On 5/30/2017 at 5:02 PM, martindi said: A couple of weeks ago I stayed at the Fort for the first time in a rented camper. We have always brought our own camper in the past, but wanted to try out something bigger. The process could not have been easier! We rented from Greenberg and they had the camper hooked up and waiting for us when we arrived about 2:00pm. They set up an outdoor rug, camping chairs, an outdoor fan, and even attached a tablecloth to the picnic table. They got the site # straight from Disney. On check out day we just left the keys on the table and drove away. Greenberg is having a promotion with significantly reduced rates in September, so we have booked another trip for then. I can't wait! Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk We are renting from Dawn at Camper Rental Adventures of De Leon Springs. I am thinking I will add her to my reservation and she can go straight to the site when she gets there in case I haven't arrived yet. I am very pleased with my price and my communication with her. This is just so new for me. I am used to being in control of the camper thing and it's a bit scary. Thank you for your reply! :) On 5/30/2017 at 5:16 PM, PghBob said: Welcome back. Yes, it will be hot at WDW during your visit. You probably have thought of this, but, before you plan which days at the parks, check the weather forecast. Look for overcast days to go to the parks. Further, make sure to take days off between park visits. On the days between park visits, do the pools, ride the monorails, visit the hotels on the mono loop, ride a boat, etc. Plenty to do, and still manage to keep relatively cool. Can't help with rental stuff. We only rent a golf cart for a couple of days at the Fort. We use it for mainly looping, and only then to get to the "far away" sites. Otherwise, we walk or bus it. But, we are fortunate that none of us needs mobility assistance (yet!). Relax and have fun. It is the Fort way of doing WDW. We will probably not be able to afford a cart but I am perfectly ok with that. Since it will not be Halloween I won't miss it as much. We are planning on being in 100 or 200 so we are close enough for everything we need and internal bus picks up close by. I love having a cart though but =...$$$ Thank you!!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheFlame 3 Posted June 1, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2017 On 5/30/2017 at 5:18 PM, momof3kids-Yvonne said: Welcome back Amy! Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk Thank you Yvonne! :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheFlame 3 Posted June 1, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2017 23 hours ago, ImDownWithDisney said: Make FP for the evening and night time at each park. Then go for rope drop and ride what you don't have a FP for. Get out by 10 or 11am and go hang at the pool and camper. Go back when it's cooler for your FP rides. We plan on doing rope drop for every day we are in the parks then taking a break at lunch and go back later. That is a great idea about the fp+. I will definitely do this!!! Thank you! 8 hours ago, PrincessNana said: Not sure who you are renting from, but we rented a camper for our kids from Meachams a few years ago and he had a package that included a golf cart. Everything was set up on their site when they arrived. Welcome back and enjoy your vacation!! See above for our rental company. My husband is very excited about renting. I don't help pull the camper so it will be awesome for him to share the driving down with me and not be exhausted the day of or day we leave the Fort. I am just so afraid I will forget something since I can't just throw it all in the camper!! Thank you so much! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheFlame 3 Posted June 1, 2017 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2017 4 hours ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said: Welcome back Amy!!! The one big thing that's changed re: camper rentals is that Disney now has "preferred vendors" - they're listed right on the Disney site. If you're renting from one of them, they should be able to come in and setup for you without any trouble at all. I'd just check with them on the specifics of how that will all work, but I've heard lots of good reports on people's experience with that. Golf Carts... outside vendors are no longer allowed to deliver as you've heard. For those still renting, you typically have to meet them somewhere off site to get/return the cart. Kenny typically allows you to use his trailer/truck (no need to have one of your own), but again check with him in case anything has changed recently. We've done this a few times now and you're probably looking at an hour-ish for pickup and again for drop off. For us that's worth the savings, but your mileage may vary. :) Hope you have a terrific trip!! Thank you for the information! I just looked and I am not using someone on that list!?! Not sure how that works but I know she rents for the Fort all the time... I will get in touch with Kenny soon and check out his rates. I hope I can afford a cart but probably not... Thank you! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted June 1, 2017 Report Share Posted June 1, 2017 12 hours ago, TheFlame said: Thank you for the information! I just looked and I am not using someone on that list!?! Not sure how that works but I know she rents for the Fort all the time.. There are still folks renting at the Fort that aren't on the "preferred" list and Disney still allows it - it's not like the cart rental situation. The only difference is the preferred folks get some perks the others don't (and pay for the privilege, of course). I've heard that the big change is that anyone not on the list can no longer come in and setup ahead of time and has to wait until the Guest checks in. But that was a while ago, so definitely confirm with your vendor to see how things work with them. Otherwise from your side of things there shouldn't be any issues at all. Show up and enjoy!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DinDavie 37 Posted June 2, 2017 Report Share Posted June 2, 2017 Looks like you got some good advice so I won't repeat much. Not having to tow a rig from north Georgia is a big plus and will make your trip go faster and less stressful. If you start making a check list now and add to it as you think of things you will be less likely to forget something. Include on that list as much bottled water as you think you can carry, a few electric fans and a thermocell to repel mosquitoes. You do not want to buy bottled water at the Trading Post. Bring a small cooler with you so you can drink your own cold drinks at the pool. However the food and drinks are good and it is nice to pamper yourself with those things. There are always activities at the pool to participate in or just watch.While things may have changed a little from your last visit you may have changed as well. I don't like standing in line as much as I used to and I'm not trying to see everything in one day. Bikes may be a suitable substitute for golf carts. I always like riding the Monorail to see the hotel lobbies and maybe sample a drink or two from each bar. Disney Springs is also a must see. Taking a boat over to the Wilderness Lodge is a great way to spend an afternoon. All of the things I just mentioned do not cost a thing. Most of the time I camp I do not go to the parks and I always end my day by going to the lake and watching the fireworks. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TheFlame 3 Posted July 27, 2017 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2017 Hi everyone! Thank you all so much for the wonderful advice! We are 30 days out and I am soooo excited!! Going to be lurking the boards a bit more over the coming weeks! Thanks again! Amy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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