Site is losing its steam :(

[Starbuc71 162]

Even though we don’t have an RV anymore, we still love the fort and reading about new things happening or not happening there. I still enjoy the pics and the stories. I guess all things in life slow down including us. It seems to me that a lot of the regulars no longer post here and the newer people only chime in with a question. Many topics are not commented on for weeks or even months nowadays.  There was a time you would see responses overflowing on each topic.  It’s sad that it has slowed down since this was the premier place to get your Ft wilderness information. I can’t even access the fort fiends site app anymore since the iPhone X will not support it.  I miss the comments from the mayor, S70 and he’ll even the opinionated retired bus driver that used to be on here.  I guess all torches need to be passed or else they will die out. ?

[Grumpy and Grandma 740]

In my opinion, you can thank FACEBOOK. It seems to be the same on many of the forums.

[Part-Time Paradise 4]

I'm a newbie and dream of Fort living, but hope the site doesn't die. I've done an immeasurable amount of research.

Love it and it can't go

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

[Travisma 1,317]

4 minutes ago, Grumpy and Grandma said:

In my opinion, you can thank FACEBOOK. It seems to be the same on many of the forums.

I joined a few FB sites about various  Disney subjects this past year, camping, WDW, Port Orleans

I'm about ready to unfollow the majority of them.

Heaven forbid if you have a negative comment about anything Disney on these sites. Everything is all Pixie Dust 24 hours a day.

The Fort camping site was abuzz about thefts a few weeks ago.  A lot of people posted about thefts but about twice as many said nothing bad has ever happened to them at the fort and that the people that had items stolen were exaggerating the severity.

Other sites, people just whine, oh I can't get the FP i wanted or I only got 10 of the 11 character dinners I wanted so my vacation is ruined!

And they ask the most off the wall questions like will my child like XXX without giving any particulars.

About 99% of them never try to use Google and figure out anything for themselves.

A lot just post on them for drama purposes only it seems.

This site is definitely still the go to site for anything Fort related and just about everything else WDW related.

And yes real life gets in the way of posting and trip reports.

I was going to post pictures of our WDW visit on Thanksgiving weekend but just haven't had the time or energy.

[Starbuc71 162]

I’m very glad there are idiots in the world that vacation at the fort or anywhere in Disney for that matter. These are the people that show up at the MK at 12:00 because they wanted to sleep in and then don’t have a clue what fast pass is and no clue they could have made them 60 days earlier.  We need these kinds of people to visit the park. As for Facebook, I use it for family only. Strangers don’t need to know my personal business. And as far as the forums on there, you’re absolutely correct. Bunch of idiots for the most part 

[Travisma 1,317]

46 minutes ago, Starbuc71 said:

I’m very glad there are idiots in the world that vacation at the fort or anywhere in Disney for that matter. These are the people that show up at the MK at 12:00 because they wanted to sleep in and then don’t have a clue what fast pass is and no clue they could have made them 60 days earlier.  We need these kinds of people to visit the park. As for Facebook, I use it for family only. Strangers don’t need to know my personal business. And as far as the forums on there, you’re absolutely correct. Bunch of idiots for the most part 

And these are also the people that get in line for food and wait until they get up front and ask a 100 questions about how everything is made and they are on a strict (diet of the day) and can't have this or that and.....

They also clog up the ride lines and argue that their 18 month old shouldn't be banned from a ride just because they don't meet the height requirement.

Back when we first started going to the MK the only thing that got people confused was how many A tickets it took to get on an E ride!

People took care of business in an efficient manner and didn't hold up everyone else.

 

 

[keith_h 420]

It is common for forum sites to have dry spells as folks become preoccupied with other things in their life. This is really common around the end of year holidays as people travel to see family or get tied up with Y.E. processing for work. Where I would be concerned is if it continues to slow down as we move into spring and summer.

[Starbuc71 162]

4 minutes ago, keith_h said:

It is common for forum sites to have dry spells as folks become preoccupied with other things in their life. This is really common around the end of year holidays as people travel to see family or get tied up with Y.E. processing for work. Where I would be concerned is if it continues to slow down as we move into spring and summer.

Sad thing is this has been ongoing the entire year

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

It's true.. the site has slowed down.  I, for one, don't always have a ton to say... but I do jump on several times a week to see if anything new has been posted and to post when I think of it.   Hopefully, if we all do that, the site will pick-up speed.   Which reminds me, of something that I forgot to post about 

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

This site like others Epps and flows.   

Yes there are several people that don’t post anymore.  But there are several new people that have started to post.  

FF.net isn’t going anywhere.  

If you want to improve it or add content, do it.  Tell us about your last trip.  It doesn’t have to be a great work of literature.  Just a few pictures and a little narrative to go with it.   

Share an interesting story you read about WDW or the Fort. 

Share an interesting fact or bit of trivia about the Fort or WDW.  

This site was never intended for a few people to post TRs or other content. This is a community were we all share our thoughts about the Fort and WDW. The good and the bad. 

Thank you and good day!

[ftwildernessguy 778]

I'm still here, you sorry bunch of losers.

[Grumpy and Grandma 740]

6 minutes ago, ftwildernessguy said:

I'm still here, you sorry bunch of losers.

Hi Jim....

[Beckers 1,136]

1 hour ago, ftwildernessguy said:

I'm still here, you sorry bunch of losers.

Good to know crockpots still aren’t safe to be left unattended ?

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

2 hours ago, ftwildernessguy said:

I'm still here, you sorry bunch of losers.

Who let Jim out???

Get back in your box!

 

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Busy here too. The last year and a half has been a complete whirlwhind for us. Hopefully things will settle out. 

[LONE-STAR 370]

To many people sold there campers due to higher Fort prices and it being harder to get a site. 

[LONE-STAR 370]

You know who you are.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

I am guilty.  We had to cancel our month-long trip trip to the Fort this year because of my mother's illness.  It's hard for me to come here because I'm so depressed that we couldn't enjoy our cancelled vacation.

[Travisma 1,317]

We haven't camped at the Fort (or anywhere) since 4th of July 2016.

For a variety of reasons we just can't seem to get out on weekends, and long term vacations are usually spent going to NY for a week or more to visit relatives.

Camping during the week could only happen in summer, and with the FL heat and rain that isn't always appealing.

My wife is always looking for sites at the Fort, but we can only make weekend or long weekend stays and it's nearly impossible to get a site for just 2 nights.

But this past year we did out first stays at "real" Disney hotels.  Stayed at POFQ 2 times and the Yacht Club.

[Starbuc71 162]

11 hours ago, LONE-STAR said:

You know who you are.

That would be me ?

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

18 hours ago, h2odivers...Ray said:

FF.net isn’t going anywhere.  

If you want to improve it or add content, do it.  Tell us about your last trip.  It doesn’t have to be a great work of literature.  Just a few pictures and a little narrative to go with it.   

Share an interesting story you read about WDW or the Fort. 

Share an interesting fact or bit of trivia about the Fort or WDW.  

This site was never intended for a few people to post TRs or other content. This is a community were we all share our thoughts about the Fort and WDW. The good and the bad. 

^^All this and a bag of chips!!!  

[Starbuc71 162]

Please don’t think I posted this to be negative. I just commented that there’s not as much traffic as there used to be. I encourage new people to join and tell us of their experiences.  As far as people who sell their campers because of fort management antics, I praise those people

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

1 hour ago, Starbuc71 said:

Please don’t think I posted this to be negative. I just commented that there’s not as much traffic as there used to be. I encourage new people to join and tell us of their experiences.  As far as people who sell their campers because of fort management antics, I praise those people

I agree with you- there is clearly a lot less traffic on this site than there used to be.

Sadly, there are a lot of Fiends who have just disappeared along the way.  They took some of the fun with them.

I do think it has a lot to do with the Fort not being as fun or affordable as it used to be.  We had fewer Fort stays this year for sure.

TCD

[djsamuel 322]

Been at the Fort since December 15th, leaving January 2nd. Been too busy to write anything but still check in. I have to say this has been a really good trip; very respectful campers and excellent cast members. I don’t think there’s been anything that hasn’t surpassed expectations with the exception of the broken hot chocolate machine at Trails End and other resorts. They seem to be having trouble getting Nestle to fix them. 

[Avatab.... Steve 124]

1 hour ago, Starbuc71 said:

Please don’t think I posted this to be negative. I just commented that there’s not as much traffic as there used to be. I encourage new people to join and tell us of their experiences.  As far as people who sell their campers because of fort management antics, I praise those people

 

It's not just here.  I was reading an article a few days ago about how Groups and Organizations of all kinds are slowly declining in membership and the average age of those remaining is climbing steadily.

This trend has been happening for several years now, but it seems to have accelerated very recently.

FMCA for instance (Family Motor Coach Assoc.) is now really feeling the effects of this. Not only are their numbers falling but the participation level is dropping thru the floor. The percentage of it's members that belong to active chapters is down to 30% of total members.....

They have finally decided to address the issue by letting owners of Trailers into the group, but it may be too little too late. The Rallies have shrunk and the online forums have gone quiet. Many of those who still pay to join are doing so just to get the Med-Assist benefit.

As Grumpy noted above, Facebook is one reason, the Millenials now want instant feedback and forums/boards like this are too slow for them.

One of my co-workers retired last year and took a part-time job as a school bus driver. He was worried when he was told he couldn't scold or reprimand the children because their parents would complain, but he found he didn't need to since the kids of all grades don't make a peep while on the bus..... they are all plugged into their phones....