Resort Boats are they running?

[LONE-STAR 370]

Well anybody know if you can catch the boat to the Lodge or Contemporary? 

[LONE-STAR 370]

Also are they doing the movie or camp fire?

And is the food truck open?

I saw on YouTube that the lodge was playing a movie.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Up to now, no resort boats. And I don’t think that will change for Labor Day. There’s a bus to Wilderness Lodge. That’s it. 

No campfire, but they are playing movies three nights a week. The Food Truck isn’t even there. 

TCD

[Breezy2 18]

+1 no boats. This place is a ghost town. Has that creepy feeling you get when you go somewhere that is going out of business. Everything you know and enjoyed about transportation, snacking, restaurants, rides, shows, entertainment, playgrounds, ambiance in general is about a 1/4 of what it was. Right down to the "furloughed" shaggy landscaping. Hopefully an influx of Halloween ghouls will give Disney the bump it needs to liven things up. 

[LONE-STAR 370]

Thanks for the update 

[kadancer 82]

My guys had a bad experience with the boat to the Magic Kingdom also.  When they tried to catch it, there was one boat running, about 20 families on the dock, and they took 4  of them.  They did not even put a family in the front of the boat - it was empty.  Some of the folks left behind had been waiting over 45 minutes.  The boat attendant told them it might be faster to take the bus.  So, off folks go to the other end of the campground to catch a bus.  No bus there, it runs from the bus stop at the Settlement.  If the number of guests that can ride the boat is so limited, there should be a sign at the dock saying that a bus is available at the Settlement bus stop.  How hard would it be?  Fortunately, my guys were not in a hurry and have a sense of humor.  

[fladogfan aka Gretchen 259]

Couldn't/shouldn't more boats be running?

[djsamuel 322]

We just got back today from 9 days at the Fort.  The boats were running regularly to and from the Magic Kingdom, two boats.  At least while we were there, they were boarding well over 4 families and they were allowing people to sit outside in the front as well as the back.  They have a sign saying the bus to the Magic Kingdom leaves from the Settlement.  The bus to Wilderness Lodge also leaves from the Settlement now and runs the old route, using the road between Fort Wilderness and Wilderness Lodge.

Until Friday, the campground was empty.  Starting Thursday night it started to fill up.  Today, all loops are open and full.  It was a madhouse Thursday night.  Golf carts driven by kids lucky they didn't kill anybody.  For Friday the Rangers were out all day directing traffic and enforcing the mask rules.  Much better.

[LONE-STAR 370]

6 hours ago, djsamuel said:

We just got back today from 9 days at the Fort.  The boats were running regularly to and from the Magic Kingdom, two boats.  At least while we were there, they were boarding well over 4 families and they were allowing people to sit outside in the front as well as the back.  They have a sign saying the bus to the Magic Kingdom leaves from the Settlement.  The bus to Wilderness Lodge also leaves from the Settlement now and runs the old route, using the road between Fort Wilderness and Wilderness Lodge.

Until Friday, the campground was empty.  Starting Thursday night it started to fill up.  Today, all loops are open and full.  It was a madhouse Thursday night.  Golf carts driven by kids lucky they didn't kill anybody.  For Friday the Rangers were out all day directing traffic and enforcing the mask rules.  Much better.

Was the trail open that goes to the lodge?

[djsamuel 322]

6 hours ago, LONE-STAR said:

Was the trail open that goes to the lodge?

The trail to the lodge is GONE.  It was torn up to install water pipes.  You can see they are planning on reinstalling it since they've installed new concrete spillways along the route.  Lots of work to get done and at least while we were there, no sign of any new work being done.  Looks like it will be a while.  The water pipes are not installed, just laying on the ground and some big holes dig in a few locations.

[Love Ft Wilderness 6]

I had heard that the trail was torn up but now you have confirmed it.  Thank you for the insightful update. Very sad. ☹️

[LONE-STAR 370]

14 hours ago, djsamuel said:

The trail to the lodge is GONE.  It was torn up to install water pipes.  You can see they are planning on reinstalling it since they've installed new concrete spillways along the route.  Lots of work to get done and at least while we were there, no sign of any new work being done.  Looks like it will be a while.  The water pipes are not installed, just laying on the ground and some big holes dig in a few locations.

Thanks, so sad we will miss riding bikes, and walking to the lodge.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

On 9/6/2020 at 6:13 PM, djsamuel said:

We just got back today from 9 days at the Fort.  The boats were running regularly to and from the Magic Kingdom, two boats.  At least while we were there, they were boarding well over 4 families and they were allowing people to sit outside in the front as well as the back.  They have a sign saying the bus to the Magic Kingdom leaves from the Settlement.  The bus to Wilderness Lodge also leaves from the Settlement now and runs the old route, using the road between Fort Wilderness and Wilderness Lodge.

Until Friday, the campground was empty.  Starting Thursday night it started to fill up.  Today, all loops are open and full.  It was a madhouse Thursday night.  Golf carts driven by kids lucky they didn't kill anybody.  For Friday the Rangers were out all day directing traffic and enforcing the mask rules.  Much better.

Thanks for the updates! Almost sounds like "normal" has returned to the Fort - or at least more normal than it's been in a long time.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

3 hours ago, BradyBzLyn...Mo said:

Thanks for the updates! Almost sounds like "normal" has returned to the Fort - or at least more normal than it's been in a long time.

I just got back from a 3 night stay at the Fort over Labor Day weekend. There is still so much that is far from normal- no campfire singalong, no food truck, Trails End is takeout only, no fireworks, no EWP, no resort boat, shortened trading post hours, no trail to the Lodge, and there are rangers everywhere yelling about masks.

But the Fort is still the Fort. It was great to be there. Because park hours and availability are so limited, folks hung around their campsites more. On a Friday night loop, we noticed many campsites with projectors and screens showing the new Mulan movie, and lots of campfires, many in illegal fire pits.  Like always, the Fort is a magical place where the outside world and its problems seem far away. 

If anyone is staying away because of all the limitations and changes, don’t. Do yourself a favor and get to the Fort. It’s still a great place to be. 

TCD

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

1 hour ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

But the Fort is still the Fort. It was great to be there. Because park hours and availability are so limited, folks hung around their campsites more. On a Friday night loop, we noticed many campsites with projectors and screens showing the new Mulan movie, and lots of campfires, many in illegal fire pits.  Like always, the Fort is a magical place where the outside world and its problems seem far away. 

If anyone is staying away because of all the limitations and changes, don’t. Do yourself a favor and get to the Fort. It’s still a great place to be. 

Despite all the "not normal," this is still great to hear. If we were close enough I'd love to just go to the Fort to hang out at my site and beebop around on a cart right now.

[djsamuel 322]

2 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

I just got back from a 3 night stay at the Fort over Labor Day weekend. There is still so much that is far from normal- no campfire singalong, no food truck, Trails End is takeout only, no fireworks, no EWP, no resort boat, shortened trading post hours, no trail to the Lodge, and there are rangers everywhere yelling about masks.

But the Fort is still the Fort. It was great to be there. Because park hours and availability are so limited, folks hung around their campsites more. On a Friday night loop, we noticed many campsites with projectors and screens showing the new Mulan movie, and lots of campfires, many in illegal fire pits.  Like always, the Fort is a magical place where the outside world and its problems seem far away. 

If anyone is staying away because of all the limitations and changes, don’t. Do yourself a favor and get to the Fort. It’s still a great place to be. 

TCD

We were there from August 28th to September 6th.  While some things have changed like you mentioned, the atmosphere was still there.  To be honest, while I missed Trails End I really enjoyed being able to sit inside with P&J's breakfast of sausage gravy and biscuits.  I also enjoyed the parks with no fast passes as well as not having to crowd into the stretchning room at the Haunted Mansion and fight the crowd. We found the cast members everywhere to be excellent.  While having lunch at the Rose and Crown we talked to two merchandise cast members who live here but one was from Scotland and the other London.  Then when checking in we spoke with the hostess who was from Bulgaria; who actually came to our table after someone else seated us to make sure we liked the table (it was excellent).  Our server was Asian and he was so good.  While things were missing, the changes also made it a very special trip.  While I want to see everything get back to normal, I am trying to enjoy some of the changes currently in place since they won't last forever.  We had a great trip.

[LONE-STAR 370]

Really looking forward to our upcoming stay. Even a limited Disney is better then the real world right now. 

[djsamuel 322]

6 hours ago, LONE-STAR said:

Really looking forward to our upcoming stay. Even a limited Disney is better then the real world right now. 

You'll enjoy your stay.  Just remember the changes are temporary, enjoy the ones that make for a more relaxing trip, and realize that what you are experiencing is part of history.  The photos of my wife and me in front of the castle are ones that, years from now, will bring back a lot of memories.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

17 hours ago, djsamuel said:

We were there from August 28th to September 6th.  While some things have changed like you mentioned, the atmosphere was still there.  To be honest, while I missed Trails End I really enjoyed being able to sit inside with P&J's breakfast of sausage gravy and biscuits.  I also enjoyed the parks with no fast passes as well as not having to crowd into the stretchning room at the Haunted Mansion and fight the crowd. We found the cast members everywhere to be excellent.  While having lunch at the Rose and Crown we talked to two merchandise cast members who live here but one was from Scotland and the other London.  Then when checking in we spoke with the hostess who was from Bulgaria; who actually came to our table after someone else seated us to make sure we liked the table (it was excellent).  Our server was Asian and he was so good.  While things were missing, the changes also made it a very special trip.  While I want to see everything get back to normal, I am trying to enjoy some of the changes currently in place since they won't last forever.  We had a great trip.

That all does sound great.  I think right now it's a matter of people going with the expectation that it IS going to be different and some things will be missing, but that they can still make it a terrific trip. 

9 hours ago, LONE-STAR said:

Really looking forward to our upcoming stay. Even a limited Disney is better then the real world right now. 

For sure!!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

11 hours ago, LONE-STAR said:

Really looking forward to our upcoming stay. Even a limited Disney is better then the real world right now. 

Absolutely true. It almost feels normal at the Fort. It’s great to have a little escape. Have fun!

TCD

[LONE-STAR 370]

10 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

Absolutely true. It almost feels normal at the Fort. It’s great to have a little escape. Have fun!

TCD

Thanks, we still have some time to wait before we go.

[LONE-STAR 370]

15 hours ago, djsamuel said:

You'll enjoy your stay.  Just remember the changes are temporary, enjoy the ones that make for a more relaxing trip, and realize that what you are experiencing is part of history.  The photos of my wife and me in front of the castle are ones that, years from now, will bring back a lot of memories.

I thought the same thing