Site help for a newbie please..

[msmommy]

Hi everyone. I have been reading these boards for a long time and finally decided to jump in with a few questions. We have been to Disney 5 times and actually spent our first trip in a Ft. Wilderness cabin back in '05, we have been wanting to go back to the fort ever since and now we finally are! We are booked 10/26-11/2 in a full hookup site. I gave them the size of our camper (12 ft jayco popup with shower/potty and slide) and a tent There are 8 of us total going, 4 adults and 4 kids, the cast member i spoke to didnt ask what size tent or how big a pad we would need. our tent is a huge 3 room monster, so now I am wondering if we will be able to fit it all in. Also, one member of our party is disabled and has severe issues with walking far. We are planning to rent an evc or wheelchair for her at the parks, but hope to be in a loop near buses and comfort station. i would appreciate any suggestions anyone has to offer. Thanks in advance

 

[bama_ed]

Hi everyone. I have been reading these boards for a long time and finally decided to jump in with a few questions. We have been to Disney 5 times and actually spent our first trip in a Ft. Wilderness cabin back in '05, we have been wanting to go back to the fort ever since and now we finally are! We are booked 10/26-11/2 in a full hookup site. I gave them the size of our camper (12 ft jayco popup with shower/potty and slide) and a tent There are 8 of us total going, 4 adults and 4 kids, the cast member i spoke to didnt ask what size tent or how big a pad we would need. our tent is a huge 3 room monster, so now I am wondering if we will be able to fit it all in. Also, one member of our party is disabled and has severe issues with walking far. We are planning to rent an evc or wheelchair for her at the parks, but hope to be in a loop near buses and comfort station. i would appreciate any suggestions anyone has to offer. Thanks in advance

msmommy, I'll take a shot at these.

I too have a 12' Jayco popup with a slide (a 2005 12HW model). Even if the cast member didn't ask for sizes, you should call back and give them the size of your tent (10x12, etc) to put as a note on your ressie.

What type of site did you request (Partial, Full, or Preferred)? (Premiums don't have the sand pad for the tent).

Also in your ressie request a site close to a Comfort Station and also close to a bus stop to accomodate your disabled guest. Explain that a member of your party is disabled.

If you tell the Fort what you want/need, they will do their best to accomodate you. If you DON'T tell them, there is no way for them to know. Don't depend on Lady Luck!

Late October is a nice time weather-wise at the Fort. You will enjoy it.

Bama ED

PS - and to the DIS Camping Board.

 

[msmommy]

Thank you Bama ED for the advice and the warm welcome. I will be sure to give them a call back asap with all the specifics. We are booked in a full hookup, but, if you have any advice on a particular loop I'd be grateful.

 

[arthuruscg]

I did a between Christmas ans new years trip and stayed at Partial hookup site 2061. It is right next to the comfort station and the buss stop.
The partial sites would be big enough but the 2000 loop is placed mid park, so you would always have to take a Fort shuttle bus.

If you do an off site ECV then you could get a 100 to 600 loop. They would be close enough to the beach that you could avoid taking the Fort buses for MK and EP.
Or rent a golf cart and it doesn't matter.

 

[msmommy]

Thank you arthuruscg, we are planning to get a golf cart and possibly an evc. I read that the partial hookuop sites have much larger pads, but we definitely want a full hookup. we use the shower with our little boys and the cassette toilet is great at 3 am with a little one lol. I am liking the location of the 100 loop, may request that area..thanks again

 

[Flametamr]

Would highly recommend an offsite EVC company. That way they will have it all the time and be able to enjoy the fort more. You will probably save money and not have to worry if the park will run out of them before you arrive.

 

[msmommy]

thank you flamtamr, i will pass that info along to her.

 

[jeffrey66]

If you want to see a lot of the sites you can watch many short videos on utube. One person in particular has filmed almost all of the loops and added in the site # as they pass by each one. This may be helpful in deciding if a site will be right for you.

 

[Readerbug]

And as far as I understand, when we get a reservation, it isn't the actual site number or spot that is reserved for us, just "space", a quota for the site type. Closer to your dates, you can and should call again, with any more important notes like Bama Ed said, and when you arrive, or shortly before, the actual number is given you, based on what's avail! And if the drive by shows you it won't work, you can be moved by request. (maybe except peak season?)

Fort Veterans, how close is that to how it works?

 

[bama_ed]

And as far as I understand, when we get a reservation, it isn't the actual site number or spot that is reserved for us, just "space", a quota for the site type. Closer to your dates, you can and should call again, with any more important notes like Bama Ed said, and when you arrive, or shortly before, the actual number is given you, based on what's avail! And if the drive by shows you it won't work, you can be moved by request. (maybe except peak season?)

Fort Veterans, how close is that to how it works?

This is true except they will NOT give you the site number until it has been cleaned, prepped, and readied for you to set up.

My last trip down I had requested loop 1500. I checked in at 1115 in the morning and LOTS of campers were lined up exiting (checkout time is 11am). So my preassigned site was vacant but not yet prepped/washed/blown/ready. The CM checked me in, gave me the paperwork, but didn't give me a site number. So I drove off property, went to lunch, bought groceries, then came back around 130pm when I got a text that my site 1520 was ready (I had given them my cell no to get a text when ready). So I just drove back to the Fort and backed into my site.

If you arrive early and insist on going to a site, they will move you to a site of a similar level that is ready to be assigned and set up on. If, like me back in April 2011, you head down to your assigned site and find someone is set up on it (for whatever reason), do as I did and stop at the Comfort Station, use the house phone to call the Fort front desk, explain the situation, and they will assign you a new site over the phone (I saw one I wanted on the way to the phone, asked for it, and got it).

My advice is don't get too hung up on requesting/getting a specific site. There are plenty of sites to suit you and you'll generally love whatever site you end up with.

Bama ED

 

[MDKLHunter]

Bama Ed thank you first of all for all of your wonderful, detailed information you provide to us newbies. I've been planning our first trip to the Ft. for this spring break since last March! Your enthusiasm for the resort gets me and my kids all the more excited! We will be arriving on Good Friday 3/29, have a rented pop up coming, and I've requested the 1500 loop due to smaller size and it looks like a good location to the pool, etc. We also have a golf cart reserved with Kenny and we are stoked! I saw a pic the other day where the water was behind the campsites and a perfect lawn chair was set up on the bank. Oh how I can see my husband and kids (and me too of course) drowning some baits back there as we enjoy the Fort! According to the map the 1500 loop appears to partially boarder the water, so as my expert what are my chances of reserving a waterside site at check in? I know there's NO guarantees, I just think that would be such a fun feature as fishing is a pass time we enjoy. I plan to only do 2 park days this trip and we're there for 6 nights so I WANT some down time. Again, I am so excited and this board has been SOOOOO helpful! Packing lists and dinner ideas have already started!

 

[bama_ed]

Bama Ed thank you first of all for all of your wonderful, detailed information you provide to us newbies. I've been planning our first trip to the Ft. for this spring break since last March! Your enthusiasm for the resort gets me and my kids all the more excited! We will be arriving on Good Friday 3/29, have a rented pop up coming, and I've requested the 1500 loop due to smaller size and it looks like a good location to the pool, etc. We also have a golf cart reserved with Kenny and we are stoked! I saw a pic the other day where the water was behind the campsites and a perfect lawn chair was set up on the bank. Oh how I can see my husband and kids (and me too of course) drowning some baits back there as we enjoy the Fort! According to the map the 1500 loop appears to partially boarder the water, so as my expert what are my chances of reserving a waterside site at check in? I know there's NO guarantees, I just think that would be such a fun feature as fishing is a pass time we enjoy. I plan to only do 2 park days this trip and we're there for 6 nights so I WANT some down time. Again, I am so excited and this board has been SOOOOO helpful! Packing lists and dinner ideas have already started!

MDKLHunter,

You asked for my opinion so I will give it to you.

You can make requests regarding sites (as you said, no guarentee) but for people requesting 1500 (if you have a Partial site reserved with the only alternative being 2000), the odds are not in your favor but there are things you can do to improve your chances.

People (including myself) request 1500 over 2000 because it IS close to the Pool area. You'll have a Kenny Kart so the walking or waiting for the bus won't be that big of an issue.

If you don't know, 1500 has 21 sites and 2000 has 69 sites. So right off the bat, the chances of getting assigned to 1500 are only 23% (21/90) assuming an even distribution. Given that more people request 1500 rather than 2000 your chances are less than 20%.

However if you DO request 1500 as a note in your ressie or even to the Fort CM checking you in, they will try to accomodate you if one is available.

Your time of visit (around Easter) is sure to have a jam packed Fort with some of the highest prices of the year (except Christmas-New Years).

There are two canals bordering 1500-the wide one in the back runs down behind loop 300 to Bay Lake with sites 1510, 1511, 1513, 1514 backing up to it. (We stayed in 1513 for Thanksgiving week 2009 and you are right it's nice and quiet back there). 1509 (maybe) and 1512 are on the inside of the circle across the road from the others I named. There is a locked vehicle gate between 1513 and 1511 to permit Disney vehicles down by the canal and this is also a nice entry way to get back there for anyone without having to go through someone's campsite.

The second canal is narrow and runs back under the road and by the pool on the way back to the pond between the Bike Barn and the Meadow TP. Outer sites that back up to this are 1516, 1517, 1519, 1520 (I stayed in 1520 last trip). The canal is further back behind these and it is perfectly acceptable to walk along the back of this narrower canal if you want access to the water. The canal is far enough back from the road that, again, you feel like you aren't infringing on people's sites.

Definitely add a request to your ressie for a site along a canal in 1500.

So to get a request here's what you do to improve your chances:

1. try to check in on a Sunday-Thursday (more people come in on weekend nights). This isn't possible in your case but it helps generally speaking.

2. check in time of day is critical. The EARLIER you can check in the BETTER. Think about it:

In my example in the previous post, I told you how I checked in even though my site wasn't ready yet. THAT LOCKED DOWN MY SITE ASSIGNMENT. It couldn't be changed. (Once you check in that assigned site is yours-I verified this with the CM). But let's say I didn't check in until 4pm. You are arriving the same day as me and also requested 1500. Neither of us knows what our pre-assigned site numbers are.

But if I was pre-assigned a 1500 site and you weren't, and you arrived before me and asked for a 1500 site once you checked in, they would probably give you my site (I wouldn't know what I was missing). So later when I roll in they will tell me "I'm sorry but 1500 is already full" and give me a site in 2000. That happened to me in April 2011 and I was disappointed so on the way to 2000 I circled thru 1500 and sure enough, 1500 WAS full.

So you or your company setting up the popup, whoever gets there first should try to get there as early as reasonably possible to lock down a 1500 site if it was preassigned to you or to request it at the gate if it wasn't (even if it has not been vacated by the previous campers yet, cleaned, blown, and prepped).

If you can't get a canal site then take any 1500 site. Or be happy with your 2000 site. It can't hurt to ask and if your request is granted, fine, but there are no bad sites at the Fort.

Bama ED

PS - sorry for being so wordy!

 

[MDKLHunter]

Bama Ed, please continue to be wordy, that's how us newbie's learn so much! (And I tend to get a bit wordy myself!) We will be arriving around noon or so, but I can't change the day of the week, so I'll add a canal request to my ressie and no doubt I'll be happy with whatever we're given. Truthfully we'll be so excited it won't matter, and we're not hard to please. I have seen the site photos on Fort Fiends, I'll have to zip over there and take a peek. For now, keep all the info coming, I'm secretly hoping Ft. Wilderness becomes our new favorite Disney lodging! ha ha Hope my husband agrees!

 

[lodge]

tent loop for that monster, only because otherwise you may not have a place to stake