Arriving on sat or sun?

[saw1810]

Will be coming down in May 2018 is Saturday a better day to arrive or Sunday? any thoughts?

 

[snowmedic]

I would have to say Sunday would be a better day to check-in. With people pulling out to get back home there will be maybe more sites available in the catagory/ loop that you would have a preference to, closer to bus stop, CS.

 

[bama_ed]

I would have to say Sunday would be a better day to check-in. With people pulling out to get back home there will be maybe more sites available in the catagory/ loop that you would have a preference to, closer to bus stop, CS.

^^^^^ THIS ^^^^^

 

[tiggerdad]

Sunday is a better arrival day for sure if you have to choose between Saturday or Sunday. Either get there early in the morning on Friday (what I usually do) or wait until Sunday.

 

[saw1810]

Awesome!! What i was thinkn, sunday morning or early friday, thanks!!

 

[Corgidad]

Okay I am going to do something I have never done and that is not agree with 3 of the most knowledgeable people here on the DIS concerning the Fort. From my experience if you are not requesting a certain loop and just taking what the Fort gives you I think Saturday is a much better day to arrive than Sunday. Here is my reasoning, Sunday is the biggest checkout day of the week sometimes over 500 people leave the Fort on any given Sunday and it is a madhouse. Most wait until the very last minute to leave and I have seen the traffic getting out of the Fort backed up past the pool and Meadows store on many occasions. With so many checkouts and late checkouts the CM's who clean the sites after each guest leaves are overwhelmed with so many sites to clean thus you may have to wait in the overflow lot longer than normal to get your site. The overflow lot is also a madhouse on Sunday with all those people either hooking up there golf cart trailers or parking there rigs and going to the parks so finding a place to wait for your site to be ready is very tricky. Just my observation is that all the people who don't have very far to drive arrive on Friday and leave on Sunday and this includes all the Florida residents who weekend camp. People who come from farther distances and have a 2 day drive arrive on Sunday these are the people who stay the entire week and usually check out on the following Saturday morning early for the 2 day drive home. This enables the CM's who clean the sites to have them ready earlier than on Sunday. Sorry about the long post but if I was going to disagree with the big dogs I wanted to try and fully explain what I have observed over the past 20 plus years of coming to the Fort.

 

[tiggerdad]

Okay...

Friday morning it is!

 

[TheRustyScupper]

I would have to say Sunday would be a better day to check-in.

1) YES, YES, YES, YES, YES.
2) I can remember many times being asked to help check-out people on Sunday mornings.
3) A lot busier than Saturday morning check-outs.

NOTE: Concierge are a different labor category than Front Desk. We can be asked to help, but not ordered to do so. If we are ordered to assist the Front Desk, any Front Desk CM can file a grievance and get 4-hours of pay for us taking their job.

 

[peg110]

We have checked in on Thursday, Friday and Saturday (Friday was later in the day though) and have never really had an issue. Longest wait for site was a couple of hours but usually much quicker then that. We typically check in by 7 AM(ish)

Given the Choice, I'd rather check in on Saturday. Why? Because it's a day earlier.....

 

[TheRustyScupper]

I'd rather check in on Saturday. Why? Because it's a day earlier.....

AND,
. . . Friday is two days earlier
. . . Thursday is three days earlier
. . . etc

 

[peg110]

AND,
. . . Friday is two days earlier
. . . Thursday is three days earlier
. . . etc

Indeed... but the question was between Saturday and Sunday. With that in mind though....

This SATURDAY is MANY days earlier (then my expected check-in day). I wish I could make that happen, but alas.... to many factors against me not the least of which is no reservation (or money, or vacation time, etc.... )

Still... only a bit over a month to go!

 

[tiggerdad]

Indeed... but the question was between Saturday and Sunday. With that in mind though....

We're trying to motivate them for a longer stay at the Fort.

HELLO!?

 

[morrik5]

We are doing Saturday - Saturday next April just to make it easier between arranging work vacation for our sil and missing school days for our gs. Never even crossed my mind that if we did Sunday - Sunday we'd take advantage of some leaving at the end of their weekend stays.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

We're trying to motivate them for a longer stay at the Fort.

1) In no way can I argue against this.
2) To me, The Fort is THE BEST resort at WDW *
. . . whether you have your own RV
. . . whether you rent an RV from a local company

* NOTES:
. . . Friendlier guests
. . . Friendlier CM's
. . . More daily activities than other resorts

 

[peg110]

* NOTES:
. . . Friendlier guests
. . . Friendlier CM's
. . . More daily activities than other resorts

There is no denying this... (IMHO anyway)

 

[cu@theFort]

what is the earliest they will let us check in on Sat? we are stopping over in upper FL for the night...

 

[bama_ed]

what is the earliest they will let us check in on Sat? we are stopping over in upper FL for the night...

Each new day starts at 605am. You can wait for your preassigned site or can get a different site if it is immediately available (not if the Fort was full). Although Official checkin is now 3pm (generally available rooms to all), you can arrive as soon as 605am and wait or take what's available and start your day.

Bama Ed

 

[cu@theFort]

Each new day starts at 605am. You can wait for your preassigned site or can get a different site if it is immediately available (not if the Fort was full). Although Official checkin is now 3pm (generally available rooms to all), you can arrive as soon as 605am and wait or take what's available and start your day.

Bama Ed

when i called to extend by a couple days... no luck :-( they told us that we wouldn't know what site we would be on until we got there. but if i had a choice, what loop would i like to get on? have a 34' travel trailer on a premium site...

 

[bama_ed]

IMO, the Fort Cast Members are notoriously tight lipped about giving out your assigned site number until it is time. For example, if you check in and they are full (common around holidays for example) they will not tell you what site you are pre-assigned to. They will make you wait until the prior guest leaves, the site is cleaned and prepped, and thus ready for assignment. Then they will let you know.

If you tried to extend, I guess they were full in the Premium category for one of the days following your scheduled visit. Requesting a loop is a very personal decision. Do you want it for its location in the Fort (close to ....) or the amount of shade.... or close to Fort amenities like the dog park... or do you want a small loop so no matter where you are, it's not far out to the entrance/bus stop/comfort station.

It's impossible to name a single loop that is "best". It depends on what's important to you. And even then, there is often no single agreed upon answer. It's not a simple question.

Bama Ed

PS - you can request a loop but it's not a guarantee...

 

[tiggerdad]

This would depend on what things you are interested in being close to. If you want to be near the restaurants and Marina then I would say 400 or 700. Pool / Meadows / Movie could be the 1400, 600, 800, 900, 1000, etc. The easiest thing is to first decide what you wish to have the shortest walk to and then choose the loops closest to them. Each of the Premiums has varying site lengths but for most part 12-15 foot wide and your 34' rig should fit just fine on any of them.