Attendance at Fort Wilderness

[Tigger1966]

I had someone tell me that attendance was way down at Fort Wilderness this wear because of the high fuel costs. Has anyone here been there lately and is there any truth to this? Everything I have read says that park attendance doesn't seem affected.

 

[one sweet world]

I have to tell you, Im thinking of ditching the campsite! we're 2600 miles round trip and the motorhome gets 6mpg (7 if we're lucky!) Its my parents, me and my dh, my ds(16) and my dd and fiance-they ride with us but have dvc. we usually bump midway to a deluxe for a few nights, but with the discounts I think it would be cheaper to drive 2 cars, and get a room (for 5) instead of driving the motorhome and paying for the campsite....my parents usually rent a car for a few days to visit family, so with the savings of that too, it might make more sense! and i wouldnt have to sleep on the pull out!!!!!!!

 

[ConcKahuna]

Of course with it being FW, "Low attendance" is probably having only 85% of the campsites booked instead of 98% LOL

With how many times I have been through there and seen TONS of multi-million-dollar motor homes, I dont think all of the guests there are too worried about the gas prices. The prices probably are influencing bookings, but I don't see the campground being very empty any time soon.

Just as likely people just arent booking for the summer due to hurricane season starting June 1.

 

[Sammie]

Park attendance and hotels are not affected as many of the travelers are foreign, due to the dollar exchange.

I would expect the campground to be hit more severly with rising gas prices.

 

[VACAMPER]

We were there in April and forked out over $600 for gas. We didn't mind because FW is worth it. I don't think the fort is hurting considering the need to book months if not a year in advance. Gas does hurt but its worth it to be able to come home after a long day at the parks.

 

[des1954]

We go to FtW just to ride our bikes around - and to be honest with you - I haven't see much thinning out on the part of guests at FtW. The month of May until Mem Day is usually a slack time of the year, anyway.... and then June hits when family vacations start. Disney earnings for the 1st quarter of the year were much higher than predicted. Two of the factors cited for the higher earnings were park attendance and resort bookings - although it wasn't broken down by resorts. From what I read on this board, people are factoring in the cost of fuel when budgeting for a vacation at FtW. "If you can dream it, you can do it."

 

[WeCampDisney]

No way will high gas prices keep me from the Fort. I can't bear the thought of staying in a hotel, so boring. We are your average middle class family so yea it hurts to pay so much more for gas but as others have said its so worth it. I guess if gas hits $10 or $20 a gal I may have to leave the TT at home and bring the old trusty cabin tent, and still love it!

 

[FtWildrns5]

We're heading down from the MA/RI border in June. I just priced airline tickets for the 5 of us on SW and it was just under $1,500.00 to fly. I don't think we will pay that much in gas. It may be close but with the savings of not having to stay in a hotel (value resort not an option with 5) and eat every meal at a restaurant it is still worth it.

 

[~Kristina~]

Everyday I think about cancelling and just booking a room. But I love camping at the Fort.

 

[twoWDWfools]

Our FtW trip isn't until Oct and will be watching to see if cheaper to fly. Right now it's just about break even. Since it's just DH and I and we're DVC might just have to pass on camping this time - dunno. It's 2400 miles rt so the gas adds up quickly.

 

[seabee]

Our FtW trip isn't until Oct and will be watching to see if cheaper to fly. Right now it's just about break even. Since it's just DH and I and we're DVC might just have to pass on camping this time - dunno. It's 2400 miles rt so the gas adds up quickly.

Well, I just got off the phone with Disney. I have canceled our trip in Oct.

We have been going over and over the math and gas is going to cost us about $800 more than it will if we don't tow. And that is on the low end of the gas/milage scale. Going this year is pretty tight as it is, so we have to save where we can. We will be staying at SOG. We don't eat much in the TT anyway so there really isn't any savings there. And the cost of the room for us is just a bit more than what we were paying for our site. It still doesn't even out with towing. So it is a sad day at our house. But I suppose it is better than our other option-not going at all. I told my DH, as soon as we are back we will be putting money away every month because I am taking the TT next trip, I don't care what we have to do.

 

[VACAMPER]

Sorry, Seabbe. At least you are still going. I hear SOG is a nice place to stay. I'm sure you can still fit in a visit to the fort.

 

[seabee]

Sorry, Seabbe. At least you are still going. I hear SOG is a nice place to stay. I'm sure you can still fit in a visit to the fort.

SOG is nice, it is just nice to have my "home" to go back to instead of a hotel room. We will be spending one of our days at the fort. We had planned to keep one day for fort activities and we aren't going to change that.

 

[ditchdoc1017]

We got back yesterday total 1400 miles RT spent almost 600 in gas. The big thing is you can stay longer 7 night TT or 4 night room.Same money.

 

[PolynesianPixie]

oh Nicole! I'm sorry! I am glad you're still going! SOG is a nice place...you should be able to see the fireworks from there even (its been so long since I stayed there, I can't remember). I think everyone is beginning to feel the crunch. We have all sorts of plans too-vacation/remodeling.....eventually, somethings got to give!

At least it's still Disney!!!!!!

 

[seabee]

That's what I keep telling myself. I am still bummed though. This summer is going to stink I think this year for us and the camping season. Good thing I built that deck around the pool, looks like it will be getting a lot of use this year.

 

[ntsammy5]

SOG is nice, it is just nice to have my "home" to go back to instead of a hotel room. We will be spending one of our days at the fort. We had planned to keep one day for fort activities and we aren't going to change that.

I'm doing exactly the same thing in November but I'm staying in a timeshare through AFVC -- $329/WEEK! You might want to look into that. PM me if you want more information

As for FW, I think you will see reduced occupancy as all the price increases hit home, but I also think the rest of WDW will also experience some reduction too as Disney is forced to pass along increases in the cost of doing business.

 

[PolynesianPixie]

That's what I keep telling myself. I am still bummed though. This summer is going to stink I think this year for us and the camping season. Good thing I built that deck around the pool, looks like it will be getting a lot of use this year.

Can you camp in your backyard? When we can't get away I love to pop-up the camper and pretend we are somewhere else! With the pool there, too, it sounds like you have a nice little vacation spot! Just so you know...if you make it to VA...you can have a site free of charge

 

[seabee]

Can you camp in your backyard? When we can't get away I love to pop-up the camper and pretend we are somewhere else! With the pool there, too, it sounds like you have a nice little vacation spot! Just so you know...if you make it to VA...you can have a site free of charge

Actually, I was thinking that. I will make it to VA someday!

 

[MomofPirate&Mickey]

Seebee, sorry to hear that you can't go to the ft. I can understand though, & we live 45 min. from there!!

On-Topic, we were just there for Mother's Day w/e. We ended up in loop 2000 (more on that later), while on Thursday & Sunday nights, it was pretty vacant, on Friday & Saturday, it was pretty much a full house. We didn't see very many empty spots at all, unless they had the loops closed.