Empty Sites at the Fort

[DisCamper]

The same Michael Eisner that thought animation was dead and a thing of the past, and Disney should not be wasting any time with that nonsense anymore...thank God for Frank Wells...and Roy.

It is the same Michael Eisner in a meeting told stockholder he was more Disney than Disney himself.

 

[storyteller]

We saw lots of empty site and less decoration,
And the gulf cart police with to much power, a little more training on there part would help, Loss that magic feeling....

 

[mnsprk]

And the gulf cart police with to much power, a little more training on there part would help, ....

Can you clarify or expand on that statement.

 

[fugarwe]

I concur, what are you talking about? Was there actual enforcement of golf cart rule breakage? Please, fill us in!

 

[storyteller]

yes, they had undercover golf cart patrols, one was a little over controling(zelas), Christmas eve, saw him sereval times stop and yell at drivers who did nothing wrong, and the ones that were breaking rules, nothing was done, shameful.. They also had folks on some corners with red flash lites, they were nice and polite, this other guy well, no disney magic.. put a bad taste in my mouth. it only takes one to ruin the magic.. Told him about the other rule breakers, "I didn't see it" As they past right it front of us. Not a happy camper. Christmas eve was the only time we saw this.

 

[mnsprk]

Thanks for the follow-up info.

 

[2goofycampers]

Went looping last night. Not too many empty sites at all. They had guys at intersections keeping an eye out. Since we were definitely 16 and sober, they just wished us a Happy New Year. We didn't see any under cover patrols. But, that's the point.

 

[storyteller]

Funny how that works... If you follow the rules, you never get to meet them.

You may not meet them, but if you know what to look for you'll see them. or at least one of them. I hope he's no longer there..

 

[super_camper]

yes, they had undercover golf cart patrols, one was a little over controling(zelas), Christmas eve, saw him sereval times stop and yell at drivers who did nothing wrong, and the ones that were breaking rules, nothing was done, shameful.. They also had folks on some corners with red flash lites, they were nice and polite, this other guy well, no disney magic.. put a bad taste in my mouth. it only takes one to ruin the magic.. Told him about the other rule breakers, "I didn't see it" As they past right it front of us. Not a happy camper. Christmas eve was the only time we saw this.

This wasn't our experience. My daughter just turned 16 and got her licence before we left, she looks too young to drive so she was constantly questioned until they gave her a pink wrist band - that stopped most questioning but not all. They were always polite and didn't make her feel bad at all.

We were at the Fort from the 20 through the 1st, Disney posted people at the main intersections on several days and had people in plain clothes roam around the Fort, I'm sure they had an impact on the underage driving as that is what they appeared to be focused on.

I must say the real problem appears to be the non-rental carts, some are quite large and easily exceed the Fort speed limits (and often do), nothing quite like walking through pioneer woods and seeing over a thousand pounds of cart and people coming at you at over 20 miles an hour, there seems to be no rules that govern these carts, the same guys that questioned my daughters age just watched them drive by. We saw an off-road hunting vehicle parked in the trails end parking lot, this thing was absolutely huge and obviously took the pioneer woods path to get there.

It's just not safe at times and I can't believe Disney allows it

 

[fugarwe]

The size and structure of the cart shouldn't matter. If it's being operated in a safe manner then there shouldn't be an issue. Good for the CMs enforcing the rules.

 

[Born 2 Fish]

In Disney years I'm only 7 and no one has ever stop me to question my age.

 

[2goofycampers]

The Fort is about 3/4 full, now.

 

[big kahuna1]

This wasn't our experience. My daughter just turned 16 and got her licence before we left, she looks too young to drive so she was constantly questioned until they gave her a pink wrist band - that stopped most questioning but not all. They were always polite and didn't make her feel bad at all.

We were at the Fort from the 20 through the 1st, Disney posted people at the main intersections on several days and had people in plain clothes roam around the Fort, I'm sure they had an impact on the underage driving as that is what they appeared to be focused on.

I must say the real problem appears to be the non-rental carts, some are quite large and easily exceed the Fort speed limits (and often do), nothing quite like walking through pioneer woods and seeing over a thousand pounds of cart and people coming at you at over 20 miles an hour, there seems to be no rules that govern these carts, the same guys that questioned my daughters age just watched them drive by. We saw an off-road hunting vehicle parked in the trails end parking lot, this thing was absolutely huge and obviously took the pioneer woods path to get there.

It's just not safe at times and I can't believe Disney allows it

I must disagree. In the many dozens of times I have been there I see the exact opposite. The renters, for themost part, really show their lack of experience in driving golf carts every time. They also seem to be the ones I see with kids thinking that the carts are race cars, stunt vehicles or off orad vehicles.

I do agree though that they need to police the Polaris Rangers, Yamaha Rhinos and other ATV's types that are not suppose to be allowed they they let pass.

 

[BradyBz12]

I must disagree. In the many dozens of times I have been there I see the exact opposite. The renters, for themost part, really show their lack of experience in driving golf carts every time. They also seem to be the ones I see with kids thinking that the carts are race cars, stunt vehicles or off orad vehicles.

This has been our experience as well. Maybe because the rental carts far outnumber the privately owned ones, but we've seen many more instances of underaged drivers and generally crazy driving on Disney rental carts.

It's almost as if people don't realize that these things are VEHICLES and that the roads in the Fort are REAL ROADS - complete with REAL cars and buses on them.

Seems they're often treated like toys - hence all the kids zipping around on them, in some cases driving with the parents right in the cart with them. I can't imagine that at home these kids are allowed to drive their parents' cars around the neighborhood.

Either that or it's the old "it's not mine, so who cares if I trash it" thinking.
But what they forget is that they're not just a danger to the cart and themselves, but to everyone else walking, biking, riding around.

I do agree though that they need to police the Polaris Rangers, Yamaha Rhinos and other ATV's types that are not suppose to be allowed they they let pass.

Agreed! We haven't seen a lot of these, but of course the ones you do see stick out like a sore thumb.

One night we saw a dad looping with his 3-4 year old on his lap and she was the only one with her hands on the steering wheel.

Gotta say she was a pretty good driver!

And it was really late/cold and almost no one else was out, but still...

 

[retired and happy]

We saw MANY underage drivers and OVERSIZED vehicles around the Fort on our recent visit. Both are a nuisance and a hazard. If the rules are not going to be enforced, they might as well let 5 year olds and SUV's drive to the marina.

 

[sbnewhampshire1]

I agree it is getting to expensive to stay at the fort! We also saw all the empty spots during Dec when we were there. Stressed ourselves out because we had one day in between our time there w/no reservation kept trying to reserve it in but kept gettin the" we are all booked" for that date,the day before we were to leave we got it! Were abouts on the Gulf are you staying? Would like to look into it ourselves!

 

[biw314]

I agree that the prices seem high for a campsite but The Fort is pretty much the only place where I pay directly for a campsite (lots of boondocking and festivals) and when I noticed the prices at a campground down the road from me (New England) I was shocked. $68 for water, sewer and electric and two adults. $12 for each additional adult. No campfire sing-a-long, no Disney Transportation, no mouse.

So, I'm kinda surprised, but not really surprised that people are willing to pay for the Fort.

 

[aceys_h0ney]

I agree that the prices seem high for a campsite but The Fort is pretty much the only place where I pay directly for a campsite (lots of boondocking and festivals) and when I noticed the prices at a campground down the road from me (New England) I was shocked. $68 for water, sewer and electric and two adults. $12 for each additional adult. No campfire sing-a-long, no Disney Transportation, no mouse.

So, I'm kinda surprised, but not really surprised that people are willing to pay for the Fort.

I agree. For our family of 6 most campsites after all the additional people fee and dogs fees end up costing us $60-$70 a night. So to me Disney isn't that much more expensive.