Having friends visit you while at the Fort

[LittleDickensDesigns]

I just discovered we will have some friends in Orlando at the same time we are. I know they are doing a few days at WDW but I'm not sure it will work out to meet up in the parks. Instead I thought on one of our early nights maybe they could meet us back at our cabin for some dinner then go to the campfire with us.

Would they be able to do that? And if so, what do I need to do in advance. We won't have a car with us, would it be possible for them to drive in to our cabin and park there?

Also, how late do the boats run to/from MK? I was thinking if they were leaving early from there one day maybe they could just take the boat over to us.

 

[Shan-man]

Your friends can certainly visit, but you would need to meet them up front (with your key card) to get them into the Fort. And since you won't have a car, parking theirs at your site will not be a problem. The boats run for at least an hour after MK closes, and personally I'd try to arrange that instead of by car... far more ambiance to get your friends into a Fort state of mind! If there is a special party (Pirates and Princesses, MVMCP, MNSSHP) the boats will run until an hour after the party.

 

[BigDaddyRog]

Or they can hop a ride to the Magic Kingdom, the catch the Fort Wilderness boat over to the campground and hop an internal bus to your cabin loop. I believe the boat runs up to an hour after the park closes on any particular day.

They could also enter and park in the overflow lot and hop an internal bus to your loop.

 

[lklasing]

On our trip in May 2008, we had friends from Tampa who were going to come visit us at the cabin. I was able to call to the FW registration desk and give them our friends' names and asked that they be given a parking pass (since we had never gotten one). They were able to get the pass and come right to the cabin without us having to meet them anywhere. I don't know if anything has changed since then, but it worked for us.

Leslie

 

[Shan-man]

That's very cool Leslie. I had to pay $2 per day to add my mother to our site to get her a parking pass, even though she was staying at Shades of Green! They REALLY need to write an SOP manual instead of winging it :/

 

[mrzrich]

Your friends can certainly visit, but you would need to meet them up front (with your key card) to get them into the Fort. And since you won't have a car, parking theirs at your site will not be a problem. The boats run for at least an hour after MK closes, and personally I'd try to arrange that instead of by car... far more ambiance to get your friends into a Fort state of mind! If there is a special party (Pirates and Princesses, MVMCP, MNSSHP) the boats will run until an hour after the party.

That's very cool Leslie. I had to pay $2 per day to add my mother to our site to get her a parking pass, even though she was staying at Shades of Green! They REALLY need to write an SOP manual instead of winging it :/

I wouldn't have them go through any of that trouble, just have them enter through the second entrance (the overflow parking entrance). Since the OP doesn't have a car, the guests can park at their cabin.

 

[Shan-man]

Aren't there gates and barricades to keep you from getting into the Fort from the overflow? I thought non-bus traffic was exit only?

 

[mh1973]

We are staying at Fort Wilderness and having friends stay at POR, we thought we would get together a day or two to let our girls swim together, check out this thread.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread...05&highlight=having+friends+visit+your+resort

OMG, people get serious about this stuff!!!!!!

 

[Disbuf]

Thanks for that link. It is amazing how ugly some of these threads get on here. I love how some people become the Disney Police on here. I use to work at one of the resorts in recreation and I can tell you that we never did pool checks. It is true that the Beach Club uses the wrist bands must I think they are the only ones.

We had a relative visit us last March at the Fort. Because we had the truck parked at the site, I just had them park in the overflow lot. They called me on their cell when they got close and I went up with the golf cart and picked them up.

 

[BradyBz12]

Aren't there gates and barricades to keep you from getting into the Fort from the overflow? I thought non-bus traffic was exit only?

Yes, there are. Unless you want to try tailing a bus to get in you can't get in from overflow.

When we drove out to overflow to pick up our golf cart, I had to drive around and back through the main gate and use my KTTW to get in. DH managed to squeeze the cart through a little path up at the top of the parking lot so he didn't have to go out on the road, but it's not big enough to get a car through.

 

[mrzrich]

hmm...scratching my head....my DSIL has visited us at the fort and he always comes in through overflow. Wonder how he does it? I'll have to call him and ask.

 

[Shan-man]

When did she last do this, the barricades have been there for a couple of years at least. Maybe she shadows a bus through the gate?!

 

[lisard]

My family has an annual Christmas tradition of going to visit the resorts to see the decorations. We live here in Orlando, so we just do it as a day trip. We have never had any problem getting into any resort, including FW, by just telling the guard that we are just there to see the decorations/sights/whatever. They generally take down our identification information and license plate and some provide us with a temporary parking pass. They are usually very friendly about it, too.

 

[BradyBz12]

DSIL has visited us at the fort and he always comes in through overflow. Wonder how he does it? I'll have to call him and ask.

Love to know - would save us having to go out and pick up my uncle the next time they come for a visit. But then, we'll use pretty much any excuse to hop in the golf cart and go for a spin.

telling the guard that we are just there to see the decorations/sights/whatever. They generally take down our identification information and license plate and some provide us with a temporary parking pass. They are usually very friendly about it, too.

Huh... never thought of that, but it does make sense it would work, since you can pretty much do exactly the same thing at the gates of all the other resorts for dining, shopping, etc. I guess since FW is always talking about not wanting people just randomly driving around the place, I wouldn't have considered it.

Only "catch" is that once you're in, there's really no place to park your car unless you're visiting someone with a site/cabin (and a spare space). You can't park near the marina/Settlement, and the parking at Meadows is restricted to just quick visits.

Might be another one of those FW idiosyncracies where it depends on who you talk to.

 

[Shan-man]

My family has an annual Christmas tradition of going to visit the resorts to see the decorations. We live here in Orlando, so we just do it as a day trip. We have never had any problem getting into any resort, including FW, by just telling the guard that we are just there to see the decorations/sights/whatever. They generally take down our identification information and license plate and some provide us with a temporary parking pass. They are usually very friendly about it, too.

I don't doubt that this has worked for you, but it is against the rules... and as such it is just another example of the Fort CMs needing a clear SOP and training. Even legitimate guests of the resort are not allowed to tour the resort in their cars, as the rules specifically state that road vehicles are only for use between your site and the exit. The only exception is you are able to drive to the Meadow Trading Post and park for 15 minutes. If a day-tripper drove up to the guard shack at FW and said he was going to dinner at Trail's End, he should expect to be directed to exit and park in the overflow lot and catch the bus. Why? Because there is no parking at Trail's End; for guests or day-trippers. BTW, we have parked our motorhome at Poly, CR, and CSR by saying we were going to the restaurant with no problems. Basically they issue a temp parking pass so they can track how long you are there, i.e. to make sure you aren't hitting the parks without paying for parking!

 

[LittleDickensDesigns]

Thanks for all your replies. I won't know until we are all actually there what day it is and/or what we'll be doing that day. But it's good to have some options!

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Yes, there are. Unless you want to try tailing a bus to get in you can't get in from overflow.

When did she last do this, the barricades have been there for a couple of years at least. Maybe she shadows a bus through the gate?!

A word to the wise about trying to shadow a bus through the overflow parking gate . . .

I know someone (very well in fact) that tried to do this a year or two ago. He was tired of having to drive through the main entrance and waiting on line to get through the automatic gate.

The bus entrance gate from the overflow lot does not have an automatic catch that makes it bounce back up if a vehicle drives in right behind a bus. The gate arm attempts to close, immediately after the bus passes through, no matter what, with almost no delay.

Fortunately for this hypothetical person that I know, he drove through quickly enough that he just got a small scratch on the roof of his Ford Excursion (which his DW normally drives, and so far has not noticed). This poor fellow spent the rest of his stay at the Fort worrying that Fort Security would show up to interrogate him about the incident. Luckily for him, no one ever came to find him. But he learned his lesson.

I have often seen the gate arm broken. I also noticed that there is a camera there. I would bet that if you break the arm, you pay for it. That would put a damper on your vacation.

So, kiddies, do not try this!

TCD

 

[BigDaddyRog]

. . . I know someone (very well in fact) that tried to do this a year or two ago. He was tired of having to drive through the main entrance and waiting on line to get through the automatic gate.
. . . this hypothetical person that I know,. . . learned his lesson.
. . .

It sounds like this hypothetical friend of yours is better at sneaking AROUND places than he is at sneaking IN places!!!

 

[Shan-man]

It sounds like this hypothetical friend of yours is better at sneaking AROUND places than he is at sneaking IN places!!!

NICE!

 

[lisard]

When we come to visit at Christmas we don't try to drive around. When we tell them why we are there we are usually directed to the overflow lot and asked about how long we think we'll be staying. We usually walk around or take the bus over to Pioneer Hall and walk back from there. We usually don't ever stay for more than 2-3 hours max.

It's a good thing they let us do that...one of those visits was what finally inspired me to try a short camping trip with my son! We're both really looking forward to the experience!