Mmketeer
<font color=blue>DIS Cast Member- no really, but n
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2001
- Messages
- 2,212
Well after not camping at FW for a few years, DH and I and our two BT's were able to make it back with our 5th wheel that we got at Christmas. It was beautiful weekend with prefect weather...we couldn't have asked for anything better. It felt like home being there again. 
No problems checking in and we stayed in a preferred area for the first time #823 and we loved it. The 800 loop was perfect for us, nice and shaded which if it stays that way in the summer it will help the a/c unit keep the camper cool. Their is a nice long dog walk area next to the canal, but no grass anywhere. Tree stomps and leaf litter, so if you need a grassy area for your pet this may not be the loop for you. We also rode our bikes over to the dog park near loop 300 and it looked great to us. Course' they never mentioned the dog park to us upon check in and it wasn't on the map either, but it was mentioned on some responsiblity type paper we were given at check-in. And, their was little signs pointing out the path you would take your dog to get there along the road. They had a picnic bench on one end under some trees for shade for folks to sit on and the other BT person we ran into on loop 700 said she took her BT there everyday and had no problems and never worried about it going under the fence. My kids could have never made that kind of walk to get there though from our site.They would have been to worn out to play once there. We also found out one is a camper (our little girl Hope) and one wasn't which would be her brother (JR). JR had to be dragged out the camper just to go to potty. Speaking of potty I did see some not so nice presents left behind by not so responsible pet owners inbetween the campsites when folks checked out on Sunday. I guess that's another reason to not walk inbetween the sites even if they aren't occupied! LOL!
We spent most of the time in the camper with our BT's who hadn't camped at Disney since they were 4 months old to try and get them accumated to everything. But, we did go see my old Pal Sundee and it was a true blessing to see her still doing her thing after 10 years. We hugged and shared stories about folks we knew. I was happy to hear that she monitored the boards and had figured out who I was and so knew me before I even had to say anything to her. Sundee rocks and I know she appreciates her fans so be sure to stop by and at least watch her show even if you don't stay for the movie.
The campground has changed a bit in that it has been cleared out some, but to be honest DH and I didn't think it was a negative thing. It sure makes the place look cleaner in our opinion. And so much of it was just as we had remembered it that the clearing of the vines and some trees didn't make a difference to us. We did ride our bikes over to the 300 loop and we could tell there were alot of Disney fans there as those Mickey lamp posts were everywhere over there. We were also delighted to see so many people with valentine's decorations and lights throughout the Campground. Gosh we even saw someone with Christmas decorations still....okay that was a bit over the top for the end of Feb. but whatever I gues they were trying. LOL! I didn't see any of our DISBoards logo though, but DH and I did have our red rope light Mickey head and our green DISBoards sign in our camper window. We did like the 300 loop and it will probably be our second choice just becuse it seemed much louder over there during the boat parade and fireworks then it did in the 800 loop and our BT's don't really like loud noises too much. Yeah, I know they are spoiled. We also went back to our old home of the 1900 loop. I'd say we did notice the clearing alot more there to us and that's probably cause that's really the only place we ever use to stay. DH checked it out and said we could still get our 5th wheel in there. But the sites are smaller due to the fact they don't have as much space on the sides, now that it's cleared out though you can use the middle part at least to let the pet go potty where as before that was impossiable due to the vegitation. It was still really quiet back in 1900 even though the campground was packed and their were still a few available sites there. Our loop and the 300 loop had none available. DH says that will be our 3rd choice now just because he really liked the cable access we had at the preferred loop and he says it will save us $45 a month to do the satelight dish to not do the dish like we use too and he doesn't have to hassel with finding a signal either. I guess this also means now that DH will not be willing to camp anywhere that doesn't at least provide basic cable. LOL!
The buses were a nightmare and I have to say was the only negative thing on our trip. No fault of the bus drivers, but just beware they have gotten a new GPS system that the 'Disney exc's' think will improve the guest wait times and the bus routes. Maybe it will work and maybe it won't later on, but for now be prepared for longer than normal wait times for the buses. I knew something was up when while waiting to be picked up yesterday at Downtown Disney Marketplace 90% of the buses had no signs saying where they were going or going to and their were a couple of Disney exec.'s hanging out there with walkie talkies. The buses also seem to be stacked up in bothe directions waiting to get in and out of the bus que area to drop off and pick up guests even when their weren't any buses around us. I saw a few guests cross over the bus lanes to the excutives to complain I knew that cause I was one of the first people in that area that morning as I had gotten their at 9:20 and was ready to leave at 10:25. I knew what I needed and I can power shop! LOL! Anyway, I finally had to complain too (which I hate doing) after finally a bus pulled up at my stop #4 let 4 people off and then when I tried to get on said to me " sorry I am not going anywhere I am going on break!". Well for those that know me I don't take kindly to poor guest service and after waiting till 11:00 to be picked up I also walked over to the excutive's (who I know saw me standing there the whole time checking my watch and giving them looks cause' they were standing right across from me). I told them that I appreciated that they were trying to improve the service, but that have to see that they at the moment are providing the WORST guest service I have ever seen in the 36 years that I have been coming to Disney. And I added check out is 11:00 which I would have more than made had I not still been waiting for a bus for over 30 min. They assured me they'd get me a bus and by the time I called hubby to tell him why I wasn't already back yet, a bus showed up. The driver by the name of Junior despite all the crap that was taking place was very nice, friendly and even had a smile on his face. He is the one that told me why the system wasn't working while pointing out his new GPS system. At least someone was providing some answers on why things were going as bad as they were. He also mentioned when I asked that DD was not the only area with back up's. He said that they had guests paying $500 a night or more at the Grand Floridian that also been waiting for over an hour to go to places like the Animal Kingdom etc. I sure hope they get the transportation back on track, cause' I use to think it was pretty darn convient. Right now though I'd say if you have a priority seating or somewhere you need to be in a hurry take the boat if you can, grab a taxi or take your own car. Cause' that was horribale!
All in all though it was a great trip and we'll go back to FW, matter of fact it looks like once again I'm gonna have a hard time to try and get DH to go somehere other than FW.
Thanks for reading this...just one ex-CM's opinion.
No problems checking in and we stayed in a preferred area for the first time #823 and we loved it. The 800 loop was perfect for us, nice and shaded which if it stays that way in the summer it will help the a/c unit keep the camper cool. Their is a nice long dog walk area next to the canal, but no grass anywhere. Tree stomps and leaf litter, so if you need a grassy area for your pet this may not be the loop for you. We also rode our bikes over to the dog park near loop 300 and it looked great to us. Course' they never mentioned the dog park to us upon check in and it wasn't on the map either, but it was mentioned on some responsiblity type paper we were given at check-in. And, their was little signs pointing out the path you would take your dog to get there along the road. They had a picnic bench on one end under some trees for shade for folks to sit on and the other BT person we ran into on loop 700 said she took her BT there everyday and had no problems and never worried about it going under the fence. My kids could have never made that kind of walk to get there though from our site.They would have been to worn out to play once there. We also found out one is a camper (our little girl Hope) and one wasn't which would be her brother (JR). JR had to be dragged out the camper just to go to potty. Speaking of potty I did see some not so nice presents left behind by not so responsible pet owners inbetween the campsites when folks checked out on Sunday. I guess that's another reason to not walk inbetween the sites even if they aren't occupied! LOL!We spent most of the time in the camper with our BT's who hadn't camped at Disney since they were 4 months old to try and get them accumated to everything. But, we did go see my old Pal Sundee and it was a true blessing to see her still doing her thing after 10 years. We hugged and shared stories about folks we knew. I was happy to hear that she monitored the boards and had figured out who I was and so knew me before I even had to say anything to her.
Sundee rocks and I know she appreciates her fans so be sure to stop by and at least watch her show even if you don't stay for the movie. The campground has changed a bit in that it has been cleared out some, but to be honest DH and I didn't think it was a negative thing. It sure makes the place look cleaner in our opinion. And so much of it was just as we had remembered it that the clearing of the vines and some trees didn't make a difference to us. We did ride our bikes over to the 300 loop and we could tell there were alot of Disney fans there as those Mickey lamp posts were everywhere over there. We were also delighted to see so many people with valentine's decorations and lights throughout the Campground. Gosh we even saw someone with Christmas decorations still....okay that was a bit over the top for the end of Feb. but whatever I gues they were trying. LOL! I didn't see any of our DISBoards logo though, but DH and I did have our red rope light Mickey head and our green DISBoards sign in our camper window. We did like the 300 loop and it will probably be our second choice just becuse it seemed much louder over there during the boat parade and fireworks then it did in the 800 loop and our BT's don't really like loud noises too much. Yeah, I know they are spoiled. We also went back to our old home of the 1900 loop. I'd say we did notice the clearing alot more there to us and that's probably cause that's really the only place we ever use to stay. DH checked it out and said we could still get our 5th wheel in there. But the sites are smaller due to the fact they don't have as much space on the sides, now that it's cleared out though you can use the middle part at least to let the pet go potty where as before that was impossiable due to the vegitation. It was still really quiet back in 1900 even though the campground was packed and their were still a few available sites there. Our loop and the 300 loop had none available. DH says that will be our 3rd choice now just because he really liked the cable access we had at the preferred loop and he says it will save us $45 a month to do the satelight dish to not do the dish like we use too and he doesn't have to hassel with finding a signal either. I guess this also means now that DH will not be willing to camp anywhere that doesn't at least provide basic cable. LOL!
The buses were a nightmare and I have to say was the only negative thing on our trip. No fault of the bus drivers, but just beware they have gotten a new GPS system that the 'Disney exc's' think will improve the guest wait times and the bus routes. Maybe it will work and maybe it won't later on, but for now be prepared for longer than normal wait times for the buses. I knew something was up when while waiting to be picked up yesterday at Downtown Disney Marketplace 90% of the buses had no signs saying where they were going or going to and their were a couple of Disney exec.'s hanging out there with walkie talkies. The buses also seem to be stacked up in bothe directions waiting to get in and out of the bus que area to drop off and pick up guests even when their weren't any buses around us. I saw a few guests cross over the bus lanes to the excutives to complain I knew that cause I was one of the first people in that area that morning as I had gotten their at 9:20 and was ready to leave at 10:25. I knew what I needed and I can power shop! LOL! Anyway, I finally had to complain too (which I hate doing) after finally a bus pulled up at my stop #4 let 4 people off and then when I tried to get on said to me " sorry I am not going anywhere I am going on break!". Well for those that know me I don't take kindly to poor guest service and after waiting till 11:00 to be picked up I also walked over to the excutive's (who I know saw me standing there the whole time checking my watch and giving them looks cause' they were standing right across from me). I told them that I appreciated that they were trying to improve the service, but that have to see that they at the moment are providing the WORST guest service I have ever seen in the 36 years that I have been coming to Disney. And I added check out is 11:00 which I would have more than made had I not still been waiting for a bus for over 30 min. They assured me they'd get me a bus and by the time I called hubby to tell him why I wasn't already back yet, a bus showed up. The driver by the name of Junior despite all the crap that was taking place was very nice, friendly and even had a smile on his face. He is the one that told me why the system wasn't working while pointing out his new GPS system. At least someone was providing some answers on why things were going as bad as they were. He also mentioned when I asked that DD was not the only area with back up's. He said that they had guests paying $500 a night or more at the Grand Floridian that also been waiting for over an hour to go to places like the Animal Kingdom etc. I sure hope they get the transportation back on track, cause' I use to think it was pretty darn convient. Right now though I'd say if you have a priority seating or somewhere you need to be in a hurry take the boat if you can, grab a taxi or take your own car. Cause' that was horribale!
All in all though it was a great trip and we'll go back to FW, matter of fact it looks like once again I'm gonna have a hard time to try and get DH to go somehere other than FW.
Thanks for reading this...just one ex-CM's opinion.
