PIN codes and discounts that apply to the Fort...

[HotMouseLove]

Have you all ever had any luck in this arena? I know this has probably been asked before (I'm NEW here--although my sister has been hanging around for years--FigmentFan1).

I am currently working with a CM who trying to find something to work with us. I completed a survey (what's the proper Dis term??) after our visit in Feb with some concerns and as a result this CM is working to help us find some sort of discount.

She found one and called me yesterday. It will save us $89. $89 off of our 3K bill. Um, ok. I was polite and asked if we could continue searching.

I'm open to any input. Really.

P.S.--do you just have to WANT to be a Fort Fiend or is there some sort of initiation process??

 

[Lil' Lisa]

It depends. I assume from looking at your signature that you are reserving a campsite. In the past the only discounts available for campsites were AP and AAA. There is currently a "room only" discount that that does work for the campsites. The discount is 15% and it is only for the campsite part of your bill. That is probably what you got from the CM.

I am assuming that your 3K bill is for more than just the campsite (Either that or you are going for a really long trip and I am jealous! ) If that is the case, I don't know if you will be able to get much more than the CM already found. They don't offer free DDP for campers and you can generally only get cheaper park tickets elsewhere.

My advice would be to take the $89 and run, because it is more than they offered in the past...

And the only requirement for becoming a fort fiend is to be fiendishly crazy about the Fort!

 

[HotMouseLove]

Lisa--that was the nature of my complaint... no discounts apply to FW and as it is the only FEASIBLE option for our large family (and quite young--all of our children are between 4 and 11) and special needs child (son with Autism). I noted that possibly there was some sort of 'discrimination' here and that is what warranted the personal call. I noted that free dining never applies and it is always limited to 4 people at the resorts that cannot accommodate us.

3K is large . We stay 6 nights in premium site, add 4 days of tickets and the dining plan X 7.

I was tempted to call back and innocently ask if it was $89 per night or per person? I'm trying to behave. Sigh.

 

[mnsprk]

There are two issues (that are frequently mentioned) that dictate the "no discount" or free dining plan for the Fort.

#1They usually don't have any trouble filling the Fort especially during peak season.

#2 The fact that you can have 8 on a site without paying extra is the reason for no "Dining Plan". From I have been told and have seen on the Boards the dining plan is charged back to the resort thus the limitation.

And as was already mentioned AAA only applies to "site only" no packages.

Bottom line too many people " like all of us" are crazy about the Fort.

 

[HotMouseLove]

And the bottom line is--we are going 3K or not.

So I guess I should be gracious . Just curious about if any one else had had such an experience.

 

[mnsprk]

P.S.--do you just have to WANT to be a Fort Fiend or is there some sort of initiation process??

Forgot! Just hang up your "Green Ears".

 

[figmentfan1]

Forgot! Just hang up your "Green Ears".

We will get our green ears out for our Dec. trip! Right sis?

 

[freshlybarked]

Here is what I've been told in the past. There are discounts that apply to the campsites...I've gotten a couple of them. The ones that apply to the hotels also apply to the campsites. Here is the catch. The only apply to a few campsites and when they are gone, they are gone. They usually go with the Value Resort discount amount. They may only apply it to tent sites or they may only apply it to premium sites and then they may only have it available on 40 sites and when it's gone, its gone. We got a discount for our last trip, tried and will continue to try for our July trip and got a discount for our August trip. I have found it it be very hit or miss. Out of our 9 trips to the fort I've gotten 3 discounts, one was an upgrade to premium for the preferred price.

 

[campingdawgs]

We just made reservations for Sept. for a premium site. I made the res. online and forgot to go through the special offers tab. When I realized what I did, I called and sweetly asked for the room only discount to be applied. The CM changed our res. and I saved $102 for our 8 night stay. It can't hurt to ask...

 

[tderonne]

Sounds like you need to review your whole plan, if you want to save more.

Tickets are really expensive, but there are a lot of strategies to save money there; non-hoppers, no expiration option (won't save the first time, but future trips get cheaper, and they upgrade children's tickets to adults for free as they grow), military discounts.

Think about the dining plan, we make dining out a special occasion and eat at the motorhome most of the time.

Full-hook up site will save like $20 a day. Time of year affects the price by more than 100% from AAA discount value season to holiday no discount price.

No matter what, it'll be worth it. I'm the oldest of 8 kids. Lots of Disney memories growing up, can't buy stuff like that.

 

[figmentfan1]

Sounds like you need to review your whole plan, if you want to save more.

Tickets are really expensive, but there are a lot of strategies to save money there; non-hoppers, no expiration option (won't save the first time, but future trips get cheaper, and they upgrade children's tickets to adults for free as they grow), military discounts.

Think about the dining plan, we make dining out a special occasion and eat at the motorhome most of the time.

Full-hook up site will save like $20 a day. Time of year affects the price by more than 100% from AAA discount value season to holiday no discount price.

No matter what, it'll be worth it. I'm the oldest of 8 kids. Lots of Disney memories growing up, can't buy stuff like that.

Thanks for the suggestions. (I am OP's sister and we travel together).

We are by no means Disney virgins... we do non-hoppers and do a no park day. We do not do the no expiration thing because that is a lot to pony up front. We do the DDP mainly because this is our big vacation every year and I don't cook (except waffle biscuits for breakfast) on vacation. We enjoy eating out and like the "all-inclusive" feel of DDP... no worries about budgeting and being able to order whatever we want!

With the size of their MH and our truck/TT combo the Premium site is the best fit, plus we have 2 autistic boys and they really need their "space" to wonk around.

We go the same week every year (the last full week before christmas Sun-Sun) because it is best for everyone- I am a college professor and we leave the day after my work ends and it is an easy time for DH to get away (non-wildland fire season)- plus we feel ok pulling the kids out of school because they literally do nothing the week before Christmas!

The bottom line is what Laura said, no matter the cost we will go anyway but would love to save money to have more for those Mickey bars!!


JE

 

[Disneylitch]

There are some very large full hook up sites with lots of room to roam and privacy. You might want to do what we have done in regards to sites. We ride our bikes around to each and every loop and decide what will work and what will not work. Alot of the full hook up sites are bigger than the premium sites. We always go full hook up. We really like the location and the large sites. In December, we toured the loops again and wrote down all of the sites that will work, our favorites, and the ones that definitely won't work. You might want to do that if you haven't already. We also cook and freeze our meals ahead of time. That way I'm not really cooking on vacation. I take it out of the freezer, thaw it, heat it, and add some vegies, potatoes, etc and we are good to go.

 

[figmentfan1]

We also cook and freeze our meals ahead of time. That way I'm not really cooking on vacation. I take it out of the freezer, thaw it, heat it, and add some vegies, potatoes, etc and we are good to go.

That is still WAY too much for me at Disney. I cook on all other RV trips... just not Disney. I don't even like opening a box of Cheez-Its for the kids.

 

[jeepfreak]

Disneylitch , have you actualy been able to get a specific site that you reguested? Taken MH's down there 10 times and have never got the site we asked for. We consider ourselves lucky when we get the requested loop.

 

[HotMouseLove]

That is still WAY too much for me at Disney. I cook on all other RV trips... just not Disney. I don't even like opening a box of Cheez-Its for the kids.

And the last time you opened Cheez-its I found the uneaten bag in my RV 4 months later!

DDP may be pricey--but with 2 special needs boys we cannot be going in and out of the parks. Anytime you change the environment you have to allow them time to adjust and once you get them home (or to their RVs) they are done. They are also very instant gratification oriented (as most ASD kids are)--when they want to eat you better feed them before the moment passes!!

We have done the math with our family of 7 that really likes to eat and snack--it's really a decent deal for us. I dream of free dining, though. Sigh.

 

[figmentfan1]

And the last time you opened Cheez-its I found the uneaten bag in my RV 4 months later!

DDP may be pricey--but with 2 special needs boys we cannot be going in and out of the parks. Anytime you change the environment you have to allow them time to adjust and once you get them home (or to their RVs) they are done. They are also very instant gratification oriented (as most ASD kids are)--when they want to eat you better feed them before the moment passes!!

We have done the math with our family of 7 that really likes to eat and snack--it's really a decent deal for us. I dream of free dining, though. Sigh.

I will be sure I remember to buy EXTRA Cheez-Its for the December trip.

 

[Disneylitch]

Disneylitch , have you actualy been able to get a specific site that you reguested? Taken MH's down there 10 times and have never got the site we asked for. We consider ourselves lucky when we get the requested loop.

Yes we have, but I think it was just luck. However, we have been given a site and when we went to pull in we didn't like it. We then looked at other sites in the loop and went to the house phone and called in the site we wanted. We were then given that site. Whe requesting a site, we always gave atleast 5 sites that we liked. I think it depends on who is checking you in. Some people and just better than others.

 

[LMC]

We just went the last week of May and got a 40% off premium sites. I purchased our park tickets thru undercover which saved some $$ and we never do the DDP as I have an extremly ADHD child and on ASD with severe sensory issues so we always do counter service so we save $ on food.

 

[3girlsfun]

I completely understand where you are coming from with the size of your family, special needs, and NOT cooking.

About as far as I will go cooking on vacation is a frozen lasagna and bag of salad, or a crockpot meal. I am on vacation too! (Also, this is why I love cruises, no cooking or entertaining anyone.) I have a feeling that even when I do finally talk my DH into pulling our camper to the Fort, I will still buy the DDP. This is also one of my fav. things about Disney, entertainment all right there, and I am not going to be cooking and cleaning up! I don't want to play house somewhere else, and pay a lot of money to do it.

Anyway,....

My ODD has sensory disorder, and she needs a quiet place to unwind. Although the rooms at Pop are small, there isn't a lot going on there as far as lobby's, decorations, themes, activities going on, etc. So, we should be able to make it to our rooms pretty easily. (Despite the huge oversized decorations outside!) Although we are not going to the Fort, I begged my DH to stay in the cabins, but, we are at Pop with two rooms.

There are five in my immediate family, but 6 of us traveling, and that will most likely be the norm until my kids are all out of diapers, strollers and naps. I too am constantly annoyed at the lack of budget friendly choices we have for our party size. (We couldn't rent a suite on the cruise we are going on, bc it doesn't accommodate 5 people!) I realize there are some choices, but, when the cheapest options is to get two rooms and it being cheaper than 1 larger room, there is something wrong with the picture.

People always tried to tell me when I said I wanted at least 3 kids, that anything 2 and above would complicate things. My youngest is only 6 months, and I have ran into this already now about 25 times! I can't tell you how many times we have been stuck at a 4 top table with our family of 5 since two of them are babies.....umm, we don't fit! LOL!!!