Price increase

[WeLovePluto]

We just booked for Mardi Gras 2021, which got me to look at the prices, as I really hadn’t paid much attention to how much they jumped.

That’s said, I went and looked at some of the private rv parks on the gulf beaches as I think that’s a fair comparison point. The full hook up and preferred sites at FW aren’t totally out of whack with those places (120-150ish, depending on the campground...not looking at the premium spots at those either). And at most of those you get a campsite, fairly small pool, and access to the beach. In some cases it’s the sound side beach.

 

[sirenia88]

DW and I thought about doing Spring break this upcoming April 2020. The idea quickly went out of the door. It was going to be well over $5,000 to cover everything for the week. That is a fairly large increase from what we paid 3 years ago. We also had other aspects to that trip but the Disney portion made up the bulk of it. Honestly, I would spend my money elsewhere with the increases that have been made over the last year or 2.

I would love to come back to the Fort especially with my new rig. However, I feel that might not be as easy as it once was. The bang for the buck is no longer there especially if we travel to somewhere else or the like.

 

[RamblingMad]

I agree that Fort Wilderness is above and beyond what is offered at other campgrounds but that was what we were thinking when the price was $100 a night cheaper than it is now. We were going every year and went twice in 2018, but now I think we're being priced out and it makes me sad. I'll be there in 2021 with extended family (3 staying at the Fort) but I may have to stay off property part of the time to afford it. We're retirees and just can't keep up and there must be others in the same situation.

Camping shouldn't be expensive. Just saying. Now, I get that I'm a tent camper, so I don't need all of the hook ups. But the difference between tent camping and RV camping shouldn't be huge. It definitely shouldn't cost as much as a hotel room off property. That's what really blows my mind. I camp to save money on vacations and still see the sights I want to see.

 

[sirenia88]

I found a cheap time at Disney. August! It's like a more reasonable price to camp. I wonder if the mouse would get mad if I installed wind anchors around the trailer during the T storms. LoL

 

[bama_ed]

I found a cheap time at Disney. August! It's like a more reasonable price to camp. I wonder if the mouse would get mad if I installed wind anchors around the trailer during the T storms. LoL

You NAILED it (Alan, Allen, however - my neighbor of the same name spells his oddly and now it's all up in my head )!

Yep it's cheap.

It's also hot.

It's also humid.

It's also wet.

Then there's that 'hurricane thing' always hanging out there.

Sounds like a great combination right? But hey, Fort demand is down - availability is up. August (and early September) is one of the few times there is supposedly a publicly available discount on campsites.

Way back in my early married life (DW#1 still) I lived south of Orlando in Florida. That cured me of camping in summer EVEN WITH AC. No June-Sep Fort stays in my signature, no sir. Heaven forbid shlepping around the theme parks in that heat & humidity. SPF50 is just a starting point to me.

Bama Ed

PS - new camper you say? We love pictures......

 

[Judique]

Camping shouldn't be expensive. Just saying. Now, I get that I'm a tent camper, so I don't need all of the hook ups. But the difference between tent camping and RV camping shouldn't be huge. It definitely shouldn't cost as much as a hotel room off property. That's what really blows my mind. I camp to save money on vacations and still see the sights I want to see.

This works almost everywhere.

Except at Walt Di$ney World.

I'm a DVC member who finally got to stay at the Fort a few years back. I'm also an avid tent camper although I do own a popup.

Every year I try to make a camping trip work at Fort Wilderness. It's just cheaper to stay in the hotels.

 

[BeachMama13]

Don't like the price? Don't pay it then. Alter dates or stay somewhere else. Cook/eat a few more meals at the site to save dining dollars. Skip the golf cart rental and <gasp > walk the campground or bring a bike. I stay my first night at a state park nearby for $24 a night and roll into the Fort early the next morning because my normal arrival time from where I live (late afternoon) means Disney would charge me mega-$$$$ to sleep and breathe their air. Buy one less day's ticket. Spend less on merch.

We do the same, stay nearby the night before and then roll in early the next morning. I don't like paying a premium price just to sleep.

Let's be honest, those golf cart fees are astronomical. We splurge on one during Thanksgiving so that we can loop around and see decorations but bring our bikes other times of the year. May even invest in a couple of power scooters--we could buy one for all of us for less than a week's GC rental. Don't get me wrong, the GC is awesome to have, but for many of us it's not a necessity.

I live in NW FL and looked at pricing for a popular campground that's on the Gulf, in March. If you went with their beachfront site, it's $225 a night. That is directly on the beach--and no sewer hook ups or pets allowed. While it's a nice park (other sites have sewer h/u and allow pets), it doesn't compare to the Fort.

 

[Breezy2]

deleted

 

[Stratman50th]

And can you sit outside your room and enjoy a friendly, polite conversation with your neighbors?

I get the point about Fort campsite prices - I remember when the price topped $100 a night and we all were aghast! Then they phased in Premium loops late 2008-early 2009 (to be able to justify more for Premium) and split Full from Preferred (to be able to justify more for Preferred). And now carved out Premium Meadow for the same reasons.

But the Fort isn't just any campsite. Compare its rates to other limited capacity-high demand locations like the Florida Keys private campgrounds and all of a sudden the Fort's rates are not as ridiculous. They aren't going to expand the Fort and we'll be lucky to keep what we've got. So yes, try to travel off-season when possible or drop back to a cheaper category of site if your rig size and other requirements allow.

I don't begrudge Disney raising rates (they finally popped in a new 2020 rate season for Halloween) as were I a private businessman I would raise rates to the point where I stop maximizing revenues. But I do believe Disney could make a few changes regarding their rates and reservation system that would better justify the price they charge.

Don't like the price? Don't pay it then. Alter dates or stay somewhere else. Cook/eat a few more meals at the site to save dining dollars. Skip the golf cart rental and <gasp > walk the campground or bring a bike. I stay my first night at a state park nearby for $24 a night and roll into the Fort early the next morning because my normal arrival time from where I live (late afternoon) means Disney would charge me mega-$$$$ to sleep and breathe their air. Buy one less day's ticket. Spend less on merch.

I hope the OP can find some more affordable times to travel to the Fort.

Bama Ed

Pretty good synopsis of how it is. We are those people that have stayed at private resorts in the Keys, Naples, Tennessee and others where the prices range from just below the Fort to higher in season. I hate the way Disney gouges their customers in all things, to the point of having no interest in the parks any longer. Fort Wilderness though has a lot to offer without even leaving their boundaries. We only live 30 minutes away and it's a nice little staycation to head over in the middle of the week. We also use an amazing travel agent who has always got us in when we wanted at a discounted rate.

 

[sirenia88]

Hello!

You NAILED it (Alan, Allen, however - my neighbor of the same name spells his oddly and now it's all up in my head )!

Yep it's cheap.

It's also hot.

It's also humid.

It's also wet.

Then there's that 'hurricane thing' always hanging out there.

Sounds like a great combination right? But hey, Fort demand is down - availability is up. August (and early September) is one of the few times there is supposedly a publicly available discount on campsites.

Way back in my early married life (DW#1 still) I lived south of Orlando in Florida. That cured me of camping in summer EVEN WITH AC. No June-Sep Fort stays in my signature, no sir. Heaven forbid shlepping around the theme parks in that heat & humidity. SPF50 is just a starting point to me.

Bama Ed

PS - new camper you say? We love pictures......

Hey Ed, you got it right the first time,. Alan However I got a better one for you. One of my contacts at one of my clients is also names Alan. It can be quickly a scene from Airplane! the movie when people are talking to us at the same time. We laugh about it since we sometimes can play dumb and act like the question for the other one. The solution during those conversation is my company's initials and his company's initials. At work it cane be even more nutty. My boss is Chris P and one of our vendor contact's is also Chris P. So I do the same thing. Company initial in E mail correspondence.

Oh I know it is hot, humid, wet, questionable weather. My pasty self, gets a min of SPF30 even 20 minutes in that kind of weather too. I told the DW about the parks idea in August. She said you go at rope drop and then come back at 5 or 6 PM every evening. I have a friend who goes in August every year, his family doesn't have a problem with it. It's the only time they can go these days.

Pretty sure I posted a pic of the new rig in the truck and towing thread back in 2018 when we got the new trailer. Grand Design Reflection 285BHTS. My 2011 F 250 got wrecked in Jan of 2018. The 2016 Silver F 350 was a replacement vehicle with a payment The 250 was paid off. Then in July 2018 we decided to purchase a new trailer due to a few problems with our old one. I was able to salvage the Fort sticker from the back of the old trailer and move it over to the new one. We did think about about going down to the Fort that year and ironically Summer but the plans didn't materialize.

We do the same, stay nearby the night before and then roll in early the next morning. I don't like paying a premium price just to sleep.

Let's be honest, those golf cart fees are astronomical. We splurge on one during Thanksgiving so that we can loop around and see decorations but bring our bikes other times of the year. May even invest in a couple of power scooters--we could buy one for all of us for less than a week's GC rental. Don't get me wrong, the GC is awesome to have, but for many of us it's not a necessity.

I live in NW FL and looked at pricing for a popular campground that's on the Gulf, in March. If you went with their beachfront site, it's $225 a night. That is directly on the beach--and no sewer hook ups or pets allowed. While it's a nice park (other sites have sewer h/u and allow pets), it doesn't compare to the Fort.

One word, Snowbirds. Like Disney, they can get the pricing. It sounds like a place in Destin I think. I saw a campground right on the beach. That looked nice The crazy part is the Fort is the price is still cheaper than most rooms on site at $200 a night.

 

[Stratman50th]

My husband is really upset with Disney and what he feels is just unreasonable.

I'm with him on this! I have no desire to go to the parks any longer for this reason. I will keep my wife company but the gouging on everything really ticks me off. I still enjoy Fort Wilderness for now. That's the only spark of magic I have left..

 

[BeachMama13]

One word, Snowbirds. Like Disney, they can get the pricing. It sounds like a place in Destin I think. I saw a campground right on the beach. That looked nice The crazy part is the Fort is the price is still cheaper than most rooms on site at $200 a night.

Yep, Camp Gulf in Destin. Gulf Front spots are in that range quite a bit of the year now. While we do have a lot of Snowbirds, we just about have a year round tourist season here now. Snowbirds, Spring Breakers, Summer Families, etc... It is nice though, when it slacks off and you can drive around town. Much like Disney on a rare slow day, I suppose. LOL! It's not nearly as crowded up here, of course.

 

[Stratman50th]

Yep, Camp Gulf in Destin. Gulf Front spots are in that range quite a bit of the year now. While we do have a lot of Snowbirds, we just about have a year round tourist season here now. Snowbirds, Spring Breakers, Summer Families, etc... It is nice though, when it slacks off and you can drive around town. Much like Disney on a rare slow day, I suppose. LOL! It's not nearly as crowded up here, of course.

You might be the perfect person to ask if you don't mind. We're thinking about the Destin West RV Resort the end of May/first of June this year. Looks like a really nice place. We have friends that would love the hotel across the street too. Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance.

 

[BeachMama13]

You might be the perfect person to ask if you don't mind. We're thinking about the Destin West RV Resort the end of May/first of June this year. Looks like a really nice place. We have friends that would love the hotel across the street too. Any thoughts?
Thanks in advance.

Happy to help if you have questions about the area, feel free to send me a DM anytime.

So, Destin West is not in Destin Proper, per se, but on the Okaloosa Island. We haven't stayed over there yet but I am very familiar with the Island, of course. It's on the Bay Side, still a beautiful sight to see, just not Gulf Front. I wouldn't hesitate to stay there. You will have to cross Hwy 98 to get to the Gulf side. There are lots of restaurants there and shopping isn't too far. You're in the middle between Fort Walton Beach and Destin. Whereas, Camp Gulf is in a more populated area with shopping, restaurants, etc.

That's a nice time to come, too. Schools here will just be getting out but it's not the height of tourist season.

 

[Stratman50th]

Happy to help if you have questions about the area, feel free to send me a DM anytime.

So, Destin West is not in Destin Proper, per se, but on the Okaloosa Island. We haven't stayed over there yet but I am very familiar with the Island, of course. It's on the Bay Side, still a beautiful sight to see, just not Gulf Front. I wouldn't hesitate to stay there. You will have to cross Hwy 98 to get to the Gulf side. There are lots of restaurants there and shopping isn't too far. You're in the middle between Fort Walton Beach and Destin. Whereas, Camp Gulf is in a more populated area with shopping, restaurants, etc.

That's a nice time to come, too. Schools here will just be getting out but it's not the height of tourist season.

Thank you so much! It's on our bucket list for this spring!
Don

 

[kmccain]

These prices are making it so very hard to justify camping. Possibly get free dining or a discount of some kind in a hotel and your not paying to drag your rig.
We stayed here the night before we checked in the the Fort in September Bill Frederick Park at Turkey Lake we were in sites 3 and 5 and they were huge full hook up sites for $25 a night. It was a 30 minute drive.
Does anyone know if there is any type of transportation you could take to the parks? Bus to the TTC?
Does any of these other campgrounds offer shuttles? or do you drive and pay for parking each day?

 

[DynaTravel]

I’ve spoken with several members of DisneyWorld senior management and The Walt Disney Company executives about this very issue over the past couple of months. As a shareholder I am glad, and expect, revenue to be maximized at Fort Wilderness.

Fort Wilderness is a premium campground that absolutely commands a premium price. If your income doesn’t allow you to spend time at the highest rated vacation destination in the world you should definitely consider other (lesser) destinations and it will make Disneyworld and The Fort a better experience for those of us who can.

 

[2goofycampers]

Now that we have all the points of view I think it's time to close this one.