Travel Agents at the Fort

[nabi]

Are the FP+ really worth that kind of money. If so, I'm surprised people aren't selling "loaded" bands. Odd.

I went over and read the thread to which you referred. Wow! Not the tone of the campers! MAYBE Disney can just add a caveat, if the site is not being used, actually utilized by someone on it, that those people wanting to extend a trip, stay in one type of site, that type of thing, can do so. I know it may be difficult to do (campers with vehicle troubles come to mind). I just fear a minimum stay requirement in the future.

Right now I have a hole in a two week stay and bet there's at least a few empty sites. Anyone using a site in Nov 2014 just for bands/parking, let me know....I'll just stay on your site, not go to the parks, and remain at the Fort to enjoy what it has to offer.

 

[bama_ed]

This is being discussed in the strategy board as we speak - booking every other night in the campground to get FP+ as an on-site guest. I don't think that would really be possible because I don't think you'd find availability for every other night, but . . . .

You're right - there's no telling what they might find. Bama ED

 

[xie]

FWIW, we stayed from Dec. 28 through January 5. There were some empty sites in the 2000 loop every night we were there. One site next to us stayed empty for 4 days straight. One night, the 2 sites on either side of us were both empty.

We did do some looping to look at decorations but I didn't pay attention to what was empty elsewhere.

That doesn't mean someone had not booked and paid for them, but there was nobody at them.

 

[tlwfun89]

one year they assigned us to a camp spot and gave us the number we went there and it was taken and a big camper was on the site so we returned to checkin to find out why the camper was there they appeared puzzled so than they gave us a new numbered campsite and said that party decided to stay more days. Thats some BS& if you ask me the entire week of christmas 2014 to a few days after new years DEc 26 to Jan 3rd is fully booked right now no availability but tent sites that seems bizaare too

 

[articfox676]

Know what you mean. Called 12/14/13 for Christmas 12/22/14 to 1/2/15 for a premium site. All they had was full. I said I will take that and call back later when the premium open up. Have called several times since and like said only tent sites. Something is fishy. Asked if they weren't released yet or are they all really booked? Of course they CM didn't know.

Guess I'll keep calling. At least we have a full site.

 

[FortCamper1972]

First the phantom campers booking the cheap sites to get IDS is not just about fast pass, its about extra hours, discounts, dining options, free parking and other benefits than we take for granted being an onsite guests. A CM friend did the figures and it works out well for the people doing this, plus the TA who does this for them is probably the same person booking their vacation home so its probably a package deal. IT HAS TO BE STOPPED. Not good financially for the fort.
RE: THE T.A. problem. From a years worth of hearing about this. this is the 411. A TA who gets a site that probably is the MOST visable in the campgrounds did this to get exposure for her business. She had her signs in the window of the rv. She decorated redneck style with big blow ups next to the sidewalk so she could talk up campers, invite them over to her open bar and chat them up on avg. that "I'm a travel agent". Handing out cards. She also supposedly would offer people that even showed up at the fort to modify their reservations like she booked them so she would receive a commission in turn alledgly she would give the guests cash back, gift card or meal cards basically for doing nothing but collecting a commision. She also would book sites in her name for prime times, then if no one took them she would simply cancel and rebook for the next holiday period (so she didnt lose the deposit.) She also was known for her heavy drinking and on NYE 2013 she was flashing her breast and rolling around with some man I heard was NOT her husband using the F bomb constantly on the beach in clear view and earshot of campers including children. She was suppose to be rude to CMS I also heard. She was evicted and had 2 OC sheriffs escort her out of the park on the last day of her stay. SHe had been warned multiple times. She blamed DISNEY for quite a while saying it wasnt true but allegedly Disney had done their research and honestly everyone that knows the woman knows its true. She bad mouthed disney for several months before accepting her eviction she claims she's going to be allowed back in the fort in a few years but seriously thats probably in her dreams. Never heard of them putting someone in time out. She is allowed on property accept for the fort. She does have a group of followers so watch out if people you dont know solict you telling you they have a TA.
This same TA was very jealous of two other agents. I dont have that much info on the birdlady except the evicted agent wrongly has it out for her. However, the other TA who does NOT solict on disney property she is VERY much trying to get her in trouble. The agent that is out of there is VERY bitter. The difference is the other two arent soliciting business at the fort. They arent passing out cards that state the business is located at site %$# at Fort Wilderness and such. You can do your virtual business on the fort but you cant solict or have sales and such. She tried to use the guise these people she is inviting over are her 'friends' so that makes it OK. No it doesnt.
My advice is if you get an agent or her small group of fans messaging you to use this agent is to RUN and dont answer their messages. Same goes for these rv businesses and golf cart. Not trying to ruin anyone business but you are best to do your OWN research as many of these people 'work' together and cross refer with their friends.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

. . . spoke to a CM that I have know for a few years here at the Fort and they said that( and of course they said " I never told you this") The Fort does hold sites and releases them on-line and over the phone during certain times . . .

1) I DO NOT WANT NAMES OF SOURCES. PERIOD.
2) But, can you send me a PM with more details of held sites?
3) Again, NO SOURCE NAMES.
4) I just want to investigate and see what is going on.
5) This type of hold is not supposed to be happening at The Fort !!!
6) We are always told that this does not occur !!!
7) I, personally, do not have the power to stop such, but we do have good meetings.
8) AND, management at The Fort does listen well and act accordingly.
9) Personally speaking, I think they are the most responsive of resort managers, due to the culture at The Fort.

NOTE: Other resorts do hold Ressies back for things like tour groups and/or
conventions. Once the "blocked" period expires (usually 30-days before the
event), those rooms are released. This allows Conventioners and such to
book rooms without a major advance notice, as many need the slow moving
company approval for these journeys. This is common in the hotel-biz, and
does happen at The Fort, but only for certain events and the sites are truly
released at least 30-days prior to a check-in day.

 

[SinceDay1]

That's some interesting information. While I was never "flashed" lol, we did have an odd encounter once with a person who kept trying to get us to use a TA, but we explained we use Dreams Unlimited, we got a rude attitude. I am just curious as to which site, as that would let us know if it was the same person. I hope Rusty can get this information relayed to the management and I agree, FW does have some managers who do listen and care.

Richard

 

[FortCamper1972]

Fort management is aware of it. They evicted her and still get complaints as she and her close friends who also go to the fort still try to promote her on various fort sites. The fort wouldn't kick someone out without solid proof... thats one thing that was very sickening she blamed the fort for months she was set up or wronged, had a letter writing campaign by her friends and even set up a FB trying to get Disney let her back in the fort. SOme of her friends wanted her to go to the media with a sob story which would have been totally sickening as playing a 'card'. The woman was warned dozens of times I hear.
To the person who asked if thats the woman, more than likely she is jealous of any other person getting business. She usually will try to say she will beat any price or give some kind of freebie.

 

[bama_ed]

That person, F, was in site 114 which is the site to the right (as you are walking towards the beach) of the walkway between 100 and the Settlement TP. As FC72 said, it is a high visibility site for folks coming off the boat even if they don't walk up through 100 loop. One of those "other fort sites" which tried to exert pressure is a new site (barely 3 years old) which tried to excuse whatever behavior Disney management found. She had a confrontational attitude (as our Webmasters learned-they're the best) which is consistent with why she is no longer welcome.

All I can say is that as relaxed as Disney management at the Fort is, there had to be something indisputable and flagrant to take the actions they did.

I've also heard that the Fort has been pretty full lately (if anyone there now/recently can confirm or deny and provide details, I would appreciate it).

Bama Ed

 

[staceyrhood]

Ed- We were there Super Bowl weekend for a 4 day weekend. I checked in and had requested loop 800, the CM told me it was full, as was 1100, 600, and 700. She said there were 2 empty spots in 900 to choose from, I couldn't believe it was that busy. we rode around the loops on the bikes and it was full. Started to thin out on Sunday afternoon for a bit, but I have not ever seen the turnover like it was that day, by Super Bowl time it was full again. We are headed over there Thursday for a stay also, I'm very curious to see how busy it will be this week.

Stacey

 

[Mmketeer]

Good gracious that's ridiculous. Travel Agents don't get paid enough to solicit business for Fort goers. Deluxe - Moderate resort and package guests yes, but honestly if you knew what the commission was for a fort stay you'd agree. Not worth the time to solicit for that.

Their are always gonna be those folks out there that will want to figure out away to cheat the system. The best way we can combat that is to do exactly what we are doing...book in advance and let our fellow Dis'ers know when we are canceling. Nobody knows the system better than we do, because we all go there a lot. Knowledge is power...we'll just keep sharing it among our selves.

PS
Thank you to TheRustyScupper for all your doing. PS I still need that email to send my 2 cents about the Wi-Fi Internet access at the fort.

 

[YoMickey]

We have a "full hook up site" reserved. We are in the process of renting a 5th wheel and we were asked what kind of site we had. I told them and they asked if we would want upgraded to premium, I said sure, how does that happen considering they're all sold out. I was told they could work something out, but could not guarantee it. When the rental agreement forms came just last night, in addition to the agreement and waiver was a "booking transfer request form" that I am to sign. It states that my travel agent would assume ownership of the reservation.

I also can't find any reviews on this outfit but it sure seems to have plenty of exposure and history around the web. I'm sure they are legit but I wanted to share my current "real time" experience going on last night and today.

PLEASE ADVISE Since I need to sign and pay my deposit.

Signed,
Son of a TA, 10 year DVC owner, never stayed at the Fort.
Looking for a different experience.

 

[bigblock396]

We have a "full hook up site" reserved. We are in the process of renting a 5th wheel and we were asked what kind of site we had. I told them and they asked if we would want upgraded to premium, I said sure, how does that happen considering they're all sold out. I was told they could work something out, but could not guarantee it. When the rental agreement forms came just last night, in addition to the agreement and waiver was a "booking transfer request form" that I am to sign. It states that my travel agent would assume ownership of the reservation.

I also can't find any reviews on this outfit but it sure seems to have plenty of exposure and history around the web. I'm sure they are legit but I wanted to share my current "real time" experience going on last night and today.

PLEASE ADVISE Since I need to sign and pay my deposit.

Signed,
Son of a TA, 10 year DVC owner, never stayed at the Fort.
Looking for a different experience.

Well, I would RUN the other way. They are trying to get double profit - first on your reservation for the RV and second by getting the commission on the site as well. It would be interesting to know what company is trying to do this. Plus there is no way that a travel agent can guarantee that you will get a free upgrade to a premium site. The free upgrade is determine when you go to check-in based on availability. So you will probably find that the cost of your site will increase once you transfer it to this "travel agent" since they will be booking it at a higher level site rather than at the full hookup rate you currently have reserved.

I have never heard of a company doing this practice so I really would be very leary of it. In fact, given all the problems at the Fort with a certain travel agent, they would probably be interested in this new scam. I'm not saying it is the same travel agent but they definitely do not like these shady practices. There is absolutely no reason for the RV rental company to have control/ownership of your individual reservation at the Fort. Be careful.

 

[rangebob]

I've also heard that the Fort has been pretty full lately (if anyone there now/recently can confirm or deny and provide details, I would appreciate it).

Bama Ed

We are local to WDW. We attempted to go over on Sunday to see if there was availability at Trails End to eat lunch. We were told to go park at Wilderness Lodge and take the boat or bus to the fort as they had no parking spots available. There was plenty of seats available for lunch but we didn't venture out to see how full the fort looked. I've never been turned away from parking at walking around the fort.

 

[bama_ed]

We are local to WDW. We attempted to go over on Sunday to see if there was availability at Trails End to eat lunch. We were told to go park at Wilderness Lodge and take the boat or bus to the fort as they had no parking spots available. There was plenty of seats available for lunch but we didn't venture out to see how full the fort looked. I've never been turned away from parking at walking around the fort.

Thanks for the update, rangebob. While inconvenient, going to the WL to park didn't keep you out of the Fort. Maybe the main Fort parking lot was full. I've been hearing that the Fort is actually been pretty busy. But now that we're in March the activity level picks up (so do the rates) due to various spring break weeks.

We have a "full hook up site" reserved. We are in the process of renting a 5th wheel and we were asked what kind of site we had. I told them and they asked if we would want upgraded to premium, I said sure, how does that happen considering they're all sold out. I was told they could work something out, but could not guarantee it. When the rental agreement forms came just last night, in addition to the agreement and waiver was a "booking transfer request form" that I am to sign. It states that my travel agent would assume ownership of the reservation.

I would ask if they will do the rental without transferring the reservation. A TA has the same chance as you do of snagging a Premium (assuming you would try just as often). That's prolly why it's not guaranteed.

We have a few vendors that folks talk about using here on the DIS to rent trailers in sites they reserve and they seem to be able to rent without the TA part. Your vendor might have the ability being a TA and want to offer you a full service experience but you have the choice or not to keep it in your name and just do the rental (if they go for that).

I've said in other threads that the rental companies offer the Fort experience to folks who may not otherwise experience it. Well you said you were looking for a new experience and I'll say the Fort is definitely different - it's more relaxed and laid back. Campers tend to say "good morning" or "hello" more frequently than folks in the room next to you at All Star do.

If you can I would say go for the new experience.

Bama Ed

 

[articfox676]

We have been asked to park at the WL (on weekends) when wanting to visit the Fort. I can understand it since the Fort lot is on the small size. WL is much larger. We never considered this a problem to park at the WL.

 

[redrosesix]

I would ask if they will do the rental without transferring the reservation. A TA has the same chance as you do of snagging a Premium (assuming you would try just as often). That's prolly why it's not guaranteed.

We have a few vendors that folks talk about using here on the DIS to rent trailers in sites they reserve and they seem to be able to rent without the TA part. Your vendor might have the ability being a TA and want to offer you a full service experience but you have the choice or not to keep it in your name and just do the rental (if they go for that).

I've said in other threads that the rental companies offer the Fort experience to folks who may not otherwise experience it. Well you said you were looking for a new experience and I'll say the Fort is definitely different - it's more relaxed and laid back. Campers tend to say "good morning" or "hello" more frequently than folks in the room next to you at All Star do.

If you can I would say go for the new experience.

Bama Ed

I've heard of this with room reservations -- it was a bad idea to give up ownership of your reservation before. It's an even worse idea now, with so many things being booked in advance. Do you really want to give up the right to book your own FPs or ADRs? Do you want somebody to get paid for something you already did on your own?

Like you said, see if they'll do the rental without tying it into the reservation. Otherwise find somebody else.

And I agree, campers everywhere are much more social. It's why you can always get help or advice from somebody when you're just starting out

 

[MamaJessie]

I've heard of this with room reservations -- it was a bad idea to give up ownership of your reservation before. It's an even worse idea now, with so many things being booked in advance. Do you really want to give up the right to book your own FPs or ADRs? Do you want to pay somebody to do that?

Like you said, see if they'll do the rental without tying it into the reservation. Otherwise find somebody else.

You can only transfer if it was within 30 days of your making the res so does it even apply?
If so I would guess that the TA means they will pay the difference out of their commission to put you in a preferred spot? In theory that doesn't bother me, it is the fact that it seems some people are hoarding the sites that does :\


And all Disney TAs I know do not get paid a fee, it is a free service. Not to mention you can still book your own FPs and ADRs. I am not defending this TA specifically just trying to keep the facts straight

 

[redrosesix]

You can only transfer if it was within 30 days of your making the res so does it even apply?
If so I would guess that the TA means they will pay the difference out of their commission to put you in a preferred spot? In theory that doesn't bother me, it is the fact that it seems some people are hoarding the sites that does :\


And all Disney TAs I know do not get paid a fee, it is a free service. Not to mention you can still book your own FPs and ADRs. I am not defending this TA specifically just trying to keep the facts straight

That isn't the case with all TAs. While most only get their pay out of the commission, the poster had already made the reservation. And many TAs handle everything once they own the reservation which IMO is probably not a good idea when you've been there more times than many TAs have.

But I reworded my post so it's a little more clear.