Whats the max amt of days you can camp at the fort??

[dlm1017]

I have read through all the threads and can not seem to find the answer how long can you stay at FW campground?? Looking to become a snowbird later in my life and trying to figure out if I want to purchase a RV and just travel south for winter.

Also, I am a DVC member has anyone used Points to stay?

 

[des1954]

I can't answer the DVC points thing for you.

But - it used to be that you could only stay for 9 months in a calendar year. I know of one person that actually stayed on the same site on 1200 for almost 2 years, and another on 300 for about the same length of time. So - I don't know if there is a time limit any more. You may wish to contact the front desk to ask - and not central reservations.

One thing is certain - you have to book several consecutive reservations for 30 days each and when the new ressie starts you go to the front desk and "check in". You do not change sites or pack up and vacate and come back in.

 

[ftwildernessrick]

When we first started going, they had a two week limit - that was leniently enforced and mostly applied during the busy times of the year. People generally got around it by making multiple reservations under different family members.

If you have ever noticed the lady that stays in 114, that has all the decorations, she stays about 7 months every year. Usually May through December.

 

[becky1960]

Dont forget prices, they did away with snowbird rates several years ago and now have to pay going rates although there may be AAA discounts from time to time. I have read on this Forum that some DVC members thought it was not as good deal for the campsites vs hotels..

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

I'm a DVC member and have used my points to stay at the campground. If you are of the true time share mentality then it is not a good bargain. We bought DVC because we love Disney and love being there. I use my points at the Fort and on the Cruises. True die hard DVC members will recommend that you rent out your points and pay for the campground in cash. That's way too much work for me.
The campground will not use as many points as a stay at BLT so for us it evens out. We can keep a relatively low number of points, stay at the Fort and take cruises when we wish. This past trip we stayed at BLT for a couple of nights before we boarded the 7 night cruise. Everything was paid for with points.
Did that answer your question? I forget what the question was.

 

[Minnie&Mickey]

I've also used our DVC points to stay at the Fort. I think it is a pretty good deal, however getting the reservations can be difficult. I tried for months to get a reservation for earlier this month and never could get it. Ended up having to make a regular cash reservation. I've been trying for months to add one extra day onto our October trip, and it's never available. So that is probably the worst part about using your DVC points for FW.

 

[moseycat]

I'm trying to use DVC points right now for a Feb. 2011 stay. First I couldn't request it because 2011 points charts were not up yet. I kept watch and as soon as they were posted I put in a request..denied. "No campsites available, may we check different dates or a different resort?" Uh, no, I don't think I can use my RV at a different resort! I do have a cash reservation in, and may try renting some points to pay for it, but it annoys me after 12 years as a DVC member that it is this difficult to get a campsite reservation with my points. C'est la vie, what isn't difficult these days??

Karen

 

[Minnie&Mickey]

Sorry to hijack this thread, but another bad thing about using DVC points for the Fort is that it is considered an exchange. One of the rules for exchanges is that you can't make an exchange reservation within 4 months of your use year month. Our use year is April, therefore I will never be able to use points to stay at the Fort for the winter break that I get every year in February. Also, if you cancel a trip, the points have to be used before the end of your use year and can't be used for a DVC resort, they can only be used for another exchange. We made reservations for this July for 5 nights, but I need to cancel them. My job has changed and I'll be working that week. If I cancel, I will need to find another 5 nights that I can reschedule for. Unfortunately, all of the dates that I have tried to reschedule for are surprisingly unavailable...and the trip must take place before January 1st due to the 4 month rule (which I don't believe was a rule back when we joined in 1996). I have no idea what we are going to do.

 

[docbrown]

We are DVC members and found out pretty quickly that it is more convenient to rent your points out and make a cash reservation at the Fort.
As has been said to use points for the fort you have to convert them to reservation points and if you have to cancel the reservation, the points can't go back to your DVC account. For this reason we have started to rent the points when we want to go at the fort. We have now 4 or 5 people we are comfortable renting the points to and it has worked out pretty well.
Minnie&Mickey: you can use your reservation points in any Disney resort, so maybe you can check availability in another resort.

 

[LarryJ]

I can't answer the DVC points thing for you.

But - it used to be that you could only stay for 9 months in a calendar year. I know of one person that actually stayed on the same site on 1200 for almost 2 years, and another on 300 for about the same length of time. So - I don't know if there is a time limit any more. You may wish to contact the front desk to ask - and not central reservations.

One thing is certain - you have to book several consecutive reservations for 30 days each and when the new ressie starts you go to the front desk and "check in". You do not change sites or pack up and vacate and come back in.

Yep, the only thing I know that is still a rule is you can't make more than 30 days on a ressie since we have stayed between 45 and 50 days at a time for like the last 4 or 5 years and have always had to have multiple ressies.

Larry

 

[DisCamper]

All I can say is this we know people that have been there almost a year

 

[stacktester]

All I can say is this we know people that have been there almost a year

That's not a fair statement Todd. We know you know yourself. Or at least we hope you do.

 

[Minnie&Mickey]

Minnie&Mickey: you can use your reservation points in any Disney resort, so maybe you can check availability in another resort.

Docbrown, I just sent you a PM.