Fort Wilderness in Disney World

[exjay1]

If I recall.. ice dump machines were outside all the bath houses. They give you bags to fill also.

[WVDusty]

387 days until I will be there again. LOL can't wait. ..

[Jopopsy]

I'm going to be booking a trip down to the Fort in 2017. How far in advance does the website open up for reservations?

[33 RLDS]

We just booked for early next year. It will be the farthest I ever pulled the camper by far. 1200 miles each way..

[33 RLDS]

What to people do when you leave from a freezing climate to head to Disney? Do you put some water in your tank just before you leave? I think that's what I will do but leave the lines empty until I make it south enough and its above freezing..

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by 33 RLDS

What to people do when you leave from a freezing climate to head to Disney? Do you put some water in your tank just before you leave? I think that's what I will do but leave the lines empty until I make it south enough and its above freezing..

Depends on the temps and the design of the RV. Since we had previously camped in 15 degree weather with no problem I would de-winterize before we left Ohio.(Dec-Jan) I also have a heated water hose if needed when we would get to our next stop.

[33 RLDS]

Originally Posted by Grumpy

Depends on the temps and the design of the RV. Since we had previously camped in 15 degree weather with no problem I would de-winterize before we left Ohio.(Dec-Jan) I also have a heated water hose if needed when we would get to our next stop.

When I leave my house it will be below freezing for quite some time before so I will be winterized. I was planning on putting 10 or 20 gallons in right before we leave but not use it until we are south enough. By not use I mean leave water pump off and lines empty.

And I have not thought about what I will do when we head back home !!

[Griswald One]

I wondered when we stayed at the Fort last year... Why do they not just put a cart on every site? I have looked at the math several times over and to me it makes financial sense as well as offering a valuable perk to their guests.

The way I see it the carts would pay for themselves within the first year by eliminating the need for buses and more important the salaried drivers to operate them 22 hours a day.

There is even the potential for revenue generation there by having standard carts on the site but the ability to upgrade to a themed cart or the sale of temporary cart decorations.

One added benefit to this would be the ability to control the size and speed of the equippment used in the Fort... I know our last trip there was over Labour Day weekend... The locals use the Fort as a weekend retreat and show up with BIG carts that fly around the park, quite often driven by either children or drunk adults.

[djtho1]

As mentioned, it depends a lot on the construction of the coach. We have a seismic with the heated enclosed underbelly. Last year we drove from Ohio to California in early winter and had quite a bit of below freezing temps. We traveled with water in the lines, as well as a full water tank (142 gallons on our seismic!). We simply ran the furnace at night and during our lunch stops and never had any issues. We even got caught in a blizzard in OK, and what it let us do is to not have to mess with any hoses. If you are self contained, you hook up electric and start the furnace while others mess with hose connections and such. Just my 2 cents, but we typically have no problems traveling with water in the lines, at least in the lower 48.

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by Griswald One

The locals use the Fort as a weekend retreat and show up with BIG carts that fly around the park, quite often driven by either children or drunk adults.

Yes that happens, but having spent , many many days at the FORT there is far more abuse involving the DISNEY carts than with the private carts.

[Greyhawk01]

Originally Posted by 33 RLDS

What to people do when you leave from a freezing climate to head to Disney? Do you put some water in your tank just before you leave? I think that's what I will do but leave the lines empty until I make it south enough and its above freezing..

I left from nj this past april. We had a few nice days so I decided to fill the freshwater tank a day before we left. The temp dropped into the 20's I put the tank heater on and ran the furnace all night. The pipes ended up freezing luckily nothing broke. If I was to do this trip again (which I will never go to Disney during spring break again) I would just use jugs of water to flush the toilet and wash stuff. Im sure you will probably stop over night at a campground in the carolinas or georgia so you can fill the tanks their.

[SouthCo]

Originally Posted by Griswald One

I wondered when we stayed at the Fort last year... Why do they not just put a cart on every site? I have looked at the math several times over and to me it makes financial sense as well as offering a valuable perk to their guests.

The way I see it the carts would pay for themselves within the first year by eliminating the need for buses and more important the salaried drivers to operate them 22 hours a day.

There is even the potential for revenue generation there by having standard carts on the site but the ability to upgrade to a themed cart or the sale of temporary cart decorations.

One added benefit to this would be the ability to control the size and speed of the equippment used in the Fort... I know our last trip there was over Labour Day weekend... The locals use the Fort as a weekend retreat and show up with BIG carts that fly around the park, quite often driven by either children or drunk adults.

No campground is going to offer you a free cart. You do know nothing in life is free right? So they bump the prices and give everyone a cart. Well what about those who don't want one? Now they pay extra for something they don't want. And with that many more carts imagine that scenario... Accidents, no parking, and traffic... So what was your problem with the current setup? If it was not getting a free cart then your solution is not good... Nothing is free in life my friend.

[Griswald One]

Originally Posted by SouthCo

No campground is going to offer you a free cart. You do know nothing in life is free right? So they bump the prices and give everyone a cart. Well what about those who don't want one? Now they pay extra for something they don't want. And with that many more carts imagine that scenario... Accidents, no parking, and traffic... So what was your problem with the current setup? If it was not getting a free cart then your solution is not good... Nothing is free in life my friend.

Hey SouthCo, I really did not have a problem... I am normally happy to walk the campground. My thoughts were primarily business speculation. Disney spends a small fortune running busses through the campground that would be alleviated by providing the Golf Carts... So while nothing in life is free... Good business sense says if you can do something that offers greater convinience at a cheaper cost to the provider, you do it. I will point out, you say no campground will offer a golf cart for free... I am yet to stay anywhere other then Disney that offers on site shuttle service for free... They are pretty much an entity unto themselves so regular rules need not apply.

I do like the part where Disney would be able to control the size and speed of the carts. While I recognize Grumpy has a mountain more experience at Disney then me, and I am sure he is correct about the abuse of Disney carts... My taste of long weekend traffic was one in which locals brought in heavy fast moving carts that were more like compact cars and represented a significant increase in the potential for accidents/injuries.

[SouthCo]

We will have to disagree. I bet their bus service is cheaper to run than a really large fleet of golf carts for free. And yes some private golf cart owners drive too fast. I totally agree with u there. I took my own cart cruised and loved it. Their current setup is as good as it gets. And U can't walk the whole campground. To the bus stop, yes...

[Griswald One]

We would have to be arguing to disagree ... This was just discussing and there is a great chance you are 100% correct.

The golf carts anywhere are an interesting conundrum... I like the idea of the convenience, would even love to have one myself... But there are parks here in Ontario that I will not visit because the carts are such a problem... How about that for hypocrisy

[SouthCo]

Originally Posted by Griswald One

We would have to be arguing to disagree ... This was just discussing and there is a great chance you are 100% correct.

The golf carts anywhere are an interesting conundrum... I like the idea of the convenience, would even love to have one myself... But there are parks here in Ontario that I will not visit because the carts are such a problem... How about that for hypocrisy

Yes they can be a problem. I totally agree. We just got back from 5 days at Bethpage Campground in Va. You can rent or bring your own cart. You must show proof of 100k liability coverage if bringing you own which we have. Surprisingly Friday night it was out of control with loud sound systems, fast driving and open drinking... And most were older guys and ladies. I'm almost 40 and the outrageous ones looked to be in their 50's or older. It was crazy. We decided we would start any future trips there on Saturday instead of Thursday... We had a great time and the park was clearing out by Sunday... So it felt more like our speed Saturday on....

[gtsum2]

Originally Posted by SouthCo

Yes they can be a problem. I totally agree. We just got back from 5 days at Bethpage Campground in Va. You can rent or bring your own cart. You must show proof of 100k liability coverage if bringing you own which we have. Surprisingly Friday night it was out of control with loud sound systems, fast driving and open drinking... And most were older guys and ladies. I'm almost 40 and the outrageous ones looked to be in their 50's or older. It was crazy. We decided we would start any future trips there on Saturday instead of Thursday... We had a great time and the park was clearing out by Sunday... So it felt more like our speed Saturday on....

Interesting. We are heading to bethpage for Labor Day. I imagine it will be a complete zoo

[Greyhawk01]

Southco i was at Bethpage about two weeks ago spent two days during the week it seemed quite. Im assuming the campground comes to life on the weekedend as most of the seasonal sites were vacant during the week. Must be a local hangout. We just left Frontiertown in MD lots of carts which i dont mind at all but i dont like the gas golf carts. They seems alot faster which leaves a cloud of dust whem they fly by your site and the odor of the exhaust lingers. Id perfer a campground that only allows electric carts.

[bedrck46]

Originally Posted by Griswald One

I am yet to stay anywhere other then Disney that offers on site shuttle service for free...

There is an amusement park here in PA called Knoebles that has two campgrounds One of them is Lake Glory and there is free shuttle bus service to and from the amusement park provided

[Greyhawk01]

That Mouse aint giving anything away for free he just uses his pixie dust to make you feel like its free lol