Lenght of Stay??

[DisVillianMomma]

What is the Lenght of stay you can be at Fort Wilderness? How Long has anyone ever stayed there? Have people stayed for the whole winter? Is is possible to spend two whole months at Fort Wilderness?

 

[luckycharm19335]

It is possible. You have to do it in 30 day reservation increments.
Apparently, there used to be a price break but no longer.

 

[bama_ed]

Yes.

Thirty days is the max length of a single ressie. There are snow birds who come down for the winter months. One camper has been there for a couple years. Others have done 6-12 month stints. As long as you book the same level site they don't make you move.

Long term stays are eligible for the same discounts levels available to anyone else coming for one night. AAA, AP, FL Resident, Military, DVC, specials, etc. Many years ago (maybe 2003) they ended the long term discount (The Settlers Rate) for stays over 30 days. The reason they did so is they didn't need to offer it. People still came and paid the higher rate at whatever discount was still offered.

So just try to finnagle the best rate you can get.

Bama ED

 

[CCIntrigue]

There is a certain well-known Fort resident who has lived there since September 2009. Hope this helps.

 

[rapriebe]

We have stayed at the Fort for several months at a time during the winter and unfortunately we pay the same as other campers. Discounts are available if you can get them but the long-term settlers rate is gone. There is no limit to your stay but each reservation can only be 30 days; so you just need multiple reservations.

 

[DisVillianMomma]

Thanks for all the information and help with the long term stay at fort wilderness. We are think of staying the winter down in florida and I thought Fort Wilderness would be a great idea stay in a camper at fort wilderness for a while.

 

[dblr]

Hey Bama ed in your list of discounts you mentioned DVC do you happen to know what kind of discount they offer for DVC I have not heard of one( might of missed it) and know of only being able to use our points to stay at the Fort. I have tried to use our points there and have not been able to as of yet.
Thanks for any info.

 

[bama_ed]

Hey Bama ed in your list of discounts you mentioned DVC do you happen to know what kind of discount they offer for DVC I have not heard of one( might of missed it) and know of only being able to use our points to stay at the Fort. I have tried to use our points there and have not been able to as of yet.
Thanks for any info.

Dblr,

What I know about DVC is not a discount per se but I meant that people with DVC points can use those points to stay at the Fort somehow (as you say you tried to do). And if it weren't somehow cheaper than the rack rate then people with points would still pay the rack rate out of their pocket and bank the points, right

As long as I've been on this board I've heard DVC people say it's difficult to use points to stay at the Fort. I don't know if that means the number of points required makes it unattractive or DVC points can only be exchanged for undesirable periods on the calendar. What was your experience? More of the latter than the former?

I'm not a DVC'er so I can't tell you for sure. All I know is in the last decade the Fort went from three rate periods (Peak, Value, Regular) to about 15 micro-periods, tacked on a weekend premium, rehabbed sites making Premiums so expensive, and then jacked rates sky high overall. Being a pop-up owner I can stay in Partials and dip my toe into the water of the better sites if I get a good rate. But that's getting harder to do.

Bama ED

 

[dblr]

Usually it is cheaper to pay cash for a stay then use our DVC points but on the other hand if the points are going to expire I think it is better to use them then loose them.
We have not had a chance to use our points since 2010 so we did rent them out instead of having them erip we migxpire( xash is always good), I do think the next tht try to get a Tree House @ SSR then I quess we will just be visiting at the Fort.

 

[manning]

Dblr,

What I know about DVC is not a discount per se but I meant that people with DVC points can use those points to stay at the Fort somehow (as you say you tried to do). And if it weren't somehow cheaper than the rack rate then people with points would still pay the rack rate out of their pocket and bank the points, right

As long as I've been on this board I've heard DVC people say it's difficult to use points to stay at the Fort. I don't know if that means the number of points required makes it unattractive or DVC points can only be exchanged for undesirable periods on the calendar. What was your experience? More of the latter than the former?

I'm not a DVC'er so I can't tell you for sure. All I know is in the last decade the Fort went from three rate periods (Peak, Value, Regular) to about 15 micro-periods, tacked on a weekend premium, rehabbed sites making Premiums so expensive, and then jacked rates sky high overall. Being a pop-up owner I can stay in Partials and dip my toe into the water of the better sites if I get a good rate. But that's getting harder to do.

Bama ED

I haven't run the numbers but I read of some owning DVC renting out there points for around 10.00 per point and using the proceeds to pay cash for a site. I believe yearly DVC maintenance fees are around 5.00 more or less per point.