Merged Irma impact on The Fort threads here

I can not imagine pulling our camper 2000 miles- driving 4 days with our 4 children in the truck- and then being told we can't stay. Praying this is just because they are being cautious and really checking everything over at the Fort, and not because the damage is so extreme....

It sounds like the plan is if you have a Fort reservation you can still pull the trailer down to Orlando but if you arrive before Monday Sept 18, Disney will put you in a resort hotel at no extra charge. Then on the 18th (or whenever the Fort reopens), you can check out of the hotel and move over to the Fort, set up, and resume your vacation. But, like Teamubr, you have to work out with Disney what hotel you will get.

As someone said above, it's sort of like the evacuation in reverse. With it being mid-September, the hotels probably weren't booked to capacity so they can absorb the campers temporarily.

Bama Ed
 
Don"t believe anything you read on Facebook.. "Fake News"
They will have it up and running ASAP!!
I bet they even have the squirrels running chain saws and cleaning sites...


24 days till we are back at the Fort........
 
Last edited:
I'm currently just at a loss. After being switched over to the guest services line last night, I waited 3.5 hours before I gave up. I called again this morning and a very nice CM sat on hold with me for 25 minutes to make sure I talked to someone at guest services. Something went wrong and when she said I was being transferred to someone directly right then, I was back at the guest services phone line with a wait over 2 hours. I'm now at 1 hour and 54 minutes on the phone.
I don't get why people weren't just switched automatically. THEN if someone had a problem with where they were put, they could call.
I understand all of the chaos going on and I get that they're dealing with many people in the same position as me but like I said, I'm kind of at a loss on what to do.
 
I'm currently just at a loss. After being switched over to the guest services line last night, I waited 3.5 hours before I gave up. I called again this morning and a very nice CM sat on hold with me for 25 minutes to make sure I talked to someone at guest services. Something went wrong and when she said I was being transferred to someone directly right then, I was back at the guest services phone line with a wait over 2 hours. I'm now at 1 hour and 54 minutes on the phone.
I don't get why people weren't just switched automatically. THEN if someone had a problem with where they were put, they could call.
I understand all of the chaos going on and I get that they're dealing with many people in the same position as me but like I said, I'm kind of at a loss on what to do.

I'm in your same boat. I was on hold for 5 hours yesterday before I gave up at 8:30pm PST. I've been on hold for 25 minutes now and it's frustrating because I know they still need to transfer me.
 


For those waiting on the phone: another DIS-er had some luck going thru the "chat" feature on Disney's website. Might be worth it to try chat while waiting on the phone line.
 
Good news update. Power restored at 11 pm last night. Yep I was asleep until all the lights went on. Did check the fridge temp was 60 so probably junking all the stuff that needed to stay cold like the one package of chicken. The feeezer held was still 35, so I am good there. Probably a good thing it was full and we did not open it once.
Hooray!!!
 


Kris very happy to hear you have power restored The KIDS will be happy they have AC again.
My DW Lucille just read an article on INSIGHT.COM that attributes delay in opening The Fort as a result of major tree damage and downed tree's That makes sense The Fort is a more natural, Woodsy environment than the Manicured and Landscaped grounds of the other resorts. Maybe one of us could sneak over from Wilderness Lodge on the Jogging path and get look or a detail from a certain resident group could be sent out to do a photographic recon and report
 
For those waiting on the phone: another DIS-er had some luck going thru the "chat" feature on Disney's website. Might be worth it to try chat while waiting on the phone line.
I tried that last night but she told me that I had to wait on the phone :( I may try again.
 
Sounds like we are all in the same boat and it's not the Jungle Cruise. :D

After getting a very good CM (Josh) on the reservations line last night who explained the issue and said they were hoping to be open on Monday the 18th, I spent 4 1/2 hours on hold waiting for guest relations and gave up at 12:30 am (Disney time). I just called back just now and got a CM who said they received information this morning that the Fort "may" try to open on Saturday, the 16th, my check in date. At that point she didn't know what to do. Apparently the screens weren't telling her anything. I asked if she was reservations or guest relations. She said reservations and then I explained my conversation and wait last night. She then transferred me to guest relations, where I just started the "over 2 hour anticipated" wait.

I am leaving tomorrow night as planned. I guess when I hit the road on Friday, I'll call back in again and try to get a hold of someone. I really can sympathize with the CMs. The story and message is probably changing often and they are likely in a call center at the mercy of the latest memo or what every the computer is showing. It just doesn't help the customer who has expensive, impactful decisions to make.

j
 
Our trip dates are Sept 16-22 and our travel agent (I'm thanking God that I used her to make these reservations right now!) got through this morning only to end up being told that the best thing is to wait for Guest Services to call her with a plan for us. This was after being told that they are at -300 rooms available for our dates and asking if we could possibly reschedule....which we can't due to school schedules and military tickets for part of our party. So for now I'm looking at booking a backup offsite hotel just in case, but she is feeling more confident that when they call they will have a plan for us. It might be inconvenient, but we'll make it work.

The stress of this is minimal considering that we live in New Port Richey Fl and spent last week on the Irma roller coaster and even on Saturday thinking we were going to be hit with a category 4 hurricane. If that wasn't enough we were getting calls, texts and fb messages from friends and family from other areas telling us we should evacuate and that our house would be destroyed. I spent the week on the verge of a panic attack and finally after a good cry on the phone with a friend and some wine Saturday night I felt better. Thankfully for us we came through with no damage and have power. I know others weren't as fortunate.

So for today we wait and hope the call comes in sooner rather than later.
 
The Fort as a result of major tree damage and downed tree's That makes sense The Fort is a more natural, Woodsy environment than the Manicured and Landscaped grounds of the other resorts.

Being in the Cable TV business for 37 years I have seen the effects of hurricane damage to underground infrastructure. Although underground utilities are more esthetically pleasing to any area, the repairs from uprooted trees can be quite challenging and usually take a lot longer than aerial reconstruction.
 
Oh man, I feel for you with the not knowing, that just sucks! Thanks for keeping us all updated and I wish you the best of luck, I will cross my fingers that it is open on Saturday!
 
Up in the Official September PTR AND TRIP REPORTS thread Neatokimmo in post # 573 gave a real good description of how Disney treated them and what they did for the Fort evacuees
 
Still no call from Guest Relations to our agent or us so I put Plan B in effect. Booked a 3 bedroom villa at the Holiday Inn Orange Lake Resort. They are waiving their cancellation policies due to the hurricane so I can cancel it once we know what Disney is doing for us. We can't change our dates at all so worst case we get a refund and do this....not my preference, but at least we would be there.
 
Going on 2-1/2 hours on hold for a Guest Services Rep :-( One would tend to think that Disney could have an option for them to call you back. Already went through one phone battery while on hold.
 
We check in on Sept 16 for a campsite and cabin and haven't heard from Disney with our options yet. I have Plan B as emergency backup, but would love to know what's going on.
 
Team UBR and tripleb got emails about theirs. Was psoted in the sept thread.
 
Finally got through to Guest Services. The CM confirmed that the Fort will "more than likely" reopen the 18th. Locating to a Resort room is really not an option now for arrival on the 17th. So, we changed our arrival date to the 18th. Now to try to re-group on another camping reservation at a Florida State Park ( Suwanee River State Park - currently closed due to Irma ). Hopefully, I can push that one up one day ... if they are open at all by the 17th.
 
Thanks Tribleb,

I haven't been able to stay on hold long enough. Looks like I'll try again this evening (busiest time of the day) or first thing in the morning.

j
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Latest posts

Top