Merged Irma impact on The Fort threads here

[ruthies12]

One other comment about $1,000,000 worth of damage.

That really isn't much when you consider the revenue generation of the Fort. Using broad numbers, it is less than 9 days of revenue.

The Fort Wiki says there are 800 campsites and 409 cabins. Using an average $100/night average across all 1209 units is $120,900 per day. 8.2 days and you are at $1,000,000.

They have likely lost more than a million in cancelled/relocated campers since last Saturday.

j

that wouldn't be how much they really make once you subtract for all the workers, water and electric usage, upkeep etc. but I do think you are right overall- the fort has got to be a cash cow for them at the prices they charge.

My fingers are still crossed that my stay won't be affected. My biggest concern with what Rusty reports (and thank you so much for reporting btw!) is the part about the "full" operations. If they have even one loop that takes longer to get electric restored or whatever but open the rest of the campground, how are they going to go about deciding who still gets to keep their fort reservation and who gets bumped? Just one loop down could be quite a lot of people who don't get to camp

 

[KalamityJane]

that wouldn't be how much they really make once you subtract for all the workers, water and electric usage, upkeep etc. but I do think you are right overall- the fort has got to be a cash cow for them at the prices they charge.

My fingers are still crossed that my stay won't be affected. My biggest concern with what Rusty reports (and thank you so much for reporting btw!) is the part about the "full" operations. If they have even one loop that takes longer to get electric restored or whatever but open the rest of the campground, how are they going to go about deciding who still gets to keep their fort reservation and who gets bumped? Just one loop down could be quite a lot of people who don't get to camp

Thinking about this too, they don't have to do much work for camp sites (housekeeping etc) as compared to a normal hotel room.
On the structural damage, I was thinking they didn't have many buildings, but they have all the bathrooms/laundry plus all the cabins and then of course the main areas. With all the trees down, that could really be a lot of damage.

I'm hoping they don't go DVC (I know, it's a rumor). We adore camping.

 

[mickeyfan0805]

One other comment about $1,000,000 worth of damage.

That really isn't much when you consider the revenue generation of the Fort. Using broad numbers, it is less than 9 days of revenue.

The Fort Wiki says there are 800 campsites and 409 cabins. Using an average $100/night average across all 1209 units is $120,900 per day. 8.2 days and you are at $1,000,000.

They have likely lost more than a million in cancelled/relocated campers since last Saturday.

j

I actually did the same math last night - just out of curiosity. Although, I landed a bit higher (cabins don't go for $100 per night, and you have to figure in HDDR, MBYB, TE, activities, boat rentals, etc...). The gross income of the Fort has to exceed $1m per week, easily.

That said, as to the rumor itself (and this isn't pointed at the OP, as it is clearly noted as a rumor) - everything I've seen stems from a rumor about extensive damage to the Fort that is causing them to cancel. This rumor emerged on a page that has a big green button at the bottom of the stories that says 'Create a Prank!' I've been blown away at how much I've seen this thing thrown around when the source is so clearly fake. The supposed-CM claim of a new DVC replacing the Fort holds no water for me at all, and I presume is simply an extension of this same rumor. WDW has PLENTY of land to build a DVC if they want to - they don't need to take away a money-maker like FW to do it.

 

[jknezek]

It's amazing how much legs that prank continues to have. I believe The Fort was closed for 3 weeks after the storm in 2004 (Charlie?). I expect it will reopen in due time after Irma. It will be cleaned up, trees trimmed back, any leaners removed. Spots that used to offer privacy may offer less. Others that didn't have much may be even more barren for a while. Nature will return, new trees will grow.

Another thing to keep in mind is there was a massive infrastructure project already underway at The Fort. I'm guessing this storm has done nothing to improve the water and sewer problems of the aging pipes. I expect we will have a partial opening of some loops as it gets cleaned maybe as early as Monday and then more loops as possible, with those affected by the infrastructure project remaining in partial use. In other words, more or less business begins to return next week and will grow into the full Fort over time.

Lastly, don't forget the place is built on a swamp. A lot of water has been dumped on the Orlando area since the drought ended. Remember those fire bans? Seems like a lot of rainstorms ago. Irma added substantially to the soggy problem. So there is probably quite a bit of draining water that needs to go before some loops can be reopened or even worked on as well.

It's a slow process, as the cleanup from Charlie? showed. It will happen, The Fort will reopen. It's a problem for those with short term vacations planned, but that is a known issue with planning a FL vacation during hurricane season.

 

[tripleb]

Hope this doesn't mean that the Fort won't reopen until the 20th.

 

[jknezek]

Hope this doesn't mean that the Fort won't reopen until the 20th.

View attachment 269527

I think that is very likely

 

[Tondee]

The cast member I spoke with last night said that there was about 6 or 8 garbage trucks lined up at the fort yesterday morning waiting to go in. She drove by on the way to take her children to childcare since schools are closed. So, they are working on it. She also said she just heard there were lots of trees on the wires throughout the campground.

 

[Teamubr]

I agree the prank post rings familiar to the "rumor" Rusty posted.

The question is which came first? Odd that the same $1 million is mentioned in both, but Rusty has that top of the list and not listed as a rumor. I'll suspect someone saw the real notice to CMs and made the prank post using something that was factual.

Either way, the prank is just that and I'll stick with my prior post. The Fort will open in some capacity (likely limited as cleanup/repair progresses). Beyond that? We are all at the mercy of the TDC bean counters.

j

 

[Tondee]

My check in was supposed to be on Sat. The cast member said that they were calling all Friday check in's (this was last night-Thurs when I spoke with her.) She went on to say, I would have been called today about my Sat check in if I had not called.

 

[Sarubo]

You need a new family member...

Then again...don't we all?

Tell me about it!!! My SIL is a CM so I stupidly thought she might know something the rest of us don't. She's mad bc she had planned a vacation up near us and assumed she was staying at our house. When she found out we were going to WDW, she started sending all this "news" our way.

 

[tltay2005]

Just a reminder to all that the CM's you are dealing with may have lost their own homes in this mess. Please be patient and try to understand that although your vacation may be disrupted, the person on the other end of the line may have just had their life disrupted.

 

[Cousin Ed C]

According to WDWMagic.com is going to reopen next week.

 

[morrik5]

I hope Disney continues operating the Fort, giving hope to red headed step children everywhere

As well as red headed parents and children

 

[Teamubr]

Just saw this in News and Rumors

Interesting that it doesn't say when "next week". Either way, I'm supposed to be there all week, so I'll get to enjoy some of the Fort.

j

 

[SmithCrazy3]

Don't forget the money they lose by relocating campers to resort rooms that are much higher than campsite rates and not charging them more than the campsite rates

(says my positive thinking that my October trip will be JUST FINE)

 

[morrik5]

Where will they park all of the campers/rvs? Other resorts probably won't have room to store the number of larger rigs coming to the Fort at one time.

 

[ruthies12]

http://wdwnt.com/blog/2017/09/updat...t-disney-world-will-likely-re-open-next-week/

 

[Keri d]

We are scheduled for a cabin in FW on Sat 9/16-9/20. I had not gotten an email or notification as of this morning, however I just received a call from a cast member to relocate us. I was so happy, as I was not looking forward to spending my afternoon on hold with Disney all afternoon. They are calling me back to double check a few things we need for our party, but they offered a choice for Art/animation suite or All Star Music suite. The CM did tell me it would be closed through 9/20.

 

[MinnesotaChill]

A few things I know to be true as we're camping nearby and have a kid in the College Program who didn't realize we weren't AT the Fort and went there today to see us and have family trying to change reservations for hotels next week (Sept 20-23):

1. When our son accidentally went to FW today he saw an excavator and three dump trucks go in. Not sure if that's due to existing projects or not. He did not see visible damage to the campground from the gate where he was stopped.

2. He is currently at MK and said there are lot of RVs parked there. More than normal. It could be they offered parking to people who are supposed to be staying there right now in one of the outer MK lots. He wasn't specific. I know the power companies were staging there during the storm in one of the outer lots.

3. We have extended family joining us next week when we're theoretically splitting a stay between Bay Lake Towers and Fort Wilderness. One of my sisters tried to get a hotel room for herself during the time we will be at FW and was told there are no rooms available on property. I'm suspecting that could be because they need to hold a whole lot of rooms for people scheduled at FW as well as the Florida residents who are staying on property until they get power back at their homes. Might lead to the thought that the closing could go on for a while.

In Orlando in general, damage seems to be minimal. We went to the DVC Moonlight Magic event last night at Animal Kingdom and there was no noticeable damage at AK, despite the fact we were told it was the only park to lose power. Can't tell how crowds were as it was an after hours event.

It's hotter than Hades down here! I cannot believe my sisters convinced me to stray from my typical January touring plan. This Minnesota girl is melting! We're working in the 5th wheel today with all shades drawn. We're like cave people! Any tips from those of you experienced in camping in the heat are welcome. We just started our full-time journey 10 days ago...

 

[MinnesotaChill]

BTW: If any of you are in a pickle with RV accommodations, ThemeWorld is not fancy AT ALL but it has space. It's $38/night. It's next to a MUCH nicer KOA, but they look fuller. They also have shade. We have none. We're 42' long with a F350 and we had to park sideways in front of the trailer, but the sites are pull through. We're about 12 minutes from property.

We chose it because it has a monthly rate of $430 and we will be coming and going over the month and didn't want to keep moving. We can stay plugged in while we're gone. We also don't have kids to worry about, but there is a pool, a playground, a fenced in dog area and it is quiet. There are also very small cabins.

If you were planning to stay at the Fort and have dogs, this might be a good option for you since boarding them for a week will be VERY expensive at Best Friends.

Whether we'll stay here again or not remains to be seen, but it is a place to park that is safe, clean, friendly and cheap.