Throw away Campground Reservations

[TRANSPOS]

I know I’m gonna get killed for this but ….. here goes.

I’ve heard of the practice of “throw away” reservations at the Campground. (Book a night. Don’t use it. Get all the perks of on site for two days).

Anyone ever done this? Ever heard of Disney catching on and punishing people for it?

 

[traveler9]

I know I’m gonna get killed for this but ….. here goes.

I’ve heard of the practice of “throw away” reservations at the Campground. (Book a night. Don’t use it. Get all the perks of on site for two days).

Anyone ever done this? Ever heard of Disney catching on and punishing people for it?

I’ve done it once to get early entry for 2 days and the ILL booking at 7am.

I bet when they start the free waterpark on arrival day next year more people will be doing it unless they exclude the campgrounds from the deal.

 

[dioxide45]

I bet when they start the free waterpark on arrival day next year more people will be doing it unless they exclude the campgrounds from the deal.

Will they have to open both waterparks at the same time because of this new perk in 2025? Right now it seems they only ever have one open at a time when prior to the pandemic they almost always had both open. Has demand not returned for the waterparks?

 

[traveler9]

Will they have to open both waterparks at the same time because of this new perk in 2025? Right now it seems they only ever have one open at a time when prior to the pandemic they almost always had both open. Has demand not returned for the waterparks?

I think Typhoon hit capacity last summer or the year before, and it was crowded when I went the week of Memorial Day. It wouldn’t surprise me if they opened both next year.

 

[Paulaparm]

Since you asked…as a camper I think it’s a poor choice. There are times of year that are difficult to get a reservation at the Fort for the days you want/need. People using this practice just make it harder for the people that really want to be there.

 

[Dave006]

I’ve heard of the practice of “throw away” reservations at the Campground. (Book a night. Don’t use it. Get all the perks of on site for two days).

Yes this comes up every few years. What great on site perks are you looking for that are worth anything more than free parking but it is not free since you paid for a campsite?

Anyone ever done this? Ever heard of Disney catching on and punishing people for it?

Disney does not care since you are paying. It is kind of rude as you block select days from guests that really want to camp and Ft. Wilderness.

Dave

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Poor form

 

[katyjeka]

Stupid question but it you want the perks why not stay onsite? If you reserve early enough you should be able to get a discounted rate. Look into the value resorts. Better yet, if your paying for a spot why not camp?? What's sad is doing this "screws" people who honestly want to stay there. Do people do this and get away with it, Yes. Should they, no!!!

 

[MICKIMINI]

Not playing nice.

 

[chackett24]

I know I’m gonna get killed for this but ….. here goes.

I’ve heard of the practice of “throw away” reservations at the Campground. (Book a night. Don’t use it. Get all the perks of on site for two days).

Anyone ever done this? Ever heard of Disney catching on and punishing people for it?

What perks? They have an average pool & 1 Resturant on site, and that Resturant isn’t very good. Other than early entry, there really aren’t any

 

[TRANSPOS]

1.). With regard to “just stay on site” …… our family of four is going and our kids are college aged. When they were small we routinely stayed on site and shared a room. It was fine and worth it.

Now we need at least 2 bedrooms and preferably something with laundry/kitchen. To get that comparable on site is AT LEAST 3K more for a week. And that’s factoring in a car, etc. Not at all worth it.

2.) What perks? The on-site perks like pool wouldn’t be used obviously. Disney IMO is giving more and more perks to onsite at expense of offsite. There are things you CANT DO off site. The early morning hours for one. We are big rope droppers. Every park opens early for on site. Rope drop can’t be done if you are off site anymore. Why not be like DL and alternate parks? And the ILL don’t go on sale until park
open for offsite is absurd. I get the feeling it’s not quite as bad as when ROR first opened but may be completely out of luck if you are off site.

I have no problem with on site perks. I’ve used them before. But it’s getting out of hand. Things shouldn’t be eliminated from off site folks.

If i do it i will probably keep eye on reservations at campground until days before as to minimize risk of taking peoples spot. But i don’t have a huge guilt about doing it. Disney likes to play games and cost is out of hand. So why can’t i manipulate it as well?

 

[katyjeka]

1.). With regard to “just stay on site” …… our family of four is going and our kids are college aged. When they were small we routinely stayed on site and shared a room. It was fine and worth it.

Now we need at least 2 bedrooms and preferably something with laundry/kitchen. To get that comparable on site is AT LEAST 3K more for a week. And that’s factoring in a car, etc. Not at all worth it.

2.) What perks? The on-site perks like pool wouldn’t be used obviously. Disney IMO is giving more and more perks to onsite at expense of offsite. There are things you CANT DO off site. The early morning hours for one. We are big rope droppers. Every park opens early for on site. Rope drop can’t be done if you are off site anymore. Why not be like DL and alternate parks? And the ILL don’t go on sale until park
open for offsite is absurd. I get the feeling it’s not quite as bad as when ROR first opened but may be completely out of luck if you are off site.

I have no problem with on site perks. I’ve used them before. But it’s getting out of hand. Things shouldn’t be eliminated from off site folks.

If i do it i will probably keep eye on reservations at campground until days before as to minimize risk of taking peoples spot. But i don’t have a huge guilt about doing it. Disney likes to play games and cost is out of hand. So why can’t i manipulate it as well?

Parents of 4 who are now older and yes it sucks but we pay what's needed to accommodate our family. You sound like your entitled to special treatment. What a great example to set for your kids, especially teenagers. As if the world isn't screwed up enough teach your kids to lie.

 

[traveler9]

Parents of 4 who are now older and yes it sucks but we pay what's needed to accommodate our family. You sound like your entitled to special treatment. What a great example to set for your kids, especially teenagers. As if the world isn't screwed up enough teach your kids to lie.

Nobody is lying about anything. You pay for one night at the campsite, you get one night to stay the campsite and use of onsite benefits for check in and check out days. Whether you use one or the other (or both) shouldn't matter.

 

[wdw_dine_junkie]

Against the rules or not (which I think the practice totally stinks to take a site from someone else), I still don't even see the advantage. The early entry is a half hour (not worth it) and you want to pay more money for a campsite to then have the 'perk' of paying more money for a ride faster than other people? Does not compute. Two parking fees at parks are still less than a campsite. For all the reasons I book the Fort, onsite perks are not one of them and I don't think they are great.

When we were there Halloween, I saw sites with only a car parked in them and no camping equipment. I assume people booked the night and just parked and trick or treated and left.

Next year we may see people book a single tent site for waterpark entry for 8. :/

 

[traveler9]

Against the rules or not (which I think the practice totally stinks to take a site from someone else), I still don't even see the advantage. The early entry is a half hour (not worth it) and you want to pay more money for a campsite to then have the 'perk' of paying more money for a ride faster than other people? Does not compute. For all the reasons I book the Fort, onsite perks are not one of them and I don't think they are great.

When we were there Halloween, I saw sites with only a car parked in them and no camping equipment. I assume people booked the night and just parked and trick or treated and left.

Next year we may see people book a single tent site for waterpark entry for 8. :/

You just contradicted yourself in your first and third paragraph.

Some nights you can find a campsite for less than $100. A large family of 8 may very well be taking two cars to the parks if staying offsite. Two cars for two days would be $120 in theme park parking ($30/day/car), so the campsite for one night may very well cost less than parking fees, and you get early entry and the ability to book ILLs at 7am.

 

[bama_ed]

This topic again.

No minds are ever changed.

Just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you SHOULD.

You think Disney is taking advantage of you so you think this is one way to take advantage of them. Doesn't matter that it negatively impacts others. Because it's about your wants.

I feel sad for you.

Bama Ed

 

[Genie+]

I know I’m gonna get killed for this but ….. here goes.

I’ve heard of the practice of “throw away” reservations at the Campground. (Book a night. Don’t use it. Get all the perks of on site for two days).

Anyone ever done this? Ever heard of Disney catching on and punishing people for it?

Throwaway campsites were a great value years ago.

Take 2017 for example. Some were as low as $60/nt and potentially gave perks up to 10 people for 10 free Magic Bands, MDE and ALL of the extra magic park hours including 3 late hours at MK.

Today they start at $105/nt and basically get 30 minutes of Early Entry and back in March 2024 reduced occupancy to 8.

WDW removed enough incentives that it’s probably not worth the bother to most people anymore.

 

[wdw_dine_junkie]

Throwaway campsites were a great value years ago.

Take 2017 for example. Some were as low as $60/nt and potentially gave perks up to 10 people for 10 free Magic Bands, MDE and ALL of the extra magic park hours including 3 late hours at MK.

Today they start at $105/nt and basically get 30 minutes of Early Entry and back in March 2024 reduced occupancy to 8.

WDW removed enough incentives that it’s probably not worth the bother to most people anymore.

That's what I was trying to say. Save maybe $20 and get a half hour? Hardly worth screwing over people.

I don't think Disney's IT could put in place logic to delete perks from people who don't show up in person to the Fort, but I'm a coder, I'd give it a shot if I could.

Removing online checkin would at least waste some of the saved time.

Or what Ed said.

 

[katyjeka]

Nobody is lying about anything. You pay for one night at the campsite, you get one night to stay the campsite and use of onsite benefits for check in and check out days. Whether you use one or the other (or both) shouldn't matter.

Teaching your kids to beat the system is lying. If you wanted to set a good example for your kids you would pitch a tent and enjoy or open your wallet and pay for a room that would work for your group size. I'm thankful more people do it the right way and not look for ways to beat the system. Enjoy your trip.

 

[wdw_dine_junkie]

Teaching your kids to beat the system is lying. If you wanted to set a good example for your kids you would pitch a tent and enjoy or open your wallet and pay for a room that would work for your group size. I'm thankful more people do it the right way and not look for ways to beat the system. Enjoy your trip.

Posting about beating the system is also against board rules and the original post has been reported. The mods may delete or lock the whole thread soon.