Cabin *and* campsite

[punocchio]

Hi folks! Need some advice. My wife and I are planning a 6 night trip over Thanksgiving for us, our daughter/son in law and their 2 kids (11 and 6). We booked a cabin, but realized afterwards that the one bathroom is going to be an issue with this arrangement! So we just added a reservation for a basic full hookup campsite, thinking that's where my wife and I would bring our Aliner to sleep in, and use the comfort stations (our trailer has no bathroom). Has anyone done this sort of thing? How and when do we request that the cabin and the campsite be close to each other? We booked a standard full-hookup site, so any advice on loops would be appreciated! Also any advice on how to manage time when we want to do a lot in the theme parks yet still enjoy what Fort Wilderness has to offer in general, and our campsite specifically? Thanks!

 

[proudmomof4]

Hi folks! Need some advice. My wife and I are planning a 6 night trip over Thanksgiving for us, our daughter/son in law and their 2 kids (11 and 6). We booked a cabin, but realized afterwards that the one bathroom is going to be an issue with this arrangement! So we just added a reservation for a basic full hookup campsite, thinking that's where my wife and I would bring our Aliner to sleep in, and use the comfort stations (our trailer has no bathroom). Has anyone done this sort of thing? How and when do we request that the cabin and the campsite be close to each other? We booked a standard full-hookup site, so any advice on loops would be appreciated! Also any advice on how to manage time when we want to do a lot in the theme parks yet still enjoy what Fort Wilderness has to offer in general, and our campsite specifically? Thanks!

For the campsite, request 2100 loop. For the cabin, request 2200 or 2300 loop, near the loop entrance/exit. Have this added to both reservations ASAP, you can also ask them to add a “traveling with” note where they link the reservations. See map below, the loop numbers are missing the “00” but you can see how close they are.

Plan for at least one day at the Fort to explore and check it all out. Lots of people plan all their days in the parks and then report back here that they wish they had planned some down time at the Fort.

 

[Wendysofftoneverland]

Request loop 2100 for the full hookup campsite. Loops 2200 - 2800 are cabins. We have thought about doing this since some of my family loves camping and some do not.

 

[morrik5]

We have done the 2100 and 2200 loop thing with our daughter and their family and it worked out great! The comfort station is within the 2100 FHU loop and the bus stop is right outside the 2200/2300 loop entrances. Good luck and have fun on your stay.

 

[bama_ed]

Technically speaking, the "Cabins at Fort Wilderness" and the "Campsites at Fort Wilderness" are two different resorts. It's like trying to link a Contemporary room with a Boardwalk room. The Disney reservation system does have a method online to link nearby campsites (I don't know about nearby rooms). But to do what you ask will require the "brute force" method.

What you will have to do in this case is "overcommunicate" on both the 2100/campsite reservation and the 2200/cabin reservation (that was our favorite cabin loop way back in the day) with complete reservation numbers and names added as a NOTE on the other reservation via a phone call to the Disney reservation line.

Example: Call the Disney reservation line and tell them you want to add a note on your CAMPSITE reservation. Ask to stay "nearby" and give the cabin reservation #, arrival date, guest name, and say it's a cabin. Ditto on the CABIN reservation. Ask them to add a "nearby" note for the campsite with all the same info. And for the cabin reservation ask for it to be assigned to loop 2200 and the campsite reservation ask for it to be assigned to 2100.

This is not an uncommon occurance for the Fort Wilderness CM's who alter the computer default cabin/site assignments based on what is available on arrival day. That's why I say "overcommunicate" and give them all the info they need on both reservations to understand what you are trying to do.

As long as you do this several days before arrival, it could work. But I would suggest both cabin/site folks to check in at the Fort in person rather than via online to make sure this happens face-to-face.

Bama Ed

PS - and I take my Aliner to the Fort about once a year or so. Here was November 2022 in 100 loop.




PPS - and we do one park day paired with one non-park day AT MOST (half the time at FW during the day or at Disney Springs or doing a monorail resort crawl or lunch in the BW area with a Skyliner tour or putt-putt. We aren't big theme park folks since we go almost every year but we generally do MK each trip, Epcot every couple years, DHS less often (although did it in Nov22 because of Rise and Mickey's RR), and AK once every decade. Sometimes we only do one park day in a 5-6 day Fort stay.

 

[punocchio]

Great advice here. @bama_ed do you do full hookup or partial hookup with your aliner? We don't have a toilet and I was figuring I'd run the sink into the sewer connection in the ground. But I've been reading more and it seems people with popups book the tent/popup sites a lot and just catch gray water in a bucket from the sink and dump it in the laundry sink at the comfort station. Is that still acceptable? We'd save money that way, plus someone with a big rig could have that site. I think in that case I'd be asking for loop 2000 to be near the cabins?

 

[punocchio]

Also an update to our plan - we might be going at separate times (my wife and I plus grandkids early). If that's the case, we'll be staying at the campsite with the grands because it's WAY cheaper than the cabin. When their parents come to join, we could move into the cabin and deal with the single bathroom (with comfort stations nearby that seems more feasible) and move out of the campsite (saving that expense for the rest of the stay). But then I'm not sure where to park our trailer for the few days we are sharing the cabin. Do you think they'd let us park it and our car in the main Fort Wilderness parking lot?

 

[bama_ed]

Great advice here. @bama_ed do you do full hookup or partial hookup with your aliner? We don't have a toilet and I was figuring I'd run the sink into the sewer connection in the ground. But I've been reading more and it seems people with popups book the tent/popup sites a lot and just catch gray water in a bucket from the sink and dump it in the laundry sink at the comfort station. Is that still acceptable? We'd save money that way, plus someone with a big rig could have that site. I think in that case I'd be asking for loop 2000 to be near the cabins?

Sink to sewer connection or sink to bucket are both acceptable solutions.

I stay in Tent sites to save money sometimes (prefer 1500 loop personally) but often stay in Preferred (like in November) because I like the location down near Bay Lake.

Yes, 2000 is the Tent loop nearest the cabins. It has two Comfort Stations.

Bama Ed

 

[bama_ed]

Also an update to our plan - we might be going at separate times (my wife and I plus grandkids early). If that's the case, we'll be staying at the campsite with the grands because it's WAY cheaper than the cabin. When their parents come to join, we could move into the cabin and deal with the single bathroom (with comfort stations nearby that seems more feasible) and move out of the campsite (saving that expense for the rest of the stay). But then I'm not sure where to park our trailer for the few days we are sharing the cabin. Do you think they'd let us park it and our car in the main Fort Wilderness parking lot?

You could close up the Aliner and move it to the over-flow parking lot (the portion of the lot FURTHEST away from the Fort check-in building) and stay in the cabin. You'll see plenty of rv's, trailers, utility trailers, and flatbeds left there. You might inquire at the Fort office when you are ready to do so as they at times give out a paper/flyer for the trailer so they know it's there legitimately - but they don't do this always. So do ask.

During busy times like the holidays, the over-flow lot fills up and they use empty fields, curbs, just about anywhere to stash over-flow stuff. Don't know when you are going.

When the cabin folks arrive remember that there is only room for parking one vehicle at the cabins. So if they drive in, you can stash your vehicle in the regular parking lot if you wish or leave it hitched up to the Aliner (of course locks on the hitch, etc.) in the over-flow.

Bama Ed

PS - funny story about the over-flow lot. This fall a hurricane came and the Fort had to be evacuated. But a trailer was left in the over-flow lot. After investion, Disney discovered that the trailer belonged to a local resident nearby who KEPT IT THERE in between Fort stays without permission. He didn't come get it during the evacuation. That's why I say to ask about a permission slip. If you're staying in a cabin, they probably will say no bother. But folks have camped first and done a Disney Cruise after and want to leave the trailer at the Fort over-flow and not at Port Canaveral. Just ask.

 

[punocchio]

We are going for Thanksgiving week! It's $35 per day more for a full hookup site, but over the week that adds up!