Disney's FORT WILDERNESS CABINS & CAMPGROUNDS Information & Questions

[Mama Steph]

Ummmmm.....baby alligator you say? Where was mommy alligator I'm wondering? Was this by the creek?

Didn't see a mommy but yes, it was by the creek!

 

[Mama Steph]

Is there towels by the pool that they provide? I get there tomorrow! Yay

I don't think so. We took our own. I may have missed them there as we were only there for a short time one afternoon.

 

[fynook12]

I booked a 4 seater for ten days from beachline golf carts for less than 400 in may

Thanks! Just reserved a 6 seater with beachline for $294 for a week!! Thats total inc tax!!
Disney wanted $316 for just a 4 seater!

 

[double r]

River Country was fun but now dated with the larger water parks, the nice the nice thing was being right at the Fort. I believe the water used there was piped it from the lagoon and that was when they let you swim in it. Don't get your hopes up as I am sure it will never return

 

[Mama Steph]

River Country was fun but now dated with the larger water parks, the nice the nice thing was being right at the Fort. I believe the water used there was piped it from the lagoon and that was when they let you swim in it. Don't get your hopes up as I am sure it will never return

Wouldn't it be great if they reopened it but it was only for guests staying at FW and WL??? Our own personal waterpark!

 

[hawgwilld]

That's what I was thinking.

 

[C&G'sMama]

Was really hoping I wasn't coming off as a complainer here. When I spoke to the manager, as well as other cast members, I was always soft spoken and polite. I know that any issues are not their fault. I also didn't ask for compensation, I actually said no and was very against it. Didn't want them to think I was looking for a handout, just wanted the issues taken care of.

I forgot to mention our great wildlife sightings! We saw armadillos, HUGE turkeys, hawks, many other birds and squirrels and even a baby alligator!!! He was near the 2000 loop on Monday for those of you there soon.

Funny story. I was feeling very stressed Monday night. Kids were at the park with a cast member friend and I had gone back early to pack. Was chatting with a friend who suggested I take a mug of wine and go looping on the scooter one last time. Great idea!! It was after 11:00 so very dark and quiet, peaceful. Got to the end of the loop and turned on the sidewalk. It goes between 2 wooded areas. As I passed I saw a pile of leaves/pine needles move and out jumped an armadillo to scare me! I spilled my wine when I jumped. Quickly headed back to the cabin, laughing at myself of course. I'd rather watch the armadillos rustle around outside the cabin then have them sneak up on me. The kids arrived home shortly thereafter and I took them to see the mounds but the armadillos weren't there anymore. Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

I don't think you're complaining. I read your report. Sounds like in spite of some bumps in the road (and Armadillos) you had a great trip.

We agree that it would make sense to have a bus to MK from the Fort. We are going with our in-laws next year and that is one of the reasons we're going back to All Stars next trip. But after being spoiled by the amount of room in the cabin we're going to get a suite for the 4 of us and a regular handicapped room for them. However we definitely hope to go back to the cabins next trip after that.

I LOVED the mason jar cups. That's how I drank my Baily's Irish Cream. Would've drank our wine in them but I forgot to bring a cork screw and the one in the cabin didn't work for us.

We actually had a great cleaning crew. I'm sure there is more than one crew and they are assigned to different areas and we happened to get a really good one.

I would definitely like to get a cart next time. The internal buses were okay but it would've been nice to travel on my own time within the resort. We always drive down so we have our car for tooling around WDW.

I agree with you on the food. It would be nice to have a more options for quick service but I'm wondering if it's not viable for them to have a full CS restaurant because so many people cook that camp?

As for a down day, yeah. We were there for 8 nights so it was easier for us. And we finally did our down day on Friday. We canceled our table service for that day. We went to the DTD for a couple of hours and ate at EOS. I don't remember what we did for dinner. Maybe we just had snacks in the room.

We also had some QS meals and snacks left so on our way out we stopped at All Stars and picked up stuff that would travel well like a pizza, some sandwiches and bags of candy.

 

[amberohio]

Hi everyone!

We are staying at the campsites from April 25th-May 5th (the last night of our trip we are staying at POP). This is our first trip to Fort Wilderness. We have always stayed at Shades of Green on past trips. Anyway, just wanted to stop by and say hi and thanks for this thread!

 

[hstrickland]

Happy Saturday

Hope everyone is well! Geeky, hope you are getting packed...you're leaving soon! Then Jeepin Dad and tcherjen are up next!!! I'm starting to think that time has completely stopped for me...my calendar doesn't seem to be progressing towards June.....at all!!!!

.
The Cabin:
I was disappointed when I arrived to find out that we were in the 2800 loop when I had requested 2100, close to center of campground. My mom checked in before I arrived and she didn't know. Not a huge deal, just a longer trip to the marina and trading post. That being said, I love the cabins!! There is so much space for everybody! We had 7 people, 8 people for a night, and didn't feel cramped. One bathroom can kind of be a pain but we knew that going into it. We just staggered showers. I loved sitting out on the deck in the evening with a glass of wine and listening to the sounds of nature. I couldn't believe how quiet the entire campground was. I took my mom's scooter one night to go looping. Even in the camping loops it was very quiet. Loved seeing decorations on the camping sites!

Glad you like the cabins!! But yep, that 2800 loop is awfully far from all the activities especially if you are relying on internal buses. Did you ask to be moved to another loop?

Transportation:
I really struggled with transportation. Some days the internal buses were great, others not so much. Buses to Epcot, HS and AK seemed to come pretty frequently. I wish they had a sign at the outpost letting people know that there isn't a bus to MK. My family and I told numerous people when we found out they were waiting. I did suggest it to the manager. The boats were a bit of a pain for us since we had a scooter and not all can accommodate that. Many times my mom had to wait for another boat making our wait more than 45 minutes. Taking the bus to WL is an option but involves 3 busses to get to MK. That's a lot of loading and unloading the scooter. I really think they need a bus to MK. Not sure why WL has one at FW does not. I would not do this again without a golf cart. Waiting for both an internal bus AND park bus was too much for me.

You're right! They do need a boat to the MK. Not sure why there isn't. So glad you mentioned it to the manager. And while the buses are totally fine for transportation, the golf carts help tremendously....for convenience that is Not a necessity, of course, but gives you a little more freedom.

Our one horrible experience on the bus was Monday. We were on an internal bus to the settlement before heading to The Poly for breakfast. We waited a long time for an internal bus. When we got moving, we found out there was a lot of construction going on. Made total sense. Our driver was driving way too fast though. I'm guessing 35-40 mph. Said he had to stay on schedule. When we got to the Settlement, they were routing busses a bit differently. The bus driver started swearing!! My kids and I just looked at each other, appalled. I was upset by the ride and wrote down the bus #, time and route. Didn't get the drivers name because I just got off as quick as possible.

OMG! So not appropriate....AT ALL!!! You had every right to be upset. Disney is a place we go because we know it's family oriented and kid friendly.

Park days:
We did MK 3x (including staying there last night til 1am for EMH) and each other park once. This was what my kids chose. In hindsight, I wish we had scheduled a down day in the middle of our trip but with only 6 days, none of us wanted to give up the park time. We finally made it to the pool today though not for as long as we would have liked due to dinner plans.
Never made it to the campfire or movie since evenings are our favorite time in the parks. Again, if we had a down day we would have done this.

Hindsight is always twenty-twenty I don't blame you for trying to pack in as much as possible; we use to do the same thing, too. Over the years we've learned to take some days off and relax. Bill told me that this upcoming trip, he refused to be tired when he returns home from vacation When/if you return to the Fort, you have to do the campfire with Chip and Dale. Well worth a visit!

Dining Plan:
We had a PIN for free dining and it was a great chance for us to try many new restaurants. We ate TS meals at BE Our Guest, Crystal Palace, Askerhus, Mama Melrose, Tusker House, Hoop Dee Doo Revue and Kona Cafe. The only 2 we would not do again are Askerhus and Tusker House. TH just didn't wow me. The food was ok but not really our style. I felt Askerhus was grossly overpriced for what you get. All of our other meals were excellent!! Fantasmic Dining package was well worth it for us. Showed up 20 minutes before the show started and ended up in the front row, dead center. The view was incredible!!

I totally agree about those 2 restaurants. We probably won't go back either. Love Fantasmic package also

I really dislike the fact that there are so few options for CS at FW. I had no intention of cooking and would have liked a nice quick serve breakfast before heading to the parks.

I agree

Service:
Housekeeping was not good. We had so much chaos going on with illness and injury that I didn't even think about it in the beginning. I just chalked it up to the fact that the cabins are different from other resorts and I was expecting too much.
I asked about housekeeping. I told him that it was an honest question, not a complaint. I really didn't know if housekeeping was different for cabins than at other resorts. He said absolutely not. We should have full housekeeping each day.
I was very impressed with the manager. He was very kind and helpful. I never felt that he was annoyed by me but rather that he was honestly concerned about the issues and would take care of them.

Not acceptable AT ALL! Mousekeeping shouldn't vary from resort to resort or depend upon whether it's a Value or a Deluxe. Glad the manager was helpful and seemed truly concerned. I'm sure he was totally embarrassed!

So there it is, the good, the bad and the ugly. Feel free to ask any questions and I'll do my best to answer.

I like the good, the bad and the ugly It's honest! Sorry you had to deal with illnesses on vacation. That can always add undue stress even to a great situation. Hopefully you're already planning another Disney trip which I'm sure will be MUCH better

I could stay there and possibly not even go to any of the parks .... And that's saying a lot coming from me!
I'm a self proclaimed Disney NUT

We've done that And in fact are doing it again in June.

I will def go back to the fort but will only do so with a golf cart and down days. So many great things to experience there. We have a trip to Tampa planned in June and I'm thinking that we should do a couple nights at the Fort to just hang out.

I'm thinking that sounds like a plan for sure! Chip n Dale Campfire, Electric Water Pageant on the beach, smoares, a little golf cart adventure....

I love this board. Just sayin'.

The post on the golf carts - I had no idea. Didn't even think about it. I have left Kenny a message! Woo hoo! Here's hoping.. he says to reserve 3 months out and we are just inside of 2, so we shall see...Thank you thank you!

Made those FP+ ressies yesterday...

and how did you like the FP+ process???

hi there! I am very excited to be staying at the fort for our first time ever! we will be there from April 19 - 25 and staying in a cabin. i was very glad to find this thread. I have found lots of answers to some of my questions thanks to you great folks. Mama Steph, i am sorry that you had some bad experiences, but you made me picture myself and my Dsis sitting on the deck in the evening and I cant wait for that! and Im glad to hear the manager was so good to you after your disappointments.

Glad you found us!!!! Will post your travel dates on the first page!! Happy planning!

I've been doing some reading about the subject and I was just wondering if anybody else thinks it would be a good idea for disney to open up River Country again.i'm really disappointed that I missed out on such a great facility.

Not sure if you saw these links or not on the first page of this thread....

River Country Info

Fact or Fiction??

I have a link to pictures of RC but can't find it right now. For some reason I though I had put it on the thread....maybe not. Will do it this afternoon when I have time

Was really hoping I wasn't coming off as a complainer here.

Not at all!!!!!

I forgot to mention our great wildlife sightings! We saw armadillos, HUGE turkeys, hawks, many other birds and squirrels and even a baby alligator!!! He was near the 2000 loop on Monday for those of you there soon.

No kidding!! Once those gators reach a certain size, they are moved to another location....or at least let's hope they are!!

Cool about the wildlife, we love seeing wildlife in the campgrounds we stay at. One of our big disappointments about our trip to Shenandoah National Park last year is we didn't see any bears, we saw plenty of deer, turkeys and other animals but no bears, hoping to see some when we go back this fall.

Lions, and tigers, and bears....OH MY!!! How close do you wanna really be????!!

Ummmmm.....baby alligator you say? Where was mommy alligator I'm wondering? Was this by the creek?

Hiding in the thick swamp or under the water...so the trappers can't find her

Thanks! Just reserved a 6 seater with beachline for $294 for a week!! Thats total inc tax!!
Disney wanted $316 for just a 4 seater!

I LOVED the mason jar cups. That's how I drank my Baily's Irish Cream.

Hi everyone!
We are staying at the campsites from April 25th-May 5th (the last night of our trip we are staying at POP). This is our first trip to Fort Wilderness. We have always stayed at Shades of Green on past trips. Anyway, just wanted to stop by and say hi and thanks for this thread!

YAY for a Fort visit!!! If you have any questions, ask away

 

[Jeepin Dad]

Happy Saturday

Then Jeepin Dad and tcherjen are up next!!! I'm starting to think that time has completely stopped for me...my calendar doesn't seem to be progressing towards June.....at all!!!!

Three from today we will be waking up in Georgia and making the rest of the drive to Disney We hit the Disney store last night and picked up a few things for our trip, shirts, fleeces, autograph books, and yesterday I ordered some Donald Duck string lights for the camper awning. Today we are heading to an RV show to see if there are any cool new gadgets we might need for the camper.

Unfortunately we are also getting ready for what hopefully will be our last major winter storm moving in Sunday and Monday, they're calling for another 8"-12" of snow and possibly ice.

Lions, and tigers, and bears....OH MY!!! How close do you wanna really be????!!

I hunt and off-road my Jeep in bear country and have been within 100 or so feet from bears a couple of times, they really aren't aggressive animals unless you give them a reason to be, usually they will try to avoid you if they can. The boys and Wendy really want to see some this year, Shenandoah is probably our best bet at seeing some but we are camping a couple other places that have smaller bear populations. I did get most of our camping trips through Columbus Day Weekend in October planned and booked, we should be camping about 40 nights this year.

 

[Haygar2]

I'm starting to think that time has completely stopped for me...my calendar doesn't seem to be progressing towards June.....at all!!!!

That's how I feel. However, ours isn't until September. I did get my hubby to agree to an extra day. Instead of checking in on September 7th (my birthday) we are checking in on the 6th. I want to spend that evening cruising around the resort. We are hitting Trail's End for dinner. Can't wait!!

 

[TheDisneyPrep]

TheDisneyPrep will be in the cabins for her Bachelorette party May 2-5! Can't wait... you are right, this is one of the BEST KEPT secrets!

 

[amberohio]

YAY for a Fort visit!!! If you have any questions, ask away

Thanks! I do have one question. We were assigned a premium campsite because of the size of camper my parents have (we are staying with them, they live in Florida and will drive in, we will fly in). Are those in a specific area or scattered throughout the campground?

I'm getting so excited! We originally planned to go in June but moved the vacation up to April. I stopped at The Disney Store tonight and grabbed a few of the $8 t-shirts for my boys.

 

[C&G'sMama]

T

I hunt and off-road my Jeep in bear country and have been within 100 or so feet from bears a couple of times, they really aren't aggressive animals unless you give them a reason to be, usually they will try to avoid you if they can. The boys and Wendy really want to see some this year, Shenandoah is probably our best bet at seeing some but we are camping a couple other places that have smaller bear populations. I did get most of our camping trips through Columbus Day Weekend in October planned and booked, we should be camping about 40 nights this year.

Have you ever been in the Adirondacks, north of Old Forge, Eagle Bay and Inlet. We used to tent camp in Brown Tract Ponds, it's way back in but does not have electric or the like but I remember there being pop ups there. We historically spent a lot of time on Big Moose Lake at place called Covewood Lodge. Point is there are bears up there.

 

[Jeepin Dad]

I've been to the Adirondacks but we haven't camped there, I have an Aunt & Uncle and a couple of cousins that live in the in the Saranac Lake area. I know there is a big bear population there.

 

[Haygar2]

Just booked my golf cart!!

I didn't get it for the whole time, because we will be in the parks so much, but I got it for 3 days for $120 + tax.

 

[Mama Steph]

Glad you like the cabins!! But yep, that 2800 loop is awfully far from all the activities especially if you are relying on internal buses. Did you ask to be moved to another loop?

I would have but my mom checked in well before we arrived and didn't know any better. She already had stuff unloaded and had a rough afternoon not knowing how to get around or where to eat. Wasn't worth one more thing to stress her out.

I'm thinking that sounds like a plan for sure! Chip n Dale Campfire, Electric Water Pageant on the beach, smoares, a little golf cart adventure....

If I can fit it into the budget, we are definitely doing it. Thinking we may just rent a popup since it would save a lot of money. I would get a golf cart from Kenny too.

 

[fynook12]

Just booked my golf cart!!

I didn't get it for the whole time, because we will be in the parks so much, but I got it for 3 days for $120 + tax.

Who did you use? (If you don't mind me asking).....

 

[tiggerdad]

Who did you use? (If you don't mind me asking).....

Wondering same thing. Especially since Kenny at Tee Time golf cart rentals can't deliver onsite anymore. Apparently new Disney policy.

 

[Haygar2]

I called Beachline Golf Cart Rentals : 407-285-9007. He meets off site and then we go onsite together.

If they didn't make it so expensive, I would have gladly rented from Disney. They are just so overpriced! It would have been $240 + tax to rent them there (because of the time I would have to check it back in). Hopefully there won't be a problem.