tidefan
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2007
We just returned from a week-long stay at FW. We are looking in to eventually getting an RV and numerous people have told us to "rent one before you buy", so we took that advice and rented a RV and stayed at FW for a week, because, what better place to test it out 
In doing so, we got a real good feel for the Fort and how things work there. As longtime DVC members, of course we were interested in the cabin conversion to DVC, so I was thinking about that as I was there. Now having stayed, I think that there are a few things to consider about the DVC conversion that I hadn't really understood prior to this visit.
Second, there was a lot of scuttlebutt from the CM's that "something" was going on at the Reflections site and that they had seen concrete being poured over there. The speculation (note: this is SPECULATION) from the CM's was that they were going to build something and that it would be tied in to the DVC at the cabins and thematically to Fort Wilderness. The CM's were colloquially referring to it as "River Country Lodge" (NOTE: Colloquial - not official - this is just what they were referring to it as). One mentioned to me that could be why Trail's End was converted to a quick service because they would open table service at whatever went in at the Reflections site (BTW, the fried chicken is excellent over there). I guess we will find out in the next year or so...
To wrap it up, while I was excited about the Cabins at first, now having done an actual RV stay, I think that I would rather do that. Not to say I wouldn't use points over at the Cabins, but depending on pricing, it would take awhile to break even against an RV rental, and to me, the RV rental experience was superior. Again, just my thoughts and I realize others may have a different take, but I thought it was worth discussing as this comes online over the next year.
In doing so, we got a real good feel for the Fort and how things work there. As longtime DVC members, of course we were interested in the cabin conversion to DVC, so I was thinking about that as I was there. Now having stayed, I think that there are a few things to consider about the DVC conversion that I hadn't really understood prior to this visit.
- First, I had been basing what DVC sales may be in FW compared to other DVC options and how a family may like the fact that they can sleep multiple people in the cabins. What I had not considered is that not only will DVC be competing with a family paying cash at a Cabin or another property, in FW, DVC will be competing with what we did which was renting a RV from an outside company. We had a 37' RV (large) and with the RV, Campsite cost, and Golf Cart rental (from the same company), we were less than $3,000 for the whole trip. That works out to about $425 per night, inclusive of the golf cart. This is less than what you would pay now just renting the cabin on cash, much less paying Disney an extra $500 for a week of golf cart usage... and the RV was really, really nice.
- Some of the RV rentals will sleep up to 10 people.
- The DVC cabins are in the 2200-2800 loops, which are the furthest away from the "Settlement" area (Hoop-de-Doo, boat launch). I would think that you would really want a Golf Cart if you were staying here.
- There is currently only a single comfort station (think laundry, bathrooms, showers) in the Cabins area. I would think that they will need at least one more. Having seen the comfort stations, they are very nice, and I am now of the belief that it would be better to add one more and just let them serve as the laundry areas vs. putting a W/D in each unit. There were 5 washers and 6 dryers in our CS, which seemed to have at least one open at all times. For the DVC area, I am sure they could control access via MagicBand like they do at the SSR pool area laundry areas for DVC members to have free laundry.
- The Wilderness pool, IMHO, will definitely need to be redone. It sort of reminded me of the pool in the Treehouse area as it currently sits. They will need a bigger pool area over here. The main pool at the Meadows area was completely packed the whole time we were there. I also hope that they would put a small quick service (like at the Paddock pool at SSR) in this area so you didn't have to haul all the way to Trail's End.
- I am excited about the ability to bring pets, but for the cabins, it is currently a $50 per night fee. In an RV site, it is only $5 per night.
- In a few of the loops, they have already removed some cabins, not a lot, but definitely one here or there. I don't think it will take them long to flip the area as they can just haul the old ones out and the new ones in as they will be pre-fabbed off-site.
Second, there was a lot of scuttlebutt from the CM's that "something" was going on at the Reflections site and that they had seen concrete being poured over there. The speculation (note: this is SPECULATION) from the CM's was that they were going to build something and that it would be tied in to the DVC at the cabins and thematically to Fort Wilderness. The CM's were colloquially referring to it as "River Country Lodge" (NOTE: Colloquial - not official - this is just what they were referring to it as). One mentioned to me that could be why Trail's End was converted to a quick service because they would open table service at whatever went in at the Reflections site (BTW, the fried chicken is excellent over there). I guess we will find out in the next year or so...
To wrap it up, while I was excited about the Cabins at first, now having done an actual RV stay, I think that I would rather do that. Not to say I wouldn't use points over at the Cabins, but depending on pricing, it would take awhile to break even against an RV rental, and to me, the RV rental experience was superior. Again, just my thoughts and I realize others may have a different take, but I thought it was worth discussing as this comes online over the next year.
