Never Been to Fort Wilderness Camp Ground Before...Going in June!

[Jason Reedy]

Someone told me about this site...very cool!!

My family of four is coming to DW for the first time as a family (will be the kids' first time) in June for a week. We got a tent/popup site...which I guess means loop 2000 or 1500...I saw that on another post. We actually use a 7x16 trailer converted to a camper...no water hook up, but we do use power and do not have a bathroom.

Would you recommend the 1550 or 2000 Loop?
How far are the bathrooms from the sites?
Do all sites have water and electricity?
Do we need a golf cart or can we have fun without it?
We will be at the resort Sunday afternoon through Friday morning...maybe adding a day. Any thoughts?
Do the tent/pop-up sites have cable?
We got 5 day non-hopper passes as we saw the hopping wasted too much time...thoughts?

Please share any thoughts or tips. I could spend way too much time looking through all the great posts....and will...but if you have any thoughts, let me know. Thanks in advance.

 

[PaHunter]

Welcome to the forum.

Yes the sites all have water and electric. Bathrooms vary depending on where you are in a loop, but not a terrible distance at all. A golf cart is not needed, there are buses to take you to the main transportation spots.
And as for the hopper passes, it all depends on what you are doing. We like them because we may go to MK for the morning, then go to EPCOT after dinner for the fireworks, cooking dinner at the campsite. So for us they work.

Yes there is a lot of information here to digest.

Again, welcome.

 

[Jason Reedy]

Thanks for the information. SO looking forward to using our "Tramper" (Trailer Conversion) in June. So there are buses...nice. Save us $300 on a golf cart!

 

[snowmedic]

My thoughts on the 2000, if you like to walk, in my opinion, it's not that bad, but it is far from everything. There's the internal bus system that runs through out the campground, 2 buses per route, going in opposite directions from each other, so there will be a wait. In the 2000 loop there are 69 campsites and two Comfort Stations, one near the beginning of the loop and one in the middle. There is water, electric and cable, but no sewer hook-up. If you can bring bikes, do, like I said it is far from everything. The Fort rents bikes for 20.00 plus tax a day and have to be returned each day. Depending on when you check-in, if it is early in the day, before noon, I would ask if there is anything in the 1500 loop, it is closer to the pool, and has I believe 30 sites. If you have any other questions, there are plenty of people that will be around to help answer your questions. Have a great time, and welcome to the camping boards.

 

[peg110]

Another to the fort/forum.

As others have said, all sites have water, electric (and cable) but the tent/popup sites do not have sewer. Obviously in your case this is not an issue.
You can google a map of Fort Wilderness to get a sense of how large it is, but it won't really do it justice. The buses are pretty good and regular so the waits are usually less then about 20 minutes (or so) but sometimes can be longer (incidents occur... slow loading/unloading passengers particularly with mobility devices, etc...). I typically always plan on 1 hour (minimum) travel time from my site to my Park destination. It's a safe estimate. A golf cart can reduce some of that time and provide convenience but it can be costly too. Only you can decide if it's worth it for you. Of course walking is always an option.

Just be aware, you CANNOT use your car to drive around to the locations at the fort. There is no place to park except at your sites or the front. (although the meadows does have a few parking spots, but don't always count on it.) So if you want to "Explore" the site, the buses aren't really good for that unless you want to take it to the closest stop, get off, walk around to explore that area, then use the buses again to go to the next location. This is where a golf cart or bike can make a huge difference. Again, it is a decision that you have to come to knowing how your family camps. We have gone to the fort and had a cart and other times we didn't. We have fun either way.

As for the Hopper.... I am in the mindset much like you. Too much time wasted between parks for those couple of times you MIGHT want to hop. Typically we go to the park for a day and stay at that park. If we come back to the campsite, we generally are not going back to the parks. That's us! Like PA Hunter said, though, you may want to go to the MK in the day and come back and go for dinner at Epcot. There you would need a "Hopper". Also don't be fooled into thinking you could use an "Extra" days pass for that entrance. They won't let you do that either. (I thought you could do that so previously I bought an extra day just in case because at that point the extra day was only like $20 for 4 of us.... Nope... Didn't work, but they were happy to keep my extra $$$$).

We currently have an AP so we can "Hop" (First time we have ever gotten one) and on our 2 trips (one 7 days and one 9 days) with this AP so far, I think we hopped ONCE. So your park style will really impact this decision.

I am sure you will have a great time "Tramping" . Moreover, I know you will love the fort. It's a great campground that is hard to find an equal to compare to.

 

[Jason Reedy]

Are there fire pits in the sites??

 

[tinkerdorabelle]

Second bringing bikes! This campground is HUUUGE. We loved having our bikes and also it's just the perfect place to bike ride, you can even ride over to Wilderness Lodge, so much fun and in our opinion we would not be there without a bike or golf cart even with the internal bus service, but that's just us. Have fun!

 

[harriettbrawner]

Are there fire pits in the sites??

No, there are grills, but no fire pits. If you want to bring one there are restrictions and only 4 different types that are approved. Hopefully someone else will know this for sure, but I think you can rent one. We went for a short trip this week and it was chilly this morning so I really missed having a fire to warm up by.

We were in the 2000 loop on site 2004 and there was a little path to the right of our site that took us straight to the comfort station and bus stop behind it. I don't think the walk is bad for either station in that loop, but I will say that it is a little more removed from the activities around the Fort. We also found a trail from the loop to the primitive camping sites, then a bridge into Loop 900 that comes out right in front of the Meadow Trading Post and all of the activities there.

Here's the thing about the buses. We were on the Purple route which goes between the front of the Fort to the Settlement in the back. It doesn't go to either of the swimming pools. The Orange and Yellow buses have their own routes as well and they only cross at the front entrance. Once you see the map and legend...and especially once you're there it will all make sense. We did find that it was a quick walk to pick up the Orange bus around the corner from Loop 2000 and take it to the Meadow if you don't want to take the trail.

Hoppers....as you've seen you'll get different opinions on the value. We have APs as we just live about 74 miles from Disney, but even when we didn't we got park hopper tickets so we had the option to hop if we wanted to. On this quick trip my husband and I went to Animal Kingdom the first day, then came back to our campsite for dinner. Afterward we decided to take the boat from the Fort to Magic Kingdom to watch Wishes. Without park hoppers we couldn't have done that. I think the most important thing is for you to know what your family will want to do and how much stamina they have. I could go from open to close 20 years ago, but now I'm tired after a few hours!

 

[snowmedic]

but I think you can rent one.

The Fort does not rent fire pits. If you bring on it has to have the mesh sides and a solid top/lid, to keep the embers from escaping and catching things on fire.

 

[bama_ed]

Someone told me about this site...very cool!!

My family of four is coming to DW for the first time as a family (will be the kids' first time) in June for a week. We got a tent/popup site...which I guess means loop 2000 or 1500...I saw that on another post. We actually use a 7x16 trailer converted to a camper...no water hook up, but we do use power and do not have a bathroom.

Would you recommend the 1550 or 2000 Loop?
How far are the bathrooms from the sites?
Do all sites have water and electricity?
Do we need a golf cart or can we have fun without it?
We will be at the resort Sunday afternoon through Friday morning...maybe adding a day. Any thoughts?
Do the tent/pop-up sites have cable?
We got 5 day non-hopper passes as we saw the hopping wasted too much time...thoughts?

Please share any thoughts or tips. I could spend way too much time looking through all the great posts....and will...but if you have any thoughts, let me know. Thanks in advance.

I like 1500.

Distance depends on where you are. No single answer. We've had sites next to the Comfort Station and also two loops away.

All sites have water, electricity, and cable. WIFI gives you internet connectivity.

Golf carts are an expensive convenience. Not necessary especially if you are in 1500. We have gotten a cart twice in about sixteen trips - normally we bring bikes from home.

Weekend nights (Friday and Saturday) tend to be a little busier with locals coming in for a weekend stay. Being June and with the heat/rain, it might be less busy thus adding a night may be possible.

With 5-day passes, you might want to come back to the Fort for a power nap or swim during mid-day when you are at the MK (most convenient park to get back and forth to).

Does your converted trailer have AC? It can get hot at the Fort in summer.

Welcome to the DIS Camping Board.

Bama Ed

 

[team bradfield]

if you bring bikes, be sure to bring ponchos. we tried the bikes one year, i think it rained every evening upon our return from the parks. a very long wet ride from the outpost to 700 loop. now its golf carts only for us!

 

[jwo1976]

We've always camped in the 2000 loop. I like that its out of the way, seems quieter to me. Comfort stations are very convenient. We also get a golf cart. My kids love it and we treat it like another ride/attraction. We will usually spend at least one afternoon just riding around. We'll also be there in June (1st week), can't wait. I plan on bringing my bike just for early morning rides to clear my head but will also get a golf cart for general transportation.

 

[5stljayhawks]

Adding extra days, if you can do it. You dont need to add more park days, unless this is a once in life time trip. FW there is plenty to do, as well as other places around the wdw. my approach for non park hopper - use extra magic hours. come back nap- eat lunch/dinner or both and I think you can go back to same park - same day. Check on that its just one day use.

 

[Ajmullin]

We've never stayed in those loops but just wanted to say have a blast!! There truly is no place to camp like this!!!

 

[KristinU]

Welcome!!!

Another vote for bikes...especially depending on the ages of your kids. We like bikes A. because we're cheap, B. because I feel quicker and more nimble on my bike anyway, and the big thing is C. they allow us to have transportation for different directions - say DS wants to stop at the arcade or at the trading post after a park and I need to walk the dogs, and DH wants to grab his fishing gear and drop a line in somewhere. Or often times we meet up with my parents and they like different loop locations than we do, so bikes make easy transport between sites separately or together. Just to note - you'll need lights both front and back for riding after dark.

We've stayed in both 1500 and 2000 with our pop-up. We enjoyed both, but I'd favor 1500 just a little bit more because of the close location to everything. If you bring bikes, though, it really doesn't make much of a difference.

Ed makes a good point on A/C. We're also heading down in June and I'm anticipating using the A/C quite a bit.

 

[Jim Harper]

You'll love it!