WL to FtW transportation

DopeyDad68

Earning My Ears
Joined
Aug 21, 2016
Looking for some clarification. I believe there are both boat and bus transportation from Wilderness Lodge to Fort Wilderness. For a trip planned for this summer, we'll be looking to take a kid in a chair (bus transportable pediatric wheelchair/special needs stroller) from Wilderness Lodge to Pioneer Hall for a 6:15 Hoop-Dee-Doo. I believe the larger red flag boats from WL to Magic Kingdom take wheelchairs. Do any of the blue flag boats making the CR-WL-FW loop take wheelchairs? Or are all the blue flag boats the smaller boats and do not accept wheelchairs?
Also, looks like there is a direct bus from WL to FW. Does it make a Pioneer Hall stop? And is the bus usually faster than the boat? TIA for info.
 
The boats from WL to Ft. W will not be able to accommodate a wheelchair. The buses also do not stop at Pioneer Hall - you would need to transfer. I would consider using a Minnie Van this evening. If you call them directly at 407-828-3500 you can ask that they send an accessible vehicle. The Minnie Vans can take you and pick you up directly at Pioneer Hall. The other option is walking from WL to Ft. W which may actually take you less time than all the bus transfers.
 
The boats from WL to Ft. W will not be able to accommodate a wheelchair. The buses also do not stop at Pioneer Hall - you would need to transfer. I would consider using a Minnie Van this evening. If you call them directly at 407-828-3500 you can ask that they send an accessible vehicle. The Minnie Vans can take you and pick you up directly at Pioneer Hall. The other option is walking from WL to Ft. W which may actually take you less time than all the bus transfers.
We took a bus from Settlement Depot(Pioneer Hall area) to Wilderness Lodge last trip.

Is that just a "one way" bus?

Thanks.:)
 
Just looked at Fort Wilderness resort map and it indicates there is a direct bus between Wilderness Lodge and Settlement Depot. That could work for us.
 


Just looked at Fort Wilderness resort map and it indicates there is a direct bus between Wilderness Lodge and Settlement Depot. That could work for us.

I don't believe that bus always runs. It runs after the shows, especially the later ones. So double check at the front desk of WL. Have a back up plan.
 
There is a bus that runs through out the day between WL and FW. The FW stop is at the Settlement, near Pioneer Hall. I have only taken it the once from WL to FW, but I have seen it often through out the day. I think at times of the day, they use one of the 3 internal routes as part of the route to WL.

There is also a paved walking/biking path between the two resorts that is nice. It took me about 15 minutes at a leisurely pace while pushing my sister in her wheelchair.
 


The nice thing about the path is you often encounter deer and other wildlife. We rather enjoyed the walk ourselves. Even though we encounter critters regularly in our yard at home. We never tire of seeing them.
 
There is a bus that runs through out the day between WL and FW. The FW stop is at the Settlement, near Pioneer Hall.
Thanks for the confirmation-the bus we took from Settlement Depot to WL was early PM-no where close to the time of the Hoop shows.:)
 
Thanks for all the responses and info. I posed question here and on FB and chatted with a CM. Believe boat may still be a possibility, if there is a large blue flag boat going to Contemporary, Fort Wilderness, and Wilderness Lodge. My choice would be to take boat to get there and a bus to return. Boat ride would be a chance to see what's left of Discovery Island and maybe get a good view of the construction going on at the remains of River Country. My wife is not keen on boats and would not want to take one at night. That aversion led to the worst Monorail trip I've ever had, but that's a different story. Good to know that have walking path as backup. Have seen several comments about chance to appreciate the area's wildlife. But again, take my wife, please. She's a true Jersey girl and has slowed down quite a bit after breaking an ankle a couple of years ago. Several years ago she had a wildlife encounter at one of the Animal Kingdom character trails when a snake shot across the path just in front of her. She didn't appear to enjoy that all that much. All part of the magic, I say.
 
Thanks for all the responses and info. I posed question here and on FB and chatted with a CM. Believe boat may still be a possibility, if there is a large blue flag boat going to Contemporary, Fort Wilderness, and Wilderness Lodge. My choice would be to take boat to get there and a bus to return. Boat ride would be a chance to see what's left of Discovery Island and maybe get a good view of the construction going on at the remains of River Country. My wife is not keen on boats and would not want to take one at night. That aversion led to the worst Monorail trip I've ever had, but that's a different story. Good to know that have walking path as backup. Have seen several comments about chance to appreciate the area's wildlife. But again, take my wife, please. She's a true Jersey girl and has slowed down quite a bit after breaking an ankle a couple of years ago. Several years ago she had a wildlife encounter at one of the Animal Kingdom character trails when a snake shot across the path just in front of her. She didn't appear to enjoy that all that much. All part of the magic, I say.
We have stayed at the WL many times and they do run a bus from the WL to FW. In fact, they run many buses to FW. ;) You should have no problem getting to FW for your Hoop Dee Doo reservation. :) The FW bus comes very frequently starting in late afternoon, or at least it did last September. :)

The boat to FW is a different matter. The bigger boat that accommodates ECV's will divert from the MK route to pick up an ECV for the trip to FW but you may have to wait awhile for it. I would give yourself at least 45 minutes to an hour if you want to get there by boat.

Our favorite way to get to FW for dinner is to walk the nature path. It is paved and a really nice walk. It doesn't have lights, though, so we usually can't use it for the return trip. Last September we were able to take the bus back to WL. It stops at the Settlement bus stop.
 

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