Disney's Fort Wilderness

[fpotus]

I am thinking of making a last minute trip to Fort Wilderness this Thursday before the crowds start next month.  Anyone have any tips for me?
I have read the posts on this forum and fortfiends about FW.  Just looking some additional ideas from PUP people.
Thanks, Joshua.

[JessJosh61]

The tips would depend on what you guys are going to want to do while you are there. We went in Summer of 2011 and had a great time. They do have many ways of coaxing your money from your wallet, but if you can quit thinking about that it is really a neat place and lots of fun.

Tip #1 - unless there is something that you REALLY want to be close to, don't waste money by booking too much of a site. Even the water and electric only sites are very nice. We stayed (and paid) in the 900 loop, but the 1500 loop would have been fine for us at much less cost.

Tip #2 - The music around the pool seem to go on 24 hours a day. If you stay in the 1300 loop, it may be audible and bug you in a popup.  I walked very early every morning (around 5:30) and there was always music playing.

Tip #3 - If you are cooking at the site (which saves a ton), bring your groceries or stop before you get too close to FW. If you forget this, it can be a long trip back out. The first stores that you will come to will be also made to extract large piles of money from you.

Tip #4 - Avoid the buses. The boat to that leaves from the marina area will take you to Magic Kingdom or the Contemporary. You can board the monorail from there and get to many of the parks. If you can't get there on the boats or monorail, then drive.

Most of all, have fun! It is really one of the best campgrounds you can stay at. You could stay busy just hanging around FW itself without going to the parks.

[fpotus]

I am looking at doing a 7 day trip with probably a 5 day pass to the four main parks.  I had planned on trying to get a site in the 1500 loop based on other forum info.  I also planned on cooking all food except maybe lunches.  My grown stepson is going and he cant walk all day long so hes probably gonna spend a lot time sitting around the PUP drinking beers.
The info on the buses is what I was looking for.  I dont remember reading anything like that before now.
Thanks, Joshua.

[brgmgb]

Tip #2 - The music around the pool seem to go on 24 hours a day. If you stay in the 1300 loop, it may be audible and bug you in a popup.  I walked very early every morning (around 5:30) and there was always music playing.

Yes, when we went in 2005 (not Fort Wilderness, but Pop Century/Disney World), there was sensory overload.  Music at the pool came on 7:00 AM and went off at 11:00 PM.  Every where you went there was music and videos playing.  I does not surprise me that they would extend the hours.

Our Summer 2012 trip as been postponed because the family thinks "Florida" and "Summer" should be mutually exclusive.  Thanks for the tips!

[MicroCamper]

We have stayed there several times.  Once on the 2000 loop and at least three times on the 1500 loop.  The 2000 loop is more out of the way, but I prefer the 1500 loop.  It's within walking distance of the main pool and the campground store and other stuff in the middle of the campground.  If you call the campground directly, within about 24 hours of arrival, you can request a campsite locations with the campground front desk.  You have to wait until central reservations turns your reservation over to the campground for specific site requests.

I disagree about the busses.  I have always found Disney Transportation to be very convenient and at least adequately efficient.  The boat out of Fort Wilderness and the Monorail are definitely more in keeping with a vacation theme than a bus, but the busses aren't bad.

We have always gotten the basic meal plan.  We will eat breakfast at the camper.  Lunch and dinner in the park.  The food at the Disney restaurants is excellent, but you will need reservations.  If the park is real busy, you won't be able to get reservations this close to check-in time.  I can give you several suggestions for dinner reservations, but if you're planning to eat at the camper, that won't do you any good.

The evening fireworks show in the Magic Kingdom can be viewed nicely from the Fort Wilderness Marina.  They even "pipe in" the audio to the marina speakers.

That's all I can think of right now, but I'm sure there's a lot that I'm forgetting.

Fort Wilderness is the nicest campground that I've ever stayed at.  They do it RIGHT!

Have Fun!

[chiefd]

When we stayed there it was a blast.  Ny grandson (5 at the time) still talks about the trip.  Of course at the campground there is the nightly campfire, show and Disney Movie.  No camp fires at the site unless you do it on the BBQ. 

Also the Hoop de do revue is fun and cute if you have littler ones.  It by the marina at FW.  Food we left and went shopping 5 miles away (takes 30 minutes round trip) as needed. It was not bad just need to plan to get what you need when out.   

[DYarbro97]

We live about an hour and a half from there and go quite often since we have season tickets. If you book over the phone you can put in a site request at that time, they wont garantee it but if you call back in a couple of weeks and make sure to tell them you want to make sight request. 10 days out your reservation goes from central reservations to Ft Wilderness "back office" if the site request is on it then they will do what they can to get you on that spot. Loops 1500 and 2000 are the tent/pup, and even though we like 2000 during fall/winter we try to get in to 1500 during the warmer months cause its right by the pool. Fires are allowed there but they must be in an "approved" fire pit. "Approved" fire pits must be off the ground, have a screen/mesh sides and a solid top, they will make you put it out if it does not conform to these requirements. We have been checked everytime we go and have never had a problem with ours and its funny hearing people walk by mumbling that they wish they had a fire. The bus system is IMO great, we park the TV when we get there and it doesnt move the whole time unless I run out of beer and then I go to the store. If you head straight out World Drive to Hwy 192 and make a right towards Hwy 27 there is a Publix about 4 miles down on the rightbefore you get to the 429 toll road.
Our first time camping there was over Veterans Day weekend last year but since then we were there from Jan 13th -17th for my DD 7th birthday, we are going up this Thursday the 23rd -26th and will be up there March 24th -31st for Spring Break. We love it cause its so close, very clean and plenty to do at the campground to spend our time and enjoy being a family. Also we have family up in Orlando so they come out and hang out with us. ANymore questions let me know and I will help as much as I can.

[acenorm]

We stayed in the 1500 Loop and loved it. Have you considered renting an ECV for your stepson? We got one for my mom and it cost $120 for the 5 days that we were there. We rented from Apple Scooter and they delivered it right to the concierge and it was there when we arrived, it is also where we dropped it off. I thought the buses were fine. I had heard stories, but I didn't find any of them true. The most we waited was 10 minutes at Animal Kingdom to get back to the Fort, otherwise it was a 5 minute wait usually. Enjoy!

Best Regards,
Norm

[OACAAC]

We just stayed at FW in Jan for 6 nights and had a great time.  We did a mix of food at the park and at the camper.  The meals at the park were great but they do get expensive especially the character dinners.  We thought the bus was convenient and much better than trying to drive to the park and deal with the parking lots there.  The buses are supposed to run every 20 mins but they are not always synced real well.  We would occasionally see 2 or 3 buses back to back for the same park and then a longer wait for anymore buses.  The boat ride over to MK was nice but I would not take the boat and then the monorail to another park the bus is faster (we tried it both ways).  Don't forget to take advantage of the extra park hours for park guests.  It is well worth get up a little earlier to get to Animal Kingdom before the crowds.  A couple days we took a few hour break during the day and went back out to the parks for the extended hours.

[JessJosh61]

Tip #4 - Avoid the buses. The boat to that leaves from the marina area will take you to Magic Kingdom or the Contemporary. You can board the monorail from there and get to many of the parks. If you can't get there on the boats or monorail, then drive.

Let me put a little perspective on my bus comment. When we were there, the parks and area were all very crowded, and the buses were as well. As noted, they weren't synched very well and we would wait forever for a bus, then have to stand while on the bus. For us, it was better to just drive. The boats were a little quicker, but our campsite was within a short walk of the marina. The farther you camp from the marina, the better the other options will look. They did add the fun factor of taking a boat ride. I don't recall the monorail being slower, but it also was another fun ride. The pick up point in the Contemporary is cool to see and lets you see how the other half lives (poor souls!), but there are temptations for the kiddies (gift shops) that you won't have to deal with on the other choices.

The good thing is that when you stay at FW, you can choose what works for you. If you try the bus and decide it doesn't work for you, then you can drive and park without being charged more $$. You really can't go wrong either way.

One caution about the boats is that they shut them down during storms. If that is in the forecast, plan another way...

[fpotus]

I had to cancel last weeks trip to FW due to work.  I am looking at trying to go this Thursday March 1st to 7th.

From what I read on another forum it may have been for the best.  WDW was supposedly busy last week but should be slower this week and next week.

Anyone have advice on ticket purchases?

Joshua

[chiefd]

I had to cancel last weeks trip to FW due to work.  I am looking at trying to go this Thursday March 1st to 7th.

From what I read on another forum it may have been for the best.  WDW was supposedly busy last week but should be slower this week and next week.

Anyone have advice on ticket purchases?

Joshua

 I would buy the park hopper pass for the additional money.  It was great to use.  For  example, for a little one (5 year old)  There was not much at epcot so we went for about half a day.  Also Animal Kingdom closed early so that allowed us to visit another park.  Add at least one day for the water park if so inclined.  We enjoyed it all but my grandsons favorite park of course is the magic kingdom.

[acenorm]

Anyone have advice on ticket purchases?

Joshua

undercovertourist.com has the cheapest tickets on the web, and the price includes taxes and free shipping.

Best Regards,
Norm

[Louisianacamper]

If you're in Orlando make the side trip to Seaworld. I think my daughter had more fun there than Disney, and I know we did.

[DYarbro97]

From what I read on another forum it may have been for the best.  WDW was supposedly busy last week but should be slower this week and next week.

Joshua

It wasnt to busy, we got there on Thursday and the 2000 loop was about 1/3 full, 1500 loop had a huge group from the YMCA (10 sites). As for the parks, we went over on Thursday night to the Magic Kingdom and watched the fireworks and then the light parade but it was manageable as far as crowd. Saturday we went to Epcot in the afternoon and the longest wait time was for Test Track @ 60 minutes.
 THere was alot going on this week in Central Florida though, with Daytona 500, NBA Allstar Game in Orlando and the Disney Princess Half Marathon, so at the Fort it was considered a peek week. We had fun and our DD who is 7 had a blast like she always does so it was worth it to me.