We finally made it!
I first made the deposit for a stay at Fort Wilderness on July 18, 2019. Almost two years later, we finally got here. We were originally planning for October 2020 and postponed that trip to May of 2021 (post tax season) due to COVID.
You would think that since I had two years to plan this trip I would have had every inch of the parks nailed down and detailed itineraries. Well, nope. On the drive down there, I read some blogs (Disney Tourist Blog was my favorite) and that was about the extent of it. As much information is out there on Disney World, I felt like the REAL details were hard to find. So this blog is going to be all the details that I didn’t know that I wish someone would have told me.
Update: We went back in March of 2024 and had another amazing stay at Fort Wilderness. It was way different post-COVID but still awesome.
Staying at Fort Wilderness Campground
How to choose a site
This was the most expensive place we’ve ever stayed. The price per night for what they call a “Premium Site” ranged between $120-$140 (weekends are more). Ouch! But compared to the hotels, it is still a much more affordable way to “do” Disney. Especially, because you are not eating out every meal (which is our preference always).
Andy asked me what the “best” sites are – and truthfully I’m not entirely sure. I think Premium? But different strokes different folks. Based on Disney’s website, the preferred sites are on average smaller, though not every site is the exact same. But if you have a big rig – you’ll want Premium.
The campground is organized into 28 different loops. 21 of the loops are campsites, and 7 of the loops are cabins. Each loop has anywhere from 20-50 campsites. I really loved this design because while the campground is HUGE, the loops make it feel small and intimate.
Each loop has convenient access to what they call “comfort stations” which is the bath house, ice machine, and laundry facilities. Comfort stations get 10/10. They were stupidly clean and the laundry was amazing. It only takes credit card ($3/wash $3/dryer) and there were plenty of machines. No waiting for a machine to open up thanks to the bounty of comfort stations throughout the campground.
The sites are really nice. Concrete pad, tons of vegetation, full hook-up, 50 amps, shade (critical). They are all back-in sites though, no pull-thru. If you need help backing in they will escort you.
They do online check-in which is great. If you complete everything ahead of time online they text you your site number and you just drive straight to your site.
Amenities
What to do in Fort Wilderness Campground
When you are staying at Fort Wilderness there is no shortage of things to do without ever leaving the campground. The “Meadow Area” as it’s called, is the main recreation center. It’s centrally located and we were able to ride our bikes there from our campground within a few minutes. The Meadow Area has a pool, a playground, a snack bar (which is really a pretty decent menu – you could get a meal here) a bike barn, and the Trading Post (camp store). The bike barn is where you go to rent bikes, but they also have a lot of other activities such as archery, fishing, canoe and kayak rentals, segway tours, etc.
There is also an area referred to as the Settlement Depot which is where the Tri-Circle D Ranch is. Here you can ride ponies, and they also have longer trail ride options on horseback. We've done horseback rides, crafts, and archery and they were all awseome.
Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Review
This dinner show is located in the campground and people come from all over the Disney Resort area to see it. It is the longest-running show in Disney and I now know why.
We had reservations the night we arrived and I can't think of a better way to kick off your Disney Trip. I was laughing so hard I was in tears during the show and Emily got pulled up on stage at the end!! It was the highlight of the entire week for all of us.
Obviously, the parks are what you came for, but don't miss out on all that the resorts have to offer. It's part of the magic! We had several specialty dining experiences this trip, and this was everyone's favorite by a mile. If your budget only allows for one, pick this one!
Campground Logistics
Do I need to rent a golf cart?
You can’t drive to and fro with-in the campground. There’s no place to park a car. You need an alternative mode of transportation. Lots of people have golf carts (you can rent for $65/day), but we brought our bikes and pull behind bike trailer that Henry rides in and we use for hauling pool towels, etc. But you really do need to have something. There are internal shuttles (that I don’t know anything about because we didn’t use), but walking everywhere is not an option.
So, no you don't need a golf cart, but you do need a form of transportation (i.e. bikes).
To get to Magic Kingdom there is a boat that goes straight from Fort Wilderness to MK. This is definitely the best way to get from Fort Wilderness to MK. It’s about a 15 minute ride and direct to the gates.
From our loop, we were able to walk from our campsite to the marina to catch the boat. This was also crucial because we had our big double stroller. If we would have had to take a bike or even a golf cart the logistics of getting to the marina would have been a lot more complicated. So pro tip: if you are taking a stroller to MK, request a site close to the marina. I had originally requested a site close to the pool and then we moved at the last minute so that we could get adjacent spots with our friends. Honestly, I don’t even know what we would have done if we were at the site close to the pool. It would have been a big mess. We probably would have had to drive to the parking lot of MK and then ride the ferry which would have taken at least twice as long to get back and forth.
THIS IS IMPORTANT: When you select your site, you will choose the type (premium, preferred) and then the area. If you are spending all your time at the parks, I'm not sure it matters. If you are planning several campground days, I would recommend a site close to the Meadow Area (unless as I mentioned you plan on pushing a big stroller into MK - if you have a stroller pick a site by the Marina).
The other nice thing about the boats is that you can come and go easier. My kids are young and can’t do the parks from open to close. We need breaks and naps. The ferry allowed us to leave and then return later in the day relatively quickly.
The first boat leaves Fort Wilderness 30 minutes before Magic Kingdom opens. This is surprisingly difficult information to find on the interwebs – so here it is. I don’t honestly know how late the boats run. We didn’t want to find out.
To get to the other parks we just drove our car. By far the fastest and easiest mode of transportation. Parking is free if you are staying at Fort Wilderness (or any of the other Disney resorts).
Navigating the Parks
I can not cover the art of Genie Plus and all that in a single blog. Look elsewhere for those tutorials, but I do have a few tips.
Rider Swap
So right off the bat we learned something that I wish someone would have told me. Kids under 7 have to ride with a person over 14 years of age on pretty much every single ride. Audrey is 7, but Henry and Emily have to have an adult sit with them. On rides where you can fit 3 to a seat, this was a non issue, but on rides where it was 2 to a seat this was a problem. On all but the tamest of rides, Audrey would not ride by herself. Disney does allow the rider swap which is where one parent and kids can ride, while the other parent waits with younger kids that may not be tall enough. Once the first parent is done, the second parent essentially goes through the Fast Pass+ line and cuts straight to the front while the first parent waits with the kids.
The second time going to Disney World the girls were old enough to sit together (8 & 10) and then one adult rode with Henry and one parent rode alone. Much better!!
Ride Reviews
Magic Kingdom
My kids are not “thrill seekers” so the rides at Magic Kingdom and Disney World in general are perfect for us. We are not in search of the biggest fastest roller coasters. We started the whole trip off with the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Big mistake. Although Henry was tall enough to ride it, we opted to have him wait with our friends. Audrey cried the entire ride and according to Emily “that totally freaked me out Mom!!!” Lesson learned, we should have started with much smaller, slower rides and worked our way up to a roller coaster. After that they were very hesitant about trying a lot of rides. Favorite rides
Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin (Andy and Henry rode this 3 times)
Seven dwarfs mine train
Epcot
Everyone says Epcot isn’t great for small kids but we had a total blast here. We went on our second day after a VERY full day at Magic Kingdom. Epcot doesn’t open until 11 so we opted to skip the morning and just wait until the afternoon when things had cooled off. We went at 5:00 and stayed until closing (10PM that day). We were able to do almost every ride and some we did a few times. It was honestly perfect. It gave us the feeling of a “day off” but we still had some fun at night.
Ratatouille
Guardians of the Galaxy for the thrill seekers!
Hollywood Studios
Star Wars Land is absolutely incredible. I’m not into Star Wars, I don’t know much about it, but holy moly walking through it you feel like you are on another planet. It is so well done and the attention to detail is like none other. Also, go to the milk stand. It’s worth the $8. If you have kids that like Star Wars they will lose their minds.
1. Rise of the Resistance
2. Toy Story Mania
3. Slinky Dog Dash
Animal Kingdom
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