After my recent review of the Grand Floridian Villas, and my less than grand opinion of the experience, it’s time for something happier! Before we stayed at the most expensive resort on Disney property, we stayed at the least expensive — the Fort Wilderness Campground. Yes, that’s right, folks — Disney’s Fort Wilderness starts at just $55 for a campsite vs. $96 for a standard room at Disney’s All-Star Resorts in 2014. It’s true — you need to bring your own accommodations when you stay at a campsite, but … if you’ve got ’em, or can get ’em, it can be a great deal! So goodbye to the Grand Floridian Villas and a big ol’ howdy to Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground!
These are the top 10 ways that Disney’s Fort Wilderness made us want to say, “YEEEEEEEEEHAW!”
1. Fort Wilderness is a great deal! Had I been willing to lug my camping gear down to Florida, I could have stayed in the middle of the magic for a fraction of the usual cost of a resort room. But as it was, I got a 34-foot luxury RV from FloridaCamperRental.com and together with my campsite rental I spent quite a bit less than I would have at Wilderness Lodge, where I would not have had three TVs, surround sound, a full kitchen, and the great outdoors. FloridaCamperRental has pop-up camper rentals, too, as low as $97.50/night, meaning you could stay at a tent/popup campsite for less than the price of a Disney moderate (they start at $182/night in 2014). Or bring your own and save more!
Our Luxurious RV kitchen for FAR less than a DVC villa!
2. Chip ‘n Dale’s Campfire Sing-a-long. I already wrote about how much I love this free campfire program held nightly at Fort Wilderness, but it bears repeating. Campfires, Disney characters, Disney movie on a big screen … it makes for a wonderful night and it beats any of the other deluxe resort’s nightly campfire/movie programs out of the water! When you’re staying at Fort Wilderness, it is so much easier to enjoy this little treat … more than once, if you want!
Beautiful evening for a campfire singalong!
I was very tempted to do it again during my stay, but instead opted for …
3. Cookouts! Did you know all the campsites have grills? Get some charcoal and cookout ingredients from the Trading Posts and you’ve got yourself a cookout. It was one of the highlights of our trip, and so much easier to do than you might think. Admittedly, it helped that our RV came with complimentary charcoal, so I suppose we were a bit spoiled. But truly, I love the ability to cook a meal for yourself while at Disney. It mixes things up and lets you save a few bucks. You can get frozen burgers, buns, ketchup, mustard, and related picnicky stuff at the Trading Posts at Fort Wilderness. All the campsites have picnic tables, too!
Chow time at site 1401!
4. Trail’s End Breakfasts are Terrific! We ate at Trail’s End twice because it was that good. It’s an all-you-care-to-eat breakfast buffet available from 7:30-11:30 am daily. Prices are excellent at $17.99/adult and $10.99/child — I believe this is the least expensive breakfast buffet on Disney property! Crazy good, fast breakfast that we’d do again in a heartbeat! Excellent service, too.
Alexander was beside himself when he saw they had lox (salmon) on the Trail’s End breakfast buffet!
5. Golf Carts. That’s all I need to say, right? Right? No, seriously, driving a golf cart is wicked fun. Zippy and breezy, and they get you quickly around the resort. Sadly, it’s now the only resort you can rent them (you used to be able to get them for Disney Institute, now Saratoga Springs). They are a bit expensive at $59/night, but you could save some money by renting them from a third-party. Tip #1: Put a copy of the resort map under the handy clip on the cart’s steering wheel so you don’t get lost! Tip #2: The top of the plastic windshield on Disney’s carts folds down if you’d like to feel the wind in your face!
My view from the golf cart with the plastic windshield down at Fort Wilderness
6. Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue still going strong after nearly 40 years! We enjoyed a last-minute reservation for this dinner show and our love for it hasn’t diminished. This June the Hoop-Dee-Doo will celebrate it’s 40th year, and it’s considered one of the longest running dinner shows in the world. Food was surprisingly excellent and the sangria was bottomless. The only downside? The famous theme song that I expected is no longer performed — Disney removed it in September 2011 because of copyright issues (it’s based off a 1950 Perry Como song). But still a great show!
Love the bottomless sangria at the Hoop Dee Doo Revue at Fort Wilderness! This is the view from the balcony, which I rather enjoyed!
7. Boats and Horses! I love the unusual recreational options via the marina (boat rentals, fishing excursions), the Bike Barn (canoes, kayaks, and bikes), the Tri-Circle-D Ranch (pony rides and stables), and the carriage and hayrides. There’s so much to do here — and we only managed the time to rent a pontoon boat. But what an adventure we had out on Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon in our pontoon boat. We’d gotten some provisions at the Trading Post near the marina and had a little picnic on the water. It was a lovely afternoon that we will not forget. And I would be remiss in not mentioning the boat transportation between the Fort Wilderness and Magic Kingdom — I love going to and from the park in a boat! Always magical.
At the marina at Fort Wilderness — you can see the boats for rent in the background!
8. Sounds of Nature. Coming from the frozen north to Fort Wilderness, the sounds of so many birds and crickets was sweet music to my ears. At Fort Wilderness, you aren’t hermetically sealed against nature — you’ll see the a variety of birds and small critters. We saw a gang of turkeys walk between our RV and the road one afternoon! Some guests even report having seen deer or an alligator. And if you really want to see animals, there’s always the big draft horses over in the stables which enjoy visitors.
This gang of turkeys walked right outside our RV window while we were at Fort Wilderness!
9. Sense of Community. No where else on Disney property do you get a sense of community like at Fort Wilderness. There are guests at Fort Wilderness who are regulars, and it’s very obvious as you move about. They have Fort Wilderness family signs hanging out, Disney-themed decorations strung up, custom-made Mickey lamp posts, and friendly smiles. They call it the “Fort” and they are serious about their camping. We took a tour of the loops at the end of our stay and enjoyed looking at the various setups and decor!
One of the many customized Mickey lamp posts seen round Fort Wilderness.
10. Disney Magic is alive and kicking at the Fort. Fort Wilderness was one of the three original resorts that opened the same year at Walt Disney World in 1971. It has a long and varied history (did you know there used to be a railroad here?) and has changed a lot over the years (no more water park!), but it retains a charm that other resorts cannot match. I haven’t even mentioned the archery range, horseback tours, Electrical Water Pageant, Clementine’s Beach, blacksmith, Crockett’s Tavern, the swimming pools … I could go on. The point is that there’s a lot of explore here. It reminds me of the Magic Kingdom in that it’s been around a while, and it’s jam packed in wide variety of interesting things to do.
I’d be happy to go into more detail on anything I’ve mentioned — just let me know!
Are the restrooms and showers for tent and tent-top camper sites pretty nice? That’s something I always like to know about a campground since I tend toward the “roughing it” of tent camping.
Our family loved the Fort. We took 2 campers and camped side by side. Our bath house was clean and roomy. We were there during the Final Four and could hear cheering throughout our loop as people sat outside watching the games on TV. We cooked most of our meals at the camper but ate lunch in the parks. We brought our own golf cart and rented a second one. The pool is great and has daily activities and games as well as a water slide. You can also bring an approved fire pit and have firewood delivered to your campsite. A week at Disney was about $5500 for 10 which included the campsites and 10 park hopper tickets for 6 adults and 4 children. Don’t forget to take your bikes!
We love Fort Wilderness. This is the only resort my husband will stay at. Being able to cook all our meal at our cabin is a HUGH money savings. This is the resort I recommended to all my friends go to Disney.
After my recent review of the Grand Floridian Villas, and my less than grand opinion of the experience, it’s time for something happier! Before we stayed at the most expensive resort on Disney property, we stayed at the least expensive — the Fort Wilderness Campground. Yes, that’s right, folks — Disney’s Fort Wilderness starts at just $55 for a campsite vs. $96 for a standard room at Disney’s All-Star Resorts in 2014. It’s true — you need to bring your own accommodations when you stay at a campsite, but … if you’ve got ’em, or can get ’em, it can be a great deal! So goodbye to the Grand Floridian Villas and a big ol’ howdy to Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground!
Are the restrooms and showers for tent and tent-top camper sites pretty nice? That’s something I always like to know about a campground since I tend toward the “roughing it” of tent camping.
They are VERY nice. Much nicer than anything I’ve encountered at any other campground. They are called Comfort Stations and here are some photos:
Down here are the showers for campers available at a Comfort Station.
Sinks inside a Fort Wilderness Comfort Station. Beyond the sinks are restroom stalls.
The restroom section of a Comfort Station at Fort Wilderness.
Our family loved the Fort. We took 2 campers and camped side by side. Our bath house was clean and roomy. We were there during the Final Four and could hear cheering throughout our loop as people sat outside watching the games on TV. We cooked most of our meals at the camper but ate lunch in the parks. We brought our own golf cart and rented a second one. The pool is great and has daily activities and games as well as a water slide. You can also bring an approved fire pit and have firewood delivered to your campsite. A week at Disney was about $5500 for 10 which included the campsites and 10 park hopper tickets for 6 adults and 4 children. Don’t forget to take your bikes!
Sounds like so much fun!! I can’t wait to go back. 🙂
We love Fort Wilderness. This is the only resort my husband will stay at. Being able to cook all our meal at our cabin is a HUGH money savings. This is the resort I recommended to all my friends go to Disney.