Disney's Fort Wilderness Campground in December
Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2012 2:20 pmHere is my posting describing the Disney World Fort Wilderness Campground where I spent the second week in December. Be warned it is a long post with a lot of photos, but I did not know how to make it any shorter.
First, Disney’s website says it has four types of campsites:
• Premium (from $90) (Is double-wide the entire length and has a newer picnic table and full hookup. No place to put a tent, however, as it is asphalt entirely, except for a narrow gravel strip along the utility side. Ideal for long rigs with accompanying vehicles.)
• Preferred (from $81) (Is double-wide near the front, but wider in the back. There is a large gravel tent pad in the back. You can either put a tent here or back your larger vehicle all the way back.)
• Full Hookup (from $73) (These had a single-wide asphalt strip, with small pad in the back. There were longer than the tent or popup sites, but not as long as the Preferred or Premium sites. The picnic table was in the back, rather than on the side.)
• Tent or Popup (from $54) (These had a single wide, short asphalt pad and gravel in the back. Good site for a car or truck and a tent or two.
These are described and shown in photos on the Disney site at https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resor ... tes-rooms/
Now, strangely, Sue and I saw a tent area where there were no individual sites and cars were parked off to the side. Not sure if this was a group site or what it was. No electric or hookups of any kind.
Here is my site and an area that was more crowded:
And here is the entrance road and the bus stop, plus the entrance to Loop 1400. You can barely see my rig on the right hidden in the bushes:
One of the nice things is that all of the full-hookup sites have cable TV and complimentary internet. The comfort stations also have laundry rooms, which were OK, but I did not even look into the showers or toilet areas, so I cannot attest to those. With your fee, you also get access to the pools and campfire program, plus the Disney transportation system, which means a ferry across the lake to the Magic Kingdom and some of the resorts. There is also bus service just about everywhere throughout Disney World.
With a package program, you also get discounted tickets to the theme parks. They have it set up that the daily rate for theme parks gets cheaper the more days you sign up for, so that the last day of my 7-day package was only $7 extra.
Notes:
• You cannot select a specific site, but they do ask you if you have any special requests. I chose a premium site and requested one near transportation, so I ended up only a couple of hundred feet from the bus stop in the 1400 loop. I had a large site with a lot of greenery on both sides and in the back, so I was very happy. I would not have been as happy with some of the more crowded areas, although the premium sites were a bit more spread out than some of the others.
• Some loop roads are pretty narrow. The loop I was in was a tight circle, but I managed with my 32’ rig, even if a trio of kids were riding around in my way at first. I saw a very long 6th wheel and pickup truck have problems going around the circle. You might want to note that you want a site easy to get into on your registration form.
• Also, pets are allowed at only some of the sites. Make sure you note pets on your registration form so you end up in a pet-friendly area.
• In addition, there are no open fires allowed and no fire pits provided. You ARE allowed to bring a metal fire pit, but there are fussy about what kinds are allowed. They are supposed to have mesh sides and a solid metal top to prevent embers from escaping.
• There is a small store, but it is mostly filled with Disney souvenirs. Best to bring a lot of food with you.
Here are some photos of the pools and recreation areas, including the campfire area, the canoeing pond, and the kiddie and adult pools:
Here is the ferry dock and the camp store. You can also rent small boats at the ferry dock:
The week with tickets for each day at one of the theme parks cost me almost $1,000, but it was something I had wanted very much to do and a treat to myself. It was a pleasant spot and the convenience of being so close to easy transportation was worth a lot to me. I spent almost no other money for food since I ate before and after I went to each theme park. Considering the cost of all other Disney resorts, this one was a bargain.
Two or three weeks before Christmas is a terrific time to come here. The resort and theme park decorations are up, and the campers who come every year with their decorations are mostly here. The weather can be variable, but it is not as hot as summer, certainly. The second week in December when I came is also considered a low-cost week in terms of sites, but it does get higher in the third week and during the holidays, so you might want to check. During the week, there were actually quite a few empty spots, I assume because kids are still in school.
Here are just a sampling of the photos I took of the camper decorations during the day. I rented a golf cart to get around the 700 acres and 699 campsites. Soos joined me for part of it and will have her own comments, I am sure. Disney is pretty lenient as to how many things they allow.
This last one, by the way, had an entire train set in the tent to the left and kids games, plus a Santa in a tent to the right. The table in the front had plates with carrots for each of the reindeer.
Here are some decorations at night.
First, Disney’s website says it has four types of campsites:
• Premium (from $90) (Is double-wide the entire length and has a newer picnic table and full hookup. No place to put a tent, however, as it is asphalt entirely, except for a narrow gravel strip along the utility side. Ideal for long rigs with accompanying vehicles.)
• Preferred (from $81) (Is double-wide near the front, but wider in the back. There is a large gravel tent pad in the back. You can either put a tent here or back your larger vehicle all the way back.)
• Full Hookup (from $73) (These had a single-wide asphalt strip, with small pad in the back. There were longer than the tent or popup sites, but not as long as the Preferred or Premium sites. The picnic table was in the back, rather than on the side.)
• Tent or Popup (from $54) (These had a single wide, short asphalt pad and gravel in the back. Good site for a car or truck and a tent or two.
These are described and shown in photos on the Disney site at https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resor ... tes-rooms/
Now, strangely, Sue and I saw a tent area where there were no individual sites and cars were parked off to the side. Not sure if this was a group site or what it was. No electric or hookups of any kind.
Here is my site and an area that was more crowded:
And here is the entrance road and the bus stop, plus the entrance to Loop 1400. You can barely see my rig on the right hidden in the bushes:
One of the nice things is that all of the full-hookup sites have cable TV and complimentary internet. The comfort stations also have laundry rooms, which were OK, but I did not even look into the showers or toilet areas, so I cannot attest to those. With your fee, you also get access to the pools and campfire program, plus the Disney transportation system, which means a ferry across the lake to the Magic Kingdom and some of the resorts. There is also bus service just about everywhere throughout Disney World.
With a package program, you also get discounted tickets to the theme parks. They have it set up that the daily rate for theme parks gets cheaper the more days you sign up for, so that the last day of my 7-day package was only $7 extra.
Notes:
• You cannot select a specific site, but they do ask you if you have any special requests. I chose a premium site and requested one near transportation, so I ended up only a couple of hundred feet from the bus stop in the 1400 loop. I had a large site with a lot of greenery on both sides and in the back, so I was very happy. I would not have been as happy with some of the more crowded areas, although the premium sites were a bit more spread out than some of the others.
• Some loop roads are pretty narrow. The loop I was in was a tight circle, but I managed with my 32’ rig, even if a trio of kids were riding around in my way at first. I saw a very long 6th wheel and pickup truck have problems going around the circle. You might want to note that you want a site easy to get into on your registration form.
• Also, pets are allowed at only some of the sites. Make sure you note pets on your registration form so you end up in a pet-friendly area.
• In addition, there are no open fires allowed and no fire pits provided. You ARE allowed to bring a metal fire pit, but there are fussy about what kinds are allowed. They are supposed to have mesh sides and a solid metal top to prevent embers from escaping.
• There is a small store, but it is mostly filled with Disney souvenirs. Best to bring a lot of food with you.
Here are some photos of the pools and recreation areas, including the campfire area, the canoeing pond, and the kiddie and adult pools:
Here is the ferry dock and the camp store. You can also rent small boats at the ferry dock:
The week with tickets for each day at one of the theme parks cost me almost $1,000, but it was something I had wanted very much to do and a treat to myself. It was a pleasant spot and the convenience of being so close to easy transportation was worth a lot to me. I spent almost no other money for food since I ate before and after I went to each theme park. Considering the cost of all other Disney resorts, this one was a bargain.
Two or three weeks before Christmas is a terrific time to come here. The resort and theme park decorations are up, and the campers who come every year with their decorations are mostly here. The weather can be variable, but it is not as hot as summer, certainly. The second week in December when I came is also considered a low-cost week in terms of sites, but it does get higher in the third week and during the holidays, so you might want to check. During the week, there were actually quite a few empty spots, I assume because kids are still in school.
Here are just a sampling of the photos I took of the camper decorations during the day. I rented a golf cart to get around the 700 acres and 699 campsites. Soos joined me for part of it and will have her own comments, I am sure. Disney is pretty lenient as to how many things they allow.
This last one, by the way, had an entire train set in the tent to the left and kids games, plus a Santa in a tent to the right. The table in the front had plates with carrots for each of the reindeer.
Here are some decorations at night.
But gonna make reserv soon. 