Short Fort Review-photos included

[elizablake]

I'm just now getting around to writing a quick review of our time a the Fort. We've been suffering from some sort of post-Disney depression and haven't been motivated to do anything.

We got back Saturday 1/17 from our first trip to Fort Wilderness and Disney World. We were lucky enough to stay for 9 nights from January 8th - 17th. We had such a great time. Fort Wilderness is the best campground I have ever stayed in. The staff was so kind, the grounds were kept perfectly clean and we loved being a short boat ride away from MK.

My husband and I are 30 years old and my DD is 4. Oops, I mean 4 and a half. She would correct me for sure. My daughter is a girly-girl and loves anything to do with the princesses. My husband went to Disneyland when he was a kid but the only thing he remembers are the words to It's a Small World. I have wanted to go to Disney World since the day my daughter was born.

Here's a summary of our first day at the Fort and other comments about our trip:

We live west of Atlanta and left when by husband got off work early Thursday morning. Actually, it was really, really early…2:00 AM to be exact. My husband drove till 4:00 and then went to sleep leaving me behind the wheel. I should mention that I am a very nervous RV driver. I can't parallel park my Corolla so driving a 31ft vehicle is pretty scary to me. Of course, to top it off there was tons of road work on I-75 so the lanes seemed tiny and the big trucks were everywhere.

I survived though and about 7:00AM my husband and daughter woke up just as we passed the Florida state line. I was exhausted from my death grip on the steering wheel and not blinking for several hours but I drove till 8:00 while my husband and daughter ate breakfast.

We made great time and arrived at Fort Wilderness about 10:15. We pulled up to the empty gate and met John who I'm sure is the happiest person to ever live. He seemed more excited about our trip than we were. It was a great way to start the trip. He gave us all of our paperwork, answered all our silly questions and informed us that our site was not ready but directed us to the overflow parking lot.

My husband really wanted a nap so my daughter and I decided to explore. We made it about 10 steps out of the RV before we turned around to change into t-shirts and shorts. Man, it was hot for January. It had to be close to 80 degrees.

We walked to the building next to the gate only to learn that it was a front desk/check-in area and a bus stop to go to the airport. Not very interesting.

We turned around walked to the other side of the parking lot and found the kennel. Would be more interesting if we had a dog.

We walked along the path past the stable and found the bus stop.

Hmmm..where should we go? Downtown Disney came to mind but we didn't want to venture to far. Then a bus pulls up that says "yellow". I ask the driver, "Is this the bus that goes to the other side of the campground?". He responds, "That's what it says on the front of the bus" Well, I guess all Disney employees can't be as happy as John at the gate.

So we hop on the bus. We check out the Settlement trading post (bought an autograph book), the marina, and the playground. My DD rode a pony ($5). The ponies were really sweet and all named after Disney characters.

 

[elizablake]

We avoided the yellow bus and the grumpy driver going back. We ate lunch at the RV, and woke up my husband and because our site was finally ready. We had site 352. It thought it was in a great location. Not a bad walk to the marina. You could see the road from our "back yard" but it was still private.

We set up camp and rested. After dinner we went to the Chip and Dale campfire sing-a-long. The marshmallow roasting starts about 6:00 but the sing-a-long begins at 6:30. I think the host's name is Cowboy Alex but of course Chip and Dale are the stars of the show. The come around to all the kids and sign autographs/take photos. Then the kids do the hokey pokey and some other dances. The movie starts at 7:30 but we took off to see the fire works from the beach.

Wishes was nice because the music plays at the beach during the fireworks so you almost get the full Wishes experience. My daughter oohed and aahed the whole time. And then told us that this was the "best day of her life". She hadn't even been to a park yet! "You ain't seen nothing yet kid".

We all wanted to get to bed early and just as I was drifting off, I hear these loud trumpets announcing the beginning of something. Of course, I couldn't miss a thing. So I hopped on my bike and rode toward the beach (yes, I was in my pajamas). The electrical water pageant was just starting so I sat and enjoyed it. Even though we didn't get to see it again the whole week, we got to hear the music blaring every night as we tried to fall asleep.

 

[Skyw]

Great start....My DS had a blast too before we even hit a park. That is the best part about FW. There is so much to do right there. Can't wait to read the rest.

 

[elizablake]

A few random observations:

Half way into our trip we did some laundry. It cost $2 for the washer and $2 for the dryer. So $4 a load not counting detergent. The washer took about 35 minutes and the dryer took a little less than an hour.

A bag of ice costs $2 at the comfort station. You might want to bring a clean trash bag to put the ice in. The bags Disney provides are too small.

The first boat to the Magic Kingdom does not come until 8:30 but we made it to see the welcome show every time. Everyone waiting fit on the first boat but I might get there early during the busy season. If you are desperate to get to the MK as early as possible, you might want to take the earlier boat to the Contemporary and take the monorail from there.

We got trails end takeout one night after Wishes. We were starving and willing to eat anything we didn’t have to cook. We got a cheese pizza ($14) and honey barbeque wings($9). Both were OK but we didn’t have very high expectations. The cheese pizza was large enough to feed 4 people so $14 is reasonable.

Bikes are the way to go if you are like us and too cheap to rent a golf cart. We took the bikes to the marina most days. It was about 1/3 of a mile from the 300 loop. Too short to take a bus but a long way to walk at the end of a long day at MK. We also used them to go to the Meadows area which was about the same distance. We took the bus to the outpost.

 

[TheFlame]

What a great TR! I can't wait to read more! Thank you for sharing!

 

[Born 2 Fish]

Wow, great pics and a great report.
So glad ya'll had the best time ! Addicting, ain't it ?




You can tell us about the fishing later.




Kidding, don't expect first timers to have time to fish,,,,,
but your next trip,,,,,,,

 

[ram101]

Kidding, don't expect first timers to have time to fish,,,,,
but your next trip,,,,,,,

We DID!!

 

[elizablake]

Great start....My DS had a blast too before we even hit a park. That is the best part about FW. There is so much to do right there. Can't wait to read the rest.

I agree. We could have spent a week just at the Campground.

What a great TR! I can't wait to read more! Thank you for sharing!

Thank you. I'm not sure what else to write since this is the camping board. I don't want to fill it up with a trip report about the parks. The first day was our only full day at the campground.

Don't get me wrong. I could talk/write all day about our trip. My co-workers are getting sick of it. They see me coming with my 10 photo albums and run.

Wow, great pics and a great report.
So glad ya'll had the best time ! Addicting, ain't it ?




You can tell us about the fishing later.




Kidding, don't expect first timers to have time to fish,,,,,
but your next trip,,,,,,,

We had planned to fish. Brought everything we needed. Time flew by though and we couldn't get enough of the parks.

Yes, it's addictive! We are ruined now. No other campground compares!

 

[elizablake]

Forgot to add...

Our site was on the 300 loop. We wanted to be close to the Marina so originally I was going to request the 100 loop. But instead, I took the advise of a poster and simply asked for a loop near the Marina. Glad I did because the CM who assigned our site knew what we wanted, not just a loop number.

Also, at first I was concerned about being assigned a pet loop. I thought we would be surrounded in puppy poop and barking dogs. Not the case, the loop was clean and peaceful.

 

[Born 2 Fish]

Forgot to add...

Our site was on the 300 loop. We wanted to be close to the Marina so originally I was going to request the 100 loop. But instead, I took the advise of a poster and simply asked for a loop near the Marina. Glad I did because the CM who assigned our site knew what we wanted, not just a loop number.

Also, at first I was concerned about being assigned a pet loop. I thought we would be surrounded in puppy poop and barking dogs. Not the case, the loop was clean and peaceful.

Everyone has a favorite loop,,our favorite loop is 300. For our needs, it's a great location.

 

[FlaFortCampster]

Great report! Thank you for sharing. The best part so far.....This was the best day of my life. I never get tired of watching the little ones and the pure joy they show.
Keep it coming.

 

[elizablake]

Great report! Thank you for sharing. The best part so far.....This was the best day of my life. I never get tired of watching the little ones and the pure joy they show.
Keep it coming.

Thank you.

Her excitement was the best part of the trip. Here's her facial expressions while watching the parade.

 

[TheFlame]

Your daughter is so pretty!

We love reading trip reports that include the whole trip, parks and all, not just the Fort!

Please, give us more!

BTW- We live in Ga. too!

 

[BradyBz12]

Excellent FW trip report and great job with the photos/info! So glad your family had such a great first FW trip, and thanks so much for sharing!

btw - 300 is our favorite loop too.

 

[pell]

I really enjoyed reading your trip report! Your daughter is beautiful... and those pics of her expressions are priceless! I had to chuckle when I read the "nervous driver" part. Then my chuckle became a gut-wrenching laugh when I discovered that your 31 ft. Minnie Winnie is IDENTICAL to ours. I can relate to the white knuckles when driving. Too funny!

 

[elizablake]

I really enjoyed reading your trip report! Your daughter is beautiful... and those pics of her expressions are priceless! I had to chuckle when I read the "nervous driver" part. Then my chuckle became a gut-wrenching laugh when I discovered that your 31 ft. Minnie Winnie is IDENTICAL to ours. I can relate to the white knuckles when driving. Too funny!

LOL. Glad I'm not the only one! I love the Minnie Winnie though.

Thank you for the DD compliments.

 

[Minnie&Mickey]

Great trip report! The pictures of your daughter are adorable! Please feel free to post more about the parks. I would love to hear about your experience.

BTW-I am also from Georgia!

 

[LuckyinGa]

What a wonderful trip report, great pictures and your daughter's expressions are priceless. That's the Magic in Disney!! Thank you for sharing.

BTW - I'm also from Georgia!!

 

[elizablake]

We woke up early for our first full day. We didn’t know what to expect and we were sooooo excited. I loved having the RV because it was so easy to have breakfast and coffee at “home” before starting are day. We walked the short distance between the 300 loop and the marina. Today was our first Magic Kingdom day and we were on a mission to get to Fantasyland. We realized that we were a little early when we arrived at an empty dock at 8:00. We chatted with a nice family from Canada to pass the time. At 8:30 on the dot the first boat to MK came.

The boat ride to MK was about 10. The boats are great if you have a stroller because you don’t have to fold it up. Once at MK we went through security and the turnstiles with 5 minutes to spare before the welcome show started.

We were glad to see that it wasn’t crowded at all. We watched the show. I thought it was really cute. Of course, my DD was amazed. Especially when the characters rode in on the train. Mickey officially opened the park and the crowd started moving.

We walked down main street and through the castle straight to Dumbo. My husband and daughter rode while I took photos.

Next we headed to Winnie the Pooh, no wait of course. My DD LOVED it. We must have rode it another 10 times during the trip and every time she sat on the edge of her seat yelling, “there’s Pooh!” and “We’re bouncing with Tigger!”.

We didn’t know how crowded it would be later so we grabbed a fast pass for Winnie. Then we crossed Fantasyland to ride Peter Pan. I thought it was OK. Needless to say, my DD loved flying. The rest of the week Peter Pan was either broken down or had a ridiculous line. After Peter Pan we rode the Carousel twice. It was about 9:45 by then and we had to discuss what to do next. My DD desperately wanted to meet Ariel. Ariel’s Grotto opened at 10:00 and a line was already forming. We decided to wait. I was surprised that my DD chose meeting a character over rides but we found that all week meeting characters was her favorite Disney activity. So we waited in line and met the famous mermaid. Ariel asked my daughter if she ever went on adventures and DD responded “Oh yes! Yesterday my mom and I went to find the ice machine.”

We left Ariel’s Grotto about 10:15 and stopped at the tea cups before going to Toontown. The teacup ride seemed to load slowly but we didn’t wait more than 5 minutes all week.

Alice and the Mad Hatter were hanging out by the teacups. Of course, we had to stop and say hello.

Next my DD wanted to ride a big girl roller coaster so we waited in the 5 minute line at Goofy’s Barnstormer. Since the Barnstormer didn’t scare DD too much we decided to give BTMR a try. We took the train from Toontown to Frontierland. We got fast passes for BTMR since the line was 20 minutes. LOL. We were already getting spoiled by the slow season. We had about an hour to waste so we walked to Liberty Square to ride the Haunted Mansion. I was so worried about traumatizing my DD but I was more scared than her. I love the HM though especially the dancing ghosts and hitchhiking ghosts. It was a quick walk back to Fantasyland using the shortcut by It’s a Small World so we decided to use those Winnie the Pooh fast passes. We noticed Fantasyland was getting a little more crowed by then . Peter Pan was a 30 minute wait, Dumbo was 15, and Winnie the Pooh was 20. After our 2nd of many rides on Winnie the Pooh we decided to go back to Toontown and ride the train back to BTMR rather than walking. BTMR was broken down though so we walked to the Country Bear Jamboree. I realize it’s a classic but I had trouble staying awake. Sorry, die hard Country Bear fans.

Afterwards, we snacked on some popcorn and then rode Aladdin’s Magic Carpets. The wait was less than 5 minutes. Donald was in Frontierland dressed in his western gear. We couldn’t pass him by without stopping for an autograph.

We were getting tired but decided to check on BTMR one more time. Yeah, it was running again. One small problem. My daughter got a glimpse of the screaming riders going down a hill and said “No way!” So we gave our fast passes to a near by family of 3 and rode the train back to the front gate. It was about 1:00. I would have stayed all day but DD and my husband were tired. So we got a Mickey ice cream bar and went back to the dock.

We took the short boat ride back to the campground and ate lunch. We ended up taking an afternoon break most days. I strongly advise it. We didn’t feel tired all week and my DD didn’t have a single meltdown. My husband wanted a nap. My DD and I watched The Little Mermaid in honor of our meeting with Ariel. We went bike riding and played a board game. My husband was still asleep! Acting like he was on vacation or something.

About 5:00 we forced him out of bed by waving food in his face. We got cleaned up and we were back at the MK by 6:00.

Pluto was outside the park with no line!!! He was so funny, giving my DD bear hugs and trying to balance the autograph book on his nose. Even my husband was laughing.

We went back to Fantasyland to get fast passes for, you guessed it, Winnie the Pooh. The line was only 10 minutes so we waited instead. We walked toward Tommorowland. When we passed Tommorowland Speedway we were surprised to see that the line was only 15 minutes. DD said it was worth the wait so my husband got in line with her and I sought out the best photo spot.

Next we went got fast passes for Buzz Lightyear and rode TTA. TTA is one of my top ten rides. It’s relaxing. We checked out Astro Orbiter but the line was 45 minutes. So we rode TTA again. Buzz was next. I thought it was great (remember this was before I rode Toy Story Mania). We had more time to waste before Wishes so we rode TTA (it’s the adult Winnie the Pooh). Astro Orbiter’s line was only 15 minutes and it was only 7:15 so we decided to give it a try. The view was awesome, especially at night. It was 7:45 by then so we made our way back towards Main Street to watch Wishes. We settled on a spot behind the bridge to Tommorowland.

So that was our first day! LOL, it’s insane that I can remember all the details of our vacation and can’t remember what I ate for lunch today! Overall, we were amazed how much we were able to do in just one day. Maybe it’s because we went there first but MK was everyone’s favorite park by the end of the week.

 

[BradyBz12]

Super report - so glad you chose to post it here. And the pics of your DD are priceless. She is truly having the time of her life!!

Keep 'em coming - feels like I'm there with you!