Ed.Rollins
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2011
Well after reading a lot of the posts on this site, I thought I would share some of the things I have learned on this (my first trip) to Disney World and Fort Wilderness Camp site. Most of the posts I have read are either from people who have been here many times, or have not yet been here but are planning a trip here. I hope that the lessons learned with our bad experiences helps others in the future.
First off, the address for Ft Wilderness does not exist in most GPS mapping systems. That is because it is on Disneys private property and they do not report their private roads to the mapping companies. The directions you get to the park by calling Disney are more often than not from somebody over the phone in a different state and have never been here. We were told to take I4 east from I95, that would have put us in the atlantic ocean, if I4 east from I95 existed that is. Secondly there is a resort here called Wilderness lodge, not to be confused with Fort Wilderness Camp. They are two different places, and the signs can be very confusing to somebody that has never been here before. We will come back to this later.
This place is also not like KOA, they will not escort you to your space. Even if you get here in the middle of the night. They will hand you a cartoon map that is in no way to scale and point in a general direction for you and finding your space in a poorly lit park at night will be the first bit of Disney Majic you will get to experience.
Another interesting thing you will learn is that they will not tell you what space within the park you will get prior to your arrival. So if you are trying to figure out if you will need to rent a golf cart or not, you will not know the answer to that until you get here. Unfortunatly, a golf cart requires a reservation 2 days in advance. Funny how that works huh?
The next major piece of information we learned the hard way, is that if you try to get to any decent place from within Majic Kingdom to see the fire works show without first staking out a good spot 3 hours in advance, you well be herded like cattle towards the exit to the park. The viewing area is very small and fills up fast. Once it does they keep people moving towards the exit down a cordoned off area they have set up in advance.
Next, unless you have made reservations, dont expect to be eating anything other than hamburgers, pizza, and hot dogs. This is not Disneyland, they all expect you to make reservations here.
If you want to leave Disney property to go to Seaworld or another park and wish to take a taxi, DONT LET THE FRONT DESK CALL YOUR CAB! I cannot stress this one enough. They have a contract with a specific taxi company who has been known to rip people off. I asked for a taxi that takes visa and knew in advance what the fair was supposed to be, halfway to Seaworld he shut off the meter and demanded $80 in cash for a $32 ride. When I complained to Disney, they said that was a problem between me and the cab company. Even though, they are the ones that have the contract with the taxi company, and they are the ones that called and recommended them.
Which brings up the next handy piece of information you should know. When you stay in a resort, you are given a room key. This key has your name on it and acts as your Disney ID for the parks extended hours. Fort Wilderness is SUPPOSED to give each member of your party a blue card with their names on it. This is what also GIVES YOU ACCESS BACK TO FT WILDERNESS IF YOU LEAVE DISNEY PROPERTY! Ask me how I learned this lesson, they do not always give you the cards, and you need to know that you need one in the first place. Especially if you check in after midnight like I did.
When you purchase things in the Disney stores you can ask them to send them to the Ft Wilderness outpost (store). To do this, you just ask the clerk to have them sent there and fill out a green form. MAKE SURE THE BOX NEXT TO FORT WILDRNESS CAMP IS CHECKED AND NOT THE WILDERNESS LODGE! You would be surprised how many park employees have no idea there is a difference. And when you go to pick up your packages, they have been sent to the wrong place. This suck factor is increased greatly if they do this on the last day of your stay because it takes another day for them to fix the mistake.
If you purchase a multi day park hopper pass, and you spend nearly all of your time hiding out in your RV due to thunderstorms and tornado warnings, and you have no intentions of EVER returning to Florida to experience some more of the majic, the pass is not redeemable at Disneyland, and the pass will become a permanent reminder of why you may not want to return.
Apparently there is some kind of light show down by the dock where you catch the boat to Majic Kingdom, but I wouldnt know. I have never seen it, and have not been given any information from Fort Wilderness about when it starts. And I dont feel like sitting there in the rain all night to find out. I guess its like a lot of things here, you will not be told much about anything, you pretty much are left to figure it all out on your own.
I know this sounds like I did not have a good time, and your right. I didnt, but this post is an after action report for lessons learned. Not about whether or not I had a good time. So for those that will undoubtedly leave posts to slam me for putting this information out there. I dont care, This is information that people should arm themselves with while planning their trip. Besides, while they are busy writing their angry replies, I will be relaxing in a nice warm dry place in Las Vegas taking a vacation from this vacation.
First off, the address for Ft Wilderness does not exist in most GPS mapping systems. That is because it is on Disneys private property and they do not report their private roads to the mapping companies. The directions you get to the park by calling Disney are more often than not from somebody over the phone in a different state and have never been here. We were told to take I4 east from I95, that would have put us in the atlantic ocean, if I4 east from I95 existed that is. Secondly there is a resort here called Wilderness lodge, not to be confused with Fort Wilderness Camp. They are two different places, and the signs can be very confusing to somebody that has never been here before. We will come back to this later.
This place is also not like KOA, they will not escort you to your space. Even if you get here in the middle of the night. They will hand you a cartoon map that is in no way to scale and point in a general direction for you and finding your space in a poorly lit park at night will be the first bit of Disney Majic you will get to experience.
Another interesting thing you will learn is that they will not tell you what space within the park you will get prior to your arrival. So if you are trying to figure out if you will need to rent a golf cart or not, you will not know the answer to that until you get here. Unfortunatly, a golf cart requires a reservation 2 days in advance. Funny how that works huh?
The next major piece of information we learned the hard way, is that if you try to get to any decent place from within Majic Kingdom to see the fire works show without first staking out a good spot 3 hours in advance, you well be herded like cattle towards the exit to the park. The viewing area is very small and fills up fast. Once it does they keep people moving towards the exit down a cordoned off area they have set up in advance.
Next, unless you have made reservations, dont expect to be eating anything other than hamburgers, pizza, and hot dogs. This is not Disneyland, they all expect you to make reservations here.
If you want to leave Disney property to go to Seaworld or another park and wish to take a taxi, DONT LET THE FRONT DESK CALL YOUR CAB! I cannot stress this one enough. They have a contract with a specific taxi company who has been known to rip people off. I asked for a taxi that takes visa and knew in advance what the fair was supposed to be, halfway to Seaworld he shut off the meter and demanded $80 in cash for a $32 ride. When I complained to Disney, they said that was a problem between me and the cab company. Even though, they are the ones that have the contract with the taxi company, and they are the ones that called and recommended them.
Which brings up the next handy piece of information you should know. When you stay in a resort, you are given a room key. This key has your name on it and acts as your Disney ID for the parks extended hours. Fort Wilderness is SUPPOSED to give each member of your party a blue card with their names on it. This is what also GIVES YOU ACCESS BACK TO FT WILDERNESS IF YOU LEAVE DISNEY PROPERTY! Ask me how I learned this lesson, they do not always give you the cards, and you need to know that you need one in the first place. Especially if you check in after midnight like I did.
When you purchase things in the Disney stores you can ask them to send them to the Ft Wilderness outpost (store). To do this, you just ask the clerk to have them sent there and fill out a green form. MAKE SURE THE BOX NEXT TO FORT WILDRNESS CAMP IS CHECKED AND NOT THE WILDERNESS LODGE! You would be surprised how many park employees have no idea there is a difference. And when you go to pick up your packages, they have been sent to the wrong place. This suck factor is increased greatly if they do this on the last day of your stay because it takes another day for them to fix the mistake.
If you purchase a multi day park hopper pass, and you spend nearly all of your time hiding out in your RV due to thunderstorms and tornado warnings, and you have no intentions of EVER returning to Florida to experience some more of the majic, the pass is not redeemable at Disneyland, and the pass will become a permanent reminder of why you may not want to return.
Apparently there is some kind of light show down by the dock where you catch the boat to Majic Kingdom, but I wouldnt know. I have never seen it, and have not been given any information from Fort Wilderness about when it starts. And I dont feel like sitting there in the rain all night to find out. I guess its like a lot of things here, you will not be told much about anything, you pretty much are left to figure it all out on your own.
I know this sounds like I did not have a good time, and your right. I didnt, but this post is an after action report for lessons learned. Not about whether or not I had a good time. So for those that will undoubtedly leave posts to slam me for putting this information out there. I dont care, This is information that people should arm themselves with while planning their trip. Besides, while they are busy writing their angry replies, I will be relaxing in a nice warm dry place in Las Vegas taking a vacation from this vacation.
). I thought there were great. Can't you see them from just about anywhere in the park?
