FW in January

[tylerzmommy]

Good Afternoon! I'm new to the DIS board but have established that you are all very knowledgeable about Disney, FW, and the whole experience. I'm hoping that y'all will be able to share your tips and tricks with me for our upcoming (and FIRST!!!!) trip to Disney. Here are the specs:

We will be staying at Fort Wildnerness January 19-26th and will be staying in our truck camper. Because the camper will be in the bed of the truck (and hooked up to the "stuff" at the campsite), we'll be without transportation. We'll be coming from Virginia and are not familiar with the weather in FL in January.

For those of you who have been there/done that, what advice would you give? What is the weather typically like in January (hence, how should I pack)? What advice would you give to a newbie coming down to FW? What's the transportation like? I'd appreciate any advice/input/insight you can offer.

I'm planning the trip on my own as it is a complete surprise for my husband and our 7 year old son and they won't be let in on the secret until the day before we leave. I'm SO overwhelmed right now! Thanks!!

 

[jbrostek]

Welcome to the boards. You can get a lot of great information from here and you have a great question to boot. I been vacationing in FL for a few years around the new year and now to learn that you need to nearly pack for 3 seasons (depending on how your dress during warmer days.)

Most years we stay at FW the first week of January, this year we are arriving there on the 6th and staying for 2 weeks. On average during January its similar to late fall/early spring weather in VA. It can be 70 during the day and mild at night, or plummit into the 40's or lower if a cold front makes it far enough south.

 

[luckycharm19335]

As with any season, anywhere anymore, pack a little bit of everything.

 

[2goofycampers]

Welcome to the camping board!!!!

We have seen high in 80's or high in 40's in Jan. You may need a tent for clothes only. We stayed at The WL one year with 11 suitcases.

As far as transportation, if you're in vacation mode it is fine. If you're in hurry up and get there mode you'll be not so fine. To the parks is good routes, to other resorts leave yourself plenty of time.

 

[rudetreehill]

Welcome to the boards!

as others have said, the weather can be... let's go with unpredictable... in January. Usually, it's fairly warm during the days, chilly (to downright cool!) at night.

Your take on transportation at Fort Wilderness will depend entirely on your ability to just sort of go with the flow.

Fort Wilderness has an internal bus system which can be confusing and take folks some time to get used to. When you check in, they'll give you a map (as well as a lot of other really useful information about the campground). Keep it. Ask for an extra, in case you have cause to separate.

If you go to allears.net, you'll find (under accomodations) a page that has all kinds of helpful information about Fort Wilderness, including info on the internal busses.

I've stayed at Fort Wilderness a few times and am, in fact, also going in January. I'll be staying in a cabin about two weeks before you arrive, with my parents staying in their RV on another FW site. Sure, I'd love to be staying at the Wilderness Lodge (my very favorite resort), but the campground has a lot going for it.

One of the cool things you can do -- especially if you have a rainy day and are looking to pass some time -- is take a bus (or boat) from Fort Wilderness over to the Wilderness Lodge. It's a fantastic place to explore. (There's a fantastic napping area hidden on the second floor... right next to a cozy, hidden fireplace!) I'm also a very big fan of the Wilderness Lodge's pool bar...

Richard/Tralfie

 

[photogal06]

I've never been in January, but I've been in December, and the weather is just unpredictable. You'll have to bring a little of everything, unfortunately, but better safe than sorry!

Disney transportation is easy. The internal bus system looks confusing on the map, but it's not. The boat will take you right to Magic Kingdom. The buses from the Fort to the other parks or Downtown Disney are easy. Getting to the monorail resorts is fast, because you can just hop the boat to the Contemporary and get on the monorail from there to reach the Polynesian or Grand Floridian (or MK even.) You can take a boat over to Wilderness Lodge if you want, or walk or bike the path that goes between the Fort and the Lodge. We like to hop to the other resorts to eat when we have time---they're fun to visit. Once we get to the Fort, we never move our vehicle....it takes us 2-3 days to get there, so we're happy to let someone else drive while we're there!

There's a lot of fun to be had right at the Fort. Make sure you leave yourself time to visit the horses at the Tri-Circle-D, play in the pool if it's warm enough, catch the nightly sing-a-long, campfire and movie, and watch Wishes and the Electric Water Pageant from the beach! When we've been there, there were also kids games and crafts (mostly free, a few low-cost) a couple of times each day.

Have fun on your trip! I don't know if I'd be able to keep it a secret the way you are---all that excitement might do me in, lol!