1st time to Fort Wilderness, have a couple questions

[Jeepin Dad]

This will be our first trip to Disney World, my wife and I used to have annual passes when we lived 20 minutes from Disneyland 10+ years ago but this will be our boys (7 & 9) first Disney experience and they are excited to hit the parks as soon as possible. We are towing our travel trailer down and are scheduled to arrive Saturday March 22. I was wondering how long it usually takes to get through check in? We are trying to finalize our plans for that day, we are thinking we probably are going to head over Magic Kingdom and want to make sure I enough time scheduled so we can check in, set up, and get over there before our scheduled Fastpass times.

Also, what are people's favorite things to do at Fort Wilderness? Our last full day there we are planning on hanging at the campground, maybe heading over to Downtown Disney for some last minute souvenir purchases and we are doing Mickey's Backyard BBQ that evening, I'm looking for a fairly easy wind down day where I don't have to deal with the hustle of the parks before we make the 15 hour drive home the next day.

 

[NewRVLady]

I am subscribing to this thread
I am a newbie too

I would guess it depends on-is it Spring Break?
It is a Saturday, so I guess longer, depending on the time also

 

[Bearikens]

The amount of time to check in is similar to other hotels...it depends greatly on the number of people ahead of you. There are some things you can do to speed up the check in process by planning ahead. You will need to show the FW gate guard when you first arrive. These are your reservation documents and a photo id...have them ready. You will be directed to the Reception Outpost drive through lines and there may be campers ahead of you. How fast the line moves depends upon how quickly those folks can make decisions and how many questions they will pose. The cast member will draw the path to your campsite on a map, so finding your campsite will be easier. Decide ahead of time if you want to add charging to your reservation...if yes, have a credit or debit card ready and Disney will add your charged items into a single charge when you check out. Have someone guide you as you back in your trailer and remember to align the camper close enough to the utilities. There is no gasoline vehicle parking except at the reception outpost and your campsite, so you will need bicycles, or a golf cart, or take the campground buses to get to the marina (which takes you to the Magic Kingdom entrance), so plan on an additional 15 to 30 minutes for the bus ride and 30 min for the water taxi. Additionally there is security and a bag check when you enter the Magic Kingdom and the time required for that varies by the number of people in line ahead of you.

This should get you started and I am sure someone will chime in if I have forgotten anything or they have some thoughts to help.

 

[retired and happy]

NewRV is right. Check-in depends on a lot of things. They have about 6 checkin lanes, but rerely are all open unless it is a special occasion at the Fort, such as Spring Break, Marathon, Christmas, Halloween, etc. Time of day, day of the week, speed of those ahead of you in line, etc all factor in. For what you want, I would advise getting there as early as you can. And after checkin you could always go about other activities and do your setup later. I personally do not like the Fast Passes, and even less, the FP+. We would rather go with the flow and enjoy whatever is available.

You don't say how long you are staying, but don't try to overplan. And I agree with your down day at the Fort. Enjoy the atmosphere of the Fort and the amenities it has to offer.

 

[articfox676]

I understand when you have a limited number of days you want to get the most out of the time.
With the price of the tickets I would wait and go to MK for a full day starting in the am.
Arrival day is so exciting. Have a safe trip and wonderful stay at the Fort.

 

[Jeepin Dad]

Thanks for the information. We are taking 2 days to drive down from PA and arriving Saturday 3/22, planning on doing most of the driving Friday so we only have a couple hours left on Saturday morning and can be there a little before check in time. Tickets are already paid for and Saturday evening would be Bonus time at the MK for us as we aren't leaving until Friday and are planing full days at EPCOT, MK, AK and HS and then the one wind down day at the campground. Saturday is the only day I really have any concerns about schedule since it is check in day and we do have some set up, other than that we pretty much are planning on going with the flow and will see how the boys hold up throughout the week.

 

[kazlac4]

We have made it a tradition to never plan a park visit on the same day as our arrival. We always get to the Fort and take our time setting up our TT site. We then take the rest of the day to appreciate what the Fort has to offer. Sometimes we go for a swim, sometimes we ride bikes or rent a canoe. We one time took the ferry to the Wilderness Lodge and ate lunch poolside. At night we pick up a bucket of chicken for dinner and then enjoy the fireworks (making sure to take a few wine coolers along to enjoy). We then get a good night sleep, waking up to the boat whistles (a true sound of Disney) and head out for a full day at the parks. This has worked great for us but each family has their own traditions. Whatever you choose, remember you are on vacation so take time to ENJOY the surroundings and each other.

 

[bama_ed]

I want to welcome both NewRVLady and Jeepin Dad to the DIS Camping Board.



Bama Ed

 

[Teamubr]

Sounds like I may be an outlier here. We plan our arrival day very similar to you. Drive in the last few hours early morning and arrive right at check in time (or before- have arrived as early as 8am and had our site available, but don't count on it). Our family tradition is to take the boat to MK in the afternoon/evening and watch Wishes on our arrival day. Someone in the group usually ends up with tears in their eyes... (Ok, it's usually at least me ) We also try to go over and see Wishes again on the night before we leave.

I have always been able to get to our site, unhitch, get setup and have plenty of time to get to MK without feeling rushed.

j

 

[krosmith]

The last time we were at the Fort the first night there we did the Hoop De Do show. It was a lot of fun and nice not to worry about cooking the first night. I understand the movie and s'mores is a lot of fun too. We are going to try that on our next trip.

 

[amie28]

We too come from PA. We love to go to Magic Kingdom the day we arrive. We get a quick service dinner and play the rest by ear depending on how everyone is feeling. We usually do not stay too long or do many rides that day. It is nice just to be on Main Street to make you feel like you have finally arrived at Disney.

 

[Jeepin Dad]

It is nice just to be on Main Street to make you feel like you have finally arrived at Disney.

This is our feeling too. I know when we were regulars at Disneyland it was a great feeling to walk down Main Street and see the Castle rising up in front of you, definitely brings out the kid in me.

The campfire and movie at the campground is something we want to try to do one of the nights we are there.

Again thanks for all the great info everyone.

 

[NewRVLady]

I want to welcome both NewRVLady and Jeepin Dad to the DIS Camping Board.



Bama Ed

Thank you!

 

[SoccerDad]

Jeepin Dad - welcome to the forum and congrats on your upcoming trip!

As for visiting a park on arrival day, the good news is it looks like MK will be open till midnight on the 22nd! What times did you set up for Fast Pass? I would push for evening times to reduce any stress during the day, since it would allow for travel and check-in delays.

We are booked for the Fort over the last week in May, and will be pulling our camper from the Cleveland area. I'm curious to hear about your route and what stops (if any) you have planned along the way?

 

[mightyexplorers]

We also generally do not do a park on arrival day. We usually shoot for an 11am arrival and spend the day turning the campsite into home. The kids go exploring. We take a walk, check out the Settlement gift shop. Go to the beach and put our feet in the sand.
Later my wife and I will settle in for a beer and glass of wine while the kids go check out Chip and Dale, roast smores and watch the movie.
Another favorite thing do do is check out wishes from the beach area. Typically the sound is pipped into the beach, and the fireworks are amazing, although slightly obstructed. But watching them without 15 million people crowding into you, and taking a short stroll back to your campsite afterward is well worth it.

 

[jbrostek]

We do the drive from VA and usually get to the gates of FW right after checkin opens for sites. We have never tried to go to a park the day of arrival. After 4-6 hours on the road that morning, getting through checkin (with online checkin and magic bands it was pretty quick.) But then parking, getting setup, etc. It was enough that day and just want to unwind.

 

[Jeepin Dad]

Our first FP window isn't until 5:50-6:50pm so what I've read here and other places I think we should be fine.


We are in SE PA so we will pick up I95 north of Baltimore and we are on that all the way down the coast. I haven't finalized where we are stopping for the night before we arrive yet but I think we are going to shoot for somewhere around Jacksonville, that would be about 850 miles and probably take 13-14 hours. We will most likely leave about 4:00 a.m. Friday morning so we are south of Baltimore and D.C. before rush hour. That would leave about 150 miles and a few hours Saturday morning.

 

[Bearikens]

Our first FP window isn't until 5:50-6:50pm so what I've read here and other places I think we should be fine.


We are in SE PA so we will pick up I95 north of Baltimore and we are on that all the way down the coast. I haven't finalized where we are stopping for the night before we arrive yet but I think we are going to shoot for somewhere around Jacksonville, that would be about 850 miles and probably take 13-14 hours. We will most likely leave about 4:00 a.m. Friday morning so we are south of Baltimore and D.C. before rush hour. That would leave about 150 miles and a few hours Saturday morning.

My DW has made that same drive several times and she told me that their overnight stop usually worked out to be near the border of NC and SC, but of course their departure time wasn't as early as you are planning and some people (like me) can drive a much longer day than others. I, like you, try to time my drive so I avoid major city rush hours...especially when I am towing my popup.

One more thing....the interstate traffic from the north side to the south side of Orlando can be trying in the best of traffic days, but if you're used to traffic around Philly (assuming that's what you mean by SE PA) you shouldn't have too much of a problem.

 

[JETS70]

If possible, do the online check in. It will save you some time even if you do not plan to visit a park that day. We were 3rd back from the check in window and a CM came to our truck with an IPad and asked if we did the online and we said yes. She got some information from us and went back in. When we reached the window, it was pretty much paying, getting some general campground info and directions to our site. Very simple. When we return on April, we have already planned on our time to relax and take in the campground "DAY".

 

[Jeepin Dad]

We are pretty used to long road trips, we regularly do 10 hour drives to Vermont and a couple of years ago we did a 26 hour drive to San Antonio strait through with only a couple stops for food and gas.

Thanks for the heads up but the traffic shouldn't bother me I go from dodging Amish buggys to dealing with Philly airport traffic every day on my commute and for several years before moving back east I dealt with with the Southern California traffic.

We do plan on doing the online check in before we head down.