Back from the Ft. Wilderness cabins w/ 3 kids!

[CinderellaDreamer]

Just back tonight from our five day trip to the World! We had a blast! Our first time staying in the Ft. Wilderness campground cabins.

A little about us: I am a homemaker/ebay power seller who graduated from Auburn in 1991 as did my Dh. We now live in NC after having lived in FL during our Navy years. We have 3 kids, twin boys who celebrated turning six by going to Disney World, and a Dd who is just 2. We have family who live in Olrando and south Florida. We found a great deal on a direct flight to Orlando on Southwest for T-giving last year (stayed in adjoining rooms at CSR) and discovered WDW to be a great meeting place for the family get-togethers! (lucky us!) So we took the kids for the first time last November, and again this May when they had such good deals in May for room-only. We hope to continue the T-giving tradition each year.

On to our trip report!

Thursday, May 3rd, we arrive at Orlando around 11:15 a.m. Having done ME before, I knew that we needed to get something at the Food Court for the kids to eat since it would take a long time to get to our resort. We boarded our bus, and it was going to stop at Old Key West and Saratoga Springs before going to the Ft. Wilderness campground. We got to the check-in at the fort, and there was no line there fortunately. The CM was very friendly and gave our boys birthday pins to wear. It was a little after 1 p.m., but our cabin was already available, so they gave us an early check-in. They called for a van to take us over; Dh didn’t get off at the cabin but went on in the van to get the golf cart that we had reserved. I thought this was excellent service.

Meanwhile, we explored the cabin. We were amazed at how spacious and charming it was! So much more room than a regular hotel room. The kids were terribly excited over the bunk beds. I liked the bathroom with a large counter and wall shelves to put all of our stuff out on. It was especially nice to put toiletries high enough to be out of reach of little hands.

We had lots of towel animals. A fish in the tub. A bouquet of flowers in the front window. A swan on the bathroom counter. They were all so cute! Great mousekeeping at the cabins.

Lots of room in the kitchen. Lots of useful items in the cabinets. It was fun for me to explore it all and take inventory of our available kitchen items. Our luggage had not arrived yet, so we couldn’t unpack. We left our carry-on items in the room and headed for the park with our backpack. We took the golf cart to the marina, and just missed the bus for the MK; but we didn’t mind since the kids enjoyed exploring the beach and seeing the mother ducks and ducklings. It was very hot though. And the boat was hot as well; while being charming and a bit exciting to go by boat to a park, I do have to hand it to the buses for being air conditioned. We got over to the MK, and the boys wanted to go on Thunder Mountain. The line was only 20 minutes. So the girl and I waited for them and had a little frozen treat. We then headed over to PotC which had a typical wait line of 30 minutes. But you don’t mind really because they have all the cool pirate stuff and air conditioning. This was dd’s first ride here and scared her half to death. Even the wait in line was frightening since it was dark, and there were scarey pirates and skeletons. The first part of the ride is quite frightening, but then it gets happy and she started to enjoy herself.

We went over to Tink’s Treasures and peeked in the keyhole at Tinkerbell. Afterwards, we rode It’s a Small World, which everyone enjoyed, especially Dd. By now it was 6 p.m., so we started the journey back to the cabin. The boat always stops at FWL first on the way to and from the park, lucky ducks. Again, the boat was really hot. We were all drenched by the time we got back to the golf cart. I was so happy we had it at this point. Back to the cabin for pizza and birthday cake! Grandmother and great-grandmother drove up and joined us for birthday celebrations. They brought the pizza and cake with them. My mil also brought us perishable groceries from Publix. I had brought non-perishables in a suitcase.

Baths and to bed. Dh slept on the Murphy bed, which he thought was very comfortable. I slept on the full bed with the 3 kids in the room. We put the portable crib in the space for the hanging clothes. It fit beautifully. The bed was very comfortable, and I am very difficult to please when it comes to beds. It was plenty soft, and I slept great.

I was very pleased with the pantry for all of the food stuff I had packed in one entire suitcase. I was disappointed in the four tiny (size of a night stand) drawers under the t.v. in the bedroom. These are the only drawers other than the nightstand. All the same size, approximately 4 inches deep and 12 inches across. Not nearly enough for the six people that the cabin sleeps. So you have to leave everything in the suitcases which you have to leave in the hallway. Seriously. No where else at all to put them. No luggage rack even. No closet, other than the opening where we put the crib. The closet in the hallway, is not a real closet; used for a.c. unit and maid stuff. Lots of extra towels in the cabinets in the bath though, besides the generous amount already hanging around on the towel racks and counter (very nice since you have to take towels to the pool). And two large cabinets that are nearly empty to put stuff in if you have lots of toiletries. The A.C. works great. Very cool in the cabin, even with a vaulted ceiling (which gives it a lot of charm). Love all of the rustic furniture and light fixtures. The fabric on the furniture and curtains is charming as well. The table really did sit six for us. Five adults and one baby. There is a little table and two chairs for children too, which the boys loved. It was just perfect for our party.

Dh is a coffee snob and liked the stuff provided. It came with a filter (which I forgot for his Starbucks that I brought). He didn’t say that it was great or anything, but drinkable. The cabin was great for breakfast which is nice since it is so hard to make all the transfers to another resort for character dining. A meal at a park would not be so bad or Chef Mickey’s since there is a boat going there all day long. We had cereal, oatmeal and pop-tarts each morning.

This is not our hummer or our cabin, but a great shot!

The boat coming in to the marina:

 

[IATink]

I am so jealous! I have always wanted to do the cabins at Fort Wilderness. It's nice to hear that they really do have enough room for everyone.

I'm enjoying your report and look forward to some pictures!

 

[mcarthur205]

Enjoying your report and looking forward to seeing your photos! I've always wondered what the cabins are like inside and what its like to stay in the campground.

 

[CinderellaDreamer]

Love the campground now. I really do; and I am not a camper. It was really pretty and really nicely done.

Thanks for your comments!

Now on to more of the report:

So after breakfast on that second day, we headed back to MK. Got inside the gate at 10 after 9, and headed straight for the barber for Dd’s first haircut. There were already 6 people standing outside waiting with their little ones! We went back at 2:30, and only had to wait for 10 minutes. There were two characters from Pinnochio (Gideon and Farfel ??) who came in while we waited and really entertained the kids.

That morning we rode several rides very quickly and with hardly any line. Got on Buzz a second time immediately after riding with no wait. By eleven though, things had gotten busy already. We hit all of our favorites and then had lunch at Crystal palace at 1 p.m. It was so pretty and very cool after the heat outside. We all really enjoyed it. Then off to the haircut and a couple more rides before watching the end of the parade and heading back to the campground for swimming.

Twins had a blast in the pool, but Dh said it was too cold for him. He didn’t feel like it was heated at all. Didn’t stop the boys! They stayed in for two hours. I took the golf cart (finally!) and tooled around the campground with the girl. She dozed off on me, so I just came back home and put her in the bed. The boys were back from the pool by then, so I put the baby to bed, and went off to the Trading Post for grub. I thought about going to the Trails End, but our lunch was so big at 1 from the Crystal Palace, that we really didn’t want much. Picked up sandwich pickings and drove back, stopping to admire the 6 or 7 bunnies along the way.

So no campfire again tonight since the baby passed out on me at 6:30. Poor lamb was so tired. Maybe we will make it tomorrow night. Too bad we couldn’t get a sitter. Family didn’t come out tonight to visit. They were off shopping all day. We had reservations at the Kona for dinner, but it was for 5:30, and too early for any of us. So we ate in, and went to bed early since the next day was EMH morning hours for MGM.

We were at the bus stop at 7:35 a.m. the next day, and just missed the last bus. We waited a little less than 10 minutes for the next bus. It took under 30 minutes to get there. We even had a couple of delays as someone had run into the crossing gate and broken it at the WL.

The Power Rangers were out at 8:30 at MGM, and there were no lines for pictures. It was wonderful for the boys. Then off to Star Tours, where there was no line. Then a short wait at the Little Mermaid, some character greetings on Mickey Ave., and the first showing of Beauty and the Beast. We had a delicious breakfast/lunch at Hollywood & Vine with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. It was a lot of fun with the Little Einsteins and JoJo and Goliath. The food was delicious. I love those Mickey Mouse waffles! They changed over to lunch mid-way, so we got to sample that as well. Delicious!

Afterwards, we went to Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground to let everyone work off lunch, including us as we had to keep up with 3 kids! There are so many tunnels and stairs that come out at various places, so it’s a challenge to find where a little person will emerge. And most are too low for an adult to comfortably go through. But the kids just loved it. It was mighty hot though. It is outdoors with a couple of fans. Very sweaty children who drank lots of water afterwards.

We ALL took a nap, then went to the pool at 4. We had dinner reservations at Trails End for 5:40 p.m., so it was a short dip. But we went to the main pool this time. This pool did feel like it was heated. The smaller one down by the cabins did not. They were playing Bingo and having a great time there. Great prizes for Bingo too. Cute toys for the kids.

The Trails End dinner buffet was nice and not too expensive; there were seven (plus baby who eats free) in our party, and we paid $135 with tip included. The kids went out and played on the playground next to it after dinner. Dh played chauffeur with our golf cart since you cannot drive your car there. He took two trips each way to get us all where we needed to be.

We went over to the campfire around 8 p.m. Chip & Dale arrived shortly after. They split up and go through the benches and visit with you. We were in the very back, so the kids went to the campfire and roasted marshmallows while we waited. Sticks were 50 cents. We were given some by a nice family who was heading out. We also grabbed a couple from the brush nearby. There was a great singalong with a performer and their guitar. Lots of fun campfire songs while you wait for Chip or Dale to get to you. On the way back, we heard a beautiful Whippoorwill calling and saw lots of bunnies.

So family went home, and I tried to put the over-stimulated baby to sleep. Dh took the boys to see the fireworks from the beach at the marina.

 

[CapeCod53]

We have loved staying at the FtW cabins several times. The kids have always thought that the golf carts were the best part of the experience. By the way, for more storage, there are cabinets on either side of the murphy bed in the living room. I was able to unpack all my stuff into those, clothes on 1 side, shoes, etc on the other.

 

[CinderellaDreamer]

I should have used those cabinets! Great tip, thanks!

More trip report:

Next day we left around 8:25 a.m. to go to the Meadows bus stop for EPCOT. This was our longest wait time. We were there for 25 minutes before a bus came. And it was packed. Lots of people standing and then some left behind. We had hoped to be there by rope drop, but not so. We got there at 9:20. We saw two buses come and go for Animal Kingdom while we waited. Funny how that works.

Epcot was not very crowded. And while it was hot during the pre-noon hours, it rained in the afternoon, and the cloud cover made it very pleasant. The boys got passports and had a lot of fun going to countries for a stamp. They also made a mask and got shapes from each country to attach to it.

It was during the flower show, so there were wonderful topiaries everywhere:

We had lunch at Akershaus with the princesses. It was such a beautiful hall and the food was delicious. The princesses were lots of fun too; we were greeted by Aurora, and then saw Snow White, Ariel in an aqua dress, Jasmine, and Cinderella. It was so nice. Dd was in heaven. I appreciate the recommendations of those on the Dis boards who had said to try the ‘meatloaf’. It was delicious! Lots of fancy fare on the appetizer buffet. My favorite was a chicken salad with orange in it. The kids liked the yummy breads and cold cuts. There was a delicious ham and egg salad, and a nice sampler platter for dessert.

We won lanyards by being the first at an Innoventions Fire prevention display. It wasn’t a night in the Cinderella suite, but it was still a prize! It came with two YOAMD’s pins. We got one for each in our party. I was thrilled, even though I really, really wanted a dream fastpass! Ha!

We had dinner at Garden Grill which was tastier than I remembered. The characters come around a lot during dinner too. First time is great for pictures, then you can just relax and interact. The kids really enjoyed it. Lots of fun for us all. Then they get to make a cupcake for dessert. The revolving aspect is entertaining too. We had ridden on the Land ride just before dinner, so the boys recognized the parts of the ride that we slowly spun past.

Back to the bus stop after dinner where we had another long wait for a bus to come. We weren’t the only ones though. We didn’t see a lot of buses running to any of the resorts. We got back, and I wished I had listened to the recommendation of folks on the board who had said to bring a towel for the golf cart. It was soaked. We just put our rain ponchos down though and came on back to the cabin. More cute towel animals were waiting for us from mousekeeping. A crab was on my bed. Bathed everyone in the spacious bathroom and off to sleep.

Next stop, Animal Kingdom for EMH!

A shot at the beach near the marina:

Pool:

Bedroom:

Lunch at Crystal Palace:

 

[CinderellaDreamer]

The next day was EMH morning hour at the AK. We got there around 8:30. We had good luck with the bus that morning. On our way in, we saw the potted plant that rolls around and talks to you. The kids were thrilled. Stopped just inside to have the Disney photographer take our picture in front of the Tree. We headed straight back to the Safari ride and had a short wait. The animals were all visible in the early morning. We had a great guide too. The kids were excited and really got into the search for the poachers. We left there and went down to Dinoland. The boys went to the playground, and the girl begged to ride Triceratops Spin. It was fun! Then off to Camp Mickey to see the Lion King show. I loved it! The singers and dancers were wonderful. The animal costumes were fantastic, the bird dancer who did acrobatics on a rope was so cool, as were the ‘monkeys’ who did great uneven bars and ring performances. We went from there to Pocahantas’ Friends, which was a really good show for the kids. They liked the talking Grandmother Willow tree. The animals in the show were cute too. They get a paper leaf at the end that had been blowing with the Colors of the Wind. Pocahantas was beautiful.

We decided to head home for lunch. We had PBJ sandwiches at the cabin and took a little nap since we had a late dinner. We took a bus to Downtown Disney for shopping at the Lego store. The boys had really been looking forward to this as Legos are their favorite toys. I took advantage of the Disney Visa discount at the World of Disney store. I also got the kids an ornament each at the Christmas store; I buy an ornament where ever we travel to for them to take some day when they leave home for their own tree.

We caught a bus from DD to the Grand Floridian. I had never been there before, but have been to the Coronado in San Diego. I thought this was prettier. I loved the bright interior and live music. We walked out back and admired the view of the castle while waiting on our table.

Family met us there for dinner at 1900 Park Fare. We saw Cinderella, the Prince, Fairy Godmother, and two girl mice. It was the best tasting meal that we had, which says a lot since I loved every where that we ate. I had yummy mushroom ravioli (3 helpings!), and some delicious bananas foster for dessert. We almost stayed for fireworks, but the baby was just too tired. She actually asked to go ‘night night’. Poor thing. So we piled in family’s van and went back to the cabin.

We were in bed late, but everyone was up around 6 the next morning, as usual. So we got all ready to check out and went over to MK on the boat one last time just at rope drop. There were NO lines. We rode Buzz Lightyear 4 times in a row. Dh went and rode Space Mountain with no wait. We did Peter Pan since it had been too packed to get to when we came before. And It’s a Small World one last time for the baby. She loved it, and sang and danced the whole time. We had to leave at 11 to make it back for our Magical Express. The campsite sent a van to pick us up at the cabin while Dh turned in our well-used golf cart. They had great service the entire time, from mousekeeping, to golf cart rental people, and the singalong. It was a great place to stay with so much to do that you could spend several days there without going to the parks and have a blast. Activities, pools, petting zoo, wagon rides, campfires, boat rides, so much! I will definitely go back. It was a lot more comfortable of a stay than the CSR for our family of five. We even had adjoining rooms before. It was nice to spread out and feel at home. I highly recommend staying there if you need a little more room for your family and would like to spend less than $300/night.

Well, that’s all folks. Thanks for listening. I hope that your dreams come true too!

I'll add some more photos later.

 

[swillis]

Thank you so much for the trip report! We are staying in the cabins in June, and I gobble up every little piece of info that I can find on the cabins and the resort.

That picture you posted of the pool looks pretty crowded. WHat time of day was that? Was the pool crowded all the time? Was that the main pool or the smaller ones by the cabin loops?

Thanks again...I'm glad you had a good time

 

[CinderellaDreamer]

Hi Sunni!

This was our only trip to the main pool, and it was a bit crowded, but still very nice, I thought. But the smaller pool had only about 5 other people when we went there, and it was within walking distance of our cabin. We went to both of them around 4 p.m.

I'm sure that you will enjoy your trip in June. You'll have to write and tell us about your experiences!

 

[tellnotails]

Thanks CD....+1.....

 

[bennythepug]

great report we are staying in a cabin for the 1st time in July. It was great to see the cabin pics and hear about lots of the details - thanks

 

[Busymom85]

Thanks for the great review and pictures. We stayed at the cabins-older versions- years ago and loved it.

 

[swillis]

That picture of your kids walking along the waters edge with their backs to the camera is beautiful!! I love it!

 

[Swimnoid]

Loved your trip report! We got back from FW yesterday and seeing your pictures makes me want to go back RIGHT NOW!!!!

One tip for having some extra storage space if you drive....DD and I pack all our clothes in one of the those long plastic under the bed boxes. It fits great in our Pilot. We can fit most of our clothes in that and it gets shoved under the bed and out of the way. DH hangs all his shirts and shorts up on hangers so we are not too cramped for drawer space.

 

[DizznyChick]

Great trip report ! We stayed there 2 years ago in August and loved it too ! Now i want to go back !!!

 

[OhMari]

Did you see the other part of the campgrounds, where people brought in campers. I really want to stay at the campground too and bring our trailer in.
Loved your pictures. Where did the grandma's stay, or do they live in Florida.

 

[CinderellaDreamer]

Its great to hear from you all! Seeing the pics makes *me* want to go back too!!! I am serious withdrawal. Must start planning another trip.

OhMari, I did see the other parts of the campground. As you go down the main road, you see all of the RV's, campers, and tents. They all looked so nice and so homey! I would see people sitting out in their lawn chairs having a drink. One camper had a picnic table out in front with a lovely tablecloth and flowers on top. Pretty lights around too. It was all so nice. I wanted to stop and visit with everyone!

The grandmothers live in south FL and Winter Park. The ones from the south stayed off property in a two-bedroom suite somewhere for $88! They would just come to visit and eat with us. They did go to Epcot, which they enjoyed. They got a wheelchair for great-grandmother.

Swillis, that is my favorite picture too! The light was golden at sunset and just right for pictures. The wind was cool off the water. And the GF behind us was bright and beautiful in the sunshine. I could have stayed there forever!

Swimnoid, thanks for the tip on storage! And underbed box would be great, as you could put things under the bed in the cabin. I had to search for my shoes under there several times as Dd likes to make off with them!

Bennythepug, you are going to love it there! I'm jealous you are on your way!

Tellnotails, Busymom, and Dizznychik, thanks for your comments and visit!

The wagon ride at the fort:

 

[aspcamhreditor2]

Hmmm ... had never really considered those cabins before. However, that might be something nice to do if we ever are able to coordinate with more of our extended family. Pics were great. There are certainly some nice extras to do right there at the campground!

 

[JeanfromBNA]

Wonderful trip report! You have a lovely family; thanks for sharing your memories.

 

[WeRblam]

Loved your trip report! We got back from FW yesterday and seeing your pictures makes me want to go back RIGHT NOW!!!!

One tip for having some extra storage space if you drive....DD and I pack all our clothes in one of the those long plastic under the bed boxes. It fits great in our Pilot. We can fit most of our clothes in that and it gets shoved under the bed and out of the way. DH hangs all his shirts and shorts up on hangers so we are not too cramped for drawer space.

What a great idea! I won't be driving this time, but I think I may bring along lots of hangers and get the hanging storage shelves. We will be 5 , 2 adults and 3 teenagers (and two of them are girls). I think I will talk to the girls about not taking so much for lack of space...Hmmm, not sure how that is going to go over...