Cabins at the FW

[Dimap]

Can anyone honestly tell me how it is to stay at the cabins? Are they really "Disney" feeling? Is it worth the money or is it better off just staying offsite? We need a big place for 6 people so our on site choices are limited (2 rooms except for value resorts are too expensive).
How is getting to the MK? Is it convienent? I want to finish booking my vacation and I just need some honest answers. Thanks
Pam

 

[Leofoenget]

I have not stayed there, but do a 'google search disney fort wilderness trip advisor and read the reviews. Great Hotels on Travel Channel did a whole show about all of fort wilderness and she showed the cabins. They look wonderful to me. I believe they have a washer and dryer too. Beats camping IMO

 

[katiedid0801]

I stayed there about 20 years ago. Really liked the feel of the place, felt so removed from all the hustle & bustle of the parks. I believe there is still a boat to the MK, not sure about the other parks. This place is HUGE and your own vehicle does come in handy. I would stay there again in a heartbeat though!

 

[bellebud]

i just stayed in a cabin at easter, and i LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it!! there is not washer/dryer, but there is a full kitchen (dishwasher, stove, full size fridge, sink, cabinets, all utensils), a bbq on the deck and a picnic table (the deck and picnic table were a little yucky at our cabin, but not a big deal. just the wood is very dry and i was afraid the kids would get splinters if they were barefoot, and the stuff falling from the trees and maybe a bit of bird poop made it a little yucky, but it's outside so i wouldn't expect anything different really). we bbq'd a few nights, and it was great!!! the murphy bed was great and very comfy (much better than a pull out), and the kids LOVED the bunk beds! the theming is all disney, meaning they put the 'rustic' touches on everything! the chairs look like they were made from tree branches, etc, etc. Disney always does a wonderful job. we rented a golf cart for our stay, and i don't think we would have enjoyed it as much if we didn't have the cart. the internal bus system is fine, but we enjoyed many hours of our week there zipping around the resort in our cart, stopping for snacks, trying out all the playgrounds, gator-hunting (just looking to see if we could spot any, which we didn't). if you sort of add the cost of the cart to the cabin cost, it doesn't seem so bad. I told dh the cabin cost (i think it was $300 for the cabin and $48 plus tax for the cart???) that it was around $350 *including* a golf cart! pretty good deal, huh?

anyway, the boat to MK was great, just add the time for the internal bus to get you to the beach. the other parks are by bus, and again, add the time for the internal bus to get you to the main bus stop. We really enjoyed our stay there and i'd stay there again in a minute! the 'loops' the cabins are on are soooo cute... nicely paved little roads, very neat and clean looking. it felt like a little neighborhood.

i'd go for it and enjoy!! just remember that with a value resort suite or 2 rooms, you get 2 bathrooms. the cabin has 1 and it's all contained in the bathroom like at your house (the sink isn't outside of the toilet/shower room like in some hotel rooms), so people getting ready can take longer. depends on how much privacy everyone in your party needs.

 

[plutospup]

Stayed at FW Cabins last year and very much enjoyed it! Yes, it does have that "Disney Feel" there. It's close to the parks, however, it's away from all of the hustle and bustle feeling you find at the parks. We drove to all parks, except MK. I love the boat from FW, as well as WL to the MK. We really enjoyed the campfire movie and singalong (No extra charge!), as well as watching the fireworks from the FW beach. It's a great place!

 

[2trips06Mom]

We stayed there June 23rd through June 29th with our family of 4 (DH, me, DS-19 and DS-17). We had tons of room. The bathroom was spacious and we had lots of towels. It was rustic feeling but very clean. The mousekeeping was great. We were in the 2600 block. The only thing I didn't like was the murphy bed. I thought it was uncomfortable for both DH and I together (we currently have a king size bed), so after the first night I slept in one of the bunks. DH said he didn't mind the murphy bed, he was fine in it.

I liked the calmness of the resort itself. I also recommend the golf cart. We had a ball zipping around the resort in it and it also made getting to the main park busses much easier. I am going back to Disney in August for a family reunion and we are staying at POR (we've never stayed there) and I am already wishing I was back at Ft. Wilderness. We never heard our neighbors at all. It was pretty quiet and relaxing there. We never had a long wait for busses or the boat. I recommend taking the boat to MK and then taking the monorail over to Epcot if you go though - cause the monorail is so much fun! I also liked the small pool, but never tried the one at Meadows area. But it looked wonderful. Also the mudslides at the Trails End Buffet Bar (can't think of the name) are to die for, but stay away from the Kungaloosh, its more potent than it looks.

After our Disney trip we went to Daytona Beach and stayed at the Hilton on the Beach and it wasn't very roomy or homey feeling after Ft. Wilderness!

I think if you stay there you will like it. Good luck making a decision.

 

[eliza61]

Our first 2 trips to disney with our kids was at the Ft. Wilderness cabins. We loved it. We felt the disney magic. The only issue (not really a complaint) was that the pools are not themed. They are just olympic sized pools. Getting to Mk was very easy, just a simple boat ride. The resort is quiet, but we like that especially after a long day at the parks. At night sit on the beach and watch the electric water parade go by. Cabins are big, though we thought the bathroom was very narrow. Loved having a full kitchen available.

 

[twinklebug]

Can anyone honestly tell me how it is to stay at the cabins? Are they really "Disney" feeling? Is it worth the money or is it better off just staying offsite? We need a big place for 6 people so our on site choices are limited (2 rooms except for value resorts are too expensive).
How is getting to the MK? Is it convienent? I want to finish booking my vacation and I just need some honest answers. Thanks
Pam

I LOVE Disney's cabins. I grew up trailering and now have an aversion to anything associated with camping. These "rooms", however, feel nothing like a trailer. They're large, well designed, have a deck with a grill just off it and the loops are dedicated Cabin only loops so you don't have to put up with the sounds of neighbors backing in & setting up all times of the day. It's like having your very own, well, cabin

The campground is 100% Disney feeling - have no worries There is an internal shuttle bus to bring you to/from the stores, campfire, resteraunts, waterfront and boats to the MK. You can rent bikes, boats and even (for considerable cost) rent a golfcart for the week.

This said however I discourage anyone from staying in them during hurricane season if they don't plan on having a car. Disney will evacuate the campground if a major storm is coming and it'll be near impossible to catch a bus out to the evacuation resort (Port Orleans when we were there) with all your luggage in such a case.

 

[daveb]

We have stayed at evry resort except OKW and my fiancee wants to stay at fw cabins evrytime we go now.We really like the atmosphere its not hotel rushed,you just have to be aware to add the internal bus time to your times.It definetly feels disney.daveb

 

[alicenwonder99]

So far, the cabins are our family's favorite place to stay at WDW. Everything is so relaxing there. We didn't rent a golf cart, but wish we would have. It took a bit longer to get to the parks because we had to wait for an internal loop bus.

The kids liked having the deck to play on, and it was nice having a full kitchen to make breakfast in the morning, and snacks in the evening.

We are definitely going to be staying at the cabins again. We paid around $145 a night during value season the last time we were there (this was with a room-only code).

Mary

 

[TChris]

We stayed in the cains for a week last July and had a great time at FW. We are a family of 5 and rented a golf cart. The only transportation issue was when we went to the BW for dinner. This took a lot longer than the other parks. I would recomend driving to BW if you go. I wish we were going back for a stay this year. Have a great time!

 

[Marie17]

The last 3 times we went to WDW we stayed in the cabins. LOVE them!

Wonderful mousekeeping service - they will load up all the dishes and run the dishwasher while you are gone. Lots of towel animals. If you bar-be-que they will come by sometime during the day and remove the charcoal too!

TV in both the living room and bedroom. You can put the little children to sleep and still be awake without them hearing you or waking them up. Full-size refrigerator, stove, oven, microwave, toaster, coffeemakers with coffee and sugars, silverware, dishes, pots and pans, even papertowels and dishwasher liquid. And a ICE machine in the freezer.

Transportation wasn't a problem for us. We drove to the parks (parking is free when staying on property). You just park your vehicle right outside the "cabin". It was much easier for us.

 

[dizneydiva2005]

Well, here's where we've stayed....

1998~ Ft. Wilderness home

1999~ Ft Wilderness cabin
Wilderness Lodge

2000~ Ft. Wilderness,
OKW,
All Star,
Dixie Landings

2001~ Ft. Wilderness cabins

2002~ Ft. Wilderness cabins

2003~ Ft. Wilderness cabins

2004~ Ft. Wilderness cabins

2005~ 3 trips to Ft. Wilderness cabins

2006~ Ft. Wilderness cabins

..... as you can tell MY family LOVES the cabins. We've tried other resorts but finally just gave into the fact.... we're NOT at Disney UNLESS we're at Ft. wilderness!!!!!! My family won't stay anywhere else. We've tried but Our home away from home is Ft. wilderness.

 

[Swimnoid]

Diehard cabin lovers here. I agree with all of the above. We dont rent a cart and dont feel the need for one but we dont have little kids either.

Allow some extra time for having to take two buses (or bus/boat). Usually one time per trip we will have one long wait and usually it is to MGM. Most of the time transportation is great. We have been at all different times of the year from really crowded to pretty quiet and that never made much of a difference. Transportation from the parks at closing is usually really good too.

LOVE having and ICE machine. I also dont mind cooking on vacation so the kitchen is great for us.

 

[MommaluvsDis]

What is the bed situation? We're thinking about renting a cabin and it will be me, DH, 2 DSs ages 21 and 18 and DS's 19 year old girl friend. What kind of beds and how many are there?

 

[UrsulasShadow]

Double and bunk beds in the bedroom, murphy bed in the living area. Double is too small for DH and me, though (we're used to king bed). If you and your DH are comfortable in a double bed, then the boys can have the bunks, putting the GF out in the other room (and away from temptation, teehee.)

 

[MommaluvsDis]

GF in the other room?.....Sounds good to me!

 

[masters58]

we were just at the cabins last week. There are 5 in our family. We werent totally immersed in Disney, but we really enjoyed ourselves. The cabins were surprisingly roomy for the 5 of us. The only thing Disney-ish in our cabin was the soap and shampoo. When you drive up to the cabin, there is a little porch with a picnic table. Unlock the door and you are in the hallway. To the right is the living room and kitchen (with the pull down bed in the wall, in the living room) There is a bench style table that has a booth like look on one side, three chairs on the other. Yes, the kitchen was fully stocked, but no washer and dryer. To the left of the door is the hallway leading to the bedroom, which contains a full size bed and a set of bunkbeds. We had two TVs in our room, only the one in the living room had a dvd player. The bathroom is right before the bedroom and I was really impressed with the size of it. Nice long counter and normal sized tub. The cabin wasnt screaming Disney, but we liked it because it was quiet and we had a little bit of elbow space in and out of the cabin. We never heard our neighbors.

As for the transportation to the MK or the other parks, we chose to drive each day. We were boarding our dogs at MK Kennel and needed to walk them each day. The lines for the buses never seemed long, but you do have to walk to them to catch them. Also, there is NO parking allowed anywhere at Fort Wilderness except at your cabin and guest check in. So, if you are planning to do any looking around the camp, definitely rent a golf cart. We did not rent one as we spent all day at the parks. We used the pool once as I was doing laundry the night before we left. Luckily, we were near the smaller of the two pools and we were able to walk. In case you want to know--$2 each load of laundry and $2 to dry. I spent $12 and had to buy detergent ($1 a box)

Would we do the cabins again? Yes.

HTH