Campfire Sing-a-long???

[tmclanton]

I am thinking about doing the Campfire Sing-a-long with my son on our last night. I have a couple of questions?

1. What time will the Campfire part with the singing start in May? (We will not be staying for the movie) How long does it take to do it all before the movie?

2. What time will the movie start?

3. Afterwards, we will be taking a Wishes cruise from WL. What is the best, and fastest, way to get there?

4. We have to be at the WL dock by 9:15 at the latest. What time would we need to leave the campground to get to the dock in time... we can't be late!

TIA!

 

[Tink888]

Not sure of the hours. From the post it sounded like you were staying at WL - if so, they should have the campfire times, etc for the time that you will be there. You can also try calling Ft. Wilderness directly.

My suggestion, if you have a time commitment on the evening you were thinking of going, would be to go to the campfire another night. We have been there and had a lot of fun. The problem though is getting there. If I remember correctly and assuming your coming from the WL by boat, they'll let you off at the main stop (where Hoop de Doo is - the busses let off here as well). From there you then have to hop on another bus that travels exclusively within the camp area to get to the campfire. Because of the wait times with transportation, I don't know if I'd chance this when you've got a cruise to be at. Getting around Ft. Wilderness can be really confusing if you aren't familiar with it. JMO

Also, depending on where your staying, there are now some other resorts that offer a paired-down version of the campfire (no characters, smaller) POR has a campfire on certain nights behind the main pool where you can make s'mores and sing songs that is run by a CM.

 

[andee515]

We are also planning on attending the campfire and had a couple ? too...

1) we are staying at the poly, can we get there without driving and how long will it take?

2) I thought we could do the early Hoop Dee Doo and be done in time for the camfire, what is the chance of that?

Thanks!

 

[Tink888]

From the Poly, take the monorail to MK and transfer to the boat that goes to Ft. Wilderness. We've been there in Jan and done the early Hoop-de-doo and gone to the campfire afterwards. See my earlier post, it can be done if you don't get lost. Ask the drivers where you need to go.

 

[tmclanton]

Is it possible to get a Taxi anywhere near the Campfire??? Maybe I could just hop a cab over to WL and get to the dock more quickly! Of course I am doubting this is an option... that would be too easy!

 

[tmclanton]

Also, what is the timing of the campfire, Ie.. how long does the hotdogs, smores... take. When do Chip and Dale come out... how long are they out. When is the singing? How long does that take? Maybe we can go and stay from 7:30-8:15 and that would give us an hour to get to the docks at WL. Is that enough time?

 

[bama_ed]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1765736

If you posted this on the DisBoards Camping forum, you would get your answers. The thread above shows the movie list and times for April. Schedules are usually available around the first of each month for that month only.

Starting time varies thru the year and Daylight Savings Time. In winter it starts at 7 pm, summer at 8pm, link above shows 7:30 for this time of year.

There are 1 or 2 campfires to the sides to roast marshmellows or hotdogs. There is a covered wagon (refreshment stand) behind the bleachers that sells small bags of marshmellows, sticks, s'mores fixin's plus the usually coffee, cokes, and snacks. The prices are very reasonable for the marshmellows stuff....

The singalong starts with a song or two - then Chip and Dale come out for their intro and then they circulate among the crowd signing autographs and posing for pictures, etc. The nice thing is you can be patient because they won't leave until they've visited everyone (you'll get one or the other). This usually takes 15-30 minutes. Songs continue and you can keep roasting anytime.

There is a boat that runs between WL, FW, and CR plus busses between FW and WL. Also, the 5pm Hoop Dee Doo lets out right at 7pm so you can walk or catch an internal FW bus to the middle of the campground where the campfire is. For the Poly take the monorail to the Contemporary then go down to the dock to get the aforementioned boat.

The movie starts about 45-60 min after the singalong started depending on how much time C&D take. As far as having to be someplace at a particular time, it depends on if you get to the dock right BEFORE the boat leaves (and you walk on) or AFTER it leaves (and you have to wait 15 min for the next one. I'd leave the campfire at least 45 min before having to be back at WL.

Finally, the Camping Forum board has a sticky posting that shows each month's movies and start times. We love the sing-along/campfire - it has a cult following including me.

enjoy-
Bama ED

 

[Tink888]

To answer your first question - I'm pretty sure that you can't take a cab from the campfire. The way Ft. Wilderness is set up is that you could drive, take a cab or the Ft. Wilderness bus or boat to the main outpost (which is where Hoop-de-doo, petting zoo, pony and hayrides are at). Unless you are staying at a campsite or cabin, the only way to get back there is by the internal bus. Which is understandable so that the people camping can get the full experience that camping has to offer without having to worry about a lot of traffic and noise. Ft Wilderness is also huge. The transportation at Disney is so hit and miss - you could catch a bus right away or get stuck waiting twenty minutes. Add to that that the Ft. Wilderness bus system is just really confusing. If you've been there before it's not too bad, but if not, it's hard to make sense of it.

As for the campfire itself, we've gone once in Jan and once in Oct. They can't start the movie until dusk since they're outside, so depending on when you go I think the times vary. Basically, I think they do about an hour of the sing-a-long. CM's start the show. There's a small stage up front, with log-bench seating and bleacher seating in the back. There's a chuck wagon where you purchase the marshmallows, hot dogs and sticks. There's a medium sized fire-pit off to the side where probably fifteen to twenty kids can fit around to roast their marshmallows. You could watch the show and walk back & forth to roast your marshmallows. About half-way through, they bring out Chip & Dale and they finish the sing-a-long. I don't remember being able to get autographs or individual pics or anything with the characters. Once the show is over (it's dark at this point) they start the movie. It really is a nice experience, kind of off the beaten path and we all enjoyed it.

I just know that given the logistics of getting there and out, I wouldn't do it if I had any time constraints. Ft. Wilderness has a slow down, stop and smell the roses atmosphere (which is part of what made the sing-a-long so nice). I hate to discourage you - I'm just being honest and having been there and dealing with the busses I'd hate to see anything go wrong with your cruise as that is an experience you definately don't want to miss. The one thing I have learned about Disney is that if there is someplace you have to be, don't rush it and allow yourself time to get there - if you do it's almost sure to backfire. "Disney's Murphy's Law".

 

[tmclanton]

Tink~
I think you are absolutely correct! I don't want to risk it and I hate being rushed. I am going to move the sing-a-long to the night we do the HDDR at 5:00. After the sing-a-long (not the movie) we will go back to the hotel and be in bed before 10:00!

Now I just need to figure out some place fun to eat on our last night before the cruise. I currently have LTT ADR, but I really don't think I want to go to a park that night... I think it will be too crowded with Memorial Day crowds arriving! Any suggestions! (We are already eating at WCC and CM during our trip!)

Thanks,
Tammy

 

[SandrA9810]

Ok they've made it a lot harder than it needs to be.

The bus is your better bet. There is a bus that runs between FW and WL. Once it enters the settlement it turns into the orange route that goes directly to the campire. It's also a shorter walk from the orange side than from the yellow side because you don't have to go past the pool and other things. Once you're done just hop back on the orange bus and let the driver know you're going back to WL. During the slower months sometimes they will only run one bus on the orange route, but during busier times they will run two busses, May being busier. And when you get back to WL run to the back, it's much faster than the boat. And as long as the campire starts at about 7:40 you should be good, but I'd leave about a half hour early.

 

[SandrA9810]

And by the way, cabs are not allowed in the campground, they can drop you off at WL by the lobby or at the Outpost, but they can't go any further.

 

[HappyDznyCamper]

Ok they've made it a lot harder than it needs to be.

The bus is your better bet. There is a bus that runs between FW and WL. Once it enters the settlement it turns into the orange route that goes directly to the campire. It's also a shorter walk from the orange side than from the yellow side because you don't have to go past the pool and other things. Once you're done just hop back on the orange bus and let the driver know you're going back to WL. During the slower months sometimes they will only run one bus on the orange route, but during busier times they will run two busses, May being busier. And when you get back to WL run to the back, it's much faster than the boat. And as long as the campire starts at about 7:40 you should be good, but I'd leave about a half hour early.

Yeah!! Someone else gets the whole orange route WL thing. It really is much faster than the boat.
When heading back to WL though keep in mind you want the Orange Settlment bus, not Outpost(Outpost will add about 10 min to your trip as it will loop around and then come back as a Settlment bus)

 

[Tink888]

Tink~
I think you are absolutely correct! I don't want to risk it and I hate being rushed. I am going to move the sing-a-long to the night we do the HDDR at 5:00. After the sing-a-long (not the movie) we will go back to the hotel and be in bed before 10:00!

Now I just need to figure out some place fun to eat on our last night before the cruise. I currently have LTT ADR, but I really don't think I want to go to a park that night... I think it will be too crowded with Memorial Day crowds arriving! Any suggestions! (We are already eating at WCC and CM during our trip!)

Thanks,
Tammy

Hi Tammy,

Ohana's at Poly is very nice. Dinner is served family-style and they have coconut races for the kids. We've been here twice and enjoyed it. The only negative I can think of is both times we had to wait about 25 mintues past our ADR, but that wouldn't keep me from going back.

1900 Park Fare at GF has a character dinner buffet. The food was very good and there was a nice selection. When we ate there they had Cinderella, PC and the mice.

Hope you are your family have a wonderful vacation!