Camping only....

[Disneylovingprincess]

Do any of you only come to FW to camp? We are thinking of a November trip and either not go into the Parks or just do the VMCP 1 or 2 nights. Any advice on things to do? Will we be disappointed by doing this? Staying in a tight budget....

 

[Shanti]

Do any of you only come to FW to camp? We are thinking of a November trip and either not go into the Parks or just do the VMCP 1 or 2 nights. Any advice on things to do? Will we be disappointed by doing this? Staying in a tight budget....

The whole point of going to Disney World is to visit the parks, so no I wouldn't consider it with no park visit at all. Yes, the resorts are great, including camping at Fort Wilderness, but the resorts are really the gravy of a WDW trip, not the meat & potatoes. There are people who stay at Ft. Wilderness without visiting the parks, but these are mostly older people in comfy RV's, who already visited the parks a ton of times in their youth.

I'd wait & save until we could afford a real trip if my budget was that tight (& it has been so in the past). MK will be right across the lake from Ft. Wilderness, merrily beckoning. You'll hear the fireworks every night, hear horns of the ferries taking guests to and from MK, etc. It would be heartbreaking to be so close yet not be able to go at all.

At the very least, book MVMCP for a couple of nights. Or just stay offsite somewhere cheap, & visit the parks. You can save an onsite trip for when you can really afford it.

 

[kdonnel]

We often have water park only trips. We always bought 10 day non expiring tickets with the water parks and more option. We would always run out of park admission before water park admission.

I would enjoy a trip with no park or water park visits.

 

[2goofycampers]

A completely different opinion here. We have gone to do commando style park visits or sometimes no park visits at all. We and our son actually enjoyed the visit without parks. He loved the time at the Fort doing camping things. We never got bored even for a minute. There are activities everyday at the pool area. Fireworks and EWP at the beach nightly. The campfire/movie nightly. Fishing, tetherball, playgrounds, tennis, basketball, pool, hiking trails, biking trails, horse barn. Our favorite is going thru the loops nightly to see the decorations.

 

[bama_ed]

We have plenty of campers who come in to do the campground only and no park days.

IMO, though, if you are considering a MVMCP night, I sorta count that as a park day (or night as the case may be). Of course it depends on how many days/nights you might be there. It might be tough to fill a 7 night stay with activities but we have a number of folks who do a 2-4 night trip with no parks easily.

I'd even consider a water park day if it was real warm in lieu of a theme park day. I would spend one or two days resort hopping and/or riding transportation, one day over at Disney Springs, one day with Disney putt putt or other entertaining activites. Heck I'd even bowl over at Splitsville just to have something new/different to do.

I'd say go for it.

Bama Ed

 

[amcc]

All our trips to Fort Wilderness have been with no parks and we LOVE them. We've done 4-6 days at a time and my kids don't even ask about the parks. Our days are pretty much bike, pool, pool games, activity (monorail tour, fishing, bike to wilderness lodge, etc) pool, basketball, smores, movie, fireworks. The Fort is a resort and we find we can enjoy it as the primary attraction, however, the parks aren't that important for my kids. You know your children best and if they are going to be upset every day they aren't in the park, then it might not work as well for you. You actually don't mention if you have kids but even if it was just adults, I would still love it for relaxation.

 

[Nan P]

I'd even consider a water park day if it was real warm in lieu of a theme park day. I would spend one or two days resort hopping and/or riding transportation, one day over at Disney Springs, one day with Disney putt putt or other entertaining activites. Heck I'd even bowl over at Splitsville just to have something new/different to do.

We love camping at the Fort, sleeping in late, cooking out, walking the paths, going to visit the stables, the pool, the dog park, etc. We have annual passes and we have been known to vacation for 6 days and only go to the parks one day. We do just what bama_Ed suggested. Lots of disney fun to be had around the area without the parks. With or without the park interaction, Fort Wilderness is a Great Campground!

 

[2buzzboys]

I have gone several times with the kids just to go camping. I do however live local and this was my way the have the kids still do disney while we have been on blackout dates in the summer. I actually enjoy it cause we can focus on activities around the campground and at the pool. We also would do Disney Springs, mini golf and different hotel restaurants. You can still have fun without the parks , but again my kids do Disney all the time so the break was nice.

 

[peg110]

For us, we have a significant investment to just get to the campground, so we have always planned park days. That is not to say that I wouldn't be happy to have a trip with no park days. Since I have kids who love the parks, they are always so excited to do them. Me, I could thoroughly enjoy the campground or even resort hopping (to check out what they all have). So I guess it just depends on what you want.

 

[mich1073]

Since we are close and have APs we normally do not do a ton of parks when we stay at FW. But we are an hour away at most door to door if I4 behaves ok. We actually only ended up at Epcot for maybe an hour and half, meet up with Brother in Law and they never been to the boardwalk. So we left the resort exit and walked over there and then hopped on a bus to MK for the last hour. But 2 days of no parks at all this past 3 day weekend we went.

We have a November trip planned and our APs will be up by then. I am not 100% I am going to renew for a year and let everything be built and then get them again. So most likely in November it will be things like mini-golf, Disney Springs, and maybe do the water park annual passes.. May even get Universal Tickets as I have yet to see Harry Potter, any of it.... Or maybe no parks at all.... And just enjoy myself, we love resort hopping, dole whips and maybe even do a pontoon boat rental for the family. We will see!

 

[MomTo3PrincessesInNJ]

This is actually our plan for Xmas week. I MIGHT get H to cave in and get us all a 1 day MK ticket so the kids can hit their fav rides, but he's pretty set on a NO PARKS trip. For us, it's mainly for the cost. A 1 day MK ticket that week will set us back over $600 for the 5 of us. We've gone to the parks 8 times in the last year and a half (our Annual Passes expired in April and we chose not to renew), and since there's nothing new at MK, even I'm kind of "meh" about it.

For us, we need something to do that week. The kids are off school and my husband and I are lucky enough to earn more vacation time than we could use, so we'd be going SOMEWHERE regardless. And for us, Disney is a cheap vacation. We drive our motor home down (~$500 round trip for gas) and we are paying ~$1,200 for 6 nights of camping, which, when broken down by night, is only slightly more $ than our local Yogi Bear Jellystone Campground during a holiday (and that place isn't half as nice as the Fort). Not that we even have the option to camp in NJ during winter break, but if we did, it wouldn't be a much cheaper vacation. Also, it's another chance to use our RV. Living in the Northeast really limits our camping time.

So, we'll keep ourselves busy with the structured activities at the campground, swimming, fishing, bike riding, go tour the holiday decorations at other resorts, watch the water pageant & fireworks, go to the NYE party on the beach, and we'll have 2 or 3 character meals (mamma needs her Disney fix!). I also plan to make a few trips to Disney Springs since so much has changed there, and on our parks-focused trips we usually skip it.

 

[North of Mouse]

I notice that a lot of folks are relatively local (FL residents = close) that make FW stays for the campground only - no parks!. Like a few others though, after driving 600+ miles to go to Disney, no way would we be content to ride around in the campground, go to the campfire movie, swim, cook, etc. We have nice local campgrounds that have lots of amenities for just the campground ambiance. Granted, FW is very special to us, but we can enjoy it without staying around it all day.

Glad that we can all appreciate it in our own ways, and what works best for each of us. Being relaxed, and enjoying our vacations is the thing that is most important. There are no wrong/right 'one size fits all' vacation plans. So, OP, whatever you decide, just make it 'right' for you - only 'you' know if you will be disappointed!!

 

[peg110]

I agree with North of Mouse. If there were a thousand possible answers, you'd probably get all thousand of them.....

Somehow, I just can't helping thinking about a saying from High School (many moons ago) that while in a different context, is still relevant.

"Some do, some don't. Some will, some won't, I MIGHT!"

Take a chance and if it doesn't work... Try something new.

 

[tltay2005]

We camp at FW three times a year and only do the parks on one visit. The other two trips we enjoy the camp ground and all it has to offer (canoeing, fishing, etc), go play putt putt golf at one of the two Disney courses and go to Disney Springs. Plenty to do other than the parks.