Carriage Ride Ft Wilderness or Port Orleans?

[OHIOVACATIONER]

Looking to do a carriage ride with 2 kids and trying to decide which one of these would be better for kids? We did Ft. Wilderness once during the christmas season and it was quite nice but wondering what there is to see for the kids in June. We are staying at GF so guessing that one would be the closest. Is it better to go as it is getting dark?

 

[patty57]

Tacking on a question to this post. Do the carriages go into any of the camping loops to see Halloween, or Christmas decorations?

 

[Disneypeach]

Yes, the Fort carriages go thru a couple of loops during the holidays. Lots of fun!

 

[OHIOVACATIONER]

Tacking on a question to this post. Do the carriages go into any of the camping loops to see Halloween, or Christmas decorations?

Yes it does and it is absolutely beautiful. We did that a couple of years ago at Christmas and it was nice although if I did again I would go a little later because not all of the decorations was up yet but still beautiful.

 

[OHIOVACATIONER]

I know you can boat over to Fort Wilderness from MK but from the GF how do you get to NewOrleans and how long does it take? It's our first day there and wanted to be back to the GF before fireworks. Although this is in June so Fireworks may be later. Do they have fireworks and the water parade every night?

 

[Wood Nymph]

I know you can boat over to Fort Wilderness from MK but from the GF how do you get to NewOrleans and how long does it take? It's our first day there and wanted to be back to the GF before fireworks. Although this is in June so Fireworks may be later. Do they have fireworks and the water parade every night?

You would go to Magic Kingdom to get the bus to Port Orleans Riverside (POR). Then you would have to take the bus back to MK and then walk, boat or monorail back to GF. It would take a lot longer to go to POR than it would be to go to FW.

Fireworks are nightly and at 9:20pm in June. The Electric Water Pageant runs every night, weather permitting.

 

[yorkieteacher]

If you take the ride at Ft. Wilderness, you can walk over a see the horses at the Tri Circle D barn. It is a beautiful and amazing facility. It includes a memorabilia room filled with things showcasing Walt’s love of horses. No cost! You might also include the nightly Chip and Dale campfire singalong, it’s free also.

 

[Marthasor]

Especially on your first day, it would be far more convenient to do this at Ft. W. Depending on how early you check in, you could make a nice day out of it with a stable visit (if your kids are small enough, they can take pony rides - just check the times of the stable as they seem to close at 5 pm typically). You could rent kayaks/canoes, have a meal at the Ft. W QS which is quite good, IMHO. Do some fishing, gem mining, etc.

 

[OHIOVACATIONER]

We decided on Fort Wilderness and on our last night not the first so that will not as rushed unfortunately the earliest carriage we could get is 7:00. If we get there in time to see the ponies which closes at 5;00 is there enough to do for kids to fill the time from 5-7? What time is the chip and dale sing a long? If we boat from GF to FW does it take you close to where the ponies would be? Also is the ponies and Carriage located in the same area. Sorry for all the questions and thank you in advance. Unfamiliar with FW.

 

[bama_ed]

We decided on Fort Wilderness and on our last night not the first so that will not as rushed unfortunately the earliest carriage we could get is 7:00. If we get there in time to see the ponies which closes at 5;00 is there enough to do for kids to fill the time from 5-7? If we boat from GF to FW does it take you close to where the ponies would be? Also is the ponies and Carriage located in the same area. Sorry for all the questions and thank you in advance. Unfamiliar with FW.

There is a nice kids playground down near where the carriage rides start from (between the Settlement Trading Post and the Trails End/Crockett's Tavern buildings).

Here's a photo to help.



Boating into the Fort drops you at the marina dock at the top of this pic to the right of where teh white beach sand ends at the top. The red circles are where you get the carriage ride. The blue circles is the playground I spoke of. I had a camping site in loop 100 (closest to this area) and I could hear the 'squeak-squeak-squeak' of the swings at that playground. The kids will love it.

Different picture a little further south. The red thin line is the Settlement Playground again.


The blue circle area in the second picture is the new Tri-Circle-D-Ranch horse barn where the MK, FW, and ponies are kept. You can walk thru some stalls during open hours. The thick red line is the pony ride track (the parent leads the pony with the kid in the saddle - trust me, the pony knows the route so it's not hard parental duty). Small fee for the pony ride.

Now that we're in daylight savings time, the campfire singalong starts at 8pm. Songs at 8, movie starts about 830-840p. I will post that schedule.

Good luck on wherever you decide to take your ride.

Bama Ed

PS - maybe visit Chip & Dale? See the blurb at the end of my thread here in post #1:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/may-2025-fort-wilderness-movie-and-recreation-calendar.3966806/

 

[OHIOVACATIONER]

There is a nice kids playground down near where the carriage rides start from (between the Settlement Trading Post and the Trails End/Crockett's Tavern buildings).

Here's a photo to help.

View attachment 961688

Boating into the Fort drops you at the marina dock at the top of this pic to the right of where teh white beach sand ends at the top. The red circles are where you get the carriage ride. The blue circles is the playground I spoke of. I had a camping site in loop 100 (closest to this area) and I could hear the 'squeak-squeak-squeak' of the swings at that playground. The kids will love it.

Different picture a little further south. The red thin line is the Settlement Playground again.

View attachment 961693
The blue circle area in the second picture is the new Tri-Circle-D-Ranch horse barn where the MK, FW, and ponies are kept. You can walk thru some stalls during open hours. The thick red line is the pony ride track (the parent leads the pony with the kid in the saddle - trust me, the pony knows the route so it's not hard parental duty). Small fee for the pony ride.

Now that we're in daylight savings time, the campfire singalong starts at 8pm. Songs at 8, movie starts about 830-840p. I will post that schedule.

Good luck on wherever you decide to take your ride.

Bama Ed

PS - maybe visit Chip & Dale? See the blurb at the end of my thread here in post #1:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/may-2025-fort-wilderness-movie-and-recreation-calendar.3966806/

Thank you so much this helps alot. So where the MK boat drops us off at FW is not too much of a walk to the carriage rides? Thanks again for the pictures.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

We did POR's a couple of times. Our DD's loved that we brought Welch's sparkling grape juice and plastic champagne flutes for the ride. They said they felt like princesses as they were sipping on their drinks. Soda like 7Up will work as well. Also, feel free to talk with the driver, they can have some interesting stories or insights.