Disney's FORT WILDERNESS CABINS & CAMPGROUNDS Information & Questions

[aebeauregard]

I have a question too. This may seem obvious but I'm going to throw it out there. We are probably going to rent a golf cart. I know there are many unique golf carts zipping about the resort that are owned by individuals, however, the rental carts can all pretty much look similar. If you rent a golf cart how do you tell them apart? Do they have placards like the rental strollers? I never noticed a placard on them. I don't want to park at the boat dock for instance, and then not know how to know which is mine when I return.

Each cart has a number on it. That's how we most easily could tell them apart.

 

[Mindy5767]

Each cart has a number on it. That's how we most easily could tell them apart.

Maybe I'll bring along some holiday decor for my cart.

 

[aebeauregard]

We are thinking of staying in a cabin this summer. We stayed there a few years ago when they had the Murphy bed and my daughter thought is was comfortable. I read when the did the refurbishment they replaced the Murphy bed and put in a pull out sofa. Is the pull out sofa comfortable? My DH and I were thinking about letting the kids sleep in the room and we would sleep on the sofa bed.

We were there last September in a renovated cabin. My 50+ yr old parents slept on the pull out for 4 nights. They said it was comfortable and didn't complain at all. They did mention it was much better than other pull outs they've used at typical chain hotels.

 

[RubySue]

I have a question too. This may seem obvious but I'm going to throw it out there. We are probably going to rent a golf cart. I know there are many unique golf carts zipping about the resort that are owned by individuals, however, the rental carts can all pretty much look similar. If you rent a golf cart how do you tell them apart? Do they have placards like the rental strollers? I never noticed a placard on them. I don't want to park at the boat dock for instance, and then not know how to know which is mine when I return.

As PP said, the WDW golf carts are numbered. But you can also add decoration as long as it doesn't damage the cart or cause a hazard in any way. We attached a small Italian flag to ours with zip ties. You can tie a colorful bandana or a small plush animal to the cart.

BTW, the golf carts are a lot of fun and come in handy. We were waiting for HDDR arrival night and my grandson realized he hadn't packed contact lens solution. The Settlement store didn't carry any, but the Meadow depot store did. My son just jumped in the golf cart, zoomed to the Meadow store and was back in 10 min. Another day, we got to the boat dock and same grandson had forgotten his park pass (this was pre-magic bands). Again, my son quickly zipped back to the cabin. Golf carts are pricey, but I think they are well worth it.

 

[Mindy5767]

Getting ready to join all of you who love Fort Wilderness May 28-June 3,2017 with a stay in a cabin. Would love to hear any tips you have. There will be me 52, Mom age 82 and 2 22 year olds. We chose the cabins because of having some cooking facilities for the diabetics in our group. I would to hear any tips you veterans have.

Welcome!! You will be going before my first trip to the Fort and even before my next WDW trip. I will be staying in the cabins there for the very first time the week of Thanksgiving this year. However, we'll be there in August staying in a DVC, 2 bedroom villa at Saratoga Springs with friends followed by a stay at Bay Lake Tower in a studio villa. We decided to come back the week of Thanksgiving and didn't have points left for the current use year. We needed a different solution. Our Thanksgiving stay, we'll have myself and my husband, my daughter who will be 15 at the time of travel and my nephew will be with us also. He will be 21. The layout of the cabins works better for us than anything else for that trip. Besides, we've always wanted to stay at Ft. Wilderness. My nephew can either sleep in a bunk bed in the bedroom with us, or if he wants additional privacy, he can sleep on the sofa bed. My sister and her husband will be staying in their RV. They're currently booked at a campground down the road. They stayed at the Fort in October and got evacuated because of the hurricane. They wanted to return, but at 11 months out, it was already sold out . We continue to check for availability every day .

 

[LuvEeyore]

Thanks for the Welcome, Mindy. I am hoping that we will both get some tips from previous Cabin goers. My party is now down to three.
Do we need a golf cart?

 

[G719]

Thanks for the Welcome, Mindy. I am hoping that we will both get some tips from previous Cabin goers. My party is now down to three.
Do we need a golf cart?

You don't need a golf cart. It's up to you if you really want one. The buses run very frequently through the campground. Yes they save you some time and it is especially nice at night when returning from the parks to jump on the cart and be at the cabin in just a few minutes. But renting adds an expense that you may not want. You'll have to weigh those pros and cons and decide. We have rented the cart for our 2 trips to the fort.

 

[Mindy5767]

Thanks for the Welcome, Mindy. I am hoping that we will both get some tips from previous Cabin goers. My party is now down to three.
Do we need a golf cart?

I have an idea. This is what I did when deciding that I do want to rent a cart. I went to google earth. I zoomed in on the campground and looked at the cabin areas and where the Meadows Recreation area and the Settlement Recreation area, as well as other areas are. Then I put googleman down and selected a place and selected "walk" and it told me how long it would take the walk from various areas. I decided that it would be worth it for us because especially at night, or if I'm rushed for any reason, its nice to not have to walk.

Also, the day after Christmas we ate at Trails End for dinner, which we loved by the way, and then decided to walk around the nearest campsite loops to look at all the fabulous holiday decorations that the campers had put up... oh wow..we only were able to get through the 2 loops closest to the Settlement Depot. It took longer to walk through than I thought, and then we were in the way physically as we walked in the road, because there was golf cart traffic constantly coming through. I really at that point, wanted a cart, but then I didn't really want to go to the Outpost to rent one. (my friend who works there was going to be with us with his cart but he ended up with the flu). I decided I'm just going to consider that part of my cost for my Thanksgiving vacation. I want to go through all the loops to see the decorations.

Oh, and don't skip watching the fireworks from the beach. There are patio tables and chairs along the beach/dock area to sit at. They pipe in the music and it is really very lovely. We did that after dinner and it surely sold me on staying here instead of borrowing forward my next years DVC points for our Thanksgiving stay.

 

[UrsulaGirl]

Hi Everyone!!

My husband and I are planning our daughter's first trip this September. We've never stayed at the Fort Wilderness Cabins but have always wanted to. We're thinking of staying at the cabins because they seem like a great value - lots of room for the money. Our very active toddler will enjoy the room to play and explore within the cabin!

A few questions I was hoping to have help with...

Thoughts on the cabins for an 18 month old?
And any one have experience staying here in late September? How are the bugs?
How much is a golf cart rental?
Did you prefer a boat or a bus to MK?

Thanks in advance!

 

[G719]

I have an idea. This is what I did when deciding that I do want to rent a cart. I went to google earth. I zoomed in on the campground and looked at the cabin areas and where the Meadows Recreation area and the Settlement Recreation area, as well as other areas are. Then I put googleman down and selected a place and selected "walk" and it told me how long it would take the walk from various areas. I decided that it would be worth it for us because especially at night, or if I'm rushed for any reason, its nice to not have to walk.

Also, the day after Christmas we ate at Trails End for dinner, which we loved by the way, and then decided to walk around the nearest campsite loops to look at all the fabulous holiday decorations that the campers had put up... oh wow..we only were able to get through the 2 loops closest to the Settlement Depot. It took longer to walk through than I thought, and then we were in the way physically as we walked in the road, because there was golf cart traffic constantly coming through. I really at that point, wanted a cart, but then I didn't really want to go to the Outpost to rent one. (my friend who works there was going to be with us with his cart but he ended up with the flu). I decided I'm just going to consider that part of my cost for my Thanksgiving vacation. I want to go through all the loops to see the decorations.

Oh, and don't skip watching the fireworks from the beach. There are patio tables and chairs along the beach/dock area to sit at. They pipe in the music and it is really very lovely. We did that after dinner and it surely sold me on staying here instead of borrowing forward my next years DVC points for our Thanksgiving stay.

Just to clarify for all readers, you don't have to walk if you don't get a golf cart. There are buses that run through the campground for transportation around the campground. They are frequent and efficient.

 

[aebeauregard]

Hi Everyone!!

My husband and I are planning our daughter's first trip this September. We've never stayed at the Fort Wilderness Cabins but have always wanted to. We're thinking of staying at the cabins because they seem like a great value - lots of room for the money. Our very active toddler will enjoy the room to play and explore within the cabin!

A few questions I was hoping to have help with...

Thoughts on the cabins for an 18 month old?
And any one have experience staying here in late September? How are the bugs?
How much is a golf cart rental?
Did you prefer a boat or a bus to MK?

Thanks in advance!

We went with our 23 month old daughter in September last year. The cabin was great for that age. We loved that there was an actual bedroom to have her nap and sleep while husband and I could stay up and watch TV and relax without worrying about waking her. It was also really nice having a full sized fridge and dishwasher and dishes to use. We could easily have her eat breakfast and snacks and wash sippy cups, pacifiers, etc easily. There was lots of room to spread that stuff out.

We had no issues with bugs. We did wear bug spray for extra Zika protection as we were planning to get pregnant again shortly after our trip. Others in our party who didn't wear extra spray didn't have problems either.

After tax golf carts were $65/day. I would highly suggest one with an 18 month old if you can afford it. It was so nice to not have to depend on the internal bus when we were getting back past nap or bedtime. Also we didn't have to fold up the stroller as often. It made it so much easier to get to the pool or playground or food.

There is not a bus option to the MK from the fort unless for some weather related reason the boats aren't running. The boat ride to MK is fun and doesn't take that long. I love that you get dropped off right in front of the gate. It's a much closer drop off spot than the busses.

 

[G719]

Hi Everyone!!

My husband and I are planning our daughter's first trip this September. We've never stayed at the Fort Wilderness Cabins but have always wanted to. We're thinking of staying at the cabins because they seem like a great value - lots of room for the money. Our very active toddler will enjoy the room to play and explore within the cabin!

A few questions I was hoping to have help with...

Thoughts on the cabins for an 18 month old?
And any one have experience staying here in late September? How are the bugs?
How much is a golf cart rental?
Did you prefer a boat or a bus to MK?

Thanks in advance!

Should be great for your family. It's nice having the extra living space. A big plus is you can put the little one to bed and stay up later. You'll like having the kitchen too I think. Housekeeping will even load the dishwasher for you.

 

[Mindy5767]

Just to clarify for all readers, you don't have to walk if you don't get a golf cart. There are buses that run through the campground for transportation around the campground. They are frequent and efficient.

When my sister has stayed at Ft. Wilderness in her RV, she said that the downside of the buses were that they just take some extra time. If you just happen to "just miss the bus", then you'll have to wait. It would be very helpful too to be able to zip back and forth especially when you get to the bus stop and realize you forgot something. That happens to me all the time. Also, whether or not we feel we need the cart will depend on where the cabin is. One thing I wonder, is if there is an annual pass discount for the cart rental. I'll find out.

 

[G719]

Anybody new to the fort should check out the camping at Disney board too. You can ask questions and there's lots of Fort info on there. You can check out the monthly trip reports with pictures to get you excited about your trip. It's a great place.
https://www.disboards.com/forums/camping-at-disney-world.24/

 

[Mindy5767]

Thanks for the information G719! I did check it out. I also texted my friend who works there and asked about discounts. He said there are no discounts on the golf carts. I'll probably get it for my 2nd through last full day. I may not need it on check-in day. We'll see.

 

[Bob Dolewhip]

Hi Everyone!!

My husband and I are planning our daughter's first trip this September. We've never stayed at the Fort Wilderness Cabins but have always wanted to. We're thinking of staying at the cabins because they seem like a great value - lots of room for the money. Our very active toddler will enjoy the room to play and explore within the cabin!

A few questions I was hoping to have help with...

Thoughts on the cabins for an 18 month old?
And any one have experience staying here in late September? How are the bugs?
How much is a golf cart rental?
Did you prefer a boat or a bus to MK?

Thanks in advance!

Hi!

When my son was 20 months old we stayed in a cabin. It's great because there is a full kitchen and fridge so you can easily make scrambled eggs or whatever toddler food s/he likes for breakfast. There was plenty of space to play and the decor is cute. Both kids loved being in the cabin and the experience of being in the "woods." we always had little frogs and lizards on the deck. There is a lot of open space to play and explore and just hang out at FW.

Our trip was mid October and we had zero problems with bugs. We all preferred to take the boat to MK because for the little ones it is kind of like a ride in itself. I believe the bus is a little closer depending on your loop, but it's usually still Bus to Bus or Bus to Boat.

 

[Kerriowl]

I am staying at the Fort in June for the first time since my first trip to Disney in 1984. We are booked in a cabin. Is there a better loop to request? We will have a car, but will not have a golf cart.

 

[disneydeegs]

Possibly weird question, are the golf cart rentals based on calendar day or 24 hrs (or some other method)? Considering renting one for a day to get around and explore the resort since we won't have a car, but trying to figure out if we would be able to have it overnight or if that would cause us to be charged for two days.

 

[G719]

Possibly weird question, are the golf cart rentals based on calendar day or 24 hrs (or some other method)? Considering renting one for a day to get around and explore the resort since we won't have a car, but trying to figure out if we would be able to have it overnight or if that would cause us to be charged for two days.

You can pick up golf carts at 1 pm at the start of your rental. On your return day, they need to be back by 11 am.

 

[disneydeegs]

You can pick up golf carts at 1 pm at the start of your rental. On your return day, they need to be back by 11 am.

Great, thanks! I just called and reserved one. I'm excited to get out and explore FW!