First ever trip report--How I fell in love w/ the Fort--NEW STUFF

[Bourquefam]

I have to admit that when I first read the posts on here about the fort---I thought everyone was insane! How could it be so nice that you'd even consider for a moment staying there instead of a resort? As it was, my husband had to convince me to even buy a camper (and that took 2 years of steady begging), but, alas I had fallen in love w/ camping (though NOT roughing it). But for our annual Disney vacation???? We'd always rented big homes with swimming pools out back and saved a bundle. The price would come out to be about the same, but did I really want to camp??? I finally relented and put my type A personality to work & began reading everything I could about this "fort" that everyone seemed to love.

Our road trip was pretty smooth. We got super excited and ended up leaving out at 630pm Thursday night (3-25), instead of waiting until Friday morning. THAT was soooo smart of us. Typically we're too excited to sleep the night before we leave and so we toss and turn and end up looking at each other at 2 or 3 and saying, "Want to scoop the kids up and leave now?" And we do and we're all happy----UNTIL----we get tired...exhausted, even! And we have to stop---and that puts us further behind----or we push through and whine and snap at each other. THAT is NOT how a trip to Disney is supposed to start, right???? Sooooooo, leaving Thursday night and driving about 5 hours or so---gave us time to burn some excitement, get a head start, and still get a good night's rest.

Now I had done my homework (via the Disboards site) and was an unofficial expert on all things Fort Wilderness. I had rented the golf cart from Kenny w/ Tee times and he actually called my cell on the last leg of our drive in to touch base. What a nice, genuine guy!!! My husband is a former cast member and very familiar with the area, so he was a little surprised when I suggested we take a route that I'd read about during my research. I was nervous that I'd get us lost and get a raised eyebrow look from him, but nope----we bypassed so much traffic that my hubby was very impressed! Before you knew it, we had Disney signs and MK gates popping up right in front of us. When we saw the Fort Wilderness entrance, I'm sure we were a sight to see---faces pressed against the windows, wide-eyed trying to take in EVERYTHING all at once. AAAHHHHH----I think I heard angels singing! I remember thinking, "this looks just like all of the pictures I saw on the disboard site!" 5 minute stop to get our packet and away we went to loop 700, site 711. We LOVED it!

More to come...

 

[Bourquefam]

After quickly getting settled we ventured over to the pool and, though it was cold, we took a dip and then warmed up in the hot tub! Soon it was time to grab some dinner at the camper---YUM! Maw Maw had cooked us a delicious garlic roast w/ rice & gravy to bring along and we devoured it! Aint nothing like homemade Cajun cookin', ya'll! Before we knew it, it was time for the campfire sing-a-long and dessert---s'mores, ofcourse.

What a blast---not to mention my heart was so full because my kids faces registered a thousand kinds of happiness! This was a new way to experience Disney and I was falling in love all over again!

The next morning we fully intended to make rope drop. Sorry, not gonna happen. My hubby and I got up around 630 and grabbed our coffee and headed outside. Wow, so this is what everyone on the disboard was referring to. Yes, I am IN. Yes, hubby you were right! No, I don't want to stay at the Grand Floridian anymore. I am a self-proclaimed Fort Fiend and it's only day 2! Ha!

But on to more important things...roused the kids and headed to the dock to catch a boat to MK. So stinkin' convenient and pleasant. "Look---River Country, I read all about that," I tell my husband. I'm sure people thought I was a tour guide as I recounted everything I could about it and the bird sanctuary and the ppl who swam over to the island from the Fort and what they discovered and saw, etc. All facts I learned right here, folks.
But I need to get on with it, right??? Ok, so as this was the week before Easter, we knew it was going to be crowded. Fortunately, we've been enough times that we decided early on we would not stress or be "some of those people" at Disney who race around stressed out, and would instead do things we'd never taken time to do and hit our favorites. I'm not going to give a play by play of each day because I'm sure you all would be bored to tears (if you're not already), but here are the highlights of our trip: We caught Story Time w/ Belle for the 1st time and my husband and son were chosen as the Beast and Gaston!

More to come...

 

[Bourquefam]

Sweet daughter was sad b/c SHE was dressed as Belle and didn't get to do anything, but Belle saved the day at the meet and greet afterwards by whispering sweet stuff to my Sophie and taking lots of pics with her.

Another first was the Kim Possible thing at Epcot. Yes, it took a lot of time, but the kids loved it and my husband and I took advantage of a beer in England when they first started, followed by several yummy frozen drinks in France.

We did the Hoop De Doo Revue for the first time---the food was amazing, mood was light and the sangria was cold. Somehow we started getting silly with spoons---much to the amusement of those around us. Don't worry. We weren't disruptive (i don't think), but boy, did we laugh!

We went to Blizzard Beach (another first)---

And we just had an amazing time---

 

[jsmla]

Hi neighbor!

We're planning on driving part way next month. Do you mind telling me where you stopped? Right now I'm thinking about the KOA in Chattahoochee just west of Tallahassee but not sure.

The kids don't look excited at all

Jennifer

 

[Bourquefam]

There's so many reasons that I fell in love with the fort. I didn't think I would, but once I got there---I was just entranced. The spell of Fort Wilderness was cast and I was forever mesmerized by: deer in our backyard (really!!!), the cleanest bathhouses I've ever come across, watching my kids play on the beach w/ MK fireworks in the background,

Chip 'n Dale's campfire, the ease of riding the boats to MK and Contemporary to catch the Monorail, the sweet vibe of other campers who are always so gracious with their smiles/ conversation/ absolutely anything they can help with, being able to tuck my kids into the bunkhouse and then crack open a bottle of wine and sit outside with my hubby recounting the memories we'd just created w/ our sweet kids, the rustic look of the buildings and benches with all of the gorgeous greenery. I could go on and on. I discovered a whole new world at Fort Wilderness and I'll never be the same because of it!!!!

Thanks for reading! Please feel free to ask any questions or for more pics! I'm sorry the pics are so big---I'm learning.

 

[anolefan]

Another TR, woot!

I understand your feelings towards the Fort. Our first trip was Aug. 09 and the whole family became "addicted". You can't really describe it to someone who has never been there but for those that have been, they all know the feeling.

Great job!

 

[Bourquefam]

Hey Baton Rouge!!! We stopped at Pensacola RV Park. Next time we'll drive further because we were there before we knew it, but it was a really nice park. Great night lighting w/ big pull through sites and super easy to get back on the road the next morning! Cracker Barrel and Waffle House very close by too!

On our way back we had planned to stay at Big Oak RV Park in Tallahassee, based on the positive reviews on rvparkreviews.com. We were making such good time though that we just kept on going and spent the night at Pensacola RV park again!!!!

For our trip next year, we will probably leave at 2pm when kids get out of school and try to get atleast 8 hours driving in. Any tips on where we can stay would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Great job!

I love the pics!!

Especially your DD with Chip!

And the kids on the beach with the fireworks in the background!!

Good times!

TCD

 

[KimIce]

The Fort is Awesome...once you stay there you will be hooked!!
How did you figure out how to upload the pictures?
I agree the picture with the fireworks and the kids is a good one.

 

[doombuqqy]

Hey we live in Pensacola.....Enjoying the TR

 

[Bourquefam]

Thanks everybody! I'm going to post more pics---because I just can't help but sharing how much fun we had there. You all are right---there's no way to do the Fort justice when describing it to friends---but once you experience it, I don't know how you can be utterly and desperately hooked for life!!!!!

Kim---I watched a video tutorial on this site on how to add pics. Try searching "video tutorials". Basically all you do is open a new window (while having disboards minimized) and go to photobucket.com. Create a log-in if you don't already have one and then upload your pics on to that site. Once you do that you will see that each pic has "code". You have to click on the bottom code (can't remember what it's called, but the video tutorial will show you). After that you simply paste the code in your message thread and voila---review your post and your picture will appear!

 

[Bourquefam]

ooops, I meant "I don't know how you CAN'T be utterly and desperately hooked for life!"

 

[Bourquefam]

Somebody's gonna have to stop me because I'm hooked on this site!!! I just looked at all of our Disney pics from our first Fort trip and remembered another first---breakfast at Cinderella's castle!

We decided to do that on our last day----got the idea from this site actually. It was the perfect way to say good bye to Disney---much better than rolling out of bed and hitting the road. Sweet daughter and I had breakfast in the castle while Daddy and DS had breakfast at Chef Mickey's. Sophie and I stopped at one of the sweet shops on Main Street on our way out and bought 2 huge bags of treats for friends using our leftover Disney Dining Plan snack credits! It was a surreal experience because we had so many credits that we, literally, were just pointing to every single thing we wanted!!!! WoooooHooooo--I liked that! Once we had used all of our credits, I lugged the two huge bags out to the monorail where we met DH and DS at Epcot for one last ride on Test Track (for boys) and Finding Nemo (for girls). Hubby lugged the bags back and we reluctantly bid adieu to the Fort.

 

[CooperPrincesses]

Great trip report, love your photos. Keep um coming, I love looking at other's trips and gettind ideas, while "patiently" *cough* waiting for our 1st trip to the Fort in October.

 

[ftwildernessrick]

Hey Baton Rouge!!! We stopped at Pensacola RV Park. Next time we'll drive further because we were there before we knew it, but it was a really nice park. Great night lighting w/ big pull through sites and super easy to get back on the road the next morning! Cracker Barrel and Waffle House very close by too!

On our way back we had planned to stay at Big Oak RV Park in Tallahassee, based on the positive reviews on rvparkreviews.com. We were making such good time though that we just kept on going and spent the night at Pensacola RV park again!!!!

For our trip next year, we will probably leave at 2pm when kids get out of school and try to get atleast 8 hours driving in. Any tips on where we can stay would be greatly appreciated!!!

I know I have further to drive than you, but this is the RV park we stay at if we leave after work (5 or 6 o'clock). It is about 250 miles from Baton Rouge (East of Pensacola) and all the sites are wide pull throughs.

http://gulfpinesrv.com/facilities.html

Also, one of my favorite gas stops is the Flying J on I-10 at exit 192 (Hwy 90), just West of Tallahassee. If you are going East on I-10 & exit, turn left to go back under the interstate. Flying J is on the left. The station has RV pumps that are separate from the others on the right side. Makes it a lot easier to access & get out.

 

[medic9016]

Great TR. Very nice pictures.

 

[DaveInTN]

Another one is hooked!!!

Great pics...please share more.

 

[Bourquefam]

I know I have further to drive than you, but this is the RV park we stay at if we leave after work (5 or 6 o'clock). It is about 250 miles from Baton Rouge (East of Pensacola) and all the sites are wide pull throughs.

http://gulfpinesrv.com/facilities.html

Also, one of my favorite gas stops is the Flying J on I-10 at exit 192 (Hwy 90), just West of Tallahassee. If you are going East on I-10 & exit, turn left to go back under the interstate. Flying J is on the left. The station has RV pumps that are separate from the others on the right side. Makes it a lot easier to access & get out.

Rick,
Thanks for the info about Flying J!!! I'm definitely going to make a note of that!
Alice'

 

[Minnie&Mickey]

Great trip report! I love your pictures. Your daughter looks like a little princess eating in the castle!

 

[kazlac4]

Great trip report..It's funny, but I know exactly how you feel when you said your "heart was happy" watching the happiness on your kid's faces. We had been to Disney many times in the past but last year was our first time at the Fort. We, like you, became immediately hooked! We will be back down in early November (and hopefully next June too!). Once again, great report!