First stay at CFW - lots of questions

[achinforsomebacon]

We have an upcoming stay at CFW (first time ever at Fort Wilderness). I have a few specific questions but welcome any tips you might have.

Pool towels - I understand we need to bring our own to the pool. Do you just get extras from Mousekeeping? Bring your own from home?

Golf cart - while it's annoying having to pay $75 a day and we'll have a car, we figured it would make for a better overall experience. Can you really just leave the cart parked in a designated spot all day? Are there paths to drive on or do you share the road with vehicles?

Fishing - can you bring your own gear or do you have to rent from the resort? If you bring your own, are there designated fishing areas? I've found conflicting info online. Can you buy bait if you bring your own poles?

Campfire - from what I can tell, you have to provide your own marshmallows and sticks (still true?). Can you use the metal 2 pronged sticks or do they have to be wooden/non-pointy? We have the extendable metal ones that would be easy to pack.

Activities - are there any specific activities worth doing (kayaks, canoes, archery, horseback riding)?

Insects - should we pack bug spray?

We've stayed at most of the other DVC resorts and have a list of essentials. Anything we should bring to the cabins that we wouldn't need at the other DVC resorts?

 

[zackiedawg]

We have an upcoming stay at CFW (first time ever at Fort Wilderness). I have a few specific questions but welcome any tips you might have.

Pool towels - I understand we need to bring our own to the pool. Do you just get extras from Mousekeeping? Bring your own from home?

You just bring the ones in the cabin when going to the pool. You can request more from Mousekeeping if needed.

Golf cart - while it's annoying having to pay $75 a day and we'll have a car, we figured it would make for a better overall experience. Can you really just leave the cart parked in a designated spot all day? Are there paths to drive on or do you share the road with vehicles?

The golf carts share the same roads with the vehicles - though speed limits are slow, so it's not like riding on city streets with 50mph cars buzzing around. The carts can access certain areas when heading to parking, pools, etc - and have designated parking areas by the Trading Post, Oasis, bus stops, boat dock, and Settlement. Yes - once you park the cart, it can stay there all day...it's first-come-first-serve, but most of the areas have pretty substantial parking (the boat dock parking area can accommodate maybe 30 carts, but just a hundred feet away is the main Settlement cart parking lot that can handle 100 or so).

When on the road, if you feel like you're all by yourself with a car right behind you going slow - you can just pull off to the side to let them by. But honestly, it rarely happens with the speed limits so slow and often multiple carts all following each other.

Fishing - can you bring your own gear or do you have to rent from the resort? If you bring your own, are there designated fishing areas? I've found conflicting info online. Can you buy bait if you bring your own poles?

I don't have any experience with fishing there.

Campfire - from what I can tell, you have to provide your own marshmallows and sticks (still true?). Can you use the metal 2 pronged sticks or do they have to be wooden/non-pointy? We have the extendable metal ones that would be easy to pack.

The chuck wagon has Smores kits with marshmallows you can buy - or you bring your own.

Activities - are there any specific activities worth doing (kayaks, canoes, archery, horseback riding)?

Whether they're worth doing is your call of course - the canoes are a fun way to blow an hour of the day, and the horseback seems reasonably popular (guided rides along designated woods trails). The archery is very kid-oriented - never tried it myself.

Insects - should we pack bug spray?

Strange as it seems, bugs don't seem to be too much of an issue at Disney - even in Fort Wilderness. I've stayed in summer, rainy season, spring, and fall, and spent time out on the deck day and evening, and never had a problem with mosquitoes - occasional flying bugs depending on the season such as a bee, fly, or lovebug might be around, or the occasional beetle drawn to the lights at night. If you're extremely sensitive, you could pack bug spray just to be safe - and typically the stores at Disney sell Off! as well.

We've stayed at most of the other DVC resorts and have a list of essentials. Anything we should bring to the cabins that we wouldn't need at the other DVC resorts?

Though most resorts have grills for cookouts, it's probably most convenient to do at the Cabins, since every cabin has a grill right there by the deck in your front yard. So I find more people tend to bring BBQ foods and supplies when staying there than probably any other resort on property. If cookouts are your thing, bring charcoal, or buy some at a nearby grocery store - it's much cheaper than buying it at Fort Wilderness in the tiny little expensive bags they sell.

 

[achinforsomebacon]

You just bring the ones in the cabin when going to the pool. You can request more from Mousekeeping if needed.



The golf carts share the same roads with the vehicles - though speed limits are slow, so it's not like riding on city streets with 50mph cars buzzing around. The carts can access certain areas when heading to parking, pools, etc - and have designated parking areas by the Trading Post, Oasis, bus stops, boat dock, and Settlement. Yes - once you park the cart, it can stay there all day...it's first-come-first-serve, but most of the areas have pretty substantial parking (the boat dock parking area can accommodate maybe 30 carts, but just a hundred feet away is the main Settlement cart parking lot that can handle 100 or so).

When on the road, if you feel like you're all by yourself with a car right behind you going slow - you can just pull off to the side to let them by. But honestly, it rarely happens with the speed limits so slow and often multiple carts all following each other.



I don't have any experience with fishing there.



The chuck wagon has Smores kits with marshmallows you can buy - or you bring your own.



Whether they're worth doing is your call of course - the canoes are a fun way to blow an hour of the day, and the horseback seems reasonably popular (guided rides along designated woods trails). The archery is very kid-oriented - never tried it myself.




Strange as it seems, bugs don't seem to be too much of an issue at Disney - even in Fort Wilderness. I've stayed in summer, rainy season, spring, and fall, and spent time out on the deck day and evening, and never had a problem with mosquitoes - occasional flying bugs depending on the season such as a bee, fly, or lovebug might be around, or the occasional beetle drawn to the lights at night. If you're extremely sensitive, you could pack bug spray just to be safe - and typically the stores at Disney sell Off! as well.



Though most resorts have grills for cookouts, it's probably most convenient to do at the Cabins, since every cabin has a grill right there by the deck in your front yard. So I find more people tend to bring BBQ foods and supplies when staying there than probably any other resort on property. If cookouts are your thing, bring charcoal, or buy some at a nearby grocery store - it's much cheaper than buying it at Fort Wilderness in the tiny little expensive bags they sell.

Wow! Thanks for all the great info!

Now I just need to find someone with some info on fishing.