Fort First Timer, Advice Needed

[jlomama]

We are surprising the kiddos with a camping trip to Disney this Christmas. Anyone have any ideas of how to surprise them? They will be 7, 10, and 20. We are leaving Kansas City on December 29th headed to a beach (tbd) on the gulf side of Florida. Anyone know of any campgrounds within a few hours of Disney but on the beach? We will stay there 3 nights and then head to the Fort.

I do have some questions about the Fort...

How long does it take to get to the parks and what is the best way to travel. Bus vs. Ferry to monorail?

Are the shower houses easily accessible and clean? I'm sure they are, it's Disney but just wanted some input! Are there lines for the shower houses? With 5 of us, I think it will be much quicker to go that route than to try and use the camper shower.

What is the weather like the first week in January? What about the crowds? Probably going to get a 5 day, park hopper pass. Is this enough time to cover most? Plus we'd like to spend a day at Universal Studios.

Can we take sack lunches into the parks each day?

Thanks for your input, we are getting excited!

 

[angelmom27]

It will be our first time at the Fort at Christmas too. I can answer a few of your questions. As for the surprise idea since you will be staying at a beach in FL you could have a treasure hunt. The showers from what I have read on here and the pics I have seen are very clean. You should still use flip flops while in the shower and spray the floor with some lysol to help prevent athletes foot. The lines I am not too sure about. I know that the time you are going is going to be packed and will reach full capacity most days. So the park hopping might be impossible to do. I am sure you guys can do all the parks in that time. You are allowed to bring in a sac lunch. You can bring in a soft sided cooler into the parks. The transportation to get to the parks. I know the ferry to the MK is faster and I would think taking the ferry to MK and then jumping on the monorail to Epcot would be fast too. I think the bus is the only way to get to HS and AK. Also the weather is very unpredictable here in FL. This past winter there was not one. We had very few nice cool days they were mostly hot. But the winter before it was freezing literally. There were days we woke up to ice on our windshields. I would say just wait til closer to your trip and see what the weather reports are like. Cause there is never any predicting FL winters.

 

[retired and happy]

I don't know anything about camping on the Gulf Coast, but google florida campgrounds and you should get lots to choose from. Winter might be harded to book because of the snowbirds all over the state. (Hope you already havr Fort ressies.)

Comfort Stations (CS) are convenient and clean, heated or cooled as necessary. Four showers per women and men sides with a laundry between ($2.00 per washer, $2.00 per dryer). Also ice dispenser outside, also $2.00 per bag. There is ice inside the two trading posts also which is a larger bag, and colder.

Parks will be somewhat full that week, but not as crushing as the Christmas-New Years week. I like boat to MK, mono to EPCOT (although the ferry from MK to TTC is a nice diversion, then mono onto EPCOT. Usually bus to HS and AK. I'd say park hopping is do-able, especially if you get to a park and don't much care for it. There are busses between all parks and many resorts, including the Fort.

We always carry food in for our kids, then we buy more than we need at the counter service places. Our son knows all the places to eat, and he is special needs.

 

[blessedwithfour]

What an exciting trip for your family! We are a family of six so we always use the bath houses. Always clean but we do the flip flop thing as well. Never any lines and we've been many times, including the time of year you will be going. As a resort guest, you get the extended hours benefit to the parks, sometimes they open early or they stay open late. Park hopping will fine. Take advantage of the early extended hours. We were there last week, spring break, which is one of the busiest times of year, and getting there early made a big difference in all we were able to do. Breakfast is always at the camper before we leave and we take bottled water with us in a backpack and some snacks. Water in the park is $2.50 per bottle. We usually splurg for ice cream. Counter service meals are a bit cheaper and lunch is cheaper than dinner at the sit down places. Most of the time we go back to the camper and eat meals before heading to another park. As a native Floridian, I can tell you it is hard to say what the weather will be like. You will have to wait till its a little closer to determine that. I am not familiar with any campgrounds on the west coast of Florida, I'm an east coast girl, but use one of the camping review sites like www.gocampingamerica.com or google for others. This site is great for ideas and help. I've been many times and still learn new things here. People are very friendly and helpful! Have fun planning! It will be here before you know it!

Melissa

 

[Mcert01]

I can give you a little input. We've been to FW 5 times now. Six after next fall!

The showers are great! There generally is no line. We were there over the 4th of July last year, very busy, but there was no wait. They are clean and very nice.

Transportation - Boat to and from Magic Kingdom. The absolute best way to travel. At the end of the day watch the fireworks from Mainstreet, then head right to the exit and to the boat ramp. You will be happy you did when you see the lines for the buses, monorail and ferry backing way up.

It is very cool to arrive at Epcot via the Monorail. However, other than Magic Kingdom we have used our own car the last few trips and that has worked out better than the Disney transportation, especially at the end of a long day at the parks. It saves a lot of time and waiting in long lines leaving the parks at the end of the day.

Keep in mind, unless you are staying in the loops next to the Settlement (loops 100, 200, 400 and 700) you need to take a bus to either the Settlement or Outpost to catch another bus to the parks.

Taking your car doesn't mean you have to give up on the monorail. Our kids always enjoyed taking the boat to the Contemporary, then taking the resort monorail to the Magic Kingdom. We often do this if we return to FW for lunch during MK day when we return to the park. You can do this to get to Epcot as well, taking the Resort Monorail to the Ticket and Transportation Center then transferring to the Epcot Monorail. However, make sure the monorails are running in time to get you to Epcot before opening in the morning. Otherwise seeing Soarin' will take as much as 2 hours!

Which brings me to the best advice I can give is to pick up the Unofficial Guide, Bob Sehlinger. You can pick it up at Barnes and Noble. The tour tips and tour plans are extremely helpful. This is especially true at Christmas when the parks are the most crowded. Arriving before opening and knowing exactly which attractions to see and in what order means the difference between a memorable experience which minimizes wait times and ... well not so good a time. They have a web site now too. http://touringplans.com/.

We have used their suggestions for all of our trips, and I can tell you we got to see all the headliner rides with little to no wait, some multiple times, even during Easter and 4th of July week.

Another good site to check out is All Ears Net. http://allears.net/index.html

Good luck!

 

[Brbird]

Are there lines for the shower houses? With 5 of us, I think it will be much quicker to go that route than to try and use the camper shower.

Can we take sack lunches into the parks each day?

Thanks for your input, we are getting excited!

We have been at Fort Wilderness 3 times -- once in a tent trailer where we had to use the showers, and twice with a trailer where some of use used the showers and some of us showered in our trailer. (We'll be taking our "new" 5th wheel this January!!). As someone already said, yes, the showers are amazing! In fact, the entire campground is like a little city. Each site is extremely clean, too. And we've never had trouble with loud neighbors. Even when folks come in late at night or leave early in the morning, everyone is respectful.

Yes, you can take lunches into the park. All parks (I think) have lockers you can put your food in. We took snacks or meals most days the last time we went (this last May -- celebrating 2 college grads!). Keep in mind that the lockers are near the front entrance, so depending on how busy you get, you may or may not think it is worth heading back to the front to get your food. We found that if we planned our meal/snacks during heavy ride times, we felt it was definitely worth it to go back to the entrance to eat. I have a lot of food issues, so taking food for me was certainly worth it.

Another suggestion -- the sooner you book your campground reservation, the better. The "normal" sites can get booked up fairly quickly, which then leaves you with premiums sites, which are more expensive. The first 2 times we went, we stayed in the 200 loop, which we really liked because it was very close to the boat dock. This last May we stayed in another loop at the opposite end (I don't remember the number!), but it was also great because it was near the bus depot. If you have kids who like to swim or play on playgrounds, then you might want a loop near one of those things. You can't reserve a specific spot, but you can ask for being placed in a particular loop. We've always gotten what we've requested.

One last suggestion: We have found that some of our very best family memories have been waiting in lines, waiting for the bus, and walking home (or walking to the bus or boat). I know that sounds weird, but when the kids were younger, we played word games while waiting in line, and when they got older we talked--a lot!! Sometimes we split up (mom with son, dad with daughter or the other way around). The other "waiting" thing we always do is bring a deck of cards. We ALWAYS had a deck of cards with us (Disney cards, of course!) so when we were waiting for the bus, we would sit down and play a game; when we were finished eating but were still too tired to get going again, we would play a game. Those family "waiting" moments are so incredibly precious to me!! Our "kids" are now on their own (but we can still talk them into going with us this January!!), so those conversations and laughter and games are wonderful memories.

 

[jlomama]

Thank you all for the great advice! We have been to Disney twice with our oldest and once with all three but we've never camped or drove there so I'm a bit nervous about that. We won't actually arrive at Disney until January 2nd which seems to slow down a bit and we do already have reservations! We booked a preferred site, is it worth it or should we just go with the basic? Judging from the comments I think it would be nice to be by the boat dock, yes? Also, when we camp it's usually very laid back this will be our first go-go vacation in the camper so do any of you have meal recommendations? I'm thinking breakfast at the camper...go to the park and take a sack lunch then head back for dinner and relaxation before we head to another park for the evening. What about the Hoop De Doo show, is it worth the money? And what about the Chip n Dale sing a long, fun or not worth the time?

Thanks again for all the comments...can we leave tomorrow?

 

[huspaint]

Fort Desoto in St Petersburg/Tierra Verda is about the closest beach camping you will get. You are on water but its not directly on the white sands. Its a HUGE county park and a wonderful place to camp with over half of the slots backing up to water. Its stays FULL, and you can make reservations online at
pinellascounty.org/park/camping.htm#fortd

I am pretty sure Fort Desoto was the number one beach a few years back, Siesta Key is this year.

There is another called Turtle bay around Siesta, but its tiny and the beach is not as nice as Fort Desoto. There is also another one around 2 hours south of FD in Fort Myers: redcoconut.com

But FD gets my vote, my two favorite places to camp are FW and FD

 

[jlomama]

Thanks Huspaint! Have you ever been to Cedar Key? We found a nice campground there but not sure how nice the beach is, looks a little swampy!

 

[retired and happy]

We do the BackYard BBQ every visit, and have done the HoopDeDoo the last two visits. Food is about the same, BBQ is noisy. HDD is entertaining. Both are all you care to eat. Worth it? Depends on how often you might visit and if you want to spend the money. I think it's worth it at least once.

 

[stacyful]

Fort Desoto is Beautiful! We have camped there quite a few times and have been very happy there. It is within walking/biking/driving distance of miles and miles of white sandy beaches. This is a great place to do sea shell picking if you like. ( Go to North Beach very early in the morning to get the best shells ) Egmont key is nearby, and should be seen as well.
We have taken our kayaks with us to Fort Desoto, and seen dolphins swimming in the area of the campground. You can also rent kayaks very near the campground. There is internet access near the ranger station which is free for those that need to get emails etc.
It is 100 miles South West of Orlando.
One of our favorite things about his campground is the number of raccoons that run wild everywhere. Many people don't like it, but we enjoy it every much. You are not supposed to feed them. The will come into your campsite looking for food, and will indeed open your coolers, tents etc. They can unzip zippers! (spoken from experience! We love them, and welcome them into our site though. We've got lots of pictures and videos of them and their little families cruising through our campsite. If you shoo them away, they will leave you alone.
I have lots of pictures I can share if you'd like to see some of the sites of Fort DeSoto Campground and Beaches.
Hope this helps.
Stacy-Ithaca,NY.

 

[railmail]

Thanks Huspaint! Have you ever been to Cedar Key? We found a nice campground there but not sure how nice the beach is, looks a little swampy!

The town of Cedar Key is so charming...kinda like the Keys of years ago. Don't know much about the campground there, but the town itself is worth the trip.

 

[Mcert01]

We booked a preferred site, is it worth it or should we just go with the basic? Judging from the comments I think it would be nice to be by the boat dock, yes?

If you aren't going to stay at a premium site (which are very nice) then I would recommend a preferred site close to the Settlement - 100 or 200 loop. The boat dock and the bus depot are both within a short walk.

We stayed on a Premium site last year within walking distance of the pool and this worked out really well. Premium sites are larger, and have a bigger paved patio, which works out well not only for backing in but for keeping the dirt down in the RV.

Good Luck!