Fort Wilderness Cabin Help

[MNDisneyFan]

Hello everyone,

Say, more and more we are starting to think about staying at FW cabins, but have never stayed there or even visited. To be honest, we've been to Disney a ton of times, but have always stayed offsite in a vacation home or years ago in a hotel. We could not be more excited to stay on the property!!!

There will be five of us, with 2 kids under 10, DW, DMIL, and myself. Obviously the two kids will be excited to have the bunk beds, and we'll give DMIL the double bed.

Just a couple questions:
1) The "Murphy" bed in the main area, is it big enough for two people - DW and myself?
2) Is this a fun place to stay with the kids, or do you think they would like one of the all stars or pop better for their age (5 and 9).
3) Is the horseback riding, pony rides, petting farm, etc included or do you have to pay extra for this? Is the canoe rented or included?

Just trying to get an idea on whether we would love this or not. It seems perfect from the description.

Thanks so much,
Dean

 

[HappyDznyCamper]

Hello everyone,

Say, more and more we are starting to think about staying at FW cabins, but have never stayed there or even visited. To be honest, we've been to Disney a ton of times, but have always stayed offsite in a vacation home or years ago in a hotel. We could not be more excited to stay on the property!!!

There will be five of us, with 2 kids under 10, DW, DMIL, and myself. Obviously the two kids will be excited to have the bunk beds, and we'll give DMIL the double bed.

Just a couple questions:
1) The "Murphy" bed in the main area, is it big enough for two people - DW and myself?
2) Is this a fun place to stay with the kids, or do you think they would like one of the all stars or pop better for their age (5 and 9).
3) Is the horseback riding, pony rides, petting farm, etc included or do you have to pay extra for this? Is the canoe rented or included?

Just trying to get an idea on whether we would love this or not. It seems perfect from the description.

Thanks so much,
Dean

The murphy bed is a double(same as in the bedroom or at a value)

I think FW is the best place to stay with kids, they can be loud or bouncy and not bother your neighbors(no shared walls), the deck is a great place for coffee in the AM or adult beverages at night.

The petting zoo(what there is of it) is free, you can also walk through the stables where the draft horses for MK are housed. Horse back riding is a seperate activity that has a charge and requires reservations. Canoes are rented from the bike barn at a small fee.

In the evening there is also a sing along/campfire show and movie that is free, it starts at 7pm(8pm in the summer) with the movie begining at about 7:40.
Check out the camping thread for lots more info on the campground.

 

[Mr. Pig]

When we stayed there a couple years ago there were six of us. My niece (teenager) and mother slept in the double bed, BIL and sister in in murphy bed and myself and nephew in bunk bed. We didn't feel we were too crowded. The murphy bed is big enough for two if you don't need too much personal space.

If the kids like a campground they will like FW. The difference between FW and Value resorts are the difference between a rural and urban setting. If swimming is a big deal then the Value resort would be better. FW does have a pool but not as good as a resort. The resort game rooms are better also.

The activities like horseback riding and canoes are extra. The petting zoo is not, I think, but we never did make it there.

 

[Grumpy92]

This is one of our favorite resorts. It is an escape in itself. I know many guest who go to FW and never enter the theme parks. There is just to much to do at FW.

1. The murphy bed is in the living room and is probably considered a double bed. Each cabin has a great deck where we enjoy just people watching and relaxing.
2. This is an incredible place for the kids. It is a wonderful place to let them bike or hike. Everynight they have a free campfire with a disney movie and they roast marshmellows. Ask the front desk about the recycling scavenger hunt. Maybe they would enjoy the petting zoo or visiting the barns where the horses that work in the MK reside(these are free).
3. Recreation is an additional price. This includes: bikes, canoes, golf carts, horseback riding and pony rides.

You might want to visit the Camping at WDW group. They would be very helpful and could suggest a great FW info website.

 

[MNDisneyFan]

Thank you all so much for the great information! It seems like a wonderful place for my DS9 and DD5 - they LOVE the outdoors, and we spend a lot of time hiking and camping in northern Minnesota (where we live). It sounds like the perfect thing for us, as it is nice to have a place to "chill" at the end of the day, and having a few adult beverages on the deck sounds good to me

Would love to hear anything else that might help us, so keep replying if you have anything else to add

Thanks again,
Dean

 

[tripplanner2]

I am also interested in hearing about the cabins. I went to the camping board but I found that most people are talking about camping and not staying in the cabins. I would love to hear ideas for quick and easy meals in the cabin too!

 

[HappyDznyCamper]

I am also interested in hearing about the cabins. I went to the camping board but I found that most people are talking about camping and not staying in the cabins. I would love to hear ideas for quick and easy meals in the cabin too!

What do you need to know about the cabins? As for general info about the resort, the campers are your best bet, since many of us are lucky enough to be able to go several times a year. As for quick and easy meals, well generally cereal for breakfast, cold cuts for lunch and if we don't go out for dinner we usually cook just like we would at home, steaks or burgers and dogs on the grill, spaghetti and salad, things along those lines.

 

[pjynx]

My only trip to DW was at the cabins 3 years ago. So I can't answer your other questions regarding how it compare to other resorts. We also didn't do any of the "extras" at FW, like horseback riding. I know, we probably missed out on some fun things, but since it was our first time there, we went kind of gung-ho on the parks and pretty much only slept in the cabins.

The murphy bed is a double. Dh & I shared that while MIL took the double in the bedroom and dd used a bunk. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the murphy was very comfortable. Small, since we're used to a queen. Very very comfortable.

A couple things we really liked about the cabins was that we could park right outside our door (we rented a car). The deck and grill were nice but we only used the grill one night. Another nice thing was that since each cabin is it's own unit, we didn't have to worry about people above us or next to us making a lot of noise. It was very quiet.

 

[ILoveMickeyandMinnie]

Were thinking about staying in the cabins in '09 because our family is going to be to big to stay just about anywhere else, so I'd love to hear more about the cabins too. I've seen pictures and it looks really nice and spacious! I was sad to hear people complaining about the transportation being long and hard to figure out. I think that we will probably drive so maybe just taking our van to the parks would be easier?

 

[tripplanner2]

I guess the things I am interested in finding out are, do you rent a car (I assume most campers have a car), do you need a golf cart or can you walk from the cabins to get food, if you do not rent a car, do you order from a food delivery service (we have done this in the past for beverages and it has worked out wonderfully). Basically, how big is FW? From looking at the map it seems that the cabins are furthest from everything. If there an offsite location to rent a golf cart that is less expensive? We will be there 11 days so $47 per day will add up. Can we walk to the campfire? Can you rent videos or do I need to bring them?

Sorry if I am rambling, just a few things off the top of my head.

 

[cyberbox2]

We are in the exact same boat, have been coming down for the past three years but have always stayed in a vacation home off site. Now we are booked at FW June 6th to the 12th. We are leaving DMIL at home though

Hello everyone,
say, more and more we are starting to think about staying at FW cabins, but have never stayed there or even visited. To be honest, we've been to Disney a ton of times, but have always stayed offsite in a vacation home or years ago in a hotel. We could not be more excited to stay on the property!!!

 

[HappyDznyCamper]

I guess the things I am interested in finding out are, do you rent a car (I assume most campers have a car), do you need a golf cart or can you walk from the cabins to get food, if you do not rent a car, do you order from a food delivery service (we have done this in the past for beverages and it has worked out wonderfully). Basically, how big is FW? From looking at the map it seems that the cabins are furthest from everything. If there an offsite location to rent a golf cart that is less expensive? We will be there 11 days so $47 per day will add up. Can we walk to the campfire? Can you rent videos or do I need to bring them?

Sorry if I am rambling, just a few things off the top of my head.

You can walk(about 1/2mile) to the Meadows Trading Post for some groceries, but you will pay Disney prices and the selection is limited, grocery delivery is an option. I don't know about offsite gc rentals, but an internet search might come up with that answer. Golf carts are fun to have, but not really a necessity, the internal transportation is good and not really confusing if you take just a few minutes to look over the info given at check in. The campfire is behind the Meadows trading post, so again about 1/2 mile, unfortunatly this is the one problem with internal transportation and the cabins, since technically the cabin buses do not go to the campfire show. I said technically because(and this will make more sense after you see the transportation map)the purple bus(cabins) and the yellow bus(outer loop), switch with each other at Outpost and Settlment...the purple outpost bus becomes the yellow settlement bus when it reaches outpost and the movies have 2 stops on the yellow route.
I hope that makes sense. What else?

ETA: I think you can rent videos at the trading post, I have seen what looks like rentals but have never had the need to really find out.

 

[merryweather20]

I guess the things I am interested in finding out are, do you rent a car (I assume most campers have a car), do you need a golf cart or can you walk from the cabins to get food, if you do not rent a car, do you order from a food delivery service (we have done this in the past for beverages and it has worked out wonderfully). Basically, how big is FW? From looking at the map it seems that the cabins are furthest from everything. If there an offsite location to rent a golf cart that is less expensive? We will be there 11 days so $47 per day will add up. Can we walk to the campfire? Can you rent videos or do I need to bring them?

Sorry if I am rambling, just a few things off the top of my head.

When we went we drove down, but parked the car and didn't touch it the whole week. We did Disney transportation the whole time and were fine.

As for the buses I'm not the brightest and I had them figured out in no time. And if you don't well the bus drivers seem to have a sixth sense about where you're going One time we were at the stop and we hadn't had a chance to look at the map yet so we flagged the bus driver on. She would not hear of it. "Nope, sugars you want my bus I'll just wait until you get sorted out." We just hopped on but turns out she was right!

I actually like FW much better for transport than the other resorts, since we got dropped off right at our loop... instead of hauling but around a giant hotel at the end of the day with tired feet

The kids will love having their own room in the back. I went at that age and my favourite part of the whole trip was being able to take a boat to the magic Kingdom in the morning You can't have either at the Pop or the Stars, they don't give you a kitchen at the Pop either.

 

[Lucky'sMom]

We stayed in the cabins a few years ago with our 3 kids. It was a special vacation, kind of different from the others. I read up on it alot, and did rent a car and the golf cart. The golf cart isn't cheap, but added a tremendous amount to the "experience". My kids really, really loved riding around in it, and it would be difficult to walk to the outposts and pool without it. We used the boat launch for MK, and drove the rental car everywhere else, to avoid the 2 bus issue. The things I liked were: the extra room, kitchen, different, relaxing atmosphere, proximity to Hoop Dee Doo. The things I didn't like were: the pool is kind of lame, the floor of the cabin always is dirty (our socks were brown!), bugs (not a big problem, just more so than other resorts), less of a resort feel since there's no main lobby area. I say "Go for it". It was a unique experience and we did have a great trip!

 

[ChrisAlli]

Me DH, DD 3 and DS 5 stayed in the cabins this past May.

It was THE BEST!!!....so easy to nap the kids and relax on the deck or living room, or at night after kids went to bed. Very quite, park right outside, buses not too bad. We actually thought the busses were worse at the Beach Club where we stayed the second half of this trip.

Everyone in the campground is so friendly, they all wave and have a smile for you. The fireworks from the beach, Electric water parade, chip and dale sing a long.

Armadillos running around, deer it was very nice after a hectic day at the parks.

Also, the full kitchen was great, the housekeeping did the dishes, well loaded the dishwasher and ran it. Two TV's, and vcr's.

The only complaint I guess would be lack of storage space for clothes, but we managed.

 

[tripplanner2]

Wow, thanks for all the great info everyone. I am convinced. Armadillo...REALLY??? That would be so cool and a really neat experience for the kids. I am not afraid of a different experience. I think my family will love the down time there. I think what I am looking forward the most to is the boat lauch to MK. I love MK and really want to stay someplace close. I was afraid of it being dirty but I always think about how dirty the carpets really are. They just HIDE the dirt. I can live with dirty socks. Is it because of carrying dirt in from outside or is it just old and dirty?

 

[5disneynuts5]

The first time we went with our son, we stayed at the All Star Sports. The next time we went with 3 kids, we stayed at what is now the Nikelodean (sp?) Family suites.

This time (December hopefully) with 3 kids again and likely my parents, Dh wants to stay at the cabins, and I'm thinking... why not just priceline 2 resort rooms off campus.

Can anyone speak to that? How do I evaluate the difference in prices? Well, I guess I need to check the cabin price..but I'm assuming since it is Disney that we're looking at at least 500.00 a night, right?

I;m figuring I can get 2 priceline resort rooms for like under 140.00 a night total.

 

[ProudMommyof2]

Can anyone compare a stay at the cabins in FW vs a stay at one of the DVC villas?

 

[Eljay]

http://allearsnet.com/acc/g_ftw.htm

Here are some great pictures.

 

[eliza61]

Can anyone comparae a stay at the cabins in FW vs a stay at one of the DVC villas?

Our first two trips to the world, we stayed at the Cabins. The 1 bedroom villas are a bit bigger, especially the bathroom (which has a jacuzzi tub, seperate shower & toilet area and 2 sinks) and also has a washer/dryer.
Most of the dvc villas are associated with a deluxe hotel so the pools are better. Pools at Ft. Wilderness are basic pools.