Fort Wilderness Camping

[phillyatdisney]

First things first I have never been camping before....

My brother's family has invited us, my wife and three kids, to camp with his at Fort Wilderness in June 09'. We will be camping out in tents if this helps. Could anyone give me insight to their experience at Fort Wilderness? Fun, cleanliness, proximity to bathrooms, weather in June, etc.....

Also, does anybody have any sites they would recommend?

Thanks for all answers and advice in advance....

 

[RescueRanger]

Try out the camping forum here on the disboards. They will be able to answer all of your questions.

 

[MariaEllerºoº]

Hi PhillyatDisney! Welcome to the Disboards! My first suggestion would be to go to the camping forum here on the disboards. It's filled with loads of great information! Second, I would highly suggest taking a look at Jeff Spencer's website...fantastic information including maps of the campground:
http://home.hiwaay.net/~jlspence/faq_fw.htm

Third...I had basically grown up camping at Ft. Wilderness. It's a wonderful experience especially for children. My fondest memories are of our camping trips to Disney. I had also been a single parent for years on end and the only way I could ever afford to give my children trips to Disney each year was to tent camp at Ft. Wilderness. It's very safe and secure to camp...a single woman with three small children and I never had any fears. All the campers are very nice and really watch out for one another as well as help one another. The comfort stations are very clean, tiled and spacious. Not the outhouses that would normally pop into minds when you think of camping. LOL My favorite loop is 800...very close to Pioneer Hall, Trading Post, Trail's End Buffet but also close to the Meadows Trading Post, pool and night time campfire program and movies under the stars.

I hope you have a wonderful time and that your children will have fond memories of their camping trip at Ft. Wilderness Campground!!

 

[drafthorsecrazy]

Hi and welcome to the camping forum! FW is one of if not the cleanest, well kept campground. The comfort stations are almost always spotless and close to just about any campsite you are assigned. If this might be an issue with you--simply have your brother request a site close to one. My only concern would be that June is very HOT! I'd definitely have problems sleeping anywhere , especially a tent, in that kind of heat. Plus don't forget, Fla. gets alot of rain that time of year. Almost daily afternoon showers....plan accordingly. Dont let these things scare you off. Just come prepared !! Good Luck and have Fun.

 

[gmflanigan]

First things first I have never been camping before....

My brother's family has invited us, my wife and three kids, to camp with his at Fort Wilderness in June 09'. We will be camping out in tents if this helps. Could anyone give me insight to their experience at Fort Wilderness? Fun, cleanliness, proximity to bathrooms, weather in June, etc.....

Also, does anybody have any sites they would recommend?

Thanks for all answers and advice in advance....

FW is the best. The people are friendly. We have a MH but it doesn't matter. Everybody visits. Good place for the kids to be outside, bathrooms are clean--can't say anything negative. It will be the time of your life.

 

[big kahuna1]

First things first I have never been camping before....

My brother's family has invited us, my wife and three kids, to camp with his at Fort Wilderness in June 09'. We will be camping out in tents if this helps. Could anyone give me insight to their experience at Fort Wilderness? Fun, cleanliness, proximity to bathrooms, weather in June, etc.....

Also, does anybody have any sites they would recommend?

Thanks for all answers and advice in advance....

It's fun, probably one of the cleanest campgrounds you will ever find and there are restrooms/bath houses in every camping loop. I have placed a map of the camping loops below which shows the layout of the campground.

The weather in June is HOT! Bring a fan at a minimum or some people run a portable A/C in the tent. You just have to make sure the exhaust of the a/c is outside.

As to sites. You can stay anywhere but you will pay less if you occupy a site with no sewer hook up. I believe the 1500 and 2000 loops are partial hookups for tents and pop ups.

You may want to consider renting a Golf Cart but they are expensive. You could also bring bikes to get around or just use the internal bus systems.

There is a pool, a buffet style restaurant, the Hoop Dee Doo Review diner show which you may want to consider, buggy rides, horse rides, boat rentals, fishing excursions, Crockets Tavern for those drinks, a outdoor movie theatre with a sing a long and marshmellow roast. As I said, FUN!

Map of the campground is below:

 

[Born 2 Fish]

Welcome to the camping boards and to camping !

Fort Wilderness is the absolute best campground we have ever been to ! In fact, we bought a camper just so we could camp at the Fort !!(okay,,thats not true) but we do camp at the Fort as often as we can.

I don't think you'll ever find cleaner bathrooms or cleaner campground. The place is wonderful ! They have a campfire and movie everynight(for free) ,two swim pools, horse barns, hike trails, fishing, golf carts for looping, a marina that offers full water sports, playgrounds, horse back rides, hay rides, watch the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom from the Forts lake shore line at night. At 9:25 PM everynight you can watch the Electic Water Pageant pass by on the lake at the lake. Lots of fun things !

Course I might add, there is a price $ for a lot of these things. But there is a ton of things to do !

Did I mention FISHING ! Bring your fish'n pole,,or you can rent one pretty cheap when your there.





Oh , and bring a camera !

 

[disneymayz]

might like it!!!!! It will only cost you a tent and maybe an airbed or 2. What do you have to lose.

Here is my packing list.
Tent
Airbeds
Sheets
Towels
Fan
Power Cord
Clothes

If it is only a place for you to sleep what else would you really need?

"IF IT RAINS DO NOT TOUCH THE TENT IT WILL LEAK"

 

[suzicute20]

I grew up camping all around. Fort Wilderness is the best campground I've ever been to. The bathrooms are wonderful. The campsites are great. We went in May last year. It was hot and my DH is very intolerant of extreme heat. We brought a fan and at night it was cool enough. We stayed on the 1500 loop which was right across the street from the Meadows pool. We also brought a mini-fridge and kept drinks and other snacks cool. You can take boat rides to MK and they are wonderful - especially at night. I think for a first camping trip, this is a perfect place.

 

[bord1niowa]

Welcome to the boards and Fort Wilderness camping. We'll also be there in June 2009 2nd and 3rd weeks. We'll have about 22 people between 3 sites and a hotel for the non-adventurous family. You will love it!

 

[Cindy F]

First things first I have never been camping before....

My brother's family has invited us, my wife and three kids, to camp with his at Fort Wilderness in June 09'. We will be camping out in tents if this helps. Could anyone give me insight to their experience at Fort Wilderness? Fun, cleanliness, proximity to bathrooms, weather in June, etc.....

Also, does anybody have any sites they would recommend?

Thanks for all answers and advice in advance....

Just thought I would mention that we got our pop up camper off craig's list for $750. It sleeps 6, has an indoor/outdoor propane stove, shower, sink, fridge, heater, A/C, and awning. We painted and spruced it up a bit and love it. http://s194.photobucket.com/albums/z101/CindyRN2/Disney%20Camper/?action=view&current=ba05c4e8.pbw We are buying a $40 screen tent with privacy panels to fit under the awning so we can sleep 4 more people at night for trips with extended family/friends.

I have seen plenty of pop ups on ebay/Craig's list for as low as $400. I just thought I would mention it in case you haven't bought all the gear yet and might want to consider a pop up. Whichever way you go, I'm sure you'll love it! Have a great time and I second the motion for at least a small window unit A/C if you're going in June.

 

[CelticWoman]

have a great time...you are going to love the Fort....June is very hot so be prepared for it!!!! drink lots of water and wear sunscreen.....A/C is a must if you want to rest at night!!!

 

[DisneyBishops]

You will love the ft. It is the best campground anywhere. You can't compare any cg with the fort. The comfort stations are usually spotless and are spacious. They are usually in the middle of the loops so no one is too far from them.

Now as a floridian I will tell you that June is hot and humid. It is the rainy season also. So be prepared for afternoon thunderstorms and hot muggy nights. I would recommend at least a portable a/c for your tent. that way you can actually get some sleep at night. You might want to check out a cheap pop up with a/c. these are much better than sleeping on the ground.

 

[jc32566]

I don't think this can be overstated...bring fans or a portable air conditioner you can rig up to blow into your tent(s). June/July/August are the 3 hottest and most humid months of the year down here. Your trip could be ruined if you are so miserable you can't get any sleep. Please don't underestimate just how uncomfortable it could get in a tent without air circulating through it.

 

[mdoc]

Fort Wilderness is a spectacular campground. I can't think of a better place to have your first camping experience (putting aside the fact that you'll probably suffer letdown on your next camping experience). The bathrooms are top notch, clean and well maintained, there are laundry facilities, there's a buffet restaurant, the Hoop dee Doo Revue dinner show, nightly movie and sing-a-long, pony rides, trail rides, swimming pool, etc. It's great fun, and so convenient for getting to the Disney parks. All of that said, I would have no desire to tent camp in Florida in June (unless, of course, my tent had an air conditioner). Although better June than July or August, I guess, and better early June than late June.

 

[disneymayz]

I would like to thank everyone for helping my brother decide to go camping with us. We are only camping for 2 nights then we are moving to SSR. As for the heat - lucky for me we only are using tent to sleep so it should not be that bad at night. I understand the AC if I was going to be there part of the day. I wish they made a handheld AC unit to carry around the parks. I guess getting my DD fan me while I walk will have to do. jk So thank you again for helping him make the up his mind. I knew I could count on you.