Fort Wilderness during Spring break

dindy

Earning My Ears
Joined
Jul 23, 2010
Messages
37
I have been visiting Disneyworld almost annually since I was born. It is by far my most favorite place to go! When my husband and I had kids, he was a little hesitant to go. He just couldn't understand what was so special about it. Then we went and he was instantly converted! We now happily refer to ourselves as "Disnerds."

As a kid I stayed at the campgrounds numerous times, but that was well over 20 years ago! We've generally stayed at the moderate resort, POR, with one splurge last year at BCV. I was nervous and excited for our trip to FW. We always drive down, so I am used to the long drive from PA, but this was our first time towing our camper there (and only our 2nd time using it), my first time driving the car with the camper attached, first time during spring break with the kids, and we drove through the night! Thankfully we made it there- and we thought we made pretty good time (20 hrs) considering we stopped a bunch (3 young boys need lots of potty breaks, and the car needed lots of refueling).

I have to admit, when we first arrived at Fort Wilderness, I wasn't as struck with the Disney feeling that I usually get, and it made me a little sad…. I think it was just because 1) am used to the resorts and the big check-in area, and 2) I was exhausted and we still had to set up the camper! But after a good nights sleep, and realizing all that the campgrounds had to offer, I was definitely in the Disney mood.

So here's what I thought of 1) Disney at spring break -we were there from April 15- 22, and 2) Fort Wilderness.

Disney at Spring break: I was really nervous about the crowds. But in reality, it wasn't so bad. We normally go in August, and sometimes it can be pretty crowded. One night in august of last year there were almost 60,000 people at MK and they had us use that back way to avoid Main Street. For this trip on we woke up early on Saturday the 16th, and headed to the Magic Kingdom and it was empty. We got right on so many rides. It was great! At lunchtime we headed back to our campsite and got lunch as the crowds were beginning to come in.

Another great perk about going that in week in April was the weather. As I said, we normally go in August and it is HOT, and rains daily!!! As soon as we would step outside we would sweat! But, in April it was great- upper 80's to 90 and low humidity. It didn't even rain! Seriously, we couldn't have asked for a better week.

The campgrounds: LOVED THEM! Yes, it's definitely different than staying in a Disney resort, but also really relaxed and has so many amenities. Gosh, we were there for a week, and sadly didn't even make it to a campfire.

Wishes: We definitely wished that there was more umbrellas, tables, and shade at the pool. We also wished that there was better quick service available- and soft-serve ice cream. We don't generally like to get dessert with our dinner, but always enjoying getting a sundae or ice cream late at night. All they had was $4.00 ice cream bars.

LOVED: Loved our location. We stayed at site 123. Couldn't have been a better location for us. Right next to the path, and so close to the settlement bus stop and the marina. Another perk was that there were so many travel trailers, 5th wheels, etc, that the bathrooms were practically empty! And I don't think that the bathrooms could have been any cleaner! We saw the cleaning women come multiple times throughout the day!

We also loved having our bikes- and so did our kids! They boys could ride around the loop. We rode our bikes to the pool, over to the Wilderness lodge… everywhere! Another thing to note is that it's not really a long walk to the pool either. It took us less than 10min to walk to the pool, which is about the same distance/time when we stay at POR depending on what building you get in.

We loved the trails end for breakfast. We preferred it MUCH more than the dinner there. It was a great way to end our week there as we packed up to head home. My husband definitely liked the potatoes and pulled pork (I think that's what it was).

So, all in all, we had a great trip, and were so sad to leave… we even contemplated staying for an extra night. We will head back there at spring break again next year and we can't wait! Thanks for all of the helpful hints, advice, and especially the info on bike racks that I got on this site. It was so helpful!
 
Glad to hear the family had a great trip.

But, wait, what's this? No campfire??????:scared1:

If you were in loop 100 you were down in the middle of the action near Pioneer Hall. And the weather certainly is postcard perfect in April and certainly NOT like August.

You need to make that ressie for next year's spring break as soon as possible.

Bama ED
 
Wow, sounds like you had a great trip. It always nice to read a trip report from a Fort first-timer (as an adult, that is). Thanks for taking the time to report back.
 
Awesome ! Sounded like ya'll hadda simply awesome time.
There's so much the Fort has to offer,, ya'll will havta go back back to enjoy it more ! :thumbsup2:thumbsup2

And WELCOME to the camping boards !
 

Glad you had a fun time. Sounds like a perfect week. After the rain and before the love bugs.Thanks for the TR. A week definitely isn't long enough to enjoy all The Fort has to offer and do the theme parks. We use to have to juggle also, we didn't make the campfire movie the first 2 or 3 times being there.
 
Thanks! We really did enjoy ourselves. I think as we continue to explore the fort through the years we will definitely utilize some of the extras at the Fort a little more. I can't believe we didn't make it to the campfire either! We ate breakfast and lunch at the site, but really love to eat at the restaurants for dinner, so we found ourselves at the parks after dark most nights. BTW- if you want to try out one of the newer restaurants, go to La Hacienda. It was SO good- so fresh!!

Bama Ed- thanks for the recommendation to make ressies for the Fort soon. I just called them and was able to secure a preferred site for spring break next year! I am getting excited just thinking about it!!!
 





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