Ft. Wilderness Cabins - Info Please!

[sashagiselle]

Hi, we are looking to stay at the Ft. Wilderness Cabins, tell me about it please! Transportation to the parks? food? the cabins themselves?

 

[kaybird]

Cabins are our favorite when everyone goes! sleeps 6, regular bed, bunks, and a murphy bed. There is also a couch, Kitchen, and dinette, as well as a deck with picnic table and grill.

3 bus loops, and boat launch to MK. Lots to do, quiet, and relaxing.

Only one bath, and is not split (no sink outside the toilet bath area.) We used the Kitchen sink as a secondary pre-park prep.

Have heard many people complain about transportation here. We have always found it more than adequate, and have never ever rented a golf cart. We loved the convenience of the kitchen, never cooked much, but love the full size fridge!

 

[Seahunt]

Here's a link to the Ft Wilderness Cabin FAQ thread if you haven't been there yet - lots of pics and info about the cabins there:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1900103

 

[sashagiselle]

Thanks Seahunt - We've been to Disney twice and never knew the cabins existed! I can picture kids really enjoying them as well!

 

[Junebugwv]

We found the cabins thread informative for our 10 day trip last summer. Regular resort rooms have been fine for us in the past, but that long trip we had ds11, ds15 and df15 with us and thought it would be fun to have more room. The boys loved walking around the cabins and loop. We stayed a short distance from a pool and laundry so that was especially nice. We had our own vehicle and I LOVED parking next to the cabin. We also used the bus when we wanted. It was a great vacation.

 

[tfoster]

We found the cabins thread informative for our 10 day trip last summer. Regular resort rooms have been fine for us in the past, but that long trip we had ds11, ds15 and df15 with us and thought it would be fun to have more room. The boys loved walking around the cabins and loop. We stayed a short distance from a pool and laundry so that was especially nice. We had our own vehicle and I LOVED parking next to the cabin. We also used the bus when we wanted. It was a great vacation.

Did you happen to see the two cabins in loop 100 (RV loop)? If so, what did you think of them compared to those in a regular cabin loop?

What loop did you stay in? Did you walk to the marina? If so, what did you think of the walk?

Sorry for so many questions - we're staying there in December and I'm trying to collect info from as many different perspectives as possible!

 

[ElizabethB]

We thought transportation was inconvenient there. We rented a golf cart and it helped. I would not stay there without a car and a golf cart.

 

[PigletsMommy]

Hi, we are looking to stay at the Ft. Wilderness Cabins, tell me about it please! Transportation to the parks? food? the cabins themselves?

We had 5 adults staying there & I cannot say enough good things about FW Cabins. We stayed in the 2600 loop. Directly across from the pool & had a bus stop right infront of us. My family loved them & we are planning on staying there again for our next "big" trip in 2011.

There is so much to do there that you almost dont want to leave! In fact my FIL has said that next time he doesnt want park tickets, he will just stay at Fort Wilderness! They have horseback & segway tours. Fishing, boating, hiking, bike rentals... basically anything & everything you can think of to do when camping.

We missed the camp fire sing a long with Chip & Dale but I heard its a blast. DH really enjoyed the Hoop Dee Doo Revue. He talks about it all the time. We were on the Deluxe Dining plan so we ate every morning at Trails End. Always had great service & the food was your basic breakfast buffett. If we had not been deluxe I wouldnt have used a table service credit everyday on it.

As for the internal bus transportation, its a bus system...you cant get your expectations too high. FIL & I were both on scooters & we would go ahead so no one would have to wait for them to be loaded. We would occasionally beat the rest of the family to our destination. If you think it would be a problem for you then I would splurge for the golf cart. You cannot drive your car in the resort.

You can only get to MK by boat & all the other parks are by bus. You have to take the internal bus or your golf cart to one of the settlements to catch those.

 

[fla4fun]

I really enjoyed my cabin stay - in fact, I have another one booked for late January 2010.

I also liked having my car parked right outside the cabin. I was able to drive to DTD, or to some of the parks, and not wonder IF I would find parking when I returned to my resort. As slow as the DTD buses seem to be at all of the resorts, I really prefer to drive there. I didn't book a golf cart since my stays were solo - but I did take a bike since I drive to Disney. I liked the kitchen - the full size fridge holds lots of beverages (it seems like those little dorm fridges only hold two or three at a time and I'm constantly reloading) and I would cook simple food to help save money on meals.

I also liked that the AC thermostat is NOT one of those motion detector ones. I was able to set it cold to sleep and warmer during the day, and it actually maintained those temperatures. It is so frustrating to stay in a deluxe resort and pay big bucks, and have to put up with uncomfortable temperatures.

But there are cons to every resort as well. Although I found the bus transportation simple and efficient, I missed being able to just walk a few feet to gift shops and restaurants. The only CS restaurant was by the main pool - no indoor dining if the weather is warm or wet and windy (my next trip is in the winter so that shouldn't be as much of an issue). I tend to spend a lot of time at my resort so these are important to me - but not deal breakers as I am booked there again. I did eat in the cabin more often than I would eat in a resort room (even a DVC resort) because it was more convenient than going to a restaurant.

I was on a solo trip, so it wasn't as much of a con for me, but the bedroom is rather small for the four people it will sleep. If the four are children, and the parents sleep on the Murphy bed in the living room, it wouldn't be so bad. There is also not much storage for clothes. Being solo, I laid out my suitcases on the bottom bunk as sort of surrogate drawers, and then hung clothes in the small closet. But if there were six people, I think storage could become an issue. I also missed having a clothesline to hang laundry on. I found some hanging hooks attached to clothespins that I'll use on the next trip to hang laundry from the shower rod.

All in all, I recommend the cabins highly, especially for families with several young children. The atmosphere is very restful, and at the same time, there are more activities than most people can possibly take advantage of. Although the transportation is often the subject of concern, I haven't had any problems using the bus system to get around within the campground, or to the parks - and if you prefer to drive, its much more convenient than the other resorts since your car is right there. It's a very different feel to the other Disney resorts - if you're looking for a hotel experience, stay elsewhere. If you're looking for more of a community atmosphere, you'll love it. It truly is a home away from home.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

We stayed at at the FW Cabin a couple of years ago, and lived it. We would definitely go back.

This is what we did, and we think it worked great:
Rent/bring your car. We took the car to DTD, Epcot, DHS, and AK. Parking right outside your cabin is great at the end of the day with tired feet. Also, this way we didn't have to take two buses (the FW bus and then the park bus).

We stayed in one of the Loop 100 cabins. A very short walk to the marina for the boat to MK. Also, Hoop de Doo is right there. Laundry was near our cabin also, as is one of the convenience stores.

The biggest negative is that neither of the pools are nearby, so we wound up not using them. We ate breakfast in the cabin, and lunch and dinner at the parks, so we didn't consider eating at the resort restaurants.

 

[tfoster]

We stayed at at the FW Cabin a couple of years ago, and lived it. We would definitely go back.

This is what we did, and we think it worked great:
Rent/bring your car. We took the car to DTD, Epcot, DHS, and AK. Parking right outside your cabin is great at the end of the day with tired feet. Also, this way we didn't have to take two buses (the FW bus and then the park bus).

We stayed in one of the Loop 100 cabins. A very short walk to the marina for the boat to MK. Also, Hoop de Doo is right there. Laundry was near our cabin also, as is one of the convenience stores.

The biggest negative is that neither of the pools are nearby, so we wound up not using them. We ate breakfast in the cabin, and lunch and dinner at the parks, so we didn't consider eating at the resort restaurants.

With staying in loop 100, did you feel like the cabin was squeezed in between RVs or did you feel like you had your "own space"? If you went back, would you try to get loop 100 again or would you opt for a regular cabin loop? Thanks!

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

With staying in loop 100, did you feel like the cabin was squeezed in between RVs or did you feel like you had your "own space"? If you went back, would you try to get loop 100 again or would you opt for a regular cabin loop? Thanks!

We completely felt like we had our own space. There's lots of tress/bushes between everything, so we really felt we were in the middle of the Wilderness. If we decide to stay in the cabins, we will definitely ask for one of the ones in the 100 loop. Being able to walk to the marina for the boat to MK or CR, and the car parked by our cabin to go anywhere else is unbeatable.

 

[rmom]

We stayed there on our 3rd trip and loved it. We did not have a car or golf cart. Even with a SN daughter and elderly mother, the transportation was never a problem. Loved having a kitchen and being able to eat when we wanted or have breakfast when each was ready and not have to wait for everyone to get done to go eat. It was very relaxing and wonderful not have others on top of you all the time. We stopped and got grocerys on the way from the airport. Cute water parade at night. Full size fridge, 2 rooms, 2 tv, lots of room were all very nice to have. There is no question where we will stay again. Love the cabins!
Because the plane was late on the day we arrived and we have to leave early on our departure day, the staff dropped us off at our cabin & then picked us up at our cabin in one of their vans.

 

[727jay]

My family thought that one fairly overlooked benefit was that we could get in our car that was parked right next to the cabin and be in any of the theme parks or resorts in absolutely no time at all--especially when compared to riding the buses. They were always hit or miss anyway. It worked the same way coming back to the cabin when you were really tired and all you wanted to do was hit the shower and go to bed.

 

[jkthorstad]

We stayed here last year with DD7 and DS5. We had a blast. I loved being able to put the kids to bed, and sit in the living room and watch TV or whatever. We did cook meals, BF and a few dinners. It really helped on the cost of the trip.

We did not take our car anywhere - it stayed parked the whole time. What we did do was take our bikes. We never took the internal bus system, but either rode our bikes to the marina for MK or the outpost for the others. Worked great, plus we got even more excercise