Help me decide between Fort Wilderness or Port Orleans-Riverside

[cmaee]

I'm trying to convince my DH that we should go back to WDW this spring instead of waiting until 2011. We are a family of 5, so we can no longer stay in a standard room since our youngest is turning 3 this Nov. I have looked into maybe staying at Fort Wilderness in a friend's pop-up versus staying at Port Orleans-Riverside. If we stay at FW, we will save $945 by staying there versis PO-R. We have stayed at PO-R in the past, so we know what to expect. Tell me about FW. We will have a 7, 6, and 3 year old. We plan on being there Good Friday till the following Friday. We don't usually spend a lot of time at the hotel. We occasionaly will take a nap or swim in the pool for a few hours and then back to the parks. We will be on the QS Dining plan, because, frankly, I don't want to cook beyond getting cereal and coffee for the breakfast meals. I know next to nothing about Fort Wilderness, so any advise or suggestions would be great!

 

[Tri-circle-D]

Well, you came to the right place with that question!

Good Friday in 2010 falls on April 2.

I would say that late March/early April is a time of year that you can expect just about the nicest camping weather at the Fort.

Instead of being cramped in a hotel room with your family, you will have your camper, plus a nice wooded campsite with a paved area and picnic table.

On site you will have numerous playgrounds, two pools, and recreational activities like shuffleboard, tether ball, basketball, volley ball and tennis. Bring bikes and scooters for the kids. They will have plenty of safe places to use them! For not much money you can rent a canoe, or kayak, or fishing poles, and enjoy the lakes and canals.

In the afternoons, if you are so inclined, there are organized activities for the children, and every evening there is a campfire program and movie.

Your kids will love it.

And so will you.

And you will be saving nearly a thousand bucks!

And, I would drop the QS food plan. You are already bringing cereal and coffee. Throw in some bread and sandwich fixins'. Plan on grilling a couple of nights. Pick up a pizza or fried chicken from Trail's End on another night or two. You can save a ton of money there, too.

Try the Fort.

You will like it.

There are sure a lot of us here who do!

TCD

 

[jaysbabe]

I was a hotel girl like you in the past but that all changed with just a couple of the days at the Fort with friends.

This past Mar, DS(5) and I stayed in a pop-up with some friends. It was a blast.. So relaxing. My son got to ride his bike, play with other children, swim in the pools, go down to the beach to watch the fireworks, visit the horse stables and so on and so on. I was a little under the weather one night so I stayed back at the campsite and layed in a hammock and watched the fireworks. That trip changed my opinion of camping forever. My son BEGGED to go back everytime we even went to WDW for a day trip.

We loved it so much that hubby and I bought a TT in Jun.... We're heading to FW in 2 weeks. Don't think we'll be staying in a hotel on site again in the near future. (stayed in many and liked them all but there is something to said about camping).

That's just my city-girl opinion. I say try and see for yourself.

 

[SCCamper]

I'm not sure if you have ever been camping in a pop-up before, but I would suggest trying to borrow your friend's camper for a trial run at a local campground before going to FW. That way you can see first hand with what to expect in terms of set-up, sleeping arrangements etc. I'd hate to see your first visit to FW spoiled because you had problems with the camper. JMHO Have fun.

 

[2goofycampers]

Sorry,,This is Frank

 

[Dizney_Luver]

Try the Fort.

You will like it.

There are sure a lot of us here who do!

TCD[/QUOTE]


Ditto!

 

[jaysbabe]

I'm not sure if you have ever been camping in a pop-up before, but I would suggest trying to borrow your friends camper for a trial run at a local campground before going to FW. That way you can see first hand with what to expect in terms of set-up, sleeping arragements etc. I'd hate to see your first visit to FW spoiled because you had problems with the camper. JMHO Have fun.

Great point -- we have taken 3 trips in our TT to make sure we have it all down pat before going to FW. Try it for a short weekend at a campground near you and see if it is your style. FW is still far superior to any campground around but you want to make sure that whatever you're staying in is at least comfortable and functional for your family.

 

[Born 2 Fish]

There is no way to compare the two resorts, completely different. I agree with TCD, your kids will love it, and so will you.
However, I for one, do like the dine plan,,and if you don't plan on cook'n,,then your gonna need to eat something besides cereal three meals a day,, so I would keep the QS Plan.

And bring fish'n poles too,,you never know when the call of the wild comes,,and after all, how many people do you know can say "I went to Disney World and caught a FISH !"
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[cmaee]

I told my DH about my idea of going to WDW and staying at FW. He liked the price difference and thought some of the activities sounded great. We have stayed in a pop-up with our friends before we had kids; however, we have never set it up. That is a really good point to make as far as making sure we know how to set it up. I think that it would a different experience that our kids would love. We just went tent camping at the KOA in the outer banks and our kids had a blast. I figure that they would love FW.

 

[liv luvs disney]

I am all for saving nearly $1000 and having a blast doing it!!! Sounds like you've already made up your mind...I'm sure you'll have a great time.

 

[liv luvs disney]

Sorry,,This is Frank

There is no way to compare the two resorts, completely different. I agree with TCD, your kids will love it, and so will you.
However, I for one, do like the dine plan,,and if you don't plan on cook'n,,then your gonna need to eat something besides cereal three meals a day,, so I would keep the QS Plan.

And bring fish'n poles too,,you never know when the call of the wild comes,,and after all, how many people do you know can say "I went to Disney World and caught a FISH !"

Are you having some technical difficulties Frank? For some time, I surmised you and Denise belonged to eachother...this confirms it.

 

[cmaee]

I think I have made up my mind....now all I have to do is make up my DH's mind too!

Where would you suggest we request to be? We have young kids, so we wouldn't want to have to walk too terribly far from the bus stops to our campsite. We will have a pop-up, but we don't need cable, so we would be fine with just the electric/water/sewer sites. Do you get to request a location or do they assign one to you? If I can request, where would the best location be? We don't mind walking a bit to the pool and playground as long as our distance from a bus stop that goes to a park isn't too far...and close enough to the bathrooms/showers.

 

[BigDaddyRog]

Every site now has cable at the Fort. And if youre in a pop-up,theres a good chance you wont have a bathroom/shower in it, so you really wont need sewer. This will allow you to stay in one of the two least expensive loops...1500 and 2000. Both loops are elec/water/cable and are PERFECT for pop-ups and tents...anything larger is discouraged by Disney.

Both loops have Comfort Stations(Bathroom/Laundry/Shower) that are extremely close by, as a matter of fact, the 2000 loop has 2 Comfort Stations because its a relatively large loop.

1500 is centrally located in the campground....more convenient for those wanting to be near most everything, where as 2000 is set further back, away from alot of the excitement...allowing for a quieter,more relaxed setting.

Both loops are easily accessed by Disney Transportation, but golf carts are available to rent from Disney OR outside vendors at a much lower rate than Disney charges.

The Magic Kingdom fireworks were easily viewed right from our 2000 loop site on our last visit, Im sure that they can be seen from the 1500 loop as well...but a short trip to the beach will give you the BEST view of the fireworks as well as the Water Pagent every night.

The Chip and Dale Campfire Singalong/Movie is very close to the 1500 loop if that sounds like something your kids would enjoy. All kids love this...even us bald and gray haired ones. Bring your own supplies for smores because Disney really cashes in on their Hersheys, graham crackers, and marshmellows, and the price of a Disney Stick to roast the marshmellows on may just make you faint!!

The Fort is full of rabbits, armadillos, squirrels, lizards and deer, as well as countless species of birds like Blue Herons and even Pelicans, and I can almost promise you that your kids will LOVE seeing the wildlife!! If you're lucky...you may even spot some otters at the marina!

The main pool was recently refurbished with an awesome splash zone, hot tub,and great slide for the kids.

The best way for my family to spend the last hours of daylight are at the TriCircleD Ranch, watching the horses burn off the last of the days energy as they gallop and play in the field, or just rubbing their faces as they wind down for the evening in their stalls.

3 years ago, my wife would have kicked me square in the groin if I had mentioned camping to her in anything other than a cabin....that all completely changed after one stay in the cabins at Disney. We rode around the campground most nights in a rented golfcart...and she fell in love with this place. We now own a golf cart AND a pop-up and I can honestly say that I doubt we will ever stay in a hotel room again if at all possible.

You guys will fall victim to the Forts charms within minutes of arriving and will be planning your next visit before you are even leaving for home.

Congratulations...you just stumbled into a better way to vacation.

 

[LORNADUCK]

Reading this post reminded me of why we brought our 1st MH. My BIL owned one and always stayed there. My DH wanted to buy one & I told him he married the wrong person, I should cook and clean on vacation, better go find another DW. When we visited my BIL at the FT. I fell in love and let him convince me into buying our 1st MH. I thought every campground was going to be FT. Wilderness, wrong. We have learned to sort out the bad from the good, but the best is still the FT. 8 campers and 30 years latter we still love the FT. We went without a camper for about10 years, but as soon as we got one again the 1st place we went was the FT., now we are lucky to try and get there about every month. I don't think there are many places like it.

 

[des1954]

BigDaddyRog forgot to mention otters in bay lake. Shame on you, Rog.

 

[Tri-circle-D]

BigDaddyRog forgot to mention otters in bay lake. Shame on you, Rog.

The Fort is full of rabbits, armadillos, squirrels, lizards and deer, as well as countless species of birds like Blue Herons and even Pelicans, and I can almost promise you that your kids will LOVE seeing the wildlife!! If you're lucky...you may even spot some otters at the marina!

Deb-

I have to jump in here an defend BDR!

Re-read his post. I highlighted the part you missed!

For the record, I have never seen any otters at the Fort.

But, my DD's say they did.

So, I believe they are there. But, they are sneaky little fellows.

Rog- I also wanted to add that your post was very well said. I agree with your advice about a partial hook up site (either 1500 or 2000), and I would also suggest that the OP consider renting a golf cart, at least for a portion of your stay. It may eat in to your savings over POR a bit, but it is worth every penny!

TCD

 

[Millermouseketeers]

No question about it, The Fort! We are a family of 5 so used to always stay at POR and loved it until we discovered the Fort! Rent a golf cart and enjoy. There is a golf cart thread to get info about renting one cheaper, much cheaper than Disney. Kenny is great. Your kids will love it.
(Sorry we missed you TCD in July. We checked out 7/17.)

 

[BigDaddyRog]

Nope, Deb....you know I would never forget your precious otters!!!

... I can almost promise you that your kids will LOVE seeing the wildlife!! If you're lucky...you may even spot some otters at the marina!....

 

[BigDaddyRog]

... I can almost promise you that your kids will LOVE seeing the wildlife!! If you're lucky...you may even spot some otters at the marina!....

Ooooopss....TCD already covered my butt on this one!!

 

[cmaee]

Last spring when Disney offered the 4+3 promotion, did that apply to stays at Fort Wilderness campsites? I know I read in another thread the free dining doesn't apply to stays here due to the number of people allowed per site. I was curious to know if they did the 4+3 again...which I hope they do....would it work at FW?