How "rustic" are the FW cabins??

[kkayluvsdis]

Hi All!

We are in the very beginning stages of planning a trip for this coming fall. This would be our first trip to WDW as a family of 5! We were thinking of giving the cabins at Fort Wilderness a try, but I am a bit hesitant. Could those of you that are more familiar with FW resort give me some info. I like the "resort" feel when I go on vacation. Does FW have this? Are the cabins as spacious as they sound space-wise? How are the pools and the park transportation? I guess my ultimate question is-when you stay at the FW cabins do you feel like you are part of the Disney resort magic or more like on a camping adventure?

Thanks so much for your help!!!
-Kelly

 

[dzorn]

Hi All!

We are in the very beginning stages of planning a trip for this coming fall. This would be our first trip to WDW as a family of 5! We were thinking of giving the cabins at Fort Wilderness a try, but I am a bit hesitant. Could those of you that are more familiar with FW resort give me some info. I like the "resort" feel when I go on vacation. Does FW have this? Are the cabins as spacious as they sound space-wise? How are the pools and the park transportation? I guess my ultimate question is-when you stay at the FW cabins do you feel like you are part of the Disney resort magic or more like on a camping adventure?

Thanks so much for your help!!!
-Kelly

http://allears.net/acc/fwss.htm

here's the pictures slide show from allears.

Denise in MI

 

[Missytara]

There are also photos on this website for each resort and photos taken by guests on the resort photos and videos thread.

 

[ols386]

There are also a lot of photos of Fort Wilderness cabins on the Trip Advisor website. Tons of photos.

www.tripadvisor.com

Just type in the hotel/resort name and location.

 

[Sandi]

Hi All!

We are in the very beginning stages of planning a trip for this coming fall. This would be our first trip to WDW as a family of 5! We were thinking of giving the cabins at Fort Wilderness a try, but I am a bit hesitant. Could those of you that are more familiar with FW resort give me some info. I like the "resort" feel when I go on vacation. Does FW have this? Are the cabins as spacious as they sound space-wise? How are the pools and the park transportation? I guess my ultimate question is-when you stay at the FW cabins do you feel like you are part of the Disney resort magic or more like on a camping adventure?

Thanks so much for your help!!!
-Kelly

Hi Kelly,

Just looking at where you've stayed in the past, if you're expecting a FW cabin stay to feel like the Polynesian, it will not and you will be disappointed. They are very different resorts. We stayed at FW last April and really enjoyed it. The resort is huge and it really beautiful, but it does sort of feel like a campground because a big portion of it is a campground.

The cabins, however, are by no means "rustic." They have a very nice kitchen with an attached living area. There is a flat screen tv in the living area and another tv in the bedroom. There is only one bathroom, but it is fully stocked with towels, etc. There is an attached deck that you can get to through the bedroom and the living area. The photos that you were referred to should give you a good idea of what to expect. As I said, we liked it and it worked for our situation last year. But, I've also stayed at the Poly, BWV, WL, and SSR and would say that those feel like "resort hotels" to me while FW is a different feel.

 

[DisneyMim]

I have never personally stayed there, but my brother and his family have and I have visited them while they were there. The cabins are not rustic at all, very nice and quite roomy. I do agree with Sandi that if you are expecting Poly or other deluxe type "resort" feel, you may be disappointed. IMHO the biggest thing I noticed was getting around the area. My brother had a car and rented a golf cart. This made is easier. They liked the boat to MK and thought it was very good. To get to the "main" entrance you have to take an internal bus and then get on the buses to Epcot, etc. from there. I don't know if I helped you at all, but good luck in your decision. IMHO anywhere you stay at Disney is wonderful!!

Enjoy The Magic!!

 

[Wendy31]

Hi All!

We are in the very beginning stages of planning a trip for this coming fall. This would be our first trip to WDW as a family of 5! We were thinking of giving the cabins at Fort Wilderness a try, but I am a bit hesitant. Could those of you that are more familiar with FW resort give me some info. I like the "resort" feel when I go on vacation. Does FW have this? Are the cabins as spacious as they sound space-wise? How are the pools and the park transportation? I guess my ultimate question is-when you stay at the FW cabins do you feel like you are part of the Disney resort magic or more like on a camping adventure?

Thanks so much for your help!!!
-Kelly

Hi, Kelly!

We've stayed in a FW cabin twice, & we enjoyed our stay both times. For our upcoming trip, our resort decision was between a FW cabin & the Contemporary. We chose the CR primarily because of the transportation.

At FW, no, you don't really get a "resort" feel. Instead, I got a "vintage" family campground feel, if that makes sense. It's really a neat place w/ a great atmosphere & lots of fun things to do.

The cabins are spacious. And it's nice to have a full kitchen. There's a little grill on the deck, &, one night, we grilled hot dogs which was fun. Plus, there's no one above, beneath, or beside you, so it's quiet & woodsy. The main bedroom has a double bed & a bunk bed, & my kids took turning sleeping in the double bed & the lower bunk bed. DH & I slept on the murphy bed in the living room - it was a little small (since at the time we were used to a queen-sized bed), but it was comfortable & fine for the time we were there. The bathroom was also spacious w/ plenty of storage & counter space. You get daily mousekeeping service, & we got as many or more towel animals at FW than we did at the other resorts.

We have not been to FW since the main pool was redone, but it looks fun w/ the addition of the pool slide. It's probably not as themed as some of the other pools on property though.

Honestly, for us, the only negative to FW is the transportation. The transportation to other parks is fine! It's the inner FW transportation. To go to the pool, you have to wait for a bus. To go to the bus station to go to other parks, you have to wait for a bus. To go to the boat dock, you have to wait for bus. FW is huge, &, basically, to go anywhere, you have to wait for a bus to take you there. So, to go to EPCOT, you wait twice... depending on when you get to your 1st bus stop & when the last bus departed, you could wait 20 minutes. Then, when you get to the bus stop to actually take you to EPCOT, you could wait another 20 minutes. The bus stops are covered, & the inner bus stops are within very easy walking distance to the cabin loops - so that's not a problem. I just got tired of waiting!

The first time we stayed, we waited for the inner bus. The 2nd time we stayed, we rented a golf cart! This way, we were able to drive to wherever we wanted to go w/o waiting for the inner bus (you still, of course, wait for the exterior busses to other parks). We would only ever stay there again if we rented a golf cart.

The nightly campfire singalong w/ Chip & Dale is fun! From the beach, you can see "Wishes!" & the nightly boat parade. Trail's End is a good buffet. There's nightly movies too. And a petting zoo! And the landscaping is lovely.

The boat ride to the MK is nice. Additionally, there's a boat that makes a "triangle" with FW, the WL, & the Contemporary which is great because it gives you easy access to the monorail & the monorail resort restaurants. And, when you come out of the MK, the boat dock to go back to FW is right in front of MK which is super nice!

So, yes, we would definitely stay there again - just w/ a golf cart. (In fact, I am worried that, by choosing the CR over the FW, we're going to miss some of the fun Disney themeing!)

I did feel as much Disney magic at FW as I have at any of the resorts, but, again it doesn't feel "resort" to me. However, it still feels very Disney-ish in the vintage themeing.

Hope this helps some!!

 

[eliza61]

I always say that if I ever had to go camping for real it would have to be camping 'ala disney".

We love the Cabins. We love it for the trees and the log cabins. My kids still remember their trip to the cabins before we did dvc. We generally go in the summer and ft wilderness was always a cool retreat to come back to. We loved the full kitchen, the full deck and the grill.

As previous poster mentioned the transportation was probably the big negative but the 2nd time we stayed there we requested a cabin in the loop nearest the trading post and either walked to catch the buses or drove our car.

 

[fla4fun]

The cabins have more of a community feel than a resort feel. It really does feel like you are coming home at the end of the day. It is a lot more laid back than the typical Disney resort. It's great if you plan to spend a lot of time at your resort instead of going to the parks non-stop. There aren't as many dining options, because most people prepare meals in their cabins. Some people will say you must rent a golf cart, but although they are a convenience, they are not necessary for enjoying the resort. The internal transportation is very efficient at getting you where you need to go, and I have walked to the main pool from the cabins area - it's not a bad walk so long as it's not the hottest part of summer.

I love the cabins and I love the other Disney resorts, but the experience is totally different.

 

[kkayluvsdis]

Thank you all soooo much for the responses!! It's so great to have such a wonderful community of DISlovers to count on for information and advice! I am so excited to start planning this vacation and I definitely think the FW cabins will be on our short list of resorts to consider.

-Kelly