We just got back this morning from our first stay at FW. We were in the 2600 cabin loop. I have a few observations/opinions.
The cabins were great!! One "problem" we encountered was a lack of storage space for clothes. We used the one small dresser in the bedroom and the cabinets in the living room on either side of the murphy bed. There were plenty of towels. One cabinet in the bathroom was marked towels and it contained tons of towels, washcloths and hand towels.
I had read the cabins were very dark. They were a bit but not bad at all; what you'd expect in a cabin.
Be careful when stepping out of the tub; it's further down than you expect. Of course, we could have used another bathroom, but it was not enough of an issue to worry about.
The murphy bed was very comfortable. The full size bed in the bedroom (where my 3 yr old DD and I slept) was very comfortable. I like very firm mattresses and usually hotel beds are way softer than I like, but this bed was wonderful!!
Mousekeeping was great. Cleaning up after a family of 6 is no easy task and it was well done.
We had a cart which, in my opinion, is completely necessary. Bus service to the parks (MGM, AK and Epcot) was the best we've had at any Disney resort, but the internal bus system (which we used a few times) was a pain in the rear.
Boat transportation to MK was the biggest disappointment. We like to be at MK early for rope drop. The boats don't get to FW until 8:30 am and then stop at WL. We got to MK only a couple of minutes before rope drop (say 8:58 am). We were never at the front of rope drop where DH and our older kids prefer to be. Also there is no bus transportation to MK. WL has boat and bus transportation to MK so why not FW? The boats don't hold enough people and at least one day, they were down one boat. We waited forever to get back to FW. And one more thing about the boats (at least the larger ones), why no ac or at least large wall mounted fans? It's freaking hot inside the boats!!
My 2 older kids (12 and 10 yr old girls) went on the trail ride which they enjoyed. My oldest is actually a very good rider so I was concerned that the ride would be too tame. Because she knew what she was doing, they put her on a harder horse. It was a tame ride, but my oldest just loves horses. She would have been happy just visiting with the horses. They saw lots of rabbits and deer on the ride and one of the wranglers told my oldest about a cool website where you "raise" your own horse (think nintendogs).
I think most of the food at Trails End isn't very good. Big exception for the baked goods you can buy. They were great. The takeout pizza is ok and a pretty good price for a very large pizza.
My DH and younger kids (7 and 3) loved the sing-a-long. The 2 oldest enjoyed it a bit on one night only. That was enough for them. The 2 oldest also did not enjoy the pools. They like slides and diving boards.
We loved having the extra space that comes with a cabin and no one above or below us. We worried a lot less about how rambunctious the kids were. My DH who loves camping did feel a bit more ambivalent about FW. He said the cabin was not quite camping, but not like the other Disney resorts in terms of amenities. I was worried I'd feel this way since I am sooo not a camper, but I loved it. The kids did too. We all loved having the cart. We really liked the trading posts. My DH's main problem was the boat to MK. He definitely would stay there again. He'd like to tent camp with the kids. I said fine as long as he understood while they were in a tent, I'd be at the GF!!!
Oh, I almost forgot about checkin. Our cabin was ready about 10:30 am and our cart was available around 11 am. Absolutely wonderful. (We checked in on Sunday, July 8.) When we left yesterday, there was a sign up stating no carts were available until 1 pm and there were none available unless you had a reservation.
That's it. Let me know if you have any questions.
Paige
The cabins were great!! One "problem" we encountered was a lack of storage space for clothes. We used the one small dresser in the bedroom and the cabinets in the living room on either side of the murphy bed. There were plenty of towels. One cabinet in the bathroom was marked towels and it contained tons of towels, washcloths and hand towels.
I had read the cabins were very dark. They were a bit but not bad at all; what you'd expect in a cabin.
Be careful when stepping out of the tub; it's further down than you expect. Of course, we could have used another bathroom, but it was not enough of an issue to worry about.
The murphy bed was very comfortable. The full size bed in the bedroom (where my 3 yr old DD and I slept) was very comfortable. I like very firm mattresses and usually hotel beds are way softer than I like, but this bed was wonderful!!
Mousekeeping was great. Cleaning up after a family of 6 is no easy task and it was well done.
We had a cart which, in my opinion, is completely necessary. Bus service to the parks (MGM, AK and Epcot) was the best we've had at any Disney resort, but the internal bus system (which we used a few times) was a pain in the rear.
Boat transportation to MK was the biggest disappointment. We like to be at MK early for rope drop. The boats don't get to FW until 8:30 am and then stop at WL. We got to MK only a couple of minutes before rope drop (say 8:58 am). We were never at the front of rope drop where DH and our older kids prefer to be. Also there is no bus transportation to MK. WL has boat and bus transportation to MK so why not FW? The boats don't hold enough people and at least one day, they were down one boat. We waited forever to get back to FW. And one more thing about the boats (at least the larger ones), why no ac or at least large wall mounted fans? It's freaking hot inside the boats!!
My 2 older kids (12 and 10 yr old girls) went on the trail ride which they enjoyed. My oldest is actually a very good rider so I was concerned that the ride would be too tame. Because she knew what she was doing, they put her on a harder horse. It was a tame ride, but my oldest just loves horses. She would have been happy just visiting with the horses. They saw lots of rabbits and deer on the ride and one of the wranglers told my oldest about a cool website where you "raise" your own horse (think nintendogs).
I think most of the food at Trails End isn't very good. Big exception for the baked goods you can buy. They were great. The takeout pizza is ok and a pretty good price for a very large pizza.
My DH and younger kids (7 and 3) loved the sing-a-long. The 2 oldest enjoyed it a bit on one night only. That was enough for them. The 2 oldest also did not enjoy the pools. They like slides and diving boards.
We loved having the extra space that comes with a cabin and no one above or below us. We worried a lot less about how rambunctious the kids were. My DH who loves camping did feel a bit more ambivalent about FW. He said the cabin was not quite camping, but not like the other Disney resorts in terms of amenities. I was worried I'd feel this way since I am sooo not a camper, but I loved it. The kids did too. We all loved having the cart. We really liked the trading posts. My DH's main problem was the boat to MK. He definitely would stay there again. He'd like to tent camp with the kids. I said fine as long as he understood while they were in a tent, I'd be at the GF!!!

Oh, I almost forgot about checkin. Our cabin was ready about 10:30 am and our cart was available around 11 am. Absolutely wonderful. (We checked in on Sunday, July 8.) When we left yesterday, there was a sign up stating no carts were available until 1 pm and there were none available unless you had a reservation.
That's it. Let me know if you have any questions.
Paige