just book our first trip

[Juliann95]

We'll be camping at Fort Wilderness from Oct 13-16. Thinking we'll rent a popup from a local company I found. My sister and her son are coming with. They are military, so were hoping the military package is extended. None of have been to Disney before. S if there's any must see, do or eats please share. My daughter will be 6 at the time we go and my nephew will be 3.

 

[Marionnette]

We'll be camping at Fort Wilderness from Oct 13-16. Thinking we'll rent a popup from a local company I found. My sister and her son are coming with. They are military, so were hoping the military package is extended. None of have been to Disney before. S if there's any must see, do or eats please share. My daughter will be 6 at the time we go and my nephew will be 3.

I suggest checking the Camping Board for detailed information about camping at the Fort. There are lots of activities there that the kids should enjoy. The good people on the Camping Board can also help you with requests for the more desirable camping loops and how to have a comfortable experience.

Look into the campfire singalong and movies. You might also want to see if they will be doing the haunted hayrides or carriage rides this year during the Halloween season.

 

[Taylor'sMom]

welcome to the Dis! I can't offer any advice on the campground except to second the previous poster and recommend the free campfire/movie/chip & dale meet there. You should spend some time on the theme park attractions & strategies board to get a feel for the attractions. I would also recommend getting a guide book from the bookstore or library (the unofficial guide is my fave). Primarily, do your research to know what to expect, come up with some kind of game plan (even if its just a list of what attraction you don't want to miss), have realistic expectations from your kids (and adult travel partners) and relax and have fun!!!

 

[pocomom]

We'll be camping at Fort Wilderness from Oct 13-16. Thinking we'll rent a popup from a local company I found. My sister and her son are coming with. They are military, so were hoping the military package is extended. None of have been to Disney before. S if there's any must see, do or eats please share. My daughter will be 6 at the time we go and my nephew will be 3.

You are going to have a great time! Fort Wilderness rocks! If you can I highly recommend the 400 loop or somewhere right around in there - they are premiums but it is easy peesy walking distance to the boat to Magic Kingdom, which with a 3 and 6 your likely to spend most of your time. Also the beach is right there and a camp store where you can see the MK fireworks, and the pagent, and you can walk to the swimming pool /chip n dale's/other camp store in the other direction. There are of course buses if you get a further away loop, but I love being able to walk everywhere important!
Check out the camping board and I agree with getting a guide book if it is your first time. You are going to love it either way, but a little prep work and your trip will be truly magical!

 

[Zhoen]

Excellent! You're all going to have SUCH a lovely time! Seven months is plenty of time to plan... but I'd suggest the first thing you do right now is look at the projected schedules for opening/closings and plan for any Advanced Dining Reservations you'll want to make. The reservations open up 180 days out, but if you are staying on-property, I think you get a 10-day jump on that. I'm not sure if Fort Wilderness is included in that, but either way, it's coming up soon.

There's a LOT of Loooonnnggg tip threads you'll want to read through... but they're worth it.

One tip I wanted to offer is that I see you're bringing your princess. When I took mine, we planned to start our vacation with a trip to the Bibbidy Bobbidy Boutique on our arrival day... there's one in Downtown Disney, so we did that before we even checked into our resort... there's no ticket required and free parking, so even if you're not planning to do BBB, Downtown Disney is a great "first part-day." Plus there's a HUGE World of Disney store there where you can see a LOT of merchandise all together... It's a good idea to window-shop there the first day, then do all the parks, then return at the end of your trip for anything you still want. (And I'll get flamed for this, but if you have the transportation available, do check out the tourist-junk shops in town!)

I can tell you, and many here will agree, planning is half the fun! By the time we finally took our trip, I had spent a year planning it, I had a daily schedule for which park we'd be at and which reservations or walk-in places we wanted to eat at and the times for those... but not a by-the-minute stressful deal. The trip itself was WONDERFUL because it was the culmination of so much planning and dreaming. I hope yours will be the same.

While you are planning, it's time to start shopping! Keep an eye on Dollar Tree, Target Dollar Spot, and the yard sales and thrift shops. Disney stuff shows up there all the time! If you can find a (non-icky) Minnie Mouse headband for $.50 at a yard sale and tuck it away, that's money you can use for something else when you get to the parks!

So off you go! Get started reading those Loooonnnnggg threads! I promise they're worth it! Oh, but DO plan to bring a stroller for your nephew and possibly even for your daughter. They WILL get tired, and it's expensive to rent them, plus you can't take them out of the park if they're rented. (Plus they are handy for hauling around all your junk!) We saved a TON of money on snacks and beverages by bringing in our own each day and just hanging the bag off the back of the stroller. No way would I have wanted to carry that much weight in a backpack, though!

I'm also sending you a PM.