lots of questions

[memakwed]

I'm thinking about going to the fort in a pop up without a/c. What would the best month for weather be, so sleeping is comfortable? Our son is in a wheel chair. Will it be easy to maneuver in a wheelchair ie, gravel, pavement, dirt/sand? Is there a quiet pool? How is the bug situation? Does anyone know if they spray to control bugs or if one season is worse than another for bugs? Do they have wheelchair accesible showers? Could I get some feedback about Trail's end, Mickey's backyard BBQ and the Hoop de doo revue? Are they worth doing if we're staying right there? The marshmallow roast and movie in the evening sounds fun would that be managable with a wheelchair?
I'm sure I'll have more questions but those are the ones for now so any answers would be great
Thanks

 

[TOGA]

I've camped there in my pop-up without A/C, but it was in January, so obviously that's probably not a fair comparison. Half the time we had the furnace on though Our next trip will be late October/early September time frame and I'm leaning on not taking our portable A/C. I think we'll be fine with the fans we have.

I've read here on the boards that Spring and Fall are quite comfortable and temperate, but there is always that possibility of warmer than expected weather.

It seemed to me that everything about the Fort had very nice handicap accessible entrances, walkways, shower stalls, bathroom stalls and anything else you might think of including the marshmallow roast and movie.

I've only ever been to Trail's End for the breakfast buffet and me and my family have always found it to be very good, but reading around the boards I get the feeling that I've missed some better quality/selection of food in earlier years, so you may get some responses that say that Trail's End is going down hill. We love it {at least for breakfast}.

I've never done the Mickey Backyard BBQ, but I think I've read enough reviews and comments on these boards to save my money and not do that. However, a trip to Disney and the Fort is simply not complete without the Hoop-De-Doo Review dinner show. We love singing along, clapping and the entire spectacle of the show, plus the food is quite good.

Sorry that it's kind of long, but I hope it was helpful.

Have fun at the Fort!

 

[retired and happy]

I disagree. We do the Backyard BBQ every time we're there for a couple of weeks or more. It has more fascination for younger kids (you don't say how old yourson is). We also do the HDD fairly regularly. Food is about the same for both...good and plenty of it. The HDD is a little quieter, with the BBQ having some pretty loud speakers.

We do take out from Trails End every trip. Either the GiddyUp and Go (GAG) or a pizza. We love both.

There's a quiet pool in the cabin area. Recently rebuilt to eliminate a deep end.

I understand they do spray for insects, but I have never seen/heard this going on, so I don't know WHEN they do it. There are a couple of times of the year when love bugs (Nuisance) and yellow flies (biting) are bad. Carry your own repellant.

Unless they have changed something recently, we have had trouble getting our kids wheelchairs into the campfire location. It's a gravel area. It can be done...our son is 165 pounds, so his chair tends to bog down in the gravel. Tipping it to the back wheels helps.

Plenty of paved areas in the campsites. Premium sites have more concrete, but preferred site concrete is narrower and has a sand pit at the rear for staking tents, etc. With a P/U you should have plenty of concrete to move the wheelchair around. I've even seen P/U's turned sideways at the rear of the pad, which leaves a lot of concrete space out front.

Hope this helps.

 

[RileyMom08]

The time of year to camp is really dependent on what activities you want to do.

We are locals and have ressies for the end of April at the Fort because we want to take advantage of the pools. We originally had ressies for late February but realized it would be too cold for the kids to enjoy the pools.

The love bugs hit every May and September. Some years are horrible and some years they are hardly noticeable. They don't bite but they do get everywhere!

We went camping last November and were eaten alive by mosquitoes. We had a very mild fall so they were out in force! We were in a tent and it was a little chilly when we woke up. It was comfortable when we went canoeing, walking, biking, etc.

Putting aside bug issues, hurricane season, rainy season, etc, the most comfortable temperatures occur in late October - May.

Hope this helps!

 

[mommy2paris]

Should I be concerned about any biting or annoying bugs during mid may? I hadn't even taken that into consideration lol. Thanks!

 

[bama_ed]

Also if your son is in a wheelchair you can request a handicap accessible site. I've seen them around the Fort and noticed they are a little wider than their normal peer and have a special picnic table with an extension on one side to allow a wheelchair to roll under the extension.

Spring and fall weekends are popular with locals so if you can't get the dates you want do the book-a-longer-period-to-get-what-you-want then drop the unwanted days right away.

Nice to see recent folks who have joined the DIS so Welcome. Good luck!

Bama ED

 

[RileyMom08]

The love bugs will be out but they don't bite.

I don't recall having to worry about a lot of mosquitoes in May. I would bring some repellent regardless!

 

[North of Mouse]

We have been camping at the Fort since they opened in 1971 and have never been bothered by bugs, period (never have been there when there were the love-bugs, but do know we had them growing up) - we used to joke that they didn't dare come on Disney property, but Disney does something but we don't know what . Also, coming from a deep southern raised girl, it can and does get very hot and humid as early as April and as late as Oct. - depends on the year - anyone's guess We don't think the Backyard BBQ is worth the money at all. Trails end is so-so but not near what it used to be. We hardly go there any more after they raised the prices so much and have less food variety. We do sometimes go for breakfast. There is no one month that can be guaranteed comfortable without AC/heat. Each year is a toss-up. We went Dec '10 and nearly froze in the parks, same thing the year before end of Jan. Another year it can be in the 70's same time period. So, you'll just have to be prepared for anything and hope for the best. They do a pretty good job on things being wheel chair accessible, but the PP mentioned the campfire program being a little difficult - never thought about that. Have a good trip

 

[mommy2paris]

Thanks for the bug info. Should we consider bringing a small AC unit to put in tent, for Middle of May? We have two large fans... Wondering now if that will be enough.

 

[RileyMom08]

If you have room, I would bring it just in case.
In my book, good, solid sleep is a key component to enjoying WDW. I can't even imagine the grumpy factor if you guys can't get comfortable enough to sleep well because of the the heat!
North of Mouse is right on. Central Florida weather can be crazy up and down. May should be comfortable because the humidity hasn't peaked and the afternoon rain season isn't in full force. It's the last month that my family would feel comfortable camping until probably November.

 

[dissybroad]

I tent camped on a solo trip in October '09 and the nights were cool enough for a fleece jacket. We stayed in the cabins October '11 and the weather was great, warm enough for t-shirts during the day but needing those light jackets in the early a.m. or at night. Only went once in May and that was during the monsoons of '09 so I'm not sure I can give a good account of May camping. Trails End was an acceptable alternative to leaving the Fort to eat. The pool by the cabins is a nice alternative as every time I went there to do laundry there were two people at most or nobody in the pool.

 

[jaredjohn4]

I would also consider getting a golf cart at the fort (reserve early). We usually don't get one, but it would sure help getting around at the fort with one less time loading on the bus for a quick trip somewhere. We have never had trouble with bugs at Fort Wilderness, and last year spring break was great without air conditioning in the popup. Swimming was a little cool in the morning, but fine in the late afternoons.

Good Luck.