Newbie Questions

[Tink3815]

My husband and I are thinking about camping at the fort long term. We live up north and visit Disney often in the winter at the mod and value hotels. Not really park people, just like to get out of the winter weather in a clean friendly place.

Thanks

Has anyone done back-to-back 30-day reservations on a full hook up site

What date would the reservations open from Jan 8 to March 8, 2027

What issues are common when staying this long

Has anyone brought their indoor cat along with them

Are there a lot of large snakes around the fort

Can you bring your own fishing gear to fish (and release)

How is the internet for streaming tv shows

 

[ilovedisneymm]

Hi, Tink.

Well, good luck. Cause once you stay at the Fort, you’ll have a hard time staying home for future winters.

I’m not sure how the back to back 30 day reservation system works today. In the past, people would simply go up to the check in, tell them they are back to back reservations, and the CM hits a few buttons and you return to your site. It is common for lengthy stays.

A good thing about repeat trips around the same time frame is you’ll end up meeting people that also stay around the same time. We’ve never had a trip where we haven’t ran into multiple families and elderly couples that we have corresponded with in the year(s) before.

Cats and dogs are welcome.

I’ve never seen a snake. We’ve fished many times from behind our site (believed rules may have changed for this) and also around the canal near the meadows.

Internet is decent. I believe they have upgraded that, too.

 

[Tink3815]

Thank you for the info, when does Disney open 2027 reservations

 

[team bradfield]

I tried back to back 3 yrs ago, made them online, they called next day and said nope, 30 day max now, I suppose you could check out for a day or 2 and return, we left for 3 weeks last year and returned for a week, never hurts to try, seems disney policies are ever changing

Good wifi, never seen a snake, fishing ok

 

[proudmomof4]

Residency laws in Florida changed a few years back, so Disney changed their rules too. Max stay is 30 days, you then have to leave (I’m not sure for how long but I’m sure @bama_ed knows). But after whatever amount of time you have to leave, you can come back for another 30 days.

As far as cats, they are welcome but be very careful, there are a few resident cats now that escaped from their owners RVs and were never able to be caught and returned to the owners.

 

[bama_ed]

Yep it's all in the really small fine print when you make a WDW campsite reservation and get six pages of really small fine print . Well that and the dispute/arbitration paragraphs, the assumption of risks paragraphs, the waiver paragraph, the indemnity/insurance paragraph, and THEN you get to deposits, cancellations, changes paragraphs

But what it says is you can stay up to 30 nights.

When you check out after a 30n stay, you can't check in until AFTER 28 days have passed from the prior check-out.

Here are the EXACT terms from my most recent reservation (copy/paste) made 01/26/26:

Reservations may only be made and are only guaranteed for a length of stay of no more than 30 nights. The maximum continuous stay for any guest at any single Disney Resort hotel, including campground locations, is 30 nights. A guest wishing to rebook a stay in the same hotel after an initial 30 night stay (whether done through one or multiple reservations), cannot book another stay at the same hotel for a period of 28 days after the initial stay. Disney reserves the right to decline, accept, retain or cancel any reservation or any guest, subject to applicable law, at any time and for any reason, including but not limited to, a mistake or error in price or description of the hotel, or where it appears that a guest has engaged in fraudulent or misleading activity in making the reservation. If a reservation is cancelled by Disney, Disney shall have no responsibility beyond the refund of monies paid related to the cancellation.

Max stay is 30 nights. But the bold says after a 30n stay, wait 28 d/n. What if the initial stay is only 29n? The way it's worded, the 28d wait ONLY applies if the prior stay was EXACTLY 30n. Could I or the OP stay 29n at FW, then 1n at nearby Lake Louisa SP, then back to FW for another 29n? and so on and so on? Wash/rinse/repeat?

Bama Ed

PS - for the OP, as @proudmomof4 said, the rules changed a few years ago to eliminate people staying back-to-back. There was a VERY small # of guests (count them on one hand) who stayed for YEARS on back-to-back. But is there a loop hole as I pointed out above if you DON'T stay for 30n at a time?

PPS - in the recent few years, new rates and reservations for the following year have come out in mid/late April.

 

[Teamubr]

Interesting interpretation, Ed. I suspect if there was the less than 30 day loophole, someone would have taken advantage of it.

I think TeamBradford should test this theory.

j

 

[bama_ed]

Interesting interpretation, Ed. I suspect if there was the less than 30 day loophole, someone would have taken advantage of it.

I think TeamBradford should test this theory.

j

I SECOND @teambradford's nomination.

I get the gist of the rule. Consecutive back-to-back reservations, whether they are 30 nights long or twice as many that are 15 nights long, means the guest has all the appearance of full-time living there if the combined span is for a few months or longer.

And at some point, the Florida industry (hotels vs domiciles) has to have a dividing line - so 30n it is - followed by an almost equivalent time away. Plus it needs to be relatively simple to implement (30 is the sole, fixed number of nights).

Finally, Jim, I think if there was a loophole and someone wormed through it, we would NOT have heard about it. Because if it was successful and the guest blah blah blah'd about it others would have implemented it and Disney would find out and shut it down. Which hasn't happened yet. Makes me wonder if it's happening , therefore, on the down-low....

When @team bradfield attempts it, maybe he can just send up some smoke signals if he is successful. If a guest interrupts their stay at Fort Wilderness and take their "home" with them somewhere else, even if for a day, they live "there" for that period of time and not "here" at the Fort.

Let's do this: you and me will be like Dr. Bunsen Honeydew with an idea for an experiment.

@team bradfield will be like Beaker and actually CONDUCT the experiment and live with the consequences. Think of the SUCCESS he could attain, the FAME! And we will ALL learn what happens. Win-win-win!

Bama Ed

PS - having to pack up and move out only to move back in shortly thereafter would be a pain in the rear but might be worth it if you could get 59 nights at the Fort (for example, a 29n then a 30n) with 1n off premise between the two. In my Aliner it wouldn't be hard to do.

 

[bama_ed]

Are there a lot of large snakes around the fort

Can you bring your own fishing gear to fish (and release)

How is the internet for streaming tv shows

Also for the OP:

I've not seen ANY large snakes in my years there but that doesn't mean there aren't any.

You can bring your own gear but Disney severely limits (officially) WHERE you can fish. Officially it is just around the pond surrounded by the Meadow Trading Post, Bike Barn, Campfire/Movie theatre, and loop 600. NOT in the canals around the Fort. Fishing in BAY LAKE from shore anywhere is no-no because Disney wants you to pay $hundreds$ for their guided lake fishing excursion. And it's all release.

WIFI connectivity has been an issue over the years but it's getting better. It's simply based on how much demand/load there is. Mornings and midday, not bad at all. In the evenings when more folks are back in their rv's and campers and pulling on the system, it can be slower. Over the last few years, however, Disney has been plowing fiber optic cables to connect the WIFI cell antennas to haul the traffic back towards the interwebz. I don't stream video while at the Fort personally (internet computer and coax to the linear tv system-which I haven't bothered to do the last few trips). I have run wifi speed tests to back up what I just told you during multiple times of day though. Just depends if you (or the campers around you) are trying to watch something in 4K or 720p. YMMV.

Bama Ed

PS - notice I said 'officially' about where to fish.

 

[Teamubr]

Let's do this: you and me will be like Dr. Bunsen Honeydew with an idea for an experiment.

@team bradfield will be like Beaker and actually CONDUCT the experiment and live with the consequences. Think of the SUCCESS he could attain, the FAME! And we will ALL learn what happens. Win-win-win!

I like it! I'm (and TeamBradford) self contained and can boondock in a parking lot for a week or more. I'm thinking the overflow lot looks good for a night or 2 before checking in again*.

*Now, before we get ourselves in trouble with the sheriff (Hi Denise! ), we aren't advocating breaking any rules. Just hypothesizing how the rules would be interpreted.

And to get back on topic... The only snakes I've seen were in the canals when canoeing way at the back of the property.

j

 

[proudmomof4]

I’ve seen multiple snakes around the Fort. A pretty big one near the 1400 loop comfort station, I thought it was a hose that someone had left and went to pick it up, but then it moved. It climbed into the tree behind site 1439. I flagged down a cast member passing in a golf cart and he saw it too. But by the time an exterminator came out, we couldn’t find it.

I’ve seen black racers several times crossing the sidewalks. And a king snake, a very small one, by Pioneer Hall. People were stomping all over the poor little thing.

 

[Boomer1]

I have seen black racers several times at the Fort. In January, during our stay, I saw one which was about 3 feet long. Not sure what you would consider large, but for this little Canadian I moved quickly away in the opposite direction.