Should we stay here question from a newbie.

[cprofits]

Hi,

My family of four (two kids ages 9 and 6) will be staying at Disney for the week before labor day. My kids are really set on staying in a fort wilderness cabin. My husband seems to think he'd prefer to stay at caribbean beach. Everyone has been looking at pictures and reading information about the various moderate resorts and these two are the top contenders. I know this is a board dedicated to FW so I'm sure many here love FW, but I thought I'd ask about the pros and cons of each place here. I thought the posters here would be in a position to know the most about FW.

Thank you!

 

[shafke]

We will be at the cabins the week before the week before Labor Day.

Pros for staying at the cabins
- cabins sleep 6... each kid can sleep in a separate bed (bunk beds)
- cabins have a full kitchen
- outside sitting area so you can sit outside with a cocktail after the kids go to sleep

cons
- no food court at the campground although this can be balanced out by bringing a few supplies to make whatever is needed in the kitchen

CBR
- no balconies.
- room access is from exterior walkways similar to a motel
- buses are not shared but you will need to make multiple stops before heading to a park
- there is a food court but it can be a long walk depending on which building you are in.

What about the CBR appeals to your husband to put this slightly above FW?

 

[Cindy F]

I'll add to the pros on the above list:

Watching wishes from the beach
Watching the electric water parade from the beach
Sing Along with Chip and Dale
Campfire movie with Smores every night
Looping with a golf cart

There's no food court but the take out from Trail's End is good and the food at the Meadows Snack bar is fantastic--the pulled pork is almost as good as what we have in Memphis

Being able to get on the resort launch to leave Magic Kingdom at the end of the day instead of dealing with monorails/trams/ferry/traffic is priceless!

 

[Arenita]

Cabins Pro - separate bedroom

 

[Disneylitch]

Don"t forget the Disney movies everynight.
The relaxation of FW.
You're not stuck in a hotel room when you aren't in the parks.
Convenient transportation to all parks and Downtown Disney.
The kids will be much HAPPIER.

 

[DaveInTN]

cprofits - I think your husband is afraid to stay at FW because he knows you all will get hooked and be back every year, maybe multiple times per year. I speak from experience. Be afraid.

 

[gmflanigan]

It's definitely contagious......

 

[clkelley]

As far as food courts go, the Contemporary and Wilderness Lodge are just a short boat ride away. They both have great quick service restaurants.

It could take you as long to get to the food court at CB as it does to get to the CR or WL

There is also the great pool at the Fort. There are numerous kids games at the pool every afternoon.

You can bring bikes.

And as Frank woud say the best reason of all, you can GO FISHING!!

 

[cprofits]

Thank you for your replies. I think it's going to be a cabin at FW! There is so much more space, both inside and out of the cabin. Separate beds, two tvs, the deck to sit on when the kids go to sleep, all of the family friendly activities throughout the resort, etc. Now I've just got to make sure we slow down and try to spend some time there rather than leaving first thing in the morning and coming home late at night when everyone is exhausted.

I"m very excited to experience this and hope it becomes as special a place to our family as it has to so many here.

~ Geri

 

[Nayan]

We stayed at the cabins for the first time a couple weeks ago and we are now hooked! There's quite a few things to do there and we didn't even get to do half of them. Having separate sleeping rooms made a huge difference this trip for us as did having a full kitchen. You'll be hooked once you get there, trust me. We're going back in November .

 

[bookwormde]

Unless you love the restaurant experience for every meal you can save a small fortune by ordering in groceries from one of the services and fixing quick meals in the cabin kitchen.
bookwormde

 

[mrzrich]

Not sure if you will have a car, but my DH's favorite thing about the cabins was that our car was parked right outside our cabin door. No Schlepping across a parking lot to get something out of my car.

 

[motherwild]

From what I've heard mousekeeping will wash your dishes. too bad they don't do that at campsites.

 

[Disneylitch]

You can rent a car from Alamo and go to the super walmart once you arrive if you don't have a car. Alamo is located right on Disney property and pick up and drop off every 30 minutes. They are reasonable too.

 

[KeepSwimmingDory]

My boys are 21,20,15,15 now, but when they were that age we never stayed anywhere but the FW cabins. They loved their cabin time as much as the park time. (And in some instances more). Here is my list of what I remember them liking.

playing outside the cabin while DH grilled
eating hamburgers, hot dogs, steak, & chicken (they will tell you everything tasted better at the fort)
big breakfasts before we went to the park
looking for cool sticks and whittling them down to roast their marshmallows
SMORES
the boat ride to MK (they considered it their first ride)
having a kid's bedroom and tv
the little critters we would see on our walks
playing tetherball, basketball and on the playground
electrical water pageant at the boat dock
watching the fireworks from the beach
seeing all the campsites
riding the boat over to Wilderness Lodge to shop, pin trade, or eat
going to the trading posts for Mickey bars
playing checkers in the Meadows trading post
playing football out on the grass with kids they met

As each year progressed I would allow more time in the schedule for the fort because there was so much they wanted to do. We always had at least one no park day so they could enjoy the cabin and campground. We even stayed at FW cabins one spring with no park tickets. It's that much fun!

 

[cprofits]

Thanks everyone! This is such a happy and welcoming board.

I just wanted to say that we've been talked into it so much that we've changed our reservation from 7 nights to 10 so we can make sure we have some 'Fort' time. I really think this is going to be our best disney vacation yet.

~ Geri