Talk me into keeping a cabin

[APB513]

Hi everyone! We just returned from a wonderful Christmas stay at WDW. While we were there, I booked a bounceback stay for next Christmas in a cabin at FW.

On Christmas, we had dinner at Hoop De Doo Revue and then took a sleigh ride to see the decorated campsites. We had a great time and all of the campsites were beautiful. The sleigh driver even took us to see Dave's Castle show!! It was awesome!!!

After our visit, I started having second thoughts about staying at FW.

My first concern is the size of the resort. It is HUGE!! I am concerned about navigating around the resort. Not to mention the added expense of renting a golf cart (BTW - how much does it cost to rent a golf cart?)

I am also concerned about the added time to get to and from the parks. Having to take the settlement bus to get to the outpost and then taking a bus from the outpost to a park seems like it will take a lot of time.

My next concern is camping. I am not an outdoors kinda girl. I've only camped once and could not wait to get home. But the cabins look like they have all of the comforts of home so I'm hoping it will be fine.

I'd like to hear from some FW veterans on why you choose FW over the other WDW resorts. Talk me into keeping the FW cabin

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

 

[mnsprk]

The Fort is an "experience" all its own. The decorated sites, the campfire and movie as well as the "friendliness" of the other people there. You also have the electric water parade that you can watch from the beach and even catch most of the fireworks from the MK (they pipe the music in).. You don't have to use the bus to go the MK you can take the FW bus to the Settlement Outpost to catch the boat at the marina, there is also a boat to the Contemporary and WL. Once your back at the MK you can catch the Monorail to Epccot. GO FOR IT!!!!!

The cabins are the next best thing to being at home, you have your own kitchen so meal costs could be less. Best yet, the mousekeepers do the dishes.

 

[APB513]

The Fort is an "experience" all its own. The decorated sites, the campfire and movie as well as the "friendliness" of the other people there. You also have the electric water parade that you can watch from the beach and even catch most of the fireworks from the MK (they pipe the music in).. You don't have to use the bus to go the MK you can take the FW bus to the Settlement Outpost to catch the boat at the marina, there is also a boat to the Contemporary and WL. Once your back at the MK you can catch the Monorail to Epccot. GO FOR IT!!!!!

The cabins are the next best thing to being at home, you have your own kitchen so meal costs could be less. Best yet, the mousekeepers do the dishes.

Thanks, mnsprk! I didn't know about mousekeepers doing the dishes. That's cool!

 

[retired and happy]

Don't let the size of FW bother you. The layout is basically one long road from checkin to the marina and a large circle within the campground from which the individual camping loops exit. It is convenient to have a golf cart, but not a necessity. The bus system works very well, and does not cause a appreciable delay in getting to the parks. And remember you are on vacation. You do not have to keep to a work-a-day tight schedule. Relax and enjoy.

 

[Born 2 Fish]

I've said this before, here it is again,,
If you have to be talked into it, then don't do it.
You shouldn't have to be talked into it.
The Fort is what it is,,if concerns, worries, time, (and you mentioned you don't like the outdoors), are things that bothers you, then it's not the place for you.

Sorry to be so blunt, but thats a fact.

 

[APB513]

Don't let the size of FW bother you. The layout is basically one long road from checkin to the marina and a large circle within the campground from which the individual camping loops exit. It is convenient to have a golf cart, but not a necessity. The bus system works very well, and does not cause a appreciable delay in getting to the parks. And remember you are on vacation. You do not have to keep to a work-a-day tight schedule. Relax and enjoy.

Thank you retired and happy for you comments. Both times that I have visited FW have been at night. It is very hard to get a true sense of the size of the resort in the dark.

Remembering that I am on vacation is something I am trying to work on. Our first few trips to WDW were only a few days each so we toured commando style. Now that we are staying longer, I am trying to relax more and enjoy other aspects of WDW besides the parks.

One of the reasons I am considering staying at FW is during our trip this Christmas once we left the parks, there wasn't much to do at Pop so I spent much of the evening in the room. Not the best way to enjoy our WDW vacation. I like the fact that there seems to be so much to do at FW when we are not in the parks.

Another reason I am considering the cabins is the size. My sons are older now - they'll be 22 and 17 next year - and sharing a room at Pop is no longer working. I like the fact that the cabins have is a separate bedroom, a kitchen and a whole lot more space than in a room at Pop.

I've said this before, here it is again,,
If you have to be talked into it, then don't do it.
You shouldn't have to be talked into it.
The Fort is what it is,,if concerns, worries, time, (and you mentioned you don't like the outdoors), are things that bothers you, then it's not the place for you.

Sorry to be so blunt, but thats a fact.

Thank you born 2 fish for your comments. No need for an apology, I appreciate your bluntness.

To clarify - the statement "talk me into it" was more tongue in cheek. What I meant by talk me into was that I was hoping to hear why other people enjoy staying at FW versus staying at other resorts.

Part of the reason I posted my concerns was that I was hoping to hear from others to see if I had a reason to be concerned. I don't know much about FW so I wanted to hear the reasons people keep coming back to FW year after year. I don't expect people to talk me into or out of staying at FW. What I hope is that by reading the comments posted by people who have stayed at FW, I can gather some additional information to use to make my decision.

As far as not liking the outdoors goes - I don't. But I think my DSs would like staying at the cabins and would like the opportunity to participate in the activities offered at FW.

OK having said that, would someone like to tell me why they like staying at FW?

 

[mnsprk]

"But I think my DSs would like staying at the cabins and would like the opportunity to participate in the activities offered at FW."

I think you have answered your own question.

As you said not much to do at the "POP". Same goes for most of the other resorts.

Why do we like the Fort?

Where can you go for a leisurely walk and see deer, otters, ducks,go fishing, canoeing, ride a bike, sit on the beach in evening, roast marshmallows over the fire and the list goes on and on. Where else can you go after day at the Parks and really relax?

What else can we say! WE JUST LOVE IT!!

Go here!

http://allears.net/acc/g_ftw.htm

 

[redshoe9]

We just stayed at the cabins and I can't praise them enough. They are wonderful. Comfy couch with a full kitchen, coffee maker, full fridge, microwave etc. There is lots of privacy and a wonderful bedroom in the back. The bathrooms are huge for a cabin and they are very cozy. I don't even want word getting out how perfect they are or they will always be booked.

It was so fantastic to come back to the wooded peacefulness of the fort after being bombarded with sensory overload from the Disney parks. My 6 year old actually pestered us to leave to parks and go back to the fort so he could play at the playgrounds and ride on the golf carts. It was a great place to decompress after the hectic parks. Having a full kitchen was so nice. I made simple meals and I loved being able to have a big pot of coffee and scones while I caught up on the morning news.

You will not be disappointed. Bring your favorite bubble baths/lotions-coffee and creamers a few good books and house slippers- the rest just falls into place.

 

[APB513]

"But I think my DSs would like staying at the cabins and would like the opportunity to participate in the activities offered at FW."

I think you have answered your own question.

As you said not much to do at the "POP". Same goes for most of the other resorts.

Why do we like the Fort?

Where can you go for a leisurely walk and see deer, otters, ducks,go fishing, canoeing, ride a bike, sit on the beach in evening, roast marshmallows over the fire and the list goes on and on. Where else can you go after day at the Parks and really relax?

What else can we say! WE JUST LOVE IT!!

Go here!

http://allears.net/acc/g_ftw.htm

Thanks for the link, mnsprk. Lots of great info and pictures

We just stayed at the cabins and I can't praise them enough. They are wonderful. Comfy couch with a full kitchen, coffee maker, full fridge, microwave etc. There is lots of privacy and a wonderful bedroom in the back. The bathrooms are huge for a cabin and they are very cozy. I don't even want word getting out how perfect they are or they will always be booked.

It was so fantastic to come back to the wooded peacefulness of the fort after being bombarded with sensory overload from the Disney parks. My 6 year old actually pestered us to leave to parks and go back to the fort so he could play at the playgrounds and ride on the golf carts. It was a great place to decompress after the hectic parks. Having a full kitchen was so nice. I made simple meals and I loved being able to have a big pot of coffee and scones while I caught up on the morning news.

You will not be disappointed. Bring your favorite bubble baths/lotions-coffee and creamers a few good books and house slippers- the rest just falls into place.

Thanks redshoe9. As much as I love Pop, I did not love the three of us being couped up in such a small space for 9 days.

It will be great to have all of that room. I love that the cabin has a separate bedroom and the fact that there are two TVs is a plus! That way if I my DSs want to stay up and watch TV, I can go into the bedroom and sleep!!

 

[fla4fun]

One thing you could do is request a cabin close to the Outpost area. Some of them are within reasonable walking distance, so that the only time you would have to take internal transportation to get to a park would be MK.

Personally, I did not have any long waits for internal buses when I was there, provided I was only going to the Settlement or Outpost. If I was going to the Meadow pool, sometimes a couple purple buses would go by before an orange one would come - but we're still talking about waiting maybe 10 minutes total. I don't rent a golf cart because I am usually solo - and it just doesn't seem like a justifiable expense when I'm driving and can take my bike with me (although I only use the bike on the days when I'm doing FW activities - I take the buses when going to the parks). If you have a car, it's nice to drive to the parks (except MK) - knowing that you won't have to search for a parking space when you get back that night.

A FW vacation is a lot more laid back than vacationing at most of the other Disney resorts. When you get to the Fort, it feels so peaceful and relaxing that you don't really want to leave to go to the parks. The only downside I've found is in regards to dining. If you're like me, you'll fix some meals in the cabin, which is not only super convenient, but good for the budget too. But if you like to eat out for pretty much every meal, it's not quite as convenient as walking over to the food court at Pop.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

I've said this before, here it is again,,
If you have to be talked into it, then don't do it.
You shouldn't have to be talked into it.
The Fort is what it is,,if concerns, worries, time, (and you mentioned you don't like the outdoors), are things that bothers you, then it's not the place for you.

Sorry to be so blunt, but thats a fact.

I agree, Frank. Why take a chance on a vacation? If I had a list of reasons why I thought I might not like a place, I would find someplace else to stay that more closely met my requirements for comfort.

 

[lklasing]

I totally agree with everything Redshoe said. We have now stayed at the cabins 3 times and are thrilled to be returning in March. The only reason we ever stayed there the first time was that we had family who was camping. However, on the last 2 trips, we had no one camping and yet returned to the cabins anyway. There is just so much more room that we can't stay away. DH gets too crowded after a few days in a regular hotel room with all 4 of us, so we never stayed as long as we wanted to. But at the cabin, he could actually stay forever since we don't get in each other's way like we do in a regular room.

I respectfully disagree with Frank and Jim - we had great reservations about staying in a cabin instead of the Poly (concierge) where we were used to staying. And yet, we loved it enough to keep coming back over and over.

Feel free to check out my trip reports in my signature below. The first is for our last trip to the Poly, but the last 3 are from our cabin stays. Each discusses why we love staying there, but the first of the FW trip reports (May 2008 I think) probably has the most FW-specific info since it was our first time staying there.

Go, and have a great time!

Leslie

 

[ConcKahuna]

I love the cabins! My favorite place is the 2100 loop, close to the 1100 loop comfort station.

You'll have campers behind you, but there is a path past the comfort station that puts you into the 1100 loop, and right across the street from the Meadows area. There's also only one other bus stop on your way to the Settlement area (where the MK boat is).

 

[kaguilbeau]

One thing that you will enjoy with the cabins is the extra 'place to be' it creates.

Imagine waking up at 6:30 - having a cup of coffee on the deck outside (or even in the living room). Checking the morning news on the TV. Now, if you were in a standard hotel room, someone would be saying ,"geez mom, can you turn that thing down! I'm trying to sleep."

or

It's night time and you're tired. You climb into your Murphy bed which is right in the living room area - and fall asleep. When the older kids come in, there is a separate entrance that will take them directly to the back bedroom.

I like having a 'place to be' and not having to disturbe the others that are sleeping. I also prefer to take the sleeping area that is nearest the kitchen, whether it be a sleeper sofa or - in this case - the Murphy bed. Works best for us.

 

[disneyholic family]

how is the internet service in the cabins? same as in the hotels?

DH needs good service for work, even when we're on vacation..

 

[APB513]

One thing you could do is request a cabin close to the Outpost area. Some of them are within reasonable walking distance, so that the only time you would have to take internal transportation to get to a park would be MK.

Personally, I did not have any long waits for internal buses when I was there, provided I was only going to the Settlement or Outpost. If I was going to the Meadow pool, sometimes a couple purple buses would go by before an orange one would come - but we're still talking about waiting maybe 10 minutes total. I don't rent a golf cart because I am usually solo - and it just doesn't seem like a justifiable expense when I'm driving and can take my bike with me (although I only use the bike on the days when I'm doing FW activities - I take the buses when going to the parks). If you have a car, it's nice to drive to the parks (except MK) - knowing that you won't have to search for a parking space when you get back that night.

A FW vacation is a lot more laid back than vacationing at most of the other Disney resorts. When you get to the Fort, it feels so peaceful and relaxing that you don't really want to leave to go to the parks. The only downside I've found is in regards to dining. If you're like me, you'll fix some meals in the cabin, which is not only super convenient, but good for the budget too. But if you like to eat out for pretty much every meal, it's not quite as convenient as walking over to the food court at Pop.

Thanks fla4fun! That was another thing I was wondering about - which area to request. I know that requests are not guaranteed but I figure it can't hurt to ask. I will have to look at the map again to see which area I want to request.

I agree, Frank. Why take a chance on a vacation? If I had a list of reasons why I thought I might not like a place, I would find someplace else to stay that more closely met my requirements for comfort.

Thanks for your comments ftwildernessguy.

I posted my concerns because I would hate to automatically rule out the cabins if my concerns are unfounded.

As I said earlier, the reason I posted my concerns was to get feedback from others who have stayed at FW to see if my concerns were valid. If after reading everyone's posts I feel that my concerns are justified, I will switch resorts.

I totally agree with everything Redshoe said. We have now stayed at the cabins 3 times and are thrilled to be returning in March. The only reason we ever stayed there the first time was that we had family who was camping. However, on the last 2 trips, we had no one camping and yet returned to the cabins anyway. There is just so much more room that we can't stay away. DH gets too crowded after a few days in a regular hotel room with all 4 of us, so we never stayed as long as we wanted to. But at the cabin, he could actually stay forever since we don't get in each other's way like we do in a regular room.

I respectfully disagree with Frank and Jim - we had great reservations about staying in a cabin instead of the Poly (concierge) where we were used to staying. And yet, we loved it enough to keep coming back over and over.

Feel free to check out my trip reports in my signature below. The first is for our last trip to the Poly, but the last 3 are from our cabin stays. Each discusses why we love staying there, but the first of the FW trip reports (May 2008 I think) probably has the most FW-specific info since it was our first time staying there.

Go, and have a great time!

Leslie

Thanks, Leslie! I am looking forward to reading your trip reports!!

I love the cabins! My favorite place is the 2100 loop, close to the 1100 loop comfort station.

You'll have campers behind you, but there is a path past the comfort station that puts you into the 1100 loop, and right across the street from the Meadows area. There's also only one other bus stop on your way to the Settlement area (where the MK boat is).

Thanks ConcKahuna! I am really torn between being close to the settlement area for easy access to the MK (my favorite park) and being close to the outpost for easier access to the other parks. Luckily I've got 11 months to figure it out

One thing that you will enjoy with the cabins is the extra 'place to be' it creates.

Imagine waking up at 6:30 - having a cup of coffee on the deck outside (or even in the living room). Checking the morning news on the TV. Now, if you were in a standard hotel room, someone would be saying ,"geez mom, can you turn that thing down! I'm trying to sleep."

or

It's night time and you're tired. You climb into your Murphy bed which is right in the living room area - and fall asleep. When the older kids come in, there is a separate entrance that will take them directly to the back bedroom.

I like having a 'place to be' and not having to disturbe the others that are sleeping. I also prefer to take the sleeping area that is nearest the kitchen, whether it be a sleeper sofa or - in this case - the Murphy bed. Works best for us.

Thanks kaguilbeau! I did not know about the separate entrance!!! That is great.

A "place to be" is one of the main reasons I considered the cabins. During our Christmas trip, once we got back to the room, my oldest DS would want to be up talking on the phone and my youngest DS would want to watch TV while I wanted to sleep. My oldest DS would have to leave the room so he could talk on the phone and my youngest DS ended up going to sleep because I was ready to go to bed. But with the cabins, this would not be an issue.

I had already figured that I would sleep in the living room and they could have the bedroom. I am an early riser so I figured I could get breakfast ready while they slept.

Keep the comments coming

 

[disneyholic family]

this is a fantastic thread....
i have another question...
last time i stayed at Fort Wilderness was in 1974 and that was in a tent (and we had a great time by the way)..
I'm sure it has changed a lot since then...

in addition to my earlier question - is there an internet connection in the cabins and is it a fast connection..
also, how does it work if you stay in a cabin and have a car...
do you park right by the cabin?

i looked at the pictures posted on allears.net, but i couldn't tell whether you park by the cabin or not..

 

[MadFF]

My first concern is the size of the resort. It is HUGE!! I am concerned about navigating around the resort. Not to mention the added expense of renting a golf cart (BTW - how much does it cost to rent a golf cart?)

I am also concerned about the added time to get to and from the parks. Having to take the settlement bus to get to the outpost and then taking a bus from the outpost to a park seems like it will take a lot of time.

You certainly do not HAVE to rent a golf cart... we rented one for only one of the days we were at the Fort in October 2008. That day we stayed at the Fort, driving around (looping), do stuff at the campground. When you are going to the parks, your golf cart is just going to sit all day. Otherwise the buses worked very well for us. If your "color" bus doesn't seem to be showing up, ASK one of the other driver's -- I did that, and the driver simply changed the color of his bus, and took us to our loop! As with everything at Disney, ASK!

We had bicycles with us, and it was nice using them, but we found we really didn't need them and we didn't use them nearly as much as I thought we would.

Getting to and from the parks was no problem at all for us. You simply cannot beat taking a ferry boat ride to the Magic Kingdom!!!! It took more time for relatives who were staying at Pop Century to get into the parks than we did.

We also didn't always "rush" out first thing in the morning... just being in a campground seems to slow people down. When we would get to the docks between 9 and 10AM, many times it seemed we missed the "morning rush".

You will have a great time.

 

[mnsprk]

this is a fantastic thread....
i have another question...
last time i stayed at Fort Wilderness was in 1974 and that was in a tent (and we had a great time by the way)..
I'm sure it has changed a lot since then...

in addition to my earlier question - is there an internet connection in the cabins and is it a fast connection..
also, how does it work if you stay in a cabin and have a car...
do you park right by the cabin?

i looked at the pictures posted on allears.net, but i couldn't tell whether you park by the cabin or not..

Internet is "available" for $9.95 a day. You can get a modem(deposit required) that connects through the cable. Same goes for the campsites. Yes you can park in front of your cabin. Just remember you cannot drive around to get to the other facilities in the Fort you need to use the bus system or rent a G.C.. If memory serves me correctly there is a 15 min parking lot at the Meadows Trading Post.

 

[APB513]

You certainly do not HAVE to rent a golf cart... we rented one for only one of the days we were at the Fort in October 2008. That day we stayed at the Fort, driving around (looping), do stuff at the campground. When you are going to the parks, your golf cart is just going to sit all day. Otherwise the buses worked very well for us. If your "color" bus doesn't seem to be showing up, ASK one of the other driver's -- I did that, and the driver simply changed the color of his bus, and took us to our loop! As with everything at Disney, ASK!

We had bicycles with us, and it was nice using them, but we found we really didn't need them and we didn't use them nearly as much as I thought we would.

Getting to and from the parks was no problem at all for us. You simply cannot beat taking a ferry boat ride to the Magic Kingdom!!!! It took more time for relatives who were staying at Pop Century to get into the parks than we did.

We also didn't always "rush" out first thing in the morning... just being in a campground seems to slow people down. When we would get to the docks between 9 and 10AM, many times it seemed we missed the "morning rush".

You will have a great time.

Thanks MadFF! I really want to go at a slower pace on our next trip. Maybe even not go to a park for one or two days I can't believe I just said that

Internet is "available" for $9.95 a day. You can get a modem(deposit required) that connects through the cable. Same goes for the campsites. Yes you can park in front of your cabin. Just remember you cannot drive around to get to the other facilities in the Fort you need to use the bus system or rent a G.C.. If memory serves me correctly there is a 15 min parking lot at the Meadows Trading Post.

Thanks, mnsprk! I was wondering about having a car at FW. Not sure yet if I will rent a car or a GC.