Trails End

[luvsvacations]

Was thinking of going to Trails End for dinner. I read somewhere there are miniature horses you can see - is there anything else there to see ?? Also - we are staying at POR with no car - aside from MK - is there another park that it is easy to to from there. Or after that we are going off site - would it be better to wait until then and we have a car ??? Thanks

 

[TheRustyScupper]

The best thing is the Chip-n-Dale Campfire after dinner.
Makes a GREAT evening.
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FORT WILDERNESS CAMPFIRE:

1) Location:
. . . within the Fort Wilderness Campgrounds
. . . near Meadows Trading Post, behind swimming pool area
2) Transportation to Fort Wilderness
. . . car to Fort Wilderness parking lot
. . . bus to Fort Wilderness from almost anywhere inside WDW
. . . boat to FW from Magic Kingdom or Wilderness Lodge Resort
. . . monorail to Contemporary Resort, then boat to FW
. . . most resorts have a separate bus to Fort Wilderness after 5:00pm
4) Transportation to Campfire
. . . take internal bus and ask for Campfire bus stop
5) Time
. . . spring and summer months - 8:00pm start time
. . . fall and winter months - 7:00pm start time
. . . every night of the year, weather permitting
. . . if rain. sing-along is on trading post porch
6) Activities
. . . two fire pits right of movie for roasting marshmallows (thru the movie)
. . . marshmallows/smores available for EXPENSIVE purchase at Chuck Wagon
. . . Chip-n-Dale at fire pit for photos and autographs (approx 40-min)
. . . sing-along in front of screen, usually with a solo guitarist (appox 40-min)
. . . animated or live action outdoor Disney film (approx 1½-hrs)
. . . short walk to a play area
7) Things to Know
. . . free to any WDW resort guest (yes, actually free ! )
. . . one of few places for autographs not requiring a meal or admission
. . . bring a light jacket, as it can get cool after sunset
. . . seating is on benches and bleachers, so a pad is nice comfort
. . . there are grassy areas to bring a blanket and sit on the ground
. . . better yet, bring folding chairs
. . . fortunately, they do not grade you on your voice during the sing-along
. . . there is no dress code
. . . plenty of CM's around for child safety
. . . excellent bus transportation before and after Campfire
. . . good activity after the early show at Hoop-Dee-Do-Review
. . . you many bring you own marshmallows-food-drinks-beer-coolers
. . . pizza, hot dogs, candy, nachos, popcorn for purchase at Chuck Wagon
. . . coffee, beer, soda, juices available for purchase at the Chuck Wagon
. . . for rain, they move the sing-along, but you will still get wet

NOTE: We find this to be a really great activity for either the first night at
WDW, or the last night before going home. Good time for family bonding, and
nice to veg-out.

 

[tobikaye]

MK is the easist park to get to FW from because it has a direct boat. All of the other parks travel to & from FW by bus. MK is also usually the easiest to get to Trails End or HDDR because the marina is near the Settlement area where these restaurants are. The buses from the other parks drop off at the Outpost area at the opposite end from the Settlement. From the Outpost, you would need to switch to an internal bus to get to the Settlement.

If you decide to drive to FW, you will have to park in the visitor parking lot at the Outpost and use the interal buses as well. It really is not that bad to have to use the internal buses as it allows you to get a good look at the property. There are only three bus routes internally and all go from Outpost to Settlement. One goes straight down the center road with a few stops. Then one bus goes through the cabin loops to the left and the other goes through the campground loops to the right.

As for activities, below are two links. For the most part, the only activity that is solely for resort guests are the swimming pools.

WDWINFO Activities FW

ALLEARS Activities FW

 

[luvsvacations]

Thank you for the info -

 

[GrandCalifornian]

Was thinking of going to Trails End for dinner. I read somewhere there are miniature horses you can see - is there anything else there to see ?? Also - we are staying at POR with no car - aside from MK - is there another park that it is easy to to from there. Or after that we are going off site - would it be better to wait until then and we have a car ??? Thanks

We love to visit Fort Wilderness, and Trail's End is probably my favorite overall WDW restaurant. It is located near the marina at the North end of FW (Called the Settlement), and nearby there are pony rides for little kids and some stables for full size horses that you can walk through. There are also carriage rides and a small store / gift shop.

The marina has boat rentals and free boat shuttles to MK and also to WL and CR. If you didn't want to take the boat straight to MK you could take the resort loop boat and check out WL or go to CR and get on the monorail.

The bus to MK and WL departs from the marina bus stop, or you can get on internal FW busses there. The interior busses at FW take different routes between the North and South ends of FW, and you could hop on any of them and get to the South end (called the Outpost), where you could catch a bus to AK, Epcot, or HS. There is also a store in the middle near a bigger park where they have the campfires, so you could stop by there if you choose.

Overall it is a fun place to visit, and has a nice calm rural feel compared to the hustle and bustle of the parks. Our choice would definitely be to take Disney transportation there and do some more exploring on your way there or back. Enjoy!

 

[hoosll]

It is fun to visit the horses and FW has one of the nicest playgrounds at WDW, it is near the dock.

We had the Trail's End buffet the other night: excellent salmon, peel-n-eat shrimp, yummy pork ribs and great fried chicken.

 

[jwfla422]

We love FW! We just got back from a stay at the cabins and I have to say this is so my favorite WDW resort. I love the peaceful surroundings and the beauty of the natural setting.

We also do the campfire which we did our first night. Chip n Dale are our favs so it's nice to start the trip that way.

We went to Crockett's Tavern, had some nachos and then sat on the porch in front an dplayed checkers. They have a checkers game set up out there. They also have a horse shoe game out front as well. They have horse and buggy rides at a fee.

I was looking into doing the horseback riding but we had to be a bit frugal this trip. One thing to keep in mind is the time of day you plan to go to TE. The horses and pony rides are only available during the day so you'd want to do that first if you're going to dinner and it would need to be an early dinner, then you can go to the campfire, you can certainly make a late afternoon/night of it.

tobikaye's links are great, I checked them out prior to our trip as well.