Transportation at FW

[emeraldlover]

We were in FW from 4/16 through 4/22, and had terrible experiences with the transportation system (as well as check in, but that's another story). Let me just state that this is the third time we have stayed at FW, and never had a problem before.

We had a site in the 1000 loop. The FW internal busses are the Yellow, Orange, and Purple. Each service one section of the campground with the Orange also servicing Wilderness Lodge. You take these busses to the Outpost (near where you check-in) to get bussess everywhere except MGM; or to the Settlement (down by the Marina) where you get the bus to MGM or the boat to MK.

The Orange bus services the 600-800, 900, 1000, 1100 loops plus Wilderness Lodge. There are only 2 (that's right 2) Orange busses. There are 3-4 Yellow and Purple running all the time. We waited at least 20 minutes outside the 1000 loop for the Orange bus. When we returned from a park (either Outpost or Settlement) we waited upwards of 40-60 minutes for an Orange bus. Yellow or Purple would come by 3-4 times during the same period.

As for the boat to MK. There were two afternoons/early evenings when the wait for a boat was 60 minutes. One afternoon we left MGM to go back to FW to walk the dogs (they were at the FW Kennel). We just missed the bus from MGM so we had to wait 20 minutes for the next one. Arrived at the Settlement and waited 40 minutes for a bus to the Outpost. Walked and exercised the dogs for 20 minutes. It then took us another 40 minutes to get back to MGM. That was 2 hours lost for something that should have taken an hour at the most.

So, IMHO, we would have been better off driving ourselves around. And as another poster mentioned, there are times when you have to get off the bus at Wilderness Lodge and transfer to a FW bus because they don't have one going directly to the campground.

We waited less time to get on rides at MK (which was packed both days we were there) than we did getting the bus from FW.

 

[Mac and Us]

Thank you EmeraldLover,

I was beginning to think no one believed me when I said we had to take a bus from MK to WL, get off the bus and take another bus to FW because there was no direct bus to FW from MK.

After listening to everyone comment on their experiences with the transportation at FW, I remembered that a bus driver commented to us about them "playing" around with the bus routes. I'm wondering if they change the routes depending on how full the campground is.

We were there from 4/2 through 4/15. The second week was dead. The campground was probably 25% full. Maybe that explains why they didn't have a direct bus from MK to WL. Just a thought.

 

[blestmom]

I have only stayed at FW twice, once in February, and once at the beginning of December. Money has always been a big issue for us (me and 5 kids) so renting a golf cart just was not going to happen (they look like a lot of fun, though.) We also relied solely on Disney transportation, since we weren't going anywhere else.

I just wanted to share our experience as someone who "had" to rely on Disney transportation, in case there is someone else in a similar situation. We did not encounter any super long waits. The longest was once coming back from MGM and there was a new driver. She 'forgot' to go to Fort Wilderness! She felt so bad, and I was more concerned for her...she was so upset that she had caused us to be late. She was a real sweetie.

Some of our funnest memories happened when we decided to walk back to our cabin after taking the bus back from a park, rather than wait for an internal bus. Usually we were so wound up from the day, that we really enjoyed this family time to talk about all kinds of stuff. The campground is really beautiful at night (except that I freaked out about the lurking armadillos...thank goodness I had teen age boys with me!)

Anyway, one of our best times was when we got so turned around and lost...we thought we knew where we were going, but ended up 'who-knows-where.' But we were laughing, and making jokes, and it actually was a really good time.

I guess what I'm getting at is IF you find yourself relying on Disney transportation, and things don't always go smoothly...relax! You may be pleasantly surprised at the good memories that are being made.

 

[johnniecuse]

We just returned from our first trip to Fort Wilderness. 3110 miles round trip!!!

We have been to WDW resorts many times and have never found getting around difficult. This trips was no exception. You have to acclimate yourself to the way they run the transportation system. It's all very convienient. We never waited more than 5 minutes for a bus in the campground. If you are not sure what to do, just ask a bus driver. The are three routes within the campground, Purple, Yellow and Orange. If you are going to Downtown Disney or EPCOT, get on the Outpost bus. If you are going to the MK get on the Settlement bus. When you are returning to the campground, if they drop you at the settlement, get on the right color outpost bus. If they drop you at the outpost, get on the right color settlement bus.

It's really quite simple.

 

[Codymom1]

We also just returned from FW on 4/24 - It must be the Orange Route. We had a terrible time with transportation. On Tues we left our TT at 6:10 to get to MGM to see Fantasmic we were still sitting at the bus stop to MGM at 7:10 decided if Orange came by next we would just go back and pu the car. Orange came b4 MGM so took the car over finally got inside MGM at about 7:45 and were told they were already full. Also we specifically asked about a bus to MK and were told NO bus direct to MK from FW must transfer at WL. Also waited at WL for abt 30 min for bus to MK. Will say that most of the time trans was OK (Not near as good as last time we stayed 11/04). Buses seemed to take longer during the Hoop De Doo and Backyard Bar B Que Hours. Also could have poss? had grad nite using some of their buses???? Next time if the buses are the same we probably will use our car for all parks except MK. As for confussion on the bus to take not really a problem - they have guides to tell you the right bus and you'll have it memorized the first day. As for the golf carts - we did not get one either time.