Very Excited Newbie!!

[cmviall]

Hello Everyone! I have been lurking for sometime and decided to introduce myself - my husband and I (along with our fur babies) will be traveling to the Fort for our first ever WDW vacation and I can’t wait. I grew up in CA and lived not far from Disneyland, so I spent many a summer there and even had the opportunity to work at Disney while in high school. I moved to RI about 17yrs ago and haven’t had a Disney fix in all those long years. My husband has never been to any of the parks, so he’s a little uncertain about this adventure. He loves camping, so it was the perfect hook to lure him over to the mouse side of life. We’ve booked a premium site at the Fort for Dec 4-18.

Has anyone driven to FW from the RI area and if so any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated.

 

[OK GRUMPY]

Welcome! You will Love the Fort and WDW! Sorry can't help you with the route.

 

[motherwild]

We travel from Long Island NY to Fort Wilderness. We travel I95. to I4. We try to leave before the morning rush hours and over night in South Carolina. We also travel with a dog. We stop about every 3-4 hrs to walk her. She travels very well
Dec is a nice time to go to WDW lots of Christmas decorations. Lots of campsite with amazing decorations.
My dog loves the dog park too.

 

[retired and happy]

Welcome. We will be there Dec 11-Jan 2, so maybe we'll run into you. What are you traveling in? Have you gotten a DisBoard Green Mickey name sign yet? Look for the "identify us at the Fort" thread and see if you can get ROG to make you a sign. We don't have fur babies, but somehow wound up in a premium furry loop last Christmas (500), which is across the street from the Dog Run. Allow yourselves some time for looping to see the decorations and meet fellow campers, especially with the green signs. Also there are activities at the Fort that might warrant your attention, so don't spend all your time in the parks.

 

[Disneylitch]

Welcome,
We travel from Maryland with 2 dogs and take I95 and take, I think it's 295 around Jacksonville, and then get back on I95 to 4. It's definitely worth going around Jacksonville. The drive is very straightforward. We were the Fort that time frame in 2009 and it was great. The Fort was pretty full, but the parks weren't. Most of the rides didn't have a long line and if they did, we just came back later since we were there for 2 weeks.
Have fun.

 

[stacktester]

Welcome,
We travel from Maryland with 2 dogs and take I95 and take, I think it's 295 around Jacksonville, and then get back on I95 to 4. It's definitely worth going around Jacksonville. The drive is very straightforward. We were the Fort that time frame in 2009 and it was great. The Fort was pretty full, but the parks weren't. Most of the rides didn't have a long line and if they did, we just came back later since we were there for 2 weeks.
Have fun.

Next time you come down, take the 9A route. It takes you on the eastern side of town and is shorter than 295. They should have the flyover done pretty soon so you won't have to do a cloverleaf anymore. Everyone I've suggested this to has said it was better.

 

[BradyBz12]

Welcome!!
DH and I drive down from southern NH each Nov/Dec with our 3 border collies to stay at the Fort (for as long as we can possibly swing it). I do most of the driving and we usually leave at 5pm on a Friday to try and get through the worst of the traffic by morning (NYC, DC, etc..) From Richmond on it's pretty much smooth sailing all the way to FL.

 

[ftwildernessguy]

Next time you come down, take the 9A route. It takes you on the eastern side of town and is shorter than 295. They should have the flyover done pretty soon so you won't have to do a cloverleaf anymore. Everyone I've suggested this to has said it was better.

I am one of Donnie's converts to the 9A route. I wil attest to the fact that it is far superior to the 295 bypass not only because it is less hectic but also because it is shorter.

 

[BradyBz12]

Next time you come down, take the 9A route. It takes you on the eastern side of town and is shorter than 295. They should have the flyover done pretty soon so you won't have to do a cloverleaf anymore. Everyone I've suggested this to has said it was better.

I've really got to remember that for the next trip. I keep forgetting to write it down, and of course once I'm there I can't remember exactly which way I'm supposed to go.

 

[stacktester]

I've really got to remember that for the next trip. I keep forgetting to write it down, and of course once I'm there I can't remember exactly which way I'm supposed to go.

It's going to be right after the JIA exit. Right now the flyover is closed and 295 is the 1st exit and 9A not far after. Hopefully it will be open soon. The construction appears to be done. Just putting signs up and landscaping for now. Just an FYI the Heckscher Drive exit just before the bridge has a Gate and Kangaroo that are both RV friendly for fuel and have lights at the intersections they're located at.

 

[Born 2 Fish]

WELCOME, welcome,WeLcOmE !
You AND hubby are absolutely gonna FREAK !! I would LOVE to be able to see ya'llz Disney adventures thru your hubbys eyes, for his first time ever !! Ya'll are gonna hava GREAT time
And since you are new here I'll tell you that we REALLY REALLY enjoy pics and trip reports. (hint)
We take our fur baby to the Fort too, it's her favorite place in the world.

 

[freshlybarked]

Many WELCOMES. I have to agree you will both love it. DH (Rick) was not a big WDW person until we started camping at FW on the recommendation of friends. He is a convert. Until FW and Disney he never found a vaccation he liked. He couldn't settle in and relax. Now he does by doing lots of fun things. Parks, biking, archery, horses, boats, pool, etc. I've even got him to nap under our awning. He loves the fact that he doesn't have to fight crowds and can watch the fireworks from the beach. Hope you have a fabulous vacation in December. Our next one is in March and we can't wait. We have 2 fur kids that love going also.

 

[wrongagain]

I95,
Just try to time it so you dont go thru NY, or DC area at rush hour, if you do you hate yourself, and be in traffic for hours, ask me how I know.
Get a fast pass, etc., or bring a million dollars in change for the tolls till you are out of NY area.
Unless something has changed you will get to enjoy about 300 miles of road and bridge construction down south.

 

[BradyBz12]

It's going to be right after the JIA exit. Right now the flyover is closed and 295 is the 1st exit and 9A not far after. Hopefully it will be open soon. The construction appears to be done. Just putting signs up and landscaping for now. Just an FYI the Heckscher Drive exit just before the bridge has a Gate and Kangaroo that are both RV friendly for fuel and have lights at the intersections they're located at.

Thanks Donnie! I'm going to make a note of this in my WDW vacation binder (yeah, I'm that ridiculous) so I don't forget next time.

 

[Stinkerbell1973]

Welcome! You'll love FW......we sure do. We'd live there if we could.

 

[cmviall]

You all are absolutely amazing!

Thank you so much for the warm welcome and all the great driving tips. I promise to take lots of pictures and share everything with you when we get back – 310 days and counting!!