Where to stay? Thought Fort Wilderness, now not sure

WiscoMom

Earning My Ears
Joined
Feb 16, 2017
Hi,
I posted earlier asking about cons staying at Fort Wilderness. I had originally thought FW cabins would be best for us but now I'm re-considering. Cost I found for cabin was $375/night plus adding a golf cart puts us closer to $440/night. That would be absolute highest cost we could do per night. I'm re-considering based on the need to have a golf cart (raising our cost), and the issues people have raised with transportation there.

5 of us traveling together. Myself, DH, DS5 and DS4, and Grandpa. This will be my 3rd trip along with DS5. Grandpa has been to WDW before. First trip for DH and DS4. Afternoon breaks at the resort will be a must for us. DS4 can really melt down, so I'm hoping to find a resort that this somewhat close to parks (obviously, we'll be monitoring and watching to try to avoid triggering a melt down to start with).

For the nights we are looking to stay, the following are available and would fit our price range if we booked two rooms: All-Star (Movies, Music and Sports all available), Coronado Springs, Caribbean Beach, and Little Mermaid Rooms at AoA. (DS5 and I stayed Little Mermaid last year, it wasn't my favorite but there wasn't anything really wrong with it either).

So, where should we stay and why?
ETA: Pop is not available on the nights we are looking to stay. We are flying to/from WDW and will be using Magical Express.
 
Hi,
I posted earlier asking about cons staying at Fort Wilderness. I had originally thought FW cabins would be best for us but now I'm re-considering. Cost I found for cabin was $375/night plus adding a golf cart puts us closer to $440/night. That would be absolute highest cost we could do per night. I'm re-considering based on the need to have a golf cart (raising our cost), and the issues people have raised with transportation there.

5 of us traveling together. Myself, DH, DS5 and DS4, and Grandpa. This will be my 3rd trip along with DS5. Grandpa has been to WDW before. First trip for DH and DS4. Afternoon breaks at the resort will be a must for us. DS4 can really melt down, so I'm hoping to find a resort that this somewhat close to parks (obviously, we'll be monitoring and watching to try to avoid triggering a melt down to start with).

For the nights we are looking to stay, the following are available and would fit our price range if we booked two rooms: All-Star (Movies, Music and Sports all available), Coronado Springs, Caribbean Beach, and Little Mermaid Rooms at AoA. (DS5 and I stayed Little Mermaid last year, it wasn't my favorite but there wasn't anything really wrong with it either).

So, where should we stay and why?
ETA: Pop is not available on the nights we are looking to stay. We are flying to/from WDW and will be using Magical Express.

If staying at Sports, Movies, Coronado or AoA (Little Mermaid) you will need to book 2 rooms with no guarantee of connecting rooms or even being close to each other. Of what you listed I would pick CBR which has rooms with a Murphy Bed and will accommodate 5 guests. It's our favorite moderate and is very centrally located on property so no park is far. Taking afternoon breaks there is easy and the Main Feature pool is great. They also have a splash area that would be great for your kids ages. You can also do a Family Suite at Music which are nice, but we feel we get more bang for our buck at CBR.
 


If staying at Sports, Movies, Coronado or AoA (Little Mermaid) you will need to book 2 rooms with no guarantee of connecting rooms or even being close to each other. Of what you listed I would pick CBR which has rooms with a Murphy Bed and will accommodate 5 guests. It's our favorite moderate and is very centrally located on property so no park is far. Taking afternoon breaks there is easy and the Main Feature pool is great. They also have a splash area that would be great for your kids ages. You can also do a Family Suite at Music which are nice, but we feel we get more bang for our buck at CBR.

Thank you! This reply was very helpful!
 
What parks do you plan to be in on your park days? Consider travel time each way if you expect to go back to your resort every day.

While I love Fort Wilderness, getting to the cabins is not the quickest, easiest thing from the park because it's at least a two part journey (park/boat to FW, FW internal bus to your cabin loop). It's at least an hour for transit each way from park to cabin front door.

If any of your hotel choices are nearest the parks you plan to spend the most time at, then I would go with that hotel choice. At least it would be a single bus ride from a park to your resort. If you had to go back to a cabin once/maybe twice, that might be doable. But if you expect to do it any more than that, it might serve you better to stay at a different resort.

Of course, the cabins give you the ability to use the kitchen, eat more meals there (grocery delivery), and save some money on food. But convenience might outweigh pure dollar considerations in your case.

Good luck with your choice.

Bama Ed
 
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If staying at Sports, Movies, Coronado or AoA (Little Mermaid) you will need to book 2 rooms with no guarantee of connecting rooms or even being close to each other. Of what you listed I would pick CBR which has rooms with a Murphy Bed and will accommodate 5 guests. It's our favorite moderate and is very centrally located on property so no park is far. Taking afternoon breaks there is easy and the Main Feature pool is great. They also have a splash area that would be great for your kids ages. You can also do a Family Suite at Music which are nice, but we feel we get more bang for our buck at CBR.

Think CBR is a great choice for a family of 5 when it's parents and 3 kids. I'm not sure it works as well when the 5th person is Grandpa. I think it depends greatly on the relationship between the adults, but I wouldn't want to share such a small space and only one bathroom with my FIL. The fifth person Murphy bed really isn't intended for an adult-sized guest.

I'd do two rooms in whichever resort works for OP's budget. The ASMu suites are a possibility if OP's family really wants to be together, but with the 5th person being Grandpa, I don't think it's as important that they be able to get connecting rooms. Even if they are in different buildings, that shouldn't be a huge problem the way a separated second room would be if the party were parents and 3 kids.
 
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Think CBR is a great choice for a family of 5 when it's parents and 3 kids. I'm not sure it works as well when the 5th person is Grandpa. I think it depends greatly on the relationship between the adults, but I wouldn't want to share such a small space and only one bathroom with my FIL. The fifth person Murphy bed really isn't intended for an adult-sized guest.
Good point about 2 parents and 3 kids being a different configuration than 2 parents, grandpa, and 2 kids. Yeah, it wouldn't be good to have grandpa use the murphy bed, but maybe he could share a regular bed with one of the young grandsons, and the other grandson could use the murphy bed. Even so, I agree it would be nicer if the family had two bathrooms. I wonder if the OP looked into renting DVC points at one of the places with two bathrooms (Poly studio, etc.) in case that might also fit the budget.
 
I personally would go with 2 rooms, Grandpa having his own. If you have connecting rooms maybe one of the kids could sleep in the second bed in Grandpa’s room.
 
We still love the cabins, have stayed with a family of 6 more than 15 times. We have never rented a golf cart even once, the inner bus loop comes roughly every 5 minutes, and if you are coming with a car, the benefit of parking right by your cabin can't be beat! Probably one of the best transportation resorts, and we LOVE the boat ride to MK! AK is the longest, everything else is easy! BTW, the queen sofa sleeper is quite comfortable, that is where this grandpa and grandma sleep!
 
If transportation is a factor, keep in mind that Minnie Vans will pickup and drop off at your cabin. No need to go to the front of the resort.

They are pricey, but they also can save a ton of time commuting.
 

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