Wonderful time at Fort Wilderness- A mini TR with Pictures!!

[OziJo]

We just returned from our trip to WDW and Honolulu. We stayed at the Cabins for 11 nights from Jan 4-15 and it was the perfect place for us to stay. I thought I would do a mini-TR here describing just our Fort Wilderness experiences.

Just a quick intro:
DD2(15yrs); DD3(13yrs); DD1(18yrs)having lunch on the deck .

Me(40+) chillin' on the Meadow Trading Post Verandah

DH(40++) with the hire car

We came all the way from Sydney Australia.

Our flight got in on time around 9pm and after a hassle free DME ride which took around 40mins including the stops at 3 other resorts we arrived at the Outpost. We had checked in online before leaving home so everything was ready for us. A short wait for bell services and their van to trek us all out to Cabin 2143 (we had requested the 2100 loop through our TP) and we arrived at our Cabin to be greeted by this:

The girls thought it was so cool sooo Disney

The cabin was comfortable, homey and plenty big enough for us. Garden Grocer had delivered our groceries earlier. I had received a text when we were at Dallas airport saying they were in our Cabin. I was very impressed with this service We had dinner of hotdogs and salad and went to bed around midnight. We had been traveling for 21hrs and were exhausted but happy to be at FW.

Everybody had been friendly, efficient and very helpful and we found this to be the case throughout our Disney stay.

We actually had a split stay to take advantage of Free Dining which began on the 8th Jan. Out first 4 days were room only and we spent those days at Universal/Harry Potter Kennedy Space Center and shopping. We also had time those first days to wander around FW and enjoy the atmosphere. While we didn't have time to engage in any Fort activities such as fishing or horse riding just walking the trails, relaxing on the verandah at Crockets Tavern and wandering through the Meadow was a wonderful experience.

The Hoop Dee Doo Review was a fantastic and a highlight of our whole trip. Another highlight was being able to catch the boat to Magic Kingdom and the Wilderness Lodge where we had dinner at Artists Point. The gorgeous weather and beautiful scenery made the boat trips as magical as the Parks. The buses were also great to use and we had no need of a golf cart.

The only hassle we had was having to move from 2143 to 2330 because they needed to do some tree pruning in the 2100 loop. We had been told that we could stay in the same Cabin for the second part of our reservation and we had planned the day to check out of our room only ressie and into our package ressie early, go to Universal come back and get ready for HDDR.

Instead a message first thing told us we had to be out of 2143 by the evening. That put our plans out but bell services were very helpful saying we could pack in the afternoon and they would move our things while we were at HDD. It all worked fairly well with a couple of hiccups that were sorted in the friendly efficient Disney manner and we came back to 2330 to find all our things safe and sound.

So all up it was a great experience staying at the Fort. It was a wonderful place to relax after a day at the parks. We loved the food at Trails End and the Margaritas at Crockets Tavern. I promised piccies and there are more to come in my next post.

 

[bigblock396]

GREAT!! A trip report. Can't wait to hear more about your FW adventures and your Disney trip.

 

[bama_ed]

:informorepix:

Sorry you had to change cabins in the middle of your stay. That's a rare occurance and too bad you got stuck with it.

I'm looking forward to more stories about your trip.

Bama ED

 

[OziJo]

GREAT!! A trip report. Can't wait to hear more about your FW adventures and your Disney trip.

Hi Thanks for reading.

I'm going to post pics that relate to FW here and do a more involved TR for the TR Forum.

First up.

This photo was taken on the way back to our Cabin after our first day at Magic Kingdom which was day 6. So in TR terms it's chronologically out of order but for storytelling purposes it's a good start It's DD1 & 2. I had to force DD2 to stand on the sand for this. She didn't want to get sand in her new Converse We live near the beach so it's not that she's scared of sand Just don't mess with the Converse!

Back to the beginning. Well the beginning was when we saw the Towel Mickey Mouse (see picture above). That's when we knew we were in Disney World

After a good nights rest we were woken at 8.30am by Mousekeeping. This was ok because we didn't want to sleep too late though an extra hour would have been better.

DD3 & I went out to explore:

The weather was beautiful and the light through the trees made for some lovely photos.

Meadows Trading Post:

DD3 posed on the Verandah at Crockets tavern:

This little fella stopped and posed for me

There was still Christmas music being piped through the trails and some decos:

Down to the Marina:

Lunch on the deck:

I can't image a better place to unwind from our journey and ease our jetlag. It was so rejuvenating that we manged some Outlet shopping in the afternoon

 

[PrincessInOz]

Thanks for sharing, Jo. FW looks delightful!

 

[Mum from oz]

Great start! FW looks gorgeous. It looks so nice and peaceful. Did you see a lot of wildlife? How long is the boat trip to the Magic Kingdom?

 

[OziJo]

Hi fellow Aussies Thanks for reading!

There were a lot of squirrels around. I thought they were so cute but I know some of the "locals" think they are a bit of a pest. There were plenty of birds especially down by the marina I heard one girl on a the bus one day say she saw a deer and there are aardvarks around but I think they come out mostly at night. I saw the cutest little green tree frog climbing up our window.

It was very peaceful and we could easily stay there again just to enjoy the Fort facilities. If only we could apparate

The boat ride took 20mins tops and it was such a pleasure. The buses were great as well. We had a bus stop just outside our cabin and we would take an internal bus to the Outpost to link up with the buses to the parks. The only time we had to wait more than 10mins for a bus was for an EPCOT bus. That day there was some hold up with the EPCOT buses and we waited 40mins! Otherwise the waits were negligible and we always had a seat.

Anyway I'm going to post a few more FW related pics here then start a full TR.

Hoop Dee Doo Review So much fun and so much food!!

Waiting for the bus:

Bus stop was just outside our Cabin:

Here comes the boat:

Coming up to Magic Kingdom. So exciting

Coming home (FW soon felt like home)

Is this what they call Spanish Moss?

More towel Animals:

Free WiFi outside Crockets tavern!

Meanwhile Mum & Dad where realxing inside:

DD3 and the bear

 

[OziJo]

On our way to Magic Kingdom at sunset:

A final pose outside our Cabin:

We loved Fort Wilderness

 

[OK GRUMPY]

Great TR! Glad you had a good time!

 

[tink too]

Loved your TR and photos - thanks for sharing.

We'll be staying at VWL in March but we're hoping to spend some time over at FW as well.

 

[bigblock396]

Never get tired of riding the boat over to the MK. It sure is magical especially when you 'round the bend and see MK in front of you. Thanks for those pics.

 

[OziJo]

Great TR! Glad you had a good time!

Loved your TR and photos - thanks for sharing.

We'll be staying at VWL in March but we're hoping to spend some time over at FW as well.

We had dinner at Artists Point at the Wilderness Lodge. The Lodge was amazing. Would love to stay there but not with 5 people. I will be posting more pics in my main TR but here's a couple to go on with:

Never get tired of riding the boat over to the MK. It sure is magical especially when you 'round the bend and see MK in front of you. Thanks for those pics.

The boat to Magic Kingdom is something I will forever dream about

Thanks for stopping by ya'll

 

[australiankaren]

hey
thanks for the report...its nearly as good as being there.....I see your up early doing reports 6.50am....not back into sleep routine yet????
so when do we see the food......!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[OziJo]

Hi Karen! Yes there will be food but I had to be quick taking photos as they were quick to scoff it all

I've started a TR. Links in my sig. I promise there will be food and drink. Stay tuned...

 

[cruising spud]

I always love to see trip reports in January. Here I am in Pennsylvania, freezing, and someone else is in Florida, in short sleeves enjoying warm weather.

Isn't life/climate in the Unted States a marvel?

Kathy

 

[2goofycampers]

Thank you for the TR and pics, enjoyed it.

 

[OziJo]

I always love to see trip reports in January. Here I am in Pennsylvania, freezing, and someone else is in Florida, in short sleeves enjoying warm weather.

Isn't life/climate in the Unted States a marvel?

Kathy

The weather was wonderful. We had 1 day with a little rain and another day that we considered cold but bearable. We also had fantastic weather in Honolulu. Of course Sydney weather is usually pretty good but while we were away they had low (for summer temps) and lots of rain.

Thank you for the TR and pics, enjoyed it.

Thanks for reading

 

[Mum from oz]

Thanks for sharing! Fort Wilderness looks like a great place to stay.