Post some love for the Fort! Your time in Ft. Wilderness

[stratman50th]

There's lots of posts on the other resorts. Tell about your experience in Fort Wilderness, good or bad. What loop were you in if you remember. What were you staying in, tent, Class A, B, C........ trailer, 5er or one of the cabins. What did you do on your trip, parks all day? No parks and just enjoy the campground? Both? Walk, Bikes, golf cart around? Were you there during Halloween? Christmas? Got pictures?
Have fun with this.
I'll throw mine in here a little later.

 

[TARDIS]

We stay there every other year in a tent(with ac) and we love the Ft!

It’s fun to go at a slower pace sometimes and it’s perfect for that. We normally spend the days in the parks and evenings at the ft. swimming, grilling, and watching the sing along.
Of the loops my favorite is the 1500s since it’s a short walk to the meadow.

We are currently converting a school bus into a home and a month long stay there is def happening once we complete it.

 

[stratman50th]

We stay there every other year in a tent(with ac) and we love the Ft!

It’s fun to go at a slower pace sometimes and it’s perfect for that. We normally spend the days in the parks and evenings at the ft. swimming, grilling, and watching the sing along.
Of the loops my favorite is the 1500s since it’s a short walk to the meadow.

We are currently converting a school bus into a home and a month long stay there is def happening once we complete it.

Thanks for responding! I thought this thread would march slowly down the page into obscurity. I don't blame the folks here as they seem to be more hotel oriented. I do belong to a Fort. exclusive forum but figured I'd try here too. Would be interested in seeing your conversion if you have pics, or post a link if you're doing a video.

 

[Heppenheimer]

Back in the 80s, our family of 6 outgrew the Contemporary, and the Polynesian was out of my parents' price range (and the Grand Floridian and Caribbean Beach Resort didn't yet exist). This left the cabins of Fort Wilderness as the only affordable option on property (at the time) that wouldn't require reserving two separate rooms.

And I have to say, considering that for most of my childhood my parents tried to sneak us into motel rooms that were only fire-coded for 4 or 5 people (my younger brother and I always had to duck and hide in the car as we pulled up to the hotel), the cabins were an absolute luxury. The 6 of us could actually fit quite comfortably! It was such a pleasant, quiet place to stay that this continued to be our go-to resort even after other resorts opened and my older siblings stopped going on our family summer vacations.

I also have very fond memories of the nightly campfires and outdoor movies. Back when the Disney Company had only released a fairly limited number of their old classics on video, this was the only way you could see movies like Cinderella, Pinocchio, Snow White, etc. baring a theatrical re-release or the rare TV broadcast.

Oh, and the boat ride back from the Magic Kingdom at night was particularly beautiful.

Now that I have my own family, the Wilderness Lodge is my preferred resort. But hey, if we ever outgrow the rooms there, I'll gladly go back to the cabins at Fort Wilderness.

 

[Hakunamatata]

We stayed at the Fort in June. 201. Right next to the comfort station. We enjoyed our experience. Too many golf carts being driven by kids. Too many people not following rules around vehicle parking at the sites. Too little enforcement by Disney on the above two issues.

They need a proper quick serve and not just the carry out. Way too crowded in the morning and no inside seating.

Love Trails End. Love the laid back pace. Love sitting on the porch listening to the sounds.

 

[Diesel Dan]

We love Ft Wilderness! Have camped 10 times for a week each starting in the mid 90's. Stayed in a Motorhome and travel trailer for the week long stays then tented a couple of times for 2 and 3 night stays. We have stayed in the 100, 200, 1100 & 1200 loops for the longer stays and in the 2000 loop when tenting. We usually do the Parks all day with a day in the middle of the week we do Campground stuff. We like to ride bikes over to Wilderness Lodge and around the Loops. We have rented a Canoe and paddled the canals in the Campground. We even saw a Gator on a bank near the 1500 Loop. The kids loved the different Playgrounds when they were little. We liked the 100 and 200 loops for the closeness to the beach & Pioneer Hall areas. 1100 loop was a lot more peaceful and quiet. The sites are bigger and you have a bigger buffer with your neighbor. We enjoy the buffet at Trails End. All said, Ft Wilderness is a special place for us. We will be back there in February 2021.

 

[stratman50th]

I went with my girlfriend's family for a week in 1976. Stayed in a pup tent. Never again but hey, I was young and just sleeping there. Not much to do back then, Magic Kingdom, River Country and resort hopping (monorail loop). Honestly don't remember much else.
We have a motorcoach and use it as our rolling condo. Fast Forward >>>> to 2018. Some friends stay at the Fort the week leading up to Christmas every year. They just cart around the loops and look at the decorations. They talked us into coming with them. We got two sites next to each other in the 800 loop. We bought a 4 day park hopper so my wife could fulfill her desire to see the decorations in the parks. We rented a golf cart. Saw all the decorated sites in the loops which if you have never done it regards as to where you are staying is highly recommended! Only used three days of the park tickets because we wanted to see resort decorations too.
The Fort is expensive like anything Disney. We have stayed places that cost more but to be honest, had less to do than Ft. Wilderness. nice atmosphere and a lot of space. I complain a lot about Disney and their price gouging, but I actually felt we got our money's worth out of the campground. Kudos! The golf cart is pretty pricey at $67 a day, especially when we have our own but my wife wouldn't let me bring it cause she didn't want it "messed up". (Whatever).
We had one day left from our 12-2018 trip and the wife wanted to go to the flower and garden festival so we went again in May 2019. This also was our anniversary. We were there for 4 days that we spent touring the campground and resort hopping. Plus the day at EPCOT.
I would stay here again and not even bother with the parks. We only live 30 minutes away so it's a nice trip to run the engine and put some turns on the tires.

 

[DRC68]

Towed down from MA in summer 10', myself, DW, MIL, FIL, SIL, 3 y.o., and a 3 mo. old...would do it again in a heartbeat. Bottom line: Fort Wilderness will ruin every other campground you will go to afterwards. Totally worthwhile experience...even without the parks.

 

[MMFanCipher]

We went to the Fort from Iowa in 2007 and 2013; my wife, 4 kids, me and in-laws. In 2007 was in a pop-up. 2013 was in a travel trailer. We
did the Campfire Sing-along, pool and Hoop-Dee-Do-Review. All of us love the Fort. We stay in the 900 loop. Love it! Across the street
from the Meadow. Saw Armadillos! Tried to do Mickey's Backyard BBQ in 2013, but a storm came in, so they had to cancel it and Disney got
us reservations at Tony's instead. On our last stay we did 2 weeks. I love the boat ride to the Magic Kingdom. Planning to go in 2021 and
staying at the Fort in May or June, youngest child is graduation from High School.