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Old 07-25-2005, 06:24 PM   #1
FourBeeZee
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Fort Wilderness Campground - DisneyWorld

We recently just returned from our now yearly 2 week travelling adventure and this year took my high school graduate and daughter to DisneyWorld.

Growing up I had made various trips to the Fort Wilderness Campground and had very good memories: those times apparently have gone.

With the recent addition of multiple parks (still wondering why Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon are there) as well as more than the needed "Resorts", the whole Disney theme appears to have become 100% commercialized. In addition, campers are treated as second class citizens. For example, shuttle buses on 30 to 60 schedules have replaced the once familiar Trams that made rounds every 5 to 10 minutes. After finally catching a bus, you have to transfer at one of two "Depots" then stop at another resort before travelling to your final destination. We spent a quarter of each day just waiting for, or sitting, on buses!

Another disappointment was the concierge service at the main entrance. All reservations or information took 30 minutes or more waiting in line and normally ended with "completely booked" status or "we don't have that information". For a themed area that touts innovation and technology I would have at least expected wireless in the campground by now and the ability to check on reservations through an intranet portal.

Unfortunately, the memory I wanted to share with my children is gone. This may have been the last time my wife and I travel to Disney World and stay at Fort Wilderness. I am sure Walt would not have been happy by the changes we encountered.
 
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Old 08-04-2005, 09:35 AM   #2
Old GI
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Hi, sorry to hear you had such a bad time at Ft. Wilderness. We tried some of the other campgounds nearby in Kissimmee and went back to Ft. Wilderness. We are Disneyed out for now so we don't go to the theme parks but we really enjoy staying at Ft. Wilderness, riding our bikes around the campgrounds and our little grandson always meets other kids his age. I was surprised at the number of campers who go there just to camp. I agree the bus service leaves something to be desired thats why we don't use the buses. We bike down to the marina or just drive to the other places. I had one bad experience there and called the campround manager, he personally came down to our site in the pouring rain, got real wet too, apologized and fixed our problem, he said that the was also a camping enthusiast and didn't want us to have bad feelings about the campgrounds. I also agree that Disney now is probably not what Walt had envisioned, but we went there when it first opened and were told that there was no end in site to the expansion. Ok, here I am rattling on and on, bye.
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Old 08-04-2005, 03:52 PM   #3
Go Pokes
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We just return from two weeks in Ft. Wilderness. Our experience was wonderful. We did not use the buses. Our site was within walking distance of the marina. In addition, we choose to drive to Animal Kingdom and MGM because of the length of the bus ride.
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Old 08-04-2005, 05:12 PM   #4
Montana_3598
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When my wife and I were down there a few years ago before we got our Monty (we had a 30' Dutchmen 5er) we were very surprised at the small sites in Ft. Wilderness. We could barely get our single slide out, and never could put the awning out due to width issues of the site. We were in the lower pet loop and it was just flat cramped. The way the drainage was set up, we ended up with practically a moat around our site, and all in all were very disappointed for the price (VERY expensive per night).

The last time we went down we stayed at an Encore campground called Tropical Palms, I believe. It was located in Kissimmee near main gate, much larger sites, Internet, and all in all a better experience for less money. There's so many campgrounds in Kissimmee, I could hardly think of a reason to pay as much as Disney charged for such a problematic site. It wasn't miserable by any stretch, but I couldn't justify the price.
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Old 08-08-2005, 02:10 PM   #5
DiananColin
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We had a wonderful 2 weeks at Fort Wilderness with our 2 Grandkids and their parents. Yes the sites are a challenge - we were in the 100 loop near the Marina and our poor Monty has minor evidence of coming in too close to the utility post - 30 minutes to get into the site was followed quickly by a large sigh of relief and a double scotch! But there was ample room for all 4 slides & the picnic table bug tent.

Disney is not cheap! Neither am I and the enjoyment for our grandkids (and kids) was worth every penny. We have also used off property RV resort (the new KOA by Sams Club is excellent) but they are NOT Disney!
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Old 08-09-2005, 04:18 AM   #6
NJ Hillbilly
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I believe it was Billy Ray that had a laundry problem there, the dryer burned up some clothes, Disney picked them up with a van, took them shopping and paid for new clothes. Anybody had an experience like that anywhere else?

We went there about 8 yrs ago, went to a late Luau at the Polynesian, it was off season and most of the transportation was shut down for the night. We picked up a courtesy phone and security picked us up and drove us to our site. Yes it is pricey but the services, transportation system and the fact that You can park the truck for the duration is a definite plus.
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Old 08-13-2005, 12:08 PM   #7
The Wind
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My wife and I went there for 3 days of R and R. It was our first time there in a RV. Got there around 9:15 at night. Took 20 minutes for me to back into the lot. It was our fault to go into dark area without knowing what to expect. We had a "inside the loop" site. It was very hard to back into it with the trees and such. With all the hard time getting into the site, we would do it again. A very nice 3 days of R and R.
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Old 08-21-2005, 07:40 AM   #8
montanared
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I have also stayed at the Tropical Palms RV Resort. It is very close to Disney if thats what you want. Until now, I always towed a 27 foot prowler, and this October will be my first trip with the Montana, but I can vouch for this campground. I travel a lot for business, and hit Orlando once or twice a year and have stayed at the Tropical Palms 4 times. This year I compared them with Ft Wilderness, and since I am not a Disney fanatic, I am going back to Tropical Palms.
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Old 08-21-2005, 10:54 AM   #9
Montana_70
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I wish I could live at Ft Wilderness!!
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Old 08-23-2005, 04:25 AM   #10
DCP
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Fla Native, how was it getting around the park with your 2980? I have heard it was tight! I will be there in November.
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Old 08-24-2005, 08:21 AM   #11
Colden
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Regarding the size of the sites at Fort Wilderness:

We're planning on going in Dec. 06 and I've been doing a lot of research. Once VERY nice site I found is:

http://www.disneycampers.com/Loop%20...Loop_Index.htm

If you click on the loop number, it will open a window with sizes for the concrete pad and sand area along with notes on possible obstructions for awnings or slides.

You can always request a certain site when you make res or call a few days before your res but, as they say, there are no guarantees!

Happy Camping!
Jan
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Old 08-24-2005, 08:57 AM   #12
5rvers
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Colden,

Thanks for the link. I have reservations for Jun 06. This will give me an idea of what they have.

Cheers!
Lou
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Old 08-25-2005, 09:00 AM   #13
Montana_70
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DCP,


Well there is really nothing to "getting around the park". It's a easy drive through check in and then to your assigned Loop. Now parking the rig is another story. Like other's have said the sites are tight. But having said that. It's certainly not the worst.

The thing to set your mind to is that it may take a little longer backing up, pulling forward, backing up, pulling forward..you get the picture...and being mindful of little light polls, recycle bins, trees and such, but there are plenty of RV's paking in there year in and year out and they manage.

My last site was in the 800 loop, number 8023, I think, anyway it took some time but I had a good spotter. Someone who pulled up after me in a BIG hitchhiker took one look at his site and we all said in unison, NO WAY. He went over to the comfort station and called the checkin and they told him to find one more to his liking and park there. He found a perfect site for his size rig and was in in no time.

So don't let the comments about how tight the sites are cause you pause. They are but so many other campgrounds have less than spacious places.

It won't matter how hard it might have been to park once your parked because you will be at the "Mouse House".

i wish I were there right now hunkered down for the feeder bands headed my way from Kitrina. In fact if this storm was any bigger and coming closer I would be there.

Do you frequent the Disboards?
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Old 01-24-2006, 09:01 AM   #14
abrown134
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Well to bump this thread back up to the top, we are doing a spring break trip in April to Disney. I looked at the link describing the sites and hardly found a bad one. Can anyone give a good recommendation of what loop to be in and better yet, a specific site where the Moutaineer would be happy? And do I need to request that site prior to arrival?

Thanks
Aaron
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Old 01-24-2006, 10:21 AM   #15
jrgwdenner
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Our experience with requesting a site involved not asking for a specific site until a few days before we were scheduled to arrive. I think you'll be able to get into any site, maybe with some effort though as we saw some drivers working pretty hard. Check with the central reservation office to see when you can start requesting a specific site.
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Old 01-26-2006, 12:57 AM   #16
Montana_70
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I like Loop 800. Close to the bus. Close to the trading post. Some prefer the preferred 200 loop due to how close it is to the boats and restaurant.

One thing for sure. If you are going during spring break, I would make my reservation NOW! Very popular time at the Ft. You can request a loop, but there is no guarantee. But the earlier you book the better.

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Old 01-30-2006, 02:15 AM   #17
abrown134
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I'm sure it's gonna be crazy down there over spring break, but then when isn't it. I got my reservations about a month ago, so all locked in there. Just wish it would hurry up and get here. Really looking forward to the trip. Will be the first real long one since I purchased the Hensley last fall.
I did do a Michigan to Biloxi, MS run with a trailer load of supplies following Katrina. Sure missed my Hensley on that run. Even after only owning it for about a month, sure was a shock to go back to a regular hitch. Almost had to pull out my notebook on bad words to say to semis as they passed. Luckily, I remembered most of them.

Aaron
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Old 01-30-2006, 02:37 AM   #18
jpbcny
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Have stayed twice in Ft Wilderness, both times on the 500 Loop (It's one of the Disney designated "Preferred" Loops), for 14 days each time, very convenient location, close to everything you need, of course you have to pay more for the location, but we really enjoyed it.

JP
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Old 02-04-2006, 01:56 PM   #19
Montana_89
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FourBeeZee,
It is unfortunate about your experience. Everytime I have visited Fort Wilderness the experience has been great. Well, not exactly...last summer my firends accompanied my wife and I there for 7 days. Hurricane Charly decided to make a right turn and focus a direct hit on Orlando. One thousands rigs evacuated from the Fort; it was not a pretty scene. But I can't blame Disney for that! Perhaps you can try again...maybe it was just bad timing!
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Old 02-04-2006, 02:08 PM   #20
dsprik
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Art, Cheryl & I were at the Yacht Club when Charlie hit. We knew they were evacuating Fort Wilderness. They told us that they were moving all the campers into the hotels in Disney. Did not know they were making the rigs actually evacuate the park.
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