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I just returned from a Walt Disney trip where I stayed at the campsites at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Campground, and I thought I would like to live there! But what makes it so special, and why is it my favorite campground to stay at?
Check-In
The magic, so to speak, starts as you enter, as this is one of the few campgrounds where you don’t get out of your vehicle to check in. Instead, you pull up to rustic toll booths and begin to check in right from the front seat of your RV. The beauty of this system is there are several of these pull-up areas, so as the campground gets busy, they move everyone through the line very quickly and allow you to start your vacation as soon as possible.
On To Your Site
Once you finish the check-in and have the campground map in hand, it is time to head to your site. You will need that map as the campground is 1.5 miles long and 1.5 miles wide, with over 750 campsites and more than 400 cabins. It’s the size of a small town.
The campsites are beautiful, and because your site is lined with bushes, trees, and plants, you have an incredible amount of privacy. Also, because every site is a back-in, you never have anyone parked directly behind you. On this last trip, my wife and I had a premium site, which is 60 feet long by 18 feet wide. This gave us plenty of room for our RV, Jeep, cooler, two bikes, grill, and chairs. The site is very peaceful and quiet, and I quickly made friends with the local squirrels, which Belle, our dog, did not like. She likes all the attention. The campground is a nice retreat after a long day at the parks.
Of course, our site was also a full hookup site. Disney takes that one step further by placing all the connections over a stone bed. This way, when it rains, you never stand in mud while trying to empty your tanks or connect your fresh water.
Fort Wilderness Amenities
With so many amenities at the campground, you will not want to spend all your time at the campsite. Sabrina and I certainly enjoy riding our bikes throughout the campground, and if you do not bring your own, you can rent them directly from the campground. They also have canoe rentals and fishing equipment to rent. There are plenty of areas to fish right on the property.
Be sure to bring your bathing suit, as there are two pools and two hot tubs on the property, as well as a kid splash area. There is also a beach if you want to sit back and relax with a drink with your feet in the sand.
The campground also offers activities like archery, shuffleboard, tennis courts, volleyball courts, and basketball courts, as well as several miles of walking and jogging trails. They also have horseback riding as well as off-road Segway tours. Sabrina and I have done horseback riding, and it is excellent for beginners. The horses know what they are doing and are very well trained. I would say you are more there to go along for the ride. We haven’t tried the offroad Segway tour yet, but it’s on our list for next year.
Be sure to bring your dog. The entire campground is dog friendly, with plenty of nature trails and two very large fenced-in off-leash areas. Belle loves visiting Fort Wilderness because she knows she will get to explore and look at wildlife, like deer, armadillos, bunnies, and wild turkeys.
Working Up an Appetite
All these activities are going to make you hungry. It is a good thing you have a few options right on the property. Two convenience stores have an array of snacks and food you can purchase to make back at your RV. They also have a large variety of drinks and adult beverages to go.
Don’t want to make your own food? No worries, there is also a restaurant and a full-service bar where you can drink in or take your cocktails out on their porch and sit in the rocking chairs that overlook the beach.
Maybe you would like a little entertainment with your dinner. You will want to check out the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue. This is a Wild West dinner show that includes music, dancing, and singing. The dinner show is about two hours long.
Suppose you don’t have two hours to spend on dinner and don’t want to sit inside. Well, there is one more option that is available on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Disney brings in about 5 to 6 food trucks. These trucks offer everything from burgers and fries to BBQ food and Mexican cuisine. There is also a cupcake truck and an ice cream truck.
Ready to wind down and have a quiet evening? Check out the horse-drawn carriage rides that take place at night. These are relaxing strolls throughout the campground. If you happen to be there during the holidays, this is a great way to see all the decorated campsites. The people who visit this time of year go all out on decorating their campsites to levels you will not believe. We once saw someone taking up two sites to recreate a Blockbuster movie rental store. It was terrific and very detailed!
Transportation to the Theme Parks
I don’t believe there is any better place to stay than at Fort Wilderness as it is conveniently located to get to all the parks by different modes of transportation. You can always take a bus to all the parks, but you also have the option to take a boat from the back of the campground to the Magic Kingdom. This is the fastest way to get to the park’s front gates. It’s also a very scenic and relaxing ride on the water. I also use this boat to get to the monorail at the Magic Kingdom, and then I will use the monorail to get to Epcot. This is not the fastest way to Epcot, but I enjoy both the the boat and the monorail. It’s a unique way to travel, and I enjoy the views from the monorail as it rides through Epcot’s Future World Exhibit before docking at the front gate.
These are all the reasons why I love the Campsites at Fort Wilderness, but I would love to hear from you in our comment section! Have you stayed at the campground either in a campsite or cabin? What did you think, and what did you love most about it?
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