We just completed our 2nd trip to Disney's Fort Wilderness campground, and we're still just as impressed as we were the first time. Once again, bath houses were spotless, grounds were well kept, and the sites (ohhhhh the sites) are super duper!A few things we learned on this trip:1. In our opinion, the "preferred" sites aren't any better than the standard "full hookup" sites. The only benefit is that they're perhaps a little deeper, and could more easily accommodate a tent behind the trailer.2. The horse flies/yellow flies were intolerable. I'm a lifelong Floridian, and bugs are nothing new to me. But we didn't expect them to be so bad there. If you're planning a trip for any of the warm/hot months, make extra preparations for them. Not just candles, but add bug spray, bug zappers and whatever else you can think of.3. Our middle child wanted to ride the monorail, but since there's no connection between Epcot and the campground, you get stuck riding it to the transportation hub, then to the magic kingdom, where you can then take a bus or boat ride back to the campground. Needless to say, we hope that kid REALLY enjoyed the monorail.

43 years ago was our first visit to Fort Wilderness. I found it magical then...and still find it magical.You can take the boat from Fort Wilderness to the Contemporary Hotel. From their ride the monorail to the transportation content and transfer to the Epcot monorail. All done without needing to catch the bus.We are snowbirds so every year we visit Disney. Most of the time we go to ride the boats & monorail and then have lunch at one of the hotels. It's nice that Disney allows you to ride the transportation system without a fee.This past Feb & March we had a 3 day parkhopper pass. We had a wonderful time. For us it is "bitter sweet" because it brings back fond memories of when we were much younger and we took the kids.Oh well, sorry to make you read this boring story.

We have used the busses many times and they're great. Have no fears...

lol, when we went, at one point my wife asked about why it seemed we were taking so long to get to one of the parks... I had to admit that I had planned out a zig-zag course with the transportation system in order to get the maximum rides on the monorail....(My Dad has always been a train fanactic, and it has rubbed off some on me!)

majorgator wrote:We just completed our 2nd trip to Disney's Fort Wilderness campground, ... I'm a lifelong FloridianYou are a lifelong Floridian and have only been to the Fort twice?!? :)We love Fort Wilderness. We usually go twice a year. Haven't been to the parks since 2011. We don't really care about the parks; we enjoy the campground too much.Now that all full hook-up sites have Cable, the difference between the 3 full hookup site designations is not really worth the price in our opinion. It is nice to have less sand on the Premium sites, but not that big of a deal. We've never had an issue with Horseflies or yellow flies. April and October/November are our favorite times to go. We did get over run by weird looking caterpillars in 2005. Asked about them at the Outpost registration and they sent someone out to look at them. It was only our site that had them. Disney deemed they were harmless, but told use they would remove the nests if we wanted them too. Our 2.5 year old son enjoyed playing with them, so we didn't bother.As mentioned, the boat to Contemporary or Magic Kingdom gets you on the Monorail quickly. You can also walk or bike to Wilderness Lodge quicker than taking the boat if you want to check out the Lodge. Whispering Canyon Cafe is fun to experience. If you have young children (older kids might enjoy it too), the Lodge has hidden Mickey hunts. There are hidden Mickeys at both the main Lodge and the DVC Villas.We always enjoy taking the boats throughout Disney to explore the different resorts connected by boat.-Michael

We are going to our 2nd visit to Fort Wilderness in June (7th trip to Disney overall)...can't wait! Appreciate the info on the Preferred sites. We did book a preferred site (after having a FU the 1st time). I'm not changing it at this point...we'll see how it goes. My understanding is the Preferred were a bit wider and closer to the Fort. By the way, I thought the monorail went from Magic Kingdom to Epcot...we too rode it to the Hub, then to Epcot. Including the boat ride from the campground to MK, it was about a 50 minute jaunt to Epcot! Still fun......

Fort Wilderness on 4/24 - 4/26 | Good Sam Community

mleekamp
Explorer
Apr 27, 2015
We are going to our 2nd visit to Fort Wilderness in June (7th trip to Disney overall)...can't wait! Appreciate the info on the Preferred sites. We did book a preferred site (after having a FU the 1st time). I'm not changing it at this point...we'll see how it goes. My understanding is the Preferred were a bit wider and closer to the Fort.

By the way, I thought the monorail went from Magic Kingdom to Epcot...we too rode it to the Hub, then to Epcot. Including the boat ride from the campground to MK, it was about a 50 minute jaunt to Epcot! Still fun......
mgirardo
Explorer
Apr 27, 2015
majorgator wrote:
We just completed our 2nd trip to Disney's Fort Wilderness campground, ... I'm a lifelong Floridian

You are a lifelong Floridian and have only been to the Fort twice?!? :)

We love Fort Wilderness. We usually go twice a year. Haven't been to the parks since 2011. We don't really care about the parks; we enjoy the campground too much.

Now that all full hook-up sites have Cable, the difference between the 3 full hookup site designations is not really worth the price in our opinion. It is nice to have less sand on the Premium sites, but not that big of a deal.

We've never had an issue with Horseflies or yellow flies. April and October/November are our favorite times to go. We did get over run by weird looking caterpillars in 2005. Asked about them at the Outpost registration and they sent someone out to look at them. It was only our site that had them. Disney deemed they were harmless, but told use they would remove the nests if we wanted them too. Our 2.5 year old son enjoyed playing with them, so we didn't bother.

As mentioned, the boat to Contemporary or Magic Kingdom gets you on the Monorail quickly. You can also walk or bike to Wilderness Lodge quicker than taking the boat if you want to check out the Lodge. Whispering Canyon Cafe is fun to experience. If you have young children (older kids might enjoy it too), the Lodge has hidden Mickey hunts. There are hidden Mickeys at both the main Lodge and the DVC Villas.

We always enjoy taking the boats throughout Disney to explore the different resorts connected by boat.

-Michael
Tvov
Explorer II
Apr 27, 2015
lol, when we went, at one point my wife asked about why it seemed we were taking so long to get to one of the parks... I had to admit that I had planned out a zig-zag course with the transportation system in order to get the maximum rides on the monorail....

(My Dad has always been a train fanactic, and it has rubbed off some on me!)
sch911
Explorer
Apr 27, 2015
We have used the busses many times and they're great. Have no fears...
Bill_Diana
Explorer
Apr 27, 2015
43 years ago was our first visit to Fort Wilderness. I found it magical then...and still find it magical.

You can take the boat from Fort Wilderness to the Contemporary Hotel. From their ride the monorail to the transportation content and transfer to the Epcot monorail. All done without needing to catch the bus.

We are snowbirds so every year we visit Disney. Most of the time we go to ride the boats & monorail and then have lunch at one of the hotels. It's nice that Disney allows you to ride the transportation system without a fee.

This past Feb & March we had a 3 day parkhopper pass. We had a wonderful time. For us it is "bitter sweet" because it brings back fond memories of when we were much younger and we took the kids.

Oh well, sorry to make you read this boring story.

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