Camping at Disney in Florida

I've debated driving down with the TT several times and I always end up deciding to fly. We ended up with less hassle and more time to enjoy the place.

I was comparing my stay at Fort Wilderness to our stay at Cedar Point in OH. the campground is on a much smaller scale, but way nicer!

oh! at Cedar Point Amusement Park. In the Far North.

Where is this Cedar Point campground? I don't see any around Disney.

I've been to plenty other campgrounds that would make Mickey blush. We may go back, but i am in no rush to get back! Too many other nice places to visit!

I've stayed there at least six times and found the cast members to be very accommodating and want you to be happy. If a site is too tight for you, don't park, call the office!

We visit Fort Wilderness at least once a year, usually twice. We go just for the campground. It's been about 3 years since we last went to any of the Parks. There is so much to do at the campground and Wilderness Lodge, we don't need the parks.

Yes, for a campground it is expensive. However, it is the cheapest accommodations at Disney World. We don't go on vacation to watch TV, so having only a few cable channels isn't a big deal. We've stayed at Full Hookup sites, Preferred sites and Premium sites. Just like any other campground, some sites are closer together than others. Most of the sites we have stayed at are wooded with lots of wildlife nearby: lizards, frogs, turkey, deer, armadillo, etc.

We like to visit the Wilderness Lodge, only about 1.5 mile walk or bike ride from the Settlement. Talk the exercise to the Lodge at dusk and enjoy being surrounded by deer that let you get very, very close to them. We walk and bike ride all over the campground. Have never needed a golf cart or a car at the Fort. Our kids really enjoy searching for the hidden Mickey's at the Lodge and at the Villas as well. Some of them are really cleverly hidden. You can easily spend a few hours doing that.

My daughter rides horses, so we also enjoy going to the stables and visiting with the horses. Some of the old time cast members at the Settlement are just fascinating to talk with. Josephine at Trails End has been with Disney since the Fort opened in 1974.

We've stayed at the DVC Villas at Saratoga Springs, Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge, but we still prefer Fort Wilderness. The DVC villas can go for $400+/night and aren't much more than a standard hotel room.

Fort Wilderness is the gold standard of campgrounds as far as we are concerned. We have yet to find another campground that comes close to it.

When we lived in NJ we towed our HTT to Disney. It's an easy ride down I95. Like others have said, just avoid Philly, Baltimore and DC/Northern VA during rush hour. The rest of the trip is a breeze. Now that we live in GA, it's only 220 miles to the Fort.

-Michael

dodge guy wrote:
We were there in Nov. 11. I may be the odd on out here....but I was not overly impressed with the Fort! yes it is nice, but for the price I was expecting more. It is nice being so close to the parks, but the campground doesn`t really have all that much to offer. most sites are very tight (we were in the 200 loop), but after a walk they all looked about the same. the cable while not necessary, leaves a lot to be desired. About 10 stations with half dedicated to what I just seen the entire day in the park. There is not much to do in the campground itself, and anything there is cost money. the pool is huge, but is only 4 feet deep! For the money the campground at Cedar Point was much better. Cleaner, not as tight and much better accomodations. And I didn`t get run over by golf carts on a sidewalk (on the way to the dock)!

Sorry to all the die hard Fort Wilderness people!

We are with you. We spent a week there and we will never return. We had a premium site. They are still too close together, you have to have a golf cart or rely on bus transportation inside the campground as they dont have parking spots at the pool or marina for vehicles. Its way over priced and just really wasn't all that great. We hated it and not for any one specific reason, just alot of little ones.

Here are the WDW rules for campfires. This is handed out when you check in at the Fort. When people are talking about other campgrounds being cheaper, remember the parking at all the parks is included in you campground rental fee. Otherwise I think it is up to $16 a day now to park. We spend an average of 40 nights a year at the Fort as we have Florida Resident annual passes, which also include parking.
But as mentioned it is not necessary to move your rig or drive you tow, once you are parked at your site. We tend to avoid loops 100 to 300 as the roads are a bit narrow when we are trying to back our 5th wheel in to one of the sites. We ask for sites across the road, loops 400, 500 and 700 are very nice IMHO. There are days I don't go to the parks but will mess around in the campground, ride the boats, the monorails, the buses, or walk my beagle dog. Our grandsons, 9 and 11 Y/O love the Meadows swimming pool.

WDW prices are not out of line with others in South Florida, say the Keys. But with some days having up to 73,000 employees at WDW trying to make sure you have a magical day, somehow Disney has to figure out how to make a $6 million dollar a day payroll. Some folks don't care for the Fort and other live there most of the year. Seems to be more than a few that do multiply months at a time staying there. The Fort doesn't advertise for seasonal stays but they are available for asking, it seems but I suspect a person pays the daily rate.

Its about 22 hours of actual driving time, NOT including any stops. Our choice would be to leave early (6am) and be on road til 7 - 10 pm. That would put us in south KY or TN. Overnight at a Walmart or other. Then a much shorter second day and second night in southern GA. From there you could easily arrive at Ft Wilderness by about 1pm, relax, check the transportation systems, see the water pageant at the beach or watch the MK kingdom fireworks from outside the MK park, don't need admission.
The trip could be done straight through or with one overnight stop, depending on number of drivers and your family.

Beverley and Ken